<p>I hope you runners have heard the latest on NSAIDS: that they are contraindicated for tendinitis! Apparently they delay healing. So you think they are helpful for inflammation but actually they are counterproductive.</p>
<p>I am liking the parcours course I discovered. I don’t run the entire thing–yet–but it is great because of the hills & even some steps. So I can mix it up by running some downhills and then walking, or running some uphills and then walking.</p>
<p>I remember last year at this time I hurt myself (knees) trying to run a neighbors’ dog. It was fun, but running is not the same as brisk walking, and I was not in shape to run.</p>
<p>My running problems are usually related to Chondromalacia and NSAIDs definitely help. The cause of the Chondromalacia problems, though, are from tennis. I haven’t taken NSAIDs for some time since dropping tennis down to once a week. Running can aggravate it but usually only in small amounts.</p>
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<p>I took Advil for the first time in over a year when I tweaked my calf. I used to take that stuff all the time when I was a smoker (sinus headaches). For my calf, I took one tablet every six hours or so, just so I could walk without pain. Did that for two days while I was icing it.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I really don’t take the stuff. I tried to lay off of it when I saw some borderline elevated kidney function numbers on a blood test (which gave sense returned to the normal range with no intervention). It does mean that I’m usually kinda stiff and creaky at night after a workout, but not too bad for an ol’ (formerly) fat guy, I guess…</p>
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<p>That would be so much fun! Even a playground park would give some nice options on the monkey bars – inverted rows, etc. I might scout out some nice scenic locations where I could take the Jungle Gym XT straps and an exercise mat and come up with some kind of fun bodyweight workout. A parcours course would be a great option, too.</p>
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<p>I went out for a hilly walk when I testing my calf. Even though I never got my heart rate up, I was feeling it to a surprising degree in the legs aftewards. It reminded me that hill walking is still great exercise, even when you are fit enough that it’s not a great aerobic workout.</p>
<p>Regarding monkey bars: I was in the gym a week or so ago when a personal trainer was working with a young woman. The woman was doing monkey bars, and the trainer kept saying, “Abs! Abs! Use your abs!!” </p>
<p>I never realized monkey bars could be helped with strong abs. I always assumed it was completely up to the arms and shoulders. I’m not sure yet how that works.</p>
Went for a 6-mile walk this morning–tired from my long workout yesterday. I burned calories and average HR was 68%. Been following I-dad’s advice on varying workouts, which has been good for me.
BB–My youngest D spent a semester in Moscow–we took the opportunity to visit her and enjoyed it. Think it would exciting to live there, but for a year or so.
VH–same daughter lives in Philadelphia now. She’s in South Philly, renting a house from a prof on sabbatical. Lots of young people in the area, especially artists.
<p>Thanks for the links, iDad. Those are good and I’ll share them.</p>
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<p>EVERYTHING can be helped with having a strong “core.” That doesn’t just include your abs, but everything around them too!</p>
<p>Bromfield, thanks. It will not be the end of the world, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the other opportunity will pan out for her.</p>
<p>Idad, great links. Bookmarked and forwarded to my marathoner buddies. 
Thanks!</p>
Not being a marathoner, I have no idea if Sisson has it right, but I thought the two articles were particularly clear concise explanations of some issues that have cropped up here, especially with specific numbers on carb intake for distance runners. Sisson was a borderline national level marathoner after graduating from Williams. He qualified for the 1980 US Olympic Marathon trials based on a 5th place finish in the US Nationals in the marathon, but couldn’t run because of injuries. I’ve read enough of his nutrition stuff that I tend to think he’s got a pretty good handle on it.
Oh, yeah.
In fact, I’m slowly learning that chin ups aren’t really about arm strength, but about developing the core and upper back muscles to use those to power the chin up instead of the arms. Arms will only take you so far.
The same thing is true with pushups, too. That’s why, I think, I am now feeling pushups in my glutes – and why I’m finally able to do the 45 second hold at the bottom position of a pushup without just gutting it out on shear determination. I’m getting my back and core to help instead of all arms.
Specifically, stuff like monkey bars would involve the big lat muscles of the upper back that tie the shoulders to the lower back/core, running from the shoulders down to the waist. A big assist in engaging the lats is to keep the shoulders away from the ears, always trying to pull them down and back. That helps even with pushups. That motion is tying the shoulders to the lats, and to the core.
<p>Bromfield, I know Phillie is a great city. That’s where DS would rather be. Unfortunately the other grad program he’s been offered, in a city he’s less excited about, is the slightly better program and the one giving him good money.</p>
<p>When do we stop worrying about our children? Apparently not even when they’re 27 years old.</p>
<p>Met a friend to go for a brisk walk on the trail.
