Thanks all! 
I am not sure if we need to celebrate or cry… it will be a lot of work in the coming months. I plan on hiring big guns for things like siding and windows, but there is a lot of minor stuff that we can do ourselves. Plus - there is a yard to take care of, but it is mostly native trees and bushes, so that’s good. And I also need to squeeze in a few repairs for my body, LOL.
Thanks for the article sabaray. H says a lot of his golfing buddies are starting Pilates. Pilates exercises can be found in golfing magazines.
Congratulations @BunsenBurner !
Yeah BB… Glad to hear the good news! Are you keeping the old house too?
Nope!! We will ready it up for sale after the move. It is kind of nice not to rush with the moving… A real luxury. Our last two moves were very stressful to say the least.
^that’s the best. I’ve done the back to back buy-sell thing twice and I found it so stressful. And you’re near that great hiking trail!
Pilates doesn’t build muscle and typically men want muscles. The same applies to Yoga. I’m not saying Yoga and Pilates aren’t exercise, but they should only be considered a piece in an overall plan of cardio and muscle building exercises.
Congrats BB, the new house was a long time gestating! And being able to make the move at your pace really is a delightful luxury!
While there may be a perception among some men that Pilates and yoga don’t build muscle, that is a misconception. Men won’t build the bulky muscle that they can with with weight lifting because the application of resistance loads, duration and muscle tension are much different. The nature of progressive overload is much different. But if you don’t think an advanced yoga practitioner that can move into a shoulder stand from a sitting position on the floor, then press to a handstand and then slowly come back down under control hasn’t developed muscle density and strength, well, give it a try. The reality is that all forms of body weight based training can build muscle and strength utilizing concepts of joint and limb leverage to provide progressive resistance and overload.
Had a duplex venus ultrasound today to rule out deep vein thrombosis in my left lower leg. The concern arose from the continuing degree of swelling from the tear of my left calf 2 1/2 weeks ago. Everything turned out fine but boy did I do a number on my gastrocnemius muscle. The hematoma, even this far after the acute injury, is 8.5 x 3 x 7.1 cm. The worst part was having to cut out all training this week out of concern that if there was clotting, exercise could increase the risk of the clot breaking free traveling to the pulmonary arteries and lungs. Scary stuff but now I can return to training as long as I keep the load and volume on my lower extremities below the point of causing pain in my calf. That should be interesting given that I have to prepare for a 56 mile Roubaix ride with 4000 of climbing on April 9!
I have given it a try. Its extremely difficult. And I’m not saying advanced yoga practitioners haven’t developed those muscles needed, but can an advanced yoga practitioner not only do what you’ve described and also snatch, clean and jerk 200 lbs., squat 300 lbs., deadlift 400 lbs., perform handstand push-ups, muscle-ups, rope climbs, row and run a 10K, etc. It’s not just about being a specialist in just that one spectacular yoga move and yoga generally.
Someone mentioned that they don’t see men in yoga and Pilates classes. All I’m saying is that men generally prefer large muscles for looks and typically don’t have the flexibility or mobility to perform average, let alone advanced, yoga moves.
I would agree with you that historically in our culture men have associated large musculature with concepts of masculinity and therefore have gravitated to forms of working out that create a certain cosmetic. However, your original statement was that yoga and Pilates don’t build muscle which is not accurate. They won’t build the type of muscle that gets built through power lifting, Olympic lifting or hypertrophy (body building) types of training but they will build muscle and strength. If your statement had been limited to masculine stereotypes still somewhat prevalent in our society as an explanation of why there is gender skewing when it comes to participation in yoga and Pilates, I think that would be a fair statement but that’s not what you said. I think there is also still an element of gender based socialization in our society that influences women more than men to gravitate towards group fitness classes which impacts on why you see more women than men participating in yoga and Pilates.
Moreover, being able to perform the kinds of lifts you describe is just one kind of strength and citing those kinds of lifts as the definition of muscle building and strength is very limiting. There is a growing understanding, supported by the science of exercise and strength, of the importance and utility of functional strength based on the ability to move and use your body, not just move heavy external resistance. The increasing popularity of body weight based training, (which is not only functional but which can also be programmed to achieve impressive gains in muscular strength, size and definition) is reflective of this. The development of relative strength and the musculature that comes with that is just as legitimate (and may be even more important as we age) as the development of absolute strength.
