Winter workouts

[garublador]

What are you guys using as a pull up bar for P90? I am in between mounting one in the ceiling of the laundry room(can barely see tv), and getting one of those iron gym doorway jobs.

I have an Iron Gym and it works great. Just make sure to measure your door to see if you'll need the extended bar. When I got mine you had to mail order it and it took something crazy like 2-3 months to come.

My knee has been wonky (I'm seeing the doctor in a couple weeks) so my workout has been different than normal. I've cut way down on the leg exercises and cardio until I get professional advice as to what to do.

I've been doing chest, triceps and shoulders on Monday and Thursday and back, biceps and core on Tuesday and Friday. Wednesday I play video games during workout time (Shin Megami Sensei: Nocturne if it matters). Each workout is about 40 minutes and I use a set of Power Blocks, a yoga ball and sometimes a bench and I do it all at home. It's working better than I thought it would. I haven't been gaining weight (I've cut some calories, too) and I've been progressing faster than normal with the exercises I have been doing. I wasn't sure if it was going to be too much or not but so far it's worked well.

FWIW, I don't do anything different when I'm disc golfing or not. I'm not anywhere near competitive enough for it to matter whether or not I'm bulking, cutting or maintaining during disc golf season. I'm almost always looking for a slow gain in strength while maintaining or possibly losing fat slowly.

[uNicedmeMan]

I don't have any doors that can accommodate the pullup bar, so as garu said, make sure you can fit it before you buy it (or check return policy). I am forced to do my pull-ups at the gym and generally do my ab stuff at home.

[Frank Delicious]

I've been using the alternate band exercises for my pull ups, when you get the form and resistance right they are just as good as pull ups.

[MR. WICK]

Elyptical machine / pushups with the pushup pro / crunches and band exercises. Every other day.

[JR]

Does anybody else use resistance bands with a real arm swing like you were throwing? I also use it to strengthen my wrist and forearms by tensing the band hard then uncocking my wrist and getting it back to neutral then breaking the wrist right. Sometimes also with a little follow through. This is a hard and dangerous exercise with stiffer bands because the tendons are stretched hard. It shouldn't be done without proper warming up. I also use a power ball and grippers.

[Discwrangler]

I did P90X last winter. It was good and hard...just being motivated to workout is 90% of the battle.

This year I tried going through P90X and was instantly not into it. I had been hearing about this revolution going on in the fitness world called CrossFit.

I have to say, it's almost like cheating, I'm usually done in 30 minutes, half the time of p90x. However, the results have been quicker. What I'm figuring out is that P90X is about looking good, and Crossfit is about functionality and the body is just a by product of being fit.

http://www.crossfit.com

http://journal.crossfit.com/start.tpl

Based on triggering the three metabolic pathways using Olympic lifts, Gymnastics and "Cardio".

The interesting thing I just read says they have identified that all great athletes have one common link, the ability to open the hips. Sounds like a good trait for disc golfers too.

[uNicedmeMan]

Discwrangler, I am very interested in getting into Crossfit. I also messed around with p90x last year and would like to change it up. One problem, I can't decipher the website... can you give me a quick Crossfit for dummies or at least point me in the right direction to get started?

thx!

[Discwrangler]

I picked up a doorway pull up bar for $15 at TJ Maxx. Works well so far.

[J-Bolt]

I picked up a doorway pull up bar for $15 at TJ Maxx. Works well so far.

Is it the kind that doesnt extend beyond the doorway? I want my pull up bar to allow for wide and narrow gripped reps.

[Dig It]

I wish Kettlebells were not so freaking expensive. I feel the workout you do with them would transfer very nice to Disc Golf. Tons of knees, some core and it's great for grip strength.

[Mark Ellis]

I wish Kettlebells were not so freaking expensive. I feel the workout you do with them would transfer very nice to Disc Golf. Tons of knees, some core and it's great for grip strength.

Fill empty milk containers with water and you have basically the same thing.

[garublador]

I wish Kettlebells were not so freaking expensive. I feel the workout you do with them would transfer very nice to Disc Golf. Tons of knees, some core and it's great for grip strength.

