Erick the Red: Now Iron-Fortified

[Erick the Red]

My main quest has not changed from lat challenge.  To recap:

 

Reading through the Nerd Fitness blog a while back, the A Beginner's Guide to Getting Bigger Muscle and Bulking Up post really struck home, specifically this part:

Quote

If you are skinny fat (you have skinny arms and legs but have a gut), I would recommend strength training while following a healthy diet to decrease your body fat percentage.

Get yourself down to roughly 12% bodyfat (~20% for women), and then start packing on size.

 

This has been me forever -- thin enough, except when the shirt comes off.  My "soft midsection" is what got me into running.  I am lifting now in large part to build up the rest of me to help shrink the belly.  So after doing a little research and asking for help in a few places, I have a Main Quest: Get below 15% body fat by the end of 2013.

 

This challenge I am getting back to my nerd roots.

 

 

A side note: My experience with Dungeons and Dragons goes back to the Basic Set in 1984.  It was on the front porch of a neighbor's house and I played a cleric for the first and the last time.  

I DM using the Pathfinder Role Playing Game now.

 

Goal 1: Iron Rations

 

 

"Abs are made in the kitchen."  I have read it enough times to be sick of seeing it, and now I've typed it as well.

I will track my weekly calories to lose 1 pound per week.  I will aim for 150 grams of protein per day to maintain lean mass.

I track per day but will grade per week.  The calories are the real goal, but I need to keep an eye on protein to keep up strength and muscle.

 

Goal 2: Move the Iron

 

Move iron at least three times per week. 

I have been lifting at the gym since April, and have made some decent progress.  This last challenge I was at it three times per week. I need to keep up the habit.

I intend to go and lift heavy what I can, but I will accept at least twenty minutes of body weight and sledgehammer work if necessary.

Goal 3: Rack the Iron

Get eight hours of sleep per day.

My wife is currently pregnant and due on the 30th of September.  This is not my first, so I am not to worried about the details.  I just need to remember to get enough sleep, especially if I am up in the middle of the night.  I will count from evening to evening, counting cumulative hours, so if I am up in the middle of the night then a cat nap in the afternoon will work to catch up.  I will grade each week as a percentage of 8 x 7 = 56 hours.

[Yellowjacket]

DO IT!!  Lets see some crazy recomp results!

[Archbishop]

I like your goals here, stick to 'em!

[Erick the Red]

For the last week, as often as not I have been waking up at four or four-thirty in the morning, and having a hard time getting back to sleep.  This is not helpful when I am trying to get eight hours of sleep.

 

I was busy this morning and got a breakfast of milk with protein powder.  Lunch and dinner will be more "real".

This is me going to work this morning.  As you can tell, I forgot to shave

[L'irlandaise]

Well helloooooo! I came to cheer you on after your kind post on my thread today. Yep, we have some goals in common. I've been working on upping my protein intake and cutting down the extra, tasty-but-not-very-useful-filler carbs. I'm going to have to explore your previous quests to find out more about the sledgehammers - they look a LOT of fun.

[wildross]

subbing to follow.

[goodbye_farewell]

Nice challenge and goals. And don't forget, abs are made in the kitchen.

[Erick the Red]

Week1, Day 1

Monday

1. Iron rations: 50 calories over goal of 1570 (1721 food - 101 cardio = 1620). 125g protein.  Dinner was homemade bean-and-cheese enchiladas, so some empty carbs there.

 

2. Move the iron: 1/3.

Pretty good session at the gym.

Working sets:

deadlift 185 x (5, 5, 5, 5, 5) light volume day, usually lift 235 for two or three sets of five

pulldown machine 100 x (10, 10, 10, 10, 10)

seated pulley row 110 (8), 90 (8), 70 (12, 12, 12) first time with this machine, trying ot find the right working weight.  Lower back got tired -- too used to the chest pad.  

 

3. Rack the iron

8 hrs /56 per week

bed at 9:30, woke before 5, but managed to get back to sleep and woke at 5:30, out of bed by 5:40 (don't judge)

Stepped on a kid's Lego this morning.

[Erick the Red]

DO IT!!  Lets see some crazy recomp results!

 

Slow but sure.  Thanks for the encouragement.

 

I like your goals here, stick to 'em!

 

Thanks.

 

Well helloooooo! I came to cheer you on after your kind post on my thread today. Yep, we have some goals in common. I've been working on upping my protein intake and cutting down the extra, tasty-but-not-very-useful-filler carbs. I'm going to have to explore your previous quests to find out more about the sledgehammers - they look a LOT of fun.

