smurray

Week 2 results Diet- This was a complete fail for the week. For some reason my heart was not in it and I took any excuse that came by to derail me. My weight jumped up a couple of pounds, but I did lose all the ground I gained week 1, but no more slacking for week 3 Exercise- I got 6 out of 7 days for the week and really increased the intensity of the workouts. I need to find a race for August to give me a goal to work towards to help in the diet department and to continue my focus here. I improved on my pullups which in turn will help me in working towards muscle ups. Improvement- Guitar practice went really well this week. I got in two one hour sessions and I could tell there was a lot of improvement. I have two songs picked out and now I need to work on strumming and pace.

Week 2/ Days 5-7 Diet- I am going to have to chalk up week 2 as a complete bomb on the diet. I did not follow plan and I have no excuse for it. I am going to restart for week 3. Exercise- This challenge is going much better. I completed my portion of the mini challenge and got a very hot and humid four mile run. The workout routine I developed for the challenge consisted of about 3 to five laps around the basketball court at my gym and then 5 sets of 10 squats, 10 pushups, and 10 pullups followed by a lap around the court. Then I finished out with 3 to 5 laps around the court. My session on Friday I changed my pushup style on each set, alternated between chin-ups and pullups, and used a 12lb medicine ball for squats. Sunday I had my kids with me and they wanted to join in on some of the exercises, so I kept everything simple. I am not as sore as I was expecting. Only one set did I get all 10 pullups without resting. Mostly it was 5, rest, 3, rest and then 2. Improvement- Saturday morning after my run I had time before the rest of the family woke up to get in some guitar practice. I was able to practice a little over an hour and concentrated to two songs.

Week 2/ Day 4 - Diet This day was sub par in my effort. I had a lunch meeting that I could have done better, but I didn't and I had to grab a quick bite before class that I didn't make a good decision on. I need to refocus and set I new goal, so I decided to schedule a race in the next 4 to 6 weeks to give me a goal to train towards. I would like to see if I can beat my PR of 23:58. That will help me focus on training and diet. -Exercise I was able to meet up with my early morning group. We took it easy on the sit ups since my work out partner from Tuesday and I both have tailbones needing to heal. Our newest member was able to join us and he complemented us by saying that was one of the best workouts he has done. It felt pretty good that something we make up as we go had a positive impact on someone. He also said that we almost had him to the point of vomiting. -Improvement I had class tonight so no guitar practice. I did view a little bit of World Cup action in hopes to understand the game a little better.

Congratulations on being able to reach your goal and move forward. Keep up the good work.

Sounds like a plan. I will see if I can get some reps in today, but I should knock out a huge portion of it tomorrow. Nothing like coming from behind.

It is amazing how much mental drives us. I do not have another mud run until October and I am struggling to keep my commitment level up on my diet and exercise intensity. I think i am game for getting into another accountability group. Keep up the good work Orc.

Nice workout. Keep working on that core strength and you will go a long way.

I am planning on doing the week 2 mini challenge If anybody wants to join me. Week 2 on the island: Looking around it seems like everyone is in relatively good spirits. Before venturing in to explore the island you now live on, you and your new family decide to build some shelters. There aren't *quite* enough resources for everyone, so some of you opt to conglomerate. Cohabitation! Gasp! As you form into these new houses, the stocky red bearded man just watches. What's he up to??? Rangers: This week has two parts! Part 1: Buddy or triple up- find some folks who have weaknesses that might complement your strengths! Joeschmoe- good at checking in and BettySpaghetti- needs someone who checks in often = a great team. With your buddy or buddies, complete the following tasks (if you are a total loner, that's ok too! you just have to build your own dang house ) Part 2: Build your shelter- Over the next week as a team you need to complete the following to get your house constructed: 200 pulling exercise reps (rows, pull ups, anything resembling the motion of pulling cord tight and binding it to the branches) 200 pushing exercise reps (overhead press, tire flips, anything resembling the force needed to get your lumber to your new home site) 200 squats- Just because

Ok, I just saw the week 2 challenge. I am up for a team if anybody needs a member. I am a workhorse and will be happy to pound out this task. What is the deadline for this again?

Nebo, do you have a gameplan on the decluttering project? Hoarding is in my genetic makeup and I am working on the decluttering task of a couple of rooms right now. I was curious about your plan of attack.

It really isn't too bad of a work out. I am sure you could challenge some of the guys at the "office" to do that one with you. Be sure to pad that tail bone.

Week 2/ Day 3 -Diet For the most part not too bad. I did have some bread at lunch and snacked on a few chocolate chips in the evening. Not perfect, but stayed within calorie count. -Exercise I skipped my session to recover from the "tailbone wear down" of the day before. Boy, I can tell when I skip a workout. I am just not in the mood for much of anything during the day. -Improvement I did homework and did not get a chance to practice. I will make up for it on the weekend.

I need to pull out the crockpot again. I am getting up early enough to start a meal. Take it easy on the running and learn how to develop your stride and foot placement. That does wonders in preventing you from developing bad habits that could lead into injuries. Good luck, you will enjoy it.

