Exercise enthusiasts and wannabees only !!!

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Speaking of symmetricality and otherwise, the surgeon who did my knee reconstruction was like House M.D. in this regard. The first time I saw him, he was able to tell a ton about the way I use my body by just looking. Things like "your left pecs and glutes are bigger than your right ones because you are right handed and your right arm and leg are bigger and stronger. Your core muscles are compensating for your limbs. You should think about evening these things out over the long run".

 

[hrodbert696]

I don't think I shared this earlier - last Christmas my daughter gave me this book, Exercised. The author, Daniel Lieberman, is an anthropologist, and I learned a huge amount from it about how we're physically evolved and how exercise relates to culture. A few major insights:

1) Exercise isn't natural - not in the sense of performing strenuous activity voluntarily. Our ancestors, and people living in low-tech cultures like hunter-gatherers and herding people, only do it when they have to. So there's nothing surprising about not feeling motivated to exercise. There ARE reward hormones for exercising (runner's high is a dramatic example, but also more moderate ones), which probably exist in order to enable us to overcome the pain and strain of when it IS necessary, but if never used, the mechanisms to use them atrophy. So exercise is just hard and unrewarding hormonally until after you've been doing it for a few weeks and dusted those mechanisms off.

2) The human physical superpower is sweat. Even Usain Bolt can't outsprint hardly any four-footed animal. But humans are unusual in having sweat glands all over our bodies, which lets us regulate body temperature better than most animals. As a result, we can outlast almost anything at moderate strain levels, like jogging. Even before they had bows and arrows, homo erectus could throw a rock at an antelope and make it start running, then jog after it. The antelope would zip away fast, but as long as they didn't lose the trail, the hominids could just keep jogging after it all day. After a few hours of sprint and pause, gasping, sprint and pause again, the antelope would collapse of exhaustion and they could just walk up and bonk it on the head, take it home for dinner. The author tells a story of a race he was in between people on foot and people on horseback - in the desert and over some hills. At first the riders galloped off and left the runners in the dust. Ten or fifteen miles later the runners starting overtaking them.

3) Conan the Barbarian or Tarzan is not what actual human beings living in nature look like. They tend to be lean, small, and sprightly. Bulking up with lots of muscle takes a huge investment of resources, from an evolutionary perspective; enormous intake of protein and lots of time expended on repetitive actions that don't immediately secure more food or a mate (though culturally, I guess they might do so indirectly). Looked at that way, a muscular physique is a privilege of resource-rich cultures.

4) Humans are pretty much the only species where grandparents can contribute to the care of offspring. In most creatures, the combination of shorter lifespans and faster maturing mean there isn't much role for them, but humans both live longer than most and take longer to grow up. As a result, we've got various heal-and-repair mechanisms in our bodies that get triggered by physical activity, and counteract the breakdown effects of aging. If an older human is out being physical, the body figures grandpa is hunting with the men or grandma is digging tubers with the women to help feed the babies, and that's good for evolutionary success, so the activity gets rewarded with spending resources on the repair.

 

[two fingers]

I don't think I shared this earlier - last Christmas my daughter gave me this book, Exercised. The author, Daniel Lieberman, is an anthropologist, and I learned a huge amount from it about how we're physically evolved and how exercise relates to culture. A few major insights:

1) Exercise isn't natural - not in the sense of performing strenuous activity voluntarily. Our ancestors, and people living in low-tech cultures like hunter-gatherers and herding people, only do it when they have to. So there's nothing surprising about not feeling motivated to exercise. There ARE reward hormones for exercising (runner's high is a dramatic example, but also more moderate ones), which probably exist in order to enable us to overcome the pain and strain of when it IS necessary, but if never used, the mechanisms to use them atrophy. So exercise is just hard and unrewarding hormonally until after you've been doing it for a few weeks and dusted those mechanisms off.

2) The human physical superpower is sweat. Even Usain Bolt can't outsprint hardly any four-footed animal. But humans are unusual in having sweat glands all over our bodies, which lets us regulate body temperature better than most animals. As a result, we can outlast almost anything at moderate strain levels, like jogging. Even before they had bows and arrows, homo erectus could throw a rock at an antelope and make it start running, then jog after it. The antelope would zip away fast, but as long as they didn't lose the trail, the hominids could just keep jogging after it all day. After a few hours of sprint and pause, gasping, sprint and pause again, the antelope would collapse of exhaustion and they could just walk up and bonk it on the head, take it home for dinner. The author tells a story of a race he was in between people on foot and people on horseback - in the desert and over some hills. At first the riders galloped off and left the runners in the dust. Ten or fifteen miles later the runners starting overtaking them.

