Author Topic: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)  (Read 12215 times)

brandon1827

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #50 on: April 04, 2019, 08:48:34 AM »
Yeah, no pics needed. It's about each of us striving toward our respective goals and getting inspiration from each other.

Did an interesting workout at the gym yesterday. 4 stations, start with 5 seconds at station 1, run to station 2 and 5 seconds there, run to station 3 and 5 seconds there, etc. We worked from 5 seconds at each station up to 50 seconds at each station, increasing in 5 second increments in each round. The stations each had 3 exercises to choose from. Station 1 was overhead med-ball throws, runners crunches, or around the world slams. Station 2 was box jumps, burpees, or bear crawls, Station 3 was sprints, long jump/monster walk, or power skips, and Station 4 was fast feet (in/outs), floor climbers, or TRX curls w/ knee drives. Before we started I thought "this is going to be cake" but by the 25 second round I was gassed and counting how many rounds we had left, lol. Good workout and lots of fun.

Today I'm fasting until noon, eating only paleo, doing a 60-minute HIIT workout, and drinking at least a gallon of water.

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #51 on: April 04, 2019, 08:55:29 AM »
Day 4

Hope everyone is still pushing through! We are almost through this week. What's one of your go-to healthy meals? For me, I like to throw half a banana, 1c of strawberries, 1c of almond milk, and 1 scoop of vanilla whey in the blender. Easy smoothie for breakfast or dinner. About 30g protein, 320 calories, and delicious!

Weigh-In
  • ---.-lbs (-2.0 this week; -2.0 overall) - didn't weigh in today
Exercise
  • 60-minute HIIT class - 450kcal burnt (not my best performance)
Nutrition
  • Strawberry banana protein smoothie
  • Poppyseed salad for lunch
  • Sugar-free pudding as a snack
  • Turkey burger patty & palmini with pesto for dinner

I was/am really low energy today. This could be a combination of eating "protein ice cream" last night with artificial sweeteners, my neighbor literally playing drums and bass until late last night keeping me up, and/or not hydrating enough. Barely made it through my workout, lowest burn in quite a while. I'm going to try to eat an early dinner and get lots of sleep tonight.

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #52 on: April 04, 2019, 09:03:18 AM »
Did an interesting workout at the gym yesterday.

That sounds brutal.. nice work

What's one of your go-to healthy meals?

Super simple salad. Spinach, diced roma tomato, diced green onion, pumpkin seeds. Tossed with lemon juice and olive oil and some salt and pepper.


04/04

8.5h sleep. Rest day from gym. Biked into work, only real form of exercise today. Biking was tough after last nights leg workout!

Hope everyone has a good day
« Last Edit: April 04, 2019, 10:28:42 AM by philli14 »

gerardc

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #53 on: April 04, 2019, 10:01:25 AM »
60-minute HIIT class - 450kcal burnt (not my best performance)

https://youtu.be/USPdqShb_bM?t=215

MOD EDIT: Rude, not helpful.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2019, 02:21:59 PM by arebelspy »

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #54 on: April 04, 2019, 10:16:20 AM »
60-minute HIIT class - 450kcal burnt (not my best performance)

https://youtu.be/USPdqShb_bM?t=215
Please leave, your "input" isn't helpful in this thread.

use2betrix

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #55 on: April 04, 2019, 05:42:22 PM »
fitness threads are pretty useless without pics everyone ...

in the last 6 months I went down from 18% bf to ~11%. I look almost decent now. A few more lbs to go, just in time for FIRE

Here’s a before pic as of this evening:
https://m.imgur.com/a/uSupGRv

u natty brah? your skin looks pretty tight, might just be a pump

Picture was taken after a full upper body workout in the evening. I actually hesitated to even take a pic then because I usually look better fasted in the morning. Oh well.

I’m 30, aside from around an 18 month hiatus at 21, I’ve been lifting weights consistently since 14. My diet and training has been near impeccable the last 7-8 years. I also now run 15-20 pretty hard miles a week. I’ve slowly tapered back my time in the gym the better I get to know my body. The last 3-4 years were 3 days a week (and I’d miss maybe a handful of days a year) and this year I just cut back to two days lifting, 4 days running. My lifting workouts are all out, soul crushing events.

I’ve lost a tad bit of muscle going from 3 days to 2, but by increasing the running I’m enjoying the differences. I’ve spent so much consistent time in the gym over the years that I knew a change of pace in terms of more cardiovascular exercise would eventually happen. Prior to last summer I had never done any consistent cardio of any form in my life. I just lifted hard and kept my diet in check.

*Edit - I should also add, that unlike 95% of gym goers, the last 7-8 years I have hit my lower body harder than my upper body. I don’t mean just some squats, I mean week after week I consistently destroyed my legs with a far more intense workout than I did my upper body. The vast vast majority of guys don’t even look like they train their legs at all (and most you never do see them train legs). I think that has been a huge addition to building a well balanced physique.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2019, 06:09:33 PM by use2betrix »

gerardc

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #56 on: April 04, 2019, 10:08:05 PM »
fitness threads are pretty useless without pics everyone ...

in the last 6 months I went down from 18% bf to ~11%. I look almost decent now. A few more lbs to go, just in time for FIRE

Here’s a before pic as of this evening:
https://m.imgur.com/a/uSupGRv

u natty brah? your skin looks pretty tight, might just be a pump

Picture was taken after a full upper body workout in the evening. I actually hesitated to even take a pic then because I usually look better fasted in the morning. Oh well.

