OCR Fit Club (Summer Session)

[Steben]

http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15945

This competition of sorts was invented by myself in an effort to counteract my own tendency towards laziness in starting and keeping to an exercise routine and diet. Not that I'm a total fatty, but I certainly need to keep active, or I will be one day soon.

This is not a head-to-head competition with your fellow community members! Rather, consider it as a competition against yourself. For the most part, you're setting your own rules, and you're setting your own goals.

Here's how to participate.


The game lasts from now until Saturday, August 2nd.



Anyone may jump in the game at any time they choose.



To play, you have to come up with at least one goal for your personal heatlh that you'd like to meet over the course of the summer, that is, by August 2nd or sooner. Here's a tip: keep your goals S.M.A.R.T.!


Specific: Say more than "Be Healthy". You goals need to mean something.

Measurable: Try to make your goal something you can measure. Numbers are nice here... do you have a set weight you'd like to see yourself at? Would you like to be able to run a mile in a certain time?

Attainable: Don't pick goals you'll never be able to reach, at least within the time limit. Be realistic... but don't underestimate yourself either!

Relevant: Don't pick goals without a reason. I could go through life without being able to bench press 200 pounds... I just don't have a need to be able to do that. However, a related, relevant goal might be to build arm muscle, to impress the ladies?

Timely: Don't say you're going to go to the gym every day if you'll only have access to a gym during a few weeks of the summer. Keep in mind your other activities and base your goals on what you'll have time for.

I won't be checking to see if you goals are "smart", since it's all kind of subjective anyway, but setting your goals carefully will help you make sure that you will be able to meet them.


Design some sort of health plan for the duration of the game that will help you meet your goal or goals. This could be an exercise routine, or a diet, but for best results you should commit to both. The questions that you should be able to answer with your plan are What, Where, When, and How.


If you're not sure where to begin, check out the Community thread linked above for ideas. Also, many colleges offer fitness consultation as part of your student fees (that's how I'm going about this), so if you're in university, look into that.


Once you have your goal(s) and health plan, post them in this thread!



To stay in the game, you'll need to check in every weekend by posting in this thread. Include a day-by-day summary of your exercise and/or eating habits, and point out any inconsistancies with your health plan. We don't need (or want) an essay or excel spreadsheet or anything, a sentence or two per day is fine... you shouldn't have to say too much if you kept to your plan anyway. No one's gonna do perfect, but in order to be held accountable you need to be honest and fess up if you falter in your plan... this should help curb the temptation to ignore it as often.



You may always adjust your goals or plan in order to make them more ambitious, but try not to wuss out and make things easier on yourself. Just announce it when you check in the thread.



How do you win? Well, you get to decide if, at the end of the summer, you are a winner. Ask yourself these questions:


Did I meet my goal? Did I exceed it? Or, at least, did I make some progress towards it?
Did I make a solid plan, and stick to it for the most part?
Will I commit to continuing to make healthy choices, even once the summer session has ended?

If you can answer "yes" to all those questions, heck, sure, you win. :) Maybe we can arrange for some sig badges for those who make it all the way through.

I'm acting as judge and organizer for the event, and I reserve the right to remove anyone from the game for inactivity, so don't forget to check in! But I won't be anal about it or anything... the point isn't the game itself, but in getting everyone involved to stay healthy and active.

If you have any questions, post in the thread or send me a PM. The game starts... NOW! So set your goals, design your plan, post it here, and get started!

---

PARTICIPANTS:

Steben
Geoffrey Taucer
Fishy
DragonAvenger
Global-Trance
The Derrit
LuckyXIII
amarriedmegaphone
Vivi22
Majin GeoDooD
Mechasonic4ever
The Dennis
The Xyco
Blake
Patrick Burns
OA
Kenobio
Blue Magic
Lord.Roderick.i
Random Hajile

[Steben]

Okay, and I'll start us off.

GOAL
I'm 6'0" and 195. My goal is to knock that down to 170. I used to know my body fat percentage, but I managed to lose my record of it, but I believe that 170 would put me in a pretty healthy range, assuming I don't gain much muscle mass. I'm trying to get in touch with the Lifetime Wellness and Fitness people at my university, and hopefully do another fitness assessment, so maybe I'll adjust this once I get those results back.

THE PLAN

Diet:
I'll start out by cutting my caloric intake to 2000 calories. I haven't done the math of my typical caloric intake yet, but I have a strong suspicion that it exceeds that number easily. This first week should be interesting to see how that works out. To do this, I'm gonna cut out the fast food, and stick to grilled meat (goodbye fried chicken :sad:), fruits, and veggies. Also, no more ranch dressing... although I'm unsure how I'll eat raw vegetables without ranch. I'll find a way.

I think I should invest in a little notepad to carry around with me, just to keep track of what I eat...

Also, I want to cut my soda drinking habit. Just for starters, let's say... one glass of diet soda a day? The rest should be water. This doesn't really directly pertain to my goal, but it's a good idea anyway, I figure.

Exercise:
Okay, I'm going to set up two different plans, depending on whether or not I'm in Auburn, since I don't have gym access elsewhere.

Since my main goal is weight loss, I need to keep the cardio going no matter where I am. So when I'm not at Auburn, 30 minutes a day running, not counting warm-up and cool-down. My neighborhood at home is pretty good for that sort of thing, so I think that'll work out okay. I'll run six days a week, taking Sundays to rest. Also, I'll try to work on increasing my distance run in that time over the summer.

When I'm in Auburn, I have a few more options. I like the elliptical machine, because it has less of an impact, and I like having numbers in front of me telling me how I'm working. So, on weekdays I'll do the elliptical machine for 30 minutes not counting warm-up or cool-down, including 15 minutes at at least 9 mets. I'll also do some weight training for another half hour, which won't help me lose weight, but I wouldn't mind having some muscle to replace the fat with, y'know? I think I'll gloss over the details on the weight training for now, since it's been a couple months since I last went... I'll figure out what I need to be doing and add that to my plan at the first check-in. On Saturdays I'll go to the track and do 30 minutes of running, since the fitness center is only open from 3pm-5pm on weekends this summer.


I wouldn't mind any feedback from those of you more knowledgeable about this sort of thing than I. I'm ready to get started... in fact, I think I'm going to the track now.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

GOAL
I want to be able to consistently hit and hold an iron cross (http://www.freewebs.com/imagesbyjc/120504/20.jpg), a maltese (http://www.ncmensgymnastics.com/images/2004%20JO%20Nationals/Dale%20Seibert%20Photos/JamesPrim_maltese2.jpg), and an inverted cross (http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/710213.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193875DCB1DD8387ABBB5D47DB5FB2D5C2F 284831B75F48EF45) by the end of the summer. Furthermore I'd like to be able to press from either front or back lever to a cross, and from cross to a maltese.
I want to bring up my endurance enough to make it through a complete floor routine without watering down any of my passes. (That's about 70 seconds, so it's all anaerobic endurance.)
I want to have my left-leg split all the way down. (All 3 would be great, but I think that's unlikely to happen, and the left leg is the one I'm closest on)
In short, I want to be able to come out of retirement as a gymnast and compete on floor, vault, and rings again next year.

THE PLAN

Diet:
I'm not going for a specific number of calories, but I really could afford to cut back on the junk food and eat more fruits and vegetables.
For the last few months, I've been going through oreos at a rate of about a package every two days. There is no way in hell I'm going to completely give up oreos, but I'll at least try to cut that back to a package a month.
I'll also cut down on the gingerbeer and 7-up, and try to stick with milk, orange juice, and good ol' water.
I'll try to have fruit or vegetables with every meal. This is definitely something I need to work on.

Exercise:
For the rings strength: daily work on crosses and malteses, in addition to my normal strength workouts.
For endurance, I will try to do windsprints for 70 seconds at least twice each workout.
For flexibility, I'll be doing at least 2 minutes total in each split at the end of every workout. (I've been meaning to do this for awhile, and I've kept not doing it.)

BTW, should we post pics? So we can have "before" and "after" pics to compare at the end of the summer?

EDIT: also, how specific should I be with descriptions of my exercise plan? Should I post my entire strength list?

EDIT 2: Same question for my rings goals. Should I post the routine I hope to compete?

[Patrick Burns]

GOAL

To be able to run 5 miles at about a 10 minute pace again.

To get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep most days. This last year I've had very irregular sleep patterns, and my overall health/mood has suffered. I'll have to get up at about 5am for work this summer, so I've got tot get my act together or I won't be doing so hot.

THE PLAN

Run 9 miles a week by the end of May, 12 miles per week by the end of June, and 15 miles by the end of July. I plan to run 3-4 times per week.

Be going to sleep around 10 by the end of May, and 9 by the time work starts in the beginning of June.

[Steben]

BTW, should we post pics? So we can have "before" and "after" pics to compare at the end of the summer?

EDIT: also, how specific should I be with descriptions of my exercise plan? Should I post my entire strength list?

EDIT 2: Same question for my rings goals. Should I post the routine I hope to compete?

Again, how detailed you want to get is totally up to you... my job is just to make sure people check in, to keep everyone accountable. More detail is better for others who may be curious about what other people are up to, however. Personally, I'm not an exercise geek... it's something I feel I should do, so I'm making myself do it. However, more details should spark more discussion amongst those of us who are more into that sort of thing.

And yeah, I'm gonna put up a Before picture for myself sometime this weekend. It's optional, though.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I know I sound like a conceited asshole saying this, but the main reason I'm hesitant to post a before picture is because I'm afraid it might scare off other potential participants. I'm a gymnast; modesty aside, my before pictures will probably look better than most people's after pictures. That's why I'm asking you whether I should post them.

On a different subject, if we have anybody with expertise in building up anaerobic endurance, I'd love to hear from them.

[big giant circles]

I know I sound like a conceited asshole saying this, but the main reason I'm hesitant to post a before picture is because I'm afraid it might scare off other potential participants. I'm a gymnast; modesty aside, my before pictures will probably look better than most people's after pictures. That's why I'm asking you whether I should post them.

On a different subject, if we have anybody with expertise in building up anaerobic endurance, I'd love to hear from them.

OMG he is srsly liek, SO HAWT. RAWR.

[Patrick Burns]

I know I sound like a conceited asshole saying this, but the main reason I'm hesitant to post a before picture is because I'm afraid it might scare off other potential participants. I'm a gymnast; modesty aside, my before pictures will probably look better than most people's after pictures. That's why I'm asking you whether I should post them.

On a different subject, if we have anybody with expertise in building up anaerobic endurance, I'd love to hear from them.

If someone is scared off because of that, then I doubt they would have the constitutions to tackle serious behavior change anyway.

Not that I plan on posting body pics of myself, but the more content this thread has the better.

[Steben]

I know I sound like a conceited asshole saying this, but the main reason I'm hesitant to post a before picture is because I'm afraid it might scare off other potential participants. I'm a gymnast; modesty aside, my before pictures will probably look better than most people's after pictures. That's why I'm asking you whether I should post them.

Tell you what, wait until after I post my before picture... I'm pretty sure I won't scare anyone off anyway. :-P

EDIT:

Okay, here they are.

http://www.auburn.edu/~clontsc/fitclubbefore1.jpg
http://www.auburn.edu/~clontsc/fitclubbefore2.jpg

The hair's disheveled because I just got out of bed. The body's rotund because I never was involved in anything more strenuous than marching band in school. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll be able to see a difference.


Incidentally, I PMed everyone in the other thread who said they were interested in participating, so hopefully we'll get more people joining soon. I'm gonna start a list of participants in the OP.

[Fishy]

GOAL
I used to be able to climb a V2, possibly even a V3 on a good day, and although I weigh the same as I did, it used to be all muscle, now it ain't muscle at all.

Goal is to be climbing V4 by the time limit, which is when I go to Uni where they have a massive climbing wall I can get ultra fit with. Basically its preparation for the serious shit (and the ladies of course).

THE PLAN

I bought myself some new climbing shoes yesterday, some nice velcro Boreal Jokers, so we're ballin'.

Diet:

Imma cut my chocolates and bad sugars from my lunches and dinners and replace them with fruit, probably apples/pears. I eat "ok" apart from the chocolate, not amazingly but not in a damaging way.

Exercise:
Get up dem walls? My friends have started going twice a week, Tuesday and Friday, of which I'm doing only the latter, mainly for transport reasons. Once I pass my driving test in June, I'll go twice, maybe even three times once i get back into it. Each time we go is generally about 3 hours of on off climbing and messing around. Its a very intensive sport that powers you up amazingly, so I'm optimistic that I will be back to my former sexy self.

I don't know if I want to post the before picture until I have the after picture as well. I'll take one, I just don't know id I'm comfortable posting it.

[DragonAvenger]

I'm game.

The Goal
Overall, I'm looking to do more moving in general. I would also like to start doing some light lifting, for toning, not strength.

The Plan
Part A consists of having a treadmill downstairs. I have set up my SNES in front of it, and currently I'm walking while playing Breath of Fire (which I've never completed. This morning I just got past the Stone Robot). I plan to get through at least this game, and a couple other SNES games that I haven't beaten or haven't played in a while.

Generally I'm walking at about 2.5 mph. Nothing super fast, but doing it for 45 minutes (hopefully I'll bring that time up) isn't too bad.

Part B will include some weight lifting. I have a set downstairs, and some exercises that I used to do, and hopefully will motivate myself to restart. I'm looking to be able to do controlled slow lifting to tone my muscles.

Part C is more optional. Running isn't really an option nowadays because of my knees, but I'm considering pulling out my rollerblades or bike. More fresh air would be good.

Part D is also optional. My summer job as a secretary of summer school has moved to a closer school to home, and I'm considering riding my bike to work to save gas. This idea is dependent on the weather, my motivation, and whether or not the second half of the day will involve moving stuff from one school to another (we're getting a new high school, and I might have to be moving my band stuff from the old to the new).

[Random Hajile]

GOAL: To tone myself and have a defined muscle shape in my upper body.


THE PLAN

Diet: I'm going to cut down drastically on all the junk food I eat, and make sure that I prepare fairly healthy balanced meals.


Exercise: Intense ab and push-up routines every night before bed, combined with at least an hour of intense cardio 3 times a week. (Lol, ultimate frisbee)


I'll get my before pic in a bit, I start today.

[Global-Trance]

Oh oops! I haven't logged in here for about a week. Sorry, Steben!

I suppose the competition is mainly us competing with ourselves so as long as we are better off than when we first start then we can consider ourselves a winner. So let's not be hesitant to show pictures of ourselves. I think it's a great motivator for improvement. If you are happy with the "after" pic, then isn't that what matters? We can all be "conceited assholes" about how good we look after the summer. :)

GOAL: Improve overall flexibility and make immense improvements in my cardio-respiratory system while slowly toning the muscle through various eccentric and isometric exercises... also begin some gymnastic exercises!

THE PLAN

Diet: More balanced carb and protein intake. I tend to have too much or too little of one thing. I don't eat junk food or drink soda so I think I'm okay there! I should drink more water though.

Exercise: Increased amount of self-myofascial release, static, and active stretches. Five miles a day, five times a week. Core training five times a day. Resistance training three times a week, covering the entire body.

I suppose I'll put up a pic later.

[Kenobio]

Very cool idea, Steben!


Anyway, I'm actually in pretty decent shape but I certainly would like to drop a few pounds and most importantly improve my diet.

Goal: To drop a minimum of ten pounds of fat (I'm currently ~188 at about 5'11) while cutting down on fast food.

The Plan

Diet: The life and diet of the college student (for some) generally centers around laziness, convenience, and freedom to eat what is tasty and ultimately unhealthy. Thus, I plan to quickly begin eliminating fast food as well as other unhealthy foods from my daily life. Routine trips to Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and wherever else I go will stop, and no more huge half pound burgers on the weekend. From now on I'm going to eat healthier and cook more for myself. Also, I'm going to try to completely stop drinking soda and maybe cut down on beer as well.

Exercise: I actually get a pretty good amount of exercise, as I do a lot of walking and play basketball several times a week. However, I plan to incorporate some sort of light daily workout that I can do in the mornings or in the afternoon. This light workout would include roughly 60-80 pushups (currently I do around 40 a day), several sets of jumping jacks, crunches, and hopefully a few other exercises (suggestions are welcome!).

Goodluck everybody!

[The Derrit]

I suppose it's my turn to put out the goal sheet!

Goals

I want to maintain, if not raise, my cario- and anaerobic fitness levels. Being a rower they are pretty high right now, and it would be very easy to let them fall down to, well levels I don't really want them at essentially.

Like GT, I want to get started on gymnastics-style physical training. My definite goal in this area is to be able to hold an advanced tuck planche, or at the very least a tuck planche, for 45 seconds by the end of the summer. Advanced tuck might be a stretch, but I'd like to be well on my way there by the end of summer. I also intend to work on solidifying my handstand, and handstand to press after that. EDITED DUE TO DIVINE INTERVENTION FROM TAUCER

I also want to keep up my weight and sprints schedule from last year. It served me well and I intend to use it again.

THE PLAN

Diet I need to have a much more balanced diet. I eat a lot of high carb foods, but I need much more variety in order to produce optimal results.

Exercise Some erging (shoot me) along with hopefully rowing in a single this summer should help me maintain my aerobic levels. For the gymnastiscs, hopefully Taucer will enlighten us all! I've learned some things through the internet that I have put into my plans, but expert advice is always nice. Also, as I previously mentioned, my weights and sprints schedule will be retained from last summer.

I'll put up a picture when I find a camera.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Like GT, I want to get started on gymnastics-style physical training. My definite goal in this area is to be able to hold an advanced tuck planche, or at the very least a tuck planche, for 60 seconds by the end of the summer. Advanced tuck might be a stretch, but I'd like to be well on my way there by the end of summer.

In my opinion, 60 seconds is a bit excessive for planches. I'd start working the next difficulty level once you can hold a given position for 45 seconds, if that.

Another great exercise for planches (and one not mentioned on Sommers' website) is pressing down from a handstand. Do a handstand, straddle, and try to press down towards a planche. See how close you can get without falling. Of course, this requires that you be able to hold a static handstand -- and I HIGHLY RECCOMEND that anybody wishing to incorporate gymnastics into their training work on handstands, since that is really the one skill that the entire sport is based on.

[LuckyXIII]

GOAL:
Drop @ least 20 lbs - from 200 to 180. I'd really like to regain my singular chin and not have hybrid fowl/double. And I want to look sexy in my OCR shirt, not...like I do now.

PLAN:
Diet
- Reduce fat intake (going for more skim milk in my coffee)
- Reduce soda intake
- Reduce junk food intake in general
- Increase veggie consumption
Exercise
- Run at least 3 times a week around a nearby lake
- Working out with weights every other day (routines found here: http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/a/weight101_2.htm?p=1)



Thanks for the idea of getting this whole thing going. Aside from random posts and frequent lurking I actually feel like I'm getting somewhat involved in the community!

[Steben]

C'mon, guys, don't let me be the only shmuck with shirtless pictures of himself on this thread! :-P

Alright, with ten people, this thing's getting off to a good start. Make sure you all keep up with your plans, cause I expect to hear how you all kept to it come this weekend. I've got a text file on my desktop to keep up with my own diet/exercise habits... should be interesting to look back later this summer to see how I've improved.

[The Xyco]

My participation in this competition is tentative at the moment because there is a chance I may land an internship in Washington DC and my access to a gym there is going to cost at least a hundred times more than access at home or at uni.

