8
votes
Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
I’ve been doing well! Alternating most days between the indoor bike and RingFit, with some planned outdoor walks and yoga class sprinkled in for good measure. RFA kicked my patootie a couple of days ago, and my hamstrings are still pretty sore, but I’ve been stretching off and on throughout the day and took a hot bath last night which seemed to help.
Diet-wise, things have been better this week. I’ve been trying to incorporate more veggies (inspired by an article I read here on Tildes), which has been… interesting. Adding lettuce to my sandwiches seems to be a good start. I have a bunch of veggie seeds and a raised garden bed on the way, so I’ll hopefully have lots of homegrown veggies this summer!
I also vowed not to drink alcohol Sunday through Tuesday, and that went well this week. Hoping I can make that a habit.
More than anything, consistency pays off. I've been lifting weights in some form or another for 15 years or so. I started when I was around 20 by going to the YMCA, and having a (really crappy) what would be called a "standard" bench back then. I went a couple times a week, but I'd take months where I was just lazy and didn't work out at all. As a result, I was never in great shape, just mostly skinny.
Around six years ago, I picked up CrossFit, and on average would go twice a week. Some weeks I'd go four times, some weeks I'd go once. My fitness level definitely increased though, I was maxing my back squat at around 225 lbs, deadlifting maybe around the same, and benching 150ish.
Two years ago, I left for a deployment to the middle east with the military. I work in communications, and the nature of my job is that once things are set up, I sort of just babysit them, so I ended up having a LOT of free time. As a result, I started doing Stronglifts 5x5 religiously. I never missed a day, every single week, I worked out 3 times for 10 months. I also ate far more than I ever have in my life, taking in between 2800 and 3000 calories a day, which as a 5'8, 150 lbs man, is a lot.
As a result, I became so, so much stronger than I ever have in my entire life before. My squat went up to 315, my deadlift went up to 365, and my bench went up to 215. I also gained a good deal of weight, much of it fat, getting up to 168 at my heaviest.
After coming back home, I continued with CrossFit 3x a week, additionally am now doing what I affectionately call "bro splits", targeting chest, biceps, and legs 3x a week as well, and am now eating a much more moderate ~2000 calorie a day diet. As a result, I've dropped back down to around 157, but I haven't lost much strength at all. My definition has increased and my cardio has improved a lot though. I didn't radically modify my routine, and I wasn't successful because I picked a fantastic workout regimen. My regimen is kind of all over the place right now honestly, and I'd like to get it in better shape. I was successful because my diet was on point, and because I'm totally, 100% dedicated.
I may miss a day because some emergency comes up, but all that means is that I shift my schedule and work out on my rest day instead. I virtually never allow myself to miss one of my workouts during the week. It's become one of the most important things in my schedule. My friends and family can get annoyed sometimes if they want to do something during the time I'm at the gym, but I can usually schedule around it. My diet is mostly very good. I eat prepared meals that I pick up twice a week, which saves me time from having to cook, and money from eating out. The macros are ideal, and each meal is around 600 calories each. I do still have guilty pleasures though. I drink cappuccinos with milk and sugar a few times a week. If someone leaves chocolate in my house I WILL eat it, and I drink beer on most weekends. I'd like to cut back on some of that, but not to a severe degree.
I'm 35 right now, and I know I'm at the point that unfortunately, no matter how much I push myself and how good my diet is, my performance will start decreasing just from age, but I absolutely love having a body that I know is capable of high performance, that will do what I want it to do when I want to do it, that can react quickly in an emergency, and that I enjoy the aesthetics of. I still have goals I'd like to hit (I'd like to join the 1000 lbs club, and also be at 12% BF, and also be able to complete a 10k in a reasonable amount of time). I don't know how attainable they are, but that feeling of self improvement is both unparalleled, and completely independent of anyone else. I don't need to compare myself to anyone else or seek anyone else's approval to be satisfied and happy with what I'm doing. It's a completely self driven and self rewarding activity.
As someone who struggled to stick to standard gym routines, I've started going bouldering recently and it is truly the first time I've ever had fun at the gym! It's a good challenge and there are all types of problems for all types of people.
As someone who really likes games & puzzles, bouldering makes my "workouts" feel much more like a fun challenge I get to solve vs. a chore I have to do. 10/10 would recommend!