With Wooden Sword and Shield in Hand

[The Most Loathed]

The first TGUs are super tough but the learning curve does flatten out.

I've gotten the most mileage out of a half getup, start on the ground and go to the hip bridge before sweeping out the to lunge then return with control and repeat.

Also, the cheapest way to deal with your hard surface problem my be a yoga mat.

Not sure if you'll find it to be any help at all but here's a side view of the TGU in video form, an the top view.

[Shello]

You'll get it.  It does look like quite an awkward movement.  Keep trying, don't wait for something else to happen first... except maybe buying a yoga mat.  

[Sloth the Enduring]

I do mine on the grass in the front yard, shirtless. It gives the neighbors something to admire. I'm trying to remember how I learned them, I think I worked them one step at a time. Floor press to hand is a good ab work out right there.

[The Most Loathed]

I do mine on the grass in the front yard, shirtless. It gives the neighbors something to admire. I'm trying to remember how I learned them, I think I worked them one step at a time. Floor press to hand is a good ab work out right there.

I heard there was a superhero in the area, now I know why.

 

here's the guy who did a lot to improve my TGU going through his steps.

[Bearlee]

Thank you for the videos TML. I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me. One thing I noticed right away about what you were doing differently than me is how you thrust you hip up and out when sweeping your leg underneath. I think I tend to slouch my shoulders and try to lean forward and move my hip back. I will definitely try TGU again on my next kettle bell day. Can't have Sloth showing me up ;P .

Today however I did my resistance bands.

Chest Press: 3x20

Chest Flys: 3x15

Standing Rows: 3x20

Side Pulls: 3x15

Tricep Pulldowns: 3x10

Bicep Curls: 3x10

Shoulder Press: 3x15

All done with the blue and yellow resistance bands, with the exception of the shoulder press which was only yellow.

Got my 5 miles in yesterday and have got 4,500 steps in so far today.

Also got my resistance bands packed up to take on my vacation. Still debating on whether to take the kettle bell or not. Supposedly my BIL has a weight bench so may try that out. However I may be in Canada for an undetermined amount of time so want to make sure I at least have the bands.

[Bearlee]

Today is the last day before my vacation, so either you may not hear from me for several days, or I'll be bored and post too much. Slight change in vacation plans, Black Hills is definitely off the list since the Sturgis Rally is going on that week. I also kind of questioning Winnipeg since the zoo there is no longer free and may not be worth paying to go see and I can't seem to find much else to do up there. I may make a pitch for Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Medora ND or come home early and stop in Omaha and visit some of the places there. Omaha might be a shame though since it's not that far away from KC and I could get up there anytime I want.

Got a lot of walking in so far. No workouts though. Work has had me running around too much. At home I'll have a lot to do to get ready, so perhaps that will be my workout for the day.

[The Most Loathed]

Enjoy your vacation!

I don't know how fluid your plans are but if you're really questioning the Northern and Eastern parts of your trip, would you consider hitting Denver? There's tons of great stuff there.

Also, if you're not feeling enthusiastic about the Winnipeg zoo, check out the Henry Dorly Zoo in Omaha. It's easily one of the best I've been to (I've not been to Winnipeg so that's not a part of the comparison).

[Shello]

Today is the last day before my vacation, so either you may not hear from me for several days, or I'll be bored and post too much. Slight change in vacation plans, Black Hills is definitely off the list since the Sturgis Rally is going on that week. I also kind of questioning Winnipeg since the zoo there is no longer free and may not be worth paying to go see and I can't seem to find much else to do up there. I may make a pitch for Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Medora ND or come home early and stop in Omaha and visit some of the places there. Omaha might be a shame though since it's not that far away from KC and I could get up there anytime I want.

Got a lot of walking in so far. No workouts though. Work has had me running around too much. At home I'll have a lot to do to get ready, so perhaps that will be my workout for the day.

 

I'm in Omaha!  

 

Enjoy your vacation!

I don't know how fluid your plans are but if you're really questioning the Northern and Eastern parts of your trip, would you consider hitting Denver? There's tons of great stuff there.

Also, if you're not feeling enthusiastic about the Winnipeg zoo, check out the Henry Dorly Zoo in Omaha. It's easily one of the best I've been to (I've not been to Winnipeg so that's not a part of the comparison).

