Everyday Systems

So far I am only doing Shovelglove using a 14lb sledgehammer.

1/7/2009 Wednesday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 7 minutes and it totally burned my arms, shoulders and back. They went like jelly.

2/7/2009 Thursday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - Same as yesterday. Still went to jelly by the end.

3/7/2009 Friday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - Same as yesterday. With the back to back days I'm not recovering so my body is pretty sore but in a good way.

4/7/2009 Saturday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT - Sure need the break!

5/7/2009 Sunday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT - Still need the break.

6/7/2009 Monday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 8 minutes. I feel much stronger today after the weekend break. My back and torso feel more solid and my arms and shoulders are not going to jelly so much. I feel more controlled in the movements also. I am surprised with the improvement in such a short time actually.

7/7/2009 Tuesday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 8 minutes. Same as yesterday but a little more sore by the end. I am not pausing between exercises quite as often now though.

What are your goals? To tone up, lose weight or both? So you're not using the No-S Diet?

Best wishes with Shovelglove. I can't be trusted to not tear up my house or hurt someone with a sledgehammer

I have to trim up a little and definitely want some more strength and hardness in my muscles again. I've been slack for a bit too long now and as every year ticks by it will only get worse if I don't keep it in check. I'll be doing No S soon or a slightly modified version possibly. I've got a strong background knowledge of diet and fitness and have been training and researching on and off since my mid teens.

I used to pump weights but in my more recent years all my research is leading me to more functional ways of training that better mimic reality. I've seen too many "strong" guys in the gym who can bench 200kg but can't climb a rope or a long set of stairs without gassing. The traditional format of doing x reps for y sets bugs me too. I always got so angry when I had a "weak" day on the weights and couldn't match my previous best. I suspect in time I'll have a modified shovelglove + the other stuff routine in place. Shovelglove will always be a part of it though I know that.

8/7/2009 Wednesday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 8 minutes. Found it somewhat tough as I am fighting the onset of a cold and have sinus congestion and sore throat.

I've been finishing off the last few days with the "chop the tree" movement but I swing it more horizontally like you would chopping into a standing tree. I find it burns my biceps on the arm close to the sledgehammer head very fast and I am flat out getting 5 reps each side.

9/7/2009 Thursday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 8 minutes. This cold is really trying to get hold of me but so far I've been holding it at bay (sort of). Hope my troops can kill it before it takes over! Was a real struggle to do my shovelglove today but I was glad I did and quite proud afterwards.

Hope you feel better very soon mate
I swear by a few remedies (besides just sleeping a lot under the covers..)
Raw garlic.. I like to have this with a small bit of bread and butter.. chew it well and try to have a clove or so a day.. It kills everything!!!
Large doses of vitamin C..
I also love having hot lemonade sweetened with a little real maple syrup, or honey, and a few grains of cayenne pepper to stimulate your lung chi.
Drown yourself in fluids and get lots of rest.
Maybe some hot showers too, with the water right on the back of your neck..

Take care!
You seem very nice and I have enjoyed reading your encouraging posts here.
Debs

Oh yeah also, as gross as this sounds,, haha you should spit as often as poss..
Don't swallow the congestion.. gargle too.. when you have congestion the sore throat is caused by the lymphocytes and lysosomes (sp??) in the congestion attacking your own tissues, kind of indiscriminately, as they are also trying to kill whatever pathogen is there.... get it out.

It’s good to see other people know the good stuff.

I've been taking Kyolic aged garlic extract and gargle a tea tree mouthwash. Vitamin C is sorted with freshly squeezed orange and nectarine juice that I use to take the Kyolic garlic since it's a liquid. I also do neti; it's a yogic practice of flushing the sinus with salt water.

Today I am a lot better than yesterday so I think I'm getting on top of it and praise God it seems like I'll be able to hold it off. Thanks for your advice, support and encouragement.

10/7/2009 Friday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 8 minutes 30 seconds. I went a bit harder today with less rest between sets and slightly higher reps. My biceps, shoulders and forearms feel like jelly and it's actually very hard to type since I only finished training 5 minutes ago. That was my first straight week of shovelglove.