- Diet I did not skip lunch today. I ate a salad, so it is a win. I felt better for most of the day and only ate a few peanut butter crackers while waiting on dinner. I stayed under my calorie goal and will take it as a "win". -Exercise Tuesday morning is when my exercise/devotion group normally meets. This week the gym floor is being refinished so some decided to take the week off. I made the mention that I will be there in the parking lot ready to work out if anyone wants to join me. One other guy made it and we did a pretty hard work out from the November Project group using a deck of cards. We started off with a .4 mile run around the property and then did sit-ups for black cards and pushups for the red ones. The reps are determined by the value on the cards with the face cards being J/11, Q/12, K/13, & A/14. You end up doing 208 sit-ups and 208 pushups by the end of the deck. After the cards, we did two laps around the property to finish up the workout. You will learn to count cards with this exercise as you try to figure out how many of the big cards you have to go when you are halfway through this workout. It was not a walk in the park. I also need to remember to bring a towel to sit on for sit up in a parking lot because I have road rash on my tailbone that is bad enough to need a bandage. Oh well, some things you learn the hard way. -Improvement My wife had a "girls’ night out" and I had the kids. After dinner, they played and watched television while I went to the back to practice guitar. My chords are coming along better and the transitions are a little smoother. I did about ten minutes of drills and practiced a few songs. The girls started fighting while I played "What Child is This" and the irony of the moment was something to chuckle at. Their fighting gave me reason to send them to bed early and then I went back to playing a little more. I couldn't believe it, but I put in about an hour of practice for the night. I need to decide what song I want to learn for the girls to sing and really begin to work on it.

Thanks. I did enjoy it and I have not beaten myself up too much since I have stopped the weight from going up and it is starting to go back down again. I think if you use your self-control consistently during the normal days, the celebration days can be less stressful on the goals. Thanks. I was pretty impressed with the 10 as well. It felt good.

Gotcha! I will have to agree with you on that. I think the previously mentioned method would do nothing but give you a bad taste in your mouth.

it is amazing at how much you use your back for pull ups and so few exercises are available to help with preparing for a pull up. Inverted rows helped me, along with losing weight, on pull ups. You can do bent over rows with weights to help as well. Just keep working at it.

Great job with the push ups. 100 in a workout is a great feeling. I still have to watch episodes 1, 2, and 3 with my girls. I made them watch 4,5, and 6 first. They really enjoyed the droids.

Just as long as you don't do the drunk visit and end up at the wrong address at 5:00 in the morning. Someone was ringing my doorbell that early this past Sunday. Let me tell you, I wasn't that happy about it since that was the day I was planning on sleeping in. Oh the places you will go.... while drunk.

Looking good. I like first couple of weeks weight loss as well. On your number 4 goal, do you have a faith group? That can help out with staying on course with bible reading. Also, I get a daily devotion emailed to me. Since I am in front of the computer every day, I can check out the email and reference the bilble verse. Just some ideas that might help you on #4.

week2/ day 1 Diet- I don't know what happened today. Breakfast was within guidelines, but when it came to lunch, I kept putting it off for one reason or another until I missed it altogether. When I got home, my wife had planned a pretty good meal, but she got sidetracked on a project and was late getting it started, plus it was a new recipe which takes longer while you are learning it. When she told me she had to marinate the meat, I said stop there and let’s make something quicker. She made sandwich wraps, which were not of the paleo kind, but I was so hungry that I didn't care. After dinner we went to the home improvement store to look for materials for a project and I just became so frustrated with not being able to find things, the kids having to constantly touch me while in the store, and not being able to move quickly with the family in tow. After that ordeal, I ended up binging on carbs while watching a movie past my bedtime. I still think stayed below my calories for the day, but it wasn't the best calories for me. I have learned my lesson, don't skip lunch. Exercise- I got to the gym today and I was planning on doing a good 30 min circuit. I usually make about 10 to 12 stations and I will do a set per station and run a lap around the gym between each set. I normally get a mile worth of running and a good workout of all my muscle groups with a variety of movements. I had a coworker come in the gym with her own circuit routine and asked if I wanted to join her and work out together. This one her boyfriend developed and it wore us out for 40 minutes. It was nice to do a different routine and to have someone to share the misery with since I normally workout alone at the gym. I did hit a new personal goal of 10 consecutive pull-ups. That felt pretty good. Improvement- I thought about guitar today since I had such a good time last week, but the wife wanted me to watch a movie with her. I will get a session in tonight.

Week 1 recap Diet- I did fall off the wagon for a good part of the weekend, but I was able to stay close to the 80% paleo goal of having 76% of my meals paleo. Not perfect and room for improvement. My weight is heading in the right direction with a drop of 4 pounds for the week. I am sure it is mostly water weight, but it does give you a good sign you are on the right path. Exercise- I nailed this! I worked out 6 of the 7 days for at least 30 minutes, mostly circuit training. I do need to start increaseing my long runs again to about 6 to 8 miles on Saturday to keep me ready for whatever race I want to run. Improvement- I had to stay up late to get it in but I did have two 30 min sessions with the guitar. Let's see if I can keep this going.

I know the feeling. When I have a hard time getting up, I make it a point to get to bed extra early the next night to get enough sleep. My kids are out of school and this past weekend sleep schedule was completely off. I ended up sleeping in this Monday, so it will be extra early to bed tonight.

How was your first week?

I am checking in to see how the first week is going for you.