Fitness thread

[Chronopolitano]

On an unrelated note, H.R. Giger was a genius.

Chroo dat!

I was watching a video : The Making of Alien (fascinating, btw), and there is a segment about this Italian guy who did all the mechanics for the creature - the double jaw, etc.

So, so, so, here is my 3 degrees of separation from this Rambaldi guy:

His son went to my high school for a year, and rode the same bus with me.
He didn't speak a lick of English, but it soon got around that his dad was working on something cool.
But some very "rotund" chick decided she would be his guardian angel, and would aggressively vet anyone who came near him/them.

[Chronopolitano]

No bow ties or spanx? I am disappointed.

Pffft! You're telling me! I thought, "Ta! So much for bespoke suits."

[M. Montaigne]

Pffft! You're telling me! I thought, "Ta! So much for bespoke suits."

To be honest, these days I wear far less tweed and far too many blazers than I'd like.

Part of the reason has been this miserable winter, because I haven't been able to get out to my favorite dry cleaner since my garage was snowed in until recently. Arguably, I could have taken a cab, but I don't feel too enthusiastic about that proposition.

The other (more honest) reason is that I am not in as good a shape as I used to be, even as recently as ~8 months ago. Becoming a new father, a debilitating shoulder injury (excessive climbing + military presses), and the really obnoxious weather meant that I haven't been as active as I used to be, and my diet has gotten worse.

The shoulder injury was the worst -- even though I have a C2 rowing machine in my study, I just couldn't row as much until about Christmas. And it's amazing how quickly you can go from being in great shape to being in poor shape.

And the downside of being in the same great shape for ~decade is that your bespoke suits and shirts that are made to show off your flattering physique fit you quite poorly when your mid section expands three dimensionally. Even after letting the tabs out, I am rather conscious of the fact that in place of my abs, I now have some fat rolls. So, I have been wearing my more... generously sized clothes.

But we have two trips to the Mediterranean planned this summer, including some sailing. That's been a great incentive to go on a crash diet of salad, protein, and lifts.

[Chronopolitano]

The shoulder injury was the worst -- even though I have a C2 rowing machine in my study, I just couldn't row as much until about Christmas. And it's amazing how quickly you can go from being in great shape to being in poor shape.

Hope your injury heals well!

I read this, and it kinda spooked me: https://www.yahoo.com/health/this-is...355357618.html

[M. Montaigne]

Hope your injury heals well!

Thank you. I've had one minor surgery already, and a few shots of steroids and some physiotherapy.

I have been told that as long as I don't stress the shoulders too much, I should be good. Unfortunately, that pretty much means I can't do any serious climbing for at least a year.

I also have to be careful with certain workouts -- I cannot do military presses, and have to be careful with my bench (closed grip is not good). All this makes me rather sad!

I read this, and it kinda spooked me: https://www.yahoo.com/health/this-is...355357618.html

Yeah. When I'm fit, my resting heart rate is in the mid-low 50s. Overall, I function with less sleep and I find myself being sharper and in a much better mood.

There was a recent article on Quartz that talks about what happens to your brain when you stop eating sugar. When you're in shape and eating healthy, you just don't crave as much crap. It's amazing how quickly I went from consuming <20g sugar a day to ~80g sugar a day. And it is so incredibly hard to "quit"!

From cereal to tacos and greasy Indian food, things I would have never eaten ~8 months ago are now the things I crave. Having always been in shape (for the most part), I never before appreciated the difficulty of having to "work" to stay in shape. It's incredibly hard.

And I am saying this as someone with fairly good genes, a good base, good form, and a proven workout regimen and diet.

[geoffbot]

My resting heart rate is 60 - I was quite pleased with that.

[muddy250]

The shoulder injury was the worst -- even though I have a C2 rowing machine in my study, I just couldn't row as much until about Christmas. And it's amazing how quickly you can go from being in great shape to being in poor shape.

And the downside of being in the same great shape for ~decade is that your bespoke suits and shirts that are made to show off your flattering physique fit you quite poorly when your mid section expands three dimensionally. Even after letting the tabs out, I am rather conscious of the fact that in place of my abs, I now have some fat rolls. So, I have been wearing my more... generously sized clothes.

But we have two trips to the Mediterranean planned this summer, including some sailing. That's been a great incentive to go on a crash diet of salad, protein, and lifts.

