The path of a would-be Viking

[Pherales]

A Viking does not just mean being a powerhouse of strength.  A Viking has immense stamina, indomitable endurance, firey passion and endless patience.  They protect and support their brothers and sisters as fiercely as themselves, because if one person drops in battle, someone may not be protecting their back.

 

Hey, Vex here.  I figure having a stable thread to journal my own progress, successes and failures, would be the most beneficial thing for me.  If I can commit to daily updates, I can commit to anything, as far as I'm concerned.

 

A little about me, which I already put in my intro post.  I have arthritis in my knees and hips, and lumbar muscular atrophy.  Both of these conditions used to be manageable for me, aches and pains on cold days, but nothing else.  Of course, back then I weighed in at about 150, now, after just getting off of the scales, I weigh in at 328.4lbs.  So my condition has been slowly deteriorating over the years, and I've made every excuse under the sun not to do anything about it.

 

Vikings don't make excuses.

 

Long Term Goals

 

~ One does not simply walk into Valhalla

 

My number one long term goal is walking.  But not just any walking.  This is a personal thing for me.  I want to be able to walk a minimum of five miles, carrying a minimum of 100lbs in weight.  I used to do this way back when, although not carrying quite so much.  I miss it.

 

~Sweet to the eye is that which is seen (Viking Saga, ch. 5)

 

My current end target weight is 150-180lbs.  This is really a guideline goal, it's not static.  I will be able to see exactly when I am at peace with how I look, and I will feel it in myself.

 

Short Term Goals/Ongoing Progression

 

~ A haunch of mutton...

 

100% Paleo.  This is going to be easy for me.  I already eat very similar to this, the transition to full paleo is so minimal that I'll probably barely notice it.

 

~ ...and a flagon of mead.

 

Caffeine no more.  I will be replacing my caffeine addiction with 2l of water a day.  This seems like a lot, but it's almost a direct replacement of my current caffeine intake.  Not to much for me.  A strong viking is a hydrated viking.

 

~ Fear is the mother of defeat.

 

I will be consciously working to conquer my social anxieties.  I'm doing it now.  A week ago I would never have made 3 posts on a forum, never mind made a commitment to keep posting.  I will be dedicated to the Rebellion, and as active on these forums as I can be.  I will also go to lengths to be social in the real world, and conquer my terror of strangers and strange places.

 

~ To take up great resolutions, and then to lay them aside, only ends in dishonor.

 

This one is the big one.  I WILL dedicate my efforts to continuing this.  If I do not make at least one post every three days on this thread with an update of my progress, I will be subject to forfeit.  The first person to call me out on not posting will have a multiple choice of forfeits, which anyone can contribute ideas to at any time.  I'll keep an updated list of forfeit choices here on the first post.  

 

 

I think that sums it up for now.  It's just gone 7am, I'm just about to head out for my morning walk.  

 

Sigr ok stolt!

Victory and pride!

 

 

Forfeit Choices

 

~ 1500 word post on fitness subject of choice.

~ extra sets 3 times in the oncoming week

~ lines writing.  Repetition of the same sentence of choice for a specific number of sentences.

[honeysuckle]

magnificent of you for starting!  I hope by now you had a good morning walk.  You are a true viking to be challenging yourself when it is tempting to use excuses not to- thanks for the inspiration-

[marybelle]

Hi! Your goals look good, I am sure you can do it! That is awesome that you have started posting, it really helps to get to know a few people who have your back. Good luck on your journey!

[Grayfang]

Just take it one day at a time. View every choice as an opportunity to better yourself and you'll do fine.

[Pherales]

magnificent of you for starting!  I hope by now you had a good morning walk.  You are a true viking to be challenging yourself when it is tempting to use excuses not to- thanks for the inspiration-

 

I did thankyou!  It is tempting to make up excuses, but the only person I'm cheating is me if I do that.

 

 

Hi! Your goals look good, I am sure you can do it! That is awesome that you have started posting, it really helps to get to know a few people who have your back. Good luck on your journey!

 

Thanks!  It'll be a long road, but it's worth it.

 

Just take it one day at a time. View every choice as an opportunity to better yourself and you'll do fine.

 

I don't have a single doubt.  In the face of doubt, Vikings grow beards

[Pherales]

Day 1

 

I expected to feel worse than I do today.  I managed a grand total of four hours of sleep last night.  I'm pretty sure Grendel was scratching at my door, but I still have my head, thank goodness.

 

I decided to stick with just cardio today, I need to improve my lung capacity considerably.  Which won't take me as long as I think it will, I have a knack of being tremendously adaptive.

