Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 2018 Fitness- Workout thread

up at 4:45 to get 4 miles in on a trails; 90’s and I don’t get along

was out the door with the wife at about the same time to get a couple miles, had 55 pounds on my back. was out early for the same reason, to dang hot any other time of the day!

it is nice to have your workout done in the morning, but I would certainly trade for cooler weather anytime

Did a gym session with the trainer today, mostly hips, lower back, and core.

1/2 mile swim yesterday

Must be an expensive training session, what with all the interruptions.

What, you mean with the bevy of young beauties who always want to horn, .....er, I mean get in on the action?

Well, it was a test to see how far you have advanced, however it is obvious you still have some way to go. Back a bit, it would have been a "bevy of young compliant beauties". Don't dismiss the trainer just yet.



Today: Quick 2mile Merlot walk before work interfered.

Obviously I'm not very advanced....

Just some bodyweight stuff yesterday before what ended up as a 13 hr work day. Every exercise was tougher than I expected it to be but it'll come back. Wasn't up for anything last night. Have to see what tonight brings.

Serious question...That's difficult.

Do you believe the trainer will enable you to not only recover quicker, but also to a level you will be comfortable with vs doing it on your own? Did anyone-M.D.????-recommend a specific individual-one that has expertise with ankles-or did you choose one on your own?

Trainer or Physical Therapist?

Good questions. To answer I need to give some background. Before I had the ankle surgery the arthritis was getting to the point that if I walked any distance at all I developed a limp and favored one side. That threw off my gait and I started having pain in other areas, mainly the hip and lower back. So I saw a DPT prior to the surgery and it helped. She did some dry needling, stretching certain muscles, and strengthening exercises for other muscles to bring the hip back into alignment. And post-surgery I’m limping again with the same problems in the hip and lower back that need to be corrected.

As far as PT to recover from the ankle fusion, the way my surgeon explained it there really isn’t any besides restoring the strength that was lost during 8 weeks of no weight bearing. Most post-surgery PT for orthopedic procedures is focused on breaking up scar tissue and restoring range of motion and there isn’t any range of motion to restore so my surgeon said I should focus on rebuilding strength and a good trainer would be just as beneficial as a good DPT so that’s the option I chose.

After working with both I’d say the benefit you get depends more on the quality of the individual than their degree. A DPT is theoretically better trained but I’d take a good trainer over an average DPT. The trainer I’m using has definitely helped already. He’s used some different stretches that really loosened up the hip flexors and helped. He’s also been good about tailoring the workouts to my objectives which are mainly strengthening the legs and core, and evening out the strength on each side by including a lot of unilateral (one side at a time) workouts. Also, he’s included a lot of stuff that I never would have come up with on my own, lots of body-weight and stretch band stuff that doesn’t look very impressive but I can sure feel it in the muscles a day later.

Also, I’m learning from him. I think the mark of a good trainer is, they not only know the right individual exercises/programs to accomplish your objectives but they also teach you things along the way. The trainer I’m using now explains why we’re doing certain things, and that helps a lot. He’s good about explaining how muscles work and the best way to build strength. Knowing the theory behind why we’re doing different exercises helps a lot IMO, and it’s changed the way I work out even when I’m on my own time. The best example is the benefits of using stretch bands vs certain resistance machines. The theory behind that is that the stretch bands work the same as your muscles in that muscular strength increases as muscles contract, and the resistance from a band also increases as muscles contract. Compared to the way a lot of machines work, especially the ones with a lever and fulcrum where the resistance lessens as the muscles contract.

Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I’m using the trainer because I’m convinced I’m making more progress than I would on my own.

Excellent reply and thanks..

One of the reasons I asked was I'm always been interested in how individuals make personal medical decisions. And I've come to believe most do not place a lot of thought into the initial decision. I expected you to fall out of the norm.

Most of the "trainers" I see fall short when it comes to rehap. Most of the men are fairly well trained when it comes to the young guys muscling up. Most of the girls show expertise when it comes to actual training but also rehab. It sounds as if you have one who understands were you need to arrive. Then we run into the issue of insurance which in most cases will only pay for so many PT visits. Which means no matter how good they are, most will have to get it done the first time and relatively quickly. With a good trainer who understands your specific needs, you may have more opportunity to find out what is and is not of benefit.

However, in most cases a good PT individual will have considerably more knowledge when it comes to diagnosis.

Personally have had both good and not so good experience with physical therapy. The first was nothing more than minimal suggestions. The second time with a different individual, he challenged me considerably more, however the results were much the same. Finally on the recommendation of an Ortho who works with professional athletes I was handed off to a PT who works specifically with the spine. Bingo!!!!

I expected you to be in capable hands.

Altitude hike from last month.



Before all the fires blew up here in Colorado.

Good to get a check on how the training is going.

John(Dog)

Altitude training: cardio, legs, back and arms.

Probably not as high as JohnDog (only Utah elevation, not Colorado) but I hiked to 10400', snagged a fish or two and then wore out my back and arms dragging them in with an ultralight rig.



Too hot to go outside today so it'll be cardio on the elliptical inside.

Nice fish. Is that a splake?

Tiger

Stairmaster:15minutes

Day4 plus extra planks and light weights and stretching.

Stairmaster: 10minutes

Merlot: 3mile walk coming on the schedule.

Lower body for me today, with some ab work thrown in.

4 warm miles on the trails with Tiny E; he told me he prefers 15 degrees to 85