I Will Try

[fitzy21]

Goal 1 - sub 6 minute mile run.
the last time I was able to do this was back 5 years ago. Its something i really want to be able to do again.

goal 2 - weigh 220lbs
right now, i'm hovering around 270lbs, which i do not look like i weigh that much, but i don't feel good.

goal 3 - deadlift and squat 450lbs +

goal 4 - enhance leadership skills and public speaking skills
was just recently selected to be on an alumni executive board for a not for profit organization i am apart of. so i do want to improve these professional qualities.

i'm also adding a new goal:
goal 5 - 10 pullups
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so those are my goals for the challenge

I just got back home from my trip. great trip. amazed i was able to maintain my weight at around 270 haha. however, i'll be away again for a few days starting tomorrow afternoon. my plan is to test out my mile run on monday now, to see where that is. then i have to renew my gym membership, so i can get back into the gym.

i did make strides on goal #4. we had a awesome dinner after the national alumni board retreat, and i gave the last toast of the evening - something i usually never do - but being that i want to enhance those skills, i got up and gave a great toast. i thanked everyone for the energy they brought to the retreat, and then i thanked the employees (cooks, wait staff, manager) of the restaurant for the awesome service. my mentors, the founder of the organization, and fellow alumni came over and thanked me for the last toast of the evening...so i was feeling really great about that.

then during the actual summit, when we were in our breakout groups, i took on a leadership role to help with the discussion we were having.

so while i was away, i did work on a goal that i hope to continue to improve on. coincidently, the theme of the summit was how to be an everyday leader, so it goes well with my goal.

usually, i tend to stay quiet and just listen. so this is just the beginning of my journey to step out of my comfort zone. its hard for me, i tend to just think and have conversations in my head, so actually getting up and speaking took quite a lot of effort. but i did it, and i'm proud of myself. and i have a feeling i'll be asked to speak at some point in the future.

onto the other goals - i really didn't have much time to work out.
but my starting point for those goals are:

squat - last time i tested was 405lbs, which was a few months ago, so i'm sure that is down some.

deadlift - 365lbs, tested this a few months ago also

pullups - i can do 3 pullups

so thats where i'm at and i will be reaching all my goals by the end of the challenge

[fitzy21]

to make it easier to follow, i'm going to use this post just for my starting points:

height - 6'2
weight - 270

mile run - ? will be done on monday

squat - 405

deadlift - 365

pullups - 3

leadership/public speaking - really shy and introverted

[beach_plums]

You're a masshole, how can you be shy and introverted?

[fitzy21]

haha good question...its usually just in the area of public speaking that i'm shy and introverted or in large groups of people. other than those situations, i'm not shy at all. especially when its dealing with athletic type situations

[beach_plums]

I guess that's understandable. Not everyone from Mass can be a loud-mouth all the time.
(I just spent a week with a group of my boyfriend's friends and family from Arlington--they were not at all shy or introverted! And about a month ago, I was in Marshfield. Same thing. I won't go into last year's experiences out there...)

[fitzy21]

i get quite loud-mouth in tons of places...its very weird though haha. so i'm trying to bridge that gap now.

[Bill2380]

You're a big, strong guy. I don't think you'll have too much trouble with your lifting goals. A six minute mile is another matter. You may have to wear a Colts jersey and insult some Patriot fans for motivation. Good luck with the challenge.

[beach_plums]

Good luck bridging that gap (and with the rest of your goals).

[fitzy21]

Originally Posted by Bill2380

You're a big, strong guy. I don't think you'll have too much trouble with your lifting goals. A six minute mile is another matter. You may have to wear a Colts jersey and insult some Patriot fans for motivation. Good luck with the challenge.

yea, thats why the 6 minute mile is #1 on the list. when i was able to do it, i wasn't as nearly as strong, and it was before my knee surgery (had part of my lateral meniscus removed)...but now i'm much stronger and haven't had knee pain in a long time...so yea...
going to need some extra motivation on that one.

and thanks

Good luck bridging that gap (and with the rest of your goals).

thank ya

[fitzy21]

alright alright...so i tested my one mile run today. yea, that was fun...yea, fun haha...no but really, it wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. came in just above 9 minutes. so now i have something to work with.

i do have a problematic left ankle. i hope to be able to work around it while making it stronger and increasing mobility. so it hurt a bit later on in the run, so i think i could have gone a bit faster.

but i'm excited to have a starting point.

[beach_plums]

9 minutes...not bad.

I'm at about 12 minutes, including pit-stops for the puppy. I've never actually ran without my dog. I'd like to say that I'm curious to see where I'd be without the stops, but really, I'm not.

[fitzy21]

yea, its not bad at all.

i've been really focusing on my ankle these past couple days...been using some of the techniques and info i've gathered from the trigger point therapy workbook. so yea thats going well.

i do have to get in the mindset for my firefighter PAT next week. i scored pretty well on the writting exam, so i'm hoping to score well on the physical exam. then after that, i can get really started with my diet and lifting

[fitzy21]

well, rescheduled my firefighter PAT. now going to take it on 9/2. so i do have some more time to train with that and i used today to do that.

