I actually have no idea what he could do with that power, other than maybe keeping Black Manta from conceiving and ruining his relationships in bitter mutual recrimination.
Just had my first real work out.
- Thread starter Trekker4747
- Start date
^Why thank you, random guy!
Trekker, sorry I helped to completely sidetrack your thread! But I think the tangent may actually be less tangential and more relavent than it appears; a lot of us, men and women, have issues with our self esteem in regards to sex, neither gender can stake the claim to more sexually stemmed neuroces and miseries -- just different ones. Working out for did a lot to change my perceptions of myself. When I started regarding myself as an athlete, I gained a much healthier opinion of my physic, and through that, my sexuality. Maybe the same will happen to you.
In an attempt to atone for the hideous derailment of this thread that I've taken part in causing, I have a question for RAMA as a trainer, if you don't mind!
Could you recommend any exercises to strengthen the smaller muscles of the butt, and the hamstrings?
This is my issue: I'm participating in the Five Boro Bike Tour this year, so I'm biking a lot (sometimes on my exercycle when time and weather are less permitting and clement, respectively). I do an hour a day with one 3 to 4 hour ride a week, and a day off. Intensity is moderate with bursts of vigorous and periods of a leisurely resting pace. Last year when I was following this routine I did something to a muscle in my butt causing it to irritate the sciatic nerve. I read that this is a pretty common exercise induced injury for women, but I can't remember what it's called. So far this year I've avoided it, but I want to do whatever I can to prevent it and I figure strengthening those muscles would be a good way to go.
I want to avoid any exercises that could bulk me up, though. I gain muscle exceptionally easily for a woman, and my backside's big enough already! Any suggestions?
A
Amaris
Guest
Hey, we may be in the middle of nowhere, thread-wise, but at least we have pleasant company.
^Why thank you, random guy!
Trekker, sorry I helped to completely sidetrack your thread! But I think the tangent may actually be less tangential and more relavent than it appears; a lot of us, men and women, have issues with our self esteem in regards to sex, neither gender can stake the claim to more sexually stemmed neuroces and miseries -- just different ones. Working out for did a lot to change my perceptions of myself. When I started regarding myself as an athlete, I gained a much healthier opinion of my physic, and through that, my sexuality. Maybe the same will happen to you.
In an attempt to atone for the hideous derailment of this thread that I've taken part in causing, I have a question for RAMA as a trainer, if you don't mind!
Could you recommend any exercises to strengthen the smaller muscles of the butt, and the hamstrings?
This is my issue: I'm participating in the Five Boro Bike Tour this year, so I'm biking a lot (sometimes on my exercycle when time and weather are less permitting and clement, respectively). I do an hour a day with one 3 to 4 hour ride a week, and a day off. Intensity is moderate with bursts of vigorous and periods of a leisurely resting pace. Last year when I was following this routine I did something to a muscle in my butt causing it to irritate the sciatic nerve. I read that this is a pretty common exercise induced injury for women, but I can't remember what it's called. So far this year I've avoided it, but I want to do whatever I can to prevent it and I figure strengthening those muscles would be a good way to go.
I want to avoid any exercises that could bulk me up, though. I gain muscle exceptionally easily for a woman, and my backside's big enough already! Any suggestions?
I need to know two main things: Did your doctor clear you to train and/or ride again?
Do you mainly want to do this at home or at a gym?
The muscles you're prob talking about are the glute medius/minimus. They can be overworked easily by runners and cyclists. I think the main thing you need to do do is rest and not do exercises that focus in that area. Then once you are ok to go (and you don't want too much inactivity), you can do a lot of extra stretching, including a basic stretch where you are sitting at a 90 degree angle on a mat, and bend over to touch your torso to your legs if possible. Hold this for 30 seconds and repeat.
