The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

Rome wasn’t built in…12 years?

 

thank you

 

That is great! I remember hitting 405 on deadlift... and that was in my mid-twenties... a looooong time ago!

 

Thanks

 

I never track miles on any of my shoes. I know when my running shoes need replacing by feel. If I return from a ~5K run and my feet still feel great, my shoes are OK. If my feet feel "tired," I know the shock absorbing feature of my running shoes are gone and it's time to move on to the next pair. I can still use these for mowing the lawn, but I won't run in them again.

 

Tracking mileage wouldn't have helped me in the situation I am about to relay, so please don't think I am replying to you as a "counterpoint" comment. Just passing along a lesson learned by me 2020-2021.

I developed planters fasciitis. Been running over 30 years and never a problem. Shoe felt fine, low-med mileage on them, trail shoes so extra cushioning.

I was sitting there looking at the heal of the shoe one day and noticed the groove running across the bottom could be spread open with my finger. Sure enough, there was a tiny pebble up in that gap. The sole was soft enough that the pebble compressed enough space to hide up in there. Not visible just looking at the shoe. Never felt a thing and even after I knew it was in there and I tried with fingers, as well as jumping up and down with shoe on.

Removed the pebble and kept wearing said shoes. PF went away, even though I was not very patient as far as taking a break to heal.

I am definitely better about inspecting my shoes these days. Only took me limping around and almost missing my annual Half Marathon.

 

Haha

I feel your pain. Its always little shit like that, that seems to cause issues.

Just out of curiosity, what shoe?

 

Don't laugh. It was a $50 pair of heavy ass Sketchers. I buy whatever feels good when I try it on. I like to train in heavy shoes. I don't read any info on shoes, just "try and buy". I liked the cushioning insole and sole (hindsight...?) on them and the sidewalls felt real supporting. I like shoes with a strong side to keep me from rolling left or right.

I always wear two pair of socks, turned inside out to keep any seams form rubbing my feet. Inner pair are nylon, outer pair is cotton.

I do have some New Balance shoes that are lighter that I use just for races. They're ones I retired, so they don't blister me.

 

I'm going to laugh at you over the two socks thing. I feel like thats like using two condoms... gonna have a bad time LOL

BUT... don't fix what ain't broke. If it works, it works.

I don't know how your feet don't get sweaty as hell though haha.

The older I get, the more I need minimalist shoes with minimal padding and no drop. I have very narrow feet so on a trail I need the ability to foot plant directly on the ground for stability. The higher padded shoes become more unstable and it's honestly like a wedge so if you roll you roll longer and harder.

But I do more technical trails and I need my proprioception in my feet. If I can't sense rock and path changes I feel like it makes it harder to be light on foot on the downhills and you are more likely to get tripped up and face plant into some not so forgiving terrain.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee yah know?

 

Okay, I'll accept the laughter over the socks because I thought me buying Sketchers "running shoes" at Shoe Carnival would be more likely to get me thrashed like the OP of a Friday night oil change thread in the 3rd gen section.

I need to get more into the trail running. My body needs more off pavement miles at my age. Hips and back are definitely letting me know I am about to the "this no longer makes good sense" stage. Having good cardio after 65 only means I'll die of cancer anyway

BTW, here is the sole of the shoe that gave me Plantares Faucitis

Heel had the same tight crack as midsole in this pic:



It later wore out to a much larger space and I would have seen the pebble in there

 

LOL Trails aren't necessarily any easier on your body. In fact I laugh when people say that. Knock on wood I've never fallen while pavement running, vs. trail running I've taken some nasty spills. I actually have a bruise on my shoulder that's been there since August.

All depends on the technicality of the trail. Around here most of the paved paths I run on are just super flat. So it's the same muscles step after step after step after step. So it almost wears me out more than trails.

Looking at those shoes looks like you are heel striker like me.

There is actually something to be said about shitty shoes on clearance. They may not be ideal and wear out faster, but that actually helps your feet gradually get stronger. Versus wearing shit like Hokas and in a way handicapping yourself and increasing risk for injury because you aren't allowing your feet and lower legs to strengthen to support yourself. Shoes are important, but you also don't want to become overly reliant on having a specific shoe with perfect padding in order to avoid injury.

I remember when I first started out, when my shoes wore out I had horrible joint pain. Like someone took a hammer to my heels at night while I slept. Now after so many years and ten thousand miles later, I can feel when my shoes need replacing but it doesn't cause me that level of discomfort.

