OCR Fit Club

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Welcome, one and all, to OCR Fit Club. This thread is intended as a place for anybody in the community who seeks to better their own physical fitness to discuss their workouts, their progress, and gather tips from fellow fitness enthusiasts.

There are no strict rules, and anybody at any level of fitness is welcome to participate. However, participants are encouraged to lay out specific goals and refer back to them to measure their progress. I'm going to steal some ideas from Steben's post in the old thread, and encourage everybody to make sure their goals are 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.

Lay out a health plan for yourself. Describe in as much or as little detail as you like how you plan to go about attaining your goals. Try to check in at least once a week to let us know how you're doing.

You may post before/after pics if you like, but those are optional.

Also, if you have any fitness expertise to share, feel free to do so!

I will offer my own expertise in the area of strength training, especially upper-body strength. I have coached gymnastics for about 4.5 years, and I am training to return to competition myself on floor, vault, and rings.

I may also be able to provide some tips regarding flexibility, though that's less of a strong suit for me.

And, of course, if you would like to incorporate any sort of gymnastics into your health plan (which I highly encourage if your goal is to build more upper-body strength), I'll see what I can do to help you out.

*********************************

Reccomended links (post your own with a description and I'll add them to the list)

http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/

This is an excellent gymnastics/bodybuilding website with a number of strength building exercises. This site describes in detail how to work your way up to some great gymnastics strength skills, such as planches and front levers. You can also buy rings here.

[Arek the Absolute]

I wanted to do this at summer but that fell through because of time issues and money. I have both of those issues resolved now so I am so in this time.

Goal: To go back to being as fit as I was when I was in high school.

Weight then - 120, strong, and oh so sexy

Weight now - 150+, sexy, but lacking the "oh so" to make me irresistible.

I have two work out partners that I told to force me to go and not be lazy. I got this.

Progress reports every week starting this coming sunday.

[Vivi22]

goal: drop to 205lbs.

weight now: about 235lbs. or so.

Time frame: I'll be a little bit more realistic this time around. I'd like to drop at least 10 lbs. by the end of November. This should be easily attainable for me as long as I stick with the workouts, but anything above this will just be icing on the cake I'm not allowed to eat. I'll look at where I am at the end of November and set another goal for December.

I'm intent on making this go better for me than the summer session. I had too many things get in the way of my dropping the weight up until this point. Namely poor diet and stress while away on courses and a wrist injury when I moved back in August. I'm largely recovered now though, and I'm intent on channeling all of the pent up frustration into my work outs. I'll be doing at least some of my workouts with my fiancee which should help with the motivation, and we're going to focus on further improving our eating habits for the next few months. It'll be good to have someone to suffer with again.

I'll be focusing on trying to run every other day, and on the off days working out with resistance bands since my wrist isn't 100% and I'm not confident in it's ability to handle free weights yet. Which brings me to some exercise advice I had, which is about working out with resistance bands: these things are awesome.

I had read an article about using them in Men's Health in August but was still a little skeptical. As someone who is used to things like squatting more than my body weight, and hammering out pullups, I didn't really know how challenging they'd be, but also being a believer in the idea that if you're not getting a good workout, you need to try harder, I bought some regular old pilates resistance bands from wal-mart on Friday (there were three in the box; light, medium, and heavy). I tried them out on Saturday, and I'm still pretty sore today. You can use them to mimic a lot of traditional weight training exercises, or adapt them to other, more sports focused movements with the right resistance tubing/bands and set up. I circuit trained every exercise; 30 reps each with no rest in betweem, and some pushups and ab work thrown in as well. It was absolutely brutal and I felt dead by the end. Even had the, "I just worked out so hard I want to puke feeling." The best part is that they're highly portable, which is handy since I'll be out of town for most of November. Anyone looking for something they can use at home or on the road and easily scale to meet their fitness needs should grab some. I paid all of $14 for mine.