That said, I"m going to go ahead and throw my hat in the lot.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g207/thexyco/S5030424.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g207/thexyco/whar.png

GOAL:

At 6' 3" and weighing in under 170lbs, with a waistline >31", I frequently fall victim to being interpreted as "stick" and unhealthily thin. I didn't spend two years at the gym getting in tip-top shape to be called Skeletor, so I'm shooting to add about 10 pounds of lean muscle, with comparable strength gain -- all without losing definition (even becoming more so, if possible).

I'm not really interested in having big bodybuilder pecs or biceps, since they would interfere with the type of physical activity I do (primarily martial arts), plus I'm a big believer in working the entire body. It's going to be an all-around gain.

PLAN:

Since I'm shooting for lean muscle development, it's going to come very slowly. I'll have to work with both strength & size gain without losing definition. I'm working in stages, currently on my 4th week of upper body strength sets (generally 3 sets of 8 reps full-body workouts, about 2/3 are upper body). Once I get some slight weight gains from that (3-6 lbs), I'll switch over to two weeks cardio/circuit training, and then repeat the process with adjustments to compensate for disparities in gains and losses.

Diet will have a big impact on this plan. Going to have to work it carefully between the strength and circuit weeks.

Going to increase my overall protein intake. Protein supplements tend to make me feel ill, so I'm using different food sources to get surplus protein. On a budget, eggs are probably the easiest and cheapest source of protein, but the cholesterol gains can be killer. Going at 3-4 eggs about 4-5 days a week. Also drinking lots of skim milk, and eating cooked/grilled meats when I can.

Living near the ocean gives me access to fresh fish and shellfish, which is amazingly healthy when prepared properly -- loaded with protein and antioxidants. I'm going to learn to probably cook fish/shellfish and try to make at least 50% of my meats seafood.

I don't drink sodas, so that's no problem, but I could do with more water intake. Especially if working in the heat of summer. Going to cut back on Vitamin water considerably (probably save some money doing that as well).

Going to keep my carb sources in Smart Start cereal, pasta, and whole-grain breads. Generally I consumer carbs throughout the day before my workouts (which are usually undertaken in the two hours before dinner), with my proteins following. I'll keep up with this plan, but stick to it a bit more religiously.

I'm not giving up General Tso's Chicken though. Unhealthy as it is, I deserve some guilty pleasures at least two weeks or so. But I've started getting it with more vegetables now. Every little bit helps.



With all this, and if all goes according to plan, hopefully I'll end up with more muscle to work with in definition gains by the time the fall semester rolls around. I'll also be set up with more healthy eating habits. I already start to feel lazy and stagnant if I don't visit the gym every other day, hopefully I can get that way in diet.

[MechaFone]

Whoooo boy. After seeing some of the body pics here, I'm convinced you'll see none from me. No way. You will, however, have my participation in this program, which I greatly approve of. Maybe for once it could get me motivated.
I weigh in at 260 or higher. Proabably higher. I'm at 6'2, so 210 or 200 would be a much better weight for me. I don't really know, I'm not knowledgable about weight and height stuff.
I'm also not a gymnast, nor a runner, I'm pretty much in the worst shape of my life and probably in the worst shape of anyone here.
My personal goal, to reach by August, would be to jog around my neighborhood for at least 20 minutes at a time. If I can make more than that by the end of the summer, I'd be fucking shocked. So, count me in, and I'll fave this thread so I'll see it every time I open the 'net. Thanks for setting this up, Steben.

[Steben]

Whoooo boy. After seeing some of the body pics here, I'm convinced you'll see none from me. No way. You will, however, have my participation in this program, which I greatly approve of. Maybe for once it could get me motivated.
I weigh in at 260 or higher. Proabably higher. I'm at 6'2, so 210 or 200 would be a much better weight for me. I don't really know, I'm not knowledgable about weight and height stuff.
I'm also not a gymnast, nor a runner, I'm pretty much in the worst shape of my life and probably in the worst shape of anyone here.
My personal goal, to reach by August, would be to jog around my neighborhood for at least 20 minutes at a time. If I can make more than that by the end of the summer, I'd be fucking shocked. So, count me in, and I'll fave this thread so I'll see it every time I open the 'net. Thanks for setting this up, Steben.

No prob. And really, I don't think anyone here will judge you if you put up a picture. But even if you don't want to post it publicly, you could take it, and then post it with your after picture at the end

[LuckyXIII]

No prob. And really, I don't think anyone here will judge you if you put up a picture. But even if you don't want to post it publicly, you could take it, and then post it with your after picture at the end

I would have to say I like that plan better.

[Arek the Absolute]

joining
goal and other stuff to be posted soon
requesting extension of game till the end of august or mid sep
my goal is going to be something that is gonna take a bit so i need the extra time

doing a double goal of losing weight/building muscle mass AND getting free running tricks down

[Global-Trance]

Three months is a lot of time. If you need more than three months to have your body make any adaptations you're doing it wrong.

[MechaFone]

Hokay. My first entrance is: jogging for about eight and a half minutes without stopping. That's actually pretty good for me. I had to stop for about ten seconds so the neighbor's dog would stop trying to rip my legs off. Note to self: NEW ROUTE.

[Blue Magic]

This was a great idea.

GOAL:
The only things I want to improve is the way my abs look, my leg strength, and my stamina. Also, I'm sure it would help alot if I can establish some sort of work-out schedule. I tend to go to the gym and just do whatever.

PLAN:
Don't really have an official plan yet, but I do have a few ideas for workouts that I will include in my daily routine. I will try them out and work on making a weekly schedule for my work-outs.

Oh, and Subway...I'll go there more often.

[Arek the Absolute]

Three months is a lot of time. If you need more than three months to have your body make any adaptations you're doing it wrong.

i plan on really boosting up my freerunning

[Vivi22]

Goal: I was 207 lbs. back in October when I was putting on a Spandex unitard and a cape to be Superman for Halloween. I'm 6'2" and at 231 lbs. right now, so I want to lose the 24 lbs. I've gained by the end of the summer at least; anything else is icing on the cake.

The Plan:
Diet

I'll be following the ab diet that Mens Health seems to be all about and has published a few books on. I was following it at the end of last summer straight through the fall and felt great. I fell off the wagon a bit when I was super busy this past semester, but since I actually enjoyed everything I was eating I'm going to start it up again. I'll also be dropping sweets and chips from my diet almost completely. I can go a long time without buying them, but other people were buying them and had them around me the last few months. That shouldn't be a problem now though.

Exercise

I'll be alternating running and biking 6 days a week to start getting my cardio back to where it was. Once I've improved that a bit, I'll switch the running to interval training (alternating a short sprint with a minute or two of jogging). I'll also be continuing to train in Brazilian Jiu Jutsu two days a week, and I'll be getting to the gym two or three days a week as well and doing workout routines with more compound movements as opposed to isolating specific muscles, as well as changing up those workouts frequently. I saw far better results from those kind of workouts last summer than more traditional weight training. I also plan on adding some of the planches and other exercises that GT linked us to on my biking days.

[Nekofrog]

I'm on a college campus and will be working here all summer. The gym is open and is abandoned during the summer so I'll probably be hitting it up every day (or other day).

[Steben]

joining
goal and other stuff to be posted soon
requesting extension of game till the end of august or mid sep
my goal is going to be something that is gonna take a bit so i need the extra time

doing a double goal of losing weight/building muscle mass AND getting free running tricks down

I chose early August since that's when people start gearing up for school. (I have GTA orientation the next Monday, plus band camp that I'll either be participating in or volunteering for.) I'd suggest keeping the same goal, and if you don't make it in three months, you can always keep working at it until you make it... you won't be penalized as far as the game is concerned as long as you keep to your plan and report in on the weekends.

Also, pending the success of the Summer Session, we'll run it again in August. I'll probably do it by "semesters", since as a student that's how my life is organized, so the next one would be from August to the end of the year.

[OA]

GOAL:
gain 7 lbs of muscle by the end of the year, so like 3 lbs by the end of summer seems reasonable.

PLAN:

diet:
add 200 calories per day to current diet

exercise:
Just keep on what i've been doing; i've added the pushups recently and have noticed a good improvement there. I am still able to keep bring the number up, but I assume it'll top off before the summer's over.

gym 3 times a week
squats
rows
cable press
abs
lower back
wrist curl


incremental pushups daily (60, 45, 62, 47, 64, etc).

i'll have a pic as soon as i find a camera

[LuckyXIII]

(I have GTA orientation the next Monday, plus band camp that I'll either be participating in or volunteering for.)

Please forgive my ignorance and going for the cheap laugh, but...Grand Theft Auto orientation?

[Steben]

Please forgive my ignorance and going for the cheap laugh, but...Grand Theft Auto orientation?

Buh-dum-tssh!

Nah, Graduate Teaching Assistant. I've actually never noticed the shared acronym until now. :<

[Global-Trance]

Well today was the start.

Today I started off with a compound exercise to target multiple muscles in one go. I did Iso-Lateral High Rows for a few sets, pyramiding the resistance higher with each set. After about five or so sets, I stopped at 230 lbs (115 lbs. per arm) because I was getting tired. This simple exercise worked out primarily my latissimus dorsi, and secondary upper trapezius, rear deltoids, and biceps. I told myself I wanted to run five miles a day when I started this thing, but I couldn't manage that today since it's been awhile since I started running (not use to it and used up energy on the resistance training) so I only ended up doing four miles instead. I plan on making that up by walking around the neighborhood until I manage to get to my bank to deposit a check instead of driving there. I'll be going off again to the gym Monday through Friday so I'll be working out different parts of the body everyday, but I'll definitely be running each day. Planche progression exercises later today as well.

Edit: I also second the notion that we keep the original end date.

[The Derrit]

I forgot to post this in my first, but just so nobody's wondering where MY first post is, I can only do about half of my planned schedule from now until the 22nd, and then all will be done for the rest of the summer. I'm still in practice for my team until then though, so it will keep me in shape.

[Majin GeoDooD]

Oops.. didn't realize this thread was here. I'll have to start tomorrow with everything, but here we go.

GOAL:

I'm 6'0" and ~235 lbs. I managed to get down to 215 (from 250) a couple year ago and I'd like to get down to 210, hopefully more, but I'm not gonna get ahead of myself. This is my main goal at the moment, but I may add another one once I see how I've progressed.

PLAN:

Diet

When I lost ~35 lbs a couple years ago I didn't really "diet" much, all I did was stop eating fast food and start drinking diet soda, which gives me hopes for losing more weight if I can manage to actually diet a bit. I rarely eat fast food now, maybe 3 times a month, which I will cut to zero now. I already rarely drink soda, and when I do it's only diet soda - I mostly drink water or diet tea - I'll also try to cut down my beer consumption.

As for eating on a regular basis, I don't eat bad but I don't eat great. I tend to buy cheap stuff at the grocery store that isn't the best for me, however now I'll go over my choices and try to find something that will fill me up and be much better. This will be the hardest part for me, much harder than the exercising.

Exercise

I recently got another PS2 adapter for my PC, for my DDR pad. I was decent at DDR a couple years ago but haven't played in ages; I've already played a couple times and I'm seriously out of shape at it. I plan to slowly work up and do this 3-4 times a week for 30 mins to an hour.

At my work we have a little weight room, nothing too fancy in there but we have a shoulder press, leg press, row machine, exercise bike, etc. I haven't been in there in about a year, but I did a routine last year where I went 3 times a week (Tues/Wed/Thurs), which will probably stay my routine this time, with the exception of changing Thursday to Friday.

I'll see what I can do about getting a couple pics up, but they won't be pretty :)

[MechaFone]

Man...some pretty good plans out there. I don't know a lot about working out and dieting, but I have been cooking my own food a lot more, much less eating out and a lot more physical activity, in and out of the house. -=ahem=- Anyway, I've been on a roll today. After my run this morning, I've discovered how much harder I worked. It's been a while since I've been out running last (at least a year) and today I've just felt so energized and happy, it's crazy. If this is how working out really feels, I'm gonna try to run every day just to feel like this, 'cause it makes me feel wonderful. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this through all the way.
My schedule will be changing in about a month, however. School's gonna be out and the custodians will be heading in to work at about 6:30 in the morning. Anyone have any suggestions for the best time to take an evening stroll?

[Arek the Absolute]

changed my mind
summer will be all about muscle gain/body toning/whatever

fall will be where i try to be fancy with the free running
keep the date the way it is

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Went into the gym today, did a bit of tumbling and some cross work on rings. My cross is getting pretty solid, but I still need to work on the maltese and the inverted cross.

Did a bunch of ab work as well (which I really haven't been doing enough lately).

[Arek the Absolute]

i have a challenge for jeremy.
fall you have to work on your free running as well
im gonna be recording my runs and my progress and i challenge you to do the same

[Geoffrey Taucer]

i have a challenge for jeremy.
fall you have to work on your free running as well
im gonna be recording my runs and my progress and i challenge you to do the same

Oh man, I really want to, but I just can't risk getting injured right now. I gotta go real conservative on stuff like that.

Maybe once I've retired (again) from gymnastics competition, I'll take up free running.

[The Derrit]

After my run this morning, I've discovered how much harder I worked. It's been a while since I've been out running last (at least a year) and today I've just felt so energized and happy, it's crazy. If this is how working out really feels, I'm gonna try to run every day just to feel like this, 'cause it makes me feel wonderful.

This truly warms my heart. I'll be pulling for you this summer!

[Global-Trance]

As will I! Don't forget to drink a lot more water though. If you get tired after exercise, it means dehydration.

[MechaFone]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, guys. It really helps to be doing this in a group where everybody's got a set goal. Heh, I'm really starting to feel the muscles I worked yesterday. I'm looking forward to a burning summer :-o

[Global-Trance]

Today, I worked out the core through steep decline full-range sit-ups and leg lifts with some good isometric holds. Afterwards I wanted to run five miles on the treadmill but all the treadmills were taken so instead I did five miles on an elliptical with increasing incline and resistance every ten minutes. I didn't think it was very hard until I got off where I started to feel the burn as I walked away. Yikes. It was fun though and I burned a lot of calories and raised the heart rate for a full hour in the process too.

[Steben]

Dang.

I went to the Student Activities Center today for the first time in a few weeks... amazing how taking even a month or so break from working out can take its toll when you go back.

I did a lot more weight training than I've done before today as well... 3 reps of my usual routine instead of just two as I'd done during the spring semester. It's a pity the school shuts down after graduation this Saturday, and that I'll be at my parent's home anyway, so I'll be taking about another month off of weight training after Friday. Boo.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

So far today:

I did a brief (half an hour or so) upper-body workout. Did muscle-ups, pull-ups, bulgarian dips, planches (straddled), front levers (straddled), planche push-ups (tucked), front lever pull-ups (tucked), hanging toe-touches, and arch-ups. Sprinted back and forth for 60 seconds. Took a break, got lunch (footlong meatball sub from subway w/lettuce and onions), then came back to the gym and spent 45 minutes working flexibility.

I'm getting closer on that left leg split. I may spend some more time working splits later tonight.

Haven't done any ring work yet today; I'll most likely save that for tomorrow.

[Majin GeoDooD]

Guess I'll be the first "overweight" person to post pics:

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/7402/before1cu8.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4482/before2xn7.jpg

Not sure why the second pic came out blurry o.O

Anyway.. I did a DDR workout today for ~45 mins, worked in some songs above my level to stress myself a bit. I think I'm gonna wait a couple weeks before hitting the gym just to get my body back into the swing of things.

[big giant circles]

I love all the bottles behind you :D

[Majin GeoDooD]

I love all the bottles behind you :D

Hehe yea, I got quite a collection going. I don't have enough room on the mantle for everything!

[Vivi22]

Well, other people are posting what they did today, so why not me. I went for about an hour long bike ride today. I would normally go longer, but my ass is still getting reaquainted with riding a bike, and since I never really broke in my new bike properly in the fall. I stopped at a playground as well and did the frogstance and attempted the tuck front lever. I doubt it will be too long before I can move on from the frogstance, but I can't even properly do the tuck front lever. It'll take a while before I work up the strength to pull it off.

This evening I also went to a climbing wall at the University. We got there 20 minutes before closing so that's all the climbing we got in, but it was still a great upper body workout.

On the schedule for tomorrow is a good run during the day, and Brazillian Jiu Jutsu in the evening.

[Patrick Burns]

(goals) (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16036#4)

I took a sleeping pill last night, and I'm gonna do it again tonight.

baby steps

[Geoffrey Taucer]

A good way to work a tucked front lever is to start from an inverted tuck and work your way down. In an inverted tuck, your hips are almost right above your shoulders; when you find the balance point, it takes very little strength at all to hold it there. You can then start lowering your hips towards a tucked front lever. As you get stronger, you can hold the position with your hips lower and lower until they reach the same height as your shoulders -- a true tucked front lever.

[Vivi22]

A good way to work a tucked front lever is to start from an inverted tuck and work your way down. In an inverted tuck, your hips are almost right above your shoulders; when you find the balance point, it takes very little strength at all to hold it there. You can then start lowering your hips towards a tucked front lever. As you get stronger, you can hold the potition with your hips lower and lower until they reach the same height as your shoulders -- a true tucked front lever.

Thanks, I'll try that. I know I can do an inverted tuck, but I hadn't thought about building up to the tucked front lever from that.

[Lord.Roderick.i]

Well, I hope I'm not to late to join.
Actually Monday night I weighted myself and I was 198lbs. I was incredibly happy, you have no idea. I haven't been less than 200lbs since high school.
When I started exercising last year (October 2007) I was 230lbs.
So I think I've come a long way, but I still have 20lbs more to go.
Anyways...


GOAL
I'm 5'11" and 198. My goal is to go down to 175/180lbs. I don't know my body fat percentage, but I know most of my fat is in my belly :P


THE PLAN

Diet:
Ill try to consume less carbs, but not cut it completely as they are very important part of a balanced diet.
No more fast food for me, of course. And ill try to consume 100% of the fiber I should consume in a day, my mother say that it will help my metabolism move faster.

Exercise:
Well, the gym I go to is at the Yatch club of my apartment building (a min away from home) and its really good. We dont really pay for it, because its included in the maintenance fee we pay every month.
The gym has every cardio machine, but the rowing one (which is my favorite). Also has free weights, flat bench and many more I dont know the names of. I also befriended the trainer there so she helps me for free :P
Well... Into the plan... What I usually do is:
I get there, I do 30 heavy (I mean that I go fast, at the rhythm of John '00' Flemming :P) mins of elliptical machine.
And then 30 more mins of free weights, usually flat bench because I love it :P, I also work out my arms, triceps, shoulders, back and lower back.
I try not to do more than 1hr. That why someone recommended me some time ago.
Now... should I do the cardio before or after the weight training?

And again sorry for joining so late, but I do want to participate.
Because I want to be able to go to the beach and just take my shirt off and feel perfectly comfortable with that. Something I've never been able to enjoy. :oops:

PS: Anyone knows any way I can practice rowing in a cheaper way. I have checked prices here in South FL and the are VERY expensive :(

EDIT: Oh yeah, Im going to the gym at least 3 times a week, but I plan to make it at least 5. I also quit smoking and I have been smoke free for 3 weeks :)

[MechaFone]

A good way to work a tucked front lever is to start from an inverted tuck and work your way down. In an inverted tuck, your hips are almost right above your shoulders; when you find the balance point, it takes very little strength at all to hold it there. You can then start lowering your hips towards a tucked front lever. As you get stronger, you can hold the potition with your hips lower and lower until they reach the same height as your shoulders -- a true tucked front lever.
At five in the morning, with less than five hours of sleep, I saw a lot of 'fuck' in that post.
Anyway, there's a good rain going on. I'm goin' for it, though. Wish me luck.

edit: Epic failure. The rain discouraged me. I didn't want to get sick, but I went out anyway. I took the car and dropped it off about a half-mile away from Wal-mart, picked up a couple things there, then walked back and stopped at McDee's for some breakfast burritos. I got in about a mile's worth of walking, AND I countered it with breakfast. No good.

