Author Topic: Strength & Fitness 2015  (Read 212442 times)

b4u2

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #600 on: June 15, 2015, 06:37:17 AM »
I don't post in here often but one of my goals for this year was to complete a full round of Body Beast, 12 weeks. Saturday I met that goal! So round 4 is done and I am on to round 5 now.

smoghat

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #601 on: June 15, 2015, 08:28:20 PM »
Thanks Kriegspiel. Love the moniker, BTW.

Mr. Will

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #602 on: June 16, 2015, 02:52:24 PM »
Figured I'd chime in here - been doing the 5/3/1 program and have made nice and steady gains over the past year. Current 1RMs (in lbs) are as follows:

Squat: 290
Bench: 240
Deadlift: 320
Press: 150

Current Bodyweight: 150

I am doing the pyramid version (standard 5,3,1 sets but you repeat the 1st and 2nd set after reps+ set). I perform 4 basic exercises each gym day in a super-setting fashion so I can be in and out in about 30-45 minutes. My days look like this:

Day 1: Squat superset Weighted Chins | Straight-leg Deadlift superset Weighted Dips
Day 2: Bench superset Shrugs | Incline Bench superset Barbell Rows
Day 3: Press superset Weighted Chins | Deadlift superset Weighted Dips

I've also been having trouble adding body weight as I hate to eat so I've recently created a meal plan and have been following that every day. We'll see how it goes. My goal is to hit the 1,000lb club between the 3 big lifts by the end of the year. I need to add 150lbs to my overall maxes and 6 months left to do so - should be close. If i can get to 165lbs body weight I should be good to go easy but that's never a guarantee.

Any advice from some pros would be appreciated.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #603 on: June 21, 2015, 12:55:57 PM »
DW and I woke up early, skipped coffee, and headed to Burnaby Lake Park and did a 10km run, basically one lap around the lake. I could tell early on it was going to be a good one, and it was...55 minutes, by far our best joint run. I could have probably been close to 50 minutes if I had wanted but leaving your spouse behind on a run is NEVER a good idea. Mine in particular is irritated by it, but I was more than happy to match her still quick pace.

The only thing better than improving one's own fitness is doing it WITH your SO...my wife is starting to ask me if I might want to go to the gym with her and show her some weight training routines...she has never shown much interest in this before, so I am thinking her hubbie's "new look" has got her intrigued as to what some strength work might do for her.

This winter, our friends in the Baja probably won't recognize this hot couple in their midst. ;)

johnny847

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #604 on: June 23, 2015, 02:17:39 PM »
I did my first pull up a couple weeks back! I've been doing assisted pullups at the gym, and most days I try an unassisted one before I start. But I finally did one!

I'm up to 2, and 70% of a 3rd pullup now.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #605 on: June 25, 2015, 06:20:48 PM »
I had a bit of minor surgery a few days ago. Took one day off from the gym. Back at it HARD today...quite a few of the exercises proved to be quite painful, and I thought I might have popped a stitch or two at one point, but everything stayed in place. Does this mean I am a hardcore? Or just dumb? ;)

Seriously though, it has come to a point that my day (when I am in the city, not so much on the island) is kind of lacking without my gym time.

Fitness has truly become a PILLAR of my FIRE'd life now.

Exhale

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #606 on: June 25, 2015, 09:16:35 PM »
I just got my annual physical and have modified my 2015 goal. My 2015 goal = reach and stay at my healthy weight/fitness level. To reach this goal, I will do the following every day:
1) Walk => 4 miles & 22 flights (or equivalent)
2) Exercise class => includes core/weights/stretching
3) Eat no refined sugar => I'm on day three of this
4) Eat healthy => with appropriate calories & nutrients
« Last Edit: June 25, 2015, 10:28:51 PM by Exhale »

eyePod

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #607 on: June 26, 2015, 04:30:28 AM »
After leading a pretty sedentary life for the past 10 years (extremely sedentary for the past 3 years), I am starting to realize how horribly unfit I am. I am 31, and although I am not overweight, I am extremely weak. In the past when I was better at exercising, I focused on cardio but never on strength training. Any suggestions for a complete newbie? I really am basically starting at level 0. I have very little upper body and core strength, which I would  like to change. Also might be helpful to mention that I am female.

