Been On the Fitness Train for a While Now... *Now With 1 Year Update*

[Kevinj110]

You are an inspiration, I hope I can stick to it as well as you have.

[Okami099]

Well done Brother!

[BushmasterFanBoy]

Well, I edited the OP, since the things I voiced in it really don't suit the current reality. In hindsight, I should have saved it, but alas, its gone, replaced with the 1 year update.

If anyone has it saved somehow, feel free to post it, I know lots of people found it alone pretty inspiring, and the more of that we can get, the better.

Here's the nitty gritty for those of you following the numbers:
196 pounds (my weight loss has slowed down a lot, but I'm upping calories to try and boost my strength, so we'll see where that goes)
27:22 5k time

That's really the only update to give, also for the last week or so, I've been doing my 200 situps without a toe-jam, and going back to alternating my arms touching my opposite knees which I've found gives me a stronger workout. Slight modifications like that are interesting.

The pushup front is still going quite slow, but I'm making an effort to push them closer together, and if possible, get 200 into a single, maddeningly horrendous period of wallowing on the floor to heavy music. I still top out at 45, and I'm never good for more than 25 after that. But I make the effort and tell myself "you will not leave this floor until you have 200 pushups" and that gets me through it.

That's that, I'm hopeful that my new daily routine will get me in better shape than my haphazard efforts had so far. Thanks for following along, I'm interested in where this goes.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

Been a lil over 3 weeks since the last update, and boy, have things been speeding up.

Weight is just a hair under 196, again, that's not too big of a worry for me right now, since my main focus is on performance gains. My diet is pretty high in protein, with a lot of emphasis on lean meat. (chicken mostly)

My mile time is now at an even 7:00. I'm pretty happy with that, but I'd like push it and get even better. 6:00 would be great, and if I could get anything below that, I'd be a very happy camper, but the better you get, the slower you make gains, so that's a ways off.

5k time is now 25:49, and I'm pretty cheery about that. My mid-term goal is 24:00, and that'll be something to keep me motivated for the next couple of months.

I've also managed to do a six mile run in an hour, which is a pretty big endurance/boredom test. Each week, I set a running goal revolving around my mile, 2 mile, 5k, or distance times. This gives me something to work towards, and gets me to focus, especially since the treadmill has become the more monotonous part of my routine.

My pushups are coming along GREAT. I'm maxing out at anywhere from 50-55, given my state of rest. I usually pump out 50 in my first set of the day without issue, and if I'm lucky, I can do it again a tad later in the day. 25 are no issue at all, if I keep them in sets of that number, I can reach my daily count pretty easily.

Situps are also coming along nicely, I managed to do a set of 600 without stopping, and no toe jam. I might have been able to go further, but I didn't, so I can't say for sure, other than I knew I could have done at least 1 more. Once you hit a certain point, you stop getting the burn, and sheer will takes over (a lot like a long run). You set yourself to it, tell your body what to do, and it just goes to it. It's a very weird feeling, but I thought I was burned at 200, and yet, I kept going, and going, and going.

Pushups and situps are now around 200-300 a day, with 200 being a minimum, and 300 the ideal. Of course, if I feel like it, I might even do more.

My gym time is getting a lot more productive (as evidenced by my pushup progress) and I think that's due to a pretty simple change I've made. I've been doing sets of 5 for the last two weeks, and I've also been taking a second rest day from the gym a week (No mid-week rest from pushups, situps, or running though)

The sets of 5 are REALLY helpful, I usually start doing 16, then 14, 12, 10, and finish with 8. Very hard, but I think it's been giving my muscles a much more thorough workout than sets of 3.

If anyone has any pushup tips, I'd be greatly appreciative.

[Honu]

get on a Bike and ride hard at least 20 or so miles a day or swim hard !!!!
basically I would say at least a hour steady

the long run helps but I bet if you could get on a bike or swim a hour+ a day 5 days a week or so ? I know its hard with the time but that steady hour can really get you in cardio shape

I would not worry a much about the weight as I would about my body fat and other doctor tests of health one person can weigh 20 lbs more than another and be in better shape and health

so congrats again