 

The Winnipeg Zoo does not compare to the Omaha zoo.  The zoo here is quite amazing.  And you'd get lots of steps in for sure.  

[Emma]

Have a great trip!

[jadynrayne]

Your walk to Mordor, Amazing! Just started on mine!Thanks for the inspiration!

[Sloth the Enduring]

I hope you're having a good time. Keep us updated with your adventures.

Are you still trying to eat like a Viking?

[Sloth the Enduring]

Where are you at Bro?  How's the vacation going?

 

[Bearlee]

I'M BACK!

Sorry for not updating while I was gone. It was almost total chaos during my whole vacation with the exception of when I snuck off with my BIL to get something to eat. Being around a 8,5, and 2 year old for the entire week was exhausting. I didn't get a single page read during my vacation .

Though it was chaotic I still tried to get the goals I set out before vacation accomplished. 1st don't drink any soda, 2nd get at least three workouts in, and 3rd move as much as I could. I did well on the first task. I only had one soda the entire trip and that was when I was in Winnipeg at a McDonald's and they didn't have a tea option there so I had a Coke Zero to at least minimize the impact.

Second goal was accomplished also. I took along the new resistance bands I bought and did my workouts while my BIL did his stuff on Facebook. However the three kids were fascinated by what I was doing and all three wanted to join in. So after each set I let all three kids do a set of exercises they wanted to do. Took a fairly long time but I got all of my sets in eventually and with the longer breaks between sets I was able to do more reps, so not all bad. Plus it was fun to see kids get excited about exercising. The two year old was especially cute.

The third goal was mostly a win. During travel days it was hard to get movements in. However on those days I was usually able to get at least 5,000 steps in and when staying at a hotel I did 1.5 hours of swimming with the kid. On both Sundays however I only got the steps in since I didn't stay at hotels on those traveling days (both Saturdays and Tuesday were travel to hotel days with swim time). Tuesday was a really good day for me despite it being a travel day. That was the day we went from Minot to Winnipeg but along the way we stopped at the International Peace Garden that straddles the Canada/US border. I got a lot of steps in that day plus did an hour and a half of swimming with the kid and niece at the hotel in Winnipeg. I'm also proud of myself for my efforts on Friday. I was really low on steps for that day (mini golf doesn't produce as many steps as you think it would), but later in the evening my BIL was taking a nap so I took the two oldest kids and took them to the local park and while they played in the park/sand box I walked laps around the play area. I got some strange looks from people looking at me like who the heck is this guy circling our kids like a chicken hawk, but by the time we left I got in three miles of walking and hit my five miles goal.

Where I really went of the rails was with the diet which I knew even before I went on vacation. Lots of burgers and biscuits & gravy among other bad choices. Mostly not too bad though, it was usually a large breakfast and dinner with a light lunch. Though there was too much fast food and ice cream. Also too many beers which I normally only drink while on vacations. Think I had a total of seven beers which is about six more that I usually drink the rest of the year. Now that I'm home I'll have to focus on my diet again. First thing I have to do is hit the grocery store. When I got home I opened up the refrigerator to find that it was completely empty. It looked strange but it will be nice to work with a blank slate.

As far as the vacation it went well. Got to see my BIL and chat with him quite a bit. My kid got to see his cousin and play with her a lot (which was mostly the main reason for going). And my wife got to see her sister occasionally. Monday was the local zoo and water park (where the two year old stripped naked twice and the second time urinated on the sidewalk). Tuesday was the Peace Garden and dinner in what seemed the hip part of Winnipeg. Wednesday we explored Winnipeg a little (very little since most of the time was spent trying to find a Starbucks and Asian markets). Thursday I got to be a kid and run around the Scandinavian Heritage Park in Minot which I enjoy because they had the stave church and replica house was open unlike when I visited there during the winter last time; then shopping and more play at the park. Friday was mini golf and more park play. Even on Sunday I stopped in Omaha (okay Ashland but who's ever heard of Ashland) and visited the Safari Park to see Elk, Bears, Wolves, and Bison. All in all I had a good time (except when the SIL was whining about how she didn't want to walk or just everything else that didn't involve whatever she wanted to do).