 

I haven't used the sledge hammer much recently -- but there are a lot of good resources on the internet.  You can either swing it around like a weight (see "Shovelglove") or hit other things with it (see warfare, home (de-)construction, or just exercise).

 

subbing to follow.

 

Thanks.

 

Nice challenge and goals. And don't forget, abs are made in the kitchen.

 

Jerk.

This guys abs were made under the bridge. 

[CourtnieMarie]

"Abs are made in the kitchen."  I have read it enough times to be sick of seeing it, and now I've typed it as well.

 

Ugh, I hear ya on this one. Got to straighten out my diet as well.

 

Good luck!

[laurabzz]

I like your goals. Nice, simple and easy to follow. 

Probably a stupid question, but are your weights in pounds or kilos? Just to be sure

 

Good luck with your challenge!

[Donar]

Recomp FTW!

 

Good luck with the new addition to the family.....You should get bonus points for level-of-difficulty there....

[Erick the Red]

Ugh, I hear ya on this one. Got to straighten out my diet as well.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks.  You too.  Are you in this Challenge?  I haven't seen your post yet?

[Erick the Red]

I like your goals. Nice, simple and easy to follow. 

Probably a stupid question, but are your weights in pounds or kilos? Just to be sure

 

Good luck with your challenge!

 

The weights are in pounds.  I am an ugly American and forget the rest of the world sometimes.

[Erick the Red]

Recomp FTW!

 

Good luck with the new addition to the family.....You should get bonus points for level-of-difficulty there....

 

Thanks.  This is the fifth time that I am putting the same damn crib together, and I still can't remember how to get the screwdriver in the right place.

I was going to use this picture to illustrate how efficient that I am at taking care of children, but I think that it is a little too much of a stretch.

I am pretty fast though.

[chairohkey]

Goal 2: Move the Iron

 

Move iron at least three times per week. 

I have been lifting at the gym since April, and have made some decent progress.  This last challenge I was at it three times per week. I need to keep up the habit.

I intend to go and lift heavy what I can, but I will accept at least twenty minutes of body weight and sledgehammer work if necessary.

 

 

One of our upcoming weekly side quests will fit in nicely with this goal.

[Erick the Red]

One of our upcoming weekly side quests will fit in nicely with this goal.

That is good.  I have been tactfully ignoring the weekly side quests since I am relatively new at lifting and my ego is still fragile.

 

But if there is a hammer involved I am ready.

[Erick the Red]

Week 1, Day 2

Tuesday

1. Iron rations: 86 calories under goal of 1570 (1484 food). 159g protein. Better than yesterday.

 

2. Move the iron: 1/3.  Rest day.

 

3. Rack the iron

15 hrs /56 per week

To bed a little late, woke on time.

[CourtnieMarie]

Thanks.  You too.  Are you in this Challenge?  I haven't seen your post yet?

No post yet - and may not do one this round. But I'm still keeping on!

 

That is good.  I have been tactfully ignoring the weekly side quests since I am relatively new at lifting and my ego is still fragile.

 

That's okay - I have been doing this as well.

[Archbishop]

I have to say Erick, I really like all your images

[Erick the Red]

No post yet - and may not do one this round. But I'm still keeping on!

Good to hear you are still lifting.  That is the important bit.

 

Thanks for posting so much on my thread last challenge. It really helps when you know someone is reading.

 

Take care.

[Erick the Red]

I have to say Erick, I really like all your images

Thanks. It's hard work finding just the right one for every occasion.

 

And I admit to stretching it a bit too far sometimes.

[IrishAmazon]

Awesome goals, awesome pictures. Do you have a calorie tracking app that you're using? I'm considering tracking, though I'm hoping that eating most paleo will allow me to not have to, because it gets to be such a PITA.

[.redline]

Agreed, the pictures are very fun. And a new baby? That's exciting--I got a puppy definitely not as much work, but I did have to wake up every 2hrs last night to take him out. Makes it hard to get enough sleep.

 

Good luck moving the iron!

[Erick the Red]

Awesome goals, awesome pictures. Do you have a calorie tracking app that you're using? I'm considering tracking, though I'm hoping that eating most paleo will allow me to not have to, because it gets to be such a PITA.

I use My Fitness Pal (phone application that synchs with a website).

I like it.

There are probably others just as good.  This one was free, and synchronizes with the running application that I also use (Runtastic).

 

Many ways of the warrior, they are all good.

 

Yesterday I ate very paleo, and found that the calories naturally were very low.  You may not have to track at all.  I found that if I do not track I have a hard time getting enough protein (goal had been 100g per day, now up to 150g, and it is tough to get that and keep the calories down).