Striving for Strength and Consistency

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    #1

    Striving for Strength and Consistency

    Hello, fellow bees!

    A bit of an introduction. I'm Pat. I've been working out for about 15 years, primarily in weight lifting, though I've dabbled in calisthenics as a supplement to my powerlifting. The gyms here are closed, so I scrounged around for a replacement, which happened to be Darebee. What a godsend! I'v tried some of the workouts and found myself hooked and cooked.

    I started this thread because I have a habit of giving up on my goals. I can be really disciplined for two days in a row and avoid anything sugary I take days off; example: seeing the girlfriend? Scarf down ice cream and cake. Don't feel well? Buy a bunch of snacks from 7 11 and give up on training. Because the nature of this board is accountability... well, I'm trying to hold myself accountable here and start some healthy habits. I've already shucked off some really bad ones.

    Anyway, on to the silliness.

    Today is chest day, and the beginning. I decided to do three things: 1. my own chest routine. 2. strength protocol day 1 & 3. 1000 push ups. A disclaimer: 1000 is ridiculous. It seems like a number I pulled out of my ass. To be dead honest, it was a figure I was capable of doing when I was 17, and at the start of today, I thought to myself, "let's see if I can do it again. People in the military do this many push ups in a day. What could go wrong?" Ho ho ho.

    Strength Protocol's workout is already on the website, so here's my chest routine:

    Underhand pushups: x 10
    Archer pushups x 8 (per side)
    Clap pushups x 10
    Downward Dog x 10
    Sphinx pushups x 10
    x 4 rounds

    How did it turn out? It's 11:10 pm as I'm typing this and I can barely do a single push up. I didn't succeed with 1000... I made it to 625. I have a feeling my chest is going to be unusable for days. So my experiment in developing and starting my own workouts was a great success, but it left me totally beat. The rest of the experiment still needs carrying out...
    Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go into a voluntary coma. Good luck with your own workouts!
    Tags: None
    • 17 likes
    #2
    Interesting, I dont do a upper body day per se, but aim for 100 pushups per day every day.

    Looks like a great workout.

    Welcome to the Hive, even if your gym reopens you can still stick around, lots of people just use Darebee to supplement what they are already doing
    • 8 likes

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      #3
      patwillwoo Welcome to the Hive. We look forward to following your journey.
      • 7 likes

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        #4
        Thank you fellow Canadians for your kind words of support! I do hope to continue my journey for many days to come.

        I designated today as Back day. Like yesterday, I set out a list of different exercises targeting my back and upper neck area which I hoped to achieve using an exercise band and my trusty pull-up bar.

        Band Rows (two hands)
        Band Rows (one hand) (note to self: do this outdoors in a public exercise ground where there are iron fixtures and you don't have to use your feet)
        Supermans
        Shrugs)
        I have trouble doing pull-ups... my max in one set is 4! So instead I worked around this by doing them throughout the day:

        Pull-ups x 4 (every time I leave my room). Have done 44 and counting as I write this.

        I added in Strength Protocol Day 2 to the mix. Love the Scapular Rows.

        I talked about having days where I didn't want to exercise... this was one of them. Just wanted to forget about productivity and job hunting... buy boba tea and watch Netflix. But I made a commitment, like thousands of others on this forum have.

        Until next time.

        In this workout I listened to
        • 8 likes

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          #5
          Welcome
          • 5 likes

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            #6
            Day 3.

            Struggled with today. I gave in to my worst habit: overeating... Some days are just really frustrating and aimless. But then I remember; this one is practice for others.

            It wasn't a total washout. Today was legs, so I constructed an impromptu workout:

            Band squats x 12
            Squat hops x 20
            Pistol squats (assisted) x 10
            Bulgarian Squat x 12
            Calf Raises x 40
            x 4 rounds
            + Strength Protocol Day 3

            Wall sit : 2 minutes to finish it off.

            I'll see how my quads feel in the morning.

            Take care, fellow bees!

            I listened to this song during my workout:


            • 9 likes

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              #7
              You may have struggled, but at the end you conquered! I know something about overeating, kudos to you for working out nevertheless
              • 5 likes

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                #8
                So today (err, yesterday, I'm late in posting this) was very laid back.

                I simply did Strength Protocol day 4 and a hundred sit ups, then went outside and walked 6000 steps. That's it.

                I received some news that's both good and bad: an associate made me a job offer to become a counselor in another country and the beginning of next year. Great, right? It would require me splitting from my girlfriend and breaking our relationship (maybe I'm being dramatic, we'll talk about it in person tomorrow).

                I'm not sure how I feel about this. More in my next update tonight.

                In this workout, I listened to...
                • 8 likes

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                  #9
                  A lot of anxiety today, carrying over from the massive development of being offered a job in another country. A lot of fears about what is, what could be, and what'll happen to the relationship I'm in.

                  But there's no cure for that, except to gear up and train. Today was Arms day, both on Strength Protocol Day 4 and in my personal training routine.

                  I used an exercise band + a deck of cards, with the suit determining the exercise.