Fill empty milk containers with water and you have basically the same thing.

As long as you only want 8 pound kettle balls.

[Mark Ellis]

I wish Kettlebells were not so freaking expensive. I feel the workout you do with them would transfer very nice to Disc Golf. Tons of knees, some core and it's great for grip strength.

Fill empty milk containers with water and you have basically the same thing.

As long as you only want 8 pound kettle balls.

Sure but kettle bells aren't really designed for maximum weight bearing exercises.

A lot of the kettle bell exercises I am directed to do involve balance and control, where 8 pounds (or less) is what I use and depending on the exercise would be hard pressed to handle greater weight. There are a thousand variations but for example, balance on one leg, with a slight bend to the weight-bearing knee. Kettle bell in each hand, back straight. Now punch across your chest (not out but sideways) and upward with the left hand then return to starting position while maintaining balance. Then do the same motion with the right hand. Do it 10 times with each hand (20 punches in total), then switch to the other foot and repeat. It is difficult to keep balance while punching. That extra weight added to your motion pulls you off your center so you have to fight to keep balanced. Go ahead, pull out the milk jug and try it (but not too many times or you might end up with butter). The balance aspect of the exercise (while maintaining form) is more important than the weight bearing aspect. If you want to push around hundreds of pounds you can visit the leg press machine.

Of course I use balance on every shot but never throw a disc which weighs 8 pounds (about 178 grams is my limit).

There are no doubt athletes who can handle greater weight. Ok, start with a 2 or 3 gallon container. Still a lot cheaper than kettle bells.

If anyone has dumbells, they seem to work as well as kettle bells for the same exercises and are more comfortable to grip.

[garublador]

If you want to push around hundreds of pounds you can visit the leg press machine.

8 pounds to hundreds of pounds is quite a jump in logic. Suggesting that anything over 8 pounds are "maximum weight bearing exercises" is a bit of a stretch, too. What happens after a couple weeks when that punching exercise gets easy and you still want to improve? What if you find an exercise that's easy at 8 pounds from the start? What if you find one that requires the use of both hands? I'm just saying that for a lot of people an 8 pound kettle bell will have a fairly limited life span unless your goals aren't very tough to achieve. You'll end up having to buy the bells anyway once you get good at the exercises with the 8 pounders.

[Mark Ellis]

If you want to push around hundreds of pounds you can visit the leg press machine.

8 pounds to hundreds of pounds is quite a jump in logic. Suggesting that anything over 8 pounds are "maximum weight bearing exercises" is a bit of a stretch, too. What happens after a couple weeks when that punching exercise gets easy and you still want to improve? What if you find an exercise that's easy at 8 pounds from the start? What if you find one that requires the use of both hands? I'm just saying that for a lot of people an 8 pound kettle bell will have a fairly limited life span unless your goals aren't very tough to achieve. You'll end up having to buy the bells anyway once you get good at the exercises with the 8 pounders.

Well I am certainly not an expert on exercise, so maybe someone who knows more can chime in.

I think there is a continuing value to light weights (or light resistance, like the rubber stretch bands and tubes), even for big, strong athletes. Some exercises look like they should be easy but when you try them they are not. Some exercises can kick your butt with light weights. Some exercises probably shouldn't be done with big weights. When I do rotator cuff exercises my trainer puts me on 5 or 10 pound weights or light resistance stretchy bands.

For a lot of folks working out in a gym, self directed, they just go from machine to machine and push the stacks up and down. But when an expert trainer is directing you it is a whole new world. They can make you cry with a 5 pound weight (if that were their goal, which at times seems to be the case) and put you in weird positions which isolate muscles and movements. And once they learn what your weaknesses are there are many humbling, if not humiliating, experiences to look forward to.

I will bet there are very few disc golfers who would do the punching exercise I described earlier and after a few weeks or a few months(or ever) would want or need more than an 8 pound weight. It is not easy to do without any weights unless you have really good balance (which I don't).