Triysle

Thanks for checking in! I haven't posted much on the forums lately. However, I am happy to announce that I've lost and kept off 35 lbs since setting my goals in September I'm setting a new challenge to maintain it through the holiday season, as I'm flying home to visit my family and...well, they really, really like to eat lol. As for my SMART quests, I still have a LONG road ahead (no pun intended) for my cardiovascular health. My body is becoming more quickly accustomed to anaerobic exercises than aerobic ones, and I'll need to balance things out more if I want to have a functionally fit body. The BBWW has served as an excellent warmup as long as I don't go all out (I usually do one circuit to get the blood flowing) and I've REALLY enjoyed learning about squats, deadlifts, and bench press. I went in thinking it was fairly basic but as it turns out there is a LOT of focus needed for proper form, stability, and mental game! Sadly, I have not done as well with my diet goals or my life quest. I was in a car accident a few weeks ago, and thankfully no one was injured. Unfortunately, my savings account has been wiped out (yay for high deductibles lol) which has made budgeting for anything other than gas to get to work difficult. My office has free snacks which I've been living off of until I sort it out, and obviously I can't really afford skating lessons. There is a free adult clinic during the week for which I've signed up. I had to wait until after the holidays, they were already booked up until Christmas. Oh...and I went on a couple of dates. So that's been great for my confidence and self esteem Thanks again for checking in!

So Veteran's Day came and went. I served honorably in the US Army for 8 years, though I'm not a combat veteran and I won't pretend to be a "war hero." My mum uploaded some old pictures of me. Here's how I looked about 10 years ago when I graduated Basic Combat Training: I remember all my buddies saying "enjoy it, you'll never look as good as you did when you finished BCT." Well, I don't accept that. It's definitely a long-term goal (in this pic I weighed about 160 lbs) but I'm not worried about the weight as much as I am the shape of my body back then. I actually think I was actually a bit too scrawny in this pic, but still - I want to look like this and feel invincible again. I'm going to print this out and tape it on the inside of my gym notebook cover. I used to look at old photos and just get discouraged, but thanks to this community I actually see it as a goal rather than the "good ol' days." Anyway, happy (belated) Veteran's Day and thank you to all who served, regardless of your military branch or nation.

Week 1 Mini Dungeon http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/56508-here-for-the-full-challenge-this-time/?p=1276560

Week 1 Mini-Dungeon - SMART questionnaire Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable? I'm still on track for 1 January. I was considering changing the goal to focus less on the weight loss, but it's a starting point for now. I've lost 20 lbs in the past two months and 6 inches off my waistline. I'm tempering the weight loss goal with other measurements, but I want to continue to strive for the number; it's just easier to measure Do your 3 quests all build towards your main quest in little ways, or are you taking on too much? Do your quests have sub-quests or is it just one thing to focus on? Thanks to my partial participation in the last challenge I have a much better idea of how I needed to tweak the previous goals. I've adjusted the cardio and workout routines to accommodate my progress from the last few weeks, and I've decided to leave my diet goal as-is to reinforce the lifestyle change I'm making. Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them? ​I intend to spend later challenges focusing on smaller areas of improvement, but for now I'm seeing success with the overall changes. I'm confident that they're realistic as written. Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them? ​The cardio goal is measured solely by time, not distance. I do check the trail length as an added metric but it does not affect my goal. The diet goal is simple - make enough food and package it up as I cook it. There were a couple times it only lasted for two days, but I have a much clearer sense of how much I need to cook to last me half the week. The workout goal, initially, is to focus on form and lower weight with more reps. I'll increase the weight as I become more comfortable with the body movements. How are you grading your goals? Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)? Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€? ​I've had a few "make up" days where my work or commute forced me to take short lunches. It's pass/fail, but there's no good reason to fail since I can complete it before or after work if I miss it during a lunch. What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured? ​I'm very aware of the risk of doing too much too soon. Dealing with DOMS was a big issue the first month, so I altered the routine and added an extra half or full day of rest. Usually I'll switch in a Cardio day if i'm not ready for a good workout, and I'll make it up on the rest day (sunday). In the event of a major injury or illness, I'll focus on healing and recovering first before diving back in and injuring myself further. Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Labour Day, Independence Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge? What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those? ​The gym is closed on the holidays but I have alternate workout plans (bodyweight routines, and I have some acceptable substitute equipment in my house in a pinch) ready to use during the holiday season Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another? ​Cardio, resistance, and diet. They're all designed to work alongside each other and enhance my results, not interfere. Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set? If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them? ​Yep! I usually go on my lunch break, but on weekends I'll go hiking or biking with some friends (or alone, if necessary). Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest? ​The main habit was the diet change. The workouts were surprisingly easy to maintain once I had the energy from the diet change. That's why I kept the diet goal as-is; I want to keep building that habit!

