2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

[wwharton]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

I went to the gym today to work on my normal chest and you guessed it, triceps. I took off 5lbs my normal lifts, man, those weights felt light. I did your suggestion when I started on the triceps, instead of skull crushers, seated tricep pulldowns, light on the standing tricep rope pulley pulldown and I went back to normal on overhead tricep extensions, but 4 fewer reps.

I'm happy to report my elbow feels much better today. I'm going to try this for a few weeks to keep less strain in that area.

What a difference 5lbs in weights feel like.

Tomorrow, it's shoulder time and I've also heard of replacing bar exercises with curved bars or dumb bells.

Awesome man, that's great to hear. It sucks getting hurt when you're trying to stay motivated.

And yeah 5lbs definitely makes a difference when talking triceps. But you can burn those suckers out. Try sets of 15-20 on the rope pull down. Next day you won't remember that you were using lighter weights at all.

[Rules]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

I think I'm going to do a 1 day juice cleanse to see how my body reacts. If I can manage the hunger I'll try a 3 day one in a month or so.

Do I need to stay at home for this? I'm thinking the juice might run through me.

It's usually day 2 and on when it will catch up to you. The emptier your colon the faster it will move through you.

I will start tomorrow but I'm going to do 28 days.

Here's a great movie about juicing:

http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/watch-fat-sick-and-nearly-dead/

[AUChase]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

If anyone ever needs any motivation to get in the gym, my 65 year old grandmother just joined a local gym and started working out.

It's never too late to start caring.

[bigbob]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Have any of you partially torn your rotator cuff? I did in 2008 and was told it would heal itself. It never did and recently it's clearly been reaggrivated or worse and I'm planning on getting surgery.

My question, how long did you guys stay in the sling? How long before lifting, even just light weights?

I've been lifting still, I've just found alternate grips to do things to minimize pain. The pain only comes from certain motions, so I try and remove those motions all together.

[PVarck31]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Alright, I'm gonna shoot straight here because I need help and motivation.

I want to improve the quality of my life and become healthier but I have some serious motivation issues. One thing I was able to do recently was quit smoking. I had been a smoker for about 12 years, I'm 35. And I did quit for about a year before but started again when my grandfather passed away as that was a huge stressor for me. But the good news is I've been smoke free for 3 weeks now.

Now that that's out of the way, I am a terrible eater. Most likely due to this I am a type 2 diabetic. My sugar is currently not under control, and I also have a fatty liver from eating such a poor diet and being overweight.

I did however switch to all diet drinks which I think is a good start, but I eat way to many carbs and I think that's what's killing my sugar levels.

So, I ask where do I start? How can I eat better without spending more money, because we don't have a lot of that, and we don't have a lot of healthier type restaurants where I live. I have thought about joining a gym but I just don't know if we can afford it right now. And that's a whole other story I won't bore you with.

Thanks for listening and sorry if this was tl/dnr. The worst part is I was once in great shape and a great athlete and I let myself go big time.

I'm looking forward to hearing some advice.

[DJ]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Alright, I'm gonna shoot straight here because I need help and motivation.

I want to improve the quality of my life and become healthier but I have some serious motivation issues. One thing I was able to do recently was quit smoking. I had been a smoker for about 12 years, I'm 35. And I did quit for about a year before but started again when my grandfather passed away as that was a huge stressor for me. But the good news is I've been smoke free for 3 weeks now.

Now that that's out of the way, I am a terrible eater. Most likely due to this I am a type 2 diabetic. My sugar is currently not under control, and I also have a fatty liver from eating such a poor diet and being overweight.

I did however switch to all diet drinks which I think is a good start, but I eat way to many carbs and I think that's what's killing my sugar levels.

So, I ask where do I start? How can I eat better without spending more money, because we don't have a lot of that, and we don't have a lot of healthier type restaurants where I live. I have thought about joining a gym but I just don't know if we can afford it right now. And that's a whole other story I won't bore you with.

Thanks for listening and sorry if this was tl/dnr. The worst part is I was once in great shape and a great athlete and I let myself go big time.

I'm looking forward to hearing some advice.

I'd eliminate the sodas all together if you can. I think the diet drinks do more harm than good, but that's just my opinion. Don't go cold turkey; just slowly cut back your intake of soda.

As for joining a gym, you can certainly get yourself into great shape without one. Take up running and/or biking, find a program like P90X or something that interests you and make a commitment to exercising a few times a week.

You're taking good steps; it's always therapeutic to talk about one's struggles/issues. I definitely started to fall into some bad habits a few years ago after being a guy that worked out 5-6 days a week for years. While I don't really use a gym much, I've found running and cycling to be a great way to keep things fresh for me and I've gotten into much better shape (and find I eat better) when I got back into a regular exercise routine.

[Rules]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Alright, I'm gonna shoot straight here because I need help and motivation.