The rock thing is funny though, like the Princess and the Pea lol.

 

PF sucks! I was stricken with it around the turn of the century, and didn't get back into running until this past November. I had to quit running for 7 months to get over it, and when I started back, I just couldn't get back into it like I did before. Basically I went from running 6 days/week to not running at all. I would occasionally try, but it just wasn't comfortable. I decided to take up daily walking instead.

Fast forward a little over 20 years, and I'm back! I'm finally back...lol I'm still pretty slow, but I'm getting there. My first 3 mile run back was a 43:53 on November 16th. That was the first time I was able to run 3 miles without stopping to walk. My fastest recent time was last week when I ran a 30:57. As I drop weight and run more, those times will continue coming down. I expect to eventually get my 5K time down to ~28 minutes. Guess that's not bad for someone in their 60s...lol

As shoes goes, I have two pair in the rotation. One is always Brooks, and I rotate through different brands for the other shoes. I'm currently running in On CloudFlyers. I bought them several months back when I was walking, and thought they needed a little more cushioning. The first time I ran in them they felt absolutely perfect.

As for weight, I started at 240 on November 5th, and I weighed in at 211 this morning. My next goal is to first drop below 200, and I should hit that by the end of February. From there I want to finally settle around 185. That should be a good weight for me.

I have an 8K in March, and that's why I want to get under 200 lbs by the end of February. If I continue running all year, I might finally try a half the following year.

 

I deal with PF as a symptom to another problem on and off.

I started dealing with it after a round of serving on concrete floors 12 hours a day in not so great shoes.

I saw a PT and backed off my running and tried to get it to heal. No much luck. Did more power hiking on trails, got worse.

One day it was so bad I could hardly walk, got totally pissed off. Screw this I'm not accepting this bull shit. I jumped on the TM and forced a 6 mile run.

Got off the TM and was perfectly fine. Walked away like nothing.

My gait when I walk/hike is screwed up, not my gait when I run. My gait when I run is more optimal, shorter stride, and requires less soleus muscle activation.

Key is finding out what is causing the PF and address it. Usually stopping all activity is not the answer, and in fact that can make it worse if you aren't careful.

Being barefoot as much as possible is a major help as well as zero drop shoes with no arch support and minimal padding helps a ton.

This injury plagues a lot of people and it's funny how everyone is all different with it.

 

Luckily, I stay a little underweight and was able to start running again before I was completely over the PF. Didn't seem to slow my recovery too bad as it was gone in several months if I remember right.

I used to do some shoe rotation but have kind of fallen out of the habit. I think it's a good practice. Like I said above, I have an old pair of lightweight shoes I use for races, but I don't train in them anymore. "Saving" them for race days.

Good luck on the half marathon. At my age, the training gets harder every year because our local race is 1st weekend of October. That means serious training takes place during the two hottest, most humid months of the year. And we get a LOT of high humidity +90 degree days. Really hard to stay motivated. Even morning runs are a sweat fest.

I've tried following plans, varying the emphasis, etc over 20+ yrs of half marathon training. For me, seems the trifecta approach gets me the most ready: lots of hills; 3 x 6-8 miles during the week and 8-12 on Sunday; some speed work of various kinds. I try never to stop when going up the hills, even if I have to take 30 seconds at the top. I also run a little faster (vs race pace) during training than most plans recommend. The month before a half, I usually run a total of about 120 miles.

Weight training is a big part of how "easy or hard" my race feels but it doesn't seem to affect my times that much. Just gives me more stamina/less pain during the race when my muscles have been pushed. I usually fall off though the last 6 weeks or so due to all my energy going into the running. I know, not the best approach but it's what I got at this point.

I gotta be honest, most days I run whatever my mind and body allow as far as pace. Distance, set and I stick to it. Pace, whatever I got.

 

Anyone in here still lift or is this the running thread now?

 

We’re still here! I think the thread is just going through it’s normal pendulum swing back to more running. We just gotta wait or turn for the lifting/strength training to come back around

 

I do
Dead’s
Back squat
Front squat
Bench
Clean and jerk
Snatch
Mainly.

 

I’m definitely not a running/cardio guy just love to lift. Recently started the conjugate method and I love it!

 

The only thing I lift are cans of beer and bottles of bourbon these days.

I haven’t truly lifted since March and I need to get back to it. Bad.

 

speaking of bourbon… got this for my birthday yesterday from my dad.