10 rounds of this:

a. 10 sledge hammer hits on tire
b. 10 burpees

so i did both, took a rest, which was about 45-60 seconds, then did another round until i finished all 10 rounds.

i should be getting Lyle McDonalds Rapid Fat Loss Handbook in soon, so i'll be doing that diet. i am hoping to do that for 8 weeks, then i'll move into a more moderate diet.

[fitzy21]

got into the gym today and had some good squats. didn't do too much since i haven't been in the gym for a while.

warmed up, mobility drills for hips and ankles. pushups. a little rowing...

squats:

10xbar
5x135
5x225
5x275
3x295
1x315

and i added in some chest supported rows

10x55
10x90
5x5x135

i love the gym. has a "dirty" feel to it. old steel plates. awesome stuff. just wish the barbells were longer.

then i went back to the rower and did 3 500m rows
each 500m came in or around 2:00 minutes.

[Buk]

Nice work on the squats, but I am most interested in watching your mile time improve; keep your ankle healthy. Do you have a plan for improving your run? I am going to the track today, it has been a long time since I have done any sprints.

[fitzy21]

really, the plan is to keep working on getting the ankle better and doing cardio in other forms, such as the concept 2 rower for now. i'm still committed to that time i set, its just that until i start losing some weight, which is slowly happening, but i'm going to be ramping that up...so until i lose quite a bit of weight, i really won't be pushing hard to lower the time.

but i do plan on testing every 2-3 weeks, because i will be doing other forms of cardio which will help. i do hope by mid-late September i'll be able to really get into it, so thats really the plan in general. it really is dependent on how my ankle responds.

i wish i could have a more concrete plan, but the ankle is really putting a hold on that one. which is alright. i still got a good amount of strength.

at work, i've been playing basketball with the campers and staff, and i feel its getting stronger...i just have to be careful with change of direction movements. i do have the trigger point therapy handbook which has been a great help in loosening up some trigger points and tight muscles in my calf and hamstring. foam rolling is helping. so i'm just going to build up to some point in september where i hope i can start to really push it.

[fitzy21]

went down to the gym

started off with 2000m of rowing just to get the blood flowing
a more detailed warm up, dealing with my shoulders and upper back. did some hip stuff....

started off with DB bench press
10x45e
10x55e
5x65e
5x5x75e

seated rows focusing on retracting my scapula
10x90
10x100
10x110
10x120

500m sprint row
time - 1:47

snatch grip deadlift off pin (was set to just below my knee)
2x5x135
3x5x225

walked home to find the door locked, so that meant my parents were up the park for the Italian pride event. so went up there. met up with them, got 1/2 a sausage (was free, so i'm not complaining) and got a free ice cream cone with jimmies...played with my nephew, ran around a bit. was holding him and he was really heavy....my arms feel dead

[fitzy21]

so today i started the RFL diet.

first meal of the diet:

4 egg whites, with a serving of smoked salmon, with bell peppers and cheese. and i mixed a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with a 1/2 scoop of protein powder. came in around 59g of protein, which is just about where i need it for 3 meals a day.

going to try 3 meals a day to start off with. but may switch to 4 meals a day, ot have it spread out a bit more...4 meals at day will come to 45g of protein at each meal. 3 meals is 60g protein.

i got 5 1.2g fish oil capsules in - finished that bottle off...my other bottle is just 1g of fish oil, so have 4g left, 2 at each meal.

then i hit the gym a couple hours after that:

good workout. pretty much lower body

dyamnic warm up, focusing on the shoulders, hips and ankles. used a jump stretch band to help.

squats supersetted with pushups in main set - 10 pushups
10xbar(45lb)
10x135
5x5x225 (set x rep x wt)

i took as much rest as i felt was necessary.

deadlifts
5x135
5x3x225

hammer curls
2x10 with 40lb DBs

just getting back into the swing of things at the gym. was a good workout. pretty quick. but was nice.

then came home and had my second meal - can of tuna with lots of veggies and some lowfat cheese with a whey protein drink. came out to around 60g of protein. so i'm doing well on that front.

probably going to have chicken for dinner, add some low fat cheese and salsa on it. we'll see.

[fitzy21]

just got back from the gym ...and all i can say is i'm ready for a nap

5 minutes of rowing on the C2...1100+ meters

lots of shoulder mobility stuff. been really tight. so used my band in various ways to loosen it up.

DB bench press
10x55lbs
8x60
5x65
that was to warm up

then i SS DB press with chest supported rows
3x70 DB press
5x90 row
i did that 5 times

then i did some front squats
5x135
3x185
3x3x205

band face pulls 2x20
band tricep pushdowns 2x20
band bicep curls 2x20
standing band ab pulldowns 2x1