Galaxy Gamer Gets Angry

[Galaxy Gamer]

For the next six weeks, I will follow the Angry Birds workout routine--which makes me a temporary Assassin, if I'm reading correctly that bodyweight workouts fall within their realm of expertise.

 

Main Quest

 

My long-term focus continues to be getting healthy and staying healthy. To this point, I have been using weight, waist diameter, and BMI as my proxy measurements of healthiness. In 30 weeks, I lost 55 pounds, 5 inches of belly, and 8 points of BMI respectively--and hopefully this has translated to a better blood profile, lower blood pressure, less insulin resistance, and better liver functioning.

 

Although I have made some furtive steps toward increasing my activity level, most of my efforts have gone into improving my diet. For this quest, I will pivot into exercise.

 

Main Side Quests

 

M1. The Angry Birds workout awards stars for each of four exercises, and provides a path for leveling up each one to more difficult versions or a larger number or required repetitions. I will complete 2-3 sessions of each exercise per week, not doing any one exercise two days in a row, and attempting to earn more stars and/or increase my levels to indicate progress in building muscle.

 

M2. I will increase protein intake as necessary to facilitate muscle regeneration between workouts. From what I've read, this is necessary to the process.

 

M3. For six weeks, I will not stress out about weight. If building muscle mass, or eating in a way that encourages muscle recovery puts me outside my target weight range, I will address that issue in a future challenge.

 

M4. I will try to get more sleep.

 

Life Quests

 

L1. I will build my web design business.

 

L2. I will work on my novel.

 

L3. I will continue to organize my office, computer, and life.

[Elastigirl]

Welcome to the assassins!

[Galaxy Gamer]

Thanks!

 

I've been working this week on Level 1 of Angry Birds to get an idea of scheduling and tracking. I've gotten three stars in each of the four exercises, so for the first week of the challenge, I'm going to crank it up to Level 2. Prior to this, I'd done some squats, pushups, and such from time to time, but never in a systematic way that encourages me to put in that extra effort to beat a previous personal best. I think this is really going to be good for me.

[Galaxy Gamer]

I completed a "Test Week #0" before the challenge began, and was able to earn my three stars in all four exercises--though some are more challenging than others. I'm especially good at squats, since I've been doing them every now and then--but never trying to "level up" the number I am able to do. Push-ups are my hardest exercise, but also the one I made the most improvement in over the first week. I also got better at planks and rows.

 

A rule I've set for myself is not to change levels mid-week, and another rule is not to skip levels. I'll probably end up modifying a few other things before I'm done.

 

I'm doing two exercises on one day and the other two on the next day. I started off doing all four in one day and then taking the next to recover, and it was too much to do on one day, and on the next day it felt wrong doing nothing but trying to recover. With two exercises, I will be able to do a quick set when I wake up and another before I go to sleep, and then fiund another time or two during the day as necessary. It just means that every day will be a recovery day from something, and some muscle group will always be achy if I'm doing things right.

 

I modified the Angry Birds spreadsheet somewhat to reflect the daily schedule and to add a weekly summary that will chart my progress. It will require some further tinkering, but I like it so far. I've also put a tracker on my phone to keep my workout numbers, so there will be plenty of data to work with. Having data makes me comfortable with the process. 

 

I do feel a bit stronger already, just judging by how easy the level 1 exercises felt and the number I was able to do. If I can keep from injuring myself over the next six weeks, I think I'll have noticeable results by the end. I'm kind of psyched.

[Galaxy Gamer]

I completed a "Test Week #0" before the challenge began, and was able to earn my three stars in all four exercises--though some are more challenging than others. I'm especially good at squats, since I've been doing them every now and then--but never trying to "level up" the number I am able to do. Push-ups are my hardest exercise, but also the one I made the most improvement in over the first week. I also got better at planks and rows.

 

A rule I've set for myself is not to change levels mid-week, and another rule is not to skip levels. I'll probably end up modifying a few other things before I'm done.

 

I'm doing two exercises on one day and the other two on the next day. I started off doing all four in one day and then taking the next to recover, and it was too much to do on one day, and on the next day it felt wrong doing nothing but trying to recover. With two exercises, I will be able to do a quick set when I wake up and another before I go to sleep, and then fiund another time or two during the day as necessary. It just means that every day will be a recovery day from something, and some muscle group will always be achy if I'm doing things right.

 

I modified the Angry Birds spreadsheet somewhat to reflect the daily schedule and to add a weekly summary that will chart my progress. It will require some further tinkering, but I like it so far. I've also put a tracker on my phone to keep my workout numbers, so there will be plenty of data to work with. Having data makes me comfortable with the process. 

 

I do feel a bit stronger already, just judging by how easy the level 1 exercises felt and the number I was able to do. If I can keep from injuring myself over the next six weeks, I think I'll have noticeable results by the end. I'm kind of psyched.

[Galaxy Gamer]

I completed a "Test Week #0" before the challenge began, and was able to earn my three stars in all four exercises--though some are more challenging than others. I'm especially good at squats, since I've been doing them every now and then--but never trying to "level up" the number I am able to do. Push-ups are my hardest exercise, but also the one I made the most improvement in over the first week. I also got better at planks and rows.

 

A rule I've set for myself is not to change levels mid-week, and another rule is not to skip levels. I'll probably end up modifying a few other things before I'm done.

 

I'm doing two exercises on one day and the other two on the next day. I started off doing all four in one day and then taking the next to recover, and it was too much to do on one day, and on the next day it felt wrong doing nothing but trying to recover. With two exercises, I will be able to do a quick set when I wake up and another before I go to sleep, and then fiund another time or two during the day as necessary. It just means that every day will be a recovery day from something, and some muscle group will always be achy if I'm doing things right.

 

I modified the Angry Birds spreadsheet somewhat to reflect the daily schedule and to add a weekly summary that will chart my progress. It will require some further tinkering, but I like it so far. I've also put a tracker on my phone to keep my workout numbers, so there will be plenty of data to work with. Having data makes me comfortable with the process. 

 

I do feel a bit stronger already, just judging by how easy the level 1 exercises felt and the number I was able to do. If I can keep from injuring myself over the next six weeks, I think I'll have noticeable results by the end. I'm kind of psyched.

[Galaxy Gamer]

Sorry about that multiple post--that's what I get for sending from a laptop in a moving vehicle using my phone as a hotspot.

 

My second day of Angry Birds Level 2 went well, and I'm pleased to report that my wife has just today started her own diet and exercise program. In addition to my Angry Birds, I joined her in a High Intensity Interval Training video and it kicked both of our asses. Now that we're both cutting calories, and especially since she's being more restrictive than I am, there will be far fewer tempting choices in the kitchen and that will be good for both of us.

[Spark]

Challenge looking great! Keep it up!

[Batwoman]

How have your Angry Bird workouts been going?