Geez -- took me a second to find this thread, I figured it would be somewhere near the top of the Cocktail Lounge, slackers! Just finished up my 1st full Pendlay series...where I start with low weight, high rep periods and work through the series to end at 1RM periods. Summer 2015 - Summer 2016 really took a lot out of me, damn how fast we lose it! By the end of the series I'm kinda-sorta back to where I once was, but not entirely. And don't even get me started on cardio...ugh. I've been focusing on 15-20 minute intensity stuff at the tail end of my lifts, meanwhile my endurance has vanished. As I re-start my series, I need to not cheat myself out of endurance days. Anyway, much like @Cy McCaffrey tried to do in mid-Oct, I'm here trying to re-energize this thread. It's the 1st week of 2017 -- where are all the New Year's Resolutions at?!
Slackers...yeah you could definitely say that again. Thanks for bumpin' this thread @Value543 nice to finally get an update in here, haha. Well, I'm still hanging in there but just barely lol! I'll be dead honest with y'alls in here but I've kind of fallen off the wagon just a smidgen since the summer ended lol. Shame because I had been holding relatively strong throughout much of the early fall, up until around I'd say I guess Turkey Day. I haven't really looked back since. In other words- I've just steadily been getting a little lazy and making lame excuses for myself for not wanting to work out. That's never a good thing lol. So, I've essentially put on a little bit of the pounds. Had been maintaining about 175ish for the longest time, and then Thanksgiving happened and since then I've put on a spare tire (10lbs) so I'm now up to 185. Oh the horror I tell you! Lol. That being said, I'm still not entirely out of my range for where I'm allowing myself to be. But seriously 185 is about the high end of where I allow myself to go during the winter. So, I'm right there. Anything above that and the alarm bells and warning signals go off! New Year's resolution you say eh? Good thing you brought that up too. Yeah about that...my resolution for 2017 is to get back to where I was 2 years ago. And just MAINTAIN that! It's a little ridiculous that I would still allow these up's and down's to happen. Sure, around Thanksgiving time most people tend to put on a little bit of weight. That's normal. But, at the same time they also get right back on track to their routines once the holidays are through. Sadly, that has not been the case for me....or at least not yet anyway. So for this New Year I plan to basically do what I did 2 years ago. Since I know that's what worked for me. And, it was very doable. Basically that is to run/bike at least 4 days per week and lift weights at least 3 days per week. Whilst eating healthy all week long, and allowing one or two cheat MEALS (not days) every week. That was what got me waaaay down in 2015, and that's where I intend to do again this year. The nice thing here is that I'm starting off at 185 and not 225 which is where I had started back in 2015 if y'alls recall. That was a helluva hill to climb. I'm first just looking to lose this holiday weight off. And then I can work from there to get down to my absolute ultimate goal weight of about 155-160. Perhaps by the end of this summer if all goes well. I'll try to update y'alls throughout the Spring/Summer on how I'm doing as that also helped with my motivation, etc. Wish me luck ya'lls! And I will do the same for you @Value543 and anyone else lurking in here!
So in early 2015 I decided it was time to make a change. I had been married about 4 yrs, my first child was a couple of years old so I had put my health on the back burner because I was so busy with other things. Not to mention I had been eating like shit since I got married and drinking several times a week too! At this point I was 310 lbs. I decided to cut out dairy, most carbs, liquor, and red meat from my diet. I also started going to the gym 4 times a week for a couple of hours to do weights and cardio. I went pretty hard and was very motivated, so I saw results right away. My goal was to lose 1% of my weight per week, which got harder as the weeks went on. By May 2016 I had lost 75lbs and got as low as 232lbs, which I was pretty happy about and felt great! Meanwhile, we had our second child which made getting in those workouts even harder. I weighed in this new years at about 250, my new goal is to get to 225 and maintain. I'm 6'2 with a solid frame so I feel that would be a good weight. So far it's going well, lost about 5 lbs so far but only able to get to the gym around 3 times per week. I absolutely need to lose the weight during the winter because I have trouble saying no to a cold beer or 6 during the summer! Also, my wife got me a Fitbit for Christmas and it has really helped! Anyone else have one? Anyway, that's my story!
Great stuff @Z0da that is some really good motivation in here for sure! Thank you for chiming in with that. Keep up the awesome work! Nice profile pic btw!
Impressive stuff @Z0da damn! Look forward to hearing how you progress as 2017 kicks off -- thanks for sharing! Portion control and what we put into our bodies, in my opinion, does way more for our wasit line than anything we can crank out at the gym...so on those days / weeks when you can't get after it like you want to...just focus on portions...I'll bet you the rest falls into place! Keep it up!