I’m 30, aside from around an 18 month hiatus at 21, I’ve been lifting weights consistently since 14. My diet and training has been near impeccable the last 7-8 years. I also now run 15-20 pretty hard miles a week. I’ve slowly tapered back my time in the gym the better I get to know my body. The last 3-4 years were 3 days a week (and I’d miss maybe a handful of days a year) and this year I just cut back to two days lifting, 4 days running. My lifting workouts are all out, soul crushing events.

I’ve lost a tad bit of muscle going from 3 days to 2, but by increasing the running I’m enjoying the differences. I’ve spent so much consistent time in the gym over the years that I knew a change of pace in terms of more cardiovascular exercise would eventually happen. Prior to last summer I had never done any consistent cardio of any form in my life. I just lifted hard and kept my diet in check.

*Edit - I should also add, that unlike 95% of gym goers, the last 7-8 years I have hit my lower body harder than my upper body. I don’t mean just some squats, I mean week after week I consistently destroyed my legs with a far more intense workout than I did my upper body. The vast vast majority of guys don’t even look like they train their legs at all (and most you never do see them train legs). I think that has been a huge addition to building a well balanced physique.

Looking good man. I actually look pretty similar to you, except a tad fatter (working on that) and less veiny especially the legs (I can tell they are a strong point of yours) and smaller from your stats. Doable but probably close to the natty limit, at least for my genetics.

I'm 35 and also have been working out since 19-20. I used to do 5-6x/week but in the last 2 years I had some nagging injuries and went down to 3x/week with weights (basically maintaining my strength barely), plus 1x/week of Crossfit-style cardio/circuit with dumbbells and bodyweight functional movements. Crossfit has a bad rap but is a great way to do cardio if you do it safely. You should definitely check it out as an addition to weight training. Otherwise I like biking outdoors for longer durations or doing some bike HIIT workouts.

JanetJackson

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #57 on: April 05, 2019, 06:07:02 AM »
Forgot to check in Yesterday:

Day Four!

Goals

1. Gym 3x/wk minimum I've been maintaining this for a good while, but my goal is no slip ups for this 8 week challenge.
Day four was a rest day.  Foam rolled a little bit and took a long walk.

2. DO NOT COMPLAIN while I am at the gym.  Extended sighs count as complaining.  I'll allow myself to complain before or after, but not during class or anywhere near my coach.  I go to a crossfit gym, and sometimes part of our social language is complaining together, and I am a solid participator in that complain-train... but not for April and May!! :)
N/A yesterday.

3. 300lb Deadlift.  I'm in a Deadlift fundraiser in June, so this times out perfectly.  My goal is to be in the 300 range.  My max is very inconsistent these days, but floats around 260-270.
Rest day

4. Use my stovetop ONCE per week minimum.  I just got a gas stove for the first time and am terrified of it and don't know how to cook on it.  I've used the oven, but the stove, now almost a MONTH after moving in, goes unused.  This is causing me to microwave everything, skip meals, overeat other weird things, and just generally eat less optimally.  But I am legitimately scared of it.  Ha.
Did not use stove yesterday, already met this quota.

Thx, it helps me to check in.  Will check in later today for Day 5.

Serendip

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #58 on: April 05, 2019, 01:35:02 PM »
Yesterday's success= another gym/sauna session

Today=Yoga day 2/30  (Yoga with Adriene 30 day home challenge)

JanetJackson

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #59 on: April 05, 2019, 02:00:46 PM »
Day Five!

Goals

1. Gym 3x/wk minimum I've been maintaining this for a good while, but my goal is no slip ups for this 8 week challenge.
Went to gym today for fourth time this week.  I got an extra day in because I was craving the social interaction and endorphins.  Had a fun time.

2. DO NOT COMPLAIN while I am at the gym.  Extended sighs count as complaining.  I'll allow myself to complain before or after, but not during class or anywhere near my coach.  I go to a crossfit gym, and sometimes part of our social language is complaining together, and I am a solid participator in that complain-train... but not for April and May!! :)
Let one slip today, but no one heard me and I quickly course-corrected and ended up having a great time and being one of the "positive people" during a pretty hard workout for all of us.  Proud of myself.

3. 300lb Deadlift.  I'm in a Deadlift fundraiser in June, so this times out perfectly.  My goal is to be in the 300 range.  My max is very inconsistent these days, but floats around 260-270.
We did not work on DLs today, we worked on Front Squats.  It will all help my DL though, so I'm not too worried about it.  Will do some Good Mornings tonight and foam roll to prep for some work on Deadlifts over the weekend

4. Use my stovetop ONCE per week minimum.  I just got a gas stove for the first time and am terrified of it and don't know how to cook on it.  I've used the oven, but the stove, now almost a MONTH after moving in, goes unused.  This is causing me to microwave everything, skip meals, overeat other weird things, and just generally eat less optimally.  But I am legitimately scared of it.  Ha.
Did not use stove today, already met this quota.  I might use it later.  I bought a fire extinguisher today and a 2nd carbon monoxide detector.  I couldn't BE more prepared. LOL.  I hate that dang stove.  I'll master it eventually.

