Over the last few months I've noticed in the goals thread that a lot of people are posting fitness related goals. Seeing how the chat thread has gone down the pan recently, I thought a thread to log, track and discuss our workouts and fitness progress would be good to help people stick to their goals and also get a bit of chatter going again in this once awesome forum. Most people find that compliance with their routine and sticking with things is the toughest thing about getting fit, and I think setting goals and chatting with other like-minded people is a great way of keeping up motivation.

So come and tell us what you're doing, what your goals are and how you're planning on reaching them.

My story... I trained MMA and did a bit of lifting over the last few years, but after an injury last summer I started swimming to rehab which spurred on the idea of doing a triathlon, so for the last 6 months or so I've been training swimming, running and cycling for my first triathlon season. First race is a sprint tri (400m swim/20km bike/5km run) in about 6 weeks followed by an olympic distance tri in July (1500m swim/40km bike/10km run). In between I expect to do other running/cycling/open water swimming events too, and if all goes well I would like to do a marathon later in the year in preparation for training up for Ironman next year - but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it! I keep a log in the h&f subforum on 2p2 (here).

Micro-grinders gogogo!

Thanks Ron. Hope this turns into something of quality.

I used to kickbox and box for a big chunk of my younger years(im only 22 but still), went on a skitrip and hurt my knee badly when trying to snowboard for first time in my life, I thought it was really easy, stand on a board and slide down, well I was wrong. This injury combined with having a girlfriend turned me into a pretty lazy person.

After watching The Contender season 1 somewhere last year I got really motivated again and started going to the gym, 2/3 times a month turned into 4/5 times a week religiously, didn't miss a single day and since 3/4 months I started boxing again. I found that my knee still hurts when I do too much in a single session but other than that I should be fine, also got ''clearance'' from the doctor.

My only real goal is getting back into the ring again as a hobby, I did a few fights when I was younger and I really enjoyed it(this may sound different than what I mean). One thing I would like to achieve but don't see happening anytime soon is getting back into running early in the mornings before going to uni classes. From my 15th until 18th I used to wake up at 6 in the morning 4 days a week and run for 45/60 minutes. School would usually start an hour later. But these runs did miracles, I'd have slept for like 6/7 hours a night but I would be so fit throughout the day and almost wanna say more focused.

my story is kind of strange lol

in my country(brazil) everybody plays soccer, i'm pretty good at it, the best golier of my classes since high school: "if you aren't good at soccer, play on the defense, then if you really aren't good at soccer, become a golier LOL", no wonder why we always lost every competition but chess and table soccer HAHAHHAAAH
i used to play like 2x per week when i was 12 i played against 18-20 yr old guys, it was pretty tough and fun, but the sad thing of being a golier is that you don't make much exercise, you only have to do like one actione very 2-3 mins, so it's not a very good sport to lose weight/get fit.

i also tried muay thay, it was fun, but i don't like fighting sports, since i'm a pretty aggressive person and it reactivates my inner furious person, which i don't like...

then i played volleyball for like 6 years, pretty much the same thing as pllaying soccer as a golier, i was always above the weight, but somehow i managed to lose 20 kg in 1-2 months, pretty tough diet, dangerous too, passed out once haha

i was doing fine, playing soccer in college with my friends, running, then i came back to World of warcraft and got +35 kg in 1.5 years...
since i began playing poker i lost 5 kg, this game isn't so hardcore and it lets me do other things,

my goal is to lose weight, eat healthy, swim in my house until the vacations end(25 days) and then go to the gym and do cardio 4-5x per week when school is back
also i want to stop smoking(began smoking last year, when i began playing poker lol)

i hope to lose 30 kg on this year, let's see if it goes well =D

102 kg right now

Kinda weird/maybe slightly gross story incoming.

I've had to fade Asthma, echzema and major year-round allergies to start working out. My allergist, after being tested, gave me his standard printout of a time graph with all of the major natural allergies and when they are most potent, and proceded to highlight everything on the sheet.

I am now going through immunotherapy, and it seems to be working nicely, as I was at a point two years ago where I was affraid to be outside during the spring/summer(the fun part of echzema is, if you have it bad enough, you are allergic to your own sweat, and all your pores are open for all my other allergies to come in).

