Ask The Hitman

[Hitman]

I wonder who this person was?



Anyways, I am trying to incorporate more weight into my training, but I'm sort of the exact opposite of you. I can do endurance workouts like using the adaptive motion trainer and the recumbent bike for hours. I usually go down during my lunch break at work and do like 65-75 minutes on the motion trainer machine. I feel like my legs can run all day, but I definitely don't do enough with the weights.

We all have our strengths, I mean I couldn't do what you do, my body is not really designed for endurance work, but I try to do some things that work my aerobic system.

 

[Username_]

Thanks for the welcome back @Username_

OK, how does exercise impact the immune system. Now, if we take aside genetics, because some people genetically have weaker immune system than others due to white body cell maturation and anti body production being different for all of us, exercise can have both a positive and negative impact on it. If we first look at the white blood cells you have a group called T Helper cells that are responsible for helping to create the inflammatory response, putting your body into a state of defending itself from foreign invading micro organisms. If you exercise consistently then over time, again, dependent partly on your genetics, you will get a improved response rate from these T Helper cells. Also, exercise promotes a process called angiogenesis, the create of new blood vessels, which allow anti bodies to flow more effectively around the body and detect invading viruses and bacteria, this includes better detection around the lungs since we breathe in a lot of different types of microbes, it is almost like a welcome side effect, the increase blood flow through angiogenesis around the lungs is to help better exchanges of oxygen and carbon dioxide, it also allows more anti bodies to patrol the area.

Now, it has to be said that too much training, or over training actually suppresses the immune system, the reason is your body is releasing vast amounts of cortisol and adrenaline from the adrenal glands situated above your kidneys. These are stress hormones that are designed to accelerate the heart rate to allow your heart to make the needs the oxygen needs to your working muscles possible, however these hormones also negatively impact the overall immune system, which is why it is always recommended not to exercise while you are ill, you are fighting an infection and by exercising you are damaging the one thing that is trying to make you better. So prolonged bouts of frequent training is not something I would recommend, remember exercise is a stress to the body, you get fitter and stronger when you give it time to recover and adapt. Exercise has helped my immune system immensely over the years, but even I am not bullet proof to illnesses and when I know my body is fighting an infection, unless I was training for a competition, where I simply had to train, I would avoid it.

Your 30 min walk at moderate pace where you feel you are working your legs and heart is enough for most people to be honest. All types of exercises are fine, whether you are lifting weight, or running, it is all about creating a stress that works the cardiovascular system more than anything else, you can get that with very fast intense reps with little to no rest like circuit training if you so wish, or jump rope. The key is to do something, and if walking for 30 minute each day is all you can do, then that is a lot better than doing nothing at all.

Wow holy shlt. I wish I you as my high school teacher.

Also never understood why people usually say don't overtrain until now (as well as everything else that you get told is bad for you without any specifics)

Thank you for all of this.

 

[Hitman]

Wow holy shlt. I wish I you as my high school teacher.

Also never understood why people usually say don't overtrain until now (as well as everything else that you get told is bad for you without any specifics)

Thank you for all of this.

 

[gn]

How long does one need to get sunlight everyday? What is the best time for getting it?

Thanks in advance

 

[chic]

I'm lucky right now that I've found a group and have the time to play tennis for a couple hours a day most days. I ballooned up post college when I stopped swimming and am currently working on getting back down to 200lbs (@228 from a max of 250!). Which has mostly just been controlling calories (used to eat 7-8k a day when swimming and only ever got down to like 3k till now).

More recently I've been trying to get back some of the tone/ muscle size I had from lifting and swimming. Not full college athlete status or anything but mix in what I can.

If I could commit 5days a week 30-45 minutes a day to at home workouts what would you recommend for sets? I have a pull up bar, a set of adjustable weight dumbbells that max 25 lbs, and an erg machine.

If I had to choose (because timewise it's one or the other probably) between the above option and making the gym 3* a week for the same limited time period, would I be better off going and focussing the 3 major lifts?

If it matters im a somewhat experienced lifter from swim. I used to be able to rep ~225 bench, ~300 squat, and 400+ DL like 4 years ago.

 

[Username_]

Deleted.

Question was simply about how long DOMS was meant to last as it was a whole 14 days before recovery from doing a leg workout for the first time in such a long time, and worked them to the point I couldn't walk properly for the next 4 days without quads and hamstrings buckling.

 

[Zardoz7/12]

Hitman. The gym I frequent has taken the fly machine away (I don't know if I'm right about the name of the machine so I posted a picture)-

.
So what should I do as a workout in place of this? I would ask the staff but they're hardly in the gym. I was actually surprised they took this machine away, it was very popular I hope it returns but instead they put a ski/rope machine. (Makes sense...)

