The 90 Day Challenge: Milk Log
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Current Weight: 77kg<br />
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Desired Weight 75 kg<br />
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Short term goal: Get the certificate at the YMCA for the most visits in February. I am quietly confident I am almost there - have been working on this all month. Do this by going in once or twice a day and swiping card. I want to enhance these visits by actually working out while there. <br />
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Longer term goal: Have lost about 10 kgs over the last year, but have plateaued (sp?), and can't seem to lose anymore. While I am pleased to have lost weight, I would like some sort of shape to go with it. I think I should be able to do this with more attention. -
Monday (Yesterday):<br />
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Went to the gym in the morning, but legs were still sore from another work out, so did cardio for half an hour. Had breakfast when I got to work. Apparently you burn 40% more fat if you do cardio before breakfast. The day went well, unitl I got home and had Chinese for dinner.<br />
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Tuesday (today):<br />
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Not a good day. Got ready for the gym, but sky were incosiderately playing The God Father Part 3. Considering I watched the first 2 over the weekend, I really had to watch a little of it, which turned into 45 mintues. I had a token effort of 25 mintues on weightsat the gym. Don't worry - still swiped the card so still on track to be top visitor in February. -
Wednesday:<br />
Not the worst day, still watched too much sky before the gym. Usually I am supposed to do weights, and then 15 minutes cardio. The cardio is on the cross trainer and you go hard for 30 seconds, then medium for a minute, and then back to hard for 30 seconds and so on. Anyway, when I am running late I flag the cardio - like today. Was pretty good eating wise. Vegemite and chip sandwiches and a yoghurt for lunch, and an orange in the afternoon. Should be having chicken nibbles and vegetables for dinner tonight. -
Thursday (yesterday):<br />
Not too bad, but once again got to the gym late so had to flag cardio. Did a few minutes on skipping rope as a token gesture. Ate reasonably well, except for a muffin with lunch.<br />
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Friday (today):<br />
Off to a great start as I completed my whole workout this morning. Feel great about it. Been to the gym and scanned my card every morning this week - which is good, but will it be enough to get the top visitor for the month? I think I may need to throw in a couple of extra workouts in the afternoon to make sure.<br />
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Every morning before the gym I have a coffee and breakfast (usually whole grain toast). I often have another coffee sometime during the day. Obviously no coffee is better than any, but is there anything wrong with this intake of coffee really? -
Friday continued...<br />
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I had Fried Rice for lunch and am going out for dinner tonight. My proudest moment of the day came when I declined an after-work Friday beer, and it's been one of [i]those[/i] Fridays too! -
Onya Milk - a shining example for all of us. -
Cheers Nick - I just go where God takes me.<br />
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Saturday:<br />
Today I pretty much had a day off healthy food wise. Maccas for breakfast, left over pizza for lunch, and nachos for dinner - plus I am about to get my desert on. Couldn't imagine much worse I guess. I did have a good workout at the gym today though.<br />
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I am losing confidence about getting the February award for most visits to the gym. I keep seeing the same people everytime I go. I think I will have to pull out something real special over the next few days to take the award. -
Go morning and afternoon. That'll show em <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
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I'll see if I can get in another couple of arvo's in to get the visits up.<br />
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I've been to the gym the last 2 days, and have eaten ok - heaps of room for improvement in the nutrition area though.<br />
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Have booked in for a reassement for Thursday. It's well pass due. I think I am subconsciously cheating my way through every single exercise. -
Well, my main goal was to get the top visitor for February. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful. 27 visits (in a 28 day month) was only good enough for second place. The winner took it out with 34 visits - which I find impossible to compete with, and I wouldn't want to. Pretty disappointed though.<br />
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Not only that, since my last assesment in October I have gained 400 grams, and body fat has increased slightly. Now, the increase is marginal, so I am pretty much the same - but the point is what the hell have I been doing? I should have been improving, not getting slightly worse. I have been pretty dejected, and have shyed away from the Fatbusters forum out of shame.<br />
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Anyway, a new month, a new programme, and probably the kick up the arse I needed. Bring it on. -
You shouldn't be disappointed; you should be delighted. 27 visits in 28 days is an example to all, and deserves a Fatbusters Gold Medal. MvJ is proud of you. <br />
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The guy who did 34 visits was probably gay and only there to hang out in the showers.<br />
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I apologise if that puts you off the showers. <br />
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Anyway, keep us up to date with your March progress. -
Thanks MvJ. I did want the certificate, but finding out the other guy went 34 times in 28 days made it a lot easier to take. I haven't seen anyone lurking around the showers - but he must have had some alterior motive - maybe to look at the beautiful gym people (not that there are many of those at the Mt Albert YMCA).<br />
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I have spent the last 2 trips to the gym getting my new program shown to me by the instructor. It looks pretty tricky, but I am pretty excited about it. It hurts just getting shown how to do it.<br />
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Over the weekend I played force back for a couple of hours with my mates. I love that game. Anyway, my whole body still aches. Pretty good workout. -
[quote]but the point is what the hell have I been doing? I should have been improving, not getting slightly worse[/quote]<br />
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Imagine if you had been doing nothing at all, you would have gained 4 kilos and way more BF...<br />
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And in your earlier post you were saying that you thought you must have been cheating your way through each exercise, and it looks like you were right eh...? -
Not to mention that being as light as you are, you're likely to put on a bit of muscle when you're exercising. How tall are you?
