Grandkai_NL

Hero's Journey Day 1

http://darebee.com/programs/hero-journey.html?showall=&start=1

Day 1 of 60 on Hero's Journey of Darebee. This first workout was a good start, through the workout i felt a little breathless but with no sweat building up. The workout took me about 20 minutes. 

Hey there,

First off thank you for looking at my log. This is my first Daily Log and here im going to log my progress of Hero's Journey from Darebee.

http://darebee.com/programs/hero-journey.html
I'm going to keep track of my weight, the daily workouts and just some stuff that happend through the day. 

Before i could start the program i had to know at what level i could do it. They have a fitness test where you have to perform as much push-ups, sit-ups and basic burpee's as you can each for 60 seconds. My results were:

Push-ups: 27 times

Sit-ups: 24 times

Burpee: 17 times.

Which will put me 2/3 on Level II, so thats the level im going to do in the program.

Tomorrow is the first day, so expect a update tomorrow.

Thank you for looking at my log and hopefully you will join me till the end. 

A day early, but im going on a winter holiday tomorrow and i know i will forget it then.

Week 4 Update and review of my challenge.

-German Language skills: tried to pick it back up. But only did it a few times. I thought i had some extra time but i was more busy with packing and gathering stuff for my snowboard trip. 

- Running: Only worked out 1 time this week. And i did run that time. Just made the 1 mile in 10 minutes. So....not bad but also not great.

- Mobility/Apple: Im my last post i mentioned it became a part of my morning routine and it still is. So that is going great!!!

Review of my challenge.

So my first challenge felt pretty good. Too bad that in week 3 i dropped my streak on the German language. It happend during my afternoon shift which is always difficult for me. The mobility and apple eating felt so great and worked amazing for me. During this challenge my mobility has improved a lot. And my body feels better with the apple every day. So im going to keep this up.

I noticed the running was getting better the more i did it but i think i need to change my training a little bit to make the running easier. I saw a 6-Week Hybrid training plan. Which im going to try out. Just deciding right now if i want to do the Bodyweight training plan or How To plan. But i have some time to figure that out. 

If i would rate myself out of 5 i would give myself a 4/5

I completed 2 of my goals, but only got about 3/4 of the way with the other 2. I now know in what work shift i have to focus and work harder to get my goals.

I don't know when the next challenge is but i'm going to make a personal challenge when i'm home to get my routine back and keep it that way for all shifts. So look forward to that.

For the Rebels/Rangers that followed me, thank you for support and see you next time

Grandkai_NL

Week 3.

This week i had afternoon shift (2PM till 10PM). And this shift always F@#ks with me. And this time it did it as well. 

- My German language skills; lost my streak about halfway through the week. Almost every morning i stayed in bed till 11AM and when i got out of bed i just ate and checked the internet. And after work i was too tired to do anything. And the rest of the week didn't start it again because i was still in the vibe. But...this week i have morning shift (6Am till 2PM) which is my favorite and best shift. So to make it up a bit im gonna go for double the experience, it won't be the same as doing a little bit every day but hopefully i can keep up my language skill like this.

- Mobility and eating an apple have become a normal routine for me now. Every morning while the watercooker is boiling water i'm doing my mobility and while reading i drink my coffee and eat an apple. So that is going great.

- Sadly back to something less great; Morning workouts suck, there i said it. For some people it works but for my it doesn't. I just don't have any energy to do it. I did run 2 times a week but for a shorter time. Because i know i just don't have the energy to run for 10 minutes. So i ran for 5 minutes, just enough that my energy isn't gone for the rest of the workout. But an upside in those 5 minutes the distance i covered was just more than 1/2 a mile.

1 hour ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I hope week 3 was even better than week 2.

So as you can see Week 3 was a little bit worse than week 2.

And this is the last week. My last update will be on Thursday/Friday. Because on Friday i'm going to France to have a nice week of snowboarding & partying. And just clearing my head and relax for a little while.

Another week another update.

Week 2:

- I'm on a roll with my German Language. Already at level 5 and 16% fluent. The xp goal every day helps a lot. 

