Cephalopod_Dreams and the Quest for Strength

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Hi All,

 

This is my first 6 week challenge so I'm pretty excited about it.

 

A little background on me: I'm female, 25 years old, 5'2" and 9st 11lbs (that's 157cm and 137lbs). I started attending Karate (Shotokan) 2 years ago in an attempt to get fit, and while it's definitely made a difference I want to step up my game. I ride a 700cc motorcycle so I need to get stronger to handle that, and I want to work on my strength to improve my karate performance. I also want to lose some weight (read: fat) as I have a chronic pain condition and the bigger I am the more it hurts.

 

Main Quest: Lose 20lbs by xmas and keep it off

 

Quest 1: 

Complete 3 workouts a week, every week, for 6 weeks. (This could be 2 karate sessions and 1 strength training or any combination of those)

Goal: A = 1 workout a week. B = 2 workouts a week. C = 3 workouts a week. 

Reward: A = +1 Str. B = +2 Str. 3 = +3 Str.

 

Quest 2: Have at least 2 alcohol-free nights a week

Goal: A = 1 night a week free. B = 2 nights a week free. C = 3 nights a week free. 

Reward: A = +1 Con. B = +2 Con +1 Wis.  C = +3 Con + 2 Wis

 

Quest 3: Do 10 proper push ups by the end of the challenge.

Goal: A = achieve 10 x incline. B = 10 x knee. C = 10 x proper push ups

Reward: A = +1 Str. B = +2 Str. C = +3 Str.

 

Motivation: Get closer to achieving my black belt and reduce my pain levels. 

 

[HedgeMage]

Woohoo!

 

I <3 martial artists looking for ways to kick more ass.  I did Wado ki karate for a bit and then Shorei Goju-Ryu for several years, in addition to a bunch of western martial arts.

 

I followed your thread and will be around if you want to bounce ideas off another female martial artist who's been working hard on strength and losing fat along the way.

[arilyn8]

Hey! I just wanted to stop by and say I love your username. Also if I had attempted a push-up prior to writing my goals I would've copied your push-up goal! I seem to have forgotten my inability to do them. 😀

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Woohoo!

I <3 martial artists looking for ways to kick more ass. I did Wado ki karate for a bit and then Shorei Goju-Ryu for several years, in addition to a bunch of western martial arts.

I followed your thread and will be around if you want to bounce ideas off another female martial artist who's been working hard on strength and losing fat along the way.

Thanks HedgeMage! It's nice to know I have another female martial artist to chat to. The problem with my training group is its mostly children in my dojo so I can't exactly ask them for fitness tips!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Hey! I just wanted to stop by and say I love your username. Also if I had attempted a push-up prior to writing my goals I would've copied your push-up goal! I seem to have forgotten my inability to do them. 😀

Thanks Arilyn8 :-) you can always save push ups for your next six week challenge!

If I make it through this one I know my next one needs to be a food diaeyt

[Toshimi]

Welcome to the challenges! Saw your interest in Karate, and wanted to invite you to come stop by the Monk Courtyard. 

 

one of the Monk ambassadors might stop by but wanted to say hi myself. Looks like you're set up for a great challenge!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Thanks WanderingCaveGirl I'll check it out. I've got a grading in October so I'm working hard to get in shape.

[Teirin]

Hello Cephalopod Dreams!  Welcome to Nerdfitness! 

 

We do have a fair number of female martial artists in the Monks if you're looking for more people to compare notes with.  Wanderingcavegirl linked our Courtyard above.

 

I think you have your grading backwards.  Normally the A is the best result and down from there.  So  Goal: A = 3 workout a week. B = 2 workouts a week. C = 1 workouts a week instead of your current version :-)

 

Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything.

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Long past time for an update. Week one was pretty successful! I managed two karate lessons and two bodyweight workouts, I've lost 1 pound but feel stronger and I'm getting my karate mojo back! I even managed 2 completely alcohol free nights and reduced alcohol consumption on all the other nights. Yay me!

Still not managing push ups so well but thanks to the lovely ladies in the NF Facebook group I got some great tips and have made progress.

All in all I'm feeling stronger and eating better. I've given up coffee and most sugar. I even resisted gaming snacks in favour of carrots and hummus!

Week two off to a great start with a karate session. Roll on the next set of challenges!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Time for another update. 

 

Week two was really good, and staying strong in week three. Haven't missed a karate session yet and have been keeping up the bodyweight workouts, alternating between Recruit workout and Bodyweight lvl 1.

 

I have successfully ignored the birthday cookies and cream cakes that have haunted my office over the last two weeks, and even when I had a nasty row with my SO i didnt resort to wine and chocolate as I usually would.

 

I even made a breakthrough with push ups! Still cant do a strict push up but i know i've finally got my form down on the incline push up and I can feel myself recruiting the right muscles. Yay! I've got a karate grading coming up next month, right around the time my challenge finishes. Hopefully if I keep on track I'll be looking at my next belt soon!

 

I've also looked into joining my SO's gym as they have a great weight room and I'm looking to take up barbell and dumb bell work to improve my strength. I'm not confident just walking into a weight room as i'm worried about my form but luckily the gym have some good classes around weights so hopefully I can start there. The gym also has a pull-up assist machine which I'm planning to get much use out of. One of my long term goals is to manage an unassisted pull-up, so the machine can help me work on Pull ups, Chin ups and Dips that I cant practice at home.

 

Feeling really confident about hitting my goals at the end of this challenge  

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

Great progress. Especially for getting a hang of push-ups. I was struggling with them, too.