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This week is going well. No soft drink, and good food so far.<br />
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Gym wise I have just finished going through my programme for the 2nd time, so am getting the hang of it. However, I still run out of time and don't get to the cardio. Have to try and start getting there earlier. Getting sore muscles, which is great as I haven't had that for a while.<br />
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[quote name='BartMan']<br />
Imagine if you had been doing nothing at all, you would have gained 4 kilos and way more BF...<br />
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And in your earlier post you were saying that you thought you must have been cheating your way through each exercise, and it looks like you were right eh...?<br />
[/quote]<br />
Yeah, I think if you are left to your own devices your technique slips over time - unless you are really proficient at the gym. So losing some condition despite doing those exercises could be a good example of that. An even better example is that I can't do as heavy weights as a few weeks ago - presumably because my technique was not right before. <br />
I also probably wasn't pushing myself as I should have been. I can see why having a gym partner must help a lot with this sort of thing.<br />
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[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
Not to mention that being as light as you are, you're likely to put on a bit of muscle when you're exercising. How tall are you?<br />
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Only about 5 foot 10 at the most, so I'm pretty light. I lost a lot of fat last year, so body weight is still how I seem to guage success. Realisically I shouldn't care what I weigh. I am really just trying to get body fat down and lean muscle mass up. Try and get some bloody shape for once. -
Fuck yer a broomstick! <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> Though I'm somewhat jealous that you're 40kg lighter than me despite being about the same height ... :shifty:<br />
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What you need my man are the big muscle exercises. Let's face it - how often do you lift something using JUST your bicep? Isolated training in some weights programs is a crock unless you just want a bit of useless bulge - these exercises give you "real world" strength in addition to shape and lean, hard muscle:<br />
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Squats - all legs + back<br />
Deadlifts - upper legs + back<br />
Bench Press - mainly chest but also triceps, trapezoids, deltoids<br />
Shoulder press - trapezoids, deltoids, upper back, triceps<br />
Chinups - upper back, laterals, biceps, forearms<br />
Dips - chest, triceps, forearms<br />
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There are a couple of variations to chinups of course - overhand wide grip is more for the back (and sometimes called Pull-ups as opposed to chinups) whereas underhand (palms facing toward you or "supine") is more for the arms themselves, particularly biceps. -
I had a good week. Healthy eating, and daily gym visits in the morning. Still struggling to finish my work out though. Need to get quicker - which should come as I get used to the new exercises. I also need to get there earlier unfortunately.<br />
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Not a good day today - flagged the gym this morning and will be having junk for both lunch and dinner. St Paddy's Day and all...<br />
Anyway, will have to be a good boy of the weekend now. -
[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
Fuck yer a broomstick! <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> Though I'm somewhat jealous that you're 40kg lighter than me despite being about the same height ... :shifty:<br />
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What you need my man are the big muscle exercises. Let's face it - how often do you lift something using JUST your bicep? Isolated training in some weights programs is a crock unless you just want a bit of useless bulge - these exercises give you "real world" strength in addition to shape and lean, hard muscle:<br />
<br />
Squats - all legs + back<br />
Deadlifts - upper legs + back<br />
Bench Press - mainly chest but also triceps, trapezoids, deltoids<br />
Shoulder press - trapezoids, deltoids, upper back, triceps<br />
Chinups - upper back, laterals, biceps, forearms<br />
Dips - chest, triceps, forearms<br />
<br />
There are a couple of variations to chinups of course - overhand wide grip is more for the back (and sometimes called Pull-ups as opposed to chinups) whereas underhand (palms facing toward you or "supine") is more for the arms themselves, particularly biceps.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Thanks for your comments Nick. In my current programme I am doing squats, [i]Dumb bell [/i] Chest Press, Dumb bell Shoulder Press, Chin ups.<br />
No Dips or deadlifts - are deadlifts where you basically take the barbell from the floor to above your head?<br />
I think my main barrier is getting my tecnique right and then upping my weights and pushing myself. -
