Pagan

"Take what you want, and pay for it" - origin unknown "TANSTAAFL: "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch"" "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein A good few days since my last post.. Last Tuesday I went to the physio to have my achilles looked at. He gave me some exercises and small heel lifts to rearrange the pressure on the complaining tendon. And that's what caused the fun. On Thursday I put some snacks and a water bottle into my small backpack, charged up my mp3 player with some podcasts I was getting behind on and took a stroll into the city - about 30km away. It was just for fun, not pushing myself terribly. 3 holurs and 15km into it my other foot began to compain, and compain, and COMPLAIN! The lift was pushing into my instep in a nasty way and my foot didn't like it. In the end I folded and got a lift back home from my mother who has her own cottage on the farm. My foot swelled nicely and the pain was significant. Friday, saturday and sunday were spent firmly on my rump, trying to move as little as possible - as can be seen from my stats. Today:- Monday I was able to walk a bit with the help of a staff and tomorrow will be even better- and I have another physio appointment then :-).. Ahh well....I'll get to the city next time :-) 1.4 12144 steps Kettlebell swings -EDT 20kg kettlebell for 30 minutes: 680reps 2.4 10554 steps 3.4 12658 steps 4.4 23682 steps!!!! 5.4 1580 steps 6.4 1118 steps 7.4 93 steps!!!!! 8.4 5692 steps (I'm coming back, baby!!) Now I need to get back to my 10000 steps - no kettlebell swings until my foot is right as walking has caused related weakness/soreness in the ankle and calf. "I'll be back" Arnold Schwarzenegger

28.03 11091 steps 29.03 11146 steps 30.03 7823 steps My back has been sore for the last 3 or 4 kettlebell sessions so it was time for a change. I took an extra day off and then dropped the weight and increased the reps to make it EDT (escalating density training). I'll use the same weight and time (30mins)and go for more reps. This time 20kg KB Time: 30 mins, Exercise: swings, Reps acheieved: 640 Back felt fine, forearms were sore but not smoked. 31.03 4709 steps Sports doctor on Tuesday for my achilles, then physio and acupuncture. I'm looking at doing a long walk on Wednesday but it's going to depend on what the doctor says. Link of the post: Dudes doing yoga "http://yogadudes.tumblr.com/archive" - some awesome inspiration here.

26.03 14435 steps - a great upper body workout vaccinating and health checking 92 llamas 27.03 12530 steps KB swings 500x 28kg 30:21mins ....okay this is irritating - I can't seem to get back under 30 mins after a great 26 mins 4 days ago. I'm not working Sunday so perhaps that'll be the day - but that won't stop me trying on Friday :-) Try, fail. Try again, fail better :-) Long day with sore muscles - 3 ZMA (zinc, magnesium, b6) before bed tonight - relax the muscles, increase natual sleep. The off to do vaccinations and toenails of 50 alpacas... we 're in the middle of a drought here in New Zealand but we had a good day of rain a week and a half ago and that's going to make the parasites come out to play - so it's the perfect time to protect the alpacas and llamas for the upcoming autumn

24.03 5293 steps ( my "day off" ) Relaxation today was giving my 2 pet pigs belly rubs - they bliss out, all 4 legs go stiff and they grunt quietly and gently - better than any alcohol for relaxation :-) 25.03 11481 steps Kb swings 28kg 500 reps 31:37mins. Lower back sore again - spent most of today bent over cutting alpaca toenails - actually fun (though alpaca spit stinks!!) but boy it can be hard on the lower back - bent over and trying to stabilize a sometimes struggling alpaca and it is very unbalanced. Next few days won't be much better as I will be vaccinating llamas both days :-) Finished off today with 50 body weight squats with my other half - she wants to lose weight but can't "find the time.." so every 2nd day I'm getting her to just do 50 body weight squats to start the habit of exercise...after 30 days we'll add to that until we're doing the bodyweight circuit ( here ) together Tumblr of the day: Most Motivational - some good ones here Onwards!!!

Thanks Jonny Gold, Luckily it was just soreness from the deadlifts and by the next day it was gone. "Smarting" on the other hand doesn't sound good and you were wise to back off when your body told you too.... sometimes no pain, no pain! :-) I have decided self-imposed rules can be my friend (which is funny as I hate rules imposed from the outside on me). If I think I should do something or it would be good for me to do something it is all too easy to rationalise doing something else - oh, one day with out exercising won't hurt, I worked hard today one piece of cake is fine. This thread is a prime example - I should write 3 times a week, but I'm tired, I have nothing to say... etc etc. But I haven't missed a day of KB swings no matter what. It made me late for an appointment one day, on Thursday with deadlift back I was slow as a wet week and sore, but it was a rule set for myself - and I do don't break those rules...I can't rationalize my way out of it - it's a rule. so now I have a rule that on a swing day I must write in this thread. So I'm tired, my computer has crashed (twice!!!), but here I am. Rules are rules - it takes the willpower out of the equation. 21.03 10313 steps 22.03 10801 steps 23.03 11049 steps KB swings 28kg 500 reps. 26:00 And now to bed.

