OFFICIAL WOMEN'S CHALLENGE: Weekly Whatever Thread ... week 19 of 26 - JP Fitness Forums

missjane · 05-12-2008, 08:50 AM

OK, ladies! It's down to 17 of us and it's week 19. Let's finish strong!

Question of the week: For the newbies and lurkers....share with them your best tip for making it this far in the challenge. What has been your biggest "aha" moment for pulling it together and reaching your goals?

missjane · 05-12-2008, 09:32 AM

My biggest tip is one word: DIET

You can't outtrain a bad diet. Lifting has given me so much, but keying in on diet was probably 75% of my solution....maybe more.

kfisherx · 05-12-2008, 01:44 PM

Boy this is a toughie... There are so many, but if I had to boil it down to one thing and even one word I would say "consistency"

I just had the occasion to run around the Nike HQ campus here in Oregon. It is a beautiful 2.x mile track with a nice springy trail. I really did not want to do this run today. My body was a bit sore from my yesterday yard work and the previous day hamstring workout, it was cold out and I was tired. But as my feet hit the trail I looked around and greeted the other runners. We all wear Nike clothing around here and one person had a Nike "Just do it" shirt on. And I could not help but think how appropriate that is to this journey.

Every day we are faced with our demons. In this journey it pays to learn thy deomons well. It could be the overeating or the under-eating or the lazy demon that you face but every day you will have several occasions to face that demon. Take the stairs or the elevator, have the doughnut or the fruit, take the car or walk, late night ice cream or cottage cheese. These are all changes for us to be consistent and to overcome the things that keep us from reaching our goal. It isn't any one single failure or success that carry us across the finish line but the consistent successes over a period of a long time.

Autumn · 05-12-2008, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Every day we are faced with our demons. In this journey it pays to learn thy deomons well. It could be the overeating or the under-eating or the lazy demon that you face but every day you will have several occasions to face that demon. Take the stairs or the elevator, have the doughnut or the fruit, take the car or walk, late night ice cream or cottage cheese. These are all changes for us to be consistent and to overcome the things that keep us from reaching our goal. It isn't any one single failure or success that carry us across the finish line but the consistent successes over a period of a long time.

That is exactly what I needed to hear today.
I'm getting overwhelmed with information, for one thing. I'm also finding challenges with my schedule. I will do great for a few days, and even do moderately well for weeks, but I am not disciplined on a consistent basis. I know that is keeping me from what I want to achieve.
Yes, it is those "little" choices that make the "big" difference. It's so easy to drop out of a routine like this because it's easier to do that than stick through it. That's my struggle right now.

Sorry to post in this thread, not being entered in the challenge. I just wanted to say thank you.

nutbar · 05-12-2008, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Every day we are faced with our demons. In this journey it pays to learn thy deomons well. It could be the overeating or the under-eating or the lazy demon that you face but every day you will have several occasions to face that demon. Take the stairs or the elevator, have the doughnut or the fruit, take the car or walk, late night ice cream or cottage cheese. These are all changes for us to be consistent and to overcome the things that keep us from reaching our goal. It isn't any one single failure or success that carry us across the finish line but the consistent successes over a period of a long time.

That's exactly along the lines of what I was thinking but didn't have the brain power to communicate.

Bit by bit and it's okay to be human now and then. (Hard to swallow for an all-or-nothing person like myself.)

fengshway · 05-12-2008, 04:36 PM

I am just happy that I have decided to stick with this and continue to post pics. I agree that nutrition is truly the key. and nutrition is the reason why my pics are not as dramatic as they could be.

having said that, the gains I have made in strength and fitness are beyond my wildest imagination. a 7:48 mile on an icky slow track on a hot humid florida day???? and today, my 100meter time in the pool was crazy fast for an effort that felt crazy easy (haven't been in a pool since before the challenge).

and I shopped today for new workout clothes, and bought tiny nikefit shorts for lifting and they look great!

so my biggest aha was that I can continue to make amazing gains in fitness, regardless of whether I ever decide to cut calories ever again in my life.

missjane · 05-12-2008, 06:10 PM

Wendy, that's my next purchase.....some tight-fitting workout shorts! I put on a paid of knee-length loose workout pants today felt so frumpy! I realized right then that I needed some of those tighter shorts!

Susan4 · 05-12-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missjane

What has been your biggest "aha" moment for pulling it together and reaching your goals?

Hmmm... I don't know if I've had an ah-ha moment or not. I just keep on keepin' on and plug away at it. If I fall down on diet or skip a workout, I just get up the next day and try to do better and get on track/stay on track. Plodding onward determination is all I gots

I think maybe the ah-ha in there might be that I'm gradually realizing how to not be perfect at this but to be good at it and make it work within my normal everyday life. I'm never gonna look like a fitness model, so what? That fake tan crap looks horrid anyway

But I'll look the best I can for what I am and I'll have all that functional strength I need to do those things I love to do!

DirtyMartini · 05-12-2008, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fengshway

a 7:48 mile on an icky slow track on a hot humid florida day????

wow!!! congratulations!

Natalia · 05-12-2008, 08:57 PM

I agree on the diet thing, but my 'aha' moment at this point in life was introduction to compound movement exercises. Prior to NROL my only compounds were squat and bench. NROL4W introduced me to deadlift (and its variations), bent-over row, pullups (chins), standing shoulder press, and others. There's still place for isolation exercises for certain purposes, but compounds certainly helped me to build mass (which was my goal).

jhardy · 05-12-2008, 09:20 PM

Well, I am determined to stick with it because this is probably the 1st time I have continued with a program this consistently. I typically exercise for a month or so and then quit for a few weeks. Rarely, do I make much progress.

My biggest "aha" moment is definitely DIET. While I have worked hard in the gym, my diet stinks and I have had very limited progress. I hate seeing months of work with few gains because of my eating habits. I have decided that I am going to get more extreme with my diet the next four weeks and hopefully will see the progress that is intended for this program. I know I have built muscle with NROLW, but I need to lose the layer of fat that is covering it up.
Jen

marygrace · 05-13-2008, 08:04 AM

I agree with everyone above who emphasized the importance of diet. When I used to run 30 miles a week, I took it as an excuse to eat anything I wanted. Consequently, (while my legs might have gotten a little more muscular) my body looked exactly the same, and I could never understand why. I always thought I needed to keep running more and more. I got up to doing runs of 9 or 10 miles numerous times a week, feeling completely exhausted, and having NO energy to do anything the rest of the day. But if I wanted to have ice cream or cookies at night, it seemed totally acceptable. If I just burned 1,000 calories that morning, why shouldn't I have a pint of ice cream?

Reading NROL4W really made the diet issue click with me. Maybe it was because I knew I wouldn't be doing all that running anymore, and I'd have to seriously cut back on the junk food in order to see any results, but I've definitely learned how influential diet can be. Not only has my appearance improved because of it, but I feel better emotionally as well. No more beating myself up over eating too much junk. I know what I need to eat to fuel my body and I eat those foods happily and without shame. Further, when I choose to enjoy a treat once a week, I can do that happily as well, then move on from it.