3) Conan the Barbarian or Tarzan is not what actual human beings living in nature look like. They tend to be lean, small, and sprightly. Bulking up with lots of muscle takes a huge investment of resources, from an evolutionary perspective; enormous intake of protein and lots of time expended on repetitive actions that don't immediately secure more food or a mate (though culturally, I guess they might do so indirectly). Looked at that way, a muscular physique is a privilege of resource-rich cultures.

4) Humans are pretty much the only species where grandparents can contribute to the care of offspring. In most creatures, the combination of shorter lifespans and faster maturing mean there isn't much role for them, but humans both live longer than most and take longer to grow up. As a result, we've got various heal-and-repair mechanisms in our bodies that get triggered by physical activity, and counteract the breakdown effects of aging. If an older human is out being physical, the body figures grandpa is hunting with the men or grandma is digging tubers with the women to help feed the babies, and that's good for evolutionary success, so the activity gets rewarded with spending resources on the repair.

Really interesting stuff!

#2 is covered a lot in a book called "Born To Run". It is also a GREAT story about a foot race through some of the most treacherous territory on Earth.

Here's what I've learned. Simply put, you have to make somewhat of a choice. Metabolically, we can either be strong, OR we can have endurance. In other words, a great marathon runner is going to be a tiny, ridiculously efficient, organism who can barely open a peanut butter jar. (Yes, I'm exaggerating for entertainment value.)

I guy who can break rocks with his hands and bench press a house probably can't run 200 yards without having to stop and pant.

There are a FEW genetic exceptions, but not many.

Our brain uses the types of exercises we do to send signals to the rest of the body.

If we start to run long distances, over the first few months our brain/body adapts to cardio. It assumes we will need to have fuel on board at all times to get us through those long runs. So our metabolism slows. We store food whenever we can. If you're going to run all the time, and always be slightly increasing your cardio, you'll be fine. I know plenty of people, however, who spend over an hour a day on the stairmaster or treadmill and get nowhere with their weight. Their bodies have adapted to the cardio. They need to add a little resistance training to speed up their metabolism with a little more muscle.

The same can be said for those who over train on weights for months. At some point their bodies adapt. All resources available go into muscle productions and maintenance. And endurance suffers. Sure, they can lift the back end of a car. But then they need a nap. (Again, intentional exaggeration.) At some point they need to add a little cardio to level things out.

But you have to choose a path (no matter what Crossfit people yell you.) You can't be an awesome marathon runner AND a jacked body builder/Olympic style power lifter. Impossible. There's no brain signal, or metabolism adaptation, for "everything all the time". Again, despite what the disciples of the church of CrossFit say, at best, your strength and endurance will be a compromise doing both. Never mind that you will simply best the crap out of yourself in order to gain less endurance or strength than you would by choosing to pursue one or the other as your primary programming.

I have chosen to follow the path of strength training first. Why? Well, I was weak. I could take 6 floors on the stairs just fine. But it was all I could do to grab ahold of a log in back yard and throw it in my utility trailer.

A couple times a week I'm ending my workout by pushing a weighted sled back and forth in the functional training room. THAT gets my heart going and helps with endurance (and all the other benefits of cardio).

The science of exercise is fascinating. I'll check out that book for sure. In fact I just used an Audible credit for it. If it doesn't come with a PDF I may get the paper version.

 

[FilterFunk]

1) Exercise isn't natural - not in the sense of performing strenuous activity voluntarily. Our ancestors, and people living in low-tech cultures like hunter-gatherers and herding people, only do it when they have to. So there's nothing surprising about not feeling motivated to exercise. There ARE reward hormones for exercising (runner's high is a dramatic example, but also more moderate ones), which probably exist in order to enable us to overcome the pain and strain of when it IS necessary, but if never used, the mechanisms to use them atrophy. So exercise is just hard and unrewarding hormonally until after you've been doing it for a few weeks and dusted those mechanisms off.

Interesting...

I saw this picture on FB; the caption said this is a sharecropper in the 1930s:

Upon seeing this pic, it occurred to me that if this guy was walking down the street in 2022, people would assume he's a competitive athlete or someone who works out regularly. One of the main reasons we work out today is because the workforce has so dramatically changed from outdoor manual labor to indoor retail/office work. If we don't fit in some kind of regular exercise, we won't be fit.

