Bighara

I am a fan of Jarrow's whey powder, as they offer an unflavored option. ( @otterbyte doesn't like the chocolate or vanilla, and I am indifferent). You can get it pretty reasonably on Amazon. I don't like getting all/most of my protein from things like powders, but they do help get the numbers up a notch or two. I tend to cook up a bunch of chicken and a few salmon fillets ahead of time. I also will do things like grill a large piece of flat iron steak or similar for the family to pick from over a few days. When I'm ambitious and the weather cooperates, I'll fire up the smoker for brined chicken, sweet potatoes, and a roast or brisket.

Good progress this past weekend. I got the shelves down in the basement yesterday and today I picked up the weight bench from Dick's and assembled it! I even got a bodyweight/dumbbell workout in today. I've shifted over from a weight loss calorie schedule on LoseIt! to weight maintenance. I'll be working on dropping some more fat and adding lean mass though. Up to 150g of protein a day. Oof! That's a lot of whey powder and chicken breasts.

In addition to the kickboxing, which incorporates some bodyweight conditioning (though really it's more cardio/fat burn than true strength training), I've gone back to the weight room. I spent my first "session" gathering numbers for calculating 1RMs. My current schedule is 60-80 minutes 2/week, full body workout at 65-70% of 1RM 3x10 sets.Eventually I want to move to 4 sets, but I am just getting into the groove of things right now. Each major area is getting 2-3 stations. I am looking at possibly switching that to more like 30-40 minutes, 3-4/week, but splitting push/pull or by body area.

Let's start with the basics. I am a male in my late 40's. I am 5' 11" and currently weight in at 185 pounds and -according to the calipers- approximately 22% body fat, which means I have about 40 pounds of fat and 145 pounds of lean mass. I'm in good health.and have been working out steadily (kickboxing, bodyweight, etc.) for a year now. Now I want to -aheh- kick it up a notch. I want to get down to about 15% body fat and gain muscle while staying at or near my current weight. Roughly speaking, lose approximately 20 pounds of fat and gain 20 of muscle. So here's my question: My current diet plan is geared toward weight loss (eating at about a 300 calorie deficit). But it's not protein-heavy enough (100g) to see real gains. Should I bulk first, cut first, or try to "culk"? I'm worried that if I try to push the weight loss too aggressively I'll lose lean mass. Currently I'm leaning toward switching from strictly weight loss to a moderate gain model with low carb and high protein. My diet is pretty good (I think). I cook fresh foods, nearly all my current carbs are complex (whole grains and fruits), and avoid most junk/processed stuff. My biggest empty calorie weakness is the temptation to buy a bottle of wine for de-stress with @otterbyte after work.

The only way I find I can stay on top of meals:

Afternoon meeting cancelation! So I raced off to the office gym's weight room. So that box is checked at least! @otterbyte can't make our normal Thursday PM kickboxing class, so we'll try for the Friday 11AM one (It's my telework day, so I just take an early lunch break). I'm thinking I'll just hit the elliptical machine at the gym tomorrow or something.

Of course, rescheduled meetings have totally thrown off my workout schedule for the day, but I might get a bodyweight/heavy bag routine in at home (maybe?) How I feel on the bag How I probably look

So not a lot of news to report. The shoulder is much better, so the workouts are continuing (Yay me!). I have been inconsistent on the limber 11, though. Tracking is Lose It is going OK, although I was annoyed to get their message that I had to buy premium to continue linking my FitBit. Of course, they gave a 50% off deal as well, so it could have been worse, I suppose. Not much has happened on clearing the basement, sad to say. At first it was because I was resting my shoulder even from lifting boxing and shelves, etc. Now I just need to find some time. I'm taking next week off from work, so I still have a few days to get something done there. I'm back up a pound or so. Probably from no exercise for a week and a bit of self-medicating for the shoulder pain via wine.

Survived class. We'll see about tomorrow. It think part of my current fatugue the #@$%&! heat. It's been miserable and muggy here in the DC area for the past several days,

OK! It's been a week of rest. Time to start using muscles again! The neck is a little stiff, but not sore. I am going to try going to kickboxing class today (there's an AM class and I am teleworking, so I'll take an early lunch break). Assuming that doesn't mess me up, we'll try Saturday's class too and some limber 11 this weekend.Then maybe even back to the weight room on Monday. I am going to drop my % 1RM on the weights from 75% to 65% so I can keep stricter form.

