SirVoltar

This is the real beginning. First I'm so sorry for not keeping up with this forum as much as I probably should have. In real life I'm a High School Math Teacher and the start of school definitely kept me out of doing any fun internet surfing until (looks at clock) just now. However I would probably say that I succeeded in the challenge. I haven't had any soda since that last post that I did and I succeeded in doing at least 3 workouts a week for the remaining weeks that I didn't post. With my friend Eric helping me I can give you a rundown of what I did this morning. 6 AM we went out for an 8 mile run/walk. He would have us run a quarter mile, then walk a quarter mile. After ever quarter mile we ran, we'd finish it off with 4 pushups. Unfortunately/Fortunately he missed his watch marking the end of a quarter mile and twice we ended up running for half a mile. Also unfortunately/fortunately he misjudged how far out we went and we ended up walking an extra mile and a quarter for a total of 9.25 miles with me running for 4.5 of those. 16 sets of 4 pushups in between adding up to a whopping 64 pushups. I now don't even consider having soda and have been mostly paleo in my diet since the last post where I mentioned the fall. Though the scale does not really show as much of a change as I would have hoped, I did go from 315 at the beginning of the challenge down to 299 this morning after I removed my 5 pounds of sweat drenched clothing. As the end of the challenge draws nigh I do feel I'm on a better path and I thank my fellow nerds for helping me out in this impossible quest to level up my life. Voltar

Thanks Grizzy, That's kinda what I thought today as I was working through all of this. Thanks so much for the support. Voltar

The fall of Voltar, and rising from the ashes. So Saturday I felt pretty good and going into the weekend I still had laid off of soda, I had kept mainly Paleo, and had done a fairly good job avoiding sweets. I had weighed 311 when I started this whole thing, and I had weighed myself on Thursday and was proud of finally seeing progress at 305. Saturday morning I even had the chance to go on a 6 mile walk to keep up my stamina and work toward being able to jog for the full 3 miles. However the weekend was the absolute bain of my progress. Overcome with a bout of depression which I can't even properly explain the reason as to why, Saturday evening I broke down at the drive thru and instead of getting a chicken salad with an unsweetened iced tea I got a chicken sandwich meal with fries and Diet Dr. Pepper. Sunday after having no work out and being even more depressed after a very bad D&D campaign I went even deeper and pigged out at A&W and KFC. This morning I weighed myself, and somehow with those two meals I had gained back all of the weight I had lost the previous two weeks. However I didn't want this set back to beat me. My friend who I've been training with for the past month is out of town for basic training this week which also means I'm all on my own. I went out at 6AM this morning and ran our 3 mile circuit with 1:30 jogging 2 minutes down and I was able to complete 8 of these intervals without having someone else encouraging me along. And even though I feel that I'm back to square one, still being able to physically accomplish that run, I feel very confident and hopefully I will be able to stay strong in the face of temptation. Thank you all for looking out for me, Voltar

Fast food is never a derailing of any topic I'm involved in... Though that may be the reason I'm here in the first place. Quick update, did a crosstraining workout this morning. 1/4 mile walk warm up. 20 jump ropes, 20 situps, 5 burpees followed by a 5/16th of a mile jog. Another set of those exercises followed by another 5/16th mile jog, finishing out with a 1/4 mile walk to cool down. Burpees hurt and I think the guy that invented them needs to die a horrible death for bringing such torture on us mortals. Though on the flip side I'm probably doing better. I took a picture of myself last week, and I just need to find the time to upload it. I will preface the picture with a general warning that women should avert their eyes. Thanks everyone, Voltar

There are times I occilate between "knight" and "paladin". Mainly depending if the last thing I looked at was more fantasy based vs. historical. Either way definitely a holy warrior, and I appreciate the compliment that I reminded you of your boyfriend.

Greetings to all of my fellow rebel supporters, So here's an update for me one week into the challenge. I haven't had any soda, but unfortunately my avoidance of sugars has been difficult with limited fast food choices due to time, though I've been trying to substitute tortillas for buns so getting grilled chicken wraps instead of hamburgers or chicken sandwiches. For working out my friend who has been helping me started me out on a 3 mile walk/run to get my endurance up. On Monday 7/29 we started with 5 minutes of walking, then intervals of a minute and a half of running, followed by 2 minutes of walking, then back to running. We did 6 of these intervals and I was dead tired. Then on Wednesday 7/31 we did a cross training regiment at a local high school with a 1/4 mile track. We started with walking a lap, then doing high knees for 15 yards, kick butts for 15 yards, and then what he calls "pose running" for 30 yards. Then we did 10 air squats, 10 pushups, 10 "you don't know Jacks" which are a slight modification on jumping jacks where the arms don't come completely down but stay horizontal. and 10 leg lifts. Then I had to jog a lap without stopping. Oy that hurt. Then another round of the exercises, followed by another jogging lap, followed by a cool down lap. That day absolutely killed me. Sunday 8/4 we did another cross training regiment, where the only change was he brought a 12 pound kettle bell which added weight to the squats, replaced the leg lifts with situps, and the pushups with kettle bar raises. Still pushing me to be able to jog the lap without stopping. It was brutal. However there was definitely results because this morning 8/5 we did another 3 mile walk/run. I was able to do 8 intervals of the 1:30 jog/2 walk and decreased the total time to run the circuit by about 3 minutes. I will continue on my quest and I appreciate all of the support you all have given me. One week down and 5 to go to finish the official challenge. Thank you all, Voltar

Greetings all, My entire life I have aspired to be the white knight in shining armor. I have molded myself to be chivalrous in all matters, but I've noticed my outward appearance doesn't reflect the brave bastion of honor that I've aspired to be. Thanks to Steve and all of the fellow rebels I shall now begin the transformation to become that knight. Over the next 6 weeks I am on a quest to diminish my additional weight and prepare for the perilous "Tough Mudder" trial in October. On this quest I will have to discipline myself against the bubbly brew of tastiness (At most one Diet Dr. Pepper a week). I shall continue my training despite the hardships of putting up with the real world (Exercise/workout at least 3 times a week). And I shall refute the evil advances of the pernicious white queen. (Staying away from sugars and bread products and work on going paleo). My motivation for this change is so my outward appearance and abilities can match those lofty goals of the medieval warriors of the past. So I can truly be a knight, and not just be one on paper or via the video game console. I appreciate all of the support from everyone else on this site, and hopefully I'll be able to contribute and encourage all of my fellow rebels as we begin our first 6 week challenge. Sincerely, Sir Voltar "The Powers of the Corrupt, shall fade before the fury of the pure"