Goals 15/16 - January Update

Another month in the books, another opportunity to share progress on my goals:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	10	17	58.82%
Pullups	1734	5000	34.68%
Reduce Debt	$24,660.14	$25,882.11	$1,221.97
Keep the Fiance	7	12	58.33%
Volunteerism (h)	4.5	24	18.75%
Meditation (m)	115	1440	7.99%

I'm beginning to realize that I'm probably not going to reach the goal for pullups, meditation, and volunteering.  However, instead of getting upset with myself I'm going to focus on how far I've come.

I'm not going to stop either.  Just because I don't think I'll reach the goals doesn't mean I should give up on them.

Check back in a month and we'll see how much closer I'm getting.

100 Pushups & Lunges - Days 19 - 21 & Conclusion

Sorry for the delay but I've been moving into a new home over the Memorial Day weekend and haven't had the time to blog or workout.  On the bright side, the move gave me plenty of opportunities to burn calories.

I did NOT do pushups and lunges on Days 20 and 21 (Saturday and Sunday) because I was full-throttle on the moving aspect.

Here are my sets and reps from the 19th day:
10:05 - 1 set of 35 pushups and 35 walking lunges
12:45 - 1 x 25
13:20 - 1 x 20
23:55 - 1 x 20

Although i stopped two days short, 1900 pushups and 1900 lunges is no joke.  Since I can't find my scale at the moment I'll have to pass on the body stats but it seems as though my chest is tighter and i have a greater capacity to do work.

I am not planning a 21-day challenge for the month of June as the g/f, puppy, and i need time to settle into our new space.

On the bright side, i already have a challenge lined up for July.   

100 Pushups & Lunges - Days 16 - 18

18 days in, still going strong.  1,800 pushups and 1,800 lunges are behind me.  When i started, my form started to break down after 10 reps.  Now, i can easily do sets of 20.  It's not a feat but it's a measurable improvement.  Here are my sets and reps over the past 3 days:

Day 16
08:30 - 1 set of 20 pushups followed by 20 walking lunges
11:35 - 1 x 20
13:40 - 1 x 15
15:15 - 1 x 25
16:40 - 1 x 20

Day 17
08:45 - 1 x 20
12:15 - 1 x 20
14:00 - 1 x 20
15:25 - 1 x 20
16:05 - 1 x 20

Day 18
08:30 - 1 x 20
13:45 - 1 x 20
14:55 - 1 x 20
15:40 - 1 x 20
16:40 - 1 x 20

Just 300 more to go!

100 Pushups & Lunges - Days 13 - 15

The days are going by and the "workouts" are getting easier.  1500 pushups and 1500 lunges have been completed over the past 15 days.  Here are my sets and reps:

Day 13
10:20 - 1 x 25
22:00 - 1 x 25
22:30 - 1 x 25
23:30 - 1 x 25

Day 14
11:00 - 1 x 20
18:05 - 1 x 20
21:00 - 1 x 25
21:20 - 1 x 20
21:45 - 1 x 15

Day 15
08:30 - 1 x 20
10:00 - 1 x 20
11:50 - 1 x 20
13:10 - 1 x 20
15:20 - 1 x 20

100 Pushups & Lunges - Days 9 - 12

The challenge has continued without incident.  Still going strong.  Here are updates from the past four days:

Day 9
08:40 - 1 set of 10 pushups and walking lunges
09:55 - 1 x 10
10:45 - 1 x 10
11:50 - 1 x 10
13:00 - 1 x 10
13:15 - 1 x 10
16:15 - 1 x 10
18:25 - 1 x 10
18:45 - 1 x 10
19:00 - 1 x 10

Day 10
08:35 - 1 x 10
09:35 - 1 x 10
10:30 - 1 x 10
12:00 - 1 x 10
13:05 - 1 x 10
13:20 - 1 x 10
15:30 - 1 x 10
16:30 - 1 x 10
16:45 - 1 x 10
18:35 - 1 x 10

Day 11
08:40 - 1 x 10
10:05 - 1 x 10
10:20 - 1 x 10
14:05 - 1 x 10
15:00 - 1 x 10
16:05 - 1 x 10
18:30 - 1 x 10
18:55 - 1 x 10
20:05 - 1 x 10
21:45 - 1 x 10

Day 12
08:30 - 1 x 10
09:00 - 1 x 10
09:45 - 1 x 10
10:35 - 1 x 10
12:25 - 1 x 10
13:15 - 1 x 10
15:00 - 1 x 10
15:20 - 1 x 10
15:40 - 1 x 10
16:05 - 1 x 10

Although i don't know whether or not this is more beneficial than doing everything in one chunk, it's nice to see the reps rack up throughout the day.  After all, i've done 1,200 pushups and 1,200 lunges in the past 12 days.  Can't say that i've ever done that before.

100 Pushups & Lunges - Days 5 - 8

The challenge is still alive and well, i just got away from the daily updates for a little bit.  Here are my efforts over the past four days.  Still going strong and not experiencing much soreness.  