How long do you think it would take me to reach a reasonable level of fitness? I can commit to working out 3 days a week and cleaning up my diet. Thanks in advance for any advice!

All depends on what you're doing and what "fit" means to you. Baseline, then set some goals for improvement. That's all I can really say.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #608 on: June 26, 2015, 11:46:26 AM »
All right. So I started to go through everything here and make sure that my tracking post was all set (I've already fixed stuff that came in via PM - Thank You so much bop), but I'm not there yet, and I'm way too busy to go through this entire thread.

Could everyone post a quick update, and look at this post to make sure that I have your goals correct, as well as your progress?

It seems more effective than going through 12 pages of posts.

Personally, I'm sucking, but getting better. I've lost a lot of weight (more related to breaking my jaw and being on a liquid diet than any actual work I've done), and have been working out. I don't know that I'll hit my goals, but a goal I can meet is bullshit.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #609 on: June 26, 2015, 12:17:38 PM »
Wishing you the best on your journey to better health Jordan...

As for the goals I listed earlier - they have all been achieved or bettered. I would guess my body fat % is close to 10% now. Waist probably 28 inches or so. I've run a few half marathons now, besting the 2 hour mark both times. I will probably do a full marathon at some point, but no timetable for that as of yet. The thing I have really noticed is that with higher fitness has also come the ability to avoid unhealthy foods (and drink). It is almost as if my body remembers the hell I have put it through the past 9 months and has developed some biological aversion to things that might make me unfit again. There is also the Mustachian bonus of spending far less on food and drink than I ever have before. Win, win...

I posted a photo in my Journal that showed me working in my island garden. Ostensibly, the photo was meant to show the progress of my garden. But I was also in the photo, though my face was nicely hidden by my ball cap...and uh, I happened to be shirtless in the pic...caused a bit of a stir amongst the female readers of my Journal...and a few notable others. ;) Anyway, the idea of posting a "selfie" of myself in a bathroom mirror to show my current fitness level was something I was never gonna do...but the garden picture serves as both an update for those who were interested in my garden and those who might be curious as where 9 months of busting my ass in the gym has brought me. I probably wasn't giving myself enough credit as to my progress - the comments in my Journal opened my eyes a bit as to what I have done. The dude in the picture below is almost 60 pounds lighter than it's previous, unhealthy version. Much happier too. :)

Here ya go.
« Last Edit: March 09, 2016, 09:21:33 AM by Jon_Snow »

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #610 on: June 26, 2015, 12:47:09 PM »
Hit a lifetime PR run.

7:23......not too shabby for a 40lb overweight non runner =D

Candace

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #611 on: June 26, 2015, 01:10:54 PM »
Jon_Snow: Whew. Congratulations.

I'm not as hardcore as many here, but I'm advancing in my own small way. My boyfriend and I work out four mornings a week at home. We each do a basic workout including pushups, abs, squats etc. Mine includes several kettlebell exercises. I don't do that much; 25 reps of six or so exercises with the kettlebell. My way of increasing strength and fitness is to use heavier kettlebells. When I started I used a 15 lb. one, and just recently moved up to 20 lb. I figure I have a few more possible size increases before I have to change the basic workout structure, which I like.

duellingbanjos

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #612 on: June 26, 2015, 06:41:14 PM »
just a small brag, because I'm astonished that I managed this:

Ran for a hour straight (treadmill, have not tried RL yet), distance - 8.5km. Used to be that I was winded from running for less than 10 mins.

squatman

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #613 on: June 26, 2015, 09:06:06 PM »
just a small brag, because I'm astonished that I managed this:

Ran for a hour straight (treadmill, have not tried RL yet), distance - 8.5km. Used to be that I was winded from running for less than 10 mins.

Even before we get to the distance, you deserve many medals for surviving on a treadmill for an hour. Don't think I'd last 10 minutes - gotta be outside for me.

Erica/NWEdible

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #614 on: June 26, 2015, 11:26:17 PM »
Those who might be curious as where 9 months of busting my ass in the gym has brought me.
Damn. How YOU doin'? Nice work man.

Exhale

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #615 on: June 27, 2015, 08:27:55 AM »
Could everyone post a quick update, and look at...to make sure that I have your goals correct, as well as your progress?

