from Pennsylvania
So thanks to this thread I now have a name for this journal! Here I will write an introduction here, then get started with the actual journal.
TL;DR version
I really need to work on mobility (which I need to figure out how to do) and I'm going to try to be consistently running and doing calisthenics strength training with the wonderful Darebee workouts here!
My background:
I am a PhD in computer science and robotics (so yes I'm quite the nerd). I just started looking at the Darebee community after a lab-mate of mine posted about it on one of our forums, and I fell in love quickly especially since I was stuck at home. So for my fitness background, I'm a reasonably fit person but still have a lot of work to do. I think keeping a journal here will be good for documenting my fitness journey.
My primary activities before were weightlifting and running. For weightlifting I was progressing very slowly, being somewhat inconsistent in my gym going (thanks research deadlines). I was working a simple 5x5 program before. I was able to squat 200 lbs (90 kg) for 5 reps, deadlift 265 lbs (120 kg) for 5 reps, bench 165 lbs (74 kg) for 5 reps, overhead press 95 lbs (43 kg) for 5 reps, and do a few pull ups. I also enjoyed running - I ran the Philly Half Marathon in 2018 at an average 7:46 minute per mile pace (4:49 minutes per km). I am actually pretty proud of these - they are by no means peak athletic performance but they are pretty good I feel. I was planning to run the full marathon in 2019, but I got an injury in my hamstring so I had to cancel going.
Which leads us into my weak areas. Namely flexibility and mobility. I would say I have the flexibility of a rock but that would be insulting to the rocks. I didn't really stretch to cool down because I didn't see the need and now I'm paying the consequences. So it has caused injuries already, but now as I try to bodyweight exercises there are more advanced moves that I can't do because I lack mobility. For instance, I have the strength to do a pistol squat but lack the flexibility and balance. So this is something I'm going to need to work on a lot.
My immediate goals:
For running I hope to run that marathon eventually - I hope to run an 8 minute per mile pace (5 minute per km pace) on average for that. We'll see when that happens, given the craziness of the world these days. It's more scary to run outside with the COVID-19 pandemic going on but I think I can run at safe distances from people so it is safe. Tangentially, I was going to try to learn skating but that's also not happening with COVID-19.
One thing that is attractive about home workouts - much lower barrier to entry compared to the gym, and given that my gym membership would have expired soon anyways. So I was planning to just keep exploring various workouts and see what fits me. I was thinking of trying the "30 days of Strength" but given how there are no real rest days I wonder when my runs would fit in. Regardless I want to build strength using bodyweight as much as I can - as the weights are lighter than in weightlifting, I guess I will be doing higher reps to get 'strong endurance' of sorts.
As mobility is probably my weakest area it is something I'm focusing on - I don't really know how to start. I'm doing one set of Farpoint here on Darebee as my cool down but I don't think that will be enough. There are various guys on YouTube videos on this (like here and here and here) but I'm starting at such a beginner level in this area these are very challenging for me. I'm tempted to go with an explicit program like this one, but it's expensive so I'll hold off on that for now. For now I'll just keep working on flexibility but I would appreciate any advice on this front!
My long term goals:
I hope to be able to do advanced bodyweight movements (pistol squat, planche, muscle up) for strength training, but actually more just because they are just cool. Running that marathon is a good goal, but in the long term I think half-marathons are more the distance I would enjoy, perhaps aiming for an 1 hour 30 minute time in the long run. I would also like to try other things (skiing, sword fighting) that are more skill based, but for now I'll stick with the functional basics.
Thanks for reading! And don't forget, Lift Long and Prosper!
TL;DR version
I really need to work on mobility (which I need to figure out how to do) and I'm going to try to be consistently running and doing calisthenics strength training with the wonderful Darebee workouts here!
My background:
I am a PhD in computer science and robotics (so yes I'm quite the nerd). I just started looking at the Darebee community after a lab-mate of mine posted about it on one of our forums, and I fell in love quickly especially since I was stuck at home. So for my fitness background, I'm a reasonably fit person but still have a lot of work to do. I think keeping a journal here will be good for documenting my fitness journey.
My primary activities before were weightlifting and running. For weightlifting I was progressing very slowly, being somewhat inconsistent in my gym going (thanks research deadlines). I was working a simple 5x5 program before. I was able to squat 200 lbs (90 kg) for 5 reps, deadlift 265 lbs (120 kg) for 5 reps, bench 165 lbs (74 kg) for 5 reps, overhead press 95 lbs (43 kg) for 5 reps, and do a few pull ups. I also enjoyed running - I ran the Philly Half Marathon in 2018 at an average 7:46 minute per mile pace (4:49 minutes per km). I am actually pretty proud of these - they are by no means peak athletic performance but they are pretty good I feel. I was planning to run the full marathon in 2019, but I got an injury in my hamstring so I had to cancel going.
Which leads us into my weak areas. Namely flexibility and mobility. I would say I have the flexibility of a rock but that would be insulting to the rocks. I didn't really stretch to cool down because I didn't see the need and now I'm paying the consequences. So it has caused injuries already, but now as I try to bodyweight exercises there are more advanced moves that I can't do because I lack mobility. For instance, I have the strength to do a pistol squat but lack the flexibility and balance. So this is something I'm going to need to work on a lot.
My immediate goals:
For running I hope to run that marathon eventually - I hope to run an 8 minute per mile pace (5 minute per km pace) on average for that. We'll see when that happens, given the craziness of the world these days. It's more scary to run outside with the COVID-19 pandemic going on but I think I can run at safe distances from people so it is safe. Tangentially, I was going to try to learn skating but that's also not happening with COVID-19.
One thing that is attractive about home workouts - much lower barrier to entry compared to the gym, and given that my gym membership would have expired soon anyways. So I was planning to just keep exploring various workouts and see what fits me. I was thinking of trying the "30 days of Strength" but given how there are no real rest days I wonder when my runs would fit in. Regardless I want to build strength using bodyweight as much as I can - as the weights are lighter than in weightlifting, I guess I will be doing higher reps to get 'strong endurance' of sorts.
As mobility is probably my weakest area it is something I'm focusing on - I don't really know how to start. I'm doing one set of Farpoint here on Darebee as my cool down but I don't think that will be enough. There are various guys on YouTube videos on this (like here and here and here) but I'm starting at such a beginner level in this area these are very challenging for me. I'm tempted to go with an explicit program like this one, but it's expensive so I'll hold off on that for now. For now I'll just keep working on flexibility but I would appreciate any advice on this front!
My long term goals:
I hope to be able to do advanced bodyweight movements (pistol squat, planche, muscle up) for strength training, but actually more just because they are just cool. Running that marathon is a good goal, but in the long term I think half-marathons are more the distance I would enjoy, perhaps aiming for an 1 hour 30 minute time in the long run. I would also like to try other things (skiing, sword fighting) that are more skill based, but for now I'll stick with the functional basics.
Thanks for reading! And don't forget, Lift Long and Prosper!
from Québec, Canada
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. So I completed it with EC and managed to do the all squats with little to no rest. For cool down I did the 
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