Search the Community

[awesome image to appear soon] The Challenge: Game loading... Hiya! So, this is my first challenge. Photos to come.(*Update!* Photos attached under Character Select!) I'm a fairly healthy person, at least I think I am. I practice Goju Ryu karate twice a week (though recently with some family issues and grandmother recently committed to continuing care I haven't gone to class often) and may increase that to three times a week, and am very interested in Krav Maga (probably out of the picture until I rehab my shoulder a bit more). My focus is on trying to lose fat while building muscle, agility and flexibility to improve my sparring. I'm a new brown belt and I want to learn to fight efficiently for my small stature and build explosive speed. A bikini bod by August isn't that bad, either - my long-term goal is to lower my BF% substantially (10%) by Aug 17, when my cousin gets married. Please feel free to pop in, chat, offer me some advice, yell at me to get my ass in gear, offer to show me the business end of your fist if I'm whining like a little baby, etc. I'm not too sensitive, though loving is always appreciated - as well as corgis. I love me some corgis. A little note on diet: I plan to follow the keto diet. I originally was intending to do Paleo, but I did more research on diet and nutrition and found that keto made the most sense to me for what I want to do. I plan to eat keto to change my body composition and use that as a tool to obtain my Aug 17 goal, then switch to Primal for maintenance. Character Select: The Mouse! Photos to come - here are the stats! Female22 Years Old5' 1/4"145lbs (already down 5 since mid-March!)BF: 38%Bust: 40"Waist: 37"Hips: 38"Thigh: 22.5"Bicep: 11.5"Yikes! I had calculated my BF% wrong! I'm at 38%! Wow... That's a bit scary. I don't look it, I don't think, but hey! It gives me something to measure, something to beat. Update! Progress Photos, up! (Also, not sure if it's working - had to do some creative online photo editing + loading to various services.) ***PLEASE NOTE! The waist measurement on the bottom is incorrect! It should be 38"!*** April 15 - Front, Side, Back photos! Diet Select: Keto! According to keto-calculator found through /r/keto. 1660 calories25g carbohydrates90g protein133g fatRound One: versus Carbs! (+3 CON) I have lost 5lbs since March 14th just loosely following Paleo/Keto guidelines - and by loose, I mean loose. So I have yet to see what a full keto diet would do to me. I am really excited and I'm hoping that having cut down sharply on carbs this past month will help to lessen the effects of keto flu. 'Cause, y'know, finals and keto flu don't sound like they'll mix too well. I plan to buy groceries every Saturday after karate (hopefully buy some from the city market or my local farmer's market [before they, sadly] close down in July), and spend Sunday cooking lunches for the week and maybe dinners as well. I will also boil some extra hard boiled eggs to put in the fridge at work in case I need a snack. My Goal for this round is: Eat keto every breakfast, lunch and dinner for 6 weeks, with 3 possible cheat meals during the challenge duration.Snacks must all be keto/paleo!A: 3 or less cheatsB: 4 cheatsC: 5 cheatsD: 6 cheatsF: more than 6 cheatsRound Two: versus Barbell! (+4 STR, +2 STA) Staci is a major inspiration to me - so is Athena. I'm a short gal, and I'm tired of being rotund and weak. I tried those calorie cutting dieting things, but that really didn't work. I could barely lift 10lbs for a pathetic, shaky curl the last time I tried it. And you know what - I don't want that. I want to be strong at sparring, I want to be strong at form, I want to do knuckle pushups, goddamit. Hell, I want to be able to feel like a rock when someone lands a punch on me and I don't want to be in pain if I get kicked (at least, not the kinds of kicks my club uses in sparring - we're pretty control frenzied). I want to be swimming in my gi and be able to do several MFEs without any kind of break. Will I get through all that this challenge? Probably not. I hope not. But what I do want to do is conquer my fear of barbells and earn myself a pretty ass that can power a kick through a wall if need be. My plan for this goal is to hit the gym on campus with my boyfriend every Monday and Wednesday and potentially Friday to do lifts. I may switch to bodyweight on Friday or omit the workout if I end up taking up the third karate day with our sister club (which is apparently much more intense). My Goal for this round is: Begin Starting Strength (with a bit of alternations, as I'm not sure that I should