The Fitness Thread

[Paulie_Walnuts]

I've got my first ever judo competition coming up this weekend. The martial art I train in is jujitsu but because we aren't affiliated to an organisation it's difficult to get entries to jujitsu competitions.

Anyway, judo it is (on the instruction of my teacher). Not sure if I am ready for it but it's supposedly an inter-club friendly. How friendly it can be when you are fighting someone?!!!

Coupled with my club nickname of Brittle Bones it's not looking good.........

[Jon T.]

My wife got me a couple of swim lessons for my bday.  Kind of funny that Im 34 and lived next to the beach my whole life and have to take swimming lessons - but swimming for exercise is TOUGH!  Looking forward to it.

[Penny Lane]

Did a 5K on Monday AM with my dad. We both won our age groups, did a 22:45 and he did a 24:00 (he's 66) :-) Starting to train for my marathon now, not sure of which one I want to run yet but the spots are filling up quickly.

MJK-you still doing Chicago or STL?

[Penny Lane]

My wife got me a couple of swim lessons for my bday.  Kind of funny that Im 34 and lived next to the beach my whole life and have to take swimming lessons - but swimming for exercise is TOUGH!  Looking forward to it.

that's awesome, Jon! i'm 34 and an awful swimmer...!

[mjk73]

Did a 5K on Monday AM with my dad. We both won our age groups, did a 22:45 and he did a 24:00 (he's 66) :-) Starting to train for my marathon now, not sure of which one I want to run yet but the spots are filling up quickly.

MJK-you still doing Chicago or STL?

Chicago! It's sold out however there are still spots if you join a charity team. Stl's fall one is now part of the Rock & Roll series now and it's the weekend after Chicago. It's still open for registration. You can run it and partake in the musical sylings of Sugar Ray afterwards. Exciting

[kydiddle]

Did a 5K on Monday AM with my dad. We both won our age groups, did a 22:45 and he did a 24:00 (he's 66) :-) Starting to train for my marathon now, not sure of which one I want to run yet but the spots are filling up quickly.

MJK-you still doing Chicago or STL?

Nice! How awesome of your dad...seriously. 

[Jon T.]

Did a 5K on Monday AM with my dad. We both won our age groups, did a 22:45 and he did a 24:00 (he's 66) :-) Starting to train for my marathon now, not sure of which one I want to run yet but the spots are filling up quickly.

MJK-you still doing Chicago or STL?

Really impressive - both of ya's!

[tdb810]

Did a 5K on Monday AM with my dad. We both won our age groups, did a 22:45 and he did a 24:00 (he's 66) :-) Starting to train for my marathon now, not sure of which one I want to run yet but the spots are filling up quickly.

MJK-you still doing Chicago or STL?

holy crap, that is impressive girlfriend!  you have it all -- looks, brains, talent, and a super speedy runner! whoa!

[Penny Lane]

Did a 5K on Monday AM with my dad. We both won our age groups, did a 22:45 and he did a 24:00 (he's 66) :-) Starting to train for my marathon now, not sure of which one I want to run yet but the spots are filling up quickly.

MJK-you still doing Chicago or STL?

holy crap, that is impressive girlfriend!  you have it all -- looks, brains, talent, and a super speedy runner! whoa!

i have none of those, especially talent, but thank you! the shorter distances are harder for me, i am used to running slowwwwwww...

[jones]

My wife got me a couple of swim lessons for my bday.  Kind of funny that Im 34 and lived next to the beach my whole life and have to take swimming lessons - but swimming for exercise is TOUGH!  Looking forward to it.

I agree!  I have known how to swim since I was pretty young, but I've just started swimming for sport in preperation for the half IM I might do.  I swam 800 meters (half mile) last week and I could not get my breathing down.  I think that my fitness is there, but I need to learn technique. 

Oh yeah, I have my first ever swim lesson on Monday.  8)

[Jon T.]

