Has anyone had a silly “lightbulb” moment while exercising?

[jagflash]

@m32s Been doing a lot more yoga lately, Yoga With Adriene has a video on yoga for the hands. Pressing into all of the joints of my fingers and out of my wrists has made push ups so much easier. Wtf.

 

[gilbertkatongo]

@jagflash What?! Thats so cool! How often do you do that hand yoga? How long can you feel the effect?

 

[mamoonkay]

@m32s I saw a reel or tiktok about bracing when squatting last week and I definitely have not braced my core once in the past 5 years. It’s made such a difference lol

 

[gallium]

@mamoonkay Link to the TikTok video please?

 

[mamoonkay]

@gallium I didn’t see this! Sorry! Here’s the link to the vid I saw, it was on instagram. Hope it helps!!

bracing link

 

[anabaptistfaith]

@m32s Today I learned that deadlifting can be considered both a push and pull exercise. Mind blown haha. I always thought of it as a pull exercise.

 

[skewpoint]

@anabaptistfaith Same! I watched a video a few months ago where the guy says to "push the earth away" with your legs, and I've been using that cue ever since.

My deadlift has improved and I can even feel myself utilizing completely different muscles! It used to be my spinal erectors and lats that mostly got sore, but now I also feel the burn in my hamstrings and, most surprisingly, glutes too.

 

[anabaptistfaith]

@skewpoint That's awesome! I'm glad to hear it's working those other muscles as well! I agree... I feel my deadlifts more on my spinal erectors and lats as well. I'm excited for the next set of deadlifts I perform... I hope it improves like it did for you!

 

[heyitszeus]

@m32s That I don't need to set aside "hard workout time" to get my exercise. I live in Brooklyn, I work in Manhattan, and I absolutely love listening to music and podcast and just...walking. So now, instead of convincing myself to go for a run after a long day or on a relaxing weekend, I just walk around downtown for an hour after work and call my mom or go window shopping, or I'll pick a destination (thrift store, park, bridge) a few miles away and spend my afternoon walking there and back. Such good exercise and so much more relaxing. (On days I don't want to leave the house, I'll sometimes just jog in front of my bed while watching Netflix. A couple episodes later and I'm 5 miles in with sore calves)

 

[colton1919]

@heyitszeus Bike commuting from Crown Heights to FiDi was what got me accidentally into exercise. I was like "Huh, how do I fit this in?", started once or twice a week, and fell in love.

Plus no more morning subway stress!

 

[heyitszeus]

@colton1919 I’d love to be a biker if I trusted NYC drivers a little more...at least my periodic oh-shit-the-trains-coming sprints helps get in some cardio

 

[ryasuz]

@heyitszeus Caveat: I only bike when I have my helmet on me. If I forgot it, guess I'm walking.

I'm actually surprised at how much I've been enjoying NYC cycling? I'm not and was not the strongest cyclist, but the bike lanes in particular areas are really good and make me feel safe, and I'm now even more confident to cycle the streets even when the bike lanes are very integrated with (i.e. sometimes no standalone bike lanes in) traffic. Particular biking areas I have enjoyed:

• Hudson River Greenway: super nice outdoor and cycling area that is completely separate from car traffic by barriers. It is super long and Google says it goes almost the length of Manhattan.
• East River Greenway: same as the Hudson side but not as long. Is even more separated from car traffic with more walking/sports areas space next to it.
• Downtown Manhattan under the FDR, I guess linking the two greenways to each other? Lots of outdoor exercise space (walking, running, biking, outdoor workout equipment). Also has separate biking and car traffic areas.
• Times Square, yes hear me out lol: the bike lanes here are very new and even, and are elevated away from traffic. It's actually pleasant enough that I'm barely in this area when I am, because it's easy to zoom away from it.

 

[heyitszeus]

@ryasuz My boyfriend is buying a bike really soon, I’ll have to recommend these areas to him! Seems like some good places to jog as well

 

[ryasuz]

@heyitszeus Oh yes, +1 for those areas as jogging areas. And chilling outdoors areas!

 

[m32s]

@heyitszeus I love walking in my city too! I try to go for a few short walks throughout my work day and listen to different podcasts. Since I’ve been implementing this (on top of my lifting schedule) I easily hit more than 10K steps a day. It also helps my mental health too.

 

[ycgp]

@heyitszeus Yes!! I love city walking!!

 

[wendy922]

@m32s I was wishing my biceps and shoulders would get bigger faster and I was always irritated that it took so long to get back around through the other lifting days then a month or so ago I realized... wait. If I want to build muscle faster then I want to work them out more. So now I work them out 2-3 times a week. Already made a huge difference

 

[lunalovesjesus]

@wendy922 I love a push/pull/legs split for that! When I was lifting at a gym I had 2 routines for each body group and would try and go 5x week, it actually made such a difference! And if I missed and only went 3 or 4, no problem because I’d already hit all body parts that week!

Not like with a 5 day body building split where I’d realize “oops, I’ve somehow missed back day every week for the last 3 weeks”.

 

[wendy922]

@lunalovesjesus Yessss push pull split is so much better.

 

[ilkao223]

@lunalovesjesus Could you explain what a push/pull/legs split looks like?