Vikingo

Definitely! I actually lost some weight during december. Not much, but still far better than gaining. And that while enduring a stressful time - I lost my job, and TONS of stuff broke down at home. If I STILL managed to eat more or less decently, I'm OK with it. I'm doing pretty well. Back to eating paleo-ish (cucumber subs have become a lunch staple!). Today's weight was 109.3, so it'd seem back on the good trend (I'm still a few days from having enough data for a moving average). I should get back to working out... but in my defense, I'm in the Southern Hemisphere, and it's been stupidly hot lately. Today I'm getting back to the archery range, tomorrow morning I hang the heavy bag for the first time in 2016.

The holidays were rough. Still, on my last weigh-in of 2015 I weighed 108.4 kgs, which means I lost 18kgs since I started. But New Year's weekend at my mother-in-law's packed a bigger punch than Christmas, apparently, and I'm almost 2kgs over that. A perfect point to renew my commitment - december was half-assed at best.

No big deal. Everything will kill you anyway, so I might as well just eat what I like (not that I indulge in EVERYTHING I like ALL the time).

Update: I'm now a Middleweight in amateur sumo!

Beyond walking/running, I can only imagine bodyweight circuits as being truly equipment free (while they're not what we normally think of as cardio, they'll get your heart pumping and help you burn calories, so I guess they count). Another option would be shadowboxing. There are a lot of good boxing tutorials on Youtube, just learn stance, footwork and basic punches and box a few rounds in front of your mirror, no gloves or wraps needed. Also, you could make your own equipment. Kettlebells are great to train endurance and raising your heart rate, and you can make a decent alternative using water or milk jugs. I actually bought a couple 20-liter water cooler jugs for this very purpose: they are unbalanced weights with a handle, and you can perform many of the standard kettlebell movements with them. Just filling them with water gives you a 20kg weight for a tiny fraction of the price. Sandbags are another piece of equipment you could make for very little money. If you're happen to find SOME budget for toys, there are a few relatively cheap options: A) Cycling. Probably the most expensive of these options, but also the most practical - a bike is something you can actually use to move around and save on gas/parking/public transport tickets/etc. Boxing. You can start by shadowboxing as I described above, and if you like it, you can buy a heavy bag, some cheap gloves and wraps. You won't break the bank, and they're fun toys. C) Kettlebells. If you don't like the homemade version described above (or if you liked them, but want to progress to something better), you can actually get the real thing for relatively little money, at least compared to other kinds of sports and fitness equipment. Over time, any of these will be much cheaper than a gym membership. Good luck!

I'm using SF Axiom+ limbs... so, yes, they're cheap limbs and it makes sense that they're on the hard side. I have no trouble shooting indoors, it's just a matter of wanting to progress to longer distances.

During my long, boring afternoons in the office, my staples are: 1) Water. Seriously, it helps if your snacking is more motivated by boredom or anxiety than hunger 2) Unsweetened tea or coffee. Same as above, plus I like the taste. 3) If I'm actually hungry, fruit. Unless you seriously overdo it, they're ok. In any case, they're much better than any processed snack that you'd be eating instead.

I'm in a similar, if slightly better situation. Inspiring my GF is one of the primary reasons I started working out and losing weight, she probably needs it even more than I do. So far, I've had mixed success: we eliminated soda from our meals, we don't eat candy or junk food any more, and she sometimes joins me with healthy meals. Problem is, we just share dinner, so we eat most of our meals on our own/at work. Still, even this half-hearted attempt on her part is better than nothing. Some people have already remarked that she looks like she's lost weight (she isn't weighing or otherwise measuring herself). I'm trying to get us to see a doctor together to see if I can make it sink in that while this is FAR better than nothing, it's still not enough. But as others have mentioned and I have experienced myself... it's hard. It's hard to get motivated and break the cycle. I totally understand her, because not long ago I was there too.

Interesting... Personally, I shoot Oly Recurve because that's what the closest/most convenient club specializes in, but I can't say I don't like any kind of bow. However, if I were to change divisions, it'd probably be to traditional (longbow/instinctive recurve). I enjoyed shooting a compound that belongs to another shooter at my club, but to me it's a bit like the Formula One of archery: it shoots arrows, it's technically the best performer among bows, but it looks more like an engineering experiment than an ancestral weapon, just like Formula One cars look like anything but cars.

My workout playlist is mostly Metal/Hard Rock, with some punk thrown in. Just for variety's sake, I'll share a couple songs that are out of most of your radars for geographical/linguistic reasons: https://www.youtube.com/embed/FIw04_pZ-C8 https://www.youtube.com/embed/vpRGRkC3zfY https://www.youtube.com/embed/axFRn-McJ9Y

Figured I had to post my own beard here.