Thanks for doing this jordanread! It's wonderful to have a community for this goal. Good luck with healing your jaw.

Here's my updated goal
1) Daily walk => 4 miles & 22 flights of stairs (or equivalent)
2) Daily exercise class => includes core/weights/stretching
3) No refined sugar

Exhale

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #616 on: June 27, 2015, 08:31:10 AM »
I probably wasn't giving myself enough credit as to my progress - the comments in my Journal opened my eyes a bit as to what I have done. The dude in the picture below is almost 60 pounds lighter than it's previous, unhealthy version. Much happier too. :)

Great job! Your fitness journey inspired me to get focused on my health (starting back in November). Oh, and nice picture ;-)
« Last Edit: June 27, 2015, 08:34:25 AM by Exhale »

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #617 on: June 28, 2015, 05:33:04 AM »
I've been doing relatively well on my goals, steady progress. I'm still working towards my first pull-up, but should get there by the end of the summer. The body fat percentage is pretty subjective since I'm just going by pictures, but I am sure I have made progress, and my clothes are fitting way better.

One of my goals was to regularly hit the gym twice a week, and get out and do social, outdoors workouts twice a week. That was easiest for me in the winter, when I could get out cross country skiing. But I picked up running in the Spring, and this summer I've been getting out hiking with a group of friends. Yesterday we did our biggest hike yet- Mount Chocorua in the White Mountains- it was pretty satisfying. I've been riding my bike 3-4 days a week to work, sometimes for more than 5 miles (long scenic route). And I'm still getting into the gym 2-3 times a week.

So overall, good progress. Thanks for the extra motivation!

Mikhial

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #618 on: June 28, 2015, 06:33:46 AM »
I'll bite. My not so defined goals are:

* Start a slow bulk on July 1st. I've lost 30 pounds since my cut that started in September and I'm excited to gain some weight again. I want to take it much slower this time, though. Probably gain two pounds a month.
* Get up to 25 strict pullups. I'm at 17 now. We'll see if bulking slows this my progress on these.
* Drink less alcohol.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


Hedge_87

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #619 on: June 28, 2015, 07:26:45 AM »
Update

Finally started gaining some traction with the weight loss as of this morning I'm down 14 lbs. I've been just trying to limit carb intake and follow a primal/paleo diet which is hard because I love craft beer and pizza. I've been working out more or less regularly. I'm hoping to do better on that side of things. I signed up for a 5k for this weekend I'm hoping to set a time that I can compare to later.  They have this race every year on July 4th so at the very least I can run in it next year to compare times.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #620 on: June 28, 2015, 07:56:19 AM »
Update

Finally started gaining some traction with the weight loss as of this morning I'm down 14 lbs. I've been just trying to limit carb intake and follow a primal/paleo diet which is hard because I love craft beer and pizza. I've been working out more or less regularly. I'm hoping to do better on that side of things. I signed up for a 5k for this weekend I'm hoping to set a time that I can compare to later.  They have this race every year on July 4th so at the very least I can run in it next year to compare times.

If you have a smartphone, use Strava to track your runs. Make your own 5K course that you can run nearby. No need to pay for race fees then ;)

Run Keeper is another free app, but at least on my phone, Strava is a lot kinder to battery life and doesn't hammer your data connection at all. (With RunKeeper I'd have to manually disable data every time, otherwise it'd ring up quite a few MB in just an hour or two.)

Hedge_87

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #621 on: June 28, 2015, 08:59:07 AM »
Strava doesn't use data? That is sweet I'll start doing that when I can borrow my wife's phone. I was just worried about the data charges. I also don't like paying entry fees but this one goes to a cause I support and only cost $25. I also try and support any event in our local community. Other than the county fair every year and a couple annual events there just isn't that much going on around here without driving ~60 miles one way to the city.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #622 on: June 28, 2015, 10:08:40 AM »
All right. So I started to go through everything here and make sure that my tracking post was all set (I've already fixed stuff that came in via PM - Thank You so much bop), but I'm not there yet, and I'm way too busy to go through this entire thread.

Could everyone post a quick update, and look at this post to make sure that I have your goals correct, as well as your progress?

It seems more effective than going through 12 pages of posts.

