Awesomesaurus

Haha yeah Bobo is a champion. So first day is off to a good start. Sorted a new routine (5/3/1) that fits my style and schedule perfectly and used today to find my 1RMs. Also cooked a massive batch of lunches and dinners I can freeze, and had an awesome sleep last night (after working a 28 hour weekend so not entirely surprising...) Ooh, and haven't played video games since Friday (though I guess not really by choice, just too tired after work).

Howdy Warriors! I hope everyone did better than I did last challenge. I managed to identify a few reasons why I went so poorly, and I am determined to do better this time. - I manage my time very poorly - I am horrifyingly addicted to video games - I severely underestimated the impact of returning to university studies after a massive holiday - I set goals that were very difficult to achieve, because I got so wrapped up in short term goals and lost sight of the big picture. So since slow and steady wins the race, life is a labyrinth, etc, I have decided to clean up my act, try to manage my time better, and as the title suggests, take small, achievable steps to levelling up. THis challenge things are in a slightly different order, and I am going to: Life Goal: Reduce the impact of video games on my life. Since the conclusion of my big exams in December last year I relapsed into video games in a huge way. While I was on holidays this wasn't a problem, but now that I'm back to full time study and working weekends, my addiction/habit/whatever is cutting into my gym time, meal prep time, study time, and even my quality time with my lovely wife. My life goal this challenge, for which I will be rewarded +2 to WIS, is to reduce the impact of games on my life. I will attempt to log all the time I spend gaming, and will ideally see a marked downward trend. Goal 1: Train With my uni hours being pretty much the same as regular work times, and the gym being packed to the point of being un-usable in the afternoon/evening, I will need to acclimatise to getting up early and going to the gym at the start of the day. Because I have noticed I am markedly weaker at that time of the morning (ie. 0530) I will be dropping back my weights to begin with and working on perfect form. I will also be changing my routine to hopefully make more efficient use of my limited time. If I continue to gym at least 3-4 days a week, with short workouts at home on most rest days, I will be rewarding myself with +4 to STR. Goal 2: Eat I have fallen off the meal prep wagon, and therefore off the paleo... road? Into the ?gutter of ... poor eating. Shh! Whatever the analogy, I have been slack with cooking and used university as an excuse (when we all know that's not the real time-vaccuum culprit). This challenge, I'm gonna get back into cooking in a big way, especially batch meals I can take with me to work/uni. I hope to be able to stick with paleo foods these next few months, and to have fewer "indulgences" (sugar). I also want to get back into logging my foods so that when I do indulge I am accountable, and once-a-week doesn't turn into a-few-times-and-oops-I-forgot. This goal carries +4 points to CON. Goal 3: Sleep Despite the fact that I know I need to be up early, or perhaps in protest of it, I have been staying up past midnight (mostly to play games or faff around on the internet). My sleeping pattern is terrible, and it needs to be fixed. I will start logging my sleep quantity and quality and how I feel when I get up, and performing "sleep hygiene" dogmatically. I'd like to notice an upward trend in both uantity and quality, which I feel would improve my concentration, energy, and not-being-a-cranky-asshole. Therefore this will contribute +1 each to DEX, CHA, WIS, and CON. Mini-goals: I was pretty inspired/motivated by Steve's post yesterday about 5 minute ways to level up your life. That sounds pretty baby-steps-esque to me, so I have decided to try and implement a few of them myself, and add in a couple of my own. I'd like to: - Floss every day (dental hygiene ahoy) - Do a mobility routine every morning - Do a stretching routine every evening - Meditate for 5 minutes before bed each day - "Shut up and do it" with one thing I would normally put off each day I won't get any points for these. Maybe I can think of an alternative reward. Or maybe the results will be reward enough. Well, nothing left now but to do it I guess. Good luck to everyone. Tonight we dine in Heck!

Oh p.s. there was one positive: I'm down to 127kg (280lb) from my 136kg (300lb) starting point. Yay!