People seem to worry a lot about gaining a lot of mass but even easy gainers are going to grow larger muscle through a function of lifting heavier weight or for lower reps...you can do almost any exercise as long as you modify it for your goals. Lunges are almost universally one of the best shaping exercises for glutes and legs, do 3 sets of higher reps, in the 15 range. You can use light weights or none. One-legged deadlifts are good for the butt stabilizer muscles you need to work. They also work hamstrings. Take the left leg back just a bit, lightly resting on the toe. With the weights in front of the thighs, tip from the hips and lower the weights as low as your flexibility allows. Keep your back flat or with a natural arch and make sure you keep the abs contracted to protect the back. Squeeze the glutes of the working leg to raise back up. Do 2-3 sets of 10-12 rep. Step up are another good exercise to do for you butt and you can do them in the gym or home. You want a height were your knee is at about a 90-degree angle. Concentrate all your weight on the stepping leg. In other words, lower down gently, barely touching the toes of the other leg to the ground. Hip raises..also works your glutes, hams and lower back! Also can do it at home or gym. Lay down on a mat with back natural or flat, and knees up, feet flat. Lift up till your glutes and back are off the ground. Squeeze your glutes and and hams at the top, hold for 2-3 seconds then back down. Do a couple of sets in 5 mins. Once you get stronger you can possibly go to basic squats, with or without weight.
RAMA
^ I have a question for you since you clearly know what your talking about.
I am currently 175 lbs. I want to get down to 160-165 in the next 3 months.
All I have at my disposal is walking two dogs everyday, push-ups, sit-ups, and dumbells that don't go above 20lbs on each one?
Is there any exercise system that will let me do this and what muscle building exercises can I do with those wieghts or by just using my body?
I am currently 175 lbs. I want to get down to 160-165 in the next 3 months.
All I have at my disposal is walking two dogs everyday, push-ups, sit-ups, and dumbells that don't go above 20lbs on each one?
Is there any exercise system that will let me do this and what muscle building exercises can I do with those wieghts or by just using my body?
That's a reasonable goal. Weight loss ALWAYS starts with food. No way to get around it. Although there are all sorts of weight loss "systems" these days, one basic truth remains, at some point you're calorie intake is going to have to be lower than your calorie burn. You can take a few days and find out how many calories you are averaging a day without changing your diet (although you will probably want to if you are not already), and then use a calculator--you can find them online, or download them on a smartphone app..I've used FatSecret calorie counter--to estimate what you are burning. You will need to burn off about 500-700 calories more than you take in to lose weight. You can go much more complex than this (the app does) but you can try this basic method. You can burn about 1900 cals while sedentary alone at your body weight. Then add whatever your exercises, dog walking, etc burns. Yes you can find cal burn totals for many activities online.
To maximize your time, I'd recommend doing exercises at high intensity (though start slow) and higher reps with your dumbells. Instead of spelling it all out for you here, I'll send you one I like through PM.
RAMA
Last edited:
Just when I was thinking this thread had nothing left to attract my attention, this gem cropped up.
The almost Kirby-esque imaginative genius behind this concept deserves recognition.
^ Don't ask! DON'T ASK! 
Trekker, glad to hear you are working out. Good for you.
I was a reasonably serious runner in a former life, but due to some medical issues, had to quit some years back. About 19 months ago I started back up, and am so happy I did. Running not only keeps me in shape and keeps my weight down, but helps me deal better with my physiological tendency (inherited) toward depression.
I wish you the best of luck - just remember, you have to keep at it to get the results you want. But it is worth the effort.
I was a reasonably serious runner in a former life, but due to some medical issues, had to quit some years back. About 19 months ago I started back up, and am so happy I did. Running not only keeps me in shape and keeps my weight down, but helps me deal better with my physiological tendency (inherited) toward depression.
I wish you the best of luck - just remember, you have to keep at it to get the results you want. But it is worth the effort.
Yes I have, no I will not indulge anyone curiosity here for the sake of appetites everywhere.
Yes I have, no I will not indulge anyone curiosity here for the sake of appetites everywhere.
Before pics are very useful. Progress pics are as well!
RAMA
Eh, I'm not a picture taker, once I see a difference I may take a picture. I dunno.