11/7/2009 Saturday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT

12/7/2009 Sunday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT

Hey, BushRanger

Shovelglove is definitely harder than most people think.
I have been training for 8 months now, I definitely feel my arms are stronger. I mix the shovelglove moves with jumping jacks.

I do more cardio these days though, I shovelglove more between november and april when it's too cold to work out outside here.

My routine :

Churn Butter, 55 Sec.
Shoveling, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Pushups 1 X 50 Sec.
Canoe Rowing, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Jumping Jacks : 1 X 45 Sec.
Fence Post, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Chop Wood, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Jumping Jacks : 1 X 45 Sec.
Chop Tree, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Stoke The Oven, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.

30 second break.

Shoveling, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Jumping Jacks : 1 X 45 Sec.
Pushups 1 X 50 Sec.
Fireman, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Jumping Jacks : 1 X 45 Sec.
Chop Tree, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Stoke The Oven, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Jumping Jacks : 1 X 45 Sec.
Shoveling, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.
Tuck Bales, L/R 25-5-25 Sec.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
07/11/2009 : 206.4 pounds
( 8 months 11 days / -73.6 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 192.0 pounds ( 1 year / -88.0 pounds )

13/7/2009 Monday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 9 minutes. I felt strong. I increased reps on my later exercises and kept them up with the beginning ones instead of slowly dropping reps as the routine progressed. The weekend recovery period solidifies the work of that week and leads to strong gains in the next week.

14/7/2009 Tuesday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 9 minutes. Felt very strong again today. Increased reps across all exercises. Muscles really felt it but not turning to jelly like the earlier days. Did it 10 minutes ago and it's still hard to type this though!

15/7/2009 Wednesday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 10 minutes. Felt strong again today. My muscles are recovering faster between exercises and I am able to jump from one to the next with nearly no rest now. I increased reps on all the exercises. I am not getting the burning and jelly muscles to anywhere near the degree I did when I first started. I am definitely noticing an improvement in my strength and stamina.

16/7/2009 Thursday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 10 minutes. Increased reps on most exercises. Felt it quite a bit in my muscles.

Hi, Bushranger! Hope you feel better very soon. I swear by goldenseal and echinacea tea. I use a blend of both and also use the ol' netti pot but find it only works for me when I feel it coming on. If I wait till I'm congested, it's too late for me.

I also like a tea of crushed garlic and ginger steeped for a bit then add a drizzle of honey.

A pallet on the couch and a good book . . .

My favorite remedies.

Good luck and feel better soon!
rebecca

17/7/2009 Friday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 10 minutes. Solid workout. Not quite as strong as yesterday. Felt it a lot in my forearms.
Evening Luddite - SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight). Turned TV and the internet off at 11:30pm. It was a struggle since Le Tour de France is on currently and screens live at 10pm-2am. I decided not to even start watching at 11:30pm after a movie I was watching finished as I thought I may not be able to bring myself to turn it off.

I got over the cold/flu thing a few days ago. Never really caught it, just took my body about 5 days of fighting to keep it at bay.

18/7/2009 Saturday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT
Evening Luddite - SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight). I watched a late CSI episode and turned everything off at 11:50pm.

Wow good on ya Bushranger!
I'm going to follow your example and start doing evening luddite too..
Making a HabitCal now.
I went to bed a bit later than that yesterday.. Not good.
Have a great weekend!
Debs

Oops!! I'm violating my Evening Luddite as we speak Bushranger!
Thought I'd confess to my official Evening Luddite sponsor (I appointed you that just now! LOL ) before it got ugly and I stayed up till dawn! hahah
Since it's less than an hour past midnight, I'll still give myself a green, but with a firm warning for next time!
Have a nice Sunday mate
Debs

19/7/2009 Sunday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT
Evening Luddite - SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight). I watched a late CSI:NY episode and turned everything off at midnight.

An added bonus of Evening Luddite was I finished reading the bible cover to cover last night. It took me about 18 months total.