Sooo this is a super late and pretty disappointing update! Have been pretty sick as well as super busy for the past week, so not only have I fallen off the paleo wagon in a pretty big way, but I also haven't worked out since Saturday. Even before all this though, I started slacking on the food and the workouts a few weeks ago. I haven't been logging my intake and exercise as much as I should have either. The thing is, when I did my last challenge and finished stronger than expected, and when I started this one, I was on holidays from university. Only working part time and having most of my days free was great. I guess I really underestimated the impact that starting back up in my final year of study would have. And boy did it have an impact. I guess I could (and kinda have) come up with a whole bunch of excuses. "I would have to get up at 5:30am to use the gym before uni, because after I finish the gym is PACKED and I have to wait half an hour just to use the power rack" or; "My allowable time for cooking has dramatically decreased each day" But they are exactly that. Excuses. And I'm not gonna lie, I am more than a little disappointed with myself. Having said that... I refuse to fall back into the old cycle of self deprecation. I know there are some things I could improve and I know it's the long term that really counts, so I am gonna go with baby steps for a while (next challenge ahoy). But I digress... Here were my final outcomes from this challenge: 1. FOOD: Failed. I stuck with it pretty well for the first 4 weeks or so, and then fell off the wagon pretty hard. I'll do better next time. No points. 2. STRENGTH: This one I actually still went pretty well with. I didn't miss a session, because even if I missed a day I would make it up before the end of the week. I also lifted heavier than ever, I think by at least 10% on everything. Here's my numbers: Squat - beginning of challenge: 102.5 kg (225lb), end of challenge: 135kg (298lb) --> 32% increase Deadlift - beginning of challenge: 102.5kg (225lb), end of challenge: 145kg (320lb) --> 41% increase 1ADBR - beginning of challenge: 30kg (66lb), end of challenge: 34kg (75lb) --> 13% increase DBBP - beginning of challenge: 26/28kg (60lb), end of challenge: changed to barbell bench and up to 70kg (154lb) --> 23% increase OHP - beginning of challenge: 40kg (88lb), end of challenge: 45kg (99lb) --> 12% increase Pull-ups done to-date (ever) - beginning of challenge: 0, end of challenge: still 0 but doing assisted with 30kg less assistance --> uhh good I guess. 3. FEROCITY: This one was unfortunately another flat out fail. I still managed to do my intervals most of the time for the first few weeks with a bit of an increase in time and intensity, however as soon as university started and I was either fighting for space at the gym in peak-hour, or sneaking a session in where I could, I began to cut down on intervals purely to save time. I still maintain that my lifting is more important though, so I am happy I at least stuck with that. No points. Life challenges: Were also a bit of a flop I'm afraid. For one thing, I have LESS money in savings, as my 8 year old computer pooped it a few weeks back so I had to fork out for a new one. In terms of study, I really have been putting in the minimum amount of effort required to get through. While that's not surprising as I am probably the crappiest medical student one could be (without actually failing), it is still a little disappointing. No points to be found here either. So did I level up... sadly no. And as such I am delaying getting my tattoo as well. However I think I can safely award myself with a sneaky few points into STR. Looking forward to the next challenge, and baby steps this time. Eyes on the (distant) prize, slow and steady wins the race, life is a labyrinth, and all that shit. Peace out, Warriors!

If you're leaning forward more than you should, wouldn't that mean you're putting more stress on your posterior chain trying to get your torso upright?

Today: Squat 1 set of 5 @ 20kg 1 set of 5 @ 110kg 4 sets of 5 @ 112.5kg DL 5 sets of 5 @ 120kg OHP 1 set of 5 @ 20kg 5 sets of 5 @ 42.5kg Eating well. Good day.

Thanks. They probably do, but I'm not a fan of black coffee. The milk is 90% of the reason I drink it. A bit behind but 6/3 workout went like this: Bench Press: - 1 set of 5 @ 20kg - 5 sets of 5 @ 60kg (noticed for suffered a bit with an increase so backed off just for one more session. 62.5 next time) Inverted Rows: - 5 sets of 5 @ bodyweight. Lowered bar so I am almost completely horizontal now, and holding on the last rep of every set as long as I can. Gonna start trying pull-ups from next upper body session onwards. 1-Arm DB Rows: - 1 set of 5 @ 16kg - 5 sets of 5 @ 32kg (still feels heavy. probably another 1-2 sessions before I bump up to 34, though it is the last exercise I do so back is slightly fatigued at this poin) Food-wise: had my cheat meal for the week on Thursday night. Spicy wings and a beer, with a chocolate afterwards. Otherwise have been pretty good. Sticking under 2000kcal a day by my estimates (not strictly counting), though I have eaten a few non-paleo things. Feeling pretty good so far though. Today's numbers TBA, heading to the gym shortly.

