tenaciousglee - Superdad Returns

[tenaciousglee]

Superdad Returns - the sequel to Becoming Superdad

 

As we learned in last month's challenge, A Superdad is Big and Strong:
 

Goal 1: Perform one strict handstand push-up

Last time, my strength goal was focused on sandbag overhead press.  I came close to my goal, but realized that the sandbag OHP is not an ideal exercise to reach my real goal, which is performing handstand push-ups.  I figure if I want to be able to do HSPUs, I would need to be able to do a 1x bodyweight OHP and a 150-160 lb sandbag is just a bear to deal with, especially holding it over your head.  So instead, I'll focus on the goal itself.  I'll be progressing through Pike Push-ups, Feet elevated Pike Push-ups, HSPU negatives, and then hopefully a full HSPU by the end of the challenge!

 

A Superdad looks good in his super-suit:

Goal 2: Lose 1 inch from my belly

Every time I try to increase my calories to bulk up, I end up adding to my belly first.  I've had challenge goals in the past about trimming my midsection, and had some success, but this summer I'd really like to get down to a lean waist and stay there.  Various sources agree that the "ideal" waist measurement is about 45% of your height.  I'm 6'-1" (73"), so that works out to about 32.5" for my waist.  I was at 35.5" when I measured at the end of May, so I hope to lose an inch a month, which equates to about 4-5 lbs of fat based on previous measurements.

 

I'm going to shoot for this goal by following Intermittent Fasting and I'm also going to try out Carb Backloading.  Other steps to achieve my goal:

• Track my eating at least 5 days a week
• I'll be shooting for about 1800 calories a day (I'm pretty sedentary aside from my 4 workouts a week).  
• 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight
• Maintain balance in my macros (30% PRO, 35% CHO, 35% FAT)

 

Goal 3: Strengthen those muscles under the belly fat

I know that ab exercises can't spot reduce fat, but I definitely need to increase my core strength and it certainly can't hurt to tighten up my core muscles.

• 10 Stomach vacuums throughout the day
• "PLP" style reverse crunches.  I started these at the beginning of June with 5 and I keep adding one each night.

 

A Superdad plans ahead

 

Level Up Your Life Goal: Prepare a family budget for after the baby arrives

My wife wants to take 8 weeks off from work after the baby comes and she's our primary breadwinner, so it might be a good idea to plan ahead for those 2 months of reduced income... I have plenty of experience creating budgets, but I am pretty bad at sticking to them.  So, I'll go back to basics for this one.  Goal is to have a July-to-December budget by 7/1.

 

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/how-to-build-a-budget/

http://www.cozi.com/blog/6-steps-creating-budget/

https://www.payoff.com/life/money/5-simple-steps-to-create-a-successful-budget/

 

A Superdad appreciates his kids

 

Level Up Your #dadlife Goal: Appreciate fatherhood everyday

It has been pointed out to me that I have a tendency to treat fatherhood as a chore or a job rather than something to enjoy.  With a third kid on the way, it will be that much more important to make sure I'm enjoying my little blessings.  So, I'll keep a daily log of things that I appreciate about my of my kids or about being a father.  Goal is to write down at least one thing a day.

 

There you have it.  Let's get to work!

 

 

 

 

[Manarelle]

F5, F5, F5, F5. Can't wait!

[tenaciousglee]

7 hours ago, Manarelle said:

F5, F5, F5, F5. Can't wait!

 

Original post updated. 

[Elleica]

Following again Superdad! 

 

I have a question that was raised to me when I talked to an officemate. Is it ok to develop muscles even if you still have fat in your body? The officemate claimed that we need to lose fat first before building up muscle or else the fat hardens to become a muscle. I find it ridiculous but I am not quite sure how. Reason I am asking is because one of my goals too that drives my workouts is to have a flat tummy that is to lose all my belly fats. To do this, I perform mostly ABS workouts and have running sessions at least 1x a week. I am worried that I may be developing the ab muscles (thanks to Darebees ABS workouts) but the fat is not going away. Although in the past month, I have seen the reduction in my tummy.  I figured this situation sounds similar to your 2nd goal.

 

Also, I am trying to progress to being able to do an actual handstand. For now I am doing inclined pike push ups and trying to get the form right. I look forward to your progression in this area as well.  

[tenaciousglee]

7 hours ago, Elleica said:

Following again Superdad! 

 

I have a question that was raised to me when I talked to an officemate. Is it ok to develop muscles even if you still have fat in your body? The officemate claimed that we need to lose fat first before building up muscle or else the fat hardens to become a muscle. I find it ridiculous but I am not quite sure how. Reason I am asking is because one of my goals too that drives my workouts is to have a flat tummy that is to lose all my belly fats. To do this, I perform mostly ABS workouts and have running sessions at least 1x a week. I am worried that I may be developing the ab muscles (thanks to Darebees ABS workouts) but the fat is not going away. Although in the past month, I have seen the reduction in my tummy.  I figured this situation sounds similar to your 2nd goal.

