2020 Headshot Crew Fitness Challenge!
Well, 2020 is here and I know many of you make resolutions to better yourselves in every way, shape, and form. For me, the New Year is usually a good time to revisit my current goals and make fitness goals as well.
Whether you want to lose weight, gain weight or just get yourself healthier than no better time than now to do it. We've done this challenge HSC style in the past and have seen people make great strides.
I'm a bit of a yoyo with my weight and have kept it in pretty decent shape since weighing in at 230 lbs on 1/1/15. I haven't gone back up into that realm in the past 5 years but did weigh in at 209.9 this morning after midnight. I need to weigh around 185 lbs to remain competitive in my Laser and the Master World Championships that are taking place in Australia in March. There is a pre-regatta starting March 13th, so that's my date to weigh in at 185 lbs. I essentially need to lose 25lbs by then. I did weigh in after gorging myself with a New Year's feast though! So I'm optimistic I'm going to get off to a good start.
If you'd like to partake in the challenge then feel free to add a comment below. If you want to add a shot of your current weight on your scale or if you have no fear then feel free to post a current body shot!
We'll check in every now and then to see how everyone is doing and of course I'll be posting on social. So watch out for #abalerts once I get the abs to come out and play.
Here's my current situation while pushing the gut out and sucking that sucker in! Let's see where I can get it in the coming months. Who's in?
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It was Richard Chun's school in NYC. Still have my books and belt, but I don't think I still have my uniform, sniff. Gary.... Stevens?? was the teacher I mostly studied with. Also a black belt student who taught was Forrey Buckingham. I was allowed to teach some beginner classes before I injured out; I still remember being thrilled at that.
I was in my mid-20s when I started. I'm.... not 20 anymore, lol. But I'm working on getting back in shape and I'm game to try! I always liked the forms. I think they're in my books or notes. That would be fun!
We have many adults at our school. Beverly is 81, Bonnie is 77 (she started when she was 65 and has her 3rd degree black belt now), Michael is 72, and about 5 more people over 65. We all train together and exert ourselves according to our abilities. When Beverly joined, she couldn't stand on one foot without losing her balance. She just tested for her green belt at the last test and she is able to do a front kick, breaking a practice board. Our Master is a Kukkiwan-certified 9th degree black belt and has nothing to prove except that each individual has it in themselves to improve and extend their mobility and ability through movement. He is more family-oriented than tournament-oriented even though he has a lot of accomplishments. At 62 years old he still performs at a very high level. Long story short, I don't see TKD as a macho thing, but as a community-building thing. I am always excited by participation :-D
I'm in. Last September I was in top shape when I solo hiked 250 miles through the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California (with camera gear!).
During my trek I ate a ton of calorie dense food and candy to keep me going and to get up and over those mountains. It wasn't a problem while I was out there, because I was burning so many calories per day. The trouble is, I got hooked on the sugar, and when I got back to civilization I quickly put on 20lbs.
I'm looking to drop that weight (back to ~165lb) and get back into top hiking shape for another long hike this coming summer. So far I've dropped about 5 lbs doing 1hr of daily exercise and controlling my portions, but the weight loss has slowed after some quick early gains. After recently watching a great documentary called "The Game Changers" on Netflix, I've been inspired to try dropping meat from my diet entirely. I can't quite give up dairy though – I'm half French, and I love cheese!
We'll see how this goes.
Good luck to everyone!
Cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese..... the stuff of life! Goat cheese and feta tend to be lowest in calories/fat, and with big flavors, a little goes a long way!
Haha. Unfortunately goat cheese and feta are my least favorite. Give me cheddar or give me death. ;)
Yes, John!
What, no triple creme Delice de Bourgogne?? What kind of Frenchman are you?? ;)
I'm a simple man. As far as French cheeses go, my favorite is probably Comté d'été (summer Comté, not aged, not Essex) which is deliciously nutty and creamy.
Mmmm.... I like an aged Gouda, aged to where it's crystalized and nutty and breaks into shards... This isn't helping, lol.
I'm hungry for cheese.
Im in for the fitness challenge and I do not have a scale, (nor am I interested in ever standing on one again after years of having to as a dancer). Instead I have a vision of myself as a dancer and doing all sorts of dance classes, yoga, pilates and jump roping as well as circus arts to allow that former physic to resurface.
