Exercise

[maryannette]

Okay, I've been exercising a good bit. I've lost a few pounds. I'm dieting and feeling a lot better. There was something wrong in my hand/wrist, so I went to my favorite orthopedic specialist. He told me I'm exercising TOO MUCH. I've been doing spin class (cycling) 2 or 3 times a week. He said that the stress on the joint from holding the handlebars and moving from seated to standing positions has caused damage. No big deal. He put a shot of cortisone in it and put me in a very confining brace for a few weeks. We had a discussion about balancing exercise. I have some hereditary tendency toward joint degeneration. :huh: It has already affected other joints. The doctor recommended that I vary my workout - not do spin class more than once a week. Use other workouts a couple of times a week. I'm feeling a little old. Well, I'll be 50 this year. I guess I'm just frustrated that I can't do whatever I want, I have to be very structured so I don't cause any more damage. I guess I'll look on the aerobics schedule and see what else I can do.

 

[Dleg]

There's lots of things you can do to vary your workout. And even if your not "old", in my experience it is far easier to injure yourself from taking on too much, too soon than you might think. For instance, when I decided to get in shape around age 27, I began by running. I soon developed shin splints and continued having trouble with them for several years. I thought it was congenital, and that I would never get any better. So I did other things to mix it up, like bicycling and some swimming.

Then, several years later, I met my wife and began running with her. She had never really run before, so I looked up a beginner's running program on the internet and started following it with her. Lo and behold, in 2 months I was running 3 miles with no shin splints. I learned right then and there the wisdom of gradually building up my workouts. Prior to that, I had just assumed I should go out and immediately start running 3 miles.

Wrist pain and bicycling: I have had this before. This could easily be attributable to your positioning on the bike. Perhaps you are just putting too much weight on your wrists. Try raising the handlebars by a couple of centimeters (with spacers below the stem, or a more higher-angled-stem, or a riser -type handlebar) and see if that helps. Road bike style handlebars are almost too much for me nowadays. I just stick to my mountain bike for the more comfortable position. In fact, I'll be putting a riser bar on it soon because I've been having wrist problems myself, mostly caused by poor pushup style, but the new bike with the flat "racing" handlebar is not helping either.

 

[GTScott]

That is pretty interesting. I went from little to no exercise into a 6 day a week program. I started doing some weight lifting (about 30 mins a day) coupled with about 5-7 miles on my bike. I guess I got lucky and went slowly as I did not really develop any issues or hurt any muscles but I was always afraid of it. I am 28 so that may have helped to some degree.

Now that I am starting to get to the weight where I want to be (159.5 this morning...was 198.5 in June) I am starting to concentrate on getting a routine that I can live with. Currently I am biking 20-23 miles at 21-22 mph each day and lifting weights for 30-40 mins 6 days a week. I would like to come up with something that I can do in an hour or less 5 days a week and take the weekends off.

As for varying my routine, do you think that adding some jogging in would be decent? Maybe jog 2 days and bike 3? Seeing as I live on a freaking mountain jogging around here is less than perfect for a beginner and I plan to get a treadmill. Does anyone have any tips/brands to consider?

I will take a look at that beginner's running program as well.

Maryannette - We belong to one of the Netflix/Blockbuster deals and my wife found that she liked doing the aerobics at home. The rental service carries tons of these DVDs and afforded her the ability to try out the videos. She had great results. There is a series called "Bikini Body Year Round" that she said was really good. I saw the whole "bikini body thing" and slapped the DVD in the player only to be greatly disappointed.

-GT

 

[roadwreck]

There was something wrong in my hand/wrist, so I went to my favorite orthopedic specialist. He told me I'm exercising TOO MUCH. I've been doing spin class (cycling) 2 or 3 times a week. He said that the stress on the joint from holding the handlebars and moving from seated to standing positions has caused damage.

You hurt your hand/wrist in spinning class? I don't want to sounds like an ass but I think you are doing something wrong. You really shouldn't be supporting much weight with your arms while cycling. You really just want to use your arms to balance (and steer on a real bike). The more weight you hold with your arms the less force (using your own bodyweight) you can exert through the pedals. Even when standing you shouldn't have to support much weight through your arms. It becomes a pretty effective abdominal workout when you don't hold the handlebars at all.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ On a real bike you put a good deal of strain on your hands up to your elbows from the way you sit and gripping the handlebars. When I first started biking I had very sore elbows after longer rides.

Also, when I developed a case of tennis elbow this summer, one of the things I was specifically told not do do was exercises that involved gripping. Biking was out.

 

[Road Guy]

take some glucosamine! I take 2 big ass pills a day to help keep my knees

 

[FusionWhite]

My wife and one of our dogs takes glucosamine. It really does help with knees and joints. I get really bad pain in my middle finger from fencing. No one can tell me whats causing it. I use the middle finger as the pivot of the grip so it supports a lot of the weight of the blade. Its so sore some days I cant even make a fist.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ Sure it's not from flipping off your opponent when you get beat?

 

[FusionWhite]

^ Sure it's not from flipping off your opponent when you get beat?

Nahh...I save my flipping off for driving. Im usually a good sport when I get beat.

I had one of the metal splints on my middle finger once. Driving around people probably though I was flipping them off.

 

[roadwreck]

^ On a real bike you put a good deal of strain on your hands up to your elbows from the way you sit and gripping the handlebars. When I first started biking I had very sore elbows after longer rides.
Also, when I developed a case of tennis elbow this summer, one of the things I was specifically told not do do was exercises that involved gripping. Biking was out.

Pfffft...

..what do you know.

 

[bigray76]

take some glucosamine! I take 2 big ass pills a day to help keep my knees

Same here RG... while they aren't great, they are better than used to be. I've been taking that stuff for about 5 years now.