[Vivi22]

Now... should I do the cardio before or after the weight training?

It's never too late to join something like this. I'd definitely recommend you keep doing cardio before weights since it helps to warm up the muscles and prevent injury, and the best workout is an injury free one.

And congratulations on quitting smoking. I'm sure it's not an easy habit to kick, but keep at it.

[The Derrit]

Over the past week, I've had 3ish hours of practice per day, with different workouts each one. One day was 3 X 8 minute pieces, rowing 100% for 45 seconds, off for 15. This gets harder than you'd think, cause even when you get the time off, picking the boat back up to speed with the other 7 guys is a challenge. Also did 4 minute pieces, which is about 2/3rds of a race. I know it sounds short but due to the intensity of the sport, it kicks your ass really fast. Still grindin'.. at the beginning of next week I'll be starting my weight training and static holds, i'm excited!

[Steben]

Well, I hope I'm not to late to join.

Sure aren't. Welcome!

Hey, good job on keeping away from the cancer sticks. Part of your check-ins should include if you smoked or not in the past week... that way, if you're honest, you'll know you can't sneak a smoke without anyone knowing.

Speaking of which, everyone, this day-to-day posting of your exercise is great. 'Keeps the thread alive and everyone involved. I am going to ask, for my own convenience, that on the weekends when I check up on everyone, if you could repost your week's activities (or summarize them) in a single post, so I won't have to jump around the thread trying to find everything.

These check-ins should happen roughly Friday-Sunday, though I'll understand if you need to post early or late depending on, y'know, real life. If you need to miss a check-in, shoot me a PM letting me know what's up so I won't think you went AWOL.

I'll PM everyone on Friday to remind them of all this. It's great to see so much participation!

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Here's a vid of some of my favorite exercises:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT5lSasuWEA

[The Derrit]

Steben, what you could do if you wanted is make a specific thread for weekly checkins, and have this be the general chat thread, for if someone wanted to share their story from a certain day or whatever. Its just a thought but it might make your life easier!

[The Derrit]

PS: Anyone knows any way I can practice rowing in a cheaper way. I have checked prices here in South FL and the are VERY expensive :(

Now don't go crazy on me, but have you considered joining an actual rowing club? I'm a rower myself and while rowing on a machine gets you fit, there's nothing like doing the real thing, and you may be surprised at some of the prices you'll find when joining a club. I don't know about Florida of course, but not only will you get the workout, but you'll learn the proper technique and really be able to get something out of it.

Edit: sorry for doublepost!

[Global-Trance]

Okay today was awesome. I did some peripheral heart action circuit resistance training today (which is just alternating upper and lower extremities in a circuit fashion).

It was a basic basic bench press and squat (both with raw weight) and adding more resistance each set. I did this about 3-4 times. After that I tried some planche hold stuff in the aerobic room and it felt great.

Then I climbed 200 floors via a StairMaster at a slowly but constantly accelerating rate. Without stopping. I've never climbed that many steps in my life. Approx 4.2 miles of stairs. *_*

I'm toast.

[Lord.Roderick.i]

Now don't go crazy on me, but have you considered joining an actual rowing club? I'm a rower myself and while rowing on a machine gets you fit, there's nothing like doing the real thing, and you may be surprised at some of the prices you'll find when joining a club. I don't know about Florida of course, but not only will you get the workout, but you'll learn the proper technique and really be able to get something out of it.
Well, about 8 years ago, I joined a rowing back in my country. And I even made the team, but my parents didn't want me to join because they wanted me to focus on my studies. :(
I loved the sport, but in this country is a lot more expensive.
I just checked prices and is $60/month, I think I can afford it. How is it over there where you live?

[Steben]

Steben, what you could do if you wanted is make a specific thread for weekly checkins, and have this be the general chat thread, for if someone wanted to share their story from a certain day or whatever. Its just a thought but it might make your life easier!

I hadn't thought of that... but I don't think the mods would appreciate us flooding the Competitions forum with a bunch of OCR Fit threads. For now, we'll just do it in this thread, although I might adjust how things are run in the future.

[The Derrit]

Well, about 8 years ago, I joined a rowing back in my country. And I even made the team, but my parents didn't want me to join because they wanted me to focus on my studies. :(
I loved the sport, but in this country is a lot more expensive.
I just checked prices and is $60/month, I think I can afford it. How is it over there where you live?

Its a little less, I happen to be lucky that in my town all the people who row are rediculously rich and donate money so the flat rate isn't as high. Probably around 40/month for me, it changes depending. But yeah, if you've rowed before you know as well as me, it can be awesome, and awesome exercise. Let me know what you decide.

[MechaFone]

Well I've gotten myself into a fine mess. Excercise will have to be postponed (at least for the most part) I have a deep laceration in my right thumb that requires little to no work done in order for it to heal. I can't even get into work until Friday. Wish me luck fellas.

[Lord.Roderick.i]

Its a little less, I happen to be lucky that in my town all the people who row are rediculously rich and donate money so the flat rate isn't as high. Probably around 40/month for me, it changes depending. But yeah, if you've rowed before you know as well as me, it can be awesome, and awesome exercise. Let me know what you decide.
Well, I decided to go tomorrow and check the place out.
Ill talk to the dudes in the and then decide. I'll probably do it.

[Vivi22]

Had a great workout today. I went for a run this afternoon. I'm managing about 3/4 of what I was able to do last year, admittedly at a slightly slower pace, but I'm doing better than when I ran for the first time in a while last week. I think finally putting the effort into eating healthy all day every day is helping my stamina again. I suppose the 25 extra pounds I'm carrying doesn't help either, but still, I'm getting back to where I was.

This evening I also went to Jiu Jutsu. We did about 20 minutes of warm up, 20-30 minutes drilling technique, and then maybe 30 minutes of sparring. We cut class a little short today, but we got in four solid rounds. Jiu Jutsu is easily one of the best strength and muscle endurance workouts I know of. My muscles always feel exhausted at the end of it, since you're pretty much constantly trying to get into a good position against the other guy and get a submission on them which often takes as much strength as it does skill. Even though I was exhausted in the end, I still felt like sparring some more.

As for tomorrow, it'll be bike riding with the planches and levers, then either rock climbing or the gym in the evening. Haven't decided yet.

[Lord.Roderick.i]

Sorry that is off topic, but I had to post this: (Just for you Taucer :P )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRHb8T1WbQ4
Its just very funny :P
And remember to always check ur equipment so that ( 0:33 and 0:40) wont happen to you :P

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Not watching it.

I make a point of never watching gymnastics blooper reels.

[LuckyXIII]

Anyway.. I did a DDR workout today for ~45 mins, worked in some songs above my level to stress myself a bit. I think I'm gonna wait a couple weeks before hitting the gym just to get my body back into the swing of things.

Back in '04 I became a DDR demon and lost ~70 lbs - from 230ish-160ish. I also drastically changed my diet as well, but I was doing...hmm...I was doing it on workout mode and with Maxx2 did the 20 song-in-a-row thing.

My own progress report for this friendly fit competition though:

So far this week I've done weight routines twice - once on Monday, once yesterday. I think I overdid it on Monday as I was still a bit sore yesterday so I toned it down a bit and I think I've found a groove, so to speak.

On Tuesday I started the walk/jog part and did it again yesterday. However, I fear I overdid that as well on Tuesday as yesterday my legs were sore every time I'd go up and down stairs and I wasn't able to maintain a steady jog for any goodly amount of time. So I took today off. Tomorrow I'll go back to the lake and hit the irons. To tell you the truth, I don't know if it's psychological or what, but yesterday and today my pants felt a little looser...

[Lord.Roderick.i]

So I just remembered a new goal that I actually had set for resolution.
To comfortably fit in my new jeans (34 inches to the waist) and to be able to use the new belt I bought from Guess with is also a 34.
So far the jeans fit, but not to comfy. And the belt also fits, but not the way it should :P
I probably need to loose another 2 inches on my waist.

Today at the gym I burnt 470 cals. on the Elliptical machine in 32mins. And yesterday I burnt 450.
My Problem is that after Im done with the cardio I run out of ideas of what to do really quickly so I just hit the flat bench :P
Ill just stick to cardio every day. Im sure thats gonna help a lot, that and a more balance diet should suffice for now, right?

[Random Hajile]

I'm doing pretty well with my pushup and situp routines. Yesterday we played 2 hours of football and ultimate frisbee, it worked out pretty well.

[Steben]

Weekend Check-In

Alright, well, I'll start us off. My graduation is tomorrow, so I won't really have time to check-in later this weekend.

I kept up with a text file all week, so this should be easy...

Typical weight training rep:
- Lat pulldowns, 8 @ 130 lbs.
- leg press, 8 @ 230 lbs.
- row machine, 8 @ 130 lbs.
- calf press, 8 @ 230 lbs.
- chest press, 8 @ 130 lbs.
- lunges, 8/leg
- free weights, 8/arm @ 25 lbs.

Saturday May 3
- 1.5 cups Raisin Bran (dry), 300 calories
- Two ham sandwiches (plain), 250 calories
- Foot long sweet onion teriyaki Subway sub with cheese and sweet onion dressing, 800 calories
- Coors Light, 100 calories
Total: 1450 calories


Sunday May 4
- 2 pieces toast with jam, 150 calories
- Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich, side salad, some honey mustard dressing, and a sheet of chocolate graham crackers, 500+50=550 calories
- Teriyaki salmon over pasta and an apple, 600+110=710 calories
- PBJ sandwich: 350 calories
Total: 1760 calories

- Ran 18 minutes on the track, walked 12


Monday May 5
- 1.5 cups Raisen Bran with 1/2 cup fat free milk, 350 calories
- Banana, 100 calories
- Teriyaki salmon over pasta and an apple, 600+110=710 calories
- Tortilla (100), 1/3 can fat free refried beans (140), 1/3 pound extra lean beef (170), lettuce (negligible), salsa (50), fat-free sour cream (50), 510 calories
- Apple, 110 calories
Total: 1780 calories

- Ran 17 minutes on the track, walked 13


Tuesday May 6
- 2 egg whites (40), 1 egg yolk (60), shredded cheddar cheese (70), 2 pieces toast (100), 270 calories
- banana, 100 calories
- 1/6 can fat free refried beans (70), 1/6 pound extra lean beef (85), lettuce (negligible), salsa (25), fat-free sour cream (25), 205 calories
- 5 carrot sticks, 30 calories
- Foot long sweet onion teriyaki Subway sub with cheese and sweet onion dressing, 740 calories
- banana, 100 calories
- jelly sandwich, 150 calories
Total: 1495 calories

- Eliptical machine, 2 minute warm-up, 10 minutes at 9+ mets, 10 minutes at 8+ mets, 8 minutes at whatever
- Weight training, 3 reps minus 1 set of leg press and chest press.


Wednesday May 7
- 1.5 cups Raisen Bran with 1/2 cup fat free milk, 350 calories
- Banana, 100 calories
- Club sandwich (three meats, three slices bread, cheese, lettuce), 500 calories
- Small bag potato chips, 200 calories
- Dinner + a lot of drinking = LOL calories
Total: 1150 + LOL calories

- Eliptical machine, 2 minute warm-up, 15 minutes at 9+ mets, 13 minutes at 8+ mets, 5 minute cool-down (burned 450 calories)
- Weight training, two reps


Thursday May 8
- 1.5 cups Raisen Bran with 1/2 cup fat free milk, 350 calories
- 2 Tortillas (200), 1/3 can fat free refried beans (140), 1/3 pound extra lean beef (170), lettuce (negligible), fat-free sour cream (50), 560 calories
- Banana, 100 calories
- Healthy Choice frozen dinner, 300 calories
- Apple, 110 calories
- Lean Pocket, 280 calories
- Vanilla Ice cream, 200 calories
Total: 1900 calories

- Eliptical machine, 2 minute warm-up, 18 minutes at 9+ mets, 10 minutes at 8+ mets, 5 minute cool-down
- Weight training, two reps

Highlights

Okay, well. As far as the diet goes, eating less than 2000 calories is a lot easier than suspected. I don't think I ate much more than that normally (probably 2000-2300ish), but I'm aiming for 1700ish daily, at least until some of this fat goes away. I bought some multivitamins, so I shouldn't have to worry about missing out on important nutrients and such. I should point out that I didn't really keep to the plan Wednesday night, but, hey, I'll allow myself a little leeway for my graduation party. :)

As for working out, I'm doing alright. Due to the meyham of graduation, I probably won't make it to the gym or running today or tomorrow, but come Sunday I should be back on track. Until I make my glorious return to Auburn University in June, though, I won't get to go to the gym. I'll concentrate on working on my cardio via lots of running around my neighborhood in Huntsville... or wherever my wanderings take me in the coming weeks.

In short, so far, so good. I definitely had a moment during my weight training the other day where I wanted to wuss out, but then remembered I'd have to fess up to it here, so I pushed through. So yay for this thread.

[Vivi22]

Well, I only really got started on Tuesday, but I'll post my progress and my diet. I'll even include recipes for some of the things I've been eating later. I'm not sure of how many calories are in each thing. It's something I'll probably look into and try to reduce if necessary.

My typical diet is:
Breakfast sandwich
Peanut Butter sandwich and apple for my first snack
Pesto Pizza
Raspberry smoothie in the afternoon
Chicken salad
Small protein shake in the evening occasionally with another apple

My workouts consisted of:
Tuesday May 6
Run in the afternoon. Not sure of the distance, but I was out for about an hour.
Rock Climbing in the evening.

Wednesday May 7
Bike ride with a stop at a playground for the planche and tucked lever in the afternoon.
An hour and a half of Brazillian Jiu Jutsu in the evening.

Thursday May 8
Bike ride in the rain. Since the playground was wet I left out the planche and tucked lever that day.
Gym in the evening for an arm workout:
Bicep curls: 10 reps with 40 lbs., 3 sets
6 chin ups, 2 sets
Preacher curls: 8 reps with 60 lbs., 3 sets
Standing tricep press: 10 reps, 3 sets. Not sure what weight the machine was set to. It wasn't labeled well.
Overhead tricep press: 10 reps with 45lbs., 3 sets

Friday May 9
Did some interval training mixing sprints with jogging. I damn near puked when I got home, but god did it feel good. I was out for about 45 minutes.
I may be going rock climbing again later, but I'm not sure. If not I may head to the playground for an alternative workout. You'd be surprised what you can do on playground equipment.

I'm pleased with myself so far. I've kept to my diet almost religiously. The only little cheat moment I had was having a small hot chocolate on Wednesday at a restaurant. Keeping to working out twice a day is pretty tough but it's incredibly satisfying and feels great when you get used to it. Having to report here certainly keeps me motivated. It's probably the reason I've lost at least 4 lbs. already.

[Majin GeoDooD]

Back in '04 I became a DDR demon and lost ~70 lbs - from 230ish-160ish. I also drastically changed my diet as well, but I was doing...hmm...I was doing it on workout mode and with Maxx2 did the 20 song-in-a-row thing.

That's pretty cool. DDR is definitely a great tool to aid in losing some weight.

As for my check-in, I won't be as detailed as the others:

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I did a DDR workout for ~40 minutes each day. I've also been surprised at how easy it is to eat less than 2000 calories, I didn't keep exact counts but I've probably stayed around an average of 1700 a day. I haven't cheated on any food, and I've had a beer a night (except last night when I had 2), which is definitely less than my usual consumption :).

Next week I'm gonna keep with the DDR and start going to the gym twice a week.

[MechaFone]

Well you guys may remember that on Wednesday I got myself a nice, deep cut in my right arm that incapacitated me for a while. I'm healing, but I haven't really been in good shape to excercise the way I want to. After this weekend is over, I should be back on the road. As I've said, I don't plan to do too much to start off with. I'm hoping to get some good running in and on a good schedule by the end of the summer, so here's hopin'.

[Kenobio]

Welllllll, it's the week before finals, so things have been crazy. I haven't been able to do as much exercising as I'd like lately, but I plan to play basketball tonight. However I've thankfully been keeping up with my pushup/jumping jack/crunches routine, effectively working out in the mornings before heading off to the library to exercise the body's most important muscle: the penis (sorry, I mean the brain). So yeah, for the past week and a half or so I've regularly been doing around 80 pushups a day, and I'm beginning to notice the difference in my physical appearance. My eating habits have been better too, and while I don't have a calorie breakdown of my daily intake I do know that I've been avoiding fast food and eating more things like cereal in the morning, a healthy sandwich or smoothie for lunch, and sometimes a salad for dinner. Although last night our office had a end-of-the-semester party and catered Korean BBQ, which I went crazy on. Mmmmmmm kalbi and meat jun! Anyway, hopefully after finals are done I can set a more regularly set schedule.

Good job everybody!

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I have not been as organized about my strength work as I'd like to be, and haven't done enough of it this week, though I have a (sort of) good reason: I've been spending more time tumbling and vaulting and less on flex/conditioning.

However, I have at the very least done a few straddle planches, a few front levers, and a bit of iron cross work every day (except today: did planches and levers, but my shoulders were too sore for cross work).

I just got an e-mail that my new ring grips have (finally) shipped, so I should be able to spend a lot more time on rings in the comming months (and I'll be able to start putting together a routine).

[The Derrit]

Checkin Time!

So this week, I had finals. Our practice schedule kinda got shuffled around due to that, but we still got in a good 2-3 hours a day. I've also been doing work on the planche, and started the hanging L static hold (which to my pleasant surprise was not a heavily challenging hold). It works perfect on a boat rack :) Dad Vails, the biggest regatta in the country, is this weekend, and I'm in semis tomorrow, so wish me luck! We're going for medals by the end of the day.

Next week I'll be in full swing buildup mode, and then I'll have a big list for you.

[Global-Trance]

I had a big post written about this week but I accidentally closed it so I'm a bit peeved about that. In a nutshell it's been good this week. Muscular stability increased and also my cardiorespiratory system got a nice wake up call. On top of resistance training everyday (except Thursday), a four mile jog/run was made on Monday, five miles on the elliptical on Tuesday, and 200+ floors (approx 4.2 miles) on a StairMaster on Wednesday, all without stopping was a great workout for the heart. Diet is okay, I don't really need to be strict about this as I don't really need to lose weight.

Oh yea a photo check since I didn't post one yet.

http://global-trance.com/check.jpg

Also I'm now a nationally certified personal trainer by the National Academy of Sports Medicine as of last Friday. :)

[The Xyco]

Been out of it for a *little* bit this week, though I still made it to the gym a couple of times. Damn internship business is occupying most of my time.

Finally got back to doing mile-run warm-ups again though. Clocked in at about 6m 15sec yesterday, so I haven't lost too much time.

[Fishy]

Week 1:

I cleverly got dropped off at my friends house instead of the climbing center, and before I realised he'd already left, my dad was gone with the car, so I ran to the sports center, in an unexpected cardiac exercise. Climbed for 3 hours, trying to stay on the wall and moving for as much as I could, I can really feel the burn from it, so I know I'm having an effect.

On the food side, I'm trying to prepare more of my own food, and every time I feel myself wanting to reach for a chocolate bar, I slap my hand and go for an apple instead.