Hello fellow rebels! I joined the site last month, but did not fully participate in the last 6-week challenge. Thus, I'm here now to throw my hat into the ring completely Triysle - Level 1 Human Adventurer Main Quest - Lose 30 lbs by Jan 1st, 2015 SMART Quests Jog/walk/hike for at least 45 minutes 3 times a week Goal - get the jog part up to 15 minutes by the end of the challenge Continue to cook my own meals every Sunday to last me at least 3 lunches during the work week. Goal - Maintain this habit to reinforce the lifestyle change Using the BBWW as a warmup, complete my full body compound movement routine 3 times per week. Goal - SQUATS! SQUATS! SQUATS! OMG MOAR SQUATS! Life Quest Save up and take ice skating lessons at least three times before the end of the challenge. Motivation Recognize my accomplishments but continue to build on my previous successes. Don't fall in to the trap of settling for a minor achievement when I can strive for a major milestone! Intro Post - Clicky Clicky Story Time! (Used Spoiler to avoid giant wall o' text)

Eating right, yes. All the chicken, fish, veggies, and rice a guy could want Sleeping right...ehh. I rarely stay up late, but I'm still waking up frequently throughout the night (dealing some life issues, but it's getting better, albeit slowly). That might be contributing to the halt in progress, hadn't even considered they'd be related. Thanks for the tip! I always give myself at least 1 rest day but no more than 2 between workouts. Otherwise I'm useless for 3 or more days if I push too hard, and that'll just slow me down more. I'm gonna try cutting the lunge sets in half, and possibly the squats as well so that I can complete 3 circuits. Then I'll add reps back until I can do the full 20 for each in all three circuits. Obviously hammering on full sets for the first two circuits hasn't been working. I'll report back with the results in a couple weeks, and this will probably end up being a goal for the next challenge.

Well, it's been a month...but damn, what a month it was. Let's do the numbers first, as they're easier. Went from almost 260lbs to a consistent 240. Dropped 4 inches from my waistline (have to go pant shopping soon, lol). Went from failure in just one circuit of the BBWW to almost completing three full ones. I've had more baked/stir-fried chicken and fish this month than the rest of my life combined, and I've saved a ton of money and learned a bunch of fun new recipes. I got music back into my life, and performed two shows already. I've also gotten back into writing, and one of my pieces has already been published by the International Game Developers Association! I signed up for Tough Mudder in Tahoe, and while June seems far away I know I'll need every minute to train and prepare myself for it. I failed out after four obstacles in 2012; this year I'm finishing, no matter how long it takes! I even started building a team with my coworkers and we're gonna start training together. My ex found a place of her own and the space, while sometimes lonely and scary, has given me a chance to really focus on my own life again. I'm going shopping for some new furniture and my new roommate brought in some nifty kitchen appliances I want to try (Foreman Grilled Chicken, woo!!). I decided to stay at level 1 for the next challenge since I joined in the middle of it. I definitely feel like I've accomplished quite a bit, but I still have a lot to learn about myself and about the various guilds and community here. Many of you have helped so much, from giving workout and nutrition advice to just acknowledging my struggle and relating your own stories. I ended up lurking quite a bit the past couple weeks but you guys continued to reach out via PMs and replies. Thanks for not leaving me behind Can't wait to see where I'm at in another month, and I look forward to adventuring onwards with all of you!

I rest for 10-15 seconds between sets (enough to catch my breath and reset) when I reach failure but for the first two circuits I try not to stop at all within a single exercise. I usually take about 30 seconds between exercises, and a full minute or two between circuits. My warmup comprises my jog to the gym (about a quarter mile) followed by joint rotations and light stretching. I save the deep stretching until after the workout as that seems to give me better results and less DOMS. I am able to complete the third circuit in normal time if I cut the walking lunges in half. If I struggle to hit the 20 mark (usually end up doing 4-5 sets of 5 lunges or less) then I end up stopping the circuit completely for a few minutes before going back to it and finishing. I expected to see thing slow down once I got through the initial burst of gains, but for the past two weeks it's literally been a wall, and since it's in the same place every time I figured I needed to change something up to get past it. Thanks for the feedback I'll continue adjusting this week and next week. Hopefully I'll have some improved results to report soon

Sup fellow rebels! I started doing the BBWW about 6 weeks ago and was loving the results for the first 4 weeks. For the past two weeks I've been stuck at 2.5 circuits, and I always get stuck about halfway through the walking lunges in the third circuit. I've tried increasing rest times between sets/circuits and this past week tried going through the reps faster, but I didn't want to sacrifice form just to get through a third circuit. I'm hoping to get some tips for some adjustments to try, because I really want to get through three GOOD circuits before the next challenge. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Quick update - When I started trying the different workouts here three weeks ago, I could barely do 1 or 2 good pushups. I couldn't squat at all, and lunges were painful after just a couple. My rows were at 20 lbs max and that was pushing it. Overall, my body had just enough functional strength to keep me walking upright. I haven't skipped a gym day (I go on M/W/F) and I've logged every workout so far. Yesterday I was able to complete 1 full circuit of the BBWW without extended resting between exercises or cheating on reps/form. Felt pretty awesome Lunges still suck though lol. I still have a ton of work to do and lots of gains to achieve. Next up is getting through a second circuit without stopping!

