Body Stats
Gotta get up early!
by codemonkey on Jul.08, 2014, under Body Stats
I just decided to move my strength from Wendler 5/3/1 back to Crossfit. I think I’m going to start on Friday. But, to prepare, I timed my ride to the gym this morning at ~31 mins. So, changing shoes, etc, I need to call it a 40 min ride.
Giving time for a bathroom break, etc, I probably need to leave the house at 5:15 for the 6:00AM class. Crap. I may have to start setting the alarm even earlier!
Wearing two strapons . . . I mean straps!
by codemonkey on May.22, 2013, under Body Stats, Dave's Rants
This morning when I biked to work, I wanted to compare the calorie count between my Garmin Forerunner 305 + hr strap, and map my fitness, using a Polar BT strap. So, I double strapped, and here are the results.
First, there’s the route. I rode 12.86 miles, in just over an hour. For this, I trust the garmin’s measurement a bit better than the iPhone’s, which has me at 13.0 miles.
So, let’s first link to the workouts.
### Garmin Workout
Map My Fitness Workout (Sorry — Map My Fitness doesn’t have a cool embed like Garmin does.
Both contain heart rate details. Garmin clocks me with a 139 average, and 182 max. Map My Fitness doesn’t seem to have an overall average heart rate, but, it does max at 182, so, I think the sensors were pretty much the same.
So, then comes the calorie math. The Garmin, which I have had trouble with in the past for not relating the calories to my heart rate, has me at 1831 kcals. Map My Fitness comes in at just over a thousand (1037). So? Which is right?
This calculator computes my calories at 919 kcals, based on Garmin’s 139 HR average.
Doing the math here, I come up with (WARNING, Math ahead!) C = (0.6309 x H + 0.2017 x A + 0.09036 x W – 55.0969) x time / 4.184. In this equation, C is your calories burned, H is your average heart rate in bpm, A is your age in years, W is your weight in pounds, and T is the length of the exercise session in minutes. So, C = (0.6309 x 139 + 0.2017 x 44 + 0.09036 x 231 – 55.0969) x 62 / 4.184 = 924 kcals.
So, in a nutshell, Garmin’s math is again skewed . . . showing 2x the real calories burned . . . I’m not sure what they’re smoking, but they should share . . .
FitClub PRs: 2012-04-13
by codemonkey on Apr.16, 2012, under Body Stats, Workout Logs
Just did a “benchmarking” workout this morning. While I’m not completely happy with my results, I’m looking forward to seeing them move.
One note on the mile: I swear I counted 9 laps, not 10, making it .9 miles. I was pacing with the whole group, so, if I only did .9 miles, so did everyone else 🙂
Results
——-
* Mile Run: 8:52
* Max Time Plank: 1:15
* BW Squats in 5 mins: 126 (Note: I was doing FULL depth squats)
* Pushups in 5 mins: 115
* Situps in 5 mins: 65 (Note: I think I grew used to an ab mat 🙁 )
Diet Time!
by codemonkey on Feb.21, 2012, under Body Stats, Dave's Rants, Workout Logs
I’m done with my cruise, taking a break from CrossFit, and now it’s time to get back to business. I weigh about 30lbs more than I think I should. And, my muscles are shrinking . . . so, what should I do, when my shoulder can’t take any more CrossFit?
My requirements were pretty simple:
1. Lose weight
1. Don’t lose muscle mass
(And, yes, I know that it is extremely difficult to build muscle and lose fat at the same time)
I asked out on [Fitocracy][f]. I was looking for weight loss, and strength training. The guys seemed split about [Stronglifts][sl] vs [Starting Strength][ss]. And, one person mentioned [Leangains][lg], which I had googled before, but, their site was a bit confusing.
So, I took the time to read a bit more, learn a bit more, and decided that I would build a plan based on [Starting Strength][ss], [Leangagins][lg], and, my normal [Primal Diet][pb]. There were two reasons I picked [Starting Strength][ss] over [Stronglifts][sl]:
1. I have done [Stronglifts][sl] before. And, while I did like it — I love new shiny things more 🙂
1. Someone on [Fitocracy][f] mentioned that [Starting Strength][ss] did not take as long as [Stronglifts][sl]. And, I do remember [Stronglifts][sl] taking a VERY long time.
