Fitness

[MeTekillot]

Noticable improvements in strength bring a unique satisfaction.

[Hauwke]

The last 6 months or so I have working in an office furniture store.
Them work muscles are ridiculous after this, I can lift and carry about 50kg now, whereas before I could barely carry 20kg or so.

[Synthesis]

Any strength gains within the first 6 weeks or so are pretty much due to neuromuscular adaptation.

The bad thing is that you can lose those particular gains within 3 or 4 weeks of inactivity.

[Hauwke]

Thats pretty neat to know.

[Raptor_Dan]

That is pretty neat to know.

Synthesis, is this the kind of neuromuscular adaptation that can be achieved through strong mental focus? A few years ago, I learned that your fingers becoming pruney and wrinkled from water wasn't from the water itself, but some neurological response I didn't quite fully understand. So I spent several weeks training myself to make my fingers pruney on command. It took a while, but I achieved it, and after showing off for a couple days, decided I milked it for all it's worth...

Can I do that with that particular muscular response, too?

[Esadal]

That is pretty neat to know.

Synthesis, is this the kind of neuromuscular adaptation that can be achieved through strong mental focus? A few years ago, I learned that your fingers becoming pruney and wrinkled from water wasn't from the water itself, but some neurological response I didn't quite fully understand. So I spent several weeks training myself to make my fingers pruney on command. It took a while, but I achieved it, and after showing off for a couple days, decided I milked it for all it's worth...

Can I do that with that particular muscular response, too?

Can..  You still do this?  It would be really cool to see a video of this happening.

[Synthesis]

That is pretty neat to know.

Synthesis, is this the kind of neuromuscular adaptation that can be achieved through strong mental focus? A few years ago, I learned that your fingers becoming pruney and wrinkled from water wasn't from the water itself, but some neurological response I didn't quite fully understand. So I spent several weeks training myself to make my fingers pruney on command. It took a while, but I achieved it, and after showing off for a couple days, decided I milked it for all it's worth...

Can I do that with that particular muscular response, too?

Nah.  Muscle motor units are really pretty lazy.  They don't recruit and activate additional muscle fibers unless you force them to via repeated near-maximal efforts.  It would be super-awesome if you could just sit around and think strong thoughts, but that isn't how it works.

That being said...research surrounding fitness and nutrition is pretty weak, because the financial incentive to cash in NOW seems to be greater than the curiosity incentive to get it right...so...everyone's going to have a pet theory supported with flimsy data at best, for the foreseeable future.  (Including myself.  I bought and read through the NSCA CPT textbook, and...the principles seem to be loosely data-supported, but the fundamental questions of WHY? are still open.  I mean...as far as I know, science still can't explain why delayed-onset muscle soreness happens...like...that seems like such a simple thing, but no.)

[MeTekillot]

I've gained mass. Close to hitting the noob gains ceiling and am pressing against that.

[boog]

I'm still pretty envious of people who don't have to work hard to maintain their frame. Because I work out almost every single day and my gains and transformations are so small.

Oh well. I lost a couple pounds. I guess that's something.

[MeTekillot]

I have to eat and eat and eat and smoke weed on top of it to be hungry enough to eat enough to gain weight to match my exercise. Recent problems with headaches when my blood pressure gets too high have been making working out a lot harder. My nudes are fire tho

[RogueGunslinger]

Does working out a lot when younger help you keep in shape when older?

[Hauwke]

Educated guess would be yes.
Reason being easier to keep fit if you already are.

[solera]

Aerobic exercise I'd say maybe. After years of long distance, I can still pick up jogging quite easily, especially if I've shed a bit of weight at work. Stiff as a board though, and as stretchy as a length of No 8 wire in a frost.
I understood though,  that muscle development from strength training turns to fat which is quite a handicap if you want to return to working order in old age? Have I got any of that right?

[Hauwke]

To expand on my comment:

Im not a gym junky or anything, in fact ive never ever even worked out in a gym, just one of those super lucky individuals who dont get fat easy but do gain muscle easy apparently.

