Beyond overdue blog post. Let's try and give some sort of rambling update and let folks know where I am.
Nutrition: I stopped ETP back in June of 2018. I wanted to experiment with Intermittent Fasting a little bit. In addition to kind of find my way to more quality food.
Intermittent Fasting: I went with the 16/8 rule. Fasting for 16hrs and eat all your calories in 8hrs. What I had read was that people use I.F. for calorie reduction. Essentially they skip a meal a day to insure that they eat under their daily caloric intake. It was interesting. In the beginning it was a little challenging, but then, like everything else - it became quite easy. To the point where I could fast for 18 to 20hrs. Again, it was an interesting experiment. I didn't hate it, but at the same time it did make some things more challenging. Such as if there were planned lunch/dinner events with family and friends. During this time I got myself back down to somewhere between 167lbs and 170lbs. For the most part, felt lean. Not tracking any food.
Non-I.F.: Basically eating like I was back when doing ETP. I didn't eat the same amount I had been eating during that time. Certainly at times I felt like I was eating more than I probably needed. My lunches were typically a serving of spring salad mix with 4 or 5 oz of grilled steak tips and some cherub tomatoes. I've been eating oatmeal, banana, chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast for a long time now. Really really good stuff. Afternoon snack would be an apple with peanut butter or protein bar. Mornings I would have a protein shake with my pancakes. Dinner would be whatever the wife was making. Typically not unhealthy. Plenty of healthy carbs.
Whatever: Weight got up to almost 175lbs. WOW. That escalated quickly! What was I eating? I don't even know what my lunches were. Breakfast was steady. Afternoon snack I bypassed the apple and just ate whatever I wanted for peanut butter. Dinners were a bit heavier on pasta. Post dinner was a bit of cereal, etc...
More Veggies!: Feeling like my body isn't "regular" and I simply need more veggies I choose to introduce some recipes from Simnett Nutrition, who is a Vegan calisthenics guy I follow on YouTube. Not because I want to be a Vegan..... HELL NO. I have far too much love for burgers, bacon, all things steak. Breakfasts have been consistent... pancakes. I've ditched the protein shake. Morning snack is either an apple or banana. Lunch has been a dish from Derek Simnett called One Pot split red lentil curry. It has split red lentils, cauliflower, carrots, onion, frozen peas, red bell pepper, thai curry paste, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle powder. REALLY good. Afternoon snack typically a banana with peanut butter. Dinner, again pretty healthy. Post dinner, usually some granola (peanut butter with dark chocolate). Sometimes with Fairlife milk, sometimes without. Results after a week? back to 169lbs. Pretty crazy. Definitely not as lean as I had been or felt. Certainly felt some stomach bloat. On the positive though without question more regular. No longer going multiple days without a poop.
So.... what am I going to do? I've thought about going back to ETP. Why? One reason is between that and TRX I got down to 160lbs and felt pretty frigin lean. Not to mention strong. It is very appealing. At the same time I have ZERO interest in going back to tracking all my food. Weighing everything and logging it before I consume it. No question their methods work, but I don't see that as a long term solution for life.
That's all I've got for now.... I'll follow up later on my training.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Friday, July 13, 2018
What's New?? ETP/Nutrition updates, Fitness, etc...
So my last post was over a year ago! WOW this blog is clearly not a priority in my life. lol Its all good.
Here is the low down:
ETP, currently not doing it. Doing my own "fat loss" phase and trying different foods. Trying to find what foods make me lethargic vs energetic. Some foods I were eating to hit macros were leaving me dragging (YES, I'm looking at you my beautiful 3PM PB & J sandwich!).
On ETP I went from 182lbs down to 159.9lbs while ramping up my calorie consumption to about 3500 calories per day. Insane right? What you couldn't see is my calorie consumption was so high and I had to eat so much food, I wasn't making great food choices. I would eat nearly 600g of carbs PER DAY (yes, almost 2400 calories of glorious carbs) yet you'd be hard pressed to find a damn vegetable in my food logs. Shame on me.
I hit 159.9lbs on July 4th 2017. I'm currently 172lbs'ish. Some would consider this a failure, however I do not. My goals aren't to see how low I can get the number on the scale. Actually I could care less what the scale says. ETP taught me a lot of good things and taught me how to look at food to fuel my body. It gave me nutritional targets and taught me how to seek out foods that make me feel better. Food that give me energy to do the things I enjoy doing. I'll always be grateful for that. As a lifetime member of ETP I can go back at any time, but right now I just needed a bit of a break from the process. I'm working on finding my foods for me, keeping my protein up and applying what I've learned. I'm not shying away from fat. I'm certainly not shying away from carbs - but trying to keep my calories between 2100 - 2400 daily. Consider this my "cleansing" period. hahaha
Fitness:
Well when I got down to that really low weight and probably 15 - 18% body fat, I had been doing a program called TRX Force. Obviously all TRX based and workouts were between 30 - 75min. It was tough, but I enjoyed it. My goal for sometime has been to make sure my workouts and strength training are bodyweight only. TRX checked that box. When I completed the TRX program I kind of wandered aimlessly a bit. I had signed up for an app from a site called "Calisthenics Academy". The app was eventually released and called "The Movement Athlete". The creators have some fantastic ideas about how they envision the app working. It will work your mobility. It will give you strength training. Everything. The problem? The app is very buggy. I very much wanted to love that app, but the workout timers weren't working. The algorithm used to generate the workouts based upon your skill level sometimes worked, but there would be days you wouldn't even get exercises for half your body. Buggy. I havne't revisited it.
From there I started my first fat loss phase (cutting calories back to about 2700 - 3000). To try and minimize and recover my body from the stress level I switched to yoga for 3 months. Some yoga strength training, but mostly flexibility training. It was absolutely challenging, just not in the ways I was accustomed to. Flexibility has always been an area I could greatly improve on. The workouts were short and I'd only commit to 30min per day and maybe 5 days per week. I enjoyed it, I truly did. It was peaceful, you worked, but I needed more... so back searching I went. That led me to this program that I had visited before I went Yoga, called Roamstrong Progressive Bodyweight Workout (PBW). Good program and you work on whatever progression of the different movements you can only perform 4 reps of and you build off of that. Never performing more than 3 sets of 8 reps. Once you can do that for a certain progression, you move forward to the next hardest progression. The problem with the workout is I didn't get ANY sort of volume work at all. No high rep counts for "easier" exercises and to me, that made my joints weaker. I found knees hurting a lot more... then my traps were getting pinched and having trouble turning my head. It was a bit of a nightmare. lol
Where am I now? Well, I've switched to the Kavadlo brothers book/program "Get Strong" and liking that. So for 3 days per week I'm strength training with that. The workouts take anywhere from 40min to 1hr, depending upon how many "extra" sets I throw in. My "off" days I've been spending doing Mark Lauren's Mobility RX routine. Its about 40 - 45min. My last 15 - 20min I spend my time learning to jump rope. I still suck at it, but like anything... the more you focus on the basics and practice, the better you get. I'll get there.