Rain, hail, black clouds cut that plan short, so we ducked into a nursery instead and strolled through the flower aisles. Faux outdoors.</p>
<p>Tomorrow I try out a boot camp series I purchased through Groupon. I will be gone for the last 2 weeks of the month and didn’t want to pay for an entire month of classes, so this should be the ticket, financially, at least. Don’t know what to expect, although the place looks “old school”, which is a good thing. I am curious to see what it is like, but always a bit apprehensive of new places and people to get used to.</p>
<p>CJane, good luck. Hearing the term “boot camp” has always been a trifle scary to me!</p>
<p>World’s worst gym for me this afternoon. Nice solid workout. I took advantage of the stuff I don’t have at home to do pallof presses and tall kneeling chops with the cable column, neutral grip chin ups, and goblet squats with 60 lbs (I need DBs that stand on end to get 60 pounds in place).</p>
<p>When I started my workout, there was a dude doing shrugs in front of the mirror. When I finished an hour and fifteen minutes later, he was still doing shrugs!</p>
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<p>Tried a new “power” exercise today, another one from Mike Boyle. This is really simple. No equipment needed, can do it anywhere, and anybody can do it as long as you work on landing soft enough to not kill your knees.</p>
<p>[Bodyweight</a> jump squats](<a href=“Squat Jump with Stable Landing - YouTube”>Squat Jump with Stable Landing - YouTube)</p>
<p>These were fantastic. By the third set, I was getting the hang of the soft landing and really getting some nice air. A set of ten will get your heart pounding.</p>
<p>2 hours of tennis, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. Regular opponent is playing more with another very good player.</p>
<p>Boot Camp at the New Gym</p>
<p>The place is definitely old school, and proudly so. No showers (already missing the steam room and sauna at the fancy schmancy place).
Instructor was okay. She was giving a lot of feedback to the other two newbies and just commented to me that it was obvious that I already work out a lot. So, that’s good, right?</p>
<p>Work Out</p>
<p>Warm Up:
10 BW Squats
10 reverse lunges
10 reaching toe touches
bunch of toy soldies
bunch of buttkickers
bunch of band pull aparts
10 push ups
couple of spinal rotations</p>
<p>Work Out:
4 rounds</p>
<p>20 KB Goblet Squats with 1/4 dip 18kg
15 30# DB Romanian Deadlifts
15 each side Band steps
10 each side 1 arm 30# DB snatch into rows
20 band triceps extensions
10 staggered stance push ups
30 mountain climbers
20 each side partner band twists</p>
Easy 2 1/2 miles this morning in anticipation of 13-14 with my daughter in the morning. We are doing “the 11.2” at the monstrously hilly park where she struggled the last time we tried it. I think she will do a lot better since she has the longer runs under her belt. She is in the middle of Easter services, too, and really wants the break. It’s not a holiday for clergy!
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<p>Are those the 1 1/4 squats where you go down, come back up 1/4 and back down? Those are brutal.</p>
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<p>I took a day off. Got up really early, was sleepy before dinner, and still a little creaky from yesterday’s workout. Six days in a row, so I rested on the 7th and took a nap, instead! It was gonna be the Airdyne.</p>
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<p>I have broken my low-carb thing and bought a loaf of rye bread. Had to do it. One of the childhood memories seared into me is sitting in the grandstands at the Masters, eating their incredible ham and cheese on rye sandwiches. Many a Sunday morning, arriving with my dad at 8 am and sitting in the second row of the bleachers at the 15th green (the lady from Kansas in the front row had a deal with the Pinkertons to get in early!). Waiting for the concession stands to open for that ham on rye at around 10 am. So, it’s a tradition. Always ham and cheese on rye for lunch on Masters weekend. I think it’s the first time I’ve had a piece of bread this year.</p>
<p>No Easter candy or desserts, however.</p>
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<p>Yup. Resting on the 7th day has you in good company ;)</p>
<p>MOWC- good luck to you and your daughter on the long run. “Monstrously hilly” sounds so daunting!</p>
<p>I was told you all might be able to answer me. I am aiming for weight loss.</p>
<p>Hey- do any of you on Lo-Carb regimens know/remember how long it took for your bodies to adjust to exercise, to the point that you do not hit a wall pretty early on (as you are relying on burning fat which is not efficient) compared to when you were eating carbs?
Last time I did this, it took over six weeks… Is that normal?</p>
<p>Does it help to eat a few carbs before exercising (increasing available blood sugar), or will that hijack the ketosis/fat-burning for the rest of the day?</p>
<p>performersmom:</p>
<p>My adjustment to exercise was a lot more than my body adjusting to low carb. It was my body adjusting to exercise, period!</p>
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<p>I don’t think there will be any real adjustment unless you are talking below 50 grams of carbs per day (ketosis) or if you are talking endurance exercise lasting more than an hour.</p>
<p>If you’ve really cut your carbs that low, then the adjustment period from sugar burning to fat burning might well take several weeks.</p>
<p>I’ve never gotten my net carbs much below 80 to 100 g per day and I almost never exercise for more than an 1.25 hours in a stretch, so I don’t think I’ve ever experienced any kind of adjustment or hitting the wall.</p>
<p>BC Eagle did when he was trying to do longer runs with very low carbs. A distance runner is probably going to have to eat more carbs.</p>