A bit of a setback. On my arm workout Wednesday, I apparently messed up my left shoulder a bit. Specifically the upper trapezius on the side of my neck. It's not crippling, but I've had to go easy on the exercise the last few days (Thursday's kickboxing class was probably a mistake). @otterbyte has been having some shoulder trouble too (more joint than muscular though), so we skipped Saturday's AM class. I'm hoping a few days' rest will set things right. It's a bit frustrating because it's very hard not to use my arm. It's not bad unless I lift it above the shoulder or twist my neck at certain angles. Which I tend to do without thinking. Repeatedly. I have been trying to keep records of workouts and the Lose It! food entries. The weight has been relatively stable. Hopefully when the workouts start up again, it will drop a little more. The arm/neck pain has slowed the basement work, but maybe this weekend!

Oh yeah. I don't think I would ever try 48 hours straight as part of a regular plan. Something like Wed/Sun or similar would be the way to go. I don't think 48 is what was studied though. Honestly, I am also concerned about the fasting vs. trying for "dem gainz" in the weight room. If my protein intake is down that day, does it mess recovery muscle building up?

Well, I survived the 24 hours. That 9PM chicken panini was TASTY! @sarakingdom I've heard that too. I doubt I could manage 5:2, but 6:1 possibly. I might try it again next week with the idea of working up to 2/week. We'll see. I forgot to mention yesterday that I also got to 55 seconds on the jump rope (personal best!).

Chest/Arm workout is done. Not too hungry, actually. Muscles are like: But I don't think that is fast-related.

Let the Hunger Games Begin! Today is fasting day. Last food was a 9:00 last night. I've had a couple small cups of black coffee (no sugar) and that's it. I'll keep up with plenty of water and maybe an unsweetened ice tea at lunchtime. That's the plan anyway. I have a weight workout to do in about an hour, and I may "treat" myself to some unsweetened almond milk after that. The fast is trying out a 1 day/week IF schedule. We'll see how it goes from here.

mmm. sweet, nourishing recurve. I keep looking to start up archery again. Like you, I did it a jillion years ago in school (and Boy Scouts). I always liked it. At one point, there was an archery range at one of the county parks. I'll have to look into that. Of course, I am about to start Muay Thai and have just embarked on a strength/muscle building weight program, so maybe I shouldn't overload my plate. Although my daughter is a brown belt in TKD and has started fencing, I bet I could convince myself she wanted to shoot arrows with her old man!

Yesterday I worked out with weights (leg day, as previously mentioned). I am keeping a written log of weights and reps, as my previous strength training has been pretty haphazard. My new leather jump rope is NICE. Very smooth motion. The bearings keep it from fouling and the weight of the leather is a nice middle ground between a speed rope and a weighted one. I want to get to where I can consistently jump for 30-60 seconds without flubbing it. (Jump rope times are a promotion benchmark for the Muay Thai classes) Tonight is kickboxing, so no weight room this afternoon. Food is doing OK. I have another pre-measured tuna steak & brown rice meal ready for lunch. I confess I had a piece of french toast at the cafeteria this morning with coffee, but I did log it in LoseIt! So it's not exactly cheating, right? The basement is moving a bit slow. Social obligations this past weekend curtailed time to work on clearing things out. On the plus side, @otterbyte has been working on it a bit during the week. That's progress, right? PS: Speaking of food, I am going to try something tomorrow: A 24 hour fast. I'll eat after class (around 8:30 pm) tonight and then again tomorrow night. I tried the 12-16 hour IF before and it wasn't something I wanted to continue every day, so I'm going to give 1/week for 24 hours a shot. I'm sure I'll feel fine!

Of course I had Reese's Pieces at the movie theatre. Spider-Man was V. Good!

DAY 1: I weighed in at 186 this AM, so I've already lost nearly all the "Argentina fat." I will continue to work on losing what I can toward the final 180 goal. I've been consistently entering my food data in LoseIt and keeping under my calorie limits (as well as hitting things like my protein goals). This morning I did a dumbbell-slash-bodyweight workout followed by the Limber 11 as a cool down. I'm taking the kids to the pool in a bit, and I'll try to get a few laps in as well. Then it's off to see Spider-Man: Homecoming. I've got a mess of pre-measured fish and chicken lunches with brown rice and veggies made up for the week. I still need to pack my gym bag to take back tot he office. Tomorrow is Leg Day (hooray ) Onwards!

