Treadmill n smart training

[frostfire]

If you’re a CrossFit stud, preparing for sfas, spartan race, etc. This is not for you. If you’re a FOG/POG/FAG w chronic injuries/ailment/pain n striving to stay in hardass zone but not crossing over to dumbass zone, hopefully this is an encouragement.

Just an SF n SWG EOD reject here but by God’s grace I get to support the conduct of foreign policy at the front line for last few years. Lockdowns were aplenty so treadmill was the default. I’ve never liked it back at Bragg but hey the show must continue. In a nutshell, I pick a number that’s non negotiable. It was 7 miles/week for me. Then I go with a mile or 1.5 a day. How long and how fast depend on the knee n health status. Set a weekly goal and no matter what, hungover, sick, minor injuries etc., I complete the set run. I make sure the intensity is consistent via max HR. Nothing hard core at all n I never ran beyond 1.5 miles. I set the elevation to 2.0. Unlike in the past, I ignored the Marines n SMU hardcore training n stick w my plain regiment. I also cook my own food n there isn’t much processed food here. I interspersed weight/tabata about once a week.

Well, 8 months of this n I dropped 20 lbs! Lighter than high school weight yet more muscular. The knee pain also disappeared, which leads me to believe our knees are truly assigned max (continuous) load bearing weight. During last apft, I ran the quickest in my 10 years of service.... at low 14, wearing boots in the rain! ( the no nonsense NCO saw those are not helping me so he let me make the call).

to recap: listen to your body, maintain intensity based on HR (plateau can mean you need to stick w it just bit longer), eat as natural as possible, drop some lbs...n hijack the brain to make more HGH via intermittent fasting. YMMV but you may be surprised to find yourself performing better than your 10 years younger self

[TOMAHAWK9521]

Been medically retired for 10 yrs and my chassis has taken so much abuse that the cumulative effect has cratered me for the last couple years. I can't turn the old reliable types of cardio/core activities so I'm looking at a VersaClimber for rehab/recovery. I know they're a bit intense for the uninitiated but I need something that is as low impact as possible. Not a fan of ellipticals and the best treadmill I ever came across was the "Curve". But one day of a good run is always followed by a bad weak of angry knees.

Unfortunately, the VersaClimber is probably the one machine I have spent the least amount of time on. I'd love to try one out for a bit before cutting a check but there are no dealers/vendors in the area and most of the gyms aren't equipped with one. My attraction to it is that, from what I understand, it allows for a full body workout, focusing on the core, and has one of the smallest footprint of all the machines out there. For my situation, I'm looking at their sports/physical rehab model that is designed for broke dicks, such as myself.

I'm also looking at it for safety reasons. The cold, wet weather is moving back into this region of Idaho, and some days can be a serious gut check to go outside. And with the days getting shorter, it can be potentially hazardous to maintain the same morning routine of going for a walk due to the increased presence of rutting bulls or cow moose, often accompanied by calves, both of which I have previously encountered

I've had to undergo double shoulder surgeries in the past 18 months, which is what kicked me into the dirt. I don't know about the rest of you, but recovering from one shoulder surgery, let alone two, pretty stops all other physical activities. Even walking can be too much for the first few months. Now that the core is hilariously weak, the spinal damage I incurred way back in my early years has created a myriad of problems for me. Sadly, I foresaw this problem way back then that if I ever got down to such a low level of fitness. Now, the trick is to try and and work my way back without irritating the spine, which is difficult without a good cardio/core workout that I can improve incrementally.

[tonyz]

FOG here - all the usual injuries from an active youth - knees, back L5-S1, carpel, etc., etc...

Not ready to quit yet, so been having a good time recently with a Concept 2 rower.
No impact and you can work much of the body and heart rate. Fast, convenient, just another experience for some folks. YMMV

[Uman]

Some professional runners who are milers use the tread mill for pace training. Tread mills can fit right in for CFers too.

C2 rowers and Airdyne bikes are also great for non impact.