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #60 on: April 05, 2019, 05:51:58 PM »
4/5

10h of sleep. Pull day. Didn't really have the usual energy and focus today.. not sure why. Hopefully an anomoly. Still churned out a decent workout

1. Pullups 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, 30sec rest between
2. Seated rows 4x8 @240#, last set drop set (no rest between) 240#x8 -> 210#x8 -> 180#x8 -> 150#x8
3. Lateral delt raise 3x12 @15# superset with rear delt raise 3x12 @15# superset with straight arm pull down 3x10 @60#
4. Paloff deadbugs 2x20 superset with physioball planks 2x24
5. Band bicep curls AMRAP 60sec/20 rest/40sec/20 rest/20sec
6. Plate holds (2x10# plates pinched together in each hand), 60sec

Thicc shake (cookies n cream protein powder, heavy cream, banana, peanut butter) and 5 tacos (ground beef, bitchin sauce, sour cream, cilantro, cheese) post-workout

use2betrix

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #61 on: April 06, 2019, 08:58:06 AM »
Not a terrible week, but one of the worse one’s in a while. My diet stayed spot on all week and I woke up at 179.6 this morning. I had a fantastic 7 mile run Sunday, 4 mile recovery Monday, hard upper body workout Wednesday, 1 mile warm up followed by three, 1 mile repeats on Thursday at the track.

That being said - my back I messed up around a month ago continues to be a concern. Steady ibuprofen has helped a lot but is definitely only masking the problem. I’ve increased my stretching in the morning and night and trying new things. I’ve seen the chiro twice. I have a high deductible insurance and am putting the doctor off until I’ve given it time and exhausted other methods.

In addition, my shins/calves are starting to bother me some, so I put off my planned recovery run that was supposed to be Thursday/Friday before I get a stress related injury.

Leg day is planned for today. I’m making a goal to run a personal 10k in as many states as possible this year, and I have a meeting in another state I likely won’t visit again this year on Monday, so I’m hoping I can still make my long run on Monday morning. It’ll depend how the calves and shins feel. With my first 5k scheduled next month, not a good time to be cutting back, but also don’t want to jeopardize my long term goals.

While my “not on track” is still pretty good, hopefully I can get back on track better this coming week.

Serendip

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #62 on: April 06, 2019, 01:04:41 PM »
Good work everyone!

So far, so good here.

Weight 153.8 (-1.2lbs)

Yoga day 3/30 (30 day challenge)

Walked/jogged 2 miles...haven't run for ages so it was a lot of walking and took 27 minutes.
Will see how this changes over the next 7 weeks

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #63 on: April 06, 2019, 03:16:03 PM »
4/6

9h sleep. Energy feeling a little off, not too sure why. Push day (no weigh-in)

1. Bench press 5x5 @275. First time trying 275 after hitting 265 5x5 last week. 5/4/4/4/3. Had to play it cautious as I didn't have a spotter. Still feels pretty good to hit 5 reps of 275.
2. Alternating DB chest press 3x10 @75s. DBs held in top position, perform chest press one at a time, alternating arms. Hit failure on 10th rep of third set, perfect.
3. Triple superset. Deadbug/paloff 3x20 with weighted V-ups 3x8 @25# with plyo push-up 3x10 onto 18" box

Pretty good, considering I'm feeling a little off. Must have a little bug or something.

Thicc shake post-workout!

2Birds1Stone

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #64 on: April 07, 2019, 09:58:12 AM »
216.4 lbs this morning

Currently lifting weights 3-4x a week, as well as running 2x a week, and riding my MTB 1x a week.

Biggest hurdle for me has always been my diet. If I can control my calories my weight tends to cooperate. I feel/perform my best right under the 200 lb mark.

16 lbs in 8 weeks is very reasonable, I'm going to start today though.

In the past I've had great success with adherence through intermittent fasting. The hardest part is always the first 7 days, and I already fucked it up with some cookies w/ morning coffee today......so I'll start that tomorrow.

I started IF about 10 days ago. So far so good.

Morning Weight 214
7 Day Average - 210.3

I expect my average to drift up a bit before dropping to new lows. My 7 Day Average on 3/27 was 215.6, needing to drop 15.8 lbs to hit my goal of <200 @ 199.8 at the 8 week mark.

Right on track, but April will be tough with 2 weddings, 2 Passover celebrations, Easter, a few Bday parties, and work functions/travel.


Money Beets

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #65 on: April 07, 2019, 10:17:26 AM »
Week 1 went pretty well for me exercise wise, but my eating was not ideal.  I got in a good mix of HIIT, strength training, and a few longer runs (even though I really didn't want to) with Wednesday and Saturday as rest days.  This week, I am looking to continue what I have been doing re exercise and improve in the meal department.  Things really pick up for me at work this week, so I am trying to do a little extra planning to stay on track. 

