For the gym fanatics HOW do you stay in shape during this time (1 Viewer)

Poppin92

Flush
Joined
Oct 17, 2020
Messages
1,367
Reaction score
1,948
Location
Dothraki Sea
Hi guys , just curious the gyms in Europe are closed at the moment. Don’t know if that’s different in the US at the moment.
But for the gym fanatics on this community how do you guys stay in shape , I’m 29 at the moment and can’t stand this any longer not begint able to go to the gym. I’m as addicted to the gym as I am to chips if that does make sense.
Let me know how this COVID 19 has affected you’re lifestyle.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Not too brag or show off but this was pre Covid shape . Now it’s nowhere near that , but eventually we will get back

View attachment 644931
There ain't no "we" man. I'll never look like that.

This would be more or less what I'm trying to get too.
13038474_s.jpg
 
I am not to pleased with the current situation.

I am separated from my daughters mother.... She and her other children have not been outside of the house except the front and back yard since last March.....only my daughter who is with me half of the time has been anywhere else. It creates a problem when she goes tobogganing, or for a bike ride or hike. So many businesses and activities are closed that they is very very little to do other than explore and find your own fun. Its scary but the conditioning has been for people to barely even go outside. My subdivision could pass for partially empty if one did not count the cars in driveways. Neighbors barely talk with one another and when out for a walk can be observed crossing the street so they do not have to pass you on the side walk. It is absolutely Orwellian. As for exercise a home gym/free weights will always do ya well. Otherwise get out walk, run, bike or whatever other activity you want or can do. Do not let yourself be weakened by this organized strategy.....the growth in the number of persons affected with, diabetes, heart disease, thrombosis from low activity, suicide, depression etc.... will far outweigh the damage of the new reported disease.


So in short free weights, a simple bench that inclines/declines if possible and a mat should allow most basic conditioning. Somehow prisoners can get absolutely "jacked" in a 8x8 cell. If these guys can do it the rest of us honestly have little excuse.
 
I am not to pleased with the current situation.

I am separated from my daughters mother.... She and her other children have not been outside of the house except the front and back yard since last March.....only my daughter who is with me half of the time has been anywhere else. It creates a problem when she goes tobogganing, or for a bike ride or hike. So many businesses and activities are closed that they is very very little to do other than explore and find your own fun. Its scary but the conditioning has been for people to barely even go outside. My subdivision could pass for partially empty if one did not count the cars in driveways. Neighbors barely talk with one another and when out for a walk can be observed crossing the street so they do not have to pass you on the side walk. It is absolutely Orwellian. As for exercise a home gym/free weights will always do ya well. Otherwise get out walk, run, bike or whatever other activity you want or can do. Do not let yourself be weakened by this organized strategy.....the growth in the number of persons affected with, diabetes, heart disease, thrombosis from low activity, suicide, depression etc.... will far outweigh the damage of the new reported disease.


So in short free weights, a simple bench that inclines/declines if possible and a mat should allow most basic conditioning. Somehow prisoners can get absolutely "jacked" in a 8x8 cell. If these guys can do it the rest of us honestly have little excuse.
Nice read ! Well IMO this pandemic will not go away. Scientists say Covid 19 will remain forever and we should get used to it. So this lockdowns and measures are actually for nothing , and is not helping no one specially the young generation. It’s catastrophic for the economy, for the well-being of people and is leading to depression and even suicidal thoughts. The people that belong to the risk factor should have their choice to either get the vaccine or not and they should return the world to its normal state.

edit ; got this from Dutch news today not just speaking my opinion.
 
The weight room has been a big part of my life since high school, and I *really* have missed it during this period. Some equipment is available for purchasee online again (was all sold out for months last year), but I wasn't up for dropping a couple thousand bucks and just don't have the room for a nice bench and squat rack. There's a good deal you can do with a few dumbells and/or kettlebells, check out a site like livestrong or similar, they have a 1000 different free weight, body weight exercises to bridge the gap. Not 100% the same imho but it helps, that's what I've been doing, especially over the winter (we've had a good deal of snow on the ground around here for a while).