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by TOMAHAWK9521

Been medically retired for 10 yrs and my chassis has taken so much abuse that the cumulative effect has cratered me for the last couple years. I can't turn the old reliable types of cardio/core activities so I'm looking at a VersaClimber for rehab/recovery. I know they're a bit intense for the uninitiated but I need something that is as low impact as possible. Not a fan of ellipticals and the best treadmill I ever came across was the "Curve". But one day of a good run is always followed by a bad weak of angry knees.

Unfortunately, the VersaClimber is probably the one machine I have spent the least amount of time on. I'd love to try one out for a bit before cutting a check but there are no dealers/vendors in the area and most of the gyms aren't equipped with one. My attraction to it is that, from what I understand, it allows for a full body workout, focusing on the core, and has one of the smallest footprint of all the machines out there. For my situation, I'm looking at their sports/physical rehab model that is designed for broke dicks, such as myself.

I'm also looking at it for safety reasons. The cold, wet weather is moving back into this region of Idaho, and some days can be a serious gut check to go outside. And with the days getting shorter, it can be potentially hazardous to maintain the same morning routine of going for a walk due to the increased presence of rutting bulls or cow moose, often accompanied by calves, both of which I have previously encountered

I've had to undergo double shoulder surgeries in the past 18 months, which is what kicked me into the dirt. I don't know about the rest of you, but recovering from one shoulder surgery, let alone two, pretty stops all other physical activities. Even walking can be too much for the first few months. Now that the core is hilariously weak, the spinal damage I incurred way back in my early years has created a myriad of problems for me. Sadly, I foresaw this problem way back then that if I ever got down to such a low level of fitness. Now, the trick is to try and and work my way back without irritating the spine, which is difficult without a good cardio/core workout that I can improve incrementally.

my heart goes out to you. Talking about double (or triple) whammy. Not sure if the fact that you foresaw it makes it better or not.
Have you checked out water-borne exercises i.e. look for aqua boot camp or swet boot camp or pool core exercise as keyword on youknowwhattube.
I understand access to pool can be a limiting factor.

I myself has finally entered the zero ego zone i.e. I used to think for strength those cables are lame and dumbells and olympic lifts are the warrior way! Well, with my wrist and fingers tendon often in kaputt mode, I have gone to the cables, resistance band, machines, and pool. Not going to use swollen wrists as excuse for atrophy and pity party.

The days of pain also gave me a humbling revelation. I worked at post ortho as my first medical job and used to think why are these patients so lazy. They slept a lot and not starting the prescribed physical therapy pronto....
Well, having experienced chronic pain that wakes one up from sleep, I truly appreciate how the body is constantly is revved up mode with pain and thus you can be so tired you sleep aplenty (w poor REM stage)

[tonyz]

Originally Posted by frostfire

The days of pain also gave me a humbling revelation. I worked at post ortho as my first medical job and used to think why are these patients so lazy. They slept a lot and not starting the prescribed physical therapy pronto....
Well, having experienced chronic pain that wakes one up from sleep, I truly appreciate how the body is constantly is revved up mode with pain and thus you can be so tired you sleep aplenty (w poor REM stage)

Yes, injuries and age can be humbling...but they can also be valuable lessons for the young studs.

I often read wise words of advice here about potentially overtraining - and taking great care of your body - from those who know best. I grew up in the age of “rub some dirt on it...”

Now, the age of zero ego for me too. I used to function on 2-4 hours of sleep a night no problem...now...let’s just say that with old age and pain...I now find that naps are seriously underrated !

[TOMAHAWK9521]

I had to grit my teeth and swallow my frustration while talking to a young 18E I worked for on my last contract gig. Last year, he informed me that he was diagnosed with a severely torn rotator cuff. I believe the damage went through multiple layers of tissue groups and required a heck of a lot more repairs than mine did. And as of today, he's telling me that he's already back to doing 12 dead-hang pull ups, yoga, weight training, and actually made a static line jump. I kinda hate him.

