Twilight's World Conquest

[Twilight]

Jan 3/18 update, for those just seeing my thread for the first time ...

 

Disclaimer: I'm a leftist socialist queer agender (they/them pronouns) sex positive hippie who is an active member of The Resistance. Any photos I post here will be safe, but if you follow the links you will find suggestive content. Click at your own risk!

 

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January 12: first workout, Beginner Bodyweight 101, 1 circuit.

 

January 14: second circuit added, increased row curls to 20 on each arm because my weight is too light.

 

January 16: holding plank for 20 seconds each time, no problem.

 

January 20: Did 5 full pushups and 5 half pushups during both circuits.

 

January 22: 7 full pushups and 3 half pushups!

 

January 24: third circuit added. 10 full pushups during the first circuit, 5 full and 5 half in the 2nd, then 10 half in the third. Had to cut my third plank short because of a pain in my lower abdominal muscle, but that's ok.

 

I got through the third circuit imagining a crowd cheering me on, and feeling so powerful that I could get my body to do these things that were out of reach just two weeks ago.

 

ROAR.

 

 

[RES]

Awesome job...it's great to look and see how much we have accomplished in a short time...welcome again!

[Twilight]

Yesterday I did all three circuits again, but kept my pushups as half pushups because my right bottom abdominal muscle was still sore.

 

I'm starting to get the "I don't wanna do this" feeling before starting. I had that before every karate class when I was practicing karate, and I knew that by the middle of the class I would feel awesome, so I know how to ignore that feeling.

 

I'm also not sure if I'm getting better at squats/lunges, or not trying as hard as I was before, but they're feeling much easier. Maybe a bit of both.

[Twilight]

My manager's manager treated us to lunch today. I looked up the entree I ate and it was 1200 calories! I don't understand how they can market these as healthy options. I should have eaten half and then saved the other half for dinner.

 

Weekday workouts are going well because I can do my workout as soon as I get home - the 1.5km walk from the station to my apartment gets me all warmed up, so I can just get right to it, then shower and relax and enjoy my evening. That's the plan for tonight! (And then laundry, which is kind of a workout in itself what with the stairs down to the laundry room and carrying the baskets and all that.)

 

I also looked up local grappling clubs and there's one not too far from where I work. I'll have to see about classes. (Insert evil laugh here. The world shall be mine, yes.)

[Twilight]

Still struggling with full push ups!

 

I think of this video while I work out. MURDER. Yes. (I really need to see that movie.)

[Twilight]

I went to my first yoga class in a year or two this afternoon. It was good! I'm still flexible (because I've kept up with stretching) and I had no problem keeping up.

 

Workout tonight was ok. I think I need to improve my form for squats.

 

I weighed myself at my friend's house between yoga and my workout, and I seem to weigh about the same. It's kind of disheartening, since I've been consistently below my calorie goals for at least six weeks, and I don't think it can be just explained away as "gaining muscle". Bleh. This is why I don't own a scale.

[Twilight]

I'm sick and today is a workout day. It's just a cold, so I'm going to work out anyway, but take it really easy.

 

I noticed that my left tricep is not nearly as strong as my right tricep. I'm uneven! Argh.

[SuNoYo]

I'm sick and today is a workout day. It's just a cold, so I'm going to work out anyway, but take it really easy.

 

I noticed that my left tricep is not nearly as strong as my right tricep. I'm uneven! Argh.

 

Don't worry, I am too. Silly little baby left arm; you'd think that all the heavy lifting I do with carry groceries it'd be stronger, but it turns out there's a difference between carrying dead weight and actively lifting it.

Just keep on plugging away using equal weights on both sides and it'll force the arm to catch up, don't baby it along unless it's weaker due to an injury or something. My left arm's still fairly weak, but even just four weeks of consistent BBWW have let me increase me dumbell's weights. Went back to the original weight I started out with and hey, I'm lifting it much easier than before. Still not as strong as the right, but I'm getting there.

 

You'll get there too.

[Twilight]

You'll get there too.

 

Thanks! I'm using the same amount of weight for both arms, but I can definitely upgrade to a heavier weight. I just need to find an empty gallon jug to fill with water or something.

 

Yesterday I did two circuits, and did ten full pushups for the first one, then seven full, three half for the second. I stopped after two circuits because of the cold, but felt better overall for having moved my body.

 

I'm definitely looking slimmer.

[Twilight]

Another role model: Scarlett Johansson and all the training she did to play Black Widow.