Ninja Course:
I've made some changes to the Ninja course. Added a 12' 4x4 post and then used that and 3 existing posts to make parallel bars. I used 2 of those 4 posts to make a pull up bar I couldn't reach with my feet on the ground. Lastly I added a 13' climbing rope. My goal is before fall to have that course completed so it can become my outdoor workout space. Still left are applying the roofing tar to the bottom 1' sections of each post (16 I believe). Then stain the whole course. When that is done, dig up all the grass on the course. Level the ground a bit and put down horse stall mats. Its a lot of work. A lot of work that I don't want to make the time to do it. lol It'll hopefully get done by fall so I can protect this investment and use it this fall/winter. Its a great space for strength training. I've got plyo/jump boxes, gymnastic rings, peg board, pull up bars, parallel bars and lots of other fun things. Fitness should be fun! Yeah - it should challenge you and make you better. Anything that is worth doing should do that. Hey... I just realized my kids fit that description, they challenge me and make me better. ;)
Speaking of the kids, I've roped them into doing Get Strong workouts as well. They don't get up at 5 (or usually earlier than that) like dad. They do them after dinner and it typically takes about 45min with them. They are stronger though and enjoying it. I enjoy doing it with them.
For me, I'm going to continue to ride this out. Some components may change (likely the mobility routine if I get bored). The strength training routine has a clear progression to get me to strength moves I've always wanted to do, but couldn't. Those are handstands (free standing), handstand push ups and pistol squats. Oh and 1 armed push ups. I've done a couple before, but my body was all twisted. I'm looking to continue to get S.A.F. (strong as fuck) without touching weights. My opinion (which I know I should keep to myself, but never do). Folks that use weights are perhaps unaware of how they can make bodyweight movements more challenging. They mistakenly view bodyweight strength training as ineffective, let alone superior to other forms of training. Which obviously MY opinion, it is superior. Typically what I see with people working out with weights is their mobility isn't great and they are using weights to try to compensate for that poor mobility. Mobility is a big issue for them. I applaud them for doing something that they enjoy and I encourage them to keep doing that, if that is what they enjoy. That being said - mobility is HUGE HUGE HUGE deal for me. I want to be able to move, do cartwheels, round offs, handstands and all the cool shit my kids can do, run, play and do it pain free. I'm 46yrs old and have ZERO interest in slowing down or doing less.
That's it for tonight. Active recovery day tomorrow. Lots of littles here to play and have fun. I still need to get some mobility and jump rope in tomorrow morning. ETP taught me how important rest is, so off to sleep I go. Later.
Here is the low down:
ETP, currently not doing it. Doing my own "fat loss" phase and trying different foods. Trying to find what foods make me lethargic vs energetic. Some foods I were eating to hit macros were leaving me dragging (YES, I'm looking at you my beautiful 3PM PB & J sandwich!).
On ETP I went from 182lbs down to 159.9lbs while ramping up my calorie consumption to about 3500 calories per day. Insane right? What you couldn't see is my calorie consumption was so high and I had to eat so much food, I wasn't making great food choices. I would eat nearly 600g of carbs PER DAY (yes, almost 2400 calories of glorious carbs) yet you'd be hard pressed to find a damn vegetable in my food logs. Shame on me.
I hit 159.9lbs on July 4th 2017. I'm currently 172lbs'ish. Some would consider this a failure, however I do not. My goals aren't to see how low I can get the number on the scale. Actually I could care less what the scale says. ETP taught me a lot of good things and taught me how to look at food to fuel my body. It gave me nutritional targets and taught me how to seek out foods that make me feel better. Food that give me energy to do the things I enjoy doing. I'll always be grateful for that. As a lifetime member of ETP I can go back at any time, but right now I just needed a bit of a break from the process. I'm working on finding my foods for me, keeping my protein up and applying what I've learned. I'm not shying away from fat. I'm certainly not shying away from carbs - but trying to keep my calories between 2100 - 2400 daily. Consider this my "cleansing" period. hahaha
Fitness:
Well when I got down to that really low weight and probably 15 - 18% body fat, I had been doing a program called TRX Force. Obviously all TRX based and workouts were between 30 - 75min. It was tough, but I enjoyed it. My goal for sometime has been to make sure my workouts and strength training are bodyweight only. TRX checked that box. When I completed the TRX program I kind of wandered aimlessly a bit. I had signed up for an app from a site called "Calisthenics Academy". The app was eventually released and called "The Movement Athlete". The creators have some fantastic ideas about how they envision the app working. It will work your mobility. It will give you strength training. Everything. The problem? The app is very buggy. I very much wanted to love that app, but the workout timers weren't working. The algorithm used to generate the workouts based upon your skill level sometimes worked, but there would be days you wouldn't even get exercises for half your body. Buggy. I havne't revisited it.
From there I started my first fat loss phase (cutting calories back to about 2700 - 3000). To try and minimize and recover my body from the stress level I switched to yoga for 3 months. Some yoga strength training, but mostly flexibility training. It was absolutely challenging, just not in the ways I was accustomed to. Flexibility has always been an area I could greatly improve on. The workouts were short and I'd only commit to 30min per day and maybe 5 days per week. I enjoyed it, I truly did. It was peaceful, you worked, but I needed more... so back searching I went. That led me to this program that I had visited before I went Yoga, called Roamstrong Progressive Bodyweight Workout (PBW). Good program and you work on whatever progression of the different movements you can only perform 4 reps of and you build off of that. Never performing more than 3 sets of 8 reps. Once you can do that for a certain progression, you move forward to the next hardest progression. The problem with the workout is I didn't get ANY sort of volume work at all. No high rep counts for "easier" exercises and to me, that made my joints weaker. I found knees hurting a lot more... then my traps were getting pinched and having trouble turning my head. It was a bit of a nightmare. lol
Where am I now? Well, I've switched to the Kavadlo brothers book/program "Get Strong" and liking that. So for 3 days per week I'm strength training with that. The workouts take anywhere from 40min to 1hr, depending upon how many "extra" sets I throw in. My "off" days I've been spending doing Mark Lauren's Mobility RX routine. Its about 40 - 45min. My last 15 - 20min I spend my time learning to jump rope. I still suck at it, but like anything... the more you focus on the basics and practice, the better you get. I'll get there.
