caolan

Week 4 Wrap-up Exercise: I averaged 58 minutes of logged exercise per day this week, versus my goal of at least 30 minutes. 3 points for this goal. MFP: I tracked every day and finished the week almost 700 calories under plan. I was way under for the first couple of days, but faded near the end of the week. The overall result was good, but I need to be more consistent. I had to weigh in 2 days early because I was on the road for the weekend. As of Friday morning, I had lost 0.8 pounds this week. 3 points for this goal. YAYOG: I did all 4 of the week 4 workouts and moved up the ladder. 3 points for this goal. Photography: I went out shooting once, but did not do any post work. I'm not making much progress on my goal to finish post on all of my 2014 photos during this challenge. 1 point for this goal. Total: 10 points this week. I am still right on track to earn an "A" for this challenge.

Day 27: Friday Exercise - I practiced my karate forms for 19 minutes and did a 15 minute yoga workout. MFP - I tracked today and finished about 250 calories above plan because I overdid it at breakfast.. YAYOG - YAYOG rest day today. Photography - No photography today. Day 28: Saturday Exercise - I practiced my karate forms for 16 minutes, did a 20 minute YAYOG workout, and walked the dog for 10 minutes. MFP - I tracked today and finished about 50 above plan. Not bad, but I need to be more precise. YAYOG - Week 5, Day 1 (push) was today. Photography - No photograph today.

Week 5 Day 2 was today. Wow. What a workout for my legs. Those first two rounds were so tough, the squats at the end seemed like "rest." Superset 1 x2 Back Lunges: 5 Toyotas: 12. The last 2 reps of the second superset were very, very hard to do. I could barely stand at the end. Superset 2 x2 Lunges: 5 Side Lunges: 12 Superset 3 x2 OLRs: 5 Squats: 12. I decided to try the OLR's today because there weren't many of them, and I finished with no back pain.

Week 5 Day 1 was today. Superset 1 x2. 5 decline push-ups and 12 shove-offs Superset 2 x2. 5 military press and 12 thumbs ups. 2 second pauses on the thumbs ups. Superset 3 x2. 5 close grip push-ups and 12 seated dips. My wrists were pretty sore after these.

You can do it, Aces. We will be pulling for you every day. Congrats on the life quest progress.

Good work on your exercise and Happy Birthday! I think you are allowed to have a cupcake on your birthday. Fitness is important, but if you try to hold yourself to a standard that you can't maintain, it will be too easy to fall off the wagon. I am a bit worried about the pull-ups for week 5 (which I start next week). If I do them on a door, I think I will break the door. I need to find something strong enough to hold me up.

That sounds like a lot of work. Great job! I find that the most effective exercises are often those ones that force you to move in different ways. They certainly challenge muscles you forgot you have. I'll have to check out the Warhammer PVP. Maybe next time around I'll try it.

The important part is the actual workouts, so don't sell yourself short. You still seem to be on track with YAYOG, which is a great accomplishment.

IT's a good thing you didn't leave the table of sadism unsatisfied. Who knows that might have happened if you hadn't. Great work!

Day 24: Tuesday Exercise - Today was mostly a rest day after some serious exercise the past few days. I did a 34 minute low-intensity yoga routine. MFP - I tracked today and finished 350 over target. This is partly because I did not workout much, but I was surprised at how far over I was. I have to pay better attention throughout the day. YAYOG - Rest day today for YAYOG. Photography - No photography today. Day 25: Wednesday Exercise - I walked for 25 minutes and did another YAYOG workout. I also climbed 12 flights of steps as part of my late participation in the Rangers guild week 1 mini-challenge. MFP - I tracked today and finished right on target. YAYOG - I did the third Week 4 YAYOG workout (pull) today. I was NOT motivated to do this workout, but didn't want to fall behind. Participating in the PVP definitely helped motivate me today. Photography - No photography today. Day 26: Thursday Exercise - I did a 36 minute YAYOG workout and jogged a 5k in 40 minutes. I am planning to run a 5k with my daughter in a few weeks, and this was my first time running this distance in a long time. MFP - I tracked today and finished about 500 calories under because I burned a lot of calories exercising. YAYOG - I finished Week 4 in the YAYOG PVP today. Photography - No photography today.

I finished Week 4 this morning. I added in pauses to each exercise to increase the difficulty, and I added in 3 sets of hip raises at the end for good measure. I also continued to sub Pointers for the Twists to protect my back. Leg Lifts (3 second pause) - 12/12/12 Hyperextensions (2 second pause) - 12/12/12 Pointers (2 second pause) - 12/12/12 Swimmers (2 second pause) - 12/12/12 Hip Raises (2 second pause) - 12/12/12 On to week 5. It sounds pretty intense!

Great work, Dasein! Keep it up, because your success is helping to motivate me.

