Exercise Bikes

[tropo]

33 minutes ago, robblok said:

Thank you old wise one to call me a youngster, caffeine tablets are just the only way for me to take caffeine as i can't drink coffee. I just dont like it. 

 

Sleep is for me the most important reason for a good or a bad training day, but I have always been a fuzzy sleeper and it got worse with age. I am trying to pinpoint the problems and some improvement is happening.

 

I read somewhere that you just have to workout even if you feel like shit (ok within limits) because its the accumulation of all those training days that give the results.. not just your best days. I used to skip sessions if I had a bad day, now I just grind through it maybe use a lighter weight.  

 

Your right alll exercise comes down to the same thing and changing it up helps a bit, but for me motivation comes from results. Now as I have admitted before I don't see much gains in strength anymore (some on exercises i neglected in the past) but exercises like bench press that i did since I was 16... no such luck. 

 

But now my motivation comes from losing fat... that is why i hate it if there is a plateau. But i just keep on going like i have always done, i read a lot on fitness boards but have come to realize there are no magic exercises or routines ect. Your limited by your genetics and how much effort you put in your training and your diet (of course on a caloric deficit you will never gain much muscle if not using juice and even then its hard). 

 

I have some hope for reverse dieting something i will try after i lose my weight. The fun thing is (actually not fun), the more you lose the more you realize your targets were off. Sure I am now leaner as before.. but still not as lean as what i dream about. I had expected to be that lean if i lost an other 3 kg... now I am not so sure.. it might be 5 or 7 kg (if I can ever get there). What I am talking about are sculped obliques the ones  you see on fitness models. But I believe these guys are sub 10% plus lucky where they hold the fat.

You say "motivation comes from results". You're lucky you can still gain motivation from results and you still have improvements to make that motivate you - such as your desire to look like a fitness model. What happens when you're no longer motivated by results and only training to slow down the decline due to ageing? There comes a time when you start to decline in strength and fitness no matter what you do to prevent it. That time will come sooner if you've been at it since you're young as your peak is likely to be far behind you. People that started at a later age could improve longer as they have lower historical peaks to consider. i.e. they're not comparing themselves to their younger versions when they were much stronger and fitter... and then ultimately your genetics will have a big say in how long you can go.

 

If you're too goal orientated, and those goals become impossible, you have to reset and find new reasons to train. This reset may come sooner or later depending on the person and genetics. I've just recently hit this reset button after years of denial. What that means is I had to start training more intelligently as opposed to emotional training.

 

What does this mean in the gym? It means you stop doing certain exercises that are no good for you, but that you were previously too stubborn to stop doing. Bench press is a good example - everyone does it so everything thinks they should be doing it. It's the ego's gold standard. You consider your joint health and integrity above all else. The size of the muscle becomes a secondary concern. When you do cardio, you're no longer setting performance goals but doing the best you can on each session - and not obsessing about lower performance when it happens, which it often does. Just do it and be happy that you still can...

 

My motivation is now nothing more complicated than trying to hold on to fitness and health as long as I can to slow down decrepitude due to ageing. 

 

I'm about to step into the realm of geriatric training...

 

I'm not trying to be a dampener on proceedings, but there are a few of us on this forum. Age is not just a number. It's a very real consideration when planning a workout regime.

 

 

[Justfine]

1 year at a time. You can't control everything.

[robblok]

7 minutes ago, tropo said:

You say "motivation comes from results". You're lucky you can still gain motivation from results and you still have improvements to make that motivate you - such as your desire to look like a fitness model. What happens when you're no longer motivated by results and only training to slow down the decline due to ageing? There comes a time when you start to decline in strength and fitness no matter what you do to prevent it. That time will come sooner if you've been at it since you're young as your peak is likely to be far behind you. People that started at a later age could improve longer as they have lower historical peaks to consider. i.e. they're not comparing themselves to their younger versions when they were much stronger and fitter... and then ultimately your genetics will have a big say in how long you can go.

 

If you're too goal orientated, and those goals become impossible, you have to reset and find new reasons to train. This reset may come sooner or later depending on the person and genetics. I've just recently hit this reset button after years of denial. What that means is I had to start training more intelligently as opposed to emotional training.

 

What does this mean in the gym? It means you stop doing certain exercises that are no good for you, but that you were previously too stubborn to stop doing. Bench press is a good example - everyone does it so everything thinks they should be doing it. It's the ego's gold standard. You consider your joint health and integrity above all else. The size of the muscle becomes a secondary concern. When you do cardio, you're no longer setting performance goals but doing the best you can on each session - and not obsessing about lower performance when it happens, which it often does. Just do it and be happy that you still can...

 

My motivation is now nothing more complicated than trying to hold on to fitness and health as long as I can to slow down decrepitude due to ageing. 

 

I'm about to step into the realm of geriatric training...

 

I'm not trying to be a dampener on proceedings, but there are a few of us on this forum. Age is not just a number. It's a very real consideration when planning a workout regime.

 

 

I know what your saying and I have been thinking about it for a long time. But as you know my progress muscle wise is not much at all. Losing weight is the only thing that still is possible. 

 

I will at a time have to change my training too and find other motivation, but its true I am really goal motivated. But given the fact that muscle progress and strength progress has been low I think i can manage a decline too. 

 

I know one thing, when I am not lifting weights for a long time I become grumpy and lose energy.. so I just do it to release stress. 

[Justfine]

1 hour ago, robblok said:

I know what your saying and I have been thinking about it for a long time. But as you know my progress muscle wise is not much at all. Losing weight is the only thing that still is possible. 

 

I will at a time have to change my training too and find other motivation, but its true I am really goal motivated. But given the fact that muscle progress and strength progress has been low I think i can manage a decline too. 

 

I know one thing, when I am not lifting weights for a long time I become grumpy and lose energy.. so I just do it to release stress. 

Why don't you enter a crossfit or army style event.

 

Give yourself a challenge.

[robblok]

50 minutes ago, Justfine said:

Why don't you enter a crossfit or army style event.

 

Give yourself a challenge.

I might, but right now I want to lose the weight and then test the reverse dieting  theory. I am really curious if that would work. I read nice things about it. My options are not exhausted yet and I still enjoy what I am doing.

[tropo]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

I know what your saying and I have been thinking about it for a long time. But as you know my progress muscle wise is not much at all. Losing weight is the only thing that still is possible. 

 

I will at a time have to change my training too and find other motivation, but its true I am really goal motivated. But given the fact that muscle progress and strength progress has been low I think i can manage a decline too. 

 

I know one thing, when I am not lifting weights for a long time I become grumpy and lose energy.. so I just do it to release stress. 

Most of the time I've known you you've been hitting calorie restriction pretty hard and getting lean has been your priority. As you well know, that's no way to maximise your strength gains or muscle size. You could have a good decade or so left in that endeavour before you reach your strength peak, as you're training injury free in your 40's. I reached mine in about 2009 at age 50, but it's arthritis that f***ked me up. I was actually doing heavy squats and always in pain the next day, but once I'd had my knees x-rayed I knew it was time to lighten up.