Today I'm not too sore but I honestly don't think the workout I had yesterday was intense enough to start the muscle tearing down/building process yet. It was more of an orientation than anything else. I did like that it was more weights and stuff as I hate calisthenics. I can do a sit-up to save my life I'm just not that flexible, one thing I'm wanting to focus on right now is losing weight and getting a bit more in shape.
I also need to learn to "breathe right" when doing this work outs. But, man, I really liked the elliptical machine I could do that thing all day. Monday is my first meeting with my actual trainer (the guy I worked with the other day, again, was just organizing my plan and showing me the machines.)
Rama, a question for you since you're a PT.
What would be the best way to spread out my trainer sessions? The gym had three plans available a $99 plan, a $199 plan and a $399 plan. They were 5 1/2-hour sessions, something like 12 one-hour sessions then 20-something 1-hour sessions (respective to the prices.)
Being cheap and having already paid $60 for the start-up of the membership ($20/mo + $25 yearly fee +$10 start-up fee or something along those lines) I went with the cheaper plan even knowing, and being told, the 30-minutes would not be long enough to see a meaningful benefit. I figure I'd just use the PT for the 30 minutes then the other half-hour I'd self-exercise and I'll go to the gym and do my program on Tuesday and Thursday to do my plan/work out and continue there on my 3-day a week schedule I plan on doing.
Anyway, I was wondering how I should break up the sessions? The orientation one I had Friday doesn't count and my first one will be Monday. My plan is to get the information I need from her, let her get me started and then I'll just self-"train" for a month or so and use another session to build a new work-out plan. When all of the sessions have been used up I'll decide then if I want to continue using a PT.
At the same time I'm reconsidering my diet. I don't eat too terribly. I mean I eat junk and I don't eat healthily but I don't eat a lot. I'd be surprised if I'm taking in 2000 cal/day like I should be. Right now I get up at 5am head to work and usually don't get a meal until around noon where it's usually not much more than a glass of tea (sweetened, black, iced) and a bag chips and maybe a candy bar. I get home and usually eat dinner close to 6 pm and over the rest of the evening it's mostly snacking. (Usually chips/salsa, pretzels, maybe a couple of (home baked) cookies once in a great while.) Drinking mostly includes either tea, CT lemonade or a Gatordae. (I'm pretty much off of pop unless it's a special occasion now.)
I plan to start drinking a protein drink in the early afternoon before going to the gym after eating a sandwich or something but, really, I doubt my diet is too terrible as far as caloric intake goes. A multi-vitamin daily supplement as well as a Calcium+D pill is going into my daily barrage of pills.
Most of the stuff I'll likely discuss with my own PT on Monday but wanted to get your opinion since, well, I know you're good at this stuff and would like your opinion.
TSQ: Don't worry about the, minor, derailment last night. Part of it was a my fault too and I did not mean to suggest that what you apparently go through should be taken as a "virtue" or complementary. It seems that most of the people you encounter are just plain creeps but, I suspect, it may have something to do with NYC. In an area with some 10-million plus people living in it I guess, statistically speaking, many of them are going be creeps.
Today I'm not too sore but I honestly don't think the workout I had yesterday was intense enough to start the muscle tearing down/building process yet. It was more of an orientation than anything else. I did like that it was more weights and stuff as I hate calisthenics. I can do a sit-up to save my life I'm just not that flexible, one thing I'm wanting to focus on right now is losing weight and getting a bit more in shape.
I also need to learn to "breathe right" when doing this work outs. But, man, I really liked the elliptical machine I could do that thing all day. Monday is my first meeting with my actual trainer (the guy I worked with the other day, again, was just organizing my plan and showing me the machines.)
Rama, a question for you since you're a PT.
What would be the best way to spread out my trainer sessions? The gym had three plans available a $99 plan, a $199 plan and a $399 plan. They were 5 1/2-hour sessions, something like 12 one-hour sessions then 20-something 1-hour sessions (respective to the prices.)