[Sloth the Enduring]

Win, Win, Win.  That sounds like victory.  I'm glad you had a good time.  

 

You've fixed your food goals before, you can fix them again - you probably have already.

 

Keep posting Bro.

[The Most Loathed]

Congrats on an awesome vacation!

[Emma]

Good job on vacation goals. And you had a good time. Glad to hear it!

[Shello]

Awesome vacation.  You knew there would be some diet setbacks but you set your goals and you stuck to them.  Great job.  Now go and fill that fridge!

 

[Bearlee]

Alright, got my kettle bell workout for the day in. Warm ups, 90 swings, and TGUs practiced. I did much better with the TGU thanks to TML's video, still have a lot of difficulty with the standing up from the lunge position. Perhaps I just need to do lunges by themselves to help with that part. Also getting down was a bit sloppy because I didn't really focus on what I was doing.

Yesterday I got my five miles in and did my resistance band routine. I even upped the resistance on the bands from the blue/yellow combo to the green band which is slightly more resistance than the other two combined.

What I need to do is nerd up. I should be tracking my workouts much better than what I am doing. I see other people's threads and what they're doing and seeing how they are making progress. As Steve says "That which gets measured gets improved." I'll have to think about how I want to go about doing that.

Today is going to be a rough day. Mrs. Bear wants remote starters put in our cars and a guy is coming to my house to do the installs. The problem is that it will be right in the middle of my sleep time. It will take him approx. 4 hours to do. And depending on how much involvement he needs from me I may only get an hour sleep before he shows up and a couple after he's done. Love how the wife volunteers my sleep time.

I've also decided I'm not going to worry about the scale. My weight has gone back up, but I notice that my clothes are fitting me better. Think I might be gaining muscle since I'm doing resistance training again. Plus I purposely dehydrated myself when up in North Dakota because I think they've never heard of rest areas before. Several times on the way up I almost had an accident. So to avoid that problem for the return trip I just tried to make it so I didn't have to go. So I'm going to just believe in the system and step away from the scale for a while.

[Bearlee]

Enjoy your vacation!

I don't know how fluid your plans are but if you're really questioning the Northern and Eastern parts of your trip, would you consider hitting Denver? There's tons of great stuff there.

Also, if you're not feeling enthusiastic about the Winnipeg zoo, check out the Henry Dorly Zoo in Omaha. It's easily one of the best I've been to (I've not been to Winnipeg so that's not a part of the comparison).

Thanks for the suggestions. Wasn't wandering that far. And I agree with you that the Omaha Zoo is one of the best I've seen.

I'm in Omaha!  

 

 The Winnipeg Zoo does not compare to the Omaha zoo.  The zoo here is quite amazing.  And you'd get lots of steps in for sure.

I thought you were probably in Omaha since you said you lived in Nebraska, but what the real give away was the German restaurant you mentioned that was never opened. My brother and I have tried several times to go there but they're always closed. And Omaha is actually quite amazing. Not only does it have the best zoo I've seen it also has a really great garden and I enjoy the Safari Park. Plus there are several other things I want to check out there like the Strategic Air and Space Museum, Children's Museum, and several other's that aren't coming to mind at the moment.

Your walk to Mordor, Amazing! Just started on mine!Thanks for the inspiration!

Thank you for the compliment. I had already been doing the miles so figured why not measure it. What I would like to do is finish this up so I can start again and actually enjoy the journey this time. I mean actually go to the website and see what landmarks I would have actually passed in the book.

I hope you're having a good time. Keep us updated with your adventures.Are you still trying to eat like a Viking?

Sorry about not doing the updates. The whole week I kept thinking about how when you were on vacation you were still able to post and you were out camping, with kids, and getting your workouts in. I hang my head in shame.

I haven't been eating like a viking for a long while. Though going to the Scandinavian Heritage Park rekindled some of my excitement for my Scandinavian back ground. I was a little saddened when I went to the local book store and asked if they had any copies of the Sagas for sale and the clerk said "The what???". Guess it's time to get on Amazon.

Love the picture by the way.

Win, Win, Win.  That sounds like victory.  I'm glad you had a good time.  

