Martinpanduh

Great job dude! I'm so impressed with your commitment to your food logs and the food you're listing all sound so good! Alas, I'm resigned to the food actually served at both my house and the office (lol kinda sounds bad--but it's true) so I don't actually do anything proactive to eat healthier. Solid effort, looking forward to you reaping your goals at the end of the challenge! Good luck.

Bonjour, ca va bien? Comment-vas ton francais? HAHA my very VERY limited French, I checked out your French blog and I couldn't find any updates. How goes your practice? I studied the language in college quite extensively, I can still read and understand but because of my first job (and heritage) I'm not more fluent in Spanish. As for the sweets, just remember those could really add up. Quite the struggle to quit them completely but every single step helps! Don't give up

How are you doing? I'm excited for you to maintain your progress! Great job on resisting the pasta, especially when it was already right there in front of you hahaha. Kudos. Keep us posted!

Heavy day today! Just got back from an awesome workout, can't say the same for my food intake, however. I ate so much at work today (our lunches are subsidized, semi-family style so there's always a lot of food). I eat Paleo though so it's not as bad as it sounds but ugh, I feel this is really hampering my progress. Too much calories. Had a field day with the afternood merienda too. It's Spanish/Filipino thing for mid-afternoon snack. Terrible, it was fruit though so whatever. At any rate, will try to eat less tomorrow. As for the workout, pulled out 5x5 of 220lbs + bar squats, 120lbs + bar chest press (felt more solid than ever!) and then 220lbs + bar deadlift. After it all, pulled out a steady state run of 10kph for 19 minutes, with the last minute at 12kph. I have to say, that's a great sign of my running stamina improving. Sustaining that speed used to be hell for me just even at 3 minutes alternating between 8kph and 10kph, I'm happy. This increased cardio thing is doing wonders for my fitness! See y'all in two days.

Light workout today! I did 5x5 of 65lbs + bar overhead press (getting heavy), 75lbs + bar barbell rows (not quite yet) and then 45lbs + bar bicep curls. In between each of these, did 3x5 chin ups--still quite the bitch to pull off but I'm just hanging in there. After I did the Bear Complex, 5x5 with 45lbs + bar. Felt pretty light compared to my max load of 60lbs + bar yesterday but will ramp up in time. After, I was winded but felt like I still had some juice in me so I ran for 10 minutes at 10kph (wow, I'm really getting my endurance back on the running) and sprinted at 12kph for the last minute. Pretty good, diet was okay too today. Nothing major. See y'all on the flipside!

Doing great so far! Those numbers are pretty awesome (front squat work weight etc.) looking forward to your gains!

I'm so amazed and proud of you girl, you really embody Steve's whole motto of "level up your life, one day at a time!" LET'S GO! And omfg, so excited for you and Tough Mudder! Post pictures!

Solid goals! How are you doing?

Great job Prefect! I can totally relate with the running without eating 8 hours before thing, but it's such a hassle for when you're short on time in the morning. These days I can barely get myself out of bed, let alone go for a run. So I had to move my cardio to after work, I just trained myself to power through it (and made sure to have consumed nothing heavy at least an hour before) and then, there, I learned to stomach it. Literally. Honestly I'm still amazed that your Bench/Barbell Rows are almost at par with your Squat work weight, just goes to show how high your potential is!

Really can't imagine going on an intermittent fast, weren't you going crazy with hunger? Hahaha an hour away from lunch break at the office and I'm already going bonkers.

Hey guys! End of the second week, how are y'all faring? I'm going to be honest, I had bender on Thursday which didn't allow me to work out until today, Sunday. Bad eating, no exercise--the usual tropes. But counting today, at least I did 4/5 planned workouts for this week, only missing one but all in all, I could've done better. ANYWAY. So today's my weighing day (scale lol, sucks) and lo and behold, after 2 weeks of intense workouts, I gained what seems to be 3 more pounds from my starting weight of 210. It's bananas, I felt like such an idiot when I saw it. But honestly at this point, I feel stronger and faster (run-wise) than I've ever been, I'm not taking it too seriously but it's enough to put me into action of finding another way of measuring my progress. I took measurements (hopefully, those won't lie) and not only that: I'm going to post (half)naked pictures of myself on here just to show you guys, and myself, where all this is going. Well here goes: Forgive the stupid blurry picture (and my overall state of FAT) but yeah, this is me--in my tiny rowing shorts at 5'10, 213lbs. Chest measures in at 43 inches and the biggest part of my stomach (belly button line) at 41.5 inches. I'm pretty happy with those numbers (hey, at least my stomach circumference is smaller than my chest). Just for reference, here I am at my thinnest (peak of my rowing career, almost 2 years ago--ignore the girl, we're frenemies now) lol I was 5'10 (surprise) and 193lbs. But I have to say, I was not as muscular then as I am now but you could really see how thin my face/torso was and I kinda miss it. Really aiming for myself to reach sub-200, ideally 180lbs. I know in order to reach that goal, I need to watch my diet more. And seriously, this I swear, will try to ramp it up this week. So finally, today's workout: I did a serious interval run on the treadmill 3/2/1 (minutes) of 8kph/10kph/12kph alternating for a total of 20 minutes. After that I did the Bear Complex, increased my starting weight by 5lbs. So I started at 40lbs + bar for 7 reps, 5 sets. It was deathly, right up until the end. All for now! Be nice to my pictures! Hope they motivate me to RAMP IT UP. Thanks.

