Valiance

Oh God, I'm suffering from Lifteritus Sexyitus. The belief that because I made those squats my bitch, despite the fact my body looks no different yet, I am somehow 185% more sexy than I was before.

Don't forget... Most people don't even HAVE a bar to drop on their heads! Sounds like a rough day, but it's just one step forward towards your goals!

How is the challenge going? I'm curious what sort of workouts you're doing because you mentioned you have a plan but didn't talk about what it is.

Good luck!! How's the challenge going so far?

Go Steve!!!!! Those are awesome goals. I'm just beginning the Barbell Battalion myself!

Okay, so I've been thinking about this all evening since I left the gym. I asked one of the trainers how much the squat rack barbells weighed by themselves, and he said 45lb. There's almost no way that's true.... I can't even imagine that just the bar is 45lb, because I think I'd be having a hard time lifting JUST the bar if that were true, never mind the effing extra weights. So... If my guess is true and the bar is more like 15-20lb, then I squatted 60lb today!!!!! Which is awesome!! If what the trainer said is true, then I squatted 85lb, which would be a bit much for me to believe. I don't think I'm that strong yet!

Hey guys! No, not really. I did a little bit at one point but not very much running. So, I am embarrassed to admit that I MADE EXCUSES. Too tired to work out was the main one. But tonight I made it happen. Loaded an extra 20lb on the bar tonight! Very proud of my squat!

Good luck!! I'll be trying to remember to keep an eye on this thread... we're in somewhat of the same boat. I do not have much of an exercise history, except for some sporadic martial arts experience as I was growing up.

True, true, true. To become like Spezzy, one must work like Spezzy! This is sort of like mine, except I don't have a buddy. But I think our goal is the same... no excuses acceptable!! Indeed. My experience over the last six weeks has been that unless I start to feel fuzzy-headed or dizzy, I'm not actually as hungry as I think. I've gotten so used to ignoring my hunger that I can actually run all day on one morning-milkshake till I get home to eat again. This is a good thing for me, because I've always been a "bored" eater... i.e. I was bored so I would eat. I've really found that once you get used to the sensation of hunger, it doesn't bother you much until your body actually does get to be in need of food. Took me a few weeks, but I eventually adjusted.

You go!! Don't forget you already have SOME built in strength training from carrying the kiddos around. As soon as bodyweight squats get too easy, I suggest you ducktape the kids to yourself and do some "babyweight" squats.

The Story of Valiance Chapter 2: Valiance Prepares for Battle And so it was that Valiance made a little progress on his journey, making it from the village to an outlying city and learning many things from the scholars there. Along the way there were many challenges, and Valiance reached the city wiser and more weary, but without ever having drawn his sword to strike down the bandits on the road who troubled him. The ways of his village that he had tried to escape were still with him, and as he spent time in contemplation in the city of Onward, Valiance at last sought out a teacher and begged to learn the way of the warriors. Although he studied hard, Valiance was troubled; a letter came from home, begging for his help. The great dragon Muving was sweeping across the land, headed for his village. Valiance had faced Muving before and come away with an injury, needing help to defeat the dragon and to recover afterwards. This time it seemed the dragon had doubled in size, and so Valiance would need to train hard to face the dragon and escape with his life. And so it was that Valiance's journey began again. Valiance left the city, headed back towards his home. But this time Valiance's sword would taste blood, and he intended to face the dragon head-on. A'ight you guys. So I'm done making excuses, and HERE WE GO!!!! Worked out last week and pulverized my muscles with some squats and assisted pullups. Today is the first time I can walk/move my arms without pain, so luckily that coincided with the start of the next challenge!!!! I intend to get back in there and pulverize my muscles over and over again till my muscles decide, "You know what I'm going to do? GET BIGGER!" The dragon "Muving" is approaching in my life... I'm moving! In January I'll be moving in with someone, and so that'll require me to move not just my stuff but to help with his! When I moved before I hurt my shoulder pretty badly carrying too many heavy boxes up flights of stairs. So I want to make sure that doesn't happen again! I wish I could make some really specific strength-gaining goals, but I'm not entirely sure how to do it. I don't know how fast I can move up in weights and I don't want to end up disappointing myself hugely. So I may modify these goals a bit as the challenge continues. STRENGTH GOALS: Follow Barbell Battalion workout plan for six weeks. NO EXCUSES!!! I'd tentatively set my goals to 60lb for squats (starting at 35ish lb), no idea for push press, no idea for deadlift, and doing 5 sets of pullups with 50lb or less of assistance on the machine. (Str +5) LIFE GOALS: Save up $900 towards moving costs and fees (such as pet fees). (Wis +3) Practice voice at least three times a week (Cha +2) HEALTH GOALS: Get to week 5 in the Couch to 5K plan so that I can start looking at some of the AWESOME races like the Zombie/Warrior/Mud Run/Dash/Whatever. (Sta +5) EATING GOALS: Gotta eat right to train right!! Healthy food is the name of the game. Lots of chicken, veggies, etc. I will only eat out on Saturday/Sunday, and when I do it has to be a salad or something without grains/pasta. (Con +3) No soda. (Con +2)

Damn! Nice going!!!!