[LuckyXIII]

Weekly Check-In:

Started off alright - as mentioned in a previous post I overdid it a bit in weights and walk/jogging. I took Thursday off of w/j and then unexpectedly took off yesterday as I was called into work a couple hours earlier than anticipated. Therefore, I exercised today - or rather, tonight.

I'm going to chalk this week up to a calibration week. I pulled out the ol' DDR mat and spun up some MAXX action and I think I'm going to make this part of the routine, too. Especially on days it's raining (and so long as the apartment below me remains vacant).

At the end of the first week, weighing in at 201.

[DragonAvenger]

Weekly Check In:
Good and bad.

Good - pulled out my bike and got it set to go. Figured out that, yes, I do remember how to ride a bike.

Ride to work will be 3.25 miles one way. Downhill in the morning (great, won't get sweaty), uphill in the afternoon (not great, will be hot + uphill riding). Overall, it'll be a good workout for me.

Went riding on Sunday, Monday, and today.

Bad - Didn't really walk at all this week on the treadmill, and have had a recent surge in cookie eating. Damn those tasty cookies...

[Lord.Roderick.i]

Well, this is my check in:
I went 4 times this week to the gym.
Doing 30mins of strong cardio fallowed by 30 more minutes of weight training.
On average, I'd burn 450 calories on the cardio.
On the free weights I usually do everything w/ 25lbs dumbells and I can flat bench up to 125lbs counting the bar. I used to be able to do 145 though.
I decided that since I dont have a good set of routines I'll just do 2 exercises for every muscle in the upper body every time I go.

I have 1 question that is not gym related, but I want to know if what Im doing is safe for my body.
You see, I work in a meat department(For Publix :P). So since Im the youngest guy in there, they have me doing the truck at least 3 days a week.
Meet is HEAVY (Average of 50lbs per box). And I like that because I get to lift weight at work too. I always use my legs to pull the boxes up and not my back, so no problem there.
Every now and then i get the real heavy boxes (80 to 100lbs each), so to try my strength, I lift them from the floor all the way up and the over my head, kinda like a dead lift, I think.
So far I've gotten no injuries, so I guess its safe.
Is it?

I got a little picture that will help you understand: (Im not an artist, but I think its pretty good :P)
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g282/smily2012/LiftingBox.jpg

[Penfold]

Just noticed this thread - didn't realize the new one was in the compo thread. Anyway...

Diet is okay, I don't really need to be strict about this as I don't really need to lose weight.

I'm on a relatively strict diet, but it's not because I need to lose weight (already very low body fat %). I do it because I found just how important nutrition is when it comes to training, and given that the STP is exactly 2 months away I really need to step things up to reach my goal (13 hours from Seattle to Portland on bike, including breaks, on day 1). It's funny, because people naturally assume diets are just for losing weight. Monitoring what I eat especially before my CF workout of the day, I find it can become easier to maintain workout intensity (or, at the very least, it won't hinder).

Speaking of WOD, since I'm still working on false grip and trying to figure out the muscle-up, I'm subbing 120 pullups and 120 dips for the prescribed 30 muscle-ups for time. To make it more challenging and to help get stronger for the muscle-up, I'll be doing these all on rings today, and will do as many false-grip PUs as my wrists can take. I'll probably just do a single round of warm-ups today, too, just to get into the workout faster.

Lord.Roderick.i - To answer your question, I don't think it'd be particularly unsafe, so long as you're keeping proper lumbar curve (which you probably are, from what it sounds like). So long as you don't feel like it's unsafe, too, you're probably ok. As an aside, the motion you're doing would probably be closest to a sumo deadlift plus a press, or maybe some sort of akward clean and press (since it's most likely not a snatch motion, which takes it straight off the ground and overhead without a separate press or jerk).

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Just noticed this thread - didn't realize the new one was in the compo thread. Anyway...



I'm on a relatively strict diet, but it's not because I need to lose weight (already very low body fat %). I do it because I found just how important nutrition is when it comes to training, and given that the STP is exactly 2 months away I really need to step things up to reach my goal (13 hours from Seattle to Portland on bike, including breaks, on day 1). It's funny, because people naturally assume diets are just for losing weight. Monitoring what I eat especially before my CF workout of the day, I find it can become easier to maintain workout intensity (or, at the very least, it won't hinder).

Speaking of WOD, since I'm still working on false grip and trying to figure out the muscle-up, I'm subbing 120 pullups and 120 dips for the prescribed 30 muscle-ups for time. To make it more challenging and to help get stronger for the muscle-up, I'll be doing these all on rings today, and will do as many false-grip PUs as my wrists can take. I'll probably just do a single round of warm-ups today, too, just to get into the workout faster.

Best thing to do to work the muscle-up is add a little of the transition to the top of each pull-up and the bottom of each dip.

120 of each? Over how long a period? That sounds like an awful lot if you're doing them all correctly. Keep in mind, you will probably get more out of a low number done correctly than out of a high number achieved with a bit of cheating. This is especially true for something like a pull-up. With a slight swing, I can knock out 40 or so in a row without much difficulty. With correct form and no swing, I don't think I can make it past 15 without stopping.

If you're getting these numbers while keeping good form, then I must say I'm impressed. That's more than I usually do in a single workout.

What I generally try to do is increase the difficulty of the exercise rather than increasing the number of reps. For example, you might try adding ankle weigths, or doing Bulgarian dips (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mKyrPmmPt0) instead of regular dips. As you go down, widen your arms and turn the rings in, and as you go back up, pull the rings back into your sides and turn your palms forward.

Usually, when I can do more than 20 or so reps of a particular exercise in a set (less for some exercises), I look for ways to increase the difficulty of each rep, rather than the number of reps. Right now, there are very few exercises for which I will do more than 50 reps total in a single workout.

[Penfold]

Best thing to do to work the muscle-up is add a little of the transition to the top of each pull-up and the bottom of each dip.

120 of each? Over how long a period? That sounds like an awful lot if you're doing them all correctly. Keep in mind, you will probably get more out of a low number done correctly than out of a high number achieved with a bit of cheating. This is especially true for something like a pull-up. With a slight swing, I can knock out 40 or so in a row without much difficulty. With correct form and no swing, I don't think I can make it past 15 without stopping.

If you're getting these numbers while keeping good form, then I must say I'm impressed. That's more than I usually do in a single workout.

What I generally try to do is increase the difficulty of the exercise rather than increasing the number of reps. For example, you might try adding ankle weigths, or doing Bulgarian dips (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mKyrPmmPt0) instead of regular dips. As you go down, widen your arms and turn the rings in, and as you go back up, pull the rings back into your sides and turn your palms forward.

Usually, when I can do more than 20 or so reps of a particular exercise in a set (less for some exercises), I look for ways to increase the difficulty of each rep, rather than the number of reps. Right now, there are very few exercises for which I will do more than 50 reps total in a single workout.

Breaking them up into sets of 10 or 20, I last did 120 regular pullups and 120 regular dips after my 3-round warm-up in somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes (I don't really take more than a few breathes before each set, though I do rotating sets and the two stations are almost on the opposite sides of the room, which allows me a little more recovery time). After about 80, I have to kip to keep it up without breaking up the pullup sets further, and usually around this point I have to begin breaking up the dip sets a little more too (as it becomes difficult to press to full extension, dip form is also affected...thanks to the kip, I don't experience these problems with the pullups, though it's almost like cheating :P). A lot of CF can be nuts, but in maintaining intensity and sticking through it it's really been beneficial.

Anyway, again I want to say I really appreciate the advice! I've been trying to incorporate the greater range of motion at the top of the pullups and bottom the dips (suprisingly, I feel like I'm doing better at this with dips than pullups...a difference of starting point and finishing point, I guess), and I've definitely been thinking of playing with weighted PUs/dips more (I'm definitely going to be playing with Bulgarian dips later this week).

The reason it's 120 of each today is just because it's the recommended Crossfit substitution for those who can't do the 30 muscle-up workout (today's posted WOD). After digesting your advice a little, what I think I may do is split the difference, so I can first keep training toward the muscle-up but also fulfill the WOD's requirements. So, I'm thinking to start out by splitting into sets of 5 and add extra ROM for as many sets as possible (and moving at a speed to accommodate), after which point I'll try to continue doing the sets of 5 (all on rings still) with regular ROM . As a contingent, it's entirely possible that the stabilizer muscles will give out before reaching my goal of 120 each, at which point I'm just going to switch to bar dips and kipping pullups. I'm not sure how it'll end up going, but it'll certainly be interesting...

EDIT: Done.Took a little over 30 min, and while part of that was ring height adjustment I don't know how much faster it really would have gone if I didn't have to do that.

Started out with false grip pullups, and after the 3rd set, it felt like the skin was going to tear so I switched down to regular grip and went from dead hang (still not doing something right with that). For the most part I did sets of 5, but for reps 20-30, 50-60, 80-90, and 110-120 I attempted sets of 10...failed at 57, 86, and 116 on the pullups and 58, 88, and 113 on dips, so had to drop and start again. Overall, I was somewhat disappointed with my pullups but fairly satisfied with the dips - I kept a good range of motion on dips until that last set (above mentioned failures aside), but I wasn't able to much beyond chin-high even at the beginning. It was somewhat humbling, but a good learning experience.

Definitely going to keep trying to get more range of motion, and start doing more weighted pullups/dips. Btw, Geoffrey Taucer, when you do weighted pullups/dips, do you just generally help the weight with your feet, or you do wear a belt/vest? Never done weight dips, and I've only done two workouts involving weighted pullups, so I'm just trying to find the best way to go about this.

I also neglected to mention earlier that I agree with you, when saying that usually 50 reps of one excercise is enough, and a lot of the metabolic conditioning workouts call for 45-55 reps per excercise in CF. This is one of the rare instances that doesn't follow that general trend, the "usual suspects" being tabatas or max rounds in 20 min-style workouts.

[Global-Trance]

Just noticed this thread - didn't realize the new one was in the compo thread. Anyway...



I'm on a relatively strict diet, but it's not because I need to lose weight (already very low body fat %). I do it because I found just how important nutrition is when it comes to training, and given that the STP is exactly 2 months away I really need to step things up to reach my goal (13 hours from Seattle to Portland on bike, including breaks, on day 1). It's funny, because people naturally assume diets are just for losing weight. Monitoring what I eat especially before my CF workout of the day, I find it can become easier to maintain workout intensity (or, at the very least, it won't hinder).

Well I'm not entirely eating terrible things. I eat just fine for the most part. I don't eat sweets, I don't drink soda, and I don't eat junk food either. I guess I find my diet to be not strict at all because I stay away from stuff I'm not suppose to consume anyways without even thinking about it. I guess I like healthy stuff... though I do have folks feeding me Asian dishes so I don't know about that. I keep it light as possible.

Today:
Lateral rows - 6 sets (3 sets on 2 different types of grips; increased resistance each set)
Reverse barbell curls - 3 sets (20 lbs, 30 lbs, 40 lbs)
Run 5 Miles without stopping
Stretches
Worked on Planche Progressions

So... I'm kinda toast. Good feeling.

[Vivi22]

Well, yesterday I only had time for a small workout. My friend and I did a series of 10 chin ups, 10 dips then walking with our hands across a set of parallel bars, 10 pushups on elite rings, followed by climbing a 12-15 foot rope twice, all with no rest in between the sets. We did that twice and though my biceps and triceps feel fine (I was doing more than that a few months ago so I doubt I'll be too sore until we work back up) my chest and shoulders are certainly feeling the burn, most likely from the pushups with the rings which I've never done before.

Today I didn't really do any work out in particular since I'm using Mondays largely as my rest day, but I did bike to a friends house, and from there we walked downtown to order a power supply to finish building my computer. It was about a two hour round trip, then I biked back home. Still sticking to my diet, though I allowed myself a small bit of candy yesterday. I have to treat myself a little bit afterall. I'm down 6 lbs. in total as of this morning.

[Penfold]

Well I'm not entirely eating terrible things. I eat just fine for the most part. I don't eat sweets, I don't drink soda, and I don't eat junk food either. I guess I find my diet to be not strict at all because I stay away from stuff I'm not suppose to consume anyways without even thinking about it. I guess I like healthy stuff... though I do have folks feeding me Asian dishes so I don't know about that. I keep it light as possible.

Good stuff. Sounds a lot like me usually, though lately I've been more strict in eating very few complex carbs and balancing proteins with carbs (except for this last Saturday...went out for dim sum for a friend's b-day, so it couldn't be helped). I thought I'd just throw that out there in that post, just because it was something that's been coming up for me lately, with people asking why I'm on a diet if I'm not fat :P.

Vivi22 - I saw something about ring pushups last week online, and they sound rather interesting. Next workout I have that calls for pushups, I'm thinking to do ring pushups instead.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Btw, Geoffrey Taucer, when you do weighted pullups/dips, do you just generally help the weight with your feet, or you do wear a belt/vest?

I usually use ankle weights. The heaviest ones I have are 2.5 pounds each; sometimes I'll use two of those on each side.

Ankle weights don't make much of a difference for stuff like dips and pull-ups, but if you ever try planches or levers with wieghts, it makes a HUGE difference. When I'm fresh, I can typically do a planche and a front lever for 25-30 seconds each (both straddled). Last time I tried with 5 pound ankle weights, I couldn't make it past 8 seconds on either one (I might be able to make it to 10 or so now -- been awhile since I tried these with weights -- but I doubt I'd make it much further than that).

Today I did all my conditioning in alternating sets. First off 15 bulgarian dips, immediately followed by 25 modified pull-ups (I often do pull ups with my feet on a mat out in front of me and a bit lower than the bar, so my body is straight and approximately horizontal while I do the pull-up; it means less resistance, but it's also much easier on your hands when you're trying to avoid rips). Then another 10 bulgarian dips, and another 25 modified pull-ups (wide arms on the second set).

After this I did something similar with toe touches on a stall bar and reverse leg raises on pommel horse (lie on your belly on the horse, grabbing the pommels to keep you steady, then kick your legs up behind you in an arch as high as you can go without bending or separating the knees). With both of these exercises, I like to do sets of 5 reps, then a 5 second hold at the top, then another 5 reps, then another 5 second hold, etc. I believe I did 6 sets total of each.

Then I did 20 lunge jumps on each leg, 25 calf raises with my feet turned out, 15 more lunge jumps, and 25 calf raises with my feet turned in.

I did 3 sets of 10 seconds in a strech band assisted cross (finishing each set with a pullout to support), and did a bit of work on malteses and inverted crosses (didn't keep track of time or numbers for those -- I usually just do them until my shoulders get too tired to do them.)

And I finished off with some rotator cuff pulls.

Didn't do much in the way of cardio aside from running alongside my girls to keep up with them while spotting backhandsprings. (With how much I was sweating by the end of the floor rotation, I'd like to think I at least got something of a cardio workout from it)

[Vivi22]

Vivi22 - I saw something about ring pushups last week online, and they sound rather interesting. Next workout I have that calls for pushups, I'm thinking to do ring pushups instead.

Definitely give them a shot. I can hammer out 50 regular pushups in a set if I really want to, but doing them with elite rings really forces your stabilizer muscles to keep you steady and I'm not sure I could do more than 10 or 15 in a set right now. It definitely makes a huge difference.

[Steben]

Okay, thanks everyone who checked in. We still have a few people who are MIA for last week:


Patrick Burns
Random Hajile
Blue Magic
OA


I'll send them a PM if I don't hear from them in the next couple of days. Otherwise I'll have to start an inactive list or something.

Keep up the good work, all!

Personally, I'm struggling with this week. I think I've decided that counting calories isn't feasible while I'm at home... it's a lot harder when you aren't cooking your own food a lot of the time! However, I am making a point of eating healthier... the usual staples of my home visits (Pop Tarts and Pringles and the like) are replaced with some of the healthier choices I've picked up on over the past week. (Fruit, salad, etc.) That and watching portion sizes, and I should be good until I become the master of my own diet again.

Also, no gym means no real weight training. I don't even really have a good place to do pushups and the like, so I'm limiting myself to just running. Which is fine - I need a lot more work there anyway. My neighborhood is pretty nice, and big enough that I can usually mix up the direction I head when I go out running, so it's a lot more interesting than the track in Auburn, or certainly more than an elliptical machine.

[Global-Trance]

Definitely give them a shot. I can hammer out 50 regular pushups in a set if I really want to, but doing them with elite rings really forces your stabilizer muscles to keep you steady and I'm not sure I could do more than 10 or 15 in a set right now. It definitely makes a huge difference.

Are you doing these in a gymnasium? I need me some rings.

[MechaFone]

I've been having a little trouble myself, Steben. Like I said before, I injured my right hand, which limited my activities to nearly null. I got some decent excercise at work, but because of my recent handicap, even that has been limited. I've needed help at work every night or I'd rip my hand open.
On the top side, I went running this morning for the first time since my first run a couple weeks ago. Granted, I didn't get very far (I think I ran for about four minutes total-my record time cut in half. sigh.) But that's something, right? As I've said before, keeping a place like this to record my progress has really helped. Thanks once more, Steben.

[Vivi22]

Are you doing these in a gymnasium? I need me some rings.

My friend bought a pair of these: http://www.ringtraining.com/?gclid=CMjZ2Ji2o5MCFQptswod1RbdoA

Great quality and easy to set up in all kinds of places. We took them to a nearby playground and looped them over the monkey bars.

[Majin GeoDooD]

Well damn.. I was gonna start going to the gym today, which is located at my work just 2 minutes down the road, but nature ruined my plans.

We had about 7" of rain the other day which caused a big sinkhole on the main street just outside of my neighborhood. The sinkhole is in the perfect spot where it takes a long way to go around just to get to the other side. My work is now 15 mins away instead of 2, and with gas prices I can't afford that drive 2-3 times a week right now.

I'll just have to stick to my DDR routine, which right now is working as I've lost approx 6-7 pounds already.

(Pics for those interested - http://www.nbc4.com/slideshow/weather/16239777/detail.html - It's pretty crazy..)

[Vivi22]

Well damn.. I was gonna start going to the gym today, which is located at my work just 2 minutes down the road, but nature ruined my plans.

We had about 7" of rain the other day which caused a big sinkhole on the main street just outside of my neighborhood. The sinkhole is in the perfect spot where it takes a long way to go around just to get to the other side. My work is now 15 mins away instead of 2, and with gas prices I can't afford that drive 2-3 times a week right now.

I'll just have to stick to my DDR routine, which right now is working as I've lost approx 6-7 pounds already.

(Pics for those interested - http://www.nbc4.com/slideshow/weather/16239777/detail.html - It's pretty crazy..)

Maybe there's a reason I'm not aware of, but would you be able to simply run or walk to the gym? I'd think if it's that close a drive that you'd be able to make it in a decent amount of time on foot even while avoiding a sink hole and get a good warm up in the process.

Anyway, that sinkhole is crazy.

[Majin GeoDooD]

Maybe there's a reason I'm not aware of, but would you be able to simply run or walk to the gym? I'd think if it's that close a drive that you'd be able to make it in a decent amount of time on foot even while avoiding a sink hole and get a good warm up in the process.

Anyway, that sinkhole is crazy.

Well normally I would be able to, but right now they've already brought in machinery to start working on it, the whole area is taped off. The sidewalk/street is the only way to go in that direction, unfortunately :/. The sinkhole is really in the worst possible spot, lol.

(Plus, I'd feel real uneasy walking over the little bit of ground left where a sinkhole just occured.)

