DojangManChris

Going along with the foam pit/harness advice (which is how I trained as a wee gymnast in high school), do you have any gymnastics gyms in your area that do adult classes or open gyms where adults can participate without kids? You can always look into taking some basic lessons there. If you have a specific skill you want to work on, it makes it a lot easier to get someone to help you along (or at least among my gymnastic coach friends, it does). Last time I went to open gym around my area (Severna Park, Maryland, USA) it was only $10-15 per session, and after a few sessions (depending on how quickly you progress) you can probably start practicing on your own. This is part of how I got my back handspring to something competition worthy. ~Chris

Tried the suggested Revolving Plank of Doom routine with some minor modifications (varied times and how many times I hit each position; nothing huge). Great workout and really felt like my abs were getting burned. Thanks! ~Chris

I had a few weeks of a similar experience back in early 2012, and it was due to relationship stress and not eating right. I went from repping the entire weight stack on the leg press to barely being able to crank out 4-5 reps at half weight. My mind and spirit just weren't in it. For me, it was getting that stress under control and making changes to my diet that really helped me get back on track. I would say look both at your routine, as "161803398874989" and others have pointed out, but also at any underlying personal stuff that may be going on (that you might not want to share). ~Chris

My current body weight routine has planks as the 4th and 8th exercise, and right now I'm holding them for 45-60 sec each time they come up. I do the circuit 3 times, so overall I get in 4.5 min to 6 min of plank per workout. I'm intrigued by the RPoD though. I think I might have to try this and see if I die. :-) ~Chris

UPDATE! Tested today and since the June 8th post I have: Lost another 1.5% body fat (-2.4o lbs of fat mass) and gained +3.8 lbs of fat free/lean mass. Current BF%: 18.2 Total loss since 5/24/2012 (started Paleo): -2.2% 3.2 percentage points to goal! <----- That thought helped me replace the cookie that was going into my lunch, with an orange instead. ~Chris

Howdy Doogie! All the advice on here has been great so far, and I wanted to share a personal strategy that might help too. Background: 3ish weeks ago I could not do one full pull-up without an assist. I could get to about eye level ONCE, and that was about it. Two days ago, I did 2 full pull-ups without assistance and it was freakin' glorious! To train, I decided to create a body weight circuit loosely based on the stuff on NF and in line with my personal goals (10 continuous pull-ups, 100 continuous push-ups). I'm focusing on my upper body more right now because it needs the most work. I've been practicing a kicking martial art for a long time, so my legs are pretty solid. Each muscle day (3 times per week) I do the following circuit (reps/set): Pull-ups (10) Push-ups (25) Squats (30) Planks (45 sec) Chin-ups (10) Alternating Leg Lunges (15 per leg) Dips (10) I go through the whole circuit, rest for 30-60 seconds, and then repeat. I try to make it through at least 3 circuits each muscle day. Since I started this routine not able to do any pull-ups at all, I did only negatives for all 10 reps. I could do 2-3 chin-ups though, so I would do as many as I could with decent form, and then finish the set with negatives. To do them, I used the assisted pull-up/dip station at my gym, but with the kneepad folded down. That way I could use the steps on the side to get above the bar and lower myself down slowly. I shoot for 3-5 seconds each time I do a negative, and it burns like crazy. I love it! If your assistance station doesn't have the option to lower the kneepad, you can just use no weight (though I feel like that affects my form) or get a box to stand on and use the regular pull-up bar. Whatever works for you. One other piece of advice that helped me correct my form and put more power into each pull-up: lean back a bit and keep your head naturally straight. It helped me get everything in line, and created more of a "pull" motion and less of a "I'm handing from a bar and can't go anywhere" feeling. In this position you will naturally look up a bit because of your chest and head angles, but do not look up at the bar as you pull. Strains the Hell out of the wrong muscles, and I know for me it hurt in the bad way. ~Chris

So I have a lot of questions that you might want to consider, but long story short is: yes, your diet and what-not can easily have an effect on your mood (and vice-versa). You need to make sure you're eating healthy, and not just less. Cal In/Cal Out is an important part of the equation, but if all your IN comes in the form of Snickers bars, then you're still not moving towards healthy goals. I also agree that 15lbs in 2 weeks is likely very unhealthy weight loss, unless you were significantly overweight to begin with and practicing very careful weight-loss options. If you're comfortable answering, where did you start and where are you now, weight-wise? Do you know your body fat and lean mass percents? Diet affects mood a lot more than most people realize: 1. What's your caloric need per day, based on current weight and activity level? 2. Follow-up: how much are you actually eating? Do you keep a food log? 3. Are you eating good calories (lean proteins, healthy fats, natural carbs) or crappy calories (processed foods, etc.)? 4. Have you checked what nutrients you're getting via these foods? Are your B vitamins low? Second, your level of physical activity also affects your mood: 1. Are you exercising regularly? How often? 2. What are you actually doing? 3. Follow-up: Do you enjoy it? We all genuinely want to help you feel better, so I apologize for the 50 Questions routine. The more you can share, the better we can all help you. :-) ~Chris

My vote goes to Krav Maga. I took that for a year, and the only reason I stopped is because I moved too far from the school. Every class involved self-defense/combat techniques and conditioning. Testing from one level to the next was a 4 hour ordeal that really made you test yourself. Keep in mind that Krav Maga was invented to turn fresh recruits into combat-capable soldiers from both skill and health standpoints. It is a great art for what you want to do, and it has the benefit of mixing ground- and stand-up fighting in one art, rather than the BJJ/MT combo which is two classes. ~Chris

Darn, Jcannon98188 beat me to the D&D joke! Mine was going to involve animal companions... Seriously, awesome step towards fulfilling your spiritual goals. :-) (Also, go with a Wolf; they have the best special attacks.)

