musasabi

This is such a profound truth that takes so long to arrive at when starting something new. Good on you mang, and here's to more frictionless successes. =D

Koushiro - You just need a project that motivates you. Programming is awful if the end result doesn't inspire you. joweaver - Niiiiice dude. One day, I shall be nearer your status, haha. I definitely relish rocking band shirts to work every day and still being an employee of a fortune 500 company though, so I can imagine doing similar things in a gaming context would be extra gratifying. =) If only Vegas wasn't so far from Chicago, I'd come chill with you for sure.

You've got this shit man. I can't tell you how many times I've had to attempt a goal before I settled into success comfortably. But, that is what it feels like when you're going after the right thing for the right reasons at the right time in your life. =) Have you considered marking dates for your six weeks? I just put up my first challenge and created a calendar of sorts for myself in the body of the post just so I could come back and cross shit off as I did it. It might help you to motivate yourself to meet (or exceed) your regularity goal.

I decided this thread is just going to be redundant information until I'm posting a workout outside the context of a challenge... Which I don't see happening any time soon... Yeah. Haha. *vanishes*

That was inordinately challenging. I completed my first 'Workout B' tonight and it took me two hours to get through five sets of five exercises. Hyperextensions: 5x10@35lbs - In the middle of my third set, I finally figured out how to do this exercise with glute dominance. I did a celebration dance thing after finishing that set because this is, in no uncertain terms, a means by which to retrain my hams and glutes to do the work their supposed to while letting my lumbar take a break for the first time in its life. Glute Bridges: 5x10@135lbs - This exercise is amazingly fun. I've never done it before and I'm not sure if I could ever do it in public, but I love it right now. =D I'd hold the lock out for a few counts and deload as much as possible at the bottom of every rep. It definitely makes me focus on using my entire hip (and, again, not my lower back) to get a full lock out near the end of the last few sets. Very, very good training for a well-behaved posterior chain. Basement Pullups: 5x5 - These were basically me doing planched pullups on my rack with my heels resting on the floor. But, I did my best to keep the assistance to the minimum possible. Also, I totally suck at pullups, so five sets of five is properly exhausting even with a little help. Front Squat: 5x5@135lbs - Holy wow it's been forever since I've done these. I love them though. So difficult and multifaceted. My wrists were a little fatigued by the end (I'm using the oly grip) but I made sure to stretch and rotate them between sets. I'll probably do wrist warmups next time. The last rep of the last set saw me go into some serious lumbar flexion on the ascent, but I made it to the top safely. Overhead Press: 5x5@75lbs - I have to do this seated because of the limitations of my basement, but that shit was hard. 75lbs feels shameful, but I barely made it through at that weight (actually deloaded from 85 for the first two sets). I'll keep it there, though, since barely making it through is just right. =) But, it's all said and done with now: a success. And I got to cross off the first entry on my challenge. I am fucking stoked. Now for a double shot of delicious Optimum Nutrition chocolate whey and a scoop of TrueNutrition.com's super greens powder and a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon.

Excellent. =) Do you have the next few weeks planned?

Precisely nowhere, as was it stated nowhere by me that anyone "needs" to try paleo, though that's what you chose to reply to above. Semantics aside, all diets are created equal until the practitioner completes his or her experiment of one with specific goals and consistent practice. That's been my point this entire time - simply to be open.

Everything is a mix of genetics and lifestyle and the mix is different for everyone. Your experience here and in life has shaped your views, but how did you arrive at the conclusion that some dietary pursuits are hands-down not worth investigating? That doesn't do justice to the wildly variable bodies we've all got.

I know that feel, haha. =)

Thanks. =D

Best news. =D You're on your way to full recovery and new improvements.

I agree completely, but you chose different words altogether. =) I know it takes energy to swing the pendulum back (whether it's dietary fads or social justice) but it's also important to be mindful of accuracy while affecting the change you want to see. There are reasons to try paleo, there are reasons to try dirty bulking, there are reasons to try juicing. Most of all, there are reasons to try any and everything to find what works for you. Someone feeling obligated and failing at something that doesn't suit them is a failing of the community to educate them on the breadth of possibility. Saying there's no reason to do something is impossible to distinguish from saying it's not worth trying, which isn't true for any of the myriad of dietary routes out there.

"No reason to be paleo"? =P Surely there's some reason, even if you're just starting to explore there.