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #66 on: April 07, 2019, 04:14:52 PM »
4/7

7h sleep. Still feeling a little off. Leg day.

1. Standing box jumps 3x3 @52", x1 @55", x1 @56" (PR)
2. Deadlift 3x3 @400#
3. Tempo Depth Squats 5/4/3 @185/205/225 (5 seconds eccentric, 2 seconds concentric, ass to grass)
4. Single leg deadlift + pistol squat + med ball toss x6 @20#
5. Superset Kneeling med ball throws (twist) 2x8/8/8/8 with physioball planks 2x8/8/8

All in all a really good day. PR on standing box jumps, increased weight on deadlifts and depth squats. Legs pretty cooked. Thicc shake, now time to soak up some sun and do some reading.

Congrats on making it through the first week, y'all!

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #67 on: April 08, 2019, 09:30:08 AM »
Day 8 (4/8):

Rest day. 8.5h of sleep, still don't feel like I'm sleeping well, and still waking up kinda sleepy. Body doesn't necessarily feel fatigued, but eyes are very sleepy. Not sure, as I've been averaging 9h over the last week.. Must be some low level bug that I'm fighting.

Yesterday was meal prep day, got all my meals sorted for the week. Menu includes (can you tell I'm bulking?):

- Rueben sandwiches (home made sauerkraut and corned beef)
- Chicken fried rice
- Tacos (ground beef, bitchin sauce, sour cream, cheddar cheese, onion, cilantro)
- Bolognese (ground beef, mire poix, tomato paste, red wine, heavy cream.. usually eat it over some pasta with cheddar cheese. It's like fancy hamburger helper)
- Breakfast sausage mix (crumbled sausage, onion, green pepper. Add some to a bowl with an egg and cheese in the AM and microwave. ready in 1min)
- Coconut curry lentils
- Turmeric maple syrup roasted nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds tossed with maple syrup, turmeric, cayenne, chili powder and roasted in the oven) for snacks

Should last me for the week.

Anette

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #68 on: April 08, 2019, 01:32:07 PM »
Day 8!
I love the way I don't seem to fit very well with you very sporty, lean , trim and fit people but I will keep hanging out with you since the title of the post resonates with me :)
We had lots going on these past 8 days and so I am first off going to admit my only exercise was a 40 min walk in the woods on Sunday and I hope to do much better in the coming days. The whether has been great and I love being in the woods.
The without wheat, milk products and added sugars part is going great, even when we had guests with us on Sunday and served a big fruit salad over vanilla ice cream for dessert and DH and I only had fruit salad.
So I was able to loose 1.2 kg ( ~2.5pounds) during this past week and I am happy for this loss
Thank you all for helping my with accountability and with your great progress

Serendip

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #69 on: April 08, 2019, 01:48:49 PM »
Yesterday was a semi-rest day, as I was working (physical work)

Weight 153.6 (-1.4lbs from start)

Gym: Step Mill workout 20min & sauna 

Yoga 4/30 of the 30 day challenge

Serendip

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #70 on: April 08, 2019, 01:50:19 PM »
Day 8!
I love the way I don't seem to fit very well with you very sporty, lean , trim and fit people but I will keep hanging out with you since the title of the post resonates with me :)
We had lots going on these past 8 days and so I am first off going to admit my only exercise was a 40 min walk in the woods on Sunday and I hope to do much better in the coming days. The whether has been great and I love being in the woods.
The without wheat, milk products and added sugars part is going great, even when we had guests with us on Sunday and served a big fruit salad over vanilla ice cream for dessert and DH and I only had fruit salad.
So I was able to loose 1.2 kg ( ~2.5pounds) during this past week and I am happy for this loss
Thank you all for helping my with accountability and with your great progress

This is great and you fit here perfectly @Anette !   Going for a walk in the woods is pretty much my favorite thing ever, but we still have snow at most elevations so I need to wait a bit longer for that :)

Percolate

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #71 on: April 08, 2019, 10:27:28 PM »
Day 8 Check-in. 1 week down!

The good

- 8 straight days of yoga and meditation! That's a personal record for yoga and my longest streak for meditation since November of last year, or 5 months ago.
- 8 straight days of going to the gym. Varied in intensity and activity and it helps that even when my body is stupid sore I still enjoy playing basketball.
- My sleep hygiene was as good as it's been in some time. Normally I have trouble falling asleep, might lay awake for hours if I don't use a podcast / audiobook / video to distract me but this week towards the end I was falling asleep unaided and waking up before 7 AM without an alarm. I'm not feeling super rested each time but for weeks up to this point it had been near impossible to get up that early and I attribute a lot of it to meditation.
- Over the weekend I disabled my wifi and browser on my phone to force a low information diet. It was nice, a lot of things feel less addictive today.
- Total groceries/food spending for the month is $42.38 so far and shouldn't need to go shopping for another week
- Moving average weight down about 2-3 lbs
- 8 straight days of flossing

