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Ouch.

My right shoulder!

But, it is good ouch. Yet ouch enough I’ll need to let it settle down before I do my next session.

So, going for walkies today. Got a pretty comfortable 4km meander in mind, and it all helps.

Muscles definitely settling down. Was getting my new tattoo done earlier, and when shifting to a new position, my shoulder gave a big old pop, and instantly felt better! Still need to go easy though. No point not listening to my body, pushing it and risking permanent damage.

You've done your right, I've done my left X-D

Just wanted to ask what the app was MDG? I use one called Exerprise - the guy is VERY American but he knows his stuff and there's a good library of exercises on it. Very useful for those of us who can't (be arsed) to get to a gymn and just want to exercise with what's to hand.

Pure gym App.

Comes with the membership, and I couldn’t do without it. Not just to show me what I must assume are effective exercises, but the correct form.

And with the purchase of a yoga mat and a pair of dumb bells, I can now do a fair amount at home. Nothing that will get me super ripped, but more than enough to offset a typically sedentary lifestyle. Especially if I stick to my new plan of walking down the big Asda of an evening to get my dinner. It’s around a 2km round trip, which isn’t an awful lot. But it’s still More Than I’m Doing. Well, more than I was doing.


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Yup. 2km there and back, with a bit of aisle meandering. And even a bit of light weight carrying due to shopping bags.


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Also did some mild weight lifting. 5kg each hand, Romanian Deadlift, into bicep curl.

Did…like…a bunch? Maybe 30 or so, on the trot. Was enough to leave me slightly out of breath. Probably not a lot in terms of Calories, but should add to the toning up of my flabby, if clear skinned, mass.


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And another 30. I counted them this time.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
I thought I misread the last post. Then I read it again.

Are you apart of the SCA?

I just had trouble imagining how much room you need to train with a bilhook or glaive...

Lol, yes, yes I am. I'm fortunate to have a backyard, and good area to hit my pell (target, practice dummy, padded fence post). Realistically, I'd want at least a 15 foot diameter area where I'm not going to hit anything- but I'd be much more comfortable with 20. Accidents happens after all, and there's a lot of momentum involved in drilling with this style.

Arm is feeling waaaay better today. Sufficient I can go do another gym session.

Got 12 minutes of jogging ahead, plus stuff like goblet squats and various torso twisty things.

Hopefully my body will recover quicker, as I do want to get up to three gym sessions a week. But it is just a hope, not an insistence. No point injuring myself out of impatience.

Also, I was trying to work out how many calories I burn on a meander around town. Apparently, it’s 1 Cal per 1kg of body weight. So I’m looking around 100 Cal per km. Though, that is on my assumption I’m still the 17 stone I weighed last time. Which was several years ago.

I really should buy some bathroom scales, shouldn’t I?

No. Don't fall into the scale trap.

Take pictures of yourself and compare as you go.

That is a much better scale of success.

Scales are fine but you have to consider

1) You can gain weight at stages because you're gaining more muscle weight than you lose in bodyfat

2) Don't measure too often. Heck your weight goes up and down over the course of a normal day. So you want decently spaced out measuring points so that you're reviewing the actual weight change over time rather than just getting lost in the daily up-downs etc...

3) Remember that body condition is different to weight - eg if you improve tonality and muscle mass you might well go up.

This is basically the same as how many power-lifters and sports people rank as "overweight/obese" on things like the BMI charts. They aren't overweight, they are just heavier because they are fitter than the "average person working in an office"; and that fitness comes with more musclemass.


It can be a helpful tool and one of many to help you monitor your improvement.

Another one can be a simple regular chart that shows how many reps/times/distances etc... you've done each day/week and which you can use to monitor your activity and changes.

Think I’ll still get them, as I genuinely don’t know how much I weigh right now. So, despite only being one part of the overall puzzle, it’s a necessarily area of knowledge.

From there, I can get more accurate estimates on my daily calorie needs, and how much I might be burning on a simple walk.

For instance? I’m currently under the impression I need 2,400 calories a day. And that I burn 100 Calories per km walked, when I can easily get 2km in a day. And I’m aiming for around 2,000 calories a day.

But, whilst my height and age are fixed and known? My weight isn’t. And I can find that out, or near as dammit, for the sake of a purchase costing a few quid.

That matters, because if I’m lighter than I think (even by a stone, stone and a half), then all my calculations are off, and I may be eating too much still, or not doing enough exercise etc.

But, whilst it’s something I was already aware of, the point that weight can be misleading (what with muscle being considerably denser and so heavier than fat), it still provides important data when it comes to calorie counting and estimating calories burned during even super light exercise.


