Are you leveling up outside of EQ? (fitness thread)

[Canelek]

When it isn't on the extreme side of things, weather-wise, I like to run. My day job office is downtown next to the river, so it makes for a nice 5K loop along river to a bridge, back along river to another bridge. It has been 95+ for a couple weeks so it'll be a bitch when I start back up again.

I plan on skiing more this winter, time and money permitting.

[khysanth]

I'm doing a solo wilderness backpacking trip in a couple weeks. Been doing some trail conditioning with 8-14 mile hikes with all my gear, food, and water in my pack (~25lbs).

Other than that, the usual ~5 nights a week running or bicycling.

[Canelek]

Originally Posted by khysanth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'm doing a solo wilderness backpacking trip in a couple weeks. Been doing some trail conditioning with 8-14 mile hikes with all my gear, food, and water in my pack (~25lbs).

Other than that, the usual ~5 nights a week running or bicycling.

Wow, you pack light! Next time I go on a multi-day trip, I will prepare my gear a bit better. Last time I did this I was packing around 40lb and that was pretty rough. I believe much of the issue was my tent and sleeping bag weight, not to mention my pack wasn't very light to begin with.

[Lhancelot]

Originally Posted by Canelek [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Wow, you pack light! Next time I go on a multi-day trip, I will prepare my gear a bit better. Last time I did this I was packing around 40lb and that was pretty rough. I believe much of the issue was my tent and sleeping bag weight, not to mention my pack wasn't very light to begin with.

Long time ago, I had to partake in a 12 mile road march and the standard pack was weighed and had to be 30 pounds. This was not an easy stroll.

40 pounds would be really rough unless you were in extraordinary shape, I'd think. Considering you got 40 pounds on you, along with worn gear I assume. That's a lot of weight.

[Canelek]

Originally Posted by Lhancelot [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Long time ago, I had to partake in a 12 mile road march and the standard pack was weighed and had to be 30 pounds. This was not an easy stroll.

40 pounds would be really rough unless you were in extraordinary shape, I'd think. Considering you got 40 pounds on you, along with worn gear I assume. That's a lot of weight.

Definitely not in extraordinary shape! Hiking poles and a relatively gentle grade (this was along Opal Creek in western Oregon) were extremely helpful. The longest stretch was 8 miles, but we took a few breaks. The other advantage was excellent spring weather, plenty of cold water and a bit of bourbon. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Luckily, I didn't do any harm to myself, but in retrospect I should have been packing much lighter for a single overnight on the trail. I went on a bit of gear spending spree and brought way too much crap. WTB Tink bag?

Next time I'll try to find good deals on ultralight equipment as well as get better at packing essentials.

[Lhancelot]

Originally Posted by Canelek [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Definitely not in extraordinary shape! Hiking poles and a relatively gentle grade (this was along Opal Creek in western Oregon) were extremely helpful. The longest stretch was 8 miles, but we took a few breaks. The other advantage was excellent spring weather, plenty of cold water and a bit of bourbon. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Luckily, I didn't do any harm to myself, but in retrospect I should have been packing much lighter for a single overnight on the trail. I went on a bit of gear spending spree and brought way too much crap. WTB Tink bag?

Next time I'll try to find good deals on ultralight equipment as well as get better at packing essentials.

My time "hiking" was while in the military doing road marches, so what we packed was very organized and we didn't have a lot of options to over-pack. We were timed, and our packs weighed to ensure everyone was carrying the same amount of weight.

I had the unfortunacy of being attached to an airborn betallion, and so my own non-airborn battery had to march and be tested under the same requirements of the airborn units we were part of. That 12 mile road march was one of their physical requirements.

Come to think of it, it's the same with packing for vacation too. If you never been to a place you tend to overpack and take lots of things you really don't need... But after you been to a certain place a couple times you master exactly what you need and what you do not need. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[khysanth]

Originally Posted by Canelek [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Wow, you pack light! Next time I go on a multi-day trip, I will prepare my gear a bit better. Last time I did this I was packing around 40lb and that was pretty rough. I believe much of the issue was my tent and sleeping bag weight, not to mention my pack wasn't very light to begin with.