Ninja Course:
I've made some changes to the Ninja course. Added a 12' 4x4 post and then used that and 3 existing posts to make parallel bars. I used 2 of those 4 posts to make a pull up bar I couldn't reach with my feet on the ground. Lastly I added a 13' climbing rope. My goal is before fall to have that course completed so it can become my outdoor workout space. Still left are applying the roofing tar to the bottom 1' sections of each post (16 I believe). Then stain the whole course. When that is done, dig up all the grass on the course. Level the ground a bit and put down horse stall mats. Its a lot of work. A lot of work that I don't want to make the time to do it. lol It'll hopefully get done by fall so I can protect this investment and use it this fall/winter. Its a great space for strength training. I've got plyo/jump boxes, gymnastic rings, peg board, pull up bars, parallel bars and lots of other fun things. Fitness should be fun! Yeah - it should challenge you and make you better. Anything that is worth doing should do that. Hey... I just realized my kids fit that description, they challenge me and make me better. ;)
Speaking of the kids, I've roped them into doing Get Strong workouts as well. They don't get up at 5 (or usually earlier than that) like dad. They do them after dinner and it typically takes about 45min with them. They are stronger though and enjoying it. I enjoy doing it with them.
For me, I'm going to continue to ride this out. Some components may change (likely the mobility routine if I get bored). The strength training routine has a clear progression to get me to strength moves I've always wanted to do, but couldn't. Those are handstands (free standing), handstand push ups and pistol squats. Oh and 1 armed push ups. I've done a couple before, but my body was all twisted. I'm looking to continue to get S.A.F. (strong as fuck) without touching weights. My opinion (which I know I should keep to myself, but never do). Folks that use weights are perhaps unaware of how they can make bodyweight movements more challenging. They mistakenly view bodyweight strength training as ineffective, let alone superior to other forms of training. Which obviously MY opinion, it is superior. Typically what I see with people working out with weights is their mobility isn't great and they are using weights to try to compensate for that poor mobility. Mobility is a big issue for them. I applaud them for doing something that they enjoy and I encourage them to keep doing that, if that is what they enjoy. That being said - mobility is HUGE HUGE HUGE deal for me. I want to be able to move, do cartwheels, round offs, handstands and all the cool shit my kids can do, run, play and do it pain free. I'm 46yrs old and have ZERO interest in slowing down or doing less.
That's it for tonight. Active recovery day tomorrow. Lots of littles here to play and have fun. I still need to get some mobility and jump rope in tomorrow morning. ETP taught me how important rest is, so off to sleep I go. Later.
Saturday, April 29, 2017
April 29th Update. ETP Nutrition, Gymnastics Strength Training for exercise = WINNING
Obviously once again it has been a while since my last update. Why? Because life is busy and I don't make time for blogging. That's what it comes down to.
Since September I have been doing Eat To Perform for my nutrition. I had stepped away from this area for a while and "thought" I was doing it right. Yup, I wasn't. My weight had gotten up to 182lbs and my body fat percentage was around 30% if I were to guess. Pretty rough. When your goal is to get to 20% and you were already at 24%, you done fucked up. You fucked up really good.
Eat To Perform. Well I have nothing but good things to say. The coaches have been great. They review my macros every couple of weeks. I'm eating a good amount of food. Between 2200 - 2600 calories per day. When I visited my Dr back in February he was thrilled I was down to 171lbs. He asked how I was doing with my nutrition and I told him and he said "Nope, no way you are eating that many calories per day". Dude, look at my fucking MyFitnessPal diary. I've been logging for months now. Its all there.... well most of it. I do cheat and eat some chips and peanut butter filled pretzels at work. Whatever. I measure my food. I log my food (99% of it) and I see results. Not just on the scale, but body re-composition as well. More on that later...
Workouts. I stumbled upon a program called Mastering Gymnastic Strength Training (Mastering GST) from a website named Gymnastic Bodies. I found a PDF for it and it has been PDF GOLD! Seriously good stuff. All the workouts are bodyweight only, which is what I wanted. In addition there is mobility work built into the program. After every strength set, you do a mobility set until you complete all sets of your workout. BRILLIANT! As of this blog post, I have been doing this program for 15 weeks. The program has worked wonders for me and helped me to continue to build strength and muscle without getting hurt. HUGE benefit to me. Previously getting hurt or feeling hurt was a regular thing. A very regular thing. This program has me working my strength and mobility so I can learn to do things like the Pistol Squat and Hand Stand Push Ups, which are both goals. Do I possibly have the strength to do these things now? Maybe... mobility though is a whole other problem. I'm getting there though. Things are improving a little more each and every day.
Today I had another BodPod test, just to see what type of progress I've made since I did one back in December. I went from 182lbs to 172lbs in 3 months thanks to ETP and P90x. Now it was time to see what results I could see while actually increasing my caloric intake and switching to a 100% bodyweight workout routine. The results were FAR greater than anything I had expected. I'm down another 6lbs. Actually at the appointment I weighed in at 165.7lbs, which is the lightest weight I've been in 15 or so years. I gained 4lbs of muscle and lost 9lbs of fat. BOOM!!!! Carbs are evil?? Tell that to my results!
This was Dec 10, 2016. After I had lost 10lbs doing ETP and P90x.
That is no joke to me. Could not be happier with my progress! Want to make fun of me for weighing and measuring my food? Sure. Go right ahead. Want to talk smack about me logging my food? I'm good with that too. I'm following a plan from people who are in a lot better shape/condition than I am. They are showing me the way to FUEL my body. While at the same time not deprive myself from anything I may want. I want cake? OK, have it. I want pop tarts, OK enjoy... (seems like a lot of desserts make it here, you get the point though). There are no "off limits" foods. It's "here's your macros and find foods that fit that". Obviously more nutrient dense foods will fill you up better than crap, but I can still enjoy some crap completely guilt free. :) It is working. It is a lifestyle I am comfortable with and really enjoying. In the end that is what its about. Finding the lifestyle you want to live and live it to the max.
Now all these paper results look good, but what about the real product? How does the body look? For me, its not there yet. It is not where I want it to be, but no question it has come a LONG way.
Here is a link to my day 1 P90x pictures:
Before Pics
Here are a couple of progress pictures I took a couple of weeks ago:
April 14th Progress Pics
I'm going to keep pushing and my next goal is to get below 20% body fat. It is going to be hard. It is going to require me to continue to work hard with my workouts. I'll need to continue to pay attention to my nutrition and work with the coaches to dial in what is and isn't working for my body. I've got another BodPod test planned for around September. I'm hopeful a very active summer can help get me to where I want to be. Until then....
Since September I have been doing Eat To Perform for my nutrition. I had stepped away from this area for a while and "thought" I was doing it right. Yup, I wasn't. My weight had gotten up to 182lbs and my body fat percentage was around 30% if I were to guess. Pretty rough. When your goal is to get to 20% and you were already at 24%, you done fucked up. You fucked up really good.
Eat To Perform. Well I have nothing but good things to say. The coaches have been great. They review my macros every couple of weeks. I'm eating a good amount of food. Between 2200 - 2600 calories per day. When I visited my Dr back in February he was thrilled I was down to 171lbs. He asked how I was doing with my nutrition and I told him and he said "Nope, no way you are eating that many calories per day". Dude, look at my fucking MyFitnessPal diary. I've been logging for months now. Its all there.... well most of it. I do cheat and eat some chips and peanut butter filled pretzels at work. Whatever. I measure my food. I log my food (99% of it) and I see results. Not just on the scale, but body re-composition as well. More on that later...
