ShieldofSteve

Damned Imbeciles! Why do you wish to fight? (It is our nature) From Final Fantasy 8 It is our nature to want something better for ourselves, as for me I have been to the gym with a broken arm, on crutches, and many others, I just know that it is for me and it is something that I love to do on the inside. I lift weights, ride my bike, do what I need to do not for anything external. I usually keep my meditations and mantras close at hand and use my gym time as a time to focus my mind, and turn off thoughts. For me going to the gym is my way of staying sane. Last year was the first time I could not go, and I got seriously depressed to the point it started costing me friendships. Good luck to you. I know that this is a hard place to be in.

Spent the last three days resting. Why you may ask? I set a new record for reps in squat. I got up to 5 in them on my max weight. Which is amazing, though I did not give myself any rest and did cardio the next day. I have spent the last three days "walking" around as if my legs would give out from under me at any given time. The pumps are a great feeling, the not being able to walk not so much. Tomorrow is my day with the trainer. I am going to test out my new max weights for both shoulder press and incline bench press, get some feedback on my form, make sure that I am lifting properly and to adjust my new max weights for lifts. Good luck everyone, now go move some iron.

Greetings. Today was cardio and even though I am not 100%, I still got in my time. I am excited to see how this month progresses. Next check in day is March 6th. 30 days after my last challenge. Which I have blown out of the water. Happy lifting everyone, now go move some iron.

I have a week of vacation coming up next week, who wants to meet up? Take some nerd fitness Photos, have some fun times, talk all things Nerdy etc.

I second the PvP, having someone to help you stay accountable and motivate you will hope you along the path. Good luck

Welcome, we are all friends here. any questions, just ask '

Nice. Some of the ones I have come across have been really good, others not so much. I have come across protein bars in ziploc, gift cards and even weed. There never seems to be an end to what people leave for others to find. Happy geocaching

Nice, I love geocaching. Congrats on the extra work out. Find anything good?

Greetings everyone Happy Valentines Survival day. I actually have a lot to talk about today. So here goes I started riding this week, which means I need more concentration at the gym to split time out of the gym. I have been reading about people doing a 5 X 5 workout, and for the first time in years, a lifting workout kicked my ass. I will even admit that I did not get to a 5th set of Squats. So here goes. Shoulder Press 5 sets x 5+reps where possible 50 lbs X 8, 50 X 5 50 X 5 50 X 5 50 X 5 Incline bench press (my fav bench press) 60 X 10 60 X 8 70 X 6 70 X 5 60 X 6 Pull ups all of which were assisted/offset. 5 sets, 5 reps, Sumo Deadlift 185 x 5 reps x 5 sets. I am not looking to do more than this with my rib. My rib has been healing well, and i am not looking to injure it again. Powerlifter Squat (also known as wide stance, or wide leg, powerlifter is what I have seen it referred to on other lifting sites) 225 X 8 315 x 6 365 x 4 (my legs were turning to jello 315 x 5 At this time, I had had it. Even with eating, carbing up, NO2, and protein, I was at the wall. I have never felt better. I even was able to work in with my trainer for squats, so hey free training. He is calling next Monday Max out Monday, as we are testing my new one rep maxes for shoulder press and incline bench press. I am not going to lie, I lift heavier weights than most of my friends weigh. It is incredibly discouraging to be around people who eat garbage all day and look the same or better than they did in the past. It is have been a huge struggle of mine as when I get comfortable, I tend to gain a lot of weight. None of them are as active as I am, some come close though. My training partner is the closest I have ever had to someone who liked being at the gym like I do. Speaking of Struggles, I have had a terrible one for many years that has only recently come to light. and I am working towards fixing and remedying it. I have suffered from Body dismorphia, except in not in a fat way, in a I think I am more muscular than I actually am. I have had to accept that while I am a heavy lifter, and I am following form correctly even on heavy weights, for the longest time I have thought that I had more muscle than I have. I always see that I am in great shape, that I can wear what I want, even if it is currently too small, or ill fitting. I have been battling losing weight, and thinking that I am further ahead than I really am. This has been a huge struggle for me, as I never thought about how much I gained last year between being in a healthy relationship and having MSRA. I gained something close to 100lbs, I never weighed myself, but cried the day I was at the doc's office and they told me I weighted 303. That was before I finished gaining weight. I never liked myself being heavy and did everything that I could to avoid not accepting it. I finally did something about it, when I was cleared, I took to Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA. I always liked the sports and if my gym had stayed open two more years, I would have at the very least tried out for it. My gym closed up and I drifted around, spent too much time away from the sports. And unlike old times, my favorite sports were happy to turn on me. My first jujitsu class, and I pinch a nerve in my knee. I was out for 3 weeks. Make it to my second class, and break a rib. So no jujitsu until I am much fitter than I am now. I tend to stop breathing in lock up, and need more mobility, i.e. less stomach. With my friend at my side, I have lost more than 30lbs, and 3 inches off of my stomach. Even more so, I am under 300 lbs for the first time since last June. That is my story, thanks for reading, good luck in your workouts. Now go move some iron.

