[Stronkey Kong]

 

Hi all! I'm Stronkey Kong. Umm... yeah... still here. If you don't know by now, just ask...

 

This is part 2 of a year long (or at least multi-month) challenge aimed at losing weight by training like a boxer.

 

It's all about calisthenics and cardio with boxing training mixed in for fun and because hitting a heavy bag for 10x3 min intervals is an awesome workout.

 

I have it themed and organized after "Mike Tyson's Punch Out!" on the NES. Here's how this will work...

 

I have 3 Major goals (a catch all goal for the minor/tangential stuff):

 

FIGHTING WEIGHT (FW): Hit 199 lbs (CRUISER WEIGHT, in the next 1-2 years.

 

I'm 37 (almost 38) and 285 or so pounds... I want to get rid of the excess before 40.

 

BOXING SHAPE (BS): I want to be in the kind of shape that boxers and other fighters are in so I'm going to train like them... lot's of cardio and calisthenics for foundational strength and conditioning, and bag work and boxing/martial arts drills for developing speed, coordination, balance, power etc.

 

METABOLIC HEALTH (MH):  Be able to burn whatever I put into my body: carbs, fat -- metabolic flexibility, learn to maintain the balance of calories in vs. calories out, and develop good eating habits. I'll be using LUMEN and BODY TEMP for metabolic feedback, and tracking diet with MFP.

• LUMEN is a gadget that uses the breath (O2 in vs CO2 out) to estimate whether you're burning carbs or fat
• BODY TEMP: I'll take my temperature with an IR surface thermometer around the same time I measure with LUMEN. My baseline/normal temp is 97.4 deg F.
• MFP: I'm using my fitness pal to get the macronutrient data I need to compare to what LUMEN suggests

 

OTHER minor GOALS (OmG): All the other projects and things that I'm going to make the rest of life good.

Spoiler

Writing

Painting

Reading

Gardening

Cooking

Meditating

Studying Buddhist Philosophy/Dharma

Studying Tibetan

Geocaching (maybe?)

Hiking/Walking

Household projects

Chores

Budgeting/Paying off Credit

 

These things show up on my fight scorecard as little 15 min tasks that add points here and there.

 

========================================================

 

As the year progresses, I compete in successively more challenging FIGHTS.

 

The GOALS are the basis for SCORING POINTS and getting KNOCK-DOWNS and KNOCKOUTS in the fights.

 

Just like PUNCH OUT,

• Each fight will be 3 ROUNDS (weeks) in length.
• There will be 1 REST WEEK in between fights to rest, readjust goals, cut for weigh-in etc.
• WEIGH-IN will be the morning on the day before the fight and this will be my official weight for tracking weight loss in the fight.
• For each fight I will identify 3 KO techniques -- one for each of the first three goals. These are impressive and worthy enough to constitute a KO singularly.
• Then, I will have 3 TKO criteria -- again one for each of the three major goals that together (all three) constitute a TKO.
• Finally, even if I fail to KO or TKO, if I go the distance and do more good effort than bad, I can WIN by DECISION -- wherein I track good habits on the FIGHT SCORECARD for each round. There's a lot on the scorecard, and it includes things from my OmGs.
• Throughout the course of the year and 13 total fights, I will track my W-L-KO stats.
• For any W to count, regardless whether it's KO, TKO, or W by Decision, I have to track all three rounds.

 

Adjustments for current challenge:

• Added a REST WEEK between fights
• Dropping prize purses ($$$) from fights -- I don't think these incentives are necessary, and I need to focus on budgeting other things.
• Expanding the FIGHT SCORECARD (ongoing)

 

This challenge is currently scheduled as follows:

 

Week 0: REST WEEK

WEIGH-IN: Saturday, February 12 at 12:00 pm (-ish)

Week 1:  VS. Von Kaiser Round 1

Week 2: VS. Von Kaiser Round 2

Week 3: VS. Von Kaiser Round 3

Week 4: REST WEEK

Week 5: VS. Piston Hondo Round 1

 

I'll keep the current fight, future fight schedule, and fight record on the second of each of these challenges so you (and I) can find it and figure out what the hell I'm currently doing at any time.