I was a bit long winded there, but I guess I'm just excited that I can do something other than run finally.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

My goals, which I hope to achieve by my first competition on January 24th:

1) I want to be able to make it through my entire competetive floor routine (five tumbling passes) without being completely drained by the final pass. Endurance is my biggest issue on floor; my final pass has to hit a minimum difficulty threshhold, and I just don't have the energy for any skills that hard by the time I get to my final pass

My plan for this is to work floor routines every day, starting off with easy, watered-down routines and building up more and more as my endurance increases, until I can eventually throw all my hardest skills in the same routine.

2) On rings, I want to be able to comfortably and consistently hit and hold a maltese and an inverted cross, and I want to be able to press from maltese up to planche. Right now my cross is pretty strong (at least it was before I injured my shoulder last week), but my maltese and my invert aren't consistent.

My plan for these is simple; lots of rings between now and January. I'll do some light rings work every day, and heavy rings strength every other day.

In addition, I will start running regularly. I'd like to run 3 miles at least twice a week, if I have the time.

[Steben]

I'm glad to see people have picked this up even when I haven't been around to push it myself. Year #1 of grad school is kicking my butt currently, but I really should reevaluate my schedule and find some time to exercise... I was running at the beginning of the semester, but eventually kept running into conflicts, since the only time in the morning (aside from waking up before 6:30 -- never going to happen) I had was between classes.

What this probably means is that I need to be working out in the evenings... but then it's dark out, so I'll need to go to the Student Activities Center, which is always packed after four in the afternoon.

Hmmm... I'll check back in later when I've got a plan.

[Sporknight]

Well, a goal for myself at this point is just getting back onto the treadmill/jogging again on a regular basis. I'd like to be able to make it to the Art Museum and back (about 3 miles) at a continuous jog. Weight loss isn't my concern, just building endurance. I need to start eating better too - cheesteaks aren't exactly fitness food either. It's funny that this thread showed up today, actually, because I was planning on hitting the treadmill after work today, but the gym was full and I'm too chicken to run outside right now with the cold and potential rain. That, and there's a chance I'll be doing theatre stuff tonight too, and I dont want to kill myself before that.

Last year I had looked into some cardio tips, so I'm aware of about the pace I should be going at if I plan on improving endurance. Any other advice people have would be appreciated, though. As for more specific goals, I'd like to see about shooting for 3 miles in 20 minutes. I'll be back with a more specific time/distance once I get back on the mill to judge myself.

Also, has anyone heard of the P90-X program? My friend is using it (or, perhaps, being abused by it) to get back into shape for his fireman PT, and cant stop raving about it. It's basically a 90 day workout program designed to build muscle and endurance etc etc - it comes along with a dieting plan and all. Said friend is coming up on day 30, and claims it's doing wonders for him, despite how sore week one was hehe. I was just wondering if anyone else has heard of it, used it, hates it, swears by it, etc. I'm considering giving it a shot once he's done, but I want to do a little research.

[Nohbody]

Sporknight, P90s are dangerous, and the X is only compounding things. I say go at your own pace, but, like, faster. That way when you reach your goal it will be yourself you're swearing by. Doing this keeps it real for you and decreases your odds of giving up.

If anyone wants workout advice then please ask, I'm not an expert but I've learned enough to be able to answer questions.

So, my goals:

To score at least a 200 on the Army Physical Fitness Test:

keep in mind I am 6'5 please

Goal weight: 205 lbs

Current weight: 209.2 lbs

APFT goals:

16:36 on the 2 mile run

42 pushups in 2 minutes

53 situps in 2 minutes

Current status:

18:00 on the 2 mile run (shit!)

37 pushups in 2 minutes

42 situps in two minutes... crap

So yes.

[MechaFone]

I had my own spot on the former fit board, but since it's moved, I shall start all over again, as my goals have needs, too.

I am currently. . . 278 pounds. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but higher than last I checked.

So I'm currenly taking 20 minute walks around my neighborhood at a pace that makes me shins -hurt-. I'll be doing this for a week before I make my walks five minutes longer. I will continue to expand per week before I feel comfortable adding some running to my regime.

My long term goal...join the military, make some money.

My short term goals...get a little more fit, lose some weight, post some sexy pics, whch might fit more into the long-term goals.