Im probably talking out my ass here but it would make sense to my brain that muscle memory could play into the fitness one can have when they age. A super buff guy will have a lot of muscle just itching to turn to fat, but a moderately muscled guy could probably pull it off in the sense that because his body is used to working out and thus burning calories and losing fat, it may be easier for his body to continue doing just that long past the muscle dude whose body would be better suited to bulking up instead of slimming down.

I never claim to be a smart man, but im far from stupid and this sort of makes sense in my head so maybe it makes sense to others too?

[Synthesis]

Muscle doesn't "turn into" fat, except in the sense that as the muscle atrophies, the protein comprising the muscle fibers is broken down and returns to circulation, where it's metabolized either to burn energy or stored as general body fat, but that doesn't happen locally (i.e. the muscle doesn't -literally- turn into fat -in place-).

You lose muscle cross-sectional area as it atrophies due to lack of use, AND you gain body fat as your calorie intake rises above your calorie expenditure.

There's a false-correlational element to the idea that "people who were fit when they were younger get fit easier when they're older."  That is, people who were fit when they were younger are more likely to be genetically predisposed to being "fit" in general, which means that when they're older, they're still genetically predisposed to being fit, or at least having it easier when it comes to becoming fit again.  It has nothing to do with their actual fitness levels when they were younger.  If they happened to be complete slugs in their 20s, but had the genetic material to be superstar athletes, when they start working out in their 30s and 40s, they're going to figure out real quick that they had that potential.

By the same token, if you've always found fitness difficult to maintain, it probably will always be difficult for you.  Personally, I put about 10 hours a week (lifting and running) just to perform at 'meh.'

You don't maintain things like muscle cross-sectional area, motor unit-fiber recruitment, and mitochondrial density for very long after you stop working out.  Fortunately, research has shown that you really only need to work the muscle about once a week in order to simply maintain strength.  Not sure about mitochondrial density for endurance, though.

One thing, though...if you are just starting to lift, run, or whatever...you're going to be HELLA SORE for 24-72 hours after the first few times you do it.  Science can't really explain this (delayed-onset muscle soreness) yet, but it kind of stops happening after a few weeks.  Don't be discouraged by it.  You aren't broken.  Your physical body is just lazy as hell and tries to avoid doing work at all costs, because evolutionarily it's adapted to famine, not overabundance.

[boog]

I used to be super athletic. Then I had knee surgery. Then I was diagnosed as having fibromyalgia. Building any kinda muscle mass takes forrrrever.

I might not look it, but I can probably kick most people's ass at the Y. Also, being able to leg press more than beefy dudes has always made me giggle.

[Hauwke]

I used to be super athletic. Then I had knee surgery. Then I was diagnosed as having fibromyalgia. Building any kinda muscle mass takes forrrrever.

I might not look it, but I can probably kick most people's ass at the Y. Also, being able to leg press more than beefy dudes has always made me giggle.

I read that first bit in a Skyrim nord voice.

[MeTekillot]

I have pretty strong legs, too. I try not to pay too much attention to other people at the gym, but I feel a little bit superior every time I see a guy with three times my biceps doing less plates on the leg press or squat rack. I also almost broke myself in half doing squats the other day and the back pain didn't hit until the next day, but I'm ok!

[boog]

I should squat more. I should focus more on muscular endurance. But I don't.

I think my butt's grown an inch, though. Like. Out. I should keep going.

[MeTekillot]

My ass is callipygian

[boog]

I think a lot of mine has to do with my stride. I'm almost pigeon toed sometimes if I'm hurrying. It's ridiculous. I have to consciously try to point my toes at outward angles just to walk right.

I'm getting there. It's just remembering to use my ass instead of my thighs when I'm walking and lunging and squatting. My thighs are damn sexy, though.

[MeTekillot]

Use your heels when you do squats or any other leg exercise, don't use your toes on the upward push if you're wanting to work on your butt. Calf raises notwithstanding.

[boog]

I do! I swear.

[MeTekillot]

I'm at 175 lbs of what seems to mostly be muscle since my gratuitous mirror posing hasn't revealed any pockets of fat. I'm going for 190-200, or whatever I end up at when I have Brad Pitt's body from Fight Club.

[boog]

I bumped up ten pounds on my abductions.

I have so little core strength. No matter what I do. Halp.

I do like doing Russian twists though.