An added bonus of Evening Luddite was I finished reading the bible cover to cover last night. It took me about 18 months total.

Congratulations Bushranger! That's something I've yet to accomplish - but it's on my list of things to do! The plans that I've had always mapped out reading the Bible from cover to cover in one year...maybe that's why I never quite made it!

Mimi

20/7/2009 Monday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 11 minutes. Added in 2 sets of pushups. Am revising exercises and order. Completely puffed out by the end of this one.
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight).

21/7/2009 Tuesday:
Shovelglove SUCCESS - 11 minutes. Again I am completely puffed out by the end of this. I find I am being puffed out doing this time amount but my muscles are not burning and turning to jelly like they used to. It's definitely a cardio issue now.
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight).

Two glasses of red with dinner went down very nicely. I was tempted to have a third but I decided against it.

22/7/2009 Wednesday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT - Started a new career today and it involves a bit of heavy lifting. Due to my previous back problems I have exempted my shovelglove for a few days to a week so I can access how to rebuild my program to suit my work. I know from experience over exercising the lower back will bring about an injury and I can't have that happen ever again.
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight).

23/7/2009 Thursday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT
Evening Luddite FAILURE - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight). I stayed up to 12:30am tonight. I was watching Superboxer then UFC wired on the ONE HD sports channel. This may become a special night each week as I really enjoy these events and it's not a case of sitting up mindlessly watching whatever garbage comes on.

24/7/2009 Friday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight).

25/7/2009 Saturday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight).

.....it is similar to one of my favorite inspirational sayings by Charles Atlas, "Step by step, and the job is done". Best regards, Bob

26/7/2009 Sunday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT
Evening Luddite FAILURE - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight). No excuse, I sat up watching Ocean's Eleven and then the end of Sink the Bismarck! I have a bit on my mind regarding careers and purpose so I think that is driving this failure. I have to sort it out quick; I don't want this becoming a problem again.

It doesn't matter how high the mountain is. Just keep placing one foot in front of the other and you'll eventually reach the top.

We're with you Bushranger! Hang in there...it'll work out.

Mimi

27/7/2009 Monday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT - Still stiff and sore with the new job. Will wait until that settles down to resume training.
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight).

Weight: 79.3kg
Bodyfat: 20.3%

28/7/2009 Tuesday:
Shovelglove EXEMPT
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 1 (TV and the internet off at midnight).

29/7/2009 Wednesday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).

I have decided to postpone my Shovelglove routine for the near future. I enjoy it and have every intention of getting back into it but my immediate concern now is my cardiovascular fitness. I have left this slide for way too long and it is starting to affect all areas of my life including my ability to effectively carry out resistance training (including Shovelglove). I am gassing before my muscles give out even with light exercise. Where I could once run up stairs in a five story building without pressing myself I feel strained after one now. I also had open heart surgery as a child and this makes my heart health doubly important.

Commencing in the next day or few I shall be instigating my Urban Ranger program using a heart rate monitor to keep me in the correct zone for cardiovascular improvement. The side benefit will be some extra fat burning but it's not the primary goal here. The plan is to develop this further until eventually I'm doing something like Urban Mountain Ranger or Urban Cross Country Ranger. You get the drift.

Good plan, BushRanger.

It's always good when you are "in the correct zone for cardiovascular improvement"

Usually to lose weight they say the best program is to have 1/3 strenght training (shovelglove) and 2/3 cardio ... later when you have achieved your weight loss goal, you can switch this around, 2/3 strenght training, 1/3 cardio.

Weight training helps develop muscles and those burn calories later on even when you are not really doing anything ... so those bigger stronger muscles help you burn calories even when you are sitting back on the couch, kicking it, watching AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL ... just go easy on the beer and buttery pop corn, mate.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
07/27/2009 : 201.0 pounds
( 8 months 27 days / -79.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

Luckily my weight is only a few kilos over where it should be. I have to get the cardio fitness sorted ASAP. Everything else will be reviewed once I have built a good cardio base again. Thanks for the support.

