The Furious Angels

FA Discussion => Off Topic => Topic started by: Tbone on May 11, 2013, 01:12:47 pm

Title: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on May 11, 2013, 01:12:47 pm
So as some of you know, I've lost over 30 lbs the last few months. We often have conversations in TS about various ones of us getting in shape in various ways, but I thought I'd start a thread so there's one spot where we can trade ideas and methods. Hopefully I can learn a thing or two and maybe give someone else an idea of things to try.

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I've been getting in shape through a combination of diet and exercise (surprise, surprise). The trick was developing something that I could maintain long term and adapt into my lifestyle. It's more of a slow and steady approach, but it's been more effective than trying to go all out and burning out in two weeks.

To make it manageable in my lifestyle, my diet needed to be cheap, quick to make, have a decent shelf life, and consisting of food I like. For my exercise, I wanted to keep it between 45 min to an hour and not require me to go out of my house.

DIET

I often refer to this as my Poor Man's Diet. It developed over time, and some of it was just luck that it was a nice balanced meal. Remember - cheap, quick, and lasting. It's about maintaining your calorie intake while getting most of what you need.

Breakfast - I usually sleep past breakfast, so lunch is usually my breakfast, which may actually help my diet. Sometimes I have to get up early, though, and if I'm in a rush, I usually just grab a low-fat Pop-tart. Not the best thing in the world, but it's a nice dose of fiber and vitamins and gets my metabolism working for the day. Otherwise it's a bowl of cereal. I'm not picky about the cereal, and will splurge for something more sugary. It still gives me the vitamins as well as some dairy. I limit it to one bowl, though.

Lunch - Basically, I eat like I'm in the 3rd grade. I usually fix a PB&J with some low fat chips and a cup of applesauce. I buy applesauce in the individual packages in order to automatically ration it. Whole wheat bread. This ends up being a very balanced meal. Sometimes I'll replace the PB&J with a $1 shoppers cheeseburger (microwaveable). Not healthy, but it remains low cal and is automatically rationed (very small cheeseburger).

Dinner - This is the primary part of my diet, I think. I keep dinner light. I fix a small can of tuna (light in water), a small can of green peas (half can), and brown rice (individually packaged and microwaveable). I put a little light mayo over the tuna for texture and hot sauce over the whole thing for flavor. I mix this altogether for convenience, but you can keep them separate if you prefer. The whole thing takes under 5 minutes to prepare and has everything you need in a meal (save for fruit, which we got with the applesauce for lunch!).

To mix this up, I also get a small can of chicken (light) and half can of green beans (SUPER low cal) with the brown rice. This meal will usually keep me satisfied for a few hours.

Snack - As I mentioned earlier, I normally don't eat breakfast. This meal sort of makes up for my breakfast. If I get hungry later in the evening after dinner, I'll have a bowl of cereal. It's very filling, but gives me a nice dose of vitamins and keeps the calorie count low. It's much better than a piece of cake or cookies or anything else. Just choose your favorite cereal.

GREEN TEA - This has its own category. I almost exclusively drink green tea now. I get Turkey Hill Diet Iced Green Tea. It's almost like my sweet tea obsession I used to have, only much healthier. Green tea is a great natural weight loss supplement and appetite suppressant. If you can't find a way to enjoy the taste, I'd still recommend taking it as a supplement. This has replaced all my sodas and other bad drinks. When I lose enough weight, I'll probably switch back and forth between regular and diet green tea so that I'm not putting so much artificial sweetener in my system.

I still have meals where I splurge on things. I feel like if I'm TOO strict, than I won't be able to keep it up long term. If I go out, I try not to calorie count too much, though you'll probably find yourself doing it anyway once you start getting results. I still go to Chipotle regularly and splurge on cheese and sour cream (though I get it in a bowl without a tortilla). I still go to Chili's. I still drink occasionally, though I've recently discovered Yuengling Light (very close to regular Yueng). If I do mixed drinks, I mix with a diet soda. Just little things to try and keep me on track.

EXERCISE

Exercise is hard for me to keep in my schedule. My schedule is always changing, and so I'm always having to think about when I can fit it in. That being said, if I can watch an hour of TV, I can exercise while I do it, and that is how I keep it going. If my exercise goes over an hour, I'm not going to have the time to do it. So I try to keep it around the 45 minute mark.

Warm Up - Always warm up. Nothing fancy. Just do some leg stretches before bike/running. Do some arm/torso stretching before weight lifting/abs.

Cardio - I have an exercise bike. It's one that I inherited when I moved in. I would do a 2 mile warm up (about 7 minutes) and then a 30 minute preset ride. Pretty simple. The bike broke, however, so I had to get a new one. I recently bought a very cheap upright bike for around $120. So if you don't have one, you can get one pretty cheap and so far it works very well. If you prefer running, you can do that instead. Or whatever cardio you like.

I've recently switched to what I think will be very effective and help keep burning the fat even though I'm getting closer to my target weight. I alternate daily between interval training and light cardio.

Interval training is supposed to be super good for burning fat. The idea is that you have a short burst of intense effort followed by a recovery/rest period. The time intervals will vary and can be adjusted, but I'm starting at 30/60. This means that I go all out on the bike for 30 seconds and then slow to 50% for a minute. This should be done for around 20 minutes. If you can do it more than 20 minutes, you're doing it wrong. I start out with a 5 minute warm up and then go right into it. Every two or three cycles, I increase the resistance. Right now I warm up on 2, then cycle on resistances 3-4-5-4-3.  I think I'm doing two cycles on 3 and three on 4 and 5. After that's over, I do a three minute cooldown.

Interval training is intense and not recommended to do daily as you need time to recover, so on opposite days I just do regular cardio on the bike. I do a 5 minute warm up on 2 and then 4 minute increments, increasing resistance each time. I do double time at the top. My pattern right now is 3-4-5-5-4-3, though I'll probably increase this resistance soon. I again end with a three minute cooldown. My new bike has a heart pulse monitor, so I use that to monitor my speed. If you google it, you should be able to determine the basic "calorie burning" heart rate for your age.

