first off, I am going to try to get back into quad racing this up coming season, and I need to get my body in shape for early spring races. There is no better work out, then the one you get with riding, but I obviously cant hit up the dirt tracks any time soon.
I need to get my endurance up, my cardio and leg/fore arm’s. I am NOT looking to bench press or anything of that nature, as that will hurt me. Racing causes serious arm pump and I would like to work this out, to prevent this. I have started doing sit ups and push ups at home, but thats about it. Like I said above, I am not looking to build muscle, but more of a “toned endurance”. My job can only keep me in shape so much.
I work out 5 days a week and each day I do an hour on the bike at the gym. Usually I do 22-23 miles.
Then I take a half hour walk at night with my dog. On Sundays in the winter I walk for 6-8 miles (two separate walks). In nicer weather I ride my bike 20 miles on a bike path on Sundays.
My legs are definately much more toned than they ever were. So is the rest of my body, more so from other parts of working out and eating better though. Ive lost 30 pounds in the past year.
Whats your reason for not wanting to join a gym?
Really I was reluctant to join a gym for a while for no real reason but now its part of my daily routine and Im glad I joined one. Its only $20 a month (Best Fitness) and well worth it to me. I go right after work so I dont come home and sit around and procrastinate and say Ill go later/tomorrow/whatever.
my reason for not joining a gym is because most likely, I wouldnt use half the shit they have there.
my job involves walking all day long. I get enough of that.
The kind of shape I am trying to get in, is hard to explain…maybe if I explain a situation you guys would know how to help.
I do 6 laps in the Am class on a motocross track. This involves jumps, berms, whoops, deep ruts, rocks etc. etc. About 3 laps in, my arms start to ache from the constant up and down motion or the handlebars, vibration and the overall grip of holding on. 4 laps in, I am no longer using my clutch because I cant bend my fingers. 5th lap, im not full throttle everywhere, because I cant move my thumb in and out anymore. 6th lap, Im half my speed, winded, both hands are locked up, stopped shifting etc. Pull off the track and my dad, sister or fiance need to take my helmet off for me, my gloves etc. because My arms are pumped solid and I cant move my fingers.
I need all of that, GONE. So I can ride all of those 6 laps as fast as I can./
In all seriousness Im not sure if any kind of workout is really going to help when youre more or less beating the shit out of your body jumping and hitting bumps and stuff like that.
From what I could tell the last time I saw you youre far from out of shape.
You could always join Planet Fitness for $10 a month and even if you only use a few machines/weights its probably worth the cost.
I’m looking up ways you can strengthen your fingers. The one thing I was reading was saying to do finger tip push ups… start with ten fingers then decrease how many you use over time. Another thing I was thinking was to just find ways of putting your fingers through that type of abuse, only thing I could really think of would be like taking a baseball bat and just swinging at a poll to force your fingers to deal with the vibration.
yah planet fitness is the only gym I would consider. Problem is my motivation to go, and I dont have anyone to go with. So that kind of shoots that down.
This requires a whole different level of being in shape, then what I already am. It really is very hard to explain without going through it yourself.
very good idea’s. I have been doing finger tip, and full fist sit up’s for years because I cant bend my right wrist flat enough against the ground. Never thought of eliminating fingers tho.
I know its fucked up, but the shake weight seem’s like the best reality thing I am looking for. Its mostly my fore arms that end up locking up. The shake weight would help this I think.
I have a simple workout of different push ups and sit-ups since I’m not supposed to lift. Get a deck of cards all face cards=10 push ups (I alternate regular and putting my hands together like a diamond) and for every regular card you draw do that many sit ups. Doesnt sound like much but its a pita to get through a whole deck.
I use a cheapo chin up bar and dumb bells for upper and abs, push ups and squads with weight for legs. If you want endurance/cardio + leg, nothing beats cycling; especially cycling at high altitude to increase lung capacity at the same time. Not to mention proper diet.
Have you ever tried snowboarding or skiing drew? That’s basically 8 hours of cardio, it’s fun as hell, and you wont be sitting around inside bored whenever you’re not working or w.e Paul I press my feet under the couch so I don’t move around while I’m doing the situps.
I eat everything and anything, and havent gained more then 5lbs in the last 4 years.
but like I mentioned above, the best work out is riding my quad on a MX track, but I cant do that until spring. This pretty much applies to the bicycle as well. I also raced BMX for 3 years before I got my liscence.