Workouts. I stumbled upon a program called Mastering Gymnastic Strength Training (Mastering GST) from a website named Gymnastic Bodies. I found a PDF for it and it has been PDF GOLD! Seriously good stuff. All the workouts are bodyweight only, which is what I wanted. In addition there is mobility work built into the program. After every strength set, you do a mobility set until you complete all sets of your workout. BRILLIANT! As of this blog post, I have been doing this program for 15 weeks. The program has worked wonders for me and helped me to continue to build strength and muscle without getting hurt. HUGE benefit to me. Previously getting hurt or feeling hurt was a regular thing. A very regular thing. This program has me working my strength and mobility so I can learn to do things like the Pistol Squat and Hand Stand Push Ups, which are both goals. Do I possibly have the strength to do these things now? Maybe... mobility though is a whole other problem. I'm getting there though. Things are improving a little more each and every day.
Today I had another BodPod test, just to see what type of progress I've made since I did one back in December. I went from 182lbs to 172lbs in 3 months thanks to ETP and P90x. Now it was time to see what results I could see while actually increasing my caloric intake and switching to a 100% bodyweight workout routine. The results were FAR greater than anything I had expected. I'm down another 6lbs. Actually at the appointment I weighed in at 165.7lbs, which is the lightest weight I've been in 15 or so years. I gained 4lbs of muscle and lost 9lbs of fat. BOOM!!!! Carbs are evil?? Tell that to my results!
This was Dec 10, 2016. After I had lost 10lbs doing ETP and P90x.
This is today, April 29, 2017. Another 6lbs lost doing ETP and Mastering GST, with my caloric intake actually going up!
Now all these paper results look good, but what about the real product? How does the body look? For me, its not there yet. It is not where I want it to be, but no question it has come a LONG way.
Here is a link to my day 1 P90x pictures:
Before Pics
Here are a couple of progress pictures I took a couple of weeks ago:
April 14th Progress Pics
I'm going to keep pushing and my next goal is to get below 20% body fat. It is going to be hard. It is going to require me to continue to work hard with my workouts. I'll need to continue to pay attention to my nutrition and work with the coaches to dial in what is and isn't working for my body. I've got another BodPod test planned for around September. I'm hopeful a very active summer can help get me to where I want to be. Until then....
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Results are in!
Well I went and had the BF test. How did I do? Simply put - not as good as I was last year.
2015 results:
172lbs body weight. 130.3lbs (75.5%) lean body mass. 41.7lbs of FAT. 24.3% Body Fat
2016 results:
171.9lbs body weight. 127.5lbs (74.2%) lean body mass. 44.4lbs of FAT. 25.8% Body Fat
I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed. But, hey - it is what it is. A point in time reference as to where my body is from a physical composition standpoint. It doesn't represent where I am from a physically capable point. I will try not to beat myself up too much over it. After all - I did ignore my nutrition for the better part of a year before I tried to tighten it up for P90x.
Going back to what's next.... Still not sure. I'm still leaning towards Convict Conditioning. I really want to do calisthenics work and work towards a handstand push up and pistol squat. Those are fitness goals, that are skill goals. I want to work on my mobility/flexibility. At the same time - I know I need to work cardio as well. Not having something mapped out for me does kind of suck. It does bother me a bit, but like anything else. Do the research. Do the work. Figure it out.
I plan to schedule another BF% test for March around when I turn 45. So it will likely be done on March 11, right before I turn 45. 3 months from now. I don't expect the scale to move much if I stick with my macros and nutrition, but I just don't know. I don't know if the calisthenics work will bring enough intensity or not - but it will definitely bring strength work to push my muscles. The nutrition, which is the biggest key, will be up to me.
Overall I'm happy I got my head out of my ass and did P90X. Those 90 days got me focused enough to lose 10lbs of what was obviously pure fat. My body feels good. It feels strong. I don't feel I have any weak or painful joints any longer. That isn't necessarily the result of doing P90X, more so of finding a balance between pushing my body with hard workouts and rewarding it with things like Yoga, stretching and foam rolling. The rest is up to me. Keeping my nutrition on track and keeping the balance with my body. Until next time.
2015 results:
172lbs body weight. 130.3lbs (75.5%) lean body mass. 41.7lbs of FAT. 24.3% Body Fat
2016 results:
171.9lbs body weight. 127.5lbs (74.2%) lean body mass. 44.4lbs of FAT. 25.8% Body Fat
I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed. But, hey - it is what it is. A point in time reference as to where my body is from a physical composition standpoint. It doesn't represent where I am from a physically capable point. I will try not to beat myself up too much over it. After all - I did ignore my nutrition for the better part of a year before I tried to tighten it up for P90x.
Going back to what's next.... Still not sure. I'm still leaning towards Convict Conditioning. I really want to do calisthenics work and work towards a handstand push up and pistol squat. Those are fitness goals, that are skill goals. I want to work on my mobility/flexibility. At the same time - I know I need to work cardio as well. Not having something mapped out for me does kind of suck. It does bother me a bit, but like anything else. Do the research. Do the work. Figure it out.
I plan to schedule another BF% test for March around when I turn 45. So it will likely be done on March 11, right before I turn 45. 3 months from now. I don't expect the scale to move much if I stick with my macros and nutrition, but I just don't know. I don't know if the calisthenics work will bring enough intensity or not - but it will definitely bring strength work to push my muscles. The nutrition, which is the biggest key, will be up to me.
Overall I'm happy I got my head out of my ass and did P90X. Those 90 days got me focused enough to lose 10lbs of what was obviously pure fat. My body feels good. It feels strong. I don't feel I have any weak or painful joints any longer. That isn't necessarily the result of doing P90X, more so of finding a balance between pushing my body with hard workouts and rewarding it with things like Yoga, stretching and foam rolling. The rest is up to me. Keeping my nutrition on track and keeping the balance with my body. Until next time.
Friday, December 9, 2016
P90x - COMPLETE!!
Whoa whoa whoa.... not so fast. Actually today I completed day 89. Tomorrow is Yoga. I love me some yoga, but not Tony Horton Yoga. He moves really fast and doesn't take the time to enjoy the movement. Or, we spend 30 minutes doing fucking vinyasas. Yeah - I'm good.
So let's recap. I started P90x back on September 11, 2016. I have faithfully gotten up and done my workout every single day. Did I miss anything? Well, yes... I did. Anytime there was Yoga on the schedule, I did a YouTube workout from the channel Yoga with Adriene. She is funny, quirky and encourages you to explore how you are feeling when doing your practice. I really enjoy it. I missed about 6 or 7 Ab Ripper X workouts, but I'm OK with it. At least 4 or 5 of them are because I woke up, looked at my phone and got sucked into Facebook and when it came time to actually do my workout.... well, I was pressed to get the hour in and couldn't fit another 15min in. Also, my last (2) recovery weeks I substituted P90x2 - Mobility and Recovery in place of X-Stretch. You can do either one, but if you have ANY experience at all with a foam roller and usually use one to take care of yourself then you will possibly be like me. Angry that they again rush through the workout. Yes, its recovery.... take your time, find your spots, roll them out. No need to flipping rush!!! 20min is not enough time to foam roll my whole body.
