The Beard Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 So I was gone for a while. Like forevers. Sad day(s) So here's the low-down on my disappearance, my reappearance, and everything in between. This isn't so much a new six week challenge thread, being a wee bit late for that, as it is a getting-back-to-things-and-also-updates-thread. There will be some bad, but hopefully more good! So I ended my last challenge (waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in May) on a note that I will describe as "meh".Meh. I was going through some life changes that involved a lady-friend (yay!) that started to mess with my routine as a single person. I didn't know quite how to react, so things other than my normal workout routine began to suffer, though I can say with certainty that I prefer the time spent with the lady-friend (more on her later!) to all those extra bits. Next, with my job, I had June and July off, so I took a six week deal at a summer program for high school students that I had previously worked with. The only bad things were that I had internet access issues (so no new challenge or updates) and a free dining center buffet (free is good, all you can eat, not so much). I still worked out five days a week and even got to rock climb! But with the added food, I gained about five pounds, which is not terrible overall. Once the program got done, I got back home and got back to my ideal body weight of around 200lbs. Happy beard! So when work started again I stayed in the routine, though food was a slight issue (the lady-friend cooks and bakes all sorts of wonderful things). The workouts managed to keep things in check so that I only gained about four pounds of "relationship weight", which in the grand scheme of things wasn't too bad. The lady-friend and I started talking about heavier relationship stuff! Huzzah!Now the bad stuff. Again with the sad days Mid-September to min-November where not the best days I've had. To start off, My schedule got completely thrown out of whack. I started grad school, started teaching an evening math course, and was offered a small part in the campus musical as an extra. All good things, but coupled with a busy work schedule I really wasn't able to work out and I refused to wake up early. Then in September my grandma had a stroke and died two weeks later. A month after that my grandpa (other side of the family) came to see the musical, went home, and died after he sat in his chair (he had been dealing with cancer). Not a great couple months. I really didn't care what I ate and the end result is I gained about 15 pounds (so up to 218 total). That's the end of the bad stuff, on to the good things. On December 1st, I asked the lady-friend to marry me! Ring pictured below. She said yes! I have gotten into a routine that lets me workout and still do everything I need to in the evenings (i.e. I exercise in the morning before work now). I'm back to eating healthy and I'm down to 209lbs, almost back to relationship weight! I'm doing Stronglifts 5x5 and some elliptical stuff in between. What I've realized from this is that I have a pretty good idea of what to do and how to go about doing it. The real thing I struggle with is how to adjust to changes in my routine, as do many other people. So going forward I need to anticipate what I can and plan ahead for the things I know will happen. That's the plan. Happy beard again! Now to the last things: I missed my fellow assassins! I missed this place! It was great to have a group of people I could share my struggles and triumphs with, especially since many of you were/are going through similar experiences. Like I said before, I'm a wee bit late to the party for the challenge, but I will eventually post some goals and share my progress for the duration! The Beard is back. And so is Shark Beard 2 Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
boxcarkid Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 I am looking forward to following this awesome beardness when you start posting! Welcome back!- please excuse typos. "Sent from my phone." Quote Race -- GREY ELF | Class -- Assassin [ Level 2 ] | STR 3 | DEX 1 | STA 4 | CON 2 | WIS 5 | CHA 2 NF Challenges: currently n/a Battle Logs: WoMD |"Don't tell me the moon is shining: show me the glint of light on broken glass." - Anton Chekhov| Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted January 28, 2015 Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Glad you are back! Congrats on the engagement. Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
The Beard Posted January 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 Prologue to Chapter 2 Since there are only a couple weeks left in this challenge, these will be fairly basic. I'll equate this to a prologue for a sequel video game. Objective: Get to pre-relationship weight To be specific, 199lbs. From there, the goal will simply be to be healthy with no particular weight goal in mind. Goals 1) Workouts - I currently work out 5 days a week: 3 days on Stronglifts and the other 2 on elliptical to get rid of the fat I got back. Making all 5 of these in a week when possible will continue to be important. Reward upon completion: Confirmation I'm back in a routine 2) Pull-ups - After much neglect, I want to get back into these. After perusing the forums, it seems the best option to do these is during the squat/bench/row day. So that's the plan, bring pull-ups back. Reward upon completion: Getting back to doing pull-ups is it's own reward 3) Take weekly progress pictures - Since my body composition is different this time around (more muscle, less fat despite the weight gain), I hope to take weekly progress pictures to monitor my progress. Reward upon completion: A sexy body. Beard on Well, here we go! 1 Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