[DrumUltimA]

Well, goals are:

1. Get rid of tendonitis

2. Weigh 170 lbs or less

3. Run a 6:30 mile

yeehaw!

[The Legendary Zoltan]

This is just what OCR needs. Since the bulk of us are heavy gamers, I'd really love to see some people surprise themselves at the fact they can do exercise without it being some kind of torment. I got pretty large goals in this area as well since I too am one of those heavy-bodied game-players.

Height: 5ft.11in.

Age: 28

current weight: 83kg./183lb.

target weight: 75kg/166lb.

It may not sound like a lot of weight but I've got this big, tasty looking meat donut of stomach on me. Not to mention fat, chickeny thighs. Although, my goal weight is 75 kilograms, my first real goal is just get into the habit of doing some really hard exercise EVERY day. I used to go to the gym once in a while, but now that I'm moving, I won't live close enough to go there any more. So my new plan is to do...

...Are you ready for this?...

BBC! Billy's Boot Camp.

I tried this thing about 4 times in the past when a friend of mine brought it over. Let me tell you, it is one harsh workout. You'll get tired as heck while packing on some muscle at the same time. I remember the first time I did it. I sweat so much that my living room became "The Jahan Sea." So I'm gonna get it just the first DVD for now and work it hard everyday if it's possible to do so inside my new place. I'll let you know. I'm looking forward to hearing some success stories in here. I hope Arek becomes oh-so sexy again.

[Jedi QuestMaster]

My current goal is to score a 300 Marine Corps PFT. My last score:

20 Pull ups - 100 pts

100 Sit Ups - 100 pts

3-mile Run - Roughly 22:30 - I know I got 73 pts

Total: 273

All I need now is an 18:00 run

I'm still doing 20 pull ups, I haven't done sit ups in a while - but I'll start doing them everyday once I get home; they're not hard to do.

I've been working hard on my run - I'd run every two days, over 3 miles with a pack that weighed roughly 30 pounds, & my run time was getting to 35 minutes. Just as I was about to drop the pack & start running without it, I got promoted to Corporal & received my "bloodstripes." I couldn't run for about a week.

Now I run the same distance, without the pack, longer - I stretch before & after my runs; one of my legs never quite healed. I took pain medication from my Corpsman, but it doesn't quite do the job.

The next PFT is going to probably be sometime in December.

By the way, I'm

5'1"

135 lbs

& I don't have any weight goals. I'd set my height goal to 5'3" but that's unrealistic.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I'm on doctor's orders not to do any rings strength for a week; I'm pretty much counting down the hours until friday, when I can start up again.

I got a pretty decent ab workout yesterday, and spent a bunch of time working on shoulder flexibility.

[Jedi QuestMaster]

Well, goals are:

1. Get rid of tendonitis

2. Weigh 170 lbs or less

3. Run a 6:30 mile

yeehaw!

DrumUltimA, where are you at right now? How bad is your tendinitis? Where do you have it?

[Elex Synn]

Well it seems like my goal would be a little different then the posts I've seen so far.. I'm 5'10-5'11 and weigh around 120 now (yes I'm a bean pole and have been all my life). I'd actually like to gain some weight and a little bit of muscle in the process as you might imagine. I have a crazy high metabolism and even once tried mainly eating only fast food for two months to gain even just some flub-Yeah no dice, I think I may of even lost a pound or two.

SO, any healthy ideas for weight gain.. Maybe up to 135ish or whatever is ideal for my height is. As far as gyms go I'm full time work, school and daddy so I'd need something more 'around the house'.

[Jam Stunna]

After a long hiatus, I'm going to get back into running. Back in high school, I ran the 800 meter race in indoor track (for only one season unfortunately), and my best time was 2:11.

My goal is to be able to run a sub-2:00 800 m by the first day of summer. Now, I haven't run in so long that I'm not sure if I'm being too lenient on myself, so if I achieve the goal before that date, then I'll just revise it.

I'm planning to start running again this week sometime. I've already laid out a path that I'm going to take that's a little over 1 1/2 miles there and back. I'm also planning on getting in contact with my old track coach to see if there's anything he can suggest that will help me out.

I'll keep you guys posted.

