The Defeat of Others Is Nothing; The Defeat of Myself Is Everything

[Kishi]

 

Wow, two pages worth of monk topics, and your guild leader didn't even show up. Wow, guys, I dropped the ball. Sorry for that.

 

So, life done gone became a hurricane in the intervening period. Lease is coming up in August, and I've been trying to get into personal training in a big way. Animazement happened in my town, which led to me meeting up with some friends of mine from high school whom I hadn't seen in years. They didn't recognize me, which was a freaking fantastic validation of my efforts from the old days.

 

Anyway, the war against myself continues. The program I'm following to develop the physique is a combination of four programs. I am following the first, to some mixed success. It's ostensibly an insulin resetting protocol, which just means it's about burning fat. I've had some good results, but it relies on adhering to a very strict low-carb plan to start with, and between the con and some low willpower on the weekends, it's not always easy to do what I need to do.

 

Still, I refuse to be defeated. My dalliances tend to be larger meals rather than day-long binges, so it's not unbearable. Might even be a good fit-in, who knows.

 

Oof. I'm writing this too early in the morning. Let's get some challenges up, shall we?

 

Goal 1: Prime, Adapt Workouts

Currently doing the workouts and following the diet advice of Engineering the Alpha, by John Romaniello. Man is good. Workouts are good. I'm seeing definition in my arms that I never thought I'd see, and when I find myself at the limits of what my gym can do for me, I find new ways to challenge myself.

 

Anyway, I will be posting the workouts here to keep myself accountable. 4 workouts per week; I'll go ahead and post the numbers and the notes here for everyone to see. Graded out of 24. +2 STR, +2 STA

 

Goal 2: STICK TO THE DAMN DIETARY DIRECTIONS

Right. So, this is a comprehensive program, with very specific directions about the macros and the like. I'll go ahead and post them up each week, and I will let you know if I blow it. Interestingly, cheat days are not permitted for the first two weeks of this challenge; then, the program shifts, and they are allowed again. Graded out of a possible 42. +2 CON, +2 WIS

 

Goal 3: 6 Minute Superman

So, I've been fooling around with warm-ups and the like. The newest name that's come out is Dan Go, who basically took the myofacial release protocols from MWOD and created a mobility system for warming-up with them. I intend to follow these protocols with each workout. I should have no excuses, given that I have a lacrosse ball and six minutes before each workout. Graded out of a possible 24. +3 STA, +1 CON

 

LIFE GOAL: GET LIFE SORTED

Despite my goal of being a better writer, I have more problems to solve at the moment. My lease is up in August, and I need to get into a better-paying job if I have any intention of staying here in Raleigh. Some things are moving here that make me hopeful; my goal is to have them solidified before these six weeks are done. This will be graded as a Pass/Fail, with room for half credit if only one of the two objectives is accomplished. +2 CHA, +1 WIS

 

Get all this sorted, and one day I will be free to go play in the dojo again. But let's just focus on winning these next 6 weeks, shall we?

[Brunehild]

Epic music, wish you all the best for your challenge and thank you for taking the time to drop in on everyone's challenges for tips and encouragement !

[Chef Neem]

It's wild how many posts and replies there are even before the challenge starts. This is the largest group of monks I've ever seen. You are going to be challenged as the guild leader in addition to everything else.

I'm curious about the 6 minute superman warm ups. I have seen the talked up a bit recently. I look forward to seeing how those help out.

[SevenFootGeek]

You don't stand a chance!  

 

That... doesn't sound right.  Encouraging a battle against yourself is hard.  Still, you've got your plan and the desire to get it done.  Time to see it through!

[littlewings]

Epic! Let's roll.

[Kishi]

Epic music, wish you all the best for your challenge and thank you for taking the time to drop in on everyone's challenges for tips and encouragement !

 

Aw, shucks. 'tweren't nothin'. The Monastery's nothing without you guys, so I'm always looking to encourage you.

 

It's wild how many posts and replies there are even before the challenge starts. This is the largest group of monks I've ever seen. You are going to be challenged as the guild leader in addition to everything else.

I'm curious about the 6 minute superman warm ups. I have seen the talked up a bit recently. I look forward to seeing how those help out.

 

Hah, as if there wasn't enough to do already. XD Still, I bet it'll be fun.

 

And yeah, me too. I saw them talked up and got pretty stoked. I dunno how it's gonna turn out, but I'm hopeful. The SMR sessions have been leaving me sore, but in a good way, and I noticed this morning when I woke up that I didn't have the same aches and pains I normally do.