[Random Hajile]

Here's my check in for last week, sorry I'm late:

Monday - Drank two sodas, ate some salads and some rice with some sort of meat. Played Ultimate Frisbee for two hours. Push ups and situps at night.
Tuesday - About the same, except I had some cocoa puffs for breakfast. <.<
Wednesday - 1 soda, screwed up with wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. Didn't eat the fries. Push ups and situps at night.
Thursday - A big soda, screwed up with Pizza, but didn't have any breakfast.
Friday - Salads balanced with some coffee and some rice with chicken. Played large game of ultimate frisbee followed by football. Next two days were spent studying and recovering from football bruises.
Saturday - I don't remember what I ate tbh.
Sunday - Ate out with BBQ and Hotdogs, had two cups of soda, went on a 3 hour hike in the mountains.



:D

[Global-Trance]

What kind of soda's are you drinking? Carbonated drinks erode your bones by stripping calcium away.

Edit: Thanks Vivi for the link and reminding me to get me some ring training going on!

[The Derrit]

Is there any way to find a pair of less expensive rings? I'd love to own some of my own but $80 is a lot for me.

On a side note, my team all moved into a house for the last part of the season, and there's a sweet bar setup on the staircase that I've been using for L static holds to complement planchework.

[MechaFone]

What kind of soda's are you drinking? Carbonated drinks erode your bones by stripping calcium away.
I did not know that. I knew that drinking soda while trying to lose weight/excercise in general was not a good idea, now I know why. While I'm on the subject, is it the same with diet drinks? I can't even touch regular Pepsi or Coke without Diet on the lable. The taste is just so much crisper and fresh Diet. Is that okay, or do I need to start thinking of something else? What kind of drink and/or soda would be appropriate in my efforts to slim?

[Global-Trance]

Well I mean firstly, carbonated stuff is bad for the bones. The extra sugar in soda is also another bad thing to put on top of it. You're better off with water, juice, or sports drinks (while you're exercising). The occasional soda is okay, but man, pounding several cans of soda frequently at a time just isn't good for you. Caffeine is also a diuretic so you'll have to urinate more frequently which can lead to dehydration.

[Vivi22]

Is there any way to find a pair of less expensive rings? I'd love to own some of my own but $80 is a lot for me.

I seem to remember once seeing a cheaper set of rings out there. I think they were about $50, but I can't seem to find the site right now.

I didn't go for a run or bike ride yesterday, but I went climbing last night for about 45-50 minutes. I spent most of that on the wall, and usually trying climbing paths that were extremely challenging or even impossible for me to do. I'm not that sore today, but my upper body is feeling pretty dead.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I seem to remember once seeing a cheaper set of rings out there. I think they were about $50, but I can't seem to find the site right now.

http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/catalog/


I accomplished one of my goals this morning: to be able to press from a cross to a maltese. I'm starting to put together a rings routine, and here's what I have so far:

-Pull to inverted hang
-Swing down, back uprise to L-cross
-Press to maltese
-Pullout to support
-Press to inverted cross
-Swing down, back uprise to straddle planche

The inverted cross is still not what it could be, but my malteses are feeling great.

I'll be heading back in this afternoon to work on it more.

EDIT:

My goal on rings (not for the end of the summer, but for the national qualifier next April):

-Backward roll to cross
-Press to maltese
-Press to inverted cross
-Swing down, back uprise planche
-Press to inverted cross
-Piked Yamawaki (it's basically a double front flip while holding onto the rings)
-Tucked Yamawaki
-Back uprise to handstand
-Back giant
-Full twisting double layout

The two presses to inverted cross (one from maltese, one from planche) are the things I expect to give me the most trouble. And I'm not sure about the Yamawakis -- I've never really trained that skill before, so I'm still not sure how hard it will be for me to get it

[Katsurugi]

Hey guys,

I guess I should probably make it "official" that I want to get in better shape by sharing it with you all. I am 5'9" and approximately 135 lbs(?) I haven't checked my weight in a while, but that's a rough estimate which should be correct. My problem is that I'm skinny and I've just lost of a lot of muscle mass over the years. I think that my diet is fine how it is. Of course it can be better, but overall, I'm not eating anything that will put me harms way. With the summer coming up and me being stuck at school at the same time, I figure that the gym is way accessible and I should take advantage of that.

GOAL:
bench 90 lbs reps
run 5 miles in an hour
(both to be completed by the end of the summer)

PLAN:
Bench, inclined bench and run just about every other day.
Work on other muscle groups, (abs, back, biceps) in regiment

Currently, I am benching about 55 lbs, 4x12, for both normal and inclined. As for running, I am consistently running 2 miles in about 15 minutes, if not a minute or two longer. Usually, I find that I am too conservative with my weight lifting and don't increase it when I should. It takes a long while for me to feel "comfortable" with a weight. It's not that I can't push more, I'm just afraid of hurting myself.

[Blue Magic]

Well, I'm still hanging in there. I'm working my abs alot harder than before (that bicycle exercise works great), but it still seems like I'm not making enough progress. My abs just hurt all the time and they don't really look any better to me. My girlfriend says she can tell a difference, but I can't.

As for my legs, I think I making really good progress. My thighs are getting much bigger (to the point where I have trouble putting on my boxers).

I just need to work more on cardio and endurance.

[Penfold]

My friend bought a pair of these: http://www.ringtraining.com/?gclid=CMjZ2Ji2o5MCFQptswod1RbdoA

Great quality and easy to set up in all kinds of places. We took them to a nearby playground and looped them over the monkey bars.

Same as I got (again thanks to Geoffrey Taucer for the link). Aren't they awesome? :D

A friend has been wanted an intro to Crossfit for a while, so to accommodate I didn't do a noon workout, but will go right after work. WOD today is single rep max effort deadlift, but given that a 3-rep max deadlift came up within the last week or so(max 275 x3 reps without failure) and that a max effort day is a shitty introduction to what is most often a metcon system, I'll be recycling a WOD from last week - 21, 15, 9 reps 225lb deadlift and ring dips for time. While of course I'll be doing the workout as prescribed, I don't know how this guy does in deadlifts, so I'll be having him take it a little easy (most likely somewhere closer to 135-165). We'll see how the ring dips go, so those may need to be fudged a little as well. If I had more time, I'd also wanna play with some ring pushups, but I gotta get downtown right after the workout's finished for a volunteer training thing for the Seattle International Film Festival (first time voluneering!).

Katsurugi - Just to clarify, when you're counting the bench press weight, is that with or without counting 45-lb bar?

Glad to hear everybody has been doing well so far! Keep it up, guys!

[Global-Trance]

Well, I'm still hanging in there. I'm working my abs alot harder than before (that bicycle exercise works great), but it still seems like I'm not making enough progress. My abs just hurt all the time and they don't really look any better to me. My girlfriend says she can tell a difference, but I can't.

As for my legs, I think I making really good progress. My thighs are getting much bigger (to the point where I have trouble putting on my boxers).

I just need to work more on cardio and endurance.

Abs don't show up unless you trim the waistline.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Had a bit more of a workout in the afternoon/evening. Did a bit more cross work. Also joined my girls for their strength and flexibility work.

[Katsurugi]

Katsurugi - Just to clarify, when you're counting the bench press weight, is that with or without counting 45-lb bar?

Without the bar. I have to use this machine for benches that doesn't have you push an extra weight. I don't like it compared to the traditional bench press. I don't exactly know what I don't like about it yet. There is one on another floor of the basement, but I need someone to spot me and there's hardly anyone at the gym in general when I go... lose/lose situation.

Had a bit more of a workout in the afternoon/evening. Did a bit more cross work. Also joined my girls for their strength and flexibility work.
haha, taucer joined the girls. jk. jk. They would kick my ass in flexibility work. I'm like an old rubber band with the crusty stuff when you stretch it out. :(

[Geoffrey Taucer]

haha, taucer joined the girls. jk. jk. They would kick my ass in flexibility work. I'm like an old rubber band with the crusty stuff when you stretch it out. :(

I think they'd beat a lot of people in strength work, too. At least two of them can do muscle-ups. (one of them did a muscle-up on a bar at a meet a couple years ago; she was trying to do a kip, didn't quite make it, then just did a muscle-up and continued her routine from there. The look on the judge's face was priceless.

[Global-Trance]

A question about getting those training rings... I was wondering if it matters how far apart the rings are? I want to use them on a playground or at my gym but I don't know how wide apart I can get the rings. If they are too close it just seems like they might not be as effective... or does that not matter?

[Random Hajile]

Here's my before picture :D

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y152/XxcastxX/0515080242.jpg

[Geoffrey Taucer]

A question about getting those training rings... I was wondering if it matters how far apart the rings are? I want to use them on a playground or at my gym but I don't know how wide apart I can get the rings. If they are too close it just seems like they might not be as effective... or does that not matter?

I should know what regulation ring width is, but I don't. They may come with instructions.

If not, I'd aim to have them about shoulder width.

[Katsurugi]

No matter how good you are at rings, I doubt any of you will be as good as this guy. Also, best dismount ever. EVER... and I mean it.

http://www.youtube.com/v/2q8KMnWUsvg

[Vivi22]

That was pure awesome.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

No matter how good you are at rings, I doubt any of you will be as good as this guy. Also, best dismount ever. EVER... and I mean it.

http://www.youtube.com/v/2q8KMnWUsvg

Haha, I've seen that. His muscle-up is absolutely beautiful. The Olympic cross (the sideways-turned iron cross) is pretty cool too. It's a shame that's not a recognized skill anymore. And, of course, the dismount was win.

Here's a vid of the guy predicted by most to be the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist on rings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dFfqPeA-gM

[Steben]

Weekly Checkin

Friday May 9
- 2 egg whites (40), 1 egg yolk (60), shredded cheddar cheese (70), 3 pieces toast (150), mushrooms (10), 330 calories
- Banana, 100 calories
- Lean Pocket, 280 calories
- Big graduation celebratory dinner, guessing... 1000 calories?
- fruit bar, 130 calories
Total: 1840 calories


Saturday May 10
- Graduated, didn't keep up with stuff


Sunday May 11
- Couldn't keep up with food.

- Ran 23 minutes, walked at least 15 more.


Monday May 12
- Ran 25 minutes, walked at least 5 more.

Tuesday May 13
- Ran 21 minutes (with a 2 minute break in the middle)

Wednesday May 14
- Ran 23 minutes

Thursday May 15
- Nada

Long story short, not a great week. Being at home with my family is evidently not conducive for my fitness plan... different food's available, I don't have a track or gym to work out at, etc. I haven't bothered counting calories since I got home, but I've been eating less, but more frequently... rather than two or three big meals, I've been trying to do three or four smaller ones per day.

I'll be out of town starting this afternoon, and won't get back until Sunday. I will run on Sunday through Wednesday, and then I'll be back at my college at least until my next check-in, so I can go do some weights and such.

I'm adding a sort of mini goal to my plan... I want to run for half and hour straight by the end of May. That'll give me something to shoot for.

EDIT: I've moved Patrick Burns and OA to an inactive list, since I haven't heard from them since before the last check-in. If you guys are still alive and working on a fitness plan, let me know and I'll move you back to the main list.

[Random Hajile]

Okay, here's my weekly checkin:

Monday - Rice, Salads and Water for most of the day.
Did my push-up situp regimen.

Tuesday - Nothing much done, had two finals that day and slept alot. Don't even remember what I ate.

Wednesday - Went for an early morning run, then slept till my last final.
Splurged on BK and a large drink. Felt bad afterword. My dad wanted fast food and I couldn't resist!

Thursday - Back home and in the groove. Went for a 15 minute early morning jog, followed by an upped fitness regimen. For breakfast, I ate a custom texas egg sandwich and water and milk. Ate some fried calamari for dinner, but drank water and non-sweetened iced-tea with it. Also ate a cheese, chicken and mayo sandwich. I didn't want the mayo, but they couldn't take it off.

Today - Ate some cheerios and milk for breakfast. Not sure what I'm doing for dinner yet. Maybe an omlette?!

[LuckyXIII]

Weekly check-in:

Sunday
Weighed in at 201 lbs. Started a DDR routine - burned 300+ calories.

Monday
Increased daily DDR routine to 400 calories - did 405.
Started old weight routine - switched it up a bit to maximize efficiency.
Did 50 crunches.

Tuesday
DDR knocked off 449 calories.

Wednesday
400 calories exactly
New weight routine - felt a lot better about it this go-round and was able to add FLY's and rows and knocked out 100 crunches.

Thursday
DDR - 416 calories

Friday
Weighed in at 199 lbs - 2 pound weight loss for the week!
DDR - 406 calories
Hit the weights, went through all the exercises, 100 crunches.

My diet has been two eggs, toast and OJ for breakfast. Lunch has been some beef, pita bread and hummus, and salad. Dinner has been chicken sandwiches at work (Barnes & Noble) with those awesome chocolate chunk cookies - I did not have a cookie tonight.

The goal for next week is to up the caloric burning to a 500 minimum on DDR and to increase my max in the weight routine. May add 25-50 crunches to it, too. And going to try going with no sweets until the end of the week.

[The Derrit]

Hey, I'm back for my checkin.

I can't be as specific with my workouts as most of you, because at the time I'm not planning them myself, but I can say I've been having two two hour practices per day up until today this week. I learned much to my surprise they burn rediculous amounts of calories, to the point where I'm considering eating even more than I do now (which is significant). It's going great though, I'm going to post a picture soon of where I am now, and its a bit fudging on before and after, but its something at least :<.

I've also been doing static L holds every day. They're slowly improving, I'm doing sets of 3 for about 15 seconds each at the time. When I get home I'm getting those rings too, can't wait to start on that.

[Majin GeoDooD]

I think I did pretty good this week.. still doin the DDR routine, did it on Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. My routine on Wednesday was a bit shorter (25 mins), so I did an hour today to help make up for that.

I had Quiznos on Wednesday and Thursday, but I incorporated that into what I was eating and doing each day (Thursday I worked; I rarely eat while at work so it kinda balanced out).

On Tuesday I started a crunches/pushup routine. I think I did 100 crunches/10 pushups on Tuesday. I increased the crunches to 150 on Wednesday, but did 100 again yesterday. I can do the crunches fine, it's those damn pushups that get me though..

Hopefully they have that sinkhole fixed soon so I can start hitting the gym, until then I'll just have to kill myself with DDR :)

[LuckyXIII]

DDR effin' rocks. Which version do you have?

[Majin GeoDooD]

DDR effin' rocks. Which version do you have?

Stepmania :P

[Global-Trance]

Okay I'm here for Weekly Check-in. I kinda don't want to re-iterate the stuff I've been doing but here's a quick rundown. All resistance training is numerous sets with usually heavy weight. All runs are 40-50 minutes.

Weekly Check-in

Monday
One Hour Resistance Training
Five Mile Run without Stopping

Tuesday
One Hour Resistance Training
200 Floor Stair Climb (via StairMaster Equipment / Approx 4.6 Miles)

Wednesday
One Hour Resistance Training
Five Mile Run without Stopping

Thursday
One Hour Resistance Training
200 Floor Stair Climb (via StairMaster Equipment / Approx 4.6 Miles)

Friday
Half Hour Resistance Training
Five Mile Run without Stopping or Slowing Down

So I'm feeling pretty proud of myself that I've been hitting long distance runs without stopping immediately after an hour of heavy resistance training. :D

Now all I need is some rings...

[Vivi22]

My diet is the same as before. I haven't been as good with the exercise in the latter part of the week, but I'll be back at it this week for sure.

Monday: Went for a 2 hour walk downtown to order the power supply for my new computer.

Tuesday: Went climbing in the evening for 45 minutes. Tried doing only runs that were extremely challenging to complete, or actually impossible to finish at my current level of strength. I'm a strong guy, but my core strength and strength to body weight are a little lacking.

Wednesday: Went for an hour bike ride to pick up my power supply. Jiu Jutsu in the evening.

Thursday: I had some very sore muscles and joints from Jiu Jutsu so I decided to have a proper rest day.

Friday: Another hour long bike ride.

Today I may not get out for anything as a friend and I may be assembling my computer, but if not I'll try going out for some interval training. So far I've lost about 10 lbs. If I keep going at this rate I may have to set a new goal for the summer.

[LuckyXIII]

Stepmania :P

Hah! That's cool. That's on PC, right? With that, you could conceivably have every single song from every DDR game in one, couldn't you?

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Don't have a day-by-day breakdown; I'll start doing that next week.

I tried a new method of organizing my strength workout; I split up my workout into groups of 2 more-or-less complimentary exercises, then did 2 maxed out sets of each one. For example, dips and pull-ups. I'd do as many bulgarian dips as I could do, then without stopping for a break, as many pull-ups as I could do, then back to dips, then back to pull-ups, maxing out every time. THen I'd go on to the next pair of exercises.

My strength workouts usually last an hour to an hour and a half, but I was more or less dead after 45 minutes of this. It was great. Felt like a got a lot more done in a lot less time.

Also, I put together a rings routine this week. I found that I'm a lot closer to some of my goals than I thought, and a long ways off from others.

What I've been doing up until now is heavy strength once a week, and light stuff every day, but I think I'm going to bump the heavy strength up to twice a week.

Gonna try to stick to a schedule:

Monday: Floor, rings strength
Tuesday: Heavy flexibility
Wednesday: Floor/vault and light ring strength in the morning, heavy general strength in the afternoon
Thursday: Vault in the morning, vault and rings (mainly routines) in the afternoon
Friday: Floor/vault and light ring strength in the morning, whatever I feel like doing in the afternoon
Saturday: Day off. Perhaps some light rings strength, but that's it
Sunday: Heavy strength, both general and rings-specific. Then I'll take a break for lunch and come back for flexibility

[Majin GeoDooD]

Hah! That's cool. That's on PC, right? With that, you could conceivably have every single song from every DDR game in one, couldn't you?

Yup, that's the idea :)

[Steben]

Alright folks, it looks like we're missing quite a few people from this week's check-in. Namely.

Fishy; DragonAvenger; Kenobio; The Xyco; amarriedmegaphone; Blue Magic; Lord.Roderick.i

I'll shoot these guys a PM.

Now that we're about two weeks into the game, and summer's really starting to get underway, I know personally I'm finding it tough to keep up with my fitness plan. But it's more important to keep with it now than ever, because once I make running and working out part of my routine, it'll be a natural thing rather than something I have to make myself do.

I'm hoping that these folks just haven't bothered to check in, rather than trailing off on their fitness plan.

On that note, I'm gonna shoot off the PM and then go for a run.

[Vivi22]

Alright folks, it looks like we're missing quite a few people from this week's check-in. Namely.

Vivi22

Umm, I did check in. It's at the top of the page.

[Steben]

Umm, I did check in. It's at the top of the page.

My bad! Sorry! :tomatoface:

[Fishy]

Did my usual climbing, getting much much better already.

Did a V1 grade at a 35% incline several times. I did a bunch of sit ups when my arms got tired. Equally, I went to see pendulum which was a cardio in itself; An hours walking around london then 3 hours jumping like I had snapping turtles in my underwear. I feel a lot stronger already!

EXERMASIZE!

[Global-Trance]

Worked on the arms today and then did cardio.

Barbell Bicep Curls
12 reps @ 30 lbs, 10 reps @ 50 lbs, 10 reps @ 60 lbs, 5 reps @ 80 lbs.

Barbell Skullcrushers (Triceps)
12 reps @ 30 lbs, 10 reps @ 50 lbs, 10 reps @ 60 lbs, 5 reps @ 80 lbs.

Climbed 200 Floors on the Stairmaster right after.

Edit: Also just bought me some rings. :D :D :D :D :D :D I can't wait to destroy myself with those.