Personally, I'm sucking, but getting better. I've lost a lot of weight (more related to breaking my jaw and being on a liquid diet than any actual work I've done), and have been working out. I don't know that I'll hit my goals, but a goal I can meet is bullshit.

Jordan, hope you're better now.  Broken jaw sounds terrible, how'd you do that?

Quote
horsepoor   
Set of 10 deck squats with jump - 25lb kettleball
10 single leg deadlifts each leg - no rebalance
1 set 20 bosu ball squats
1 set 10 bosu ball squats - 5 second hold at 2-point
Run a 7 minute mile
Lose 8lbs of fat

For me, I've done all except the last two.  I have lost about 4 pounds, but I think in the last month or two I've lost some muscle and replaced it with fat, unfortunately. Excuse is lots of traveling and prioritizing riding over working out when I am home. Need to start hitting the gym more frequently since it's friggin' hot now, which means I'm out at the barn first thing in the morning 5-6 days per week.

Jon Snow, damn' you make a hot farmer!  RE clearly suits you!

DuelingBanjos, you deserve a medal for gutting out an hour on a treadmill!  I did an 8 mile long run a couple years ago when I was stuck in an Oklahoma City hotel during half marathon training.  Vowed never again. 

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #623 on: June 29, 2015, 01:36:57 PM »
I've got everyone who has sent in updates done, and added Mikhial to the tracking post. Those of you who commented so far have been doing great. Keep it up!!

Jordan, hope you're better now.  Broken jaw sounds terrible, how'd you do that?

It was a car vs. tree incident. I smashed my head on the windshield (and broke my jaw, and got stitches in my chin, and have some hopefully temporary nerve damage in my chin, and am still missing some tastebuds) and lost a couple of days, so I'm not sure what I was thinking, but apparently I decided to be a freaking baby and drive instead of riding my bike. I'm not all the way better, but getting there. Thanks for the well wishes.

Tyson

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #624 on: June 29, 2015, 02:04:59 PM »
Thanks, jordanread, I'll follow the link & catch up on the bike commuting advice now!

I'm north of Denver, not too far from MMM HQ.  ;-)

One of these days I'm going to do the math, and figure out what it would take to turn all of Colorado into the most perfect Mustachian state. For now though, I'll continue trying to get people to live down here. :-) Glad to have you on the challenge!

Hey, I'm also in CO (Denver/Edgewater), and am doing the Big 6 as well!  Up to Step 3 on most of them.  Hahaha, I never thought I'd be so excited about being able to do 50 "girl style" knee pushups :P

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #625 on: June 29, 2015, 02:54:14 PM »
I probably wasn't giving myself enough credit as to my progress - the comments in my Journal opened my eyes a bit as to what I have done. The dude in the picture below is almost 60 pounds lighter than it's previous, unhealthy version. Much happier too. :)

Great job! Your fitness journey inspired me to get focused on my health (starting back in November). Oh, and nice picture ;-)

Thanks Exhale! If my journey to fitness inspired you...wow!

I'd also be very remiss not to credit my sea kayaking hobby as for contributing to my upper body strength. The weight training has taken things up a notch though.
And am I ever paddling fast these days!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #626 on: June 30, 2015, 02:42:17 PM »
Those who might be curious as where 9 months of busting my ass in the gym has brought me.
Damn. How YOU doin'? Nice work man.
+1

Hedge_87

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #627 on: July 04, 2015, 01:53:02 PM »
Well ran the 5k this morning I was hoping to be <30 min but came in at 33:26 (not horrible for being 6'6" and weighing 250lbs). In my defence I didn't do enough studying on the whole couch to 5k program. I thought you just got off the couch and ran a 5k. It was fun though. I hope by this time next year I am 40 lbs lighter and can run it in ~25 min.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #628 on: July 05, 2015, 06:41:07 PM »
I'll join! Lose 8 lbs by August 31. I gained weight due to emotional eating after I lost my dad. Been more than 2 years and after so many attempts, it's about time to get my body back.