be doing presses with a shoulder impingement)M, W, F lift schedule - one day may be replaced with bodyweight training, see next point.If I go to karate on F, then W would be a second lift day. If I don't do karate on F, then F would be second lift day and W would be BW.EDIT (May 13): As I won't be doing F karate nights at least until summer semester, the third point is null. However, see Round Three.A: 6/6 weeks completed (18 workouts)B: 5/6 weeks completed (15 workouts)C: 4/6 weeks completed (12 workouts)D: 3/6 weeks completed (9 workouts)F: 2/6 weeks completed (6 workouts)Round Three: versus Jennifer! (+2 STA, +1 AGI*) Jen's my cousin - mother of three (one just new and sooo cute~!) - and she has recently challenged me to run a 5k with her in July. I walked into W3 of the C25k program without too much issue. I want to be able to run 5k without stopping. I want to run it in 30min. I may run it with zombies chasing me, but I'm really really scared to buy the Zombies, Run! app because even the most benign little horror thing will give me nightmares for months. I plan to run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - T, S being two of my karate workouts. As a brown belt, I don't always get a good workout because I sometimes have to help teach classes, so it will be good to get some activity in regardless. I also plan to text Jennifer every time I run and report after the run on how it went. She does this to me as well, so it gives us both a big boost. My Goal for this round is: Run C25K training program every T, R, S (in the morning if possible, or anytime during the day - lunch hour is not sacred)Run 5k without stopping at the end of 6 weeks*EDIT (May 13): After some really terrible leg pains and a bit of a hard realization that karate + running = can't walk, I'm revising this goal so that I can replace my T/S runs with karate if the karate session is appropriately hard or taxing. Also, legit, shiko for 20-30mins a class is about equal to running and equal amount of time in my books... Or should I say quads?A: 6/6 weeks completed (18 runs)B: 5/6 weeks completed (15 runs)C: 3-4/6 weeks completed (9-12 runs)D: 1-2/6 weeks completed (3-6 runs)F: 0/6 weeks completed (0 runs)*running 5k without stopping will unlock +1AGI and the title "Mouse the Speedy" Round Four: versus Clutter! (+2 WIS, + 1 CON) My room is a terrible mess. My desk is horrid. I have no system for laundry, I'm worse than a frat boy (okay, I'm not that bad, I still do laundry on my own) when it comes to picking out clean clothes from a pile and I just don't like cleaning. But I'm done with that. It scares me to think of all the work I'll have to put into cleaning and keeping it clean, but my room and my desk are reflections of myself. I am not a slob, I am not disorganized, I am not careless. I am prim, I am proper, I am clean and I am classy. I want to be able to get my business cards (student cards) printed and sit them on a little organizer on the corner of my desk and know that a kick-ass awesome future-HR executive is sitting in the cleanest, most organized, most conducive to Tera Online dungeon runs and business case analyses desk ever. I want my room to be so clean I don't have to apologize to my boyfriend when he comes over. And I could use a fucking lot of help with this. Any tips, favourite strategies, etc? My Goal for this round is: Come up with a plan to do laundry.How do I store/sort the laundry?When do I do the wash? When do I dry it?When do I fold and put away?Clean my desk and put away all the shit I don't use.Get two large boxes and fill them with shit I don't need or use from closets and bookshelves - empty them after 3 weeks (2x in the challenge)A: 3/3 Done, room is clean 5/6 weeksB: 3/3 Done, room is clean 4/6 weeksC: 2/3 Done, room is clean 3/6 weeksD: 2/3 Done, room is clean 2/6 weeksF: 1/3 Done, room is clean 1/6 weeksMy major concern with this challenge is that I will have 6 days of activity a week - 3 heavy lifting, 3 short-term endurance running - and 2 days of "doubles" if I get lucky (tuesdays and saturdays with karate). However, I can easily skip the run on Saturdays if karate is hard core. I don't doubt that activity is good for you, but it's a bit much to jump right into. But I'm game. The concern about over-activity ties into what I want to do with keto. It's my first time doing something like that, so I'm a bit scared that I might be severely undercutting my calories. However, I'll go by feel and if I feel hungry, I'll eat protein and moderate fat. If anyone's got tips, I'm more than open for 'em. And without further ado... Game Start... FIGHT!

