The Swamp

Shirley wrote:If you're going regularly, I'd suggest against the weight goals. Why bother? You should be able to notice the difference in the gym - you can lift more weight and/or reps than you could last week.

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:46 am Damn dude! That's a hefty goal, good luck.

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:53 am For the record, the race is an insane goal. You can drop the weight, not that it's easy.

BSF21 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 9:28 am Congrats Bengal!

I ran 8 miles on Sunday morning with a little running group. Averaged an 8:11 pace. Felt pretty good the whole time but my left knee an hour later had blown up like a balloon. Still pretty painful today. Lots of ice and Advil.

Johnnie wrote: ↑Tue Feb 20, 2018 1:57 pm Deployments are a great way to get in shape. Bottles of water are everywhere. You're going to sweat because it's 120 and humid in the summer. The chow hall is full of prepared food that you can portion right.

So I've been doing what I can. No alcohol. No soda. Sugar only in my coffee, and it's not that much. Plus I don't drink coffee every day. I drink water as often as possible. Eat nearly the same thing every day. (Chicken and veggies, sometimes some rice) Consider a pancake once in a while or a carbohydrate-based snack a cheat, whatever.

Unfortunately I'm on the opposite side from where the main gym, and by extension, the outdoor crossfit gym is. So I'm back to running 2-4 miles on the treadmill. It would be more, but I get really tired. Been doing this for a few weeks consistently now. I can tell I'm getting smaller because of how far around my back my belt loops after folding the excess fabric of my pants.

But...I've barely lost any weight. I think I'm 206, at best. Like, what the fuck is wrong with me? Back in August I did the drastic thing of doing the mono diet. Like Penn Jillette I just ate potatoes alone for two weeks. I also drank water and ran 14 miles a week. I went from 213-ish to 199 by the end of the month. I passed my pt test. Obviously, once I went back to eating like a regular person the weight came back.

I don't get it. Does my sleep apnea affect this? Do I have a thyroid issue? My buddy who runs all the time is deployed too and he's lost 17 pounds "without really trying" according to him. I don't like being over 200 pounds and if I lost all my gainz, so be it. Honestly, if I weren't so paranoid about my pt test for the rest of my career I wouldn't care as much, but I have three years and change and I can't fuck up my retirement.

Johnnie wrote: ↑Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:39 pm The Air Force PT test consists of push up, sit ups (each done in a minute), running, and waist circumference. Ignore the red boxes and words:



I'm 34, so check the chart on the right. As long as my waist is 35" or less, I'll get max points. If I get above a 90 I'll only test once a year. My issue with my size is the I'm 5'7". My stride is not that long. I also live in ABQ which is a mile high of altitude. The more weight I carry means the more weight I have to move and more energy I need to expend. All things combined, I'm always in fear of failing.

If I'm doing everything right by what I'm eating and how far I'm running and I'm not losing weight, it seems like something is wrong.

Johnnie wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2018 1:24 pm It's not performance, per se. I just don't want to be this heavy until I'm done with the military. I figure if I weigh less at least I'll not feel like I'm fat (yes that sounds insecure as hell). I was around 185-190 and able to run 5-6 miles at a time when I did Ragnars while living in Arizona.

When I did only metabolic conditioning via crossfit (my year in Korea) I posted the best run times of my life. I distinctly remember getting on a scale at 192 towards the beginning of the tour and getting on a scale when leaving and I was still 192. It was wild to me that 4-5 months of crossfit made me better with cardio and I remained the same weight. Once I got to Germany the programming added weight lifting, I got to 205, but my cardio suffered immensely. Plus I started using a CPAP machine because I couldn't sleep more than 2 hours at a time.

When I got to ABQ (and started living in the altitude) I thought I'd get better but haven't. Plus my weight went up to and sometimes past 215. This despite doing a bodpod measurement in 2016 at 200 pounds.

So I'm figuring at this point it's a combination of age, metabolism going to shit, sleep health, maybe a breathing issue because I'm out of breath and very tired 10 minutes into a workout, and something I'm not doing right. When 2 pm rolls around I can get dead tired (probably a good coma issue since I haven't experienced that here yet). I am at the point where I can gain weight very easily but not get stronger necessarily.

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:30 pm I saw you on tv near that racing car. You way like 315 pounds. Eat less food.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:47 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:30 pm I saw you on tv near that racing car. You way like 315 pounds. Eat less food.

They say that television adds like 10 pounds, so give him a break.

Giff wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:48 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:47 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:30 pm I saw you on tv near that racing car. You way like 315 pounds. Eat less food.

They say that television adds like 10 pounds, so give him a break.

Break him off a piece of that Kit-Kat bar, most likely.

tennbengal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 8:47 am I took my first Yoga class last night and, well, damn. That was an eye-opener as to just how unbendy, unsteady, and out of shape I have been my whole life. Even when I was in shape.

BSF21 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:02 am

tennbengal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 8:47 am I took my first Yoga class last night and, well, damn. That was an eye-opener as to just how unbendy, unsteady, and out of shape I have been my whole life. Even when I was in shape.

Yoga is no joke. Is it strange that I don't find the poses where you sit that work your legs and core nearly as hard as I do holding my fucking arms out for an hour in warrior pose? That shit kills me. I can plank for a minute and chair sit all day but make me hold my arms out for 30 seconds and I wanna scream.

tennbengal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:34 am

BSF21 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:02 am

tennbengal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 8:47 am I took my first Yoga class last night and, well, damn. That was an eye-opener as to just how unbendy, unsteady, and out of shape I have been my whole life. Even when I was in shape.

Yoga is no joke. Is it strange that I don't find the poses where you sit that work your legs and core nearly as hard as I do holding my fucking arms out for an hour in warrior pose? That shit kills me. I can plank for a minute and chair sit all day but make me hold my arms out for 30 seconds and I wanna scream.

An HOUR of warrior pose? No thanks. Doing it for the little bit I did last night was plenty. The class (it is at my gym) has in its specs that it burns around 550 calories in the 50 minute class, and I was wondering how that could be. 20 minutes in and sweat pouring off me and I thought, "oh, got it, that's how".

I plan to keep at it. I felt better after, actually.