Where did I land on nutrition? Well, I did stick to macros - but only the P90x macros for maybe 2 weeks. After that I was in "fat loss" mode using Eat To Perform macros. You know why? I felt it gave me WAY more flexibility in my eating/nutrition and I enjoyed that more. Plus, I got to participate in the Eat To Perform FB groups which helped keep me accountable. My caloric consumption ranges for "fat loss" mode were anywhere from 2000 - 2600 calories on a given day (no, not every day is a 2600 calorie day). You know what? It worked for me. I did not feel deprived. I enjoyed eating lots of food. Also I learned how to better track my food and my macros. Also - I lost a little bit of weight.
How is my weight? Well, when I started P90x, I weighed in at 182lbs. As of today, I'm down to 173lbs. A 9lb loss. Not too bad.
How about the food? As I said, I eat at a minimum of 2000 calories a day. Its pretty good. Not complaining about that quantity of food. I would always eat 175g of protein per day (some days I'd be a little over or under, but the target was always the same). I'd enjoy burgers, steaks, chicken, tuna, dairy, turkey.... you name it... I've pretty much consumed it. It has been nice. I'm going to try and continue to follow the Eat to Perform nutrition way as I enjoy it. On my SUPER day (more macros for carbs & fats) I typically end my day eating a pint of Halo Top ice cream. Yeah, that doesn't suck. :)
Am I rocking a 6pk or what? Nope. I'm not, but I'm totally OK with it. This was about me getting back into a 6 day routine. Being committed to something. Finding what worked for me and what didn't. Learning a bit about nutrition too.
Sleep - how did that go? Well in the beginning I was taking a sleep supplement to try and help with sleep, staying asleep and recovery. It worked more often than not. I tried melatonin but that just didn't seem to work for me. Also what I learned during this process is that when I consumed alcohol, my sleep really, really sucked. Not to mention the next morning when it came time for my workout, that typically wasn't a very good workout. This bothered me a little bit in the beginning, but not too much at the end of the day. It taught me to be more selective of when I drink. When I do drink, I enjoy it for the taste - not the waste. Clearly I haven't given up alcohol, but I've only had 4 or 5 beers in the past 3 months. Typically that would be 4 or 5 beers on a Saturday night.
Finally - What is next?!?! Well... Saturday (day 90 of P90x) I have a BodPod scan scheduled in Plymouth to determine if I've lost any body fat since last year. I really really neglected my nutrition for the better part of the year, so if I didn't then its shame on me. If I did, no matter how little the progress - it would still be forward progress. Either way - it will be a point in time reference.
Next routine? Well, I'm leaning towards going back to Convict Conditioning. At least for the next 30 days. I want to see how my body feels and how my nutrition is with it. Does my weight skyrocket? Can I break some of these plateaus I had previously doing Convict Conditioning?
My goal is to continue to dedicate 6 days per week and 1 hour per day for just workouts. I can continue to use nights when the kids are watching TV to stretch and foam roll. (Foam rolling is far more enjoyable than stretching, even if it hurts).
Concerns? Yup. Am I getting enough work capacity to build muscle and burn fat? Am I going to gain a shit ton of weight and get caught in the "caloric deficit" trap out of fear? Will I stay healthy while doing this? So far I have, no injuries at all while doing P90x (thanks to stretching & foam rolling). Will I get closer to doing some of the cool skill work that I want to learn how to do (pistol squats, shrimp squats, handstand push ups, one arm push ups, one arm pull ups, etc...)? Will my mobility continue to improve? I really don't want to take a step back. My body feels good. I'd like to improve my range of motion throughout my whole body. Specifically shoulders, wrists, hips, glutes & hamstrings. I can however get a standing squat with my ass to my calves and that feels really good. No weight on my shoulders, just body weight, but still good example of mobility.
I may or may not update my blog tomorrow with what my BF% comes back at. Either way, I'm healthier than I have been in some time from many perspectives. All my joints feel good. My body is strong. It is lean again. My knees don't hurt. My traps don't hurt. All good things. Amazing what happens when you listen to your body and stick with a PLAN.
So let's recap. I started P90x back on September 11, 2016. I have faithfully gotten up and done my workout every single day. Did I miss anything? Well, yes... I did. Anytime there was Yoga on the schedule, I did a YouTube workout from the channel Yoga with Adriene. She is funny, quirky and encourages you to explore how you are feeling when doing your practice. I really enjoy it. I missed about 6 or 7 Ab Ripper X workouts, but I'm OK with it. At least 4 or 5 of them are because I woke up, looked at my phone and got sucked into Facebook and when it came time to actually do my workout.... well, I was pressed to get the hour in and couldn't fit another 15min in. Also, my last (2) recovery weeks I substituted P90x2 - Mobility and Recovery in place of X-Stretch. You can do either one, but if you have ANY experience at all with a foam roller and usually use one to take care of yourself then you will possibly be like me. Angry that they again rush through the workout. Yes, its recovery.... take your time, find your spots, roll them out. No need to flipping rush!!! 20min is not enough time to foam roll my whole body.
Where did I land on nutrition? Well, I did stick to macros - but only the P90x macros for maybe 2 weeks. After that I was in "fat loss" mode using Eat To Perform macros. You know why? I felt it gave me WAY more flexibility in my eating/nutrition and I enjoyed that more. Plus, I got to participate in the Eat To Perform FB groups which helped keep me accountable. My caloric consumption ranges for "fat loss" mode were anywhere from 2000 - 2600 calories on a given day (no, not every day is a 2600 calorie day). You know what? It worked for me. I did not feel deprived. I enjoyed eating lots of food. Also I learned how to better track my food and my macros. Also - I lost a little bit of weight.
How is my weight? Well, when I started P90x, I weighed in at 182lbs. As of today, I'm down to 173lbs. A 9lb loss. Not too bad.
How about the food? As I said, I eat at a minimum of 2000 calories a day. Its pretty good. Not complaining about that quantity of food. I would always eat 175g of protein per day (some days I'd be a little over or under, but the target was always the same). I'd enjoy burgers, steaks, chicken, tuna, dairy, turkey.... you name it... I've pretty much consumed it. It has been nice. I'm going to try and continue to follow the Eat to Perform nutrition way as I enjoy it. On my SUPER day (more macros for carbs & fats) I typically end my day eating a pint of Halo Top ice cream. Yeah, that doesn't suck. :)
Am I rocking a 6pk or what? Nope. I'm not, but I'm totally OK with it. This was about me getting back into a 6 day routine. Being committed to something. Finding what worked for me and what didn't. Learning a bit about nutrition too.