[linkspast]

I would much like to add some strength to my entire body, Mostly for my arms. But I don't want to gain out of portion so I want to start riding my bike for 30-45 outside so I can go uphill.

Which would be better for arm development something like push ups or weights?

Later today Ill edit with my currant stats.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I would much like to add some strength to my entire body, Mostly for my arms. But I don't want to gain out of portion so I want to start riding my bike for 30-45 outside so I can go uphill.

Which would be better for arm development something like push ups or weights?

Later today Ill edit with my currant stats.

Best thing in the world for arms and shoulders, in my opinion, is rings. They're cheaper than weights, and you can do so many different exercises on them. And as for how well they work, well, look at your male gymnast and judge for yourself.

[Shadow Wolf]

Well, right now Wii Fit weighs me at 259. Ideally I'd like to be anywhere between 200 and 215, but that's a long way away. For now I'm shooting for 5 pounds a month, which is a medically healthy rate of loss. I'll join up for the accountability of it, weekly updates coming on Tuesdays.

Current Stats:

Height: 6'1''

Weight: 259

BMI: 34.59 (Obese)... dammit.

Build: Heavy (I'm genetically a Viking.)

So, BMI isn't necessarily a great indicator for me, according to that I should be 175. I think not. We'll just shoot for fat reduction. Any fitness tips would be appreciated, and I'd be more than happy to give you info on a healthy rate of weight loss and anything medically related.

EDIT: I'm also gonna tack on staying away from junk food, eating at Subway or grabbing something remotely healthy while I'm out instead of Burger King.

[Jedi QuestMaster]

My last night's run was a bit of an improvement: 21:07 - I'd like to say it's 3 miles, but I think it's a little less. Either way, it's better than 23:xx like I've been running for over a week now. :/

[Arek the Absolute]

i have made a goal that is incredibly out there but something i know if i force myself to hit i can make

goal- by end of november weigh 130 lbs

[I-n-j-i-n]

Watching the Biggest Loser, I never would have realized TWENTY chicken nuggets (fried, fast food style + BBQ sauce) is actually healthier than a wheat-wrap Fajita.

On that note, I'd stay far away from carbohydrates, no matter if it's whole wheat or not. Even if it's to do with meat, I'd opt for lean meats like lean, white chicken meat (even if it's a nugget) ham and turkey.

Also, I find that a few vigorous exercise every other day basically burns almost everything off. To me, diet isn't even an issue and I sometimes indulge with fast food every now and then. But it doesn't matter because the metabolism is there from all the exercise.

[Jedi QuestMaster]

i have made a goal that is incredibly out there but something i know if i force myself to hit i can make

goal- by end of november weigh 130 lbs

How much do you weigh now?

[Arek the Absolute]

see above

aka 150+

[Jedi QuestMaster]

Oh, there it is.

I'm going running tonight - let's see if I improve...

[Nohbody]

My current goal is to score a 300 Marine Corps PFT. My last score:

20 Pull ups - 100 pts

100 Sit Ups - 100 pts

3-mile Run - Roughly 22:30 - I know I got 73 pts

Total: 273

All I need now is an 18:00 run

I'm still doing 20 pull ups, I haven't done sit ups in a while - but I'll start doing them everyday once I get home; they're not hard to do.

I've been working hard on my run - I'd run every two days, over 3 miles with a pack that weighed roughly 30 pounds, & my run time was getting to 35 minutes. Just as I was about to drop the pack & start running without it, I got promoted to Corporal & received my "bloodstripes." I couldn't run for about a week.

Now I run the same distance, without the pack, longer - I stretch before & after my runs; one of my legs never quite healed. I took pain medication from my Corpsman, but it doesn't quite do the job.

The next PFT is going to probably be sometime in December.

By the way, I'm

5'1"

135 lbs

& I don't have any weight goals. I'd set my height goal to 5'3" but that's unrealistic.

Jeezus, thats good. Id rather die than be a Marine, and a 275 is one hell of a score. I need a 16 minute 2 mile for Army PFT, two minutes less than your target time for the 3 mile run. I'm also well over a foot taller than you. I one day hope to be as badass as you are now.

/respect