There is no way that thing was only 5lb! On the contrasting side, there's no way that thing was 45lb. O_o I'm not even 100% sure I could lift that much, although I think when I did a fitness assessment months and months ago they told me I have a "pulling strength" of 70lb or something. I stood on a thing and pulled up as hard as I could on a metal bar. I need to ask the staff--it's a school gym. I will definitely ask them next time, and in fact I should've asked the guy when he came over to check my form on the squats. Thanks for all of the encouragement, guys!! I am super pumped to get back in there tomorrow and tear it up again! Not with squats, till next week, but I'm gonna keep moving forward. Hopefully my next woot will be along the lines of squatting 100lb.

This is probably the greatest thing I've ever read. I always try to be careful. I'm 6'1", closer to 6'2", and I try to never assume that a woman will realize my intentions are sound. If I'm walking down a dark path to a parking lot and there's a woman ahead of me, I will go out of my way to either walk a huge circle around her rather than past her, if I'm going a lot faster, or I'll take a different path if one is available. It's difficult for me to remember some times, being gay, that women who see me and don't know me won't be thinking, "he's not even interested in me," but may instead be thinking, "holy **** that guy's like 6' tall and we're out here alone." It makes me sad, but it's the truth. I think a lot of guys don't realize how scary an average sized guy can be to an average sized girl. Most men have never been in the situation of having to worry about a sexual predator who is bigger and stronger than they are. Again, being gay, I've been in a situation where I got scared because I was alone with another guy who really WAS bigger than I was, and he was coming on to me quite heavily. It was pretty nerve-wracking, and I think it gives me a tiny perspective on how some women might feel... but, again, being male that is not the average situation for me. I don't live with that concern on a daily basis.

As the title suggests, I FREAKIN DID SQUATS WITH WEIGHT ON THE BAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did some exercising over the summer, but I never had the courage to do squats with weight on the bar because I was afraid I would look stupid squatting with the bar and lil' 5lb wights on each end. But tonight, I not only got into the gym but I DID IT!!! I did 1x5 just the bar, 1x5 with 10lb on the bar, and 2x5 with 20lb on the bar!!! I didn't know I could do it! I just thought about how pissed I was about failing my challenge and all of the sudden I was squatting with the extra 20 lb better than I had been with just the bar! So I think that means I did squats with somewhere in the realm of 30-35lb? I'm not sure how much the bar weighs, but it felt heavier than th 10lb weighs I was putting on it, but I don't think it was 20lb. I was going to set a goal for the next six week challenge of being able to squat 50lb but DAMN!!! I didn't know my own pathetic strength. Looks like I might have to set the goal a little higher.

I'm all set for the gym tonight! Super pumped up about it. I've got my shoes, my gym shorts, etc. This morning I took my dog on a good, long walk. Good for her, and good for me. I'm going to make sure I eat a big meal about three hours before hand, and then get in there and freakin' tear it up after my last class gets out at 9:45 tonight!!!

I'm in a similar situation, except that my best friend is a woman. She and I met because she was a returning student when I was a freshman, and we bonded almost immediately because she felt like an outside and I was not a fan of the other students my age and how they were living their lives. Honestly I don't feel like I need any more than that. I have other friends who I'm close to, and of course plenty of acquaintances. I can be very social, and I enjoy socializing, but a far as having super close friends that I reveal all of my secrets to and whatnot, she's really the only one. We recently went to a Ren. Fest together and had the most amazing time.