 

You've fixed your food goals before, you can fix them again - you probably have already.

 

Keep posting Bro.

I had a couple of bad meals before I got to the grocery store. Now though I'm stocked up with bags of frozen veggies, fish, carrot sticks and hummus, celery (to make ants on logs with peanut butter and raisins), goat cheese, eggs, bacon, and a pot roast to make for Tuesday.

Congrats on an awesome vacation!

Good job on vacation goals. And you had a good time. Glad to hear it!

Thank you. It would have been more awesome if I had some time to play some games with the BIL. I brought Forbidden Desert and Munchkins Legends with to hopefully play but it never happened. They were the same games I bought the last time I was up there and never got to play them then either . Also next time I might leave the SIL behind if we go to do something. Any time she was with she was complaining about how much walking we were doing and according to my watch we had only walked about a mile or so. But in the old days I would have thought that was a lot also.

Awesome vacation.  You knew there would be some diet setbacks but you set your goals and you stuck to them.  Great job.  Now go and fill that fridge!

 

It's funny, a few years ago I would have been revolted by that picture, but now I think everything in there looks damn delicious. Strange how a person can change their outlook and tastes.

[Shello]

Thanks for the suggestions. Wasn't wandering that far. And I agree with you that the Omaha Zoo is one of the best I've seen.

I thought you were probably in Omaha since you said you lived in Nebraska, but what the real give away was the German restaurant you mentioned that was never opened. My brother and I have tried several times to go there but they're always closed. And Omaha is actually quite amazing. Not only does it have the best zoo I've seen it also has a really great garden and I enjoy the Safari Park. Plus there are several other things I want to check out there like the Strategic Air and Space Museum, Children's Museum, and several other's that aren't coming to mind at the moment.

Thank you for the compliment. I had already been doing the miles so figured why not measure it. What I would like to do is finish this up so I can start again and actually enjoy the journey this time. I mean actually go to the website and see what landmarks I would have actually passed in the book.

Sorry about not doing the updates. The whole week I kept thinking about how when you were on vacation you were still able to post and you were out camping, with kids, and getting your workouts in. I hang my head in shame.

I haven't been eating like a viking for a long while. Though going to the Scandinavian Heritage Park rekindled some of my excitement for my Scandinavian back ground. I was a little saddened when I went to the local book store and asked if they had any copies of the Sagas for sale and the clerk said "The what???". Guess it's time to get on Amazon.

Love the picture by the way.

I had a couple of bad meals before I got to the grocery store. Now though I'm stocked up with bags of frozen veggies, fish, carrot sticks and hummus, celery (to make ants on logs with peanut butter and raisins), goat cheese, eggs, bacon, and a pot roast to make for Tuesday.

Thank you. It would have been more awesome if I had some time to play some games with the BIL. I brought Forbidden Desert and Munchkins Legends with to hopefully play but it never happened. They were the same games I bought the last time I was up there and never got to play them then either . Also next time I might leave the SIL behind if we go to do something. Any time she was with she was complaining about how much walking we were doing and according to my watch we had only walked about a mile or so. But in the old days I would have thought that was a lot also.

It's funny, a few years ago I would have been revolted by that picture, but now I think everything in there looks damn delicious. Strange how a person can change their outlook and tastes.

 

Its just another measure of your progress.  Just like you doing amazing things like trying for TGUs.  And your grocery list sounds pretty awesome.  

[Bearlee]

Its just another measure of your progress.  Just like you doing amazing things like trying for TGUs.  And your grocery list sounds pretty awesome.

How do you have time to do all the things I read about on your thread and still have time to come over here to lend kind words. Your very inspiring LadyShello.

Tuesday wasn't as bad as I thought but dang near. Got 4.5 hours of sleep in because the guy came late, however they were a bad 4.5 hours of sleep. Either I was getting up to go to the bathroom or the guy was calling to say he was going to be late, on his way, etc. Then when he got there I thought maybe I would be able to get some more sleep. Whenever I tried to lay down he would knock on my door and ask a question, so I just stayed up the rest of the day. So totally exhausted Tuesday. Didn't do any walking or exercising.