Thanks for the advice folks! I'll definitely try to wean off of the carbonated water down the road, especially if it could inadvertently lead me back to soda. As for the DOMS, I think an extra rest day is going to pay off for me. I feel way more comfortable with the level of soreness today and leading into tomorrow I think I'll be good to go! So this weekend was a blast. The gig was incredible. I forgot how awesome it felt to be on stage and have an audience cheering and clapping for me (I've spent the last three years IN the audience, lol). After the gig, one of the sailing clubs was offering free sailboat rides and I thought "why the hell not?" Since I was by myself I got paired with another group (a family) and they even let me steer! Now to save up the $1600 for sailing lessons so I can go out any time, lol. After that I headed up to a co-workers apartment for some board games, which was a ton of fun. I haven't expanded my social circles in years and it felt really good to get out of the house, off the computer, and be around live people for a change! Today, I got a couple of buddies together for a hike through the trails of Garin Park. We challenged ourselves with one of the hillier routes and by the end of it I was breathing pretty hard (and my glutes were on FIRE). Then we hiked back down and had some lunch. Tomorrow is a gym day (first of week 3) and I'm still looking forward to it. I feel like I'm re-learning the capabilities of my body after putting garbage into it for so long. I'm hoping the squats and lunges won't be as debilitating as they were last week, but if they are I'll continue to adjust to compensate. Thanks again for all the support!

It's been a hell of a week. Today marks two weeks without skipping a gym day, which is a lifetime first for me. I haven't stopped for fast food, I haven't had a single soda, and thanks to some tips from the Paleo Diet guides I've had plenty of fish, chicken, rice, fruit, nuts, and veggies to keep me from having any cravings. I even made a salad this morning (lettuce, peppers, and cucumber with a bit of ground black pepper to season)! Insane! Diet question - Is carbonated water a good substitute for soda? My workplace has free bottles of Crystal Geyser water (plain and flavored) and it's really helped me kick the soda cravings since I still get the fizzy texture. My research has led to some conflicting information over if it's good or bad for my body, though. I wasn't able to complete the full reps for the Beginner's Bodyweight workout today for the squats and lunges. My quads were still burning from Wednesday and I didn't want to overtrain or injure myself, so I did a long warmup on a bike with low resistance and did limited reps for each set within the circuits. My research for sore muscle training varied quite a bit as well, ranging from "train hard and work it out" to "don't do anything at all" so I went for the middle ground and did a light workout. Fitness question - Given the above information, does anyone have recommendations on how I could adjust or change for future "sore days?" I've never gone to the gym sore (I usually used it as an excuse to skip entirely) so I'm still trying to measure my limits to avoid injury. I've made significant progress on my life goal as well! My visit to the local community band went so well that they gave me a horn and invited me to perform with them this weekend at a city festival! It's been three years since I've had a gig, and it feels amazing to have music back in my life again. I also wrote an article for a special interest group in one of the largest collective organizations in my industry. It's still under review but I'm hoping it'll get published on their website, which will be another first for me! I have one fear that's nagging me, and that's finding a roommate so I won't have to move out in November. I'm hopeful that someone at my work, within my circle of friends, or even someone on Craigslist will respond soon. I've also worked really hard to get past the "what if" mentality that's been plaguing me since the break up. I kept circling back to "if only I'd started sooner" and "if I'd just worked harder" but I'm gradually learning to focus on the present. Having a goal each day really helps, even something as simple as going for a walk for a set amount of time or cooking certain meals. And you folks, all of you...you've really helped. The ones who reply, the ones who post their own threads, even the ones who lurk - I'm really feeling the community vibe and looking forward to sharing my story every couple of days. Thanks for reading

Not at all man, I appreciate you sharing your story. As for waiting for three years - that's actually what happened to me. I gained most of this weight three years ago and only recently starting re-discovering the things I liked about myself (found a couple of new things, too). I've taken steps physically and psychologically the past couple of weeks to get over my past and deal with the present. It's scary as hell, not gonna lie. But I'm slowing feeling better about myself more and more each day, and I'm getting back into activities that I left behind years ago. I'm due for an update in my challenge thread tomorrow, so I'll share more details there. I just finished a writing assignment and I'm heading off to bed for now. Thanks again, to all of you, for being honest, supportive, and generally just good people.

Hi everyone. I'm a bit late to the game but I'm catching up! Week 1 challenge - see the second post in my challenge thread. Week 2 challenge - Part 1 - you can see my siggy Part 3 - I'm following Lalie and Petra since they have similar goals to mine! Week 3 challenge - I'll need some time to make an accurate assessment since I really only started this week.

Hi there fellow Bard! I'm a brass/percussion guy myself, but strings are cool too! My goals are similar to yours - weight loss combined with strength gain achieved by consistent training and a real focus on eating healthier. I don't know how busy you are with work/life/etc but I'm discovering that it's way easier than I expected to cook a big pot of rice and some stir fry on the weekend, and have leftovers for lunch at work throughout the week. It's been a lot easier (and cheaper!) than hitting up that fast food joint on the way home from work For your pushup goal - I'm also struggling! I was able to do 5 "normal" pushups today, which is really sobering given that just a few years ago I was knocking out 50+. Get excited for that first real pushup - it'll be an awesome feeling! Good luck with your goals!