Health and Fitness Track, 2012

[Ensign Steve]

Originally Posted by Chatter

I'm yet to be convinced that it's physically possible for any human. The parkour guys make heavy use of their legs to get the necessary momentum. I want to know if it can be done entirely with the arms.

Oh, I agree. A dead hang pull-up is a totally different story than other ways you can do it, like kipping to get the extra momentum. For dead hang, you need to be the correct combination of both light and strong, and I'm sure that a lot of people don't fall into that narrow range.

[Chatter]

Originally Posted by Ensign Steve

Oh, I agree. A dead hang pull-up is a totally different story than other ways you can do it, like kipping to get the extra momentum. For dead hang, you need to be the correct combination of both light and strong, and I'm sure that a lot of people don't fall into that narrow range.

Although. I was at the gym a few months ago, and there was this colossally fat guy trying to do chin-ups. I watched him, I have to admit, because I thought it looked like a really stupid idea, given how ridiculously overweight he was.

He proceeded to do about twelve pull-ups as if he didn't weigh anything. It was extremely impressive. The guy's arms must have been able to snap me in two.

[vremya]

Weeeee! 25 pounds gone!

[Ensign Steve]

Did you do the whole stars and stickers thing?

[vremya]

Yep! (Though I never really know where to put them.)

[beyelzu]

So last years superbowl was my first nonsmoking get together having been freshly quit.

So its been over a year now.

that is pretty cool.

[Chatter]

Originally Posted by Ensign Steve

Oh, I agree. A dead hang pull-up is a totally different story than other ways you can do it, like kipping to get the extra momentum. For dead hang, you need to be the correct combination of both light and strong, and I'm sure that a lot of people don't fall into that narrow range.

I had a head-start from practicising pull-ups at home, but I started three weeks ago with sets of 6 reps and a 39kg assist. I'm not entirely sure what to make of that "assistance", because earlier this week, I got it down to 27kg and it wasn't springing up fast enough to really give me a push. I don't think it's as simple as saying, I am doing a pull-up of (my body-weight - assistance weight).

I decided to go for the bar instead. I tried the bar about 6 months ago and could manage only one pull-up, and so decided this was way too embarrassing to ever be attempted again. I changed my mind this week and gave it a go, and was pretty anxious about it all the way to the gym. But it was a lot easier than I thought. I did two sets of 5 reps with straight-arms.

I also attempted pulling myself up from the ground to being entirely above the bar with my arms straight. I could only do it in a really clumsy way. I get my head above the bar, but my muscles aren't capable of doing much else at that point. I cheated and got one elbow up first, which is okay, I guess, since this is how I started practicising at home. But it looks really clumsy.

I'm hoping that lots of tricep pull-downs are the key, since that seems to be the motion I need once my chin is above the bar. But it's more than that. I can pull-down in sets of 8-rep at 73kg, which isn't far off my body-weight, but trying to do the same motion on a bar just seems impossible.

Also, I'm not sure what to make of my weight. It's climbing quite rapidly (maybe a pound a week). The optimist in me wants to say it is a pound of pure he-man muscle, but the rest of me keeps shouting "Beefcake! Beefcake!" in Cartman's voice.

Weight Gain 4000

No idea whether I should be looking to control it.

[Chatter]

Originally Posted by Ensign Steve

That's a big-un. A lot of ladies can't do even one pull-up, so much so that we're really never expected to do it, not even in military training.

I'd taken that on board while scanning over the other folk doing pull-ups in the gym. Today was the first time that I've seen a girl doing them. She was not only doing straight arm pull-ups, but she was doing one exercise where she hauled herself up, brought her legs up, and then hung in a rigid position by one arm. It was pretty awesome.

[wildernesse]

I'm still working on that feed-another-human-being-and-carry-him-everywhere diet/exercise plan, and it is going pretty well. The last time I weighed myself, I was 10 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight.

I would like to lose about 20 more pounds before baby's first birthday.

[Qingdai]

Sigh. I'm not losing anything. I'm biking twice a wee, drinking and eating less, but no weigh loss is ensuing.