Random awesomeness: having a workout partner who is just as determined as you rocks. I off handedly made a comment about sure I can go to the gym after 8 hours of work where I stand all day and run around most of it. I did, and I made it through another cardio session. Not my favorite, but I need it to help trim up the waist. Thanks for the quick read, now go get some sleep.

Workout today was very off. I am going to tell you that I did nothing right this morning. Things that I did wrong include 1) not eating before working out. I had a banana all morning. 2) no quick carbs or pre-workout nutrition, again all I had was a banana 3) No warm up/stretching, 4) Not going back and finishing. My partner had a nerve issue and after hanging out for a 1/2 hour, I felt for her and took her to get some ice and rest. Mean while, I have not issues other than a lack of sleep, so if you see a random hutgjkie that is the impact of my head on the keyboard. Lesson learned, I will not do that again. I got my bike back from shop, I get a tune up every year, I am going to need a new bike, because with the cost of the tune up and parts needed, It would be more than 1/2 the cost of the new bike I am looking at. The bike is off brand, and it is hard for my shop to parts for it. So I am going to get one in the near future. Look forward to seeing how everyone is doing, Now go move some Iron

I can help with most veggie/vegan meal planning. I have built diets for friends and I am well researched on that topic. Learning more about Paleo, but there is a lot of overlap between the two worlds save meat of course. Good luck to you. If you have any ?s feel free to ask the board or PM.

On the run I grab most of my fruits and veggies. An apple or a bell pepper is a quick grab, carrots or celery. It is up to you, I always keep a couple apples around. Otherwise all the other info posted is really good, I just finished bulk cooking foods.

Good luck with the early workouts, I know that I love them and actually switched to second shift so that I could work out in the mornings. I have too many excuses at night, and none in the mornings. Keep up the good cardio and lifting

Woot one week of accountability. Small success for me. I was having the hardest time getting myself to the gym, thankfully my training partner came through and motivated me to be here. It is good to have that. Warmup Leg extension 70 x 15 x 3 to get blood to the legs. Goblet Squat 105 x 6 (I could do more reps but started losing my grip as I was pulling off of 5 plates not a bench. None were free). 105 x 5 105 x 6 105 x 5 Odd numbers but effective. I can do glute to heel on these so I go for full range of motion when I go down. Sumo dead lift 135 x 10 185 x 4 - my rib started to hurt with this much weight, so I took off all extra weight and did form from here out. 135 x 10 135 x 10 Seated calf raise 135 x 10 x 4 I love working out calves. Does not look like much, but I took extended breaks in between the dead lifts and between the squats. I am also on vacation soon, so I am going to work out with a trainer on my new one rep maxes. Honestly, I lift more weight than most of my friends weigh. I have never had a lifting buddy or known someone else with the interest of heavy lifting. I have had a marathoner friend, a swim coach friend, many cyclists. So lifting with a body builder trainer is going to be an new experience. Thanks for reading. Good luck and happy training, now go move some iron.

