Assassin Log

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

Okay, so I want to start up jumping aboard with the assassins, and doing their challenges to help myself get into parkour. I'll use those challenges to dictate my goals, but until the next one starts, I'll keep it pretty general.

 

GOALS:

-Eat Paleo! (At least as much as possible while living with someone else who buys the groceries)

-Run with the dogs EVERYDAY.

-Do a set of warm-ups and stretches everyday.

-Come up with a work out cycle that I can use regularly, but still mix up and keep interesting.

-Go out and explore the environment at least once a week so I can use it to freerun in.

-Try a new parkour move every week and try to have it down pat (or at least get the basic hang of it)

-Set myself a goal every week that will increase my WIS/INT attribute. =D

-Update this log at LEAST once a week.

 

So, for today I've screwed the Paleo pooch.  PB&J's are sooo not the answer =(

 

Have run through the wet, mucky yard with the pit bull. We played tag. He won.

 

I'm about to plug into some dubstep and get my stretch on

 

After that, I'm going to set up a work out routine. Maybe I'll start with three days a week, and increase the amount of workout time as my stamina increases?

 

I'll check the weather and see if it's going to be any warmer this weekend. I'll explore the woods then =)

 

For this week, I'm going to work on PK rolls. Very basic, a simple concept, and yet immensely important to help prevent injury when doing runs and jams.

 

I'm going to tackle some new lessons on KhanAcademy.com.  Maybe some science or math (the most challenging subjects for me.)

 

Also, I should set a reminder for myself to check for the challenge update on the seventh. =) That's when I'll update this again, when I get the challenge info.

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

Okay, so today:

 

~I pretty much can't do much by means of Paleo =( BUT that's no excuse not to set a diet goal.  For now, I'm going to try and cut down on the coffee I drink. (It's pretty much liquid sustenance to me, but I know that's unhealthy.) I'm going to try and replace that with as much water as I can drink. Cutting out other unhealthy drinks is no problem, as I don't drink any t begin with

 

~I mentioned before that I've run with the dogs, but it's so disagreeable outside that it didn't last long.  But I STILL did it!

 

~I did a plenty of stretchin and warmin up today.  My flexibility is pretty much the only thing that never fails me. I loves it.

 

~I used the Beginners Guide to Parkour as a base for my workout plan and got that started today. It's too dark to go out and do pull-ups and stair jumps today, but I'll start on it tomorrow.

 

~I checked the forecast and, although the weekend will be miserably wet (and undoubtably mosquito infested,) Monday promises to be much sunnier. I can try and get out and explore then =) That's also day 1 of the next six week challenge, so that'll be a good way to kick the whole thing off.

 

~PK rolls is also out for today because of the time, but I WILL get to it tomorrow.

 

~I'm going to work through math lessons on KhanAcademy until the seventh.  At that time I'll either set a weekly lesson goal for the challenge, or do a set number of pages read per week, depending on my mood.

 

So, I think that for day 1, I did pretty well.  Or, at least as well as I could hope.  Kinda down about the Paleo thing, but I'll try to work in as much fresh veg and scrambled eggs as I can. =D

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

And just as reference, I'm going to post in my "workout" reg.  (I'm not post-whoring, I swear!)

 

   Each workout should start with a full body warm up and stretch to get everything nice and loosened up. Without getting too technical, just work it out from head to toe.

   Ok, so I'm going to do a basic reg of:

~Squats

~Push-ups

~Pull-ups

~leg lifts

   I'm going to start at 1X10 (that's sets by reps.)  Each week I'm gonna add 2-5 of each reps, until i get to 1x20.

At that point, I'll add a set, and go to 2x10.  And so on.  I think once I get to 3x15 or so, I'll begin to focus on time as much as quantity.

   In addition, I'm going to throw in the rolling plank of doom.  Starting at 10 seconds each, maybe I'll increase by five seconds each week?  We'll see.

   As far as jump practice, 1-2 steps up from the ground for a week, 10 reps.  I'll add a set in a week for 1-2 x 20.  Then on week three I'll add a step for 3x10, etc.

   After my conditioning reg gets to about 2x15, I should have no problem starting on landing practice (PK rolls with height), two hand vaults, muscle-ups, and precision jumps.

 

I think that covers the plan for a while.  Every week I guess I'll up date with progress and the next seven day game plan.  =)

 

Of course I'll have to adjust my goals during challenges

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

Okay, so for today:

 

I realize that warm ups look a bit silly, but if you laugh about it, so will everyone else around you.

 

I can get the dog to wear out before me when we play if I have the right attitude

 

I got out and tried pull-ups.  It's been way too long since I've done them, so I was limited to like, half a pull up D=

 

The ground was waaay to wet and mushy today to try PK rolls. (and the weather looks like it'll still be icky for a couple of days, but that's ok.  I'll get to it for sure. =D )

 

Push ups were fine.  Leg lifts were painful, but in a good way.  It's the box squats that'll be the end of me.  I have to kind of cheat and have something to hold/balance myself on.  I guess it'll take practice to get the form right.  