Gyms in my state have been partially open since September but at like 20% capacity max and with reduced hours, so its been tough to get there. There have also been some reports of gyms being very high covid risk exposure places, which I guess makes sense since transmission appears to be primarily respiratory, so a bunch of people breathing heavily in an enclosed space is no good. Dunno.
 
What’s also funny is that the price of gym equipment has gone up dramatically since the pandemic. Manufacturers know the supply / demand thing , and hence for a pair of 15 kg dumbells you quickly pay €120-€150 lol. It’s insane how this pandemic changed the world
 
Gyms are open in Maryland with limited capacity, my town is a generally older community but I can tell you this area of rural farm folk have not enjoyed the lock down...

Brie and I are avid Sprint Car Dirt track fans, the Gov of PA told the track last spring they "better not race or else" the track was shut down for a couple months and then did an every other row seating plan, maybe 1% wore masks and they said screw the Gov and went back to racing, even their senator came out to the track to make a bold statement. It was very cool to witness in person. But also this was in the extreme upswing when all of this was really breaking loose I think around June 2020.

It was a real eye opener with many in the crowd being retirement age and not wearing masks at all when their demographic seems to be the highest risk. People do not like to be told how to live and generally dislike rules. There was not a seat in the place unfilled, the parking lots were over flowing. After about a month if limited capacity they opened all of the seats and went back to normal, the place filled in like it used to, no one wore masks and we finished out what was left of our season.

I will get the vaccine when it is my turn even though I have had covid already and survived, personally I would choose not to get it because I have had a flu shot 3 times in my life all forced on me by my ex and got the Flu everytime I had the vaccine! But if that's what it takes to get back to normal and get the local poker scene going again, no problem... just want normal life again!
 
Nice read ! Well IMO this pandemic will not go away. Scientists say Covid 19 will remain forever and we should get used to it. So this lockdowns and measures are actually for nothing , and is not helping no one specially the young generation. It’s catastrophic for the economy, for the well-being of people and is leading to depression and even suicidal thoughts. The people that belong to the risk factor should have their choice to either get the vaccine or not and they should return the world to its normal state.

edit ; got this from Dutch news today not just speaking my opinion.
This is just simply not possible. Experts have weighed in


I understand you are suggesting to quarantine uninfected high risk people and let others go about their business to keep critical cases below the healthcare capacity threshold. As for your idea, I don't know, maybe that would work but I haven't seen it suggested by any experts in infectious diseases. Services would definitely have to be provided for those people though, like grocery/prescription drop offs and the like if they can't go out.
 
When things were locked down here, all I had at home was two 25lb dumbbells, an adjustable dumbbell that went up to 25lbs, a pullup bar, and some resistance bands. I actually surprised myself with the kind of workouts I was able to have.

I’d put both 25lb dumbbells in a backpack and do pushups to failure. Tons of pullups with added weight or just bodyweight. Supersets, drop sets, myo reps. Anything to add intensity to whichever exercise I was doing. With some kind of weight and a backpack you can manage to get a lot of work in. (Bulgarian split squats with 50lbs in a backpack to failure are a nightmare)

I also got heavily into running during that time which I had never really done much of before. It helped keep my sane during that period and I fell in love with it eventually. Now I keep a little bit of running in my training routine just for fun even though I train mostly for strength.
 
This is just simply not possible. Experts have weighed in
Well , it’s also not acceptable that the younger generation has to go trough all this, schools shut down etc. It’s not the right way and experts are clearly telling that Covid will never go away and it’s just a virus we should get used too.
 
Did
When things were locked down here, all I had at home was two 25lb dumbbells, an adjustable dumbbell that went up to 25lbs, a pullup bar, and some resistance bands. I actually surprised myself with the kind of workouts I was able to have.

