Tonja- phew, I thought I missed the show. It's getting really good.
Ok, bed time for me. Goodnight everyone!
MW, I am signing up for my 1st 5k at the end of April - my goal is just do it and then sign up for another in May & June. Thanks, for your inspiration! I'm sure it will sttteeeammy here by June! We have a weimaraner named Rex - he is a great dog. I use to walk him & run him in the afternoon (before kids) and people would ask if I would sell him!
I need to get motivated to get up early & start my workouts - how can I do this!?
Tonja
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T,
I have been unsuccessful too! Ugh. Question and a very important one! I am on another thread and now I am wondering if I am doing this challeng wrong again. What are you guys doing weight wise? Example below:
Chest
Dumbell Press
12lbsx 12reps
15lbsx 10reps
20lbsx 8reps
25lbsx 6reps
Then switche to another exercise
Dumbell incline
15lbsx12pers
Is this what you guys are doing too?? I read it this way, but someone else is doing it differently - changing execises every rep.
Weird... I need to buy the original book.
Cardio tonight - pumped just added CardioRadio to my phone!
Have a good weekend!
Tonja, DEFINITELY buy the original book! It makes all the difference in the world, plus the words that Bill and other people write are so inspiring. Not just the physical fitness aspect; he writes a lot about the inner transformation that happens within yourself. I've read it cover-to-cover several times.
OK, you are close on the workouts but switching it up too early. Do 12, 10, 8, 6, THEN another 12 but with the weight of your 8 reps. 1 minute rest in between. All same type of workout. After that last 12, immediately do a different workout but same muscle group, and do another 12 reps. By then your muscles should be toast and that last set of 12 is when you hit your Level 10 "high point."
Let's look at this with your example:
Chest Presses:
12lbs x 12 reps, 1 minute rest
15lbs x 10 reps, 1 minute rest
20lbs x 8 reps, 1 minute rest
25lbs x 6 reps, 1 minute rest (you should be working pretty hard now)
20lbs x 12 reps, NO REST (working VERY hard by this point)
Dumbbell Incline, weight is just an example:
15lbs x 12 reps
(This should feel almost impossible by the end... you're doing 2 sets of 12 back to back here... by Rep 6 you should be sweating and straining; by Rep 8 your muscles should be burning; by Rep 10 the world stops moving; those last 2 should be so difficult it's your INNER strength that is getting them done because you have nothing left otherwise.)
Chest is done! Take a 2 minute rest, drink some water and regroup.
Then move on to another muscle group and repeat this pattern. Say next is triceps, so you do 12, 10, 8, 6, 12 of pulldowns, then for your last 12 you do dips.
And so on and so forth.
Make sense? The book explains this very well but I had to have a friend who had tried the Challenge years ago help me with figuring it out.
Oh and on getting up early: I don't really have any tricks. I do my HIIT first thing and just... I don't know. Force myself to get up and do it. I think about all that fat melting off my frame, and how it's one less thing to worry about later in the day. That usually does the trick. Otherwise I have never had the motivation because I am NOT a morning person. Some people say they get up and immediately drink 2 cups of coffee, finishing the 2nd one at the gym. That might work for you?
MW,
Thanks! Okay, I thought I was way off by another thread. Ok, I didn't put the rests in it! Also, the challenge book isn't the best on BFL plan. I printed out the sheets online & use BFL journal, but I missed switch part - I thought you did last two sets as a different exercise. OK - not too far off! I am done when I finishing the last 5 reps! I will do this for the rest of my challenge. So far I am pretty happy with the results - clothes fit better & more muscular.
I am not a morning person either, but I just need to shut up & do it! I don't drink a lot of coffee - 2 cups I would be climbing the walls, but If I can't do it - I will try this method!
Another quick question what should my goal be for running? What mile per hour or minutes per mile to start with? I have no idea. Let me know.
Tonja-
MW is spot on! It's funny, I went to the gym at lunch and did the exact same workout for my chest, with the exact same weight as you!
Question, what other book are you looking at if you're not looking at the original BFL?
Motivation for morning workouts? Hmmm, I'm probably not the best to answer because I haven't been getting my lazy butt up latetly. The only thing I can think of is what MW said. That feeling of knowing you're done for the day and don't have to think about it anymore. I love knowing when I get off work I can just go home and I don't have to fight the traffic at the gym. Oh, that's the other motivation, when I usually go (around 5 am) I can hop on just about any equipment I want without someone else being on it.