Anyway, I finally feel comfortable with the idea sweating, at least in my own home where I have immediate access to a shower. Being very self-concious(a lifetime of ezchema will do that to you), and worried about stuff people with normal skin wouldnt, I don't think gyms are really an option for me.

So I feel it's time to air this **** out to own it, and make myself come up with a plan publicly, in the hopes that I can be motivated to do this more. The first step, of course, is coming up with a simple beginnner's regimine for someone who is tall and overweight, who needs to cut fat first and get generally healthy, before thinking about how I want to build muscle(Im thinking less muscle mass and more strength and agility, as I dont think I need help building muscle with my body type).

I have a starter jogging regimine here:


And need to figure out a starter weight training program for myself, probably in the high reps/low weight territory.

So here we go 2p2, Im going to get fit. Does anyone know how to measure their BMI? I know I'm overweight from the last time I was at the doctor, but I'd like to be able to track it myself.

@Rapidesh123
I was one of those "defense" kids, hahaha, soccer classes, worst thing I did in my life (after "church school")

My story is very boring, because I'm one of those thin guys that can eat a lot and not gain a single pound. But I'm tired of being too skinny (nooooo, it's nooooot to pick up more girls, just health issues... haha, imagine...) and want to gain some muscle-weight, but without any of those chemicals/protein packs (not because I want to be "naturally fit", that's bullsh*t, it's because those stuff are a bankroll-eaters and I don't want to get THAT big). My background is also a little bit of online gaming, so no martial arts/sports, with the exception of swimming 2x a week (I love it, but I quit 1 year ago when moving from my city). Went to the gym for some months here and there in 2010 and 2011, liked it, but never continued.

So I compiled some of my physical evaluation with... lol internet stuff and friend's advice and became with a plan:
-Waking up in the morning to exercise
-Lift some weights that I have here every day, do push ups etc
-Eat well in EVERY MEAL. Avoid burgers and crap even on weekends
-Walk/run [didn't figure exactly the distance yet]
-When I get used to and comfortable with it, go to an actual gym (because my equipment is limited)
I mean, lifting weights in my own place seems dumb, but I thought that going to a gym in my current situation would be burning money, because I might not keep up the frequency, being lazy that I am, and I know some quality training to get started. Any thoughts?

ahhahaha
church school was terrible, the only good part for me was that people used to bring good food and we all ate in the end of the class, i used to draw pokemons and digimons all the time during the classes
also there were some pretty little girls there, but didn't manage to kiss any of them =(

and i enjoyed playing in the defense, it was really fun, but my friends said that i sucked even for that, then one day they saw me catching like 10 penalties in a row and asked me to be the golier of the team, since the other golier sucked hard

on every school i've been my team was pretty awful at soccer(in my college soccer team i think that we can lose to 8-12 yr old guys, and they don't need to be good, we have only one good soccer player in the team, and i can't do those super jumps to catch anymore, because now i'm fat) hahaha
but i think that we would be the dream team of some schools from other countries like USA, australia HAHAHA

Good work guys, glad there's a bit of interest in here.

Mzboug - Will be interesting to hear about your boxing. There's a boxing thread somewhere in the h&f forum that's mainly the log of a decent level amateur boxer, although I think he's been out injured for a while now. I'll find it and link it later.

Rapid - For losing weight first you need to work out your calorie maintenance level by inputting your data into a calculator like this one: http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/. Then you need to set yourself a calorie deficit. Eating at a defecit of 500 calories/day roughly works out a 1lb (0.45kg) weight loss per week. Then you need to track and log the calories in everything you eat. Using a site like myfitnesspal.com (and it's smartphone app) is perfect for doing this. There are millions of different 'brands' of diets out there, but anything that works only works because it gets the user to follow the principle of calories in < calories out. Anything other than that is purely for compliance/branding reasons.

Jolly - Your running plan is generally known as 'couch-to-5k' and is an awesome way of getting new runners to be able to run 5k. In fact my gf is currently doing it and has gone from being unable to run for more than 30s to almost ready to do her first 5k. As far as weight/strength training goes, there are ****loads of myths out there as to how to train and what each kind of training does to you (eg - if you lift heavy weights you won't suddenly turn into a massively ripped bodybuilder). For people in your position the type of training routine that's almost universally recommended is a routine called Starting Strength (or a variant that's based on the same principles - it's not a brand, just a method of lifting). It's based around low-rep, heavy-weight (eventually), compound lifts and linear progression every workout. I've known tons of people (many in your situation) start out on SS after advice in the h&f forum and have yet to see a single person to say that it wasn't for them or that they'd ever done anything in the gym that's been more effective.