Sorry to hear about the shoulder and my best for a full recovery M. Oddly I have been In a similar position since last April myself having suffered a cycling accident last April and just I was approaching my best level of fitness for some time. It was depressing to think of the hard won gains drifting away as I was recovering. I won't bore you with the details but it involved a steep descent, an argument with a stone wall at 40mph and four days in intensive care. The next 8 months were spent in recovery and physio to try to regain as much motion as possible within the constraints of my new shoulder/ribcage/collarbone arrangements. I have very interesting x-rays and ct scans ....

A major concern other than the loss of form (and potential unwanted gains in those areas of physique we fight to keep under control) was that my newly ordered jacket would be compromised. It did require a small change to the left shoulder. As a result of my shoulder being dislocated and the shoulder blade being broken neatly in half in the incident, my shoulder joint ended up in and forwards an inch or so and my fractured ribs healed in an overlapping fashion leaving me with a left side thoracic compression. Jacket was recut nicely to suit however and on the upside, my previously separated shoulder (I've done this before...) is less prominent than was previously the case :-)


But on your note of the speed of deterioration after stopping exercise I have happily found that my fears were largely unfounded? In the cycling world there is a constant level of paranoia which drives people to over-train. The fear is that any missed opportunity or training session will lead to loss of form and instant weight gain. After my accident and during my enforced immobilisation I was able to reflect (2 months bed bound will do this to a body) that I hadn't really been enjoying all my riding and that I was largely doing it because I felt that I stood to lose everything I had worked for, not to mention the expense of replacing my wardrobe...

However, I didn't become the worlds fattest man overnight, I gained a couple of pounds is all and when I was finally able to start riding I lost those and found that my leg speed and power were still there. The only thing that had deteriorated measurably was my stamina over distance and that's the area I'm now building again. It's not the legs and heart that can't do the distance, It's the shoulder and arm but I'm getting there. But, and it's a big one, with a smile on my face as I ride. I can now happily decide to go or not based on how I feel on the day rather than putting myself under that pressure to go out. For instance this morning it's rather chilly, strong wind and threat of cold rain, a year ago I would have been out on the road or worrying about not being able to go. Today I am warming the coffee machine and writing this. In all this though the strangest thing that happened was that my resting heart rate remained low. I fully expected that metric to change and yet it's still mid forties to low fifties, 48 as I sit typing according to my iphone monitor. How in hell that has happened is beyond me but I'll take it thank you very much.


Anyway, coffee smells good, time for breakfast.

[M. Montaigne]

Thank you. I am hoping that this is short-lived and I can move on. And I am happy to hear you are recovering well!

My injury now is nothing on that magnitude, but I did have a motorcycle accident several years ago that was similarly severe. I was hit at a four way stop sign by a soccer mom who was on the phone. I stopped, she didn't. She hit me, I went flying into someone's home. They came out with baseball bats thinking I was trying to break in. Fortunately, it was in the winter, so the snow banks saved my head. Despite having a helmet and everything, I had several broken bones, a broken neck, and a severe concussion.

It took me ~2 years to fully recover, and tons of physiotherapy. My then girlfriend (now wife) wouldn't let me ride for a long time after that.

And much like you, I am a mess of injuries -- broken neck and vertebrae from the motorcycle accident, broken fingers, nose, and dislocated shoulders from climbing accidents, head and shoulder injuries when I hit a tree head-on snowboarding, cuts and bruises from other stupid things I have done over the years (white water rafting over a ravine, cliff jumping etc). And given the number of outdoorsy (and stupid) things I've done over the years, I have been surprisingly fortunate!

As a biker, you are probably just as conscious as I am about your VO2 max. I do a lot of high-altitude climbs as well (i.e., not just technical, but also alpinist style) and a low resting heart rate and VO2 max is very important in being a successful climber (and good pilot, although my days of flying jets at blackout-Gs are long over).

Of course, having a kid changes all that. And one of my best friends died last year on Mount Rainier in an avalanche, and that has made me reevaluate the risks I take while climbing or pursuing other activities. I may just have to resign myself to pursuing some indoor and sport climbing until such time that the little guy is old enough to join me.

[geoffbot]

Broken neck?! Jeez

[M. Montaigne]

Broken neck?! Jeez

Indeed. It's called a cervical fracture and is caused when the vertebrae in your neck crack.

I was quite fortunate because the break wasn't severe enough to damage my spinal cord and cause paralysis.

And I can quite say that a Shoei helmet (quite literally) saved my neck.