Author Topic: Strength & Fitness 2016  (Read 402424 times)

use2betrix

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #400 on: January 28, 2016, 06:53:30 PM »
Very interesting! If you don't mind, what's your height and weight at your BF %?

My wife and I are currently cutting. We count calories and measure our macros. She's 5' and about 118. She's trying to get to around 112ish. She's very muscular, can do pull-ups and squat 225 lbs for a few perfect reps. I'm not great at guessing BF on women, but she has visible abs. She's just trying to get down a few more percent.

We're slowly cutting back calories, and by now she's down to a measely 800 calories. Her weight loss seems to have haulted the last few weeks which is just crazy cause she's not eating much. She's not overly hungry and the amount is reasonable as its well balanced throughout the day. She lifts weights with me 4x a week, does an hr of cycling 3 days a week, and 2 days a week of yoga + cardio. She's 22 years old and overall healthy. Doesn't work but gets a lot of exercise. She looks great, but just has a few last pounds she wants to shed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm tall, 5'11 and at 13% body fat in 2014 I was 143lbs (water depleted though too), at 15% I was 148lbs (also water depleted), I'm now sitting closer to 18 or 19% and am 161lbs. I posted progress photos for my current reverse diet on my instagram and facebook page, depending on how open minded your office space is I suppose they could be NSFW, bikinis are rather small... http://www.facebook.com/eat.train.yoga.love and my instagram is also @eat.train.yoga.love

Trixr, any particular reason she is trying to get leaner? 15% or below for women is excruciatingly difficult and really hard on a person, it is also not sustainable as the body will start fighting back. I only diet down that low for competition day and then increase a little for maintenance, mostly for my mental health!

800 calories is crazy low, (I'm not a doctor/nutritionist/dietitian disclaimer) but I would be working to increase her calories back up now so she can revisit losing weight later, you really can't cut her any lower. And if she stayed eating that little it could really set her up for major health/metabolism issues as she gets older. I dropped down to 1260 calories for my competition cut but I'm back up to over 2100 calories now and still very lean. A reverse diet would probably be perfect for her, the idea is to add back in no more than 5% of her carb and fat calories while keeping protein the same and increase weekly. I use the Eat to Perform calculator to determine appropriate macro goals http://www.eattoperform.com/eat-to-perform-calculator/ and she should be eating more than twice what she's eating now based on her activity. I'd set her goal macros to 115g protein, 55g fat, and 315g of carbs for a total of 2215 calories. A reverse diet at 5% increases from her current 800 calories would take over 6 months, but she'd likely lose a little bit of weight during the process and be able to at a minimum maintain where she is at presently. What are her macro breakdowns right now?

Her current ratio is about 105g of protein, 80g of carbs, and 30 g of fat. Totaling about 800 calories. If she has been slowly cutting back from around 1200 calories, I can't possibly imagine that tripling her calories will do anything positive in terms of fat loss. In fact, I'm 5'9.5, 205 lbs, and around 10-12% BF. I'm having 2000 calories per day 205g protein, 145g carbs, and 65g of fat, and I've been slowly losing about 1-2 lbs a week for the last month. A perfect rate for someone looking to maintain muscle while losing fat.

I used to be huge at 220lbs, (muscular and less fat) where I could have 300g protein and 400+g carbs and not gain a pound. That was about 18 months ago. I slacked off hard for 8 months and now I've been paying for it. I still look very good, just not where I was.

From what I've read, 1200 calories is not abnormal for maintenance for a small woman (mind you she's a foot shorter than you), and a calorie deficit of around 400 calories a day comes out to be about a pound of fat a week.

I'll slowly increase her calories back up and see what happens, but we see women competing at her height at 105 that look amazing. I dunno if I can see that 118lbs is simply the lowest weight/BF she can get short of starving herself.

I'll add you on IG and you'll get an idea, I think I have a couple pics of her, last part of my name on there is "88"

Fortunately your math is off, if she's getting 105g of protein, 80g of carbs and 30g of fat she's eating 1010 calories a day. (carbs and protein have 4 calories per gram while fat has 9)

But I mean it, increasing her ultra slow will do a body good. She can't diet forever and if she's stalled the only option is to drop calories even lower or add more cardio (HIIT is particularly efficient for women (20 minutes tops)) but too much of that she'll eventually tank and her body will fight back. I ended up in the hospital with heart/lung symptoms, I couldn't figure out what was wrong and I was diagnosed with anxiety and panic attacks. I was staying at around 1400 calories per day and it started affecting me in ways I couldn't believe. My maintenance calories are actually around 2500-2750 when my metabolism is up to full speed. Dieting for long periods of time though significantly reduce metabolism, the body wants homeostasis and will become more efficient at living (using less calories) if you reduce calories too low. Which of course is the opposite of what you want.

So show me a picture of a girl who is under eating at 5' tall and not losing weight and I'll show you one of a girl who is totally shredded and eating 253g of carbs and at 1850 calories, this is while she's cutting, she was eating much more in her off season and still lean.

Your wife's estimated BMR is 1346 calories, that is how many calories her body should burn if she just laid in bed all day. Add in exercise, general moving around(walking to the car, standing, fidgeting, etc), and the thermic effect of food and she is certainly burning closer to 2100 calories a day. If she isn't losing at 1000 calorie/day intake then something needs to give, her BMR may be significantly reduced from under eating in which case the only way to fix that is to work on gradually eating more. BMR calculator here: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bmr_calculator.htm

The thing is, it's not like this is our first rodeo with our diets. We have been measuring our foods and trying various things for years. Her for 3-4 years and over 10 years for me with a few breaks here and there. We were eating far more calories, still typically more clean, last fall, and she was up closer to 124ish, and it wasn't a muscle difference.

I guess a major difference is the amount of.... Supplements... A lot of the top level Bikini girls take as well. I have several friends at a high leveled who are very open about it as well as their conversations with other competitors.

We're going to slowly start bumping her calories back up, but she's clearly not going to be losing any more weight doing such lol. We've also been at the higher calorie levels, so it's nothing new.

Here's one of my favorite pics of her quads lol.

« Last Edit: January 28, 2016, 07:09:46 PM by Trixr606 »

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #401 on: January 28, 2016, 08:05:55 PM »
I guess a major difference is the amount of.... Supplements...

Care to share what these might consist of? Is "Supplements" code for something else?

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #402 on: January 28, 2016, 08:35:36 PM »
Haha, very true lots of competitors use PEDs, I'm not one of them because I could lose my job over it.

Trixr, you guys both look great! I just like to eat, so I always advocate for others to eat more too.  ;) But you might be surprised how a structured slow reverse goes (adding 2-5g of carbs and 1-3g of fat each week). Best of luck!

hudsoncat

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #403 on: January 29, 2016, 07:56:40 AM »

The cons of tracking are how cumbersome it can be, if you get tied up into being rigid or following the rules it is easy to get obsessive. It can almost become it's own type of eating disorder. Plus, it's still not exact and it never will be. Food nutrition changes simply based on how you cooked it, no two cooked sweet potatoes will ever be the same. Is your scale accurate enough? If ounces aren't precise enough how about grams or why not find one that measures to the microgram? :P No need, people have to remember you are still just best guessing in the end anyway.

Dieting is hard on you physically, mentally and emotionally. Your goal for your diet should be learning how to stop dieting.