 

Jumps on the stairs were okay, but I started from one and I'll work my way up from there.  (White girl definitely CAN'T jump, lol.)

 

The biggest motivator when I'm working out is DEFINITELY mood music.  Something aggressive and rock can get me to pull through.  Three Days Grace is excellent for me. =)  I love working music into my day whenever I can, so I find any excuse.

 

I had cereal for breakfast ( I know, bad Otaku!), which was kind of late so I didn't have lunch.  I ate early in the afternoon (sixteen bean soup and a bit of rice) and then the same meal again later in the evening.  So I actually got three meals in today! Yay metabolism!  Also, I only drank one (kind of large) cup of coffee today. =D  I'm super excited about that.  The rest of the day was water, until right now.  I'm having hot tea  I wish we had some fresh veggies in the house for me to snack on.  Yesterday the carrots got thrown out (I could've cried.)  I wanted to be like "No, keep those! They look fine."  Lol, but I'd be enough of a pester, so I didn't want to say anything else.

 

AND!!!  I signed up for the six week challenge today, got my goals set and signed up for the accountibilibuddies (sp?) spreadsheet!  I was so giddy about that.  I think I high-fived my sister six or seven times while I was doing all of this.  Now I just have to keep my eyes open for mini-challenges. =D  Yay!

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

Ok, while I'm tracking my fitness goals in my six week challenge log for now, I want to kind of track other goings on here.

I applied for a couple of jobs today, which is exciting and nerve wracking. But I do need money, both because my mom is a single parent supporting three kids, and at my age I shouldn't depend on her, and I should be contributing to the family in some degree other than house work.

 

I looked into ged test centers near where I live, and it turns out that the local community college offers tuition for their classes to ged test takers who have high score averages.

 

While making sure I had all the documents I would need to apply for the ged (a lot of my stuff is in storage from the last move,) I also reaffirmed my need for a drivers license. My permit expires this year on my birthday, which is nice and early in the year. I really have to get over my aversion to driving.

While I'm a thorough homebody, I'll admit that the idea of independence is nice. Now, I love my family, and I don't want them to have to pull weight for me.  (My mom has to find a place to live of four bedrooms every time we move; if I lived on my own, she could look for a smaller place to live and be able to more for my younger siblings as she wouldn't have to support me.) I'm a drop out with no job or independent mode of transportation. Moreover, I'm damn near twenty years old.  

 

The time has come in my life to fly, in more ways than one.

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

Today, I got a hold of someone at the CC about the GED test.  The next one is on the 23rd of this month.  Orientation is a week before that.  Tuition and registration has to be handled before that, so I have about a week to get the 75 dollars paid.  I'm kind of excited. =)

[RiotInferno]

Good Luck on your GED. We believe in you.

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

Thanks riot! Moving around a lot really messed up high school for me, and I was so ashamed when I dropped out. Your words of encouragement really mean a lot to me. =)

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

So, the last week is officially over tomorrow. Yay, I've survived so far!  I was going to gear up for next week by deciding what new move to try, etc. But nothing on the internet wants to freakin work right now.  Go figure.  So I guess I'll just decide how many sets/reps of everything I'll be aiming for next week? Tomorrow, I'll update my best runtime, calculate the increase from my starting time, and use that to decide next weeks duration goal.  

 

Squats           \

Leg lifts           >  1x15

Push ups       /

 

RPoD             ->      1x15

 

Pull ups         ->  Starting on Monday, I'm going to use the twenty pull ups training guide, which for week one states that Monday has 3x1 negative pull ups, Wednesday has 1x1 pull up and 2x1 negatives, and finally Friday has 2x1 pull ups and 1x1 negatives (I believe.)  I may do more negatives on the "rest days" (because let's face it, I'm a glutton for sore muscles.)

 

I can't wait for Monday so I can start the upped regimen.  My abs don't hurt anymore, and it's kinda makin me feel like a pansy.

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

So, it's week three of the six week challenge, and everything's going alright, for the most part.

 

But just for the hell of it, I decided to check out my body fat percentage.  After all, assassins tend to be lean and make the attempt to get rid of excess body fat to be more proficient at what they do.

 

So I used an online calculator, (I know, shame.  But I don't have a bfp measurement tool, so this is all I have.) through in some approximate measurements, and got back some approximate results.

 

Approximately, 21% body fat, which translates to approximately 30 lbs of fat tissue... attached to my body.  Oh my God, I'm shell shocked.  I don't feel like I have that much excess, but I guess that's what an eye opener is supposed to do, huh?  So, that's on record, I'm going to go take pictures of myself.  I was going to at the start of the six weeks, but I chickened out -hard-.

 

I'm really going to have to do something about what I eat (granted, the only thing in the house is bread and peanut butter, but my family is staying with someone else, so I'm in no position to make requests...)  And way, waay more water, too.  I don't eat like crazy, EVER, but I am pretty lazy, which is probably the cause.

