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Hi everyone! It's been a while. Sorry. Things have been going great actually. I went from that weird low calorie whole foods diet, to counting calories and eating a ton, to finally just eat whatever I feel like which apparently has been low cal, low protein. Nevertheless I've lost a lot of weight, waist, hip and thigh size which was and still is my goal. Unfortunately that means muscle mass too. I've hit a wall on Starting Strength. Actually starting to probably go back a little. Most likely due to the low calorie, low protein thing. But at the moment I'm really happy with my diet. I'm seriously eating what I want. And losing weight. So I'm not changing that. And truth be told I've barely ever been able to lift more than what I'm doing right now anyways. Which is why I think it's time to move on to a different program. Is madcow 5x5 still the best progression from starting strength? Are there others? Are there any changes for females? (I ask this because SS app has me doing 5x3 reps instead of 3x5). Thank you very much in advance

I was eager to do the last challenge but I came in a bit late so I'm excited it reset and I can participate in this one. Goal #1 - Consistency My biggest problem in the past is not being able to stick to a program. I get easily distracted or something hurts and I end up wandering off the garden path. My primary aim for this challenge is to hit my program 90% or better consistency. This is to allow for unforeseeable circumstances should I not be able to get to the gym one day. 90% is still 85% better than what I have been getting in the past. I track this by having my program printed and in my training back and I cross out and comment things I get done or things I miss. Goal #2 - Diet Reserve any sweet treats I want to: 1. Days I train 2. 1 meal a day generally after dinner I follow this pretty much already but I'm always cracking on my off days, which is only twice a week, and I sometimes sneak cream biscuits at work. I'll make a note if I break away from this. Goal #3 - Programming Get the program done for when I finish my current program so that it is ready to go as soon as this one is done. I have bad habit in the past of leaving things to late and then I end up not getting anything done because I have nothing to follow. Needs to be done before the end of this challenge. Goal #4 - Life++ I've only recently completed my certification as a personal trainer and I'm now looking at what the next step is. I have a few different options including getting my home gym set up and possibly taking on some clients, enrolling for a sports science degree, change focus all together and working on my art for a little while and put my studies on the back burner. Needless to say I'm at the crossroads and my brain doesn't function well when it doesn't have something to focus on, I tend to get mood swings and all sorts of things. By the end of this challenge I want to have at least decided what to do with myself for the next 6 months in terms of my personal life and what I want to achieve and when. This will be done in the form of an action plan with clear steps and guidelines that I should be taking as well as milestones I need to hit. Let the Challenge Begin!

For the last challenge, my bonus/life challenge was to take an Intro to parkour class, and the follow-up safety class before March. Although I am the oldest and slowest student there (mid-thirties and I feel old, wow), I love parkour. The movements, the strength, the endurance, and just the "I can still do things like this" feeling that it gives is amazing. I will not say I'm good at it, but I want to keep working at it. Unfortunately, full-time work and evening grad classes mean I haven't got much in the way of time or money, so I'm only going to be able to go every other weekend. If one goes by the theory that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to get good at something, that means I'll be good at parkour in something like 380 years, at one hour every other weekend. So, let's step that up a little bit. I'll be incorporating various exercises into the usual BBWW/Cardio/Stretch rotation of workouts, but there are some things that are definitely in need of extra attention: Pull-ups: Right now, I can do 2-3 negative pulls of about 1.5-2 seconds each. Not good for cat hangs/pulling up a wall. Push-ups: I can consistently do about 7 knee push-ups. Not good for pushing off/pulling up a wall Knee strength: I've gotten good at regular lunges and beginner shrimp lunges, but my knees still collapse inward a bit, and just go "nope" at assisted pistol squats. Not good for really any part of parkour, as it requires hand usage to stabilize legwork. The parkour and bodyweight weightlifting that I've done so far have significantly improved my strength, but it's time to up the bar a bit. Here are my goals for this challenge: Pull-ups, part 1: Find a place/way to practice body weight rows. The weather's getting better, might be able to find a school nearby. Pull-ups, part 2: Double the number of body weight rows or pull-up negatives that I can currently do (need a baseline on the former). Push-ups: Achieve one or more of- 1) 10 knee push-ups, 2) 3 full push-ups, or 3) 1 plyometric knee push-up with good form. Knee strength: Get rid of the wobble, and achieve 10 step-ups (instead of lunges) on each leg in good form, at least knee-height up. Bonus goal: parkour class every 2 weeks, no excuses. No, not even once it's time to get out into the garden. Just do it.