I agree with most of your cons. I have been tracking just overall calories for almost a year and lost a little over 50 pounds. For anyone else going down that path, I've had success by just being mindful, trying to make good choices, and generally trying to over estimate when unsure. I consider it a lot of educated guess work. Since I have just been watching overall calories to drop some extra weight it has been much easier than if I were actually tracking macros and things to get, as you say "shredded" On my 'plan" (there was no real plan) I've pretty much eaten whatever I wanted (pizza, ice cream, etc) just not as much or as frequently as I would have in the past.

I didn't lose weight to look better (nice side effect), I just wanted to be able to run better/easier and be able to keep up with my very active husband. The strength training I have been trying to do is also to compliment my running more than anything else. Much like Bakari and his push-ups, I want be that 85 year old woman still running around the neighborhood and smiling my way through local 5Ks. My running time goals are to give myself focus and because I naturally have a drive to achieve something. I think that might be why I haven't been as good about hitting my strength training goal. I need to revisit that and set actual goals rather than the vague "do something twice per week."

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #404 on: January 29, 2016, 08:13:46 AM »
Anyway, I didn't mean to come across as negative towards other methods...

Well, you did. :( It's certainly not helpful to say your eyes "glaze over" at other members strategies, whatever they may be - why be dismissive of what be helpful to others? This thread is supposed to be fun place where we support one another...some are taking this journey further than others, and yes, it means we might track our body fat %...sorry about that.

Anyone else finding this thread decidedly "less fun" of late?

bloomability

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #405 on: January 29, 2016, 08:31:38 AM »
Anyway, I didn't mean to come across as negative towards other methods...

Well, you did. :( It's certainly not helpful to say your eyes "glaze over" at other members strategies, whatever they may be - why be dismissive of what be helpful to others? This thread is supposed to be fun place where we support one another...some are taking this journey further than others, and yes, it means we might track our body fat %...sorry about that.

Anyone else finding this thread decidedly "less fun" of late?

I think it's not 'taking this journey further' so much as different journeys altogether. We all have different motivations and end goals.

Personally, I'm strength motivated and not aesthetic motivated, and my food choices reflects that. I enjoy the gym. I love lifting. I'm in a different stage than others and on a different path.

I love that this thread isn't homogeneous and that everyone answers questions about their fitness.

bloomability

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #406 on: January 29, 2016, 08:35:46 AM »
After 6 months of lifting, I have finally made the jump to purchase weightlifting shoes. I get to use them tomorrow, and I am so excited. Hello, Nike Romaleos.

If you've never walked in weightlifting shoes, let me tell you it is an awkward, awkward thing.

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #407 on: January 29, 2016, 09:03:08 AM »
After 6 months of lifting, I have finally made the jump to purchase weightlifting shoes. I get to use them tomorrow, and I am so excited. Hello, Nike Romaleos.

If you've never walked in weightlifting shoes, let me tell you it is an awkward, awkward thing.

I still haven't taken the plunge, but I do know people who love their Romaleos. May you experience lots of gains!

Friar

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #408 on: January 29, 2016, 09:18:13 AM »
After 6 months of lifting, I have finally made the jump to purchase weightlifting shoes. I get to use them tomorrow, and I am so excited. Hello, Nike Romaleos.

If you've never walked in weightlifting shoes, let me tell you it is an awkward, awkward thing.

It's how I imagine being a horse feels. You sort of pick your feet up by the knees and plod along.

use2betrix

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #409 on: January 29, 2016, 09:23:05 AM »
I'm not sure why "opinions" of others who might be less or more into fitness even needs to be stated. Suggestions are helpful, but how is "that's too much for me" or "you're too extreme," constructive at all?

I waited for about 9 or 10 pages to post because I am at a bit of a different level than many in terms of my seriousness of it. None of it related to me much, which is fine. I've still read all of it out of interest. People have different goals, interests, lifestyles, etc.

Personally, I'm 27. I started lifting hard at 14. For 2 years in high school I had the 2nd to 3rd most days in the weight room, I loved it. Moving into college and beyond it has stuck with me. I've had a few breaks, longest being about a year and a half that ended about 5 years ago.

Personally, I love the gym, I love lifting weights, I love varying my diet and trying different things to see how my body reacts. I just find it all very interesting.

FYI, unless you're a high level competitor, there's no need to track every calorie and macro, obviously. I highly suggest doing it to find out exactly where you're at, but once you have a good baseline for your maintenance levels, the numbers don't matter too much. You know if you want to cut a bit, you cut back a bit. Want to bulk some, add a bit more. You should be able to guess roughly by doing it occasionally, but that's enough. It makes it easier to make smart choices. If I know I'm gonna go out and have a cheat meal for dinner, I may cut my meal prior in half to lessen the blow, etc.

I used to have such a high metabolism I was doing everything in the world to gain weight. I was having 300g protein, 400 g carbs, and tons of fat just in HEALTHY food. Then on top of that I'd have another 1500-2000 calories a day in "junk" just to try and put pounds on. It messed up my blood sugar for a while. I was constantly stuffing food down when I wasn't even hungry, it was miserable.

While I don't agree with the exact advice of this article, this is the best thing ever to portray the mind set people like me needed to have when trying to gain weight.


http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=137831493

use2betrix

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #410 on: January 29, 2016, 09:24:26 AM »
After 6 months of lifting, I have finally made the jump to purchase weightlifting shoes. I get to use them tomorrow, and I am so excited. Hello, Nike Romaleos.

If you've never walked in weightlifting shoes, let me tell you it is an awkward, awkward thing.

Haha. I find that they feel the same as walking in a pair of wedges. Of course, if you're a male, then you probably don't have experience with that sort of thing. ;) :D

Eat train yoga can vouche by my Instagram I have plenty of experience in heels lol. I dressed up as frank n Furter this past Halloween, and many others!

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #411 on: January 29, 2016, 10:01:50 AM »
So, after a month of going to many different types of fancy classes, I'm pretty sure I'm never going to find the "secular hour of just stretching" class that I seek. Pilates focuses a lot on core strength & body awareness (which is great, I like it) but it isn't just "make your hamstrings not suck". Yoga is just way too spiritual for me (plus I have feelings about cultural appropriation.) Barre has a bunch of cardio & strength training and not enough stretching + as someone who danced for a long time, I just get confused/frustrated by the fact that it pretends to be ballet but then renames all the moves and doesn't have you point your toes, etc.

So I'm going to have to find a way to stretch on my own- at least 20 minutes a day, 4 days a week. I'm considering linking our whiskey fund with my minutes of stretching per week so that my partner is motivated to tell me to stretch.

It's gonna have to happen. I'm stating it here. I need to be able to do the splits & a strong Vaganova arabesque by June. Argh. Flexibility is my nemesis.

Friar

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #412 on: January 29, 2016, 10:04:26 AM »
FYI, unless you're a high level competitor, there's no need to track every calorie and macro, obviously.

I understand what you're saying but for me, personally, the only way I can lose weight is by meticulously tracking it.

There is something about collecting the data that keeps me on track. If I don't log everything I eat, I start sneaking in extras and thinking "oh it doesn't matter". That then snowballs into downing whole pizzas in one sitting.

But yes, if you can be mindful that is probably a more mentally healthy way of living!