To time all of this, I downloaded an app called "IntervalTimer". It saves presets, so I've got one for my interval training and one for my regular cardio. If you have a smartphone, I recommend getting this app or one similar. It allows me to still watch TV without worrying about staring at the clock.

Weight lifting and abs - I have a set of 20 lb dumbbells and a set of 10. If you can only get one set, get the 20 lb. I got them from Target for relatively cheap. It's a worthwhile investment if your alternative is a gym membership.

Dumbbells - On days that I do interval training I do weight lifting right after. Make sure you stretch the rest of your body after your cardio or you will get sore, especially in the beginning. I keep my weight lifting relatively simple for now.

This website (http://www.dumbbell-exercises.com) has a nice list of dumbbell exercises. I keep the site pulled up on my smartphone for easy reference. I divide it up into chest/triceps, back/biceps, and shoulder/legs. Each day is a different set. So the first day I'll do the chest and triceps exercises. Next time I do weights, I do back and biceps. And finally I do shoulder and legs. Just go through the list and do as many as you can. I don't have a bench, so many of the inclined and others I just skip. I'm currently just doing one set, though if you really want to focus on building muscle, you should probably go through your list twice. Like I said, I'm trying to keep it under an hour.

Ab Ripper X - On days that I do regular cardio, I follow it with Ab Ripper X. This is a part of the P90X series that I tried years ago. It's the most popular of the series. The whole set takes 15 minutes. I've memorized it, so I can do it while still watching TV, but there's a video to follow. If you need the video, please let me know. I could probably find a list of them online as well.

So there you go. If you can find 45 minutes to an hour a day and can at least invest in 20 lb dumbbells, you can get this done. I prefer the bike, but the interval training and cardio I mentioned can be done by running or any other cardio machine. You'll basically alternate days between interval/weights and regular cardio/abs. This gives you a nice rotation and prevents you from overworking any one muscle group!

My goal was to lose a pound and a half a week. I probably do closer to a pound a week, but that means at the end of the month I've lost 4-5 lbs. Spread that over 6 months and there ya go! I think the interval training I've just implemented would/will speed that up significantly, and I'm sort of kicking myself for not finding it sooner. It acts like a DoT, increasing your metabolism for a full 24 hours after the workout!

LIFE HACKS

These are just quality of life improvements that I've found

Sleep App - I use a MotionX sleep app. It acts as an alarm clock. You put it on your bed and it measures when you are in a deep or light sleep cycle. You set a span of time for it to wake you up, and it gently wakes you up while you are in light sleep. This has SAVED my mornings, as I am NOT a morning person. Waking up in this way is a million times better than getting jerked out of deep sleep by a loud alarm clock. It's also fun to track how long you slept and the quality of your sleep.

Gingko Biloba - When my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I started looking for ways to improve/preserve mental health. Not that I am THAT paranoid that it could happen to me, but I felt it was worth researching. I stumbled upon Gingko Biloba and saw that it improves alertness and productivity. It sounded like caffeine without the bad side effects (caffeine and I have a love/hate relationship).

Basically it improves blood circulation and gets more oxygen to the brain. I've always felt a bit sluggish when sitting at a desk for long periods of time. I just have always had a general feeling of laziness when it comes to sitting around listening to a lecture or doing other boring things. Maybe I have poor circulation, I thought. I also read that one of the side effects is an increase in libido and that it can act as a natural Viagra. SOLD!

I got it pretty cheap off of Amazon. I think the daily dose is 240mg and I got a 6 month supply for like $15. The shit actually WORKS! I take one pill in the morning and feel energized the rest of the day. It's not a buzz or hyper-ness like caffeine. I just don't feel sluggish. I've been doing overhire work for 8 hour shifts the past two weeks, and despite sometimes getting 4 hours of sleep the night before, I'm able to concentrate all day long. The lack of sleep still hits me at the end of the day, but I still don't feel sluggish.

As for the other bonuses, I'm almost 30 and I have a 22 year old girlfriend with an insatiable libido. Without going into details, I feel like I've returned to my college glory days!  

Like with any supplement, do your own research. I haven't been able to find any negatives about it - it's all natural, not some crazy cocktail. I haven't noticed any bad side effects. It's just like taking a vitamin or other supplement. Anyway, I was surprised that I actually noticed a difference, so I thought it was worth sharing.

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Ok, that's all I've got for now. Anyone else have any health and fitness tips they'd like to share? It's hard to figure out what really works and doesn't work, so I feel like word of mouth is always more beneficial than trying to Google things. I'm sure what I do wouldn't work for everything, but maybe there's a thing or two you could take from it. I'm interested to see what advice others may have that I could potentially adopt as well!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on September 08, 2013, 01:53:27 am
Just a quick update on this!

I've now lost around 45 lbs. I've gone from 215 to 173. I was at 185 when I wrote the original post. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout helped to keep shredding the pounds! I definitely recommend it! It helped me push past my plateau and keep moving. For the month of August I didn't exercise much as I got the Oculus Rift and wanted to devote a bit more time to checking that out. I kept up my diet for the most part, though, and was able to maintain my weight. That's good news, as it means it'll hopefully be easy to maintain a target weight since my diet is incorporated into my every day eating habits now.

My BMI is now "normal" (24), but it's on the high end of the "normal" scale, so my next goal is to get to the middle of the "normal" BMI. I'm also trying to tone and build a bit more muscle, so I've added a whey protein shake for after workouts.

It's weird, because people I have met in the last few months say they can't imagine me being chubby or overweight. Hah!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Cyil on September 18, 2013, 08:33:23 am
Hey T-bone,

I have a nice turkey chili recipe that I use because although it does take about 45 mins(not constantly at the stove) to cook with prep and simmering, it makes enough to use for about a week if you keep the portions right(1 cup).  I have changed mine from the original recipe I found in the men's health abs diet book.  but if you want it, it is great for protein and fiber intake.  Once you make it, you have lunch or dinner made in 2 minutes from reheating.  The spices add a nice metabolism booster as well.

