Sports & Science: A Balanced Life with Robert

[JustRobert]

Im pretty serious about powerlifting. Not competing yet though because of my lack of grip strenght and because my squat is yet far from my deadlift because of years with a bad knee.

Used to focus on bodybuilding but I have ditched that because I don't have the genetics to get anywhere in that sport.

Sorry to hear about the bad knee. How long have you been lifting?

Robert

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I used to be very active in sports. In particular I was good at football, and honestly, I might have been good enough to be a pro kicker [kicked a 60 yard punt in the 8th grade], but I never did pursue this due to knee injuries aggravated while playing high school football.

Also, was in competitive swimming, absolutely loved playing volleyball, studied Judo formerly, and informally, Karate and a mix of other martial arts for fun. I would spar with a buddy who had his brown belt at the time...I think...one below black anyway. Also, once went six rounds with a former golden gloves national champion. Of course, he totally kicked my butt.

For years I ran and finally achieved a routine of five miles a day, followed by one-hundred push-ups, and then 100 sit-ups. Also, I started lifting weights at age twelve and continued to do so well into my early twenties. In fact one of the first things I ever bought with my own money was a weight set. In particular I was a very strong at the free weight military press, and also the leg press on the weight machine. In high school I could pump 750 Lbs almost indefinitely if I went slowly enough...which certainly didn't help my knee problems.

Desert and moto-cross motorcycle riding were also favorites. We used to go to places like El Mirage dry lake area, Gorman, Glamis, and other desert areas in Southern California.

Played baseball for some years but totally sucked. I think my batting average needed an extra decimal position to average > zero.

Did some long distance cycling for a time. The longest trek make in one day was about 120 miles - took nineteen hours of riding through desert and mountains.

Oh yes, can't forget body surfing and Boogie boards - great fun!

Now my favorite sports are brush clearing, weed spraying, home remodeling, and various chainsaw sports.

 

[chroot]

It took you nineteen hours to do 120 miles on a bicycle? That's an average of just over 6 mph. You can practically walk that fast. What kind of terrain limits you to 6 mph?

I did my last century (102.1 miles) in under seven hours, on a road bike, on asphalt.

- Warren

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Up the San Bernadino mountains. We rode from Long Beach to the camp grounds above Hemet. In fact I forgot that we had to ride back - all down hill so not nearly so memorable.

Also, since we camped for three days we also had 80 Lbs backpacks.

... which reminds me, did a lot of mountain hiking in Scouts.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Make that more like sixty pounds. I remember having to carry an eighty pouind pack but that was a different trip...I think. Anyway, I didn't even think about the math. It was a slow trip with many breaks. We had to carry camping gear as well as bicycle repair items. Also, I was only about fifteen at the time.

 

[loseyourname]

I was mostly involved in middle-distance running in high school. I ended up with a personal best during my sophomore year of 16:36 for a three-mile cross country course (set it at the Rosemead Invitational) and 4:34 for the mile. Asthma and subsequent apathy derailed me a bit after that, though, and I got into other non-athletic pursuits. I was (and am) much too tall to have had any chance at an actual future in distance running anyway, though.

The only think, looking back, that I think I might have been able to have a future in was probably baseball. I was able to throw close to a 90 mph fastball when I was only around 15 or so, but I didn't develop any actual interest in the sport until recently, and opted for track instead because I enjoyed running more.

I've always been huge on pickup basketball, too. Honestly, though, I don't really have the ideal athleticism for basketball (specifically, no lateral quickness or dribbling ability) so I've mostly just become a really good perimeter shooter. I'm terrific in practice.

I've never been much good at anything else. I'm especially terrible at swimming. I can do it, but frustratingly slowly. I've always been a thin guy, too. My body wasn't meant to carry a great deal of weight and I've never had the least bit of inclination toward body-building. I could use some serious strength-training, though. It's been a while, so I can't really say, but I'd imagine my max leg press, bench press, and clean are all probably less than 30% what they were in high school. I wonder if I'd still be able to throw the fastball.

 

[JustRobert]

I actually do weight-training. I work on strength and endurance.

In addition, I run distance (for endurance) and sprinting (for speed and strength).

I also like outdoors like chroot. I prefer real football (aka soccer) or Aussie rules football to American football.

Cool, how long have you been lifting?

Robert

 

[Astronuc]

Cool, how long have you been lifting?

On and off for about 34 years.

About 30 years ago, I was doing heavy lifting, which complemented the fact that I worked summers and holidays doing structural iron work. The strength came in handy. It was faster to climb straight up the columns than use the scaffolding.

I stopped heavy lifting for several years - graduate school and work. Instead I did light-moderate training supplemented with pushups, pullups, situps and running. Plus, like Ivan, I do gardening and tree-trimming around the property.

I recently started increasing the weights for more serious strength training.

I did Tae Kwon Do for several years before giving up (termporarily) due to scheduling/traveling conflicts.

And don't forget STRETCHING - it's very important!

 

[Jeff Ford]

Im pretty serious about powerlifting. Not competing yet though because of my lack of grip strenght and because my squat is yet far from my deadlift because of years with a bad knee.

Used to focus on bodybuilding but I have ditched that because I don't have the genetics to get anywhere in that sport.

If you want to talk grip strength shoot me a message

I compete in strongman and highland games and plan to try olympic lifting and powerlifting this year. I definitely don't look like a bodybuilder though.

 

[Jeff Ford]

I'm wondering, why people do weight-lifting?

I started doing it because I had a back injury that needed rehabilitation. After a few months I got addicted to the idea of getting stronger. Now I feel more run down when I don't lift than when I do.

 

[Astronuc]

I started doing it because I had a back injury that needed rehabilitation. After a few months I got addicted to the idea of getting stronger. Now I feel more run down when I don't lift than when I do.

Same here - if I am not physically active - weight lifting, running, cycling, soccer or other activity, I feel run down.

Sitting behind a desk sucks, especially when it is nice and sunny outside.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm a wreck now. The only reason that I quit all of the above is that my body fell apart. Now I have to moderate my activities and do only what is needed around here, or I end up out of commission and can't do anything. Just the walk from my office to the house can be painful on a bad day.

 

[Astronuc]

All that carousing and fancy living in the 20's is finally catching up.

I too feel a little pain here and there. However, light weight-training and walking/running help reduce that. It's when I am inactive for prolonged periods that my knees and ankles don't feel right.

Tha's one reason I try to walk during lunch or in the afternoon, even if its a short distance. Plus I prefer being outside.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I was born with bad knees, but the one thing that I would warn against is being bad to your back. Heavy lifting and running were the ultimate back killers. Remember all of those military lifts that I mentioned...

 

[Astronuc]

I was born with bad knees, . . .

My best friend in high school had a similar problem, he blew out one knee and then later the other . . . while standing. I kid you not. He just standing by a window one day, and pop, the knee collapsed! No significant load on it.

. . . but the one thing that I would warn against is being bad to your back. Heavy lifting and running were the ultimate back killers. Remember all of those military lifts that I mentioned...

A harness or properly designed belt is important for back support. Overloading the back can result in permanent damage. It's best to start out light and work up. Once one starts lifting more than say 100 lbs, then its time to be using a belt. For me the back was limiting. I could easily lift 140+ lbs with one arm, but my back by itself could not handle 240+ lbs. At the time I did not use a belt for back support.

 

[scott1]

From wikitory:

Noun

sport (plural sports)

1. any athletic activity that uses physical skills, often competetive

So I'am gussing that video games and logic puzzles would count as "sports".So that means that I'am the athlet of the 1.0 x 10⁵ years.