It's all about how our body functions, how strong and able and how flexible we are (within our own limits), and how we want the way our body looks to align with our self-image. Not arbitrary numbers on a scale. For me, it's about being pleased when I look in the mirror, and feeling strong and able. Being fit feels good to me, and is especially important as we age. You sound amazing! Are you taking circus arts classes in the city?
I am in! One of the biggest factors in my 40's is keeping inflammation down. Had my headshot taken this weekend and realized how puffy my face looked. Toning up is a huge factor in this as your face holds a lot of fat but can also tone quickly if your eating the right foods and toning your muscles.
I'm in. Starting back on my ketones and will be slowly cutting carbs and processed sugar. Boom!
I'm in as well! I have an autoimmune disease; hypothyroidism, which affects my metabolism significantly. I also have osteoarthritis in my hip and knee and in order to get these replaced, I need to lose a minimum of 50lbs. My goal is to lose 50lbs by the end of July 2020. I will accomplish this by eating according to the Autoimmune Protocol Diet; which is similar to Paleo but is more strict. I will work out with my trainer 3x week and swim 40 laps in an hour once a week, 60-second planks daily and 30-minute yoga sessions each morning. I will also drink 1-gallon of water daily. TO DATE: I have lost 17-lbs.
Wow, way to go, Veronica!! Congrats on the fantastic start!! I'm a big fan of planks, too. Do you do your daily yoga sessions with a video (I almost said tape, lol, way to show my age!), with your own routine, or at a studio?
Thanks! I get surprised by this number and am still fighting sugar cravings which are my poison. I bought yoga classes for only $15/annual through Groupon that I can view on my phone, but I transfer it from my phone to my TV so I can see it better. I'm waiting for my new glasses with a stronger prescription.
I was really tempted to get this Mirror fitness thing. It's a, duh, mirror, that you hang on your wall or use a stand, but it also is an internet connected portal, where you can do a whole variety of classes with an instructor. You can either take a real-time class with other people and feedback from the instructor, or use recorded classes. Kinda like Peloton, but for yoga, weight training, and various other floor fitness routines. It looks cool, but it's not terribly cheap.
https://www.mirror.co/
I've seen it and would love it too! Right now I walk with a cane and I'm not able to do that type of strength training yet. After my surgeries, I'll be able to do more.
I’m in! Now for me this will be a bit more difficult bec i recently quite smoking. I’m using nicotine patches which will increase increase my food intake so I must control it. I would like to weigh 165 by May.
I believe I currently weigh 173, but I will check tomorrow morning. Good luck to all of y’all hope you hit your goals! ?
Quitting smoking is going to be much better for you health than losing 5 pounds less! Good job!
Thank you Jon! It’s a good feeling knowing I’m not damaging my lungs anymore. But I still wanna stay fit. Plus I’m training to become an EMT and being fit will help me greatly.
Yehuda!!! Great to hear from you! Missed you, buddy! I'm in, too, but nursing injured ankles right now.
Beth!! It’s been a very busy couple of months thank god. I wish I had more time to be on the crew. I hope you heal quick. But the pain of taking care of someone else who needs your help in my opinion is worth it. I’m currently taking a course to become an EMT, and let me tell you, just knowing that I will be able to help people and save lives is what motivates me. So hats off to you!
That's just like you, to want to help people! That's amazing!! You're an inspiration.
Haha! Thank you Beth! My dad happens to be an first responder EMT for the Hatzolah Ambulance service first over 15 years. It’s been a dream of mine since I’m a little kid to do the same. I’m just trying to following in my fathers footsteps.
#living-mitzvot
Checking in from London. Started the Whole30 program on Jan 2 at 296.6 pounds and somehow have strictly kept to it even during a 9-day business trip in the UK.
1/2/20: 296.6
1/29/20: 273.2
Can't believe I lost 23 pounds in a month but man did I start with a lot of weight. I'll gain a little back once I come off the strict program but it was a good jump start. Wanted to be under 275 by my birthday in April but, well, already beat that, so maybe 250 by April!