@Kishi re: weight, I know, but I am currently at about 22% bodyfat (according to calipers). I figure I can safely lose a few lbs. I weighed in at 186 yesterday, so I may refine that goal a bit as we get closer to launch. Speaking of muscle, I recently stumbled across a fairly informative (and funny) YouTube channel by two brothers that has a lot of good info. They call themselves B.U.F.F. Dudes (Better Understanding of Food and Fitness). They are goofy, and focus a lot on powerlifting/bodybuilding, but their fundamentals are strong. I did their bodyweight routine yesterday and it nearly killed me! I used the rings instead of the broomstick though.

All right! Here we go again! So I've been away from the Challenges and NF for a bit, but I've still been working out and trying to be careful about diet/nutrition. Overall I've done OK I think. Until May. In May @otterbyte and the kids went to visit her family in Argentina for a month and I went down for a week in the middle of their stay. Baching for a couple weeks, then being in Buenos Aires did not help my weight. I was still working out, there was WAY too much food in BA and it was not exactly a lean cuisine. Long story short, I gained about 5 pounds, and not of muscle. On another note, I am planning to start Muay Thai soon. The fitness kickboxing classes have helped a lot with my conditioning, so I think I might be able to survive actual training. So! On to the challenges: Flexibility: I am still fairly stiff and limited in range of motion. I don't know that I'll ever do the full splits, but I need to emphasize this more in my own workouts. Goal: Go through the "Limber 11" routine 2/week. Record keeping: When I got my FitBit, I switched calorie tracking apps from MyFitnessPal to LoseIt. I had use MFP for a couple years, but since UA owns it now and has their own tracker device they want you to buy, the app just doesn't want to play nice with FitBit. LoseIt's interface is different enough that I've been sporadic in logging meals, etc. Another factor that has contributed to gaining some of the weight back. Goal: Consistently track my meals with LoseIt. Weight: While my "final" goal for weight loss is 180 pounds, my immediate goal is to get rid of the 5 or so I regained recently. Goal: I want to at least get back to the previous 185 over the next 4 weeks. Home workouts: We have a heavy bag, some barbells, a pull up bar, and a treadmill at home. So I have resources. What I would like to get for my birthday in August is an adjustable weight bench for more free weight exercises. To manage this, I need a bit more room (which is to say less crap) in the basement. I need to clear out some junk we don't need and find better places to keep the stuff we don't toss or give away. Once that's done, I can remove a couple shelves and mount the TV on the wall (it stands on a shelf now). That will give us some room for the bench (and @otterbyte more space to do her Fitness Marshall playlists). Goal: CLEAN ALL THE THINGS! Or at least get the basement cleared enough for the bench and hanging the TV screen.

Greetings! Back after a bit of an absence. I'm going to try and get a challenge together for this round. I am on track to start formally taking Muay Thai classes in August. I have been doing kickboxing HIIT conditioning for nearly a year now. Here's a somewhat training-related question for people: I want to do some fairly serious strength training, including trying to add some LMM (Lean Muscle Mass), but I don't want to be exhausted for classes. I'm 48, so I don't bounce back so fast. Any advice?

Gods-speed, Sir Terry.

I use an Everlast Nevatear 80# bag at home. It has the bottom loop so I can tether it to reduce swing. It's not a pro/commercial grade bag, but it gets the job done for @otterbyte and myself to do kickboxing workouts at home. I picked it up at Dick's Sporting Goods for < $100. Years ago I had a canvas Century 40# bag and that was way too light for full power kicks, etc. It would swing all over the place.

Get some oily fish too. Tuna and salmon are classics. Mix it up with some char and mackerel. or just have some nigiri! One of my favorite omega-3/good fat bombs are brisling sardines in olive oil (drained) on sourdough wheat toast (I bake my own) with smashed avocado. A little Worcestershire, a little salt, yum! Don't eat that TOO often though. It's still a lot of fat and calories.