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #413 on: January 29, 2016, 10:37:28 AM »
...pretty sure I'm never going to find the "secular hour of just stretching" class that I seek. [...] Yoga is just way too spiritual for me...

Wild! My area has so many nonspiritual, stretch/strength yoga options. Now I feel even luckier! I would I could remember the name one instructor gave to the type we were doing, so I could tell you and you could hunt for that. I will listen more closely next time I go.

Great job trying out a number of classes this month!

Hmm! I'm really curious so I'll look for it if you hear about it.

Trying out the classes is really easy with the Classpass thing- I'm actually going to renew it next month even though it's going to involve some cuts in other parts of the budget ($79/month) because I LOVE the access to early morning strength training classes & the after-work pilates- and there's even pole classes (I used to be a stripper) and burlesque classes. It does feel a bit "disloyal" to jump studios so much, but I enjoy the different types of workouts and getting to ride my bike at 5:30AM to different parts of the city. Plus it gives me more access to different times of classes since my work schedule is so change-able. The fact that it charges you $15 if you cancel less than 12 hours ahead and $20 if you don't show up is GREAT motivation. I've gone from working out 2-3 days/week (other than bike commuting) on my own in a good week to working out 5-6 days a week with classpass. I'm pretty sure I can keep it up.

Kerowyn

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #414 on: January 29, 2016, 12:58:51 PM »
Huh, I've heard of weightlifting shoes before, but I guess I assumed they were really flat to help you keep your natural balance. From the comments in this thread, that is clearly not the case.

What's the benefit of these special shoes? I'm just curious.

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #415 on: January 29, 2016, 02:22:29 PM »
So, after a month of going to many different types of fancy classes, I'm pretty sure I'm never going to find the "secular hour of just stretching" class that I seek. Pilates focuses a lot on core strength & body awareness (which is great, I like it) but it isn't just "make your hamstrings not suck". Yoga is just way too spiritual for me (plus I have feelings about cultural appropriation.) Barre has a bunch of cardio & strength training and not enough stretching + as someone who danced for a long time, I just get confused/frustrated by the fact that it pretends to be ballet but then renames all the moves and doesn't have you point your toes, etc.

So I'm going to have to find a way to stretch on my own- at least 20 minutes a day, 4 days a week. I'm considering linking our whiskey fund with my minutes of stretching per week so that my partner is motivated to tell me to stretch.

It's gonna have to happen. I'm stating it here. I need to be able to do the splits & a strong Vaganova arabesque by June. Argh. Flexibility is my nemesis.

Maybe ROMWOD would be what you're looking for? (range of motion workout of the day) I've not done it, but heard good things.

Huh, I've heard of weightlifting shoes before, but I guess I assumed they were really flat to help you keep your natural balance. From the comments in this thread, that is clearly not the case.

What's the benefit of these special shoes? I'm just curious.

I was told by a friend he always looks at what top level competitors do and tries to imitate them, Olympic athletes wear weight lifting shoes, so he does too. Here is a decent article:
http://breakingmuscle.com/olympic-weightlifting/weightlifting-shoes-why-you-need-a-pair-what-to-look-for-and-when-to-wear-them

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #416 on: January 29, 2016, 02:29:03 PM »
I'm not sure why "opinions" of others who might be less or more into fitness even needs to be stated. Suggestions are helpful, but how is "that's too much for me" or "you're too extreme," constructive at all?

I waited for about 9 or 10 pages to post because I am at a bit of a different level than many in terms of my seriousness of it. None of it related to me much, which is fine. I've still read all of it out of interest. People have different goals, interests, lifestyles, etc.

Personally, I'm 27. I started lifting hard at 14. For 2 years in high school I had the 2nd to 3rd most days in the weight room, I loved it. Moving into college and beyond it has stuck with me. I've had a few breaks, longest being about a year and a half that ended about 5 years ago.

Personally, I love the gym, I love lifting weights, I love varying my diet and trying different things to see how my body reacts. I just find it all very interesting.

FYI, unless you're a high level competitor, there's no need to track every calorie and macro, obviously. I highly suggest doing it to find out exactly where you're at, but once you have a good baseline for your maintenance levels, the numbers don't matter too much. You know if you want to cut a bit, you cut back a bit. Want to bulk some, add a bit more. You should be able to guess roughly by doing it occasionally, but that's enough. It makes it easier to make smart choices. If I know I'm gonna go out and have a cheat meal for dinner, I may cut my meal prior in half to lessen the blow, etc.

I used to have such a high metabolism I was doing everything in the world to gain weight. I was having 300g protein, 400 g carbs, and tons of fat just in HEALTHY food. Then on top of that I'd have another 1500-2000 calories a day in "junk" just to try and put pounds on. It messed up my blood sugar for a while. I was constantly stuffing food down when I wasn't even hungry, it was miserable.

While I don't agree with the exact advice of this article, this is the best thing ever to portray the mind set people like me needed to have when trying to gain weight.


http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=137831493

I used to frequent another forum called Iron Addicts, they've got lots of guys like you. I'm facebook friends with a handful of them and one was just hospitalized because he was bleeding from his esophagus from force feeding himself. >_< He's working towards a massive goal in powerlifting and he put on something insane like 70+lbs of muscle in a few years even though he's a "natural" athlete(genetic freak I suppose). But same principal, a ton of clean food and then a ton of pop tart peanut butter sandwiches. :P

I didn't mean to taint this thread with advanced/elite/competitor type discussion. Hopefully no one minds if we segue this direction on occasion. I'm happy avoiding it though too.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #417 on: January 29, 2016, 03:21:23 PM »
Huh, I've heard of weightlifting shoes before, but I guess I assumed they were really flat to help you keep your natural balance. From the comments in this thread, that is clearly not the case.

What's the benefit of these special shoes? I'm just curious.

Weightlifting shoes have a raised heel. They help put your body into the right position for many of the from-the-floor Olympic style lifts. And it's hella easier to get your body under then bar, and still have your feet 'flat' on the floor if the heel is already raised. Here's a long article, should you be interested.

The evolution of cross-fit style joint mobility may end up killing raised heel shoes, but in the meantime, I'm keeping mine. 

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #418 on: January 29, 2016, 03:58:53 PM »
I'm not sure why "opinions" of others who might be less or more into fitness even needs to be stated. Suggestions are helpful, but how is "that's too much for me" or "you're too extreme," constructive at all?

I think as long as nobody takes it personally, or comes across as negative, it's probably all good. It helps provide an idea as to where different people are. I don't know that it would be constructive for the person who initially made the comment about, but it can be useful to the person making that comment. But it's up to all of us to make sure it stays productive. I fell into the same issue when I commented initially, and I typed it with a smirk, but that didn't come across quite right. Let's live and learn and move on. I still think this is fun, and we've gotten a lot more in depth, a lot faster than last year. Keep on keeping on. I will post my January update on Monday.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #419 on: January 29, 2016, 06:53:04 PM »
I'm also looking into either Yoga or Pilates at gyms for flexibility and joint health.  From strictly that perspective (and not the meditation part of yoga), which would you guys recommend?
There are so many varieties of yoga: hatha or yin yoga are more focused on the flexibility and gentle stretching whereas Vinyasa/Ashtanga/Power/Flow yoga is more about strength and the various sequencing between postures. Bikram is hot yoga (like you might pass out hot) and uses 26 poses, the guy who invented it has some lawsuits against him for being a bit of a quack but the classes are always identical no matter the instructor and no meditation involved.

