Marginal gains
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Fixed
"love weights, hate cardio and dieting"
But in saying that I'm working hard on portion control first and foremost.
Depending on what sort of resistance training floats your boat you don't need a gym membership imo. Lots of stuff you can do with bands and a small selection of Kettlebells or dumbbells. But you can certainly up the ante by going to a gym - especially if you want to have a lot of options for specific areas.
I'd strongly suggest getting a programme from a decent PT - even if you are an ex-gym junkie it's a really good way to focus your effort and know that if you do the mahi you'll get the outcome/s you are after.
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@Paekakboyz portion control = my kryptonite
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@canefan especially when you face up to what an actual serving is meant to look like.
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According to Lydiard, Murray Halberg couldn’t even lift a 20 pound weight above his head.
If you want to be good at running, go running. If you want to be strong then lift weights. Burn enough calories doing either and you won’t get fat.
Doing weights (squats, Olympic lifts etc at the Franks gym) totally ruined my running form and speed and resulted in 4 years of back/hamstring and calf issues. In my experience weights are counter productive to long distance running.
Now I run and swim most days to stay in shape and stay completely clear of any weight training.
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@Paekakboyz said in Marginal gains:
@canefan especially when you face up to what an actual serving is meant to look like.
The main looks like my entree. I don't like feeling perpetually hungry....
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@SammyC to be fair Olympic lifting and the like is super demanding on your body. Not surprised it caused a few issues. Especially if you were a fair amount of that sort of training plus a lot of running at the same time.
imo it's similar to rugby/other sports where your main focus in-season is maintaining condition, you've done the hard strength and cardio work earlier. Trying to do all of that at the same time is a recipe for injury and burnout.
Balance is key, as is having a plan about your priorities.
One good thing (weight aside) from weights is a higher mass of muscle does help burn energy. You'll need to eat to maintain, but it can help shed weight faster if you go into a deficit diet.
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@MN5 said in Marginal gains:
I think the "skinny fat" issue is easily addressed by the lack of resistance work in the current regime.
Quite a few of the blokes I meet for beers at the moment are runners who do little to no resistance work and it does show in the bodies that are not chubby but definitely a bit soft. Don't get me wrong, they're extremely fit in terms of running massive distances but they wouldn't be the first blokes you'd call when a heavy fridge needs moving.
Take this is a grain of salt from someone who hates long distance running ( but will still bust out a hill walk and sprint at least a couple of days a week ) resistance work is a massive part of the all round package.
I think a mixture is the best. Plenty of jacked guys who lift mega tin with guts, while there are super fit cardio freaks with no upper body or definition. A mate of mine runs every day and when he jumped in my pool the other day he had a bit of a dad bod. But then again it shouldn't just be about aesthetics, it should be about mental health and well being. Do what makes you happy and keeps you healthy. For me at the moment swimming ticks all those boxes because you get both cardio and resistance training without the heavy impact.
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@SammyC said in Marginal gains:
According to Lydiard, Murray Halberg couldn’t even lift a 20 pound weight above his head.
If you want to be good at running, go running. If you want to be strong then lift weights. Burn enough calories doing either and you won’t get fat.
Doing weights (squats, Olympic lifts etc at the Franks gym) totally ruined my running form and speed and resulted in 4 years of back/hamstring and calf issues. In my experience weights are counter productive to long distance running.
Now I run and swim most days to stay in shape and stay completely clear of any weight training.
Ah, I knew there was a reason I hadn't been on a run in about 6 years.
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A lot of good advice in here!
Firstly yes getting a PT to tailor me something will be key. If anyone can recommend someone online that would be great.The plan is to do a few bits at home to get ready and get the gym membership in the summer once I have finished with the running club. Time is in short supply at the moment. So I need to free that up first.
The idea of doing it at home is great in theory but I live in an apartment so space is an issue.
I am not looking for the gym work to improve my running. Its more to get a bit of balance. Try and get the body fat % down, by replacing fat with muscle, and try and get my bad arm back up to where it should be. I am not looking to flex by the pool or start throwing around atlas stones. My goals are more long term health related.
@SammyC Any suggestions on where to start looking for swimming help? In the past I have had chats with instructors but they were not keen to try and adapt to my range of movement. To be clear its not that bad. But brushing the ear with the shoulder is not possible.
Anyway up at 6am today for 8km in 39:58. Normally do this run after dropping the littlest at creche. But had to go before today, due to some scheduling issues.
Will post weigh ins on Mondays but am using my normal technique of weighing every day and calculating a rolling average.
I have found an interesting race 28km through the Pyrenees with 1100m of ascent. The distance is fine the climbing scares me as there are no hills to train on round where I live. Maybe I just need to sack up?