Congrats on the first week! Intensely happy for you. I have to say, in proportion to your squat working weight, your overhead press is at a good place! Keep it up, I'm sure your legs will follow suit if you just keep at it. Well on the way, I'd say! /Rhyme Goodluck this week!

Seems like everyone hit a storm last challenge, but yeah onward we go! Time to kick butt! Good luck on your 5x5 lifts! Oh my god, I totally deloaded. My max 5x5 from last challenge was 275lbs + bar, it was crazy! I took 5 minute rests in between sets. Took 30 seconds per single lift, it was that intense. I'm not sure if I want to go back up there, especially now that I'm incorporating more cardio to lose the fat. I'm capping myself at 250lbs + bar squat. Slowly getting there! So today, technically supposed to be my real rest day but I have plans tomorrow night so moved my heavy day today. Thankfully, wasn't sore at all. Pulled out 5x5 of 215lbs + bar squat, 115lbs + bar chest press and 215lbs + bar deadlift. After that, put in a 20 minute interval run on the treadmill for 8/10/12kph. Getting stronger on the runs, I can't feel it. Not as tired, can totally ramp up my intervals. As for the eats today, only thing bad I ate was a few cups of crispy corn. This native kind of junk food, that is 140 calories per cup. Not bad but I totally didn't need it in hindsight. Excited to check in on the scale on Sunday to see if my efforts are paying off! If they aren't, time to re-asses everything. Feels great!

Good day today, didn't eat anything out of the ordinary. Just had a lot of fruit for snacks. Some green mango and an apple throughout the day. Had a light workout after I got home today, put in some 5x5 60lbs + bar overhead press, 70lbs + bar bent over row and 40lbs + bar bicep curls. With 5 reps x 3 sets of chin ups in between. After, I did 40lbs + bar 5x5 of the Bear Complex with 1 minute rest between each rep. Tiring, but yeah this is technically an off-day. Pretty happy!

I say this is the challenge we haul ass and redeem ourselves, yeah?

Lol the way you cut my quote, makes it sound like I intend to weigh myself naked. You know, without my kit on HAHA! But yeah, I just thought I'd lose a bit of weight for all my efforts. Honestly right now, diet could be bitter but I'm doing a great job of avoiding all the sweets, junk food and chocolate. Isn't easy when there's a lull in the office. My boss is a pretty well known designer in Manila, and clients send him cake and chocolate almost every waking hour. He's on a diet too so he sends it straight up to our office. Yikes. At any rate, today was a good workout. I put in 5x5 of 210lbs + bar squats, same weight 5x5 of deadlifts and 110lbs + bar chest press in between both. It's a heavy weight day for me, then I put in 20 minutes of 8kph/10/12 interval run on the treadmill for cardio. Looking forward to tomorrow's lighter/CF day! Whew, felt pretty winded after but feels great now. Doesn't it feel really good to eat a big meal (Paleo, mind you) after a good workout? Tastes twice as good hahaha. Maybe this is why I'm still fat, at any rate. See y'all tomorrow!

Finally, got to put in some running time this Sunday! I weighed myself again today, just for kicks. NO CHANGE! I'm still around 210 pounds, yikes but it isn't bothering me. I had my kit on (lol kit = ipod, shoes etc. etc.) so probably was inaccurate. I had a bad dinner yesterday though, I mean I ate too much at a party--looking forward to burning it all away. Today I ran 20 minutes of varying intensities 8kph/10/12. And then I pulled out 7 sets of 5 reps of the Bear complex, with varying weights. Started out with 30lbs + bar then 35/40/45/50/55 and then 60lbs + bar for the final set. I finished it at 18 something minutes, it was intense but definitely could've done it faster. Here's to a good week everyone! Cheers!

Thanks for the tips guys! Actually, I've already overcome the diet soda fixation. It's just I let myself go whenever there's some readily available. It's just a simple choice for me these days, but yeah, I let it get the better of me sometimes. @Samantha, thanks for checking in! Looking forward to see you progress this challenge! Today, got some time in the gym again. Increased all my weights by 5lbs. So, in between 5x5s of 55lbs + bar overhead press, 65lbs + bar bent over row, 35lbs + bar bicep curls (with ez bar), I put in some 3 sets x 5 reps of chin ups. After the weights, I did the Bear Complex 5x5, 45lbs + bar with a minute rest in between each set. Felt great after! Looking forward to do some running this weekend if time permits! Great first week!

Great job, really admire you for sitting down and banging out these super detailed posts! I find it challenging enough to haul-ass to the gym everyday after work hahaha! Those Team WODs seem like a lot of fun! HAHA "fun" in the sense that you've got that competitive team spirit working for you, but hell that sounded rough! Props for killing it.

