Going down a different path

[Leego]

Hey, guys, I'm back, if anyone remembers me. If not, it's still nice to be back.

 

So, about a few months ago, I tried cutting back on bread and milk, only eating two meals a day (working out in the morning time, eating a snack after working out, and eating lunch and dinner), and running Starting Strength and, well, just running intervals on a treadmill every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

 

It actually worked great for me. I loved the feeling of being more physically capable by sprinting up to 7.5 mph on a treadmill (supposedly) and lifting all kinds of weight, and it actually made me feel all-around better!

 

My eating pattern actually left me sated. When I got sick, it was almost like I got over the cold faster. When I went to sleep, I actually had an easy time going to sleep because I had been up since 6:00 AM in the morning working out. I actually had an easier time carrying groceries and heavy things for my family. I actually had more energy and speed for chasing my little sister around the house when she wanted to play. I actually didn't get bored, anxious, or depressed as easily. I could actually stay in some type of squatting position for (what felt like) a minute, although I don't think it was the "3rd world squat" or "ass-to-grass" squat.

 

And then I injured my left knee trying to do squats, hurt my right knee trying to take pressure off my left knee, and then pretty much my entire left leg hurt, and I got lazy waiting for my body to recover. I stopped eating as well, and I kind of stopped exercising for awhile.

 

For this reason, one of the biggest surprises, was that I apparently loss quite a bit of weight over the summer. Almost everyone I've known and seen on a regular basis said that I lost weight, but I didn't believe it because I had only been working out for a month before I stopped due to an injury. The entire time, I thought I stilled weighed as much as I did when I first started lifting weights or when I was in college last, which was 280 lbs.

 

But then I got weighed when I visit the doctor's office for an injured hand I wanted x-rayed, and they told me I weighed 240 - 241 lbs. Whether if the manual scales I used before were broken and I have always weighed that much, or if I really did lose 40 lbs over the summer, this was wonderful news to me, especially since I am now planning on joining the military after college, and the maximum weight for someone my height in the Coast Guard is 168 lbs.

 

But now I'm in a different set of circumstances.

 

Even though I really enjoyed weightlifting, I don't think I ever really want to go back to it. At least not until I'm already in good, strong shape, and I want to build muscle, and not just strength, and even then, I'm starting to care less and less about having big muscles.

 

My reasons being:

 

I prefer to workout alone.

My school schedule and living conditions this year make it more time-consuming and potentially dangerous to go to the rec and lift weights.

I feel like bodyweight training offers a more natural progression, so it's less likely that I may injure myself trying to constantly increase my weights each time.

 

Oh by the way, I'm switching to bodyweight training because:

 

It has a more natural progression, IMO.

I can easily workout in either my own apartment (hopefully) or on campus.

It's cheaper, in theory.

It burns more calories.

 

Right now, I'm still trying to workout my workout schedule. It seems like MWF is still going to be the best daily split for me, since those are the days that I have an extra hour before classes begin. If I can get it to the point where I don't have to study any school work in the morning, and if I can find some affordable way to eat lunch on campus or take lunch with me, I will probably continue with the two meals a day thing. It just doesn't work when breakfast and dinner are the only things I eat. Too much time in between meals. I might have to find and buy some sort of healthy alternative to carrying around an apple and a sandwich, or find a way to carry them.

 

And that's not even counting Tuesdays and Thursdays, where I only have about half an hour at the most in between classes. I'm not even sure if I can find time to eat lunch those days, but my classes are over with by about 2:30 PM, so I might end up having a late lunch.

 

So maybe, I could eat lunch at 3:00 PM every day on or off campus, and eat dinner later, maybe at some time like 7 or 8 PM? I'm just thinking out loud about my schedule.

 

So, yes. The biggest obstacles I have for getting into shape this semester so far are, trying to eat around my schedule, and getting groceries that are healthy. I only own a bike, and the only grocery stores for me to go to are pretty far, and my bike rack is pretty small. Luckily, I have a sister who lives in town now, so I can get her help with grocery shopping every month or so I would say.

 

Cooking, is not an issue, although I'm not entirely sure what to get when I finally DO go on my first big grocery shopping trip. I'm not really interested in going full-paleo. I still like a little bread and rice. That being said, I still have backed away from cereal and milk...even though I miss them. D:

 

I'm going to follow the bodyweight routine that BaconLover (or was it BaconHunter) created and put on his website.

 

So, that's what's been going on with me, and why I haven't been too active on the forums. I guess, since I don't lift weights anymore, and I'm planning on using martial arts and boxing (with the use of a bag) as an off-day activity, this means that I'm not exactly a Ranger anymore? If anything, I'm thinking I'm either going to become a Monk, or an Assassin. But for now, I think I need to go back and be what I should have started off as, an Adventurer.

[Bullroarer Took]

Welcome back!

 

There are many ways to skin a cat, with nutrition or exercise.  Labels are just a convenience.  Every class here is just a different path up the mountain.

[Leego]

Thanks!

 

I think that I'm gonna do is:

 

On MTWRF: bike ride for 30 min. - 1 hr. When I get into better shape and my knees strengthen, I'm gonna go back to doing my intervals of: Walk for one lap, jog for one lap, run for one lap, sprint for as long of one lap as I can, and then cool down with walking. Then once I get that under better control, I might switch it to a pyramid formation: Walk, Jog, Run, Sprint, Run, Jog, Walk, for a total of 7 laps.

 

On TR: Practice boxing on a reflex bag or a double-end bag.

 

On MWF: Do bodyweight training routine. After I get the hang of the basic levels of it (I.e. I can do 30 proper push-ups and other exercises on that level), I will incorporate kettleball training. The reason I am incorporating bodyweight training now, is because I was able to do it in the past, and squats will help strengthen my knees, and strengthening my muscular system as a whole will help me better support my own weight in fat, and the weight I have to carry at school.

 

Every day, do stretches before bed. I can follow the basic stretches Steve shows in the Nerd Fitness article, but for some reason, I feel like I need a more, specialized, full-body stretch routine, and I still need to incorporate hip bridges (or what were they called) to correct my posture with,

 

I need to watch my eating. I wouldn't mind finding more types of meals I can cook using scrambled eggs, or even hard-boiled eggs.

[Leego]

So for the remainder of this month and next month:

 

MWF: Bike ride, bodyweight train, stretches.

 

TR: Boxing, stretches

 

I also need to brush up on Steve's suggestions of incorporating primal movements and squat practices into everyday life. I don't know about a standing desk, though. I saw a professor with one in his office, and they look neat, and I can store my bike under one, but how expensive do they go?