The Food Plan
————-
So, what exactly is my plan? [Leangains][lg] is a fasting / feasting plan, with 8 hours of feasting, and 16 hours of fasting. I have to use a slightly modified plan, since I workout in the morning. So, following the Early morning fasted training plan [here](http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html): I have come up with the following schedule:
### Workout Days
**5:00AM** Wake-up, have 10g BCAA (or low carb protein) shake before I head to gym.
**6:00AM** Training.
**8:00AM** 10g BCAA
**10:00AM** 10g BCAA
**12:00PM** First meal of the day. Large meal, since it’s Post Workout Nutrition (PWN)
**5-6PM** Dinner — Try to make this meal lower carb, since it’s pre-fast.
### Non Workout Days
**12:00PM** First meal of the day.
**5-6PM** Dinner — Try to make this meal lower carb, since it’s pre-fast.
### General Diet Guideline
I’ll be following the [Primal Blueprint][pb] as much as I can on the meals. I will allow carbs on the first meal, but I’ll try to get them all from fruits & vegetables. If some grains / tubers slip in, though, it will be ok. Particularly in the beginning of the diet. If I stall, I will start counting carbs, and limiting them more aggressively.
The Training
————
As I said before, I will be following [Starting Strength][ss] for a workout plan. The only thing I’m going to be modifying is Bench Press. Since my little gym does not have a power cage, I’m going to be doing dumbbell press instead of bench. (So, it is good that I’m starting lower, since I can only climb in increments of 10lbs (5lbs/hand)). Here is my schedule:
### Workout A
3×5 Squat
3×5 Dumbbell Bench Press
1×5 Deadlift
### Workout B
3×5 Squat
3×5 Overhead Press
3×5 Power Cleans
### Schedule
Here is my workout schedule. Every workout the weights go up.
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Week n | Workout A | Rest | Workout B | Rest | Workout A |
Week n+1 | Workout B | Rest | Workout A | Rest | Workout B |
My particular workout regimen is in a google doc [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnIjaVApjlifdE9EdllPUmxWQ2MxN3RWNHFSN2w3dlE)
Starting Stats
————–
And, finally, some starting stats. I am at my heaviest (since moving to Utah) starting this diet. I left for a cruise at 220lbs, and I came back at 225. (It would have been worse, but I stuck to my strict diet of soft-serve and liquor).
**Body Weight:** 225.2
**Bench:** 225(1RM), 205(5RM)
**Press:** 155(1RM), 135(5RM)
**Squat:** 255(1RM), 245(5RM)
**Deadlift:** 315(1RM), 275(5RM)
**Clean:** 185(1RM), 135(5RM)
I’ll find a measuring tape and update my google docs measurements sometime today and tomorrow, so, more accurate stats can always be found [there](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnIjaVApjlifdE9EdllPUmxWQ2MxN3RWNHFSN2w3dlE).
Week 1:
[lg]: http://www.leangains.com/ “Leangains”
[ss]: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki “Starting Strength”
[sl]: http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5×5-beginner-strength-training-program/ “Stronglifts”
[pb]: http://primalblueprint.com/ “Primal Blueprint”
[f]: http://fitocracy.com “Fitocracy”
Six Week Paleo Challenge
by codemonkey on Nov.28, 2011, under Body Stats, Dave's Must Haves, Workout Logs
The Rules
=======
I just got finished doing a six week paleo challenge with my gym. The rules were very strict. We used the [Whole 30 Plan](http://whole9life.com/2011/06/whole-30-v4/), but did 42 instead of 30 days.
The rules I was most concerned with were:
* No alcohol
* No sweeteners of any kind, including stevia!
I was especially concerned because I had to deal with Halloween, a wine party, and, most importantly, Halloween parties!
Turns out, the parties weren’t that bad . . . but . . . I digress.
Hiding from sweeteners and artificial sweeteners completely was way harder than I thought. I eat 90% [Primal](http://primalblueprint.com), as my normal diet. So, eating paleo only meant:
1. not cheating
1. Getting rid of dairy
1. Really not cheating (i.e. no legumes at all, including soybean oils)
I found out a bit later that sweet potatoes and coconut milk were allowed.
Also, allowed, were pre/post workout nutrition. So, my normal breakfast of a protein shake, and Surge Recovery, or Aftershock after my workouts was ok.
The Scoring
=========
Finally, the scoring and penalties. We got one point for every paleo meal (maxed at 3 per day), one point for every workout (maxed at one per day), and, -2 points for every cheat item. (So, one night of binge drinking could undo a week of points!)
So, at most, four points per day. And, one final kicker: we had to do 10 burpees per cheat item. (On about the 4th week, Andrew raised this to 50 per item)
Contest Results
===========
The first couple of weeks, I had no cheats. But, I then started having a beer when I hiked up runs, and went snowboarding, so I started averaging one cheat a week, towards the end.
