Gus Loses the Bulge & Gains LovingKindness

[Gus]

Gus Challenge 2

Overall Goal for Challenge: Be nice. To myself, to others and care more, kinda by caring less…

After some self-effacing moments in the last week or two, I realized that I need to chill and I was incredibly hard on myself in many ways. My enthusiasm was making it hard for others to get to know me.  Sometimes I feel like I have this knowledge or insight that no one else has, which is fantastically ridiculous! I have so much desire to help; I piss people off and make them not want to listen to a word I say. Growing up each day at 42, blissful pain.

After realizing that I need to have a whole lot more of one thing, and that is fun, and that may mean cheap and fun ideas. We are climbing our way out of a recent deed-in-foreclosure, which means we have to put a butt load down on a home in order to get out of an apartment, which is basically a hole in which we throw money, and a ‘filing cabinet for yuppies’… thank you Mr. Narrator. We’ll come up with some fun, cheap things to do and do them.

I was ever so close to turning my cable on to watch the NBA again and after my wife and realized the ridiculous idea of watching my favorite team & game be marginalized by superstar fouls and marketing for awful beer, cars I don’t want and food I’m not going to eat. I said to my self: self, “I can start going to a gym with that money, a cool gym, centered around rock climbing. It will be a great new hobby, and I can get outside of my head on a wall, instead of ‘Climbing Up the Walls.’

So, after tracking my measurements, BMI, body fat, and weight loss all at once I’ve realized I need to relax on the numbers, and move in a direction of achievement. Numbers can mislead. I feel that while I feel good about what a statistic says, I feel empowered if I achieve something.  

Prior to my last challenge I was less active, and pretty weak. The challenge stipulated that I work out 5 times each week. I only achieved that once during the 6 weeks. This goal will have to be more achievable. I want to be stronger and fit all-around.

I want to be able to run. I will have to work up to this goal. I have some frickin’ pain on the outside of my left-calf in a specific spot that started during the last challenge and it’s going to be an obstacle.

So here is the challenge and the grades associated with each:

Goal 1: Complete a physical standards test:

50 push-ups (full range of motion)
8 pull-ups
50 lunges – body weight
40 squats – body weight
Run a 5K and not walk

Goal 2:  Get to be a flexible guy… not like Gumby, just be able to be more flexible

Successfully complete this cheap yoga DVD we have at home and participate in a yoga class

Goal 3: Eat Paleo 80-90 % of the time

If I eat 5 times a day that allows one meal to be non-paleo - this can be fun.

Eat a Paleo Breakfast 100% of the time Monday – Friday

Cut out self-sabotaging trips to Farmburger or some fail restaurant, thinking that just because it’s grass fed, or it’s just a little rice, I can eat a bun, and/or have a root-beer float… don’t kill my progress with instant gratification is what the goal is here.

Cut out dairy in my coffee… all of it

Goal 4: Play better guitar

Learn 5 nice solos for acoustic
Sing and play 5 songs, which are all not four chords wonders
Get together and play with a friend and make actual music, cover or not

Grades for each Goal:

Goal 1: Complete a physical standards test:

1.    50 push-ups
2.    8 pull-ups
3.    40 lunges – body weight
4.    40 squats – body weight
5.    Run a 5K and not walk

•    Complete all 5:        A
•    Complete 4 of 5:     B
•    Complete 3 of 5:     C
•    Complete 2 of 5:     D
•    Complete 1 of 5:     F

5 Bonus points for 10+ reps of 1, 3 & 4 - 5 points for each additional pull-up – 5 points for another mile ran

Goal 2:  Get to be a flexible guy…

Seated Meditation    Leg High                    Forward Fold
Down Dog           Leg High Bent Knee        Warrior I & II
Plank                   Knee to Nose            Supported Headstand

Goal 3: Eat Paleo 80 percent of the time

This is basically Pass/Fail, so I will add this:
Eating Paleo 100% of the time each day can add two points to my overall grade.

Goal 4: Play better guitar

Learn 5 nice solos for acoustic
Sing and play 5 songs, which are not four chords wonders
Get together and play with a friend and make actual music, cover or not

1.    Karma Police – radiohead
2.    Lola – The Kinks
3.    The Killing Moon - Echo & the Bunnymen
4.    You & I - Wilco
5.    Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones

•    Complete all 5:        A
•    Complete 4 of 5:     B
•    Complete 3 of 5:     C
•    Complete 2 of 5:     D
•    Complete 1 of 5:     F

 

[Hiraedd]

Wow, Gus, that seems like a really ambitious list!  Are you sure you have the bandwidth to make all those changes at once?   I'd probably pare down a few of them if I were you to give yourself some wiggle room or I suspect you'll burn out in the first couple of weeks, and we don't want that!

