OptimistPrime

At the beginning of the 6 weeks, I couldn't do enough reps to even break a sweat through the entire Basic Training workout. By the end of the challenge, I felt energized the rest of the day after working out in the morning (and man would I sweat during/after!). I lost about 3 pounds during the 6 weeks, which I'll take as a combination of not watching my intake as closely as I should have, as well as (hopefully) some muscle gain. I think I'm going to do the Basic Training plan for another 6-week challenge with a focus on getting sufficient sleep and see how that goes.

I'm in for my second challenge.

Fitness/Diet Goals Status: - Trying to make sure I do at least 2x/wk even if I wind up missing one of the 3. - Lacking sleep this week really hurt my progress, but I'm keeping at it. - Weight moving downward finally. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures/measurements in a few days. I'm going to make sure I get my last one in Tuesday morning to really see what I've accomplished the last 6 weeks. Planks are still challenging but I'm at least up to 2x30s, sometimes nearly 60s on the first set. The angle of my elbows seems to make a huge difference, so I'm trying to be consistent -- my arms being a little more forward seems to make them easier. Lunges have really been kicking my ass, which I assume is because of the extra weight (mine, that is..). Maybe I should be doing something a little easier to build up to those while the weight comes off, but I'm not sure what.

Fitness/Diet Goals Status: - I had to shift from Tues/Thurs/Sat to Tues/Fri/Sun this week (so I still need to do Sunday's). - I seem to have really fallen off the wagon on going to bed on time, which definitely seems to be a huge part of whether my exercises succeed. - Weight finally trending downward again, but still at 235ish.

Fitness/Diet Goals Status: - Completed 2 of my 3 RSG workouts Tues/Sat. I tried to start Thursday's but I was too tired. - I think there were a couple nights I went to bed after midnight. I was racking up a sleep deficit throughout the week, which contributed to Thursday's fail. - Weight still rollercoastering between 234 and 238 on daily weigh-ins. I'm putting off measuring until the end of the six weeks, but I'm hoping to see some redemption there even if I don't lose the entire 6 pounds I was hoping for. I went to bed on time Friday night and did my Saturday workout, so hopefully I'm back on the right path. I hit 40s on my first set of planks today, and got close to 30s on the second set, but they still kick my butt; what an amazing, simple workout!

Fitness/Diet Goals Status: - Completed my 3 RSG workouts Tues/Thurs/Sat. I split up my Saturday exercises to do the one-arm rows in the evening when I had something heavier to lift (5gal water bottle!). - Went to bed before midnight every day except Friday night, and the night I worked until after midnight. Will try to do better next week. - Weight rollercoastering between 234 and 238 on daily weigh-ins. I'll see where I'm at in another week, I know I haven't been doing a great job with watching my calorie intake. I'm over 30s on the first set of planks. Getting close to 30s on the second set (1min rest between).

Fitness/Diet Goals Status: - Completed my 3 RSG workouts Tues/Thurs/Sat. I was still sore Friday night and started making excuses about Saturday morning, then decided that excuses won't get me where I want to be. Managed to get planks up to 30s. - Went to bed before midnight every day except Saturday night. - Weight hovering at 238. Going to do a better job of watching calories while also doing the workouts. Looking forward to next week's workouts. I need to get a dumbbell or something for the one-arm rows.

I've never done a regimented exercise plan before, so I'm going to reward myself for losing 40 pounds by starting out with the RSG's Basic Training plan. Fitness/Diet Goals: - Before the first workout, I thought "planks? Man, those can't be that hard," and proceeded to last 5 whole seconds. I want to get up to 60 seconds by the end of the challenge. I'd like to get bored before I get tired. - Tangentially related to Fitness, but I've been having trouble forcing myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour. I'm going to try to be in bed by midnight every night, preferably 11. - I want to get down under 230lbs by the end of the 6 weeks. I spent most of my life at 220, got down to 205 (still overweight), then let it get out of control up to 275. I weighed 235 this morning, so I'm going to shoot for 230. Life Goal: - Work through my to-do list of personal items I've been pushing back every week all year. Status so far: - I did an initial Session A on Friday of last week, but I'm going to aim for today to start Tues/Thurs/Sat at my workout days. I'll try to update this thread weekly, but I track things daily.

Hi, I'm a 26-year-old Software Engineer, and I'm (surprise!) overweight. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've been in a gym in my life (okay, that's an exaggeration, it might take Two hands). I've been trying to focus mainly on dieting to get rid of the extra 75 pounds that have built up over the last 6 years, but I've managed to lose the first 40, so I decided it was time to start exercising. I grabbed the RSG and I'm one whole day into the Basic Training guide. I've done regimented diets in the past, but never followed a regimented exercise plan, so I'm going to stick with this for the 6 weeks and see where it goes. Steve's site and the threads I've lurked in on this forum have all been really motivational; everyone should keep up the great work!