 

I found a heavier weight for the row pulls: my shiny red tool box. It works really well! I also read the NF email that came out a couple of days ago about weight training, and learned that the bar for weights is 45lbs. I know I could lift that because that's how much my children weigh, and I pick them up all the time. I wonder if I could get them to lie across my shoulders for my workout?

 

I started using a wooden pole across my shoulders for the squats and lunges, and wow, they're so much easier to do that way. Planks are 30s each and I feel really solid while I'm doing them, and I'm at about 75% consistently for full pushups rather than half through all three circuits.

 

Three more days and I'm taking my "one month in" progress picture. I'm looking forward to taking a look myself, because I can't see the gradual change without the contrast of what I looked like a month ago.

[Twilight]

I realised in the last few days that the changes I'm making in my life cannot just be a quick fix, or temporary at all. I'm going to have to keep doing this for the rest of my life. And so I kind of sighed in resignation, shrugged my shoulders, and didn't bother contemplating the alternative.

!

More inspiration, a friend of mine this time: Racey Stacey. She does ultra extreme races (marathons, triathalons, etc). She says: "A car accident in 1997 resulted in knee surgery & a few years of physical rehabilitation. Faced with the fact that my physical ability was in jeopardy, I realized I never took advantage of it in the first place. I vowed to myself then that I would never take my physical ability and strength for granted."

Maybe I'll get into running at some point. I'm definitely having the itch to swim again though. I've got a 3.8k race I could do this summer!

[Twilight]

Workout day today. I do it as soon as I get home, so I'm all warmed up from my walk home from the station. No point in showering twice! I don't wanna dooo itttt ... BUT I WILL. AND I'll be working on making sure I stay more upright during my squats, as well as staying squared for lunges.

 

I've been looking at the guilds and am liking the idea, but I don't get motivation from the little challenges. I know they're all optional, and the idea of the guilds is really to get like-minded people together to motivate each other. I'm really stubborn though, and I have to be completely self-motivated, or I won't do anything at all. My friend tried to get me in on her weight loss bet things she does, and I just can't do it. It's de-motivating for me to have anyone else prodding me to do anything, even if it was my idea to do it in the first place.

 

1 month progress picture tomorrow! I will probably share it ...

[Twilight]

I took my progress picture last night, but I had a huge meal for my daughter's birthday, and I don't see a difference. I took another one today. I'll have to take a closer look.

 

I feel different, though, even if the scale doesn't agree with me, and the photos don't look different. Discouraging, but I'll keep at it.

 

Today I had to skip the push ups because my left shoulder has been hurting the last couple of days. I could do the row pulls but not push ups, even half ones. I don't know what I did to it.

 

Did a bit of light wrestling last night and I think I did better than last time. Either that, or he was going really easy on me. I'll take it.

 

I did notice that I can bend farther now than I could a month ago, hanging straight down as well as sitting, reaching to my toes. I can hang on to my feet as I stretch, and can almost put my hands flat on the floor! Go me.

[RES]

Measurements are a much better indicator of progress than weight...a pound is a pound...but a pound of fat takes up a lot more space than a pound of muscle

[Twilight]

I measured myself a week or so ago and saw no difference then, either. :-\ I don't own a scale, so I'm going by how my clothes fit, whether I get tired climbing a flight of stairs (haven't for a couple of weeks!), and general appearance.

[SuNoYo]

Don't worry if your weight hasn't gone down, chances are you're putting on muscle and losing fat at the same time! If after a few more weeks you haven't lost any weight maybe have a look at your diet; you could be eating more calories than you're losing.

Aside from metrics here's the thing: you're still seeing progress. You feel stronger, are lifting more than you could before (deliberately), your endurance has increased and you're more flexible.

This is progress.

Don't just look at your weight and your measurement. Progress has been made. Boring is good, so keep on going; you'll see noticeable gains and losses soon,

[Twilight]

Yeah, I'm just impatient! Where's my xp and gold?

 

I'm averaging 1600 calories per day. Some days it's well under, and some days it's well over. If simple calorie reduction doesn't work then yeah, I'll have to make more deliberate changes to the actual food that I'm eating, like cutting out refined sugar and flour and all that. Insert Scott Pilgrim gif here: "Bread makes you fat?!"

[Twilight]

Oh hey, I have data from three months ago:

Total cholesterol: 4.30 (ideal: 3.8-5.2 mmol/L)
Casual glucose: 5.8 (ideal: 4.0-7.0 mmol/L)
Blood pressure: 102/66 (ideal: 120/80)
Body fat percentage: 31.9% (ideal female: 20-27%)
BMI: 25.9 (ideal: 18.5-24.9)
Waist circumference: 32†(ideal female: <35â€) (hips: ~44" bust: ~38")

 

I don't have a way to measure the cholestorol, glucose, or body fat percentage at home. I'm sure my blood pressure is still fine. (Thanks to pregnancy-induced hypertension, I'm very familiar with my blood pressure.) I took my measurements last night and:

 

Waist: 31"

Hips: 43"

Bust: 38"

 

Not much change, but hey.

