Mongo

If you can find a copy of the Ab ripperX video from the P90x series that is an excellent ab workout. I believe it's about a 12-15 min workout. If you try it, don't hurt yourself trying to do all the exercises and reps, just do the best you can and take breaks when you need to. I may have a list of all the exercises involved at home. If so I will post them if you want. Probly has the name of that one I was trying to remember.

Try doing side planks and crunches. There is another I can't think of the name of. Where you lay on your side with head propped on lower are. With the hand of your upper are by your head(like a normal sit-up) do a sideways sit up so that your elbow touches your knee. I'm sure someone here may know the name, obliques maybe, I'll see if I can find a video. Also doing leg raises on the dip bar works well. You'll likely feel some soreness in your lower back at first but stick with it, it'll be worth it.

So how's your first week been? Bit rough here, really need to work on organzing and scheduling with my workouts. I have been managing to catch up on my school work though. Bit of a rough time getting my eating habits in order. The battle with Darth Glucose has swung back and forth and I have taken a few blows. I am not giving up though, the power of the Force will prevail. On a lighter note, I got behind a mini van the other day that said "Come to the Dark Side, We have cookies". Figured the Sith would drive something cooler than a mini van.

I have to admit, the whole Fort Bacon killing wolves title drew me into the thread. Those are some admiral goals you have set. I will keep you in prayer as you work towards your goal of reconnecting with the gospel. I had my own struggles with that a few years ago. As for trusting in God, for me it was a decision I had to make. Once I decided to trust Him, I haven't been let down. Sure I still have the problems of life, nowhere does it say that we will not, but I know that there is hope at the end and when things start to get to much for me God will step in and see me through. I guess I could say that my life has been mostly the same, just much less stressful. And I do find that I have a much better attitude and outlook on life in general.

I posted this info in Turbo_tortoise's thread but figured I would repost here in the event that it may help someone. Do not underestimate the importance of doing core/abdominal exercises. Your abdominal muscles play a vital role in overall body strength. From pushups to running your core muscles are used to stabilize the rest of the body. In the other thread I compared this to a suspension bridge. When the cables of the bridge weaken the road bed has to support itself. This will eventually lead to failure. When your core muscles begin to reach fatigue, your spine has to handle more of the load on its own. While it can support the weight, it cannot provide any stability and back pain begins to set in. A strong core leads to less back pain, better breathing, and better form. Also, to all those working on push-ups, keep it up. I'm seeing some good progress on several threads.

As for your back pain, you may try working in some core/abdominal excersises in addition to the pushups/ planks. The stronger your core the less back pain you will experience. I used to have this same problem also. It is a result from muscle fatigue in your core muscles. Once they start giving out your spine has to handle more of the load on its own. Think of it as a suspension bridge and the cables have started breaking or stretching to far. Once that happens the road bed has to support itself until the whole thing collapses. This will also help you in other areas such as running. With a strong core your body will stay more erect during the run which allows for easier breathing and a better stride. As for injured wrists, the suggestion of using barbells or pushup handles are great ideas. Great progress so far on the pushups. Looks like you are well on your way to meeting your goals.

The weather here has not made things easy either. We've been getting a good rain in every 2-3 days seems like. As for tracking, I keep a paper log for my strength training and use the C25K app for tracking my runs, though I do write down in my paper log that I made the run. I try to a midweek and end of week recap here just for accountability purposes.

My first day went very well, a lot better than expected actually. I've been walking around in the 5 fingers for a while, but this was the first time I ran in them. So far I enjoy the barefoot experience much more than running shoes. Hoping that this will help with some of my past problems from running, mainly foot and knee pains. This is what I really need to work on. Going to have to make this an "unofficial" challenge goal I guess. It has been a pretty hectic week, and it's to easy to make excuses.

Hey thanks kevralyn. Well, this past week has been a little rough. The battle with Darth Glucose has raged back and forth and I've taken a few hits. I'm also going to have to do some serious work on my time management, or at least stop making excuses for not working out. On the plus side, I am nearly caught up on my school work, which is where a lot of my time has gone to. Currently I am finishing up my research paper for comp 2, a paper for sociology and also the final for sociology. After that I can start working on my final project for psych. And can't forget psych test on monday. Would say that I will be glad when the semester is over, but I am also taking a few summer courses. Outside of a few sweets that I gave into this past week my diet is getting better. Done fairly well decreasing the amount of bread products I eat, also have cut back on the dairy. I will not be eliminating cheese entirely, but plan on cutting way back. Just need to look into some easy and quick foods for when I am short on time. It's way to easy to throw a bean burrito in the microwave. If the weather holds up I will be going for a run this evening after work. May even throw in some strength training to make up for the lack of this past week.

Hello and welcome to all the new rangers. I'm fairly new here myself. You'll find a lot of encouragement and good info here. Have fun and enjoy the challenge.

Just finished looking over my strength training for tomorrow. I'm going to do a slight revision. I'll be dropping the low box shuffle, and doing standard barbell squats and dead lifts. I don't want to ruin my legs and not be able to run. I think I'll be ok with the lunges if I keep the reps low. Also for the first two weeks I will only be doing two sets. I'll bump it up a set for week 3.

I was having trouble with this earlier also. Took a few tries before it finally worked.

Sounds good. I finished day 1 this morning. I'm just going to have to squeeze my workouts in where I can for now. With school and all I have a pretty hectic schedule.

Completed day 1 of the C25K program this moring. For breakfast I had an omelet with just a little sprinkling of feta cheese.

Run: I will begin my runners training with the C25K program. Runs will be conducted on Tue, Thu, Sat Strength Training: Phase One: General Preperation Weeks 1-4: This workout will be performed every other day: Mon, Wed, Fri Warm up- 15:00 Stretching- 5:00 Repeat 2-3 times: Dumbbell Squat 12-20 reps Push-ups 12-20 Deadlift 12-20 Assisted Pull-ups 12-20 Woodchopper 12-20 Low Box Shuffle 1:30-2:00 (This may be left out if it begins to aggravate ankle injury) Rotational Shoulder Press 12-20 Penta Lunge 12-20 Bent-over row 12-20 Overhead Balancing Calf Raise 12-20 V-up 12-20 Rest :60-:90 I started my run today and all went well. Tomorrow I will begin the strength training portion. Dietary Changes: Eating has always been my biggest enemy. Even when I was in the military I had trouble with over eating. Only I have not been doing much for working out for the past few years since my discharge and it is starting to show. My biggest weakness comes in the form of sugar. Cakes, cookies, sodas, it doesn't matter. I also eat a lot of bread products. I love a good biscuit or 4. One with gravy, one with jam, one with molasses...Well you get the idea. So, I am officially swearing off suger. My goal is to finish out this challenge without eating anything that has added sugar. Fruit will not be included with this. I am also working my way into the world of Paleo. My second dietary goal is to be consuming a 90% Paleo diet by the end of the challenge. For this six weeks I will also be foregoing as much grain as possible in my diet. Current Stats: Starting Weight: 260lbs Measurements: Neck- 16 5/8 Chest- 46 1/8 Waist- 49 1/4 Hips/buttocks- 45 1/8 Biceps- flexed- 16 Relaxed- 14 1/4 Thighs- 23 1/4