 

For the grading of the Paleo goal, rather than making it a pass fail goal, why don't you make it a sliding scale?  Take the total number of meals in the challenge and then put the number of them you eat paleo against it, and figure out your grades.  Since you want to hit 80%, 80-100% would be an A, 70-79 B, etc.  At the end of the challenge that will help you calculate the points that go to it, and it may help you not give up if you have a tough few meals (now I can't even hit my goal, so I quit <--- we don't want that conversation to happen!)

 

And I don't know how much you play guitar right now, but wouldn't one or two songs make more sense?

 

Just a few things to think about, since we'd all love to see you be as successful as possible this challenge.  Good luck!!

[Gus]

Thanks for the input in a big way!

 

First the fun stuff, the guitar. Since putting the challenge together I've been playing a good bit, but you are correct. I'll 86 the nearly impossible to sing, Karma Police. The bridge in Lola is tough, and the Open G tuning in Wild Horses is very approachable, while getting the singing to match is difficult. Showering after a workout might help my singing if I didn't feel self-aware in there as well. I won't do the Killing Moon justice, but hey, my wife loves me. After inablity to complete the last challenge in a successful manner I will slow down as well on some others as well. You and I is a pretty, and sweet song, so that will be good for my wife, although it's not an audacious love song.

 

The paleo grading system you have helped me with is ideal. The Supported Headstand at 42 and being more than 15 pounds over weight may also be a big challenge. I'll sub-out that pose. The bandwidth on my end may be a bit thin for this accomplishment.

 

I must get through the calf issue and FINISH the 5K without walking. I want this bad. Also I'll knock the pull-ups down to 4. That was the goal from the last challenge. I'm at 2. I can do 4 okay chin-ups, although I know pull ups are a whole different ball of wax.

 

Thanks for the well wishes. I'll make the changes tomorrow... although I should DO IT NOW, but my butt and back hurts.

 

 

[Hiraedd]

Awesome.  Always glad to see people make their goals more achievable!  Looking forward to the domination of said challenges.  Monday cannot come soon enough!

[Gus]

I have updated the paleo portion of this challenge after some great help. Also, I have decreased then pull-ups I will complete in this challenge as this is very difficult for me at this time. I have reduced the guitar goals as well, but still want to have more ability to play and sing, have more stamina in this area and as well, just be a better all-around player with more music theory knowledge.


So here is the challenge and the grades associated with each:

Goal 1: Complete a physical standards test:

50 push-ups (full range of motion)
8 pull-ups
50 lunges – body weight
40 squats – body weight
Run a 5K and not walk

Goal 2:  Get to be a flexible guy… not like Gumby, just be able to be more flexible

Successfully complete this cheap yoga DVD we have at home and participate in a yoga class

Goal 3: Eat Paleo 80-90 % of the time

If I eat 5 times a day that allows one meal to be non-paleo - this can be fun.

Eat a Paleo Breakfast 100% of the time Monday – Friday

Cut out self-sabotaging trips to Farmburger or some fail restaurant, thinking that just because it’s grass fed, or it’s just a little rice, I can eat a bun, and/or have a root-beer float… don’t kill my progress with behavior of a 12 year old is what the goal is here

Cut out dairy in my coffee… all of it

Goal 4: Play better guitar

Learn 5 nice solos for acoustic
Sing and play 5 songs, which are all not four chords wonders
Get together and play with a friend and make actual music, cover or not

Grades for each Goal:

Goal 1: Complete a physical standards test:

1.    50 push-ups
2.     4 pull-ups
3.    40 lunges – body weight
4.    40 squats – body weight
5.    Run a 5K and not walk

•    Complete all 5:     A
•    Complete 4 of 5:  B
•    Complete 3 of 5:  C
•    Complete 2 of 5:  D
•    Complete 1 of 5:   F

5 Bonus points for 10+ reps of 1, 3 & 4 - 5 points for each additional pull-up – 5 points for another mile ran

Goal 2:  Get to be a flexible guy…

Seated Meditation    Leg High                           Forward Fold
Downward Dog        Leg High Bent Knee          Warrior I & II
Plank                         Knee to Nose                   Tree

Goal 3: Eat Paleo 80-90% percent of the time

Track the food is very helpful, but it will only be important to track the number of poor meals. It would be good to know what led up to these events.