I was surprised to see similar results to you when I started Paleo a few weeks ago. I love meat, but I wasn't getting enough protein; I was loaded up on fruits and veggies. While I saw fat loss (-1.7% in 2 weeks!), I also lost 2lbs of lean body mass along with it, probably due to too little protein to support the muscle work I've been doing. Now, my goal is: ~1900 calories per day based on BMR, creating a deficit from working out each day Macro Split: 45% protein, 40% fats, 15% carbohydrates (mostly fruits only) Caloric Split: 855 protein, 760 fat, 285 carbs Grams: 213 protein, 85 fat, 71 carbs (or less, usually less) Now, I don't track this as religiously as some people do, because my natural tendencies towards eating usually take care of it, but I do know the basic contents of most foods I eat, so I can track it throughout the day. Since I'm seeing decent results (after adjusting for the low protein I mentioned above), I'll likely stick with my more informal approach for now. I don't know if you're already doing it, but do you plan out meals for the week? I find that cooking a large amount of foods you like and having those ready for meals all week helps a lot. For instance, I'll fire up the crockpot on Sunday afternoon, toss in a few pounds of chicken, and once done split that into equal portions for my meals all week (I use the "is it a handful?" method of measurement). Veggies are usually quicker to prepare, but you can steam them on Sunday and eat them all week and they still taste great. Just some thoughts to get your calories more regulated. ~Chris

Hey Jaswandi! My gym has a body composition testing machine that gets as good of results as the Dr.'s office. They don't know it yet, but they've been helping me Nerd-track my results for weeks! I've also learned how to use their machine, so I don't even really ask them anymore. :-P Thanks everyone for the support!

The Tin Man has it pretty much correct. I admit "machine" is probably a bad term; more like a stretching station/rack. All it does is let you perform static stretches at a variety of angles for different body parts, while providing a bit of support for your weak areas. Is it the best option, no, but I've used them quite successfully to help me with problem areas in the past. The point was, stretching is good for on and off days. :-P ~Chris

So my w00t! moment this week came when I got my body fat tested. Background: I have been at 25% or higher body fat most of my life. This week I hit 19.7%, which is the lowest I've been since I was about 7 years old. About 1% of that loss is since going Paleo two weeks ago, which is much quicker than I lost the last 6% or so. It took me years, literally, to shave off that other 6% or so, with my old crappy diet and the same (or more!) exercise. Seriously, good diet, just get used to it! ~Chris

Hi Sharkie! I'm a chronic snacker too, and it's always been one of my biggest hurdles while trying to get in better shape. I love cookies, cheese, chips...snack foods and I get along great! Except they make me a big fatty and that's an issue. When I started eating Paleo, I made a conscious decision that I think has made a huge difference in my life: I started tossing the snacks. The first day I threw away the chips. The second I tossed the cheese. The third I got rid of the chocolate covered death in the pantry. Now, the frugal part of me HATED this idea. I spent the money and I should eat the damn food. But my body fat % agrees it was a good call. I saw very little change in weight the week after "Operation De-Snackify the Kitchen", losing only half a pound. BUT my body composition changed more than the weight did: i dropped half a percentage point in Body Weight %, lost over half a pound of fat mass, and gained almost half a pound in lean mass. My snackiness was the only thing that changed in that week compared to the last, so I know it had a good affect on me overall. Now, how do you stop snacking? Well, honestly, I still do, but I snack on the healthy stuff instead of the crap. I keep baby carrots, celery, fruit, and homemade beef jerky in the house, and make those my snacks. I'll have a bowl of lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower with no dressing and it'll fill me right up. Find healthy snacks, and work those into your diet in place of the crap. Alternately, lock the fridge with a timer that only lets you in from 8am to 9pm. ;-) ~Chris

I've managed good results by interspersing High Intensity Interval Training between my muscle workout days. I do something akin to the Advanced Body Weight Workout from NF on muscle days, with a usual progression like: Circuit 1: Push-ups, Prisoner Squats, Plank, Alternating Leg Lunges (no rest between; repeat 3 times) Rest: 30 - 60 seconds Circuit 2: Pull-ups, Plank, Chin-ups, Dips (no rest between; repeat 3 times) Non-muscle days, I do HIIT running: 2 min jog + 1 min sprint; repeat at least 5 times for 15 min total. This is a lot of legwork, but I'm pretty conditioned to it since I've been practicing a kicking-centered art for so long. To me, this is basically a rest day for my legs, but a workout day for my cardio. If you want a true off-day, do some deep stretching without other exercises (though you should stretch on workout days too). You can accomplish this through yoga, on the stretching machines at the gym, or on your own in front of the TV at home. Try to stretch in a way that hits all the major muscle groups from different angles. Take it slow and never stretch to pain, only to mild "hmm, I can feel that pretty well" discomfort. Doing this for 15-20 min each day will help your muscles recover and build up after workouts, as well as giving you better range of motion overall. I have also found that every so often a "soft" workout the day after a heavy one is nice for my muscles, and acts as a sort of "resisted stretch" day. Instead of doing my full weight and sets, I do a very low-stress version of similar exercises. Normally I cut to a third of the workout weight for half the reps and sets. Example: Bench Press Workout Day: 150 lbs / 8 reps / 4 sets "Soft" Day: 50 lbs / 4 reps / 2 sets I don't do this often, but to me it feels nice every other week or so. It may or may not work for you, and you may want to try this with 1/5th the weight and a single set of 2-3 reps. ~Chris