- Not much difference with the apple and mobility every day. Still loving the apples and mobility keeps improving.

- Now running, that is going AWESOME!! This week i ran on Monday and Friday. Monday i got 1,56 km in 10 minutes but this Friday i got 1,69 km (1,05 miles) in 10 minutes. So i reached my goal of running a mile under 10 minutes!!!

Gonna keep running 2 times a week so that i can get a longer distance under 10 minutes.

How did week 2 end up?

Check it out!!

Welcome back!

No joke, my eyes were watery near the end of your story. Its great to read that you are leveling up your life to a stronger, healthier & happier life. 

I think i can speak a little bit on behalf of all the rebels that we are here to support and help you level up your life.

An update for the last few days.

So far so good. Been using the Duolingo daily goal to keep the up the tempo with 30xp every day. At the moment i am at 4% fluent in German.

- Already noticed that with an apple everyday that i have more energy. 

- Ran 2 times this week for 10 minutes each and both have the same distance: 1,35 km (0,84 mile), I'm using a treadmill so its time to up the speed from 9km/h to 10,5-11 km/h.

-My hips and ankles are feeling more flexible every day. Some times i can do the mobility workout multiple times through the day (its helps a lot). 

So its going good and lets hope its keeps getting better

UPDATE DAY 01

Got a good start of the challenge. Started the day at 4Am (im in shifts, this week is morning shift from 6AM to 2PM) with a cup of coffee and a good book. Had at work some free time so i did the lower body flexibility a few times and already feel at bit more mobile.

I used Duelingo to practice my German, only downside of it is that my native language is Dutch but i can't select Dutch -> German its ALL English -> Language choice. Luckily i found a way to work with it. Had an apple during the afternoon.

Workout Monday 29-02-16 (dd-mm-yy):

Running on the treadmill; Decided to run 10 minutes every time till i hit that 1,6 km (1 mile). After 10 minutes i got 1,36 km (0,84 mile).

Power Clean/Push Press; 5x1 @ 70kg 

Back Squat (High Bar); 3x5 @ 120 kg

Dips, Pull-ups superset; 3x 10 dips, 7 pull-ups

Now i'm back home and i'm about to make some Banana & Eggs pancakes. 

You have a very good first challenge set up here. You SMARTified your goals, they are achievable, and they aren't going to burn you out. What are some of your more long term goals?

Some (with regarding to fitness) are:

- Run 5K under 30 minutes

- Enter a 5K run.

- Squat 2x BW, Deadlift 3x BW, Power Clean/Push Press 1x BW (right now my BW is 84 kg)

For my Life Quest:

Have a conversation in German with a native; Germany is a small hour drive away and Winterberg (a ski resort) is a small 3 hours away and it want to be able to have a normal conversation with them instead then have my brother translate for me.

I'm trying to work out some more long term goals. But this is a good start.

Hey there Rangers,

First real challenge, so i'm gonna keep it simple.

Diet:

- Eat more fruit; eat at least 1 apple 20 days out of the 26 during the challenge.

- Eat less take out; order food only 4 days out of the 26 during the challenge.

Fitness:

- Run a mile under 10 minutes; Run at least 2 days a week during the challenge.

- Increase mobility; Perform California Strength lower flexibility exercise 5 times a week during the challenge.

Life Quest:

-Learn German; Practice German for 10 minutes 5 days a week.

Hopefully in the future i can make some awesome theme challenge like other rangers, but first this one

Did some Front Squats and tried the High Bar squat. Front Squats looked oke. Started the movement with the knee's instead of the hips. 

With the High Bar Squats i lost my balance a few times. But thats normal, first time trying it. Going to work more on my mobility and practice the movement more.

Hi there Grandkai!

 

For your squats, are you trying to go high bar or low bar?  I couldn't tell from the video.  It looked like your hands are in a high bar position, but your form is more low bar.  Just wondering which way to give tips.

 

For the power clean, your form is pretty good so far.  I saw two things to think about.  The first thing that I saw was the bar path.  It looks like it is swinging in to meet your hips which causes it to come out and around from your hips to your shoulders.  You should try to make sure that the bar path is completely vertical without moving forward or backward.  Instead of bringing the bar in toward the hips, sweep your knees under it (move them forward) while the bar moves straight up. 