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #629 on: July 06, 2015, 02:47:12 PM »
Got FOBStach added (although I just realized I spelled it wrong), and I think the goals are all up to date.
Well ran the 5k this morning I was hoping to be <30 min but came in at 33:26 (not horrible for being 6'6" and weighing 250lbs). In my defence I didn't do enough studying on the whole couch to 5k program. I thought you just got off the couch and ran a 5k. It was fun though. I hope by this time next year I am 40 lbs lighter and can run it in ~25 min.

That's still damn impressive. You got off the couch, which is great, and actually ran a 5K, which is super awesome. Congratulations on what you've done so far. Any other goals you want to throw down to help reach your next year's goals? As a reminder, here is what you currently have:

ParticipantGoal
Hedge_87
  • Lose 25lbs 11lbs (14 lost already!!)
  • Work out regularly

Hedge_87

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #630 on: July 07, 2015, 08:01:00 PM »
Thanks man. I don't know if I'm being ambitious here but I'm going to shoot for a mile time <7:30 min by the end of the year.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #631 on: July 09, 2015, 05:40:38 AM »
Got my first kettlebell a few days ago. Just doing two-handed swings. Really liking it so far!

35lbs, have already increased from 3x20 to 3x25. I expect I'll increase some more rapidly as my body adjusts to the new motion until I run up against my actual fitness level.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #632 on: July 09, 2015, 06:33:46 AM »
Got my first kettlebell a few days ago. Just doing two-handed swings. Really liking it so far!

35lbs, have already increased from 3x20 to 3x25. I expect I'll increase some more rapidly as my body adjusts to the new motion until I run up against my actual fitness level.
Right on man. Inspiring. I should dust off my KB and see if I can still hang. You doing Russian or American Swings?

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #633 on: July 09, 2015, 06:53:03 AM »
Right on man. Inspiring. I should dust off my KB and see if I can still hang. You doing Russian or American Swings?

I didn't even know there were different ones. The videos I watched all demonstrated what I now know is the Russian swing. My form still needs work, according to what I just read (I'm squatting down a bit too far).

Erica/NWEdible

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #634 on: July 09, 2015, 07:13:12 AM »
Right on man. Inspiring. I should dust off my KB and see if I can still hang. You doing Russian or American Swings?

I didn't even know there were different ones. The videos I watched all demonstrated what I now know is the Russian swing. My form still needs work, according to what I just read (I'm squatting down a bit too far).
Good. American swings are stupid. :) Yeah, it's a hip thrust exercise, really. I tell ladies learning how to swing they should picture their husband or boyfriend and pop their butt forward. :D

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #635 on: July 09, 2015, 07:54:51 AM »
Ha, Erica, I'm glad I'm not the only one to think of this!  Helps quite a bit, I find.  I keep my kb ( not a very big one, but I have knee issues) next to my chair and don;t let myself sit more than 50 minutes.  Then I have to get up and at least do 20 swings.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #636 on: July 09, 2015, 07:57:36 AM »

Good. American swings are stupid. :)

Only if you lack proper shoulder, back, and hip mobility.  If you do lack such mobility, working on it should be a top priority!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #637 on: July 09, 2015, 08:20:47 AM »

Good. American swings are stupid. :)

Only if you lack proper shoulder, back, and hip mobility.  If you do lack such mobility, working on it should be a top priority!

Agreed. However dynamic overhead momentum is a poor way to work on such things and more likely to cause problems than fix them. By definition someone without proper shoulder, back and hip mobility (or, I'd add, phenomenal core control) is going to be destabilized at the top of an American swing. So many movements, including overhead squats or even strict shoulder presses will help increase mobility without the risk. I just don't think there's really any reason to do a 2 handed above-the-head swing. 1-handed, sure. That's a great movement for massive core stability work, and a nice lead in to a KB snatch.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #638 on: July 09, 2015, 08:21:27 AM »
Ha, Erica, I'm glad I'm not the only one to think of this!  Helps quite a bit, I find.  I keep my kb ( not a very big one, but I have knee issues) next to my chair and don;t let myself sit more than 50 minutes.  Then I have to get up and at least do 20 swings.
What a great idea! I'm going to try that!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #639 on: July 10, 2015, 06:13:54 AM »
I'm joining in, and will try not to be intimidated by all the Olympic weightlifters virtually surrounding me.

My goals:

Be able to do 30 real pushups. I did 11-ish Wednesday night, with a couple breaks, inconsistent depths, and what I’m sure was terrible form. I may need to start with wall pushups.