[MechaFone]

Whoops! I've gotten myself into a bit of a random "pattern".
I haven't been running much, more walking, this past week. Need to get back into that pattern...
Saturday I did a lot of walking, I took my family to the zoo and did some walking for four and a half hours, kept out of the sun, etc. I've been getting into drinking more and more water and less soda, though that Saturday I did start the day with two cups of coffee, where I did witness the truth of caffiene (gah, sp?) making you pee more, 'cause I needed to stop at every other exhibit. Still, lots of fun mixed with lots of walking.
I've been working on my stomach muscles more recently, doing 30 sit-ups while watching TV.
I did at least 80 yesterday in the course of an hour and a half, so for me that's not too bad. I plan to pick up my running this week, so I'll keep you all posted.

[Vivi22]

I've been working on my stomach muscles more recently, doing 30 sit-ups while watching TV.

You know, in high school I actually did the same thing and ended up being a crunch machine. It didn't take long before I had worked up to being able to do pretty much any number of crunches without stopping. I think I started with about 50 or so a night in a few sets, and eventually it turned into 500 a night in one set. By that point it's not really helping you though, not to mention that it's incredibly boring. There's a reason I stopped doing those. I whole heartedly support doing some exercises while watching TV though. It's a great way to keep yourself distracted from things like fatigue or boredom that can sometimes set in, while staying active during your favourite shows.

[Katsurugi]

Conditions have somewhat interrupted my flow. Mainly, I've had to move from my one dorm to another one over the past two days. It's not like I haven't done anything though. The heavy lifting should count for something. But I didn't do anything that really isolated any one muscle group. On Friday, I tried to do a handstand and I failed. I should have figured that someone who couldn't bench to much couldn't do a handstand... and well... there you have it.

Today, I found out the gym closes at 7 PM during summer hours. I got there at 7:30 PM. Anyway, I guess that serves me right for going into New York City and getting a haircut. (But I needed one as I'm going to a rather formal event next weekend...) I am adjusting my schedule for the summer and definitely will be going tomorrow.

Also, I'd like to bring up an issue. This just might be exhaustion. But I went running for two days in a row last week. On the third day, I was very winded after running only one mile. Does this happen to you guys too? I stretched and everything and I felt all right. It just felt like I hit a wall very hard... a lot harder than usual.

[Global-Trance]

If you don't do cardio much, you just might need a bit more rest. I find that the body can adapt to cardio-respiratory training the fastest. Just keep at it and you'll be fine. As for handstands... they aren't easy... and they're more about shoulders, back, and core... not chest.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

What's giving you trouble with the handstand? Is it strength or balance?

A good way to work handstands without a spotter is to start by doing it against a wall. Stand with your back to the wall, put your hands on the floor in front of you, and walk your feet up the wall. As you walk your feet up, you can walk your hands in a bit closer to the wall until eventually you're in a handstand with your belly against the wall. One thing I like about this is that in order to get your hands really close and hit a full handstand, you are forced to hit the proper shoulder extension, something many athletes (including far too many gymnasts) don't do all that well.

The other thing is just practice. Having a spotter sometimes helps. But handstands really take awhile to get a feel for (for most people).

The trick (to the extent there is a trick) is to stay tight and straight and use your wrists and hands to adjust the balance; if you start to fall forward, push down with your fingertips. If you start to fall backwards, push down with the heel of your hand. As your shoulders get stronger, you can also use them to control the balance. Technically, correct technique is to do as little as possible with the shoulders (aside from keeping them tight and extended), but if you don't plan on competing as a gymnast, I don't see how it will really matter. Heck, your shoulders will probably get a better workout from it if you're using them to adjust your balance as well.

It may take months (or even a year) to get it to the point where you can really hold it, but when you hit that tight position and find the balance point, it just feels so damn good it's worth all the trouble.

EDIT: Did a bit of vault, and a bit of strength today, but not as much of either as I would have liked to. My shoulders were completely dead today: couldn't do crosswork at all. I did, however, manage to hold a straight-body, legs-together planche for 15 seconds, a personal record for that skill.

Also worked a bit on building anaerobic endurance; I had one of my girls time me for 70 seconds of short sprints, punch fronts, and press handstands without stopping. (I chose 70 seconds because that's the upper limit on the length of a floor routine).

Tomorrow's a flexibility day, but on wednesday I'm gonna see if I can get in some more tumbling, since I really haven't been doing that enough lately.

[DragonAvenger]

Week 2 check in:
Done a little more walking, and some more biking, which I'm proud of. I'm trying to cut back on snacking, also, but not putting in a real effort to it.

Found out that I most likely will NOT have the job over the summer that I was going to bike to and from, which means the time I spent pulling out the bike was partially wasted (including buying a new helmet). I will continue to bike, however. Or at least try to.

I have the urge to pull out DDR and get good at it. LOL

[Global-Trance]

Light snacking is healthy for you assuming you are exercising. More meals at smaller portions is where it's at.

[LuckyXIII]

I have the urge to pull out DDR and get good at it. LOL

DDR is where it's at!

[Katsurugi]

With the handstand, I'm thinking it now balance. It seems strength isn't too much of a problem. But I'm always wary of stuff that requires my wrist since I have a good feeling that my right wrist never quite fully recovered when I sprained it. Anyway, I will try it at the gym rather than home/dorm where the ground is hard and unforgiving. ;_;

As for DDR, I've been itching for a game or two. Terra - Doll is a great song to play on heavy.

[DragonAvenger]

Light snacking is healthy for you assuming you are exercising. More meals at smaller portions is where it's at.


Absolutely it is, but notice wordage. I'm doing too much snacking, so I'm trying to cut back. Also, most snacking I'm doing is whatever comes out of he cabinet(Chips, cookies). The bad stuff. Just trying to curb it a little.

[Steben]

GEEZ

Running in this 90-degree weather is killer.

That is all.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Focused on flexibility today. Did four sets of a minute in each split, three different types of shoulder stretch, pike stretch, and straddle pancake.

Didn't do any strength work.

[Mechasonic4ever]

Yeah ill go in on it too.

GOAL
I'm 5'10" and 185. My goal is somewhat of a different fitness track then the others here. My goal relates to the activities that i normally do: fencing, renaissance swordsmanship (for my show job at the ren fest), and biking. My goals for fencing would be the following three:

- Sucessfully complete a bout with using at least 10 successful techniques
- Learn how to effectively use the 2 and 3 parry
- Improve Lunging distance

My goals for the renaissance swordsmanship would be:

- Being able to effectively use a 30ish lb bastard sword
- Work on the speed of attacks

And Biking would be to just bike for about 1-2 hours every day.



Exercise:

For the Fencing parts my exercises are basically to practice the techniques against a dummy target for about 1 hour... and then do some endurance exercises (if any of you have any tips for that please message me!). For the Lunging distance I plan on doing some simple stretches to improve my horrible flexibility.

For the Renaissance swordsmanship, i would again work on the endurance exercises as well and basic resistance exercises (need to be able to do a 45 min skit 5 times a day at the same progress). Also some sparring with a person or a dummy target would improve the overall handling of the sword.

So thats about what i would do for my goals... If any of you have any resistance, endurance or other exercises that would help me obtain these goals i would really appreciate them! Thanks!

[DragonAvenger]

Since a couple people responded to my DDR comment, I'm thinking that I'm personnally going to make Monday into DDR Day. I encourage everyone to do the same.

Maybe throwing in fun 'events' would make us feel more connected in this?

[Steben]

Welcome, Mechasonic4ever! Be sure you check in on the weekends with how your plan is going!

DragonAvenger, I wish I still had my old DDR pads. Unfortunately, I'm on the third floor of my apartment, so my downstairs neighbors wouldn't appreciate me stomping out Sakura on Heavy above their heads. :(

[Global-Trance]

Awesome. Welcome newcomer!

Hey Steben, how much are you running these days?

[Steben]

Awesome. Welcome newcomer!

Hey Steben, how much are you running these days?

Not enough! Heh.

At my last check-in, I was running between 20-25 minutes a day, plus some warm-up and cool-down walking/jogging. This week's been disappointing, however. I couldn't run between Friday and Sunday due to working for the BSA at a leadership training camp, so I kind of slacked off until Monday.

Actually, funny story, I was 16 minutes or so into my run on Monday, when I got a call from my roommate on my cell, which I probably shouldn't have answered. But I did, and he told me that our apartment was robbed in Auburn. Whoops! So I didn't finish that run, although I did jog a bit once I was done calling various people to take care of business, to get back to my house faster. I drove back to AU that night.

Today I only got about 14 minutes in until I called it a day... running in the early afternoon was a poor choice in timing, in Alabama's signature early-summer 90-degree humid weather. I'll try and get out earlier or later tomorrow.

Anyway, I don't run very fast, but for me, who's never done organized sports or anything, going a mile or two straight without breaking is actually a Huge Improvement. Four years ago, when working on my Personal Fitness merit badge for the Boy Scouts (required for the highest rank of Eagle), I definitely couldn't complete much more than half a mile without having to stop and walk for a bit. So in that context, it's not bad.

Nonetheless, I set a goal in my last checkin (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showpost.php?p=408244&postcount=123) to try and work up to half an hour of running by the end of the month, so I've got some work to do over the next ten days.

[Lord.Roderick.i]

Check in week 2:
I havent been going to the gym much mainly because of the crazy schedule I had at work last week, I only went twice.
Hopefully I'll get a better schedule this week.... which I doubt because the new kid just got himself fired yesterday, so I'll have to cover many days that he worked.
I really want to loose weight though, so I'll keep going.

[Steben]

Nonetheless, I set a goal in my last checkin (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showpost.php?p=408244&postcount=123) to try and work up to half an hour of running by the end of the month, so I've got some work to do over the next ten days.

Well, I ran 30 minutes today!

Um. Well, I ran for 16 minutes, 7 minutes, and for 7 minutes again, with walking breathers in between. I'm gonna work up to doing it all straight over the next week. Wish me luck!

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Did a bit of tumbling and trampoline in the morning. Also did 6 or 7 reps of a ring strength set in a dream machine; back lever, roll up to cross, press to maltese, press to invert, lower back to maltese, lower to back lever and repeat. (A ring machine is a set of rings connected through a pulley to a spotting belt, so you're essentially doing each exercise with 50% of your full weight.

In the afternoon, did an hour or so of tumbling. Worked on double fronts, arabian doubles, and Thomases (a Thomas is 1.5 flips backwards with 1.5 twists -- it lands in a dive roll). These are the three highest difficulty skills in my routine (the other passes are all sequences of lower-difficulty elements -- which I'll hopefully be working on on friday). Landed all three on floor, the first time I've done all thre ein the same workout in several months.

Did some minimal strength work; 10 muscle-ups, one 10-second stretch band assisted cross, and some rotator cuff pulls.

[The Derrit]

Check in week 2:
I havent been going to the gym much mainly because of the crazy schedule I had at work last week, I only went twice.
Hopefully I'll get a better schedule this week.... which I doubt because the new kid just got himself fired yesterday, so I'll have to cover many days that he worked.
I really want to loose weight though, so I'll keep going.

Did you ever decide to go row with a club or not? not to push you either way but i was curious if you followed through.

[Global-Trance]

Wednesday
25 Sit-ups on Steep Incline
25 "L-Sit"esque Leg Lifts
25 Sit-ups on Steep Incline
25 "L-Sit"esque Leg Lifts
Then only climbed 167 floors on the StairMaster

Thursday
25 reps incline bench press @ bar weight
12 reps incline bench press @ 95 lbs.
10 reps incline bench press @ 135 lbs.
8 reps incline bench press @ 135 lbs.
(Surprised this is much harder than the flat bench press I guess since this uses shoulders more and my shoulders are not as developed)
Climbed 34 floors on the StairMaster (to make up for falling short of 200 Floors on Wednesday)
15 reps machine shoulder press (side grip) @ 30 lbs.
10 reps machine shoulder press (side grip) @ 40 lbs.
8 reps machine shoulder press (side grip) @ 50 lbs.
15 reps machine shoulder press (front grip) @ 30 lbs.
10 reps machine shoulder press (front grip) @ 40 lbs.
8 reps machine shoulder press (front grip) @ 50 lbs.
Then ran 5 miles at a faster pace than usual. Completed in about 45 minutes with no slowdowns or breaks.
Cooldown with slow walking for about 5 minutes.

Woooooo

[Penfold]

So, the friend I intro'd to Crossfit last week has now done 4 CF workouts. Been brutal, but he's been very good about maintaining workout intensity despite fatigue (and despite not working out for months, apparently). So far had him do a workout scaled to 21-15-9 135-lb deadlift and pushups, next squat/pushup/situp tabatas (8 rounds each) with a couple minute break and 25 box jumps, then 5 rounds of 15 wallballs and 15 burpees, and finally 5 rounds of 500 meter sprints with exactly 2 minute break inbetween rounds. Each of these workouts were spaced every other day, and chose these specific workouts because the movements weren't too complex (not going to start someone right off with snatches :P). Got another buddy who does the usual gym junkie stuff to join in on the wallballs/burpees workout, and while unsuprisingly it kicked his ass, I was able to help keep him motivated to finish it.

Anyway, I've been following the WOD posting as per usual, and Monday and Tuesday were ridiculous. Monday (as always, after usual warmups) was 75 pushups, 50 95-lb sumo deadlift high pulls, 50 ring dips, 30 45-lb weighted pullups, and 25 handstand pushups. Never done that many SDLHPs with that weight before, so while I still got through them in short order it really tired out my biceps and shoulders. I also fatigued on ring dips faster that usual, only belting out 20 in a row before I dropped down, and then only sets of 10 with about 5 breaths in between to finish. Anyway, coming up to the weighted pullups, I only did 30 lbs and even then I had to partition way more than I was happy with. Started with them on rings, but after 10 total I decided to just do them on the bar. I had only done handstand pushups one time before, and did them against a wall. Was only able to do 3-5 at a time before having to drop down and start over, but was still happy I did them. Took me just over 30 minutes to do, most of that time being on weighted PUs and handstand pushups.

Tuesday was 3 rounds: 1k row and 25 burpees; 750m row and 50 burpees, and; 500m row and 75 burpees. Because I didn't feel doing burpees in a crowd of cardio machines, I followed the official substition of 1 sumo deadlift high pull per 10m row (doing 100, 75, and 50 SDLHPs respectively). I've gotta say, that was more strenuous than rowing, and found it pretty enjoyable. I had done 90 burpees the night before (when I was training the two friends, as written above...I can't just sit there and coach and not join in! :P), so just getting through the first 25 was tough, but didn't break up the set. The other two, though, I broke up after 10 or 15 reps. Anyway, it was great...totally flat on my back after, which took me approx. 25 minutes.

Today was one of the only two max effort WODs I particularly enjoy - 5 rounds of 3-rep max deadlift (touch and go on floor) and handstand pushups. I may not have pushed myself enough with the DLs, doing 235, 245, 245, 265, and 265. Handstand pushups were better today, and ended up doing 8, 8, 8, 7, and 6 (all against a wall). Tried to get forehead to ground on each rep, though I know several times I didn't go down quite that far. I'm looking forward to getting stronger and whatnot so I can do them without needing the wall. Anyway, finished off with 20 ring pushups (first time with those, and I liked them).

Since I haven't gotten a decent training ride in for a week, I'll be taking tomorrow off and going for a good 5-hour ride. Weather permitting, I'll also be taking another 5-hour ride on Sunday afternoon.

[Global-Trance]

I hate burpees lol... but you got me interested in SDLHP's again. I haven't been doing those lately.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Went in for a vault workout this morning. Spent the entire morning working on a double-twisting tsukahara, a new vault for me (I'll see if I can post a video tomorrow)

Didn't do much of anything else today; my wrist which has been hurting a little bit for months has gotten a LOT worse in the past few days. I'm going to get x-rays tomorrow.

[MechaFone]

Geez. Hearing about all this successful excercizing makes me feel lousy. I don't think I've done a thing this week, even though I wake myself up at six every morning. I can't stay awake and the only movements I've been through is work. 'Course, lifting 50 pounds or more of garbage several times a day might do something for me, it's just not enough.
I'm pretty downhearted, but I'm still going. My summer schedule is starting on Tuesday, so I'll be lifting desks up onto my shoulders every day for about three weeks straight. Should be some pretty good strength training, at least. Wish me luck, guys, I really need it.

[Vivi22]

Geez. Hearing about all this successful excercizing makes me feel lousy. I don't think I've done a thing this week, even though I wake myself up at six every morning. I can't stay awake and the only movements I've been through is work. 'Course, lifting 50 pounds or more of garbage several times a day might do something for me, it's just not enough.
I'm pretty downhearted, but I'm still going. My summer schedule is starting on Tuesday, so I'll be lifting desks up onto my shoulders every day for about three weeks straight. Should be some pretty good strength training, at least. Wish me luck, guys, I really need it.

Try not to feel too bad about not working out enough. I've been busy since the weekend and have only really gotten in two good workouts since last Friday. Part of my problem was not having time, but I've also had trouble getting into a regular schedule with everything. I'm kind of all over the place. Oh well, I'll be getting back on track now since things are letting up.

[Steben]

'Ran for 20 minutes, walked for a bit, and then ran for 10 minutes. It's not as good as my 25-minute run on the 12th, but I stopped before I needed to in order to catch a breath before finishing out the full half-hour.

I'm feeling good on reaching my half-hour goal by the end of the month.

Oh snap, it's the weekend. I'll have to add my check-in shortly.

[Steben]

Week 3 Check-in:

Monday May 19
- Ran 16ish minutes, until my roommate called and informed me that my apartment in Auburn was robbed. That, uh, was distracting, so I didn't finish.

Tuesday May 20
- Ran 14 minutes at 3pm, in the heat of the day. Gonna try and avoid that.

Wednesday May 21
- Ran 30 minutes, walking for a bit after 16 and 23 minutes

Friday May 23
- Ran 30 minutes, walking for a bit after 20 minutes

A pretty lame week, overall. Of course, I lost a weekend due to obligations working for a National Youth Leadership Training (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Youth_Leadership_Training) camp, but there was no excuse for skipping Thursday.

As for food, I'm still eating better, and a little less, but I'm not counting calories explicitly. Not sure if I want to go back to that... honestly, it's a huge pain, but I know I ate less when I had a solid number in my head that I knew I had to keep low.

I think I'm gonna go out and buy a scale... I'm curious to see how my weight's changed over the past few weeks.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Definitely not a good day today.

I did not get jack shit done today. 6 or 7 handstand pusho-ups on parallel bars, one 10-second stretch band-assisted cross, and that's it. My wrist was hurting too much for me to do any more. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get it looked at until monday, so it may be several until I can fully dive back into training again.

Also, I caved in to my cravings and bought to packages of Oreos, despite the fact that I'm trying to limit myself to one package a month.

I guess I can still do some core work, endurance, and flexibility, but I think it's pretty likely I won't be able to do any hardcore upper-body strength until I get this wrist thing figured out. And the hard core upper-body strength is the fun stuff :(

(Admittedly, though, I could use more work on core strength, flexibility, and endurance, so perhaps this is a good thing)

[Global-Trance]

Friday

Arnold Shoulder Presses: 12 reps @ 20 lbs per arm
Lateral Raises: 12 reps @ 20 lbs per arm
Front Raises: 12 reps @ 20 lbs per arm
Iso Lateral High Rows: 20 reps @ 90 lbs, 12 reps @ 140 lbs, 10 reps @ 180 lbs, 8 reps @ 230 lbs, 10 reps @ 180 lbs
Bent Over Lateral Raises: 12 reps @ 10 lbs per arm

Many planche hold attempts.

