tenaciousglee's Eat Pray Lift challenge

[tenaciousglee]

*disclaimer: I don't know anything about the book or movie Eat Pray Love, I just wanted to use Eat Pray Lift as a challenge title since it fit so well with my goals.  I almost called this one To Infinite Intensity and Beyond, but I couldn't come up with enough Buzz Lightyear/Toy Story themes to match my goals.

 

So, I have this long explanatory back story written up chronicling my fitness journey for the last 2 years, but I think I may post it over on my Battle Log instead.  Here are my goals for Challenge #14:

 

EAT

I follow the If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) style of nutrition, but mostly eat pretty "clean".  I'm not going to focus on adding weight or burning fat specifically this time around, but I do want to build some muscle, so that means Protein!  

 

Goal 1a - Average 100 g/PRO per day.  From Brad Pilon's e-book, How Much Protein? - "If you want to build muscle, try to eat between 70-120 grams of protein per day, workout consistently with a high amount of effort, and possibly take your creatine."

 

Goal 1b - 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day.  No averages for this one; I either hit it or I don't.  Helpful CDC website on what constitutes a serving.

 

PRAY

For the last few months, I've been in kind of a funk spiritually/mentally/emotionally.  It may just be winter blues, but I've felt the desire to stop focusing on myself so much and start focusing on others.  Praying is a great way to do that.

 

Goal 2a - Finish reading A Praying Life by Paul Miller. I'm about 4 chapters in, with 28 to go.  Going to shoot for five chapters a week.  I've read it before and like what he had to say, but didn't take it to heart.  I'm wanting to make daily prayer a habit, which leads to...

 

Goal 2b - Pray for 10 minutes every day.  I've been in the habit of reading a quick devotional in the mornings for a while now, but I want to add in some prayer time, too.  Paul Miller has a good system with prayer cards for the people you're praying for, so I'm going to try using that.  Also thinking I'll just rotate through friends, family, neighbors, etc. each day through the week.

 

LIFT

As I said above, I'd like to build some muscle.  That's really been my goal since I found Nerd Fitness in 2012.  I've tried a variety of methods without ever plunking the bucks to join a proper gym or buy a barbell set.  I also haven't had much success.  For those of you that know Waldo on here, you probably know he is a "bodyweight powerbuilder".  He has had amazing results building muscle without barbells.  I went to him for advice last challenge and he told me to stop trying to modify barbell training programs to fit the equipment I have.  I have dumbbells, sandbags, a kettlebell, and a pull-up/dip station.  So, I'm trying to follow his advice while also taking a page out of his first challenge.  I'm going to work out 3 days a week, with a Strength Day, a Skills/Conditioning Day, and a Surf Prep Day.  (I'm not a surfer, but I'd like to try it this summer and would love to not get my butt kicked too hard.)

 

Goal 3a - Progressive Progress.  I'm including dumbbell bench press as part of my Strength Training Day and plan to go from 3x8x100# to 4x12x100# in six weeks.

 

Goal 3b - 30 second frog stand hold.  I'd like to one day be able to do a tuck-to-handstand-press and I believe the first step is the frog stand.  I've been playing with them for a week or so and go up to a 20-count this past weekend, but I don't think that was a legitimate 20 seconds.  I'll also be working on handstands on my Skills Day.

 

Goal 3c(ungraded) - Pistol Squats.  I got to a point in my sandbag training where I couldn't lift the heavy sandbags up to my back or chest to do heavy squats, so I'm going to try and make some progress on Pistol Squats, which have served Waldo well.

 

Geez.  Good thing I didn't include the long explanatory back story, huh?  This has taken much longer to write up than I anticipated, so I'll come back and add in RPG attributes, scoring, and starting pics/stats later this week.  And yes, I know I have 6 goals plus one ungraded, but they kind of mesh, right?

 

Excited to start the new challenge!

 

Pics and measurements from end of last challenge:

 

 

Age: 37

Height: 6'-1"

Weight: 149.8#

Neck: 13.5"

Shoulders: 44.25"

Chest: 38.5"

Biceps: 11"

Waist: 31.5"

Belly: 33.5"

Hips: 37"

Thigh: 21.5"

Calf: 12.5"

Wrist: 6"

Forearm: 9.5"

Avg BF%: 17.44%

[Librarian of Doom]

It always takes me longer/more words to write out my challenges than I expect! Goals make sense to me; good luck with your challenge!

[Phayze]

Dude, you've read my posts - you should know that at least I'm not gonna judge you for being wordy!

I don't think you've got too much going on, since your mini goals don't really look like they'll step on each other's toes at all.

Looking forward to seeing where this new lifting schedule gets you! Give it Hell!

[Waldo]

Good luck with your challenge. I'm interested to see what sort of program you come up with for your various equipment.

