Okay I will need some help figuring out what to do with a busy schedule. I just got another teaching job in the afternoon / evening. I'm pretty stoked with the money I will be getting (I don't exactly make much over here), but I want to make sure I continue this "journey towards fitness" again.

[Edited on September 8, 2011 at 3:08 PM. Reason : ETA - Page 86]

9/8/2011 3:08:13 PM

From a diet standpoint, make sure you're planning/preparing your meals whenever possible. You live in a foreign country, so I have no idea what portions/meals are like there, but you'll almost certainly have to eat a meal on the go. Figure out what places you're likely to visit and identify what stuff is reasonably healthy ahead of time to avoid picking the fattiest, saltiest thing on the menu.

As for exercise, work it in when you can. Mornings, nights, weekends, between whatever you have in the morning and your afternoon gig.

9/8/2011 4:24:28 PM

Do you have a crock pot? Those help because you can put something healthy in that will be ready when you get home to help you avoid "I've had a long day and the last thing I want to do is cook, so I'm just going to eat (something shitty.)"

9/8/2011 4:38:22 PM

Make batches of food (bakes chicken, crock pot, steamed veggies, chop up veggies) and then the night before pack up everything so all you have to do the next day is grab and go.

9/8/2011 4:43:45 PM

Keep in mind you actually still have to put the right ingredients in the crock pot. Some people think they can throw any random shit in there and a mini Bobby Flay pops out and cooks up a delicious meal while you're gone.

9/8/2011 4:44:49 PM

Quote :

"a mini Bobby Flay pops out and cooks up a delicious meal while you're gone."

lolololol

9/8/2011 5:35:09 PM

aight, dumb question...

when I do my reps at the gym, I can do 12 reps till failure on most of my exercises no problem, just crank em all out. The only exception is the leg press (don't give me grief about it, k). On that one, I'm doing basically 4 sets of 3, effectively, to get to 12, without putting the weight down, and i still more or less "fail" on the 12th. The problem isn't my legs, though, it's being able to catch my breath to do the rest. Is that OK, or should I lower the weight so that I can do 12 and go from there?

[Edited on September 8, 2011 at 6:08 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2011 6:07:15 PM

what is your goal?

are you holding your breath?

9/8/2011 6:22:19 PM

no, I'm taking a breath with each rep
my goal is just basic fitness. thus the 12 reps till failure

[Edited on September 8, 2011 at 6:30 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2011 6:30:28 PM

if you can't do 12 for your first set, either lower the weight or you've reached failure for that exercise.

9/8/2011 6:47:55 PM

but my leg muscles aren't failing. it's heart/lungs, effectively. is that OK?

9/8/2011 6:50:38 PM

what is basic fitness? And what does the magic number of 12 have to do with it?

9/8/2011 9:18:39 PM

basic fitness = being able to brush your teeth without losing your breath

9/8/2011 9:34:52 PM

i guess by basic fitness, I mean I'm not trying to become super bulked or anything. I'm just lifting for fitness and to stay healthy, not to be a great athlete. the "magic number of 12" is just the "10 to 12 reps until failure" that people on here talk about and that I see posted around the internets.

9/8/2011 11:03:32 PM

Quote :

"basic fitness = being able to brush your teeth without losing your breath"

I've got that covered!!

9/8/2011 11:26:49 PM

Quote :

"aaronburro: but my leg muscles aren't failing. it's heart/lungs, effectively. is that OK?"

How is that possible? What weight are you doing?

I know my heart/lungs "fail" when I'm riding a bike....but there's no reason they should be failing on the leg machine...

If that's what is really happening (which is completely and totally unlikely), then you have a serious heart/lung problem.

Think about it.




I don't want to talk out of place...I just think that if what you're saying is true then it's really troubling...or there is something weird when you're crunching your body up on the machine...like something that is pinching something or keeping blood from flowing...right?)

[Edited on September 9, 2011 at 12:06 AM. Reason : I'm extremely, extremely unfit, and I push it like crazy on the leg machine/myheart/lungsarefine.]

9/8/2011 11:58:08 PM

Master Lee worked us out tonight.. And I learned my new form

9/9/2011 1:02:26 AM

Guys, a coworker told me about this amazing app that is free for smartphones. He said he likes it because it scans barcodes of items you're eating and inputs the nutritional info, that's bad ass! I've used it 2 days and so far it's my favorite weight/exercise/food/measurement tracker yet. It's called myfitnesspal

Just passing the word.


