First Challenge!

[Agnarr]

I've been following my SMART quests for a week now, since I couldn't wait for a full week to start the challenge and I've been fairly succesfull on keeping myself on track. Therefore I decided to start again so my personal challenge becomes a stardard NF Rebellion 6 week challenge(Should I be succesfull, it will end up being a 7 week ch.)

 

SMART quests:

 

-No grains, bread, pasta, flour, etc. for 6 weeks (+3W)(+2Co)

 

-go swimming 3 times a week (+5Dex)

 

-Set an endurance max. ¡AND BEAT IT! (+5 Sta)

 

Concerning my Main Quest which should take +/- 5 months: I intend to drop up to 10 kg/15kg max(aprox 22lbs) and start healing my lower back. It would be great if I could gain some muscle size, but it will depend on  the excercises my deportologist allows me to do.

 

Motivation: Achieving a greater movility. Feeling confortable in my own skin

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

How does your third goal work? How fo you test your endurance? Are you running? I'm just a little confused, because your describtion is a little unspecific.

The other goals seem fine and in fact SMART. ^^

Have a great challenge.

[Agnarr]

How does your third goal work? How fo you test your endurance? Are you running? I'm just a little confused, because your describtion is a little unspecific.

Ups! jajaj it seemed clear in my head but you are right, it is unspecific. I meant a swiming endurance max. The problem I kept on having the few times I tried swimming in the past, was that I couldn't swim for too long before I went completely breathless and had to rest fot 10 effin' minutes. Some of this may have to do with lack of technique, but the main culprit is my lack of physical endurance. So, I wanted to improve that area of my life.

 

The other goals seem fine and in fact SMART. ^^

Have a great challenge.

 

¡¡Gracias Luciana!!

[Agnarr]

Today's lunch was last night's leftovers with some fish... never again. It was edible, but certainly not yummy. I was getting too confortable with my workout routine, so tonight I managed to do an additional circuit in the same 15-20 minutes. 

I ended up destroyed after 3 circuits of x20 Squats, x10 Push-ups, x20 Lunges and 20sec Plank done back to back. plus an additional 5 Push-up set. (I know I'm missing rows, but the dumbbell was in the tool shed and I was too lazy to go grab it)

 

That makes a total of 60 Squats, 35 push-ups, 60 Lunges and 1 minute plank. Crap, I'm outta shape... noob gains didn't show up, perhaps thats only for free weights

 

For dinner I'm having chicken with a backed sweet potato. Life's good

[Alocin]

If you are otherwise reasonably fit, swimming for a sustained period is all about technique. An elite marathon runner with crappy swimming technique would probably be easily beaten/outlasted by a fairly average swimmer with decent technique. (Former competitive swimmer here.)  If you aren't a strong swimmer already maybe get some lessons.

Now this is going to sound really simple but I see people do this all the time... so sorry if this comes across as insulting

But if you are a beginner/not experienced swimmer, I have to ask if you are you breathing out/blowing bubbles when your face is in the water? If you hold your breath underwater and try to breathe both out and then in when you surface, you won't get enough oxygen in and you'll get tired more easily (ie you should only breathe out when your face is in the water, and breathe in when your face is above water). Given you are getting exhausted so quickly, I wonder if this might be your issue?

Anyway hope this helps - glad to see another swimmer!

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

Hey three circuits is good at the beginning. Congraz. Make sure to move these dumbells to your workout place. ^^

[Agnarr]

But if you are a beginner/not experienced swimmer, I have to ask if you are you breathing out/blowing bubbles when your face is in the water? If you hold your breath underwater and try to breathe both out and then in when you surface, you won't get enough oxygen in and you'll get tired more easily (ie you should only breathe out when your face is in the water, and breathe in when your face is above water). Given you are getting exhausted so quickly, I wonder if this might be your issue?

Anyway hope this helps - glad to see another swimmer!

Yeah! I had mandatory swimming lessons back on high school, and I learned the bubbles thing. It really makes a difference. Obviusly my technique is galaxies away from prefect so I'm going to pay for a lesson or two, or I'm bound to quit in frustration. I have the feeling that my breathing is not right and that's what is getting me so exhausted.

[Agnarr]

Hey three circuits is good at the beginning. Congraz. Make sure to move these dumbells to your workout place. ^^

Hehehe yeah, I left them under the sofa so I would have them close at hand the next time

[Agnarr]

30 July:

Today I had a vegetarian lunch consisting of salad, brocholli and spinach because I was going to grab some beers with my friends from college. I spent the whole day doing errands walking across the City, so I'm not concerned for the lack of exercise. The beers on the other hand, despite of them not being forbidden by the quests of my challenge, got me quite guilty. Tomorrow I'm going to skip lunch, both because of these and because I'm traveling for the weekend and I don't have time to buy lunch before taking the bus. Clearly I have problems rejecting delicious alcoholic beverages

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

You only had salad before drinking beer? I would have gotten so drunk. I really can't handle any alcohol If I don't eat some fat before.

