tenaciousglee vs the TWINKIES

[tenaciousglee]

You ever have one of those challenges when you want to join in, but you're not entirely sure what to set as goals?  Then you come up with 1 or 2 ideas and a semi-cute theme, so you try to cram a bunch of random stuff in so the theme works?  This is one of those.

 

Goal 1 - TWenty push-ups a day - I'll be using this and this as inspiration, but my plan is to increase the difficulty each day.  I also want to use this time to focus on the mind-to-muscle connection that I learned about from here.

 

Goal 2 - INcreased mobility - follow the mobility prescriptions from Kelly Starrett's Deskbound.  This is a carryover from last challenge.

 

Goal 3 - KInetics - I want to hit my daily step goal every day.  Right now, it's only 4,000 steps, but my job is very sedentary.  I have been trying to do a mile walk on my lunch break and on days I get that in, I have no problem hitting my 4,000 steps.

 

Goal 4 - ESchew - as in "deliberately avoid using" - There are several current behaviors that I should eschew in favor of better habits.

 

• I want to eschew drinking soda in favor of drinking water
• I want to eschew screen time in favor of face-to-face time with my wife and kids
• I want to eschew playing on my phone in favor of reading a book
• I want to eschew sugary snacks in favor of fruits and veggies

 

Now let's show those TWINKIES who's boss!!

 

[Elastigirl]

 

Nice challenge!

[Mikroftt]

There might be a few of the ES goals that I might need to work on as well...  Love the theme though!

[Ryuu1011]

Show those twinkies who's boss!!

[tenaciousglee]

Since I didn't get my challenge posted until 9:30 on Sunday night, I'm going to call Monday my Day 1.

 

Week 1, Day 1:

TW - 20 push-ups during my workout warm-up + a set of 5 inclined one-arm push-ups at lunch + 15 push-ups during my 2nd workout warm-up

IN - mobilized my shoulder, elbow, and hips/glutes after my 2nd workout

KI - got in my mile walk at lunch and also did a kickboxing/ninja warrior class with my daughter after work = lots of kinetics!
ES - eschewed soda for water (9 glasses of water and no soda, though I did have a caffeinated pre-workout drink, twice); eschewed veggies for vending machine chips, eschewed screen time for ninja warrior time with my daughter

 

Win win win!

 

So, as I alluded to above, I have started going to a Family Ninja Warrior class put on by a local martial arts studio.  It's for kids 7 and up and their families.  It's an hour class and it's about 40 minutes of kicking/striking and then 20 minutes of obstacles/agility training.  It's pretty fun!  Last night we did some upper body focused obstacles, a rope climb and a peg board.  I killed the rope climb, but flunked the peg board.  I realized I need to work on my single arm pulling strength.  I think I may have strained my left elbow/bicep tendon a little, but it's nothing too serious.  I'll just give it some mobility attention and a little extra rest.

 

[Mikroftt]

Not gonna lie, the Family Ninja Warrior class sounds awesome!  That is such a cool idea to involve both the parents and kids in the activity.  Way to get all your goals!

[Ryuu1011]

So, as I alluded to above, I have started going to a Family Ninja Warrior class put on by a local martial arts studio.  It's for kids 7 and up and their families.  It's an hour class and it's about 40 minutes of kicking/striking and then 20 minutes of obstacles/agility training.  It's pretty fun!  Last night we did some upper body focused obstacles, a rope climb and a peg board.  I killed the rope climb, but flunked the peg board.  I realized I need to work on my single arm pulling strength.  I think I may have strained my left elbow/bicep tendon a little, but it's nothing too serious.  I'll just give it some mobility attention and a little extra rest.

 

That class sounds so cool!! I wish there was something even close to that awesome near where I live!

[mom2sjm]

 

I often have a random challenge theme but this is awesome.  TWINKIES!!!

 

And just in case you need a checklist for your ES goal...  here's a good one, courtesy of Darebee.

[tenaciousglee]

Week 1, Day 5 check-in

 

TW - got my push-ups on Tuesday and Thursday, missed on Wednesday - *do not leave push-ups till the end of the day*

IN - mobilized on Tuesday and Thursday, missed on Wednesday - *do not leave mobility work till the end of the day, unless it's while you're watching tv*
KI - got my steps in every day, though Thursday was close. I was 95% of the way there as I was heading to bed, but then my newborn needed to be rocked to sleep, so I hit my steps walking in circles with him. #dadlife
ES - after great success on Monday, I've been struggling with this one a bit.  For some reason, I have lost my taste for plain water. I carry a bottle with me everywhere, but I just couldn't force myself to drink it the last few days. Another issue is that I've cut back on my workout days.  I was doing 3-4 workouts a week, which meant I was drinking 3 cups of water during and 2 more after, so hitting 8 cups a day was pretty easy.  This week I only worked out on Monday, which was the only day I hit my 8 cup goal.  Today I tried adding a splash of lime juice to my water to make it more appealing.

 

On a more positive note, I've been doing pretty well with eschewing screen time for family time.

[tenaciousglee]

Week 2, Day 3 check-in

 

Still alive.  Still battling the TWINKIES.

 

TW - Haven't missed a day since last Wednesday, and I have 10 of my 20 done for today.

IN - 2/2 this week

KI - Rocking the kinetics goal.  Averaging 5,080 steps for the last week when my goal is 4,000.

ES - This one is a little harder to quantify since I was vague on my goal set-up.  In general, I've been drinking plenty of water and less soda, been more conscious about eating healthy snacks, and trying to spend less time on my phone at home.  

 

My sugar intake still needs some attention, though.  Between my 5-yo's birthday party a couple of weeks ago and several friends bringing us meals after the new guy was born, we have lots of cookies, cake, and ice cream in the house.  One friend brought us a cookies 'n' cream pie that was so good it almost made me want to give up my fitness goals altogether and just eat that for the rest of my life.  Luckily, it's all gone.  I should really throw out the stuff I know isn't good for me, but my wife can't bring herself to throw out the cake.  It will be gone soon enough.

[Mikroftt]

That must have been some good pie!  As far as the ES goal, can you think back and put a number to the number of sodas vs the glasses of water?  Or how many healthy snacks vs unhealthy ones?  I ask because for me if I just say "in general" I have had less, it doesn't stick as well.  Whereas if I say I have had 2 less pops this week, then it shows me I have progressed and I am more likely to stick with it.  

 

Keep up the good work!

[tenaciousglee]

Challenge Post-Mortem:

 

I sort of half finished this challenge.  In hindsight, I probably should have taken a challenge off after my son was born.  Also, I shouldn't do random quests that are only tangentially related to my long-term goals.  

 

TW - Stopped doing daily push-ups after week 2 or so.

IN - Stopped doing daily mobility after week 2 or so.

KI - Actually did pretty well with my kinetics.  Got my steps in most days, thanks mostly to my newborn, who I had to walk and bounce every day.

ES - Hard to say how I did on this one. Classic case of not defining my goal well enough.

 

Having said all that, I'm going to try again.  Here's the link to my new challenge:  http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/90940-tenaciousglee-loves-it-when-a-plan-comes-together/

 

PS - I ate two twinkies last week.  They were not as good as I remembered...