Sadly, no...I have to walk for my job as well as to get to Mordor so I work through it - I try different shoes, use Biofreeze, increase my joint support supplementation and use a warm wrap and ice therapy...and wait. Oh, and the afore-mentioned accupuncture.

Going well with your postings!! Just a few thoughts which may (or may not) help. Glucosamine is good for joints but often a more "synergistic" supplement can really help... these guys have a good rep and are reasonably priced.. http://www.truenutrition.com/p-1078-joint-support-7875mg-capsules-120-capsules.aspx? For the push-ups there is a book called Convict Conditioning which is excellent for body-weight exercise progressions. It suggests kneeling push-ups first with beginner being: 1 set of 10, Intermediate being 2 sets of 15 and the progression standard ( time to move on) as 3 sets of 30. The next step he recommends are half push-ups. Get into a good full push-up position - body tight - back, legs and hips locked in line. Put your soccer ball under your hips and do a good tight lower until your hips lightly touch the ball then push up. Beginner 1 set of 8, Intermediate 2 sets of 12, Progression standard 2 sets of 25.... after you can do those you'll have a really strong base to get full push ups going. Last one A bloke called Mark Divine (such a cool name :-), ex-Navy seal and creator of sealfit in an interview suggested as part of his "3 things that can make a real difference to anyone" that the first thing you should do in the morning is drink a good glass of water with your eyes closed, thinking over what you have to be appreciative for in your life. It really seems to work. You start off feeling daft, sometimes having difficulty thinking of things... so you make up silly ones, like "I'm appreciative for the fact I didn't trip over my cat this morning".... but after a while I find that you start to be able to think of more things and it starts you off on your day on the right foot - and of course you can repeat the same things each day - but it can be fun to think of a few weird ones every now and then :-) Keep it up! Pagan My challenge

Thanks idealistinfire I work on a number of farms as an Alpaca and Llama Contractor as well as having my own small farm with alpacas, llamas, minature ponies, kune kune pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, cats and I'm sure I've forgotten something :-).. so my steps vary depending on if I have a working gig that day, what farm it's on and what we're doing. That day I was bringing in multiple herds for body scoring ( checking body condition ) as we're in the middle of a drought and heading into autumn... a lot of walking and a great score!! If it's a light day I try to get to 10000 with a late night walk down my road... I'll see a car 1 night out of 4 or 5 (the joys of country living) - I'm embarassed that i've missed the mark twice in the last 8 days but I cry achilles - a 15 year old injury has popped by to say hello and I really need to get some accupuncture done....

Finally a second post. Well I've failed the challenge but I'm going to limp on as best I can. As the Samuel Beckett says: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. So now I try again :-) Kettlebell swings progress. I'm on my 4th day of 500X 28kgs... I'm not sure how to progress from here as this is the heaviest kettlebell I have and there's no money for a new one. I might try double kettlebell swings instead. Right now I don't have to contemplate that as the 28kg is still kicking my butt, especially in terms of forearm strength... they really ache by the end. 13.03 KB swings: 38mins 9868 steps 14.03 12387 steps 15.03 KB swings:31mins 23155 steps 16.03 9189 steps 17.03 KB swings:29mins 16221 steps 18.03 14398 steps 19.03 KB swings:26:11mins 10573 steps 20.03 Deadlift/Incline Bench Press superset w/o 2min rest, 2 warm up sets, 5 work sets 90kg/5 50kg/5 100kg/4 50kg/5 120kg/5 50kg/8 120kg/5 50kg/10 120kg/5 50kg/7 slow negative reps on the BP 7811 steps achilles very sore 21.03 KB swings:31:37mins back cramping from soreness due to yesterdays deadlifts In my latest netrition.com order I got a grabbag of supplement samples as a freebie, mainly pre-workouts. Today I tried 12 gauge shotgun. Interesting... I definitely got warm and jittery with a slight stomach unease. I wouldn't buy it due to the stomach uneasse, butit certainly is effective...even now 3 hours later I can feel a slight warm flush. Today's video motivation: food fight by Earth Amplified.. eating healthy food as rebellion Pagan

