Muir Makes Gainz Part 1

[Muir]

Hello everyone!

 

Last month's challenges were loads of fun. I really enjoyed following along with several people and hope to follow a few more this time.

 

I'm doing things a bit differently this month. First, I'm not starting any new Nerd Fitness Academy quests. I'm going to do the ones that I've been working on, but that's it. Second, I'm only going to add two new challenges which will be on going throughout the next 5 weeks and beyond. These are Co-Op, so you are very welcome to join in.

 

Part One:

1. Diet. I've been following a personalised version of the Nerd Fitness Academy Paleo Diet. No white wheat flour (whole grain and white flour from potatoes, beans, and rice is allowed) and no foods with added sugar. In addition to this, I've been trying to drink nothing but water throughout the day. Tea/coffee is allowed, but only before 10am and diet soda is allowed but only after 8pm. No caffeine or food after 9pm, no alcohol during the week, and no snacking between meals with the exception of a desert after supper. The only exceptions to this are on games nights and if my blood sugar level drops too low. To help keep snacking to a minimum, I've started to use nicotine free shisha sticks which help keep my hands busy and are better than gum. This month I will be working on cutting back on dairy and beans, which means no dairy except in my protein smoothies (one per day) and in my tea/coffee.
2. Diet, part 2. Each week, I will try two new recipes from the Nerd Fitness Academy recipe web page. I will post a link to the recipes as well as give a quick run down of how to do it for those who can't access Academy pages.

 

Part Two: (Gainz Co-Op Challenges)

1. Pull Ups. During the last challenge, I noticed a lot of people who said that they either are working on gaining strength to be able to complete one pull up or that they wish they could do one pull up. I'm one of those people. So, this month and next, I'm doing the 20 pull up challenge, starting with week -2. This challenge, if you start on week -2, will last 8 weeks. With a bit of luck, by the end of the 8 weeks, we will be able to do at least one unassisted pull up with proper form.
2. Push Ups. I figured if we're going to gain upper body strength in order to do pull ups, a push up challenge would help. Meet the Hundred Push Up Challenge. This challenge lasts 6 weeks, but we're going to push it out to 8 (see what I did there?). Week -2 will be column one of Week 1, Week -1 will be column two of Week 1, and Week 1 will be the first column of Week 2. These will be proper, plank style push ups, not incline or knee push ups.

Both challenges will be done on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week.

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

27 minutes ago, Muir said:

You think the GAINZ are your ally because you adopted them? I was born to the GAINZ, molded by it. I didn't see a cut until I was a man, and by then it was nothing to me but HUNGER!

[shaar]

That pushup challenge looks pretty awesome!! *browses website for probably longer than is appropriate*

 

TOTALLY HERE FOR THIS!!!

[Muir]

Glad to see you both here again!

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

I might join in on the push up challenge when I can. Definitely following along again though.

[Muir]

Great to have you, Atrytone!

[deftona]

Here to follow! 

[iatetheyeti]

Absolutely here for this

 

And you can bet I'll be in for the pull and push co-ops! Can't say no to a little extra accountability for my pull up goal, that's for sure.

 

[Muir]

Nice to have you, @deftona! And awesomesauce, @iatetheyeti! The more the merrier, I say!

 

[Shello]

I'm in the pullup and pushup club too. Following. 

[Muir]

Whoo! Another participant! Welcome to the club, LadyShello.

[Yasha92]

Jumping in on this party bus! Our food goals are pretty similar this challenge as I'm trying to shun wheat and dairy as much as possible. Depending on your preferences I've started using almond and coconut milk (combined in a long-life box) in my smoothies and actually prefer it to cow milk. It is a little more pricy hear, but since I'm not drinking straight milk any more I don't need as much and it evens out. Keen to see some gainz!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Muir]

34 minutes ago, Yasha92 said:

I'm trying to shun wheat and dairy as much as possible

 

So far it seems that I'm OK on whole grains as long as I don't go crazy with them. Around 100g of whole grain bread per day seems to work for me. To be honest, I think it's the yeast more than the wheat that makes me bloat and retain weight as I'm 100% fine on things like oats, flat bread, and whole grain soda bread. So I just stay away from yeast products as much as possible (my 2 pints of beer/cider per week are the exception to this rule).

