Week 2 Workouts + Squatting 50lbs (YAY!)

Hellooooo – long time no update! A few of you followers have been nagging me to post, so here goes!

This Week’s Workouts

Monday, February 3
Squats 40 lbs 8×4
Bench presses 30 lbs 4×5
Bent-over rows 30lbs 8×4
Overhead barbell presses 30lbs 8×4
Stiff-legged deadlifts 40lbs 8×4
Barbell curls 30lbs 8×4
Calf raises 8×4

Thursday, February 6
Squats 40 lbs 8×4
Bench presses 30 lbs 4×5
Bent-over rows 30lbs 8×4
Overhead barbell presses 30lbs 8×4
Stiff-legged deadlifts 40lbs 8×4
Barbell curls 30lbs 8×4
Calf raises 8×4

Saturday, February 8
Squats 45 lbs 8×4
Bench presses 35 lbs 4×5 (struggled to lift this again)
Bent-over rows 35lbs 8×4
Overhead barbell presses 30lbs 8×4
Stiff-legged deadlifts 45lbs 8×4
Barbell curls 30lbs 8×4
Calf raises 8×4

Sunday, February 9
Treadmill: incline 5; speed 5.5 – 5 min (+ 2 min slower speed)
Squats 50 lbs 8×4
Bench presses 30 lbs 8×2.5
Bent-over rows 30lbs 8×4
Overhead barbell presses 30lbs 8×4
Stiff-legged deadlifts 50lbs 8×4
Barbell curls 30lbs 8×4
Calf raises 8×4
Treadmill: incline 5; speed 5.0 – 10 min (+2 min slower speed)
+ random stretches

AND SOME BREAKING NEWS…

I can finally squat 50 lbs.

Okay, to be brutally honest … squatting 50 lbs is a pathetic goal. I recall walking to the squat machine last year and being able to squat +50 lbs. It’s a bit different this time because I am not using the squat rack to help me start my stance – I’m just picking up a barbell and lifting it over my head to begin my squat workout. I’m not too sure what’s better – using a barbell or using the bar + weight add-on’s via the squat machine, so let me know your thoughts on this!

Feeling Comfortable? Lift More!

During my Saturday workout (see above), I went to the gym with KS. He pointed out that I was underestimating myself and that I could probably lift more. At first I was too stubborn to admit he was right, but deep down I knew it was true.

After every workout, I usually anticipate feeling sore the next day but the pain never comes any more… I didn’t really question it and just assumed the stretches I did after lifting prevented me from feeling sore, so I went along with that reasoning. However, I think it’s finally time to challenge myself a bit more and INCREASE MY WEIGHTS.

Oh boy. New challenges, wabam! Things will be a bit more exciting in the next few weeks…

Wish me good luck (seriously!!!) – I will need it.

Running & Avocados – Kalz’s Week 1 Update

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s been almost a week since I started the journey!  It’s been pretty interesting seeing the stats on this thing. I’m new to blogging so it’s pretty cool when we were able to see our blog hit 900 views in like 4 days.

For those of you following the 6 (Manaynay joined! So we are up to 6 now) of us started a group chat and it kind of got out of hand. Lynnja made a rule, no whatsapping after midnight….

Progress update:
I can see why people love running so much. There’s a weird sense of happiness when you are right in the middle of the run (around 15 minutes in).  I definitely look forward to running more than push-up/sit-up days. Lets be honest, I’m only doing push-ups and sit-ups for the vanity portion (so I don’t look like a twig).  Surprisingly I’m not as sore as I thought I would be. I have however, developed a deep hatred of push-ups and sit-ups even though it’s the first week. I also found out that the push-up/sit-up app is for 2 days per week, not the original 3 days like I thought. Fail on my part. I guess for the 6^th day of my workout I will just repeat a previous day of push-up/sit-ups.

Apparently GPS Tracking doesn’t like me.

I tried vlogging. I tried. I get distracted looking at my mouth move that I forget what to say. Anyways, In the spirit of healthy eating, here’s a picture of guacamole that we made today at a friends house!

We cut the ingredients too fine so it was too mushy, would’ve liked it chunkier!