[Stronkey Kong]

  

Fight Record

W 1 - L 0 - KO 1

 

Fight Schedule

 

Previous Fights:

Spoiler

 

Stronkey Kong vs. Glass Joe

Jan. 16 - Feb. 5, 2022

KO:  Lose 5 lbs. from weigh-in OR Complete 3 X 60min@HR140bpm stationary bike workouts in one week OR achieve a Lumen score of 20+

TKO: Lose 2 lbs. from weigh-in  AND Complete 1 X 60min@HR140bpm stationary bike workout AND 1 successful Lumen Boost in the same round(week)

Win by Decision: Complete 3x3 Round Heavy bag workouts, and out punch Glass Joe on the Fight Scorecard

FIGHT PURSE: Gymnastics Rings + $50

RESULT: Stronkey Kong KO in Round 1

 

 

Next/Current Fight:

Von Kaiser (Feb 6 - 26, 2022)

Weigh-In: TBD

KO:  TBD

TKO: TBD

Win by Decision: Complete 3x3 Round Heavy bag workouts, and out punch Von Kaiser on the Fight Scorecard

FIGHT PURSE: Battle Ropes

 

Future Fights:

Spoiler

Upcoming Matches:

 

Piston Hondo (Feb 27 - Mar 19, 2022) -- MINOR CIRCUIT TITLE BOUT!!!

KO:  TBD

TKO: TBD

Win by Decision: Complete 3x3 Round Heavy bag workouts, and out punch Piston Hondo on the Fight Scorecard

FIGHT PURSE: New Running Shoes + $250

 

Don Flamenco -- TBD

King Hippo -- TBD

Great Tiger -- TBD

Bald Bull -- MAJOR CIRCUIT TITLE BOUT!!!

Don Flamenco re-match -- TBD

Soda Popinski -- TBD

Piston Hondo re-match -- TBD

Bald Bull re-match -- TBD

Mr. Sandman -- TBD

Super Macho Man -- TBD -- WORLD CIRCUIT TITLE BOUT!!!

 

 

 

[Scaly Freak]

Here to root for you as you take on the emperor!  

[Snarkyfishguts]

I love the continuation of this theme!! Cheering for you!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Here to stand in your corner and squirt water into your mouth with that bottle that has the straw with a ninety degree angle in it.

[Stronkey Kong]

2 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Here to root for you as you take on the emperor!  

 

Yeah. I've been wondering how exactly 'Von Kaiser' translates. Per google, it's 'from emperor', but does it mean from a place, from a lineage or kind, of a place or lineage or kind. Etc. ?

 

1 hour ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I love the continuation of this theme!! Cheering for you!

 

1 hour ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Here to stand in your corner and squirt water into your mouth with that bottle that has the straw with a ninety degree angle in it.

 

 

Glad to have you both in my corner

 

[Asha Phoenix]

Looks like I missed out on a great themed challenge last round. Here to cheer you on for this fight!

[Sloth the Enduring]

 

Here to see the Kaiser get KOed. 
 

I kind of want a heavy bag. Did you buy your bag filled or what did you stuff it with?

[Stronkey Kong]

10 hours ago, Asha Phoenix said:

Looks like I missed out on a great themed challenge last round. Here to cheer you on for this fight!

 

Never too late! There's plenty more coming!

 

10 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

Here to see the Kaiser get KOed. 
 

I kind of want a heavy bag. Did you buy your bag filled or what did you stuff it with?

 

It was filled. 100 lbs.

 

I did look into making a DIY bag, but I realized it would not have saved me enough to make it worth it. Also, making sure it weighs enough and has the right amount of give vs. solidity.

 

Not gonna lie, I'm wishing I'd held off and got a water bag tho.

[Sloth the Enduring]

I didn’t know those were a thing.  My natural inclination is to do things old-school, but one of those are going on my wish list.  

[Kishi]

I envy you your bag! I'm hoping to one day get my place cleaned up enough that I can get a double-end bag, although realistically, I have no friggin' idea where I'd even put it.

 

Maybe if I could rid of my table and chairs.

 

I mean. Man can eat on the floor, right? >.> <.<

[Scaly Freak]

10 minutes ago, Kishi said:

I mean. Man can eat on the floor, right? >.> <.<

 

A large number of human cultures have defaulted to that eating position, actually...

[Kishi]

1 minute ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

A large number of human cultures have defaulted to that eating position, actually...

 

I know! I'm watching this 4-hour takedown of Raya and the Last Dragon by a bunch of SE Asian folk and I saw that that's apparently how they do. I think they're on to something.

[Defining]

12 hours ago, Kishi said:

 I'm watching this 4-hour takedown of Raya and the Last Dragon by a bunch of SE Asian folk

Is that on YT, by chance?!

[Kishi]

1 hour ago, Defining said:

Is that on YT, by chance?!

 

Yup!

 

 

Be advised, it's a two-parter and longer than the Snyder Cut, but I personally found it fascinating. It really highlighted some ways in which I'm ignorant and could stand to grow.

[Stronkey Kong]

Quick update... I'm updating my OS so I can do my taxes... smh... so I may not be getting detaled updates done for a bit.

