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Espi · 12-31-2006, 04:26 AM

Hello there!

Someone at another forum pointed me towards this forum, as this is the beehive where the New Rules of Lifting gets discussed most of all.
This was back in the summer when I had ordered the book and speedread through it.

Sofar I still haven't plucked up the courage to actually incorporate the workouts into my routine, except for some exercises that I've tried and abandoned, like T-pushups.
Yet, seeing others like Sona, who's way braver than me, venture in here and post up, made me pluck up the courage to start a log.

More about me?

Born in 1963 and raised in the Netherlands, I could be described as the typical 'klutz'. There are 2 physical traits that make sports a real challenge for me and frankly I've loathed sports with all of my heart up till 1994 until I discovered my 'niche' :
1 eye vision is not optimal (squinting & astigmatism): have major difficulty judging distances --> this rules out all ball sports which encompass over half of the school gym time
2 hearing deficiency somehow screwed up my sense of balance ---> rules out all balancing sports like gymnastics , which seemed to encompass 1/3rd of school gym time
3 weird feet.. but apart from running this never really bothered me much , yet again.. the last part of school gym

I did say 'until 1994'. Because that was a crucial year when things got turned around and I got hooked on..... cycle-touring. As of 1995 I became a 'randonneur'. A randonneur is a crazy cyclist. A cyclist who, just for the fun of it.. would go on an organized bike ride with a bunch of cyclists but not at your usual time of day, oh noes... while they might start at 6 or 7 am, they would continue cycling throughout the night. Oftentimes all on their own, left to their own devices and carrying their own repair kit, food items etc.

So.. to my astonishment, I discovered that while, slow as a slug, I could finish very long rides easily. And as lazy and unorganized as I am, mostly without food. The longest no-food ride was probably cycling from Paris back to Amsterdam (550K) in 40hrs (would've been less if I hadn't got lost in my own country so often). In hindsight it must have been the ketosis and high body fat levels that made me do so well on no food.

Been a randonneur until late 2003, when I DNFed for the second time on Paris-Brest , a 1200 K non stop ride. And then.. come around 2004 I got 'grounded' by an infectious disease that ruined my lower back cartilage. Haven't cycled more than 25K ever since because of cramping.. and actually lack of desire.

I've taken up weight lifting in the meantime and am seeing better progress re body composition than when I was still cycling. And, contrary to then, I'm now really 'anal' about food. Been tracking every morsel I ate since July 2004 and enjoying to analyze and re-analyze all the data involved.
And yet, I still don't know which way to go re carbs. My mind loves the mental clarity from low carbs, but hates the depression that comes with it. My gut loves the lack of digestive troubles, but my body hates it how easily I can get overtrained on low carbs.
One of the things I'm trying to unlearn right now is.. feelings of guilt. I just want to enjoy food. Period. No more 'you shall NOT eat this" or "you MUST eat that". Junkfood once in a while won't kill me.. too often and .. too many health problems to make it worth it. Oh, and the last thing I decided upon.. no more protein pushing here. 2-3g/kg LBM is good enough.

What are my goals?
Apart from health and body composition which aren't very interesting... the physical ones...

Actually, there's this voice in the back of my mind that wants me to go cycling again. Another voice says "nah, that was too much stress on the body and it will make you fat, ugly and overtrained again". Is it entirely possible to be an endurance cyclist without being 'skinny fat'?

Another goal: continually improve upon my lifts.. a dream that might be feasible in 2007 or 2008 : 1-arm pullup? 2xBW DL?

And... very modestly, trying out all these insane exercises from NROL that are so intimidating that it's only imaginable to do them one by one, rather than all integrated.. can't even fathom to think about pistol squats, burpees etc. but I'm surely salivating, drooling, dreaming about them when seeing them described in other people's logs.

Thanks for reading ...

Yvana

12-31-2006, 04:26 AM	#1 (permalink)
Espi Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NLs Posts: 1,503 My Profile	Go with the flow! Hello there! Someone at another forum pointed me towards this forum, as this is the beehive where the New Rules of Lifting gets discussed most of all. This was back in the summer when I had ordered the book and speedread through it. Sofar I still haven't plucked up the courage to actually incorporate the workouts into my routine, except for some exercises that I've tried and abandoned, like T-pushups. Yet, seeing others like Sona, who's way braver than me, venture in here and post up, made me pluck up the courage to start a log. More about me? Born in 1963 and raised in the Netherlands, I could be described as the typical 'klutz'. There are 2 physical traits that make sports a real challenge for me and frankly I've loathed sports with all of my heart up till 1994 until I discovered my 'niche' : 1 eye vision is not optimal (squinting & astigmatism): have major difficulty judging distances --> this rules out all ball sports which encompass over half of the school gym time 2 hearing deficiency somehow screwed up my sense of balance ---> rules out all balancing sports like gymnastics , which seemed to encompass 1/3rd of school gym time 3 weird feet.. but apart from running this never really bothered me much , yet again.. the last part of school gym I did say 'until 1994'. Because that was a crucial year when things got turned around and I got hooked on..... cycle-touring. As of 1995 I became a 'randonneur'. A randonneur is a crazy cyclist. A cyclist who, just for the fun of it.. would go on an organized bike ride with a bunch of cyclists but not at your usual time of day, oh noes... while they might start at 6 or 7 am, they would continue cycling throughout the night. Oftentimes all on their own, left to their own devices and carrying their own repair kit, food items etc. So.. to my astonishment, I discovered that while, slow as a slug, I could finish very long rides easily. And as lazy and unorganized as I am, mostly without food. The longest no-food ride was probably cycling from Paris back to Amsterdam (550K) in 40hrs (would've been less if I hadn't got lost in my own country so often). In hindsight it must have been the ketosis and high body fat levels that made me do so well on no food. Been a randonneur until late 2003, when I DNFed for the second time on Paris-Brest , a 1200 K non stop ride. And then.. come around 2004 I got 'grounded' by an infectious disease that ruined my lower back cartilage. Haven't cycled more than 25K ever since because of cramping.. and actually lack of desire. I've taken up weight lifting in the meantime and am seeing better progress re body composition than when I was still cycling. And, contrary to then, I'm now really 'anal' about food. Been tracking every morsel I ate since July 2004 and enjoying to analyze and re-analyze all the data involved. And yet, I still don't know which way to go re carbs. My mind loves the mental clarity from low carbs, but hates the depression that comes with it. My gut loves the lack of digestive troubles, but my body hates it how easily I can get overtrained on low carbs. One of the things I'm trying to unlearn right now is.. feelings of guilt. I just want to enjoy food. Period. No more 'you shall NOT eat this" or "you MUST eat that". Junkfood once in a while won't kill me.. too often and .. too many health problems to make it worth it. Oh, and the last thing I decided upon.. no more protein pushing here. 2-3g/kg LBM is good enough. What are my goals? Apart from health and body composition which aren't very interesting... the physical ones... Actually, there's this voice in the back of my mind that wants me to go cycling again. Another voice says "nah, that was too much stress on the body and it will make you fat, ugly and overtrained again". Is it entirely possible to be an endurance cyclist without being 'skinny fat'? Another goal: continually improve upon my lifts.. a dream that might be feasible in 2007 or 2008 : 1-arm pullup? 2xBW DL? And... very modestly, trying out all these insane exercises from NROL that are so intimidating that it's only imaginable to do them one by one, rather than all integrated.. can't even fathom to think about pistol squats, burpees etc. but I'm surely salivating, drooling, dreaming about them when seeing them described in other people's logs. Thanks for reading ... Yvana