Room for improvement

- Stuck to mostly whole food plant based for 5/8 days. Retirement party at work meant free cake, chips, salsa, and leftover cake the next day and I did not resist indulging. I kept a caloric deficit but ideally would not be eating the simple carbs.
- Sleeping by 11 PM or even 12 AM has been a struggle. Things that keep me up are not doing some daily tasks till the end of the day or else just distractions / entertainment like internet browsing (including personal finance stuff) and video games.
- Haven't used ClassPass subscription and workouts could be a little more intense

Jim Fiction

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #72 on: April 09, 2019, 07:53:07 AM »
Weight Tracker:
205.5 lbs (as of 4/1)
200.0 lbs (as of 4/8)

General Goals:
Stick to Low-carb/Ketoish diet
Eliminate snacking at work
Better portion control
Limit beer intake (my Achilles for sure!)
Workout 3x per week (including at least one home workout)
Get under 200 lbs by end of April

Overall I am pleased with my progess this week. I kept to the diet, with the exception being a little bit of beer on Saturday. I avoided snacking almost entirely at work. Portion control was great since everything was portioned out in advance. This slacked a little bit for breakfast on the weekend as I probably had a few too many low-carb almond flour-based pancakes, but that's a small sin. The real negative for the week is I only worked out once, but I tweaked something in my wrist somehow so I was resting it a bit. This week I'll do cardio/bodyweight exercises that don't involve my wrists if it continues to bother me.

I managed to lose 5.5 lbs, so I am almost at my target - which I deliberately set low. I don't expect similar results week-to-week moving forward. In my experience I always see the biggest weight drop in the first week and progress slows after that.

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #73 on: April 09, 2019, 08:53:33 AM »
Day 9 (4/29):

Early morning lift (4:30AM). 7.5 hours of sleep.

Push/Pull day. Quick pre-workout, biked to the gym. 5-10 minute dynamic warmup then got into the lift.

Pull-ups (13 sets, 30sec rest between sets). Rep scheme: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/6/5/4/3/2/1 - felt decent
Dumbbell Chest press (5 sets, 3min rest between sets). Rep scheme: 5x7, 110# dumbbells for 7/7/7/7/4 - 2 more reps than last week. closing in on full 5/7
Seated machine row (4 sets, 1.5min rest between sets). Rep scheme: 4x8, 250# for 8/8/8/8 - up 5# from last week
Rack pushes (3 sets, 3min rest between sets). Rep scheme: 3x8, 275#/295#/315# for 8/8/8 - changed weight up a bit, but able to hit full 8 reps at 315

Decent lift despite not feeling great this AM. Have been feeling generally achy and sore, so was considering sleeping in and doing a deload this week, but got up and churned out a good lift.

Quick shower, thiccc protein shake, then back onto the bike to work. Weigh-in at 182# (Up 1# so far!)

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #74 on: April 10, 2019, 08:42:05 AM »
Day 10

Hi everyone! Sorry for falling off the map for a week. I have had a beyond-crazy workweek which resulted in working straight through the weekends. I haven't had time to cook or clean, but I am back and in the game. I was in the gym regularly and on Sunday I sprained my knee. It's a light sprain, had my sports medicine doctor take a look and I should be good to go on Friday again (with biking instead of running for a week).

I'll weigh in again in a few days.

Exercise
  • Stretch+Yoga rest day
Nutrition
  • AM: Coffee + Nutpods creamer (10cal, 0g protein)
  • Breakfast: Strawberry-banana protein smoothie
  • Lunch: Lean pork tenderloin, russet potato
  • Dinner: Beef roast
  • Snack: Navel oranges, cherries

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #75 on: April 10, 2019, 08:58:10 AM »
Day 10 (9/10):

Solid 9 hours of sleep. Biked into work. Taking today off the gym, need to give my body some rest time.

Serendip

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #76 on: April 10, 2019, 10:09:08 AM »
Have a friend visiting so no gym yesterday or today but we went for a few walks & I completed
Day 5/30 of my Yoga Challenge

brandon1827

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #77 on: April 10, 2019, 01:21:47 PM »
Started the challenge at around 210-211 pounds. Weighed this morning and am down to 206. Little league is cutting into my gym time, so I've only been once so far this week. IF still going strong though and I hope to get a workout in today and Saturday (little league games Thursday and Friday). Hope everyone is doing well!

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #78 on: April 11, 2019, 08:56:26 AM »
Still lingering above 200 lbs. And lingering. And lingering. Worked out last night and rode the bike to work. We’ll see tomorrow morning!

Woohoo!  The 200 lb threshold has been crossed! 198.8 this morning!

Awesome!!!

Day 11 (4/11)

Scheduled day off. Biked into work. Still feeling slightly under the weather, at this point I'm thinking allergies, which are BRUTAL this time of year in NorCal. Never had an issue before moving here....

Regardless, my big 3 favorite workouts are coming up in the next couple of days. Hoping for successfully increasing weight all around. Have a good day y'all

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #79 on: April 11, 2019, 10:08:25 AM »
Started the challenge at around 210-211 pounds. Weighed this morning and am down to 206. Little league is cutting into my gym time, so I've only been once so far this week. IF still going strong though and I hope to get a workout in today and Saturday (little league games Thursday and Friday). Hope everyone is doing well!
Nice progress, kudos! What's your end goal?

