Closing in on goal #1. Down to 178.
Also closing in on goal #4. Ran a 24:08 5k on Friday (unofficial). Have a race on Saturday, hoping to break the 24 minute barrier

4/2/2018 2:49:40 PM

Anyone have any good recommendations for a good, inexpensive dip station? Tired of just doing them on flat benches or on the floor.

I just have the Rogue ES-1 squat stand so I don't think any of their Matador dip stations will work with my stand.

[Edited on April 19, 2018 at 3:03 PM. Reason : ...]

4/19/2018 2:57:42 PM

You could always get “The Strip” from Rogue and use the Matador with it. I wouldn’t doubt that you could find a stand-alone for cheaper though.

4/19/2018 3:40:47 PM

Yea, didn't want to go with the strip yet, already have their pull-up system in the wall. Was hoping for a good stand alone station recommendation.

4/19/2018 3:43:44 PM

you could buy some PVC and make a cheap version if you want

or just look through FB marketplace/Craigslist to find something used

4/20/2018 2:42:12 PM

We installed a very nice small gym in some unused space at work a month or two ago. Started going over there 3 times a week after work and cut way back on my caloric intake. Just been walking as fast as I can stand to on the treadmill and doing some light resistance training. Planning to move to jogging soon. Down 12 lbs or so and had to punch a new hole in my belt. Feeling great and my range of motion is significantly improved. Goal is a 5k late this year.

4/25/2018 8:27:11 PM

^ Good stuff man. Keep it up.

4/25/2018 10:52:14 PM

Did 8 clean pull-ups yesterday (and 2 more, not so clean) in one set! 2 away from my goal.

I currently weigh 187, and those last two pounds are tough. I think it's b/c I'm gaining some real muscle, and I'm really close to a good weight for myself. My diet could be better though, so I'm sure that's worth a pound or two over the months.

Pistol squats are a whole other ball of wax. I'm doing all sorts of stuff leg wise to advance to a pistol squat, but it just looks bleak at this point. I have the leg strength, and the range of motion, but I just don't have the balance and core strength to get all the way down and up without falling over.

4/26/2018 7:49:51 PM

down 20 lbs

5/4/2018 8:37:22 PM

^dude! thats awesome!! How do you feel!?!?

5/6/2018 3:40:41 PM

Started my regimen about 2.5 weeks ago. Cut caloric intake to 2,200/day and working a cross fit style workout 4 days a week. Started @ 290 lbs. hope to lose 10-15 over first 5 weeks, but plan to keep up with diet and work out routine. Not yet counting micro/macros or eating like a robot.

5/6/2018 8:36:12 PM

^^^,^

awesome...keep it up!

my caloric intake at the moment is also about 2200 kcal...down 30 lbs and I can actually see abs for the first time ever

5/7/2018 8:31:00 AM

^what was your starting weight, how long have you been at it and are you also exercising or just dieting?

5/7/2018 1:58:50 PM

^^^^i feel good. hungry a lot, but I remember the work I had to put in in the gym and that helps me make it through.

started jogging intervals today. couldn't get my heart rate up to target with just walking anymore. feels awesome to see progress.

i do miss sweet tea, but not as much as those first couple weeks. i don't even really think about it anymore.

[Edited on May 7, 2018 at 7:38 PM. Reason : afds]

5/7/2018 7:33:41 PM

Quote :

"what was your starting weight, how long have you been at it and are you also exercising or just dieting?"

Was about 226-ish lbs at the start of last Aug & have been cutting since then. Kept weight loss rate at roughly 1/2 lb per week at around 2420 kcal/day to not have a drastic change at the start. Stagnated around Christmas at about 202-204 lbs & that's when I dropped to 2200 kcal/day. Kept the same 5 day lifting routine the entire time (and I haven't had a significant loss in strength), but didn't do much consistent cardio until around Jan/Feb. At the moment I do just 3 days of running, usually 30 mins at a time (but sometimes go for an hr on the weekend).

5/8/2018 11:16:41 AM

Ended up running my first half marathon by completing the Raleigh Rock & Roll in under 2:30, which was great considering my original goal was to just finish.

Since then, also ran the Delaware Running Festival Half. Didn't do as well as I did in Raleigh because I did a 5k the night before and the combined 16 miles took its toll. I wasn't as prepared as I needed to be.

Got a 12 miler in three weeks and then I'm keeping it short and easy until September when I run the Chicago Half.

Coincidentally I 'ran' through my runners knee and it went away. Got a different type on my other knee, but working through it.