I want to improve the quality of my life and become healthier but I have some serious motivation issues. One thing I was able to do recently was quit smoking. I had been a smoker for about 12 years, I'm 35. And I did quit for about a year before but started again when my grandfather passed away as that was a huge stressor for me. But the good news is I've been smoke free for 3 weeks now.

Now that that's out of the way, I am a terrible eater. Most likely due to this I am a type 2 diabetic. My sugar is currently not under control, and I also have a fatty liver from eating such a poor diet and being overweight.

I did however switch to all diet drinks which I think is a good start, but I eat way to many carbs and I think that's what's killing my sugar levels.

So, I ask where do I start? How can I eat better without spending more money, because we don't have a lot of that, and we don't have a lot of healthier type restaurants where I live. I have thought about joining a gym but I just don't know if we can afford it right now. And that's a whole other story I won't bore you with.

Thanks for listening and sorry if this was tl/dnr. The worst part is I was once in great shape and a great athlete and I let myself go big time.

I'm looking forward to hearing some advice.

Sounds like you might want to watch the video I posted above about juicing. Getting out walking, jogging, or running is free. First step is finally saying you are ready to make a change. Second step is finally doing something about it. Instead of finding an excuse to not do something, find a reason to why you made something happen.

Start with juicing to readjust your taste buds. Then increase water intake as most who drink diet sodas do not like the taste of water. Lose the soda and the fake sweeteners that usually go along with it. Your body doesn't know what to do with it so it sets it aside (continues to make you fat).

Money...........two ways to look at it:

1) Continue eating junk which has little to no nutritional value. Don't feel full or satisfied so you need to keep eating from hunger.

2) Buy nutritional food that your body can use for fuel.

Food = Fuel. Remember that! Put poor fuel in and get poor results. You will feel like crap and your body basically becomes sick. Eat good, feel good, your body will repair itself.

Watch the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead link I posted in this thread. Time to understand what is going on and how to fix it.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Alright, I'm gonna shoot straight here because I need help and motivation.

I want to improve the quality of my life and become healthier but I have some serious motivation issues. One thing I was able to do recently was quit smoking. I had been a smoker for about 12 years, I'm 35. And I did quit for about a year before but started again when my grandfather passed away as that was a huge stressor for me. But the good news is I've been smoke free for 3 weeks now.

Now that that's out of the way, I am a terrible eater. Most likely due to this I am a type 2 diabetic. My sugar is currently not under control, and I also have a fatty liver from eating such a poor diet and being overweight.

I did however switch to all diet drinks which I think is a good start, but I eat way to many carbs and I think that's what's killing my sugar levels.

So, I ask where do I start? How can I eat better without spending more money, because we don't have a lot of that, and we don't have a lot of healthier type restaurants where I live. I have thought about joining a gym but I just don't know if we can afford it right now. And that's a whole other story I won't bore you with.

Thanks for listening and sorry if this was tl/dnr. The worst part is I was once in great shape and a great athlete and I let myself go big time.

I'm looking forward to hearing some advice.

This workout changed my life. http://www.gsprushfit.com/

For real.

It has everything you need to get started. Nutrition plan, workouts that are diverse and challenging, well planned, etc.

Take it easy at first though.

I wasn't able to do the five rounds when I first got the series, so I did cardio and gradually increased it to get my lungs in shape first. I started doing 30 minutes a day on the elliptical starting in June of 2014, and by September I started Rushfit and I could actually go through the whole workout.

At first I was discouraged because I didn't notice much of a change. After a week I lost three pounds, and that kept me motivated, 24 weeks later I had lost a total of 64 pounds. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

[Scott]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

This workout changed my life. http://www.gsprushfit.com/

For real.

It has everything you need to get started. Nutrition plan, workouts that are diverse and challenging, well planned, etc.

Take it easy at first though.

I wasn't able to do the five rounds when I first got the series, so I did cardio and gradually increased it to get my lungs in shape first. I started doing 30 minutes a day on the elliptical starting in June of 2014, and by September I started Rushfit and I could actually go through the whole workout.

At first I was discouraged because I didn't notice much of a change. After a week I lost three pounds, and that kept me motivated, 24 weeks later I had lost a total of 64 pounds. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

I might have to give this a shot...

[AUChase]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Some positive results:

I'm 9 lbs lighter than I was on January 15th when I started working out again and I'm starting to see some real definition in my arms and some shrinkage in my waist finally. (225 down to 216)

I don't have frequent heart burn anymore.

My blood pressure has come down from averaging around 143/90 to 135/88 (I check it a few times each day now). I'm sure I could get it even lower if I cut some of the sodium out of my diet.

My family has a history of heart problems and high blood pressure. I can't start taking BP medication before I get out of my 20's.. that's absurd. My goal is to get down to 205 by May-June and ultimate goal is to get below 200 before the end of the year, but It's going to get more difficult as I continue lifting. I'll settle for 200-205, though.


