I think we all agree on one thing - 2016 sucked donkey balls! Not a lot of good things happened to me in 2016, and one really terrible thing happened to all of us. I bet you're as glad to see that trainwreck of a year leave as I am!

BUT.....we did have some Orgers knock it out of the park fitness-wise. Deadflow3r did great; domainator2010 rocked the burpees, and LadyLayla knocked it out of the park on the Hula Hoop! Awesome job, y'all!

So now it's a new year and there's only one way to go - UP. I did NOT wake up and do push-ups this morning, which was nice. But it's time to start working on Fitness Resolution 2017 - Six-Pack Abs! I haven't even come up with a program, so this one might be a little slow-starting but I do know that diet is going to play a major part. And diet can start right NOW. Goodbye, sweets!

Here is my AFTER 36,600 push-ups/BEFORE getting going on Six-Pack Abs pic. I hope to have noticable improvement by March, and the job done by May. Let's go!

[img:$uid]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff311/RodeoSchro/Before%202017%20Pic_zpsh6vskcdq.jpg[/img:$uid]

NOTE: The image isn't posting for some reason. I'll work on it later.

.

[Edited 1/1/17 14:43pm]

I'm starting with running again, daily push-ups, some ab work and pull-ups any other day. January at least I won't go to the fitness studio much, I really want to focus on running and endurance a bit.

Nice shoulders, by the way!

Maybe I'll post a photo, too, and then later in the year... Might be motivating.

Phishanga said:

Nice shoulders, by the way!

Thanks!

I thought I'd post some observations on how to achieve results. We all get excited this time of year, but I just heard on TV (so you know it's true, LOL) that up to 80% of people who join a gym in January drop out in February.

So if you have great goals but are nervous or unsure about how to reach them, here are some things I've learned that are helpful:

1. WRITE IT DOWN. This applies to any goal. Writing down something makes it a contract with yourself. Then, put your "contract" somewhere that you can see it every day. This will keep you motivated/embarrassed/whatever, but it will keep you moving forward!

2. MAKE A PLAN. This is verrrrrry important. And, your plan should be a lot of small plans that are put together. For instance, if your plan is to lose 50 pounds this year, break that down into how much per month, or per quarter, or even per every two weeks. Working on losing 5 pounds in a month is mentally much easier than thinking, "I have to lose 50 pounds!!!!!"

3. GET A PARTNER. Having someone to work out with does a lot of good things. First of all, it's fun! Working out with a friend is much better than being alone. Second, you have someone to motivate you - and vice versa. Third, you have an accountability partner who can tell you when you're not doing stuff the way you should. Reaching fitness goals with the help of a partner is much easier than doing it alone. Which brings me to...

4. INVEST IN A TRAINER. I know this can get pricey. But if you are a beginner, it's worth every penny. If you are not an expert athlete, I can promise that you do not do most of your exercises with the proper form. I can promise that you do not do the most effective exercises to reach your goal. A personal trainer can help with this. There is no law that says you have to hire a trainer for an entire year. You can probably find one and make a deal where they help you set the right goal; set the right exercise program; and show you how to do the exercises. If nothing else, learning how to avoid injuries by learning the proper stretching and exercise techniques is worth 10x what you will pay to learn those things.

5. SEE A DOCTOR FIRST. Especially if you are a beginner, or are very overweight, or are middle-aged or older, or have any kind of physical situation (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.). The reason for this is to ensure there aren't any things you shouldn't do. You don't want to invest in all the stuff above and THEN find out half of them aren't good for you because of a medical reason.

6. EAT RIGHT. Probably the hardest out of all of this is to eat right! You first have to learn HOW to eat right. Either your trainer, or your doctor, or a nutrionist (which many fitness centers can supply) can help you learn what you should eat. And then eat only that stuff! I can assure you that ANY food can be made to taste good without blowing your diet. BUT KNOW THIS: If you do everything above but do not change your eating habits, you will NOT get the results you want. You might not even get ANY results. And finally..........

7. BE PATIENT. You can't lose 50 pounds in a single work out, nor can you increase your bench press from 150 pounds to 250 pounds in a week. REMEMBER:

This is a new YEAR'S resolution. It's a plan that you have to allow to come to fruition. You can't push it.

The very BEST thing you can do to get the fastest results is.........STICK TO YOUR PLAN. Work out when you should, eat right every day, and understand that physical change takes time to accomplish.

But if you STICK TO YOUR PLAN, you cannot help but see improvement! It can be fun to take a picture of yourself every month. Take one today, and then take one the first day of each month thereafter.