Being cheap and having already paid $60 for the start-up of the membership ($20/mo + $25 yearly fee +$10 start-up fee or something along those lines) I went with the cheaper plan even knowing, and being told, the 30-minutes would not be long enough to see a meaningful benefit. I figure I'd just use the PT for the 30 minutes then the other half-hour I'd self-exercise and I'll go to the gym and do my program on Tuesday and Thursday to do my plan/work out and continue there on my 3-day a week schedule I plan on doing.
Anyway, I was wondering how I should break up the sessions? The orientation one I had Friday doesn't count and my first one will be Monday. My plan is to get the information I need from her, let her get me started and then I'll just self-"train" for a month or so and use another session to build a new work-out plan. When all of the sessions have been used up I'll decide then if I want to continue using a PT.
At the same time I'm reconsidering my diet. I don't eat too terribly. I mean I eat junk and I don't eat healthily but I don't eat a lot. I'd be surprised if I'm taking in 2000 cal/day like I should be. Right now I get up at 5am head to work and usually don't get a meal until around noon where it's usually not much more than a glass of tea (sweetened, black, iced) and a bag chips and maybe a candy bar. I get home and usually eat dinner close to 6 pm and over the rest of the evening it's mostly snacking. (Usually chips/salsa, pretzels, maybe a couple of (home baked) cookies once in a great while.) Drinking mostly includes either tea, CT lemonade or a Gatordae. (I'm pretty much off of pop unless it's a special occasion now.)
I plan to start drinking a protein drink in the early afternoon before going to the gym after eating a sandwich or something but, really, I doubt my diet is too terrible as far as caloric intake goes. A multi-vitamin daily supplement as well as a Calcium+D pill is going into my daily barrage of pills.
Most of the stuff I'll likely discuss with my own PT on Monday but wanted to get your opinion since, well, I know you're good at this stuff and would like your opinion.
TSQ: Don't worry about the, minor, derailment last night. Part of it was a my fault too and I did not mean to suggest that what you apparently go through should be taken as a "virtue" or complementary. It seems that most of the people you encounter are just plain creeps but, I suspect, it may have something to do with NYC. In an area with some 10-million plus people living in it I guess, statistically speaking, many of them are going be creeps.
^Regarding diet, the more you work out the more you might start to notice how different foods really affect your body. You'd be surprised at what a difference switching out the junk food for health food will make in how you actually feel -- especially when working out. The higher quality the fuel you put into your body, the better the performance will be.
Yes and no; she's always a lot more concerned about how I'm managing my blood sugar during long workouts than anything else. I took a while off after last year's tour, and haven't had any sciatic pain this time around -- I just want to be sure to keep it that way!
I don't have gym access so everything is at home. I do some strength training, specifically Vinyassa Yoga and light free weight lifting.
I do squats sometimes, but I haven't tried any of the other exercises you've suggested, and they sound like just what I need! Thank you! As for my concern about bulking up, I know women especially tend to worry about it more than they need to, but, like I said earlier, my calves are 15 inches around of solid muscle -- it's nearly impossible for me to find boots! And beyond biking and walking I don't do anything really for my legs!
IIRQ, TSQ aren't you Type-2 diabetic?
^No, type 1. Completely different disease. And more prone to complicate a workout. As a type one, a workout can male my blood sugar drop or spike, depending on many variables (time of day, what I've eaten in the past 24 hours, duration, intensity, and how much insulin I've taken). As a type 1 who does very long workouts -- up to 5 and 6 hours -- control is even more complicated. Workouts can also affect my glucose levels for up to two days afterwards, because exercising increases insulin sensitivity (one of the reasons it's so good for those with type 2 diabetes).
A
Amaris
Guest
As someone with Type II diabetes who can't afford the medications and whose diabetes is untreated because of it, I can honestly say that diet and proper exercise has literally saved my life.
Dammit! I had first put Type-1, thought about, and then changed it Type-2. I always get them mixed up.
Which one is it that a lot of people get in late-middle age where the pancreas basically says, "Fuck it!" and then the person has to take an insulin shot several times a day, monitor their blood-sugar and alter their diet?
Similar threads