All the best! x

 

[Turbo-87]

I usually substitute dumbbell flyes on a flat bench for the above. It works well. Start out light to get a feel for it and increase when you feel ready.

 

[megamind]

How long does one need to get sunlight everyday? What is the best time for getting it?

Thanks in advance

I may not be hitman, but here is my answer:

The best time to get sunlight is during the daytime. As a matter of fact, you might find it challenging if you attempt to get it at night (this right here, is the main reason I decided to write this post, i couldn't help myself )

I am no doctor, but I like early morning sun. It's not too strong, and it wakes me up, and gets the system working.

According to this article, you need about 2 hours of sunlight during winter, and about 20 mins during the summer https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170308083938.htm

Also, it's a good idea to use sunscreen to protect your skin.

 

[Hitman]

How long does one need to get sunlight everyday? What is the best time for getting it?

Thanks in advance

Firstly, apologies for the delay.

So lets split your question up into two parts.

How long does one need to get sunlight everyday?

OK so lets go into why often advocate for people to get sunshine, it is Vitamin D. So why is vitamin D important, well there are a couple of reasons why vitamin is crucial to the healthy functioning of the body, the first of these is that helps with increasing the efficiency at which calcium is absorbed through the intestines into the body. This calcium absorption is crucial, as it was what helps keeps bone density, reducing chances of fractures and off setting bone related illnesses, such as osteoporosis, which is known to be common among women that enter menopause. So the phrase, vitamin D is needed for healthy teeth and bones is attributed to calcium uptake in the intestines. Now why is calcium continuously being replaced in the kidneys? The reason for this is, calcium is required as a secondary messenger in many cellular functions, where the receptor binds to the cell surface and uses calcium internally to convey that message to intracellular cytoplasm organelles to create proteins or other molecules.

Vitamin D is also important in the production to testosterone, the powerful male sex hormone which is responsible among many things for your health, muscle growth, and sexual health. Another crucial factor of vitamin D is that deficiencies of this hormone, leads to depression and other mental issues. So, as you can see vitamin D is important for many things, now let me take a step back and say that vitamin D is actually a pro-hormone, which is the convert to its active form Vitamin D3 - this is form that actually does all the good things in your body, you can store large amounts of vitamin D itself, but without that key conversion to Vitamin D3 it does not really do anything. When the skin cells absorb sunlight, the sunlight works as a catalyst to convert cholesterol within the cell ultimately into vitamin D3 which you body then uses, however it is not really a one size fits all scenario.

The lower the sun is in the sky the weaker the impact of the rays, which means people living more towards the poles than the tropics get exposure for several months to much weaker rays of sunlight than those living at the equator. These people often have lighter skin because melanin the pigmentation that impacts how dark your skin is actually suppresses the production of vitamin D, this is because if your skin is absorbing the stronger rays that are found around the equator and you don't have the melanin to somewhat contain the amount of vitamin D entering your blood, you can actually absorb too much calcium into your blood which has a negative impact on your health and well being also. So the skin has adapted to where the person is, if you are more towards the equator, you will have more melanin to help ensure you get the right amount of vitamin D, and if you are towards the poles, you will almost have none to ensure to maximize the sunlight uptake.

So my answer is, it really depends. The ideal amount I would say is about 30 to 40 minutes a day, for those people living closer to the poles during periods of winter to have vitamin D supplementation. This is something I always do on a daily basis, as it helps with bone mineral cycling, keeping testosterone levels elevated and also preventing any negative moods from developing.

What is the best time for getting it?

The best time to get it would ideally be a little before or after noon if you can. I know this is not always possible as people work and cannot just go out whenever they want, but those would be the ideal times I would suggest that you get the sunshine. It is very important for me to say to avoid the tanning bed, that is just bad news and do protect yourself when the rays are strong.

 

[Hitman]

I'm lucky right now that I've found a group and have the time to play tennis for a couple hours a day most days. I ballooned up post college when I stopped swimming and am currently working on getting back down to 200lbs (@228 from a max of 250!). Which has mostly just been controlling calories (used to eat 7-8k a day when swimming and only ever got down to like 3k till now).

Good to see you are heading in the right direction. Keep it up.

More recently I've been trying to get back some of the tone/ muscle size I had from lifting and swimming. Not full college athlete status or anything but mix in what I can.

If I could commit 5days a week 30-45 minutes a day to at home workouts what would you recommend for sets? I have a pull up bar, a set of adjustable weight dumbbells that max 25 lbs, and an erg machine.

