<p>OMG, the stability ball mountain climber knee drive holds are brutal. I’ll never forget the first time I tried that it. I thought, “ehhh, that doesn’t look that bad…” Then I tried it. First, it’s not that easy (at least for me) to even stay on the ball. It requires a lot of work from the arms squeezing the ball and the whole leg on the floor just to stay upright. And, the abs. I was on fire and dripping sweat after about three reps. I’ve been doing that one for more than a year now, and it’s still one of those exercises that kicks my butt every time.</p>
Yeah, I’ve used these, or something similar. I don’t really like them. I find it easier to keep my wrists perfectly straight when my hands are on the floor, and when on the handles I find that too much weight gets channeled through the base of my thumb.
It’s ok to have the weight there for short sets like when bench pressing, but when I get up over 40 pushups it really starts to hurt.
<p>All I wear now. I have one cotton polo (that claims to be “performance”) but the rest of my polos are Nike or Under Armour… They look great and are very useful in my day-to-day activities in the clinic and on the field…</p>
I think that for the last of those abs exercises, I’m going to do it on the BOSU ball instead of the stability ball. At least then I may be able to bring my leg into my chest, as is the goal. With the ball in the way, and my arms doing wacko unstable motions, I don’t think I’m doing anything much for my abs. (Not that they need all that much, after the other three exercises.)
I found the deadbugs to be surprisingly challenging.
Edited to add: I just watched the video again. Maybe I can do the last exercise on the stability ball. I didn’t realize I should keep my arms extended. That might help.
Stay tuned. I’m not due back at the gym until Sunday. (I know you’ll all be on the edge of your seats until then . . . )
<p>I figured iPod nazi was headed towards a pitch for the Amazing Abs program that I did last summer. He e-mailed a link today to download the first workout in this program for free. </p>
<p>Three sets. 30 seconds of rest in between exercises. Don’t be scared off by the difficulty of the other abs exercises. This is a really basic beginner core workout and requires absolutely no equipment (an exercise mat or carpeted floor would be nice!) You could do this at home or in the stretching area of your gym or in the back yard (as iPod nazi does). I was able to these exercises (not well, but at least do them) at 250 pounds not having worked out for years. The plank and side plank holds are only 30 seconds, so not crazy hard. It’s great for anyone. </p>
<p>The way this works is that you can download the video (MPEG-4) to watch on the computer or load on your iPod/iPad. the video shows iPod nazi doing the complete workout in real time while talking you through each exercise. So you don’t need any timer. Just hit play and follow along.</p>
<p>You can also download the audio versions (MP3). When I did the program, I watched the video once to learn the exercises for the week. Then, I listened to the MP3s on the iPod to do the actual workouts. This download also includes the PDF file with the list of exercises and color photos to show what they look like. So you could print this out as a cheat sheet with the MP3s or just to do the workout on your own with the soundtrack.</p>
<p>I was not really able to bring my knee completely forward to my elbow and hold it until just recently (and I’ve been doing this exercise off and on for over a year now). I just didn’t have the strength/stability to keep from wobbling all over the place. That’s OK. The exercise is still working even if you can’t get full range of motion (or hold the position for very long).This thing requires all of your core muscles – glutes, abs, obliques, back entensors, lats, etc. – to fire simultaneously.</p>
<p>2 hours of tennis, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0. I played with the heavy racquet (I don’t do as well with it but it’s better for my arm and gives me a good workout).</p>
<p>I’m watching Berdych (#6) play Murray (#4) on replay on ESPN right now. These guys are both very big hitters. They have very heavy racquets, are both tall and can generate a lot of power. Tournament is the Rolex Masters in Monte Carlo.</p>
<p>Going for a second round of weights at the gym tonight with son.</p>
<p>The old one. I don’t think that the new guy could play a fourth set. He will play very well the first set and then start to fade part-way into the second set and then it’s all downhill from there.</p>
<p>Being limited by fitness in tennis really, really stinks. You can have a lot of skill and talent but the other person will quickly figure out if you don’t have the fitness level and move you from side to side or front to back and know that eventually you will tire. You may win a lot of the early points but you’ll feel the pressure to keep the points short so that you can save energy.</p>
<p>My old tennis guy can go three or more hours as can I and a lot of players at our ages can’t.</p>
<p>Lousy day as far as exercise goes, but a very nice one overall. Mr B and I had a wonderful dinner at a nice restaurant. If it weren’t for the bleeping bread basket, it would have been super high protein dinner for me. My chicken dish was 90% chicken and 10% mushrooms, grassy things and tiny slivers of potato. Yummy! But the bread ruined everything, so Mr B will have to wake up at 6 am to join me for a workout. I did swim for about 30 min in our hotel’s outdoor pool (for anyone planning where to stay in Vancouver, I highly recommend both waterfront Fairmonts).</p>
I took the rare second day in a row without exercise yesterday. Combination of schedule and no being able to keep my eyes open and still feeling stiff and creaky.