30/7/2009 Thursday:
Evening Luddite EXEMPT - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm). I am allowing an exemption on Thursday night as I really look forward to Superboxer and UFC Wired. The entire thing wraps up at 12:30am so that's not too insane, especially since it's my only late night viewing of the week now.
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - Walked for 15 minutes, mainly to test out the heart rate monitor and determine a few indicators I need to pay attention to. The initial target is 30 minutes daily, Monday to Friday, around a local river walk which will give me a nice scenic view to enjoy.

There's an aussie TV show I watch on a weekly basis. It's called 'Food investigators' ... I watched the first 9 episodes recently. They talk about all sorts of food related subjects, food myths, nutrition, tests, etc. It's very interesting and informative.

It's on the 'SBS' channel ... I download the episodes and watch 'em on my computer from the other side of the planet. Pretty amazing to be able to watch an aussie tv
show like that, thousands of miles away.

30 minutes per episode. Well, 24 really since the commercials have been removed.

http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/foodinvesti ... estigators

http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/foodinvesti ... /Episodes/

I also have a heart monitor but I don't really use it since it wasn't working properly half the time so it was frustrating to use ... I ended up using the good ol' method of counting my heartbeats for 10 seconds and multiplying by 6 ... good enough for me. I still use the heart monitor's wristwatch because it has a stopwatch of course, so it's not a total loss.


Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
07/27/2009 : 201.0 pounds
( 8 months 27 days / -79.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

31/7/2009 Friday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger FAILURE - Had specialist cardiologist appointment today and by the time that finished (1 hour waiting plus 2 hours of appointment and tests) and I picked up my wife from work and got home I was trashed. I was almost falling asleep on the couch at 5pm. I am definitely not up to any cardio today.

I've seen that TV series also.

Congratulations on reading the whole Bible!

Jammin' Jan wrote:Congratulations on reading the whole Bible!

Thanks. I've started it again from Genesis but this time a different translation. I'm interested in the different nuances between the various good translations. I think it will give me a stronger underlying knowledge.

1/8/2009 Saturday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger EXEMPT

2/8/2009 Sunday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger EXEMPT

3/8/2009 Monday:
Evening Luddite EXEMPT - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm). Boxing has been moved to Monday and Friday nights. It runs from 11pm to 12 midnight. I am going to sleep immediately once finished as I get my reading and other bedtime rituals done before the boxing starts, all with the aim to minimise the impact while still enjoying something I really wish to stay up for. The same can’t be said for movies, which I can take or leave. Even with these exemptions I am amazed how beneficial and effective this Evening Luddite habit is.
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 25 minutes.

4/8/2009 Tuesday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 31 minutes.

5/8/2009 Wednesday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 30 minutes.

6/8/2009 Thursday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 30 minutes.

7/8/2009 Friday:
Evening Luddite EXEMPT - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm). Boxing finished at 12 midnight. Went to sleep immediately afterwards.
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 30 minutes.

8/8/2009 Saturday:
Evening Luddite FAILURE - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm). I stayed up watching a late night movie until 1am. Even though it was Saturday night I really don't want to do this if I can help it. The movie wasn't even good, hardly worthy of a failure mark on my HabitCal.
Urban Ranger EXEMPT

I am following your evening luddite example with interest - I may need to add that (but not this month, b/c there's enough on my plate, and I've learned not to overload in life as well as No-S). My usual issue with insomnia is that I go to sleep just fine, but wake at 4AM and can't go back to sleep. Even did that on vacation, of all things!

You seem to have jumped right into No-S as if it were made for you. Obviously a good fit - as you are on the board.

Thanks KCCC. I'm not infallible though. I had to change yesterday's success to failure as I stayed up watching a late night movie. I am finding in general that the HabitCal and daily check in has made it much easier to comply with most of my goals. Much more so than if I tried without them.

9/8/2009 Sunday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger EXEMPT

10/8/2009 Monday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 30 minutes.

