Just turned 45 last week. We had our first kid when I was 40, so I had to get my fat rear end off the couch and get moving. In the last 18 months I have done a tough mudder, 2 marathons, and multiple long distance rides, including a 109 mile race in November. Next month I will run the Ft. Lauderdale half marathon. Initially I lost over 45 pounds, but have put 20 of that back on, even with all of that activity. I am the only person on earth who can run 2 marathons in 10 months and put on 20 lbs. Obviously my problem is my diet. I eat pretty good. Protein shake for breakfast (at least 30 gr of protein), snack of fruit or vege with hummus, lunch is a salad with chicken breast, afternoon snack of some kind of nuts and piece of fruit. Dinner is protein, vege and some minimal carbs (brown rice, whole grain pasta etc). So what am I doing wrong? Have run or ridden my bike almost 1500 miles in the last 6 months with a daily diet close to the above. Any tips? You guys seems to be doing similar stuff with much better results.
Portion sizes? In my family, my son has always had the smallest portion on his dinner plate (age 9), simply to ensure he eats everything and wastes very little. For my diet, I made sure I never had a portion size different from his. (Now of course, he is *always* welcome to get a second helping, which he occasionally does) In my mind, American portion sizes are completely out of whack. I now think of a "portion" as something about the size of a hockey puck. In the past, I considered it to be more like the size of a football !
I hear you loud and clear on portion size. It is something I am working on. The steak scene is awesome.
Best thing since sliced bread. Its the only work out that moves every joint through full rotation, and zero impact. I was turned onto it by a former Olympic rower.. They use them to warm up before going in the water. They pull a lot harder (1:45 ave for 500m ) at a slower stroke rate 20-23 spm than I ever could. They are really good for building core and back strength as well. I'm back up to 10000m again like darth, pulled a 46:08 as a best this week, damn near killed me. Still hiking/running 2.8miles with the puppy every morning, 30-45 min depending on how my knee is ( old motocross injury reared its ugly head last week). Would love to play hockey again but pretty sure my worn out joints would rule that out. Same for motocross I've managed to pretty much cut out bread ( my fav thing),trying lots of fruit, salad, chicken and pasta. Lost all the weight I put back on over the holidays plus another pound, eating a lot less, drinking loads of water, no beer during the week. Feeling a whole lot better over all, apart from the knee Going to try to crack the 45 min mark this week.
Inspired - do you guys recommend the concept 2 Model D or Model E. going to order one, this thread has me motivated.
Ive had mine so long I don't even know what model it is..Looking at the web site im guessing its a D model, although a different colour. you'll get a great work out with either. mine must be nearly 15 years old and it still kicks my butt. Couldn't do the 10k/45 yesterday..home too late, just did a quick 20min 5k..ran/hiked 2.8 miles this morning.....knee is swollen like a grapefruit
Model D is what I use at crossfit , at home I have model B which has more pull resistance than model D on 10. Good workout to try is "500 meter tabata" with 1 minute rest between 500s . My times from last night.. With goal of beating your best time on last round 1; 1:41 2; 1:42 3; 1:41 4; 1:44 5; 1:43 6; 1:47 7; 1:44 8; 1:39 I do this intensity once a month ...once or twice a week I do, 2 minutes work 1 minute rest , 8 times equals 1 round
Have not tried the "sprints" yet. might give that a crack. If your pulling low 1:40's your a stud !! what stroke rate and resistance do you have it on ?? Looking back I think I have a B model..i have updated the display unit,there are quite a few work out programs available. I used to have it hooked up to a heart rate monitor... I have the resistance set on six and pull between 25-28 spm. If I get any quicker the work rate goes down.
Model B does have setting but it would be equivalent to about 15 on model D, 10 on model D offers little resistance compared to B. I never note my stroke rate . I will next time . My best 500 was 1:33 best 2k is 7:45. Try 2m work 1m rest for 8 rounds. That's a nice quick workout Tabata/HIIT can be very demanding especially at that intensity .
I dialed up the resistance to 6 and took almost a minute off my time. Next time it'll be at 10 to see what happens.
I've also heard a good routine is to alternate between a 10K one day, 2 separated 5's at a brisker pace the next day and all out 500M time trials the next. Thoughts?
Try the tabata style workout for a bit. You'll be amazed first at its difficulty, and then at how it increases your overall conditioning in a hurry. IMO, nothing beats interval training for increasing fitness and cardio levels. Mark
OK kids, any advice on strengthening core WITHOUT doing sit ups, crunches, etc? that is, literally, the weak link in my body. and I hate sit ups and crunches.
"Inchworm crawling" is what I do. I'm not sure if there is a more technical term, but that's what my trainer has me doing.
Leg raiss, flutter kicks, TRX crunches, hanging knee raises, toes to bars, planks, plank army crawls, cable crunches, uneven carries, kettle bell swings, etc... Mark
Sprints! Mens health did experiment with triplets and the one who did sprint routine only had better stomach actually six pack over his brothers
If all you're going for is looks, then yes. Having a six pack is purely a body fat issue. To strengthen the core though, you need to work those muscles, just like all the others. Mark