My wife got me a couple of swim lessons for my bday.  Kind of funny that Im 34 and lived next to the beach my whole life and have to take swimming lessons - but swimming for exercise is TOUGH!  Looking forward to it.

I agree!  I have known how to swim since I was pretty young, but I've just started swimming for sport in preperation for the half IM I might do.  I swam 800 meters (half mile) last week and I could not get my breathing down.  I think that my fitness is there, but I need to learn technique. 

Oh yeah, I have my first ever swim lesson on Monday.  8)

Right on! Mine is Wednesday.  She went ahead and scheduled an appointment for me too because she knew I wouldn't do it on my won.  She's right.

It's weird cuz you put me in backyard pool and I can Michael Phelps that shit.  But once I get in an Olympic size pool, I move at the speed of a jellyfish but the grace of cat trying to swim.

[Hawkeye]

So I'm looking to buy a mountain bike...anything I need to be looking for?  (I'm looking at you, FlyGuy)

I've heard hydraulic disc brakes are good...and obviously good tires and shocks.  This will be my first bike since my old Mt. Storm from Wal-Mart when I was 10.  I would like to be able to ride it on the road too...I know you can technically ride any bike on the road...

Any recommendations?

I'm looking at something like this:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/sport/6_series/6000_2011/#

or this:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/dual_sport/ds_series/montare/#/us/en/model/features?url=us/en/bikes/mountain/dual_sport/ds_series/montare

[jones]

So I'm looking to buy a mountain bike...anything I need to be looking for?  (I'm looking at you, FlyGuy)

I've heard hydraulic disc brakes are good...and obviously good tires and shocks.  This will be my first bike since my old Mt. Storm from Wal-Mart when I was 10.  I would like to be able to ride it on the road too...I know you can technically ride any bike on the road...

Any recommendations?

I'm looking at something like this:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/sport/6_series/6000_2011/#

or this:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/dual_sport/ds_series/montare/#/us/en/model/features?url=us/en/bikes/mountain/dual_sport/ds_series/montare

It's just one of those situations were you get what you pay for.  I would recommend getting a 29er over a 26" wheel bike.  I would also get a hard tail over a full suspension since you are paying a lot for that rear suspension and the other components suffer as compared to an equally priced hard tail.  Hydraulic disc brakes are great and I would definitely go with discs no matter what since they still work well when wet.  2012 bikes will be coming out within the next couple of months so you may be able to find a deal at a local bike shop on a 2011 that they need to move (once the 2012s are released).  I will check into your links and may even suggest some others if that's cool with you. 

[jones]

It looks like that Montare might suit your needs pretty well and it is a 29er...

Why 29ers are better?

The only concern that I would have are how the stock tires on the Montare would fare on rough singletrack. They look like they are actually cyclocross tires or something (like a wider than normal road tire with knobbies). 

What is the percentage that you would ride dirt vs. pavement?  If it's 50/50 then this would be a logical choice.  If you are going to try to ride mostly trail and road when it's convenient I might look at something more like this (it is his only bike and he does ride it on the road some, too):

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/cross_country/29er_race/cobia/#

A friend of mine that just started riding this year has a Cobia and, although a little heavy at @ 30 lbs., it has been a good bike for him.

Make sure that you get fitted at a bike shop and don't let them sell you something just because they have it in stock.  How tall are you?  What is your inseam?

[Jon T.]

Oh yeah, I have my first ever swim lesson on Monday.  8)

So, how'd it go?

I loved it.  Not to sound all meatheaded, but I loved the way my body felt when I was finished.  Just a good all around workout.  My trainer said he liked my stroke (that's what she said...) but my breathing is wrecked.  I kind of forget to exhale when my face is down.  So when I come up for air, I have to exhale before I can get some more air and I usually end up getting a mouth full of water while I'm at it.  I was feeling better toward the end and feel like I made a lot of progress.  Can't wait to go back.

