Ruli's Log

[Ruli]

Hi All, Ruli here. A noob to Simplefit, but it realy looks exiting and I'm looking forward working this program. Started yesterday with L1D1. Couldn't complete the full 20 min's though - I was knackered after 11 min's and 20 rounds. Hopefully things will go better as time passes!!!!
A little bit about myself. I'm a 40 year old male living in Johannesburg, South Africa. In my early 20's I used to do quite a bit of gym work and I've got a marathon under my belt as well - so traing and fitness is not something new to me, it's just that I've neclegted it over the years and want to pick it up again and Simplefit looks just like the vehicle to help me!!!

[cheapo]

20 rounds is a decent score for your first attempt.
Pace yourself a little and you'll do even better!

[volleyball_man]

A common first attempt. You did well! You'll ramp up quickly.

[Ruli]

thanx for the advice. after reading the forum extensively, i realised that i should pace myself better - something like 4 rounds, rest 30 sec's, 4 rounds, rest, etc.
we'll see how it goes next monday.
i'm looking forward to tonights D2 - will report tomorrow on how it went.

[Ruli]

right peoples, here goes:

L1D2
2 pull-ups
6 push-ups
10 squats

round 1 0:34
round 2 0:36
round 3 0:39
round 4 0:37
round 5 0:37
total time 3:05

personally i think that the above is not too shabby. i'm substituting on the pull-ups a bit though - for the first one i jump to get some momemntum to pull me up. when i lower my body, i don't straighten my arms completely before i do the 2nd one. does this count as cheating?
what a completely different workout than D1!!! i wasn't half as exhausted as after D1's workout, but i suppose that's understandable.
looking forward to tomorrow's D3. without being too optimistic, i think i might just crack the 5min benchmark - all depending on the pull-ups!!!
will report back after the workout.

[volleyball_man]

You are doing great! I'd be careful about the pull-ups. You are possibly overloading your elbows.

[Ruli]

not a very dedicated start to SF if i have to be brutaly honest with myself - didn't do D3 to finish off week 1. i was a bit pushed for time on friday, but if i realy tried, i could have squeezed in a couple of minutes to do the round, but ultimately laziness won!!! so now i'll have to wait untill friday to measure myself on D3.
changed my exercise time going into week 2. in stead of working out in the evenings after work, i'm doing it now in the mornings before coming to the office. this will also ensure that i won't miss a day like last week.
i'm still on L1, which i think is a good thing as it will give me more time to get use to the workouts and routine. did D1 this morning and it went way better than last monday. i heeded to the advice and paced myself this time around. i might have even paced myself a bit too much. last week i only managed to work out for 11 min's (20 rounds), so my goal this morning was to go the full 20 min's, even if it meant doing the same or less rounds than last week, i had to be active for 20 min's.
the result - 32 rounds in 20 min's!!!
it definately paid off to pace myself, as i comfortably reached 20 min's. the workout was tough though, and i think i'm going to take a bit of strain in my arms as the dasy progresses. but as the saying goes: no pain, no gain!
looking forward to D2 on wednesday morning.
just a tip on how i counted the rounds this morning, which i think helps quite a lot to focus on the training as opposed to focus on how many rounds you've done. i had tin on the ground with a handfull of marbels next to it. did my pull-up, went to the floor for the 2 push-ups and as i got up to do the squats, i dropped a marbel in the tin. after every push-up rep, i would then drop a marbel in the tin.
try it.

[Ruli]

L1D2

2 pull-ups
6 push-ups
10 squats

round 1 48sec's
round 2 45sec's
round 3 45sec's
round 4 36 sec's (the mind was wandering: i only did 6 squats)
round 5 56secs'
total time 3 min 50 sec's (cf week 1: 3 min 05 sec)

had i done 10 squats in round 4, my time would have been almost a minute slower than last week. i'm not dissappointed though, as there are good reasons for the slower time.
firstly, last week my daughter kept time for me and i did it myself this week. this might have taken a second or two more, which is not that critical.
i also had some problems with my grip this morning. i'll definately have to invest in some gym gloves.
the biggest reason for the slower time is the fact that i did dead hang pull-ups this time around, as opposed to the jump & pull of last week. i did the 2 pull-ups in all the rounds except round 5, where i failed on the second one. in round 5 i therefore did two sets of 1 rep each.
the benchmark has been set though in that i will be keeping time and it's dead hang pull-ups going forward. can't wait till next wednesday to measure myself against this!
now it's for D3 on friday: watch this space, but don't hold your breath too much, cause after this morning's pull-ups, i might spend another week or so on L1.

some advice please: how do you upload photos and videos? i want to share some with you.

[DonQuijote]

Sounds to me like you should do a sub 5m D3 (our D1 and D2 stats were very similar - and I'm still suspicious my form/technique wasn't as correct as it should be).

L2 doesn't look like a huge step up (I know I'm going to be eating those words) so I suspect you won't need to stay on L1.

Keep it up.

[Ruli]

i'm just being cautious - don't wanna expect to much.
but let's see, maybe you're right.

[Ruli]

right, so i had my first D3 today and it was quite a work out! here's my report:

week 2
L1D3

10 pull-ups
21 push-ups
21 squats

as anticipated, the pull-ups were my nemesis. i only managed 8 in sets of 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 & 1. i couldn't for the life of me pulled my body up for a ninth time. not even a sub "jump & pull" could do the trick. nor could the gym gloves i bought! (although i must say it helps a lot with your grip). to prevent injury, i decided to call it a work out and proceeded to the push ups.
to my amazement, all be it with much effort, i did all 21 push-ups in one go! same with the squats, all 21 in one go.
time: 4 min 59 sec's
seeing that i only managed 8 pull-ups, i will stay on L1 for another week. another thing that will keep me on L1 is the fact that i'm actully doing chin-ups and not pull-ups. from next week (especially D1) i'll start alternating my grip, hopefully to gain more strenght and also to get use to the pull-up. i will only progress to L2 once i can do D3 under 5 min's with 10 proper pull-ups!!!
untill monday then.
enjoy the weekend.

[Ruli]

week 3
L1D1
only managed 26 rounds, as opposed to last week's 32. the reason is that i did dead hang pull-ups, as opposed to last week's jump and pull. changed my grip with every pull-up in order to build more strenght - i mostly do chin-ups still.

[volleyball_man]

That's good work!

[DonQuijote]

seeing that i only managed 8 pull-ups, i will stay on L1 for another week. another thing that will keep me on L1 is the fact that i'm actully doing chin-ups and not pull-ups.

Maybe this was my mistake - I didn't know there was a difference between pull-ups and chin-ups. Anyone care to enlighten me?

[Ghokun]

seeing that i only managed 8 pull-ups, i will stay on L1 for another week. another thing that will keep me on L1 is the fact that i'm actully doing chin-ups and not pull-ups.

Maybe this was my mistake - I didn't know there was a difference between pull-ups and chin-ups. Anyone care to enlighten me?

This is a pull up

This is a chin up

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