Author Topic: Lockdown fitness (Read 11169 times)

Greenbank · « **Reply #75 on:** 02 September, 2020, 01:01:42 am »

Welcome back to 5-a-side football. Hope you like running:-

phantasmagoriana · « **Reply #76 on:** 02 September, 2020, 08:54:03 am »

First gym class in 6 months this morning.

Only 5 people in a big sports hall, so no problem social distancing!

phantasmagoriana · « **Reply #77 on:** 03 September, 2020, 10:20:09 am »

And first spin class done, albeit a "virtual" one with no instructor. The normal spin studio is still closed, and the bikes have been moved to a big sports hall to allow more space between them. Good to be back, though I am as hideously unfit as I'd feared, and I'm glad I took my FTP down a chunk to allow for it.

Greenbank · « **Reply #78 on:** 07 September, 2020, 10:38:49 am »

Quote from: Greenbank on 20 August, 2020, 11:17:09 am

Spinning class was a different instructor to the usual ones. Still structured but much more "spinning" (e.g. out of the saddle, slow/fast, etc) than my preferred instructor who does proper varied interval sessions and describes the upcoming sections so you know how hard to push.

It's a good workout anyway and will still be doing some good after all of this time off the bike. NP of 163W.

Back to the usual instructor this week, very happy, he's obviously following a proper intervals session and lets you know exactly what is coming up.

NP of 185W so it's heading in the right direction but it's nice to do something properly structured.

Bonus was the boiler was broken at the pool so I didn't have to do my swim session, will replace it with a long walk to Decrackalon to stock up on some unnecessary items (and some necessary ones, like a new swimsuit for my daughter).

phantasmagoriana · « **Reply #79 on:** 15 September, 2020, 11:36:52 am »

First "proper" spin class last night, with an instructor and everything. Oh dear! Even with an FTP ~15W lower than 6 months ago, I couldn't manage the 120% FTP intervals at the end. $:-\$ Still, onwards and upwards, I hope - it's good to get back to decently structured sessions. Next one tomorrow...

phantasmagoriana · « **Reply #80 on:** 30 September, 2020, 02:57:26 pm »

Quote from: phantasmagoriana on 15 September, 2020, 11:36:52 am

First "proper" spin class last night, with an instructor and everything. Oh dear! Even with an FTP ~15W lower than 6 months ago, I couldn't manage the 120% FTP intervals at the end. $:-\$ Still, onwards and upwards, I hope - it's good to get back to decently structured sessions. Next one tomorrow...

...and then last night they made us do an FTP test.

It wasn't actually quite as bad as I'd feared - it was slightly down on my last test (which was over a year ago, as I avoid these things) but not too bad, and 18W up on the guesstimated FTP I've been using of late. Of course, this just means tonight's class will be harder...

Morat · « **Reply #81 on:** 05 January, 2021, 10:25:49 pm »

As we enter Lockdown 3, it's clear my fitness has fallen to a woeful level.
Excuses are plentiful but I don't want to turn this into a whinge-fest.

The Gyms are shut, and the nearest one is 25 minutes away in a car. The obvious solution seems to be Peloton.
Seeing as it hardly ever gets mentioned on YACF, is it a terrible idea?

I don't own a 5000 square foot apartment looking over Central Park, but I reckon we could fit the bike in on the ground floor somewhere.

I fully admire cyclists who can deal with horrible weather but I hate it and so does Mrs Morat. I'm also on call at the weekends now, so my proper bikes are languishing

Clearly, we're both lacking in time and motivation and maybe fake spin classes are the answer, does anyone have better suggestions?

Greenbank · « **Reply #82 on:** 05 January, 2021, 10:29:33 pm »

Quote from: Morat on 05 January, 2021, 10:25:49 pm

As we enter Lockdown 3, it's clear my fitness has fallen to a woeful level.
Excuses are plentiful but I don't want to turn this into a whinge-fest.

The Gyms are shut, and the nearest one is 25 minutes away in a car. The obvious solution seems to be Peloton.
Seeing as it hardly ever gets mentioned on YACF, is it a terrible idea?

Good luck buying one. Last time it came up elsewhere there was an 8-12 week lead time on orders.

Same with many of the smart trainers, they all get snapped up whenever places go into lockdown.

Personally I'd buy a Wattbike Atom (again a reasonable lead time I believe) and then be free to choose Zwift/Rouvy/FullGaz/etc rather than being tied into Peleton completely (you can't use one as a Smart trainer attached to something else).