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Running Club last night
30 minute warm up 6kms
Fartlek 1 - 2 - 6 - 4 - 2 - 1 with half the time of the work interval for rest. So 16 minutes of work with 7:30 of rest. Managed a shade under 6km
Legs feeling it today knee really tight so lots of stretching tonight, before rugby with the old boys tomorrow. Just a training no match this week.
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@mooshld said in Marginal gains:
Running Club last night
30 minute warm up 6kms
Fartlek 1 - 2 - 6 - 4 - 2 - 1 with half the time of the work interval for rest. So 16 minutes of work with 7:30 of rest. Managed a shade under 6km
What speeds were you running at and then resting at? I.e, were you balls out so shattered at the end, and then literally standing around? Or more fast run, slow run?
I quite like the look of this one. Although maybe not so much after a 6km "warm up"
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So we do a fartlek at close to balls out 100% but of course it's what you can maintain for that time amount. So the 1 minutes you are obviously faster then the 6 minute.
At the moment for me that is somewhere in the 4 minute per km pace, Its frustrating as I would have been high 3's but I am still coming back from injury.
Then the rest period is still running but recovery running so for me its between 5 and 6 minute km pace. Then once its all done we jog back to our cars. So another couple of km to cool down.
At the end of the fartlek session I was shattered we had about a minute to catch our breath before we jogged back.
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@mooshld said in Marginal gains:
So we do a fartlek at close to balls out 100% but of course it's what you can maintain for that time amount. So the 1 minutes you are obviously faster then the 6 minute.
At the moment for me that is somewhere in the 4 minute per km pace, Its frustrating as I would have been high 3's but I am still coming back from injury.
Then the rest period is still running but recovery running so for me its between 5 and 6 minute km pace. Then once its all done we jog back to our cars. So another couple of km to cool down.
At the end of the fartlek session I was shattered we had about a minute to catch our breath before we jogged back.
Thanks ... going to give this a go for my next 30 mins. Maybe tonight, but we've just had a bonza announcement so that may end up at the pub.
I suspect for the 1 mins I'll be able to get close to 4 mins pace, perhaps a bit slower. Definitely will be aiming sub 5 for the 6 mins. Recover periods likely to be closer to 6-6:30 likely made up of gentle jog and little bit of walking.
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@mooshld said in Marginal gains:
Running Club last night
30 minute warm up 6kms
Fartlek 1 - 2 - 6 - 4 - 2 - 1 with half the time of the work interval for rest. So 16 minutes of work with 7:30 of rest. Managed a shade under 6km
Legs feeling it today knee really tight so lots of stretching tonight, before rugby with the old boys tomorrow. Just a training no match this week.
such a good name.....
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Monday Weigh in.
Weight 81.8 (Down 0.5Kg)
Bodyfat 23% (Down 0.2%)Injuires
Knee has been good sore after training but not pain while trainings. Still doing lots of stretching on it.Running
3 good sessions this week. May try and sneak in a 4th session this week if I can.Eating
All went well, had a dinner at a friends on Saturday which wasn't a problem other then eating very late which caused me to weigh in heavy on Sunday. So that messed my average up a bit. But will come right this week.Mental
Managed to use my time really well this week. Only bummer was that I lost my step tracker while messing around playing knee rugby with my two little ones between matches at the biggest ones tournament. Not a big deal really, as I have a routine that guarantees 10K steps a day. Just a bummer as I am pretty sure I could have gone back and found it. But the place is an hour away even when the traffic is good. -
Early morning recovery run. Knees are cut to shit from the crappy 4G pitch we play rugby on. Why we can't have grass I will never know.
Anyway 8.8km 45 minutes this morning forgot about day light saving so it was really dark in the forest. Will need to remember my headlamp for next week.
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Monday Weigh in.
Weight 81.0 (Down 0.8Kg, 2kg since start )
Bodyfat 22.7% (Down 0.3%)Injuires
No change in the knee. Massive bruise on my calf from rugby and elbows and knees torn up pretty bad. 4G pitches suck soo bad.Running
3 sessions by myself this week. Had to supplement with some mountain biking in the forest as after rugby legs got a bit beat up. Fun for a change and will get back to the running this week. Looking to push those distances out a little.Rugby
Match on the weekend. Played at 7 and had a decent game we lost by 7 but not really that important at this level. Still fun tackling and getting steals. The range of abilities can be quite frustrating but remind myself we are all old as shit and living vicariously though our past endeavours.Eating
All back on track. Had a low point on Sunday with sugar cravings but just took myself away from any options.Mental
Time management not great this week. Youngest kid causing a lot of stress terrible twos have arrived with a vengeance. So not much sleep either. Also a bit of family stuff going on that needs to be sorted to get back to my happy place.