Look at them on June 1 and I bet that if you have STUCK TO YOUR PLAN, you will be pleasantly amazed at what you see!

The hard truth is that most people never reach their fitness goals because they quit. The actuality is that they quit because they didn't follow the steps above.

So the irrefutable fact is that if you do the things listed above FIRST, your chances of success are nearly 100%.

Take a week or so - or longer, if you have to save a little money for steps 4 and 5 - and do it right. You'll be unstoppable!

.

[Edited 1/3/17 9:28am]

I need to adjust my mind into competing with itself.

I'm sorry to tell you guys that I'll soon be leaving my gym ..... - other stuff in life has to be tended to first. Still plan to do it full force for the last couple of days left, though......

..and Rodeo: try removing the ":$uid" from both the tags.

Happy New Year everyone!

Two days before the New Year, I went to my doctor for my annual physical exam. My levels are great, but need to lose weight which I already know. The good news is that I didn't weigh more than the previous year of my physical. For me, this isn't good enough though. I changed my eating habits to a primarily, low carb diet (sans the holidays) back in early November, so I got a head start and didn't wait until January to do it. This has helped because I really don't "feel" like I'm on a diet, I feel like I'm making better/healthier eating choices. Even when I go out to eat and have an occasional glass of wine or two, but all in moderation. My doctor provided additional encouragement as I told her all of this and wanted to make sure that I'm eating at least 1200 calories a day...anything lower than that is a no-no.

I go to the gym off and on, yet still keep my membership up to date, so to close the gap on the days when my schedule doesn't allow me to get to the gym, I decided to purchase a space saving elliptical from Sears that arrived at my doorstep yesterday, which I'm super excited about. I put it together last night, didn't take any time and was much simpler to put together than I thought. I got up at 4:50am this morning and exercised on it for 30 minutes. It was rough. I was sleepy and grumpy, however, I had to grab a hand towel because in that little bit of time, sweat was pouring off of my forehead, which is a great thing. My main challenge is to be consistent, something I've had trouble doing the past couple of years. I've lost 30 pounds before (about 5 years ago to be exact) on my own but in the past couple of years, gained it all back. I was dedicated and driven back then (when I was losing the weight) and I can say that I believe that feeling has arrived in full force once again. I'm pretty determined to transform my body back to what it should be.

domainator2010 said:

..and Rodeo: try removing the ":$uid" from both the tags.

I did, but it (the Org, I guess) kept inserting it after I'd removed it.

missfee said:

Happy New Year everyone!

Two days before the New Year, I went to my doctor for my annual physical exam. My levels are great, but need to lose weight which I already know. The good news is that I didn't weigh more than the previous year of my physical. For me, this isn't good enough though. I changed my eating habits to a primarily, low carb diet (sans the holidays) back in early November, so I got a head start and didn't wait until January to do it. This has helped because I really don't "feel" like I'm on a diet, I feel like I'm making better/healthier eating choices. Even when I go out to eat and have an occasional glass of wine or two, but all in moderation. My doctor provided additional encouragement as I told her all of this and wanted to make sure that I'm eating at least 1200 calories a day...anything lower than that is a no-no.

I go to the gym off and on, yet still keep my membership up to date, so to close the gap on the days when my schedule doesn't allow me to get to the gym, I decided to purchase a space saving elliptical from Sears that arrived at my doorstep yesterday, which I'm super excited about. I put it together last night, didn't take any time and was much simpler to put together than I thought. I got up at 4:50am this morning and exercised on it for 30 minutes. It was rough. I was sleepy and grumpy, however, I had to grab a hand towel because in that little bit of time, sweat was pouring off of my forehead, which is a great thing. My main challenge is to be consistent, something I've had trouble doing the past couple of years. I've lost 30 pounds before (about 5 years ago to be exact) on my own but in the past couple of years, gained it all back. I was dedicated and driven back then (when I was losing the weight) and I can say that I believe that feeling has arrived in full force once again. I'm pretty determined to transform my body back to what it should be.

Go get 'em! I know you'll be successful!

My favorite athlete of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, used to say about goals - "Once I had committed myself in my mind on a certain goal, as far as I was concerned the goal was reached. All I had to do physically was go through the motions that my mind had already decided to accomplish".

I love that attitude! It makes the physical part seem so less daunting, doesn't it?

RodeoSchro said:

missfee said:

Happy New Year everyone!