Guacamole Recipe:

3 Avocados (Chopped)
1 Tomato (Chopped)
1 Lemon (Squeeze out the juice)
1 Jalapeño pepper (minced)
Salt
Optional: Garlic + Onions for extra flavour!

Then I got bored and decided to try to grow the avocados! I’ve tried it before but the seed died. Let’s see the results this time.  Apparently it takes 6 weeks to grow roots so I guess I’ll have to be patient. I got the instructions HERE.

Here’s all the really boring stuff no one reads:

Day 1: Sunday Jan 26 – Push-up Day 1, Sit-up Day 1
Day 2: Monday Jan 27– Couch to 5K Day 1
Day 3: Tuesday Jan 28 – Push-up Day 2, Sit-up Day 2
Day 4: Wednesday Jan 29– Couch to 5K Day 2
Day 5: Thursday Jan 30– Rest Day
Day 6: Friday Jan 31– – Couch to 5K Day 3

Planned
Day 7: Saturday Feb 1st: Push-up/Sit-up

Talk to you all next time!

Meet Kalz

HELLO! It’s Kelvin aka KALZ checking in!                                

I thought this project would be an amazing way to get fit and end off my last semester of university! In the past have definitely struggled with keeping a certain level of fitness and I feel like it’s time to make a change. Thanks Lynn for setting this blog up!

A little about my fitness background:

I used to be really healthy and bike/walk for 1-2 hour a day (to and from school) up until the end of high school. After entering university, schoolwork and jobs and extracurricular activities just took over. I tried to keep up by swimming and going to the gym (occasionally), yoga etc. But I can proudly (or sadly?) say that in the last year, I have become a full-blown couch potato. I’m also kind of obsessed with snowboarding.

My Goal: 

My main goal is to work on more cardio and pushing myself to follow a fitness schedule. Hopefully that translates into some muscle mass as well, but that’s not my main goal.

I’m going to take an interesting approach on tracking my progress. I have decided to use the Coach to 5K App to build on my cardio. I have used this app in the past but never finished, I like the interface and I find it pretty easy to use. Hopefully through this I won’t die on the Sun Run like I did last year. The other half of my routine, which I will use, is the 100 push-ups and 200 sit-ups app. The app promises 6 weeks but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be longer. I will alternate between running and doing the push-up/sit-ups because I want to build a regular workout routine. Also the couch to 5k app is only around 30 minutes a day on alternating days. This way I can get more into my workout without killing myself. Hopefully 6 days of fitness a week will kick my butt into shape! (I get 1 cheat day per week)

Anyways, that’s all for now! Hopefully I can get fit and inspire some of you couch potatoes to get off your butts!

Tl;dr: I’m a couch potato that’s going to get fit 

Meet Kimbo!

Hi guys! The name’s Kim.

I decided to join this strange (yet awesome) competition as an incentive to GET FIT.

A couple of years ago, I was pretty overweight and became a victim to “Freshman 15”. The allnighters, midnight snacks, and no-time-to-exercise-because-I-have-to-study-study-study-mindset overtook my life and made me gain unwanted weight!

Around third year, I decided that I didn’t want to live the life of an oompa loompa, so I began running (a lot!). I invested in a pair of comfortable pink Asics and nicely fitting gym strip and began my journey to be healthy. Since then, I lost 20 lbs (130 lbs to 110 lbs) and have taught myself the ins and outs of healthy eating and exercise (still learning!).

My exercise regime went downhill after I left for my exchange to Melbourne (July 2013 ‘til now), so I want to get back into the habit of being healthy again. Something that I have always wanted to do is to confidently wear a bright, pink sports bra at the gym. It’s an odd goal, but I swear it’s every girl’s dream.

The majestic pink bra…

By the end of this competition, I hope to be confident in my own skin and be proud of my body. I am not aiming to get abs of steel (though that would be kind of cool), but I hope to look decent enough to not scare people away when I stroll around the beach in my bikini.

My weekly goal is to get active three times a week (running outside, doing weights at the gym, or dancing in the rain – I’ll update you) and eat freakin’ healthy for 90% of the time. I want to lose my gut, tone my stomach, and be able to squat more than 50 lbs. Oh, and of course rock a pink sports bra!

Feel free to follow me on the road to getting fit. I will need the support!