Oops I have slacked on my battle logs! Good news is I weighed in today and I am down to 128kg (282lb)! Awesome! (that's 8kg down from when I started my first challenge 5-6 weeks ago) Had 2 days off from the gym and today went back for: Squats: - 1 set of 5 @ 20kg - 5 sets of 5 @ 110kg Was a struggle, Think I might need 1 more session at this weight before bumping up. Or possibly just a 2.5kg raise. Deadlifts: - 1 set of 5 @ 20kg - 5 sets of 5 @ 110kg Felt pretty easy this time. Will definitely be moving up next session. OH Press: - 1 set of 5 @ 20kg - 2 set of 5 @ 45kg - 1 set of 5 @ 47.5kg - 1 set of 4 @ 45kg (failure) This one was definitely tough, but was a solid weight increase so I am pretty happy. will work for 5x5 @ 45 I think before bumping up to 47.5 again. I have been super slack with my intervals. Gonna have to step it up in a big way if I want to make my challenge this time around. Food has been pretty good. My dairy addiction got a bit cheeky and tried to trick me into thinking that because I am losing weight, I could allow myself more iced coffees. But I know that's not true. It's a slippery slope and bears have good grip... I think...

I like legs day. Shoulders are less exciting cause I am relatively weak in them. Today: I was in a hurry today so I tried to be quick about it. Unsurprisingly it felt more difficult with less rest, and I only did 4 sets of inverted rows and no intervals. Otherwise increasing weight well though. Inverted rows: - 4 sets of 5. Felt harder today than usual, though I did these after bench which may be the problem. 1-arm DB rows: - 5 sets of 5 @ 32kg Bench: - 1 set of 5 @ 20kg - 2 sets of 5 @ 60kg - 3 sets of 5 @ 62.5kg

LEGS DAY YEAH! Also shoulders but that's less exciting. Squats: 1 set of 5 @ 20kg 5 sets of 5 @ 105kg Deadlifts: 1 set of 5 @ 20kg 4 sets of 5 @ 110kg 1 set of 5 @ 115kg Overhead Press: 1 set of 5 @ 20kg 4 sets of 5 @ 40kg 1 set of 5 @ 42.5kg So numbers are still steadily increasing which is nice. Felt pretty solid too, like I could increase lower body lifts by 5kg a week pretty easily for now. maybe 2.5 for uppers, who knows. In other news, I think I have to count lunch today as my one allowable cheat meal for the week. I had an "endless feast" of meat from a brazillian bbq restaurant. Blew my mind. Hibernation time now.

Lazy day today. Eating well though. Legs again tomorrow YEAH WOOO! Also after legs I am having an all you can eat brazillian bbq lunch. Funk yeah!

If it's your knee that's giving you trouble, maybe DLs are a bad idea too? I say this but I am just as bad with pushing myself when I probably shouldn't. Had a tender left quad early last week and did squats anyway. Bad idea leading up to day 1 of the challenge. Was hobbling for 2-3 days and only just felt good enough to go on Monday.

Day 2 of the challenge things came up unfortunately. But that's fine, cause I haven't missed anything and I didn't overeat so everything is just swell. So day 3 went like this: Inverted rows: - 5 x 5 of the best I've done so far. Felt good. Lowered the bar even more so I am now almost horizontal 1-arm DB rows: - 1 set of 5 @ 14kg - 5 sets of 5 @ 32kg Felt pretty good. Gonna be a couple sessions till I can bump it up another 2kg though. BB bench press (yay I changed it): - 1 set of 5 with 16kg DBs before I remembered I was changing to BB - 1 set of 5 with the bar alone (20kg) - 1 set of 5 @ 40kg - 1 set of 5 @ 50kg - 1 set of 5 @ 55kg - 2 sets of 5 @ 60kg Felt good. This one is gonna take a while to rediscover my working weight but I'm taking it slow. Changed my OH press to legs day to more evenly split my exercises (and make sure shoulders/chest weren't competing) Haven't eaten yet today, but about to have a badass pre-made meal of chilli and yoghurt. Easily on track today I think.