Hi, everybody. I would appreciate some feedback. I started lifting weights seriously a little more than four months ago, at the start of November of 2012. Before that I was a runner and triathlete, relatively tall (6'0") and definitely skinny (153lb). After a long series of running-related injuries, I decided to make a change, and work on getting bigger and stronger. (Hence my user name, which I admit is aspirational.) In November, I started the StrongLifts program. I kept at that consistently until February, when the 5x5 routine started taking too long. So I switched to a 3x5 routine, which I still thought of as StrongLifts but I now see, now that I have read the book, is actually the Starting Strength Routine. During the past four and a half months, I have been very consistent about my workouts. I have worked out three times a week except for one week, when I missed two workouts because I was sick. Recovery has bit more of a challenge -- I have two young kids and a stressful job, so I often don't get enough sleep, and don't manage my stress as well as I could. When I started StrongLifts in November, my weight was 166lb. Since then, it has increased to 186lb. That has required me to eat A LOT more than I used to. I have no idea what my lifting maxes were last November, because with StrongLifts you start with an empty bar for the lifts. But I have increased my lifts to: Squats - 3x5 @ 140#. I actually increased to 160#, but my form suffered -- I was not going below parallel. And I strained my piriformis. (My advice: Don't do that. It really hurts.) So I have backed off a bit. Bench - 3x5 @ 125#. OHP - 3x5 @ 80#. Deadlift - 1x5 @ 175#. So here is my question -- am I making a reasonable amount of progress? As I mentioned, I read Starting Strength, and he makes it sound like after four and a half months of serious training, I should have gained 50lb and increased my squat to 200lb. (I made up those numbers, but the principal is accurate.) Rippetoe and Mehdi (the guy behind StrongLifts) also make it sound like I should be able to increase my squats by 5lb every single workout. But over the last few weeks, that has become more difficult. If I increase by 5lb every workout, I can make it work for a couple of weeks, but my form suffers, and eventually I have to deload a bit. I don't personally know any other serious lifters (meaning people who do the compound lifts and train for strength), so I don't have any real-life point of comparison for my progress. But based on the facts that I have outlined here, does it sound like I have made a reasonable amount of progress, or do the numbers suggest that I need to change something? I appreciate any suggestions.

Hi, I’m new here. I have been lurking about for a few months and finally decided to join because I need some advice on diet and exercise but first, a little about me. I’m a 28 year old male, happily married with a two year old daughter. I’m not quite sure that I would pass the nerd entrance exam as I am not a gamer(unless you count spending hours playing Command and Conquer back in elementary school) and I only really started reading heavily about 7 years ago. However, I do love fantasy novels (halfway through A Memory Of Light, right now) and I am a big Doctor Who fan. Also, my wife would definitely pass the nerd exam so I maybe I can slid through with a nerd green card. I am 5’10†and currently around 187 lbs. I have been dabbling in paleo/primal eating for around a year but finally committed in September of 2012 (biggest loser type contest at my job). Since September, I have lost about 55lbs (starting weight 242 lbs) and around 7 inches around my stomach. From September through November, the only exercise I performed was walking during my lunch break. In January, my wife decided she would like to lose a few pounds so we both joined My Fitness Pal to track our exercise and food intake. Around the same time, I started the Simplefit body weight program and recently completed L5D3. Since starting to track my calorie intake, I have averaged around 1600 calories and 130 g of protein per day. I just started Starting Strength, in lieu of Simplefit, this week. Everything I have read about BMR and TDEE says I should be eating more but I’m currently just eating when I’m hungry. Sample menu: Breakfast: 4 hard boiled eggs ½ avocado 2 cups spinach Lunch: 2 cups romaine Various veg (cucumbers, radishes, pepper, etc.) 6 oz chicken or can of tuna 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar Snack: Protein shake Apple or orange or banana Dinner: Lots of variation but generally just meat and veg My goals: Get to a respectable mid-teen body fat percentage(15%) Increase my Lifts(200 bench, 300 deadlift) Run 5k in under 20 min(would like to beat a friend in a race in September ’13) So what do you guys think? Should I eat more? Should I keep doing what I’m doing?

