Goals

[2muchofme]

My current stats are

37 yrs old
6'2"
275 lbs
50 inch chest
46 inch waist

My goals are to have a 36 inch waist with a lean muscular body.

I have been down to around 200 pounds a couple of times in my adult life. Both times I still didn't like the way I looked and people that knew me said I looked sick at that weight. I used tons of cardio and not eating enough to lose the weight, but It left me week and still "soft" even at the correct weight for my height. The Simplefit workout plans look like the thing I need. I figured out my starting level by looking at the "day 3" workouts. I did as many reps of each exercise as i could.
Pullups( hanging rows with my feet on the ground) 12 / 3 = 4
Pushups = 25
Squats = 20 (my knees hated this)

Pretty depressing results but at least I'm capable of doing LEVEL 1 (with pullup substitution)
man I was so sure I would be able to start with a higher level than that. On the bright sight the program/system Is made for people even at my current fitness level.
I guess I also have the short term additional goal of doing a real pullup.

Thanks Kevin Mckay for this site.

[Ruli]

Hi 2muchofme and welcome to the SF community. I trust that you will enjoy the program as much as me, and indeed, all the others that follow it!

[2muchofme]

I did L1D1 tonight and managed 28 rounds. I was hoping for at least 20 so I was not to mad at myself. I probably could have pushed out a few more rounds but I eased off at the end because of my history of having terrible recovery times from strenuous exercise. I've read that day 2 of the plan is usually done on Wednesday, but I wouldn't be too surprised if I have to wait till Thursday. I had my wife take a "before" picture tonight. I look old fat and tired. On a good note I really got a good sweat going and my heart rate was elevated throughout most of the workout. I felt 100 percent better after the workout than before! For whatever reason I have always been blessed with more cardiovascular endurance than muscle endurance, for example when I run my legs cramp and give out before I run out of wind. One thing that this evenings workout reminded me of was the difference in my upper and lower body muscles. After a while the squats started to hurt my legs and my legs began to tremble. When the hanging rows and pushups became tiring my muscles don't hurt and tremble I just get to a certain point and I can no longer lift myself any longer, no pain just muscle failure. Is that common or should I be concerned?

[Admin]

great job, start slowly you don't want to get injured.

[2muchofme]

Thanks I will be careful. That's one of the nice things about this program/workout. Its already figured number of reps will not leave me guessing and hopefully keep me from overdoing it and not sticking with it. It was also enjoyable to compare my workout performance with others. This morning I am feeling pretty good. I figured out that I did 84 squats and hanging rows last night and 56 pushups. I plan on doing some light cardio/stretching tonight to help keep loose so I will be ready for my day 2 workout tomorrow.

[2muchofme]

I managed to do the L1D2 workout tonight. I was really sore last night and this morning. I did a little research and got an old paint roller out of my shed (used a new sleeve) and rubbed down the sore muscles with that. My kids thought that was pretty funny. But funny looking or not it helped. I warmed up about 10 -15 min before and spent my 3 min rest periods doing light cardio, with about 10 min of cardio after for a cool down. After the 1rst couple of reps of each exercise the pain and tightness I had went away and i was able to do each of the 5 sets in 45 seconds for a total of 3min 45sec. Of course I am doing pullup substitutions (hanging rows with my feet on the ground; 3 for every pullup) Also I am holding onto a door (for balance) during my squats since at my current fitness level I end up leaning forward which puts my knees way in front of my toes. I decided to do that earlier today when I did a squat to test my level of leg soreness. I squatted in front of a mirror and realized my form was way off. That would probably explain the knee pain that I had during and since L1D1. Additionally I did a little research on post exercise nutrition and decided to have a small glass of 1% chocolate milk and a peanut butter and honey sandwich after my workout tonight. That was the closest thing to what I had read about that I already had in the kitchen. I am so happy I decided not to put off the workout until tomorrow. I feel really good right now. I have no idea how I will do, but I am looking forward to L1D3

[2muchofme]

I did the L1D3 workout tonight.
pullups(hanging row with feet on the ground substitution)
5,5,5,5,3,2,3,2
pushups
10,9,2
squats(holding on to a door for balance)
21
time 5 min 2 seconds