5/10/2018 9:00:33 PM

Punched another hole in my belt today.

5/11/2018 8:59:30 AM

congrats

5/11/2018 5:00:22 PM

Doing 300 lbs Deadlift for reps now and working weight for squat is 250 lbs. Bench Press and Press are still stalling at 200lbs, and 110 lbs for 5 reps. I changed it up by doing 2 bench days and 2 press days every week and testing my 1rep max every two months or so.

I'm under 200 lbs for the first time in a decade and my body fat % had gone way down 3 months ago and didn't lose any lean mass which I attribute to being keto. Going to get a dexa scan again in 2 weeks and see where things are at this time.

To anyone breaking 20 min on a 5k, I don't think I could that on a bike. GG

[Edited on May 22, 2018 at 10:34 AM. Reason : a]

5/22/2018 10:34:01 AM

^yeah seriously, <20min. is elite group in a lot of races.

getting a house with a space that's perfect for some gym equipment - thinking I'm gonna just get a smith machine, a straight bar for deadlifts, an easy bar, and then either a few dumbbells or one of those adjustable dumbbell sets. looking forward to not paying dues or having to wait in line for equipment (State gym)

5/22/2018 11:08:37 AM

My kid just moved to a daycare that is in our neighborhood, now I get to kill three birds with one stone.

I run him to daycare every morning (1.5 miles), take a mile loop around the park and then get in a workout at the pull-up bar (or push-ups). Third stone is that its too hot to run my dog in the afternoon and he also gets to join in on the morning excursion.

Finding time to workout when you have a kid is a lot tougher than I thought. You feel like there's always something that you should be doing that takes precedence over going for a run or getting in a workout. This new daycare is the best thing ever.

If I can keep this up, I'll definitely crack that 20 minute 5k. This is the most consistent running I've done in years.

5/22/2018 2:01:20 PM

Quote :

"Finding time to workout when you have a kid is a lot tougher than I thought."

No kidding. I thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal with a home gym, but I feel like I spend more time moving her toys out of the way or trying to get her to stop using all of her might to drag a 10lb kettlebell across the room. I'm trying to start waking up before her in the morning and getting a workout in, but I've never been much of a morning person.

At least she can somewhat entertain herself now; when she was a newborn, she would cry if we took her into the gym and weren't holding her. Passing a baby back and forth between sets got old quick.

5/22/2018 2:51:41 PM

30 lbs lighter today. feeling great. started getting some pain in my right hip from running. maybe i'm just too heavy for that right now. thinking about getting a bicycle.

5/23/2018 6:54:01 PM

My wife is preggers... 8 weeks, and sympathy weight is REAL! I'm up 2lbs in the last two weeks and I know it's b/c we have all sorts of garbage in the house. But she gets what she wants, I just can't say no to myself.

Of note, I got 9 good form pull-ups yesterday. 1 to go!

5/25/2018 7:31:53 AM

I got in great shape while my wife was pregnant. While she ate a lot, she still ate healthy. And I've seen all my friends get fat when their was pregnant and didn't want to do the same. I also knew there wouldn't be a lot of time to work out with a baby in the house. And being an extremely shallow person, I wanted my wife to look at me after our son was born and give her a little motivation to get back to pre-baby shape.

Regardless...don't use your wife's pregnancy to let go. Lots of dudes do...and they never get it back.

5/25/2018 2:03:57 PM

I'm really trying hard not to use it as an excuse... but it's hard

5/25/2018 8:41:54 PM

bought a bike

5/26/2018 2:36:30 PM

40 lbs down today. Loving the bike.

6/1/2018 6:20:01 AM

Any ideas why I'm losing weight and exercising and my blood pressure is actually going up? Used to be 120/74. Now like 140/85.

6/5/2018 1:20:50 PM

Yikes.

6/5/2018 6:11:38 PM

yeah, wtf? it's one of those home arm cuff things, but i've been using the same one since i started. my sodium intake definitely isn't low, but i have a hard time believing it's higher than it was when i just ate whatever i wanted to.

[Edited on June 5, 2018 at 7:32 PM. Reason : adsf]

6/5/2018 7:29:46 PM

Doctor. Go to one.

6/6/2018 8:26:13 AM

He isn't gonna do anything besides put me on a pill for it.

6/6/2018 1:06:01 PM

the doctor has a legit blood pressure monitor, not some flimsy piece of Chinese junk purchased from Walmart. Seriously, those home blood pressure monitors are not accurate. I could take back to back readings on mine and get numbers that varied by 40mmHg, and I had the same issue with the one at our office.

