ExRx.net

That's so deep!!

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

Wow, man. Heavy. Really heavy.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

Just an update for anyone who may care.......

I have turned a corner!

Over the last month and a half or so I have reevaluated my exercise program goals. Previously I went into the gym to lift heavy weights and get stronger. When I could no longer do that due to external stressors I started to wonder what my overall goal was in the first place. I couldn't come up with much.... during this time I also started running quite a bit more.

I have never been a runner and have even hated it most of my life! I started to find running theraputic. It helped me rid myself of negative thoughts when the weightlifting could not. I think this was mostly due to the constant effort required while running as opposed to the sporadic effort required when lifting (concetrate during set and drift during rest periods). At this point I decided to change up my exercise goals.

I have started training to run my first organized running event, a half marathon. This helps keep me focused. It is a goal I feel I can reach. With the weight lifting I couldn't really define a goal. I knew I would never be a powerlifter or bodybuilder so I questioned what it was I was there for. I still lift but not nearly as intensely as I was. At some point I will probably return to heavy intense lifting because I do miss it a few times a week. It just wasn't working for me currently.

I also started to attend some yoga sessions. Something I never saw myself enjoying. Boy, was I wrong! Yoga is great exercise with the added benefit of helping bring calm and peace to my day. I sometimes walk in in a lousy mood and come out an hour later relaxed and with the knowledge that my body is my temple and a thing to appreciate for what it has given me and can give me if I continue to push a little harder than I think I can.

All of this has had the added benefit of allowing me to drop around 42-43 lbs of excess weight. I eat clean, I drink clean, and I think clean. I have never had such a positive feeling about life and the course I choose for mine to take.

That was a lot of rambling. Sorry about that.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread. Big or small I appreciate it all!

Have a happy and healthy day!,
Travis

Travis, it's good to see that things are improving. Each of us has to find the right balance in their life so we can react positively to life's challenges. It looks like that's happening for you.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

first I'm "happy" for your metamorphasis
Unfortunately, we will miss you
We have no place here for prioritizing long distance running and a glorified game of twister, over the brute force manliness that moving heavy stuff promotes.

good luck.

Haha

I can still move around some "fairly" heavy stuff! And that glorified game of twister.... well, I'm sure it will come in handy on the single scene

I have lost some pretty significant strength though. I expect it with the dramatic weight loss so I'm not too concerned.....

"I knew I would never be a powerlifter or bodybuilder" - TravisF

Why not? You don't have to be an elete-level athlete to compete.

"I think this was mostly due to the constant effort required while running as opposed to the sporadic effort required when lifting (concetrate during set and drift during rest periods)." - TravisF

I'm usually pretty focused between sets. Often I pace like a big cat in a cage while I visualize my next set. I think I'd be much more likely to drift doing traditional cardio, since it's not very intense.

I'm a bit like that too. In between sets of lateral raises or curls or whatever I'm quite happy to laugh and joke with folk, but if I'm benching, deadlifting etc I'm not thinking of anything else except locking out that bar

I'm pretty sure that the pacing like a big cat would get me tossed from the gym I go to unfortuantely. They really frown on working out And yes, I am serious! Just heard this week they might be installing cameras on the gym floor to watch over who is breaking the "rules"! What a freakin' joke! I'm about ready to leave the place behind, the only problem is the other option is about 4 times as much a month with less equipment This town I live in sucks LOL

I always though that pacing between sets was how you were supposed to get your cardio. You must be going to a Planet Fitness or something. Don't frighten the cardio bunnies.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

Pretty close to Planet Fitness (I think, never been to one). It used to be a Gold's Gym and it was decent then. Now it is called Blue Moon Fitness. I guess the name is for those that come to the gym once in a Blue Moon. And no, sadly I am not joking...... what a bunch of tools!

Just thought I'd post an update here in case anyone was curious.....

Well, I am less than one month out from my first half marathon. I feel good about it, so good in fact that I registered for a 10K event the weekend before. About 3 weeks ago I ran the 10K course and a 14.6 mile run within 4 days of each other just to make sure I would be able to recover from one to the other. It was painful but I pushed through both.

I am not very fast but I think my times should be decent for a first timer. I can do the 10k in about 54 minutes and I finished 13.1 in 2:00.20 (stopping at intersections and such).

I'm still lifting but not nearly as heavy as I was before. I don't want to carry a lot of extra weight around for those runs.

Another positive is that I have cut my body fat % quite a bit. I was around 25% before this ordeal and 3 weeks ago I tested out at 9.8%! Both were the impendance type test so I will take it with a grain of salt. If I am +/- 2% either way I still consider it a huge success! The probes were set two on the foot and two on the arm, so it wasn't the scale type tester that just reads from both feet....

I hope everyone else is doig well!

Travis

When someone new posts something that makes it sound like they haven't read the thread, I get suspicious that maybe, just maybe, they intend to spam us. Yeah, I know, I'm pretty paranoid.

Consider yourself warned.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan