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Get Fit, Stay Fit, Feel Good - 2026

Ridley said:
@Mike95060, I’d volunteer to come to your house and whip you in the ass with a wet towel if that will help with motivation😁.
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The dirt riding in Santa Cruz is top notch so, come on by!! lol. I do think my propensity to avoid groups and teams does penalize me sometimes. Getting on it so as to not disappoint you piers is a powerful motivator.
 
stangmx13 said:
That’s not what the video portrayed. Your list is dated.
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I understand that. For my purposes, with jumps and sprints, my athletes won't get to that state of fatigue except in a very hard training session and since they get recovery periods the first two are more likely.

I did learn something from his video, namely the mechanism that caused the fatigue driven cramps, so that was very useful information.
 
Mike95060 said:
^ Outstanding Ride Mario! I don't think I could sustain that pace over 100 miles. With PR's!!! Nice Work.

@stangmx13 I really appreciate your input on the mental/emotional side of sports and training. I'll admit I have been struggling with the big, "Why am I doing this?" questions lately. For the first time in 6 years I didn't make the start for a triathlon. I was supposed to do Escape the Cape in my hometown this year. I couldn't get my life together enough to make it out. I keep asking myself, "why was it so difficult to get motivated for the event and pull it off?" Long distance travel is defiantly a factor but, if I'm being brutally honest with myself, I just didn't want it enough. When I first started, just completing a triathlon was enough of a draw for me to do the work. Race day emotions are amazing. Highest highs, verry low lows, anticipation, excitement, its EVERYTHING, including tears, all wrapped up into one moment. The realization that I probably won't have that this year is fucking with me a bit. I suppose I could find a local tri but again, it's not quite speaking to me the way it did. Now that I know I can complete them, there is only improvement in results that feels like it could be enough to make the work "worth it." I don't think that's enough for me. Maybe I need the risk of TOTAL failure and embarrassment to whip me into making the line. I dunno. I'm searching a bit to find the fix. Maybe it's bike races. Maybe it's trying something completely new. (looking at you track cyclists.) Maybe it's training with a group or getting a coach to see bigger improvements and that will make triathlon exciting again. Maybe I just need to blast PED's until I want to rip my own legs off. That's defiantly exciting!

When I think about where my body was when I first started dabbling in endurance sports vs where it is now I do feel proud. I don't want to lose the meager fitness I have worked for. I know I won't keep at it hard enough without something that excites me to work for though. I'm currently looking for that. This thread series (we can call it a series right? One a year?) is pure internet gold IMHO. I appreciate everyone who posts about their struggles and their successes.
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Your enjoyment of running, cycling, and swimming probably goes beyond training for races, no? Hitting some MTB trails on a cool morning with good tunes can just be fun and not “training”. Sometimes I gotta remind myself that the first reason why I cycle is because it’s fun.

The lower-effort races are kinda nice. My local MTB races are like that - $40+gas, 90min riding, 1hr travel. And you get social time before and after. I’m kinda a hermit here at home so the social time is a boost. Track could fit that bill for you, as long as the traffic to San Jose ain’t so bad.

One of my MTB buddies has his 3 boys racing at the BMX track. It’s $15 and they race every Wed. I won’t be surprised if I end up there, especially since that track is a 10min ride from my house.
 
Climber said:
I understand that. For my purposes, with jumps and sprints, my athletes won't get to that state of fatigue except in a very hard training session and since they get recovery periods the first two are more likely.

I did learn something from his video, namely the mechanism that caused the fatigue driven cramps, so that was very useful information.
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The more I think about this, the more I disagree.

Your idea of less fatigue also applies to salts and hydration too. If they aren’t working hard, they don’t need the salts or hydration anyway.

I can cramp my legs in 5x30s sprints. Surely your athletes can build the exact same type of fatigue? It takes me days to recover from the workout, not 20min. If I cramp during them, I’m still blaming fatigue.
 
stangmx13 said:
The more I think about this, the more I disagree.

Your idea of less fatigue also applies to salts and hydration too. If they aren’t working hard, they don’t need the salts or hydration anyway.

I can cramp my legs in 5x30s sprints. Surely your athletes can build the exact same type of fatigue? It takes me days to recover from the workout, not 20min. If I cramp during them, I’m still blaming fatigue.
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I've been at track meets where it was 113, 108, 106, etc. Just being there as a coach or parent without replacing electrolytes can put you in a cramp state across much of your body. You don't have to be active to be losing electrolytes and almost always you're at the track meet for 8-12 hours, all of that heat adds up.

The state he was describing, from what I could gather, was arrived at by continuous or almost continuous hard activity for hours. Sprinters and jumpers don't train that way, the recovery is coming after a max of 2 minutes of running with the recovery time longer for the longer time and/or intensity.