It also occurs to me that exercise is built into our childhoods - it's called play! When I was growing up in the '60s/'70s, we were ridiculously active. When we became adults and had to work for a living, we had to make time for exercise, unless we happened to choose a profession that involved manual labor. Also, when I was a kid we had plenty of chores, which included a lot of yard work.

 

[two fingers]

Interesting...

I saw this picture on FB; the caption said this is a sharecropper in the 1930s:
View attachment 4759038

Upon seeing this pic, it occurred to me that if this guy was walking down the street in 2022, people would assume he's a competitive athlete or someone who works out regularly. One of the main reasons we work out today is because the workforce has so dramatically changed from outdoor manual labor to indoor retail/office work. If we don't fit in some kind of regular exercise, we won't be fit.

It also occurs to me that exercise is built into our childhoods - it's called play! When I was growing up in the '60s/'70s, we were ridiculously active. When we became adults and had to work for a living, we had to make time for exercise, unless we happened to choose a profession that involved manual labor. Also, when I was a kid we had plenty of chores, which included a lot of yard work.

Unless I'm mistaken, you're agreeing with the author.... and @hrodbert696 in fact. If I'm understanding correctly, they're making the point that having to voluntarily go to a gym and do repetitive motions for exercise is "unnatural", and yet necessary, because of our lifestyles changing over time.

The dude in that pic could probably throw me across the room. But his "exercise" was in the form of hard labor. In many areas of the world we, in essence, have to fabricate forms of "hard labor" to get in shape like that.

 

[FilterFunk]

Unless I'm mistaken, you're agreeing with the author.... and @hrodbert696 in fact. If I'm understanding correctly, they're making the point that having to voluntarily go to a gym and do repetitive motions for exercise is "unnatural", and yet necessary, because of our lifestyles changing over time.

The dude in that pic could probably throw me across the room. But his "exercise" was in the form of hard labor. In many areas of the world we, in essence, have to fabricate forms of "hard labor" to get in shape like that.

Exactly.

I concur with the author and with hrodbert696...and with you.

 

[hrodbert696]

Interesting...

I saw this picture on FB; the caption said this is a sharecropper in the 1930s:
View attachment 4759038

Upon seeing this pic, it occurred to me that if this guy was walking down the street in 2022, people would assume he's a competitive athlete or someone who works out regularly. One of the main reasons we work out today is because the workforce has so dramatically changed from outdoor manual labor to indoor retail/office work. If we don't fit in some kind of regular exercise, we won't be fit.

It also occurs to me that exercise is built into our childhoods - it's called play! When I was growing up in the '60s/'70s, we were ridiculously active. When we became adults and had to work for a living, we had to make time for exercise, unless we happened to choose a profession that involved manual labor. Also, when I was a kid we had plenty of chores, which included a lot of yard work.

Yes. And agreed - that guy is in shape from long days of farmwork, not from hitting the gym. Which is closer to "natural" (by which I mean prehistoric, or similar) human life than sitting in an office all day, but also different. It's somewhere in between. A hunter-gatherer actually spends a lot of their day hanging around, resting, conserving scarce calorie resources. There are bursts of activity (jogging after an antelope, digging up roots, etc.), but also a lot of rest, and the activity is only occasionally really strenuous in that muscle-building kind of way. Agriculture changes that, provides a more substantial food supply but requires long days of muscle work. And even then not many farmers come out looking like young Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

[FilterFunk]

Yes. And agreed - that guy is in shape from long days of farmwork, not from hitting the gym. Which is closer to "natural" (by which I mean prehistoric, or similar) human life than sitting in an office all day, but also different. It's somewhere in between. A hunter-gatherer actually spends a lot of their day hanging around, resting, conserving scarce calorie resources. There are bursts of activity (jogging after an antelope, digging up roots, etc.), but also a lot of rest, and the activity is only occasionally really strenuous in that muscle-building kind of way. Agriculture changes that, provides a more substantial food supply but requires long days of muscle work. And even then not many farmers come out looking like young Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," it shows footage of young men in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) working in the parks. Just about every one of them had that archetype lean physique - not big, totally ripped or overly muscular, just work-all-day lean.

 

[Joe Nerve]

61 yrs old and happy about it. Yes, its dye, but the rest is all me. Always feel weird posting these, but they help keep me motivated and hopefully motivate others. Picture taken 5 minutes ago... still have sit-ups to do today...

