Off Season Conditioning

[Riverskier]

been ramping things up a bit the past few weeks with more cardio. I've been trying to get in 30 minutes of cardio 5-6 days per week and I lift M,W,Fri

I need to focus on my diet a lot more. Through exercise alone I was able to bring my weight from 210-215 down to 190 over the past year and a half. Been pretty much stuck at 190 since. Going to cut out a bunch of carbs and try and push down to 175-180, which I think is the right weight for my frame.

I brought my weight down from 210 to 185 in about 3 months this past Winter through diet alone. No meal plan, no fad diet, no counting calories/fat grams/carbs- simply by eating the right foods. My only exercise was skiing once a week and short walks with the dog. I have been mt. biking quite a bit this Summer though. One piece of advice: Cutting our carbs will help you lose weight, but you only need to cut out refined carbohydrates and things like starchy white potatoes. Eating a lot of fiber rich carbs such as black beans and whole grains will actually help you lose weight. You may know all of this already, but many people lump carbs all together and carbs are NOT all created equal.

 

[deadheadskier]

thanks!

Diet is definitely my issue. I work out more than anyone I know, yet am stuck at 190. It's not like I eat a ton of crap either. I just love breads, potatoes, pasta etc.

Just need to cut that stuff way down and start eating smaller meals several times a day

 

[drjeff]

thanks!

Diet is definitely my issue. I work out more than anyone I know, yet am stuck at 190. It's not like I eat a ton of crap either. I just love breads, potatoes, pasta etc.

Just need to cut that stuff way down and start eating smaller meals several times a day

It's that old catch 22 sometimes. The more you workout, the more "fuel" you need to get the most of your workout. The problem is that sometimes the "fuel" we consume isn't the best thing for the "engine", especially if one is trying to loose a few lbs. I'm totally falling into this description this summer. Riding my road bike 3 to 4 times a week (somewhere between 80 and 100 miles per week on average), running 3 to 4 times a week (12 to 18 miles on average) and then doing 3 sessions of resistance training - often having days where I'll do "doubles" and even an occasional "triple" session and I find that I'm needing to use sometype of actual carb containing sports drink and/or gel especially on the longer duration rides/runs. Those extra carbs, while keeping my glycogen (sugar) levels adequate in my muscles for workout performance, just seem to want to affect my overall metabolism rate in a negative way (one of the joys of getting older I presume ) Since I know from past experiences, if I got say strict "Atkins- esque" low carb diet, and actually eat more calories and workout a bit less, that the pounds come off of me quickly, BUT at this moment in time, I think that I'm more addicted to the endorphin rush that exercise gives me (and still having my clothes fit well) than I am about getting the number on the scale lower. Afterall, muscle weighs more than fat, and the belt hasn't been let out any(if anything the belt almost needing to be tightend up a notch) and the legs and lungs are in real good shape right now with a few months to go before it's back on snow!

 

[snowmonster]

Being slow on the hiking trail and seeing photos of my slowly rounding face convinced me that I was slowly gaining weight. However, getting back into surfing and seeing how my board sat too low in the water (not to mention that my balance was thrown off) convinced me to finally get serious about off-season conditioning.

To drop weight, I started portion control and returned to a traditional Asian diet of grilled fish, vegetables and rice (brown rice if available). I try to stay off red meat except for the occasional weekend burger. I also started hitting the gym at least thrice during the work week and have been working mostly on endurance and arm, back, shoulder and core strength. I incorporate a leg set but I won't switch to my full intensive skiers' leg workout until later in the summer. Weekends are for surfing (arm and core strength) and biking (endurance).

Since I seriously got on this kick in late June, I've dropped about 5 pounds and strengthened my arms. I played soccer growing up so I suffer from the soccer players' syndrome of strong legs with weak arms. I hope to drop 5 pounds more before the end of the summer. Hopefully, all of this work pays off in more endurance and quickness during the ski season.

It's always about the skiing.

