your body your health

[Senpai]

I train obsessively. I go out for a run usually around 10 kilometers a day after work. I dont run every day tho i try to mix it up with gym and thai boxing. So basically 2 days of long running, 2 days of gym sessions and two days of thai boxing training and 1 day of eating cake and pizza. I dont smoke but i go out for a drink pretty much every saturday. I never eat candy and try to avoid sugary beverage as much as possible.

Also thinking of moving to San Francisco because there's no fat people there (joking)

If you're trying to avoid fat people move to Park City, Utah. I think the entire time I lived there I maybe met 2-3 fat people. Besides that people are almost cultishly obsessed with fitness. Plus you can train at altitude to get that edge over your competition.

[endersgame]

i was watching some guy do these hurdle exercises which looked pretty amazing. he basically set around 15 of them at their highest; 4 feet apart and jumped them all without running. so he's clearing around 4 feet vertically and moving forward with no running start whatsoever. i tried a few times to see if my feet could match the height...

asian boy can't jump.

[bukka]

5 days left for the marathon. I'm actually really stressed. Any last minute advise?

[kamsky]

5 days left for the marathon. I'm actually really stressed. Any last minute advise?

Probably not anything you haven't read or been told before, but save that energy or anxiety (not exactly the word you used, but guessing it's close to the mark?); it'll come in handy on race day. Don't underdo it on the tapering this week, so to speak. Assuming you've followed a training regimen with consistency and discipline, you're likely good. Probably why you're feeling stressed; you've built up your body's capacity to run quite a distance, and this week you're forced to cut back rather drastically, so there's this surplus of energy that's presently without outlet. Also, don't freak out if you get boxed in at the start, you really won't be doing yourself any favors by torching the pace (you might be inclined to, specially if you're jittery) at the start. Even if you're feeling aces, I'd save picking it up till mile 21 or so, if at all. Good luck, man! Where's your race?

[bukka]

Probably not anything you haven't read or been told before, but save that energy or anxiety (not exactly the word you used, but guessing it's close to the mark?); it'll come in handy on race day. Don't underdo it on the tapering this week, so to speak. Assuming you've followed a training regimen with consistency and discipline, you're likely good. Probably why you're feeling stressed; you've built up your body's capacity to run quite a distance, and this week you're forced to cut back rather drastically, so there's this surplus of energy that's presently without outlet. Also, don't freak out if you get boxed in at the start, you really won't be doing yourself any favors by torching the pace (you might be inclined to, specially if you're jittery) at the start. Even if you're feeling aces, I'd save picking it up till mile 21 or so, if at all. Good luck, man! Where's your race?

I've been running consistently 3-4 times a week (usually 4) for 3 months now. I've been running before but not regularly like those last months. No problem for the tapering, I'm really enjoying the extra time, it's been pretty busy lately and it was difficult to read after running (especially after the long ones on saturday).
Marathon starts at 13:00, I was thinking of eating pasta an hour and half before, what do you think?
Thanks for your reply Kamsky, really appreciated.
Oh, and I'm running the Berlin Marathon

[kamsky]

I've been running consistently 3-4 times a week (usually 4) for 3 months now. I've been running before but not regularly like those last months. No problem for the tapering, I'm really enjoying the extra time, it's been pretty busy lately and it was difficult to read after running (especially after the long ones on saturday).
Marathon starts at 13:00, I was thinking of eating pasta an hour and half before, what do you think?
Thanks for your reply Kamsky, really appreciated.
Oh, and I'm running the Berlin Marathon

My pleasure!

I'd replicate, as closely as possible, your routine prior to your long runs on the day of the race. This might be complicated by the later start time, I imagine, so I'm not certain. You obviously know your body so I don't mean to presume, but I probably wouldn't eat pasta so close to the start. I might consider doing so earlier in the morning (essentially pasta for breakfast around 6:00 or so), eating something like a couple slices of bread with about an hour to go, then a gel at the start. This would approximate what I've done on previous race days as much as reasonably feasible, given the midday starting time.

[endersgame]

lots of nyt coverage on cross fit/extreme workouts recently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/magazine/why-are-americans-so-fascinated-with-extreme-fitness.html

and one involving kids

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/sports/crossfit-tailors-workout-for-a-new-demographic-preschoolers.html

lots of haters in the comments section of these articles.

anyone here joined classpass? i'm thinking of getting a membership..

[eat me]

what are you doing currently? Lift?

[endersgame]

usually HIIT tabata type workouts mixed with running, rowing, or lifting. either in a class or with a trainer. then rock climb during rest days.

what are you doing?

[eat me]

And what are your goals?