 

The other item I saw is that it doesn't look like you are fully extending your hips and knees on the second pull, when the bar is at the waist.  It seems like you stop your upward momentum when the bar is on the upper part of your thighs and you almost muscle clean it up.  Think about the second pull as a jump.  You want to fully extend your hips and knees.  That will give you more power on the clean.

 

Lastly, for the push press, I'd make sure that the weight is resting on your shoulders/pecs, not being held up by your hands.  Keep the strong grip, but create a good platform on your shoulders to push the weight from.  That will transfer more power from your dip and drive to the bar, letting you catch it higher and press less.

 

Keep up the good work!

Squats

Ive never really focused if i wanted to do high bar or low bar, i just did what felt comfortable for me. But i suppose it would be high bar (the position the bar is right now feels most comfortable for me). So any tips on that would be great.

Maybe if it will help with advice: The bar is on top of my shoulders & i have my feet slightly narrower than shoulder width.

Just a thought with High Bar squats. My body needs to be more vertical (right?) would Front Squats help with this?

Power Clean/Push Press

I see what you mean with the bar path, the bar goes in an angle to my hips. What would be a good way make it go more vertical? Bar closer to my shins?

I have a little bit trouble to understand what you mean with the second pull as a jump. I will look at some "how to clean" videos on youtube.

Would you advice doing the Hang Clean to better learn the second pull? 

I didnt have a coach/trainer to teach me these movements, i went with what i saw on my videos and what i read/saw on the internet. So i appreciate this advice.

Hello there fellow Rebels,

I would appreciate it if you guys could give me a few tips on my form. But first a little bit back story about me:

Started lifting in 2011, spend the first year using a workout from a friend of my who works at the gym i go to. Then ran Wendell 5/3/1 for a year and after that i was using my own invented workouts and didn't really progress.

End of 2014

Best Power Clean/Push Press: 85 kg 

Best Back Squat: 150 kg

Now (havent tested for a 1RM):

Power Clean/Push Press: 75-80 kg 

Back Squat: 140-145 

So before going into my first full 4-Week challenge i would like a few tips on my form & execution of both lifts.

Back Squat

Power Clean/Push Press

Thank you for taking the time to look at the videos

I see we have the same goals with workouts (full body, few movements, maximize strength). I checked out the workout and if i look at a few of your goals for a workout i would change it to this:

Day A:

DB Squat

DB Bench Press

DB Row

Day B:

DB Lunge (without weights)

DB Stiff Legged Deadlift

Standing DB Press

Pull-ups/Lat Pulldown

You keep alternating these 2 workouts through the week. So on Tuesday A, Thursday B, Saturday A. Next Tuesday B, Thursday A, Saturday B and so on...
This template is a lot like the Starting Strength temple from Mark Rippetoe except with DB instead of Barbells. You can keep the sets and reps the same as you have right now. 

As for your Anterior Pelvic Tilt (had to look it up on internet) the internet talks a lot about stretching and focus on ab work. So...i would follow Rocker3722 advice about doing yoga or doing stretches throughout the day.

Everytime i have rock music. Its the music i grew up with and for me it has the best beat to train. The songs i listen most of the time when i workout:
Andrew WK - She is beautiful

Andrew WK - Party Hard

Sum 41 - No Reason

Sum 41 - Hell Song (live)

Machinae Supremacy - Through The Looking Glass

Amaranthe - Digital World

Breaking Benjamin - Blow Me Away (HALO 2!!!!!!)

Breaking Benjamin - I will not bow

So far this year i have finished:

- To Kill a Mockingbird

- Assassins Blade

And Throne Of Glass.

All really good books and currently reading Level Up Your Life.

I have a lot of books planned for the year thanks to a Book Reading Challenge. 

Hello Rangers,

Still a newbie on the forums, joined a while ago but did nothing with it. But lately more on the sites, checking the forum a little bit and upcoming challenge will be my first one as a Ranger. I used to be more a Warrior because i loved lifting heavy. But my stamina has dropped significantly. I'm going to bring that back up.