Be able to do a pull-up. I have literally never done a complete pull-up in my life. There are playgrounds with monkey bar setups within walking distance of my work and home, so I'll check those out.

Walk 60 miles in the next 30 days. I did 53 miles in June, not including general walking to the subway and around the office. To Do: buy new sneakers.

Be able to do a full split and straddle. I used to be good about retaining my childhood gymnastics flexibility, but the last few years have seen a huge dropoff.

Tyson

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #640 on: July 10, 2015, 10:47:23 AM »
I'm joining in, and will try not to be intimidated by all the Olympic weightlifters virtually surrounding me.

My goals:

Be able to do 30 real pushups. I did 11-ish Wednesday night, with a couple breaks, inconsistent depths, and what I’m sure was terrible form. I may need to start with wall pushups.

Be able to do a pull-up. I have literally never done a complete pull-up in my life. There are playgrounds with monkey bar setups within walking distance of my work and home, so I'll check those out.


Walk 60 miles in the next 30 days. I did 53 miles in June, not including general walking to the subway and around the office. To Do: buy new sneakers.

Be able to do a full split and straddle. I used to be good about retaining my childhood gymnastics flexibility, but the last few years have seen a huge dropoff.

Strongly encourage you to check out Convict Conditioning - it is precisely designed to work well for people like you (and me) that have little to no experience with bodyweight training.  Every step in the progression is very do-able and each step is small enough that its easy to do by the time you get to it.  It's really quite brilliant.

I've been working through the pull-up progressions, starting with standing door pulls, progressing to leaning back "slightly more" door pulls, progress to leaning back 45 degree door pulls.  With the 45 degree door pulls I started with 10 reps, up to 27 now, so 30 is in reach!  Pretty soon I'll be done with the door pull-ups and ready to progress to a real pullup bar!
« Last Edit: July 10, 2015, 11:00:26 AM by tyort1 »

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #641 on: July 10, 2015, 02:38:25 PM »
Thanks for the recommendation, tyort1! I looked up some info online and found a 3 week program which is already too advanced for me on day 1. 3x8 pushups and horizontal pullups. Does the book start off easier?

Also, is there a free site or book that a library would have that has a similar program?

Tyson

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #642 on: July 10, 2015, 03:24:22 PM »
Thanks for the recommendation, tyort1! I looked up some info online and found a 3 week program which is already too advanced for me on day 1. 3x8 pushups and horizontal pullups. Does the book start off easier?

Also, is there a free site or book that a library would have that has a similar program?

How about videos that walk you through each step in detail?  For free:

Pushups - https://youtu.be/GxWWnj36FbM

Squats - https://youtu.be/dPEFsGm9NKE

Pullups - https://youtu.be/XYDXUdgDYKc

Abs - https://youtu.be/aE7LhafPdRA

Spine/Back - https://youtu.be/yyP9k3bNr_c

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #643 on: July 10, 2015, 10:07:29 PM »
How about videos that walk you through each step in detail?  For free:

Pushups - https://youtu.be/GxWWnj36FbM

Squats - https://youtu.be/dPEFsGm9NKE

Pullups - https://youtu.be/XYDXUdgDYKc

Abs - https://youtu.be/aE7LhafPdRA

Spine/Back - https://youtu.be/yyP9k3bNr_c

I'll take it! Thanks.

Tyson

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #644 on: July 18, 2015, 05:31:35 PM »
Convict Conditioning update - just wanted to update that I finally got all 30 reps on step 2 of the pullup progression - Horizontal Pulls.  Now just have to work up to 3 sets of 30.  But that's actually easier to do than getting to 30 on the first set.  I'm so stoked!  I just installed a pullup bar in my garage, and once I do get to 3 sets of 30 horizontal pulls I'll actually get to start using the pullup bars!  Man I love this stuff.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #645 on: July 19, 2015, 09:48:59 AM »
Nice work tyrot1...always good to see a fellow 43 year old kicking butt. We may be getting "up there" in age, but we are NOT DONE YET! :)

Tyson

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #646 on: July 19, 2015, 01:43:10 PM »
Nice work tyrot1...always good to see a fellow 43 year old kicking butt. We may be getting "up there" in age, but we are NOT DONE YET! :)