However, he said part of his quick recovery was due to the use of HGH, which I don't quite understand how that might affect my other chassis issues, so I'll wait to see if the docs think it's a good idea.

I did get to provide a sobering revelation to the young stud: I've got almost 20 years on him and f*ck load more road damage than he does, which may be why I'm struggling to get everything realigned and in tune again. He laughed and admitted that my point was well taken. Hooray for me.

On the bright side, my massage therapist was able to isolate and grind out the knot of scar tissue and muscle in my pec, near where the last surgery took place last December. I can now raise my arm forward and across the chest with little irritation.

[Joker]

^^^ Great news on the progress. Keep pushing as much as you can.

[WarriorDiplomat]

Originally Posted by TOMAHAWK9521

I had to grit my teeth and swallow my frustration while talking to a young 18E I worked for on my last contract gig. Last year, he informed me that he was diagnosed with a severely torn rotator cuff. I believe the damage went through multiple layers of tissue groups and required a heck of a lot more repairs than mine did. And as of today, he's telling me that he's already back to doing 12 dead-hang pull ups, yoga, weight training, and actually made a static line jump. I kinda hate him.

However, he said part of his quick recovery was due to the use of HGH, which I don't quite understand how that might affect my other chassis issues, so I'll wait to see if the docs think it's a good idea.

I did get to provide a sobering revelation to the young stud: I've got almost 20 years on him and f*ck load more road damage than he does, which may be why I'm struggling to get everything realigned and in tune again. He laughed and admitted that my point was well taken. Hooray for me.

On the bright side, my massage therapist was able to isolate and grind out the knot of scar tissue and muscle in my pec, near where the last surgery took place last December. I can now raise my arm forward and across the chest with little irritation.

I would be interested in how he came to the conclusion that HGH helped his tendons since HGH and anabolics have no affect on skeletal muscle....I can see it though being helpful in overall healing just not on ligaments or tendons....in fact most SOF shoulder damage during GWOT was caused more than likely by anabolic useage overseas where their muscle strength exceeded their tendon and ligament strength and as a result the strain damaged their shoulder while bench-pressing far more weight than their skeletal muscle was strengthened to handle since it only gets thicker and stronger at 1/3 the rate of muscle, So a good rule of thumb is to train high reps low weight 1 day medium the next and heavy 1 every 3 days.

I too have rotator cuff damage but have been able to heal it with physical therapy and retraining the muscles that I had neglected that actually holds the joint into the socket back and down....good news is they heal over time.

Have you considered TRT therapy? it would be essentially the same thing as HGH for your bodies repair mechanisms and overall health

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by frostfire

to recap: listen to your body, maintain intensity based on HR (plateau can mean you need to stick w it just bit longer), eat as natural as possible, drop some lbs...n hijack the brain to make more HGH via intermittent fasting.

well, I had to stop taking methorexate since suppressing immune system doesnt make much sense with COVID. Thanks to it, I also had the worst GI and worst flu few weeks back (who knows, could have been covid as I had the symptoms). As I was bed bound, I gained weight and my knees quickly reminded me I'm out of "specs." I also noticed my resting HR was 54, which was high for me since my baseline was 37. I was going downhill

Without the DMARDS, the pain and swelling expectantly return. Since running/sprinting gives me pain/swelling for days afterwards, I have downgraded to walk/trot. I put the treadmill machine to max elevation at 15, then walk at 3.3 and trot at 4.0 back and forth for 12 to 13 min or until the forehead is sweating profusely/200-210 bpm. I do this daily after fasting from 8pm-noon and just before lunch (hunger and fasted low intensity make the best spice btw, I cook the same for days and it's tasty each time!). In the evening few times a week I do core and cables to spare the swollen wrist.

I'm glad to report that after some time I dropped 3-4 lbs, and am 8lbs away from the goal. Also, that daily inclined walk fasted cardio is even a better substitute that my resting HR has gone to 33! I am still building back to bench press baseline though, which was body weight + 10 lbs