Things I wish I knew 5/10 years ago

Alf Veedersane · 17-11-2020 5:51pm

iguana wrote: »

So what is the point then?

It's just how the lifts feel. It's not about the enjoyment or the feeling of satisfaction you may have afterwards or anything like that.

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

That isn't the same as not progressing...it's just how the lifts feel on a given day.

Most days the weights feel as heavy as they should. The routine days.
Some days they feel light.
Some days they feel heavy.

FHFM50 · 17-11-2020 6:01pm

Do a little bit every day

iguana · 17-11-2020 7:02pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

It's just how the lifts feel. It's not about the enjoyment or the feeling of satisfaction you may have afterwards or anything like that.

To me it reads like a motivational statement and if you derive immense pleasure from what you do, you don’t really need motivation. You want to do it because the 80% routine is amazing and the 10% of times that it’s a bit meh, might be disappointing in the moment but not something you need to be motivated to get past.

Alf Veedersane · 17-11-2020 7:11pm

iguana wrote: »

To me it reads like a motivational statement and if you derive immense pleasure from what you do, you don’t really need motivation. You want to do it because the 80% routine is amazing and the 10% of times that it’s a bit meh, might be disappointing in the moment but not something you need to be motivated to get past.

Its nothing to do with a motivational statement. Its saying that 80% of the time, the weights will move and feel like they should. 10% of the time they will feel heavier and it will feel more difficult. 10% it will move easier and faster.

It's not a motivational statement. It's not about whether or not its going to be enjoyable.

iguana · 17-11-2020 7:22pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Its nothing to do with a motivational statement. Its saying that 80% of the time, the weights will move and feel like they should. 10% of the time they will feel heavier and it will feel more difficult. 10% it will move easier and faster.

It's not a motivational statement. It's not about whether or not its going to be enjoyable.

You are leaving out the part where it continues on to say that the foundations are built in the 80%. Making it read as motivation.

Alf Veedersane · 17-11-2020 7:37pm

iguana wrote: »

You are leaving out the part where it continues on to say that the foundations are built in the 80%. Making it read as motivation.

Just to clarify something I spotted in an earlier post which might explain how you see it. The 80% is routine workouts...not amazing ones.

Anyway, I didn't leave out the last bit because it's a given. Its saying the routine workouts, the uneventful training sessions, where everything feels and moves like it should and you hit the numbers, are the foundations of what you ultimately build. Thats not motivational. Just a statement of fact.

You will have the good says where it feels light, bad days where it feels heavy but the majority of days are routine days and they're the days that will be the foundation of the outcome. Which is true.

I don't really see how people could find that motivational or otherwise tbh.

iguana · 17-11-2020 9:44pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I don't really see how people could find that motivational or otherwise tbh.

Really, I'd find that kind of sentiment what motivates me through a lot of things in life. I'm doing Nanowrimo at the moment (a thing where you write a novel in November) and I'd say it's a great description of my relationship with writing. Mostly it's just routine, sometimes it's a massive struggle and every so often it just flows and feels great. And you do it for the feeling you get on those great days but you'd never be able to get those good days if you didn't keep going through the routine and the bad ones. (In fact at the moment I'm lucky to even get that routine 80% of the time, I'm having way too many days when it feels 'extra heavy!')

I'd also apply that sentiment to housework, garden maintenance, knitting/crochet and certainly to numerous jobs I've had.

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Just to clarify something I spotted in an earlier post which might explain how you see it. The 80% is routine workouts...not amazing ones.

And see, this why I guess the sentiment has no resonance with me for this part of my life. It's genuinely amazing 99.5% percent of the time. I almost always feel amazing throughout and for hours/days afterwards. There are a handful of times a year where something just doesn't click and it feels kind of meh but the rest of the time I get that invincible feeling. Tbh, if I didn't have the experience of living with an addict, I'd call it addiction.

Alf Veedersane · 17-11-2020 10:22pm

iguana wrote: »

Really, I'd find that kind of sentiment what motivates me through a lot of things in life. I'm doing Nanowrimo at the moment (a thing where you write a novel in November) and I'd say it's a great description of my relationship with writing. Mostly it's just routine, sometimes it's a massive struggle and every so often it just flows and feels great. And you do it for the feeling you get on those great days but you'd never be able to get those good days if you didn't keep going through the routine and the bad ones. (In fact at the moment I'm lucky to even get that routine 80% of the time, I'm having way too many days when it feels 'extra heavy!')

I'd also apply that sentiment to housework, garden maintenance, knitting/crochet and certainly to numerous jobs I've had.

And see, this why I guess the sentiment has no resonance with me for this part of my life. It's genuinely amazing 99.5% percent of the time. I almost always feel amazing throughout and for hours/days afterwards. There are a handful of times a year where something just doesn't click and it feels kind of meh but the rest of the time I get that invincible feeling. Tbh, if I didn't have the experience of living with an addict, I'd call it addiction.

I think you're misunderstanding the whole 'routine' element.

It doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable. It doesn't mean you can't buzz off or that it's meh.

It just means that it the weights feel and move like they should. How you feel about that is something separate.

I can have a routine training session - where my top sets felt like the RPE that they should, back offs are in the range they should be etc etc - and feel great for training and have enjoyed it.

