Treadmills on Carnival

[tofinochris]

Any specialist (runners, power lifters and such) see dramatic losses as they are training X for Y. Apparently our biology evolved with the "not using it, you're losing it" mentality!

 

Personally I see a 20% loss in muscle strength in main muscle groups in a week. Bench and squats down in # of reps/lbs moved in as short as a week. I do hit those hardest out of all muscle groups.

 

Hey Viesczy. No, it's good discussion, thanks for your reply.

 

Greg Nuckols has a good article on just this topic here: http://strengtheory.com/grow-like-a-new-lifter-again/. I assume it might bork the link but if you go to strengtheory dot com and add grow-like-a-new-lifter-again after the slash you'll get the article.

 

He links to studies so I won't try (you can get them at the bottom of the article) but the main relevant point is:

 

Depending on training status, it takes 2-4 weeks to have measurable decreases in muscle size and strength. Studies investigating rate of strength loss usually use simple movements (like knee extension, measuring maximum moment or something of that nature), so it’s possible that your lifts will be down after a couple of weeks out of the gym, but that’s more a symptom of rusty motor patterns than actual strength loss. That performance will come back within 2-3 sessions practicing the lifts again.

 

I also see strength decreases after 10-14 days off but I pop right back in a week or two. The losses just aren't "real". The science earlier in the article (near the top) gives reasons, but again, I'll leave this to the reader.

 

Having said that, if you are on a cruise a month before a show or a race, you'd better be training daily! If you're on a cruise a week before a show you're completely insane :). But if you're six months out and you can afford the week and then the extra week or two to get back in form then you're fine. I'm a big believer in rest being good for the body mind and soul, and even though I *love* lifting weights, I try to take a break when I'm on vacation. No hate to those who choose not to do this!

 

On a personal note, do you do bb or powerlifting shows? What other forums do you hang out at? What program are you on? And what cruise are you going on because I'm worried about looking tiny by comparison if mine is full of powerlifters ;).

[crewsweeper]

Thanks for the info all!

 

I've tried running on the track before and the wind, walkers and short track make it difficult. I've almost fallen down the stairs a couple times.

 

I have planned a cut back week, only planning on doing a 4 and a 7 miler on the ship. I do strength training twice a week (which I will skip) and will do my long runs before and after the trip. I can't imagine going further than 10 on a treadmill and I want to enjoy my vacation with my family :)

 

That's a reasonable plan. You can stick in a couple of 1 or 2 mile tempo pieces if you'd like or use the tread to vary your pace, like a fartlek type run, especially on the 7 miler, just to break up the monotony. There are free weighs (mostly dumbbells) and some machines you can use too.

 

My knees no longer permit me to run (22 marathons, countless 5 and 10 ks and 1/2s) but when cruising I still do ellipticals (or sneak in a spin on a spin cycle)and I row every day if a rowing machine is on board.

[seventhwardhustler]

 

We run, my wife is a avid half-marathoner and here's our experience after 27 sailings.

 

The jogging track is on the deck behind the jumbo screen. It's busy after about 8-8:30am every morning. The bad news is walkers, three abreast hae no clue about moving over or even which direction to go even with clearly marked signs.

 

Also, sea days are windy and it's an inconsistent environment to run in so we head to the gym. The treadmills are Life Fitness, and are in good to average shape. Even on the newer ships the belts are worn some.

 

The hours on all 9 ships we've been on are 6:00am to 10:00pm every day.

The late hours find the gym empty and early mornings are most always crowded. Things get slower after 9-10am.

 

.

 

i love going up super early (dark) and watching us get closer to the next port. the twinkling of the island lights are magical. kinda windy but i don't seem to notice after a while. nobody's up there at that time.

[MMLEsq]

 

The hours on all 9 ships we've been on are 6:00am to 10:00pm every day.

The late hours find the gym empty and early mornings are most always crowded. Things get slower after 9-10am.

 

.

 

We were on the Splendor in March and I went every night around 6:00 pm (we had late seating for dinner) and there were always many treadmills available.

 

On another ship (probably on RCI), I went at 6 am (the stated opening hour) pretty much on the dot and there were quite a few people already in there exercising, so I'm not sure how strictly each ship will enforce the hours.

[Swedishndn]

Do you have to pay to use equipment in the gym?! My son said he,read some where that you have to pay on the Ecstasy.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Micahs Grandad]

Do you have to pay to use equipment in the gym?! My son said he,read some where that you have to pay on the Ecstasy.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

nothing to use the equipment. They do charge for some classes though

[ABQrobin]

Carnival gym is all free..... only services, like classes and massages, etc are a fee.

[crewsweeper]

We were on the Splendor in March and I went every night around 6:00 pm (we had late seating for dinner) and there were always many treadmills available.