Sleep - how did that go? Well in the beginning I was taking a sleep supplement to try and help with sleep, staying asleep and recovery. It worked more often than not. I tried melatonin but that just didn't seem to work for me. Also what I learned during this process is that when I consumed alcohol, my sleep really, really sucked. Not to mention the next morning when it came time for my workout, that typically wasn't a very good workout. This bothered me a little bit in the beginning, but not too much at the end of the day. It taught me to be more selective of when I drink. When I do drink, I enjoy it for the taste - not the waste. Clearly I haven't given up alcohol, but I've only had 4 or 5 beers in the past 3 months. Typically that would be 4 or 5 beers on a Saturday night.
Finally - What is next?!?! Well... Saturday (day 90 of P90x) I have a BodPod scan scheduled in Plymouth to determine if I've lost any body fat since last year. I really really neglected my nutrition for the better part of the year, so if I didn't then its shame on me. If I did, no matter how little the progress - it would still be forward progress. Either way - it will be a point in time reference.
Next routine? Well, I'm leaning towards going back to Convict Conditioning. At least for the next 30 days. I want to see how my body feels and how my nutrition is with it. Does my weight skyrocket? Can I break some of these plateaus I had previously doing Convict Conditioning?
My goal is to continue to dedicate 6 days per week and 1 hour per day for just workouts. I can continue to use nights when the kids are watching TV to stretch and foam roll. (Foam rolling is far more enjoyable than stretching, even if it hurts).
Concerns? Yup. Am I getting enough work capacity to build muscle and burn fat? Am I going to gain a shit ton of weight and get caught in the "caloric deficit" trap out of fear? Will I stay healthy while doing this? So far I have, no injuries at all while doing P90x (thanks to stretching & foam rolling). Will I get closer to doing some of the cool skill work that I want to learn how to do (pistol squats, shrimp squats, handstand push ups, one arm push ups, one arm pull ups, etc...)? Will my mobility continue to improve? I really don't want to take a step back. My body feels good. I'd like to improve my range of motion throughout my whole body. Specifically shoulders, wrists, hips, glutes & hamstrings. I can however get a standing squat with my ass to my calves and that feels really good. No weight on my shoulders, just body weight, but still good example of mobility.
I may or may not update my blog tomorrow with what my BF% comes back at. Either way, I'm healthier than I have been in some time from many perspectives. All my joints feel good. My body is strong. It is lean again. My knees don't hurt. My traps don't hurt. All good things. Amazing what happens when you listen to your body and stick with a PLAN.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Where have I been? What's next?
Well for the past 8 months I've been keeping my body strong and healing it at the same time. Continuing to exercise, but taking some of the strain off my body from all the weighted workouts. Focusing primarily on Calisthenics, more functional fitness. I had tried some programs from GMB and I enjoyed the first one. Not so much the one I was really looking forward to trying (Integral Strength). Whatever. Lately it has been all TRX with a mish-mosh of cardio. Some running, some T25, some P90X cardio stuff. It is all good.
Nutrition - well to say I have pretty much ignored macros would be an understatement. I haven't tracked any food at all in months. Bummer for sure. As a result, I've lost whatever abs I had and put on some additional weight. May 2015 I weighed 167lbs, but still had love handles. September 2016 I weigh 180lbs, but no love handles. A little overhang in the front though. Bummer for sure. I know I've built more muscle, that much is clear. I can see it in my legs, arms, back, shoulders - but the gut don't lie. Work on your nutrition. Gaining 1lb per month isn't the goal here.
What next? Why bothering with the blog post now? I've given it some thought and thought...hmmmm.... why not P90X? I'm in FAR better shape than the last time I tried it (pre-40). However the workouts are over an hour long a few days a week. That's a lot of time to commit. Especially when you have a hard enough time getting your ass moving in the morning. I generally don't sleep very well. Falling asleep - piece of cake. Staying asleep through the whole night, feeling rested, etc... not the easy part. That does have me a bit wary with the longer workouts. All you can do is try though.
That's great Chris - but what about your real issue.... nutrition? Well, I'm going to try and stick to the P90X Nutrition guidelines. For someone my weight, they recommend a 2400 cal/per day diet (YES!!). I've learned a thing or two about macros over the past year so that will certainly help me. Much like an addict, I'm going to take it one day at a time... one week at a time... one cycle at a time. The first cycle is going to be tough though. Macros 50% protein, 30% carbs & 20% fat. That means 1200 calories of protein a day. YEAH! 300g of protein a day. 800 calories of carbs (200grams of healthy carbs... jerk) and just a mere mere 53g of fat. Serious challenges here.
So why P90X? Why bother going back to weights? Honestly - I haven't found a great bodyweight program that can generate the volume of work capacity needed to support the food volume I like to consume. :) Yes - I like to fucking eat! Especially something with the variety that I crave. I still LOVE bodyweight stuff. There is so much you can do with it and get a really good workout. I've learned so much more about proper form, range, mobility, all things that definitely impacted me in past programs. Hey - you spend time just trying to "keep up" with the speed they are doing it on the DVD vs. concentrating on what YOU are doing and making sure your form is perfect, you are going to suffer. I did try to just keep up and I paid the price. As they say, you need to walk before you can run. I took a step back, so now I can move forward.
Stay tuned for updates. Here's to getting this body stronger, leaner and simply put - more powerful and healthy. I go back for another body fat testing in December and my goal is to improve upon the 24.1% BF (131lbs of lean muscle) I got as results in December 2015.
Nutrition - well to say I have pretty much ignored macros would be an understatement. I haven't tracked any food at all in months. Bummer for sure. As a result, I've lost whatever abs I had and put on some additional weight. May 2015 I weighed 167lbs, but still had love handles. September 2016 I weigh 180lbs, but no love handles. A little overhang in the front though. Bummer for sure. I know I've built more muscle, that much is clear. I can see it in my legs, arms, back, shoulders - but the gut don't lie. Work on your nutrition. Gaining 1lb per month isn't the goal here.
What next? Why bothering with the blog post now? I've given it some thought and thought...hmmmm.... why not P90X? I'm in FAR better shape than the last time I tried it (pre-40). However the workouts are over an hour long a few days a week. That's a lot of time to commit. Especially when you have a hard enough time getting your ass moving in the morning. I generally don't sleep very well. Falling asleep - piece of cake. Staying asleep through the whole night, feeling rested, etc... not the easy part. That does have me a bit wary with the longer workouts. All you can do is try though.
That's great Chris - but what about your real issue.... nutrition? Well, I'm going to try and stick to the P90X Nutrition guidelines. For someone my weight, they recommend a 2400 cal/per day diet (YES!!). I've learned a thing or two about macros over the past year so that will certainly help me. Much like an addict, I'm going to take it one day at a time... one week at a time... one cycle at a time. The first cycle is going to be tough though. Macros 50% protein, 30% carbs & 20% fat. That means 1200 calories of protein a day. YEAH! 300g of protein a day. 800 calories of carbs (200grams of healthy carbs... jerk) and just a mere mere 53g of fat. Serious challenges here.