 

I was heading out for my walk just after 7, and when I looked outside it was pouring with rain.  So I had to postpone for a couple of hours until it had stopped.  Being out in the rain is a sure way for joint swelling, which is no fun at all.  So I eventually got out of my door at 10:15.  And by Mjolnir it was freezing cold!  I could had withstood the cold just fine if not for the wind howling in my ears and causing major earache.  I finished my usual route earlier than my 15 minute marker today, at 12:47.  I hadn't realized I'd increased my pace slightly, but it really was blisteringly cold.

 

Paleo is going just fine.  

 

Breakfast - Bacon and eggs, scrambled, no milk.

Lunch - Leftover chicken breast, Seven handfuls of raw carrot sticks (I like carrots)

Dinner - Lamb steaks rubbed with olive oil and mint.  Carrots, peas, broccoli, green beans, cabbage.

 

Pretty standard fare.  I removed carbs from my diet in the middle of last year, and I already barely ate dairy or grains, so Paleo feels completely normal to me at this point.  I do need to get a new freezer though, I buy grass fed meat in bulk, and currently I have issues storing it.

 

I was considering starting BBR tonight as well, but a ) my knees ached and b ) I couldn't find anything in this house to use as a comparable weight.  Not even a milk carton around here, I don't like milk much in the first place.  Still!  It's payday tomorrow, and I have my eye on a decent set of dumbells.

 

Caffeine-wise, I am finishing the last of the caffeine today.  I can't just throw it out, it's not in my nature.  So the last of the diet coke is going, and I'll flush it completely out of my system tomorrow with 2l of water.

 

Energy wise I feel good!  A tiny bit sore, but nowhere near as much as I'd planned to be, or anywhere near close to what I can handle in one day.  If the wind persists tomorrow, then I'll stay indoors for my cardio.  And probably clean the house while I'm at it.

[Pherales]

Today might be interesting... unless I end up taking a cab home, I'm going to be carrying 18kg (just under 40lbs) of weights home with me.  That's a distance of 0.8 miles.  I wonder how my back will handle that...

[honeysuckle]

well, the things that life changing can get us into!  whether you end up toting those dumbells home on foot or in a cab, the day will prove to be unusual! 

Also, I'm going to have to get that metric converter tool on my desktop finally

[Pherales]

Haha, it baffles me too!  I've always used imperial for everything, and when I was looking for a new set, all they had was everything in metric.  Completely new territory, I had to open up google to try and work out what I was looking at.  And then when I got to the store, they'd actually sold my reserved set.  Couldn't have been more irritated.  I did still get a pair that'll see me through BBR for a while, but they're not quite as heavy as the ones I wanted, and it's just a pair, not a full tree.

[Eats-Own-Tail]

this is awesome. good luck with the walking.

 

its great that your diet is already so good. i too drink alot of coffee tho and i dont know how to give it up, other than switching to decaff which i am slowly doing.

[Pherales]

Well.  Balls.

 

Apparently my body decided that my regular sleep pattern had gone on for too long, because I practically passed out at about 3pm, woke up at 10pm.  That's gonna screw my entire routine.

 

I don't have much heart to report in today, everything was balls.  I had a bad day all round, minus the walking, which I did manage to do.

 

Tomorrow's a new day, just wish I could actually have woken up in it!

[KimPossible]

Vexate,

Your thread is awesome. I am loving the lore and it makes me want to jump up and shout, "FOR ASGARD!"  Keep going, because I'm bookmarking, and holding you to your 3 day posting word.

[Eats-Own-Tail]

sorry you had a bad day.

 

but you went for a walk ... thats awesome !!

[Pherales]

Vexate,

Your thread is awesome. I am loving the lore and it makes me want to jump up and shout, "FOR ASGARD!"  Keep going, because I'm bookmarking, and holding you to your 3 day posting word.

 

Hah, thanks!  My friends are always completely baffled by my viking obsession, I store away various tidbits of lore for times exactly like these!  Thankyou for holding me to that three days, I have a tendency to drift off if I don't have accountability, no matter what it is.

 

sorry you had a bad day.

 

but you went for a walk ... thats awesome !!

 

Thanks, I knew I would have bad days, but I'm determined to make that my last absolutely terrible day.  Walking is fun  I like the opportunity to daydream about anything and everything, and it gives my imagination some much needed exercise as well.  I spend way too much time online at the moment.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Seems like my bad day has angered the gods greatly at the moment.  Since I woke up about 6 hours ago I've been sorely dehydrated.  2.5l of water later and I'm about to go refill my 500ml bottle again.  It's weird, after years of drinking literally nothing but soda, I forgot how much I like water.

 

And now that I'm not feeling quite so guilty about everything, I can own up to it better.  Soda, potatoes, breaded chicken deep fried in vegetable oil.  Sugar filled sauces.  It was not good.