 

Also, I am trying to progress to being able to do an actual handstand. For now I am doing inclined pike push ups and trying to get the form right. I look forward to your progression in this area as well.  

 

Hey Ace! You're right, that officemate's theory is ridiculous.  I'm not even sure how to fully respond to it!  I will say that fat doesn't turn into muscle. But fat can cover up your muscles, so you may need to lose some fat to see more muscle definition as you build muscle.  Here's a link to an old NF article about how to "get abs".

 

Also, here's a great one about getting started with strength training.  Happy reading.  Knowledge is power!

[tenaciousglee]

Going to try and use a goal-tracking matrix again like I did a few challenges ago:

 

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-Pike Push-ups - 0x0x10

-Feet Elevated Pike Push-ups - 0x0x10

-HSPU Negatives - 0x0x6

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 0/5

-Hit calorie target: 0/5

-Hit protein target: 0/5

-Hit macro target: 0/5

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 1/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 1/7

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 1/7

 

Urg.  That matrix is not as pretty as my last one.  May need to tweak it a bit.

[Elleica]

12 hours ago, tenaciousglee said:

 

Hey Ace! You're right, that officemate's theory is ridiculous.  I'm not even sure how to fully respond to it!  I will say that fat doesn't turn into muscle. But fat can cover up your muscles, so you may need to lose some fat to see more muscle definition as you build muscle.  Here's a link to an old NF article about how to "get abs".

 

Also, here's a great one about getting started with strength training.  Happy reading.  Knowledge is power!

 

Totally agree with you! I think I'll share with her some of the articles in NF. Thanks for pointing them out to me! 

[tenaciousglee]

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-Pike Push-ups - 3x10

-Feet Elevated Pike Push-ups - 0x10

-HSPU Negatives - 0x6

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 1/5

-Hit calorie target: 0/5

-Hit protein target: 1/5

-Hit macro target: 0/5

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 2/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 2/7

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 2/7

 

I was doing pretty well yesterday with my calories/macros - until I went to watch some basketball with a few friends.  It turns out beer, nachos, and potato skins are not conducive to losing belly fat.  Oh well, I can still focus on the positives: I tracked what I ate and I hit my protein goal.   And I had a surprisingly good workout this morning despite the bar food last night and staying up past my usual bedtime.  I guess I can count the bar food as carb-loading?

 

[Phayze]

Way to look on the bright side, T! ^^

I really dig that dadlife-positivity goal - it can be way too easy to fall into the trap of only thinking about the hard parts at the expense of the good parts... i know I do it more than I like.

Sent from my XT1028 using Tapatalk

[tenaciousglee]

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-Pike Push-ups - 3x10

-Feet Elevated Pike Push-ups - 0x10

-HSPU Negatives - 0x6

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 2/5

-Hit calorie target: 1/5

-Hit protein target: 1/5

-Hit macro target: 0/5

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 3/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 3/7

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 3/7

 

I tracked my food again yesterday.  I was under my calorie target, which is good I guess.  I was low on my protein target and my macros.

[tenaciousglee]

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-Pike Push-ups - 3x10

-Feet Elevated Pike Push-ups - 0x10

-HSPU Negatives - 0x6

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 3/5

-Hit calorie target: 2/5

-Hit protein target: 2/5

-Hit macro target: 1/5

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 4/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 4/7

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 4/7

Yesterday was a good rest day.  I had to drink a protein shake with 2 cups of whole milk at 9:30 last night to get in my protein, but I'm not complaining - it was yummy! And I hit my macros for the first time!

 

I'm trying to decide how to best motivate myself to start on my budget goal.  When I came up with 5 goals for this challenge, I said to myself that I would probably let one slide.  So, I'm thinking about focusing on the Dad Journal Entry and push the budget to next challenge, but it feels like a cop out.  I do need to adjust the budget and I shouldn't procrastinate, but...

[Manarelle]

1 hour ago, tenaciousglee said:

Yesterday was a good rest day.  I had to drink a protein shake with 2 cups of whole milk at 9:30 last night to get in my protein, but I'm not complaining - it was yummy! And I hit my macros for the first time!

I'm trying to decide how to best motivate myself to start on my budget goal.  When I came up with 5 goals for this challenge, I said to myself that I would probably let one slide.  So, I'm thinking about focusing on the Dad Journal Entry and push the budget to next challenge, but it feels like a cop out.  I do need to adjust the budget and I shouldn't procrastinate, but...

 

Grats on hitting your macros! That's such a great feeling. As far as the budget goes, would it be helpful to just keep track of where money goes for this month, without trying to change or schedule it? If you don't alrady do that (and you may), it's a good place to start, so you know what the current situation is and where things can be tweaked. 