If I had to choose (because timewise it's one or the other probably) between the above option and making the gym 3* a week for the same limited time period, would I be better off going and focussing the 3 major lifts?

If it matters im a somewhat experienced lifter from swim. I used to be able to rep ~225 bench, ~300 squat, and 400+ DL like 4 years ago.

OK, so you have two questions here. Lets answer your second question first.

If you can get to the gym 3 times a week, and do the big three major lifts, which are the squat, dead lift and bench press, it would be significantly better than training at home five times a week with what you have. The big three lifts will ultimately hit every muscle group in your body, either directly or in directly, they will also do more than that, they will help elevate your testosterone levels more and for longer periods of time, which helps in a variety of things from sexual health, to mental concentration, to building and retaining more muscle, to burning more calories, to staying more lean. They also help far more with bone density, making them the best friend not only of your muscular and endocrine system, but of your skeletal system also. So, if he want to go one way or the other, I would suggest doing the big lifts at a lesser frequency in the gym than do five workouts at home, especially if there is no way you can replicate the same amount of weight you can lift.

The concept of progressive overload will keep pushing your muscles, and that you will be able to continue to get stronger.

Now having said that, while doing the 3 big lifts will always win out, a better combination would actually be doing a hybrid workout. If you are doing the three big lifts in the gym, unless you have your nutrition on point and you have some serious goals in mind, doing this twice a week is more than enough. I wouldn't really say you need to do the three times a week, unless you are looking to become a strength athlete. These big exercises tax the body, and especially tax your sympathetic and para sympathetic nervous system, which raises adrenaline and cortisol levels very high. Now while that is a good thing up to a certain point, having such hormones constantly high in the body is not ideal either, unless you are taking drugs or some genetic freak. You should give about three to four days between big lifts so not only do your muscles recover, but you also get better glycogen replenishment and your nervous system come back to normal.

So, ideally, I would say, why not do two workouts in the gym and one at home to give your body and muscles a different look. Here you can focus on the pull ups, push ups, more body weight training, as well as throwing in some dumbbell work to isolate muscle groups that you feel are lagging a little to develop them more, such as dumbbell curls for your biceps or lateral raises for the sides of your shoulders. You don't need to do just one style of training here, the more variety you, the better it will show in your body and health.

OK, to answer your first question.

Sets and reps really depends on your goals. If you are goal more for strength, which is sarcomere training, thickening the actin and myosin protein filaments that slide over each other to create stronger contractions and more power, than increase the weight to about 80 percent of your one rep max and focus on the 1 to 4 rep range. If you are looking more for muscle growth, that is hypertrophy training, where you will increase the sacroplasm within your muscle cells, the ideal range is around 8 to 12 going at about 60 percent of your one rep max weight. Keep in mind that if you only have a limited amount of weight, you need to be more creative with the training methods, so pyramid training, negative training, partial reps, drop sets, giant sets, tri sets among other things should be used to keep the muscles guessing and stimulate more development.

 

[Hitman]

Deleted.

Question was simply about how long DOMS was meant to last as it was a whole 14 days before recovery from doing a leg workout for the first time in such a long time, and worked them to the point I couldn't walk properly for the next 4 days without quads and hamstrings buckling.

Now this already depends a few things. First, lets take a step back and look at the anatomy of the legs. Your legs contain the largest muscles in your entire body, and there is more muscle in your legs than any other place - Quadirceps, hamstring, glutes, abductors, adductors, calves - all of which have multiple muscle heads. If you have not trained your legs for a long time, understand that if you do an intense return workout you will be activating and using a lot of muscle. This muscle because it hasn't been used to the stress stimulus you are exposing it will have significantly more distributed micro-trauma, which is basically the tearing of the contractile proteins actin and myosin. So basically you are dealing with a lot more DOMS after a leg workout than you would any other, this is compounded by the fact that your legs are continuously working, when you are standing up and walking. When you stand up, your legs have to support your upper body, and walking is fundamentally put an exercise. So when you are walking around, you actually delay the recovering of the fibers, because they cannot rest and repair and recover if they are still being used. Now, of course you cannot just stop walking, but unlike other muscle groups they are not allowed the same luxury unless you were simply just lying down and doing nothing for a couple of days, which doesn't seem practical.

I always steadily bring my clients into leg training, just doing body weight leg workouts first, then a combination of bodyweight and some weights to help them recover better. It is also best not to do too many exercises but just do the basics and your first few workouts, up to lets say three, you should only look to work around 50 to 60 percent mark of what you can actually do. This is to basically allow your muscles to understand and familiarize themselves with the movements, and to naturally start to recruit enough motor neurons to help with sufficient muscle contraction.