 

On a positive note though, I'm seeing a difference between right here and now, and every other time I've made attempts at fitness.  I'm being honest.  Usually when people were keeping track of things along with me, I would lie consistently about what I was doing.  Saying I went for walks when I didn't, saying I ate salad when the only salad was on the 12" ham and pineapple pizza I'd just demolished.  I spent a lot of time telling myself that no one can see me, so they don't need to find out.  First aha moment was realizing that I was only cheating myself, and lying because I was afraid of disappointing people.

 

it's now 4:45, and I'm going to hang around and do very little except get out my oils and rub down my knees, calves and ankles.  I've found that picking up walking again has brought on the DOMS.  Not as badly as I expected, but I'll be picking up BBR today finally, so I'm expecting major pain tomorrow.  Thank goodness for lotion and good hands.

[Pherales]

By Odin's beard!

 

I just stepped into the BBR ring for the first time.  MY GODS!  I managed once, and my heart rate is through the roof, I'm sweating like a stuck pig, and I'm pretty sure those little floaty dots weren't in my eyes before!

 

I couldn't do a plank.  At all.  My back wouldn't help me push up the weight.  Looks like I have a lot more spinal muscle to build.  Nothing I didn't already know.  And I only managed 23 jumping jacks before my knees were ready to buckle.  But everything else, modified to easier versions, went off without much of a hitch.

 

I feel proud.  A week ago, I wouldn't have been caught dead at 6am, music blasting and gym shorts on.  That first step was the hardest.  I can see myself becoming addicted to this feeling very quickly!

[telemon]

Just found your post... There's only one way into Valhalla - welcome to the war! May you always defeat your foes.

Planks can be very difficult to start with, however, you can start building those muscles by doing them on an incline. The greater the angle from the floor the easier they get. To begin, you can start by leaning against a wall or doorway. With your hands and elbows braced against the wall, just step out from the wall, setting your feet some distance from the wall (make sure you're wearing shoes with good grip to them - don't want to be sliding) - possibly a foot or two to start - and holding position there. As you increase in ability simply increase the angle by a small amount-only a couple inches at a time. It can be helpful to mark the position on the floor with something like masking tape. Don't overdo it by pushing too hard or long at first - muscles build slowly - or you may get more pain than you want to deal with. Steve's beginning set starts with 15 seconds. If you ace it, wait a couple of days for proper recovery before increasing time or difficulty. Be careful to practice good form as well. One trick for making sure you're back and hips are aligned properly is to clench your glutes (picture yourself gripping a quarter with them-don't drop the change) and tightening /flexing your quads. This will help prevent any injury. Cheers.

[Pherales]

Just found your post... There's only one way into Valhalla - welcome to the war! May you always defeat your foes.

Planks can be very difficult to start with, however, you can start building those muscles by doing them on an incline. The greater the angle from the floor the easier they get. To begin, you can start by leaning against a wall or doorway. With your hands and elbows braced against the wall, just step out from the wall, setting your feet some distance from the wall (make sure you're wearing shoes with good grip to them - don't want to be sliding) - possibly a foot or two to start - and holding position there. As you increase in ability simply increase the angle by a small amount-only a couple inches at a time. It can be helpful to mark the position on the floor with something like masking tape. Don't overdo it by pushing too hard or long at first - muscles build slowly - or you may get more pain than you want to deal with. Steve's beginning set starts with 15 seconds. If you ace it, wait a couple of days for proper recovery before increasing time or difficulty. Be careful to practice good form as well. One trick for making sure you're back and hips are aligned properly is to clench your glutes (picture yourself gripping a quarter with them-don't drop the change) and tightening /flexing your quads. This will help prevent any injury. Cheers.

 

This just absolutely made my day.  I spent the fifteen minutes I was in the shower trying to devise a way I could get planks going without having to push up off of the ground.  The bottom of my spine just cannot take the strain yet.  Thanks!

 

Onward to battle!

[Pherales]

Rant moment.  Feel free to ignore this one, I just need to vent some irritation.

 

Okay, so, half of my family are in medicine.  I don't pretend to know everything, but I know quite a bit about the body.  And I know that skin has elasticity.  The younger you are, the more your skin can spring back from.

 

Now, I know that it takes hard work.  But that's what I'm here for, right?  Hard work and dedication.  And the appearance itself can be helped with cocoa butter.  That stuff is a godsend, regardless of who you are.  So when I have a 24 year old girl trying to tell me that I'll never have muscle definition because I'm too fat now, it sends me into an white hot rage.

 

ANYTHING is possible with hard work.  Skin stretches, it also bounces back.  I am working on weight loss and muscle work, not just swinging around on an elliptical and counting my calories every single day.  I'm putting in major effort, and in due time I expect to see major results.  With dedication I can be whatever I want to be.

