Motivation /Tracking Thread

[BERT]

Thanks man, still not where I want to be just yet though.
I only have one brother and I didn't know that you knew him.

What exactly are you wanting?

[stangin4lyfe]

What exactly are you wanting?

It's rather simple...To be in the best shape of my life.

[BERT]

It's rather simple...To be in the best shape of my life.

and that's not it up there ^^^

[stangin4lyfe]

and that's not it up there ^^^

No, I'm just a normal guy...I fluctuate too.
I've been bigger/stronger but I'm just focusing on getting lean now and mainly eating all natural with zero supplements(minus vitamins).

[Skidmark]

Damn Nate, you've lost a bunch of weight

[Big A]

Looking good man! ( no homo ) You and your brothers are fucking tall. If I was 230 all muscle I'd look like a fucking mini hulk at 5'9

I'm back up to 230ish at 5'10", though admittedly not all muscle, and definitely no where near Hulk status.

Per the topic of progress, I did max out the Hammer Row machine today for sets of 8 reps. Unfortunately this one doesn't have the inner weight bars, so that's only 5 plates a side, no more heavy one-armed rows for me. Can't say that it's a bad problem to have, considering that I couldn't rep 2 plates a side on the thing a few months ago. Thank God for muscle memory.

Lookin' good Justin, I wish I had your self-control when it comes to dieting. I was doing pretty great until I tweaked my leg last Monday pretty bad, and cardio and diet went out the window. It's always been all or nothing for me.

[BERT]

If I can get rid of what little gut I have i'll be happy. I'm almost 6'2" and weighed 195 this morning. Guess i'll have to actually listen to Justin and Aaron and start doing cardio. Damn my crappy will power!!!! lol

[Big A]

If I can get rid of what little gut I have i'll be happy. I'm almost 6'2" and weighed 195 this morning. Guess i'll have to actually listen to Justin and Aaron and start doing cardio. Damn my crappy will power!!!! lol

I don't "like" doing cardio, but when I do get into the habit of doing it I immediately feel better in general, and find it easier to eat cleaner. Will power tends to build on itself.

Conversely, when I stop the cardio, whether forced by injury or being lazy/too busy, my diet immediately goes to crap.

If you've ever taken an extended period off from working out, it's hard to get back into the swing, and cardio is no different.

[stangin4lyfe]

I'm back up to 230ish at 5'10", though admittedly not all muscle, and definitely no where near Hulk status.

Per the topic of progress, I did max out the Hammer Row machine today for sets of 8 reps. Unfortunately this one doesn't have the inner weight bars, so that's only 5 plates a side, no more heavy one-armed rows for me. Can't say that it's a bad problem to have, considering that I couldn't rep 2 plates a side on the thing a few months ago. Thank God for muscle memory.

Lookin' good Justin, I wish I had your self-control when it comes to dieting. I was doing pretty great until I tweaked my leg last Monday pretty bad, and cardio and diet went out the window. It's always been all or nothing for me.

Thanks man, 5 plates(doing them nice and slow with both arms at the same time and a squeeze) on that machine is very good! Congrats on your progress. What did you do to your leg? I am glad to see you gave up the drinking lifestyle. Keep up the good work and get back in the grove quickly! I know other members and I really appreciate your advice as well.

The hardest part of making progress is not the physical side, it's totally the mindset/mental side and making sacrifices others aren’t willing to make.
I gradually(baby steps) started adding in or taking away things to help me achieve my goal, the physical part is rather easy once you are in the grove.
I am the same way...110% or nothing at all in almost all aspects of my life.

[Big A]

Thanks man, 5 plates(doing them nice and slow with both arms at the same time and a squeeze) on that machine is very good! Congrats on your progress. What did you do to your leg? I am glad to see you gave up the drinking lifestyle. Keep up the good work and get back in the grove quickly! I know other members and I really appreciate your advice as well.

The hardest part of making progress is not the physical side, it's totally the mindset/mental side and making sacrifices others aren’t willing to make.
I gradually(baby steps) started adding in or taking away things to help me achieve my goal, the physical part is rather easy once you are in the grove.
I am the same way...110% or nothing at all in almost all aspects of my life.

Yeah, two-handed row is definitely harder, but I find that it's better for symmetry and over all growth. A lot of guys don't consider the mind/muscle connection, but it's a big part of growth and strength. Doing compound movements with both halves of the body takes a lot more mental focus, and specifically gets more of those neurons in the brain firing. "High gravity days" where you're down a rep or two is usually brought about by mental fatigue more so than physical fatigue. Since I am not as concerned with specific poundages this go 'round, I've been putting a lot more thought into the mental aspect of lifting, and as a result my point of failure has extended beyond where I used to stop. This isn't as big of a factor when training with a partner and incorporating forced reps, but when working out alone it's all too easy to allow yourself to stop well before true muscle failure.

I mention all of this because that's precisely what I did to my leg, and is a lesson that even proper form isn't a 100% safeguard from injury. Last week was a "light" week with sets of 12 reps, and on leg day my mind and muscles were able to work just a little bit harder than my connective tissue is ready for, and I strained my hamstring tendon pretty good. It hurts like hell, and the entire lower leg is swollen. I am pretty certain that all of this came about because of my break back on '08, and being that I haven't lifted this intense since then, things aren't up to snuff yet.

Those of you with serious previous injuries need to always beware of that area, and take special care with the knowledge that things can take a long time to heal.

Sorry to digress, but you asked what I did to my leg, and it is most certainly affecting progress. I'm going to stay away from working legs until I feel it's 100% better, progress be damned.

I hear you loud and clear on making sacrifices, I personally am just not there YET. As you say, it's about progress, and though I'm not where I want to be today, I am at a better place than I was this time last year, and in some ways even better off than when I was at my fittest pre-accident.

If I could only have this perspective and have my 25 year old body back...

[R1psycho]

Down to 225-230lbs now...

Major props dude. I have a loooooong way to go....lol

[jdgregory84]

Well, today was the first day I beat my CF coach in a WOD. So I guess I'm making progress.

The workout was this: Two lifts 115# push press, 20# med ball clean. Do each of those 10,9,8 reps, then 25 double unders then 7,6,5 reps of each, 25 double unders, 4,3,2,1 each, 25 double unders. Took me 8:40 and his was like 10:30 'ish. I put up the second fastest time of the day and it felt great!

[AMJ]

weighed 219 today really havent changed much except doing 180 push ups 30-45 seconds from each other

[R1psycho]

weighed 219 today really havent changed much except doing 180 push ups 30-45 seconds from each other

Good job dude. Nothing much has changed for me. Sitting at 210 and "attempting" to hit 200 without cutting too many things. Kind of burned out again and changing some things up

[AMJ]

yeah stress helps me lose weight.im doing 30-45 dips(15 at a time) every now and then.i do push ups every monday and thursday.