Not much of a warrior, but I make a good sidekick

[gabrielle_of_poteidia]

So I was urged to join Nerd Fitness by a friend of mine (and fellow Xena fan). I notice there's already another couple of Xenites on the boards (hello @Xena and @sieBauen, nice to meet you!) so I feel I'm in good company.

 

I've been getting into fitness related stuff for the past four and a half years: mid-distance running at first, and then added some bodyweight training and then HIIT and weights for the past year. I've recently got my first weight lifting routine, courtesy of a personal trainer (eep!!) and am informed that apparently what I am looking to do at this stage is classed as 'bodybuilding'. Seems a bit hardcore for me, but I tend not to do anything by halves, so there you go. I also do yoga (somewhat sporadically) and am pleased as punch with what little progress I have made over the years.

 

I've never really aspired to be a 'Xena' (I have the height but I'm never going to be 'willowy' enough) so I thought I'd aim for Gabrielle - athletic and toned with abs of steel and guns to die for. I've lost 12.6 kg (about 28lbs) over a long period, and hit my target of 70kgs a while back. I'm now mostly looking to maintain body weight while building muscle and losing fat. This is proving the tricky part as I seem to be hovering around the 23-27% body fat mark, and losing it is proving very challenging. Reading up on the dietary side of things (never my strong-point) for some pointers, and I am currently doing a sort of... non-specific, high-protein, low-ish-carb... thing, and we'll see how that goes by the end of this six week training block. Considering doing a short-term keto stint in the new year, for a couple of months or so, and any advice/encouragement/warnings would be most welcome!

 

I've joined the 'Ranger' class as this seems the most suited to me with my running/weight training combo, ticked off all my boxes so far (Level 14 FTW!) and uploaded photos of me mucking about in my Gabrielle costume. Hurrah!

[Elastigirl]

Welcome! With youyr mix of running, weight lifting, and bodyweight, you will fit right into the Rangers

[Xena]

Welcome! Will be looking forward to hearing  about how you like the new weight routine.

[gabrielle_of_poteidia]

Thank you both!

 

Weights are suiting me well. I'm on a low-weight/high-rep programme, and I've gone up a weight in 4 of my 6 exercises. I find delts the most challenging as it took me a week to even put an actual plate on the machine! Even now, it feels like I'm lifting nothing at first and then hurts like hell during the final set! I'm due for a review in a couple of weeks so some things might change up! I might start a progress thread - I believe there is a spot for those.

[Rowena Nightwolf]

Fellow Xena fan here too!  I will be following your adventure.  I usually keep Gabrielle and Xena in mind for my fitness as well.  I'm much farther behind than you are, as I am just leaving Potedia to follow Xena, but I can't wait to be wielding a staff and not watching from the sidelines.  And I can't wait for Xena to let me ride the horse too!!! I'm sick of walking while she rides. Ha ha.  Anyway.  I spotted your user name and had to check out your post.  As I said.. looking forward to following your adventure! 

[Aki1021]

Wow 28 pounds! Can't wait to be a part of your journey!

[gabrielle_of_poteidia]

Thanks guys!

 

You know, the weight was the weirdest thing, because I tend to go for long phases without stepping on the scales, but I re-opened MyFitnessPal after a long while a few weeks ago (wanted to track macros in grams rather than %, and Fitbit can't do that), plugged in my recent Boditrax data, and it told me I'd lost 20lbs since my last weigh in on my old account from a few years ago (I already lost 8 initially). I hadn't really noticed because I wasn't weighing myself regularly, and I'm actually now bigger than I was a while ago because I'm lifting. But even with that, I was surprised I'd lost so much over the years.

 

I did go through a phase a while back where I think I'd lost a lot of weight, and a couple of people commented that I looked unwell. I really wasn't eating much at all back then. I've struggled with my eating habits in the past, so having something regimented where I have to include things (high protein) as well as avoiding certain foods helps me maintain the balance and not fall back into drastic undereating. It also means I don't forget or neglect to eat like I used to because I have a meal plan that says I need food every 4 hours.

 

In a way, I'm sort of doing what Staci at NF HQ did, only I'm only just at the 'starting to lift stuff' phase! My weightlifting progress checkin is here.

 

The next few weeks are gonna be a real challenge! The techniques are different, more refined, and the weights are heavier. And I still get to run for my warmup when I run to the gym, so I get to do everything!