I enjoy the gratuitous use of bears. Subbed.

Started a battle log! WOO YEAH! Also, going to start barbell bench tomorrow. Dumbells are so last challenge.

Ok so day 1 of the challenge and it's off to a flying start. Today consisted of: Squats - 1 set of 5 @ 60kg (132lb) - 4 sets of 5 @ 102.5kg (226lb) - 1 set of 5 @ 105kg (231lb) Deadlifts - 1 set of 5 @ 60kg (132lb) - 5 sets of 5 @ 110kg (242lb) Overhead press - 1 set of 5 @ 20kg (44lb) - 5 sets of 5 @ 40kg (88lb) And as for the food: - 1 cup coffee before gym - 4 scrambled eggs for breakfast - 1 cup chicken bacon chowder lunch - 2 serves sweet potato shepherd's pie - 2 cups of tea over the day - 3 cans pepsi max over the day What could be better? - Need to work on cutting down the soda and tea (as I have just replaced coffee with tea) - Skipped intervals as I was too exhausted. Not really good enough, as they are only 20-30 secon chunks of exercise... how hard can that be?

Hmmm but says "sign in with facebook/twitter/tapatalk/email" and regardless of which one I pick, my details don't work. It's not a major pain I guess, I just have to use my phone browser instead of the tapatalk app.

Suuuuper old post, I know. And I am probably just being blind/silly. But can I access the forums from the tapatalk app with my same rebellion account (ie. Be able to see my posts etc) or do I just have to make a completely separate account?

I've got a relatively weak left shoulder from a previous injury, and very occasionally I lose power in that side. It's only ever happened once at the gym but I don't have a spotting buddy so I feel much safer with dumbells. Also my gym is full of guys who do nothing but bench and curl, so I have to fight for a rack if I want to barbell. I might start to switch it up though, it's probably a good idea to reintroduce it since one of my mid-to-late-game goals is to start powerlifting competitively.

Pretty Straightforward. Good luck!

Greeting Warriors! Since my first challenge went relatively well, I will be joining your fine establishment from now on. Also sorry in advance for the long post. Putting in some more effort this time around. A bit of background: I'm a relatively big guy (stats in sig). I've been on health kicks before but I always tend to plateau and fall off the wagon. I'm in it for the long haul this time though. My main goals are to lose weight and build strength. I've been eating paleo for the last 2 months (occasional binge/cheat meal aside), but have been using a pretty broad definition of paleo (ie. using nut-meal substitutes, snacking fairly often, and still drinking a fair amount of milk). I do a 2 day split, 2 times a week at the gym, my current routine looks something like this: Monday: Squats --> Deadlifts --> cycling intervals Tuesday: Inverted rows --> 1-arm DB rows --> DB bench press --> BB OH press --> rowing intervals Thursday is a repeat of Monday and Friday is a repeat of Tuesday. All exercises are 5 sets of 5, and I try to take as little rest as possible. ...I tend to do very little on rest days... Fun fact: I love bears. The badass, grizzly, animal kind, not the leather-clad human kind. I mean I don't have anything against the latter, it's just... uhh forget it. ...ANYWAY... I am (hopefully) getting a tattoo of a grizzly in April, around my birthday (and funnily enough right around when this challenge finishes). So I'm thinking a bear-themed quest, for which I can reward myself with said ink. Therefore without further ado: MAIN QUEST: To be like The Bear! Which I will achieve through... 1. FOOD: I will eat less (+/- completely cut out) sweet snacks, nut meals, flavoured milks, and pepsi max. I will subsist on MEAT, veg, and fruit, and I will have less/no cheat meals, and no binges. For a noticeable cut-down on the above, NO binges, and a MAXIMUM of 1 cheat meal (not day... one MEAL) per week, I will be rewarded with 4 points of constitution. A single binge lowers the reward to 3. 2. STRENGTH: I will continue to lift weights 4 times a week without fail, and will increase every weight by a minimum of 10% (I may be able to achieve a fair amount more than this, but am unsure of what progress I should expect). Should I complete this quest, I will receive 4 points of strength. For missing any days the reward will be reduced to 3. I may score 1 bonus point if I can complete a single pull-up by the end of the challenge. For a reference, my current lifts are: Squat - 102.5 kg (225lb) Deadlift - 102.5kg (225lb) 1ADBR - 30kg (66lb) DBBP - 26/28kg (60lb) - My gym only has 26 & 28 DBs. I can currently do 3-4 sets of 28 then have to move to 26 OHP - 40kg (88lb) Pull-ups done to-date (ever) - 0 3. FEROCITY: I will maintain the motivation and ferocity to (by the end of 6 weeks be able to) complete at least double the number of intervals (10) at the end of my workouts with no loss of effort in each, and do some form of physical activity for at least half an hour on at least 2/3 rest days. For completion of this quest I will be rewarded 4 points of stamina. For significant increase in ferocity but not quite reaching the above goals, I will receive 3 points. LIFE QUEST: My indecisiveness in choosing one from the many possibilities has left me with no option but to split the rewards and in doing so, force myself to complete two: 1. For 1 wisdom I must put in a reasonable amount of effort at university, and score above my average on any assessments I have before the end of this challenge. I realise this is hard to quantify but I know when I have been slacking, and will be honest. 2. For 1 charisma I must save enough money (on top of my end of year holiday savings) to get my tattoo (or at least get it started). I am looking forward to this one, it's a big step up for me and it's gonna be tough but I know I can keep it together if I really try. I look forward to seeing what everyone else is up to this time. I welcome any criticisms, hints, tips, or comments so fire away!