 

You don't stand a chance!  

 

That... doesn't sound right.  Encouraging a battle against yourself is hard.  Still, you've got your plan and the desire to get it done.  Time to see it through!

 

 

It's gonna be a hard one for sure. I am a wily opponent.

 

Epic! Let's roll.

 

DID SOMEONE SAY ROLL!?

 

[Kishi]

All right, quick post to establish starting stats. 176.5 lbs at 15.6% body fat.

 

Pictures forthcoming at some point in this challenge. I think.

[Chrissa]

Love the title, and the music is indeed epic! I am always saying my worst enemy is myself and I know sometimes I am way too hard on myself but it's just the plain truth. I am pumped and inspired by your goals and wish you the best of luck with them.

[Zaci Deets]

Good luck with your goals Kishi!  Especially the job hunt - I'm looking for work too, so we can commiserate over how much it sucks to fill out application forms and rewrite your CV : b  Crossing fingers for you!

[ICB]

It's wild how many posts and replies there are even before the challenge starts. This is the largest group of monks I've ever seen.

Seriously, this group is huge! I feel bad because I can't possibly read them all like I have in the past.

 

Go for it, Kishi! It's great to get validation from high school friends, but you've got more work to do.

[Spider-Dan]

Kishi, your gif is making me seriously consider changing my race to Cybertronian. Heck we already have a monk named Optimus Primarch.

Good luck to you, my friend. I'm sure you are capable of kicking your own @$$.

[RisenPhoenix]

I love Two Steps From Hell so much.  SO MUCH.

 

Anyway, goals look awesome, Kishi.  I lost you in all the posts here (+1 to the "holy crap huge Guild" feelings), and was about to send you a message asking if your challenge was up yet.  It looks intense, but I trust that our fearless Guild Leader will prevail.  Also, did you catch that Romaniello did a podcast that was linked to in another thread which was a prelude to his book being published.  It's here.  Maybe not totally relevant to what you're doing, but I found it to be an interesting talk.  Definitely a big "don't judge a book by it's cover" vibe from him.  Bonus points because he made me remember to pick up "Hero with a Thousand Faces" while at a used book store.

 

anyway, you got this, Leader!

[Zuel]

Way to go O Great Leader! I was curious about your new routines.

 

Looks like we are becoming a veritable army of monks. 

[Chanee]

 

Wow, two pages worth of monk topics, and your guild leader didn't even show up. Wow, guys, I dropped the ball. Sorry for that.

 

 

 

 

Yes the music is EPIC love it!! I think we all should have them music now. Perhaps we could then combine all of our choices into one LEGENDARY work out mix

 

::starting thinking what mine should be::

 

In the end when you come right down to it, we are always fighting ourselves. All excuse seem to be tie into our own wants and desires.

Oh and no big deal on dropping the ball, you just owe us 100 push-ups to make up for it 

[Kishi]

Love the title, and the music is indeed epic! I am always saying my worst enemy is myself and I know sometimes I am way too hard on myself but it's just the plain truth. I am pumped and inspired by your goals and wish you the best of luck with them.

 

I'm glad you stopped by! And thanks!

 

Good luck with your goals Kishi!  Especially the job hunt - I'm looking for work too, so we can commiserate over how much it sucks to fill out application forms and rewrite your CV : b  Crossing fingers for you!

 

Agreed, agreed. I have some news about that, too.

 

Seriously, this group is huge! I feel bad because I can't possibly read them all like I have in the past.

 

Go for it, Kishi! It's great to get validation from high school friends, but you've got more work to do.

 

I know what you mean. My habit used to be to read everyone else's stuff first and then update myself, but there's no way that's gonna work now.

 

But you're right. There's more to do.

 

Kishi, your gif is making me seriously consider changing my race to Cybertronian. Heck we already have a monk named Optimus Primarch.

Good luck to you, my friend. I'm sure you are capable of kicking your own @$$.

 

Ha ha ha! That's a good one.

I love Two Steps From Hell so much.  SO MUCH.

 

Anyway, goals look awesome, Kishi.  I lost you in all the posts here (+1 to the "holy crap huge Guild" feelings), and was about to send you a message asking if your challenge was up yet.  It looks intense, but I trust that our fearless Guild Leader will prevail.  Also, did you catch that Romaniello did a podcast that was linked to in another thread which was a prelude to his book being published.  It's here.  Maybe not totally relevant to what you're doing, but I found it to be an interesting talk.  Definitely a big "don't judge a book by it's cover" vibe from him.  Bonus points because he made me remember to pick up "Hero with a Thousand Faces" while at a used book store.

