What's your biggest weakness...or crutch. What keeps you from being the person you most want to be, or having the health and body you most want to have? For me it easy, laziness. Well, more than laziness though, its sleep issues. Im a night owl. I struggle mightily to get up EVERY morning. I seriously cannot recall a day I naturally woke up and rolled out feeling like a million dollars. and for the life of me, if i try to goto bed early, i just lay there staring at the dark ceiling...for hours! every day begins with a battle resulting in me dragging *** for majority of the day. im sick of starting every single day of my life like this. Im inconsistent and i can sleep 12 hours and still feel like i need more sleep. maybe this is an issue for many people. i dunno...but tomorrow, im going to try and take my life back. im getting up at 5:30 and hitting the gym. im doing my weights, then cardio for 30 minutes. im doing this mon-fri. and im hoping this forces a change in me. im hoping 5:30 is so ridiculously early that my body doesn't even feel any pain...and i can get up easier, than say 7am. and i hope a lil oj and a protein bar gets me through my workout. im not a big eater, especially in the morning. offer advice, wish me luck, and share your own issues.
Bro, I struggle with the same thing...I HATE mornings. What I did instead was resolve to be more productive with the time I was awake, and not worry about when I went to sleep, just so long as I didn't sleep more than 10 hrs at a time. Also, I am not terribly organized. It's not one of those things that's real important to me. I have all my notes from almost all my workouts in a notepad, but I keep losing the notepad! I tried having my wife force me to be organized, but she's not a natural leader. I am, so she ends up following my disorganized habits and getting frustrated along the way...it's a terribly destructive cycle. Seth, I wish you luck, but I also wish you would read my metabolic conditioning posts in the social group. If you want to do something that's going to get you up early every morning, try doing the 5:30 thing, only do the weights on Mon/Thurs. and your 'cardio' on Tue/Wed/Fri. You'll find yourself far less burnt out this way, and you may (possibly) see some better results as well.
I like to eat. I'm in good shape, but with the workout I do, I could be very, very cut if I were willing to control my diet. I am unwilling to do that, however, since I consider eating one of the pleasures of life rather than a chore.
I have a triple whammy: I love to eat though im not overweight. It just holds back any ability to tone. Secondly, I hate sleeping so my sleep habits flat out stink. I like to sleep a lot one day and barely sleep the next 3. It doesnt work as well as it did in college. I guess at some point that has to change. The problem is i rarely feel tired...until I wake up at 8 after going to bed at 330. Third, Im absolutely not a morning person. I wake up before 10 and its not going to be a good day even if i get 8 hours sleep. Edit: I tried the 530 thing a few years ago but it wasnt working for me then. I might have to try it again soon.
checking in, i had a great week. was up at 5:30 every morning. my weight training went great. the cardio, which is of secondary importance to me, was at the mercy of my weight routine. if i was slow or dragging ***, i cut it short. either way, i have to be out by 7am, so my wife can leave for work. but i had a good few days of running, biking, ellipticalling..lol. my natural bed time became 9:30-10:30pm. getting on a better schedule for sleep was indeed a main objective. i feel great, and i hope to keep it going. but man, when that alarm goes off at 5:30, and its pitch dark...it is difficult to resist diving back under the covers.
I hear ya there. I get up at 5 to go to work, and more often than not, I end up back in bed for another 5 min or so... That's awesome you're feeling so good doing (and sticking with) this routine. How's the progress going, both weight and cardio wise? Are you up on any of the exercises? Keep us posted bro, you're doing great!
well the strength will take a few weeks to monitor gains, but I had a good amount of residual strength from all the years of lifting. but my cardio is getting better. monday, i could barely do 15 minutes after the weights, but by friday, i was doing 25-30 mins no problem. and my muscularity gains were noticeable in a matter of 5 days. i look and feel harder, and gained about 4 pounds. like i said, i gain weight when i goto the gym consistently.
i think starting tomorrow morning i may join your routine Seth...not as much the weights thing but consistently getting up at 5:30am to work out
that's what im hoping...my sleeping habits are so erratic...and i'm getting sooo tired lately. i don't really have a schedule persay when it comes to working out....i just go whenever i'm in the mood....right after work...or midnight.....or 5 am....it's pretty open lol. anyways, keep up the great work there seth!
Lack of motivation to lift weights. I do go play basketball though and I'm in pretty good shape. I'm a skinny kid at 140 pounds because for whatever reason I don't gain weight but I'm not rail thin despite being 6'1".
Yeah bro, I couldn't bust 160 until 2 years after high school...some people just mature later. With all the hormones running thru your system right now, you could pack on a few pounds if you did start on a resistance training program. To boot, there are quite a few really good personal trainers in your area that would help keep you motivated and really develop your physique. If you're interested- I'll even pay for the first visit; a risk-free trial of sorts. Either way, don't worry about the weight right now...like Seth said, it will come eventually.
yeah, entering my senior year of HS, i had a serious job refurbishing engine parts, with man hours and man wages...so sports and weights and a lot of social activity went out the window for me. i entered senior year at like 125 lbs, but once i stopped that job to just enjoy my senior year, i got heavy into lifting, and was 160 by graduation. but it came for me real late. i was too small for football, and i really loved it. i was a 98lb freshman. always wish i sprouted younger, but that just wasnt in the stars for me. now im 185-190..with average discipline and consistency...at 5'9.
update: yeah, i cant do the 5:30am thing. its sooo dark, and soo cold and soooooo depressing. i hate every second of it. and its not even sleep related. im not super tired or need to hit snooze. its the 3 reasons i mentioned above. but...i have been working out well around the schedules handed to me. the first 2 weeks were solid, then i took a week off. was just too busy and sore. last week was good, and next week will be my 4th week. i just go when i can. be it after work, or at 7am if my wife is off...or 8pm..whenever i can. im feeling pretty good. i've been laying off the cardio, but keeping the weights up. my weight routines are rather intense anyway, and have some solid cardio benefits none the less.