I found that I didn’t really lose any weight. I really missed sweets. Giving up Diet Coke was easy, but, giving up the sweet treat of it, was not. So, I started eating 3-4 pieces of fruit a day, which killed my weight loss. Toward the end, I tried to limit myself to one fruit a day, which helped.
Here were the point results:
Date | Points | Notes |
---|---|---|
10/12 – 10/23 | 46 | No Cheats |
10/24 – 10/30 | 25 | One Cheat |
10/31 – 11/06 | 28 | |
11/07 – 11/13 | 23 | Two Cheats |
11/14 – 11/22 | 29 | Three Cheats |
Totals | 151 | Six Cheats |
I think I did pretty well. I’m pretty sure I won. But, I could be wrong. There could have been some quiet winner . . . 🙂
Real Results
=========
Outside of the contest, what did I get out of the challenge?
First, I learned that I was still drinking way too many diet sodas. I’m very glad to be done with that. I’ve learned to drink unsweetened teas . . . many different varieties. I may start using a little stevia in some of them, but, for the most part, I drink them w/o sweeteners of any kind.
Second, I did learn that my sweet tooth can not be ignored. I’m not sure how I’m going to get past that one. Maybe a stevia sweetened tea every now and then will help.
Finally, I learned how much I normally cheat. And, how many foods they hide sugar in. Including breakfast sausage — you can NOT buy breakfast sausage w/o sugar. At least, I couldn’t find any.
Body Changes
———–
As usual, I was a bit anal about measuring my body changes. Just before I started the diet, I carbed up a bit. So, I gained the obligatory 7 lbs of water weight. (Went from 215 -> 222.7 for the initial weigh in.) So, that came off almost immediately. But, then, it just sat there. The scale did not move again, until I cut out the fruit. I did, however, get my body fat measured, used my body fat measuring scale, and, whipped out the measuring tape. Here’s my changes over the challenge:
Measurement | October 12, 2011 | November 22, 2011 |
---|---|---|
Weight | 222.7 | 209.5 |
BMI (Computed) | 32.88 | 30.93 |
Bodyfat (Crossfit Measured) | 30.3 | |
Bodyfat (Scale) | 32.4 | 30.6 |
Neck | 15.5 | 15.5 |
Shoulders | 48 | 46.5 |
Chest | 39 | 37 |
Waist | 35 | 34 |
Hips | 41.5 | 40 |
Arms | 13.5 | 14.5 |
Legs | 25.3 | 25 |
Calves | 17 | 17 |
Total Inches | 234.8 | 229.5 |
So, out of losing 5.3 inches overall, I still gained 1 inch in my arms (measured at biceps). That is pretty cool (I’m getting stronger at the same time that I’m losing weight & inches). I’m finally slightly under 36″ pants. Most 34’s fit now. Some 33’s. I’m looking forward to getting back into my 32s.
Fitness
——–
We did Murph before and after the competition. AFTER the competition, I did my pullups w/o a band, so, I got Rx. That is a huge difference, but, it’s not very measurable. But, I also timed the first mile of each Murph, and I think those stats are even more telling than the overall time.
The first mile of my Murph in October took me 9:27. And, I was VERY proud of that time. After Murph, I paid attention again, and, my first mile was 8:36. That is a good testament of what I got out of Paleo. I did not train running, yet, almost lost a whole minute!
Conclusion
=======
Now that I’ve done my Thanksgiving gorge, I’m looking forward to getting back into my Primal diet (I miss cheese), and finishing my loss, while keeping my strength. Also, I’ve been boarding 4 times this season, and I have yet to get tired.
Motivation & Measurements
by codemonkey on Nov.02, 2011, under Body Stats
I’m creating this post to remind me why I need to get up early, move heavy stuff, and eat healthy.
Oh, and it’s also for tracking measurements 🙂
Motivation
I love this video of me and my kids . . . reminds me how fat I used to be.
Photos
Here’s a pic of my progress, over a few months:
Measurements
Here are my current measurements . . and a
Maxes, Current Workouts, and Personal Records
by codemonkey on Sep.27, 2011, under Body Stats, Workout Logs
I created this page to keep track of my PRs and maxes . . I’m keeping them separate because my current max at some things, is not the same as my personal record.
Current Maxes / Workouts
- Pullups
- Strict: 6
- Kipped: 10
- Pushups
- Crossfit Standard: 41 in 60 secs
- One Mile: 9:27
- Double Unders: 18 (with singles between), 9 (in a row)
Personal Records
- Pullups
- Strict: 8
- Kipped: 10
- Pushups
- Normal: 70
- Crossfit Standard: 41 in 60 secs
- One Mile: 9:27
- Double Unders: 18 (with singles between), 9 (in a row)