11/8/2009 Tuesday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 31 minutes. I had to go for my walk in the MORNING today since my afternoon was totally booked out. My determination to fix my cardiovascular fitness coupled with not wanting to see a RED on my HabitCal was so powerful I did something I used to loathe. I say used to because I actually quite enjoyed it and especially liked not having to think about it for the rest of the day. I actually stopped a few times during the day and thought "Oh yeah, I already did my Urban Ranger. Sweet!" I'm still amazed.

One negative was I got hungry by mid morning instead of lunch time so I had an early lunch. This doesn't seem to happen if I do my Urban Ranger at its usual afternoon time, but that might be because it's only 2 hours before dinner anyway whereas this morning’s Urban Ranger was about an hour after breakfast and 4-5 hours before lunch.

I think our bodies get used to the time of day we normally do our exercise. So you probably shocked your body a bit by doing your UR at a different time of day.

Good for you getting it in no matter what.

12/8/2009 Wednesday:
Evening Luddite FAILURE - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm). I was really wired tonight and had a few things on my mind. Surfed the net a while and went to bed around 12:15am. This is probably my most significant failure to date since starting, not due to the time but that I spent it aimlessly wandering the Internet.
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 33 minutes. My wife came along today (she usually does her exercise in the morning before I wake up) and we went a tiny bit slower and conversed and enjoyed the scenery together along the river bank.

13/8/2009 Thursday:
Evening Luddite EXEMPT - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm). Boxing finishes at 12 midnight and I promptly went to bed straight afterwards. The actual days of the week that boxing is on seems to change often but it's usually the same time slot. It's still only once or twice a week so I'm having it. I just wish it was on a bit earlier.
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 30 minutes. I really pushed myself hard today and was thoroughly exhausted by the end. The good news is that I already feel myself recovering faster once I stop.

14/8/2009 Friday:
Evening Luddite SUCCESS - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm).
Urban Ranger SUCCESS - 30 minutes.

15/8/2009 Saturday:
Evening Luddite FAILURE - Stage 2 (TV and the Internet off at 11pm). Massive failure. Had friends for dinner and consumed too much food, alcohol and caffeine. Went to bed at 11pm but couldn't sleep so got up at 12:30am and watched a movie and sports until 3:40am.
Urban Ranger EXEMPT

I feel I have developed the habits and discipline I need to further my life and achieve my goals and milestones. HabitCal and the daily check in have been instrumental in this but are now simply not required anymore.

This is Bushranger signing off on the daily check in.

But you will still contribute to the discussions on the forum, correct? I would miss your presence tremendously if you don't!
I'm glad you have been able to be successful in establishing strong habits through the use of the daily check-in and Habitcal - great job! Congratulations!

Mimi

Very inspiring, Bushranger! Congratulations.

Awesome job! Here's to continued success! And I too hope to still see you around the forums.

Good work, Bush.

Always nice to read your comments here n' there, mate.

I like commenting in my DAILY CHECK IN, I'll keep on doing it almost daily until I am done with my weight loss program (nov. 1st 2009)

Then I'll switch to a weekly check in probably ... there won't be as many twists and turns, it'll just be ... maintenance - - so it won't require a daily update, a bit less pressure, nice.

As for the HABITCAL I definitely plan on using it on a daily basis long term .... it'll be a great tool even in the maintenance phase.



Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
08/14/2009 : 197.0 pounds
( 9 months 14 days / -83.0 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

All the best mate.
Come visit now and then okay?
Peace,
Debs

bluebunny27 wrote:As for the HABITCAL I definitely plan on using it on a daily basis long term .... it'll be a great tool even in the maintenance phase.

I think I'll keep using a habitcal type system for a long time also. I've developed my own version on an excel spreadsheet that includes monthly goal tracking (eg: Do my tax return, Sort my filing cabinet) as well as a monthly habitcal with compliance percentages. Since I've developed the habit of it strongly enough I don't feel the need to be accountable online anymore but it's still very useful for accountability to myself and tracking long term trends and just generally staying focused.

Thanks to everyone for the support. I'll still be around on the forums; it's just the end of my daily check in.