Weather startin' to warm up around here. Looking forward to getting out on my bike again! Truth be told here but hitting up the gym every other day is getting to be a little old hat lol. Can't wait to get out and take in the beautiful fresh air outdoors!
just got back from a kick ass mountain biking trip out in asheville! was out there all day yesterday. really took advantage of the awesome weather. feels good
Fitness you say? I almost forgot what that feels like... If memory serves me correctly, it feels pretty good! I'm trying to get back in a routine myself... Started a new job last month.... I'm a truck driver, and my last job was also a truck driving job..... But... Last job entailed getting out of the truck every now n then and doing actual work...... Not so much now Few years back i got on a big workout kick, actually bought a gym membership, and lost over 10 lbs in 1 month...... Then I decided to save money and buy a home gym..... Big mistake!...... Thing about the real gym is, they don't have couches, TV, or beer in the fridge.. But my house does So the other day I cleared out a spot in the new house (new last year) and set my old Bowflex back up...... Forgot how good it feels to be sore all over!!!...... I know a lot of meat heads talk smack about Bowflex machines, but the way I figure, resistance is resistance... And i like it!..... Just wish I had more time to use it!.... But I'm gonna try and keep at it this time
Ah ha here it is! I knew I had posted this on here somewhere... Is it crazy that I made this post in here on Saturday...then on Easter Sunday I went back out to Asheville with a few riding buddies and got hurt?! I think I may have overdone it. My body was a little fatigued after Friday's ride ... but the weather was just so nice out on Sunday that I just did not want to pass up the beautiful day indoors. So, I went out for a 2nd day ... and sure enough I injured my left arm in supporting my body from a fairly nasty fall. Probably am not gonna mountain bike again anytime soon. Truth be told my injury could have been far worse than it was. To come out with just a sprained up arm is kind of a miracle. Phew. That being said, this still won't stop me from biking out around my area this year. Personally I prefer biking over running any day, every day! Running always hurts my joints. Biking is not only a great work out but it's also kind of fun as well! Except for when you're falling and getting banged up of course! Lol.
No details?? I love a good bike wreck story!... About 20 years ago, when my balls were still bigger than my brain, you'd find me on 2 wheels more often than 2 feet!...... Except it was a freestyle bike instead of a mountain bike But I know how mean those damn rocks can be!... I once ate it off a handrail and fell elbow first into a bunch of sharp jagged landscaping rocks..... Swelled my arm up like a football and left a big hole that looked like a pus volcano (sorry ladies)........ I ain't gonna lie, I wanted to cry! But there were too many dudes around Glad you're ok man!.. I've watched plenty of those mountain biking videos... Y'all are a whole nother kinda crazy!
bowflex is pretty sweet. I use a lot of bands in my training in combination with barbells, dumbbells, pull ups, press downs, etc.
Just started a health grind today. Changing my eating lifestyle, giving up beer and pop for a month, and working out at least 5x a week. I’ve never been as committed as I am right now, hopefully I can stick to it. We’re going on vacation in Mexico with 2 couples in August, so I’m using that as motivation. I’ll post pictures if I get good results. Long-term, I want to look good and feel good. 6-pack, etc.
That sounds awesome @T0rm3nted and I too will join you in this endeavor. Admittedly, I've put on a bit of unwanted lbs over this winter (really started from Thanksgiving and just spiraled downward from there =/) and would like to shed that off by the 4th of July as I am planning a vacation with my family down to FL. Back to portion sizes, and just eating sensibly for me. No cheat meals for at least the first 6 weeks. Will gradually add depending on my progress. With Spring season just around the corner, it will be time to tune up the bike and get out on the trails again. I'll be taking some pics and posting them here along the way as well. In fact, if you're down for this @T0rm3nted let's also update on our progress in here every once in a while. I've found that it helps a lot. Did that one time on the old HSM board with a few members years ago who were updating their progress every other week or so and it helped a bit (or at least did for me). Anyway, good luck to you @T0rm3nted! Let's kill this!