 

[slimefuzz]

I started working out at 17 after moving to USA from Australia the year before (1980) and
putting on about 25 pounds. Lost most of that first year in college.
Went thru various phases and due to spinal issues can't lift heavy weights but still do
light weights and resistance bands twice a week, cardio kickbox twice a week and
swim 1/2 mile plus other aquatic exercises twice a week. Also walk at least 1 mile a day.
It's been a continuous journey to figure out which exercises are actually health for my
body, and it's going well the last few years with this routine.
(don't look like a body builder, but was never going for bulk anyway)

peace
mike

 

[Razman]

61 yrs old and happy about it. Yes, its dye, but the rest is all me. Always feel weird posting these, but they help keep me motivated and hopefully motivate others. Picture taken 5 minutes ago... still have sit-ups to do today...

View attachment 4777048

You look great Joe! I'm due for a haircut - maybe I need to post before/after photos as I loose 10 years when I get one!

 

[two fingers]

61 yrs old and happy about it. Yes, its dye, but the rest is all me. Always feel weird posting these, but they help keep me motivated and hopefully motivate others. Picture taken 5 minutes ago... still have sit-ups to do today...

View attachment 4777048

Lookin good man! Proof I can still get it done when I get there. I'm not too far behind you.

 

[two fingers]

You look great Joe! I'm due for a haircut - maybe I need to post before/after photos as I loose 10 years when I get one!

Oof. My hair is 2 1/2 feet long and thick as vines. I would probably lose ten POUNDS if I cut it.

 

[Razman]

Oof. My hair is 2 1/2 feet long and thick as vines. I would probably lose ten POUNDS if I cut it.

Pic?

 

[MJ5150]

Pic?

Naw, we don't need people showing off pictures of the hair around here.

-Mike

 

[two fingers]

I started working out at 17 after moving to USA from Australia the year before (1980) and
putting on about 25 pounds. Lost most of that first year in college.
Went thru various phases and due to spinal issues can't lift heavy weights but still do
light weights and resistance bands twice a week, cardio kickbox twice a week and
swim 1/2 mile plus other aquatic exercises twice a week. Also walk at least 1 mile a day.
It's been a continuous journey to figure out which exercises are actually health for my
body, and it's going well the last few years with this routine.
(don't look like a body builder, but was never going for bulk anyway)

peace
mike

The very best exercise routine for YOU is the one that you can stick to consistently without doing more harm than good.

 

[two fingers]

Pic?

Ha! Turns out I don’t take many selfies. I took this one to show my girls I wore a shirt to work that they gave me for fathers day. The top is tied back. Quick and dirty scribble over my work security badge. It's even longer in the back. I just left the gym so it's all tied up right now.

 

[FilterFunk]

The very best exercise routine for YOU is the one that you can stick to consistently without doing more harm than good.

I heard someone say that a diet is only as good as how long you'll stick to it. The same goes for an exercise routine.

 

[Pilgrim]

The year before I retired (2018) I dropped a bit more than 10 pounds, and I have kept it off. Since retiring, my wife dropped 20 pounds. She and I do a Yoga/Pilates class twice a week. At age 72 I'm not feeling too bad. We may add a third class every week so we're doing the workout every other day. We got lucky and joined a large health club which had a special of $90 per month which covers both of us. We used to spend that much in Yoga classes a couple of times a month, and now we're in comparable classes 8 times a month. We've been doing that for two years now. We have full access to all the club facilities and classes, and I've also tried some Tai Chi classes.

I have neuropathy in my feet, which results in pain from extended walking. That limits me to about 2 miles per walk, so although my wife hikes with friends, I sit those events out. I can walk 9 holes (about 2.5 miles on our favorite course) without too much discomfort, so that's about the longest walk I get.

But you have to listen to your body. It's OK to challenge it, but by the time you hit 60+, you realize that injuries take much longer to heal than they used to.

 

[Razman]

Ha! Turns out I don’t take many selfies. I took this one to show my girls I wore a shirt to work that they gave me for fathers day. The top is tied back. Quick and dirty scribble over my work security badge. It's even longer in the back. I just left the gym so it's all tied up right now.
View attachment 4777327

I don’t know how you do it - maybe where I’m from (MN) but not here in Florida. I’d be miserable with that much hair! I’d go back to cutting mine every two weeks if it was cost-effective.

Anyway, here I am at about 4-ish weeks from my last cut and plan on getting a razor fade right after work. I should be back to normal shortly!