Mine is binge eating, and depression, mixed with bad sleeping habits and laziness. I can do real good for a week, and in one day I can destroy the whole weeks work with my eating.
I hear you on that one. My biggest issue is myself. I wouldn't say when I'm on my own during the day that I'm a very happy person. Around others I'm great and fine and social, but alone I tend to be sad and depressed. My issue is that I tend to say 'Why even bother' at a certain point and gain everything back. Though I'm not obese really, I don't carry extra weight well. It all goes STRAIGHT to my gut and face. I was 220 at one point. Then I lose about 17 pounds and quit. I caught myself in time and only gained back about 8 pounds in that period. Right now I'm sitting at 203. I'm 6'1 and my goal is around 190 to 195.
Bro I'm 5-9 and 320.....but I am the healthiest big man you will ever find, well outside sports...lol. I can do alot more physical things now then I could even a yr ago. But I still sabotage my efforts drastically daily with food.
It's funny because even just 15 pounds lighter I can do a lot more than I could before. You have to understand that I'm not used to extra weight...having played football and basketball my entire teenage years I was always in great shape. So just an extra 20 pounds and I breathe heavy, walk funny...don't feel right. The strange thing about food is that I used to eat a TON of it every day. And for a week or two eating better I still craved more, but now I really don't eat much or crave at all. I think the hardest part is getting all the junk out of your system. Are you still looking to lose more or are you happy being a healthy big man?
Not happy at all. I want to lose about 100 lbs. I cant stay this big. Heart disease is huge in my fam. I HAVE to lose it. Its a matter of doing it over saying it thats the issue. The eating thing...I just dont get it....like today I was at Steak and Shake, and I went there in all intents and purposes of getting a salad. But I had a burger and a milkshake...... Its like something takes control of me and takes away my control. I workout not enough, but I'm in the gym weekly. Its my eating, bottom line, if I could control it, I would lose wieght.
I do the same thing sometimes. We have a vending machine at work and I used to just eat candy all day oh and energy drinks. I imagine you could probably bake cookies for everyone on this site using the amount of sugar I used to eat and still have some left over. Can you cook? I'd say to try that. You can make your own burger and it will be much better for you. Drink diet coke if you can. It's still not good for you but it's better. Like tonight I'm making fish, I've never done it before but oh well
I have the same exact problem. I can sleep seriously 12+ hours, wake up, and still be tired, hell i did that this weekend, i cant remember the last time i got up feeling fully rested. I hate it, i know exactly how you feel, it sucks
I don't know if it's your problem, but I know that oversleeping can cause you to be drowzy in the mornings.
Try changing your diet. I used to get like 9-10 hrs of sleep a night and still feel like ****. Couldn't figure out why. Then I started eating a lot more to gain my weight back that I lost when I had the flu. Once I got into that routine of eating more, my energy level got a lot higher and I noticed that I really didn't even need as much sleep to wake up and feel pretty good. I still ****ing hate the early mornings with a passion though.
I have found that when I can drag my lazy *** out of bed at a decent AM hour..I feel much more energized throughout the day so that is a little bit of motovation I have. If you can get it prescribed human growth hormone is an excellent drug.
I don't understand why people take stuff like that. I'm an all natural person. Then again I don't even take pills when I'm sick so I'm weird.
Your also only 18 bro. Your body still produces quite a bit of testosterone. Once you get to your late 20's early 30's your metab. goes to crap bro.
That's true I guess. Never thought about that. I'm pretty sure there are natural ways to do it though. I don't want to make it seem like I'm against it I've just never understood it.
Know people.. Its a slippery slope, ofcourse if you abuse it like anything else it can be harmfull, but many doctors take it themselves and strongly believe in it. But Enforcer is 100%right at your age it is more detramental than beneficial but you reach a certain age where your body sort of shuts down as far as testosterone and metabolism go. Just like anything else do your research and play it smart.
some men just dont produce a lot of test either. and they medically get it prescribed. its not always an A-Rod/Clemens scenario.
E, I feel you about the food subject. I will go somewhere and tell myself this is what I am going to eat and when I get to the place and look at the menu, I will order something entirely different. I know the other day I was talking to a friend that is bigger than I and he said all you have to do is talk to your doctor about getting on a program and they will give you vitman b-12. I would try that if I was you. I just lost 18 lbs, I walk about 2 miles a day m-f and try to use a ellipitical trainer 3 times a week and I also eat better and take a supplement.
Today was an example of me "falling off". I did real well all week. Today I did horrible. Chinese buffet, burgers, fries, the whole nine.....I dont know how to say no.....
You can do it, I allow myself one cheat day a week so I can stay on the bus. Remember not to get to down and continue to work hard during the week.