-Ray

 

[snickerd3]

Okay, I've been exercising a good bit. I've lost a few pounds. I'm dieting and feeling a lot better. There was something wrong in my hand/wrist, so I went to my favorite orthopedic specialist. He told me I'm exercising TOO MUCH. I've been doing spin class (cycling) 2 or 3 times a week. He said that the stress on the joint from holding the handlebars and moving from seated to standing positions has caused damage. No big deal. He put a shot of cortisone in it and put me in a very confining brace for a few weeks. We had a discussion about balancing exercise. I have some hereditary tendency toward joint degeneration. :huh: It has already affected other joints. The doctor recommended that I vary my workout - not do spin class more than once a week. Use other workouts a couple of times a week. I'm feeling a little old. Well, I'll be 50 this year. I guess I'm just frustrated that I can't do whatever I want, I have to be very structured so I don't cause any more damage. I guess I'll look on the aerobics schedule and see what else I can do.

Maryannette

I suggest trying to find an adult ballet class. It is less intense, especially on the joints, than an aerobics class, but still a GREAT full body workout... I come home drenched every week. Most don't require the whole leotard and tutu thing, just a pair of ballet shoes and workout clothes that aren't super baggy.

 

[Dleg]

As for varying my routine, do you think that adding some jogging in would be decent? Maybe jog 2 days and bike 3? Seeing as I live on a freaking mountain jogging around here is less than perfect for a beginner and I plan to get a treadmill. Does anyone have any tips/brands to consider?
I will take a look at that beginner's running program as well.

Absolutely! However, I would switch it around to 3 days jogging (M W F) and 2 days biking (Tu Th). Jogging is a lot rougher on your body, even though at first it will seem very easy on your cardiovascular system, since you're in shape from biking already. And that's an even better reason to go with the beginner's program and stick to it - you're going to be over confident because of your excellent cardio conditioning, and probably very tempted to overdo it. Make no mistake: biking does not prepare you at all for running. Totally different muscles & motions. That's why they make such excellent, complementary workouts.

But you will definitely want to run three days a week at a minimum. Your biking won't suffer too badly, and if you decide you want to train for a bike race, you can always temporarily cut back your running. But don't worry about losing your biking conditioning too much - it doesn't really happen as long as you are riding twice a week. Running, on the other hand, requires more regular workouts to avoid losing your conditioning & injury.

But I'm not a pro so don't necessarily listen to me. This is just based on my experience, including hanging around with a lot of triathletes (pros & wannabes)

Edit: Treadmills: I hate any stationary, indoor exercise. But it might be a good idea for the beginners program, if you live in the mountains. Hill running can screw you up (=injuries) unless your well conditioned. I'd opt for driving to somewhere more flat instead of a treadmill, though. Yuck!

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Dude I hate it too. But its hard to get good quality cardio exercise outdoors when it's dark by 4 PM, the temp is around 0, and the shoulders are full of snow.

Spin class and treadmills are a necessary evil.

 

[Dleg]

Oops I forgot. You all have to deal with that thing called "winter". B)

 

[maryannette]

Well, I did spin class this morning and dileberately protected my wrist. I could tell that it took a lot more core strength than the old way. I'm still going to limit myself to 2 spin classes a week. Everybody is different, and I'm different than I was 20 years ago. I think the most important thing is not to ever give in to a couch potato lifestyle. I have a treadmill at home and I personally like a treadmill. I like the suggestion about ballet class, but I wish there was one that I could take at 6 a.m. before work. I don't even know if there is an adult "beginner" class available near me. Well, as long as I can keep on doing something and can heal from the minor injuries, I'll stay active. I think I will start taking gloucosamine, though. ldtimer:

 

[frazil]

^ I think swimming would be a good excercise for your joints.

I've been trying to workout at home for months and it's just impossible. (My arms still have zilcho definition) So the girls I run with and I decided to only run 3 days a week and lift 2 days a week during lunch. I think having workout partners will definitely help keep me on track. I want to come up with a list of excercises too that I can check off.

 

[GTScott]

Great info! The next (and my first) century race is not until Spring so I definitely could let the biking go to two days a week. I think I will look over the beginner's program and try to keep to 3 days a week as you suggest.

As for the treadmill, by the time I get home it is dark. There is a half mile track that I could easily walk to and it is pretty flat. However, I can just see myself making excuses not to go. If the walking is in my basement, then I have less chance of making excuses. This is how it worked when I bought my weight machine.

Probably a stupid question, but I assume the running and the biking will both help out of cardiovascular endurance. That being said, are there any opposing muscle groups that may be at work here? For instance, am I going to need to lose these somewhat large quads that I am developing from biking in order to be more efficient running? I hope that makes sense...

Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[roadwreck]

Great info! The next (and my first) century race is not until Spring so I definitely could let the biking go to two days a week. I think I will look over the beginner's program and try to keep to 3 days a week as you suggest.
As for the treadmill, by the time I get home it is dark. There is a half mile track that I could easily walk to and it is pretty flat. However, I can just see myself making excuses not to go. If the walking is in my basement, then I have less chance of making excuses. This is how it worked when I bought my weight machine.

Probably a stupid question, but I assume the running and the biking will both help out of cardiovascular endurance. That being said, are there any opposing muscle groups that may be at work here? For instance, am I going to need to lose these somewhat large quads that I am developing from biking in order to be more efficient running? I hope that makes sense...

Your help is greatly appreciated!

Do what I did, join a soccer league. After the first game I found muscle groups I hadn't heard from in a decade (i.e. - there are muscle groups that you just don't use running and biking).

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ I know what you mean. Everytime I play pickup basketball it feels like someone broke every bone in my feet.