 

On another ship (probably on RCI), I went at 6 am (the stated opening hour) pretty much on the dot and there were quite a few people already in there exercising, so I'm not sure how strictly each ship will enforce the hours.

 

There's always been people in the Carnival gyms prior to 6AM. But while a few may be passengers, I've noticed many of the early birds are ship staff. Fro example, I saw our MDR waiter on one of the Dream cruises every morning already sweating and half way through at 5:55A. I've ran into ship officers at the coffee bar getting their morning latte and recall seeing them on treads earlier. Room stewards too.

[Viesczy]

Hey Viesczy. No, it's good discussion, thanks for your reply.

 

Greg Nuckols has a good article on just this topic here: http://strengtheory.com/grow-like-a-new-lifter-again/. I assume it might bork the link but if you go to strengtheory dot com and add grow-like-a-new-lifter-again after the slash you'll get the article.

 

He links to studies so I won't try (you can get them at the bottom of the article) but the main relevant point is:

 

Depending on training status, it takes 2-4 weeks to have measurable decreases in muscle size and strength. Studies investigating rate of strength loss usually use simple movements (like knee extension, measuring maximum moment or something of that nature), so it’s possible that your lifts will be down after a couple of weeks out of the gym, but that’s more a symptom of rusty motor patterns than actual strength loss. That performance will come back within 2-3 sessions practicing the lifts again.

 

I also see strength decreases after 10-14 days off but I pop right back in a week or two. The losses just aren't "real". The science earlier in the article (near the top) gives reasons, but again, I'll leave this to the reader.

 

Having said that, if you are on a cruise a month before a show or a race, you'd better be training daily! If you're on a cruise a week before a show you're completely insane :). But if you're six months out and you can afford the week and then the extra week or two to get back in form then you're fine. I'm a big believer in rest being good for the body mind and soul, and even though I *love* lifting weights, I try to take a break when I'm on vacation. No hate to those who choose not to do this!

 

On a personal note, do you do bb or powerlifting shows? What other forums do you hang out at? What program are you on? And what cruise are you going on because I'm worried about looking tiny by comparison if mine is full of powerlifters ;).

 

The complete gym rat that am, I nearly passed out at the though of taking 2-3 sessions just to get back! :D

 

When I think about it, that's 3 weeks lost. The week of vacation + the training weeks.

 

Typically I train with/for/by bodybuilders; we hit one body part per day and each body part once a week with cardio thrown in but for the day before/of/after hitting wheels.

 

You'd not even notice me (especially compared to them). They eat like maniacs compared to me. Honestly, they typically eat more calories in 2 meals than I can think about in a day! That's why the're all well north of 220 and I'm barely 180 fully clothed in winter.

 

Agreed about "rest".

 

During contest countdown there's always a rest from the diet (a quality "cheat" meal to truly replace glycogen and make sure your nitrogen is where it should be) and the regimen (typically Friday or Sunday) just to re-set the brain. It is funny how that day matters during those last 18-16 weeks to dial in, you from "this sucks" to "we're so CRUSHING this".

 

Now before the mods yank this for "thread drift"...

 

OP maybe squeeze in short duration/high exertion work. I'd prolly suggest HIIT splits 30 secs sprints/90 seconds jog for 20 mins to keep the CPS cooking at a good rate.

 

I'm not your conditioning coach or anything, but I'd say to throw in some random sprints during some of your non-vacation training too (if you're not doing so now). Nothing crazy, 30-45 seconds of OMG the Devil's on my heels level sprints (slow to a walk if you need to after the time). I'd wager that if you do that for a few weeks, your distance time will great improve.

[tofinochris]

Haha, cheers for your answer. Yeah my main problem with gaining isn't the lifting, which I love, but the eating, which I don't :). Still I'm 210 at 6'6" with low body fat, which is great at 44 years old if you ask me.

 

And taking a few sessions to get back sounds awesome to me because it's like those noob gains all over again! :D

[Swedishndn]

Thank you for the response!

[Swedishndn]

Thanks for the response!

[Rock_ON!!]

I am one of those crazy people who exercise 7 days a week. On my last cruise I was at the gym before 6 am and the doors were never locked. The treadmills have a tv built in so it was easy to run while watching a tv show, movie or news. Some ships have a very short track, like 1/4 mile long, which will lead to tons of laps and gets boring quickly. I've tried a deck that had the full deck wrapped around, but it's small, congested with walkers , had may obstacles to navigate and was wet after being cleaned. The treadmill seemed like the most efficient / safest place.

[crewsweeper]

Some ships have a very short track, like 1/4 mile long, which will lead to tons of laps and gets boring quickly.

 

1/4 mile is standard length of English measured track (400 meters is Olympic track-less than 3 feet difference); 4 laps to a mile. Ship tracks are at most 1/10 of a mile; some are only 1/12 of a mile; a few may be 1/8 of a mile but those are rare. You are correct that it can get boring real quick though.