I have a convection toaster oven living in Korea.  I use it a lot to make baked chicken with a little BBQ sauce, tilapia with some red pepper, and some lemon salmon steaks.  Both the chicken and tilapia are pretty cheap if you get the family packs.   And you can cook the chicken from frozen, take it out, season it however you like, wrap in foil, come back when it is finished.  It is all really easy, place food in it, turn on timer and set heat.  Come back and it is finished.  I usually pair this with some of the single serving microwavable steamed vegitables.  This is also can be made a bit cheaper by getting freezer storage bags, big bags of frozen veggies, and place a serving in the freezer bag heat for about 4-5 minutes depending on the microwave and veggies. 

Since being here, I wanted to get into shape more.  I have cut down fat and managed to gain more muscle.  I have dropped 10 pounds, but gained muscle which is what I am still going for. 

After I finish this eurpoean vacation I am on and stop drinking all the delicious Belgim beer and eating all the horrible german, Belgium, and English food, I will be back to a strict diet that has been easy to maintain by just finding the healthy foods I like.  Let me know and I can toss you recipes that I have found.  I also know a bit about body weight exercises that don't require any gym time.  I prefer the gym, but I also have to be fit for my job. 

Something else to challenge yourself is to find some of the 30 day pushup, squats, abs routines to try.  They seem easy the first few times, but around day 15 they start getting pretty killer.  Most of them can be completed in about 10 minutes and add to anything else you are doing.

Posting about your progress is good also, helps keep you accountable for your routine.  Keep up the great work.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on September 18, 2013, 01:35:48 pm
Really proud of you man.  It's weird when I see pictures of you now.  I immediately mistake you for your brother.

Can I ask you to give me an ELI5 version of your 45 mins to an hour a day breakdown?  Like every day, X? minutes bike, Y? minutes weights.

Basically, hook a brother up with a TL;DR version of your daily workout schedule.  :P
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on September 18, 2013, 02:29:27 pm
Hutch, hook me up with those recipes.

Breakdown:

Day 1, 3, 5

Bike HIIT 60/30
Stretch
3 min warm up (intensity: 2)
2 rounds 60 secs off, 30 on (intensity 3)
3 rounds 60 secs off, 30 on (intensity 4)
3 rounds 60 secs off, 30 on (intensity 5)
3 rounds 60 secs off, 30 on (intensity 4)
2 rounds 60 secs off, 30 on (intensity 3)
3 min cool down (intensity 2)
*Pro-tip* Start stretching arms while cooling down bike

Weights
Day 1: Chest/Triceps
Day 3: Back/Biceps
Day 5: Shoulders/Legs

Go to http://www.dumbbell-exercises.com (http://www.dumbbell-exercises.com) and do either standing or seated of each that you are comfortable doing (some are repetitive or aren't easy to do without a bench, so I just do all that are simple enough to do). Do each exercise until failure. One rep for me takes about 15 minutes.

Day 2, 4, 6

Bike Cardio

Stretch
3 min warm up (intensity 2)
5 min (intensity 4)
5 min (intensity 5)
5 min (intensity 6)
5 min (intensity 5)
5 min (intensity 4)
3 min cool down (intensity 2)

Ab Ripper X (15 min)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Subb on September 18, 2013, 02:46:13 pm
Good stuff man. If any of you are a bit put off by having to buy weights, don't be. Use body weight exercises as they're much more efficient if done properly.

Again, nice one boss man :)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Cyil on September 18, 2013, 06:16:55 pm
The chili recipe:

1 tablespoon olive oil 
 1 small onion, diced 
 1 pound lean ground turkey breast 
 1 14 1/2-oz can diced tomatoes with jalapenos 
 1 10-1/2 oz can chickpeas, drained 
 1 10-1/2 oz can black beans, drained 
 1 10-1/2 oz can kidney beans, drained 
 1 10-1/2 oz can low-soduim chicken broth 
 1/4 teaspoon salt 
 1/4 teaspoon cumin 
 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 
 1/8 teaspoon cayenne

I have modified it to use one can of the del Monte(I think) chili ready tomato sauce.  I also 1-2 types of other beans to increase fiber.  usually navy, great northern, and a chili ready pinto.  One of those two, but I watch the sodium intake I have as well.  so pick depending on that.  I also add a little Blair's ultra death sauce to increase the spice for a little metabolism booster.  Depends on your heat tolerance.  sometimes I add a pound of ground chicken for some extra protein.  If you do that you really need to pay attention to your calorie intake/usage for the day depending on what you are working for.

For tilapia, I usually just use a little red pepper and some garlic powder, and a very small bit of salt/black ground pepper for flavors.( usually a lunch meal)

The chicken is usually a frozen chicken breast with some sweet baby rays BBQ sauce on it and cook for about 25-30 minutes in the convection oven. ( usually a lunch meal)

The chili is off the hook for a quick chili recipe.  my other ones(chili) are usually 24 hours and in a slow cooker.  if you have Facebook and want to add some variety to your home, body weight exercises, I suggest liking the men's health page.  I also have a few other fitness sites I liked to get some great workout to use outside the gym.