[Phayze]

Maybe it's just me, but getting motivated to make spreadsheets has never been a problem. You don't get a thrill out of formatting cells and adjusting formulae? o0

Sent from my XT1028 using Tapatalk

[Wolverine]

On 6/18/2016 at 6:27 AM, Phayze said:

Maybe it's just me, but getting motivated to make spreadsheets has never been a problem. You don't get a thrill out of formatting cells and adjusting formulae? o0

Sent from my XT1028 using Tapatalk

 

Sooo not just you!

[Manarelle]

On 6/18/2016 at 9:27 AM, Phayze said:

Maybe it's just me, but getting motivated to make spreadsheets has never been a problem. You don't get a thrill out of formatting cells and adjusting formulae? o0

Sent from my XT1028 using Tapatalk

 

I will admit I get super excited watching the mini-challenge spreadsheets build up.  I do too much work with excel at... work... to get really excited about them,though. 

 

So, TenaciousGlee, how'd the first week go, overall?

 

 

[tenaciousglee]

It's funny, Week 1 feels like it was only so-so, but I guess I did pretty good with hitting my goals, save for the budget. (pun intended?)

 

Through Week 1:

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-Pike Push-ups - 3x10

-Feet Elevated Pike Push-ups - 3x8 with feet on bench

-HSPU Negatives - 1x2 (partial ROM)

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 3.5/5 (Mon-Wed & half of Thursday)

-Hit calorie target: 2/5

-Hit protein target: 2/5

-Hit macro target: 1/5 (*Note: it's hard to know if you hit your targets if you don't track*)

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 6/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 7/7

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 7/7

 

So, obviously I need to work on my dedication to tracking and the budget.  I technically already track most of my spending through mint.com, I'm just terrible at going in and reviewing/categorizing it.  And I do love a good spreadsheet.  Despite the fact that Mint has budgeting capabilities, I had planned on doing my own spreadsheet so I could look at things at a broader level.

[tenaciousglee]

Mid Week 2 update:

 

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-Pike Push-ups - 3x10

-Feet Elevated Pike Push-ups - 3x10 with feet on desk

-HSPU Negatives - 1x2 (partial ROM)

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 2/5 

-Hit calorie target: 1/5

-Hit protein target: 1/5

-Hit macro target: 1/5

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 3/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 2/7 (missed Sunday)

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 2/7 (missed Monday)

[tenaciousglee]

Week 2 wrap

 

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-Pike Push-ups - 3x10

-Feet Elevated Pike Push-ups - 3x10 with feet on desk

-HSPU Negatives - 2x3 (full ROM)

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 4.5/5 

-Hit calorie target: 3/5

-Hit protein target: 3/5

-Hit macro target: 3/5

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 5/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 4/7 (missed Sunday, Fri, Sat)

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 5/7 (missed Monday and Thursday)

 

Week 2 was a little slack because I went out of town Friday night.  I didn't pay much attention to what I ate or drank, but I was pretty active.  Somehow, my belly was down an inch this morning from 2 weeks ago.  Either my original measurement was artificially high, or those stomach vacuums are actually working!

[tenaciousglee]

Week 3, Day 1 - Sunday

Goal 1 - n/a

Goal 2 - n/a

Goal 3 - 0/7

Goal 5 - 1/7

 

 

[tenaciousglee]

I'm excited to report that I had a PR this morning for sandbag floor press!  I hit 4 reps of 147.5#, which is over 90% of my bodyweight! I was stuck at 140# for a long time, so I changed up my warm-up and I've seen good progress for the last few weeks.  I hope to hit 1xBW during the next challenge.

[Phayze]

Woo! You show that sandbag who's boss, T!

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[Wolverine]

Congrats on the PR!!!

[Manarelle]

7 hours ago, tenaciousglee said:

Week 2 was a little slack because I went out of town Friday night.  I didn't pay much attention to what I ate or drank, but I was pretty active.  Somehow, my belly was down an inch this morning from 2 weeks ago.  Either my original measurement was artificially high, or those stomach vacuums are actually working!

 

Orrr it's a combination of all of the above?  Congrats on measured progress! 

[tenaciousglee]

Week 3, Day 2 - Monday

 

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-HSPU Negatives - 2x3 (full ROM)

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 1/5

-Hit calorie target: 1/5

-Hit protein target: 1/5

-Hit macro target: 1/5

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 1/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 1/7 

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 2/7 

[tenaciousglee]

Week 3, Day 3 - Tuesday

 

Goal 1: HSPU Progress

-HSPU Negatives - 2x3 (full ROM)

-HSPU - 0/1

Goal 2: Lose Belly Fat

-Track food: 1.5/5

-Hit calorie target: 1/5

-Hit protein target: 1/5

-Hit macro target: 1/5

Goal 3: Strengthen Core

-10 stomach vacuums: 1/7

-PLP reverse crunches: 1/7 

Goal 5: Dad Journal Entry - 3/7

 

Only tracked half my day yesterday, so I can't tick off calories, protein, or macros.  I also only did 4 of my 10 vacuums and skipped my crunches.  Just feeling lazy for some reason.  Back on track today!