    Grade A: eat 160 – 144 meals that are 100% Paleo
    Grade B: eat 144 – 128
    Grade C: eat 128 – 112
    Grade D: eat 112 – 96
    Grade F: eat 95 or less

Goal 4: Play better guitar

Learn 2 nice solos for acoustic
Sing and play 4 songs, which are not four chords wonders
Get together and play with a friend and make actual music, cover or not

1.    Lola – The Kinks
2.    The Killing Moon - Echo & the Bunnymen
3.    You & I - Wilco
4.    Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones

•    Complete all 4:     A
•    Complete 3 of 4:   B
•    Complete 2 of 4:   C
•    Complete 1 of 4:   D
•    Complete none:    F

 

I will add the points after the challenge as to what is appropriate. For, myself I have learned that I learn a lot about myself afterwards. I'd rather not put any constraints on myself at this time, at least in this manner. Let's get excited for the challenge...
 

[Gus]

I got in a successful run. Here is the breakdown:

 

Approx warm up: 4:00 min.

Total distance: 3.37

Average speed was 5.1 during the run.

Warm down approximate: 3:30 min.

Total time: 40:37

Final result... Psyched!

Different muscles hurt a bit. The pain in my calf is basically wimp pain as far as the knot it felt like from last challenge and my run last week.

 

Played this ridiculously easy chord change from C to Am9 which is basically an easy ring finger exchange with the pinky many times. Sang parts of You and I, from the second verse and chorus a good bit.

 

100% paleo today,, until dinner. I have to break this addiction to tomato soup, as well as many others. and tonight will not be the day. I need to research if the soup alone is enough to qualify as a nightshade vegetable as I've described my issue with eczema via an article in a 2009 article in the online Daily Mail: Here  - http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/25090-eczema-help-hopefuly/

 

Purchased a used curl bar, with some odd weights that, uh, oh, don't match, but equal 50 pounds.

 

 

[Gus]

I re-adjusted my grades that are mathematically correct, and the paleo eating goal will allow for less trip ups. The running goal needed to be re-adjusted because I completed it in the first week.

Goal 1: Complete a physical standards test:

1.    50 push-ups
2.     4 pull-ups
3.    40 lunges – body weight
4.    40 squats – body weight
5.    Complete a 5K in less than 31 minutes

•    Complete all 5:     A
•    Complete 4 of 5:  B
•    Complete 3 of 5:  C
•    Complete 2 of 5:  D
•    Complete 1 of 5:  F

5 Bonus points for 10+ reps of 1, 3 & 4 - 5 points for each additional pull-up – 5 points for another mile ran

Goal 2:  Get to be a flexible guy…

Seated Meditation      Leg High                          Forward Fold
Downward Dog          Leg High Bent Knee         Warrior I & II
Plank                          Knee to Nose                   Tree

Goal 3: Eat Paleo 80 percent of the time

Track the food is very helpful, but it will only be important to track the number of poor meals. It would be good to know what led up to these events.

    Grade A: eat 128 - 115 meals that are 100% Paleo
    Grade B: eat 114 - 102 meals that are 100% Paleo
    Grade C: eat 101 - 89 meals that are 100% Paleo
    Grade F: eat less than 89 meals that are 100% Paleo

    I’ll pretend I’m studying for my Grad degree and anything below a C is Fail.

Goal 4: Play better guitar

Learn 2 nice solos for acoustic
Sing and play 4 songs, which are not four chords wonders
Get together and play with a friend and make actual music, cover or not

1.    Lola – The Kinks
2.    The Killing Moon - Echo & the Bunnymen
3.    You & I - Wilco
4.    Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones

•    Complete all 4:       A
•    Complete 3 of 4:    B
•    Complete 2 of 4:    C
•    Complete 1 of 4:    D
•    Complete none:     F





 

[Gus]

Today I had a good day. I sold 152 CD's and put 300.00 of the 322.00 into my savings account. This is an unfinished goal from last Challenge. I read some of the book I Will Teach you to be Rich and found that at the start of the book to cut down mercilessly on the things you don't need and spend on the things you love.

 

Today I showed a great deal more commitment toward the Paleo Goal and ate my meals, by eating less and as well maintain strict guidelines. I am pretty excited. The weights were fun and the Angry Birds that I have modified somewhat to meet my needs also went well. I got in 8 chin ups over 3 sets and 3 awkward pull-ups. I completed 60 lunges each leg over 3 sets, 75 push-ups over 3 sets and 50 push-ups.

 

Tonight we had a half of a Turkey Breast, Broccoli, and half a sweet potato.

 

Completed a project of installing 4 GB of Ram in this old computer, and after having some garbage security software removed it is running larger applications well. Didn't turn up the desire to get a new anything.

[Hiraedd]

Hey Gus!!  What you've posted so far looks like progress all across the board....what about in the last week or so?  How have things been going?