 

[Hitman]

Hitman. The gym I frequent has taken the fly machine away (I don't know if I'm right about the name of the machine so I posted a picture)-

.
So what should I do as a workout in place of this? I would ask the staff but they're hardly in the gym. I was actually surprised they took this machine away, it was very popular I hope it returns but instead they put a ski/rope machine. (Makes sense...)

All the best! x

As @IA-SteveB suggested, dumbbell flyes is a great alternative to this machine, which I am sure you will be able to do at any gym. In regards to the machine been taken away, I would recommend that you have a conversation with the staff there and state that you need that equipment. You are the customer and have a right to express this. I once had a conversation with the staff saying we needed more squat racks, and two months later, we got two more. Make yourself heard in the gym, you go there to get a workout in, and workouts should be enjoyable and fun also, and if you like a certain machine, let them know.

 

[misty foggy haze]

I

 

[Hitman]

Hi hitman can i ask a question about heart? Lvh problem? Thanks man!

Hey. Sure you can ask me here. LVH problem - do you have issues with left ventricular hypertrophy, otherwise simply known as an enlarged heart? Does it cause you pain? Do you have a slow resting heart rate, or is it elevated? All athletes and people who work out experience some degree of LVH, I have it also, but this is done to increase stroke volume.

Cardiac output per minute = heart rate x stroke volume. In healthy and very conditioned people and athletes, the heart rate is slower, because the chambers of the heart are able to fill up with more blood, which then means you get a high stroke volume. The problem really occurs when you have enlarged heart muscles but you have a very high heart rate also, like someone who is not healthy. This is where first your heart muscle can get scarring from pushing against other parts of your body, especially your rib cage, and it also can impact how efficiently the ventricles are filled with blood.

Have you taken HGH or any anabolic steroids, such as tesosterone, deca, dianobol, tren, or other peptides such as insulin? What is your training like? Are you a tennis player? or some other type of sporting individual? Have you had yourself medically checked out to see if you don't have a family related disease or illness that has been passed down? How long have you had this condition and when were you diagnosed and what have you been doing to bring down the negative impact of this?

 

[misty foggy haze]

I

 

[misty foggy haze]

I

 

[misty foggy haze]

I

 

[misty foggy haze]

I

 

[misty foggy haze]

 

[Hitman]

The doctor doesnt even address the lvh issue. At last i told him that it was in echocardiogram! He just sees the past and hocm.

I am really sorry to hear about this. OK a couple of things I will say to you.

Firstly, you need to meet a cardiologist, not just any doctor, but an experienced cardiologist who will be able to see if you have any sort of scarring taking place on heart valves. Now keep this in mind, the heart muscle is very unique will compared to the other muscles in your body, there are basically three different types of muscle that exist within you.

The first is skeletal muscle, which works with voluntary movement. This is also the muscle you are familiar with, your biceps, quads etc. The second type is smooth muscle, smooth muscle is different from skeletal muscle in the sense that it is work involuntarily, for instance the smooth muscle that surrounded your small intestine contracts without you knowing about it, and helps digestion process throughout the gut. These first two types of muscle have one thing in common though, they are collectively known as neurogenic muscle - This basically means the initiation of the signal for contraction takes place in the Central Nervous System, ie you brain, which then uses the Peripheral Nervous System, which is comprised of your sympathetic and para-sympathic nervous system to contract and relax the muscle.

The third type is cardiac muscle, which is what you heart is made of, and what makes this stand out from the other two types is that the source of contract is not the brain, the source of the contraction is myogenic, which means the muscle controls it's own contraction. This why you see can sometimes see a heart contract outside the body, because it has it's own independent ability to contract. The brain however works as a pacemaker, which prevents that heart beat from getting out of control, which is why people get pacemakers during surgery, so their heart rate does not get out of control, resulting in a heart attack, when the blood is not fully emptied, causing blood to be pushed back.

The second thing you need to do is get your blood work done. This is very important. Your blood work will give an output of what your free triglyercides also known as free fatty acids circulating around your blood is, as well as a reading on your lipoproteins which tell you the ratio of healthy cholesterol levels to unhealthy cholesterol levels are. The more the unhealthy is higher, the more chances you have of cardiac heart tissue scarring which is not a good thing. The blood work will give you and the cardiologist a good understanding of the viscosity of your blood, which could have been impacted by all the medication you have been taking.

