Another health and fitness thread anyone?

Didn't workout last week, picked up a cold as a result of exhaustion from a busy week and half helping with tornado relief when I wasn't working or coaching my kids' sports. Got in a light upper body lift today, feeling better but not 100%, hopefully I didn't set myself back any.

 

I officially finished 75 Hard last night, and I will go on record saying it's probably one of the best things I've ever done. Not just for the physical benefits, but the mental toughness and discipline it helps you build is unrivaled by anything else I've done before. I cannot recommend this program enough for anyone looking for a positive change in their life. Both in the way they view their health and also in the way they view themself and their future. It really is life-changing.

I began February 1st weighing 220.2 pounds and ended this morning at 193.6 pounds - for a total weight loss of 26.6 pounds.

As I stated earlier, I don't intend to stop here. My next goal is to hit 180 pounds by the July 4th holiday. If I keep the pace I've been on, I should be able to do that by June 1, but I will be dropping many of my second workouts before my wife divorces me, so we'll see if that pace slows down a bit. One of the biggest challenges of 75 Hard is the time commitment for those two workouts a day. It's not just the workout itself; it's driving to and from wherever you're doing the activity, cooling down after, showering, etc. With three young kids at home, I've missed much time helping my wife get them showered and ready for bed at night because I've been hiking around. I need to scale that back a bit.

Thanks for following along! Today is Day 76 - I woke up early, went to the gym for an hour-long workout, I'm at 100 ounces of water drank, and I have my lunches prepped for the week as well. No time to stop now!

 

Great job Justin! Feels great when you get under that 200 number. Just wait and see how you feel in the 180's. It fixed alot joint and back problems I had. I bet you feel a huge change in the next 20 pounds lost. I'm in the same boat with work, life, family balance thing. I just do what I can and when I get to work out, I put everything into 1 workout for the day. Maybe do the same amount of time, but put it all into 1 time a day. You will find a daily balance.

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Thanks! I've been under 190 lbs for maybe 2 days in the last decade, so I'm looking forward to it. My knees feel so much better already. I completely stopped wearing knee sleeves while working out.

I'm with you on the total amount of workout time in a single workout versus two a day. I used to do 90 minutes no problem, but I was really sacrificing my sleep to wake up that early. One thing I found very helpful during 75 Hard was ensuring I slept at least 6-7 hours a night. I survived on 4.5-5.5 hours for many years, but it just wasn't enough.

I may do an hour in the morning and then 30 minutes per night at home - some resistance bands, spin bike, etc and see how that goes.

 

Great job man! I wish you continued success!!

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Outstanding!

 

Congrats!

 

Yesterday was the first day in 2.5 months that I hadn't done an outdoor workout, and it felt very odd! Honestly, I felt like I was a lazy piece of crap for not doing it. But it was also nice to cook dinner and eat with my family, spend some time with the kids, help my wife get them in bed, read a book, and sleep. I got to bed about an hour earlier than usual, so I woke up early this morning and got a full 90 minutes at the gym before work. That's the first time I've been able to do that in a while, and it felt great.

20-minute warm-up on the elliptical, then I did a moderate leg/core day, followed by 20 hard minutes on the stair bastard. The leg workout consisted of leg press, farmer carries, leg extensions, single leg toe touches with 20 lb dumbells in each hand, leg raises, weighted step-ups, and cable crunches. Stairs was 20 minutes at 97 steps/minute average. For the last 60 seconds, I went up to 105 spm and did it freehand - no weight being supported by the side rails. That one spiked the heart rate into the low 170's for a bit.

Tonight I'm going for a quick hike after work, then tomorrow morning is kettlebell circuit day at home.

 

You are officially in beast mode!

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Excited to get a new pair of running shoes this Friday. Been a long time. Current shoes are a liability. Would be happy with an 8 min mile at my age and weight.

 

Finally feel like my back is mostly healed up. I had some rhomboid pain that was lingering and I iced it for a couple days which did the trick. I wiped out on a hill last week while turkey hunting, went down hard, landing on a log squarely to the back. Just my luck. I was feeling better till that happened. Soooo...I feel better now. Chest and back yesterday felt good and I'm almost 100 percent. Shoulders and arms today and I'm looking forward to it.

Stay hard my friends.

@Justin, was really cool following along on the 75 hard journey. Congrats. By the time season rolls around, climbing into a tree will be nothing.

 

What shoes are you looking at getting? I've been poking around for a new pair myself.

 

Today's leg workout, took it easy today. I still have just the slightest congestion lingering from the cold last week.

Barbell Squats: 185/6, 205/6, 205/6
KB Single-leg deadlift 3 x 40/8 per leg
KB Reverse Lunge 3 x 40/8 per leg
KB Swings 3 x 12 @100lbs
TRX Single-Leg Squats 3 x 8 per leg
Calf press 3 x 12 @70lbs

 

Looking at the Brooks Glycerin, Brooks Beast, and New Balance Fresh Foam. I need cushion for my aging self.

***Just ordered the Brooks Glycerin StealthFit 20. Looking forward to the pain reduction! My current shoes are like wearing Chuck Converses.

 

Ride #6 on MTB

18.03 miles
1 hour 58 minutes
9 mph average.

Slower ride but I got good 2 hours on the saddle. Lots of climbing this ride. I won't ride again this week. The race is this weekend and about 90 percent sure I'm going to race. I will make up my mind by Thursday night.

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I wear the Glycerin and actually have a pair of the 20’s gts at home that I haven’t worn yet. I went to an actual running shoe store a few years ago and that helped with some of the issues and made my feet more comfortable. I use to just buy whatever running shoe was cheap. Youth…

Screwed up my back a couple weeks ago and then aggravated it a few days ago doing farmers carry…

Hobbling around like an old man. Rode the recumbent bike for 20 and then walked on the treadmill inclined to level five and 3.7 today.

Calories on point. Weight 178.

Read Peter Attia’s “Outlive”. Some good stuff in there.

Stay after it.


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Three rounds today of a bodyweight workout, 10 reps for every set except the drags. Did two of those as part of the warm ups for a total of 5 drags in the workout.

Plank with 10 reaches per arm
Supermans
Decline Push ups
Supermans
Bent-over I, Y, T raises
Supermans
Pike Push ups
Supermans
Drag 125lbs for 150 yards

 

Haven't got any cardio in yet. It's been a few months since I've ran/walked any considerable distance. Still getting close to 100 pushups every day. Still incorporating 100 reps of simple 20lb dumbbell exercises just about every day.

Been living off of chicken breast/ground turkey and vegetables for my meals. I've meal prepped this for the last 3 weeks. Lasts me just about all week.

• 3 heads of broccoli cut into bite-size chunks
• 3 red/yellow/orange bell pepper cut into chunks
• 1 zucchini cut into bite-size chunks
• 1 large white or red onion cut into chunks
• 1-3 tablespoons of garlic
• Marinade in any low-fat/low-calorie dressing (we use Italian dressing with Worcestershire)
• Use any seasoning you want
• Grill veggies using grill mats (https://www.amazon.com/Grillaholics-Grill-Mat-Accessories-Manufacturers/dp/B00KUJCH66)

 

If you all will indulge me I'm going to brag a little. But more than a brag I want it serve as an inspiration that if a 68yr old man can do this, YOU CAN TOO! Yesterday I carried a 50lb pack 9 miles. Why? Because I wanted to prove to myself I could. If you are discouraged with your present health situation, you CAN make it better. You just have to do it!

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Awesome work Jim! I see an elk hunt in your future.