I'd personally just shop around studios, there are two near me and one has an altar with a hindu god on it at the front of the class, the other plays hip hop music. :P You might be able to gain insight from the naming conventions of the studios (Veera is the hindu one, the name is sanskrit for warrior) or the other types of classes they offer, but most places offer cheap trials or even "first class free" deals.

Good luck! I love yoga, I started with an ashtanga/power yoga style at a military gym but have grown with it over the years to the point I really appreciate the meditation aspects now too. The "nap" at the end of the yoga class is the best part. ;)

Looks like there's quite a bit more offered in yoga than I thought.  And thanks for the specific recommendations, I do like the sound of a nap :P

As for working out this year, been back at it for a full four weeks now, and am getting some kind of anxiety on non-gym days so I'm going to add another day of weight training (4 total days) and one day for cardio. That gives me two days off per week, which I'll use the day before and after my deadlift day (Been adding 10lbs per week consistently and wears me out nicely, I figure I have another couple months before I have to cut back to 5lbs)

In those four weeks I've gained 5 pounds, which is slightly more than I was aiming for (1 per week), so I may dial my calories back 100 or so. It might just be my mind playing tricks on me, but by making one of my days on the gym specifically arms (Biceps/Triceps, 2 exercises each, 3-4 sets per exercise) it feels like they've already grown more in one month than they did in five when I used to pretty much exclusively do compound lifts and zero isolation exercises. Unfortunately I don't have a measuring tape at the moment, but I'm thinking I should invest in one.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #420 on: January 30, 2016, 07:16:08 AM »
I personally like lifting weights in my Chuck Taylors or barefoot when warm enough. Though admit-tingly I've never tried Weight lifting shoes.

To all you Cold Weather haters ... I have one word - SKIING!! Went 3 of the last 5 days enjoying the fruits of Super storm Jonas.

January workouts were off/on but food was meh.. Wife and I are doing a "whole 30" for February for a bit more accountability.

Also need to start my pullup progressions - Anyone have a specific rep/sets/method for going from 1-2 to 10? Obviously this will take a while, would love to get it by year end.


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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #421 on: January 30, 2016, 10:34:07 AM »
Just jumping in to say that bodyfat %s confuse me often. While I agree that sub-15% is hard for a woman to maintain, 16% as "shredded" just doesn't hold true for me. Whether by calipers or the electric hand-held ones, I'm always between 15-19% (usually right at 15.5-16.5%), and I don't think I've ever qualified as "shredded". I know these methods aren't anywhere as accurate as a DEXA or something, but still, I'm confused. While I have "upper" ab definition, I still have a little 'cookie pouch' at the bottom. (New girl reference anyone? https://youtu.be/vR7jmKvHL-4 ) Although I also have hyperlordosis, so that probably doesn't help. As far as I know I'm not dealing with any sort of body dysmorphia.

Anyway, I just end up not really measuring anything except occasionally doing inches at various points. I don't have a scale, I feel like BF% isn't accurate for me, and it's a bit annoying that I'm lacking one metric that seems available to most people for tracking their progress.

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #422 on: January 30, 2016, 10:51:33 AM »
I am NO expert on body fat percentages, but I will say at my fittest teenage athlete peak - below 100 pounds and nearly pure muscle - I was still 22% bodyfat based on my coach's measurements. And I was RIPPED (abs + ability to launch myself through the air at 18 mph and spin 3 times over 11 feet, landing on one foot) with massive calves.

I finally produced a "before" picture of my very very inflexible self. So here you go.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #423 on: January 30, 2016, 11:19:02 AM »
Just jumping in to say that bodyfat %s confuse me often. While I agree that sub-15% is hard for a woman to maintain, 16% as "shredded" just doesn't hold true for me. Whether by calipers or the electric hand-held ones, I'm always between 15-19% (usually right at 15.5-16.5%), and I don't think I've ever qualified as "shredded". I know these methods aren't anywhere as accurate as a DEXA or something, but still, I'm confused. While I have "upper" ab definition, I still have a little 'cookie pouch' at the bottom. (New girl reference anyone? https://youtu.be/vR7jmKvHL-4 ) Although I also have hyperlordosis, so that probably doesn't help. As far as I know I'm not dealing with any sort of body dysmorphia.

Anyway, I just end up not really measuring anything except occasionally doing inches at various points. I don't have a scale, I feel like BF% isn't accurate for me, and it's a bit annoying that I'm lacking one metric that seems available to most people for tracking their progress.

I'm curious if you've ever used a bathroom scale with bodyfat measurement?  I ask because by caliper measurements, I come out around 22-25%, but my scale consistently puts me at 30-33%.  Compared to the body fat % pics, I'd put myself somewhere in between, say 25-27%.  I'm guessing that the scale is biased towards measuring lower body fat %, which is usually higher in women who carry weight on their hips/rear, so I'm wondering if the handheld ones would be the opposite for these women? 

I suppose it's close enough to the end of the month to post a summary.  Yesterday was sadly the first day this month that I didn't do anything active.  Was going to go do rowing intervals at the gym since it was raining, but got home and honestly flaked and blamed it on soreness from my Thursday lower body strength workout.  I have only done about half the sprint work I should be doing.  Almost on track with the strength training.  I'm getting in 2x a week, but need to make the workouts more structured and up the difficulty.  Based on my race last weekend, I'm well on my way to hitting my running goals for the year.

I'm pretty happy with my base fitness level right now, but want to get a little leaner and meaner.  Looking towards running Robie Creek HM in mid-April long runs will be on the menu each weekend, and I need to get over my recent habit of gluing my butt to the couch after dinner.  I've been writing a brief notation of my daily activity on a small calendar, but starting this week, I need to write my planned workouts, and then cross them off as I complete them.  Otherwise, it's too haphazard and I let things slip - a run turns into a walk, weight training turns into 15 minutes of stretching, etc.  Luckily days are getting longer, so there will be a little more daylight to work with at the end of the day and I'll hopefully start to get out of hibernation mode a little more.

Nutrition could use a bit of work.  I'm probably eating 80% paleo, but need to up the green leafy vegetables thing, and cut back on yogurt and smoothies, which is sad since I've just gotten into the routine of making my own yogurt and perfected my method/recipe. 

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #424 on: January 30, 2016, 11:23:19 AM »
Just jumping in to say that bodyfat %s confuse me often. While I agree that sub-15% is hard for a woman to maintain, 16% as "shredded" just doesn't hold true for me. Whether by calipers or the electric hand-held ones, I'm always between 15-19% (usually right at 15.5-16.5%), and I don't think I've ever qualified as "shredded". I know these methods aren't anywhere as accurate as a DEXA or something, but still, I'm confused. While I have "upper" ab definition, I still have a little 'cookie pouch' at the bottom. (New girl reference anyone? https://youtu.be/vR7jmKvHL-4 ) Although I also have hyperlordosis, so that probably doesn't help. As far as I know I'm not dealing with any sort of body dysmorphia.

Anyway, I just end up not really measuring anything except occasionally doing inches at various points. I don't have a scale, I feel like BF% isn't accurate for me, and it's a bit annoying that I'm lacking one metric that seems available to most people for tracking their progress.