A training session can be routine and be enjoyable. They're not mutually exclusive becaise there referring to different things.

Mellor · 17-11-2020 10:24pm

iguana wrote: »

We're absolutely talking about the same thing. But maybe it's that I feel like I'm constantly progressing. I have really ambitious goals, but every goal I have is built on so many tiny improvements that I feel week on week. So while I''m really, really far off so much of what I want to do, I know I'm still constantly learning. It maybe helps that I skate in a number of different disciplines and each kind improves the others, so I'm always getting better at something even if it doesn't always look obvious.

It’s not about progression. It’s not about injuries or goals or learning. You are still conforming you are talking about something else.

Talking about how you feel amazing is also something else.

You said some days you aren’t as good as others. That’s what it is referring to. If if you still enjoy the bad days.

If somebody lifts the same weight every session for strength.
Most days are comfortable lifts. The weight moves.
Some days it will fly up and they could lift more.
Some days it will be slow and barely make it.
That’s all it is saying.

Even if somebody enjoys the slow hard days. I still don’t think they would label it as a greater achievement.

I'm not sure any of us here are Olympic level athletes? I'm not sure why that would apply to me more than any of the rest of the posters here?

That was to highlight the difference between somebody who trains in a non-competitive style for fun and somebody who trains for competition where they hold themselves to a standard. It was just clear example, I’m not saying it applies only to Olympic athletes.

Take the difference between hitting a golf ball in the garden aimlessly and playing a round of golf. As soon as you keep score you are tracking performance. Whether you are bothered by performance or not, tracking it exposes the variation that the “rule” mentioned previously.

Cill94 · 18-11-2020 12:57am

Iguana, I don't mean this disrespectfully, but it sounds like you've not been strength training long enough to understand what we're actually talking about. The point is usually clear to anyone who has gotten past the beginner stage and encountered plateaus in their numbers.

If every day was a good one where your performance improved, we'd all be benching 500 kilos after a year. Instead most will have 80% days where numbers stay around the same, 10% where they have a bad workout and do worse than normal, and maybe 10% where they're in a position to set a personal record (or at least feel great). That percentage will depend on how many gains you've already made obviously.

The post is from a lifting coach, so I don't know how relevant it is to skating.

Dtp1979 · 22-11-2020 2:30pm

I’d tell myself to use the ab wheel every day and to never take time off because the DOMS are not worth it. I did a half arsed 3 x 5 yesterday snd I’m very sore today.

Cill94 · 23-11-2020 6:51pm

Dtp1979 wrote: »

I’d tell myself to use the ab wheel every day and to never take time off because the DOMS are not worth it. I did a half arsed 3 x 5 yesterday snd I’m very sore today.

This and also it's just way easier to tip away at maintenance than build everything back up again. One tough session per week would go a long way to retaining muscle and strength during times when life is busy.

Alf Veedersane · 23-11-2020 10:21pm

Nothing will give you the kind of DOMS ab rollouts do so there's definitely a case for keeping your hand in with them every week/10 days

Patsy167 · 07-05-2021 11:17am

Going back to basics over the past few days reading up on the fundamentals. Might be of use to others -

If you're wondering what the best form of cardio is, it's the one you actually like doing the most, because that's the one you'll stick with.

If you're a beginner just starting to get the hang of macro counting, aim to hit protein, keep within calories and let fats/carbs fall where they fall.

Stop overanalyzing and lift the weights! Being stubborn and consistent will get better results than being 100% efficient and constantly changing or backtracking.

If you're new to the gym, stop trying to over analyze and over program your workouts. Just... try. A little effort is all you need.

nice bit of green · 07-05-2021 11:38am

Don’t be so reliant on a gym. Exercise can be done anywhere, anytime.

bladespin · 07-05-2021 3:46pm

You don't need 7 different bicep exercises in a workout etc etc

Patsy167 · 08-05-2021 9:53am

paw patrol · 10-05-2021 9:45am

nice bit of green wrote: »

Don’t be so reliant on a gym. Exercise can be done anywhere, anytime.

i agree to a degree but if you are into the gym esp weights it's not the same and not even a close substitute.

people who say this ignore the - you should like what you do - aspect.
because if you don't you won't commit with the same vigour.

I've had some good craic in park and met a few lads over the past year but it's piss poor (imo) compared to what I want to do.

Black Sheep · 11-05-2021 9:34am

paw patrol wrote: »

i agree to a degree but if you are into the gym esp weights it's not the same and not even a close substitute.

people who say this ignore the - you should like what you do - aspect.
because if you don't you won't commit with the same vigour.

I've had some good craic in park and met a few lads over the past year but it's piss poor (imo) compared to what I want to do.

Yeah, I think that's valid.

A gym is to training what a kitchen is to cooking, is an analogy that's in my head.

Of course you can prepare food and feed yourself without a kitchen, with a bit of ingenuity, but it's not the same as having access to that fully-stocked kitchen.

If you want to be a bodybuilder or to get maximally strong, you need a gym.

But in saying that, I also agree with the sentiment that when there's no gym you either buy your own kit or you train outdoors, there was definitely a necessity to pivot to other training approaches in the past year and a half, end of story.

Things I wish I knew 5/10 years ago

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