Here's how things are looking at the end of this challenge. Because I started the official challenge a bit late but had been going hard for a few weeks prior, I have chosen to level up my first 2 levels by allocating 4 attribute points for each main quest goal, and 2 for my life goal: 1st Goal - Consume less than 2100kcal/day: This one I have to say is pretty borderline. While I have maintained this for most days with the exception of my 1 allocated "cheat" day per week (when I am allowed a bit of chocolate/ice cream/etc), I did have a whole 4-day streak over my wife's birthday weekend where we went away and although we consciously didn't binge, I stopped counting calories so it's likely we went a bit over. Having said that, I believe I have stuck to the main quest motivation for this goal by changing my habits. I very rarely have cravings for junk food now, and I have cut out all bread, pasta, rice, potato (except the sweet kind... yum), and processed foods, as well as most sugars. I still drink milk, but only when it keeps within my limits for the day, and only in small amounts. Overall, considering the significant changes I have made to the way I eat, I am going to give myself a pass for this quest, and award myself with CONSTITUTION points as a result. 2nd Goal - Work out 4-6 times a week: This one has been undoubtedly a pass. I have joined a new gym with a couple of decent squat racks so I never have to fight for it, and I have been doing a 2 day split, twice a week without fail. Just to keep everything down it's looking like this so far: Monday: 5x5 squats, 5x5 deadlift, cycling intervals as long as I can stand it. Tuesday: 5x5 inverted row (can't pull-up yet as I'm still a bit heavy), 5x5 1-arm DB rows, 5x5 DB bench press, 5x5 BB overhead press, then rowing intervals Thursday: repeat of Monday Friday: repeat of Tuesday For completion of this goal I have allocated 3 points to STRENGTH and 1 to STAMINA 3rd goal: Sleep 8 hours a night: This one is something I only realised too late I should have been logging. I have been making sure to try and get 8 hours each night, unless there is extenuating circumstances (ie. closing at work one night and also having to open the next morning). Unfortunately though I haven't kept a log of my sleep (which I will be doing from now on in my special home-made level-up-my-life journal). By my best estimates I am getting 7.5 - 8.5 hours sleep at least 5-6 nights of the week. Overall I know I have been sleeping more, and especially on workout days, but because of my lack of commitment to this goal I am only awarding myself with half points, 1 each in WISDOM (ie. having enough to know when I need rest), and DEXTERITY (which is utterly lacking when I don't get enough). Life challenge: Save at least $500 for end of year trip: Success! by being smarter with my money and with the money I save from eating better and more thrifty, I have managed to put $1250 away so far. BAM! WIS/CHA - 1 point each. This has been a good one. While I haven't posted much I have been following everyone, and it's been a learning experience. Looking forward to my next challenge! EDIT: as a side note, I only started using an accurate scale a bit over 2 weeks ago, but in that time I am down 6kg (~14lb). yay!