I know everybody type is different and you have to chose what works for you, so good luck.  remember all the hype is, is something that works for certain people.  be prepared to discover what works for you. 
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Cyil on September 18, 2013, 06:23:29 pm
my workout, I have decreased my waist by 1 1/2 in and increased my arms by as much.  My chest/back grows quickly, so I haven't paid much attention to it, and try to limit is a little..  Again, it all depends on what you are going for and I haven't been super strict by any means.  After this trip, I plan to go balls out for the next three months though. I want 18+ arms again with no fat on them at all.  it changes how people looks and treat you, and I hate to say that, but I have seen it first hand.  but no matter what, I think I have done amazing this year with calf muscle tears and all.  Good Luck you to reaching your goals as well.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Cyil on September 18, 2013, 06:34:28 pm
Subbs, I agree and disagree at the same time.  Body weight exercise does a great job, but it also depends on fitness level and what you want.  I could do body weight all day long, but for me it won't do much except for my knee (3 surgeries so far with another one incoming).  Each person has a different goal, but I also agree to start off, it is the best.  Don't waste money on a gym or trainer, when your not at that level.  You can do a good three months gearing up before ever needing a true weight gym to progress.  Depending on fitness level, you might even be able to benefit more than three months.  For those thinking about this, don't be discouraged.  It is like being a professional drinker, or not.  It is easy to get drunk when you don't drink a lot, but it cost a lot more(when you drink a lot).  So work your heart out without a gym before you need it.  If you hit a plateau, consider it, or changing your routine before dumping money on a gym or in home weights.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Cyil on September 18, 2013, 06:40:33 pm
Another good recipe is to marinate a portabella mushroom in some balsamic vinaigrette for about an hour, then grill it.  Great meat substitute or, added as a side dish to some protein.  I also use it to top salads as it takes the place of adding dressing and taste delicious.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on September 18, 2013, 06:43:15 pm
Yeah, when I started plateauing a bit, that's when I added the High Intensity Interval Training and that helped me shred a quick 10 pounds. I took a break when I got the Rift and now I'm going back to the HIIT to try to lose another 10.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Subb on September 19, 2013, 03:13:56 pm
Subbs, I agree and disagree at the same time.  Body weight exercise does a great job, but it also depends on fitness level and what you want.  I could do body weight all day long, but for me it won't do much except for my knee (3 surgeries so far with another one incoming).  Each person has a different goal, but I also agree to start off, it is the best.  Don't waste money on a gym or trainer, when your not at that level.  You can do a good three months gearing up before ever needing a true weight gym to progress.  Depending on fitness level, you might even be able to benefit more than three months.  For those thinking about this, don't be discouraged.  It is like being a professional drinker, or not.  It is easy to get drunk when you don't drink a lot, but it cost a lot more(when you drink a lot).  So work your heart out without a gym before you need it.  If you hit a plateau, consider it, or changing your routine before dumping money on a gym or in home weights.

Body weight exercises are far superior to weights due to several things:

1) They're functional. You build up a big group of muscles with one exercise; with weights you just build up two or three major muscles per exercise.
2) Cheap. I have just under 80Kgs (around 172lbs or so) of body mass. I have a 80Kgs weight to use.
3) Can be multi-purpose. Fitness, mass, endurance, strengthening. Body weights do all of the aforementioned. Weights are primarily used for mass and strengthening.
4) More effective. There's a reason why I was taught only to do body exercises during my training. In short, if it can get me through the toughest infantry training in the world (I only touched a squat rack whenever I didn't have a training partner to put on my back), it's good enough for you.

Hypertonic muscle is rubbish; it will affect your running and cause more pain than gain. Give me 20 minutes of your time and I guarantee you will be walking sideways the next day  :P

If you ever go near a bench press, I will personally find you and slap you silly. It's the most pointless exercise ever and causes more pain and discomfort than anything. There are other, more efficient, chest exercises. And biceps are the most pointless muscle group to build up; triceps are much more important and if you train triceps, you will also hit the bicep group too.

On your knee, it basically depends what's wrong with it, but I thoroughly recommend going to see a physiotherapist or sports therapist about getting your adductors, glutes, ITB, quads and hamstrings pummeled. Works wonders, even on cartilage damage :D

All the best. Fitness and working out is amazeballs, especially with others.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Cyil on September 19, 2013, 07:11:04 pm
I don't do bench press or most isolated exercises.  I agree they are rubbish.  if you don't do multifunctional exercises then you are hurting yourself.  But when I have to add weights to do dips because I'm doing 20 plus, it is all what you want.  Like I said, body weight exercises are good to a point, but depending on your goal, they don't cover all of it.  Just like running alone doesn't  make a marathon runner.  I won't ever discount body weight exercises, but I also work out 5-7 times a week depending on my schedule.  So my goal and level is different then someone else's.  Where I can still benefit from body weight exercises for my legs, it isn't optimal for my arms, chest and back. 

If you do exercises right though, you do not hit the opposite muscle group (ie be/tris) to the same extent. I alternate between a tri/bi  and  chest/back workout and a tri/chest, bi/back depending on where I am and how long I have been doing a set workout.  I try not to do the exact same workouts each week.  I also try to do some fast burn workouts and some longer burns as well. 

I know not everyone will agree with what I do, but I know what works for me.  That is a key to keeping it fun and entertaining to you.

For body weight exercises, I do some simple things like various push-ups and even have chicks jump on my back....do I get as much out of as I do the gym....nope.  That is just me and my workout though.  Like I mentioned before, it is where you are at and where you want to be.  I don't discredit any exercise's as long as they are done properly and they work for whoever is using them.

I enjoy going to the gym and it is one of my releases.  I only encourage people to do what they enjoy to create a more fit lifestyle for them.  Once I am done being drunk off my ass on the trip, I can get a lot more into it, but I am more concerned with tasty beverages and Oktoberfest right now... =p
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Subb on September 21, 2013, 10:40:49 am
Hah. I do love my 4K calories a day diet :D. One of the many perks of working out.

Gyms are good, but it depends on which one you go to (in my experience). Do you guys have CrossFit? Apparently it's the dog's balls as you use barbells as well as functional stuff. I just don't agree with how expensive the gym is and the majority of the patrons are fuck-tards who just like to drink protein shakes, do five bicep curls and walk around for five minutes before doing another set. :P
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Sared on February 03, 2014, 06:11:11 am
It's 6AM and I'm getting ready to go back to the gym! Sorting out my workout plan with my partner this morning. Haven't been able to go riding my bicycle since it started getting cold. Will post details for workout and food later. Wish me luck!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on February 03, 2014, 11:02:33 am
I've been at it for about 107 days. 