You have taken several medications, which could have collateral effect on your overall cardiovascular health. Getting not only a cardiologist to examine the LVH, which as you stated is more of a hereditary issue, but also seeing what the medication has done to the overall blood viscosity will allow you to know what really can be done. You have a long medical history here, and have had heart surgery, you really need these two things done so you have a comprehensive report detailing the current health of not only your heart, but the blood that is going through it.

 

[misty foggy haze]

I

 

[Hitman]

Thanks a lot man. The lvh was not present 13 years ago in my echocardiogram. I guess it happened after that intense activity.

The doctor is an arythmia specialist which only cares about keeping the rhythm sinus! You are exactly right. It is the scarring in rib cage i have been feeling which unfortunately the doctor didnt take any notice when i told him.

Its pounding and moving and trembling with sinus rhythm and 60 bps which is strange and its nonstop.

Can exercise make my heart strong and bring it back to its right beating? Exercise like brisk walking? I also feel itching a lot more when walking.also when i sleep and i wake up in the middle of the night the heart rate is quicker.

I dont smoke and i dont drink alcohols. Are there any food that can help it tremendously? Prior to this incident i used to eat lots of lemons. Can that caused the burn in my heart?

Well the doctor you speak about is only focused on irregular and regularly heart beats, but what you need is a full cardiologist that will examine everything. Speak to your local medical doctor to get a referral to speak to one, I would highly recommend it. And it is always wise to have a second opinion on things, sometimes even a specialist will see things one way, even if that is not their intention.

Now, as far as taking care of your nutrition, my suggestion is not to eat anything that can cause acid reflux, so take a look at the foods that you eat and ensure your eating habits don't cause any of that gastric acid to jump up. Lemon is OK, but I don't think you need to take in a lot, a lot of people take a little lemon with water in the morning to help keep the stomach in control. Stay away from acidic foods in general and chillies, anything hot and spicy that causes acid to jump up is not really advisable to anyone who suffers heartburn.

Finally, making the heart strong. Firstly, if you have LVH, then you already have a strong heart in theory, but I wouldn't suggest that you do anything strenuous until you get your blood work done and get an overall examination of your cardiovascular system. Maintain healthy habits that we all should have, everyone should do regular walking a couple of times a week for the numerous benefits it gives us. Get your blood work done, get that second opinion, you need to understand what is happening not just with the heart, but with everything. Good luck!

 

[misty foggy haze]

I

 

[Hitman]

I appreciate your great help. Because now im almost sure its the scarring in the rib cage caused by heart valves as you mentioned. If that is the case as a final question what is the treatment?

The treatment is really is to first get a cardiologist to examine not just the heart by the blood also. He or she will also be able to tell you if the medications you are taking are still suitable for you, this will come from the blood work. So your first step is to meet your local doctor and get a referral to said cardiologist to get a full check done. Good luck with that and I hope things get better for you.

 

[misty foggy haze]

I

 

[Username_]

@Hitman
hi again hitman

I've had my blood pressure reguarly measured at 130/70 last year, and for the past 6 months it's been approx. 145/80. I am 25 years old. I know this is bad. But am I wrong in thinking this is extremely bad for my age?

I'm not overweight. 70kg and 174cm tall
I drink lots of water and keep hydrated daily (this I am confident in)
I don't smoke, drink alcohol or any form of drugs
I rarely consume any soft drinks or chocolate, sweets...but I do eat a lot of potato chips, both fried and packeted, and canned foods (Is this the biggest culprit? The sodium in chips and saturated fats in fried stuff?)
I eat a lot of green veggies (brocolli, green onion), reguarly eat fruits (only apples and banana, orange fruits to a lesser extent), but I also eat a lot of meats (mostly lean meats that are fried, not boiled or stewed)
I sometimes lack a lot of sleep, due to a working alternating shifts between days and nights on the same week, and when I wake up I generally don't feel "refreshed" but stressed even after a good quantity of sleep. Probably a bad quality sleep too often.
I don't exercise as much as is recommended (once a week tennis, low-moderate intensity)

Is it recommended to go on blood pressure meds for a blood pressure this high at my age? Or should I work harder to lower it naturally?

TL;DR
I thought I could get away with eating junk foods as I eat a lot of veggies and fruits, and kept hydrated daily with minimal exercise every week. Obviously not.
Should I avoid blood pressure meds?
Should I be completely strict with every factor in my lifestyle choices e.g absolutely no junk food consumption and eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and doing exercise that gets the heart pumping at least 30 minutes a day?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Side questions:
For context, I've been a freak with cardio in the past, and was doing it at least 5x a week (not excluding tennis) before my current blood pressure and lifestyle choices. So I'm fairly certain my body (and mind) would be capable of doing it again if I work up to it slowly.

