2022 Fitness Adventure

[KSUowls]

I played my first game of football with friends in a couple years on Sunday. Thanks to my consistent working out over the last 4-5 months it was probably the best display of endurance that I've had in a football game since I was in high school.

Despite all that working out though, for about 3 days after that 1 game my daily motto was Existence is Pain.

[Blzer]

Although I've switched phones, I still use my old phone as my stopwatch while running since it fits well in my hand. However, I left it at school.

This is by memory, but I believe my times this week were:

Monday (3 laps) - 3:36
Tuesday (2 laps) - 2:16
Wednesday (1 mile) - 4:59
Thursday (2 laps) - 2:15
Friday (10 kilometers) - 38:52

Just did my first 10k (6.25 miles or 25 laps), and I'm just glad that I was able to do it. My legs and body still have not even come close to recovering though, sadly. I can't fathom the notion of those who run like 60 miles a week. That doesn't even register with me. I could do what I did today every day, and that wouldn't even be 45 miles in the week. Maybe there is something to be said about how much effort you're putting into the run (like I was averaging a 6:13 mile in that run) and maybe you can take a little off, but boy was it tough.

I'm thinking up upping my three-mile runs next week into 5k runs, which is just adding another half-lap but gives me something else to aim for.

[Blzer]

Did 5k runs this week.

Monday - 17:55
Tuesday - 17:49
Wednesday - 17:50
Thursday - 17:54
Friday - 17:52

Broke 18 minutes each time. I think I'm in a good place right now, in that when I do it two weeks from now I just want to maintain that. I'm not intent on trying to increase time for a little while, but rather just seeing if I can stay under 18 minutes. It's been a long while since I've used a week to not just try and push faster and faster, and I think it's been fatiguing me more than anything else. I need to instead hit a place where I can build muscle and energy through a constant standpoint, and then if I want to increase later I can give it a shot.

Hopefully this will yield good results next time where I don't feel so drained at the end of the week, because Thursday and Friday were a hurdle. However, those hurdles came from two other lurking variables: (1) I did sprints with my softball team on Wednesday evening, and that definitely carries over into a run not even ten hours later the next morning; (2) I only slept about four hours last night, and my body is really feeling the effects of just being worn out, drained, and void of any energy overall. I feel pretty accomplished in general.

My daily pushup count has increased to 280 pushups, spread in different sets during the day. I do a set of 120 in the morning (at least an hour before my run), 40 in a row in the afternoon before softball practice, and the same 120 set before dinner at night. As this can help contribute to my bodily drain for running, I think I will refrain from doing the 120 the night before and the morning of my mile run, which will be next Wednesday. I'd like to see if that changes anything with how I feel thereafter.

[Bard]

Been on a great journey since January.

Started 315lbs and down to 284lbs.

Used to sit around 185-200lbs and really want to be at least 220lbs again!

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[Blzer]

Monday (3 laps) - 3:44
Tuesday (2 laps) - 2:17
Wednesday (1 mile) - 4:58
Thursday (2 laps) - 2:15
Friday (10 kilometers) - 37:37

Strange ups and downs, here. My mile time is staying the same, but I really slowed up at the beginning of the week and was fearful I wouldn't get that mile time. And yet, my 10k was nearly a 6:00 mile average. I'd like to stay under 38 minutes if possible next time I run it, and perhaps the time after that I'll try and eclipse that average by beating 37:30.

Next week is my Spring Break. Instead of hitting the track every day, I'll just hit the trails. I have no set-in-stone plan, but I want to combine making it both a recovery week and an endurance week at the same time. I'd like to run more than I have before but not make time a factor in it at all, meaning as long as I'm in jogging form and can maintain it for the duration of whatever distance that would be great. Is ten miles in the works? I can definitely see purchase there. Every day? That may be pushing it. Perhaps I'll try every other day or something. I'll do my 5k runs the week following and try to "stay the course."

The pushups are feeling better now too. Still at 280 a day, and will probably increase it to about 370 or so when all is said and done but the reps will be, say, in between half-innings of a baseball game for the afternoon set. Basically, I'm finally feeling a little more "in shape" again. This is fun for seeing/feeling the effects, but I don't know how long I can last. I'm waking up at 3:30 every morning and getting less than five hours of sleep with my schedule. This is likely not sustainable past the summer.

I'd like to get lab work done last week and see where all of my levels are at. I'm probably doing more cheat meals than I should be doing, but I can't imagine I'm doing more bodily harm than I was before. I just need to start adding salmon and salads to my diet. I think that's when I'll really start to see improved values.

[JohnnytheSkin]

Anyone know of any good Android apps or YouTube videos for boxing based fitness? I decided to add both a heavy and speed bag to my home fitness regimen, not looking to train for fights, just something to do a few times a week alongside everything else (HIIT, regular lifting, Barre, Yoga, and walking a few miles every day). A paid app is fine but only looking at a modest subscription option if it comes down to it.