(http://i.imgur.com/1sfqiHV.png)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Sared on February 03, 2014, 02:07:58 pm
20 minutes on the bikes felt great. The weight room went... poorly.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: NoCry on February 04, 2014, 02:25:01 am
i know nothing about health etc but likwid that looks really good old chap.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on February 04, 2014, 08:47:30 am
Thanks. Working on it. I'm trying to not be a fat ass any more. :)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on February 28, 2014, 12:22:22 pm
Still truckin!!!!  Sooooo close to 45 pounds lost.

(http://i.imgur.com/U9DCUge.png)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Subb on February 28, 2014, 02:01:29 pm
\o/ Keep on goin'!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Revalis on March 04, 2014, 01:49:31 pm
There are a few people here at the office that are doing Bar and CrossFit. A few of them swear by this:
https://www.fitocracy.com/ (https://www.fitocracy.com/)

It apparently turns working out into a MMO experience. :P

Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on March 04, 2014, 10:01:03 pm
I dunno man.  I swore off cults a long time ago.  Don't think I can get into Crossfit.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Da6onet on March 11, 2014, 09:18:33 am
I have adopted a new weight loss plan for at least the next 4-6 weeks.
I call it mono.
FML
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on March 11, 2014, 01:47:22 pm
Get better before the last weekend in April!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Mharz on March 12, 2014, 01:37:59 am
I have adopted a new weight loss plan for at least the next 4-6 weeks.
I call it mono.
FML

I had a similar one called "flu" and it was good for about 8 pounds.

My Fitbit loves me.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Sared on March 12, 2014, 03:30:05 pm
I have adopted a new weight loss plan for at least the next 4-6 weeks.
I call it mono.
FML

When I was living in Frisco (North Dallas), part of my usual routine to unwind after work would be to stop by the Frisco City Park, smoke a cigarette, and catch up on some reading. One time I encountered a bunch of teenagers smoking blunts, being rambunctious, doing what teenagers do best. They offered me some tequila out of an un-marked water bottle and I figured 'why not'. Came down with mono less than 24 hours later. When I went to the emergency room I was prescribed amoxicillin. Less than 24 hours later, I discovered that I'm allergic to penicillin and penicillin-related products. Lost 15 lbs in a week.

Get better dude, take care of yourself.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on March 13, 2014, 11:41:06 am
I have adopted a new weight loss plan for at least the next 4-6 weeks.
I call it mono.
FML


I had a similar one called "flu" and it was good for about 8 pounds.

My Fitbit loves me.


Same here.  Flu... bad.  Even on my super strict diet I dropped 3 pounds in the past 2 days.  Ugh.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on April 04, 2014, 12:09:16 pm
CRUSHING IT.


OONCE OONCE OONCE OONCE OONCE OONCE OONCE

(http://i.imgur.com/yA5Og42.png)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on April 04, 2014, 03:13:48 pm
Success is a great motivator!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on April 04, 2014, 06:18:06 pm
No kidding man.  I can't quit now!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: likwidtek on May 19, 2014, 11:35:00 am
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?_r=2 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?_r=2)

Awesome article about general health in regards to food.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on April 01, 2015, 06:50:02 pm
I need to start this back up again. I went out of town for a gig and lost the routine. On top of that, the batteries died to my scale so I didn't have the number to motivate me anymore. I've tried to keep to my diet, though, so it took a long time for me to gain some of it back. I'm not sure what my weight is now, but I'm feeling some of my shirts start to get tight, so it's time to shred!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Akiya on April 01, 2015, 10:16:19 pm
..... I can't resist .....



(http://exploregram.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Yeah-Im-into-fitness...-FITNESS-WHOLE-BURGER-IN-MY-MOUTH-lol.jpg)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on May 12, 2015, 02:16:51 pm
I got my scale working again and I was getting close to 190 lbs! I guess that's not too bad for not keeping up with the exercise for a year and a half. I've gotten back into my routine, though, and I've already shredded down to 182. Setting the first goal at 170 and then gonna go from there.

I'm using this Lose It! app to count calories. You can scan the barcode of your food and put it in the system. You can also add your exercise as negative calories. You set a goal and it tells you how many calories you can eat a day to achieve your goal in your time frame. Pretty convenient stuff if you keep up with it!

I'm doing HIIT again. 30/45 this time. I usually do it semi-fasted, drinking half my whey protein before and the other half after my complete workout. I've started doing the weight lifting before HIIT so I have more energy for the weights (trying to maintain muscle better). In between days I'm still doing the regular cardio and Ab Ripper. If I don't have time to exercise on a day, I try to at least stick to my calorie count.

This go around I'd really like to make it to 160 and start losing some of that stubborn belly fat!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Subb on May 13, 2015, 03:52:38 am
All about the sprints for the belly, boss :)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on June 17, 2015, 01:12:54 am
Down to 175! Probably took me about two months to lose 15 lbs, which is right on target. Been toning muscle at the same time. Some tweaks I've been doing

-Turkey burger is lean but full of protein.
-Greek yogurt, 80 calories and 12 g protein
-Started putting lite dressings on my dinners to keep it fresh. Lite Italian is only 15 calories 0.o
-Almond milk for my cereal! Tastes good and is 30 calories per cup instead of 90!
-Multi grain rice has slightly less calories (220 instead of 250).

Five pounds left to goal! After that I should probably spend more time on weights, but I also want to keep losing fat. I might see if I can extend my workout and add an extra rep of weights AFTER my cardio (so I'd be doing weights before AND after). I might also start doing two protein shakes a day instead of one (maybe I'll add a protein shake to my late night snack since muscle rebuilding happens while you're asleep...not sure).
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on July 11, 2015, 03:07:41 pm
These last 5 lbs have been a bitch since I had some filming projects and a Fourth of July party, but finally hit my goal!

(http://i.imgur.com/9xoka94.jpg)

You can see my progress over two years. When I gained weight back, at least it was pretty slowly over a long amount of time!

