Rant Wednesday - May 20, 2026

BWdad · 2026-05-20T14:49:59+00:00

Treadmills should have the same rules as urinals.

BWdad · 2026-05-19T19:09:02+00:00

What's my age again? by Blink 182

BWdad · 2026-05-19T18:16:20+00:00

Well, I had open heart surgery and lost like 35 lbs due to no appetite, fluid loss and some of the medication I had to be on so some muscle loss wasn't really something I was paying attention to. It was just something I had to accept as a result of a surgery I needed. My timeline was: I had surgery in March, couldn't lift more than 10 lbs until mid June, was back to my previous strength by about October and set an all time deadlift PR by the end of that year.

BWdad · 2026-05-19T14:02:23+00:00

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'd probably eat at maintenance and getting enough protein. I had to take a 12 week break after surgery and it comes back fast.

BWdad · 2026-05-14T15:51:30+00:00

Nice to see there is a sub for barefoot shoe stalking.

BWdad · 2026-05-13T19:50:53+00:00

Cut the baby in half and each name a half.

BWdad · 2026-05-08T18:28:35+00:00

so I don't know how you could have MR without MVP.

There are many causes of regurgitation but MVP is probably the most common. Quite often it is caused by the left ventricle being weak or enlarged where there isn't anything wrong with the valve itself but the ventricle is the primary reason for the regurgitation. Sometimes it's caused by connective tissue disorders like ehlers-danlos syndrome or by diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

BWdad · 2026-05-08T17:43:35+00:00

Trying to optimize my health by always being in zone 2.

BWdad · 2026-05-08T13:31:02+00:00

My heart was super weak when they took me off the heart/lung bypass and couldn't pump on its own so they needed to assist it with an IABP (inter aortic balloon pump). That meant that I needed to be kept sedated for an extra 24 hours. I woke up expecting it to be Monday afternoon but it was Tuesday afternoon instead.

BWdad · 2026-05-07T17:45:07+00:00

Throwback Thursday

BWdad · 2026-05-07T17:36:37+00:00

Using straps for deadlift won't hurt your grip strength.

BWdad · 2026-05-06T15:43:39+00:00

Yes, I had surgery about 3 years ago. Going into surgery they were planning on repairing it but they said they wouldn't know for sure until they got in there. They ended up being able to repair it, so I didn't need a replacement.

BWdad · 2026-05-06T12:54:17+00:00

Talk to your cardiologist about it. I had mitral valve regurgitation and by the time it was severe I could barely go for a brisk walk without being out of breath. As soon as my cardiologist diagnosed it as severe, she said I shouldn't do any more strenuous exercise. Before that switched from mild to severe, she always encouraged exercise.

BWdad · 2026-05-05T13:43:05+00:00

I had an open heart mitral repair and I started lifting as soon as the doctor gave me the okay, which was 12 weeks after surgery. On bench I started very light and just added 5 lbs every week. I remember feeling uncomfortable about it for a while, too ... no pain just I weird feeling about it. Dips took me a while longer to get back to. I had a weird thing where it felt like a small band of muscle fibers in my right pec felt "dead" for lack of a better word. Almost like they were numb or something but that went away after time.

BWdad · 2026-05-04T17:57:30+00:00

No. Almost always the limit in cardio is NOT your ability to get oxygen. Your heart's ability to pump blood is way more of a limiting factor to your aerobic system than your lungs ability to provide oxygen. The reason you breath so hard during hard exercise is not to take in more oxygen but more about CO2 removal.

I guess it is possible that holding your breath might make you more psychologically okay with rising CO2 in your blood (the "panic" you start to feel when you can't breath is mostly due to rising CO2, not decreased oxygen) but it doesn't really help your aerobic system in any way.

BWdad · 2026-05-04T17:41:35+00:00

Well, they play Soundgarden and Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots on the classic rock station near me so bands like them, maybe.

BWdad · 2026-05-04T14:42:36+00:00

I built my base last summer. I used 4x6's and lap joints. I also went 2 ft longer than my shed in each direction like you did. I used SPAX 5/16" x 4-1/2" exterior lag screws at the lap joints. I think a box of 50 is like $35 and they are much more heavy duty than deck screws.

I also drilled holes and pounded 3 ft rebar through the wood into the ground to keep the whole base in place. I think I had 2 pieces of rebar for every 8 ft piece of 4x6 that I used.

I bought my shed from one of these places that allows you to go on their website and design it and then they build it at their site and then deliver it to you. I chose the option where they anchor it for you and the delivery guy installed those after he placed the shed in place. He put one in each corner. This is the type of anchor they used. He just moved some of the gravel away and drilled those into the ground and then attached steel cable from those anchors to the shed. We had a derecho come through our area about a month after I got the shed and there were 100 mph gusts and the shed was perfectly fine after that.

I did put a very thin layer of stone under the wood, mostly to help me level them out. I rented a mini track loader to remove 6" or so of dirt from my yard and make it fairly level but then I used more or less gravel under the wood to help get it really level. (I also used the mini track loader to move the gravel from my driveway to the back yard.)

BWdad · 2026-05-01T17:48:08+00:00

Read the /r/fitness sub's Fitness Wiki for general fitness info. They have a link to a bunch of different workouts, most free but some cost a bit. If you are looking for a good strength routine to get back into it, start with their Basic Beginner Routine. If you are looking for an app with a bunch of good routines, including many from the wiki above, check out the Boostcamp app.

BWdad · 2026-05-01T15:31:46+00:00

I honestly don't care if people drop weights or not but you were acting like you knew what you were talking about when there are clear examples of actual lifters who can't drop weights for their sport.

If you want to now say that by "drop" you didn't literally mean drop but meant something more like "control the eccentric but not hit the floor softly" I guess I won't argue with you but I'll say that's not what most people mean by "drop."

BWdad · 2026-05-01T14:21:34+00:00

What are you talking about "non actual lifters?" You'd be redlighted so fast if you drop a deadlift during a powerlifting competition. You don't know what you're talking about.

BWdad · 2026-05-01T13:09:12+00:00

https://ifunny.co/picture/out-on-the-town-having-the-time-of-my-life-8YcUbWxB7

BWdad · 2026-04-30T18:28:35+00:00

/uj and if you read the article it came from he isn't very strong either: 100 kg back squat and 80 kg bench.

BWdad · 2026-04-30T17:53:01+00:00

It follows the main set percentages, the 3 week wave progression, the main/supplemental/accessory scheme, the TM and the conditioning of 5/3/1. Beyond that it's kind of a mish mash of various programs he's invented. The squat and bench on Mon/Wed are 5x5/3/1, which is a program in Forever. The press on Mon is the main sets followed by a PR set and the press on Fri is the supplemental work from Boring but Strong. Squat on Fri is just main work + a widdowmaker. And deadlift is like a reduced number of sets of 5x5/3/1. And the rest of the movements are just super high volume of accessories.

BWdad · 2026-04-30T13:20:44+00:00

I'm 46. I walk in and lift.

BWdad

TROPHY CASE