Endurance athletes are subjected to very different conditions. Also, HS and younger kids don't pay that much attention to what they're putting in their body, so it's not uncommon for them to get low on their electrolytes. Hell, I"ve had pleny of kids show up for a 6-8 hour meet with very little or no water and nothing to snack on. And that was after plenty of information was given to them about what to bring to meets.
 
Climber said:
I've been at track meets where it was 113, 108, 106, etc. Just being there as a coach or parent without replacing electrolytes can put you in a cramp state across much of your body. You don't have to be active to be losing electrolytes and almost always you're at the track meet for 8-12 hours, all of that heat adds up.

The state he was describing, from what I could gather, was arrived at by continuous or almost continuous hard activity for hours. Sprinters and jumpers don't train that way, the recovery is coming after a max of 2 minutes of running with the recovery time longer for the longer time and/or intensity.

Endurance athletes are subjected to very different conditions. Also, HS and younger kids don't pay that much attention to what they're putting in their body, so it's not uncommon for them to get low on their electrolytes. Hell, I"ve had pleny of kids show up for a 6-8 hour meet with very little or no water and nothing to snack on. And that was after plenty of information was given to them about what to bring to meets.
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I didn't think we were discussing 100+F weather because the needs of that are obvious 🤷‍♂️. Also, the heat leads to far more fatigue...

Ya, the video didn't address high intensity short duration exercise. I wouldn't be surprised if the cramp mechanism is still the same - fatigue leading to an imbalance in the activate/relax mechanisms. I bet the the lab testing he references are closer to short duration than long because aint nobody got time to test people for hours. Ill have to check.
 
I am thinking that I am losing fat, but not necessarily weight. When I got to rehab facility in early October I weighed 226. The last day there was 229. I have been really slinging the gym for 5 mos now and I can see and feel a difference, but I still weigh 226. Shirt size back to XL and even Euro XL's are fitting OK.

I am being a very good boy on the eats for the last 4 mos. Carnivore ish diet. Eating early and doing the fast thing for 15 -18 hours on most days. Less booze... now zero snacking.

Heading to the grocery store in a minute to restock... Coconut Milk, Blueberries, Blackberries, Purple Grapes, Apples, Walnuts and Carrots. Whehoo...! Living well :laughing

I would like to lose more weight and I think that will come (old real athlete weight was 185-195). Be really happy to hit 205. 20 more lbs seems doable and is the goal for Jan 1, 2027.

Slow and steady for the win.

Meanwhile my Daughter and SIL is doing the drug induced weight loss deal and it is going way faster than I. They both have lost 20lbs in 2 months.
 
Bud, KEEP AT IT. You are doing it right. I bet your body composition (muscle/fat/bone/water) is WAY better than where you started. IMHO, weight on the scale is the least important metric. Cardio, strength and mobility training keep us feeling good, active and healthy. I know you know all that but, fuck yeah man good on you. There are no biological free lunches. Your better health will LAST if you keep on the good habits you have put so much work into. Stoked to hear the booze is minimal too. Cheap dates ftw!!!
 
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budman said:
I am thinking that I am losing fat, but not necessarily weight. When I got to rehab facility in early October I weighed 226. The last day there was 229. I have been really slinging the gym for 5 mos now and I can see and feel a difference, but I still weigh 226. Shirt size back to XL and even Euro XL's are fitting OK.

I am being a very good boy on the eats for the last 4 mos. Carnivore ish diet. Eating early and doing the fast thing for 15 -18 hours on most days. Less booze... now zero snacking.

Heading to the grocery store in a minute to restock... Coconut Milk, Blueberries, Blackberries, Purple Grapes, Apples, Walnuts and Carrots. Whehoo...! Living well :laughing

I would like to lose more weight and I think that will come (old real athlete weight was 185-195). Be really happy to hit 205. 20 more lbs seems doable and is the goal for Jan 1, 2027.

Slow and steady for the win.

Meanwhile my Daughter and SIL is doing the drug induced weight loss deal and it is going way faster than I. They both have lost 20lbs in 2 months.
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great stuff - recommend doing the Dexa Scan (or Archimedes style dunk in water tub) for accurate body fat/muscle composition. Plenty of labs around offer it - so do Santa Clara and SJSU athletic departments

Weight on the scale is just one data point and not that useful.
 
budman said:
Meanwhile my Daughter and SIL is doing the drug induced weight loss deal and it is going way faster than I. They both have lost 20lbs in 2 months.
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Keep rocking it, @budman

If something sounds too good to be true...
 
budman said:
I am thinking that I am losing fat, but not necessarily weight. When I got to rehab facility in early October I weighed 226. The last day there was 229. I have been really slinging the gym for 5 mos now and I can see and feel a difference, but I still weigh 226. Shirt size back to XL and even Euro XL's are fitting OK.