Thanks ron, Ill have to look into that. Any info sites to get started with? Or maybe a good h&f thread to read?

edit: oh yea, I should probably study up on good streching methods, as I cramp up/tighten up VERY easily.

I'll try and find a good log. There are tons of logs in the h&f forum so it's a bit hard to sift through them to find a good one.

This is the basic premise of Starting Strength:

Workout A	Workout B
Squat: 3x5	Squat 3x5
Bench: 3x5	Overhead Press 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5	Power Clean 5x3

3 workouts/week, alternating A and B. Start off with light weights, concentrating on developing good form. Increase the weight on each lift every workout. It might not seem like you're doing enough at first, or that there's enough there to give yourself a good enough workout. Trust me, lots of people think that until they get a few weeks into the program.

You can start off deadlifting every workout while the weight is light. You can substitute appropriate pulling exercises like pendlay rows or pull-ups for power cleans.

There are numerous variations on this routine, sometimes including other accessory lifts for example, but the fundamentals are the same. Compound lifts, done heavy and with linear progression on the weight lifted.

Strength gains on this (or similar) programs will be faster, more efficient and more prolonged than on most other routines. Compound lifts like squats and deadlifts are awesome for overall strength gains because they recruit the whole body. A lot of newbies are put off by them because they think they aren't strong enough to do them correctly etc, but if you start off very very light and get your techinque dialled there's no reason why anybody can't do them.

Edit: And regarding your mobility/stretching/stiffness etc, check out the OP in this thread: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/85...dback-1209610/ Foam rolling and a good stretching routine has been an absolute godsend to me recently.

Edit 2: Here's a good log of a guy that started lifting from scratch when overweight and got decently strong and in-shape: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/85...stions-818682/

Yeah it's mainly getting back into shape now + a lot of rounds of sparring with my trainer and 2 guys who fight amateur matches.

I was wondering if you ever fought when you did mma, or was it just purely for the training purposes?

Nah I never fought. I trained with the intention of maybe fighting one day but it's a huge commitment, and it's not like other sports where you can just play beginners matches or whatever - if you take a fight and aren't prepared you get your face pounded in.

Thanks Ron. I think my biggest problem, after cleaning the basement, is the fact that it has a pretty short ceiling(7 or 8 feet), So I will ahve to look into catering my workout to techniques that use less space.

Ah if you're working out at home in your basement with minimal equipment, then SS may not be practical. You can still likely work out how to devise a routine that incorporates similar lifts though, with compound movement (especially the squats) being the key. When you're ready, post up what you've got and we can work something out.

My favourite fitness channel on youtube.
Check out the rest of his videos, it's very informative.

Fair enough. My first few fights were with protective gear, I remember thinking it was impossible to get knocked out when wearing a helmet, until I saw a kid my age take a mean hook to the chin which knocked him out cold. That was 15 minutes before my match was due. Pretty sure I've never been as afraid/nervous as I have been those 15 minutes.

Currently at 65kgs, average body.
Primary Goal- lose fat around my stomach
Secondary Goal- get bigger and have a cleaner diet

I have a 40kg barbell, 2 18kg adjustable dumbells, a pull-up bar and a small bench (meant for sit-ups not bench press).
When I exercise I focus on two muscles from legs, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs and back.

Exercises I do for each muscle group
Legs- squats, standing calf raisers, lunges
Chest- dumbbell press, dumbbell flys, wide pushups
Shoulders- Standing military press, barbell front rows, shrugs
Biceps- bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration curls
Triceps- skull crushers, tricep kickbacks, close pushups
Abs- air bicycle, crunches, decline leg raisers
Back- bent over rows, pullups, deadlifts

That's more or less what I do. Been fairly consistent this year.
I started taking a protein shake from last December- Evox Whey Protein.