Deadlift technique can be found here: [url="http://www.dolfzine.com/page362.htm"]http://www.dolfzine.com/page362.htm[/url]<br />
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i.e. you don't lift above your head, mainly use your lower back and upper legs to raise the bar off the floor. You're talking about a power clean which is like the weightlifting thingy at the Olympics.<br />
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Technique is all-important to these exercise - too much weight without the right technique will screw your body right up.... -
1000th Silver Fern Post:<br />
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Been a good boy nutrution wise and going to the gym. Am completely nailed this morning after my workout. Still not getting to my cardio each morning, but am not down about it as I am still feeling punished after the weights work out. Really trying to put more effort into tecnique and weight - this morning I squatted 95kgs (incl 15kg bar), which is not a lot, but I feel good about it as it was a bit of a barrier to get past, and it is body 1.3 * my body weight. <br />
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Am looking into protein supplements as I think it helps muscle rejuvination. Apparently cops can get certain brands at almost cost, so might ask a cop that I know. -
Milk - if you're not getting to your cardio every morning, then some days skip the weights and extend your cardio session. Its about balance and you don't want to start firming right up on the muscle side of things to discover your overall fitness is a bit lacking. Weights will assist in some cardio activity but studies have proved that weights + cardio is much better for your system than cardio alone.
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Ok, but if you are not training for anything does it [i]really[/i] matter. I mean, obviously if anyone had a choice of being fit or not fit, they would choose fit - but wouldn't the weights be better to focus on if you were mainly interested in cosmetic results?
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Yes, but you need the balance to keep your metabolism going. When I was at Uni, besides the odd game of rugby or indoor soccer/hockey/netball, I did purely weights, and when I stopped doing that I started to pack on the fat. Because I never got into a cardio routine of any kind I never exercised unless I was near a gym. The beauty of cardio work is if you have running shoes, you can go for a run!
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Sounds fair. Yesterday I did half an hour on the cross trainer, so hopefully can build on that.<br />
I was ontrack to do cardio today, but I keep hitting the same problem with the weights. Everytime I have to do incline and flat bench dumbell presses it takes me forever to finish because I can't get the fucken things up there to start. Once they are in position it's pretty easy - but I am sure I am going to ruin my shoulder good and proper soon. It's not getting them to the chest that's the problem - it's getting them into the air the first time.<br />
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I guess the obvious solution is to lower the weights, but they are already girly enough as it is (max 27/ sometimes 30 kg each arm flat bench, max 23k sometimes 26 kg on incline). Also, I am reluctant to lower them as the weight is fine once I am going. Any ideas? Is this common? -
think I get what you are saying. Thnk the easiest thing is sit on the end of the bench first, and lift the weights and sit them on your thighs. then lie down, then move the weights to starting position, and press away to your heart is content!!
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I tend to do bench with both feet up on the bench in order to keep the lower back flat against it when straining for the really heavy weights, so like Bart says I sit the weights on my legs, then roll back onto the bench while pushing them up with my knees. By the time I'm on my back they're in the start position.
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Thanks guys. The actual problem isn't getting the weights to my chest, it's getting them up in the air the first time. I found out that I was doing that first rep with my elbows out from my body ( a busted shoulder waiting to happen). For that first rep your elbows should be tucked into your side, then once the weights are up resume normal position. It's definitely easi[i]er[/i] but I still can't get them up there that well. Will keep working at it though.<br />
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Was really good last week. The weekend was supposed to be a write-off, but ended up playing force back for a couple of hours on Saturday, and made it to the gym on Sunday. So feel pretty good about the weekend.<br />
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Seem to be getting consistently under 77kgs, so hopefully have broken the 78kg duck. -
Could try either:<br />
<br />- Dropping your weight and increasing reps<br />
- Getting someone to spot for you<br />
- Try it on a machine press until your strength is up to handle the free weights<br />
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Anything else might, as you say, result in injury.