[tenaciousglee]

Week 1, Day 1

 

AM Workout - Strength Day

 

Circuit A - 3 rounds of:

Bench Press w/ 50# dumbbells - 7, 8, 8

Curls w/ 15# dumbbells - 8, 8, 8

Front squat with 35# dumbbells - 8, 8, 8

Hanging knee lift - 10, 10, 10

 

Circuit B - 3 rounds of:

Dips with 10# sandbag - 5, 6, 6

Flyes with 25# dumbbells - 5, 8, 8

Pistol Squats (assisted, L/R) - 2/1, 2/2, 2/1

Hip thrust on swiss ball with 25# dumbbell - 10, 10, 10

 

This was a good one!  Felt shaky afterward and had trouble lifting my arms in the shower.  That's how you know you did some work!

[Mikroftt]

Nice start!  I like the theme!  I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be that day for me where I can't lift my arms after.  Doing PLP and Plyo tonight.  Probably should do it after dinner since I have been fasting all day, but we will see how things shake out.

[Librarian of Doom]

Nice workout! I must confess, my mental image of hip thrusts on the swiss ball is hilarious.

[tenaciousglee]

Nice workout! I must confess, my mental image of hip thrusts on the swiss ball is hilarious.

Ha! At least the dumbbell was flat across my lap and not standing at attention...

[Phayze]

Awesome! I love that shaky feeling after a good workout.

[tenaciousglee]

Day 1 recap

 

EAT! - 127g PRO, 5 fruits and veggies - Boom

PRAY! - 10 min in the AM and finished chapter 4

LIFT! - done, hurts so good, especially the shoulders and chest

[Captain Solo]

This was a good one!  Felt shaky afterward and had trouble lifting my arms in the shower.  That's how you know you did some work!

 

Exactly! If you're not failing your last reps, you're not pushing hard enough!

[QuirkyDM]

I swore I replied to this thread already, but I don't see it anywhere, here. Anyway, subbing for seeing how personalized workout goes, plus loving the handstands.I tried them in my first challenge and made good progress, but didn't quite pull it off. I'd love to watch some other success stories to keep me going for it once my shoulder is ready again.

[tenaciousglee]

Day 2 recap

Protein - check

Freggies - check

Prayer - check

Reading - no progress as of 10:50 PM

Lifting - DOMS

[Eilyd]

Subbing. I'm totally behind you on your goals!

[tenaciousglee]

Day Three recap -
Protein - check
Freggies - check
Prayer - check
Reading - started ahead, now behind
Lifting - Skill/Conditioning Day


(This picture makes me so happy.  I've had it as the background on my phone for two weeks now and smile every time I see it.)

15 minutes of Skill practice:
Frog Stand - 6s, 5s, 10s
Assisted Pistol Squat - 2/2
Bulgarian Split Squat (BW) - 5/5
Wall Handstand - 30s, 30s
Indo Board Balancing - 2 minutes (not continuous)

Conditioning (from Infinite Intensity):
"Work Capacity 101"

5 Pull-Ups

10 Band Slams (medicine ball slams if you've got one - I just draped a band over my pull-up bar)

15 Burpees

20 Jumping Jacks

 

The book prescribed 10 circuits in 20 minutes, started every 2 minutes.  You're supposed to do the circuit and then you get to rest in whatever time is left before the next 2 minute mark.  The first circuit took me 1:45, so I knew I was not going to keep up.  I ended up doing 3 circuits in 10 minutes and was smoked.

Finisher:
Sandbag Shouldering with 115# sandbag - 1 lift each shoulder

[QuirkyDM]

Geez, the Work Capacity 101 is brutal. 15 burpees can easily take a minute unless you sprint through them. These are the kinds of workouts where getting smoked means that you'll be that much more impressed when you kill it by the end of the 6 weeks. Great workout!

[Mikroftt]

Work Capacity 101 sounds intense!  Nicely done on getting through 3 rounds.  I was looking back over your numbers and was a little confused about the BF%.  I am also 6'1" but 183 currently and my calculations show less BF% than you and I know that is not right so one of us is off.  Looking at your pictures, I would have assumed you were around a 11-12% BF or less. 

[Phayze]

I've read about wc101, but I've always been too intimidated to try it. Nice job getting through 3 rounds - Ross's programs are just viscous!

[tenaciousglee]

Geez, the Work Capacity 101 is brutal. 15 burpees can easily take a minute unless you sprint through them. These are the kinds of workouts where getting smoked means that you'll be that much more impressed when you kill it by the end of the 6 weeks. Great workout!

 

 

Work Capacity 101 sounds intense!  Nicely done on getting through 3 rounds. 

 

 

I've read about wc101, but I've always been too intimidated to try it. Nice job getting through 3 rounds - Ross's programs are just viscous!

 

Thanks, all.  It was really intense.  More than I was expecting.  Quirky, you're right about the burpees.  They were definitely the hardest part.  By round 3, I was jumping off balance and couldn't pop my legs back to save my life.  It also made the jumping jacks that followed feel very weird.  Like my arms were flailing around without my control!