                  Clubs: Bodyweight extension
                  Spades: Sphinx pushups
                  Diamonds: Hammer curls
                  Hearts: Open grip (?) curls

                  I wish I had a set of adjustable dumbbells, but in a pinch, it did the trick.

                  And when I met my girlfriend, we ate dinner, reconnected, and had a good chat. There's still more to talk about, but we have time.

                  In other news, Hong Kong just loosened its social restrictions and opened up gyms again. I'm ready to kick some ass! My own, that is.

                  This time, I listened to



                  • 8 likes

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                    #10
                    A short update.

                    A lazy Saturday, so I had to kick things back into gear. I didn't really allot a body part for today, so I decided to do something different. I decided to use an old favorite: a set of mobility movements, for today's workout.

                    Bear Crawl
                    Crab Walk
                    Commando Crawl
                    Walking Plank
                    Inch Worm
                    Duck Walk
                    x 10 meters each, for 4 rounds

                    Not fun, but a good achievement! I followed this up with Strength Protocol Day 5. A good day to you, fellow Bees! May your workouts be awesome.

                    Today, I blasted
                    • 11 likes

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                      #11
                      Hey there, all you cool cats and k-wait a minute, something's off about that.

                      Hi fellow bees! Because I was lazy, we get two updates in one. I'll make yesterday's update brief.

                      Had some Korean bbq and did Strength Protocol day 7. That was it. Not much to it. The closest thing I had to an off day. Next!

                      Last Friday, the fitness centers in Hong Kong reopened. I took advantage of this to head down to my local gym and hit the weights. Monday is chest, as usual. My chest routine is:

                      Flat Bench Press: 4 sets x 5
                      Incline Bench Press: 4 x 5
                      Decline Bench Press: 4 x 5
                      Close Grip Dumbbell Press: 4 x 5
                      Click image for larger version Name: New Resized.jpg Views: 391 Size: 1.40 MB ID: 727432



                      Then I came back home and completed Strength Protocol Day 8.

                      It's been very strange doing all these exercises without taking a day off. Not what I'm used to; usually I crash and burn after three days. Have I made it stick yet? We'll see.

                      In this workout I listened to
                      Attached Files
                      • 11 likes

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                        #12
                        I lose track of the days sometimes. Today was back day. I tried out one of my old staple lifts, deadlifts, and didn't lift as much as I could. Eh, it'll be awhile 'till I get back to my real lifting days.

                        Today's routine:

                        Deadlifts: 3 x 5 (there's no way in hell I'm doing four sets of these)
                        Barbell rows: 4 x 5
                        Narrow grip rows: 4 x 10
                        Alternating dumbbell rows: 4 x 10
                        + 20 minutes incline walking

                        Umm... In all the excitement I forgot to do Strength Protocol day 9. I'll do it tomorrow morning haha.

                        Let me take a brief intermission to talk about me. Some things I wanted to get off my chest.

                        I've been exercising for fifteen years, give or take. The most major transformation I had was when I was 16 - I went from an overweight 5'5 92 kg to 63 kg. I'm 78 kg now... my goal right now is to cut my weight down to 75 kg or so... comfortably fit myself into my shorts/jeans again. Do I want six-pack abs? They'd be nice, but whenever the online ads pop-up to guilt trip me, I don't give a sh*t. I've gone from feeling like hell to feeling proud. I used to compete in powerlifting for ten years until I suffered from a health crisis.

                        And it all means jack. I've read the accounts of members who weigh much more and want to lose much more as well. The stakes are higher for them, and some of them are starting from zero. I saw Darebee's workouts ranging from the simple to the complex, and I understood - this is a real empowering resource for getting people into fitness. I feel genuine pride for people who are making that transformation, because I was there too; it's horrible to feel depressed and miserable and want to just curl up in bed with a box of chocolates. Real power is the freedom to feel differently. My heart goes out to you guys. So I'll state that both the amazing veterans and the struggling beginners are the real heroes.

                        Anyway, peace to my fellow Bees.

                        Today I listened to...


                        • 12 likes

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                          #13
                          That's a really nice thought.
                          • 5 likes

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                            #14
                            Okay, so today I took a break from the gym, of all things. Stayed at home and did days 9 (forgot to do it yesterday, mea culpa) and 10 of Strength Protocol.

                            Did a long walk also of 10,000 steps.

                            Went to the doctor to get my medication today. Going to get on my soapbox for a brief second here.

                            I have problems with depression. Obviously, I exercise frequently, and it helps, but I have to take other measures to cope with it, like maintain a healthy diet, make sure I have a support network in place (loving family and supportive friends), lifestyle habits, and the meds. Yeah, I don't like 'em, but they help. They're a part of my life, at least for now.

                            So for any of you struggling with your mental health, take care of yourself, even when it's hard to.

                            Pax, my fellow bees.

                            While exercising, I listened to
                            • 14 likes

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                              #15
                              I totally understand you, you're doing great and take care of yourself too!
                              • 6 likes

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