So why P90X? Why bother going back to weights? Honestly - I haven't found a great bodyweight program that can generate the volume of work capacity needed to support the food volume I like to consume. :) Yes - I like to fucking eat! Especially something with the variety that I crave. I still LOVE bodyweight stuff. There is so much you can do with it and get a really good workout. I've learned so much more about proper form, range, mobility, all things that definitely impacted me in past programs. Hey - you spend time just trying to "keep up" with the speed they are doing it on the DVD vs. concentrating on what YOU are doing and making sure your form is perfect, you are going to suffer. I did try to just keep up and I paid the price. As they say, you need to walk before you can run. I took a step back, so now I can move forward.
Stay tuned for updates. Here's to getting this body stronger, leaner and simply put - more powerful and healthy. I go back for another body fat testing in December and my goal is to improve upon the 24.1% BF (131lbs of lean muscle) I got as results in December 2015.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
When is "Enough... enough?".
That is the question of the day. When is enough just enough? This question can apply to almost anything, but lets focus it on some different areas where people measure their health.
First - weight loss. When is enough lost weight enough? Is it when you've gotten to the range of what someone in the American Health Association determined is the "ideal" weight? Is it close to that? Is it what you see someone else weighs that has a body image that you would like to have for yourself? (insert 6 pack abs here) How do you define "this is good enough"? Or do you keep chasing things that may not be all that important to the bigger, underlying goal?
For me - I am on the high end of my range for what is considered my "ideal" weight for my height. This time last year I was 8 or 9lbs lighter. My Dr said to me during my physical in January that he would like to see me about 5lbs lighter. To that I respond with... why? How did you determine that I should be 5lbs lighter? Sure I'm 175/176lbs on a 5' 11" frame. You know what though? I also have over 130lbs of muscle on this frame.... so... since muscle weighs more than fat, is it that important that I hit your range you have on a piece of paper? Or is it good enough for me at this time? I'm comfortable in my own skin. I'm healthy. Physically, mentally I'm healthy. I practice healthy habits. Exercising regularly, eating healthy, not smoking or taking drugs and not consuming alcohol in excess. Everything in moderation. Who's to say that enough is enough? ME - that's who. I am not trying to hit a particular weight. I'm being driven by my capabilities and how I feel.
How about strength? When is enough just enough on that end? For that I would say it depends on your goals. What is it that you want to do that you aren't strong enough to do now?
Again - FOR ME, I believe I am strong enough. Strong enough to be able to live a healthy, active life. Am I going to try to increase my strength at any time? Yes - probably. As I get interested in doing new and different things. See things that I want to do or learn how to do, if my body isn't quite strong enough in all areas to achieve that then yes, I will absolutely focus on improving my general strength.
What I won't do anymore is this.... I won't go back to a gym and just start lifting weights kind of mindlessly. Re-reading this sentence I can totally see someone reading that and saying "What a dick. I lift weights and does that make me mindless? Does that make what I'm doing mindless?" No - absolutely not. If that is your thing then by all means, go ahead and do it. If you are training for the sake of just being stronger then go for it. That isn't my goal. When is strong enough enough? For me that is right now.
OK then smart ass, then what is your goal? My goal was to stop beating up my body and instead increase the capabilities of my body. Learn how to use my body to do some really cool shit. I guess you could label it as "gymnastics" type stuff with handstands, handstand push ups, walking on your hands, cartwheels, jumping with precision, pistol squats, bridges, etc...
What I've learned though is for the past couple of years, all the various workout routines I've worked my way through - my body was taking a beating. T25, increased my lung capacity. Helped me lose a decent amount of weight. Made my knees hurt like hell. P90x3 got me stronger in a lot of different areas however I kept injuring my traps. Body Beast - DOMS. Muscle soreness forever. lol Running - back to the hurt knees.
Why was I getting hurt? Well, not being in shape hurt. Perhaps not keeping perfect form all the time can definitely get you hurt. Rushing to keep up with the folks on the video you are following, well - yup, you can get hurt that way too. Picking up weights and trying to move them and your joints not being strong enough to handle it, well, that would hurt too. Trying to push my body beyond what it is currently capable of doing. "Increasing work capacity" as they call it. I've been injured quite a bit over the years (IMO) and it makes you talk to yourself. Ask yourself why. Ask yourself what are you doing wrong? Ask, what can you do better? I've done all this.
Back in January 2016 (roughly 4 months ago) I started to change my mentality. Focus more on bodyweight and calisthenics workouts for my strength and conditioning. This started with Convict Conditioning. Then I moved onto YAYOG (You Are Your Own Gym) and Yoga. Convict Conditioning was great, but you were still stuck in that sets/reps mentality and it gave you ZERO cardio. YAYOG also stuck in the sets/reps mentality but it was at such a pace that you got your heart pumping and definitely sweating. Yoga - well, I never sweat, but it had some really tough days. My flexibility and mobility was not what it needed to be. I pushed through it and saw improvements in my flexibility and mobility, which is fantastic - but I felt like from a strength perspective, the routine itself wasn't challenging me enough. Then I set my sites on GMB.
Why GMB? Well I had been following them for a couple of months as they preached about mobility, flexibility and finding what your body can do for you. Moving in ways that allows you to do different and fun things. Things like the gymnastics things I had mentioned before. Exercises like bench presses, while can help to make your chest stronger and help with your triceps, forearms, I didn't feel were helping me "move better". I was still waking up with aches, pains, etc... and I was honestly past that. Tired of it. I know that stretching can improve performance and help your body get past some of these nagging injuries, but honestly I simply didn't want to spend 30 - 60 min a day stretching. I wanted it to be part of my routine, whatever the hell I did. SO I dove into the starting point for GMB - Elements. I've started week 5 and have done everything that has been laid out for me to this point.
How do I feel? Honestly I feel really frigin good. I don't have the normal aches and pains that I've had. The debilitating shoulder/neck pain from doing too many push ups or pull ups. The knee pain from all the jumping in a plyometric routine. No back pain. My quad injury that I had which would prevent me from even going into Child's pose? Gone. My strength is still there. I haven't lost it. I feel just as strong as I did back when I was lifting weights. What has been returning though is my flexibility and mobility. Running and chasing my kids without knee pain. Practicing cartwheels with no ill effects. Do you ever just sit there and watch your children play? Watch what they do and how happy they are doing it? I do. They are happiest when they are running around. Practicing handstands, doing cartwheels... performing for their parents. Trying to do splits. They are learning what their bodies can do and how to get them to do more. Exceeding their own expectations and surprising themselves. Being someone that they look up to, that is what I wanted. I wanted to be able to be active with them. Doing the things they like to do. Challenging myself and in turn challenging them to be better too. Having fun together, without pain and discomfort. So far so good.