 

Milk is a weird thing for me. I'm fine with filtered cows milk, but I can't drink the regular stuff for some reason. It leaves a bad tasting film in my mouth and exacerbates my acid reflux. I love almond and rice milk and prefer to use them in my baking over cows milk. They give the food a really nice flavour.

[jonfirestar]

Following along. I might try and join you for the push-ups. Hitting that 100 has been a goal for me for a while.

[Muir]

Thanks for following and participating, jonfirestar! Glad to have you.

[DJtrippyT]

here for pull-ups and general awesomeness

[Muir]

Welcome, DJ! Thanks for joining in.

 

Week 0 officially starts today and the first pull up/push up workouts are tomorrow! Are we ready? Don't worry, we got this.

 

 

 

[iatetheyeti]

39 minutes ago, Muir said:

Week 0 officially starts today and the first pull up/push up workouts are tomorrow! Are we ready? Don't worry, we got this.

 

...that's gonna have me doing push ups and pull ups at 5am tomorrow morning! Got to get them in before I go up north, because the people I'm staying with don't have a pull up bar. Besides, what could be a better start to a travel-heavy day than a workout?  

[Muir]

1 hour ago, iatetheyeti said:

Besides, what could be a better start to a travel-heavy day than a workout?

 

5am? That's dedication, right there! At least the workout will get your blood pumping. Totally a good thing for when you're going to be travelling.

[bker1370]

count me in on the pushups and pullups...  I can do some but need to do better LOL

[Muir]

Good to have you, B'ker!

 

---------------

 

Ok, just so we're all on the same page, below you'll find what we're going to be doing tomorrow. This way if you can't access the challenge web pages, you'll still have the routine available here. The way I'm doing this assumes that we're all starting from scratch and puts everyone on equal grounds.

 

For the Pull Up Challenge:

First, before you start the routine, go check out the article and video on Pull Ups over at Nerd Fitness to learn proper form, some tips, and the difference between a pull up and a chin up.

Day 1 (Monday)

We're doing 5 sets of 1 negative pull up today. That's it. Rest for up to 2 minutes in between each set. To do a negative pull up, grasp the bar so that your hands are shoulder width apart, palms facing out. Start with your chin above the bar, in the topmost position of a pull up, and then SLOWLY lower yourself down to a full hang. You're going to be working against gravity here, so try to make the movement as controlled as possible. When you've reached a full hang, let yourself drop, rest, then repeat until you've done 5 sets.

 

For the Push Up Challenge:

Again, check out the Nerd Fitness article and video on Push Ups before you do the routine. The video really helps with form, so I highly recommend watching it.

Day 1 (Monday)

We're doing 5 sets again here, each set having a different number of reps, with 60 seconds rest between sets. Remember that we're aiming to do this challenge with proper plank form push ups, so only go to your knees if you aren't able to do a single full push up.

Set 1: 2

Set 2: 3

Set 3: 2

Set 4: 2

Set 5: Do at least 3, but keep going until you're no longer able to keep proper form.

 

Have fun everyone!

Feel free to post photos or videos, though doing so isn't necessary.

 

[Maggie-Miau]

I'm game fo dis. Not actually starting until October 31st, but still definitely game. For the push-up section, anyway. Might stop looking like a dying fish on every attempt.

 

Also cheering for you, Muir!

[Muir]

Welcome, Miaulin! Since I'm starting the challenges at "week -2", you'll be able to join us without too much trouble next week. These first couple of weeks are fairly easy.

[Sea Level]

Sweet. Push-ups/Pull-ups are part of my plans too. I'll be doing them with you!

[Muir]

Welcome to the Wall, brother.

 

It's 8:15am here in cold, wet England and I'm heading off to so some negatives and push ups. It's Gainsday. Let's do this.