FG Fitness Challenge

[ChelsDS]

FinalGear Fitness Challenge!
Couch to 5k
Pooch25k


Designed to get your lard butt off your computer chair, couch, stool, toilet or other seating device and become active for the sake of health! This idea is a spinoff from the LoseIt community from Reddit aimed at FG'ers as we are a pretty close community. If you have your own regularly schedule fitness regime you can still play along with us who don't, but add something you are currently unable to do right now to your regime. Biking, swimming, running, rollerblading or anything else that is a constant cardio workout. Walking does not count! Brisk walking sure, but lazy-ass walking, strolling, whatever is not what we're going for!

Goals

• To be able to run a 5k (3mi) in 9 weeks from when you start this challenge!
• To shed X amount of lbs, kg or stones.
• To walk up more than a flight of stairs without becoming winded!
• Fit in to a new piece of clothing you bought months ago but can't wear yet
• Any personal goal you may have and haven't achieved yet.

Got your own fitness routine already and want to share? Go ahead! Feel free to record yourself doing the exercises

You're not obligated to share any information you may not want to share (weight, measurements, etc.) so don't feel like you have to. This is solely meant to get active, healthy, lose the lard butt (should you have one) and most importantly to have fun!

Le Challengers

• ChelsDS
• Redliner
• Old Lace
• LP
• Fairlady
• chaos386
• CD82
• Evel
• AutoAero
• RaptorJesus
• deathrazor
• M3lover
• zylaxidia
• devil500
• warden
• Cold Fussion
• mpicco
• MWF
• Speedtouch
• he-he
• Whappeh
• Buba
• D-Fence
• eizbaer
• Clockwerk
• ninjacoco
• melbournian
• Lekky
• Jens
• Raparperi

 

[Redliner]

Nice!
I?ll join. I?ve been meaning to do something like this, anyway.

 

[Old Lace]

Same here.

 

[CD82]

What I started ~two years ago: driving to work by bicycle every day (26 km per day). One trip took me about 45 minutes when I started (with me being covered in sweat afterwards) and now I'm down to 30 minutes per trip (or less, if there is little traffic and I feel like it) and not really being out of breath afterwards. Weight loss during the last 15 months was about 10 kg (didn't monitor my weight very closely back then), since I took up running (couple of weeks now) I lost another 5 kg, which puts me 'only' 10 kg away from what I would consider an "ok weight" for my size (so yeah I was really kinda overweight before I started exercising). Concerning the fitness challenge, I would like to be able to do longer runs (~1 hour) and fit into some of my trousers from many many years ago...

The main problem I'm facing right now is that both my activities (running and cycling) are heavily dependant upon weather conditions (which were perfect for the last 6 weeks but are quite shitty now). So I guess I'll have do find something (cheap) indoors. Suggestions? Push-ups?

 

[Fairlady]

Count me in for sure, I've been meaning to look for some motivation, as I've already been doing this for about two years now (passively and actively, depending on the season), sadly with very little results due to my metabolism of an 80-year-old.

 

[argatoga]

The main problem I'm facing right now is that both my activities (running and cycling) are heavily dependant upon weather conditions (which were perfect for the last 6 weeks but are quite shitty now). So I guess I'll have do find something (cheap) indoors. Suggestions? Push-ups?

Have you thought about rain gear? I bicycle to work as well and I keep an extra change of clothes in my bag.

 

[chaos386]

I'm in. On the 18th, I'll be able to get a free weight/body fat percent measurement at the university. I'll use that as my baseline, with the ultimate goal of fitting into my 34" jeans.

 

[LP]

Alright, so I'm down, and I've got my little regimen going, which I will talk about in some minor detail.

First off, here's my calendar I just drew up for the rest of this month and the start of the next.

Not going to go into much detail about the exact workout routine I have, but basically it's what the trainer has prescribed for me and a couple of her other clients. She is btw, the #1 trainer in that particular gym and I think was rated #2 trainer in all of San Diego.

Workout 1 = Biceps and Triceps
Workout 2 = Chest and Back
Workout 3 = Shoulders and Stomach

Each day I need to also do 50 pushups and 100 situps in the morning and 50 pushups and 100 situps in the evening.

Workout 6 days a week, 1 day rest. If I can't do a workout one day I workout on Sunday (which is typically my rest day)

I say Cardio/Spin because I want to let myself decide which is possible. If I can't for whatever reason make it to the 5:30 spin class, I can go in later and just do a heavy cardio session.