After all... what good is it all if you can't enjoy it? What good is being at the "healthy weight" the Dr says you need to be, if you can't still enjoy the foods that you enjoy? What good is it to just keep working out and lifting weights, if you don't move better. Moving freely and without pain and having fun like you were a kid again. To me - it isn't worth shit. Hence why I changed my mentality and changed my exercise routine. Right now, honestly - it doesn't seem like a chore at all to get up and do this. It is fun. It is mindful practice. I'm enjoying it. Having fun while challenging myself. Isn't that the point of it all?
First - weight loss. When is enough lost weight enough? Is it when you've gotten to the range of what someone in the American Health Association determined is the "ideal" weight? Is it close to that? Is it what you see someone else weighs that has a body image that you would like to have for yourself? (insert 6 pack abs here) How do you define "this is good enough"? Or do you keep chasing things that may not be all that important to the bigger, underlying goal?
For me - I am on the high end of my range for what is considered my "ideal" weight for my height. This time last year I was 8 or 9lbs lighter. My Dr said to me during my physical in January that he would like to see me about 5lbs lighter. To that I respond with... why? How did you determine that I should be 5lbs lighter? Sure I'm 175/176lbs on a 5' 11" frame. You know what though? I also have over 130lbs of muscle on this frame.... so... since muscle weighs more than fat, is it that important that I hit your range you have on a piece of paper? Or is it good enough for me at this time? I'm comfortable in my own skin. I'm healthy. Physically, mentally I'm healthy. I practice healthy habits. Exercising regularly, eating healthy, not smoking or taking drugs and not consuming alcohol in excess. Everything in moderation. Who's to say that enough is enough? ME - that's who. I am not trying to hit a particular weight. I'm being driven by my capabilities and how I feel.
How about strength? When is enough just enough on that end? For that I would say it depends on your goals. What is it that you want to do that you aren't strong enough to do now?
Again - FOR ME, I believe I am strong enough. Strong enough to be able to live a healthy, active life. Am I going to try to increase my strength at any time? Yes - probably. As I get interested in doing new and different things. See things that I want to do or learn how to do, if my body isn't quite strong enough in all areas to achieve that then yes, I will absolutely focus on improving my general strength.
What I won't do anymore is this.... I won't go back to a gym and just start lifting weights kind of mindlessly. Re-reading this sentence I can totally see someone reading that and saying "What a dick. I lift weights and does that make me mindless? Does that make what I'm doing mindless?" No - absolutely not. If that is your thing then by all means, go ahead and do it. If you are training for the sake of just being stronger then go for it. That isn't my goal. When is strong enough enough? For me that is right now.
OK then smart ass, then what is your goal? My goal was to stop beating up my body and instead increase the capabilities of my body. Learn how to use my body to do some really cool shit. I guess you could label it as "gymnastics" type stuff with handstands, handstand push ups, walking on your hands, cartwheels, jumping with precision, pistol squats, bridges, etc...
What I've learned though is for the past couple of years, all the various workout routines I've worked my way through - my body was taking a beating. T25, increased my lung capacity. Helped me lose a decent amount of weight. Made my knees hurt like hell. P90x3 got me stronger in a lot of different areas however I kept injuring my traps. Body Beast - DOMS. Muscle soreness forever. lol Running - back to the hurt knees.
Why was I getting hurt? Well, not being in shape hurt. Perhaps not keeping perfect form all the time can definitely get you hurt. Rushing to keep up with the folks on the video you are following, well - yup, you can get hurt that way too. Picking up weights and trying to move them and your joints not being strong enough to handle it, well, that would hurt too. Trying to push my body beyond what it is currently capable of doing. "Increasing work capacity" as they call it. I've been injured quite a bit over the years (IMO) and it makes you talk to yourself. Ask yourself why. Ask yourself what are you doing wrong? Ask, what can you do better? I've done all this.
Back in January 2016 (roughly 4 months ago) I started to change my mentality. Focus more on bodyweight and calisthenics workouts for my strength and conditioning. This started with Convict Conditioning. Then I moved onto YAYOG (You Are Your Own Gym) and Yoga. Convict Conditioning was great, but you were still stuck in that sets/reps mentality and it gave you ZERO cardio. YAYOG also stuck in the sets/reps mentality but it was at such a pace that you got your heart pumping and definitely sweating. Yoga - well, I never sweat, but it had some really tough days. My flexibility and mobility was not what it needed to be. I pushed through it and saw improvements in my flexibility and mobility, which is fantastic - but I felt like from a strength perspective, the routine itself wasn't challenging me enough. Then I set my sites on GMB.
Why GMB? Well I had been following them for a couple of months as they preached about mobility, flexibility and finding what your body can do for you. Moving in ways that allows you to do different and fun things. Things like the gymnastics things I had mentioned before. Exercises like bench presses, while can help to make your chest stronger and help with your triceps, forearms, I didn't feel were helping me "move better". I was still waking up with aches, pains, etc... and I was honestly past that. Tired of it. I know that stretching can improve performance and help your body get past some of these nagging injuries, but honestly I simply didn't want to spend 30 - 60 min a day stretching. I wanted it to be part of my routine, whatever the hell I did. SO I dove into the starting point for GMB - Elements. I've started week 5 and have done everything that has been laid out for me to this point.
How do I feel? Honestly I feel really frigin good. I don't have the normal aches and pains that I've had. The debilitating shoulder/neck pain from doing too many push ups or pull ups. The knee pain from all the jumping in a plyometric routine. No back pain. My quad injury that I had which would prevent me from even going into Child's pose? Gone. My strength is still there. I haven't lost it. I feel just as strong as I did back when I was lifting weights. What has been returning though is my flexibility and mobility. Running and chasing my kids without knee pain. Practicing cartwheels with no ill effects. Do you ever just sit there and watch your children play? Watch what they do and how happy they are doing it? I do. They are happiest when they are running around. Practicing handstands, doing cartwheels... performing for their parents. Trying to do splits. They are learning what their bodies can do and how to get them to do more. Exceeding their own expectations and surprising themselves. Being someone that they look up to, that is what I wanted. I wanted to be able to be active with them. Doing the things they like to do. Challenging myself and in turn challenging them to be better too. Having fun together, without pain and discomfort. So far so good.
After all... what good is it all if you can't enjoy it? What good is being at the "healthy weight" the Dr says you need to be, if you can't still enjoy the foods that you enjoy? What good is it to just keep working out and lifting weights, if you don't move better. Moving freely and without pain and having fun like you were a kid again. To me - it isn't worth shit. Hence why I changed my mentality and changed my exercise routine. Right now, honestly - it doesn't seem like a chore at all to get up and do this. It is fun. It is mindful practice. I'm enjoying it. Having fun while challenging myself. Isn't that the point of it all?
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