You are right. Most beverages have a lot of calories. They can derail a losing weight goal. Perhaps you could track your calories on "cheatdays". MFP worked for me, because the app is easy to handle.

[Agnarr]

I'm back from the land-of-no-Internet! I had the most wonderfull and romantic weekend with my SO on the countryside. She isn't precisely into fitness and clean eating, so it has been really difficult to avoid unhealthy food. Two days of failure in my challenge

On the other hand, we walked across town and hiked like crazy, I mean for hours. While my girlfriend was taking a shower, brushing her hair and getting even prettier, I managed to cranck out 3 circuits of the hotel room workout, including the table rows, for there was a sturdy and handsome desk in the hotel room.

Not going to weep over the extra calories nor will I pat myself in the back for the exercise. I still carry the feelings of the weekend: optimistic and more in love than ever. The fact that I had to punch an extra hole in my belt also adds to the whole optimism thing

[Agnarr]

You only had salad before drinking beer? I would have gotten so drunk. I really can't handle any alcohol If I don't eat some fat before.

You are right. Most beverages have a lot of calories. They can derail a losing weight goal. Perhaps you could track your calories on "cheatdays". MFP worked for me, because the app is easy to handle.

Yup, after the second pint I got kind of dizzy so I stopped drinking. Usually I can handle more booze but in the end it turned out to be a positive thing: I had less than a half the amount of beer I used to.

 

MFP used to be my main "dieting" method, but I have a tendancy to freak out over 10 cal and get really obsessed about it. Using it for cheatdays may be a good idea tho

[Agnarr]

Today I've been eating clean and did my workout as usual. FINALLY GOT TO SIGN IN FOR SWIMMING!!! On my way home from work I walked past a hardware store that had bunch of elastics, cords and the such for display. Then the idea struck me. "I'm gonna make myself some exercise bands". I'm a DIY guy to the grave.

 

As always, before even thinking about it, I found myself with a plastic bag conaining 4 meters of elastic rope and a piece of plastic hose. All for $88(that' s argentinian pesos, a little under U$D10). Like 3 blocks away I found another store in which the materials would have costed me like $50(U$D6). Bad luck.

 

 

Anyway, it took me like 5-10 min to assemble the exercise band and it works just great. I later searched for a brand exercise band on mercadolibre.com(the latin american version of Ebay) and the average price was about $150(U$D17). High five for saving money! Of course I included them on my workout, mostly for targeting shoulders and arms, after the more compound exercises of the bodyweight routine.

[Alocin]

Hey - whereabouts in Argentina do you live? I spent about a week in Buenos Aires a couple of years ago and had a wonderful time

 

I'd like to see more, especially the Iguazu Falls.

[Agnarr]

Hey - whereabouts in Argentina do you live? I spent about a week in Buenos Aires a couple of years ago and had a wonderful time

 

I'd like to see more, especially the Iguazu Falls.

Hey!  I'm from a place called Villa Ballester, in the suburbs about 20km north-west of Buenos Aires City. It's a little over an hour of commuting in public transportation, but for argentinien standards it's not far away.

 

Iguazu Falls? that makes two of us I've been told it's a beautiful sight. If you ever come back, I strongly recommend visiting Bariloche or Villa La Angostura.

 

Don't you love how this community unites nerds worldwide under the banner of achieving a healthier life?

[Agnarr]

Yesterday I posted something, but Internet ate it, you know, because internet. It was about me and my So going to grab some lunch. Since we were at the mall. she ordered some Burguer King while I bought chicken with portobello shrooms in another foodjoint. Afterwards we met in the food court to enjoy our respective lunches together. We've talked many times in the past about changing to a healthier way of life. I flipped the switch but she still refuses to eat healty and exercise. As we all know, that could cause her health issues in the future. It's not a mere physical thing, I'm a master level chubby-chaser, so I don't mind if she's carrying a few extra pounds, I actually find it sexy and to me she's the most beautiful woman ever. But I love her more than anything in the whole world and I'm truly concerned for her health. I guess I can't force her, just help her to succeed when she finally decides to flip her health-switch

 

Today I didn't have the time to exercise. Then I remembered that is a BS excuse so I got myself tho do a shorter bodyweight routine followed by a complete exercise band routine while I was labeling and storing a freshly made batch of premium beard balm( making it was what took the little free time I have in the evenings)

[Agnarr]

Today's workout was an unespected one. I spent the whole day walking across Buenos Aires carrying a backpack filled with books to it's full capacity along with my EDC (umbrella, multitools, flashlight, etc.), a set of bags containing steel weapons and leather armor and a round shield. Those objects are not only bizarr but also quite heavy. Four hours of walking, going up and down stairs, sitting and standing up. My arms, shoulder, back and legs are super tired. Besides, Trying to catch trains and the underground while carrying all that stuff made a decent cardio

[Agnarr]

This has been a very bussy weekend. I mean really bussy. We had a reenactment fair and that means a cuple days of planing, skipped meals, carrying heavy stuff, beer, swordfighting, shieldbashing and staying late. Results: my lower back aches a bit, my arms, shoulders and upper back are quite sore. The gig was a succes, so after packing everything we went to grab some drinks and got rasonably wasted. I managed to go swimming on friday, and I plan on going again tomorrow.