I have had a bad couple of days as far as my diet is concerned, mostly social eating. The biggest problem with that is it seems to spill over in non social eating. Once the eating machine starts I have hard time shutting it off. I could really tell the difference tonight. I ended up going to failure on my hanging rows. I didn't feel it coming till I couldn't lift myself any further. I am looking forward to my next L1D1 workout. I can't wait to try and beat my last score. I am thinking of adding some jump roping on my non simplefit workout days to help with weight loss. On the diet side I am considering charting out a weekly meal plan. I'll be sure to keep a couple of "bad foods" on the menu so I can look forward to them. Ill place them around my workouts. That way I'm not deciding what to eat last minute and having to shop while I'm hungry. I'll slowly work my way toward a diet like the one on this site. The meal plan won't just be for me but my pregnant wife and 3 kids ages 6, 4, 2. Anyway I am still really excited about this site and workout plan. I can already feel a small difference in my arms chest and back. I'm not quite as soft as I was before I started

[2muchofme]

I am really excited because I was able to do a pullup today. At my job there is a store room with exposed ceiling joists. As I was walking by on a whim I gave it a try. It was a really ugly rep with my feet kicking like a 2 year old throwing a tantrum, But it counts!!!!!!!!!! The hanging rows I have been doing must be doing something. I am still going to do the hanging row substitution in my workout since I don't have a pullup bar and my hanging row setup might not handle my full weight. Anyway more to come.

[wildlove]

Wow, that was less than two weeks to a full pull up! Congrats!

[2muchofme]

Thanks, I really appreciate the encouragement!!! I could lift myself a little ways before. I would make it 3 or 4 inches up and then hit a sticking point.

I just finished my week 2 L1D1. I managed 35 rounds. Armed with my small assortment of recovery tricks I pushed myself a little harder tonight. I am so grateful for stumbling across simplefit. Now I am off to google hunting for some kind of fun indoor cardio routine for my in between days that wont tax my muscles too much while they recover. I suspect my legs will always be the sorest until I get this excess weight off.

to be continued....

[Admin]

great work all you need is slow and steady to get results

keep it up

[2muchofme]

Thanks, I hear you about the "slow and steady". I'm sure that's how I got so out of shape. It just didn't seem like it at the time. I've decided that I am going to change my diet in baby steps to make it easier. The first rule I'm going to implement is to not drink my calories. It's going to be black coffee, unsweetened tea and water for me. The exception being my post workout 1 cup of 1% chocolate milk.

[2muchofme]

I just completed my week 2 L1D2 workout.
42,41,40,40,37sec for a total of 3 min 20 sec
I was a little faster than last week. My last set of squats I didn't hold on to the door for balance and I still managed to keep my form decent. I am still doing the hanging row pullup substitution. I think that my pushup and squat performance are going to increase faster than my pullup abilities. I have started to get my diet under control which I know will help. On a non simplefit specific kind of achievement I as able to get out of my very low sitting car carrying an arm full of groceries without having to grab the door for leverage. Baby steps...............

[2muchofme]

I completed my week 2 L1D3 workout tonight. I finished in 3 min 25 sec. It went like this.
hanging rows:10 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, 4 reps, 4 reps, 2 reps.
pushups: 15 reps, 6 reps
squats: 21 reps.

I figured I would beat 5 min, by how my last day2 workout went. I wonder, before I started simplefit, I tested myself on all 3 exercises for max reps. I couldn't do as many in a row tonight of hanging rows or pushups as I could before I started. Is that a sign that I am not fully recovering between workouts? I suppose that's what the 1 week a month "below your current level" week is for.

I can't decide If I should go to level 2 with my pullup ability lagging behind the pushups and squats. If I stay at level 1 and continue to slowly progress in the difficulty of my pullup substitutions until I can actually complete day3 in under 5 min with real pullups, I won't be getting the most out of my pushup and squat portions of the workout. ?????

Ah the joys of trying to fit a very round peg into a square hole. I am not at all discouraged. I am just trying to get the most benefit for my workout time. Any suggestions would be welcome.

[2muchofme]

Week 3 level 1 day 1
22 rounds!!:(

First of all I think it was funny that I was even considering going to level 2. I changed my pullup substitutions to pullups using my rings with my toes on the ground for the first 2 or 3 sets. Then I had to change to slow negative reps. The last 4 or 5 sets was hanging rows at almost 45 degree angle. I also changed to full deep squats. I did o.k. the first 15 sets then I had to hold a water bottle in each hand in front of me for balance. The pullups on my new rings wiped me out!!! I have a feeling I am going to be stiff tomorrow from the deep squats as well. The pushups were no problem at all. I think while I am on level waiting for my body weight to drop and my pullups to become stronger I may experiment with some close hand pushups and see what happens. I feel exhausted and quite humbled!!!
More later.......