 

I'm sorry, ranting here.  Those numbers just absolutely shock me.  ):

 

The pictures of my current body image are going to be in my album.  I'm going to take new measurements and pictures at the end of the challenge.

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

So it's almost the end of the challenge, and a LOT has happened in the last couple of weeks.

 

I've moved, filed my first tax return, started watching a neighbor kid for some pocket money, gotten some new mattresses delivered to the house... okay well, it seemed like a lot to me, anyways. =D

 

I intend to put my tax return to good use, small though it may be.  I'm going to try and find a macbook on ebay so I'll have a machine to do my digital art on (points for mobility! XD)  Also, I'll have money to use for joining the local Planet Fitness.

 

Now, the cost is ridiculously low, and they seem to have great equipment, I can respect their mission to keep everyone feeling welcome and from being intimidated... but they have this thing called a Lunk Alarm right?  Apparently, if you're being a huge showoff, this loud alarm sounds and someone comes over and asks you to stop doing whatever jerk-ish behavior you're pulling off.  Now, my mother has a friend who works out there, twice a day, two hours at a time, nothing but weights, and she's never heard him complain about it.

 

On the other hand, I've heard a lot of negative things about this system.  One person was getting a tour when they first joined, and the gym rep was very anti-weightlifter apparently, when she explained that PF doesn't "cater to weight lifters and body builders."  What he said to her was along the lines of "So, if someone's working out intensely, you come over and publicly berate them?  In the 'No Judgement Zone'?"  She said, "Yeah, kind of ironic, huh?"  You freakin kidding me?

 

Personally, I'll give somebody one chance to tell me why I can't push myself to be physically better and to work at getting fit in a fitness club where I pay good damn money to go and workout.  Yeah, we'll see who gets berated and walks away, or they can give me back my membership fee and monthly cost, too. ^_-

 

Also, now that we live in our own house, there are FRESH VEGETABLES in the fridge!!! *gasp* From a farmer's market, too.  I almost broke my mother, I hugged her so hard when she brought them home.  My gosh, I was freakin happy.  XD  So I have, in general, been eating a lot better lately.  Yay!

 

That's it for now.  I guess I'll update this puppy when I have something worth mentioning. =D

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

  I finally, FINALLY signed up with the local Planet Fitness!  Oh my ghad, I'm so 'cited!  This is definitely going to help me keep up with exercising in-between challenges, as well as improving my body for parkour.  Luckily, I noted that there is no such Lunk Alarm in my particular gym, and it has an obvious lack of sweat odor.  *Is that a choir of angels singing?*

 

  At the home stead, the parts for the washer and dryer were bought today (just teflon tape and a proper dryer cord as ours didn't have the right prongs.)  Everything was hooked up and I'm now battling the mountains of dirty clothes that have invaded my home. XD  I'd like to mention how NOT fun it is to be shocked by a dryer when you plug it in as a result of the wires not being properly grounded.  Way to go, Otaku.  Next time, utilize Google. -__-; Ouch.

  

  I've been goofing around on the little wooden playground in my yard, and it's fun!  =D  I kind of tore up my forearms hang-crawling across the support beam for the swings, but it was a blast regardless. 

 

  Can't think of much else worth mentioning at the moment, so =D

[Otaku_Wanna_Fly]

Well, it's been a while, so I guess I'll update this bad boy from the beginning.

 

In the middle of my second challenge I kind of lost internet for a long time and then fell out of the goal doing, so I failed.  Then I kept on without internet for a long time.  For a while I kept running a couple times a week.  But that turned into once every couple weeks.  Gee, maybe I'll take a run this month.  Nah.  I'll stay in and read instead.

 

Well, then my family's power got cut off.  Now, normally we do alright.  We might be lower middle class, but we have everything we *need.*  And yes, we've had utilities cut off before.  Who hasn't fallen behind on a bill?  But this sucks.  Muggy midsummer heat isn't my game, and my family has a lot of pets.  Ever smelled two week worth of built up pit bull stink?  It ain't pretty.

 

Luckily, I have an AMAZING neighbor who has, for all intents and purposes, let my brother, sister and I move in.  We sleep in her living room, and then help out with cleaning the house and handling the younguns during the day.  My mom holds down the fort at home.  God love her.

 

Well, my awesome neighbor has interwebs, so now I'm back.  AND I'LL NEVER LEAVE YOU AGAIN!!! *sobs*  Haha, just kiddin', but I am back for the next challenge, and super stoked to get back into things.

 

I'll be jumping back into body weight training for PK as well as flexibility training for body contortion in case I really do decide to run away to the circus someday.  (Knowing, you probably shouldn't be surprised...)  Also, my mother and I have abandoned Planet Fitness.  They cost too much for the infrequent visits we actually got to make to the gym, so screw the machines; I have pavement to pound.

 

So, I'll update this again soon.  =D