The INGO Hardcore Weight Loss/Fitness Thread

[melensdad]

I might look into resistance bands, I’ve been toying with the idea of making my own rack to do pull ups and add a couple pulleys to do face pulls, pull downs, etc. wouldn’t be hard to build something, but the price of lumber is

Honestly the resistance bands are pretty much killer workouts.

I was serious when I posted they were the invention of the devil himself.

And they are cheap.

This is the set I got. Paid $33 from spamazon. Price now is $37.
Amazon product ASIN B09NZW5B1S
The grips are really nice. The bar is a nice addition and makes the whole set more useful, I really was shopping for the bar and the grips, figure the bands are actually "disposable" wear items that will need to be replaced periodically? The bands seem good, at least based on less than a week of use. I have the 30# and 40# bands that I use.

Honestly I don't use the 20# bands, but my wife, as soon as she recovers from the Chinaflu, wants to use the bands.

 

[melensdad]

This is the Bob & Brad plastic clip. Sold in a 3 pack. Glad I bought them. There is a Chinese knock off version for $10 less, but it looked to have sharper edges, less refined design.

It is stupid simple, but it works really well. I was skeptical when they arrived. I’m happy with them now that I’ve used them

 

[melensdad]

177.2# on the scale today.

My goal was to get to 177# by Christmas of this year. So I hit my Christmas goal 6 weeks early.

Looking to be in the 160-165# weight range as my ultimate goal range, that goal is Jan 24. That is NOT really a set weight goal. It is more of a target range but may be modified because I want to add some muscle mass to my upper body, want to eliminate the little bit of belly fat I still have, and want to reduce my visceral fat to healthy levels (currently still measuring in the HIGH Visceral Fat range).

As muscle mass weighs more than fat mass, the ultimate goal weight is flexible, I'd probably be happy at 170# if the bulk was in the right places on my body. So we shall see what we shall see as I progress down from here and work harder at muscle building.

 

[chipbennett]

I use resistance bands. But they are heavy resistance bands. Not cheap, in construction or in price. They are my primary means of resistance training. I don't do "cardio".

I use the X3 Elite system: bands, bar, and base plate. https://www.jaquishbiomedical.com/products/x3-bar/

 

[NyleRN]

Wow, when you said not cheap you weren't joking

 

[chipbennett]

Wow, when you said not cheap you weren't joking

But worth it. And by comparison, it pays for itself in about 2 years, in terms of comparable cost for a gym membership.

 

[Leo]

But worth it. And by comparison, it pays for itself in about 2 years, in terms of comparable cost for a gym membership.

I think you are right, a successful workout is not so much the gym equipment that is magic, it is the will. I have had several gym memberships over the years, and seen many people experience them like I did.

Even the desk help at a gym will tell you this. Most people will join up and participate above and beyond the schedule for a short time, then they will reduce visits to the schedule, followed by missing a few dates in the schedule. Eventually participation becomes only when they are bored. many are never seen again within 6 months.

Your will to succeed will guarantee success even if you are climbing the stairs in the back of a warehouse or picking up and carrying bricks in the alley. A state of the art workout center is nice but powerless without the self discipline.

Having those workout bands right at home makes it convenient to use in the little periods of free time in a busy life. I have some, but they are the cheapies.

 

[melensdad]

Wow, when you said not cheap you weren't joking

I looked at those, as well as a few other high priced sets, before I bought an inexpensive set.

The extruded base plate is one of the key pieces to the X3 set. Few other sets offer base plates, but there are substitutes and other options from other companies.

Rubber bands might be fancy tubes or fancy flats or cheap tubes or cheap flats depending upon the set purchased. Hand grips vary in quality too. Some have knurled aluminum bars, some have cheap bars, some don't include a bar.

I chose a set that cost me $33. (prices is up to $37 now). I added wall clips for another $32. All in, including sales tax, I'm at $70. My bands top out at 40 pounds. Other similar priced sets have heavier bands. I will outgrow the 40# bands, but for now I'm using 30# and 40# in my workouts and am happy.

Honestly I will probably buy a Bluetooth connected smart band set as an eventual replacement to my cheap set. The 3 best I've found are STAFFR, HYGEAR and LIT AXIS. There are a couple others that I would argue are not as good as those 3 for various reasons. HYGEAR has an adjustable tension system that varies the weights. But what all 3 of them have is something that I find compelling. They have an app that measures and optimizes what you are actually doing, they can even tell you if you are extending or releasing too fast, if you are properly working your muscles, etc. Smart bands are under $200 and seem like a good investment.

To me, I'm NOT a body builder. I'm in this for my health after a bad report from a doctor. So my motivation may be different than another person. The key is to do what works for you, with whatever equipment works for you.

 

[chipbennett]

I looked at those, as well as a few other high priced sets, before I bought an inexpensive set.

The extruded base plate is one of the key pieces to the X3 set. Few other sets offer base plates, but there are substitutes and other options from other companies.

Rubber bands might be fancy tubes or fancy flats or cheap tubes or cheap flats depending upon the set purchased. Hand grips vary in quality too. Some have knurled aluminum bars, some have cheap bars, some don't include a bar.

I chose a set that cost me $33. (prices is up to $37 now). I added wall clips for another $32. All in, including sales tax, I'm at $70. My bands top out at 40 pounds. Other similar priced sets have heavier bands. I will outgrow the 40# bands, but for now I'm using 30# and 40# in my workouts and am happy.