Sounds great to me. Let's get it done! 3 days in so far. Monday I went to the gym and ate healthy all day. Tuesday I did a workout video at 4:40AM before work and continued eating healthy. Doing good so far today as well, off day to rest the body. Got my alarm set again for tomorrow morning before work. I'll be working 7 days a week - 6AM-430PM for the next 6 weeks (FML). Hoping to stick with 5 days of working out, and healthy eating the entire time. I'm limiting myself to 3 carbs a day (it's a loose term - I equate 1 carb to 1 piece of bread for example and base it off that), no sugar, no pop, and no alcohol. If I see real good results, I plan to keep this lifestyle change with slightly less restrictions. I'd like to get a body I'm proud of and maintain that. Once I'm actually in shape (I'm horribly out of shape right now), I plan to try out the "recommended routine" on the BodyWeightFitness reddit which is only 3 days a week, and then probably do some light cardio the other days to maintain my endurance as well. Every day so far my meal plans have been fairly similar. Believe it or not - I feel more full more of the day and honestly need to eat more calories than below probably. Breakfast 6AM - 3 scrambled eggs with diced green and red peppers, and diced ham Lunch 10:30AM- Chicken breast, bag of assorted vegetables (carrots, peppers, cucumbers, grape tomatoes), and fruit (cantaloupe, melon, watermelon) Snack 2PM - Apple, Protein bar Dinner 6PM - Salmon tonight, Chicken breast and some rice last night, shrimp fajitas (no shells) on monday night Bed time - 9PM Lunches will change up soon based on some of the meals we make having more leftovers than other meals. Always have a couple chicken breasts in the fridge though for when there's not enough leftovers. The only cheat day I have planned ahead in the nearish future is Easter. I'll be working every day until then. 70 hour work weeks may become too much work working out 5 days a week, so that's just my starting point. If I need to scale it back to 4 days working out, I will.
^^ Good stuff there @T0rm3nted! Thanks for sharing all of that. Wow! That is super impressive that you're able to get your workouts in so early even despite your working hours there! That deserves some serious kudos from me. I used to do the early AM workouts (5am) before work years ago and it was f'n hard as hell. However, it was nice being able to get my workouts in early in the day so I didn't have to think about getting them in later in the day and having it on my mind all day long. Not only that, but I often found myself feeling lazy in the afternoons/evenings and not even doing any workout at all most times. If I had to choose between the early AM or afternoon/evening to workout I would definitely pick the early AM. It's just nice to get the workouts out of the way, and not think about it for the rest of the day. In addition, although it was very hard to get up early to workout, it did make me feel good all day long which was nice. I'm really diggin' your mean plan as well! That's looking good! So, similar to you I'm planning to workout 5 days a week as well. Biking on the trails around my home for at least 3 times a week, 90 minutes round trip. That will be my cardio for the week. It's pretty high intensity and really gets my heart rate going! ...and getting back in the weight room at least twice a week. With upper body and lower body workouts dedicated for one day each week. I would also like include a low intensity workout (like a causal walk or whatever) once per week as well. Can probably squeeze that in during the days I lift weights or on one of my off days. Sunday's were always my off days in the past. Thinking of sticking to that again this go around. Did this a few years back and it was very efficient for me. As far as my meal plans go. Mine isn't very exciting if you will lol. I'll post that up on completely new post a bit later on. But anyway, my goal is to shed about 30lbs in 3 1/2 months. Kind of of a tall order there. But, if I don't hit that goal exactly on the # it's not a fail. Not trying to put too much emphasis on what the scale says actually, but just that I am feeling a lot better about myself overall is what counts, and being healthy. Will try to update in here about every week or every other week or so. Will try to also post up pics as well. Good luck to the both of us! Let's do this!
Very nice. Like you, I'm not going to worry about what the scale says but how I feel and how I look. Hopefully in a week or so we're both posting an update about how great it is going so far and how we're already seeing/feeling results!
I live in a city where they have bike sharing. Best thing ever, I ride everywhere now and never look for parking.
So I just did a killer hike with my bro-in-law who had the day off from work today. Must have been out there for like 3 hours I think. My feet hurt! The weather around here was just so nice out so I wanted to take advantage of it, and I wanted to also give myself the entire day off from all the market action. Actually felt kinda nice for a change. I didn't think I could go the entire day w/o checking my phone and the markets, but I actually did lol. Haven't had a good workout like that in a long while! Felt good, but at the same time now I feel like wanting to take a good long nap. Starting from next week is when I hope to start getting back on my bike and hitting up the trails. Although, I'm looking at the weather forecast for next week here and it isn't looking too promising right now. Might just have to settle with doing cardio in the gym for now...
Small setback for me, but not a huge one. Just that I can't get out on the bike yet. Plus, had to deal with some weekend family issues that kind of had me resorting back to my old ways for a couple days. The good news, it's a new week...so I can just pretend none of that ever happened. Looks like the weather should be clearing up around here later this week. But, in the meantime I'll hit up some weights and maybe attend a spinning class for a good cardio workout. Gonna be a grind. Gotta keep telling myself this is not a sprint, more like a marathon.