EDIT: I also have a Peloton bike at the office gym that's free for us to use, add me there! Username is PlayMoreMetal
Great job Andy. Just shy of a pound a day is incredible progress to say the least.
Just started to work on my fitness goals this week, i have been hitting the gym 3-5 times a week for 6 years now, but eating well is especially challenging for me. Realistically, i could not start to work on my eating goals before my trip to Cuba.
Anyways, i have started a 20/4 fast this week and it's going pretty well, but i do struggle with sugar cravings when i start to eat during my eating window, anyone has tips on how to crush those sugar cravings? Sugar is my nemesis...sweet sweet wonderful sugar....
Oh, and i'm on Fitbit, so feel free to add me, would love some HSC company on there!
Great way to crush sugar craving very effective for me is to brush my teeth. If I can't do that buy Altoids mints. Slam one of those if the urge hits me. Then if its still bad.... like a bad craving for a cookie. Shut off everything phone and everything. Enjoy that cookie like you are having passionate sex. Sounds odd but it works. Take is slow... real slow, and enjoy the moment. Take it all in with all your senses. I found about half way through. I'm done. Good luck!
Cookie sex eh? sounds rough but i will try....In all seriousness, i like your first two suggestions, but i am trying go cold Turkey on refined sugars. I have read that it takes around 10 days of suffering before the cravings start to go away. If i eat that cookie, that would reset my efforts to get rid of my dependance.
I am at a good weight, 110 lbs, mainly due to being sick over the holidays. But I need to increase my core strength and aerobic capacity. So my goals are 1) maintain that weight, 2) be able to do a 10 mile bike ride by September, and 3) increase core strength. Not sure how to measure core strength, but will come up with something.
I think you'll see it when you increase your core strength, Judy! But if you want something measurable, how about how long you can hold a plank for, or stepping up from regular planks to harder versions, like up-and-down? (That's upper body strength, too.) Or how many Captain's Chair leg raises you can do (if you use a Captain's Chair at the gym.) Do you do Pilates? I love the Astronauts exercise, and that's measurable, too.
Thanks for the suggestions. I am not currently a member of a gym, maybe starting in March. I did Pilates 10 years ago and did like it although it was hard.
So, use your planks as a measurement! :D Planks are a great exercise!!!
I'm doing planks and my goal is to do them for 60 seconds. Right now, I can only do 10 seconds and I'm trying to do 6 10-second planks to build up to one minute. That's how I'm measuring my planks.
We just post our pictures here if we want to join in? I am doing the same thing. DDP Yoga and vegetarian diet. Lost 6 pounds so far.
Weight
Measurements 1
Measurements 2 These measurements were taken a week after I started my yoga workouts
Actual photo
Moving in the right direction at last 2lbs to go and 2 weeks to HSM2!
Whoa!!!! I can't believe I've dropped 20-lbs already! I'm starting a 10-day water challenge today. I'll be drinking 1/2 my body weight in ounces of water. I don't drink anything other than water throughout the day, but the challenge for me will be drinking a gallon of water. Currently, I drink about 1/2 gallon. Anyone else wants to take on the 10-Day Water Challenge?
I've been letting my water intake slide. I will jump back on the wagon!
You guys. I hate running (less so these days though). Just...super not a fan. Running, however, is free. My wife is a viking at this stuff so I'm trying to follow her lead here. She's out of town this week so it's totally up to me to not eat horribly and forego my exercise.
I went way off track from my normal diet of mostly fruits and vegetables and grains and beans and such because this little football game thing happened yesterday. So today I made myself pay for it by starting a run regiment via the Garmin watch (how did I let her talk me into fitness watches as our wedding gifts to each other?!). Looking at the stats, there's a runner hiding inside this occasional over indulger! I'm doubling down in February and kicking up my goals. I want to be running an 8-minute mile by my birthday (September 3rd).
Anyway, here's a selfie from right after I finished and before I swam into a glass of water.
Don't do something you hate. Try lifting. If that's not your jam, and love the outdoors put on a 30 pound pack and go for a hike. Heck of a workout!
Keep rocking it! One day of indulgence won't hurt you. Just jump back in there and keep rockin!
I hear you! And I'm lifting too. But I want to learn to like running so I can run with my lady.
My dad always used to say, "The family that plays together, stays together."
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