Still lingering above 200 lbs. And lingering. And lingering. Worked out last night and rode the bike to work. We’ll see tomorrow morning!

Woohoo!  The 200 lb threshold has been crossed! 198.8 this morning!
Awesome! Congratulations! Often the long plateaus come right before a big drop. :-) Keep being awesome!

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #80 on: April 11, 2019, 10:12:21 AM »
Day 10

Knee sprain is doing okay but I have to give it a few more days before I hit the gym again. I will, however, do a shoulder workout this evening after work to get some kind of burn in!

Planning to weigh in again on Monday. Also trying to drink a lot more water and a lot less La Croix. 1L down today, aiming for 3L by bedtime.

Exercise
  • Lift - Shoulders
Nutrition
  • AM: Coffee + Nutpods creamer x2 (20cal, 0g protein)
  • Breakfast: Strawberry-banana protein smoothie
  • Lunch: Lean pork tenderloin, russet potato
  • Dinner: Beef roast
  • Snack: Navel oranges, cherries

brandon1827

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #81 on: April 12, 2019, 09:21:23 AM »
Started the challenge at around 210-211 pounds. Weighed this morning and am down to 206. Little league is cutting into my gym time, so I've only been once so far this week. IF still going strong though and I hope to get a workout in today and Saturday (little league games Thursday and Friday). Hope everyone is doing well!
Nice progress, kudos! What's your end goal?

For this challenge, I just want to lose as much as I can in the time-frame allotted. Ultimately, I'm using the challenge as a springboard for Tough Mudder preparations. That race is in October, and I'd like to toe the line at around 185 lbs. I ran one a few years ago and while I was prepared for the cardio elements, I got my butt kicked on the strength parts. So I want to maintain my cardio but increase my strength as much as I can between now and then. I do HIIT workouts 3-5 times per week depending on my schedule...and it incorporates weight-lifting at least a couple of days, so I'm well on my way!

Hope your knee heals soon!

Serendip

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #82 on: April 12, 2019, 05:20:59 PM »
Felt sluggish today at the gym after missing four days or so...did a climbing workout and then sauna.
Will finish up the day with a lake loop walk this evening (around 2 hrs, easy terrain)

philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #83 on: April 12, 2019, 05:59:51 PM »
4/12

10h of sleep. Pull day. Still leaning towards allergies being the culprit. Did not have great energy during the workout, and a little distracted. Definitely looks better on paper than it felt during

1. Pullups 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, 30sec rest between
2. Seated rows 4x8 @240#, last set drop set (no rest between) 240#x8 -> 210#x8 -> 180#x8 -> 150#x8
3. Lateral delt raise 3x12 @15# superset with rear delt raise 3x12 @15# superset with straight arm pull down 3x12 @60#
4. Paloff deadbugs 2x20 superset with physioball planks 2x24
5. Band bicep curls AMRAP 60sec/20 rest/40sec/20 rest/20sec
6. Plate holds (2x10# plates pinched together in each hand), 60sec

Thicc shake after. Now that I look at it, just about exactly the same as last week except a couple more reps on straight arm pull down.

ItsALongStory

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #84 on: April 13, 2019, 08:19:18 AM »
I joined but haven't posted yet at all. Had a week long work trip earlier this month that involved eating out every day but also a 5k middle of that week. I came back only about 2 lbs over my starting weight and have just hit a new low of 220lbs today.

Been working out at my HIIT gym with more workouts scheduled for tomorrow, Monday and Wednesday. Hoping to hit 216 by the end of the month although traveling for Easter will have a negative impact.

Been doing ok with food but could certainly clean that up a lot more.

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philli14

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #85 on: April 13, 2019, 03:16:42 PM »
4/13

9h sleep. Energy a bit better today.

1. Bench press 5x5 @275. Second shot at 275, completed one more rep than last week. 5/5/4/4/3. R pec/anterior delt feeling a little strained so may deload next week depending on how I feel tomorrow.
2. Alternating DB chest press 3x10 @75s. Stayed here, still the appropriate weight. Will work up to 3x12
3. Triple superset. Deadbug/paloff 3x20 with weighted V-ups 3x8 @25# with plyo push-up 3x10 onto 18" box. Held plyo pushups out of precaution.

Pretty good day, happy with one extra rep compared to last week, steadily onwards. Thicc shake

use2betrix

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #86 on: April 13, 2019, 04:29:06 PM »
With my first 5k coming near, I have now succumbed to some of the worst workout related injuries in my 15+ years exercising (not including the hernia surgeries, but those were straightforward).

My back that I messed up on my last set of squats at 355 a month ago has taken far longer and been far worse than expected. I went to the chiro twice with no help.

Last week, doing bench press, I messed up my right shoulder in a way I never have before, and it’s really been a hindrance now. Usually just a little tweak, was worse this time.

I think I pushed myself too hard running (a few weeks ago I ran a 10k Wednesday, Friday, then 7 miles on that Sunday) and my right shin/calf have continued to hurt.

I have slowly been reeling everything back from where it was. I’m taking ibuprofen and tylenol which as helped a lot. I’ve cut my lifting back a lot, same with cardio.