Wednesday took kid to school orientation and only got 4 hours of sleep today also. Exhausted and don't see any walking or exercise happening today either. I did walk the kid to school and found out that I got around 2000 steps and the equivalent of 5 flights of stairs in. So starting Friday I get to do that walk twice a day to drop the kid off at school and then to pick him up. That should help me get my steps in for the day.

Despite not walking or exercising I have been eating fairly well. Though I'm eating good food I'm wondering if I'm eating too much? Why does exhaustion make a person so hungry?

[Emma]

Lack of sleep can lead to more eating. Been there. How long does your new schedule go on? All year? How can you find a little more sleep? Maybe catch up a bit on weekends? Keep up the good food. It will help.

[Sloth the Enduring]

I don't know how you do anything on your schedule.  How'd the rest of the week go?  Did BearCub enjoy the start of Kindergarten?

[Bearlee]

Lack of sleep can lead to more eating. Been there. How long does your new schedule go on? All year? How can you find a little more sleep? Maybe catch up a bit on weekends? Keep up the good food. It will help.

The new schedule will last from August to May for the next 4 years. And I did try to catch up as much as I could on the weekend.

I don't know how you do anything on your schedule.  How'd the rest of the week go?  Did BearCub enjoy the start of Kindergarten?

I cheat on my schedule, that's how I get things done. I do most of my walking and exercise at work (please don't tell my boss ). At home I get almost nothing done, but the walks to and from school should help me now.

The rest of the week was a bust. Thursday I got 4 hours of sleep because I had things to catch up on that I didn't do over vacation (read mow lawn). Friday I was a dumbass and only got 2 hours of sleep, partly because I was anxious about the kids first day of his new school, but mostly because I was playing video games. Friday night though I got in 10 hours of sleep. I was thinking of getting up early and doing something, but then thought F that I'm sleeping. Saturday was a total bust for me, got all of 2000 steps in . Saturday night got 9 hours of sleep. Sunday was also a bust, wife didn't go to work and her and the kid couldn't agree to what to do so we did nothing. Some how I was able to manage to get 5000 steps in though. And even though my sleep sucked all week and I didn't get in any exercise I did end up losing weight. I also noticed that on the days I didn't get my walks in I mostly got 5,000 steps in which is 2.5 times more than I would have done before I joined NF.

BearCub did enjoy the first day of school. They made magic playdough that started off white and if you played with it and it changed color it meant you were going to have a wonderful year. His changed to blue and he was excited about it. I was surprised when he told me that he actually ate some food at school, the only thing he ate at the day care was juice, milk, and crackers. When I asked him what he ate he said it was shaped like a triangle. Early introduction to school mystery food I guess.

So after finally getting some sleep I got recharged. Monday so far I've done 30 minutes of walking with 9 flights of stairs (with the stairs from school and normal day things I should get at least 21 flights of stairs in). I also did my kettle bell routine: warm up, 100 swings (first time to hit that number), TGU practice, and 10 lunges per leg. TGUs were a little better than last time. I have noticed that I'm able to get up from a lunge position much better when I'm holding a weight with my left hand (therefore pushing off with my left leg). Pushing from a lunge position with my right leg I needed stabilization. In order to help my TGUs I've started to incorporate lunges after my kettle bell workout to help with that particular part of the movement.

I've also been debating about what kind of exercises I'm going to be doing. I've got the new resistance bands, the kettle bell and advice from TML, bought the new yoga routines from NF, and have even considered going back to the body weight routines I was doing before. Think I've finally settled on rotating my days between kettle bells and resistance bands with kettle bells for three days and resistance bands for 2 and then the following week changing the numbers. And since I'm going to cut out one of my formal walks because I'm walking the kid to school, I'm going to try to use that time to do the NF yoga sessions. If that doesn't work out I may try to recruit the kid into joining me at home since we have an extra two hours per week day together now.

I've also got the work fridge stocked with my supplies for the week. Frozen veggies, fish, goat cheese, celery, baby carrots and hummus, and beef jerky. My winning combination. Tonight I was going to have celery with almond butter and craisins and some goat cheese, but after eating the celery I was full so I'll save the goat cheese for a different day.

[The Most Loathed]

It sounds like you've set yourself up for success. Awesome work. Take it one day at a time.