JCC 2018 Fitness Goals

A question for those who do cardio: is a running schedule consisting of two days on and two days off progression consistent enough for results, or is two days off too long?

 

Thanks!

I'm also making substantial changes to my diet and i'm already feeling the difference which is nice.

 

So some demented bubba at work decided to unload their stash of Hostes cakes, Hershey's milk chocolate nuggets (2 bags) and random other sweets including a full 3 Musketeers bar on one of the "freebie" tables.

I won't lie, I stared at them and strongly considered stashing a few in my desk drawer (which then would soon become my stomach).

But then I walked away without touching a one. I was grumbling most of the way back to my desk, but I didn't have any.

 

We've had an unusual warm spell and all the ice, snow, and slush is gone from the roads. So I said to heck with walking in snow boots, put on my running shoes, and went out jogging the last 2 days, first time in about 2 months. My leg muscles definitely feel the difference between running and walking.

 

Week two of the cleanse and I feel pretty darn good. I am really going to try and eat a clean diet this entire year. The difference in not eating prosessed food is amazing. Still have not done much gym wise. A bit but not much especially for me. This week will be hard with my birthday. I am trying to workout four days a week but twice a day (lift in the morning/cardio at night). Will see how it plays out. The weather not being brutally cold does help. Nothing is worse then the alarm going off at like 4:40 AM and it being like negative two out. Blah!

 

OK folks, I've got it set up. If y'all have any different backgounds you want me to use let me know, pics are really more of placeholders for now.
Also created an event for the Star Wars Virtual Marathon, for those that want to partake.

Your NEW JCC Fitness Group on Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/338298

Let's get as many people in as we can!

 

I never find this sort of thing in the office tempting. I know that grabbing an empty calorie donut is terrible for me, so I don't. I know there's no value in grabbing some cheap chocolate candy (never mind my ethical objection to Hershey, which helps keep that at bay, too). My issue is more with stuff that's not so obviously bad for me. Like when they bring in bagels for the office. Can a whole wheat bagel really be that bad? Well, yes, when it's 260 unplanned calories - I could have two beers for that!

Inty Update: Snow limited by gym exposure last week, but still got my doctor recommended minimum of 4x30. That's three weeks in, three weeks hitting that (one week with 4, one with 5, one with 6). The snow did allow for a nice thirty minutes of heavy sweating while shoveling, so there's some silver lining to that cloud. Week three was also strictly adherent to the nutritional lifestyle. Aria needs new batteries, so I didn't get a weigh in this week or last, and I need to schedule my blood work follow-up for another A1C test.

 

I know I'm supposed to hold off until my appointment with the pain specialist tomorrow about my back, but I went and did 7 miles (3 mi walk/run and 4 just walking, just trying to work on distance first) on Sunday morning. Cool temps in the mid 60s, cloudy, nice breeze and a well timed light rain shower at mile 5 that lasted 5 minutes. Hurt like hell after but I soooo needed to get my cabin fever taken care of after a week of temps not getting out of the 30s for highs. Yes I know, I'm spoiled since moving to TX 14 years ago

 

Does anybody else get heat rash from sweating outside in winter? That's just not right. All the extra effort it takes to get regular exercise when it's freezing out, you'd think I wouldn't have to put up with heat rash! So unfair.

Anyway, baby powder is clearing it up.

 

As little as a couple weeks ago, I might've convinced myself to grab a few items. I know it's not good for me, but yet I would let old habits and reflexes take over. This past week I've been focusing on getting back on track and sticking to my plan to get back where I was pre-surgery. It's gratifying to see that I'm getting back into the "food as fuel" mindset and able to override the urge for emotional/stress/boredom eating. It's day-by-day, so focusing on keeping it up a week at a time until I get to a month, and keep going on from there.

Checked my fasting blood sugar this morning and it was at 95. Having been pre-diabetic on the edge of going full-blown, every so often I like to test where I'm at. In the past it wasn't uncommon for it to be 114-120 on a daily basis, so yay having numbers below 100!

 

On week 3 of a BodySpace app workout. It is a 12 week program. Did a superset routine of 10 pushups, 1 minute mountain climbers, 20 squats, with a one minute rest between. Doesn't sound much, but I certainly found out how much I do recover on rests between individual exercises!

 

NEW PERSONAL RECORD!

Benched 220 lbs this morning...that's 100 kg to you Pete, if you're reading this!

I'm not a governor yet and I know that's nothing compared to what a lot of people can push but it's a milestone for me...so yay!

 

Everyone starts from zero, it's a 'competition' against yourself and no one else, even if you see someone else do a little more than you and it pushes you to do more

 

@Mortimer Snerd

PR’s are PR’s no matter what the weight is. WAY TO GO! Do you have a specific goal in mind or just trying to see how much iron you can throw up? I be happy to share a few very amateurish tips I have learned over the years if you like. Just a few things I learned over the years from fellow meatheads that I think were following.

I’m ironically I am at the opposite spectrum when it comes to lifting weights. I am turning 4-0 tomorrow (it’s so messing with my head) and decided that after 25 years of being a meathead who just throws a bunch of weight on a bar and try to lift around as often as I can no longer do that. Therefore I am going to a much lighter/higher rep weight lifting program that is a ton of static lifting. Really watching my form too since my college roomate who does cross fit has in the past few years as torn his ACL and now needs surgery on his shoulder. No thanks! I am also trying to do more cardio then I ever before because I will run a 5k come Thanksgiving even if I die completing it!!

@Grand Admiral Strife

Agree. Everyone is in the same at the gym no matter what some meatheads think. It’s also the one place that at least in my experience you are guarantee results if you work hard. You might not get the end result you totally want but you are going to look and feel a lot better then when you started off. A lot of things in life that is not true. You can work very hard at something and not see any results. The gym is the one place I find if you put the time and work in you are guarantee to see results.

 

Running for 30 minutes twice a day if possible.

 

Thanks man! My goal is to become Governor of Wisconsin. I figure the best way to accomplish that is to get ripped af and challenge Scott Walker to a no gloves, no pads ring fight. Let's see how "tough" all these right wing nincompoops are then. Or just get as ripped as I can. I don't have the star power that Ventura and Schwarzenegger have but if I can get some of the physique I'll be a contender.

Turning 40 is just another birthday, it's only a number....but happy birthday anyway! I did it 6 years ago and I leveled up to that point where you can scoff at anyone under 40 because they obviously know next to nothing. Also take D-Aspartic Acid. It will help maintain your body's tendency to produce testosterone while you're exercising and because that tends to drop significantly after 40. (Only a number, right?)

I agree too that nothing guarantees results like the gym can...but that ultimately depends on you. I never had the discipline to do this kind of thing before but for some reason I found it last year and I couldn't be more thankful for it.

 

So the pain doc says it's a common lumbar issue, nothing a shot or two of cortisone into my spine can't fix, so that's good news.
Nice weather again, was only going to do 3 miles, wound up run/walking 4 and walking a 5th.

 

Thinking about signing up for some Yoga Classes. I can get a pretty cheap introductory set via Groupon not far from home.

 

But what is the riddle of steel?

 

Trust not man, nor women, nor beasts....steel you can trust? Because the gods lost the secret of steel on the battlefield, something something angered Crom?

It's been a while....I have no excuse for not knowing that word for word....dammit!

 

WOW I soooo totally misread that...

We're just about a month in, how is everyone doing so far?