I’d put both 25lb dumbbells in a backpack and do pushups to failure. Tons of pullups with added weight or just bodyweight. Supersets, drop sets, myo reps. Anything to add intensity to whichever exercise I was doing. With some kind of weight and a backpack you can manage to get a lot of work in. Bulgarian split squats with 50lbs in a backpack to failure are a nightmare.

I also got heavily into running during that time which I had never really done much of before. It helped keep my sane during that period and I fell in love with it eventually. Now I keep a little bit of running in my training routine just for fun even though I train mostly for strength.
When things were locked down here, all I had at home was two 25lb dumbbells, an adjustable dumbbell that went up to 25lbs, a pullup bar, and some resistance bands. I actually surprised myself with the kind of workouts I was able to have.

I’d put both 25lb dumbbells in a backpack and do pushups to failure. Tons of pullups with added weight or just bodyweight. Supersets, drop sets, myo reps. Anything to add intensity to whichever exercise I was doing. With some kind of weight and a backpack you can manage to get a lot of work in. (Bulgarian split squats with 50lbs in a backpack to failure are a nightmare)

I also got heavily into running during that time which I had never really done much of before. It helped keep my sane during that period and I fell in love with it eventually. Now I keep a little bit of running in my training routine just for fun even though I train mostly for strength.
Nice , Did you build any muscle ?
 
Well , it’s also not acceptable that the younger generation has to go trough all this, schools shut down etc. It’s not the right way and experts are clearly telling that Covid will never go away and it’s just a virus we should get used too.
Here’s a response from the concerned crowd. A lot of this about six months ago from a group that “was concerned for everyone’s safety” but it seems some people have changed their tune nowadays.

5DA2304A-534A-4872-B325-52AA31FEE435.gif
 
Something to consider as how corrupt the Dutch government can be. Restaurants , gyms , clubs , even schools closed. But their states casino was open , how the fuck can you call that a government that cares about the well-being of people. I’m glad people are waking up and clearly wanting their life and freedom back , because this isn’t the way to combat a virus. And yes I believe there’s a virus out here , but the measures taken to combat it aren’t convincing at all
 
Did


Nice , Did you build any muscle ?
I definitely was able to at least maintain. My chest felt strong as hell and my cardio obviously improved during that time.

I will say that I was very surprised with how much my strength levels were intact when I got back to the gym. In two weeks I was back to where I was before lockdown and now about 6 months later I’m actually hitting some lifetime personal records (on the bench oddly enough).
 
I definitely was able to at least maintain. My chest felt strong as hell and my cardio obviously improved during that time.

I will say that I was very surprised with how much my strength levels were intact when I got back to the gym. In two weeks I was back to where I was before lockdown and now about 6 months later I’m actually hitting some lifetime personal records (on the bench oddly enough).
Nice ! Before lockdown I was in great shape , but I let Covid make me lazy and not working out that much and eating the wrong way. But now since last week I made a plan to get back to my shape before lockdown. It will take some time , but I will do everything to get there. Because you just feel so much better when you eat right , sleep right and train right. It’s a night and day difference on you’re appearance and how you feel. Let’s get it !
 
Nice ! Before lockdown I was in great shape , but I let Covid make me lazy and not working out that much and eating the wrong way. But now since last week I made a plan to get back to my shape before lockdown. It will take some time , but I will do everything to get there. Because you just feel so much better when you eat right , sleep right and train right. It’s a night and day difference on you’re appearance and how you feel. Let’s get it !
Yeah I would have definitely felt way worse mentally and physically if I didn’t do any kind of training during lockdown and just waited until the gyms opened back up again.
 
Yeah I would have definitely felt way worse mentally and physically if I didn’t do any kind of training during lockdown and just waited until the gyms opened back up again.
Yep , and I kinda waited for the gyms to open. But then again , I thought let’s work and do what I can do to make this work. Because that way I’m already getting some strength back and lean body mass , and if then by any means the gyms open I will be ready to roll in again more smoothly than if I didn’t work out at home. Every day counts to be honest , and I want to feel great during this summer
 
I definitely was able to at least maintain. My chest felt strong as hell and my cardio obviously improved during that time.