Here are my W4 D3 results from Wednesday morning. I was pretty tired when I got started. I finished all the reps, but it was a struggle to really motivate myself to do this workout. If not for the PVP, I probably would have skipped it, so thank you all for motivating me to do it. LMI 90 degrees: 12/12/12 LMU: 12/12/12 LMI: 12/12/12 Towel curls: 12/12/12

Day 22: Sunday Exercise - I jogged for 18 minutes and did a 36 minute YAYOG workout. MFP - I tracked today and finished about 350 calories under my target for the day. YAYOG - This was Week 4 Day 1 (push day) for YAYOG. Photography - I took some photos today, but did not do any post. Day 23: Monday Exercise - I walked for 25 minutes, did a 36 minute YAYOG workout, and swam laps for 40 minutes. Wow am I tired tonight! MFP - I tracked today and finished about 450 calories under plan because of all the exercise. YAYOG - Week 4 Day 2 (legs) was today. Photography - No photography today.

I started Week 4 this weekend. Sunday - W4, D1. The close-grip push-ups continue to be really tough, but I did just barely manage to get the full set of 12 in each time. Push-ups 12/12/12 Military press 12/12/12 Close-grip push-up 12/12/12 Seated dips 12/12/12 Monday - W4, D2. I did a 4 second pause on the traditional squats to up the difficulty. I subbed in one-legged calf raises for the OLR's again to protect my back. Incidentally, my back is feeling much better this week. Split squats 12/12/12 each leg Side lunges 12/12/12 each leg Squats 12/12/12 One-legged calf raises 12/12/12 each leg

Day 21: Saturday Exercise - I took a hike with my family today. We were out for 3 hours, but I am only treating it as a 90 minute hike, because we spent a long time at the summit. MFP - I tracked today and finished about 500 below plan, courtesy of the many calories burned by hiking in the mountains. YAYOG - Week 3, Day 4 workout (core) was today. Photography - I took a few photos during our hike, mostly of the kids on the trail. Week 2 Wrap-up Exercise: I averaged about 60 minutes of logged exercise per day this week, versus my goal of at least 30 minutes. 3 points for this goal. MFP: I tracked every day and finished the week over 900 calories under plan. I also lost 2.8 pounds his week. 3 points for this goal. YAYOG: I did all 4 of the week 3 workouts and moved up the ladder. 3 points for this goal. Photography: I went out shooting twice, but did not do much post-processing of any of my photos. 1 point for this goal. Total: 10 points this week. I am still right on track to earn an "A" for this challenge.

Finished week 3 today. Hooray! Leg lifts 12/12/12. These were easier than I remember them. I have always hated leg lifts, but I guess the rest of my YAYOG training is paying off! Hyper extensions 12/12/12. I tried to hold these for one second on the last two sets to increase the difficulty. Pointers 12/12/12 (subbed for the Russian twists to help my back) Swimmers 12/12/12

Day 20: Friday Exercise - I did a 36 minute YAYOG workout and swam laps for 30 minutes. MFP - I tracked today and finished 100 below plan. YAYOG - Week 3, Day 3 workout (pull exercises) was today. Photography - No photography today.

My motivation is all about my family. My kids are athletic, and I want to both set a good example for them and be able to keep up with them better. I also want to get much more healthy and have many, many more years with them and my wife.

I finished W3 D3 today. Here are the details: LMI 90's - 12/12/12. These seemed too easy. LMU's - 12/12/12. These were tough, especially the third set. I have come a long way on these since when I started doing YAYOG just 3 weeks ago! LMI's - 12/12/12. Towel Curls - 12/12/12. I didn't do a great job of these. I think I did a cross between a curl and a shrug.

LadyShello - thanks for the concern. I actually have seen a doc, and I am tweaking the exercises a bit based on his advice (replacing the Romanians with Pointers, for example). I'm actually feeling a lot better now, and hoping that it continues that way. I have been doing some more swimming this week, because it is so good for my back.

Day 19: Thursday Exercise - I swam laps for 30 minutes. MFP - I tracked today and finished right on plan. YAYOG - YAYOG rest day today. Tomorrow is Pull day. Photography - No photography today.

Day 17: Tuesday Exercise - I walked twice for a total of 70 minutes and did a 36 minute YAYOG workout. MFP - I tracked today and finished about 150 calories over my target for the day. YAYOG - Week 3, Day 1 workout (arms) was today. Photography - No photography today. Day 18: Wednesday Exercise - I walked for 25 minutes and did a 36 minute YAYOG workout. MFP - I tracked today and finished about 150 calories under plan. YAYOG - Week 3 Day 2 (legs) was today. My legs are pleasantly exhausted, but my back is still bothering me. I am really hating sitting down this week. Photography - No photography today.

Week 3 Day 2 results: Bulgarians 12/12/12. These were easier than they looked, but I was definitely tired at the end of 36 reps on each side. Side Lunges 12/12/12. Squats 12/12/12. I did 3 second holds on the 2nd and 3rd set to increase the difficulty a bit. One Legged Calf Raises 12/12/12. I swapped these for the Romanians because I am convinced they are a major cause of my back issues right now. Getting through the last few reps on the left side was tough.

Congrats on completing week 3. Definitely rest if you need it.