MEN Only -- A.I.M Challenge: Labor Day Challenge OPEN

This is a Motivation/Challenge designed for Men.  This is a continuation of the April Fool's Challenge and the July 4th Challenge for men started by pinksalmon.

Pick your personal goal: Weight Loss, Increased Fitness, or Fat Burn.  Post it and commit to it.  This forum is here to challenge you to meet your goal.  The Purpose of the AIM Challenge is to provide:

1.  Accountability:  Weekly check in to update your progress.  Weigh in each Wednesday Morning. 
2.  Information:  We will share our experiences, what is working to get into shape, nutritional suggestions, fitness advice, and best practices for results.
3.  Motivation:  Encouragement to make and continue life changes that lead to burning fat, increased fitness, and overall health.

Challenges follow a quarterly time frame and are open to any men willing to commit.  Do you want it?  We are getting it DONE!

AFC Result:  277.5 lbs and 971,250 calories burned off
J4C Result:  172.6 lbs and 604,100 calories burned off
2008 combined total: 450.1 lbs and 1,575,350 calories burned off

Check out our previous challenges here:
http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/716 05.html

Want your current BMR?  check out Phord's BMR page 

Check out our results:  AIM Challenge Results

WRM,

Thanks for feedback ... If you run 1/2 mary in 1:35 then we will see you in Boston in 2010/2011, me I am setting my BQ goal for like 2015 (what is a mere 6+ yr goal) at 3:30 as a 45 - 50 yr bracket.  Can not see me ever running < 8:00 pace for 26 miles.

I hate the treadmill too, but interval/speed work actually makes it doable and like you said more acurate as I have a timer and a speed setting right in front of me.  Run X speed for X distance, else fly off the back ... No slowing of pace allowed! Where even track work you are estimating speed based on looking at stopwatch.

To me now treadmill is only for once a week interval work (if can not make it to hs track) until I have to use it in dead of winter.

 

Those of you who have been in this challenge for a while know that I am into a drive for fitness not because of vanity but because of health.  Obesity is a killer for men.  Diabetes, Hypertension, Coronary Heart Failure, Degenerative Joint Disease, Impotence (ED), are all among the health risks associated with men who are obese.  Added to the list of all these things is prostate cancer.  Obesity is not linked to an increase of prostate cancer, but is linked to increased difficulty in detecting it and reduces the success of surgery.  Check out this link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2008/08/08/AR2008080802246.html

To realize that every pound overweight makes detection of a regularly diagnosed disease more difficult and that extra abdominal fat can make surgical remedy for this disease less effective is sobering.  Even more sobering when you realize that doctors are speaking of the clinical definition of obesity where 5'9" and 209lbs. makes you obese.

I encourage all of you who are on the path to health and fitness to Never Give UP, Never Turn Back.  Every decision you make regarding what you put in your mouth, every workout you do, every mile you run, jog or wog makes a difference. 

We have three weeks remaining in this challenge.  What decisions will you make over the next 21 days that will impact your life?

edited to add obesity information and correct spelling. ww

rk1: Okay man, I gave it a try this morning.  I made the last two miles of my scheduled 4miler into a fartlek training run.  I have to admit it was pretty fun.  This is the first time I have ever tried to build in speed training.  I have always been so deconditioned that I did not want to waste my energy working on speed when I could not even run any distance.  Putting my fear aside I alternated between my long pace and the accelerated sprint pace.  I finished strong and realized that I have not been pushing myself anywhere near as hard as I could be.  Of couse it helped that this morning the air temp was closer to 65F than the usual 85F.  Any way thanks for the training advice.  I will continue to add this into my normal monday workout and see how it translates throughout the week.

All: Weigh in on Wednesday.  Who feels a loss coming?  Will anyone make their short term goal?  Make some noise men.

Hey ww I feel a loss coming. I made short term goal before leaving on vacation and maintained it while gone. Might have lost some as well, because overall I ate well and continued working out, actually worked out more than while at home. Am looking forward to official weigh in tomorrow morning. My 2 week mon-mon weight was up slightly yesterday, but that doesn't concern me because I was traveling Sunday, which bloats me a bit, and I had eaten a really large dinner meal Sat night at favorite Atlanta Pizza parlor - Bella's Pizzeria in the Vinings. We were one of their first customers when they opened 8 years ago and became like family. It was great visiting with them, and even overeating for that one meal!