My new goal is to hit 155 lbs. I'm not sure that I'll ever actually hit it, as I'm going to be focusing on muscle at the same time. The more important goal is just getting body fat percentage down - more lean muscle, less fat. It's going to be hard to really gauge that progress, but hopefully I can slim down at the same time. I've adjusted my weight loss from 2 lbs a week to 1.5 to allow enough calories to get more protein. I may change that to a 1 lb/week if that's still difficult to maintain. I'm going to mix up my exercising as well, basically quadrupling the amount of dumbbell exercises I'm doing. Instead of doing it every other day, I'll do it every day, and I'll do two rounds instead of just one. New regiment should look something like this:

Chest/Tri
HIIT Cardio
Chest Tri

Back/Biceps
Abs
Back/Biceps

Shoulders/Legs
HIIT Cardio
Shoulders/Legs

Chest/Tri
Abs
Chest/Tri

Back/Biceps
HIIT Cardio
Back/Biceps

Shoulders/Legs
Abs
Shoulders/Legs

REST

I hardly ever make it to rest day because of my schedule...I usually end up having to take a day off somewhere in the middle. Heh. They say you should have your weight in protein (grams, of course) when building muscle, but that would be way overkill for me right now (170 grams of protein is a lot to try to build in). I'm gonna try to get at least 100 grams a day, though. I'd like to avoid having to double down on my protein shakes, as that gets expensive. I've got greek yogurt and Protein Cheerios! I'll keep looking for more protein-heavy foods!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on July 15, 2015, 06:20:58 pm
Revising my plan a bit after more research. I'm going to focus more on quality instead of quantity. Instead of doing the entire rotation twice (once before and once after cardio), I'm going to focus on taking my time. For most exercises I'm going to do three sets of 8 reps with a slow count - I think two going up and four going down. This should enable me to get more resistance/burn more even while still using the 20 lb dumbbells. It felt good today, so we'll see!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on May 29, 2017, 11:24:25 pm
Time for another update! I had gained some weight back but trimmed it down last November. I checked again a few weeks ago and was around 187. That seems to be about my warning spot when I know I need to focus up again. I'm back to exercising and dieting and am already down to 181. I've decided to add supplements to my regiment this go round to optimize digestion, metabolism, and fat burning.

I'm taking vitamin D and fish oil with lunch, zinc with dinner, and psyllium husk fiber at night. Of course I'm still taking whey protein during my workout as well. Besides improving overall health, these supplements should keep my metabolism where it needs to be. I probably won't need the vitamin D if I start swimming this summer, but I'll probably keep taking it just in case. I've seen probiotics and magnesium also recommended, but it just seems like a LOT. I'm gonna start with these and see how it goes.

Tonight I also made a high protein/low cal food called meat slop (http://www.silverhydra.com/2011/10/meat-slop/). It wasn't bad! I used peas instead of mushrooms because I don't like mushrooms. We'll see how long it takes to get sick of it.

Other than that, I'm just doing the same exercise rotation I landed on before, alternating HIIT with Ab Ripper while cycling through the muscle groups on dumbbells. I have my reps on a slow count, but I'm still tempted to do each set twice. Maybe I just need to find more dumbbell exercises for each group.

Setting my goal for 170. Even going from 187 to 181 I had a fellow cast member tell me today that it looked like I had lost some weight. I think I'm gaining muscle at about the same rate I'm dropping from my waist line, so my actual weight may not be a good representation of the work being done. We'll see how far I get this time!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on June 22, 2017, 08:50:50 pm
I'm down to 174, so it's going well. I made my third batch of meat slop - it lasts for 7 days. I tweaked the recipe a little to my liking. I'm doing 3 lbs of lean ground beef, only one cabbage, three cans of tomato sauce, one onion, and two cans of peas. I bought a cheap food processor to really shred the cabbage and onion. I put everything in the slow cooker and add lots of spices (curry, pepper, sriracha, cinnamon, garlic powder) and the result tastes like a nice meat sauce! I like the texture like that, but you can make it more into a stew if you don't shred the cabbage and onion as much. Split into seven portions, the "meat slop" ends up being...

568 calories
50 grams protein
40 grams carbs
19 grams fat
12 grams fiber

Calories, protein, and fiber are the main ones I'm looking at, though you can tweak the recipe to get less carbs and more fat if you wanted. I might look at replacing the green peas with beans, but I'm not sure I want the calorie trade off.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on July 22, 2017, 01:05:37 pm
Things slowed down a bit in July since there was a lot of barbecues and parties, but I finally hit my goal of 170! I'm setting my new goal for 157, though I'm planning on taking a three week trip soon, so we'll see how far along I get. 165 is the lightest I've ever been, so I'd at least like to get back to that. Feels good to hit my initial goal, though!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Heironymus on August 07, 2017, 02:11:16 pm
Congrats T on the weight loss!

I started Keto three weeks ago after doing research and my friend/coworker who had to have abdominal surgery  was recommended it by his doctor. With diet and get a personal trainer he lost almost 40 lbs in 3 months leading up to his surgery.
Ive been on it three weeks and have lost a little over 10.. now only 100 more to go! Good luck meeting your goals!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: VanceRew on October 12, 2017, 10:35:05 am
Congratz on the weight loss Tbone. That's some inspiring stuff. Thanks for sharing. How have you been doing on that front lately?
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on October 12, 2017, 11:03:21 am
Congratz on the weight loss Tbone. That's some inspiring stuff. Thanks for sharing. How have you been doing on that front lately?

I got down to about 165 before I booked this two month gig in Michigan. Since I've been here I've been eating out more and working out less, so I've probably gained some of it back. I'll have to shred it back down once I get back home!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on November 27, 2017, 09:47:49 pm
Yeah, got back up to 180 or so. I can gain weight impressively quickly :/

Back to shredding again, though with Thanksgiving and the holidays, it'll probably be slow going. I did buy a new set of dumbbells that has adjustable weight (105 lbs total, so 52.5 for each). I'm hoping to steadily increase the weight so I can actually build some decent mass. I was using 20 lbs before. I've since added to 32.5 lbs and am doing 3 sets of 8 reps of each exercise.