Your goal for running is YOUR goal. Nobody can really answer that because your 5 is your 5 and your 10 is your 10. It will just be trial and error for a week or so, then you'll get the hang of it. I think the book say a 5 could be like walking up stairs with groceries. That's the intensity you should feel and just keep going up from there. Personally, I usually start at 4.0 for my level 5 intensity and I end at 9.0 for my level 10. So my mph usually goes like this:
5- 4.0
6 -5.0
7- 6.0
8- 7.0
9- 8.0
10-9.0
For your running, I don't think there is a "goal" that anyone else can set for you. Are you following the HIIT pattern? If so, then just gauge by the amount of effort you are putting into it. When I first started a Level 10 for me was 6.5 mph. Then by Week 3, a Level 10 was 7 mph. Then 7.5. Then 8. Now a Level 10 for me is 9.5 mph. My other Levels have gone up accordingly though I still always begin the first 2 minutes at 3.5 mph as a warm-up. If you want to set some goals, look at your Level 10 and see if you want it to be faster. Then adjust your Levels 6, 7, 8, and 9 as well. Maybe increase by .2 mph each week. Maybe by .5. It depends on what you want to accomplish or if you think you could be working a lot harder. Maybe try doing a huge jump in speed, by like 1 mph for each level, and see if you can do it. You never know what your body can accomplish until you push it.
Let me know if that helps?
MW & T-
Sorry for the confusion - I meant to start with a 5k. I am looking forward to my next challenge and you seem to be an experienced runner. I don't even know if I could run a mile straight - I just do the HIIT which kicks my butt.
I base my HIIT off my target HRT not mph which so far has been working, but I am not running the whole time. I started with 5.5mph for 10s and now I am at 7! I just read your was 9.5mph - I think that I would be like a cartoon character if I did that zzmph - splat against the wall! Goodness!
So, my starting goal for training for a 5k should be about 10-12 minute mile? Good starting point? I can walk a 14-15 minute mile now.
What do you think - I am going to friend you too.
Thanks,
Oh!! That makes sense. :)
Do you have a smartphone? I would recommend you try doing a 30-minute run outside, maybe on your free day and see where you are. I use MapMyRun which gives me my average speed. I personally average a 10:40 minute mile outside on open ground. I think anything under a 12:00 minute mile is a great starting point! Maybe in preparation you can start doing one cardio session a week outdoors? Running outside is definitely different than on a treadmill; it takes a lot more work.
And really, I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't kill a mile outside! The first time I tried to run outside I didn't anticipate getting past a mile. When I finished and checked my running app, I discovered I had done 3.6 miles at a steady 11:00 mile! It's crazy how much of a difference the HIIT can make! So I say go out there one day and see where you are. Then maybe work on getting faster. Try to shave your time down little by little.
T-
I didn't answer your question about the book . BFL champions book, I bought it on the clearance rack in early Jan. for about $5 and my understanding is the original is more formal on how tos and this one is more about 2 people going threw BFL challenge. Its a good read and it why I am here, but as you can see I miss read it. I don't go back to it to reference it just use the website.
Heading to grocery, Costco, tee ball, soccer, plant flowers & then to the gym or gym in the middle....
I run a little over a 10 min. mile as well. After my first challenge I ran a 10k and I thought it would be difficult, but OMG, after doing HIIT all that time, that 10k was a breeze. I felt like I could run all day. You will be surprised.
MW- 9.5???? Yeah, I'd be dying. I think I tried it once but I had to slow down after 30 sec. I just gasp for air like I'm being suffocated.
Well, it's the weekend and FREE DAY!!! I love this day and I don't know what I would do without it. All the other days of eating clean are worth it to have this day. It's my saving grace.
So I used my body fat calipers and I kept thinking I was doing it wrong because the number is lower than the hand held machine and my scale (which I know those aren't accurate anyway). But I did it 4 times and came out with the same number. It was between 9-10 mm, which from the chart shows I'm between 20.2 and 21.2 body fat. So I did all the calculations and would have to lose 9 pounds of fat in order to be at 16% bf. How I do that besides what I'm doing already is a mystery to me. I'll just keep on pushing on. I really wish I would have taken it week 1. They were right in my house so what was I waiting for.
MW- What kind do you have? Is it AccuMeasure?
Oh, I looked up Shib Inu's because I forgot what they look like. So cute!!!! They look like little foxes. I tried to put pictures of mine on here but it's not working.
Tonja- hmm, I want to read that book. I wonder if it's cheap on Amazon.....ok, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has busy weekends. :-)
MW- I forgot to comment on what the trainer said about BFL. (can you tell I'm catching up on post). Last time I did the challenge, about halfway through, I hadn't had a gym membership. I got a free offer for a 6 week gym membership through the 10k run I signed up for. The gym was Bally's and the guy took my body fat and it hadn't changed much from when I first started the program. I asked him for some advice as to why and told him I was doing BFL. He told me that BFL is a one size fits all program, and everyone is not one size fits all. Now, I know he was trying to sell me on signing up with him, but it made sense to me. Everyone's bodies are different and that's why some people get dramatic results and some get ok results. I really think it doesn't hurt to tweak it to what's working for your body.