If you have every heard of a prayer wheel, I took the same concept and turned my boxing and MMA gloves in to them. They have prayers covering them and when I am being humbled in the gym they help give me strength. These are they same that I say during meditations and when I am acting out of character. I am not a real gym talker other than my usual hello again, I do not keep a personal relationship with too many things at the gym.

Back on schedule Today is arm day, and while there is always a special place in hell for arm and ab exercises, they need to be done too. In my experience with myself if I attach these to another workout, I will forgo them to keep working out the main component. Even doing them first does not seem to help. So they get their own day. (except calves, I love to train those and I am super proud of them on me). Skull Crushers 40 x 15 warm up 80 x 10 80 x 10 80 x 10 Wide grip bicep curl 40 x 15 warm up 60 x 10 60 x 10 60 x 10 (I am stronger than I thought, I went for the 50 and someone grabbed it, in my experience, I tend to up and do fewer reps, I was surprised by this one) Close Grip Bicep curl 60 x 10 x 4 Tricep Press down / Overhead tricep extension no rest after the first only after second. 50 x 10 x 4 50 x 10 x 4 Weighted decline ab crunch 10lbs to failure 25 lbs to failure 25 lbs to failure 45 lbs to failure Reverse Crunch emphasis on each vertebrae touch the bench 5 5 3 2 No so strong there, but they beat crunches any day. I did cardio again. Not a super fan of cardio, not when the sun is in my eyes and I have nothing to listen to, though having a friend there helps me through it. @ETFNerd I am not one to look for gym bunnies, mostly because my partner is attractive and she helps me focus. She also gives me death glares over lifting. She is working on strength training with me and is putting up some respectable weights. Personally, I would rather see a girl in a t shirt lifting than a girl in a low cut top walking on a treadmill or standing around trying to show off. That is what bars are for. I hope everyone is getting closer towards their goals, I am working on mine, the cardio thing, I have until March 6th, adding in at least a 1/2 hour of cardio into my workouts. My female partner mentioned above, has to add 10lbs to every major muscle exercise and 5 to every minor. She works out more often and does different training than I do. Wish us luck, Now go move some Iron

I have had some luck with Chemisty and some niche sites. I have made friends and learned a lot from them, I do stay away from free sites because I am a guy and it is harder being a guy competing on a free site. You do get what you pay for on this front. Now I also suggest offline dating. Instead of finding sites for dating, find sites for hobbies, games, and go to meet ups and do things. I have met many single people who are out there not on sites doing what they love or just out having fun. Join a cause event, I enjoyed doing the heartland AIDS ride for a couple years, I met many people, single or people who would become friends down the line. Good luck.

Funny, they look cool, but I have not worn socks in almost 3 years.

Thanks ETFnerd for the feedback, while anabolism is cool and I like growth, I am not on a schedule/diet to grow. I workout doing every part once a week mostly because so I do not hurt myself. I have found if I train 2x/part a week I tend to end out out for a week or two. While I have done that in the past, I have injured myself. The best I have come across is a 2x a split that works out each group 2x a week with two workouts a day. I am looking to change things up in the summer when I have more opportunity to be outside. Todays workout. I am looking to get back on schedule tomorrow. Seated Plate Row 180 x 15 270 x 10 360 x 6 360 x 6 Lat pull downs 140 x 12 160 x 10 180 x 8 180 x 3 - I started laughing part way through and lost it. Face pulls (Not sure on the name, saw it during my research and added it to my routine. Basically a standing rope pull that works lats and rear deltoids). 30 x 15 52.5 x 10 52.5 x 10 52.5 x 10 This is new, and I enjoyed it. I will add it into my rotation of exercises. Low Row with secondary hyperextension 120 x 10 / 120 x 6 120 x 10 / 120 x 6 120 x 10 / 120 x 6 120 x 10 / 120 x 6 I am fairly consistent with numbers of reps and sets, I try to keep good form, hence when I lost lat pull downs I could not recover form. I actually did cardio today. I hate cardio. unless I am out on my bike, and I have not done cardio in what seems like forever anyways since I caught MSRA. I am proud of what I got done today, I am looking forward to tomorrow and some more working out. Today I was called out on how heavy I am, which makes me feel bad about it, though I came to terms being heavy last year when I was dealing with health issues. Now I am fully capable of working out and getting back to where I like to be. Off to play Dragon Age Thanks for reading, Now go move some Iron.