Don't be afraid of the free weights corner. But perhaps you know somebody who does strength training and can show you some exercises, because I heard horroble storys of trainers who gave females teeny weenie dumbbells and expected them to wiggle them a little

Best wishes for the second half of your challenge and for getting this belt.

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Time for another update : Week three finished in a boozy weekend (oops) and week four is off to a bad start. I missed karate last night - I know you're not supposed to miss a Monday - as i have a horrible cold and I feel rough and exhausted. It's my daughter's birthday today and my girlfriend's graduation so a big big day and I guess I was hoping that a night of rest might make me feel better for it all. Can't say if my logic was correct as i feel even more rough today, but who knows, maybe I'd have felt worse if I exercised.

 

I know that I've started to slow down and I need to kick it up again. I still havent taken my before photos or my measurements - in part I know because I'm scared of what I'll see.

 

Time to focus. 

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

So I've been setting up my battle log, half as a way to keep track of my long term goals and half as a way to bookmark resources so that I can go back to them.

 

I realised that I reached the half way point in my first challenge and didnt allocate myself any attribute points! So, here it goes:

 

Str 1 | Dex 3 | Sta 2 | Con 1 | Wis 2 | Cha 1 

 

My attribute points dont quite align with my level as I've completed a lot of the quests on the academy which has bumped my level up. Not entire sure how to reconcile the academy with the challenges but will see how I go. 

 

Edit: having re-read the guides it seems I've got my first challenge a bit wrong (oops!) and should only be getting a further one point per quest once I hit level 2 at the end of the challenge. So for the sake of accuracy I'll redefine my goals here:

 

Quest 1: 

Complete 3 workouts a week, every week, for 6 weeks. (This could be 2 karate sessions and 1 strength training or any combination of those)

Goal: A = 3 workouts a week. B = 2 workouts a week. C = 1 workout a week.

Reward: A = +1 Str. B = +1 Str. C = +1 Sta.

 

Quest 2: Have at least 2 alcohol-free nights a week

Goal: A = 3 nights a week free. B = 2 nights a week free. C = 1 night a week free. 

Reward: A = +1 Con. B = +1 Con.  C = +1 Wis

 

Quest 3: Do 10 proper push ups by the end of the challenge.

Goal: A = 10 x proper push ups. B = 10 x knee. C = achieve 10 x incline. 

Reward: A = +1 Str. B = +1 Str. C = +1 Sta.

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Week four was a massive failure in terms of exercise but week five got off to a great start yesterday with a full bodyweight workout and an hour of karate.

My karate session was extra fun as we were working out with pads and I could really see improvement in my kicks.

I'm down another pound, averaging one pound a week since the start of my challenge. It's not loads and I doubt I'll hit my goal weight by Christmas as I had originally intended but with a bit of luck it will stay off this time.

[HedgeMage]

So glad to hear you're back on track.  Setbacks suck, but every time I get back on the wagon, it means that *next* setback I'm less afraid that I won't climb back out.

 

BTW, don't fret too much about weight loss, consider tracking body fat %age or body measurements instead.  That way you don't get "charged" for muscle gain, which is a GOOD thing!

 

Keep it up!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Is this week five or week six? Honesty I've completely lost track. Last week I missed two karate lessons due to sickness / packing for a holiday at the weekend, although I did a bodyweight workout on the Thursday to make up for it a bit.

Saturday and Sunday were too much booze and treats as I was on a weekend break in Prague with my partner. Then Monday arrived with horrible food poisoning. I drank water to avoid drinking too much beer and like an idiot didn't make sure it was tap water. I ate some plain rice last night with nothing else and it's the first thing I've eaten since Sunday.

Needless to say I've lost half a stone but not in a good way and I haven't done any exercise in almost a week. On top of that I have been unable to take my antidepressants for 4 days so I'm miserable and paranoid and convinced that I ruined the holiday and my partner would be better off without me.

I'm completely off track on my challenge and my fitness and I feel extremely down about the whole thing. Not to mention that I've been off sick from work four days out of the last two weeks and its just another way that I feel like a failure.

[HedgeMage]

The challenge ended last Sunday, this is our week off.  Be ready to start anew next Monday!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

Thanks for letting me know HedgeMage! Thankfully I have a little time to recover before trying again!

[Cephalopod_Dreams]

I have been so ill the last couple of weeks that I managed to completely miss the end of my first official 6 week challenge. Results were not what I had hoped due to depression and illness and other factors but I have still definitely made progress with my habits so will reward myself as follows:

 

Complete 3 workouts a week, every week, for 6 weeks. (This could be 2 karate sessions and 1 strength training or any combination of those)

Goal: A = 3 workouts a week. B = 2 workouts a week. C = 1 workout a week.

Reward: A = +1 Str. B = +1 Str. C = +1 Sta.

 

Quest 2: Have at least 2 alcohol-free nights a week

Goal: A = 3 nights a week free. B = 2 nights a week free. C = 1 night a week free. 

Reward: A = +1 Con. B = +1 Con.  C = +1 Wis

 

Quest 3: Do 10 proper push ups by the end of the challenge.

Goal: A = 10 x proper push ups. B = 10 x knee. C = achieve 10 x incline. 

Reward: A = +1 Str. B = +1 Str. C = +1 Sta.

 

So my total rewards are : +1 Str, +1 Con and +1 Sta. woo! I may only be on incline press ups still but my form is good and i can feel that I'm using the right muscles and making progress so it still counts as a small victory.

 

Also I've way reduced my sugar and caffeine intake over these six weeks, which wasn't on my official goals but is definitely a good thing. So yay for that too!