I hope so. I keep some stubble because 90% of the people I talk to have told me I look "way better" with stubble, but I think it looks pretty wussy at the moment because it doesn't fill in. I'd love it if it would grow in just a LITTLE thicker. I don't even need full-on-beard, just a little thicker stubble would be just fine.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about the challenge since it ended!!! I failed pretty spectacularly in terms of what I had hoped to accomplish, but I did succeed really well in terms of eating better and losing some weight. I'm not sure how many pounds, and in fact I sort of don't care, but I know I started with my stomach at 39.5", and it's down to 37" as of this morning. I keep doubting myself and had actually been under-counting the amount I'd lost because I kept thinking I must've been remembering 39.5 wrong, but luckily I took a picture of my stomach and the tape measure before I started the diet and i looked at it today so I know I'm not wrong. That's a good amount of stomach to lose!!! I've also noticed that apparently I used to walk around sucking my stomach in! It's so instinctive. Any time the corner of my eye catches sight of my stomach, I suck it in like a reflex!!!!! Especially if I'm walking past someone else. But since I've been losing some inches, I realized I'm sucking it in less and less so that it doesn't push the front of my t-shirt out. The amount of sucking in I have to do to get my stomach to look flat under a t-shirt has decreased significantly. To get my stomach totally flat I'd have to get down to something like a 34" stomach. So I'm proud of what I started, but also feel overwhelmingly embarrassed. I should've done better. I should have some muscle on me now, and if I'd exercised I know I would've lost more inches than I did. Yesterday I was sitting in my car and realized how pathetic all of my excuses have been... Time, desire, "I'm losing weight without exercise so I can just keep doing that," etc. it's not who I WANT to be. Right now I'm not the man I wish I were... Not in terms of how I look, but in terms of what I do. I said I wanted to exercise, and I want the benefits, but I wussed out. Always some excuse. So no more. No more excuses. Tonight I was walking my dog, and felt like running all of the sudden... so even though I was still in my jeans and a button down shirt, I ran. No excuses!! Tomorrow I'm going to start lifting wights, and by the time the next challenge starts on the 12th I'm going to already be a full-fledged member of the barbell battalion! I'm packing my clothes for the gym as soon as I hit post. Eating healthy has been incredible and my body feels 100% better for having done it, but now I'm going to start eating like a goddammnmotherfuggin CHAMP, so I can start lifting HEAVY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HERE. WE. GO!!!!!!!!!

Well... I'm not sure what to say, except, "oops?" Well, lesson learned. Make small goals, make a few goals, etc. I'm not sure that I should add any points to my stats, but on the other hand I did freakin awesome at my diet. As of this morning I'm down about 2.25" off of my stomach! My belt has moved down a full slot, and my jeans fit great. I'm really looking forward to the next challenge... I pretty much sucked a big one at this challenge, but next time I'm gonna rock the ENTIRE challenge like I did my diet on this one.

Officially at two inches off! Huzzah!!! I measure the biggest part of my stomach, just below my belly button, but this morning I noticed that the "top" part of my stomach, just below my pectorals, has begun to look a little flatter. With five days to go, if I could lose another half of an inch that would be AMAZING!!!! I'm gonna go for it! And on Nov. 6th I'll actually check my weight to see what the actual loss has been (having started at 185).

Well, my inch loss has leveled off a bit these last few days. No notable changes. Time to do SOMETHING. Literally anything will probably help bump me back. Some jogging or weight lifting. I'm gonna do it!

Tengu, I really feel for you. I have some empathy because I made a somewhat similar decision... I knew, and still know, how much I want to be a professional musician for a career. But taking a serious look at it, I switched to a business degree after three years in a music program. I did it because it was practical, and for me being practical is something I hold myself accountable to being and it's a trait that I value highly in others as well. I love to dream big and put myself in situations that make me uncomfortable and cause me to grow, and of course taking risks is important, but overall FOR ME being practical is important. If I'm going to chase my dreams, I have to have some practical idea of how to get to them. I find this makes me more successful at getting where I want to go than just "taking the leap" and going, "okay I'm gonna do this! Hope it works out!" For me, I was lucky that I can still be a professional musician in many capacities. The training I received allows me to do many professional gigs, and I still work on my music whenever I get the chance. But I don't intend to make it my full time career until I retire, at which time I intend to gig to my little heart's content. Who knows, maybe in five years I'll change my mind. But for now I have my plan. I agree with the article in the sense that many people are chasing after that elusive sense of happiness that they think something will bring them. I agree with whoever it was above me that asked, "why do you think this job will make you happy?" I also think in an argument you need to be able to bring in some important information such as what the benefit to your family would be. For example, would you be making more money? Could your wife still sustain, or improve, her quality of life because of this change in career? Does it give you the added benefits of getting to spend more time with your family once/if you get this job? In my experience, although I am not saying this is all cases and you could be completely different, people who chase after a new career because they think the work will make them happy and they take huge pay cuts, lose time with their families and loved ones, have to give up hobbies because the new job is so demanding, etc. never end up being happy like they thought they would be. Now, the people who change to a career that allows them to add some value to another part of their life do seem to end up bring pretty happy with the change. Unless you are absolutely consumed by your work, and your work IS your life and hobby, make sure this new career would actually add value to other aspects of your life.

Ugh, fine. I'll take your word. I guess it IS for a good cause...

Well, due to over sleeping my diet is off to a rocking start today since I only had time to grab a banana and I've been walking all over my office job, and now all over campus at school, alllllll morning. I need some freakin' food!!!!!!! Probably going to run down to the cafeteria and see if I can find some sushi or something. Does anyone else get hunger nausea? I find that if I don't get enough sleep, or if I don't eat enough, I don't just feel hungry or tired... after a while I start to feel like I'm about to puke. Like, "stop, take some deep breaths," close to puking. I never have, but it's definitely a problem for me. Which seems weird, because I don't really have anything for my body to throw up and I'm not sure why a lack of sleep would make me wanna barf.