I'm curious if you've ever used a bathroom scale with bodyfat measurement?  I ask because by caliper measurements, I come out around 22-25%, but my scale consistently puts me at 30-33%.  Compared to the body fat % pics, I'd put myself somewhere in between, say 25-27%.  I'm guessing that the scale is biased towards measuring lower body fat %, which is usually higher in women who carry weight on their hips/rear, so I'm wondering if the handheld ones would be the opposite for these women? 

Oh very interesting. Makes sense- what are we using to complete our circuit? Yeah, I have very lean/strong arms and shoulders, and a... um... sizable rear. "Curvy cut" jeans and all that. I haven't used one of the scales for it. And calipers are usually done on arms, to avoid the awkward factor. Come to think of it, the one 19% caliper reading I got was a composite measure (arm, upper leg, and abdomen were all done). I bet you hit on my answer there! We can call it the "baby got back" factor =P

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #425 on: January 30, 2016, 12:19:40 PM »
Okay, some month end fitness stuff...

Cardio:

Stationary bike - 151km, 3100 calories burned
Walking (incline treadmill and outdoor) - 47km, 2100 calories
Running - 31km, 2000 calories

Strength training:

Continuing a Monday (Shoulders, Chest, Triceps), Tuesday (Legs, Abs, Lower back), Thursday (Arms, Back) routine.

One thing that I am coming to realize is that I can't bring myself to reduce my cardio stuff much at all. Going into 2016, my intention was concentrate more on strength-stuff...but I now know that my preferred  fitness goal is really to COMBINE high-level cardio fitness with good (but not spectacular) muscular strength. I want to be fit in a balanced, ALL-AROUND sense...this just feels right to me.

Now, some empirical numbers...

Body fat, measured about half an hour ago...according to my calliper and accompanying chart - I am around 11%...I am more than satisfied with this. Whether or not the 11% is truly accurate (doubtful) it shows at least that I have made progress since the beginning of the month, when I was around 13%.

I tweaked a shoulder during the week so I am going to bow out of my 1 minute push up challenge for now...when the pain is gone I will give it a go and post the results here.

My weight is still hovering around 185...so the fact that I have reduced my body fat % a couple of points AND maintained the same weight suggests that I am succeeding in adding muscle mass. Yay.

Another interesting note, though not part of my goals, is the fact that my resting heart rate is around 56 BPM...I distinctly remember it being in the low 80's before I embarked on this mission of personal improvement.

Let's keep it going everyone....

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #426 on: January 30, 2016, 12:34:15 PM »
I'll do a month end review as well:

One of my "resolutions" this year was to add 20 minutes high intensity cardio after every workout. I've neglected cardio, since, ever, pretty much. I have been lifting forever, but loathed cardio.

My "first" cardio goal was to run for 20 minutes straight at 6mph on the treadmill, which I made last week! Big accomplishment for me being how little I've done.

Last week we switched from a 3 day split to a 4 day split. Still continuing to lift 4 days a week, now we hit most muscle groups once a week as opposed to every 5 days. Gives us more focus on each muscle group.

Last night on the smith machine I military pressed 235lbs for 6 reps (if the bar counts as a standard 45lbs, probably not quite but this bar is much heavier than a normal smith) Anyways, that's more than I've done in a long time.

I had a full blood panel done last week as well. It was overall pretty good, but my cholesterol isn't where I want it yet. I credit that due to lack of cardio and eating so much for so long.

I am down 11lbs in weight this month. The first 6 came incredibly fast due to taking a week and a half off and being in Vegas destroying my body lol. The last 3-4 weeks have been a steady 1-2 lbs a week which is exactly what I'm aiming for.

On a mustachian note, my wife just got certified to teach cycling courses, so now instead of going to class 3x a week, she can teach classes instead making $25 a pop!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #427 on: January 30, 2016, 01:15:45 PM »
Oh very interesting. Makes sense- what are we using to complete our circuit? Yeah, I have very lean/strong arms and shoulders, and a... um... sizable rear. "Curvy cut" jeans and all that. I haven't used one of the scales for it. And calipers are usually done on arms, to avoid the awkward factor. Come to think of it, the one 19% caliper reading I got was a composite measure (arm, upper leg, and abdomen were all done). I bet you hit on my answer there! We can call it the "baby got back" factor =P

Body fat scales only measure the impedance in your lower body. So there's that qualifier.

Electricity flows through fat and water faster than muscle, so fluctuations in cellular hydration and fluid balance will change the calculated body fat. Another qualifier.

The body fat percentage that ends on the screen is arrived at via a formula on density. The formulas are based on population studies, and probably suck for women, in much the same way 'comfortable temperature range' formula suck for women.

So there's my extremely opinionated 4 cents. I've had my body fat measured by caliper every 3 months, over a span of 10 years. That doesn't waver much, but it never matches my (admittedly occasional) forays into body fat measuring scales.

ETA: You've posted pictures of your pistol squatting. I'm going to take a wild ass guess, and posit that your curvy isn't all fat. Please imagine a tone of both spite and envy here, because I still can't do them things myself and it's driving me insane(er).
« Last Edit: January 30, 2016, 01:18:41 PM by Sailor Sam »

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #428 on: January 30, 2016, 02:43:31 PM »
Oh very interesting. Makes sense- what are we using to complete our circuit? Yeah, I have very lean/strong arms and shoulders, and a... um... sizable rear. "Curvy cut" jeans and all that. I haven't used one of the scales for it. And calipers are usually done on arms, to avoid the awkward factor. Come to think of it, the one 19% caliper reading I got was a composite measure (arm, upper leg, and abdomen were all done). I bet you hit on my answer there! We can call it the "baby got back" factor =P

Body fat scales only measure the impedance in your lower body. So there's that qualifier.

Electricity flows through fat and water faster than muscle, so fluctuations in cellular hydration and fluid balance will change the calculated body fat. Another qualifier.

The body fat percentage that ends on the screen is arrived at via a formula on density. The formulas are based on population studies, and probably suck for women, in much the same way 'comfortable temperature range' formula suck for women.

So there's my extremely opinionated 4 cents. I've had my body fat measured by caliper every 3 months, over a span of 10 years. That doesn't waver much, but it never matches my (admittedly occasional) forays into body fat measuring scales.

ETA: You've posted pictures of your pistol squatting. I'm going to take a wild ass guess, and posit that your curvy isn't all fat. Please imagine a tone of both spite and envy here, because I still can't do them things myself and it's driving me insane(er).

Sigh. Go figure. Just like BMI was meant as a population level, epidemiological tool, it makes sense that a tool that works for many rarely works for one.

Interesting aside on why so much science excludes women: pregnant women are a "protected class" for studies, as are children. Since, if a study has any sort of duration, it would require eliminating women who become pregnant, it's easier just to avoid reproductive-age women (http://www.drugwatch.com/fda-let-women-down/). On the other hand, females are even underrepresented in animal studies (http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/ct-northwestern-sex-differences-research-ct-20140902-story.html), and pregnant mice are NOT a protected class, so it's only a partial picture.

Back to the topic at hand though:
Walked for groceries. I am extremely tired today, so it was a victory just to do a 1.5 mile walk. May try for some yoga this evening, but it will definitely be a 'yoga for relaxation' type. I really enjoy this one: https://youtu.be/XOTGz-1vizY We'll see!