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yeah, ask someone to help for that first rep - but make sure you tell them just for that first one. <br />
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Nothing worse than getting a spot from someone, and they start assisting you halfway through your reps. Me been training pretty much on my own for the last couple of years, and have the reps I can do sorte4d sweet. Sometimes looks like I won't get it up, but I know I will - weights almost stopping, looks like needs help, but am fine. Thats when the help pisses me off.<br />
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And no jokes about 'getting it up' please... -
Will look for assistance or lower the weights - just a bit reluctant as the weights were not that big in the first place.<br />
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Legs work out this morning. Making some good progress on upping my squat weight, so that is promising. -
Going pretty well. Taking daily protein shakes, and feel like that is helping. My main problem at the moment is the weekends - the routine goes to the pack. Shit keeps coming up, and I actually just want a few quiet ones to stay on track. Anyway, birthday this weekend - so don't think I will be getting much done again.
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Didn't end up doing sweet FA for almost two weeks. A real shame because I felt I was making progress. Anyway, got back into it yesterday and today - better luck this time.
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[quote name='Milk']<br />
My main problem at the moment is the weekends - the routine goes to the pack. Shit keeps coming up, and I actually just want a few quiet ones to stay on track. [/quote]<br />
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Yeah, a problem that everyone seems to have experienced to a degree. I don't think there's anything that can be done about it save for ridiculous martyrdom; there's always someone's farewell, birthday, new job etc to celebrate / commiserate. <br />
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I just decided to let the good times roll. If you have to attend a "do" you might as well cast aside the guilt and go hammer, even if it is twice a weekend :happy: -
Unfortuantely I have stayed away from the gym for about a week due to sickness. Back again today, so trying to get back on the wagon for what seems like the hundreth time. The good news is I have been eating really healthily this week, and have not had ANY alcohol for 14 days. <br />
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[quote name='Miller V Jackson']<br />
I just decided to let the good times roll. If you have to attend a "do" you might as well cast aside the guilt and go hammer, even if it is twice a weekend :happy:<br />
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Yeap, next time i do drink I'll be hitting it like a train - I'll be a cheap date though.<br />
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Really wish I could stop falling off the wagon, the progress RB, Bart, MVJ, etc are making is really impressive. -
Back in the saddle again today. Did the entire lower body and abs workout, including cardio. Muscles are sore from yesterday, so really pleased with that too.<br />
Last night I had pasta for dinner, so that probably wasn't good - but I'm sure there are worse things. Anyway, the jury still seems to be out on how bad carbs at night are. -
yeah, my jury out still. Although, I might try a no carbs at night jag for amonth or so, and see what happens. Have lost 1kg in the last month or so, which seems out of proportion to the training. althouhg, my clothes do keep getting bigger, so that is good!!
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[quote name='BartMan']<br />
yeah, my jury out still. Although, I might try a no carbs at night jag for amonth or so, and see what happens. Have lost 1kg in the last month or so, which seems out of proportion to the training. althouhg, my clothes do keep getting bigger, so that is good!!<br />
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I suppose if you are just after weight loss it's best to cut it out. When I was really trying to lose weight I cut out carbs at night, and did cardio every morning before breakfast. Went really well.<br />
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Back to the gym this morning and did bi's and back, and even cardio. Well set to have a day off in the weekend now. -
Well I certainly made the most of my day off by going completely overboard. Bit of an overkill on the KFC from Friday night through to early this morning. Anyway, was better behaved for the rest of the day.<br />
Went to the gym this afternoon and had a good workout. Wouldn't have made up for the day I had yesterday, but at least I've started the week as I want to carry on. -
Gym this morning - leg weights today. Unfortunately didn't get to the cardio, but the leg work out leaves me pretty puffed anyway.
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Gym again this morning. This time it was back and bi's - even did 15 minutes cardio at the end. I was a bit down yesterday because I was a kg heavier than I should be, but that has dropped again, must have been one of those daily variances.