Honestly I will probably buy a Bluetooth connected smart band set as an eventual replacement to my cheap set. The 3 best I've found are STAFFR, HYGEAR and LIT AXIS. There are a couple others that I would argue are not as good as those 3 for various reasons. HYGEAR has an adjustable tension system that varies the weights. But what all 3 of them have is something that I find compelling. They have an app that measures and optimizes what you are actually doing, they can even tell you if you are extending or releasing too fast, if you are properly working your muscles, etc. Smart bands are under $200 and seem like a good investment.

To me, I'm NOT a body builder. I'm in this for my health after a bad report from a doctor. So my motivation may be different than another person. The key is to do what works for you, with whatever equipment works for you.

IMHO, the only real benefit from resistance training comes from lifting heavy. Lighter bands are mostly useful for physical therapy/recovery from injury. So, a 40 lb band would be a starting resistance.

 

[melensdad]

IMHO, the only real benefit from resistance training comes from lifting heavy. Lighter bands are mostly useful for physical therapy/recovery from injury. So, a 40 lb band would be a starting resistance.

Understand they can be stacked. So a 40 & a 20 equal 60. 30 & 40 equal 70. 20, 30 & 40 equal 90. Etc. My set included 2 each. So the combinations are easy to get up to heavy weights.

Also since ALL bands from every brand are actually variable you can simply change the distance from the anchor by stepping a few inches farther away or closer.

Loop systems are a bit harder to manipulate because if the band is attached to a bar and you stand on the bar lifting the bar, a 6’ tall man with 34” arms would incur far more resistance than a 5’9” tall man with 31” arms.

 

[Frosty]

IMHO, the only real benefit from resistance training comes from lifting heavy. Lighter bands are mostly useful for physical therapy/recovery from injury. So, a 40 lb band would be a starting resistance.

There are benefits to light weight/high reps, of course going to light means you’re going to be working out all day to hit your total weight number.

 

[Dr.Midnight]

Good morning, folks. The scale said I lost another 1.6 pounds this past week. I keep track of my weight in my Weight Watcher app, which is also how it knows when to reduce the amount of food I can have. I always get nervous when I input my weight; I hate seeing the points I'm allowed for food drop. It didn't this morning, but I guarantee they'll be taking points away next week if I lose weight again.

 

[Leo]

252 last November, 196 this week. My exercise routines and food intake are pretty much a habit, so I do not have to struggle too hard to stay on the path.

The pedometer helps me make sure I keep my activity level up. The one I bought in March died with over 1300 miles on it. That means I walked from here to Albuquerque this summer. I bought another one right away, as it takes the guess work out of the 10,500 step daily plan.

A simple pedometer cannot track me or send data to other places like some of the more popular systems.

 

[Dr.Midnight]

252 last November, 196 this week. My exercise routines and food intake are pretty much a habit, so I do not have to struggle too hard to stay on the path.

The pedometer helps me make sure I keep my activity level up. The one I bought in March died with over 1300 miles on it. That means I walked from here to Albuquerque this summer. I bought another one right away, as it takes the guess work out of the 10,500 step daily plan.

A simple pedometer cannot track me or send data to other places like some of the more popular systems.

Nicely done, sir!

 

[NyleRN]

252 last November, 196 this week. My exercise routines and food intake are pretty much a habit, so I do not have to struggle too hard to stay on the path.

The pedometer helps me make sure I keep my activity level up. The one I bought in March died with over 1300 miles on it. That means I walked from here to Albuquerque this summer. I bought another one right away, as it takes the guess work out of the 10,500 step daily plan.

A simple pedometer cannot track me or send data to other places like some of the more popular systems.

Wow, bet you feel like a new person. Nice work!

 

[Frosty]

This body weight/ light weight/high rep workout is killing me, but I guess that’s a good thing!

 

[melensdad]

Saturdays are fencing competition days, those are diet killer days for me. The coach/referee lounge is filled with donuts in the morning. Sandwiches and/or pizza for lunch. Nothing healthy, which seems pretty ironic, given we are at athletic competitions.

So I probably went 1000 calories over my diet, and the food wasn't even good, it was just there.

On the bright side, one of my girls won the Silver medal. 2 of my boys won 5th and 6th respectively. My newest girl finished 13th, which is astounding. 2 other kids I work with, but only coach for attitude/mental preparation, earned Silver and 7th place, respectively in there events. Lots of new fencers got experience in the event. There were about 225 fencers at the tournament divided up between Saber, Epee and Foil. I'm strictly a Saber coach, but work with fencers across all 3 weapons for footwork, strategy and mental preparation.

 

[melensdad]

This body weight/ light weight/high rep workout is killing me, but I guess that’s a good thing!

The resistance bands are killing me, but, as you said, I guess that's a good thing. Never been a weightlifter. Never wanted to do that, still don't. But I do enjoy the resistance bands. Pushing myself to fail works for me. With arthritic joints, the fancy rubber bands give me a workout and don't hurt me either.

One thing I don't like about my set of resistance bands are the small carabiner clips for attaching the bar or the grips. Looked at a lot of other sets, for the most part they skimp on clips. I'll be splurging about $10 and buying a nicer set of carabiners that are easier to manipulate.

Ultra low calorie day today to compensate for all the high calorie crap I ate yesterday at the tournament.

 

[Frosty]

With arthritic joints, the fancy rubber bands give me a workout and don't hurt me either.

That’s been one definite benefit of the light weight, or body weight, it’s not beating up my joints and parts that were bothering me are not now, and with lighter weight and higher reps I’m actually doing more total weight than I was before.

 

[melensdad]

Thinking that I'm going to ask my wife for a set of "smart" resistance bands

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