Like weight training where you have to rest and let your muscles recover to get stronger, how long do you have to let your heart and lungs recover to get stronger(if you do?)...or how hard is it to "overtrain" the heart and lungs from doing too much cardio for the average bloke not aiming to be on an international stage?
(Obviously if you purposely did marathons day in day out as an example, that would be bad even for the fittest athlete I assume. Please correct me if I'm wrong here) I guess what I'm asking here is, is the recovery time for the body when doing cardio (heart and lungs) the same as doing weight training for the muscles that literally do the weight lifting in the gym?

Thanks a lot again hitman.
sincerely, a panicking young man

 

[megamind]

@Hitman u got tips for dealing with this coronavirus situation where gyms are closing/closed?

how u changing up ur workouts

right now i got a pair of 10 lb dumbbells at home, so I'll use those


think I might get some more weights and maybe a kettlebell too

 

[Turbo-87]

I bought a used Bowflex XLT with 310lbs of resistance for just $200. You can find some lightly used units for cheap since people buy them thinking they will use them ... and don't. I don't have any dumbbells at home but I might spring for the bowflex models that adjust from 5 pounds to 75 (I think). I don't really have a great home exercise room so I need to make efficient use of space. I have never worked out at home before now.

 

[Hitman]

I'll be back in a few days to answer your questions. Hope everyone is safe.

 

[T1000]

@Hitman u got tips for dealing with this coronavirus situation where gyms are closing/closed?

how u changing up ur workouts

right now i got a pair of 10 lb dumbbells at home, so I'll use those


think I might get some more weights and maybe a kettlebell too

not sure what your budget is or how much space you have but you can get a power rack, barbell, plates, and adjustable dumbbells for around $1500-$2000 usd if you want to go thAt route. You can also get bands and look up James Grage on YouTube. He has the best band and body weight workouts imo

 

[Dags]

You can also get bands

1000x this. If you've never worked out from home, bands are by far one of the most versatile pieces of kit. Couple that with the fact that they don't take up much storage space and are comparatively cheap, and they become your MVP.

Just remember - if you're using a door anchor, pull in the same direction that the door closes...

 

[Nostradamus]

The treatment is really is to first get a cardiologist to examine not just the heart by the blood also. He or she will also be able to tell you if the medications you are taking are still suitable for you, this will come from the blood work. So your first step is to meet your local doctor and get a referral to said cardiologist to get a full check done. Good luck with that and I hope things get better for you.

what is the best Leg fitness workout you can do with One 20 lbs dumbbell ? I actually have one 20 lbs dumbbell and 10 lbs dumbbell

 

[megamind]

what is the best Leg fitness workout you can do with One 20 lbs dumbbell ? I actually have one 20 lbs dumbbell and 10 lbs dumbbell

If u chop the 20lb dumbbell in half you’ll have 3 10lb dumbbells, and u can use 2 of them for a balanced workout, and then since u wont be needing the full 10lb bell u can send it to me, thanks!

 

[onehandbh]

what is the best Leg fitness workout you can do with One 20 lbs dumbbell ? I actually have one 20 lbs dumbbell and 10 lbs dumbbell

If I had a 20 lbs dumbell, I would do some 1-legged pistol squats while holding it.

 

[yossarian]

If I had a 20 lbs dumbell, I would do some 1-legged pistol squats while holding it.

the majority of people aren’t going to be able to do that

 

[onehandbh]

the majority of people aren’t going to be able to do that

They could do regular bodyweight 2-legged squats. Then later hold the 10 & 20lbs dumbells if the bodyweight squats get too easy.

 

[Nostradamus]

If I had a 20 lbs dumbell, I would do some 1-legged pistol squats while holding it.

how do you do that ?? any pictures ?

 

[Nostradamus]

If I had a 20 lbs dumbell, I would do some 1-legged pistol squats while holding it.

I am trying these Sumo squats. Does these work well for leg strengthening ? what do you think ?

 

[Deleted member 769694]

My left arm is sore again (top of forearm and upper tricep/low shoulder). Its heavy to lift but str is there, has like a notch then fine.

I do like 130lb benchpress 12x a day (light weight for tennis). Should i try to be strengthening (sp) it like a work through or let it rest?

Its not torn, just really stiff

 

[Nostradamus]

The treatment is really is to first get a cardiologist to examine not just the heart by the blood also. He or she will also be able to tell you if the medications you are taking are still suitable for you, this will come from the blood work. So your first step is to meet your local doctor and get a referral to said cardiologist to get a full check done. Good luck with that and I hope things get better for you.