Coming up on 18 months since I started this change, no gym, dropped 80lbs of flab and dipped under 200 (I'm 6'3") after a year, increased my protein and upped my strength training and have packed on nearly 20# of muscle. Just wish I could get my ring of extra abdominal skin to firm up but it's just not happening. I'll take a soft six pack, wearing the same size clothes as I did at 17, and phenomenal blood work and no meds (save a family history based statin) as a huge win, though.

[Blzer]

TWO WEEK UPDATE:

Last week was my Spring Break, so I decided to hit the cement trail by my house instead of the track. I tried to tell myself to have a week of recovering yet building endurance, so I went on what I considered to be a very slow jog and didn't bring my stopwatch/phone with me to bring about a certain pace.

On that Monday I ran five miles before needing to use the bathroom, then ran another five miles just minutes after. When I did look at the time that had passed overall, the overall elapsed time was a little over 80 minutes, which means I was likely paced at less than eight minutes a mile. And I'll tell you what: given that it was my first time stretching that far, it felt relatively "effortless" to do. Perhaps the break helped, but I'm not entirely sure. It did bring to fruition that I felt a half-marathon was easily achievable if I was rested before properly.

On the Tuesday though, things weren't feeling as good in the morning when I said I'd try to run it again. I ultimately went five miles, but early on I felt tightness in my lower half with my knees and shins. I didn't run on the Wednesday except for walking about a mile, Thursday I went back to five miles, and the Friday I said I would do ten miles only if it was on a track since my knees were really bothering me, probably because of the cement I kept running on. I had to bring my phone with me this time to count how many laps I had actually done, and it kind of brought me to ensure a certain pace at the same time since I was aware of what I was doing. I finished that in 71:31, bringing me to about a 7:09 mile average. I know that could be improved, but my goal was to endure and recover, not aim for times.

TL;DR

Monday - 10 miles
Tuesday - 5 miles
Wednesday - 1 mile (walked)
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - 10 miles

This week I went back to my 5k mile regimen, but I decided on Tuesday and Thursday I would try and run the two-mile instead. I have a target time for that of old (11:00), and I think it's a good segue into my mile run the following week since it is another more intense run type. It also may have affected me somehow though, or perhaps the week before did. My times were less impressive and I seem to not have as much of a finishing kick as I once had.

Monday (5k) - 17:53
Tuesday (2m) - 11:09
Wednesday (5k) - 18:06
Thursday (2m) - 11:09
Friday (5k) - 17:59

I'm actually struggling staying under 18:00 now for my 5k, which is a little scary for me. I think most of it has to do with my final half-mile, which I could normally kick it up much better. Now I'm losing the juice by that time. That's also accentuated by those two-mile runs, where I'm running about 5:25 my first mile and about 5:45 my second mile. When I ran the 11:00 time, I got 5:31 and then 5:29. I was also a freshman in high school, but that's besides the point haha.

I have hit a point though where I question whether I can improve much more than this in about the next seven weeks since I likely won't be track running in the summer. I sincerely doubt I can get that 4:50 mile time, and the fact that I feel I'm actually slowing is a little scary for my motivation factor.

On another note, I walked Wednesday because I had to do a blood test day. Results looked good regarding things like cholesterol and glucose, but my ALT was more than double the standard range. I chalk that up mostly to the flaxseed and fish oils that I had been taking nightly. I guess I have to stop taking those now.

I had been good on continuing my pushup regimen, but my shoulder has really been bothering me. I don't know if it's causing it or preventing it from healing by doing them, but it does hurt after I finish a set and relax my muscles. I decided not to do them yesterday before my 5k run, and will likely not do them this weekend either. I'll return to it Monday with my running routine.

Thanks for reading!

[jasontoddwhitt]

My one downfall in life is when I’m stressed, the first thing I do is hit the refrigerator. Not a good combination. During my parents divorce in high school, I ballooned up to 275 pounds. In college, I got that down to 200 with all the walking around campus. But I was the very definition of skinny fat. I never could stick to a workout plan and was soft as hell.

Fast forward through the next decade and with the pandemic and everything else in life, I stepped on the scale in December at 230. I wasn’t happy with a lot of things.

So I set out to change that. Reading up on nutrition, getting more active. Not so much cutting out bad foods, but watching my portion sizes and cutting out late night snacking.

I stepped on the scale today at 201 (6-4 by the way). Still not a finished product. Still have a bit of this stubborn belly fat to burn off. Still have more muscle to add. I’m pleased though. When you stare at yourself everyday, you don’t notice the changes. But looking at old pictures, it reminds you of where you have been.

I can say I have successfully rewired myself. I no longer have the urges to just grab a bag of chips out of sheer boredom, or to keep eating simply because it’s there. I honestly think I have found something I can stick with.

The key take away is this. One day will not derail you. One day where you eat two slices of key lime pie or skip one workout will not completely undo all that progress. Tomorrow is a new day. Do your best and forget the rest.


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