Climbed ~225 Floors on the StairMaster.

I have been here updating everyday so I don't think I need to write an elaborate check-up. Everything is going well and I can see a lot of trimming up happening already and my running and all that has improved a lot so far. I hope I can keep up this 5 miles / 200 floors thing everyday after resistance training. It's really tiring!

[Fishy]

REPORT:

Sweet Jebuz! My strength is increasing exponentially with each session, and its scaring the fudge out of me.

I went climbing on tuesday, I was struggling to lift off the ground on a particularly hard V1 climb, while my friends insist that it was probably too hard. Towards the end of Friday's session, I thought I'd give it a whirl for a laugh, and not only did I make the first move, I got to the second last hold.
As if that didn't mess with my brain, I spent about half an hour checking out some moves on the 35% overhang wall, and ended up climbing a V2 on the thing. This shouldn't happen!

When I started climbing for the first time, it took me about a year to get from V0 to V2, and I just did it in 3 freaking days. wtf!?

My arms were so pumped, that just after doing the V2, I physically couldn't twist my forearm. I also woke up this morning barely able to move or sit up, which is awesome. I love intense climbing sessions, you're so satisfyingly fucked up after a good one!

[MechaFone]

Weekly check-in!
Okay, like I stated before, I haven't been doing all that great. However, I just got back from a fifteen minute speed-walk. I think I'll be concentrating more on that for now, it's a much more realistic goal for me: to prepare myself over the summer to start running.
I'm thinking that if this thread remains open even after the summer, I'd still participate. Sharing my fitness goals with you guys has been a pleasure and a useful experience. So, here's to speed-walking for at least 20 minutes by July.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Check-in: this started off as a pretty good week, but my wrist, which has been bothering me slightly for months, has suddenly gotten much much worse, and prevented me from getting much done from thursday on. I'll be getting it looked at on monday.

[Mechasonic4ever]

Check in: Yeah I've been doing basic things for now... some weight training so i can lift the broadsword with more ease. Did many hours of stretching to increase lunging distance. I was using the broadsword and working on basic parries and such with a sparring partner. It was rough for the first few hours but got progressively easier as the day went on. Got some bad scrapes so im out of it today but tomorrow ill do the fencing techniques and work on those... Well thats about all for this time...
(Also i like the DDR idea and probably will start doing that lol)

[Majin GeoDooD]

My week was still the same as before, DDR 2-3 a week times during the day and 100 crunches before I go to bed. According to the scale I've already lost 9-10 lbs, so I'm not doing too bad.

I don't usually get to do DDR on the weekends but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna do a session tonight before the hockey game.

[LuckyXIII]

CHECK IN

At the end of this week - weighing in at 195! A six lb. loss since I started two weeks ago, and only this past week was the first one to really have a routine.

I'm doing 500+ calories burnt a day on DDR MAXX2. I stayed with the same weight for the weight training I'm doing, but after feeling really good with it today, I think I will bump the max up five or ten pounds.

Overall, my energy level is going up, I just need to guard my rest.

This club was a great idea!

[Random Hajile]

Weekly Check In:

I was a little lax this week, I missed two days of running, but It was because I was in negotiations for my new car and I was too excited to think about stuff. But I'm losing weight and becoming a lot more toned. I'm starting to get very excited! Time to kick it up a notch!

[The Derrit]

Weekly checkin:

I had practice all this week as i had, and between yesterday and today, my novice crew and i raced our way to a 2nd place finish in the ACRA national championship. Should've won but that's neither here nor there. This coming week is the beginning of my scheduled training so i'll be letting you guys know all about that in more detail then.

[Steben]

Ha! I ran for 30 minutes straight today, so I made my goal. Now I gotta decide if I want to work towards running longer, or running faster.

[Blake]

Three days I've gone with about a 500 calorie deficit. I feel awesome, on the way to shedding my freshman fifteen (slowly but surely). I went to a movie last night, really sad that I couldn't have popcorn. But afterward I was really thankful that I didn't have a 1650 calorie bucket of grease and salt, stomach wise, energy wise, and mentally. I have this horrible obsession with movie popcorn, but I guess my abstaining from popcorn is a testament to my commitment to getting rid of the flab. Oh and I love five dollar foot longs.

[The Dennis]

HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!

Nah, actually I've been here since the last thread, I just don't come to these forums often at all.

So, I was at 258 when we started, and I'm at 255 now. Not the biggest weight loss ever, but I had a full-time job on my feet and severe sleeping problems that kept me from doing much more than watching my diet.

Let's just say I've cut the excess stress out of my life recently, and will be happily joining you all this summer!!

My -goal-? Let's go for 230 or less, and a 7:00 mile or less. This is NOTHING for most of you, but it's all about personal achievement, yes?

This is the part where I wanna go all 'Bob had bitch tits' and make this feel like a support group. I'm glad I'm here, though.

[Global-Trance]

Yea, the only person we are trying to beat here is ourselves.

[Vivi22]

Weekend update a day late:

This past week sucked for exercise. Diet stayed about the same except for Saturday. Didn't get any exercise in Monday and Tuesday though.

Wednesday I did a workout at the playground. It consisted of chinups to failure, one armed rows (using a bar that's about 2.5 feet off the ground give or take), followed by 5 dips on parallel bars then walking to the other side on my hands and doing 5 more. In between each set I would jog half way down the soccer field that's there and then sprint back for the next set. After all of those sets I did a set of 5 sprints up a small hill. Did that all twice with a small rest in between then finished off with some sets of chinups rows and dips without the sprinting.

Thursday I went climbing again. Friday I biked downtown to pick up my comic books, then to my fiances and then back. Spent about two hours on the bike through all that. I even got caught in a bit of a downpour on the way home. Pretty sure everyone driving past me thought I was insane, but I love biking in the rain.

No exercise Saturday since I was too busy all day. I also let the diet slide since it was my sister's birthday. Cheated big time with some pizza, cake, and irish car bombs but was back on the diet track yesterday (though I didn't work out on Sunday either).

[Global-Trance]

Today I woke up with a somewhat irritated throat and just plain all around gross feeling. I'm taking this as a sign to rest for an extra day. Probably will do push-ups and sit-ups and other basic stuff later on though.

[Steben]

Okay, we're missing DragonAvenger and Lord.Roderick.i from this past weekend... you guys should let us know you're still alive and participating asap.

Three days I've gone with about a 500 calorie deficit. I feel awesome, on the way to shedding my freshman fifteen (slowly but surely). I went to a movie last night, really sad that I couldn't have popcorn. But afterward I was really thankful that I didn't have a 1650 calorie bucket of grease and salt, stomach wise, energy wise, and mentally. I have this horrible obsession with movie popcorn, but I guess my abstaining from popcorn is a testament to my commitment to getting rid of the flab. Oh and I love five dollar foot longs.

Five Dollar Foot Longs are a gift from God. Two meals pretty much, for $2.50 each.

Do you want to join the game, Blake? I don't think you've posted here before.

--

Anyway, I wanted to try and see if I could repeat my performance from yesterday, running 30 minutes straight. However, we ended up visiting family for Memorial Day, and I spent the afternoon swimming and playing with my younger cousins, and now it's raining outside, so I'm gonna have to wait until tomorrow. Swimming today reminded me how much I like it, though... I should start going to the pool at my school when I get back into town.

[The Xyco]

Hey, I promise I am still alive and into this. Sorry for not updating for the past couple of weeks.

Just got moved into Washington a couple of days ago. I've pretty much figured out that it'll exceptionally easy not to pack on any weight this summer, especially when I don't have a car and my daily commute will involve walking at least 2-3 miles up and down the national mall.

Add to that, my living quarters come with a downstairs exercise bike and bench equipment. It's shanty at best, but it's convenient.

Still in search of a gym to join here. Anyone know any good health clubs/ gyms to join in the Capitol Hill district? Let me know.

[DragonAvenger]

Bah, I never post on time.

Week was alright, though I wasn't very motivated. I managed to walk the days I planned, but cold weather prevented biking. This week's looking better.

Bought a $5 pedometer. Not sure how effective it really is, but I plan to use it to see about how much I'm walking a day.

I also managed to pull out DDR today, and man do I suck. Like B-C on easy. :( No footly coordination whatsoever.

[Steben]

Hey, I promise I am still alive and into this. Sorry for not updating for the past couple of weeks.

Hey, good to hear from you. I moved you back to the active participants, but you should let us know how you've been sticking with your plan over the past couple weeks when you get a chance. You aren't disqualified if you haven't done anything, but you should let us know.

In general, guys, if you're gonna be out of touch for a while, give me a heads up and I won't move you from the active to inactive list if you don't post within a week. Sending me a message via PM ensures that I will see it.

Also, thanks for checking in DragonAvenger.

[Katsurugi]

The worst of all of my summer plans is now over. I am relieved to say that I can now begin to go to the gym and exercise on a more regular basis (hopefully 4 times a week). This weekend was a mixed bag involving activity and diet. I went to my cousin's wedding in Chicago. I did eat a lot of Subway and walked around Millenium Park a lot. But at night, I also seemed to eat more junk food and snacked more often than I normally do. Either which way, I didn't get to fit in my normal exercise routine.

I weighed myself the other week. It came out to be 136 lbs with my shoes on. I'll take them off when I do it again today. I think that I am more comfortable pushing an extra 5 lbs. than I'm used to. Slowly but surely, yes, I am making some progress.

Running, 2 miles approximately 15 minutes.
Bench Press, 15 reps (x1) @ 50 lbs.
Bench Press, 12 reps (x3) @ 55 lbs.
Sit ups, 40 reps (x4)
Inclined bench press, 12 reps (x4) @ 55 lbs.
Bicep curls, 12 reps (x4) @ 20 lbs.
Attempt handstands until I give up

There is this machine at the gym that isolates the biceps. It isn't a free weight sort of deal. But I really wonder why my biceps are so freakin' weak! Maybe it's because the weights are positioned higher than I'm used to, but only being able to push to 20 lbs is kind of depressing. I'd like to think that I can do at least 30... :(

As for handstands, last time I was at the gym, I maintained balance for a good half a second... which just might be me slowly losing balance. But it's better than just planting my feet on the wall. I will have to remember fingertips for the next time.

[LuckyXIII]

I also managed to pull out DDR today, and man do I suck. Like B-C on easy. :( No footly coordination whatsoever.

Take heart! For it takes practice and a little time to rebuild stamina and skill. Took me about a week to get back in the groove.

[Majin GeoDooD]

Take heart! For it takes practice and a little time to rebuild stamina and skill. Took me about a week to get back in the groove.

Yea I hadn't played regularly for almost 2 years and it took me a couple weeks to get back into the groove of doing heavy songs, though I still can't do them great :P.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Finally got a bit of work done today. I was still a bit limited by my wrist, but I managed to get in 10 muscle-ups, 15 bulgarian dips, 15 pull-ups, and 2 sets of 15 seconds in a stretch-band assisted cross before my wrist started hurting too much to keep going. Then I did some hanging toe-touches (10, with #5 and #10 held for 5 seconds), some arch lifts (same deal as the toe-touches), 60 calf raises, and 30 lunge jumps.

Spent about 45 minutes working flexibility. Splits and shoulder stretches, mainly.

[Blake]

Okay, we're missing DragonAvenger and Lord.Roderick.i from this past weekend... you guys should let us know you're still alive and participating asap.



Five Dollar Foot Longs are a gift from God. Two meals pretty much, for $2.50 each.

Do you want to join the game, Blake? I don't think you've posted here before.

--

Anyway, I wanted to try and see if I could repeat my performance from yesterday, running 30 minutes straight. However, we ended up visiting family for Memorial Day, and I spent the afternoon swimming and playing with my younger cousins, and now it's raining outside, so I'm gonna have to wait until tomorrow. Swimming today reminded me how much I like it, though... I should start going to the pool at my school when I get back into town.

I suppose I'll join the game.

Goal: My goal right now is to get my BMI down to below 20%, but I plan on adding some pounds of muscle along the way. I'm at about 27%.

Plan: I've been eating less more often, but have also been consuming less food than in college (and less junk food than in college too). I'm going to continue strength training every other day and throw in cardio as often as possible. I've been doing it on both non-lifting and lifting days.

[Steben]

Woo, 'ran another 30 minutes today!

I wonder how far I went in that time... I'll have to go over the path I ran in my car later today, and use the odometer to find out... probably less than three miles, but still, it's an improvement over the past, I'm sure.

I think later this summer I'll work on getting my single-mile time down. I think I'm running the first mile at around 9 minutes, but that's as a part of the longer runs I've been doing.

[Nekofrog]

Start working out in about an hour or so for the first time this summer session. Would have started yesterday if the fucking car didn't die and make us not get home until after the campus gym was closed.

Will probably start slow.

[MechaFone]

Well, I was really worried about myself this summer. But it seems work will see me through!
Today was the first full day at work I've had this week since the summer schedule started. I painted all day, and to my satisfaction, it kept me moving all day as well. My team and I completed five different rooms in eight hours, from top to bottom (excluding baseboards.) Today, I felt better than I have in MONTHS. Moving all day and working all day made me very, very happy. It was strenuous, sweaty work, -and- I had nothing but water to drink all day. Hell, if I can keep this up and sweat off some pounds this summer, I'll consider myself well on my way to completing my goal.

[Steben]

Start working out in about an hour or so for the first time this summer session. Would have started yesterday if the fucking car didn't die and make us not get home until after the campus gym was closed.

Will probably start slow.

Do you want to join the game? Post your fitness goal and plan, and you're in!

[Nekofrog]

Do you want to join the game? Post your fitness goal and plan, and you're in!

No specific plan, just hit the campus gym every workday and then we'll see about weekends.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Did a bit of flexibility today, but no strength aside from one press handstand on rings -- which hurt my wrist too much to do anything more.

[Blue Magic]

Sorry for not posting an update in a while. Been kinda busy.

I'm glad to say that my leg strength is improving a bit and I'm gaining more stamina by doing alot of Stair Master exercises.

As for my abs....they still suck. I just cant seem to motivate myself enough to dedicate more time to them.

And I still don't have a concrete workout schedule set yet. I just kinda do what I feel like doing.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a athletically built person looking to improve overall stamina, abs, and leg strength?

[Steben]

Nekofrog, you'll need to at least post some sort of goal to officially participate in the game. I haven't been very picky about how much detail people have gone into, but here's the tl;dr rules: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showpost.php?p=403923&postcount=1

Here's my Week 4 check-in: (a little early for reasons I'll explain shortly)

Sunday May 25
- Ran 30 minutes

Monday May 26
- No real exercise, but swam a bit with family at a Memorial Day cookout

Tuesday May 27
- No real exercise, but tried out Wii Fit... I want it. Bad. Not because it's a real workout, but because it looks like a fun way to keep me aware of my weight at least.

Wednesday May 28
- Ran 30 minutes, 2.6 miles

Thursday May 29
- Ran 20ish minutes (forgot what time I started!)

Alright, so, I'm going to be mostly away from the internet the next week as I work as an adult staffer for the local National Youth Leadership Training (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NYLT) course. I'll have to make it back to the 'net at least a couple times to fulfill my duties as the AU Band's webmaster, but I probably won't have time to mess with this thread until a week from Saturday. So I'll trust you guys to start off the Week 5 check-ins next Friday without me. I'll catch up with the bookkeeping to see if anyone's dropped out when I return.

So, uh, be good kids. My number's on the fridge. See you in a week!

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Sorry for not posting an update in a while. Been kinda busy.

I'm glad to say that my leg strength is improving a bit and I'm gaining more stamina by doing alot of Stair Master exercises.

As for my abs....they still suck. I just cant seem to motivate myself enough to dedicate more time to them.

And I still don't have a concrete workout schedule set yet. I just kinda do what I feel like doing.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a athletically built person looking to improve overall stamina, abs, and leg strength?

Running helps all three. Abs less so, but it does work them.

[Katsurugi]

I felt that this week has been good. I have made some progress and I figured that my old routine was not hardcore enough. So I've decided to add 5 pounds to some exercises. Bicep curls with 25 pounds is much more rewarding. At least my biceps feel jacked at the end of the day when they're really not. I just have to be more in control on the way down. In addition, I've also replaced normal sit ups with inclined sit ups. I can do far less inclined sit ups than the normal type. I haven't decided on a set number yet, or how high the incline should be. But at the height I was using today, I could really feel my abs being targeted. I'm used to doing a total of at least 150 or so. But on an incline, I think that even half as much would help gain some more immediate results.

I also am attempting to do the handstand business, but with no luck so far. I'm going to keep at it though. At one point, I lost balance and tried to reset again. While on my knees to put my feet on the wall, I yelled out, "TAUCER!!!!" I got some looks from people in the gym. They looked like they had no idea what I was talking about. But deep down inside, I knew they did.

[LuckyXIII]

Holy crap! I'll be posting my checkup later today, but just wanted to drop in and say I've hit the 10-lb. mark! I weighed in 190.5 this morning!

[Global-Trance]

I felt that this week has been good. I have made some progress and I figured that my old routine was not hardcore enough. So I've decided to add 5 pounds to some exercises. Bicep curls with 25 pounds is much more rewarding. At least my biceps feel jacked at the end of the day when they're really not. I just have to be more in control on the way down. In addition, I've also replaced normal sit ups with inclined sit ups. I can do far less inclined sit ups than the normal type. I haven't decided on a set number yet, or how high the incline should be. But at the height I was using today, I could really feel my abs being targeted. I'm used to doing a total of at least 150 or so. But on an incline, I think that even half as much would help gain some more immediate results.

I also am attempting to do the handstand business, but with no luck so far. I'm going to keep at it though. At one point, I lost balance and tried to reset again. While on my knees to put my feet on the wall, I yelled out, "TAUCER!!!!" I got some looks from people in the gym. They looked like they had no idea what I was talking about. But deep down inside, I knew they did.

When you say incline sit-ups, do you really mean incline or decline... I would think incline would be significantly easier than decline... incline means your upper body is higher than your legs and decline means the opposite... implying decline means you have to put more effort to bring your upper body up.

As for this week's check-in...

Monday:
Holiday. Felt sick. Decided to take an extra day off for adequate rest.

Tuesday:
100 steep decline sit-ups.
Ran only 4 miles today non-stop instead of the usual 5. I felt an immense numbness in both of my feet the more I ran and I was literally feeling nothing by the time I hit 4 miles... so I took it as a sign to stop. Feeling came back shortly after.

Wednesday: (Going for lower weight, higher reps now.)
Barbell Overhead Press: 100 reps @ 45 lbs, 50 reps @ 55 lbs, 25 reps @ 65 lbs.
Iso-Lateral High Rows: 100 reps @ 90 lbs
200+ floors on StairMaster

Thursday:
Incline Bench: 100 reps @ 45 lbs, 50 reps @ 55 lbs, 25 reps @ 65 lbs, 15 reps @ 95 lbs.
Barbell Bicep Curls: 100 reps @ 20 lbs.
No running today. I was a little offset by the whole numbness in the feet thing... but mainly I stopped my workout to fill out new hire forms at the gym I work out at and by the time I finished, I wouldn't have time to complete the cardio I wanted to do. Either 5 miles / 200 floors or nothing.

Friday:
Sumo Deadlift High Pull: I hadn't really done these so I started off with lower weight to make sure I was doing them right. 15-20 reps @ 40 lbs, 15 reps @ 60 lbs, 20 reps @ 70 lbs. These are awesome and I will be doing these more.
Reverse Flies / Rear Deltoid: 25 reps @ 15 lbs, 25 reps @ 30 lbs, ~20 reps @ 45 lbs.

