What is your Woot of the year?

[ARock10]

What is the Woot you are most proud of for 2013?

 

My Woot of the year was leaving a relationship I had grown out of, moving out of a city I did not enjoy, and coming home to Georgia.

That took some guts since I had been in the relationship for 4.5 years and lived there for 3.5 years.  But I did it and am so glad I did.

[Super Destroyer]

What part of GA?

[Big Red]

The woot I am most proud of for 2013 is that I have not had a Cigarette or any other Tobacco product in just about 8 months (April 22nd was day 1 of quitting).  I am proud of other things too but I was 1-2 packs a day for a while so its pretty nice to be able to breathe once again lol.  

[BigWill722]

My woot of the year is running in 2 races: a 5k in March and a 10k in October. I never ran a race until this year, the race day environment is awesome! Hopefully I can do the same races next year. I'm already planning on running the 5k and I got my brother in law to run with me!

[Vella]

Mine is getting started (seriously).  For many a year, I've been telling myself I'd do more exercise, or eat better, but I'd just stop, because "I'm not overweight ... I'm doing fine", or "It's exams" or "I'm still young - I'll worry about weight after uni, when it will actually matter more".

 

But at the end of this year, that changed.  I'm starting to work towards strength and fitness goals, rather than writing them off as "I'm not an outdoors/exercise person.  They're goals for other people."

 

So that's me.  Woot for getting shit together, butt in gear, and start working.

[Fenshire]

Whew, I'm not even sure!

 

I got started in February, so that's a HUUUUUUGE woot for me.  Performance-wise, a few months ago I ran 10 miles and circled the lake I run at.  Finally, I've lost 122 lbs so far since February, and I'm hoping that for my next weigh-in on Tuesday I'll be under 200 lbs.  (I'm currently at 200.8)

 

The year's not over, so I may have some more big woots in these final weeks of December. 

[Super Destroyer]

Like you all said, finally getting off my butt last May and getting started. And losing from 314 to 224 since then. And I am not through!

[Waldo]

Hmmm, it is hard to say; I achieved 4 very specific exercise goals that I've been working on a long time.

Bar Muscle-Up - Probably this one. Its a very you can do it or you can't exercise, you can't poor form your way to kinda, and there are lots of moving parts to sew into the whole. It is also one of those exercises that defines an exercise style (bar/calistenics dudes), until you can do a bar muscle-up, you're still a noob.

Tuck planche pushup - While the least impressive looking of the bunch, it was also the hardest to get to, with the most moving parts. So much different work goes into achieving the ability to do one of these.

Handstand pushup - In terms of brute strength wow, this is one of the most impressive looking exercises there is. Utterly simple with a very straightforward linear progression to get to, but it takes a long time and dedication (very strong equivalence to a 1.0x BW OHP). I am referring to true handstand pushups, with elevated hands and space for the head so the hands touch the shoulders in the hole, not headstand pushups, which are performed on flat ground and often referred to as handstand pushups.

Natural Hamstring Curls - Took a lot of patience and dedication with virtually no measureable progress. Very few people can do them unassisted. You don't even seen them mentioned much among BW programs and gurus; so few people can do them and there is very little in the way of progression plans out there.

[Duality]

2013 has been a life changing, risk taking year, full of ups and downs, great woots, un-woots and everything of sorts. I've learned so much about nutrition, fitness and overall health.

 

I just want to start off by saying a big congrats to everyone on NF. There are so many success stories, so many people doing great things, achieving enormous feats. I'm really glad to be part of it all. I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for this community.

 

My biggest woot of the year has only happened in the last month. I can finally see my abs again, it's been since start of 12th grade (before my injury, in January 2007). Sure they're only faint lines, but it makes me so proud of myself to see what I'm capable of achieving.

 

2013 has gotten me out of my comfort zone, it made me stop accepting "good enough" and pushing myself to get what I really want, to aim higher, to challenge myself. I've managed to fetch myself a computer parts manufacturer sponsor with a passion of mine, I've gotten a small sponsor from a sunglasses company too because of pictures I give them. I got rid of a relationship that was wrecking me and leading me into a path I did not want. I've gotten into a relationship with someone I really love instead of just her aesthetics (this one was a great feat and an epic psychological battle victory).

 

Over the course of 2013, I've lost roughly a total of 36 pounds of fat and gained about 13 pounds of muscle. Which brings my total fat loss to 78 pounds of fat, with the muscle gain, it means an estimate 29% body fat less than I was when I first began January 2012.