Day 5 

08:30 - 1 set of 10 pushups followed by 10 walking lunges

11:00 - 1 x 10

11:30 - 1 x 10

12:10 - 1 x 10

13:55 - 1 x 10

14:10 - 1 x 10

16:00 - 1 x 10

16:30 - 1 x 10

17:00 - 1 x 10

20:00 - 1 x 10

Day 6

11:30 - 1 x 10

21:05 - 1 x 25

21:35 - 1 x 25

22:05 - 1 x 20

22:50 - 1 x 20

Day 7

14:50 - 1 x 20

15:15 - 1 x 20

15:30 - 1 x 20

21:10 - 1 x 20

21:55 - 1 x 20

Day 8

08:40 - 1 x 10

13:25 - 1 x 10

14:10 - 1 x 10

14:45 - 1 x 10

16:10 - 1 x 10

16:35 - 1 x 10

17:00 - 1 x 10

18:15 - 1 x 20

18:35 - 1 x 20 (did an extra 10 on accident)

Today was day 9 but i left my index card (what i use to track sets) at work.  I'll try and post that one tomorrow.  

100 Pushups & Lunges - Day 4

Still haven't experienced much soreness, but my elbows are starting to hurt.  It's most likely due to poor form.  Something i'll have to work on.  Anyways, here's when i knocked out the 100 today:

07:35 - 1 set of 10 pushups followed by 10 walking lunges
08:30 - 1 x 10
09:50 - 1 x 10
11:05 - 1 x 10
11:40 - 1 x 10
12:10 - 1 x 10
12:40 - 1 x 10
13:30 - 1 x 10
14:10 - 1 x 10
16:00 - 1 x 10

100 Pushups & Lunges - Day 3

I don't want to speak too quickly, but this challenge has been much easier than anticipated.  It's only day 3, but i find myself completing the sets even before i leave work for the day.  Whether or not it's effective remains to be seen but i'd much rather work out in tiny bursts throughout the day as opposed to dedicating a longer chunk of time and working out just once.

Here's when i completed my sets today:

07:20 - 1 set of 10 reps of pushups followed by (supersetted with) walking lunges
07:35 - 1 x 10
08:40 - 1 x 10
09:20 - 1 x 10
10:50 - 1 x 10
11:45 - 1 x 10
12:15 - 1 x 10
13:10 - 1 x 10
14:25 - 1 x 10
15:10 - 1 x 10

100 Pushups & Lunges - Day 2

Day two of the challenge and i didn't wake up nearly as sore as i thought i would've.  Just a week ago, i did 20 pushups and i was sore for two days.  I'm not going to celebrate until i wake up tomorrow.  Here's how the 100 broke down today:

06:50 - 1 set of 10 pushups and walking lunges
07:10 - 1 x 10
08:30 - 1 x 10
11:10 - 1 x 10
11:40 - 1 x 10
12:35 - 1 x 10
13:15 - 1 x 10
14:45 - 1 x 10
15:30 - 1 x 10
16:15 - 1 x 10

Eventually, i'd like to cut down on the number of sets by increasing reps.  When i'm confident, i'll up the ante.  I encourage you to join me.  If you can't do 10, start where you're comfortable and just do as many sets as it takes to get to 100.  

100 Pushups & Lunges - Day 1

Today is the first day of the 100 pushups and walking lunges challenge.  I'm happy to report that i completed 100 of each before i even left work for the evening.  I broke it down into 10 sets of 10. Here's when i completed each set:

06:30 - 10 reps of each
06:50 - 10
07:15 - 10
07:35 - 10
09:55 - 10
11:35 - 10
12:40 - 10
14:05 - 10
14:55 - 10
16:10 - 10

I was a little bit surprised that i was able to complete the sets so easily.  I thought that maybe i'd wear down over the day and fail to complete the 100.  I won't speak too soon, though, as i may wake up tomorrow and be sore as hell.

100 Pushups & Lunges - Introduction

For the next 21 days, i will attempt to do 100 push ups and 100 walking lunges each day.

Quick background.  I moved back to Ohio from Asheville, NC in November.  I'm staying at my parents' house until the g/f and I move into a home that we've recently purchased. The fridge is constantly full of "less-than-healthy" food and drink choices.  Needless to say, I haven't been making the best decisions.  When faced with having to cook versus grabbing what's convenient, i'll choose the path of least resistance.  

In my own home, i'll simply not purchase the bad food and remove the temptation entirely.  That's not really a choice here and my body has paid the price.   

tl;dr I'm fat.

Despite undertaking the Mile Run challenge, i've still managed to put on upwards of 20 pounds.  I'm hoping that this challenge will kick-start some fat loss and get me ready for the Electric Run 5k in June.

Here are my measurements as of May 4th, 2014:

Weight - 198 lbs
Neck - 16"
L Arm - 12.25"
R Arm - 12.5"
Chest - 42"
Naval - 40"
Waist - 38"
L Thigh - 23"
R Thigh - 23.5"
L Calf - 15.25"
R Calf - 15"

And here are some unflattering pictures that most would be hesitant to post on the web:

My weight and fitness levels are a constant roller coaster ride.  I'm hoping that undertaking this challenge, in addition to moving into my own home, will allow everything to stabilize and make health a permanent habit in my life.

The challenge starts tomorrow, May 5th, 2014.