 

[deadheadskier]

snowmonster, if you are looking to really increase your arm strength, I recommend the following arm workout one day a week for four weeks. Only train the arms one day per week, otherwise you will over train..

Your sets for all exercises should be as follows and include 45-60 second rests between:

1st set 15 reps, low weight
2nd set, 10 reps, medium weight
3rd set, 8 reps - as much weight as you can bare to fail
4th set is drop set, start with third set weight, then second, then 1st. try and bang out 25 reps total, but keep going to failure

Exercises and order

Preacher Curl, Close Grip Bench, Hammer Curls, Tricep Pull over

Follow that with

2 x 20 two hand bicep cable curls with 30 second rest between sets
2 x 20 tricep cable pull down with 30 second rest between sets

It's suggested to only do this training for one month, then go back to a normal routine for another month before attempting again.

 

[hammer]

Just wondering how many hours people spend on exercise each week...seems like there are some real devoted folks here and I'm surprised that they don't run into time management issues with all of the exercise they are supposedly doing.

I could definitely spend more time in the mornings but I don't see getting in any more than 30-45 minutes each day. I do also go to three 2-hour workouts a week but for improvement I know that's not enough.

 

[gmcunni]

Just wondering how many hours people spend on exercise each week...seems like there are some real devoted folks here and I'm surprised that they don't run into time management issues with all of the exercise they are supposedly doing.

I could definitely spend more time in the mornings but I don't see getting in any more than 30-45 minutes each day. I do also go to three 2-hour workouts a week but for improvement I know that's not enough.

when i was in shape and working out regularly i'd put in about 1.25 hours 5 days a week. typical day would be a 30 minute workout with weights in the afternoon and 45 minute jog on the treadmill later that night (9/10 pm).

we had a gym at work so i just fit that into my daily routine and i'd hit the treadmill at home watching tv or a movie after the kids went to sleep.

i found once in the routine it became an obsession to keep it up.

 

[deadheadskier]

60-90 minutes a day, 5-6 days per week.

I don't have kids, which helps. My day also starts at a home office, which also helps.

I try and make it to the gym by 6:30 every weekday morning. Depending on what I'm doing, I'll be there til 7:30 or 8:00.

I occasionally go back at night and bang out 30 minutes on the stairmaster while watching the Red Sox game.

Diet is definitely my issue, not the amount I train.

 

[Nick]

I'm pretty sure I'm getting fatter than ever the last two weeks. Drinking and eating galore. Puke.

 

[drjeff]

Just wondering how many hours people spend on exercise each week...seems like there are some real devoted folks here and I'm surprised that they don't run into time management issues with all of the exercise they are supposedly doing.

I could definitely spend more time in the mornings but I don't see getting in any more than 30-45 minutes each day. I do also go to three 2-hour workouts a week but for improvement I know that's not enough.

My wife (who does 5 to 6 triathlons from sprint to olympic distance each summer) and I have a set workout schedule that we plan in advance that gets each of us the opportunity for 1 to 2 hour workout sessions (sometimes longer) 6 days a week, and at the same time still lets us attend to our usual "parental" responsibilities needed for a 5 1/2yr old and a 7 1/2 year old. Most of it involves workout sessions either before the kids wake up or after the kids goto bed midweek, and then on the weekend, one of us gets a Saturday morning long session and the other gets a Sunday AM long session. We also trade off 1 midweek night a week where one of us goes on a long bike ride (either solo or on one of our local bike clubs week night rides, and the other stays home and does all the evening child care.

Its a schedule that while a bit complicated from a far, works for us, since we both realize for many reasons, that we're both better off around the house after/with good workouts than without!

 

[Edd]

I've recently cranked the workouts up a notch. The scale informed me that I'm 10-15 lbs overweight. Injuries have played a part this year but staying lean would be alot easier if I could just cut out the beer. It owns me, man. My only hope is more wine.

 

[bvibert]

The scale informed me that I'm 10-15 lbs overweight.

My scale just laughs at me whenever I even go near it...