I will say that I was very surprised with how much my strength levels were intact when I got back to the gym. In two weeks I was back to where I was before lockdown and now about 6 months later I’m actually hitting some lifetime personal records (on the bench oddly enough).
That's awesome, congrats! I've always found that as long as you're somewhat active, strength degrades very slowly and recoups pretty quicky (at least in your 20s-30s). Especially when compared to cardio.
 
I was here in early September
Screenshot_20200908-081110_Samsung Internet.jpg

On the left! Lol yup 278 pounds and the worst shape of my life! Today I am 175 and feeling great!! (Just taken)
20210227_094422.jpg

Courtesy of @Lil Tuna last week in Florida
20210222_134002.jpg

I haven't seen "that Ben" in a long long time! Best present I could possibly have given myself is getting my health and weight back under control. At 6 foot even my ideal weight when I was 24 was 165 so that is my final goal again.. not rush to get there as I enjoy dieting now. I am not one for working out, don't really care about muscle mass as I am not willing to do the work to keep it going. Lean is good enough for me!! Lol

Fir the record, I do not own a shake weight!!
 
That's awesome, congrats! I've always found that as long as you're somewhat active, strength degrades very slowly and recoups pretty quicky (at least in your 20s-30s). Especially when compared to cardio.
Yeah for sure. Even though I knew that going in, I was still paranoid that all my hard work would go down the drain without a gym for 6 months. I’m glad I was able to test that hypothesis for myself. It kinda freed me mentally from worrying about missing a day or two in the gym now that things are back to normal.
 
I was here in early September
View attachment 644954
On the left! Lol yup 278 pounds and the worst shape of my life! Today I am 175 and feeling great!! (Just taken)
View attachment 644955
Courtesy of @Lil Tuna last week in Florida
View attachment 644956
I haven't seen "that Ben" in a long long time! Best present I could possibly have given myself is getting my health and weight back under control. At 6 foot even my ideal weight when I was 24 was 165 so that is my final goal again.. not rush to get there as I enjoy dieting now. I am not one for working out, don't really care about muscle mass as I am not willing to do the work to keep it going. Lean is good enough for me!! Lol

Fir the record, I do not own a shake weight!!
Wow man that’s amazing progress. Good work.
 
I was here in early September
View attachment 644954
On the left! Lol yup 278 pounds and the worst shape of my life! Today I am 175 and feeling great!! (Just taken)
View attachment 644955
Courtesy of @Lil Tuna last week in Florida
View attachment 644956
I haven't seen "that Ben" in a long long time! Best present I could possibly have given myself is getting my health and weight back under control. At 6 foot even my ideal weight when I was 24 was 165 so that is my final goal again.. not rush to get there as I enjoy dieting now. I am not one for working out, don't really care about muscle mass as I am not willing to do the work to keep it going. Lean is good enough for me!! Lol

Fir the record, I do not own a shake weight!!
The very top picture was courtesy of me also. That is amazing progress Ben and something to really be proud of. About 10 years ago I had let myself get the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life at 172lbs.
I ended up shedding 30lbs of that off and have kept most of it off ever since. I currently weigh 150lbs. Exercise is always good for helping to stay healthy and in shape but what I’ve realized from my experience is that changing my diet had the biggest impact on my weight lose.
 
Yes , change in diet will increase results dramatically. Just trying to eat 1 week right and track you’re macros and you will see a difference on how you look and feel. Nutrition is THAT important
 
Yes , change in diet will increase results dramatically. Just trying to eat 1 week right and track you’re macros and you will see a difference on how you look and feel. Nutrition is THAT important
Dont do extra you don’t need. One spoon of gravy tastes as good as three.
Easiest one for me was cheese, just quit putting it on stuff extra.
I’ve lost 40 lbs since I retired, sitting at a desk drinking coffee with creamer all day added up!
More active now and eat better, almost al meals cooked at home (total disclosure, the nearest fast food restaurants are an hour away, so this ones not hard either).
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom