Rathlan lays foundations

[rathlan]

I will fill this in more as I go, but wanted to start getting some of my thinking out my head so that I don't see the challenge of writing a challenge as an obstacle.

Epic Epic quest (general, 1 year or more): A combination of mental and physical strength. Mentally I need to be clear of anxiety, and physically I want to become strong enough to move my own body around so that I can play more in my environment.

Epic quest (specific, 6 months): I want to be able to do my first muscle up (stretch goal would be to also do a human flag). I need to find a sustainable routine to manage my anxiety levels.

Challenge Quests: - 25xp each
1. Quality: Always use correct form & don't do any exercise that aggravates my shoulder. Must do this 100% of the time.
2. Quantity: Do at least 20 of my planned 24 workouts in the next 4 weeks. (Most of these can be done at home in 30 minutes)
3. Meditation: Do at at most 10 minutes of meditation each day, minimum goal is to do this for 20 days. (I seem to find that giving an "at least X a day" goal makes me end up not doing it, but having an upper limit seems to allow me to achieve the goal better)

Level up your life quest - 25xp:
1. Put R20 in a jar every day to be used as a treat for my wife and I at the end of the challenge. (The goal here being to encourage good habits, delayed gratification, and giving a real reward on completing the challenge)

 

[Edit - 2015-01-03: Added values for XP, version 1, not entirely sure how well it will work out (see post below) so I may have to update it later]

[fitnessgurl]

Definitely following.

[Jothra]

I like how you've separated the quality and quantity parts. They're both important, so it was a good idea to lay them both out in your challenge.

[rathlan]

Thanks Jothra, I usually just go for quantity which is what ended in shoulder problems in my last challenge. Now that using the right form is key to my success, I must follow it.

[SymphonicDan]

Are you working towards a muscle-up on gymnastics rings, or on a bar? On rings is easier - maybe this could be an intermediate goal - but the technique for the bar seems quite different (I'm still working towards it).

 

I like the way you structure your challenge - good luck

[rathlan]

Thanks SymphonicDan - I don't have access to any rings, so I was planning on doing bar based muscle ups.

[Blue Thunder]

Human Flag?

 

[rathlan]

Yup, that's it. Apparently it's not as hard as it looks compared to other moves (according to my local calisthenics group at least) but I can't even lift myself up at all, so it's pretty darned I,possible for me at the moment.

[rathlan]

Day 0 (-1?)

Workout - Chest, 3 sets of:

• 20 x Wide Pushups
• 15 x Incline Pushups
• 15 x Decline Pushups
• 10 x Explosive Pushups
• 10sec - 90 degree pushup hold

I had to live up to challenge 2, and do a lot more of the pushups from my knees than I'd like to have.  My shoulder was starting to take some strain, it's amazing how I want to compensate by rolling it forward and using other muscles to help push my body around.  Changing to do pushups from my knees just takes the pressure off enough so that I can focus on the correct muscles.  

 

I seem to feel the pushups hitting my back/lats/triceps a lot more than my chest, so I'm hoping that if I give it time, the supporting muscles will strengthen and I can finally move forward with my pushup and pullup work outs.

[fitnessgurl]

Day 0 (-1?)

Workout - Chest, 3 sets of:

• 20 x Wide Pushups
• 15 x Incline Pushups
• 15 x Decline Pushups
• 10 x Explosive Pushups
• 10sec - 90 degree pushup hold

I had to live up to challenge 2, and do a lot more of the pushups from my knees than I'd like to have.  My shoulder was starting to take some strain, it's amazing how I want to compensate by rolling it forward and using other muscles to help push my body around.  Changing to do pushups from my knees just takes the pressure off enough so that I can focus on the correct muscles.  

 

I seem to feel the pushups hitting my back/lats/triceps a lot more than my chest, so I'm hoping that if I give it time, the supporting muscles will strengthen and I can finally move forward with my pushup and pullup work outs.

I still struggle with push-ups. I can do 7; but I struggle with the 7th. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[rathlan]

I still struggle with push-ups. I can do 7; but I struggle with the 7th. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I am by no means a professional, so don't take this advice as authoritative. From what I have read, it is always good to start slowly to get your body (shoulders, chest, back, triceps) to get used to the movements.

Some things I have done wrong in the past: not keeping my elbows tucked next to my body (instead they flail out sideways), not using my lats to pull my shoulders down, instead I let my shoulders roll forwards and then use my traps to stabilize my shoulders which leads to injury).

I have seen some slow progressions suggested starting with wall push-ups, then incline push-ups, then kneeling, and finally normal push-ups.

Working your way slowly forwards lets your body build the required foundation to do the next steps.

That's the best suggestion I can make... I hope it helps.

[rathlan]

I realise this is possibly a bit premature, but I'm looking at the template and suggestions for XP for the new system, but it seems a bit more harsh than the previous system.

 

I like the old idea of always being able to level up if you completed a NF challenge, but how well your your stats would increase depended on how well you did the quest.  I'd like to be able to ensure I'd at least level up, but technically that's not really going to happen:

The Epic Quest will have the ability for you to create a challenge “QUEST LISTâ€, input your challenge “QUESTSâ€, assign them XP, and when you check them off, you will earn that XP and level up. If you plan on doing this, start thinking about XP values for each one of your quests. A normal quest is 1-25XP. You level up every 100XP. You pick the XP for each quest based on it's difficulty for you. Difficulty is person independent - what could be a 5XP quest for one person may be a 25XP quest for another.

 

 

If I only have 4 quests (as per the templates and suggestions), and they're all 25xp quests (not 100% likely that would be the case, since the suggestion seems to be to vary the values), I won't level up even if I hit all 4 at 95%.  

 

In the old system, even if I hit the four quests at 75% I'd still level up, but my stat point increase wouldn't be too good.  In the new system if I hit 95%, I'd get 24xp for each one and I'd not level up.

 

I suspect I might just need to wait till the new system is up before anything I say is set in stone.  In most games, there are side quests, and enough other quests that you end up getting far more XP than required to just level up, so I'm hoping there's some room to add in extra mini-quests or side quests somewhere.  I've allocated 25xp for each quest now, but I may need to make some alterations to ensure that I don't get demotivated by not levelling up even if I hit most of my quests.

 

I like the idea of adding in side quests to help me level up, because I could then be more realistic on the XP values for the main quests. (e.g. putting money aside is definitely not my hardest quest in this round, but it has the same XP value)

[fitnessgurl]

I am by no means a professional, so don't take this advice as authoritative. From what I have read, it is always good to start slowly to get your body (shoulders, chest, back, triceps) to get used to the movements.

Some things I have done wrong in the past: not keeping my elbows tucked next to my body (instead they flail out sideways), not using my lats to pull my shoulders down, instead I let my shoulders roll forwards and then use my traps to stabilize my shoulders which leads to injury).

I have seen some slow progressions suggested starting with wall push-ups, then incline push-ups, then kneeling, and finally normal push-ups.

Working your way slowly forwards lets your body build the required foundation to do the next steps.

That's the best suggestion I can make... I hope it helps.

Thank you!

[SymphonicDan]

Thanks SymphonicDan - I don't have access to any rings, so I was planning on doing bar based muscle ups.

 

Cool - I'm interested to learn from any progress you make!

 

 

Changing to do pushups from my knees just takes the pressure off enough so that I can focus on the correct muscles.  

 

I seem to feel the pushups hitting my back/lats/triceps a lot more than my chest, so I'm hoping that if I give it time, the supporting muscles will strengthen and I can finally move forward with my pushup and pullup work outs.

 

It's good that you're not too proud to drop back to knee push-ups even when you can do much more advanced variations.

 

If your back/lats are feeling the push-ups, make sure your back is solid and straight. This might or might not be the problem.

 

If your triceps are feeling the push-ups - even the wide-arm ones - then either they are weaker than your pecs (so the push-ups will help strengthen them)... or you are pushing out to the side and using your triceps and friction against the floor to do the push-up. If you can put your hands on slippery surfaces for your push-ups then this will fix that Otherwise maybe focus on pushing your hands towards each other during the push-up (even though the friction should prevent them from moving more than a centimetre).

 

 

I still struggle with push-ups. I can do 7; but I struggle with the 7th. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

If you can do 7 push-ups with good form then they are a good exercise for you. If you'd like ideas on variations, then I did a YouTube video last year that you might be interested in:

 

 

 

I realise this is possibly a bit premature, but I'm looking at the template and suggestions for XP for the new system, but it seems a bit more harsh than the previous system.

 

From my understanding, this is not for the "levelling up" between challenges that we're used to, but instead to the epic quest levels that Steve Kamb (NF founder) refers to here in his personal example.

[fitnessgurl]

@SymphonicDan: Thank you!

[rathlan]

Day 1 - Lower Body

Today's workout location:  http://imgur.com/M0Tz4oo

Four sets of squats, jumps, calf raises, etc.

 

Definitely no possibility of hurting my shoulder on this one :-)

 

[rathlan]

If your back/lats are feeling the push-ups, make sure your back is solid and straight. This might or might not be the problem.

 

If your triceps are feeling the push-ups - even the wide-arm ones - then either they are weaker than your pecs (so the push-ups will help strengthen them)... or you are pushing out to the side and using your triceps and friction against the floor to do the push-up. If you can put your hands on slippery surfaces for your push-ups then this will fix that Otherwise maybe focus on pushing your hands towards each other during the push-up (even though the friction should prevent them from moving more than a centimetre).

 

I keep coming back to this, because I think you're right... something's not quite right with my form.  I suspect I'll swap to some "easier" forms of pushup, to attempt to figure out if it is definitely form, or just weakness.

[Blue Thunder]

I never even knew there was a proper way to do pushups.....  good info on here 

[rathlan]

A quick update for days 2-4...

Day 2 - Upper Body

A bunch of pushups, pullups, and dips - I was still a little worried about my shoulder, so did the exercises with machine assistance.  I focussed a lot on ensuring that my chest was being used for the pushups which seemed to help, and my shoulder was thankful for the slight rest.

 

Day 3 - Core (on bar)

Lots of hanging work from overhead bars (leg raises, flutter kicks, and static holds), and then leg raises while holding myself up on top of dip bars.  Oddly, I quite liked the feel of hanging, and enjoyed playing with my balance on both sets of exercises.  The shoulder is definitely feeling better.

 

Day 4 - Rest day!

Good rest, let my diet slide a bit (had some beer with work colleagues before I go on leave tomorrow)  Also... OMG, 40 degrees celsius (104 Fahrenheit). 

 

From tomorrow I'm on leave for a week, which will make my pre-planned workouts a bit harder to do.  The place we are going to has a small gym on the property, but I've scouted out the local gym's day member rates in case the gym at the place we're staying is missing something I need.  Tomorrow will be interesting since after a 6 hour drive, I'm hoping to still have the energy to do a back workout.

 

The place we're going to would usually be warmer than Johannesburg, but it seems it's got rain forecast for most of the next week so temperatures will be around 30 degrees C (86 F)... That might put a damper on my plans to laze about in the sun at the pool-side and read a book, but I'm kinda happy that it won't be crazily hot.

 

I may not be able to post too often while on leave since the mobile reception where we're going isn't always that good... but yay! After working through December while everyone else was on leave, I now get to take some time off too :-D

[rathlan]

Day 5 - Friday 8th

The drive out was easy, and scenic which made it quite enjoyable. The facilities in the gym at the place we are staying are quite bad - no bars (pull-up or dip) and a lot of broken equipment.

I managed to cobble together a solution for a pull-up bar by balancing a barbell bar on top of one of their broken "all-in-one" type exercise machines. Fortunately I should only need the bars again for one or two workouts, so I will plan to do those in another gym in the town where we are.

I got tired quite early... Usually we are awake till after 12 but I was in bed by 10 and probably fast asleep by 11, and only woke up around 9am this morning. I may just trying use this week to start to reset my body clock to go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. Not sure if it will work, but at the very least I will catch as much sleep as I can :-)

[Jothra]

Day 5 - Friday 8th

I managed to cobble together a solution for a pull-up bar by balancing a barbell bar on top of one of their broken "all-in-one" type exercise machines. Fortunately I should only need the bars again for one or two workouts, so I will plan to do those in another gym in the town where we are.

MacGyver hasn't really held up as a series, but it lives on as a way of life.

[rathlan]

Day 6 - Saturday 9th

Still can't believe I slept so much last night... We had a nice and relaxing day out, and I did my planned lower body work out today. So far I am doing great on protecting my shoulder, and doing the workouts. I will have to catch up on the saving quest once I am home (hard to put in the "jar" when you aren't near it), and suddenly tonight I am all anxious and I realise that I have forgotten my other quest (Meditation) for a few days.

I pre-downloaded a few from Headspace before leaving home, so I need to just sit and do them now. I seem to have this on/off relationship with meditation - for example: I remembered to do it when anxious and waiting for a train for 10 mins, but then forget to do it the next day. At least "anxious Rathlan" remembers, which is when I need it most, now I just need to get "relaxed Rathlan" to do his part too, so that it has a more consistent effect.

[fitnessgurl]

Great job on your workout.

[SymphonicDan]

Ah, always a shame when a gym lacks a pull-up bar, but nice solution constructing your own

 

And it's about 40'F / 4'C here so quite envious of your heat....

[rathlan]

And it's about 40'F / 4'C here so quite envious of your heat....

We will likely be changing sides of the temperature spectrum in a few months, are you sure you want to do the trade?