 

[Madroch]

Returned to the gym last week after 7 weeks off (new puppy killed my morning workout routine--was walking the dog instead and had no time at work). Wow-- its like starting over. Anyway-- plan is 5 cardio sessions a week- with three push up/ab/core sessions added M/W/F until late August, just to try and get some strength and stamina back. Late August (after a family vacation) will do p90x (and some side cardio)- which should take me to Thanksgivingish-- -- at which time I will most likely swap out some P90x arm/upper body stuff for more leg and core- unless the dog continues not to cooperate and insist upon attention....

 

[snowmonster]

snowmonster, if you are looking to really increase your arm strength, I recommend the following arm workout one day a week for four weeks. Only train the arms one day per week, otherwise you will over train..

Thanks for the workout routine, DHS. Looks tough but I'll give it a try.

Just wondering how many hours people spend on exercise each week...seems like there are some real devoted folks here and I'm surprised that they don't run into time management issues with all of the exercise they are supposedly doing.

I avarage about 1.5 to 2 hours when I go to the gym. It can get busy after work and sometimes, I have to stand around and wait for people to get done with equipment. Summer's are easier on my schedule since I can hit the gym at 530 and be home before 8 for dinner. During the schoolyear, I get out after 630 so it becomes harder to hit the gym. I guess I'll have to be more disciplined about it starting next month.

 

[speden]

I've been totally slacking on the exercise this summer. I've only been doing 20 minutes on the exercise bike in the mornings and no weight work. I can really feel the effect of laying off and can see my muscles shrinking. As a member of the over 40 crowd I'm suffering the effects of sarcopenia, where you start to lose muscle mass due to age. I really need to lift weights just to maintain muscle mass, so I hope to get back to it in the next month or so. I was reading an article over on Science Daily that they may be on the trail of a medication to maintain muscle strength during aging (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110802125549.htm)

But that's still years away, so I got to start hitting the weights...

 

[Nick]

I was doing P90X back in June but since July I have basically been down to running 25 - 30 miles per week.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

 

[drjeff]

I was doing P90X back in June but since July I have basically been down to running 25 - 30 miles per week.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

That's a serious, kick butt program for sure!

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm pretty sure I'm getting fatter than ever the last two weeks. Drinking and eating galore. Puke.

I was doing P90X back in June but since July I have basically been down to running 25 - 30 miles per week.

fat slob slacker

 

[hammer]

My wife (who does 5 to 6 triathlons from sprint to olympic distance each summer) and I have a set workout schedule that we plan in advance that gets each of us the opportunity for 1 to 2 hour workout sessions (sometimes longer) 6 days a week, and at the same time still lets us attend to our usual "parental" responsibilities needed for a 5 1/2yr old and a 7 1/2 year old. Most of it involves workout sessions either before the kids wake up or after the kids goto bed midweek, and then on the weekend, one of us gets a Saturday morning long session and the other gets a Sunday AM long session. We also trade off 1 midweek night a week where one of us goes on a long bike ride (either solo or on one of our local bike clubs week night rides, and the other stays home and does all the evening child care.

Its a schedule that while a bit complicated from a far, works for us, since we both realize for many reasons, that we're both better off around the house after/with good workouts than without!

I commend you and your spouse's dedication...if I followed that kind of schedule on weekdays I'd have to get a 1-2 hour workout starting no later than 5:30 AM or starting no sooner than 8:00 PM. With one kid off to college I will have more time (and fewer excuses:wink, but the parental taxi service starts up in full swing in the fall when the younger one starts up JV soccer.

 

[Anklebiter]

Offseason training

So far, it's been going pretty well. Mostly, running and mountain biking with my son. I will be phasing in weight training soon. Working out with my son (11 yrs) has been a lot of fun. He's really gotten himself into great shape.

It's going to get a lot tougher to make time to exercise. Now, that youth football and cheerleading has started. I guess I'm going to be getting earlier or working out later (in the dark). My overall goal for this winter is the same as last, below 200 lbs by the beginning. 185 lbs by the end of ski season. I may try P90X at some point.