Btw, for you nubs that are like "zomg spinning is so gay its for girls", you're missing the fucking points. If you do that shit right, you can burn upto 1000 calories in 1 hour. Second of all, you MISSED THE FUCKING POINT. Of course spinning is for girls, hence why you go and do it. Girls with their asses up in the air shaking it in front of you... nuff said.

The freeform is when I get to do whatever the fuck I want: be it a mix of cardio and lifting, full on cardio, full on lifting.
Next month I'm going to focus on mixing lifting styles. I've got a circuit that can be done in 1 hour but is HARD AS FUCK.

When I started this shit I was 198 lbs - 209 lbs, and 33% body fat. Now I'm at 182-184 lbs and 18-21% body fat (accounting for fluctuations there). Before - I couldn't climb up a flight of stairs without being winded, now I take the stairs every single time just because and I don't even get out of breath after climbing several flights.

Goals:
Be able to pull my own body weight up (pull-up) unassisted. <- This might be next to impossible but I'm going to shoot for it
To be able to do 50-60 pushups in 1 go. <- Probably one of the easier goals
To drop down in fat to 14% (for now) <- If I get to 16% or so by the end of November, I'll be happy.
Increase the amount I can lift by 10 lbs on everything.
Run for 20 minutes straight while keeping my heart rate under 190. (This is actually one of my tougher goals and issues).

 

[Evel]

Count me in. I've been trying to improve my fitness for some time now, this could help provide a little motivation

 

[ChelsDS]

What I started ~two years ago: driving to work by bicycle every day (26 km per day). One trip took me about 45 minutes when I started (with me being covered in sweat afterwards) and now I'm down to 30 minutes per trip (or less, if there is little traffic and I feel like it) and not really being out of breath afterwards. Weight loss during the last 15 months was about 10 kg (didn't monitor my weight very closely back then), since I took up running (couple of weeks now) I lost another 5 kg, which puts me 'only' 10 kg away from what I would consider an "ok weight" for my size (so yeah I was really kinda overweight before I started exercising). Concerning the fitness challenge, I would like to be able to do longer runs (~1 hour) and fit into some of my trousers from many many years ago...

The main problem I'm facing right now is that both my activities (running and cycling) are heavily dependant upon weather conditions (which were perfect for the last 6 weeks but are quite shitty now). So I guess I'll have do find something (cheap) indoors. Suggestions? Push-ups?

Well you for sure want to keep doing cardio, so try jumping jacks to start off with. That should get your heart rate up and make sure to keep it up too, which is what I have learned from the various Kinesiology courses I've taken.

Fairlady: Do you eat enough food throughout the day (small meals and frequently)? I've noticed, and read, that its a great way to start your metabolism off right and keep it up. Also breakfast is muy importante! This past week I've been having one egg, toast and orange juice to get me back in to eating breakfast as I rarely eat it. Couple that with brisk walking+jogging that'll help kick your metabolism in the behind.

chaos386: Yay

LP: What do you pay for this trainer lady? I'm going to miss going to my gym and using the equipment they had, but maybe I can get a family member to pay for my gym for a year (omg that'd be awesome) and I could just bike to the gym.

I'd love to get a pinch test for my fatty contents and get a routine planned for me for what I can do at home other than going out and jogging, doing crunches, side twisties and french presses with my 10lb medicine ball.

Too bad no one lives close enough to be my workout buddy ;( We should all get eyePhones and facetime it!! :O BRILLIANT.

 

[Fairlady]

Fairlady: Do you eat enough food throughout the day (small meals and frequently)? I've noticed, and read, that its a great way to start your metabolism off right and keep it up. Also breakfast is muy importante! This past week I've been having one egg, toast and orange juice to get me back in to eating breakfast as I rarely eat it. Couple that with brisk walking+jogging that'll help kick your metabolism in the behind.

I do exercise, I walk about 6km everyday and I go on the treadmill for 40-60 minutes four times a week. But I don't eat frequently, that's the thing. Even when I do, my metabolism is just frozen. :c

 

[AutoAero]

I'm in. I came across the Couch to 5k thing a few weeks ago but haven't really implemented it too well into my current work-out routine do to school making things sporadic. I've been working out pretty consistently at a sweet for about 10 months now but I can't run for shit so maybe signing up here will help me to put more emphasis on it. Although I've gotten to the point were I do run a bit during my normal routine but its not enough to get me to the 5k mark. Also I'm 5'10" @ 145 lbs so I'm not looking to lose any weight. I do yoga too (its free with my membership ). So my main goal will be the 5k run in 9 weeks.