Been slowly upgrading my gear to lighter weight stuff over the last few years. The big 3 are definitely where you can shave off the most weight (tent, sleeping bag, pack). It's best to upgrade your other stuff before your pack though, because once your gear is dialed in, you know exactly how big your pack has to be and how much weight it needs to comfortably hold.

[maskedmelonpai]

I've made it up to about 21% body fat and gotta say, i am pretty fricken happy with my shape. would like to lose 5-10lb of muscle though. thought about implementing some length unfed cardio sessions in a protein deficit, but worried I might lose lower body mass and don't want that. mostly just want smaller shoulders, arms, chest. got a bit a imbalance between chest and back and it; combine with desk work assaultin my posture. thinking about tackling these separately. liek maybe first I work on the chest/arms by doing liek super high reps to exhaustion with insufficient protein and lotta stretching to break down and limber up my chest/shoulders/arms and THEN finish balancing it out by building up my back a bit with liek proper routine and okay good protein intake. any suggestions?

[skarlorn]

Originally Posted by maskedmelonpai [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I've made it up to about 21% body fat and gotta say, i am pretty fricken happy with my shape. would like to lose 5-10lb of muscle though. thought about implementing some length unfed cardio sessions in a protein deficit, but worried I might lose lower body mass and don't want that. mostly just want smaller shoulders, arms, chest. got a bit a imbalance between chest and back and it; combine with desk work assaultin my posture. thinking about tackling these separately. liek maybe first I work on the chest/arms by doing liek super high reps to exhaustion with insufficient protein and lotta stretching to break down and limber up my chest/shoulders/arms and THEN finish balancing it out by building up my back a bit with liek proper routine and okay good protein intake. any suggestions?

awesome

[Lhancelot]

Originally Posted by maskedmelonpai [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I've made it up to about 21% body fat and gotta say, i am pretty fricken happy with my shape. would like to lose 5-10lb of muscle though. thought about implementing some length unfed cardio sessions in a protein deficit, but worried I might lose lower body mass and don't want that. mostly just want smaller shoulders, arms, chest. got a bit a imbalance between chest and back and it; combine with desk work assaultin my posture. thinking about tackling these separately. liek maybe first I work on the chest/arms by doing liek super high reps to exhaustion with insufficient protein and lotta stretching to break down and limber up my chest/shoulders/arms and THEN finish balancing it out by building up my back a bit with liek proper routine and okay good protein intake. any suggestions?

Why not just do more cardio, and light weight/higher reps for toning? Keep protein intake at normal range no need to take in tons of protein, just enough to sustain body healthily. main thing is also not to eat/drink protein supplements unless you ensure the caloric intake is not high. Most of these types of supplements are packed full of calories and you will grow stronger but also bulkier.

If you trying to lose the bulkiness to your muscles, then do more cardio and do not do heavy weight training/lifting and that should do it. Higher reps will burn more calories alongside the cardio.

You could do calisthenics too, instead of lighter weight training... do floor braces, pushups, pullups, floor lunges, body squats, etc. So many exercises that you can do with zero equipment and these exercises not only sculpt your body well but give you practical strength, not just muscles that are big when you flex them.

That's what I would do if I was trying to lose bulkiness and yet still keep my strength. I honestly feel calisthenics are by far better for you than any weight lifting that involves exercise weights.

There are some really impressive books out there too, that go really deep into the science of calisthenics, my favorite is this one:

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I realize the book appears gimmicky, but once you open it up and read the information inside, it blows you away! It goes into the history of past strongmen, how they exercised, has pictures of them, and also goes into detail of the history of how modern weight training evolved. The author is a big proponent of using calisthenics to gain strength, and basically explains why in great detail. It starts you out with very basic exercises to get your feet wet slowly before it progresses you into the harder exercises. I highly recommend this book.