I've also expanding my supplements a bit. Just bought some probiotics - going to take that in the morning. Vitamin D and fish oil with lunch, Zinc between lunch and dinner, Magnesium about an hour or so before bed, and then Psyillium Husk pills before bed. Also taking whey protein after workout and as a snack around the same time I take the Magnesium.

The supplements can be a little tricky since the suggested use of them are different and some can get in the way of absorbing others. Probiotic and psyllium is because my digestive system could use the help. The rest support muscle building and general health.

I'm also still making batches of meat slop!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on December 30, 2017, 02:33:55 am
I was curious about how much I'm spending on supplements. After totaling it up, the price is definitely worth it for the benefits I'm getting. I just ordered L-Citrulline and Creatine, so we'll see if they make the cut. I'm probably going to make this into a larger post about everything you need to workout from home and what it would cost you to get started and maintain.

EXERCISE

*Whey Protein - $21/mo
L-Citrulline Malate - $10/mo
Creatine - $3/mo
Casein Protein - $28/mo

TOTAL: $34-55/mo

NUTRITION

*Fish oil - $10/mo
*Vitamin D - $1.25/mo
Zinc - $2/mo
Magnesium - $4/mo

TOTAL: $17.25/mo

DIGESTION

Probiotic - $10/mo
Psyllium Husk - $3/mo

TOTAL: $13/mo

GRAND TOTAL: $92/mo

EQUIPMENT

Upright Bike - $130
100 lb Dumbbells - $100


SCHEDULE

Waking Up/Hour Before Workout: Protiotic, L-Citrulline Malate (6g)
Pre-Workout: (1/2) Whey and Creatine
Workout
Post-Workout: (1/2) Whey and Creatine
Lunch: Fish Oil, Vitamin D
2 Hours After Meal: Zinc
1 Hour Before Sleep: Magnesium, Casein
Before Bed: Psyllium Husk (1.5-3g)
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on January 10, 2018, 04:51:16 pm
Mixing it up a bit and trying this workout (https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html). It's full body, three times a week. Ideally I'll burn more calories and give my muscles a bit more time to rest. On off days I'll still do my HIIT on the bike as well as Ab Ripper. Dumbbells are up to 37.5 now. I think I can add more weight to it for most exercises, but the curls are the real test. I may up the weight but then go lighter for the isolation exercises like curls. It's just kind of a hassle to be adding and removing weight each time.

This comes after doing research on full body versus split workouts. I've now survived the holidays and am at 177.8 lbs. Not bad considering the Thanksgiving and Christmas break and that I've been focusing more on muscle building.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Giroux on April 24, 2018, 05:55:54 am
Did you look into compound movements, Tbone? Namely, deadlifts and squats. They fit in so nicely with a 3-day workout plan and burn more calories than anything else in the gym, plus build muscle strength.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on May 01, 2018, 05:51:43 pm
Did you look into compound movements, Tbone? Namely, deadlifts and squats. They fit in so nicely with a 3-day workout plan and burn more calories than anything else in the gym, plus build muscle strength.
I did find a few that involved dumbbells. My biggest problem is that I have a bad lower back that can easily get agitated, so any compound movements involving the lower back I try to stay away from (which is a lot of them). As a result it's just easier to do more isolated exercises, though my current routine does incorporate squats, stair steps, and side bends.

I might try and mix it up again. I just moved into a new place so now would be a good time to switch up my routine if I wanted. The move actually agitated my lower back, so I'm spending this week recovering. I've kind of hit a wall with my current routine. I'm lifting 50 lb dumbbells now. For most exercises this is a good weight, but it's a little too much for standing curl and dumbbell press. I hate taking weight off and on again mid-workout, but I probably need to either do that, go down in weight a bit to maintain good form, or switch up the exercises.

Also, welcome Giroux!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on March 24, 2022, 05:06:22 pm
It's been a long time since I've updated (about four years!). It feels like a lot has happened since then! I've been living with my girlfriend for several years now, so the days of just fixing a meal for myself to last all week is all but over. We also moved into a smaller apartment, so I had to get rid of my stationary bike that I had at home. Still, I've tried to keep and adapt my routine and continue keeping my weight down. My body really wants to live around 185-190, so anything higher that that usually is a sign that I need to slim back down.

Since I got rid of the stationary bike, I would go to the gym in our apartment complex and use the elliptical. This was fine until COVID hit and we didn't leave the apartment. I tried to supplement my exercise with VR - specifically Beat Saber - which was better than nothing. Still, I was having some health issues (turns out I have ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune disorder) and general mental issues from the stress of COVID times and gave up exercising for a while. When I finally got vaccinated and started working again last year, I noticed I didn't fit into any of my dress pants. Got the batteries replaced in the scale and realized I was back to 201 lbs! Yikes! So I started shredding again.

Currently I'm doing HIIT on the elliptical every other day at the gym. I think I'm on 30/60 but will be ramping up the difficulty soon. On off days I'm doing 30 minutes of Beat Saber at home (a specific playlist at 120% speed that is designed for exercise) and doing stretches. Right now I have less of an emphasis on muscle building and more on stretches and core building for pain management and strengthening my spine. Last year I was able to get to 190 lbs before I went out of town for a gig. I was able to maintain 190 lbs throughout the end of last year/beginning of this year when once again I avoided the gym due to Omicron. A few weeks ago my girlfriend had a similar "omg" moment of gaining COVID weight, so we've both been trying to shred again. The last month I've gone from 190 to 184 with the hopes of getting to 175 and then going from there!

As for diet, I still don't eat breakfast. Lunch consists of either fish fillets, a chicken patty, or a turkey burger with a 35 calorie tortilla and a half can of peas, corn, or green beans. Somewhat boring, but consistent. We've been doing meal deliveries for dinner since COVID and did Blue Apron for a long time. Now we do EveryPlate. It's pretty convenient since the calories and nutrition are listed for each meal. Each week I just choose the low calorie options (try to stay less than 750 calories). For a midnight snack I'll do greek yogurt mixed with PBFit (70 calorie peanut butter mix) or a small bowl of cereal. Sometimes I'll have a bourbon neat but try to keep it to one unless it's the weekend.