I am being a very good boy on the eats for the last 4 mos. Carnivore ish diet. Eating early and doing the fast thing for 15 -18 hours on most days. Less booze... now zero snacking.

Heading to the grocery store in a minute to restock... Coconut Milk, Blueberries, Blackberries, Purple Grapes, Apples, Walnuts and Carrots. Whehoo...! Living well :laughing

I would like to lose more weight and I think that will come (old real athlete weight was 185-195). Be really happy to hit 205. 20 more lbs seems doable and is the goal for Jan 1, 2027.

Slow and steady for the win.

Meanwhile my Daughter and SIL is doing the drug induced weight loss deal and it is going way faster than I. They both have lost 20lbs in 2 months.
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The old maxim, muscle weighs more than fat is always true.

Now that I'm back to full training, now that track season is done, in the gym, my weight is going up as I put muscle back on, despite being back up to working out 7 days a week.

You know you're doing the right things, trust in the process!
 
stangmx13 said:
I didn't think we were discussing 100+F weather because the needs of that are obvious 🤷‍♂️. Also, the heat leads to far more fatigue...

Ya, the video didn't address high intensity short duration exercise. I wouldn't be surprised if the cramp mechanism is still the same - fatigue leading to an imbalance in the activate/relax mechanisms. I bet the the lab testing he references are closer to short duration than long because aint nobody got time to test people for hours. Ill have to check.
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You make good points and I always enjoy discussing these with you. I know that endurance athletes bodies are subjected to different factors than explosive athletes, but there are also commonalisties there as well as tissues are tissues.

I'm busy with work at the moment, I need to think through and re-read and re-listen to his presentation before further discussion.
 
Mike95060 said:
@stangmx13 Ever tried a 3x13x30x15?

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I’ve only done the other microintervals called out in the vid.

3x10 40/20s
3x10 30/30s
3x10 20/10s (Tabata’s)

I won’t be surprised if my coach gives me 30/15s soon.

They all kind of have the same goal, maximize time in zone for VO2Max while minimizing fatigue. I generally don’t feel wrecked after them… but I’m “good” at VO2 training so 🤷‍♂️. These also have some extra benefit of training the legs at really high watts.

One thing that really kicked my butt was doing the 20s of 40/20 at endurance pace, not off. The HR & breathing don’t recover as much and the avg power is way higher. I think my 10min power PR is still set by one of those.

IMO, every endurance athlete needs to get familiar with intervals. Sure, they offer amazing gainz. And they accomplish a ton in a short time. But they are also novel and “fun”. Having more workouts to break up the monotony of training is great.
 
The interesting thing about interval training is that when the intensity is high, the rest period between determines if you're building Anaerobic Strength or Lactose tolerance.

In the track world, it's understood that you stick with one or the other for a workout to not confuse the body in it's response to the training.
 
Decided to make a run at 4 miles in 20 minutes today since I have not done that in a month. Been up and downing it per the suggestion from @stangmx13

Last time I tried I did it in 19:41 secs.

Today 18:48 nice bump.
Cruising at 150bpm heart rate. Felt solid and I am stoked it did.
1781204950753.jpeg
 
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budman said:
I am thinking that I am losing fat, but not necessarily weight.

Slow and steady for the win.

Meanwhile my Daughter and SIL is doing the drug induced weight loss deal and it is going way faster than I. They both have lost 20lbs in 2 months.
Click to expand...

Others have already said it: 15%. Muscle weighs about 15% more than fat @ the same volume. Muscle's more dense. Cause of that, a scale can be good for water weight measurements or when you're trying to increase muscle volume, but photos tell the best story for body shaping. I highly suggest your own regular photo set(s).

GL1 stuff is a witches brew, IMO. The real world problem with these products is the same as PED's: once you go on them, you can't get off. You're trapped, not to mention with the GLP-1 drugs, when people come off them, there's a rapid upward weight response w/out the benefit of retaining skeletal muscle mass. Older individuals end up weaker and in more compromised states than before the GLP-1. Side effects aren't looking so good neither, versus putting in the hard hate time of pushing weight and cardio around. Like anything worth doing: to respect your own results, it's gotta kinda suck and not be instantaneous.

Keep at it. Even at 5 months of programs, your body is still In baseline, especially given the recovery from the hippy stuff. IMO, you haven't hit your stride yet cause of the recovery work. FWIW, your berry diet rules...I ditched the coconut mike for straight coconut water. It's got more potassium and none of the ingredients I don't need just to name it "milk". I can't go back now. I've got a small amount of sups I take daily as well that seem to help in the aging fight....all natural stuff. PM me if you want the names.
 
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