Also, today I went into a class thinking it was Sculpt only to find out it was step. whoops.

9/9/2011 9:40:32 AM

the gf is doing this crazy ass diet that looks really boring and lame and shit so i'm going to be cooking for myself for a while.

im thinking of really trying to get more into macro-nutrient timing in regards to workouts and cardio.

this is going to be fun.

once my schedule is a bit more conducive (sunday) i plan to start.

i'm honestly kinda looking forward to working out then gorging.

9/9/2011 10:09:48 AM

Pshoes, what kind of diet is your gf doing?

[Edited on September 9, 2011 at 10:18 AM. Reason : fiancee? girlfriend?]

9/9/2011 10:18:27 AM

fiancee i guess

http://www.amazon.com/17-Day-Diet-Doctors-Designed/dp/1451648650

the name is deceptive. there's 17 day stages, not just a 17 day crash course. one of the stages does have macronutrient timing in regards to workouts, but the first few stages are way too restrictive for what i need.

this mother fucker right here has to have his scrambled eggs every morning. and not just the whites.


basically there's nothing too extreme about it. the first phase is very close to paleo, with limits on sugars from fruits and other things.

i can see how someone who eats really poorly would see immediate results from cleaning up their diet drastically. but really, we eat pretty clean as it is. she's doing it with some friends, after another someone had some success or something or other.

girls.

[Edited on September 9, 2011 at 10:26 AM. Reason : bland and boring.]

9/9/2011 10:24:49 AM

so basically this is kind of like Atkins, South Beach, etc. you strip down your diet to the most boring foods ever and starve yourself of healthy carbs and fruit and then you slowly incorporate everything back in. same diet, different name.

my coworker did South Beach and i tried to sway her away from it. any diet that tells you not to eat fruit or not to eat healthy carbs is not exactly a diet people should strive to do. i wish more people would understand balance over anything else.

if your fiancee is interested in reading something that actually makes a bit of sense and helped me tremendously in getting my diet on board the right way, tell her to read This is Why You're Fat by Jackie Warner (and yes it's that crazy lady with her own Bravo show). She talks a lot about balance, why eating fruits and veggies are important, why it's important to listen to your body, and why eating healthy and eliminating the sugary stuff is important to your hormonal health and internal balance. it seriously changed the way i thought about food and taught me what to focus on (eating the appropriate servings of fruits and veggies, limiting dairy, aiming for the healthy carbs and lean meats).

9/9/2011 10:59:42 AM

my co-worker is doing the Dukan Diet. It's exactly the same thing as Cass just described. (you strip down your diet to the most boring foods ever and starve yourself of healthy carbs) He doesn't stop talking about it. http://www.dukandiet.com/The-Dukan-Diet/4-Phases

9/9/2011 11:09:29 AM

I could never call someone my fiancee. They'll be my girlfriend till their my wife, or until one of us kills the other.

9/9/2011 11:35:48 AM

"diets" like that don't work. my coworker ended up binging on stuff because she would be like, "OOOOMMMGGG I CANT HAVE A BURGERRRRRRRRRR AHHHHHHH" and then break down and end up at McDonalds.

all my friends who have done the more extreme diets end up giving up about 3 weeks in and gain all the weight back. friends of mine who have done things like Weight Watchers have had a lot more long term success.
my cousin (who is like my little sister) gained a lot of weight after having brain surgery at the beginning of the year. she decided to do Weight Watchers and joined a local gym. it's actually a lot of fun because now we swap recipes and she'll call/text when she needs some encouragement or wants to tell me something exciting (like how much weight she lost that week).

my boyfriend told me a few times he's called me his wife to his coworkers we've lived together for the last year and a half so we are pretty much married....technically.

9/9/2011 11:41:10 AM

look, i read hte first few pages laying in bed one night and was laughing and pointing things out, but alas

also, you have like 3 fruits per day, so it's not exactly cutting out fruits.

9/9/2011 1:17:02 PM

ahhhhhhhh so it does include fruit most of the crazy diets make you eliminate fruit because it has "sugar" in it.

9/9/2011 1:30:07 PM

Quote :

"How is that possible? What weight are you doing? I know my heart/lungs "fail" when I'm riding a bike....but there's no reason they should be failing on the leg machine... If that's what is really happening (which is completely and totally unlikely), then you have a serious heart/lung problem. "

i mean, they aren't failing in the sense that they completely stop working, but I run completely out of breath while my legs have no problem lifting the weight. the leg press is the only machine that when I get off of it I am actually winded.