I got a question. I have been doing that Sumo squats above for Leg workout since I have NO access to gym now with this corona going on. but I think it is Hurting my Lower Back even more. is it because I am using wrong technique or should I switch to some other leg excersises ?

 

[onehandbh]

My left arm is sore again (top of forearm and upper tricep/low shoulder). Its heavy to lift but str is there, has like a notch then fine.

I do like 130lb benchpress 12x a day (light weight for tennis). Should i try to be strengthening (sp) it like a work through or let it rest?

You do 12 sets of bench process each day? or 1 set of 130 lbs for 12 reps?

 

[T1000]

My left arm is sore again (top of forearm and upper tricep/low shoulder). Its heavy to lift but str is there, has like a notch then fine.

I do like 130lb benchpress 12x a day (light weight for tennis). Should i try to be strengthening (sp) it like a work through or let it rest?

Its not torn, just really stiff

If it feels stiff when you aren’t doing anything I would rest until it doesn’t feel that way and then stretch it (usually a couple of days). If it doesn’t feel stiff when you aren’t doing anything then I’d stretch it.

 

[Deleted member 769694]

You do 12 sets of bench process each day? or 1 set of 130 lbs for 12 reps?

12 lbs 130 times

I do 12 a day, like the blood flow feeling in the muscle

 

[onehandbh]

12 lbs 130 times

I do 12 a day, like the blood flow feeling in the muscle

Do you do anything in the opposite direction? In my experience muscles being out of balance can cause shoulder problems.

 

[Nostradamus]

The treatment is really is to first get a cardiologist to examine not just the heart by the blood also. He or she will also be able to tell you if the medications you are taking are still suitable for you, this will come from the blood work. So your first step is to meet your local doctor and get a referral to said cardiologist to get a full check done. Good luck with that and I hope things get better for you.

Are these list of muscle groups critical to Tennis players accurate ? if so which ones do you think are the most important ?

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[Hitman]

I will be back to answering all outstanding questions this weekend.

 

[Username_]

Hi again! @Hitman

I've gotten really slack during this quarantine, which had made my already skinny body look even less muscular and even more skinny.
I got a wake-up call after seeing myself in the mirror after the shower... I appear extremely scrawny (not anorexic but not far from it) and I'm wondering, instead of gaining strength as number one priority, what's the most efficient way is to put on size when lifting when aiming to build toward the "big" or "solid" look. I'm not sure if this makes sense but I think I'm trying to ask is what the quickest way is to increase the physical size of the muscles themselves other than steroids? Is it called hypertrophy because I'm not sure if I'm using the term right.

But for example...is it better to lift really heavy with less reps to muscle failure, as opposed to moderate or lighter weights with more reps to muscle failure with the aim to increase the size of the muscle as soon as possible?

 

[Hitman]

@Hitman
hi again hitman

Hey, sorry for the massive delay, but hopefully I can still help you with this. Lets give it a go.

I've had my blood pressure reguarly measured at 130/70 last year, and for the past 6 months it's been approx. 145/80. I am 25 years old. I know this is bad. But am I wrong in thinking this is extremely bad for my age?

I'm not overweight. 70kg and 174cm tall
I drink lots of water and keep hydrated daily (this I am confident in)
I don't smoke, drink alcohol or any form of drugs
I rarely consume any soft drinks or chocolate, sweets...but I do eat a lot of potato chips, both fried and packeted, and canned foods (Is this the biggest culprit? The sodium in chips and saturated fats in fried stuff?)
I eat a lot of green veggies (brocolli, green onion), reguarly eat fruits (only apples and banana, orange fruits to a lesser extent), but I also eat a lot of meats (mostly lean meats that are fried, not boiled or stewed)
I sometimes lack a lot of sleep, due to a working alternating shifts between days and nights on the same week, and when I wake up I generally don't feel "refreshed" but stressed even after a good quantity of sleep. Probably a bad quality sleep too often.
I don't exercise as much as is recommended (once a week tennis, low-moderate intensity)

Is it recommended to go on blood pressure meds for a blood pressure this high at my age? Or should I work harder to lower it naturally?