Greenbank · « **Reply #83 on:** 05 January, 2021, 10:31:19 pm »

Peloton: 6-8 weeks minimum in the UK right now
Wattbike Atom: 15-17 weeks according to the website

Morat · « **Reply #84 on:** 05 January, 2021, 10:46:23 pm »

Thanks for looking it up. So, yes at least 10 weeks leadtime for the bike+ which is about the same leadtime for getting into a gym, assuming they open in late Feb.
The cost is about the same per month as well seeing as it's £50 each per month at the gym.
Hmm. How much sense would it make in a year?

simonp · « **Reply #85 on:** 05 January, 2021, 11:23:31 pm »

I had an FTP at the end of 2019 of 246W (TR ramp test). Then I had a cold and didn't train for a couple of weeks. Tested mid January at 225W, then had another - bad - cold and by the time I was training again, FTP was 215. Trained for a bit then lockdown started, which disrupted things initially, and then I had June off training as I dealt with real life stuff that lockdown had prevented. My FTP had increased to 243W by September when I developed a heart rhythm* problem which ended up with loads of tests and advice to avoid max intensity effort for a while. ECGs, heart monitor for two weeks, cardiac echo, and CT angiogram eventually decided I was probably ok. The heart rhythm problem went away on its own last month. While I was avoiding max intensity I followed a more Z2 focussed plan with more volume and less intensity.

Upshot is I did the ramp test in December and FTP was 251. This is the best score I've ever had on the TrainerRoad ramp test. I did pretty much the same number of outdoor rides in 2020 as 2019 (around 30 in both cases). But the longest ride in 2020 was 129km; the longest in 2019 was 1230km.

For this lockdown I'm not doing the long z2 focus as it's not compatible with sanity indoors. I'm doing something in-between the mid-volume and high volume Sweet Spot Base plans from TrainerRoad. I'm trying to do a couple of long z2s a week, aiming for Wednesdays and Sundays. Goal is 3h. As long as I can actually leave the village this can be done locally with a loop of 10 or so miles. The village is too small, and its streets too narrow, for any sort of training ride to take place within its boundary. I'm unlikely to be exposed to Covid in day-to-day life and haven't had any sort of cold since those two colds in January, so I'm aiming for steady progress.

Edit: also did some rowing during the summer, and gained some confidence in a single. Stopped when the heart problem started and have been scuppered by usually being in a different tier than the rowing club, there being too much water in the river, etc.

* Premature ventricular contractions - usually benign but can be a sign of a serious issue. I was having them basically all the time, roughly 1 beat in 8 over a two week monitoring period, which is very frequent.

PaulF · « **Reply #86 on:** 06 January, 2021, 07:25:31 am »

Definitely get yourself a smart trainer of some sort. I got a KICKR in late October and a third of my mileage last year was on it.

Previously on the dumb trainer I found it harder to motivate but with the assistance of Zwift and structured plans I was more motivated. Personally I’d avoid Peloton for the reasons Greenbank says but get something that’s not tied to a specific plan and see what works best for you from Zwift, Trainer Road etc.

L CC · « **Reply #87 on:** 06 January, 2021, 10:09:34 am »

^^
What he said.
Peloton membership will give you yoga and other stuffs too, but I'm not convinced they're any better than the free stuff off youtube.
There is an element of 'I've paid so I'll bloody well use it' I guess.

If you respond well to gamification Zwift is probably a better fit than Peloton anyway.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #88 on:** 06 January, 2021, 10:21:30 am »

Back at start of lockdown I was getting into my distance training in kayak. Once a week I'd do at least 2 hours in the boat. A bit of jogging.

Sometimes both on same day - I'd do a short 1.5hr session in kayak, carry boat home, strap on trainings and do 5km running.

Was able to sustain about 10.5kph for a long session. That is a good pace at my level; 10.5 kph sustained plus a sprint will win a race. So I was hopeful for wins; I was sustaining 10.5 for 20km and my races are 12.8km.

Now . . .

I can't jog 15km at the speed I could paddle. Motivation through the floor.

Greenbank · « **Reply #89 on:** 06 January, 2021, 12:41:43 pm »

My main argument against Peloton is that it's a closed system.