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #429 on: January 30, 2016, 03:03:12 PM »
Just jumping in to say that bodyfat %s confuse me often. While I agree that sub-15% is hard for a woman to maintain, 16% as "shredded" just doesn't hold true for me. Whether by calipers or the electric hand-held ones, I'm always between 15-19% (usually right at 15.5-16.5%), and I don't think I've ever qualified as "shredded". I know these methods aren't anywhere as accurate as a DEXA or something, but still, I'm confused. While I have "upper" ab definition, I still have a little 'cookie pouch' at the bottom. (New girl reference anyone? https://youtu.be/vR7jmKvHL-4 ) Although I also have hyperlordosis, so that probably doesn't help. As far as I know I'm not dealing with any sort of body dysmorphia.

Anyway, I just end up not really measuring anything except occasionally doing inches at various points. I don't have a scale, I feel like BF% isn't accurate for me, and it's a bit annoying that I'm lacking one metric that seems available to most people for tracking their progress.

Shredded for women is more like 9-10% body fat, that is what the NPC bikini competitors shoot for on stage. The look of body fat varies significantly person to person too, even at 13% (the lowest I've ever managed to get) I still don't have visible abs. Where you carry your weight (hips, thighs, lower back, stomach, arms, etc) and how much muscle size you have play a big role too. I totally have the cookie pouch! LOL

Okay, some month end fitness stuff...

Cardio:

Stationary bike - 151km, 3100 calories burned
Walking (incline treadmill and outdoor) - 47km, 2100 calories
Running - 31km, 2000 calories

Strength training:

Continuing a Monday (Shoulders, Chest, Triceps), Tuesday (Legs, Abs, Lower back), Thursday (Arms, Back) routine.

One thing that I am coming to realize is that I can't bring myself to reduce my cardio stuff much at all. Going into 2016, my intention was concentrate more on strength-stuff...but I now know that my preferred  fitness goal is really to COMBINE high-level cardio fitness with good (but not spectacular) muscular strength. I want to be fit in a balanced, ALL-AROUND sense...this just feels right to me.

Now, some empirical numbers...

Body fat, measured about half an hour ago...according to my calliper and accompanying chart - I am around 11%...I am more than satisfied with this. Whether or not the 11% is truly accurate (doubtful) it shows at least that I have made progress since the beginning of the month, when I was around 13%.

I tweaked a shoulder during the week so I am going to bow out of my 1 minute push up challenge for now...when the pain is gone I will give it a go and post the results here.

My weight is still hovering around 185...so the fact that I have reduced my body fat % a couple of points AND maintained the same weight suggests that I am succeeding in adding muscle mass. Yay.

Another interesting note, though not part of my goals, is the fact that my resting heart rate is around 56 BPM...I distinctly remember it being in the low 80's before I embarked on this mission of personal improvement.

Let's keep it going everyone....

Nice work! That is an excellent resting heart rate.


I'll do a month end review as well:

One of my "resolutions" this year was to add 20 minutes high intensity cardio after every workout. I've neglected cardio, since, ever, pretty much. I have been lifting forever, but loathed cardio.

My "first" cardio goal was to run for 20 minutes straight at 6mph on the treadmill, which I made last week! Big accomplishment for me being how little I've done.

Last week we switched from a 3 day split to a 4 day split. Still continuing to lift 4 days a week, now we hit most muscle groups once a week as opposed to every 5 days. Gives us more focus on each muscle group.

Last night on the smith machine I military pressed 235lbs for 6 reps (if the bar counts as a standard 45lbs, probably not quite but this bar is much heavier than a normal smith) Anyways, that's more than I've done in a long time.

I had a full blood panel done last week as well. It was overall pretty good, but my cholesterol isn't where I want it yet. I credit that due to lack of cardio and eating so much for so long.

I am down 11lbs in weight this month. The first 6 came incredibly fast due to taking a week and a half off and being in Vegas destroying my body lol. The last 3-4 weeks have been a steady 1-2 lbs a week which is exactly what I'm aiming for.

On a mustachian note, my wife just got certified to teach cycling courses, so now instead of going to class 3x a week, she can teach classes instead making $25 a pop!


Teehee, cardio is the bane of weight lifter's existence, I do it when I'm told I have to... So nice job and killer progress!
« Last Edit: January 30, 2016, 03:25:02 PM by eat.train.yoga.love »

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #430 on: January 30, 2016, 03:23:21 PM »
This is me, 27% in June vs 15% the very end of October, the second set of photos is 2 weeks after my competition in mid November and then this past Tuesday.  I'm holding at about 19% now which has been my goal. My coach measures using a bioimpedence scale that also has handles, so it calculates feet up and through the arms. The biggest thing they look at though is the various changes week to week, they account for changes in water and in the end how you look is the only thing that matters.

There is a 30lb difference in the first set of photos and believe or not a 10lb difference in the second set.

I had a solid week, didn't miss a training day and kept diet mostly in check, scale weight actually trended down a pound even though I'm eating more.

lucky-girl

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #431 on: January 31, 2016, 11:11:20 AM »
Things are going well here- though I would love to see some more snow up here in Maine. I've gotten out a few times to cross country ski, but not the 2-3 times a week I was getting in last year. Harder to motivate when the conditions aren't as good. That said, I really enjoyed my cross country ski last weekend in Jackson NH- beautiful day! And I got my first day of downhill in with my boys.

I've been walking to and from work almost every day, about 2 miles each way. I love walking- and I've been listening to a lot of podcasts!

I've gotten to the gym twice each week, which is fine, but since I haven't been getting out cross country skiiing more than once each week, I should probably be getting in to the gym at least 3 times per week.

I am back to my pre-holiday lifting levels, and have exceeded those numbers here and there.

That said, I've been on my computer all morning- time to get off the couch and walk to the gym!!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #432 on: January 31, 2016, 01:44:14 PM »
End of the month.


Been very good about the process - some form of exercise most days, alternating between lifting and doing (appropriately named) "Insanity" DVDs.
Jordan's spreadsheet was too complicated for me, but it's existence inspired me to look up a simple web version, and found this: http://www.strgraphs.com/


Here's my progress so far (or, well, I guess it will show up at the bottom of the post)


Sure, there's that long slow steady decline all year, but note at the very end the little up tick? 
That's after joining this thread! Yay!

bloomability

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #433 on: January 31, 2016, 04:27:08 PM »
After 6 months of lifting, I have finally made the jump to purchase weightlifting shoes. I get to use them tomorrow, and I am so excited. Hello, Nike Romaleos.

If you've never walked in weightlifting shoes, let me tell you it is an awkward, awkward thing.

Haha. I find that they feel the same as walking in a pair of wedges. Of course, if you're a male, then you probably don't have experience with that sort of thing. ;) :D

The wedges on Romaleos are really heavy and a lot lower of a wedge than my dressy wedge sandals. I'm a woman who loves wearing heels and wedges so that's not the issue. It's the weight!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #434 on: January 31, 2016, 05:05:46 PM »
Workout today went well.

Warmup: lunge walks
Squats: 5x3 at 95lbs
Metcon circuit for 10 min of: 10 kettlebell swings at 35lbs, farmer's carries with 50lbs, 5 push presses with bar (45lbs). I got through 5 circuits +7swings

Bought my little 5lb weight plates so I can do smaller progressions, and so that DH can progress his snatch. When we went to get the weights, they were offering a whole body BF% scan (InBody) for free, so I hopped on. Looks like I'm 19.4% bodyfat. Also to the pound the same weight as I was when I last weighed myself almost a year ago. Machine thought my hydration was good and in the normal range. Pegged my BMR as 1442cal. Anyway, interesting info to see.