Exorcisto - I'm not sure if you care to fill in the gaps (it is tiresome to see people spout sensationalist stuff endlessly) but if you'd like to, I can offer you an easy read that would explain what's good about the paleo diet (note: diet, not lifestyle; I think it's a fools errand to conflate science and philosophy) in no uncertain terms. You have no need of the diet because you've been successful, but you're also oversimplifying some of the most complex stuff in modern dietary science. Eating less than you need and working hard aren't the whole solution for a whole lot of folks out there, and the science behind the paleo diet explains why that might be. It's good shit if you don't get it mixed up for a lifestyle, catch-all approach or a miracle diet with guaranteed uniform results.

I'm quite new here, but I'm enjoying the vibe of the community thus far. To further that enjoyment, I want to delve into hobbies and professions. I've been programming since I was 14, taking computers apart and putting them back together since I was 10, and, for the last year and a half, have been enjoying a job doing Linux application development for a company that does mass transit fare collection stuff. It's about the unsexiest industry I've ever heard of, but my skills are very well suited to the job so I'm thanking my lucky starts that they hired me without a degree! Haha. Future goals include a degree in game development (Chicago has a great university with a great program for this) and a spot doing something in that industry. Then, ultimately, teaching this shit to eager young minds. =D So yeah, C/C++, (a little) Java. PHP, Linux, and generally nerding out on this material is my biggest hobby and my profession. =) Anyone else on this bandwagon either professionally or as a hobbyist?

Quite so, and life's better because of it. Exceeeept no one said anyone's an idiot and no one said you're a bad person. Haha. Just sayin'. =)

I don't know the gentleman myself, but I imagine El Exorcisto is trying to combat the false idea that paleo will change your figure. No diet will certainly do that, and many of us know that, but we don't say so explicitly. Or we share our own victories with paleo that include lowering body fat percentages and whatnot and folks new to the game aren't aware that the results are wildly variable between individuals. He's right in at least that, and the fact that it's in his signature indicates he's tired of making the argument, haha. Plus, c'mon. Sending good vibes but starting a post with "GFY"?

Absolutely. Here's to safe gains in the new year. =D

Good deal. =) But a point of detail: I wasn't talking about rest days, but rest between sets. It's a very important facet of powerliftingthat I haven't seen emphasized a great deal.

You've got the diet thing on lock. The StrongLifts 5x5 is really easy, and productive. Same goes for Starting Strenght (also a 5x5) or, since you've got some experience under your belt already, maybe even Reg Park's original 5x5. Reg Park is the guy who trained the up and coming Arnold back when, and was a champion bodybuilder himself. His program is kind of insane, but it's nothing outside the realm of possibility for someone who's really loving it. For any of these programs (I haven't read Starting Strength, but this isn't emphasized anywhere else I've seen) if your objective is to build strength, the most important part of the program is rest. Haha. I'm not talking about sleep, because we all know that one. I'm talking about rest between sets. If you're really hitting it heavy with the classic compound lifts, rest an obnoxious amount of time between sets. Experiment with anything from a minute to four or five minutes even, see what works for you. 5x5 programs are for strength, so train like a powerlifter. =) Worry most about putting up the most weight on each set of the big three, and eating to support it. And also, if you're able to find a gym near you, I'd mention looking into Body By Science by Doug McGuff. His slow-as-death workouts are extremely brief, extremely high intensity, but near zero impact if you're doing it right. Might be good for your knee if it can handle weight but you're worried about bouncing out of your squats or so. And they'll also provide you comparable levels of fatigue and, if your diet's up to snuff, gains. =)

Haha. I was going to post something slightly more seriously toned in response to your motivation, but then you made the lulz so I had to accept the context and move forward. But really, I'm hopeful. You and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum, so I've got a metric ton of respect for you. I don't have to work to look reasonably fit, but I know that various internal measures of health are not as good as they should be. I've also never willfully changed my body composition, which to me just means I've never worked hard. So, not only are you set to work hard, but you're also doing so to measurably improve the quality (and length!) of your life. Kudos, man. And who knows. Maybe you'll even inspire some changes in your family and friends so that positive ripple keeps going. =) Looking forward to reading about your progress. =)

Not a problem dude. Looking forward to your progress!

Lolwut. Bullets per post count and an exact number? Silly.

Haha, I wish! Alabama. =)

Kickass. =D