 

Anyway, I've decided that the Von Kaiser fight is just about building consistency. I'm just going to focus on tracking my diet and hitting the heavy bag consistently. And I've build my goals to reward measurable longer term consistency rather than short term achievements, so I don't just burn myself out by going for the quick W... like I did with Glass Joe.

 

WEIGH-IN is at 283.6 lbs. ... not actually what I currently weight, but that was the lowest I saw on the scale this week, so that'll be the mark I measure weight loss from.

 

3 weeks = 3 rounds.

 

Von Kaiser KOs: Any single knockout is a win.

1. Lumen score of 20+
2.  30 rounds of heavy bag boxing in a single week
3. 5 lbs. of weight lost in during the fight (3 weeks)

Knock downs: To get a TKO I have to get all three Knock downs in one round.

1. 2 pounds lost
2. 18 rounds of boxing in a single week
3. successful boost day (Lumen)

Win by decision: I'm gonna drop the scorecard... because it may be causing tracking fatigue for me. To WbD I just have to my fight strategy guidelines.

Fight strategy:

1. Hit the heavy bag every day: my goal is to do at least 3 rounds on 6 days. As long I put on the gloves and go one round on the bag, that'll count for my day. But it'll be hard to get to 18 plus rounds if I let a backlog of round pile up.
2. Track nutrition daily: I have been slacking on tracking my meals and it's showing. My eating habits and cravings are bouncing around everywhere. Also, Lumen rolled out their new food tracker, so now I have everything in one app.
3. Stick to LUMEN carb guidelines: Lumen tells me how many carbs I should eat to build a more flexible metabolism.... I will try better to do that. This leads to better fueled workouts, more consistent energy levels, and Boost days (carb refuel days... and thus knockdowns), and a more flexible metabolism (Lumen score, KO). They also have protein and fat guidelines. I usually try to hit protein, but falling a little short of 172g/day is fine. For fats, I just try to keep it below what they recommend.

 

[Snarkyfishguts]

Go kick some butt consistently! 💜

[Stronkey Kong]

 

Right after midnight I went down stairs and hit the heavy bag for three rounds. Then I rode the stat bike for 25 min. Post workout endorphins... feelz good.

 

Okay, so I need some points as a baseline for  Win/Lose in  WbD.  I get:

• 1 point for each heavy bag round -- with 10 being the minimum to win
• 1 point for each day I track all my meals -- 6 is the minimum to win
• 1 point for each day that my carbs are within +/- 2 servings (30 grams) of carbs -- 5 is the minimum to win

 

That makes 21 points needed to win a round by decision.

 

So far I have 3 points, and 7-ish days to go to get the other 18.

[Stronkey Kong]

On 2/8/2022 at 7:29 AM, Sloth the Enduring said:

I didn’t know those were a thing.  My natural inclination is to do things old-school, but one of those are going on my wish list.  

 

Neither did I until after I started shopping around and reading some articles about boxing and training and bag choices.

 

I take it back tho. I'm glad I bought the 100 pound standard heavy bag to start. When/if I decide to upgrade and go heavier it'll be a water bag though. The water is supposed to be good because the bag doesn't move around so much. You can hit it harder and it stays put cuz physics. And you can make them super heavy.

 

However, training with a bag, I'm reading and finding, is not about hitting hard so much as you'd think. While heavy bags to develop punching strength, lighter bags are used to work on speed, and distance judgement.

 

On 2/12/2022 at 12:16 AM, Kishi said:

I envy you your bag! I'm hoping to one day get my place cleaned up enough that I can get a double-end bag, although realistically, I have no friggin' idea where I'd even put it.

 

Maybe if I could rid of my table and chairs.

 

I mean. Man can eat on the floor, right? >.> <.<

 

A corner can work. Do you have your own place where you can drill some holes and hang it from a ceiling or will you need a stand? Is outside an option?

[Rooks]

 

Punch-Out might be my favorite game of all time. Here for pink sweat suits and boxing training. Get after it! 

Do you do wraps before you sessions? I know back in my mid 20s, I experimented with some heavy bag work only doing wraps (no gloves), and I remember after a few months, by knuckles had gotten pretty tough where the sessions didn't bother me. I did 1 session last summer with wraps and gloves, and good lord, I thought I broke my hand. Haha... curious what you are doing.

 

On 2/7/2022 at 4:08 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

Here to see the Kaiser get KOed. 
 

I kind of want a heavy bag. Did you buy your bag filled or what did you stuff it with?

 

Craigslist and FB Marketplace. You can eventually find a deal for a heavy bag for $25-$50. 

[Kishi]

6 hours ago, Stronkey Kong said:

A corner can work. Do you have your own place where you can drill some holes and hang it from a ceiling or will you need a stand? Is outside an option?

 

I do have my own place! It's just that my corners are full of stuff.