As for supplements, I'm currently doing Vitamin D, Fish Oil, and Turmeric. The turmeric is specific to my inflammation issues. I haven't added protein shakes back in yet, but I may if I start trying to balance weight loss with muscle toning/weight lifting.

Despite always having fluctuations in my weight, I'm pretty proud of the fact that I've kept the lifestyle changes and focus on health for nearly 10 years now. I feel that's the hardest part of diet and exercise - it's easier to do it for a few months for a temporary gain, but the truth is it's something you have to maintain for your whole life. I'm about to turn 38 and it's much more of an uphill battle now then when I was 28, but such is life! I'm glad I've kept this little diary of sorts, as I can go back and look at things I may have forgotten about! I started this as sharing stuff I was learning with others, but it turns out I was also sharing stuff I was learning with my future self!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Jeyk on April 22, 2022, 12:18:50 am
I’m glad to see this come back as a focus for you; keep sharing progress and ideas in this thread!  I myself have been on a journey with weight loss since 2018, where I went from ~340 to 217.  When COVID hit, I went back up to 250, but am back down to 227 with a goal of 205.  I wouldn’t have been able to do it without threads or discussions like this, where I could pull ideas or do analysis of what others have done that I can and implement utilize with regard to my own routine/lifestyle.

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis of ankylosing spondilitis (and struggle with mental issues related to the challenges COVID presented); however, you’ve always been a determined and driven individual, so I’m sure you’ll be on top of your game if you aren’t already. 

I was getting all sentimental yesterday explaining to a friend (who doesn’t game beyond maybe some mobile games with a small group of folks) that I’ve been a part of a gaming community (FA), albeit loosely in the past few years, for over a decade (two, soon!) - and I realized that enough of us are in similar age brackets to where we’ll be experiencing age-related challenges as a cohort, with health, wellness, and self-care creeping more and more to the forefront.  This thread will be a great way to continue promoting some support and motivation.  I certainly wish I started my own obsessions with health and fitness much, much earlier!

If you come across any solid workouts, whether it be strength training, cutting/trimming, HIIT routines, other generally useful resources, share them!  I’ve been following a few channels on YouTube for workout ideas, for demonstrations of proper form and muscle engagement/isolation, and fasting/diet ideas/tips - do you have anything specific that you like to use for research/ideas?  With regard to your diet, do you do any specific macro tracking, or elimination of certain macros (e.g., carbs)?  Have you ever tried intermittent fasting?  Intermittent fasting will net you some great results if done with discipline.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Jeyk on April 22, 2022, 12:25:58 am
Oh, forgot to mention - Beat Saber is awesome as a regular cardio activity.  I have wrist weights, a weighted vest, and ankle weights that I’ll use while playing it.  I turn it on the highest difficulty setting, adjust the options so I can’t fail a song (I don’t care about accuracy, I just want to complete the song while constantly moving), and I exaggerate movements to get the heart rate up and tire myself.  It makes for great sessions post-lifting or for a morning activity, and it’s (for me) rather therapeutic.
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on April 23, 2022, 12:39:13 pm
Hey Jeyk! Great to hear from you! I'll answer some of your questions!

-For my exercises, I typically focus on things I can do at home with my own equipment. As a result, this ends up being either dumbbells or a full body circuit workout (https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/circuit-training-build-some-muscles-burn-some-fat/). I did the circuit workout for a while, but it can be a little rough on my back. For dumbbells I just make sure to hit different muscle groups. As you mention, I try to focus on form and creating muscle engagement over number of reps and try to do a slow count when lifting weights.

-For dieting I focus mostly on calorie count. I also try to get a good amount of protein. When I was going at this hard, I ate "meat slop" (which I've referenced before) that had a good macro balance and tried to reach protein goals while still maintaining my calorie goals. If I get to a point to where I want to bulk up a little and start lifting weights, I'll shift from strictly calorie counting to focusing on protein. I use the app "Lose It!" to track all of this.

-As for intermittent fasting, I sort of do this naturally. I have a sensitive stomach in the morning and so usually don't eat a breakfast. This means I also usually do a fasted workout. I eat a late lunch (usually 3pm). This gives me some calories for a snack at night if needed, but also creates a good chunk of time where I'm fasting. It's not something I consciously try to do, but it happens naturally for me.

-For cardio I do HIIT 3x a week and use an app called "Exercise Timer" to build the intervals. I'm currently on a 30 work / 45 rest cycle. I alternate HIIT with regular cardio using Beat Saber. I use this playlist (https://bsaber.com/workout-with-fantastic-flow-vol1/) and usually do 30 minutes with no break with YUR tracking. I do expert/expert+ with no fail and increased speed (worked my way up to that). And yes, it's fun!

-I would advise caution when adding weights while doing Beat Saber. It's easier to have an injury than you may think. When I first started using Beat Saber for working out, I used these custom grips to grip it like an actual saber, but the jerkiness of changing directions quickly caused me to injure my shoulder. The weighted vest and ankle weights are probably fine, but I would be careful if you start ramping up the difficulty and speed of songs while using wrist weights. That seems like it could cause injury to me. I also stretch before and after Beat Saber and treat it like a regular workout.

As an update, I'm down to 178 lbs! I'm working again and have had a very busy month, so progress has slowed a little, but it feels great to not feel "overweight" anymore. I did a shoot this week where I played an Indiana Jones type of character for a commercial, and it always feels good to feel more confident in a role like that than feeling like the "chubby version". My birthday is next week so cake and going out to eat will probably continue to slow down my progress, but there's no hurry!
Title: Re: Health and Fitness
Post by: Tbone on April 26, 2022, 04:13:49 pm
Today I tried jogging in place while doing Beat Saber. Nothing too crazy - just keeping my legs moving. I have an anti-fatigue mat that keeps me in place. My average heart rate went up 10 bpm as well as my peak (from BS without jogging), so it seems to be a worthwhile addition as long as you're careful!
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