[tenaciousglee]

 I was looking back over your numbers and was a little confused about the BF%.  I am also 6'1" but 183 currently and my calculations show less BF% than you and I know that is not right so one of us is off.  Looking at your pictures, I would have assumed you were around a 11-12% BF or less. 

 

It's interesting that you would say that.  I've often thought my numbers were high.  I recently read this post on Waldo's site about tape measurements and started averaging 5 different methods.  One of the biggest factors in determining a man's body fat is his waist/abdomen circumference.  The Navy/DoD method tells you to use the abdomen measurement, but the YMCA method uses the waist.  That's a 2 inch difference on me!  The other thing that may throw my numbers off is how skinny my limbs are, including my neck.  During an earlier challenge, my body fat percentage went up because my neck decreased even though my belly didn't budge!

 

As Waldo says in the post, the tape measure calculations aren't great for absolute accuracy, but they'll be good for relative accuracy, measuring how much I change.  I'm still basing my visual assessment on whether or not I can see my abs.  Several sources say a visible six pack means you're about 10%.  Having said all that, I'm not too worried about hitting a specific percentage or getting a six pack, but I will be interested in bulking up (arms/chest/leg/neck) without adding much to my midsection.

[Eilyd]

It's interesting that you would say that.  I've often thought my numbers were high.  I recently read this post on Waldo's site about tape measurements and started averaging 5 different methods.  One of the biggest factors in determining a man's body fat is his waist/abdomen circumference.  The Navy/DoD method tells you to use the abdomen measurement, but the YMCA method uses the waist.  That's a 2 inch difference on me!  The other thing that may throw my numbers off is how skinny my limbs are, including my neck.  During an earlier challenge, my body fat percentage went up because my neck decreased even though my belly didn't budge!

 

As Waldo says in the post, the tape measure calculations aren't great for absolute accuracy, but they'll be good for relative accuracy, measuring how much I change.  I'm still basing my visual assessment on whether or not I can see my abs.  Several sources say a visible six pack means you're about 10%.  Having said all that, I'm not too worried about hitting a specific percentage or getting a six pack, but I will be interested in bulking up (arms/chest/leg/neck) without adding much to my midsection.

Judging by the veins in your arms, I find it difficult to believe that your BF% is as high as you say. My husband is 5'10" and weighs 175-180, but appears to have higher body fat than you (maybe 1-2%, never measured). I am not sure what this means, exactly, but I thought I'd throw it out there as cause for much confusion because it's throwing my visual bodyfat estimations way off.

[tenaciousglee]

Judging by the veins in your arms, I find it difficult to believe that your BF% is as high as you say. My husband is 5'10" and weighs 175-180, but appears to have higher body fat than you (maybe 1-2%, never measured). I am not sure what this means, exactly, but I thought I'd throw it out there as cause for much confusion because it's throwing my visual bodyfat estimations way off.

 

What it means is that the formulas are not perfect.  Per the Navy method, I'm 18.15%BF but only 13.37%BF per the YMCA method.  I'm sure my skinny limbs throw the numbers off.  I'd bet that if I "filled out" my arms and chest to match my belly, I would look more like someone with 17% BF.  And honestly, I'd rather have bigger arms and chest than a smaller waist at this point.

[Eilyd]

The YMCA method *sounds* much more true to your pictures. I would agree that skinny limbs are complicating the matter (My ass of squatting throws off my calculations a good bit). I was following someone last challenge who shelled out the money for a Bod Pod analysis, and said it was totally worth it because he got great data out of it--more than just a %.

[tenaciousglee]

Day Four recap

 

Protein - check

Freggies - check

Prayer - check (though after 4 days I'm realizing 10 minutes is too long.  Shooting for 5 minutes.)

Reading - no progress (see rant below)

Lifting - excited for tomorrow's Surf Prep Workout

 

(fast forward to 2:00 unless you want to watch him foam roll)

 

break for rant:

 

This week at work has sucked.  I was off last Friday and in training all day Monday and have been playing catch up all week while my team tries to meeting me to death.  Bringing work home every night for the first time in 5 years.  Boo.  Would rather get to bed at a reasonable time and read my book.

 

/rant

[tenaciousglee]

Week 1, Day 5 - AM Workout

 

4 rounds of:

Two-Arm KB Swing - 15x25#

Reverse Lunge plus OHP - 6x25# each side

Bent Over Row - 8x25# each side

Plank with arms on Swiss Ball - about 30 seconds

 

(Will bump up to 30# KB next Friday.)

 

Finished with 1/2 mile run on the treadmill in 5:42.  I had intended on doing a 1 mile run at 6 mph (10 min/mile).  Started too fast and didn't last for a mile or even 10 minutes.  I'll start slower next time and go for a mile, increasing my speed weekly until  I can hit 6 mph for 10 min straight.  It's humbling and a little strange, because I know I can run an 8-9 minute mile on the road.  Not sure why the treadmill would be that different.

 

All in all, a good workout!