[Hawkeye]

@ Jonesy -

You know, I'm thinking I will ride around 50/50 road/trail, honestly.  I want to be able to keep up with my buddies on the road, but be able to hit some moderate trails...just my thoughts right now.  I've only ridden on a trail ONCE so who knows how intense I'll get with the trail riding.  I just can't decide if a Dual Sport is a waste of money...not getting the best of either world...

It looks like the Cobia has maybe a sturdier frame and better tires than the Montare?  Do you see any other major differences, besides the Montare having a remote-lockout feature for the front suspension?

I called around and unless I can find a used Montare, it looks to be unavailable.  They said they're coming out with a new 2012 model that will be called a DS 8.5.

I'm around 6 ft, 32-33 inch inseam

[jones]

Oh yeah, I have my first ever swim lesson on Monday.  8)

So, how'd it go?

I loved it.  Not to sound all meatheaded, but I loved the way my body felt when I was finished.  Just a good all around workout.  My trainer said he liked my stroke (that's what she said...) but my breathing is wrecked.  I kind of forget to exhale when my face is down.  So when I come up for air, I have to exhale before I can get some more air and I usually end up getting a mouth full of water while I'm at it.  I was feeling better toward the end and feel like I made a lot of progress.  Can't wait to go back.

It went well.  I went ahead and paid for a block of 6 lessons with my next coming this Monday.  She said I was "pushing a lot of water" since my legs were staying so low and I was at an angle( I knew I was doing this, but didn't really know how to correct it).  After working on my flutterkick for a bit I could tell that I was on top of the water more and had a lot less drag.  I believe that I am going to go for 2 days a week until I get a handle on my breathing (how can it be so difficult?!).  I went to the YMCA after work yesterday hoping that I was going to be even a little bit better after just one lesson, but that wasn't the case...

I still have A LOT of improving to do!

[jones]

@ Jonesy -

You know, I'm thinking I will ride around 50/50 road/trail, honestly.  I want to be able to keep up with my buddies on the road, but be able to hit some moderate trails...just my thoughts right now.  I've only ridden on a trail ONCE so who knows how intense I'll get with the trail riding.  I just can't decide if a Dual Sport is a waste of money...not getting the best of either world...

It looks like the Cobia has maybe a sturdier frame and better tires than the Montare?  Do you see any other major differences, besides the Montare having a remote-lockout feature for the front suspension?

I called around and unless I can find a used Montare, it looks to be unavailable.  They said they're coming out with a new 2012 model that will be called a DS 8.5.

I'm around 6 ft, 32-33 inch inseam

Man, that's a tough call.  I (I being the artist formerly known as flyguy, in case you didn't detect that) don't know if getting a watered down combination of mountain and road in one would be good since I don't know anyone that has a bike like that.  I think that if it were me, I would go for a mountain bike since you can (obviously) still ride it on the road.  It will just be tough to keep up with others on road bikes (I can average 20 mph on a road bike whereas the same amount of effort on my mountain bike on the road will only get me 16 mph or so.  If you're riding by yourself for fitness, then the speed doesn't really matter.  Then save up some money and get a road bike if you can.  As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I did, but it did take me about 3 years to finally get a road bike (I swore that I'd never be a "roadie", but I eventually caved since it is so much easier for training purposes of putting in miles than driving to a trail).

You would probably ride a 19" mountain bike and a 56 cm road bike...

[mjk73]

be careful this weekend kiddies. It's been miserablly hot here (except today which was nice). Heat indexes around 120. WTF?!?! Normally I run at 4:30AM to avoid the heat, but when the heat index is 100 at 4:30AM, there ain't any avoiding anything.

[jones]

be careful this weekend kiddies. It's been miserablly hot here (except today which was nice). Heat indexes around 120. WTF?!?! Normally I run at 4:30AM to avoid the heat, but when the heat index is 100 at 4:30AM, there ain't any avoiding anything.

No joke.  We had a heat index of 128 on Monday.  I ran at 0530 this morning and it was really nice out.