Having to re-tool my diet. It's looking like I have a genetic mutation (certainly am a carrier, certainly have similar medical history, waiting on insurance to see if I'm heterozygous or homozygous) which means I don't make enough of the enzyme that breaks down medium chain fatty acids. Not so good for me, since about 50% of my calories come from fat. I'm supposed to be at no more than 30% from fat, and minimize medium chain specifically (goodbye coconut....). This also means I need to increase my carbs.  Never thought I would see the day where I was a macro dieter =o But this has the potential to help some mystery health concerns I have, so I'll do whatever I need to.

Week 4 check-in:
- 3 run/walks
- 2 stability & mobility sessions
- 1 yoga session
- 3 walks

Clearly, I've been slacking on yoga this week (and really, last week too). I think I miss the social aspect of yoga classes. That said, everyday that I skipped yoga, I went for a walk instead because it's been so nice here (enjoying it before the snow returns). I'm pretty happy with being active 6 out of 7 days.

For the month of January I've lost 4.5 inches total. I can see in my progress photos that my shorts are starting to fit better, but I have a ways to go. I will try to remember to weigh myself Tuesday, when I have access to a scale, and update here.

That is awesome! Very well done.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #435 on: February 01, 2016, 06:06:39 AM »
Week 4 check-in:

  • Ran 4 times
  • One round of Iron Strength for Runners
  • One swim
  • One bike ride

The weather was glorious here all weekend. I left work early on Friday and was able to run not only in daylight, but in actual sunshine both Friday and Saturday. Amazing how much of a mood booster that can be. I also jumped on my bike for a few miles this weekend. I am not as hardcore as those of you who cycle in the cold, snow, and ice, so I haven't been on since mid-November. It was only a few miles, but after a couple months off, it occurs to me I am going to have to build up saddle time again. Certain parts of my anatomy are protesting a bit today.

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #436 on: February 01, 2016, 11:17:08 AM »
Week 4 check in:

  • 209 miles biked - no idea how many trips, this is just commuting miles (5 days off-bike from traveling/not leaving the house at all.)
  • 16 group workout classes
  • 20.6 miles run
  • Still atrociously inflexible
  • 55lb x 3 bench press, 75lb back squat

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #437 on: February 01, 2016, 11:42:34 AM »
January Check-In

January was an interesting month for me. I spent a good majority of the time locking down exactly what works for me, and specifying my journey forward. I knew generally what I wanted to do, but I've now got the specifics locked down. I don't have numbers, and won't until March, since I'd rather do quarterly numbers. The other thing I've been working on is embracing the mind-set of focusing on the actual effort of each move in my workout. I'm also applying that to my life, which has been a bit of a struggle, but it's paying off. To that end, even though I've only missed 1 week (and only one of the 6 workouts) of completing all exercises, I did workout consistently, and it's done wonders for my mood. So I'm sticking with Step 1 for the first 3 weeks of this month, and then handle the progressions as prescribed. One additional thing that kind of bugs me, my other half started a walking challenge at work, and coupled with the lack of an office to go to, I haven't been on my damn bike in a couple of months...and I love biking. It's too bad, but at least I have somewhere to go today...only a few miles, but in 8"+ of snow, it should be fun. I have been doing a lot of hiking though. Not a goal, but still fun.

Here's to February!!

Everyone has been kicking ass so far, and I look forward to the continuation throughout the year!! Hopefully by March, I'll be able to donate all of my existing clothes and crack into the box of "Shit I'm Too Fat To Wear".

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #438 on: February 01, 2016, 11:44:54 AM »
End of the month.


Been very good about the process - some form of exercise most days, alternating between lifting and doing (appropriately named) "Insanity" DVDs.
Jordan's spreadsheet was too complicated for me, but it's existence inspired me to look up a simple web version, and found this: http://www.strgraphs.com/


Here's my progress so far (or, well, I guess it will show up at the bottom of the post)


Sure, there's that long slow steady decline all year, but note at the very end the little up tick? 
That's after joining this thread! Yay!

Awesome progress. I also added that link to the resource post.

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #439 on: February 01, 2016, 12:38:05 PM »
Was not feeling like going to the gym today, but bit the bullet and did it anyway.  Managed to get myself to the following totals for the month:

1507   minutes of exercise (10% of annual goal of 15,000 minutes)
96.03 miles covered   (I neglected to set a goal here, so I think I'll go with 1000 miles, putting me at 9.6% of new annual goal)
13,522 calories burned (13.5% of annual goal of 100,000 calories)
24 workout sessions (9.6% of annual goal of 250 sessions per year)

I did not yet start to add strength building work, nor did I try a new low-carb recipe -- unless you count swapping out our usual salmon fillets with mahi mahi (good, but I still like salmon better -- I think the rest of the mahi mahi will end up in curries or soup...)

Feels like a pretty good start to 2016.


I like mahi-mahi in fish tacos, I buy the "extra thin" corn tortillas which helps with carb count too. We actually made this recipe for a third time this weekend, which is a testament because we don't typically do repeats.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fish-tacos-with-lime-cilantro-crema the recipe calls for swordfish, but I like it mahi-mahi.
https://www.facebook.com/eat.train.yoga.love/photos/a.501446363269985.1073741826.488026921278596/979527772128506/?type=3&theater skip the black beans(though they're an awesome source of fiber) and do a second veggie like summer squash.


Having to re-tool my diet. It's looking like I have a genetic mutation (certainly am a carrier, certainly have similar medical history, waiting on insurance to see if I'm heterozygous or homozygous) which means I don't make enough of the enzyme that breaks down medium chain fatty acids. Not so good for me, since about 50% of my calories come from fat. I'm supposed to be at no more than 30% from fat, and minimize medium chain specifically (goodbye coconut....). This also means I need to increase my carbs.  Never thought I would see the day where I was a macro dieter =o But this has the potential to help some mystery health concerns I have, so I'll do whatever I need to.

Would taking a digestive enzyme help? So sad to give up coconut!

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #440 on: February 01, 2016, 01:06:20 PM »
Having to re-tool my diet. It's looking like I have a genetic mutation (certainly am a carrier, certainly have similar medical history, waiting on insurance to see if I'm heterozygous or homozygous) which means I don't make enough of the enzyme that breaks down medium chain fatty acids. Not so good for me, since about 50% of my calories come from fat. I'm supposed to be at no more than 30% from fat, and minimize medium chain specifically (goodbye coconut....). This also means I need to increase my carbs.  Never thought I would see the day where I was a macro dieter =o But this has the potential to help some mystery health concerns I have, so I'll do whatever I need to.

Would taking a digestive enzyme help? So sad to give up coconut!

I don't think there is one for this =( It happens inside cells within the liver, so it's not part of the GI tract the way you can take enzymes for something like cystic fibrosis. It's called "MCAD deficiency" if you want to learn more.
Yeah, the coconut thing majorly sucks. I used to make a big batch of curry every week (sometimes twice a week). But coconut oil + coconut milk... =(

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #441 on: February 01, 2016, 01:39:58 PM »
Today...30 minute, 400 calorie "warm up" on the bike

BLASTED the pushing muscle groups of the upper torso for around 70 minutes.