Interested in other people's training routines
Glgl

story= up until the age of 20 i was weaker than most females standing at 5'7 125lbs... been weight lifting for 5years now & am around 155lbs 12-14ish bf% & trying to get back in good shape for the summer & never stop working hard once i do like i did 1.5years ago

fyp

yeah, like that
when i was a child i used to fight at least once a week, i got suspended once, when i was so mad that i threw a pen on some guy's back and started punching him in the middle of the class haha

Last year was the first time I managed to maintain going to the gym on a regular basis for any length of time. Stopped when I went on holiday and never got back into it till this week. Im 6"0 tall and weigh 186 pounds. Would like to get down to around 178 or so. Basically my fitness programme is as follows:

Tuesday - gym (weights)
Wednesday - Football (the real one, not hand egg )
Thursday - gym (weights)
Friday - gym (cardio)
Saturday gym - weights

My gym routine is basically just the following 6 exercises:
Bench Press
Dumbell Shoulder Press
Deadlifts
Dips
Squats
T-Bar Rows

I actually use the hack-squat machine rather than doing actual squats as I dont have anyone to spot me. On a Friday when I do cardio its bascially 20 minutes of doing intervals on the crosstrainer.

Good thread !!
I am running on and off for the last few years to keep fit. I am 38 this year and I am considering doing the Dublin marathon (October) although I have only ever ran up to 15 km to date.

I have suffered from anxiety/stress in the past so running helps with that (although Poker sometimes does not ;-) )

I done a 10km Assault Course/race called Hell and Back in January which was tough but fun.

Would love to do a triathlon someday too but I am weak enough at swimming.

anyone has experiences with Insanity workout?
Need to start doing something. Used to play basketball at the top level, but stopped at 17teen. now, after 10 years of sitting in the chair, my body is wanting to die.

I've always been skinny, but over the last 10 years or so I've put on almost 20kg. While still far from overweight - 82 kg at 1,83 m and 42 years - I feel out of shape. (That's 6'0'' and 195lb for you pre-metric folk.) I can probably manage five push-ups and 4km of jogging right now (I wouldn't call it running at 7min/km).

So here's the plan:

• More conscious nutriton choices.
• Take the bike rather than the bus - it's about 5km to the office, and the weather should be getting better.
• Get better at running.
• Do some body weight exercises - push-ups and such.

I used to do the abbs workout of insanity. That's about the only thing I found really interesting and I think worked surprisingly well.

Good post Ron. I've talked to Ron a bit about H&F and he knows his ****. He's a planner and makes sure his workouts are efficient. I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I've read a lot about it and ask advice from friends who are knowledgeable. Then I just muck about. I'm a K.I.S.S guy.

3 years ago I decided I had to do something. Poker was destroying my health, both physical and mental. I gasped for air after climbing a couple of flights of stairs, had occasional heart rushes, knees and feet hurt, couldn't sleep at night etc etc. I'm 6' and used to weigh ~ 220 when in decent shape. When I weighed myself in 2010 I tipped the scales at 300 lbs. So I talked to some smart people and began the work.

I won't bore y'all with the details. Basically I went for a workout almost every day at the mid-point of my day. It gave me a nice mental break from the tables and invigorated me for the 2nd session. I also altered my diet. But I wasn't willing to change anything that wasn't going to be a lifestyle change. I hate the phrase 'going on a diet'. It's a counter-productive strategy.

One thing that worked very well for me (and a few of my friends) was prop bets. I have a few friends that wanted to lose some weight as well. So we would set a goal for the month. If we achieved it there was no blood. If someone failed there was a financial penalty. It helped feed the competitive fire as well as keep the motivation up. (For example, for one of my friends the penalty was a sports jersey. I hate his teams and it would have killed me to see him walking around in a jersey that I bought him. No way I was going to fail vs him.)

I never set goals, just kept working til I was satisfied. 15 months later I had lost just over 100 lbs and I've kept it off. Obviously my physical health is much better but my mental health has benefited more.

Last year I shot off my mouth that I didn't think a sprint triathlon was that tough. I got snap-challenged that I couldn't do one. We had to adjust the terms half-way thru b/c I didn't know that I couldn't swim (lol, that was a fun day), but I completed it with a month to spare. 3 years ago if someone had told me I could do a tri, I would have died laughing.

My attitude towards H&F has changed so much. People spend so much time, money and effort maintaining their cars, houses, yards, relationships, everything, but they ignore the most important thing they own and the only thing that can't be replaced. You don't have to become a 7% body-fat, super athlete. Just get healthier, little by little.

If anyone wants any specifics of my plan hit me up on Skype/PM.