At the end of the day, it boils down your what an individual’s goals and objectives are. You may want to lift heavy weights in the performance of core power lifting or Olympic lifting moves. You may want to have the cosmetics of a body builder. You may want the relative strength and ability to move your body like the competitors on American Ninja Warrior or like Parkour practitioners. Or you may want the supple musculature, strength and flexibility that comes from yoga and Pilates. It’s all legitimate. They all will build muscle and strength but in different ways and with different objectives.
That’s a relief, Michael. Just be careful with it!
Michael- I had the same thing happen after my last calf muscle tear. Just when I was getting better, I kicked a soccer ball in our yard and re injured it. It was a natural reflex move—you see a soccer ball—you kick it!
Finalizing my final plans for training in Flagstaff AZ during May before the National Senior Games in Birmingham in June. I’m hoping the high altitude will help. But I think the focused effort will be more important. Thankfully my wife is letting me do this!
Congrats on the house, Bunsen! Very exciting.
Michael, glad the issue with your calf isn’t more serious - still sounds incredibly painful! Ohio, we are looking forward to hearing of your national champion status this year - you have certainly worked very hard.
Reformer class last night - very challenging as always. Got home and took Sabadog and Sabapup for their third walk of the day which they were thrilled with. Buckets of rain and thunder this morning.
@C3Baker - Thanks for asking. He came home a week ago today, with all the accompanying tubes. He goes back today, I think, and hopefully will be disconnected from at least some stuff. Still waiting for results of the biopsy of the nearby lymph nodes. Really hope they’re clear.
50 minutes on the Cybex Arc yesterday, plus lots of walking around H’s alma mater. (We both had meetings there.)
Pup walk today before the snowstorm hits. So not in the mood for this!
@BunsenBurner - Congrats on the house!
Congrats on the house BB!
Feel better Michael.
Some whine with my wine here ar Chateau Elan winery. When we FINALLY got here yesterday afternoon (horrible traffic), my husband went out to run while I rushed off to a few short meetings. His report wasn’t great as far as the running. He told me to not even try the “trail” they have. It had roots and ruts and hills and was hard to follow. He said the hills were hard but not as bad as home. I thought I figured out where to go on roads, but in the pitch dark this morning that turned out not to be the case- even with my headlamp. I oculn’t even tell if it was raining from my hotel room, and WeatherBug said it was. The treadmills didn’t look great, so I went outside anyway. It wasn’t raining (one good thing) and I tied my light jacket around my waist and tried to deal with the headlamp and my cap both being on my head.
Off I went. I immediately found huge hills and even with the headlamp it was hard to see due to the wet roads. I kept running into dead ends and big locked gates. I was wondering if I could actually do the run, when I finally hit a road that appeared to go for awhile. Tomorrow I think I will do better and just head out that road. It’s complicated because this is a winery and a big golf course, and the roads don’t seem to go very far around all that.
Anyway- 4.1 done for a 164.1 mile month. It looks like a beautiful day here and we are zip lining this afternoon.
I appreciate you trying to reinterpret what I said or meant, but I’ll try to say it a bit more clearly. Pilates and Yoga don not build the muscle size that men typically want. As one example, in gyms almost everywhere, you will notice that men perform curls while watching themselves in mirrors
And it’s also my opinion that just doing one discipline is not being truly fit. Body-weight training like pullups, pushups, etc. is wonderful, but incorporating Oly lifting is important too. A deadlift is a functional lift/training for example. Squatting is a functional lift. And a person’s complete fitness should also incorporate runnng, rowing, climbing ropes, etc., if possible, along with Oly lifting.
You’re making some very gross generalizations about what typically men want. I guess all women want to look like Barbie too.
Here’s an interesting article re: professional male athletes and Pilates:
http://www.stack.com/a/wide-receivers-pilates
The vast majority of us on this thread participate in multiple activities. I run, take Barre classes, work with a private Pilates trainer, take TRX classes, lift weights. I know Michael engages in a wide variety of activities. Ohio too. They’re both men and I don’t think they want to look like Arnold for their personal goals.
Look for YouTube videos of Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta and Pilates. Some of the things he can do are amazing. There are probably a half dozen or more men that attend the Pilates studio I go to for reformer classes. Most are in their 50’s to 70’s and love what Pilates has done for their golf game.