Not just the same age - we are both in CO, too - I believe?  But I hear you - between the Convict Conditioning, and riding my bike everywhere due to MMM's philosophy of saving money, I'm probably in the best shape of my life, or at least since high school.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #647 on: July 21, 2015, 02:15:48 PM »
Nice work tyrot1...always good to see a fellow 43 year old kicking butt. We may be getting "up there" in age, but we are NOT DONE YET! :)

Not just the same age - we are both in CO, too - I believe?  But I hear you - between the Convict Conditioning, and riding my bike everywhere due to MMM's philosophy of saving money, I'm probably in the best shape of my life, or at least since high school.

tyort: He's already retired so you are never sure where he is :). I think he is primarily in the PNW. That's why he's able to do crazy kayaking instead of biking (pretty sure I told him to get a paddle boat, but it won't help with that awesome picture he posted...I can't see his name now without 'Sexy Farmer' going through my head). What are your goals for this year as far as CC goes? I'm loving it, and feeling a lot stronger too.

Tyson

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #648 on: July 21, 2015, 04:46:52 PM »
Nice work tyrot1...always good to see a fellow 43 year old kicking butt. We may be getting "up there" in age, but we are NOT DONE YET! :)

Not just the same age - we are both in CO, too - I believe?  But I hear you - between the Convict Conditioning, and riding my bike everywhere due to MMM's philosophy of saving money, I'm probably in the best shape of my life, or at least since high school.

tyort: He's already retired so you are never sure where he is :). I think he is primarily in the PNW. That's why he's able to do crazy kayaking instead of biking (pretty sure I told him to get a paddle boat, but it won't help with that awesome picture he posted...I can't see his name now without 'Sexy Farmer' going through my head). What are your goals for this year as far as CC goes? I'm loving it, and feeling a lot stronger too.

Oh, guess I'll need to retire too so I can do crazy kayaking also!

My main goals are just to progress to stage 5 for all the movements by Christmas.  I'm not sure it that will be totally possible, but I've been making such good and steady progress that I'm hopeful.  I've been doing it since March and this is the longest stretch of continuous improvement/progress I've ever had in my training life. 

I used to train HIIT in the gym with lots of heavy weights.  Mentzer, Darden, Arthur Jones - I was a big follower of their "brief, intense" approach to lifting.  But it was so hard on the body that I could never sustain it more than a few months before I got run down, sick, or had an injury.  So the CC approach of slow and stead and "strength in the bank" has been a bit of a revelation.

The other major change - back when I was going HIIT, it really had very little spill over effect outside of the gym.  Sure, I'd be stronger the next time I went back to the gym, but otherwise I didn't really feel fitter or stronger in every day life.  With CC that's been dramatically different.  The type of strength you gain from CC has a HUGE spillover effect to every area of my life outside of the gym.  A few examples:

1. Squeezing a lime - I bought lime squeezing utensils in the past because I couldn't get all the juice out a lime.  Now after 4 months of CC I can crush a lime and thoroughly extract every little bit of juice from them

2. Getting out of a chair - in the old days, it was always a bit of effort to get up into a standing position after I' been sitting for a while.  I'm 175lbs, so I'm not massively overweight or anything, but just getting the muscles going was a chore.  Now I can pretty much spring out of a chair at a moments notice.

3.  Playing with my 9 year old daughter - because CC focuses on getting you better at controlling and using your own body, doing things like the jungle gym or tree climbing are possible now where the just flat out were not possible before. 

4.  Financial strength - since I've been able to kick my gym membership to the curb permanently because CC is all done at home, I've been able to eliminate $35 in gym fees and invest those directly in my retirement fund. 

rocketpj

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2015
« Reply #649 on: July 21, 2015, 11:39:05 PM »
Checking in.

Still going to the gym.  Tried to get it up to 3 times/week, but so far it's more like 2.5 times.  Still cycling as much as ever.

I have been in the water about 5 times/week since Easter, which has been great.  Not always for exercise, but always into the ocean for awhile at least.  The hard part will be when summer ends and I have to break out the wetsuit again for winter swimming.

As for fitness, I am about the same weight but a bit denser than before I think.