WW: yes, I will definitely make my goal!  I actually think I'm probably a almost there with two weeks left, so I'm feeling pretty confident at this point!

on a slightly more annoying note, I have to re-do W2 of c25k......  I twisted my ankle playing golf last wednesday and didn't feel comfortable running on it until yesterday, so it looks like w2d1 will be re-visited this evening. 

I tried to take everyones advice and listened to my body for a change.  i was all set to go running of thursday even though the ankle hurt (cause thats what I would have done in the past) but thought better of it when I took a second to think about what you all would have said if I had asked what you to do.  I figured it's better to lose a week and re-do it then to get hurt bad and have to wait a month or more to even start again!  Looks like you guys are already a positive influence on me, thanks!

how is everyone else doing?  everyone on the way to reaching their goals?

WW,

Good job on the training...look at it more as ability to maintain speed than to increase speed.  Heck we could all probably run "as fast as WRM" does for a short period of time, all be it I would probably fizzle out after 1/4 mi. instead of he would keep on trucking for miles.  So the "speed work" is going to make it easier to maintain speed over a longer period,whatever speed it may be.

How did your 10 miler go?  I ran 9 miles Sunday (Personal max distance) and cardio was good but legs were hurting as after throwing in Fri run and extending Sunday I exceeding the 10 pct weekly/long run increase mark (19.5 mi for week), which was almost 20% increase.  It was like  they said we are done when i hit the 10% increase mark.  Still used as positive as like I was running they were "the miles 25 and 26 miles of a marathon" not the miles 8 and 9 of a 9 mile run ... All things are realative right.  and at least got some mental workout as I grinded out the last 2 miles.

Yesterday took kids to Cedar Point (Amusement park in Ohio with 17 coasters with like 6 ranked in top 10 in U.S. ... one 405 high and 120 mph!, they have one 210 feet/ 80 mph and I remember 15 years ago that was world record. ), anyways I felt like that was a worse workout than my 9 miler as legs were hurting after walking / standing for 10 hours and not to mention getting body beat up on coasters (Now that, I know I am too old for!).  Felt like logging 10 hours of cross training yesterday!

Was down on to 183 on Sunday, but a day of amusement park cuisine has water weight up today...Hoping to bring it back down with a low soium diet today. 

rk1:The 10 miler was great (10.31 total).  It and was a PR for distance.  I was able to maintain a consistent pace all the way through and finished a little faster than I had projected.  Legs and joints held up well.  Before running I ate a 100 cal yogurt, at about mile 5 I sucked down a gel pack.  I was able to keep my legs through miles 7 and 8 a lot better than before because of this.  I finished with strength.  I felt like I could have run the final 3 miles for the half distance, so I am feeling confident about finishing well at the end of the month.  I took an hour or so for recovery. I spent therest of the day on yard work and demo on my bathroom.  I guess this could be counted as cross training for about 4 hours (fixtures and about 1/3 of the wall removed!)  

The only areas of concern are some pre-blister spots on my feet (I still have not purchased those special wickingsocks) and Saturday night I had a little knee pain on the outside my right knee.  Ice and rest helped this and I had no pain during or following my run on Monday.  Tomorrow I have 5 miles scheduled, Thurs is another 4 miler and I am trying for 11.5 or 12 this weekend, depending on the weather etc. 

I am trying to decide what to do with Saturday the 23rd.  (Saturday prior to the half)  Most training schedules would call for a taper here, but the half comes in the midst of getting ready for a full in November.  I am tempted to try for 12 or 13 that day and then rest a little the following week.  I would be interested to hear what has worked for others, wrm, sarasota, munrori...