[Dingfod]

I've now lost 20 pounds since December 24th. I feel it in how my clothes actually fit and in how my feet and ankles hurt a lot less. I have yet to start any vigorous exercise such as Crossfit, but it's on my mind a lot.

[vremya]

This has been a really busy, stressful week, so not only have I not made it to the gym, I've been eating anything that isn't nailed down. Most of it's WW snacks, luckily. I hope the scale is kind to me this weekend.

[slimshady2357]

Originally Posted by Qingdai

Sigh. I'm not losing anything. I'm biking twice a wee, drinking and eating less, but no weigh loss is ensuing.

You're stopping each one of your wees for two bike rides?

I'm hoping to keep going in 2012 with the weight loss I started about 8 months ago. So far I've dropped 57 pounds and counting. I think I have about another 35 to go and then I'll be happy to maintain at about 195lbs.

This is the least I've weighed since university when I was playing tennis everyday.

[Ensign Steve]

Originally Posted by vremya

I've been eating anything that isn't nailed down. Most of it's WW snacks, luckily.

Sounds like my week last week. FWIW, the scale was kind.

[vremya]

I lost! Don't ask me how, after eating everything in sight, but I lost!

(I almost guffawed when I saw that next week's meeting topic is stress - that would have been really helpful LAST week, peeps.)

[Ensign Steve]

Bey and I both brought home trophies from our 5K this afternoon.

Also, I ran into one of my CS professors there who is an avid runner and of course I was like, "damnit, now I have to run faster than her!" so I did.

[Angakuk]

I understand that the police are currently looking for a couple who stold trophies from two sweet little old ladies in the over 80 age group.

[vremya]

30 pounds gone! Woo-hoo!

I still have about 50 pounds to go to get to my goal weight, but I'm so freaking happy I made it this far. Back in September the idea of losing about 80 pounds was so overwhelming that I couldn't even think about doing it, but now that I'm almost halfway there, I know I can do it.

[Ensign Steve]

Oh, man, 30 pounds is such a great time. Do you have clothes that fit? Go shopping! Are people commenting yet? If not, they will the first day you wear new clothes.

[Qingdai]

I biked about 10 miles yesterday. I'm starting to lose fat, if not weight. I'm looking forward to commuting by bike. I sure do need good gloves for that though. The body heats up as you ride, but the hands.

Yes, I am weeing still, Slim. Thanks for your concern.

[Dingfod]

I've lost about 26 pounds now, now have to find the leather punch so I can cinch up my belt another notch. Only 90 pounds more to go.

[beyelzu]

Very cool, ding.

Crush it.

[Chatter]

Originally Posted by Qingdai

I biked about 10 miles yesterday. I'm starting to lose fat, if not weight. I'm looking forward to commuting by bike. I sure do need good gloves for that though. The body heats up as you ride, but the hands.

Some people don't seem to need gloves as much as others. I'm comfortable running outdoors when it's a few degrees above freezing (only when the paths start freezing over am I forced indoors), and I'll only be wearing shorts and a light T-shirt. But if I don't wear gloves I'll be in pain the whole time.

Congrats, vremya and Dingfod!

[Ensign Steve]

We did the zombie run yesterday, and I regret to inform you that I did not survive. I am now a zombie.

It was way easier once I was transformed because with nothing left to lose I could barrel through the zombie gauntlets as fast as I wanted. Still it was hard as hell to run in that mud. It was on a motocross track, the day after that big storm, so it was a nightmare to try to move though. Very appropriate for the theme.

I finished 9th in my wave and I was the first female. The first three men to finish were zombies and took about 43 minutes. The next five were surviving humans, four of whom only beat me because I gave them some help through the maze. Damnit, what was I thinking?! I finished in 50:05. The next female to finish was two minutes later and she was also a zombie.

Still waiting for event photos to be posted. Here's a vanity shot of my zombified hobbit toes. Try to contain your desire.

show spoiler

[Ensign Steve]

The zombie run made it to the front page of reddit. My two favorite comments were "Oh, white people" and "the jocks discovered larping!"

This video is cool:

Run For Your Lives Zombie 5K, Georgia 2012 -...