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Mind you, maybe the gym has a set?

Will check later. Done some of my exercises at home, so should only be a short trip t’gym.

Got jogging, Plate Wood Choppers and Plate Russian Twists left.

Will then see how I feel, and mebbes do a bit more. And this time? I won’t forget my sodding water bottle!


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Scales bought, and another 2km walked in the job.

So, I’m 18 Stone 2 Pounds.

More than I thought, but gives me a starting point, and something to calculate my calorie need.

Apparently my exercise routine is paying off.

I was out shopping today (buying some fruit for my smoothie addiction), when I was blatantly hit on by a pretty lady.*

*I was at Wal-Mart, so take that caveat as you will... But it's a step in the right direction.

Had an in-office day yesterday, which saw me up at 4:30am.

Suffice to say, little exercise done. I did manage a couple of km of walking, and took the stairs where practical. But that was about it. And I didn’t each much, just my usual fruit and flavoured rice cakes. So at least I’ve maintained my calorie deficit.

Also discovered the pizza I’ve stashed in the freezer is 2,000 calories on its own. Which sucks.

Just getting back into they gym today after over a week away. I'd kinda aggravated an injury the other week. I'm just starting year two this month and am aiming to get in 8 days a week. Mondays and Thursdays and every other Wednesday as time allows. this will give me several days between sessions to recover and let me refocus on some other stuff I need to be doing. I too all of "last year" to focus on "self care". In this case the gym and mental health stuff through the VA. I'd been super stressed and angry beyond words for some time. I know now when it started so there's that.

I want less injuries this go round so more rest days is probably the way. My plan is fairly basic, hard upper body days followed by hard lower body days and my extra days will be a catch all and cardio. I think that'll work for me.
Not really looking forward to the cardio though.

I need to be more disciplined about going to the gym.

I’m doing the equivalent in home workouts and walks, but the gym of course offers superior equipment and variety. And for toning up and effective weight loss? Variety is the key.

 Quixote wrote:
No. Don't fall into the scale trap.

Trap is a bit much but it is simply a tool/gauge of progress and not perfect. They're more accurate than those home body fat calculators at least but they need to be used in a controlled manner. Weigh yourself in the same relative state no more than once a week and don't expect noticeable progress on the scale every single week but rather on a monthly basis. I weigh myself Friday mornings right after the morning bathroom trip before I eat or drink anything in just my boxers and socks and only if I was regular the day before. If you forget on the scheduled day or life just gets in the way then just do it the next. Simply reweighing myself later in the day after I've done all my eating gets me typically around 4-5lbs of extra weight and if I throw on a full set of clothing (jeans, shirt, sweater) that adds another 2-3lbs. It can really mess with your mind and perceived progress if you don't weigh in the same relative state.

Man, when is my positive body image going to kick in?

I've lost 34 pounds of fat, regained muscle in my legs and arms, I'm almost to my pre-COVID fitness level (that's when everything went downhill faster than free-falling from the ISS)....

All my friends and family have complemented me on my success.

I felt confident... until I was invited to the beach this Sunday and immediately my body image turned to this:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Man, when is my positive body image going to kick in?

I've lost 34 pounds of fat, regained muscle in my legs and arms, I'm almost to my pre-COVID fitness level (that's when everything went downhill faster than free-falling from the ISS)....

All my friends and family have complemented me on my success.

I felt confident... until I was invited to the beach this Sunday and immediately my body image turned to this:

You need to compare yourself only to yourself. I know it's easier said then done. I used to cheer myself up with this sarcastic backhanded compliment: before I looked bad both with and without my clothes on... now I only look bad with them off!



Not sure if that helps though...

4 pounds down after two weeks, and I’m happy with that.

Feels like a good amount, and a safe amount.

Congrats! It's definitely more than a good amount and a great start.

Ashkerly, because I can’t maths it seems? It’s 6lbs down. Forgot there’s 14lb to a Stone.

Gone from 18st 2lb to 17st 10lb.

I do know it expect weight loss to level off fairly quickly, and so to expect less dramatic results. But I’m already feeling the benefit in General stamina, and indeed mood.

Got stupid seated rowing today. Will make sure I’ve got it setup properly this time, double check I’m not just too tall for the machine.

Great progress and the best thing is to just keep steadily at it. You'll naturally get faster and slower spots - the big trick is to focus on lifestyle change over number watching .