 

One corner is full of detritus that needs to be got through and one of the walls that makes it has a couple windows on it. I live in a relatively small studio, so the corner itself isn't exactly expansive.

 

Another corner would work a lot better, but it's got a table in it.

 

Of course, a third option would be to find a stud in the center of my place and hang from there; I could put up and take down pretty easy, I think. I'd just have to leave the hook up there, and that doesn't bother me.

 

Outside... mmmmmaybe? I've got a deck out there, and I could theoretically string up between two different rails so that I had a horizontal set up versus a vertical set up. Biggest hurdle there is I don't know how much I trust my landlord's handiwork.

 

But dang, I hadn't even thought of that, so now you got me all thoughtful and stuff. Thanks, man!

 

[Stronkey Kong]

14 hours ago, Rooks said:

 

Punch-Out might be my favorite game of all time. Here for pink sweat suits and boxing training. Get after it! 

Do you do wraps before you sessions? I know back in my mid 20s, I experimented with some heavy bag work only doing wraps (no gloves), and I remember after a few months, by knuckles had gotten pretty tough where the sessions didn't bother me. I did 1 session last summer with wraps and gloves, and good lord, I thought I broke my hand. Haha... curious what you are doing.

 

 

It's definitely one of my Top 5 NES games... hence this challenge.

 

Wraps and gloves are a definite requirement. Back in my mid 20's I was practicing kung fu I had a heavy bag briefly that I barely used, but most often used without gloves or wraps... but it was only 40 lbs. If I remember right... and basically just a target.

 

My first few sessions with wraps and gloves, yeah, my hands hurt a bit afterward, but they toughen up. But on top of that you have to make sure your wrapping technique is good. Then making sure you have bag gloves instead of sparring gloves. And the most important is practicing good technique and form. That is worth a few rounds of hitting the bag alone, just going slow and figuring all that out.

 

14 hours ago, Kishi said:

 

I do have my own place! It's just that my corners are full of stuff.

 

One corner is full of detritus that needs to be got through and one of the walls that makes it has a couple windows on it. I live in a relatively small studio, so the corner itself isn't exactly expansive.

 

Another corner would work a lot better, but it's got a table in it.

 

Of course, a third option would be to find a stud in the center of my place and hang from there; I could put up and take down pretty easy, I think. I'd just have to leave the hook up there, and that doesn't bother me.

 

Outside... mmmmmaybe? I've got a deck out there, and I could theoretically string up between two different rails so that I had a horizontal set up versus a vertical set up. Biggest hurdle there is I don't know how much I trust my landlord's handiwork.

 

But dang, I hadn't even thought of that, so now you got me all thoughtful and stuff. Thanks, man!

 

 

I had to consider all of these options to hang the bag in my house. I decided on the basement. Easy to find a floor joist to attach it to, nice dirty, gritty boxing gym vibes, but low ceiling.

 

I'd prefer outside, but there's snow and ice on the ground at the moment. I might build a support to hang it from in the backyard... maybe even hang a 200 lbs water bag from it... we'll see.

[Stronkey Kong]

 

Today I did:

 

3 more rounds of boxing, tracked all foods, and hit my carbs... so 5 more points makes 8 points.

 

I also did a 45 minute yoga/stretch session. Dudes. I had to stretch in order to comfortably get into Savasana (aka, corpse pose, aka the one where you just lie flat on your back and relax). That's how inflexible I am right now. Oof. I figured it out tho.

 

And Ninja blender acquired! -- I drank four smoothies today. This thing is awesome and just obliterates anything I put into it. I also put 2.5 lbs of raw chicken breast with some walnuts, flax seeds, and yogurt. It turned it into a paste that looked like pink mashed potatoes. I used the meat paste to make some chicken breast patties to eat throughout the week. They cooked up nice in the skillet and were super tender and tasty.

[Snarkyfishguts]

WHOA that blender sounds AMAZING
 

and I feel you on the stretching for laying down poses. My lower back tends to wince, so I gotta stretch it out first too. 
 

if I had a day in my eighteen year old body, I would just run and exercise and not hurt 🤣

[Rooks]

6 hours ago, Stronkey Kong said:

I also put 2.5 lbs of raw chicken breast with some walnuts, flax seeds, and yogurt. It turned it into a paste that looked like pink mashed potatoes. I used the meat paste to make some chicken breast patties to eat throughout the week. They cooked up nice in the skillet and were super tender and tasty.

At first, I thought you were going to going inner caveman and downing raw chicken smoothies. I got very concerned. 🤣

And for your enjoyment, scrounged up my Little Mac Halloween costume pictures. Never did figure out a way to dye the shorts and gloves green. Thought about spray paint but figured that would ruin them.