 

anyway, you got this, Leader!

 

That's the vibe I got from him too. I've listened to similar interviews that he's done, and you always get that same vibe from him. His FB status updates are just as likely to be about GoT as they are about fitness. Maybe even moreso.

 

Anyway! Thanks!

 

Way to go O Great Leader! I was curious about your new routines.

 

Looks like we are becoming a veritable army of monks. 

 

Dude, no kidding. I never actually thought we'd get an army, but as long as it's here...

 

Yes the music is EPIC love it!! I think we all should have them music now. Perhaps we could then combine all of our choices into one LEGENDARY work out mix

 

::starting thinking what mine should be::

 

In the end when you come right down to it, we are always fighting ourselves. All excuse seem to be tie into our own wants and desires.

Oh and no big deal on dropping the ball, you just owe us 100 push-ups to make up for it 

 

Ha ha ha! I just started throwing music into my challenges one time to give it that epic feel, and the next thing I knew it was my thing. I could dig having a playlist with everyone else, though.

 

100 push ups, huh? They gotta be all in a row?

[Kishi]

Right. So, just so we're clear. I'm not trying to forget about dropping by to see anyone in their challenges. It's just that if I spend all my time out there, I'm not gonna get anything done here. I'm already on past my cut-off point as it is.

 

Workouts: 2/24

 

Diet: 2/42

 

Warm Ups: 2/24

 

6/3

 

Barbell Front Squats: 4x8x55

Plank: 4x30s

Javelin Press: 4x10x35 (FAILED in the last set, seventh rep).

Plank: 4x30s

(Note: Planks are kind of a thing that gets done a lot in this scheme, so I decided to up the challenge and make it a decline plank instead. Worth it).

 

Barbell Glute Bridge: 4x8x110

Push Ups: 4xAMRAP (17, 20, 12, 15)

Mountain Climbers: 4xAMRAP (40 20 20 20) (something hurts in the instep of my right foot, so I decided to take it easier here).

 

20 Pull Ups: 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1

 

Time Elapsed: 59:22

 

6/4

 

Deadlifts (   :D): 3x8x165

 

Javelin Press: 4x8x35

Goblet Squat: 4x10x45

Inverted Rows: 4x7

Single Leg Hip Raise: 4x10

 

Plank: 1x65s

Jumping Jacks: 1x45s (65)

Chin Ups: 1x4

 

Time Elapsed: 42:06

 

Job front: had an interview at a studio to assist a personal trainer. It's a long commute, but it's work I love and it pays 2-3x as much as I'm making at the coffeehouse now. The good news about this is that he wants me to come in for another interview. The bad news about this is that he wants to put me through a workout. -.- ... Figures it'd be on my off day. On the other hand, though, I get to put him through one too, so it should be interesting to see how our philosophies match and contrast.

 

Apartment Front: Going out to check some places out on Thursday. I have some ideas about where I want to stay, but my roomie's gonna have a bunch of particulars that we need to work out. Should be fun times.

 

Anyway, time to shut off the screen and get some rest. Let's go, monks! The fight's just starting!

[littlewings]

Sounds like you've got a lot on your shoulders but also open doors for opportunities. Good luck, Kishi!

[The Shogun]

A long commute can be useful sometimes. I used to have a 1h commute a year ago and i'd use it to listen to podcasts, learn something or catch up with my reading.

Keep us posted with that interview!

For the Rebellion, For the Monks!

[kamikaze]

The long commute will be worth getting started with your personal training life goal. Way to go Kishi!

[SirReberal]

I like the details on the workouts.

Also, that job opportunity sounds great  =)

Good luck

[ICB]

I agree, a long commute is worth it for a first break. Once you get that first job, you learn what you can from it and use it as a launch for the next thing--maybe a bit closer to home.

[BlamedCat]

Wow, Kishi, already on page two and it's not even the end of the week!  Sounds like you've got some solid goals under you for this challenge and I really approve of the fourth one  Stay focused, stay strong, and Awesome on!

 

I'll be around, per usual, to provide non-monk insight and advice

[sheraciara]

If you're gonna roll out, you wanna roll out like RODIMUS PRIME! 

 

Bonus 80s electric guitar win!

 

[Zaci Deets]

Great news about the job!  Good luck and let us know how it goes

[OptimusPrimarch]

+1 for the gif alone.

Work outs look mighty. I'm curious about the 6 minute superman workout.

Seeing your detailed workout breakdowns makes me want to get a gym membership even more!