concretecavewoman

Challenge Wrap

Even though I was terrible, just terrible at making my regular updates, this challenge went really well.

1. Strength (all in terms of calc/actual 1RM and pounds). Even though I didn't hit my 7% goal I'm still pleased as punch with how my lifts are progressing. A few months ago I was like, 200lb deadlift, someday, someday. Now I'm staring down the maw of 250.
   Squat: 171 -> 183
   Deadlift: 233 -> 238
   Bench: 119 -> 130
   Press: 75 -> 77
   Clean: 110 -> 111
   Total Gains %: 4.3
2. Food:  I feel like I did really well on this. Over the course of the challenge I lost 4 lbs, 1.5" off my waist and 1.5" off my hips. And put weight on all my lifts. Honestly I am kind of loving IIFYM because it means the occasional pile of gummy bears >.>
   34/42 80%
3. Sleep: This one was... meh. Too bad, too, because when I slept well I noticed the best ROI.
   28/42 67%
4. Other
   During the challenge I also did a 20 mile backpacking trip and took a 3 day weekend with my mom on one of the islands in the puget sound. And work is going great! Yeah, there, I said it.

Overall challenge self-assessment: B-

Next challenge: Work on sleep!

Like whoa, this month got crazy with work so I obviously haven't been posting. BUT. Things have been going great.  We did some 1RM testing at my gym and it went SO well. Knocked out new PRs on my bench and deadlift. In two weeks I'll be testing 1RM on squat.

My progress so far:

1. Strength:
   

   Deadlift (207/5, 233 1RM) -> Current 238/249 Lifted 238x1 last week

   Squat (152/5, 171 1RM) -> Current 183/182 Lifted 173x3 today

   Bench (108/5, 119 1RM) -> Current 130/127 Lifted 130x1 last week

   Press (73/2, 75 1RM) -> Current 77/80 77x1 today

   Clean (110/1, 110 1RM) -> Current 110/117 all work thus far has been lower weight high rep

2. Food:
   26/31 days I've hit my macro goals. I was super skeptical about how eating SO many carbs and so little fat would work, but 5 weeks in I'm down 8 lbs and I've lost 1.5" on my waist, plus 1" on my hips. Two people at the gym have already approached me and asked me what I'm doing because it looks like I've leaned out so much!
3. Sleep:
   This is my weakest.... 21/31 days. Woof. Ok, time to refocus here.

Update: 7/31

Yet another really long day at work spent catching up. One technique that I've found to be super helpful in managing my macro intake is to cook my entire day's worth of food (or at least the major meals) the day before, weigh, measure, and pack. I toted jars and jars of food to work but I nailed macros.

1. Lift: Done

Deadlift (lbs today as I was at my globogym, not crossfit gym)

45x5

135x5

155x5

175x3

190x1

210x2 <-PR

185x3

OHP

45x5

55x3

65x2

70x1

75x5

75x4

70x5

2. Eat. 205C/158P/50F 4% variance. WOO.

3. Sleep. 7.5 hours last night. Yay!

Update: 7/30

1. Lift: Unplanned Rest. Instead I'll be lifting on Saturday.

2. Eat: 185C/146P/52F 5% variance. Good!

3. Sleep: 8.5 hours. YES. Totally not caught up but I'll take it.

Super long day of work today. Didn't get home until 730. Tomorrow I have uncharacteristically early meetings so I'm going to do something UNPRECEDENTED and workout at lunch. I'm actually looking forward to it because I think that kind of break in the middle of the day will be nice. And it's deadlift day so I'm going for 97 kilos, woo woo!

Also, I sent in my first week's check-in on my nutrition plan to my coach. Down 3 lbs. Half inch off my waist and hips. Feeling full and energized. Can't complain!

Sleep is so hard!!! Lots of us are struggling with sleep right now. Good luck!

Seriously! If the day were suddenly 26 hours I would only spend those extra hours on sleep (c'mon universe, deliver on this one)

Welcome back, sounds like you've had an epic kind of year!

Thanks! Yeah it was a much needed break.

** following your dog on instagram. 

 

also, nice job on those macros!

Woo! Ripley says thanks

Here you are! 

 

Oh my goodness, how I love lifting Shakespeare <3 

Hooray! I looked so hard for a gif of Shakespeare lifting but the internet did not deliver. Or my google-fu is weak.

Update 7/29

1. Lift: rest day

2. Eat: 159P/189C/48F 3% variance. Win!

3. Sleep: 8 hours woo!

Today was pretty intense at work and same for the rest of the week so I'm planning on not doing any dining out. This will ensure I hit my macros and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Update: 7/28

Finally got some more sleep. Lifted and it went well.

1. Lift: hit. Squatted 70kg for 3x5. Bench 48 for 3x5. Banded pull-ups.

2. Eat: 178P/260C/91F 22% variance. Oof. I went out with a friend to see some opera and then we had dinner. I was tired and hungry and ordered sardines and grilled oysters, but I think I was still in my old Paleo mindset vs macros.

3. Sleep: better. 6.5 hours

Today's Lesson: She who doth not sleep, doth not catch the gainz.

So my mom came over yesterday to cook up a bunch of macro-friendly food for me (seriously, is my mom the best or is my mom the best?). I was helping her but we ended up staying up late. She stayed through today to finish all the cooking. It's awesome because I now have a ton of delicious pork chile verde, chicken soup, etc, in the fridge and freezer.

1. Lift: Miss. It's ok. I rarely make mondays.

2. Eat: 170P/183C/54F 5% variance. Nailed it!

3. Sleep: Boooooooooo. A mere 6 hours of sleep.

And now to turn off all devices and get to sleep!

Bam, also cutting. Good luck!