 

I just want to say again, congratz to you all and all the best for 2014!

[Basement Cat]

For me the biggest woot is definitely getting starting with fitness and healthy eating. I'm in my 7th week right now, and it's already a huge difference for me.

 

Finding this place also counts as a woot for me. It's great to be around so many people like me.

[Guest]

Woot of the year? I'm the strongest I've ever been in my life, even stronger than I was rowing crew 20 years ago in college. I dead lift, bench press, and squat more and have greater work capacity than ever.

But I think my greatest woot goes for going from zero to 17 unbroken pull-ups! Woot! Woot!

[Timmy M]

well yesterday i did kind of accidentally get a 7.5kg pr on my paused bench (107.5kg-115kg), i'm hoping to get 200kg deadlift on friday too

[El Exorcisto]

I went from being crippled (literally) by a 165lb sumo pull to being able to pull 3 plates for reps. I went from being nearly crippled by a 1 plate squat to repping 255 with no end in sight. I went from barely being able to hold a negative chin for a second to repping out 7 dead hangs when I'm fresh. I went from 186 pounds at 20+ percent bf to 182 pounds at roughly 13%. There have been too many bridges crossed this past year to name...

[rocky555]

Started living healthy and dropped under 100kg where I was not for the last 15 years.

[Suited hippy]

What a year 2013 has been.

 

I reached my goal weight of 180lbs down from 278;

 

I reached my goal 10k time of under an hour at 54:53;

 

I reached my goal of 10 real push ups, and blasted past to push out 51 yesterday;

 

I reached my goal of 3 chin ups, and got all the way to 10 before switching off to a different goal;

 

I reached my goal of asking out a woman in person for the first time in my life;

 

I paid off 40% of my debts;

 

But all of those seem like trivialities, compared to my last goal. I wanted to get over my ex-wife, and love again.

 

I met the most beautiful, intelligent, successful, Battlestar Galactical loving, Firefly quoting, audio-book aficionado, nerdy, busty, runner, engineer girl. We've spent countless hours talking politics, science, mysteries of the universe. We've ran 300+km together. We've stayed up late into the night staring at the stars while laying down in the middle of the road on a small Island in the Pacific. We've shared our fears, our aspirations. She did not laugh at me when I told her my dream is to be Prime Minister of Canada, but asked, How?

 

She told me she loved me, and it shook me to my core. I told her I was to afraid to say it back yet, and she said she understood. I've known I've felt it for a while, from long before she told me. I stare into her eyes screaming at my self to tell her she means the world to me. To tell her the light she brings into my very soul. Screaming silently that I love her.

 

I've got 7 days left in 2013 to get this last goal done. I woot for it now as I know I can finish this one before the clock runs out.

[Prairie]

Wow, some people here have had a seriously productive year!

 

My woot is small, but important to me: I managed to locate and engage my iliopsoas.

 

Diagram here: http://www.stretchify.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/iliopsoas.gif

 

if you're interested. 

 

Basically these muscles are important for dance as they're the only muscle (I've been told) that can lift your leg above 90 degrees. But they're really deep and it's taken me a long time - two years - to actually be able to feel them and consciously engage them. Since then I've been able to lift my legs noticeably higher. Now I'm working on using them in jumps, kicks, etc.

 

That's my biomechanically nerdy woot.

[paulapalooza]

How did you do that, Prairie? As a dancer, I'm always interested in lifting my legs higher, and I'm not quite sure I've found that muscle. In fact, I didn't even know it existed. I can kick my legs above my head, but I can't quite hold them any higher than 90 degrees.

 

On another note, my woots of the year:

• Started lifting. Actually, started caring about fitness at all. Went from squatting nothing to squatting a little bit more than my body weight. Went from deadlifting nothing to deadlifting about 1.3x my bodyweight. All this on top of school and dance.
• Started eating healthier. I am, by no means, close to the level of clean that many people here are, but I'm getting better. (God damn Pitzer dessert being so tempting)
• Got back into tumbling. Relearned my back handspring and back walkover. Learned how to do an aerial.
• Choreographed 3 dances for showcase. Participated in many others.
• Got above a 3.0 GPA in my first non-pass/fail semester in college. This is an accomplishment, given that the average GPA of a frosh after their second semester is around 2.6, and Dean's list is 3.0 or above. Damn hard school.
• Learned how to live life better and more productively. Adopted the principle of always work and play, never not-work. Stopped stressing out about having too much work to do and learned how to take that pressure and apply it positively. 