The more you can engage with the lifestyle change and make long term changes the healthier it is for you in the long run. Even if it might mean that your weightloss is slower, its often far more sustainable long term in not just lowering it but keeping it lowered without feeling like you're having to live every day as a "diet punishment"

Even better! Like you said, the first month is always the highest so don't get discouraged if you can't unrealistically lose the same amount in the second month though. That first month included you shedding literal excess poop out of your system (however much less you're eating each day times the average GI transit time's worth of digested food that you're no longer putting in) as well as some dehydration as your body attempts to use the stored fat by rehydrating it. There absolutely is fat loss in there but your expectation should be more based on what you get in your second month of consistent loss which will then plateau and slowly decrease after 4-6 months.

Perversely, my back feels better too.

My guess is WFH five days a week from my sofa for four or five years meant the responsible muscles weren’t getting enough work.

Also, some of the weight exercises are about flexing and twisting with added resistance. Lots of crackly pops, but the good crackly pops. Not the “Arrrrgh!” crackly pops.


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Right, did all but one of my set exercises at the gym.

12 minutes seated rowing (varying between 20 and 40 kg)

36 Romanian Deadlifts with 7.5kg Dumb Bells

30 Barbell Shoulder Press at 12.5kg

Couldn’t get on the leg presses machine, as someone had decided that was Their Seat, and were just browsing their phone, utterly obvious to other gym users.

So my legs got some oomph, did a quick cycle. Will fit the leg presses in on my next visit.

Which leads to a question. What is gym etiquette when someone isn’t hogging a machine, but just Fannying Around On It?

Oh, and something I’d forgotten? I noticed yesterday on the rowing machine just how much I favour my right arm.

Despite being left handed, an ill advised teenage defenestration, just as puberty hit, seriously messed up my left arm, leaving me with permanent, but minor, tendon and nerve damage. So since then, I’ve become more or less ambidextrous, except for writing.

On the heavier settings, I noticed my left arm doing much less.

So that’s something I’ll have to address, and likely over time.

I figure doing dumb bell work with mismatched weights, left going heavier, will help, as will isolated stuff.

Just means you're more suited to rowing on bow side

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Had an in-office day yesterday, which saw me up at 4:30am.

Suffice to say, little exercise done. I did manage a couple of km of walking, and took the stairs where practical. But that was about it. And I didn’t each much, just my usual fruit and flavoured rice cakes. So at least I’ve maintained my calorie deficit.

Also discovered the pizza I’ve stashed in the freezer is 2,000 calories on its own. Which sucks.

Then don't eat the whole thing at once. Have half with a salad today, leftovers for the next day or two.

That may well be beyond my willpower.

It’s Salami Honey Barbecue.

OK I had to look that up. Chicago Town? Please report back. I may need to buy in bulk!

Oh it’s an amazing pizza. Easily my favourite frozen one.

Got back to the gym today for the first time this week. It sucked. I had no strength. Quit early and went home.

I'm discovering that I need to work out a lot to maintain my strength and to do that I need to eat like I had been before heading off to the gym.
That was part of my problem today I believe.

The other part was I decided to attempt the hack squat again and it only had 90Lbs on so I figured it'd be fine. No. My knees were immediately unhappy with me.

Weird that leg press and leg extensions don't bother my knees but that did.

I've been outside working for almost 2 week which is why I haven't made it to the gym.

I wont go back till next Monday. I'm still doing the outside work which is mostly slinging a manchette and tugging electro netting, it's a moveable electric fencing ,out of vines where it's been overgrown then moving all of that "fencing" out of the brush and setting it up again. Each section is about 60 feet long and I think we have 8 of those.

I think I only need 4 of them to get it all working again. Just shrinking the area but that'll be ok for a while. Then I can get back to "normal", what ever that is.

Don't forget if you're working physically all the working day then that's going to hit your energy and muscles. Even if you're not doing "HARD" work but you are working physically all the time that still takes its toll.

If you're doing lots of manual work and then the gym on top you might want to consider asking for some training/diet advice. It might well be that you don't have to go back to heavier eating or have ot miss the gym or such; just that you need some smaller adjustments here and there.

Few weeks ago won a 15km trail run race, beating a professional sponsored runner by 4 minutes.

Training doing 20km hills with 1km elevation in 2 hours with average heart rate 128 per minute.

Then I got an ingrown toenail and after 2 operations on it I have been stuck riding my exercise bike 18-20 hours per week and that is likely to continue for the next 2 weeks.

Leaving me 2 full weeks of training (not full as I will have ramp up) and a taper week before a 100 mile race with 6.8km of elevation.

Last year 1st 100km run, pulled hamstring 2 weeks before, 2nd 100km run, ingrown toenaiul removed 12 days before, 3rd 100km run, pulled my other hamstring 2 weeks before.

It absolutely drives me nuts.