I took it super easy this week, I did a 2 mile treadmill run, a 3 mile outdoor run, some stair master and a spin class. My lifting was very basic as well. I’ve been stretching 2-3x a day for a long time which has also helped. This coming week I plan to slowly pick the running back up again but take it even easier on the lifting. As much as I love lifting, I need to heal and get my body in gear for this 5k that I’ve had as a goal for 8-10 months.. I was hoping to hit 22 minutes, but I think now I should be happy if I can somehow make 23 minutes if these injuries don’t get worse.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2019, 08:13:06 PM by use2betrix »

Money Beets

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #87 on: April 14, 2019, 08:55:38 AM »
Week 2 felt really good and I improved my meal selection, but didn't get in any longer runs.  I was a bit bummed I had to scrap my workout plan yesterday due to a killer headache, so I just did some light upper body strength training.  I have 3 late nights at work this week that will make it harder to get in workouts, but I can work on drinking more water during the workday.

Jim Fiction

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #88 on: April 15, 2019, 06:50:43 AM »
Weight Tracker:
205.5 lbs (as of 4/1)
200.0 lbs (as of 4/8)
200.0 lbs (as of 4/15)

General Goals:
Stick to Low-carb/Ketoish diet
Eliminate snacking at work
Better portion control
Limit beer intake (my Achilles for sure!)
Workout 3x per week (including at least one home workout)
Get under 200 lbs by end of April


Disappointing week. I weighed myself on Thursday to see where I stood and I was down at 197.5. But the weekend brought some overeating and I had beer on both Saturday and Sunday. Also, in addition to my wrist bothering me my knee is acting up, so I am not working out at all.

It's a new week, though so I won't let last weeks lack of progress get me down. I just have to move forward and keep up what I am doing. The knee started feeling a lot better yesterday, so hopefully in a day or two it will be back to normal and I can resume some form of a workout regimen. 

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #89 on: April 15, 2019, 07:58:33 AM »
Day 15

I've been drinking a lot more water and have been less reliant on La Croix which is awesome. I have been adding Real Lime into my water bottle (it's just crystallized lime, nothing artificial or extra) to help encourage me to drink more. It's been working really well! I also did a monk fast from Friday at 8pm until 5pm on Sunday, and really like how it re-balances me mentally and physically. My knee sprain is healing but isn't back to 100% yet so I've been holding off on going back to the gym. :-(

Exercise
  • Recovery
Nutrition
  • AM: Coffee + Nutpods creamer x2 (20cal, 0g protein)
  • Breakfast: --
  • Lunch: giant salad
  • Dinner: Beef roast & potato
  • Snack: Navel oranges, cherries

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #90 on: April 15, 2019, 08:05:14 AM »
@Jim Fiction - You're making awesome progress. Give your body a bit of time to recuperate and you'll be back at it in no time. It's much better to give yourself the time you need to recover rather than jumping back in too early and hurting yourself further. It's a new day, chug some water and keep being awesome. You're making great progress already just two weeks in, so do cut yourself some slack. :-) I'm dealing with a knee-sprain too, but we have PLENTY of time to rest, recuperate, and come back swinging!

brandon1827

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #91 on: April 15, 2019, 10:08:53 AM »
With my first 5k coming near, I have now succumbed to some of the worst workout related injuries in my 15+ years exercising (not including the hernia surgeries, but those were straightforward).

My back that I messed up on my last set of squats at 355 a month ago has taken far longer and been far worse than expected. I went to the chiro twice with no help.

Last week, doing bench press, I messed up my right shoulder in a way I never have before, and it’s really been a hindrance now. Usually just a little tweak, was worse this time.

I think I pushed myself too hard running (a few weeks ago I ran a 10k Wednesday, Friday, then 7 miles on that Sunday) and my right shin/calf have continued to hurt.

I have slowly been reeling everything back from where it was. I’m taking ibuprofen and tylenol which as helped a lot. I’ve cut my lifting back a lot, same with cardio.

Please be careful continuing to workout with a back injury. I think those of us that workout all the time tend to try to work through injuries instead of taking needed time off to heal and rest. I think something that may seem like a minor injury can quickly snowball into something much worse if you don't take care of it. I've seen in myself and several athlete friends as we get older that we are hesitant to take time off because we don't want to lose gains we've made...or we just abhor the thought of not exercising regularly...but it can be huge for your overall health and well-being. I slipped a disc in my back doing a HIIT workout last October. It was bad enough that I just could not do much and ended up taking a full 4-5 weeks off and just letting my body heal. I then started back slowly and now I feel better than I have in years. I think lots of us tend to downplay minor aches and pains, but I learned through that time that rest and recovery can be just as important as routinely working out for your overall health. That's a really long-winded way for me to say...be careful with that back. If you're exercising with an injury, it will inevitably affect your form and could lead to injuries in other body parts and cost you much more time than if you just took the time off to let your body heal properly.

Jim Fiction

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #92 on: April 15, 2019, 10:41:05 AM »
Sun Hat and Lex - thank you both for the encouragement! The most frustrating thing for me is I have no idea where the injuries came from. With the wrist I simply woke up with it one morning - I initially thought I slept on it wrong - but it has endured. The knee was a similar thing - I came home from work and I felt a sharp pain walking up the stairs to my apartment. I never felt either injury happen, nor were they preceded by a workout so I don't really have anything to point to in order to ensure they don't happen again.