Greetings fellow Rangers, A few days late but here it is - my first challenge. I'm a 46 year old male in reasonably decent shape for my age - but lack of access to a gym - I work full-time on an alpaca and llama farm and a love of pizza has done it's work and the stomach is larger than I like - so time for some accountability!! My goals for the next 6 weeks: 500 Kettlebell swings every 2nd day for time. Right now I'm using a 20kg KB and hit 26 minutes tonight. If I break 25 minutes twice in a row I'll go up to 28kg One heavy weights workout a week (minimum - more is acceptable :-) Either a squat or a deadlift workout with work sets at 5 sets of 5 reps with long rests 2mins or so between sets. Success will mean +1 to my strength 10,000 steps 6 days out of 7. I'm doing a solo Walking to Mordor, something that makes my inner 9 uear old squee everytime I think about it. +1 to stamina Lose some Weight. I know - wishy-washy. On the 18th of Feb my waist measured 112.3 cms. I am looking for a simple 1cm off to get a pass on this. More than 1cm gives me a pass with honours. One simple way I'm going to do this is start a food log - it's harder to cheat if I have to see it in pen. I'll also be cleaning up my diet - but that is not part of this challenge - too many factors +1 to constitution because less stomach fat = better overall health And last but not least it's time to clean up my side of my home office. 2 years ago we had a huge earthquake(s) here in Christchurch (New Zealand). Deaths and a lot of property damage - Most rooms in the house are back to some semblence of order but the office... boxes everywhere and I don't actually remember what colour my desk is. It's time to start working on it. By the end of the challenge I want to be able to sit at my desk and have some clear space in front of me. +1 to Wisdom So there it is. Not an insurmountable set of challenges I hope... but I have bigger and better ones on the horizon - baby steps first :-) Pagan Hayes Alpaca farmer and part-time adventurer. Currently reading: The Soul of the Soil

How's the always hungry thing coming along? If it's still a problem you might try some coconut oil - you can mix it in a shake or even have a spoonful straight - some people hate it, I quite like the taste - the good fats seem to give some satiety signals Keep up the great work :-)

Pizza, pizza, pizza. Proper stuff. Homemade crust, fridge rised/retarded overnight, handmade sauce (no supermarket crap), avocado, 3 different cheeses.... Though an average pizza is still better than 95% of food out there. And what would be the first thing I would ask my food gods to do - why, sacrifice themselves to me of course :-)

Getting back to the original article, I think a lot is that a paleo eater is doing *something.* You are taking control of your life..... and for a certain type of person that means they have to tear you down so they can feel better about their own lack of control. Whether you are right or wrong is not important - you are doing something, and that makes them feel worse about themselves. So you must be ridiculed - and if they can do it without proposing a better way - even better, becuase then they cannot be found wanting for not following the way they propose.

Heck, that's not eating crow - that's the sign of an open mind :-). You look at something, think about it and then decide yay or nay. It's completely possible meat/dairy is not right for you - I don't think there can be a one size fit all diet - it doesn't take into account genetic differences or your own life-history. Keep pushing :-)

Greetings!! Well met by moonlight. I don't feel middle-aged, I really don't. But I look back at myself as a brace-faced early teen, with a copy of the 1st edition D&D red box in my school backpack, and a well worn copy of "Stranger in a Strange Land," and I realize that at 45yrs old I am a young nerd no more. In the interim I have been a founding member of a clown troupe, a High School science teacher, fenced at the National level, lived for 7 years in Japan teaching English, been married and divorced (twice!!) and now live with my beautiful partner on our small alpaca and llama (and chicken, and turkey and duck and cat) farm outside the quake capital of New Zealand, Christchurch. And the other sad realisation is that living on a farm and doing contracting work (training and caring for alpacas and llamas) leaves little time or motivation to keep up my gym work. And a month ago I caught sight of my reflection and SAW it. Ouch!!! I'm not in terrible shape, but oh boy, I'm not in great shape either. So, no more just reading the fitness sites - it's time to do something serious about it. I bought a power cage, some more plates for my oly bar, a couple more kettlebells and made up a program. Part of that program is to put my money where my mouth is and make myself known on a like-minded community, post some goals and invest myself in achieving results. Time to lose some fat, get my deadlift back and share some information and hopefully some laughs. In the coming days I'll post some measurements, my training goals and program, my supplements ( because I do like to do science using myself as the guinea pig), my diet and probably some opinions :-) I'm a little nervous about putting myself out here, but excited too. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again :-)