9/9/2011 3:36:15 PM

are you compressing your diaphragm or something? are you actually breathing properly?

its amazing what an instance of poor breathing at the right moment will do to your lungs, heart, or even your head

9/9/2011 3:37:42 PM

You may be subconsciously holding your breath while working out. A lot of people forget to breathe when they're focused on heavy lifting or a strenuous pose.

9/9/2011 3:38:16 PM

maybe you are looking up instead of keeping your breathing lanes open, like your head is bowed lookin at the weight?

[Edited on September 9, 2011 at 3:41 PM. Reason : r]

9/9/2011 3:41:12 PM

Quote :

"are you holding your breath?"

9/9/2011 3:50:39 PM

i just think it's interesting that he's going "to failure" with some arbitrary number and what sounds like a single set.

MUST

MAKE

TWELVE

REPS




bring the weight down
do reps
do sets of reps
breathe
dont curl your back in the inverted leg press to get more weight up
don't stroke out

9/9/2011 4:48:22 PM

^ lolololololol



Turns out all the things I have been concerned about lately are in many of my maternal family members... first, second, and third degree relatives. A little worrisome. :\

Would it be too intense for me to show up to the doctor with a pedigree and detailed family history already written out?

9/9/2011 6:18:23 PM

well, yeah, I'm doing sets of reps. 3 sets of 8-12. and yes, I'm breathing and not holding my breath.

9/9/2011 6:47:38 PM

Well I don't know what to tell ya


You gon die.

9/9/2011 8:29:42 PM

oh shit!

9/9/2011 10:59:46 PM

Does it burn when you pee? Could be the hiv.

9/9/2011 11:02:34 PM

come to think of it... no

9/9/2011 11:50:17 PM

I don't want to dogpile on the general WTF-ness of your situation, but I also don't understand how you can be out of breath so severely at a weight you can apparently handle. You might want to look into that.

9/10/2011 12:59:02 AM

How much weight?

9/10/2011 1:00:54 AM

"Higher ranking belt means more work harder"


100 front snap kicks on the bag followed by 100 roundhouse kicks on the bag among other punches and kicks today

Ouch

9/10/2011 1:25:53 PM

clearly you should start with less weight that you CAN do 12 times, if that is your goal

otherwise, keep doing less and less sets until you get to 12 in 1 set


but seriously, just drop the weight and do 12

9/10/2011 2:06:16 PM

I got a shipment of Situation roids

9/10/2011 2:10:02 PM

begonias and I went running at Bond Metro Park in Cary. Pretty nice park. It has 3 dirt/mulch trails but also joins up with a few of the greenways. I think I'm going to start incorporating this park in my cycle of parks to run at.

9/10/2011 2:27:19 PM

1 mile walk with the dog this morning, 20 minutes on the exercise bike and 1 hr of lifting this afternoon. I really want to get back to doing extra cardio in the mornings again but I have just been exhausted lately.

9/10/2011 2:38:48 PM

I think I'm gonna try a 5k in the near future. Anyone have a good 3 mile route to practice at Bond, Umstead, or Lake Johnson?

9/10/2011 3:17:10 PM

I run LJ at least twice a week. To go around the paved path is about 2.78mi. It's a great place to run but it's hilly so unless you've been running hills or are in decent shape, you might want to save LJ.

Bond has 3 trails: 1 is a 2 mile trail that is fun but you can't go very fast because of all the tree roots. Another trail is a 1 mile trail and the other trail is a 1.4 trail so you can combine trails or jump on the greenway from Bond. This park would be a good place to run.

You might also want to consider running out at the American Tobacco Trail. It's a packed down dirt trail. It's very flat and wide so it's easy to run. That might be a good place to try out too.

9/10/2011 3:47:44 PM

i did my 5k today and got in at 31:31. I did so much better than I thought I would!

9/10/2011 4:00:23 PM

Thanks!

I usually run the West Loop at Lake Johnson. I think it's only 1.8 miles, but it feels like a lot more. You know if you ever run that side. I always have some more left in me after I recover from those awful hills with all the roots and rocks, so I could probably handle the paved side. I think I'll give Bond a shot today since its only like 2 miles from my house.

9/10/2011 4:05:13 PM