The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
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Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.
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Notes -
Update on my pull-up bar exercises.
I have literally missed 1 single day since I started in May. I missed one day in the first month, and never again for the past six months. I’m super proud of this. On vacations I do a bunch of pushups in lieu of the pullups.
I am currently doing 10 pull-ups every day before going to bed, with pushups and situps added in. I know it’s not recommended to do training every single day, so I want to emphasize that the daily habit is a much higher priority for me than optimizing strength or muscle recovery.
Starting out, the plan was to do some nominal number of reps (like, maybe 3) on off days to avoid injuring myself, then three times a week do enough sets to induce failure. Well this plan caused a tendon in my left elbow to kind of freak out on me.
So now I do the same number of reps every night, increasing the reps on the first of each month. I’ve added 1 pull-up per month to my nightly total since August, and I’m at 10 right now. Will attempt 11 nightly starting December 1st.
The only drawback is that my sleep schedule is harder to manage, because the exercising is causing me to procrastinate getting ready for bed.
Good to hear the progress. I am a huge fan of pullups, and having a doorway pullup bar really lets you squeeze them in anytime. I only read through your last couple posts so I'm not sure how much of a fitness background you have, but it sounds like you're getting back into shape.
I will say from personal experience, after about fifteen years of consistently working out, that nothing will mess you up more than an injury. It seems like you've got a good habit going on - make sure that you don't pull, strain, or twist something that can cause you to lose the ability to exercise. That's almost an inevitability if you push yourself too hard, and sometimes it isn't worth that last rep - especially if you're exercising for general fitness, not competition.
If you're looking for other compact and versatile equipment for the home, I would highly recommend an ab roller, kettlebells, and/or resistance bands. For $50 worth of equipment you can greatly increase the number of muscle groups you target.
Good luck
Hey thanks! How much time daily do you spend working out? What I'm doing right now is sustainable schedule-wise, but if I get any more serious then I would need to rethink my evening routine.
Weekly, I probably do about 2x45 minutes cardio and 2x30 minutes weights. Not a huge amount of time, but I've been consistent throughout most of my adult life. My schedule makes it such that I generally work out in the afternoons, but if it were my choice, I'd be working out first thing in the morning. My understanding, and this is more going off of vibes than a particular scientific study, is that it isn't so good to work out before bedtime, it gets your body all worked up rather than winding down for sleep.
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Pullups suck. I don't mean they're bad, I mean I hate them because they're hard. I used to be able to do 10-15 and now I'm lucky to do 3. But that's improving. Wide-grip pull-ups suck worse. Neutral grip are the easiest for me. You're doing well Any other exercises or muscle groups your working on?
Thank you. 15 is crazy—you must have been fit. I'm just doing the pullups, situps, and pushups. And I want to start running again. Once I'm doing all that I don't think I'll mess with any more.
I don't want to do too much, because every day I'm surprised I'm still doing it. I'm clinging to the progress I've made so far and am afraid of losing it.
Do you have time to exercise? With your insane commute how do you do it?
I'm only needed physically at work between 3 and 4 days a week at present, which helps considerably, and I have a workout plan that puts me in the gym 3 days/wk on a shifting schedule.
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