Today's workout was pretty haphazard, my workout partner and I have opposite injuries. I can bend she cannot. She can put weight on her frame, I cannot. So we did shoulders. Today's was shoulder press starter weight at 40lbs, 70lbs, 70lbs, 60lbs, 60lbs. Shoulder T-Cross (front raise, front to side, side to front, lower to hip) T cross can be super tough, we did a warm up, then a 1 hold (each emphasis transition point), Then a 2 out (hold extended at sides for double the amount you hold in front of you), finally a sholder rotation before the last lower add in. (I did 15lbs) Upright row, using 95lbs. x3 not much, but enough to feel it. Rear deltoid raise. 25, this is a hard one to keep form on without my forehead on a bench Cardio 25 mins elliptical. Thanks for reading and any comments, now go move some iron

Greetings everyone and thanks for reading. Goals: 1) I working towards being stronger, and building muscle. I love lifting heavy weights, and as I put up a new PR I will add it in to the bottom of my log. 2) I am an avid cyclist and I as the weather gets warmer I am going to start bike commuting to work, it is only 8 miles away. I usually get up to 100 miles a week during my riding peak. 3) I am in contests with two friends to see who can get better results in 6 months. Attack Plan: 1) I am currently on a bodybuilding workout plan, working one muscle group with heavy weights once a week, Sat and Sun off. I have had the best success with this, as I tend to lift in the high double/low triple digit dumbbells. 2) I have a ten mile loop by my house that is a fun ride, but still challenging. I try to push myself for time on this one. I ride when I have time, and if I am feeling good, I will do the loop twice. 3) I eat a mostly paleo diet, I get food from Door to Door organics, meat and veggies once a week, lasts all week. Huge time saver there. Workout Basic Break down. Monday: Chest Tuesday: Back Wednesday: Shoulder Thursday: Bi, Tri, Ab Friday: Legs Sat: Cardio/something active Sunday: Rest day I tend to do interspersed cardio and stretching/yoga during those day, though Not at the gym. I do warmups and cooldowns though. I eat 6 "meals" though I count pre workout and Post workout nutrition as meals. I change up my workouts when I am at the gym, I love dumbbells, so I am always looking up new things to do with them. Current Personal Records Chest: Incline dumbell press 105lbs(x2). Back: Barbell row 225 (x5) Legs: 365 Squat(x3)/ 720 Leg Press(x5) / 125 goblet squat (x7) Deadlift: Sumo deadlift No record, still building after back injury. Shoulders: Shoulder press 70lb dumbbells. (x5) That is pretty much my lifting life in a nut shell. Again thanks for read, now go move some iron

Great work.

There is a lot of great info here, and people are spot on for what the differences are. There is one thing that I would like to add and one I something that I have around. Bodyweight exercises are not always the best for overweight and obese people, the form and function is not always the best. Weights are a great way to ease into lifting and strength training. Animal forms, like those one global body movements are really good. My friend and I do those in the summer

Everyone needs rest. Depending on how I feel when I wake up I may take the day off to give myself time to recover from either an intense workout or stress from things like work. I almost always take Sunday off, though in the summers, I will still walk the dog 2 miles. Listen to your body, if you can keep going, keep going. If you need to take some of the pressures off, deload and focus on form. I workout 5-6 days a week. lifting and now more Cardio (XP). Good Luck