OK, firstly lets look at the systole over diastole blood pressure that you have provided me, I would say you do have a mild case of hypertension, just above the threshold of what many would consider normal, both numbers show this to me. But don't worry, it is not that bad, and can easily be addressed as long as you are healthy and don't have any hereditary issues in relation to this. The key thing that sticks out to me is not the fact you are consuming salty foods, I will look at that second, it is the fact you are not getting proper sleep due to your working patterns. The breaking up of sleep patterns has often been linked to issues with blood pressure, and one of the many reasons for this is that you will likely have elevated levels of cortisol in your blood, which is then stress hormone. This hormone caused blood pressure to rise and if unchecked can make things quite bad. You have quite an aggressive work shift pattern of switching back and forth between day and night, that is like being in a continuous jet lag, it takes time for the body to get used to one time as certain internal biological patterns need to be addressed, if there are too many changes the body goes under stress and your adrenal glands get over stimulated. This will eventually lead to adrenal fatigue which can then lead to metabolic slowing and eventual fat gain, which then puts even more stress on the heart, and your fatty acid trigylercides in your blood will increase. Not a good thing.

Now, I am not saying you need to quit your job, but I am saying that the aggressive scheduling of changing multiple times from day and night is not helping you. Yes, you can do with the salty foods, because what you don't want to do is compound the effect of having arteries that are tight, and also carrying a higher blood volume, which it seems you have. From an exercise perspective, I would suggest you do short explosive workouts, not long moderation ones, that will help you to release growth hormone and testosterone, the hormones you should be releasing in your sleep, that will help at least help some what. So kettle bell swings and snatches, burpees, sprinting, jumping rope, that high octane stuff and stay away from steady state training like on an exercise bike or treadmill, or slow weight lifting.

TL;DR
I thought I could get away with eating junk foods as I eat a lot of veggies and fruits, and kept hydrated daily with minimal exercise every week. Obviously not.
Should I avoid blood pressure meds?
Should I be completely strict with every factor in my lifestyle choices e.g absolutely no junk food consumption and eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and doing exercise that gets the heart pumping at least 30 minutes a day?

I read it, but stay off the meds. You don't need them, you have just past the threshold, you can bring it back with good sleep and some of the training suggestions I gave you.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Side questions:
For context, I've been a freak with cardio in the past, and was doing it at least 5x a week (not excluding tennis) before my current blood pressure and lifestyle choices. So I'm fairly certain my body (and mind) would be capable of doing it again if I work up to it slowly.

Like weight training where you have to rest and let your muscles recover to get stronger, how long do you have to let your heart and lungs recover to get stronger(if you do?)...or how hard is it to "overtrain" the heart and lungs from doing too much cardio for the average bloke not aiming to be on an international stage?
(Obviously if you purposely did marathons day in day out as an example, that would be bad even for the fittest athlete I assume. Please correct me if I'm wrong here) I guess what I'm asking here is, is the recovery time for the body when doing cardio (heart and lungs) the same as doing weight training for the muscles that literally do the weight lifting in the gym?

This really depends on his fast twitch to slow twitch fiber composition, as well as how well you have developed the oxidative paths within the mitochondria within your muscles cells. Keep in mind also that hormones work differently, if you are lifting more weight, and also doing it with less rest periods, you are using more testosterone and growth hormone, that will help you heal faster the better you get at it.

Honestly though, looking at the state of your sleeping, I would suggest that you don't do long cardio bouts, you need explosive training and you need a solid sleep pattern.

Thanks a lot again hitman.
sincerely, a panicking young man

No problems, and don't panic.

 

[Hitman]

@Hitman u got tips for dealing with this coronavirus situation where gyms are closing/closed?

how u changing up ur workouts

right now i got a pair of 10 lb dumbbells at home, so I'll use those


think I might get some more weights and maybe a kettlebell too

My tips are first of all keep yourself inspired mentally. Listen to inspiring music, watch inspiring movies. Give me Rocky IV train sequence, and watch me blast out several hundred push ups like they were nothing. So, I would first say, surround yourself with inspiring things, that make you want to seize the day, that makes you want to chew through iron. Secondly, make sure you have no junk food in your house, this is a vulnerable time when you are in the house and sometimes may eat things out of boredom, just keep those shelves empty of chocolates, sweets, salty foods, cakes, biscuits, treats. Make sure your kitchen is in order....that is my second tip. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, that is what you should snack on.

As for working out, if you have absolutely zero equipment at home, be creative. Firstly use your body weight as much as possible. Hand stand push ups will work the shoulders, do walking lunges around the living room carrying a backpack filled with things. Do fast step ups on your staircase if you have one, or just run in a spot and bring your knees up to waist high. I also would recommend turbulence training, where you combine multiple body weight exercises into a short circuit, using a chair to do one legged squats, use that same chair to do both incline and decline push ups. Plank work to keep your core tight, combine that with leg raises and torso twists.

I have kettle weights at home and me and my other half do workouts using them as well as body weight stuff.

Make sure you still get in enough protein and drink enough water. I am still very lean, around 9 to 10% and I managed that by doing this.