Two days before the New Year, I went to my doctor for my annual physical exam. My levels are great, but need to lose weight which I already know. The good news is that I didn't weigh more than the previous year of my physical. For me, this isn't good enough though. I changed my eating habits to a primarily, low carb diet (sans the holidays) back in early November, so I got a head start and didn't wait until January to do it. This has helped because I really don't "feel" like I'm on a diet, I feel like I'm making better/healthier eating choices. Even when I go out to eat and have an occasional glass of wine or two, but all in moderation. My doctor provided additional encouragement as I told her all of this and wanted to make sure that I'm eating at least 1200 calories a day...anything lower than that is a no-no.

I go to the gym off and on, yet still keep my membership up to date, so to close the gap on the days when my schedule doesn't allow me to get to the gym, I decided to purchase a space saving elliptical from Sears that arrived at my doorstep yesterday, which I'm super excited about. I put it together last night, didn't take any time and was much simpler to put together than I thought. I got up at 4:50am this morning and exercised on it for 30 minutes. It was rough. I was sleepy and grumpy, however, I had to grab a hand towel because in that little bit of time, sweat was pouring off of my forehead, which is a great thing. My main challenge is to be consistent, something I've had trouble doing the past couple of years. I've lost 30 pounds before (about 5 years ago to be exact) on my own but in the past couple of years, gained it all back. I was dedicated and driven back then (when I was losing the weight) and I can say that I believe that feeling has arrived in full force once again. I'm pretty determined to transform my body back to what it should be.

Go get 'em! I know you'll be successful!

My favorite athlete of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, used to say about goals - "Once I had committed myself in my mind on a certain goal, as far as I was concerned the goal was reached. All I had to do physically was go through the motions that my mind had already decided to accomplish".

I love that attitude! It makes the physical part seem so less daunting, doesn't it?

You are right...when it's put that way, it doesn't seem so overwhelming. I'll have to keep this statement in mind. Thanks!

Irony alert: Franklin Graham is gone vegan.

Thank you but I just kept off what I took off a good two years earlier plus.

But now it is time to take it all the way. I am 55 and really looking at people who are older. Those who work out faithfully, as if it was recomended by their doctor like physical therapy, truly look older not old at 70. However those that get that extra plate of food, go easy on themselves, and in general coddle themselves look horrible at 70.

domainator2010 said:

... OK, does anyone here know any exercises that can cut flab? I'm sorry to say I've accumulated a little FAT, which needs to be got rid of! Anything I can do at home to cut it? (NOT the gym). Since there's people here who are probably in the know (btw, haven't seen GunsNHalen in a while - maybe he's lurking - are you still here, bro?) - can anyone tell me? Thanks, guys

Google and YouTube wil have tons of suggestions for you. But first and foremost, change your diet. Flab is created by fatty diets, not by a lack of exercise. So, eat healthier and you will have solved 2/3 of the issue.

domainator2010 said:

... OK, does anyone here know any exercises that can cut flab? I'm sorry to say I've accumulated a little FAT, which needs to be got rid of! Anything I can do at home to cut it? (NOT the gym). Since there's people here who are probably in the know (btw, haven't seen GunsNHalen in a while - maybe he's lurking - are you still here, bro?) - can anyone tell me? Thanks, guys

I'm not one of those people who blindly rails against carbs, but I will say that two years ago, I decided for kicks to be a bit more discerning about my carb intake -- not truly dieting in any other way -- and I easily dropped 20 pounds in 5 or 6 weeks. I actually had to scale back my taper, in fact, as I wasn't carrying extra weight to begin with, and people began to commment on how skinny I was getting. I wasn't a tyrant about it -- just generally replaced pop and sugary juices with water, coffee, or tea (no sugar); replaced bread and potatoes with beans and veggies; replaced beer with relatively dry wines; and replaced chips and baked goods with nuts, jerky, and fresh fruit. I found this all became less of a task as time went on because I was essentially retraining my palate. Now when I try the occasional pop, for example, I can't stand the cloying sweetness.

Also: cardio. Walk, run, bike, take the stairs instead of the elevator, make love, whatever; just get your body moving and your heart rate elevated a bit as often as you can. Burn those calories.

[Edited 1/9/17 17:18pm]

I'm halfway there. Where am I going?

You'll find out when I get there, which will be in five hours and twenty minutes or so.

I did it! Are you ready?

I did 1,000 push-ups today. One thousand. Ten times one hundred. 1,000.

Whew!

This was something I'd always wondered if I could do and decided today was the day. I hit the ground at 7:00 AM and did a set of 50 reps to get me going. Then I did 50 more reps every 30 minutes, finishing up at 4:30 this afternoon.