I did HIIT, running, lifting, circuit training. At the moment I've just started doing calisthenics.

You know, everyone has an opinion on crossfit, and the vast majority of them outside the crossfit group are negative. The reason for it is form. I'd say depending on your goals you're doing pretty great already, if you want to do crossfit to build endurance as well as strength, and get very low body fat in the process, I'd recommend doing circuit training instead.

[endersgame]

short term goals are to get rid of stubborn belly fat (it's just my diet, i'm still eating sugar), get up to 20 pullups (i can't do more than 10 per set), and climb a grade higher every two months.

long term, i need to gain more mass. this is something i could not do even with supplements. i'd say double my upper body. i still look like a lanky swimmer and it takes forever for me to build upper body muscle.

although i'd like to try crossfit for a few months, i don't think it's that much different than what i'm doing now. and i'm financially committed to my trainer and club so doesn't makes sense to join a box now. i have no issues with the extremeness of it, i think i can keep up now.

i've also added trx to my routine. very core intensive movements. one legged squats are killer on this thing.

[eat me]

haha, I'm in the sugar-eating club for sure, which doesn't help, but you gotta live a little.

I'm curious what kind of pullups you'd want to do. The well-known crossfit (kipping) pull-ups you're sure to hit 20 in no time. However a proper pullup (start from dead hang, pull to top over the bar, no squiggling, no bringing knees up to chest, no moving your body to use momentum, then lower yourself down again until elbows lock out. That's on rep, if you can do 10 of these and your legs are not stick thin - you're already in great shape) - you're going to have to get some serious muscle in your back to get to 20.

In terms of weight, it's something I struggled with a bit as well, but I'm almost to the size I want at the moment, that's why I'm not lifting anymore.

The weight is quite simple really - eat more. The more you eat, the better you need to eat too. So some people survive on lattes in the morning, but they're not maintaining muscle and their calorie intake can (but better not) consist of sugary rubbish because they'll expend it anyway.

If you want to build good mass you need to start eating more, but clean. Supplements help timewise and costwise to get the needed protein in you.

Crossfit is very cardio intense, so if you're struggling putting on weight it's not going to help, quite the opposite. I'd seriously suggest doing circuits and eat a lot of clean food.

TRX is nice, I've tried my hand at it a long time ago. Ultimately you'd want to do stuff with no support, like the pistol (one-legged) squats for example - it not only builds strength, but also balance.

[endersgame]

when i train with my trainer, i do 4 sets of 3-5 different exercises. 12 full extension pullups are almost always one of them. i can do 10 on the first set, but never 12. and if i'm doing pushups in other exercises, i die off on the remaining 3 sets of pullups often resting 3-4 times. yep, i have decent quads and calves, so i am pulling bottom heavy too. sometimes i swing too much on the pullup but i'm getting better at it.

if i can do 10 or 12 full extension pullups on 4 sets, no rest, and in-between the other exercises, that would be really good. 20 would be a dream. my trainer can do 35 per set, no rest, 4 sets with perfect form, it's crazy.

so i was eating like 6 or 7 times a day for a few months on supplements with no real weight gain. i gained maybe 3 or 4 lbs. someone people can gain weight in a few weeks, but i think i need a year or two of eating huge amounts of food to see any results. at the end, it costs too much and took too much time. it wasn't realistic to interrupt my day to eat that many times as well as deal with the most disgusting gas inducing diet, lol.

[chandler]

Are you tracking your calories? If not consider myfitnesspal or something like that. They're pretty easy to use and lot of people find they're not eating as much as they thought

I'd suggest at least 500 cal a day surplus over maintenance. You can even experiment w a 1000 cal surplus. People react differently. You'll almost certainly see increased strength gains

Best of luck

[eat me]

endersgame, to improve pull-ups I can recommend a few things you could try:

1. don't do 3 sets of 12-5-1, or however much it is, concentrate first on doing even sets, e.g. 7-7-7.

2. do holds at the end - so after you've done your pull-ups, and maybe some other things, at the end of session do some holds, which basically means holding a pull-up still at a particular moment. Two types are the most common - holding at the top, and holding in the middle of pull-up (elbows 90 degrees). Do a couple of sets holding each position for 30 secs, see how you feel - increase when confident.

3. negatives. At the end of each set when you can't do more pull-ups do negatives (jumping to top and slowly lowering down).

How tall are you and much do you weigh? Again, with eating, it's really that simple - eat more to gain more. If you think you're eating enough and not gaining - eat more. That's about it. Can you describe your typical meals in a day?

Yes, some people have slow metabolism, but it's not really a good thing. Some have very fast (probably you), some average. You need to adopt to your rate.