For those looking for hints, advice, ideas, or plans for lifting: http://www.bodybuilding.com/ is a good spot. It may be a good idea to look up details on your general body type (Ectomorph, Mesomorph or Endomorph) to aid if looking for more in depth routines. Though for the most part knowing this will just tell you how difficult or easy it may be for you to get to your goal.

 

[RaptorJesus]

Goals:
Maintain 200+ lbs. weight even in the doldrums of winter
Maintain 9.5% Body Fat or less, strive to drop down to 6.5% by January
Increase Max Rep on Squat, Bench, Preacher Curl, Lat Row by 10%

 

[LP]

Here's my favorite protein shake mix.

Ingredients:
1 scoop protein mix 16g protein 150 Calories
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar 8-16 Calories
1 cup of 1% milk 9.2g protein - 110 Calories
Small amount of either coffee powder or percolated coffee. 0 Calories - 8 Calories
(FUCK) Ice 0 Calories herpaderpaderp

Total: 25.2g protein 284 Calories

I use muscle milk. It's good enough for what I need to do. I picked up the dark chocolate mix and it's supposedly the favorite flavor of a bunch of people at the 24 gym I hit up.

Some stats for you there in terms of calorie amount. 1 scoop is 150 Calories, 2 scoops 300 Calories.

Some more stats for you there, 16g of protein in 1 scoop, 32 grams in 2 scoops.

This is what 1 scoop looks like.

Plop a scoop into the blender

I tend to add a half teaspoon to a teaspoon of sugar just to get a little bit more flavor. It doesn't actually add a lot of calories (just 16), but it makes it taste a bit better.

I add a cup of milk. I usually drink 1% milk to keep the fat content down.

Here's my favorite fucking thing to add. What is that you ask? Why that's mothafuggin ground coffee. French Roast to be exact. Fucking delicious, and only 8 calories in a teaspoon

Final ingredient, brrr.

FUCK ICE

BLEND THAT BITCH

MMM AWW YEAH

Fucking delicious

 

[ChelsDS]

Blargh, going to go on my walk+jog with teh doggie! Aiming to jog at least a mile this time, I did .5mi consistently Monday coming back to my house (woot!) so I'll need to jog it again with breaks in between for teh dog (yay excuses to walk!) then back to jogging!

So what, an hour sounds good?

LP: Fuck you and your camera!

I actually like to drink Slimfast but I double teh dosage and mhilk so its nommy and lasts longer and so I don't get hungry so often and because its tastieeee.

 

[deathrazor]

Muscle Milk? Spend the little bit extra and get some Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey. More protein each serving, tastes better, worked better for me.

Anyway, put me down for this, I need to start doing more cardio each week, working my way up to at least 2 hours a week. This is in addition to my normal workout plan.

 

[LP]

^ I'm actually really glad you said that because I was planning on jumping up to it in the next go, I'm almost out of this muscle milk anyways.

 

[Firecat]

LP,

Try Optimum Nutrition if you ever want to switch from Muscle Milk. Their extreme milk chocolate flavor is delicious. It mixes very well (with milk and a quick couple of shakes).

I'll try to figure out something to do for this challenge. Presently, I run a little over 3 miles 5 times per week. This coming week I am going to swap some days and do some weight training. When I run, it's in intervals....1 min medium, 1 minute fast etc with a 1 minute walk at certain points. I would like to improve my minutes per mile run time though.

*Edit

LOL...wow...I can't believe someone swooped in and recommended optimum nutrition while I was typing out my reply.

 

[Hbriz]

This is something I've been thinking of doing for a while, I guess now is as good time as any to start

My goal is to run the 5km in one stint. I'm pretty lucky where I live, right by the sea and near parks so there are plenty of jogging tracks to use, might as well use them. Weight loss is not important to me, fitness is what I want to achieve.

I used to walk about 40-50 mins a day, but that stopped, well I was going to make an excuse, but it was pure lazyness.

I live close by to a free public pool, which I haven't visited in years. I used to be able to swim 1km in one go without difficulty, so that's where I would like to be again.

I would begin today if it wasn't pissing down outside...

 

[RaptorJesus]

ON Gold is good, but I personally think the Acesulfame in ON Gold tastes like shit.

My personal favorites are Xtend SciVation for my post-workout BCAA shake, and Dymatize Whey Isolate for my regular shake which is sucralose sweetened.