<p>That sounds like a fantastic workout. You should be a personal trainer! The only move you’re missing is a “pull”. You could do a 3 pt row – bend at the waist, knees bent a little, one hand on the kitchen counter (since you are cooking) and lift a weight in one hand, similar to the motion of pulling on the handle to start a lawn mower. This is one where you want to go with a weight that feels pretty heavy. I love it because it’s completely safe – the supporting arm takes the lower back out of the picture. It works all the muscles of the arm, plus the shoulder and the lats along the upper back.</p>
<p>Workout with trainer this morning–same as earlier in the week (Smith machine squats, ropes, planks, stair climbing and TRX). Followed this with a fast 2 mile walk on threadmill. Went to a private yoga session this afternoon. The instructor was great–I have almost no flexibility in my right ankle (the bad one–that I broke years ago) and she helped me figure out accomodations for poses that require some ankle flexibility. We worked for over an hour and I’m excited to go to a class and use what I learned.</p>
<p>Yay. Sound like a good workout and a good yoga class. The crux of the matter, for those of us who have turned 39 :), is figuring out what we can do and how to accommodate our little dents and dings. Mike Boyle said it incredibly well, talking about “does it hurt” last week. This is really a mantra that all of us should embrace:</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Speaking of exercises, I’m trying a new one and so far it is definitely not causing any pain. It involves opening the oven door, reaching in, grabbing a massive 7 quart Le Creuset cast iron dutch oven (with a 4.5 pound pot roast, with enough veggies, tomatoes, and red wine to fill it to brim) and lifting it up to the stove top to flip the roast. 21 pounds. Requires good upper body strength and good core stability. Pretty much a reaching deadlift. It’s a heck of a lot easier than it used to be!</p>
<p>Oh, and my place smells like Marcela Hazen’s Italian kitchen right now. The recipe is loosely adapted from her cookbook. I use more veggies, more tomatoes (because I can’t buy a half a can) and I’m seasoning it with fresh rosemary instead of thyme.</p>
<hr>
<p>Going to shuffle over to the Airdyne in minute.</p>
<p>Funny, we are having a pot roast here tonight as well but in the crockpot AND with potatoes to fill up S. I’ll have the onions and some broccoli. </p>
<p>3.4 outdoor miles. Nice weather for it. Multiple dog walks and romps. NM, I spend a lot of time talking to Sabadog on our walks…he’s a pretty cheap therapist and always agrees with me!</p>
<p>He is a proponent of statin use, but objected to the new guidelines because they completely ignore all other markers (triglycerides, HDL, particle counts, etc.) that be used to identify whether an individual is at risk. And, he objects because the guidelines completely ignore lifestyle interventions that are crucial, especially to those at risk of cardiovascular disease as a part of metabolic syndrome. </p>
<p>Dreaded 1/2 mile intervals on the Airdyne. Recovering to 70% max heart rate in between sprints. A little faster than Tuesday, but not PR territory. That’s OK. I’m not killing myself on the thing. Peak heart rate of 93% of my max.</p>
<p>Now it’s pot roast time. I had a little slurp of the sauce when I took it out of the oven a while ago. Definitely to die for… Yummm.</p>
<p>Broomfield, awesome that you got some guidance and are feeling excited! </p>
<p>MomWC, I am so glad Michigan didn’t kill your streak she’s a Wiley state that way!</p>
<p>Idad, I love the pot roast deadlift…and so does mch :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the pull tip. I sense when I do this little routine that i need something that direction, and even bought one of those band/tube things with handles, but haven’t figured out what to do. I was trying to do something along those lines standing straight up with 8lb hand weights but I kept feeling unstable like I might pop a rib I also don’t have a pull up motion going on…I miss the diving board pull ups for that :)</p>
<p>The goal of my routine has been to get some kind of weight resistance going on with utmost reduction in spine shear loading and then to get comfortable that my form is good…and then progress from there. I have really dawdled on this for almost 11 months now, but in retrospect, loosing the weight first and conditioning my legs and traverse with the Nordic walking was likely good considering the stakes if I lock up a facet joint. But I’m feeling more in control and not “scared” of a bit of work now…so the dawdling has been preferable to the old pattern of turning over a new leaf and then immediately injuring myself. The slipped rib was the only casualty this year :)</p>
<p>My pal is in Thailand doing some kind of holiday-tri but I told her when she gets back I’d like to hire her to come to the house and just watch my little routine to check my form when she gets back so I can correct any cheats or habits I might be developing and help me figure out what kind of weight progression I should aim for with the kbs and hand weights. At the moment I’m still only using the 15, which is way too light for the swings and cleans but still heavy enough for the overhead press. My grocery store stopped selling the contoured kbs I like, so I have to likely order and have the next one shipped, but I wasn’t sure whether to just skip to the 25 now or get the 20 next. Suspect I need both…20 for the cleans and 25 for the swings.</p>
<p>I’m sure he’s hoping for another walk too, NM!</p>
<p>Going to do a holiday running streak from Thanksgiving to New Years. I also need to think of a healthier Thanksgiving menu that doesn’t start a rebellion at home.</p>
<p>Sabaray, you should start a thread on that - “Holiday Dishes That Are Healthier and Don’t Cause A Rebellion” - I bet it would be an active thread (seriously!!)</p>
<p>Hoping to get a nice long walk in this afternoon - there is a dinner out and dessert in my future tonight at a family bday party so want to do some preventative calorie burning. :)</p>
<p>Of course, these types of results were found in men who were initially found deficient.</p>
<p>But also, it looks like this group was quite unhealthy to start with, and not really very healthy afterwards, despite the improvements. Waistline went from from huge to large, triglycerides went from very high to high, systolic blood pressure went from high to borderline, and HbA1c went from diabetic to prediabetic.</p>
Of course… if you are not deficient, why would you get treatment?</p>
<p>Waistline and weight went down every year of the study, as did HbA1c. That is a major improvement, considering there were no other lifestyle changes. If they continue down for 5 more years… that is really significant.</p>
<p>And their levels were only raised to the mid-point of the diagnostic range, which may not be (probably is not) optimal. It is not clear how long these men were deficient; it may take 10 years of treatment to undo 10 years of low levels.</p>
<p>One of the big fear factors with TRT has been that it increases incidence of prostate cancer. These studies showed the opposite - the men getting treated had less prostate cancer.</p>
<p>I have reservations that middle age fat guys could see significant reductions in waistline (and all the blood chemistry markers) without a change in diet/lifestyle. Whether they were counseled to or not as part of a study, I suspect that these guys, of their own volition, cut back on a few bags of Doritos and a few 2-liter bottles of Pepsi a week. :)</p>
<p>The fact that they signed up for a testosterone study suggests that they were probably more likely than the average bear to have a desire to become more fit and improve their “performance” in some way.</p>
<p>I do think that middle age fat guys, in general, can see some pretty dramatic improvements in waistline and blood chemistry markers, mostly because the bad changes beforehand resulted from such horrible diets (Doritos, Pepsi, beer, etc.). I do think that we have an easier challenge than middle age fat gals – and testosterone (either natural or supplemented) helps.</p>
<p>I haven’t found the details of the studies yet. Just abstracts. I’ll keep looking…</p>
she’s a Wiley state that way!</p>