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[Agnarr]

Well, today I skipped lunch 'cause winter recess is over and I didn't have time to eat. Luckly I had some nuts and raisins to snack on. After class I went swimming for like 45 minutes or so. Basically when I couldn't take anymore I went home. That was about 21:30, right on time to eat the delicious roasted chicken with salad my dad had cooked.

In other news, I found the coolest accountability buddy ever. Her name is Nadia and she belongs to the La Plata City's branch of my reenactment group (ARME Silfr. The Buenos Aires branch is called ARME Vik). So far keeping each other on track has been a breeze.

I attached a picture of saturday's fair. It depicts a demonstration, where my partner hooked my left leg with his axe while aiming a punch at my face (ideally instead of a punch, is better to do a good ol' shield bash to the jaw, but he didn't had a shield at that time)

[Thyra]

Winter recess? I envy you so hard right now, for both words :-D

What era/area do you do in your reenacment group? I know I should look at the pictures but I cannot open them while on mobile :-)

[Agnarr]

Winter recess? I envy you so hard right now, for both words :-D

What era/area do you do in your reenacment group? I know I should look at the pictures but I cannot open them while on mobile :-)

Yup. University of Buenos Aires (and pretty much every college in this country) has a 3 week winter recess so students can better prepare for their finals. Once the finals are done we get to rest for the remaining of that 3 weeks-time(until the first or second week of august) So now instead of going home after work to eat a home cooked meal I have to rush to class.

We recreate viking age Scandinavia, the name ARME means "Asociación Recreacionista Medieval Escandinava"(medieval scandinavic reenactment asociation) and the Word "Vik" means "port" o "bay". We chose it to identify the Buenos Aires branch because of the naval commerce history of this province in particular.

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

Yesterday I posted something, but Internet ate it, you know, because internet. It was about me and my So going to grab some lunch. Since we were at the mall. she ordered some Burguer King while I bought chicken with portobello shrooms in another foodjoint. Afterwards we met in the food court to enjoy our respective lunches together. We've talked many times in the past about changing to a healthier way of life. I flipped the switch but she still refuses to eat healty and exercise. As we all know, that could cause her health issues in the future. It's not a mere physical thing, I'm a master level chubby-chaser, so I don't mind if she's carrying a few extra pounds, I actually find it sexy and to me she's the most beautiful woman ever. But I love her more than anything in the whole world and I'm truly concerned for her health. I guess I can't force her, just help her to succeed when she finally decides to flip her health-switch

Just tell her from time to time how much you love her and that you want to spent a long time from now with her. It's not about changign her, it's about enjoying her company. Perhaps you can talk to her about the health issues again after an appointment with a doctor. Or perhaps she will follow you eventually on her own, when you stay being a role modell.

I'm sure you'll convince her.

[Agnarr]

I'm sure you'll convince her.

Thanks for the encouraging :-) yesterday she surprised me: she sent me a picture of her lunch and it was an awesome (and totaly paleo) veggie 'n chicken salad. And later on, she made me a few questions about "that crazy diet of mine"(I'm going a tiny bit more paleo every day).

I think it might be hapening, what you said about she following me. Perhaps as she sees me happier and progressively thiner, she's starting to flip her switch

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[Agnarr]

Week 3, day 2

 

Skipped lunch again, for the same reasons that I did yesterday. Dinner was an awesome(and totaly paleo) stew consisting of beef, sweet potato and butternut, along with onions and some garlic. yummy. After dinner, I crancked out 3 bodyweight circles and an exercise band circuit. I was unable to contact my accountabillity buddie. Hopefully she's just busy.

 

So far I managed to swimm  3 laps in the pool(6 "lengths") and I almos died. Literally. Well, I might have exaggerated. but I barely could breath and the embarrassment was huge since "pro" swimmers were training for a competition at the same pool. So by the end of the challengue I must swimm confortably 3 laps for the last goal to be considered completed

 

EDIT: Nadia contacted me! She behaved flawlessly, eating clean and exercising :-)

[Agnarr]

Week 3 Day 3

Today staying on track was easy. I have been doing a little research on paleo cooking beyond the obvious. I' making some almond milk this weekend and with the leftover pulp I'm baking some cookies. Can't wait to see how it turns out

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