ItsALongStory

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #93 on: April 15, 2019, 07:15:36 PM »
Might be related to how long ago your date of birth was ;-) much longer ago than it used to be.

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lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #94 on: April 16, 2019, 06:01:48 AM »
Day 16

Currently down a bit, 131.8. Trying to keep the momentum going! With some of my time off from the gym because of the knee sprain my appetite has tanked and it’s been hard getting all of my protein in. :-/ But I will persist!

Exercise
  • Recovery
Nutrition
  • AM: Coffee + Nutpods creamer x2 (20cal, 0g protein)
  • Breakfast: --
  • Lunch: 1/2 Moe’s Bowl
  • Dinner: Big salad
  • Snack: Navel oranges, cherries

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #95 on: April 16, 2019, 06:03:05 AM »
Sun Hat and Lex - thank you both for the encouragement! The most frustrating thing for me is I have no idea where the injuries came from. With the wrist I simply woke up with it one morning - I initially thought I slept on it wrong - but it has endured. The knee was a similar thing - I came home from work and I felt a sharp pain walking up the stairs to my apartment. I never felt either injury happen, nor were they preceded by a workout so I don't really have anything to point to in order to ensure they don't happen again.
Yeah, I threw out my neck to the point I had to go to the doctor because the referred pain in my shoulder was excruciating.

This happened in my sleep. I’m 29. Ugh.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #96 on: April 16, 2019, 07:13:18 AM »
Down to 208.6, which is 6 lbs since I first posted here on 3/27.

198.0 is my end goal, and on pace to hit it in ~6-7 weeks.

lexde

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #97 on: April 17, 2019, 07:52:45 AM »
With some of my time off from the gym because of the knee sprain my appetite has tanked and it’s been hard getting all of my protein in.

I'm having the opposite issue at the moment. With the uptick in my exercise and controlling my calories, I'm ravenous. I know that protein is the answer, but I don't know how much to aim for. From what I've read online, I should be aiming for between 0.8 and 1.7 grams per kilo of body weight, but that's a huge range. Can I ask what you cats use as a guideline when you want to lose fat (priority #1) and gain strength (priority #2)?

I'm a "most of the time" vegetarian, so my usual sources of protein are things like quinoa, beans and lentils but they don't seem to be very calorie efficient vehicles for protein. I also eat plant protein powder, but it's unappetizing.

(Also, for those of you suffering from mystery injuries that arose in your sleep - I feel for you. I'll note that the only thing worse is injuries that occur while doing ridiculously easy things, because then the shame stays with you. For instance, I injured a disk while gardening a few  years ago, and sprained a toe while stretching. There's a good reason that the traditional gift for a 40th birthday is ibuprofen. Alas!)

I'm in the imperial system, but I always recommend the IIFYM calculator. IIFYM = if it fits your macros, which basically means you can eat whatever you want as long as it's within your macros (fat/protein/carbs).

https://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

It calculates for both.

Honestly, if you're vegetarian but not vegan, I would highly recommend supplementing your protein with a shake. When working out, I like to do a protein shake with 1 scoop of optimum nutrition gold standard whey (vanilla ice cream & double rich chocolate are the best flavors), 1c almond milk, 1/2 banana, and then either a tbsp of PB2 for a chocolate-banana-pb shake or 1c of other frozen fruit for a vanilla-fruit shake (strawberry-banana or blueberries are usually my go-to). It's a pretty easy way to get in ~30g-35g of protein. If you don't like whey protein, you could go for casein/egg white protein, but it's more expensive.

lexde

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use2betrix

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Re: ☆ April 2019 ☆ Transformation Challenge (Health + Fitness)
« Reply #99 on: April 17, 2019, 08:07:02 AM »
Day 16

Currently down a bit, 131.8. Trying to keep the momentum going! With some of my time off from the gym because of the knee sprain my appetite has tanked and it’s been hard getting all of my protein in. :-/ But I will persist!

Exercise
  • Recovery
Nutrition
  • AM: Coffee + Nutpods creamer x2 (20cal, 0g protein)
  • Breakfast: --
  • Lunch: 1/2 Moe’s Bowl
  • Dinner: Big salad
  • Snack: Navel oranges, cherries

I’m battling the same issue having to take it easy. Unfortunately - I am pretty strongly against trying to diet hard (lose weight) if not able to lift heavy/regularly. If you’re already taking time off exercise, it’s important to get all the calories needed to maintain as much as muscle as possible. Once you hit a calorie deficit it’s already hard enough to maintain muscle, decrease exercise on top of it and it’s more likely to lose muscle along with the fat.

As such - until my lifting is back regular, which will be a couple weeks (if i’m Smart) my weight will remain mostly the same. I’m still doing the exercises I can at around 70% effort, and my running has gone from close to 20 miles/wk, to around 9-10 (with some extra elliptical). I have increased my stretching a ton, 3x a day, and adding in push ups and planks during stretch sessions.