6/6/2018 1:38:10 PM

Quote :

"He isn't gonna do anything besides put me on a pill for it. "

^This. He can tell you what's wrong then you can look into your own methods to fix it.

6/6/2018 3:03:40 PM

Back to normal today. Thanks for the advice.

6/6/2018 3:26:31 PM

i use a monitor at work and they had the standard size cuff, not the large one on the machine

6/6/2018 5:43:50 PM

Im down 5lbs on the eat less diet.


[Edited on June 6, 2018 at 8:38 PM. Reason : haha, didn't even read the current convo. sorry drunk.]

6/6/2018 8:37:08 PM

undersized cuffs give high readings. I had to order a leg cuff for mine, since even the large cuffs only go up to 17" arms. normal cuffs only go to 13".

6/6/2018 10:06:16 PM

I had knee surgery back in February, and my doctor has been very conservative in what he's allowed me to do for exercise as I recover. I won't be fully off restrictions for another 3 weeks so for a time I got fairly out of shape. Probably the most I've ever been.

Since it's basically summer time I've been attacking the weight with enthusiasm. About a month ago I was able to start doing more activities so I jumped into a weight loss & cardio plan of my own devising. I "cheat" on weekends (but not too bad). Been doing 1-2 hours of cardio per day Monday - Friday and am running a calorie deficit. Calorie deficit I calculated with a phone app restricts me to 2500 cal per day - at that rate it says I should lose 1 lb per week (but I've been beating it).

Started at 207 a month ago and so far I've lost 5 pounds. Not bad given that I took a 7 day vacation during this period and gained back 2 pounds at that time, haha. Gonna keep pushing things a bit extreme through the end of this month. That should shed another 5 lb. Then I'll ease up a little bit. Overall health and fit appearance is the ultimate goal, but I would like to get my weight down to 185 lb. (BTW I'm 6'2")

6/13/2018 9:57:12 AM

Six feet two, still wack on the court

6/13/2018 11:46:29 PM

Had our health screenings at work today. Blood pressure was 113/73

6/14/2018 4:01:16 PM

getting back on this horse

working out of town doesn't give me much to do but eat out and exercise, so here we go...

6/14/2018 5:56:03 PM

^^how'd you lose 10 lbs in a week?

6/14/2018 8:52:55 PM

eating less calories than i burn, but i'm sure that quick fluctuation from -30 to -40 was mostly water weight. i plateaued at -40 lbs for a while. down 46 lbs as of today.

6/14/2018 9:18:19 PM

Nice work dude!

6/14/2018 10:16:22 PM

Just an aside...

As far as I know, most blood pressure medications are generally harmless, and they're responsible for extending and improving lots and lots of our otherwise less-than-healthy lives.

If my blood pressure had ever been high, I would take the medication. I'm planning on it for myself, and if I was married, I'd definitely nag my dude into it, too. The next step is blaming his erection problems on the medication and making him take boner pills, too.

6/15/2018 9:39:32 AM

went 10.2 miles on my bike today. i know that's not very impressive, but i probably would've passed out from it 3 months ago. my heart and lungs work so much better now.

6/17/2018 11:05:28 AM

I go through cycles of working out for 0.5 to 2-3 months and then not working out for a month or two.

Anyway, started again on Saturday, and killed myself:

Saturday
6 sets ATG squats (3 back, 3 front, one set of each type with legs very wide and feet pointing outward)
6 sets deadlifts (3 bent-leg, 3 straight-leg with one set sumo)
6 sets hip thrusts
6 sets calf raises

All with a barbell

Sunday
4 sets pull ups
4 sets pushups (1 set weighted)
3 sets lateral raises
3 sets upright rows
5 sets ab exercises
1 set each of light squats (each type), deadlifts (each type), hip thrusts, calf raises

Legs were crazy sore on Sunday, especially hamstrings, abductors, and glutes. Will be fabulous Monday and Tuesday with whole body sore, plus my soreness peaks on day 2... perfect opportunity for a swim and/or a bath!

Will do arms on Tuesday, and then legs again as soon as the soreness is gone, which I predict won't be till earliest Thursday, Wednesday if I am lucky, but could be Friday since I haven't worked out for a while.


[Edited on June 18, 2018 at 3:31 AM. Reason : ATG]

6/18/2018 3:23:06 AM

Came back from 3 days on a business trip and found I'm at -52 lbs.

6/22/2018 9:22:56 AM