Drawing the bow without releasing won't hurt it as long as you're not dry firing. It's far less violent than an actual release. Take into account that avoiding dry firing is more complicated than it sounds: the release is partially unconscious, you might loose the arrow accidentally (I'll sometimes do that when I hear my clicker going off... which is why I normally only draw my bow while pointing at a target, even if I'm just a couple meters away). I don't know what kind of bow you use, but if you're a recurve person I see no reason that drawing the bow won't be an adequate exercise, esp. if you're using a clicker. Check out KSL's SPT (Specific Physical training) exercises. While we're at the topic of exercise and archery, I'd like to add a question: What's the best exercise to increase your draw weight, short of buying heavier limbs to practice? I'm currently drawing 30# limbs (but weighed at 35# at my draw length of 31.5"), and while it's more than enough for indoor archery, I'd like to add a few lbs. more power before going outdoors. (I'm sorry, if you feel this might derail the thread I'd be happy to move it to a new one).

Beyond what's already been mentioned, I've been lately using eggplant more and more for my lower carb breakfasts. Toasted eggplant slices are great to put spreads, cheese or meats on, or to dip in egg yolk.

Well, if this thread is alive, I have to chip in I've been shooting Olympic Recurve for a little over a year. Indoor only, for the time being. I'm getting pretty good at it, and I hope to be a part of my club's team next season (living in the southern hemisphere, our indoor archery season goes from Feb-March thru August).

Not an Academy member, but it sounds like a lot of water.

It's a bit disappointing when you start in the heaviest category in any sport/MA, but after that point it's more fun than just fixating on a number.

Actually, my next targeted weight class was Amateur Sumo Middleweight, which is under 115kgs

Since I last posted here, I've been experimenting with eggplant as a bread replacement. It's pretty good. Slice it thin, sprinkle salt on it and bake or toast the slices to dry them a bit. Tastes great as sandwiches or with spreads.

Two weeks later, I'm now at 116kgs. In two and a half months, I've lost 10 kgs!

I'm with roundoff. While I'm not doing strict paleo at the moment, I've always understood nuts (and their derived products) to be a paleo treat, not a mainstay. But it's definitely possible to avoid bread. For instance, I tried to wrap some diced chicken in chard yesterday, and while I need to work on my wrapping skills, the result was delicious. To me, that's more the point of avoiding bread: to replace it with meat or veggies.

Weighed myself today and I'm at 118kg. I started at 126,5kgs, and lost over 2.5kgs since last Friday, (I can't decide if it's impressive or scary!). Anyway, I'm no longer a Super Heavyweight in MMA. Not that I train or intend to fight in MMA matches, I'm just using the weight class as a milestone. There's a sport in which I'm no longer in the heaviest class!

Does hitting a heavy bag count as HIIT? It's definitely longer intervals than Tabata, but I've heard it described as such. If it qualifies, it's a form of HIIT I enjoy (and if it doesn't... then it's my favorite form of cardio)

Thanks for the tip! Still, I think I'll probably wait a bit before trying gyms... If I decide I hate bodyweight, I'll give it a try. For now, I'll keep working out at home as it's more convenient and less socially awkward... plus you can't beat the cost! I'm sure you'll love those archery lessons. Newbie gains feel awesome and really fun. Not that I don't find training for competition fun, it's just a different kind of more masochistic fun

Bueno, dado que no hay un hilo de Argentina, armo uno. Soy de Olivos (GBA Norte). Si alguien aparece, chiflen.

Hi, I've been reading the NF blog for the last month or so, and I decided it was time to join and post. I'm a 30 year old guy from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'm asthmatic and have relatively poor motor skills, which coupled to my nerdy disposition meant that I always hated sports and exercise. I became a terribly sedentary person. Well, a bit over a year ago I started practicing archery, and loving it. For the first time in my life I actually enjoyed practicing a sport. I think that changed my perspective quite a bit. I started seeing myself as an athlete, so I'm less resistant to exercising and cleaning up my diet. A couple months ago I was shooting a tournament and I started getting dizzy just before releasing my arrows, particularly the last arrow in each end. Needless to say, that didn't help my scores. I decided that I needed to improve my aerobic capacity. After weighing several cardio options, I bought a heavy bag and gloves, and I made it a habit to spend a few rounds hitting it, three days a week. I also cleaned up my diet. The first few weeks I concentrated on ditching soda, candy and junk food, then I removed sugar, and now I'm trying to go as Paleo as possible (I'm mostly orthodox paleo/primal til dinner, and then it's up to my GF, although we're both gradually cleaning up gradually). When I bought the heavy bag (early august) I weighed 126,5 kgs. Last time I weighed myself (last Friday) I was down to 120,8. I'm also improving on other fronts - now I can sprint to catch a bus or a train without triggering a bronchospasm, I've been adding more rounds to my boxing workouts without getting winded. Of course, I no longer get dizzy while shooting. This week I decided to start adding some bodyweight exercises to my morning routine. I like the idea of strength training, but I HATE gyms with a passion. To me, they're torture chambers - they're full of machines designed to stress your muscles and bring pain. And I don't want to argue with trainers about my ideal routine. So bodyweight it is for now, maybe someday I'll buy dumbbells or kettlebells. Anyway, that's me. I'm pretty happy with the way things are going, and I hope to keep on the right track. Glad to be a part of the community!