I already have sone Ranger goals for upcoming Challenge and i can't wait to start with it.

Welcome to the NF Rebellion!
 

That are a lot of hobbies/interests and they all sound amazing. Can't wait to see your first 6-week challenge and i'm definitely planning to follow you on your journey. 

Once again welcome and enjoy!

Little review of last week. 

Monday                
Squat: 140kg 3x3

Deadlift: 195kg 3x3
Push Press: 75kg 3x3

Wednesday
Squats: 140kg 3x2
Deadlift: 195kg 3x2
Push Press: 75kg 3x2

Friday
Squats: 140 2x1, 145 1x1
Deadlifts: 195 2x1, 200 1x1
Push Press: 75kg 2x1, 80 1x1
So last week went pretty good Went to my second Balance class last saturday and felt much better than the first time. I noticed my whole body has more flexibility. 

Nutrition is going well, didn't snack so much as i made some home made protein bars. 

This week is going to be tough as i can only train in the morning because of work. 

Hahaha its 2:23AM and i suddenly realize i had more weight with the deadlift than planned. The plan was 195 and maybe 200kg. First set i did was 205kg for 3 and then for 2. That explains why i had a bit of trouble.

But i know i can deadlift 205kg so i got the going for my which is nice.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Day 1/42

A decent day. Got home at 6:30am after my night shift and slept till 12:30. Woke up with a bit of yoga en breakfast (scrambled eggs with salmon and a glass of milk).

Rest of the day i was only drinking water till my diner at 6:30PM.

Workout of tonight was:

Push Press: 75kg 3x3 success;

Back Squat: 140kg 3x3 success;

Deadlift: 195kg 3x3 fail. Only got 1st set 3 reps. Second set 2 reps and felt weak, so decided to skip last set.

A decent day, sucked that deadlift was no success but it can happen.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Blaidd I never ate a lot of Belgian Chocolates and i could easily step off the stroopwafels funny cause when i lived at my parents house i could eat a whole pack in 30 minutes.
Im exchanging the sweetness from the stroopwafels for the sweetness of Dates (dadels). Those 3 ingredient bars i talked about? Dates are a part of it with raisins and unsalted peanuts. 
These bars fill you up good time, usually i take 1 and im good for the next 2 hours. 

Hey more dutch people. Je hebt mijn steun.
Will follow your challenge  

Hey everybody,

I've been following Nerd Fitness for a while but never really posted something. This is going to be the perfect opportunity to start that.

First challenge so lets keep it simple.

Main Quest: Become Stronger

Already training Push Presses, Deadlifts and Back Squats 3 times a week in 3x3 HML style. 6 Weeks to get closer to my first goal of hitting a 220kg Deadlift (2.75x BW) , 80kg Push Press (1x BW) and a 160kg Squat (2x BW).

SMART Quest 1: Don't be a plank
My whole body can be a little stiff sometimes. Going to use the Xbox One yoga game in the morning to stretch my body and make it more flexible. And take at least 3 saturdays in the 6 weeks a class of Body Balance at my gym.

SMART Quest 2: Less Crap
I have a little rabbit of eating a lot of chocolate en cookies when im at home. Im throwing that stuff away and going to eat healthy fruit and some 3 ingredient Energy Bars so i don't fill my body with bad stuff.

Going to try my best to let this first challenge succeed. 

Ive done 2 rounds of 5/3/1.

First time 4 days a week Boring but Big for about 5-6 months. Then i quit because my one of the exercise was stalling. I got back in it oktober last year. I started doing his Full Body Template i found on T-Nation.

http://www.t-nation.com/strength-training-topics/1316

Squatting 3 times a week.

Pressing 3 times a week.

Pulling 3 times a week.

I couldnt believe how my squat went up!! I started with 270. In about 10-11 cycles i got to 380. My recovery on squat was better because the load wasnt so heavy each time. Stick with Wendler 5/3/1 if you are stalling go back 2 cycles and restart.