Feel great this morning, so I guess I probably needed it. I’ll get in my Friday workout this afternoon and hopefully I’ll remember to try iPod nazi’s four ab exercises for the core section.
Hi, great thread here… just found y’all. Turning 50 this year and planning on doing my first ever Half Marathon end of June. I have NOT been a runner my entire life, need to lose 20, trying to stay motivated. This is my Half Century Birthday gift to myself
Doing Jeff Galloways “Run Injury Free” program.
<p>Welcome, Ldavis! You’ll find we’re a friendly bunch at different levels of fitness. But we do enjoy ourselves here and get lots of encouragement!</p>
<p>Yeah, LDAVIS. Deciding to get fit after age 50 was the second best decision I’ve ever made (the first was deciding that I had smoked my last cigarette).</p>
<p>I assume that you are doing Gallway’s run/walk/run thing? I hadn’t run in literally 40 years and started doing some jogging and then running intervals on my walks. I am about as far from an expert on running as you can get, but the run/walk/run thing (or in my case walk/run/walk!) seems to be a solid way to go.</p>
I’ve noticed a big improvement in my tendonitis this week. It started 8 weeks ago with pain 100% of the time and has slowly, slowly improved. The last three days I’ve only felt pain if I move one particular way, so I would say I’m now 95% pain free. The exercises really seem to help. I’m going to try another mile on the treadmill today, and I think I’ll throw in that easier stability ball exercise, just for the entertainment value.
<p>Ldavis, I really like the Galloway training programs, but just make sure you give yourself enough time to work up to the mileage so you don’t get injured. Me & my tendonitis speak from experience :). or maybe that should be :(</p>
My achilles tendon has been fine all week, including doing box jumps up onto the weight bench. Running is the only thing that causes discomfort, so I’m just gong to keep up with my “not running” for several weeks and let the thing completely heel. It’s so nice here right now that, if it doesn’t cloud up, I’ll probably have go for a 5K power walk instead of lifting weights in the basement. We’ll see.
If you need a pill for tendonitis, the best are prescription, either piroxicam or meloxicam. The latter in tests causes less stomach upset.
I take piroxicam for my osteo-arthritis and have noticed it significantly and quickly reduces tendon inflammation as well. I only take it a day or two at a time because discomfort follows from daily use.
After all, the main treatment for tendonitis is reducing inflammation. You can then do exercises to build up the surrounding muscle, changed mechanics, etc.
For example, while rehabbing my left shoulder - injured doing cross fit lifting (because that compresses rest times and that destroys form) - I’m building strength but that has side effects elsewhere. Piroxicam knocks it down.
I am a former runner. A warning to people around 50: your body will notice uneven pavement and tilted sidewalks more as you age. The camber hurts your knees, hips and back. It’s more important as you get older to find more level ground. Or more truly uneven ground, like a trail; changing unevenness is good for balance, for the mobility of your feet and ankles and doesn’t cause repetitive wear like running on even slightly angled sidewalks can. And, while running has obvious benefits, it doesn’t help your bone density throughout your body, doesn’t build core strength, etc. It helps somewhat with balance but most people jog and that doesn’t help much. I believe all middle aged people should lift weight and do balance exercises.
I did swim for about 30 min in our hotel’s outdoor pool (for anyone planning where to stay in Vancouver, I highly recommend both waterfront Fairmonts).</p>
Turning 50 this year and planning on doing my first ever Half Marathon end of June. I have NOT been a runner my entire life, need to lose 20, trying to stay motivated. This is my Half Century Birthday gift to myself