You can't get the Peloton bike to broadcast power/cadence data to be recorded in another system (e.g. a Garmin or received by ANT/BT stick to be used in Zwift/Rouvy/etc). That means you're stuck with it.

Some people are trying to reverse the information sent over various cables internally and then use a small computer like a Raspberry Pi to analyse these and then broadcast the appropriate things over ANT/BT but it's very much a Heath Robinson solution (and isn't complete or reliable).

Also the Peloton isn't controllable like a Smart Trainer is. If I ever get a turbo (living in a first floor flat makes this unlikely) I want it to be able to give me programmes where it dials up the resistance in order to simulate hill climbs without me having to twist dials manually.

If you just want to sit on a bike and pedal, with manual difficulty adjustment (like many spin bikes in the gym), then Peloton is great. Along with the extra motivation of tirelessly cheery people ~~shouting at~~ encouraging you from a big screen in front of you, plus yoga/stretching/ploymetrics/etc.

Greenbank · « **Reply #90 on:** 06 January, 2021, 12:45:07 pm »

Unsurprisingly I'm still at the same weight I was when last lockdown started.

But the motivation to not waste this lockdown has returned. Back running again. Making sure I do at least 10,000 steps a day (WFH, home schooling and lockdown rules make that interesting).

Pushups (with MiniGB) and Leg Blasters (see original post) will return. Skipping can get to fuck though, it was fine in the summer but not interested in the winter.

ian · « **Reply #91 on:** 06 January, 2021, 12:59:16 pm »

Back on Ms Evil the Exercise Bike. I hate her. She hates me. But needs must. It's less boring than the rowing machine. I broke my turbo thing through excessively furious pedalling* during lockdown one and replacements were (and it seems still are) unobtainium.

I just fire up an educational podcast and off I go, futilely pedalling frantically to nowhere. I try to keep the watts north of 200. Seems to work, though I have to grind for the better part of an hour to come even close to what I'd get in a 40-min swim (close enough that I complete my movement ring for the day, oh the tyranny of a smartwatch). I do five minutes on the rower to stop my arms working loose.

I really, really had hoped to have confined the infernal machines back to the garage by now (that's technically the 'gym' but too cold at the moment, so it's still set up in the dining room).

*lie. It was the resistance toggle.

DuncanM · « **Reply #92 on:** 06 January, 2021, 01:33:14 pm »

I rode the turbo for most of the last lockdown. Then stopped because getting off to stretch several times per session was deemed to be bad by my physio. My hip is not improved, so I'm contemplating lending out my turbo (wheel on but smart) as I'm pretty certain I'm not going to use it in the next few months. Trainer Road suspended my membership so if I get back onto it again I can resume at my grandfathered price, which is remarkable customer service.
As for fitness, I do my physio mandated exercises every 2-3 days and go for the odd walk (infrequent rather than silly!). It'll probably maintain some level of strength, but my FTP must be at an all-time low.

Morat · « **Reply #93 on:** 09 January, 2021, 09:44:34 pm »

Wattbike Atom does look like a very nice bit of kit! I guess the queue speaks to its quality.

I'm in two minds

This is a significant chunk of cash to be throwing at something that has every chance of being a white elephant (in a falling white elephant market) in six months time. However, I need to get fit and so does my wife who has just received a T2 diabetes diagnosis.
Diet is key, for both of us, but just as I can get hangry - unless I'm on keto - I get a bit of the old cage-pacing syndrome if I can't get out for a good walk/bike ride.

Keto isn't a good option for my wife atm, according to the quacks and seeing as I'm in charge of the kitchen I really don't fancy making three different meals at each meal time (one each for me, wife, no1 son).

The answer is obvious. Get out and walk, ride when possible, put a diet plan together and stop whinging about it. Why isn't the good stuff fun?!

chrisbainbridge · « **Reply #94 on:** 10 January, 2021, 07:36:31 am »

I would question the Keto thing. The Newcastle 800C diabetic diet is “essentially” Keto and proven to reverse t2 diabetes.

L CC · « **Reply #95 on:** 10 January, 2021, 08:46:32 am »

I agree with Chris above - the NHS are currently recommending 2 diet programs for T2:
https://www.secondnature.io/guides/nutrition/nhs-trusted-diet-plan

https://www.lowcarbprogram.com/

Both of these focus on reducing carbohydrate - particularly processed - and increasing healthy fat.

Author Topic: Lockdown fitness (Read 11169 times)

simonp

ian