Found a decent deal on "Pure Protein" drinks.

I'm not big on protein shakes or powders anymore, since I'm trying to shed some weight as well as build muscle, which is hard to do, but I don't think I'm getting enough protein in my diet so after workouts I've been drinking one of these the past week.

Any thoughts on the nutritional label ? It seems pretty sugar and carb free for a protein drink with 35g.

This label is for a 12oz can.

I'll quit ranting now.

[KG]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

I stay away from Pure Protein since it has milk & fake sugar (Sucralose). My body just can't handle those 2 things.

[wwharton]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Alright, I'm gonna shoot straight here because I need help and motivation.

I want to improve the quality of my life and become healthier but I have some serious motivation issues. One thing I was able to do recently was quit smoking. I had been a smoker for about 12 years, I'm 35. And I did quit for about a year before but started again when my grandfather passed away as that was a huge stressor for me. But the good news is I've been smoke free for 3 weeks now.

Now that that's out of the way, I am a terrible eater. Most likely due to this I am a type 2 diabetic. My sugar is currently not under control, and I also have a fatty liver from eating such a poor diet and being overweight.

I did however switch to all diet drinks which I think is a good start, but I eat way to many carbs and I think that's what's killing my sugar levels.

So, I ask where do I start? How can I eat better without spending more money, because we don't have a lot of that, and we don't have a lot of healthier type restaurants where I live. I have thought about joining a gym but I just don't know if we can afford it right now. And that's a whole other story I won't bore you with.

Thanks for listening and sorry if this was tl/dnr. The worst part is I was once in great shape and a great athlete and I let myself go big time.

I'm looking forward to hearing some advice.

Already mentioned but I'll repeat it... the diet sodas could be doing more harm than good. And for me (someone who always reached for a soda or juice when I was really craving water or a snack), going that route was more like a bad band-aid than a lifestyle changing alternative. You really want a coke... that coke zero is just going to make you think about the coke you really want.

You may want to try slowly making a change like removing soda all together for say a month. With this you can still get iced tea, juices, lemonade, etc. just no soda. This change alone isn't a great help to your bottom line bc these other options will have sugar and empty calories, but they can help you lose the soda craving.

Next, if you can, try replacing every drink with a meal with water. Think of water like taking medicine. If you still want a sweet drink after a full meal and a full glass of water, have at it. But this will help you introduce more water into your diet (good for a million reasons with health and weight loss), should cut back on the empty calories you're getting from drinks, and should also help you eat less. Bonus points if you can chug a good 8-12 oz of water BEFORE every meal.

Eventually you'll be more accustom to the taste of water AND you should be able to go with less sugary drinks when you do want more flavor. There are a couple of green tea bottles that taste really good (lipton's diet citrus green tea and snapple's diet green tea). They do have a bit of artificial sweetner (snapple is the better option to avoid too much other crap being added) so don't down a six pack a day. These are just great for when you absolutely need that fix, while they can still help you get where you're trying to go.

As for the gym, there are plenty of things you can do without it. Biking, jogging, walking were already mentioned. However, there have been plenty of links in here for workout routines you can do at home. Insanity, P90x, etc. may seem intimidating when you're just getting started. But you do what you can and you'll start getting better. A free one that I use (I think it's $2 if you want to go with the app on the phone instead of just the website) is http://hasfit.com

Like others, lots of workouts for different levels, videos, recipes, etc. I'd also recommend using MyFitnessPal and entering in everything you eat and drink... at the very least, you'll be able to see exactly how bad your diet is and how much you need to adjust to get where you want to be. Good luck!

[PVarck31]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Thank you everyone so much for all the advice. Its much appreciated. And I am gonna start doing some of it.

I'll check in periodically and let you know how I'm doing.

[Zer0xray]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Ugh dealing with a gout attack now. Anyone else have this annoying disease? I can barely walk and it just came out of nowhere

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[roadman]

Re: 2015 FITNESS CHALLENGE

Awesome man, that's great to hear. It sucks getting hurt when you're trying to stay motivated.

And yeah 5lbs definitely makes a difference when talking triceps. But you can burn those suckers out. Try sets of 15-20 on the rope pull down. Next day you won't remember that you were using lighter weights at all.

Eh, one week update.

The pain kept getting worse every day. I was hoping the weekend and taking a day off yesterday would help.

The pain crept back in today pretty good, especially doing reverse wrist curls. I talked to a trainer at the club and he said: increase the fish oil dosage, buy some fat gripz and massage the muscle near the tendon.

I caved in and called the doctors office.

They prescribed a anti-inflamotory, 3 times per day for 10 days, and to pick up an elbow brace. I can still lift with the elbow brace, but just know when the elbow says, it's enough.

He feels that I've been doing an improper grip or lifting method and I injured the tendon. He said it's time to repair that areas and build strength back around the muscle around the tendon.