While I didn't do as much cardio this week, I still feel I'm on the right track. I do a lot more cardio in general than most people and I'm trimming up pretty quick around the waistline. I can feel the six pack coming. Also now I am trying to adapt to a higher rep system to really start hitting muscle endurance through prolonged muscle contractions. Starting off with lighter weight, I plan on attempting to do 100 reps of a particular exercise at a particular weight. If I can complete 100 reps in 4 sets or less, then the next time I do that exercise, I will add a little more resistance and attempt 100 reps. If I can not hit 100 reps, then I will just keep training at that resistance until I can do so! By doing so I can acquire efficient motor unit recruitment, tone-up, acquire a lot more muscle endurance, and the slow increase in weight will allow me to adapt to higher weight much easier than if I decided to jump up resistance in sometimes a rushed and unsafe manner. Balance and stability for the win.

I noticed Blue Magic is using the StairMaster now too. Aren't those things awesome? I sweat so much on those things.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Did a bit more work on shoulder flexibility today. Also did a couple of muscle-ups and crosses.

Getting my wrist looked at this comming thursday, so hopefully I'll be able to get back into real hardcorse strength training after that.

(I really should still be working core and leg strength, but it's just hard to keep myself motivated; I'm used to just comming in and going straight to rings)

[MechaFone]

Weekly check-in!
So anyway, this week has been good and bad. Monday was holiday, no work. No work-out, either. Tuesday was all right. I painted and got a decent workout for a few hours before my allergy appointment. Weighed in and found out I'm 283 freakin' pounds. Holy shit.
Anyway, Thursday was an in-meeting. Every custodian in the county gathers and sits for 8 hours. No excercise.
Today (Friday) was very good for excercise. I was painting, moving constantly, and several times I aided in moving very heavy objects and sweated to the max. Great day. So, my week has been up and down, but I now have a new goal: to lose 60 pounds by the end of the year...! I hope to lose 10 to 20 pounds by the end of the summer, and with this kind of work, it's quite possible. More water, less soda, more movement.

[Katsurugi]

^Yup. That's how you do it. You just have to conscious of what your actions are. It's really easy to sit back and relax. I find that stretching when watching TV or some other passive activity really helps. After I stretch, I feel more blood movement and more energized. I think that the first 10-20 pounds will come off relatively easily compared to the next 40 or so. Just don't get too cocky and keep pushing yourself.

As for my sit ups, it's all really perspective. By your definition I am doing declined sit ups. There is a machine for inclined sit ups with a machine where your body starts vertically and you push downwards, similar to bowing. But I don't really find that too difficult even if I increase the weight.

Today, I didn't go to the gym. Instead, I played ultimate frisbee for a good hour and a half. Even though it was really consistent running (as I'm usually picked as a handler), it was still running and plus, I had a lot of fun. :D Tomorrow, I am without any weights, except for some 10 pound ones and I will do some regular sit ups, push ups, curls, and stretching. Boy do I need to work on stretching my hamstrings. I can't even straddle pancake; it's more like a straddle lump of batter. :(

[LuckyXIII]

Time for the Weakly Czech Inn.

Took Sunday off - completely. Even had a hamburger with my old man...mistake. I had one a couple weeks ago and it made me sick. I thought that was an exception. It wasn't. I think that's my body's way of saying, "No more burgers, evar!"

Monday: weighed in at 195, burned ~531 calories on DDR MAXX 2. Did my regular weight routine w/benching, Flies (fly's?), and rows. Was also able to bump the 100 crunches up to 200.

Tuesday: weighed in at 193.5 (in the afternoon instead of the morning as usual). Did 150 crunches and 517 calories on DDR.

Wednesday: no DDR, but bumped the weight routine up 5 lbs. and did 150 crunches.

Thursday: went balls-out on DDR and burned 735 calories with 100 crunches.

Friday: weighed in at 190.5! I started this whole thing at 201 or 202. I'm feeling really good (not just at the fact I've lost 10 lbs) and I'm finally starting to see the overall energy increase in the day-to-day. I did 200 crunches, 550 calories on DDR, and the new max on weights.

Today I did a mild workout on DDR burning only 518 calories. In addition to all this I work at a Barnes & Noble store in the cafe, so I'm on my feet about 7.5 hours when I work and running around hauling milk. I'm able to fit more comfortably into older clothes again, and people are noticing a change.

Aside from all that, I just feel really good.

[The Dennis]

This week, I was able to incorporate exercise in with my good eating habits! I hadn't previously been exercising because of my sleeping problems and being on my feet all day, but I've taken time off so there's no excuses! :) I stuck to strictly cardio, because I have a lot of muscle already and I'm only particularly worried about losing weight at the moment. Ran every day, and was more active during my free time, DDRing and walking around a lot. I'm very happy with the results, sleeping like a baby! I don't have a scale where I live, though, so I'll have to wait until I visit a friend. I'm sure the results are positive.

THIS week, I have friends and my brother coming in from out of town to visit. I don't think my eating habits are going to be very healthy, they'll probably wanna go out a lot and such! I will, however, keep it toned down, and still find time for exercise :)

[Majin GeoDooD]

Didn't have the greatest week, only got to do DDR twice. Still did good on my eating goals.

In other news, the sinkhole was fixed this past week, so now I'm able to go to the gym at work and get in some other workouts.

[DragonAvenger]

Checking in late, as usual.

Walking went well this week. I bought a pedometer over last weekend, and the furthest I walked (supposedly) was a mile and a half, but I average about a mile at a generally brisk pace. Currently I'm in Arad in Breath of Fire (I want to say a little more than 1/4 through, according to Gamefaqs).

Biking was awesome this week. I went exploring on a trail and got to see some awesome scenery that I didn't knew existed in my town, and there's more I'm hoping to see next time I go. I gotta work on being able to get up a somewhat large hill without walking, though.

[Vivi22]

Checking in late as well since it's a little difficult to type right now.

Went climbing on Tuesday, had Jiu Jutsu on Wednesday, and then again on Saturday. This week was kind of light since I spent most of my free time Thursday and Friday doing things to prepare for getting my new car (getting insurance, bank loan, that sort of stuff).

Anyway, Jiu Jutsu on Saturday threw a kink in most of my work out plans. I ended up bending my right thumb back, injuring one of the tendons in it. Now I have to keep my thumb totally immobile for the next few weeks while it heals which means no Jiu Jutsu, climbing, working out at the playground or even biking. All I can really do is run, so once the pain in my thumb subsides some more I'll get back to that. I'm really annoyed this happened, but I'll have to make the most of it. Hopefully it's better in time for me to get some more workouts in this summer and for the release of MGS4.

[LuckyXIII]

Checking in late, as usual.

Walking went well this week. I bought a pedometer over last weekend, and the furthest I walked (supposedly) was a mile and a half, but I average about a mile at a generally brisk pace. Currently I'm in Arad in Breath of Fire (I want to say a little more than 1/4 through, according to Gamefaqs).

Wait what? I...I don't get it...

[Global-Trance]

Wait what? I...I don't get it...

She's playing Breath of Fire at the same time she's on a treadmill.

Today was an interesting workout.

Chest Fly: 100 reps @ 30 lbs., 100 reps @ 45 lbs.
Skullcrusher: 100 reps @ 30 lbs. 15 reps @ 40 lbs.

My arms are really quivering after the high reps... I guess I've been neglecting stabilizer muscles... that'll change quickly! :)

Ended with a usual 5 mile run. No numb feet this time. :)

[Fishy]

Did my usual climb, on-sighting V1's now, sweet.

Me and my bud also went for a walk and discovered some tennis courts, so we played a full set. I lost on a tie break :(.

[The Derrit]

I'm sorry this is so short but I have absolutely no time right now, so here's the short. I've been keeping in shape with lifting and good cardio (rowing with my hs team) and next week, my scheduled lifting starts. I might just post the lifts if anyone wants to tag along, its a straight brute strength regimen, which will gain you a good amount of muscle mass if done correctly and consistently. If anyone's interested let me know! I could use a partner, even if its only in spirit.

[MechaFone]

This week is shaping up pretty good. I started today with painting. Seems we'll be doing that for the rest of the week, at least. I painted fast and hard. Lemme tell ya, painting with an extension is hard work if you're moving fast. I'll be feeling the burn in my upper shoulders for a week. Awesome workout day, and the rest of the week should be at least as fruitful.

[Global-Trance]

I'm sorry this is so short but I have absolutely no time right now, so here's the short. I've been keeping in shape with lifting and good cardio (rowing with my hs team) and next week, my scheduled lifting starts. I might just post the lifts if anyone wants to tag along, its a straight brute strength regimen, which will gain you a good amount of muscle mass if done correctly and consistently. If anyone's interested let me know! I could use a partner, even if its only in spirit.

Post it regardless.

[Lunahorum]

I don't know anything about proper exercise, but I have been doing 2x40 pushups every day.

[Blue Magic]

I noticed Blue Magic is using the StairMaster now too. Aren't those things awesome? I sweat so much on those things.

I love them and I hate them at the same time. I try to spend at least 20 mins on it a day, but its hard as hell to do after doing squats and leg extensions.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Finally got a bit more of a workout today, though still not as much of one as I'd like. 5 muscle-ups, 5 sets of 10 seconds in band-assisted iron cross, 15 bulgarian dips, 30 seconds in straddle planche, 30 seconds in straddle front lever. My wrist was hurting too much to do more than that.

[Global-Trance]

Finally got a bit more of a workout today, though still not as much of one as I'd like. 5 muscle-ups, 5 sets of 10 seconds in band-assisted iron cross, 15 bulgarian dips, 30 seconds in straddle planche, 30 seconds in straddle front lever. My wrist was hurting too much to do more than that.

Have you gotten that checked out yet? I mean it seems like it's been hurting for a really long time.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Have you gotten that checked out yet? I mean it seems like it's been hurting for a really long time.

Got an appointment for this thursday.

[LuckyXIII]

She's playing Breath of Fire at the same time she's on a treadmill.



That is a really cool idea. I kinda wish I could do that with Twilight Princess...

[Katsurugi]

I think I sprained by wrist a long time ago. Even a year or two later, it still hurt when I put a lot of pressure on it. But after some very simple strength training, it has gotten a lot better. I'm not too sure if you have the same problem or not. I would think that if you sprained your wrist, you would know. Personally, I think that my wrists would give in after the muscle ups.

I don't know if this is my weekly update or not. I think that I got some progress done. Yesterday, I was benching 55 and 60 pounds consistently compared to 50 and 55 pounds only a week or two before. There really isn't anything notable other than that. But I just wasn't feeling into it yesterday at the gym. I think it was because I couldn't do my normal regiment as quickly as I would liked to. Other people were using the machines I wanted to or in the worst case, they were just sitting at the bench press and not using it at all. I just felt so blah. :(

[Mechasonic4ever]

Yeah not much got done this week... i managed to spar against a few people and ride my bike for about an hour a day... I had to work everyday this fricken week and that made it difficult to do anything... this week is clear though and ill do much better. anyways thats my check in. ttyl

P.S. Sorry about being late and all

[DragonAvenger]

That is a really cool idea. I kinda wish I could do that with Twilight Princess...

I wish I could play action games too, but this gives me a chance to go back and play all the old RPGs I never got around to finishing, so I'm not complaining about it.

[Steben]

Snuck away from camp to grab a couple songs from the internet, and to do work for auburn.edu/auband/ .

My summary for this week will be sad... I'm eating terrible and mostly sitting around making sure kids don't hurt themselves or others. Woo fun. It's over Saturday, so starting Sunday I'm back on track.

Okay, back to work for the BSA some more.

[Global-Trance]

I got my training riiiiiings! :dance: My upper body was hurting too much today to begin though... so maybe tomorrow!

Today: 100 decline sit-ups, 75 knee raises, 200 floors on the StairMaster.

Nothing big, but good enough for my neglected core and cardio. :)

[The Xyco]

StumbledUpon this.

http://www.musclepowershop.com/2008/05/free-weight-training-plan.html

Also, been sick, but planning to return tomorrow if my lungs are still inside my body.

Eating healthy in Washington is hard as hell.

[The Derrit]

Late night lift session! This was actually really fun, i had to race the clock and crunched my sets of each down from three to two, cause i didn't have time but i enjoyed it a lot. Hell I didn't even get to do leg press, abs or incline bench. I started at 9:20, and the gym closed at 10 >'< Starting to ramp up for my official training next week.

Curls, 8 X 40s, 40s
Roman Chair w/ added weight, 8 X 60, 70
French Curls (triceps) 8 X 70, 75
Leg Curls, 8 X 200, 210
Leg Extension, 8 X 200, 220

Going off to do some abs now.

[MechaFone]

This week has been incredible. Painting every day, all day. Movement, water, formidable excercise. My shoulders are still aching from Monday's activities. Soon, we'll start stripping the entire school. That also means removing hundreds of pounds of school equipment from each room before and after. I'm in workout heaven.
I'm out 'till the weekend!

[LuckyXIII]

I wish I could play action games too, but this gives me a chance to go back and play all the old RPGs I never got around to finishing, so I'm not complaining about it.

Absolutely. Besides, I could see myself experiencing some cognitive dissonance with Twilight Princess. Like, I'd have Link walking along, and I'd be walking along on the treadmill. Suddenly, Link would have to stop for some reason and I'd probably stop walking on the treadmill and I can't imagine much good coming soon after that...

But yes, that is a very, very cool idea you have going there. I'd emulate ya, but I don't have a treadmill and my cardio comes from DDR. In the meantime, I think I'll go feed my cat.

[Global-Trance]

Not much today but 100 decline sit-ups, 100 straight leg hip raises (been calling these leg raises all this time) and a nice 5 mile run since my upper body was still too sore and I got to the gym late...

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Finally got my wrist looked at.

The good news: it's nothing too serious. Appears to be just some minor internal bruising.

The bad news is that with continued training, I'm likely to continue reinjuring it. Either way, it's going to take months to fully heal.

I might back off a bit for a little while and get a brace with a bit of padding to soften the impact, but I'm probably just going to say fuck it and deal with the pain and continue training.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Finally did some more hard core strength yesterday. Started with arms and shoulders and worked my way down. I didn't keep track of the exact numbers.

Today I did a bit of core and leg strength, as well as a bunch of trampoline.

Hopefully my wrist braces should be arriving in the mail in the next wee or so, and I should be able to get fully back into training.

[Blake]

Haven't had time to exercise for the past 4 days, but I've been keeping with a realistic diet. Played really intense bball today for about 2 hours. It was great- I thought I was gonna die. : D

[The Dennis]

I wasn't as active this week as I was last week since I had friends around the whole week, but I fit in some DDRing and such anyways. Also had a few unhealthy meals. Quite alright though, overall it was still way better than I was doing before we started!!

Next week I get to kick it back into full gear. I'm gonna try for 3 miles a day. What I can't finish running, I'll finish walking!

[MechaFone]

So, weekly check-in.
This whole week has been fantastic. I've been stripping floors now, and will continue with that for the next five weeks, I think. It's not as much of a workout for the arms, but for the legs, the under-the-thigh-muscles, since I do a lot of leaning down and bending to scrape wax off the edges of the floor. It's no cardio or anything, but it'll strengthen my legs.
CT and I have been doing a -lot- more cooking at home, so that's helping out with our nutrition. Egg sandwhiches are usually for breakfast, with loads of homemade faves for other meals, so we're on the road to better health.

[Global-Trance]

Adding to my previous posts in the week...

Thursday
100 decline sit-ups
100 barbell bicep curls @ 30 lbs (next time is 100 @ 40!)
... and then my first attempt at using the Elite Rings. I did like 30 deep ring dips and I was like OMG for the next few hours. I really wasn't expecting the rings to totally work me over like that but they did. AWESOME.

Friday (totally destroyed from the rings on Thursday)
100 decline sit-ups
40-50 ring push-ups
Several tricep push up holds on the rings (destroys the core the flatter the body is)

No 200 floors/5 miles on Thursday and Friday (gasp!) but I was just too jacked up from the rings to want to do cardio. Despite that, I still feel really great. The rings really are really challenging and that is what I enjoy the most.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Adding to my previous posts in the week...

Thursday
100 decline sit-ups
100 barbell bicep curls @ 30 lbs (next time is 100 @ 40!)
... and then my first attempt at using the Elite Rings. I did like 30 deep ring dips and I was like OMG for the next few hours. I really wasn't expecting the rings to totally work me over like that but they did. AWESOME.

Friday (totally destroyed from the rings on Thursday)
100 decline sit-ups
40-50 ring push-ups
Several tricep push up holds on the rings (destroys the core the flatter the body is)

No 200 floors/5 miles on Thursday and Friday (gasp!) but I was just too jacked up from the rings to want to do cardio. Despite that, I still feel really great. The rings really are really challenging and that is what I enjoy the most.

Aren't they great? THere are so many ways to make any excercize really hard without doing huge nubmers; I rarely do more than 20 of ANYTHING in a row on rings.

[Fishy]

Climbing update:

They replaced the crash mat floor with... a floor... Whats the point of a crash matt that fucking hurts to land on? Don't fuck with shit thats not broken. I feel like I'm gonna break my legs if i fall now. Great.

On the plus I'm on-sighting pretty much all V1's I come across. If they let us, I might have to take a video at some point, as V1 probably means nothing to you guys.

[Vivi22]

Weekly check in I guess. Didn't do squat as my thumb hurt too much to work out and the fact that I couldn't use it presented numerous problems in the changing and showering departments (I hurt my right thumb and I'm right handed. You don't realize how much you need it until you have to get help to button up pants that fit just fine). My thumb doesn't hurt anymore though so I can better use my fingers on that hand and I'm getting used to using my left hand for stuff more so I think I'll start running again either tomorrow or Tuesday. Now that showering and dressing myself aren't major challenges I think I should be fine. Hopefully I'll be able to stop wearing the splint they have me in on Friday.

[The Derrit]

Regimen starts today. Now the progress begins.

[Majin GeoDooD]

Bad week for me.. only did DDR once, though at least I still did my crunches routine each night. I'm gonna have to step it up this week, including going to the gym.

[Steben]

I ran for 22 minutes yesterday. That's my entire checkin since I left last Friday.

I'm headed back to Auburn today, so the diet and exercise should return to a sense of normalcy. Much as I love working for the BSA, I was in charge of food for a lot of the week, and it was all unhealthy stuff too. Wives and girlfriends would bring goodies for the staffers too, which were delicious, but not nutritious. Combine that with no time to work out, and last week was terrible as far as OCR Fit is concerned.

At some point this week, before next weekend's checkin, I'm going to catch up on the bookkeeping for the standings, so make sure you all checkin if you haven't already!

[DragonAvenger]

Bad week for me. I did nothing. Zip. 0

:(

[LuckyXIII]

LATE CHECK IN

Well, I've continued with the daily DDR, hitting 500+ calories a day and the weight training MWF, but last week I kind of faltered...for some reason...I can't remember. Didn't do anything on Monday, but I picked it up again Wednesday, I think... Well, by Friday I was definitely back on track, took Saturday off, did some DDR yesterday then today with the weights, and weighing in now at 188.

I'm feeling pretty good and fitting better into old clothes.

WOohoo!

[Global-Trance]

Today.

100 decline sit-ups
Then spent the rest of the gym time going back and forth between ring dips, ring pull-ups, ring push-ups, and ring tricep push-up holds.

I sadly won't be able to do much more exercising for the rest of the week. I have job training from 8 AM - 4 PM Tuesday - Friday and it's far away from home. :(