Posting this from the treadmill where I am finishing things up with a nice and easy 200 calorie stroll...breathing in lovely chlorine while I am at it. :(

Feeling bloody great physically...probably the best since my late 20's. I am so ready to test Jon_Snow 2.0 this Summer...what on earth am I gonna do? :)

Kerowyn

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #442 on: February 01, 2016, 01:46:53 PM »
I finally got back to my walks today! Just a short one, since my lungs are still not at 100%, but I don't think I'm going to get them back to normal capacity without exercise at this point. I KNOW my legs and joints are unhappy from being so extra sedentary with this illness (now nearly gone). I'm certain that I would have recovered from the illness more quickly if I'd been in better shape, so that's a motivator.

January was basically a wash. I'm not really behind my original plans, though, since I intended to start my weekly walks at the new year (and then I thought, why am I waiting?). Planning to do twice-weekly walks for February.

Not sure when I'll be able to get to roller skating--February is getting pretty full. Maybe the 27th.

I keep forgetting to take a "before" picture since I only check this forum at work. I should write myself a note.

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #443 on: February 01, 2016, 01:49:22 PM »
Having to re-tool my diet. It's looking like I have a genetic mutation (certainly am a carrier, certainly have similar medical history, waiting on insurance to see if I'm heterozygous or homozygous) which means I don't make enough of the enzyme that breaks down medium chain fatty acids. Not so good for me, since about 50% of my calories come from fat. I'm supposed to be at no more than 30% from fat, and minimize medium chain specifically (goodbye coconut....). This also means I need to increase my carbs.  Never thought I would see the day where I was a macro dieter =o But this has the potential to help some mystery health concerns I have, so I'll do whatever I need to.

Would taking a digestive enzyme help? So sad to give up coconut!

I don't think there is one for this =( It happens inside cells within the liver, so it's not part of the GI tract the way you can take enzymes for something like cystic fibrosis. It's called "MCAD deficiency" if you want to learn more.
Yeah, the coconut thing majorly sucks. I used to make a big batch of curry every week (sometimes twice a week). But coconut oil + coconut milk... =(

bummer, here's a coconut milk free curry thread... http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?30079-Vegetable-curry-recipe-without-coconut There's got to be a decent substitute out there!

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #444 on: February 01, 2016, 01:59:06 PM »
Having to re-tool my diet. It's looking like I have a genetic mutation (certainly am a carrier, certainly have similar medical history, waiting on insurance to see if I'm heterozygous or homozygous) which means I don't make enough of the enzyme that breaks down medium chain fatty acids. Not so good for me, since about 50% of my calories come from fat. I'm supposed to be at no more than 30% from fat, and minimize medium chain specifically (goodbye coconut....). This also means I need to increase my carbs.  Never thought I would see the day where I was a macro dieter =o But this has the potential to help some mystery health concerns I have, so I'll do whatever I need to.

Would taking a digestive enzyme help? So sad to give up coconut!

I don't think there is one for this =( It happens inside cells within the liver, so it's not part of the GI tract the way you can take enzymes for something like cystic fibrosis. It's called "MCAD deficiency" if you want to learn more.
Yeah, the coconut thing majorly sucks. I used to make a big batch of curry every week (sometimes twice a week). But coconut oil + coconut milk... =(

bummer, here's a coconut milk free curry thread... http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?30079-Vegetable-curry-recipe-without-coconut There's got to be a decent substitute out there!

Oh brilliant! Thank you! Curries are such an awesome way to stretch meat, get lots of veggies, and burn my face off at the same time. =P I think I'm going to try the hummus one, since I have some slightly runny jalapeno hummus in the fridge right now.

mspym

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #445 on: February 01, 2016, 10:09:57 PM »
Check-in:  Great weights set today. The gym was full of Not My Regulars so I was supersetting to get out of there. 35 minutes and I did 4x10 rear lunges/bench, then chin-ups, cable deadlifts and military press. So far in 2016 I have completed my daily workout everyday- it can be weights, yoga or extensive walking. I restarted yoga and found a TERRIFIC studio 10 minutes walk away which has multiple pre- and post-work classes so I will be able to continue once I am back at work.

At this point, I am not measuring my weight but I am tracking my workouts. It works better for me to focus on the factors I find positively rather than negatively reinforcing. After 4 sessions of yoga in a week, I can hold my headstand for longer and my forward bend ~2cm further past my toes. Now I just got to clean up my shoulder demons!

McBuck

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #446 on: February 02, 2016, 08:38:36 AM »
Update from last week:
day/target/actual:
mon/rest/rest
tues/3m/3m
wed/6m/6m
thurs/3m/90 min volleyball, 50 min floor hockey
fri/rest/ 90 min volleyball
sat/6m/5m
sun/12m/60 min volleyball

I wasn't feeling up to my long run on Sunday, so I switched with my scheduled monday rest day and ran 13.1 miles last night in 1hr55. It was the first time I've run a half marathon distance since the fall and it was perfect 6ºC weather for it.

bloomability

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #447 on: February 02, 2016, 10:27:55 AM »
not on my initial goals, but I'm getting better at pull-ups which is a huge struggle for me.

Update for goals: lots of improvement on lifts I've maxed out, what I haven't maxed out, I know I'm stronger. Strong January. Actually, January was a lot of fun.

Squat - increase 50lbs
            BS (starting 175; current 185)
            FS (starting 130; current 145)
            OHS (starting 100; current: 105 x 3)
Deadlift - 315lbs (starting 270; current: 270)
Bench - 160lbs (starting 140; current: 140)
Clean&Jerk - 175lbs (starting 150; current: 150)
Snatch - 135lbs (starting 100; current: 105)
Strict Press - 105lbs (starting 85; current: 90)
1 mile run - under 7 minutes (starting 7:16)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #448 on: February 02, 2016, 10:50:07 AM »
I'll jump in this year!

1. Deadlift. Goal is 1.5x bodyweight, or 202.5lbs (so 200lbs really). Stretch goal: 2x bodyweight, or 270lbs. I'm currently doing 145lb 1 rep max.
2. Back squat. Goal is 1x bodyweight, or 135lbs. Stretch goal is 1.5x bodyweight, or ~200lbs. I'm currently doing 115lb.
3. Achieve a proper front rack position. This is hard given mobility restrictions from a previous injury.

January tally:
1. Deadlift. PR went from 145lbs to 160lbs. 15lb increase. 40lbs to go!
2. Squat. PR went from 115lbs to 135lbs. 20lb increase. Met my first goal already, so shooting for 200lbs.
3. Fell down a bit on this goal. Haven't been working on my mobility really at all. Have been working my push press, though, and I stretch into front rack position as much as I can before starting. That's all I've done though. Need to get a formal mobility WOD in place for this.

griffin

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #449 on: February 02, 2016, 12:29:37 PM »
Quick update!
Squat - 235x5
Deadlift - 275x5 (repeated this weight, some lower back rounding the first time)
Bench - 185 x 5
Total - 695
Bodyweight is around 190, I predict linear increases should continue; I'm hoping the deadlift setback was due to my being tired or something.
I also managed to OHP 130x5 yesterday so I get to use 45s on Friday woooo
congrats on making it through the first month everyone!
« Last Edit: February 02, 2016, 12:31:58 PM by griffin »

 

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