The first 500 were done in sets of 50 straight reps but after that it got harder. The last ten sets were either broken up into 35 reps/15 reps or 25 reps/25 reps.

Drinking water seemed like a good idea so today I've have four bottles of it. Feeling good, too.

I think I'm done with push-ups now. Doing 1,000 in a day seems to be the limit. I Googled "1,000 push-ups in a day" and found that unless you're in prison, that's about the upper limit.

But then I found one person who put out a plan where you can 1,000 push-ups in an HOUR. Hmmmmm, should I? Maybe, just maybe. But not for several days! I have a feeling I'm going to be more than a little bit sore tomorrow.

That's incredible, Rodeo! I do 10xTHREE and I thought I was at least close to being the cat's paw!...

RodeoSchro said:

I think we all agree on one thing - 2016 sucked donkey balls! Not a lot of good things happened to me in 2016, and one really terrible thing happened to all of us. I bet you're as glad to see that trainwreck of a year leave as I am!

BUT.....we did have some Orgers knock it out of the park fitness-wise. Deadflow3r did great; domainator2010 rocked the burpees, and LadyLayla knocked it out of the park on the Hula Hoop! Awesome job, y'all!

So now it's a new year and there's only one way to go - UP. I did NOT wake up and do push-ups this morning, which was nice. But it's time to start working on Fitness Resolution 2017 - Six-Pack Abs! I haven't even come up with a program, so this one might be a little slow-starting but I do know that diet is going to play a major part. And diet can start right NOW. Goodbye, sweets!

Here is my AFTER 36,600 push-ups/BEFORE getting going on Six-Pack Abs pic. I hope to have noticable improvement by March, and the job done by May. Let's go!

[img:$uid]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff311/RodeoSchro/Before%202017%20Pic_zpsh6vskcdq.jpg[/img:$uid]

NOTE: The image isn't posting for some reason. I'll work on it later.

.

[Edited 1/1/17 14:43pm]

Happy Noo Year Fit Fam! What can I say.....I go out of the country for the holidays....my avatar AND her mom go to the great beyond?? Good riddance 2016!

Got my 5lb hoop put together and ready for working out! But gotta add a couple of caveats....

Start tracking my water intake on my fitbit (I've gotten off the intake lately)

Start doing at least 10 flight of stairs a day (it will have to be in the house)

Good to see the thread again Ro-day-yo!

I know it's only been 10 days, but so far, I kept doing the push-ups... 1,000 now!

Phishanga said:

I know it's only been 10 days, but so far, I kept doing the push-ups... 1,000 now!

Awesome! People will be astounded at your cumulative number!

LadyLayla said:

RodeoSchro said:

I think we all agree on one thing - 2016 sucked donkey balls! Not a lot of good things happened to me in 2016, and one really terrible thing happened to all of us. I bet you're as glad to see that trainwreck of a year leave as I am!

BUT.....we did have some Orgers knock it out of the park fitness-wise. Deadflow3r did great; domainator2010 rocked the burpees, and LadyLayla knocked it out of the park on the Hula Hoop! Awesome job, y'all!

So now it's a new year and there's only one way to go - UP. I did NOT wake up and do push-ups this morning, which was nice. But it's time to start working on Fitness Resolution 2017 - Six-Pack Abs! I haven't even come up with a program, so this one might be a little slow-starting but I do know that diet is going to play a major part. And diet can start right NOW. Goodbye, sweets!

Here is my AFTER 36,600 push-ups/BEFORE getting going on Six-Pack Abs pic. I hope to have noticable improvement by March, and the job done by May. Let's go!

[img:$uid]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff311/RodeoSchro/Before%202017%20Pic_zpsh6vskcdq.jpg[/img:$uid]

NOTE: The image isn't posting for some reason. I'll work on it later.

.

[Edited 1/1/17 14:43pm]

Happy Noo Year Fit Fam! What can I say.....I go out of the country for the holidays....my avatar AND her mom go to the great beyond?? Good riddance 2016!

Got my 5lb hoop put together and ready for working out! But gotta add a couple of caveats....

Start tracking my water intake on my fitbit (I've gotten off the intake lately)

Start doing at least 10 flight of stairs a day (it will have to be in the house)

Good to see the thread again Ro-day-yo!

Glad to do it! And I still have to get the Hula Hoop out of the garage, dang it!

domainator2010 said:

That's incredible, Rodeo! I do 10xTHREE and I thought I was at least close to being the cat's paw!...

You ARE the cat's paw! Keep it up!

Walking is the best. Deep knee bends so your ass will look good,.

Pics or we don't believe you.

I'm old.

That I believe.