Relic Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Hey he's back!I was worried you might have lost your beard.Good luck! 1 Quote To find piece with myselfI must first find a piece of myself Link to comment
The Beard Posted January 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Oh goodness no! My beard is part of my identity! I only shave for charity (though trimmings are acceptable). Also, goal three will be updated in a few minutes!. Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted January 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 So I got up and did my workout this morning! Today was the squat/bench/row day, so I did my pull-ups! First picture will start on Wednesday of next week. Workout: Pull-ups - 1x3, 2x2 - Ooftah. That's quite the regression from what I was at. Alas, it was my own undoing. But back to it! Stronglifts 5x5:Squat - 5x5, 225lbsBench - 5x5, 135lbsRow - 5x5, 135lbs Continuing to do well in this area. There's the update! Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Got up this morning and did a half hour of cardio. 15 minutes on elliptical and 15 on stationary bike. Goals for the day reached. In other news, I'm taking a busload of students to a regional amateur hockey league game. Should be fun! Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
Relic Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Don't fret, you'll get those pullups back.BTW I got a big kick out of the happy/sad beard pics Quote To find piece with myselfI must first find a piece of myself Link to comment
The Beard Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Haha I found them and thought they were perfect Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Did my Saturday workout! Squats - 5x5, 230lbsShoulder press - 5x5, 110lbsDeadlift - 1x5, 155lbs Took Sunday off and this morning off as planned. Back to the gym tomorrow! Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Back to the gym! Pull-ups - 1x3, 2x2 Squats - 5x5, 235lbsBench - 5x5, 140lbsRow - 5x5, 140lbs Beard pic of the week (progress pic tomorrow)! Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
Relic Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Your bear pics never cease to amazeYour working weight on your squats are about where I was at before I lost my gym. I shall be living vicariously through your bar. Quote To find piece with myselfI must first find a piece of myself Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Hehehe spit takes are great! I love squatting! On Thursday I will be squatting 240lbs, i.e. my starting weight before I started getting healthier. Super excited! Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Got up and did elliptical today. As promised, here is the first photo-progress update. For comparison, here is me at the same weight (209lbs) the first time around (muscle is awesome). Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Lifted this morning as per the routine. Squat - 5x5, 240lbsPress - 2x5, 1x4, 2x3, 115lbsDeadlift - 1x5, 165 Hit a snag in press, but that was expected. I ended up having to go all three "try again" sessions for 110lbs as well so we'll see what happens on this one. Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Did the stationary bike and elliptical this morning. Super tired today. Not much to report. If only Forrest... if only. Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 So on Friday I ended up donating two units of blood, so no workout on Saturday. However, to make up for it I am doing an extra day this week, starting with today. With the schedule thrown off, I completely forgot pull-ups Squat - 5x5, 245 lbsBench - 5x5, 145 lbsRows - 5x5, 145 lbs Oh, and by the way, fun fact about the squats from Thursday: I was basically squatting me at my heaviest! Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
Relic Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Who needs a bar when you have yourself Go Beard! Quote To find piece with myselfI must first find a piece of myself Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Hehehe I like doing that with my fiance she thinks it's really funny when I use her as my squat bar! Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 So today my body just didn't want to do anything. Got up with my alarm and apparently passed out when I turned it off. Work up with about 20 minutes to go before work.... sooooooo no work out today... Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 Back at it today! Squats - 5x5, 250lbsPress - 3x5, 2x4, 115lbsDeadlift - 1x5, 175lbs Picture to follow sometime today. Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Elliptical and stationary bike this morning. Also, from yesterday, my picture. Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
The Beard Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Hit the gym again for stronglifts. Squats - 5x5, 255lbsBench - 5x5, 150 lbsRows* - 5x3, 150lbs *I have discovered that I have been doing these wrong, so I will be resetting this one to 115lbs to make sure I do them right. Happy Friday! Here's a beard! Quote Level 3 Bearded Assassin Str: 10 Dex: 9 Sta: 6 Con: 7 Wis: 4 Cha: 3 Current Challenge: Respawn Past Challenges: 1 2 3 Daily Battle Log Album "I'm not losing weight. I'm getting rid of it. I have no intention of ever finding it again." Link to comment
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