I say hello

[obax]

An introduction:

This 'posting on a forum' thing doesn't come naturally to me.

I'm a 31 year old wage slave, training to be a copper. I'm currently working on increasing my beep test score, but really my goal is overall better fitness such that the police testing/training is a (relative) breeze.

This paleo diet intrigues me. I don't think I'd like to do it always, until the end of time, but I certainly will try to incorporate it into my daily life (I already eat little in the way of grains or junk food (my one weakness being Coke), so hopefully I can continue the trend and just add in more veggies and fruit).

So: Hello to you, people I don't know! I hope that maybe one day I will know you!

-obax

[Porkchop]

Good luck on your testing man. I know the feeling, old diet habbits die hard. Ben

[obax]

Thanks. I'm hoping to be ready for the test by the spring. I have yet to determine if that's an overly ambitious goal or not. Currently I'm leaning towards the 'not' side of the fence, but the winds could change at any time and blow me in the other direction...

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the rebellion. I love your Police goal. I'm a volunteer chaplain with a local police department in Texas, so law enforcement people have a special place in my heart. I'm also working on fitness testing so I can be a National Guard Chaplain in addition to the police chaplain stuff. The assassin guild is a good place for hopeful police officers, the parkour they do will really help with the obstacle courses academy's put cadets through. I agree with Athena, kicking coke would be a good goal to have in the next challenge.

[obax]

Thanks for the welcomes!

I prefer to say that I have a some fat to lose, rather than weight to lose. I rarely weigh myself, and am not in the least concerned about the number on the scale. I judge my progress by looking in the mirror and assessing how I feel when I do things. Out of curiosity, I stepped on a scale the other day, and was heavier than I have been in the past (and it's been, like, probably 6 months or more since I last stepped on a scale) but I know I've lost a bit of fat and gained a tonne of muscle so I'm not concerned.

I'm also looking to increase speed/endurance. I've been working on strength for a while now at the gym (all free weights, my sister gave me a program she's using to help with her rugby playing and I modified it a bit to fit what I felt I needed) and feel that I'm more or less good on that front, and want to start some higher intensity bodyweight stuff to help with both the fat loss and muscle endurance. Not to mention I like the naturalness of it and like that it's a 'go anywhere' workout that I can do at my cottage or at home if I can't get to the gym. I also discovered an indoor track/soccer field near my house that I can use as long as I want in a day for $2, which eliminates the 'oh god, look at that blizzard, I'm not running around in that, are you nuts?!?' excuse. I'm excited about the Assassin thing too, I've always been fascinated by parkour and thought it'd be awesome (and useful) to be able to do even just the basic moves, but never knew where to start. It's great, because the part that scares me most about my test is the wall jumping part. I know I'm physically capable of doing it now, but I don't know how much it'd slow me down and it's part of a timed 'pursuit and restraint' circuit. Incorporating some parkour stuff into my workout will help with that, I think. Now I just have to find a wall I can jump over repeatedly and I'm set!

As for kicking the coke, I'm actually pretty zen about my coke consumption. Not to say I won't (maybe) try to cut back, but we're talking, like, 1 355mL can or 451mL (or whatever it is is that just below 500mL) bottle per week. Occasionally I'll have 2 in a week, but not often (I will admit to sometimes exceeding that in times of stress/low mood, but that happens even less frequently) and I'll often go longer than a week without drinking any (I always have my water bottle with me no matter where I go, and usually just drink that). I know it's not good for me when I drink it, but I figure, in the whole big scheme of things, denying myself something I really enjoy when I'm really craving it is worse than the few extra calories.

And I say "good luck" to you too, tanktimus, in your fitness testing.