Hi guys, I've been doing the startbodyweight.com routine in the past for 6 continuous months and then stopped for about 6 months...Now I'm back at it and I find myself at the same place where I was 6 months ago, I'm progressing slowly but surely almost at every exercise but I'm stuck on the squats progression. I can do 3 sets of 12 reps of bulgarian split squats so in theory I should be switching to the next progression (shrimp squats), but for some reason I'm not able to go all the way down, especially when doing it with my left leg... What are my options to get better at this one-legged squat (eventually shooting for the pistol) and keep the progress going?

Place holder for intro.... Need to get my thoughts together

So I have always used the Stronglifts app because it's free, functions well, and well... I was doing that program. I find as I modify more and more it becomes less and less useful. I am typing more notes as I do more stuff and the prompts annoy me. At this point I am doing 3x5 and not progressing each workout because I am really just trying to preserve muscle while losing fat. So Ideally an app would be *Free... you could't yank a greasy penny from betwixt my glutes with a tractor. * have a timer * Be simple * have charts and graphs. Any ideas?

The BALANCING ACT Do you find yourself wanting more balance? We are all about moving from one place to the next. That's what Scouts do. How can we do that with more finesse and dexterity? Do you want to be able to do something that you haven't yet accomplished? Improve something that has been just out of reach? YES! I'd be so excited if I could... ... run trails with awesome turns and sudden drops. ... do slacklining. ... pull the same amount with both arms while doing the freestyle part of my swim program. ... maneuver through traffic more confidently on my bike. ... walk on icy sidewalks. We all could use more balance in our lives, physically and otherwise. So this mini is going to work our balance skills and help us progress to the next level. Where do you want to be in 6 weeks? I personally want to be able to do the Frog Stand. This is so cool to me! Not sure I'd do it with black socks on, but...I also want to be able to do a proper lunge. Hum? Which comes first: the frog or the lunge? What's on your wish list? rock climbing handstands surfing or maybe pistol squats No matter what you chose, you need to know where you are now. So testing your balance is week one. Let's test our on one foot abilities first. Progress through these steps as far as you are able to comfortably. No injuries allowed. Tell us how it goes. 1. Single Leg Balance: this involves you standing on one leg, for example on your right leg whilst lifting your left leg up and forward slightly in front of the body. Ensure the right knee is very slightly bent, the hips are square/even, your spine is straight and your core is engaged at 50% of your maximum contraction. Find a focal point out in front of you and keep your eyes on it.Hold for 60 seconds, repeat on left leg. 2. Single leg balance tossing tennis ball: same as above except now toss a tennis ball up and across your body from hand to hand whilst maintaining your focal point.Repeat tossing for 60 seconds 3. Single Leg Balance standing on pillow: fold a standard pillow in half (or single layered if you prefer) and stand on it to increase instability under your foot.Hold for 60 seconds for each leg. 4. Single Leg Balance with eyes shut: please start by standing near a wall or chair so you can touch or hold it to prevent falling.Hold for 60 seconds for each leg. 5. Single Leg Balance with eyes shut standing on pillow.Hold for 60 seconds for each leg. Now try this:*remember to keep your core tight and don't go too quickly* Okay that's it for week one. Scout balance, ftw!

I just finished reading "Convict Conditioning" and want to start training according to it. Alas, the "Self Coaching" chapter wasn't as detailed as I had hoped. So I'm still not sure how to start the program. First of all, Paul Wade recommends warming up by doing a 2-4 sets (depending on the individual) of easier variations before proceeding to the working sets. But how do I warm up when I'm at step one with an excercise? Then, how do I determine the rep counts of my working sets? Here's how I understood the program. Let's use push ups as an example. From what I've read, I'd probably do one set of wall push ups for as many reps as I can do with perfect form or until I meet the rep count for the the intermediate standard (whichever comes first), then pause and continue with a second set given that I met the intermediate standard's rep count on the first set. Then, after meeting the intermediate standard on my second set, I'd add a third set and add reps to each set until I meet the progression standard. I'm supposed to do this using the "New Blood" program until I'm at stage 6 of all 4 excercises. Then I proceed to "Good Behaviour" and include the other two excercises. At this point, I'll probably be experienced enough to decide when to try the "Veterano", "Solitary Confinement" or "Supermax" workout. Is that about right?

Hiya Everyone, I've seen a pile of posts in the last couple of days of the "how much should I do/am I doing too much" variety, and thought I'd throw this very appropriate link out there. http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/05/10/optimal-training-the-death-of-over-and-under-training/ Enjoy the weekend! Edit - Ooops! Very much in the wrong forum. If a mod sees this feel free to move it to the appropriate forum area!