Starting point Right now I sprint maybe once a week, hiit 5 times a week, and strength train 2-3 times a week. I really want to get back into my running but not as heavy as I was before. I have realized I need a variety of working out not just for my body, but to keep me motivated. I am hoping the strength training and hiit will help my running speed/endurance improve. The main thing I would like to get out of having variety in my training is becoming more toned. Diet wise I have been doing a not so strict version of paleo with cheat days. This is something I have also decided to change to see if I start feeling more energetic and better overall throughout the day (less tummy aches). Squat working set 115lbs Dead lift working set 115lbs Press 52.5lbs Bench 60lbs Row 70lbs Diet Goal My diet goal for this challenge is eating a Whole30 diet for 30 days. This goal began February 18th 2013. I plan on continuing it through March 19th and at that time evaluating continuing it for one more week for this challenge. Not eating grains is not that difficult for me. Eliminating cheese, a cheat day for my sweet tooth, no paleofying desserts or breakfast muffins, and NO ALCOHOL is difficult. Especially no alcohol, this is really the toughest but most needed. Not only do I use drinking to be more social in social events, to relax with my friends after a tough work week, but I DO make bad decisions, like skipping my workout or eating things I shouldn’t the next day. Eliminating alcohol for a month will really help me put into perspective how alcohol impacts my life, choices, and how I deal with stress. Fitness goal #1 Running goals: 1 long run per week Increase sprints from 4 intervals to 8 intervals at .25 mi hard and .25 mi easy 1-2 sprints per week Hiit: 4-5 x per week Gluts: 2x per week Fitness goal #2 Starting Strength: 3x per week Increase working set squats to 120 lbs and be able to touch the squat box with my tush Increase working set dead lifts to 125 lbs Increase working set Press’s to 55 lbs Increase Bench to 70 lbs Level up your Life I am going to level up my life by using yoga at least once a week to help me deal with mental stressor. I have found (after only two yoga classes in a studio) that yoga not only relaxes me while in class but for the entire day. I’d like to see if adding it into my life in a more stable interval will help me to deal with a lot of the stresses I have been facing. I also think not drinking will contribute to leveling up my life and helping me deal with stress more effectively. Grading to come

Hey guys, I'm tired of beeing skinny. I tried a lot and did crossfit for 5 months, but didn't really get bigger. Of course I was lacking nutrition. I have decided to go all in on this. 1. Get Strong Do Starting Strength. That's heavy lifting 3x a week. 1. Week will still be Crossfit though. Grading: one workout missed on March 15. For an A I give me 2 misses total. B is three. Beeing to sick to work for more than 2 days doesn't count. 2. Feed I will need lots of food. I will ramp up in 500 kcal steps. Week 1 is 3500 kcal. I try to do 80% paleo+potatoes+cream, but the main goal is getting enough. There have to be 2 paleo meals a day at all to succeed. Grading: % of days reaching the goal. F if I weigh less than 86 kg after the challenge(currently: 80...) 3. Recovery: I will do something for flexibility every day. I will do a foam rolling session, yoga or the 9 circles 2 times a week. Grading: % of days achieved. 4. Meditation: 1 hour. Every day. No excuses like gf sleeping over. Grading: % of days achieved. 10% higher classes Let's see where this leads me! Time for a huge lunch...

Howdy all! I figured I'd start a workout log here. I'm also on Fitocracy under the same handle if you're into that. Currently, I'm doing the Starting Strength Advanced Novice workout and began week 6 today. Stats as of today (2/11/13): Weight - 210-ish lbs (I don't know exactly, I'll have to weigh myself tomorrow) height - 6'1" Squat 5RM - 305 Deadlift 5RM - 335 Bench 5RM - 215 OHP 5RM - 150 Front Squat 5RM - 175 Power Clean 5RM - 165 Since the new year, I've been working out in my garage. I used to go to a commercial gym, but between the terrible music and people using the squat rack to curl 65lbs, I opted to buy my own rack/weights and go solo. Not having anyone to spot me is a source of terror at times, I must say. I work out barefoot, shun the use of belts and straps, and I absolutely hate running for more than 10 seconds. Right now I don't do any sort of cardio in my routine. That's not been much of an issue since I haven't put on much weight since starting the program, despite trying to eat for two in order to get stronger. Goals: Finish up to week 8 of the program (there are 12 weeks listed for this one) Find my 1RM on each lift. Switch to the Texas Method (or similar) on MWF and the BBWW on TTh and begin to cut some excess fat while trying to maintain strength. Yes, this will be difficult. Ideally, get down to 10-12% BF without getting weaker by May. OK, enough of that, here's my workout today Squats: 2x5x45 5x120 3x185 2x240 3x5x305 OHP: 2x5x45 5x80 3x105 2x125 5x3x150 Chinups: 9,7,7 All of my work reps felt solid. Last week I struggled with them all, so this was a nice change of pace. I was a bit dehydrated from a Sunday Funday, and my lower body locked up pretty bad after my last set of squats. I was fine after a few minutes, though. Post workout I drank a giant glass of milk with a couple big scoops of chocolate flavored whey. I hate whey. I'm getting ready to go grab some lunch from Crispers, probably a southwest chicken sammich. Need moar calories.