Rest day yesterday! Man, were my legs super sore! I ate healthy the whole day (healthy meaning no chocolate/mindless snacking) but come dinner time, I ended up eating more than I bargained for. Bad but whatever, over it. Today I set out to do my heavy lifts + some time on the treadmill. Got in some 5x5 Squats of 205lbs + bar, 205lbs + bar deadlift (hurt my palms a lot, it's been a while) and then 105lbs + bar chest press in between. I was getting myself ready to run when my Grandmother called and I had to go back and help her out at home. Bummer, didn't get to run but the workout was pretty solid. As I type, my legs are still frakking sore and I missed this feeling! Great start to this challenge, goodluck to everyone!

So just checking in. Today I pulled out 3 sets of 5 chin ups in between my exercises. 5x5 (2 warm up sets) of overhead press with 50lbs + bar. 5x5 (2 warm up sets) of 60lbs + bar bent-over row. Then I did a 5x5 of barbell curl with the ez curl bar, 30lbs + the bar just to make things interesting. And for my cardio/CF component, I pulled out a 5x5 Bear with 40lbs + bar. Felt pretty okay to be honest, I mean I still got winded at the end of it all but definitely looking forward to increasing the weights. My legs are still sore as fu from yesterday, but funnily enough, whenever I put my gym shoes on--they go away, but now they are back with a vengeance. Cheers and good luck!

Thanks for the tips Spezzy! Actually, I owe my weight loss success two years ago to effectively killing my soda addiction. These days, I have a pretty good grasp on my resistance already but yeah, I need to include diet soda and plain-old complacency in order to make it 100% effective. As for Tabata, I have no idea what that is but I'll definitely research on it!

Hey guys! Last challenge was a complete and utter bust for me (several out of town/out of the country trips plus busy times at work). My schedule basically threw a wrench in my progress. But here I am again, I fixed my schedule and now I have ample time after work to get in a solid workout. Better late than never, right? As some of you may know, I was on a strict StrongLifts 5x5 regimen ever since late last year. My peak was 275lbs + bar squat just last month. I think I'm going to modify my workouts to add more emphasis on cardio and explosive crossfit type workouts. I haven't been getting the results I've been wanting for the past month, here's to hoping a change of pace will shake things up. I've regressed (bad eating + lack of exercise) back to 210lbs, according to the scale but I don't necessarily feel fatter (well my clothes are still cooperating) from a month back. Maybe it's muscle gain, who knows. I still have a giant gut to contend with and my plan for this month is to face it, once and for all. My solid goal for this month is to get my weight under 200lbs. If I manage to lose 2lbs/week on this six week challenge, that's well over 12lbs! Hopefully more. Believe me when I say that I shall try to pull-out all the stops, all the little steps to make this goal happen--no more congratulatory chocolates (the "hey, it isn't carbs!" excuse shan't be valid from here on out), no more sneaks of chips and most especially, no more soda. Diet or otherwise. My workouts for this month shall follow the base exercises of the 5x5 workout: namely squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlift, dumbell row. I'll still try to progress with a 5lb increment each week with a decent cap of 250lbs for the squat (considered my heavy day) and whatever cap I can reach with the other exercises. But my plan is to include an interval run on the treadmill OR a crossfit type workout (either Bear Complex or bodyweight circuit) to pad out my cardio goals. I will still maintain my 95% paleo approach to eating, it's the only thing that's preventing me from ballooning up to 300lbs so it's been a lifesaver. More to follow in the coming days! Today: I put in a 200lbs + bar squat (5 sets, 5 reps of varying weights for warmup) for 5x5, 100lbs chest press for 5x5 and finally a 20 minute run on the treadmill (4 minutes 8kph, 2 minutes 10kph rinse repeat). By the end of it all, I was wiped. Will totally feel this tomorrow, haven't been in the gym in weeks! Looking forward to read along with your goals and progress. I promise, this time I will stick this! Cheers!

I weighed myself yesterday and the combination of not having time to go to the gym/holiday eating has made me 209lbs. Totally two steps back but not to worry. I'm re-assessing my strategy and game plan for this challenge, I might do a lesser/not as heavy version of StrongLifts 5x5 just so I can put in more cardio time and cross-fit type exercises. I plan to make it to the gym at least 5/7 days in a week. Yesterday, I did an interval run 3/2/1 for 20 mins 8/10/12kph per minute respectively and then: Squat: 5x5 240lbs + bar (I did a total of 10 sets of 5 with varying weights, including warmup) pretty wiped after this. Today, I did a 20 minute run alternating 8kph and 10kph with: Bench Press 5x5 110lbs+ bar (Total of 7 sets, warm up etc.) went okay. Rested a bit then did 5x5 of 50lbs + bar Bear Complex with a minute rest in between. Pretty tough!

Got in some time again today, barely made it. But at least: Squat: 5x5 230lbs + bar (I did a total of 10 sets of 5 with varying weights, including warmup) trying to get it back! Bench Press 5x5 110lbs+ bar (Total of 7 sets, warm up etc.) testing the waters, went okay. Technique needs work though. All for now!