I can imagine! Or perhaps I would rather not
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Right. Iām going to (try to) give this strength malarkey a go. I dabbled and thought about it last winter, but only went to the mini gym at the caravan park a couple of times.
Found out recently that a new Pure Gym is opening up on my side of Exmouth - barely 3 miles away (under 10 min journey). As silly as it sounds, as itās not a big town, it probably saves 10 mins each way vs. the council run gym and pool. Plus parking on site.
Now I know theyāre not the classiest of gyms, but as itās a new one theyāre offering a deal for the first 6 months where membership is only Ā£14.99. But the thing that appealed the most was the fact that youāre not locked in to any kind of contract period. So if I go and hate it/hate it and not go, then at worst iāve spent 15/30 quid or so. No big deal.
One of the newer guys in our running crew is a personal trainer, so heās going to put me a little 30-60 minute routine together that I can aim to do a couple of times a week.
Brief was to be part running specific, part general strength and longevity. So will see what he comes back with. Going to be hard to know what to start with from a weight perspective, but iāll work it out. Sure itāll be NY style horribly busy for the first month at least, but I plan to go early in the mornings.
Iām also going to see if I can get some additional cardio in, if I get on with the place. One of the lads has been hitting this weekly session (without fail) where he whacks the treadmill on full incline and does a vertical km - mix of hiking and jogging - to build strength for a big ultra this autumn (North Coast 110). That seems like a great use of time so I might replicate that, perhaps building up to doing it weighted - with a bag or a vest.
Anyway, it doesnāt open until the 26th Sept so a little while to go. Plus iāll probably avoid the first week as itāll be carnage. Iām guessing iām going to be the old dude there!!! I just bloody hope itās not full of people filming themselves constantly! 
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Youād be surprised at how many fit ( cardio wise) people use gyms. Or not as the case may be.
They are not all influencers with cameras and some of those even get out of breath from time to time, people like that just blend in after a few weeks.
Good call to avoid the first week, 1 k at 15% is grim you should be able to run it though 8? Kph ( thereās a challenge?)
Good luck
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1km of elevation gain that is - so depending on the steepness of the incline, itās be about 7.5kms I guess. About an hour. Something like that?!
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I currently train in a Puregym. They arenāt so bad. Get the app and it will tell you the when the quiet periods are. Usually 5-8am can be surprisingly busy. 5pm onwards is awful.
Youāll be surprised commercial gyms attract a wide age but that probably more local dependent. People film isnāt as rife as you may think. Lots of people film for good reason, I do most weeks to check my form on certain lifts.
If you can get the guy whos putting together a program for you to actually go through it with you, that would be ideal. As there is doing an exercise/movement and then there is doing it properly where you will actually get the most benefit from it. For example 80% of people I see doing a barbell back squat in Puregym are not even getting close to full range of motion!
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Yeah good shout - and iām sure heād be happy to, as heās a lovely chap. He pretty much trained my mate up from almost a non-swimmer to his first IM this summer just as a āmini mateās projectā (the project being mini, my mates are actually typically sized adult males 
).
Iām being a bit facetious about the gyms - I know iām a grumpy old git, but i donāt really care what other people do, as long as theyāre not being selfish about it.
Itās totally out of my comfort zone - so weāll see how it pans out. Could do with a bit of extra strength in the upper body if I want to consider racing Masters SLSC next year.
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Iām guessing the majority wonāt just rock up and do an ultra on a fortnightās training or run a 16 minute 5k!
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no chance I could do that.!! (but could probs grit out an ultra 
)
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Or a 20min run, no parking required, no treadmill time required.
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start with an empty bar (20kg) and add 2.5 kg every time you go; will enable you to get used to it, not ache too much and not get injuredā¦..although it does involve leaving the ego in the locker room 
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When time is on my side, for sure. The cyclepath runs right over to Exmouth, almost to the door - so bike or run would be super easy.
most people dont have the mobility to do it, they would be better off spending time working on functional movement patterns to build the mobility to do it properly but it doesnt mean dont do a squat, they can add to the development of mobility if they push a bit further each session alongside mobility work (usually to do with hips and calf/achilles). I have ACL issue so dont go beyond 90degrees but it is what it is for me.
Oh I see !
Iāve done a few single kms at 15% ( hard)
Longer than that at max gradient really would be a run walk Iām guessing.
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I was going to expand on this as I was sure someone would pick up on it They are many options if mobility is an issue, elevate the heels is the simplest. But the majority donāt even know they arenāt getting full ROM. Box squats are an option and of course primarily, work on increasing the mobility where you can.
I was using squats as example. Plenty of others are common culprits, pull ups, dips, db chest press etc. I could go on. Essentially have someone who knows what they are doing assess your form to get the most out of your training, where they can also easily spot your problem areas and give you some extra accessory or mobility work
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And the McDonalds is right there for a good recovery mealā¦
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Like the idea of that
Have done quite a bit of incline hiking with a 10kg weight vest on a treadmill - never got much beyond 10% incline - my treadmill at home has a slightly slippy deck. Might give it a go at the gym where the treadmills are better
it does become a very sweaty hour though
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Im back to square 1, went on holiday beginning of July, was in a nice pattern 3 sessions a week of 3 exercises 5 x 5, came back, got what could have been bad cold/covid/manflu , then with 3 weeks off dropped weight and went to 3x8 for some hypertrophy over pure strengthā¦2 weeks in I had a slightly achy back one morning, then built a flat pack desk, then did some other DIY crap and in the evening thought it was a good idea to deadlift. my lower back hasnāt recovered, very painful!ā¦so done 3 sessions since July 4th. I might start back on 5x5 with , not an empty bar, but quite light again once recovered. its getting there but not worth risking. I hate getting old
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I hear you
In a recent event my partner literally couldnāt get to 90 for the wall balls ( squat stand up throw a ball at a target ā¦ there horrible and we are both crap at them)
We tried all sorts, stretching, mobility exercises raised rear .. in the end we got a box but he had to physically sit down stop and get up again ( very inefficient )
Iām firmly in this cat but itās amazing how many fitter / older people have poor Rom issues
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A basic body weight walking lunge is the most recent one that has surprised me! Either balance issue or not being able to drop the knee to the floor!
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We did 4 ? Dedicated hour sessions ( they were mostly sim based)
I knew his running was good obviously.
He started lunges .. walking ( no bag) went too fast and literally fell over after 4 ms.
He has a knackered left knee so I was always going to do most of that station but as you say his balance was very poor, we addressed it with static lunges in time body weight , 5 kg, 10 kg. 15 and he improved
What amazed me was how much his row and burpee jumps improved yet his ski and lunges kind of stayed similar ?!
We all have our strengths and weaknesses I guess.
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