[Twilight]

I missed Saturday's workout, but experienced my first rope suspension instead. My core definitely got a workout! My abs are still sore.

 

No workout today because we spent four hours walking around the zoo. I'm frakking tired.

 

Edit: OMG Sailor Senshi lifting shirts!!!

[Twilight]

I worked out on Tuesday after my inadvertent break, so today is workout day again. Tuesday I had a guest for dinner, so I only did two circuits because I ran out of time, but I also didn't want to go nuts after too long a break. I don't know, I'm cautious. I kept it to half-pushups for all of the pushups, but did 15 instead of 10. It's still a huge challenge for me to do full pushups. I will get there.

 

My mother said I looked thinner when she saw me this weekend after last seeing me over the holidays in December.

 

 

My left knee is acting up again. It's been so much better in general since I started working out. I want to start adding weight for squats and lunges, but it's so much harder on my knee that way. Argh.

 

I'm signing up for the Level 1 Rebel challenge!

[Twilight]

My left shoulder and left knee were not very cooperative tonight, but I managed all three circuits!

 

Push ups were 10 full, 5 full + 10 half, then 15 half.

Dumbell rows were 15 on each side x3, and my weight is already feeling easy. I just upgraded like last week!

Plank is up to 40 seconds x3!

Squats are hard, man, especially when I try to stay as upright as possible. Doing them in the mirror two days ago helped me see that my torso collapses nearly flat when I do them, which is not the goal. So I can go shallower and stay more upright, or go deeper and fold too far ... I will get there!

Lunges were kicking my ass today.

 

Lots of stretching with yoga after. I took my time and made sure I was really thorough. I'm tired.

 

I've seen at least three progress picures over the last few days. I was feeling self-consious about posting mine, since I didn't see much progress when I put them side by side, and it was discouraging. I figure what the hell. Here it is (underwear warning! why didn't I pick ones that fit better? now I'm stuck with these.): one month in.

[Twilight]

My workout kicked my ass today.

 

3x20 squats, alternating between hands on shoulders, hands on hips, and hands in front for balance. Gotta find something that helps keep my torso as upright as possible.

2x10 full push ups, 1x10 half because my left shoulder decided now was a good time to start hurting again.

3x20 squats with the bar over my shoulders.

3x15x2 dumbell rows. I need a heavier weight ... it only starts to burn when I get to 14. So weird! My arms are looking really great!

3x40s planks!

3x30 jumping jacks.

 

It's been an emotionally draining couple of weeks due to a bunch of things going on in my personal life and at work. I knew working out today would help me feel better, even though it was more difficult to get started because I have to specifically warm up instead of using my walk home from work since it's a weekend.

 

Two days and the challenge officially begins! I will continue my progress reports in my challenge thread.

[Twilight]

The State of the Empire:

 

I swam 1.2km today (1km in front crawl, 0.15 km in breast stroke, and 0.05 in flutter kick with a flutter board). I will work out tomorrow, and plan on keeping up with this routine through the week and into my next challenge. I'm really proud of myself for sticking with the routine pretty consistently since the challenge started. I took some days off, but I didn't let it derail me. I LOST 12 LBS! I'm stronger and more flexible than I've ever been in my life! I feel pretty awesome. I will take an "after" shot of my bridge tomorrow when I'm stretching. I have also finally added the Assassins badge to my profile.

 

For the next challenge I will:

• Continue on with the advanced bodyweight workout from the NF blog, working towards doing all of the movements without assistance. I don't expect to achieve that during the next challenge, but I will be satisfied as long as I can see that I'm needing less and less help to get things done.
• Build up to 1.5km for swimming on alternate days with the aim of participating in the Toronto Island Lake Swim again this August
• Keep up with yoga for stretching after my workouts to keep gaining flexibility
• Keep working on my core and on balancing in Crow/Crane and handstands
• Try to remember to squat for 30 minutes every day for the squat challenge (optional)
• Try to remember to do the hand exercise video at least twice a day (optional)
• Life quest: get a new job (so, work on my resume and start getting in touch with my contacts)

[Twilight]

The Difference Between Successful and Very Successful People: food for thought, especially around goal setting.

[Teirin]

The Difference Between Successful and Very Successful People: food for thought, especially around goal setting.

 

Excellent article.