 

In about an hour I'll turn this and fuel it into pushing myself further and harder.  But right now, I'm just irritated to all hell.

[Pherales]

That vent did me good.  I called my grandma and talked to her for a while, and I felt better.  And then when I talked to my friend again, she started bitching about how I'm always eating...again.  And it clicked that she was angry that I could eat all day and still lose weight.  That made me chuckle.

 

So!  Minus a couple more carrots later tonight, I'm done with meals.  I did excellently today, although I didn't expect any different once groceries showed up.  

 

Breakfast - Bacon and eggs, always delicious.

 

Lunch/Dinner combo - Beef and veggie frittata.

 

Throughout the day I munched down on endless carrot sticks, as usual.  And I got some flaked almonds, dried apricots and dried mango slices.  They're all mixed up in a tub sitting on my desk, and every now and again I switch up my carrots with a couple of almond flakes or a mango slice.  Because I like to nibble, rather than sit down and eat large meals.  

 

I also did my cardio today.  Another half mile walk, and I didn't feel anywhere near as out of breath as I did yesterday.  I really hope I consistently adjust this smoothly.  

 

I also put all of my groceries away when they arrived, including moving 14x2l bottles of spring water into the water cupboard.  I don't like tap water much.  By the time I finished my back was aching, but I felt awesome.  

 

I noticed a pickup in my moods from the minute I removed carbs from my diet, but now I'm adding in exercise, and grains are gone, I feel amazing.  I'm smiling at random things, and actually laughing.  It's been a long time since I've just laughed and meant it.

 

Also new little tidbits, I've decided that I'm going to set specific physical rewards for every challenge I get more than a B in.  And I've sorted out my list for my first half dozen 6 week challenges.  I'm really looking forward to throwing myself into that.

 

And, I talked to a friend today who lives in the Netherlands.  He's a medieval re-enactor and he teaches weaponry classes.  Anyhoo, turns out that this summer he may be spending time in the UK teaching sword play, and if he does he's going to come over a couple of weeks earlier and teach me the battleaxe!  I'm so pumped!  Then I shall be off to Jotunheim to slay giants!

[telemon]

Glad I could help. The same principle that applies to planks also applies to push ups. After all, they are just moving planks.

Isn't it funny? There are always plenty of people to tell us what can't be done. Distance yourself from them as much as possible.

Weapon play is a lot of fun and can be great exercise. I used to do the whole medieval recreation thing (10th century Icelandic Vikings) and by the end of fighter practice was usually drenched in sweat.

Happy hunting!

[KimPossible]

Glad I could help. The same principle that applies to planks also applies to push ups. After all, they are just moving planks.

Isn't it funny? There are always plenty of people to tell us what can't be done. Distance yourself from them as much as possible.

Weapon play is a lot of fun and can be great exercise. I used to do the whole medieval recreation thing (10th century Icelandic Vikings) and by the end of fighter practice was usually drenched in sweat.

Happy hunting!

Amen.  Also, people get irritated with you when you start making a positive change in your life because they aren't in the right place to make their own change.  Get rid of or just ignore the negative Nancys and just go kill it.  The human body is pretty amazing in that when you bring off weight slowly and through working hard and eating right, your skin can and will adjust.

[Pherales]

I kind of like having them around, even when they make me rage and I end up having to vent.  It fuels the fire for me, adds to the determination.  Anything and everything can be altered and fuelled into a positive channel with the right mindset.  

 

And thanks!  There's nothing more satisfying in life than having people around who understand your hard work and go out of their way to help and encourage you.  It's a good warm fuzzy feeling.

 

I also fixed my sleep pattern last night, hooray!  I'm looking forward to today's cardio, even if it's raining.  Full of energy this morning.

[Nye]

It's fun to see someone else with an interest in Norse lore, and your log is fun to read; it makes me think that maybe I should have taken a different approach to my own. Perhaps I'll start a new one at some opportune time, such as when I move, or if I start training something new (eyeing a wushu club at the moment, but of course I missed the start of the term). I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your log.

 

Also: keep up the good work! Stay on you path!

[Pherales]

Thanks!  I try not to be overly clinical because it doesn't work for me.  If I work out and eat with military precision I tend to fall back into bad habits rapidly.  So I keep everything fairly light hearted.  

 

You too!

[Pherales]

Today I feel miserable.  The lack of caffeine and carbonation is kicking my ass, and it's affecting my moods heavily.  I went for an idle walk this morning, but other than that I've been so apathetic I couldn't bring myself to climb out of bed for anything except to cook.

 

Kept paleo just fine, though I half heartedly wish I hadn't.  It's a mope-tastic day.