Welcome back. I need to put the Ashland  Shakespeare Festival on my epic quest, it is something I have always wanted to do.

You should! It's really some of the best theater in the country, which is so weird since it's kind of in the middle of nowhere (well not really, Ashland and Medford are decently sized towns). And the theater that they put on beyond Shakespeare is amazing too.

Welcome back from the farm!

Thanks! Now I guess I can put those cattle skills to good use writing software.

Cool challenge. Did you go to the first Camp?

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii! Yes this challenge is the best. I recently rewatched season 1 of daria and it was like being 15 again except without the acne and ennui. So really it was like being 30 and watching my favorite cartoon.

I love the competition goals  but I especially love the copious use of muppet show gifs.

MY DOGS INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/alienqueenripley/

Like whoa it's been a while since I've joined a challenge. Maybe a year? To backtrack, I've been lifting for a couple years now, but not really in earnest. Early 2014 I was burned out, quit my tech job, and traveled for a summer. I came home and spent the fall learning various skills like canning, fermentation, and meat curing. In the winter I returned to a normal techie life, got an awesome job, and am settled back in Seattle. I'm now training at a gym that I ADORE and have spent the last 7 months refocused on my health and fitness, which has been great. From this I've also learned that it's best to only tackle one thing at a time. So from Jan - June it was just: be in the gym, consistently. Done. Now it's: eat like I mean it so I can keep getting stronger.

Since I just got back from the Ashland, OR Shakespeare Festival because I am THAT COOL. I guess I've got theater on the brain, so my challenge is...

"Be not afraid of greatness!" -Twelfth Night

Focus on being great at ONE THING: Lifting. My goals are all around training, eating, and sleeping. I've been in an office lifting competition for the last couple months, and I'd like to finally sign up for a PL meet this fall. Lifting this year has just been awesome. It keeps me happier and more productive at work and at home. I keep a chart of my lifts in my office and one of the best parts of my day is erasing the old numbers and writing in the new (higher) numbers.

Goal 1, Strength: "'Tis excellent to have the strength of a giant," -Measure for Measure (let's just ignore that the rest of this quote is about a dude who is a corrupt politician).

Put 7% on my lifts, calculated 1RM, averaged across lifts.

Current Lift lbs (weight/reps, 1RM) -> Goal 1RM:

Deadlift (207/5, 233) -> Goal 249

Squat (152/5, 171) -> Goal 182

Bench (108/5, 119) -> Goal 127

Press (73/2, 75) -> Goal 80

Clean (110/1, 110) -> Goal 117

Goal 2, Food: "Though this be madness, yet there is a method in it." -Hamlet (Polonius wonders at Hamlet's feigned madness)

Hit my macros +/- 5%. I've got nutrition programming from Working Against Gravity. It's macro driven which is a pretty big change for me as I tend to eat higher fat paleo. I'm still primarily eating meat and vegetables, but leveling off the macros with rice and whatever. Still not much in the way of processed food. Honestly this is a bit of a leap of faith for me, given that I haven't eaten carbs like this in years, but one week in and I'm already seeing great results.

Training Day: 220C/160P/50F

Rest Day: 190C/160P/50F

25g Fiber each day.

Goal 3, Sleep: "We are such stuff as dreams are made on." -The Tempest

Get 7 hours of sleep per night. This is not a thing I'm great at. During the week it's closer to 6, and I can see that it impacts my training. I was on vacation last week getting 9-10 hours a night and my training was going bananas in a good way.

And that's it. No life goal. I'm trying to keep my focus as narrow as possible

Tuesday 9/16
Really weird and slack day.  I just had a massive case of the lazies.

1. Workout: Nope
2. Eat: 2/2
3. Sleep: 2/2
4. Repeat? Did route and meal planning for my backpacking trip.

Wednesday 9/17

A -much- more productive day.  Got up early, made a huge breakfast, hit the gym, walked the dog, stopped by the chiropractor who's been working on tapping my hips back into alignment.  Did a bunch of bodyweight glute activation work.  Watched Barbell Shrugged while canning tomatoes, like you do.  Hit REI for a few more trip items.

1. Workout: Success! 1/2
   Squat (hip crease muscles are still nagging when I come out of the bottom of the squat, ugh.)
   80x2x5
   Deadlift
   145x4x1 PR
   Bench
   80x3x5 PR
   Cable Rows
   40x3x15
   One Arm DB Row
   35x1x10 40x1x10
2. Eat: Success!  3/7
3. Sleep: Fail.  2/7 (I stayed up late last night watching MST3k...)
4. Repeat? Cooked and pureed 30 lbs of tomatoes for storage. 

ohowdee.

78x1 PR

 

Hi! Your challenge looks fantastic, and yay for this^!

A boot?! Agh! But of course you're doing Armstrong like a boss.

Please tell me a swear jar is part of this challenge.

It's my favourite life plan!

 

My squats and bench were pretty close at the beginning, now there's 50kg between them. It happens. Things eventually even out if you work at them.

Oh yay, that gives me hope! 

Monday 5/15

I was in Portland for a couple days for kicks.  I love that town.  I spent the day at REI shopping for the rest of my backpacking gear, hanging around the downtown area, and drinking coffee, because Portland. I visited a farm outside the city and got 40lbs of heirloom tomatoes for canning, and then drove back to Seattle.

1. Workout: 0/3. Vacation day.
2. Food: +1
3. Sleep: +1
4. Etc: Nothing really applicable today.

This challenge is awesome!  Whole 30 while relocating to a new country?? Wicked.

 

Subquest 3: Work out 3 times per week

 

This made my day.

Wow, congrats on the ruck and good luck with the challenge!

This challenge is so coolness.  Do you work out at a strongman gym that supplies all the event equip?  And do you do your own programming?