Congratulations to everyone's woots! They all seem so grandiose compared to mine. Have a happy New Year.

[The Beard]

My woots of the year:

 

#1 Definitely the fact that I have not only started, but kept up a healthy lifestyle for almost five months

 

#2 I weight as much as 16 year old me (less that 200lbs)!

 

#3 I think I managed to find a career path that I want to continue down! (graduated not knowing what I wanted to do with my life)

 

Have a wonderful end to your year and an even better start to your new one!

[Prairie]

How did you do that, Prairie? As a dancer, I'm always interested in lifting my legs higher, and I'm not quite sure I've found that muscle. In fact, I didn't even know it existed. I can kick my legs above my head, but I can't quite hold them any higher than 90 degrees.

 

 

 

Hey Paula - I found this stretch to be useful for getting a feel for the muscles:

 

http://blog.gaiam.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Psoas-Down-Dog-Pose-00142.jpg

 

And found this exercise useful for figuring out how to engage them:

 

 

If that doesn't work for you I'd suggest seeing what other iliopsoas strengthening exercises are out there. It's such a weird muscle that the same exercises might not work for everyone. Hope this is helpful and good luck!

[WeldingMommy]

2013 w00ts!

-Graduated Welding school with certification

-Beginning school for LPN

-Leaving an abusive relationship

-Moved back home to love and support

-Managed not to have an anxiety attack all year

-Joined NF

-going from 2packs a day to 2 packs a week(cold turkey is hard for me with nicotine)

-began counseling to ease anxiety and depression

-Lost 2 lbs

[Guest]

2013 w00ts!

-Graduated Welding school with certification

-Beginning school for LPN

-Leaving an abusive relationship

-Moved back home to love and support

-Managed not to have an anxiety attack all year

-Joined NF

-going from 2packs a day to 2 packs a week(cold turkey is hard for me with nicotine)

-began counseling to ease anxiety and depression

-Lost 2 lbs

Great job WeldingMommy! It sounds like you're taking control of your personal life. Keep focus!

[Flex Luthor]

Pulling 4 plates on deadlift was huge for me. Hitting that for the first time made me think that I am now stronger than I ever thought I possibly could be. Not too shabby weighing 160 lbs

[Zorch]

But all of those seem like trivialities, compared to my last goal. I wanted to get over my ex-wife, and love again.

 

I met the most beautiful, intelligent, successful, Battlestar Galactical loving, Firefly quoting, audio-book aficionado, nerdy, busty, runner, engineer girl. We've spent countless hours talking politics, science, mysteries of the universe. We've ran 300+km together. We've stayed up late into the night staring at the stars while laying down in the middle of the road on a small Island in the Pacific. We've shared our fears, our aspirations. She did not laugh at me when I told her my dream is to be Prime Minister of Canada, but asked, How?

 

She told me she loved me, and it shook me to my core. I told her I was to afraid to say it back yet, and she said she understood. I've known I've felt it for a while, from long before she told me. I stare into her eyes screaming at my self to tell her she means the world to me. To tell her the light she brings into my very soul. Screaming silently that I love her.

 

I've got 7 days left in 2013 to get this last goal done. I woot for it now as I know I can finish this one before the clock runs out.

 

You can do it, man.  Saying those words(or even the thought of hearing yourself say them) is scary, but it will be worth it.  Over the past few months I've had an experience very similar to your own, and it has been an indescribable assortment of emotions.  Finally finding someone that you want to say those words to, and to really mean it is an amazing feeling, but quite frightening at the same time.  I know it took me a while to find the courage to speak those words, even though I felt them for some time before I managed to say them.  Luckily she understood that I was struggling to find the words, and was patient with me.  It sounds like you've also found someone who knows what she has in you, and she'll be overjoyed to hear it from you when you're ready to say those words.

 

Let her know how you feel.  You and she will both be glad you did.

[Hermione Gainser]

Yay woots!

 

Mine, in no particular order:

 

• Finally getting my squat together so I can make some real progress.  It's been a long fight with form and injury issues so this is just delightful.
• Giving up leaning out for the sake of my health and learning to love myself regardless as a result.
• Putting my ego on the back burner & giving up my relentless pursuit of big, impressive lift numbers in order to focus on over all health.
• Doing all the hard little things I need to do to help my stress levels.
• Finishing a GoRuck Light AND finally meeting some of my favorite nerds.

[PrincessHeather]

Got crazy amounts of things done and accomplioshed this year but #1 is: I STOPPED LETTING THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE RUN MY LIFE.