Original Post by wiliwigi:

Those of you who have been in this challenge for a while know that I am into a drive for fitness not because of vanity but because of health. Obesity is a killer for men. Diabetes, Hypertension, Coronary Heart Failure, Degenerative Joint Disease, Impotence (ED), are all among the health risks associated with men who are obese. Added to the list of all these things is prostate cancer. Obesity is not liked to an increase of prostate cancer, but is linked to increased difficulty in detecting it and reduces the success of surgery. Check out this link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2008/08/08/AR2008080802246.html

To realize that every pound overweight makes detection of a regularly diagnosed disease more difficult and that extra abdominal fat can make surgical remedy for this disease less effective is sobering. Even more sobering when you realize that doctors are speaking of the clinical definition of obesity where 5'9" and 209lbs. makes you obese.

I encourage all of you who are on the path to health and fitness to Never Give UP, Never Turn Back. Every decision you make regarding what you put in your mouth, every workout you do, every mile you run, jog or wog makes a difference.

We have three weeks remaining in this challenge. What decisions will you make over the next 21 days that will impact your life?

edited to add obesity information and correct spelling. ww

I don't know why I missed this ww, oh I know... I was traveling Sunday!

Well I have to second and triple it. I wish I had gotten the message earlier in life and been a better advocate for my own health. If I had I might have been watching the research more and realized that even with my bp under control, exercise regimen, and normal cholesterol, that I was really at a very high risk of contracting atherosclerosis. My family history of two generations (both parents and sets of grandparents) of coronary and heart problems. If I hadn't been exercising and at a lower weight than in the past I would have suffered serious damage when I had my heart attack. The exercise and diet helped the heart wrestle its way through with almost no damage (that and being in the ER).

I've been "preaching" to anyone that listens, as well as those that don't. If I can help at least one person avoid what I went through it will be worth baring my soul about it!

8/13 - CW: 164.2; LW: 166.4 GW:160 by labor day.

Starting Weight: 169 (7/10)
1st Goal: 165 - met on 8/2 at 164.6
2nd Goal: 160
Longer Term Goal: 150-154 - Normal BMI &  HS, Military, Marriage until 1979!
Fitness Goal: being able to jog w/o exceeding cardiologists heart rate limits. Would like to run 5/10K in the near future

Am losing the fluid retained from travel and returning to actual weights. Finished w4d2 of c25k this morning inspite of wrestling with sore throat/cold the last 2 days. I'm shaking it off faster than I have in past. Could be all this "health" crap really does help! I ate a plum took beta blocker & nexium, chewed 2 simethicone tabs before the wog and had very little belching or associated pain. Bod felt good. I can feel my calves stretching during the 1st 3 min interval and other bod adjustments during it and 1st 5 min interval. By the last 5 min interval I was loose enough to feel I could keep going but restrained myself. Will complete W4 on Fri and start W5 on Sun. I've been in contact with some friends to see about running a 5k in the near future. And I'm planning on joining with a bunch of folks in the Couch to 5k thread who are going to continue to train for a 10k. I'm in it for the distance, not speed at this point. Am sold on running as a way to get my weight down and stay healthy. Won't push it as I have in the past and re-injure myself.

I think this should be our threads motto: Never Give UP, Never Turn Back!

Wednesday Weigh in:

TW: 197 this morning
LW: 200
GW: 189 (short term)
GW: 175 (Long term)

I do not think that I am going to make the weight goal for this challenge.  With 3 weeks to go I think that 8lbs is a little much.  Hopefully 195 or less will be the net.  The fitness goals are moving along.  This morning's was again unseasonably cool and allowed for perfect running conditions.  I pushed it and took 7 minutes off of my 5 mile time.  Overall speed did not increase dramatically, I was just able to maintain the last mile, I have been dying after 4 miles when the humidity is up. 

WTG bobev, you are walking proof that small changes each day make a huge impact over time.

How about everyone else?

LW: 269.6

TW: 267.2

GW (for this challenge): 263.4

GW (overall): 200

Fitness Goal: Continue with the C25K program

 

Still consistently losing and well on my way to reaching my labor day goal, so all is going well here.  Had to re-do week 2 of c25k because I twisted my ankle playing golf last week, but started up again last night and am feeling good.

Hey everyone.

TW(not that have been focusing on it too much, as we have seen in my recent lack of progress)--174.4. Wow, I actually dropped .2 pounds from LW. At this point, I'd be very happy to get back to the 160s by the end of this challenge.

Sunday's marathon was pretty successful, with me finishing the course in 1:35:11. An added bonus to the result was the confirmation that the course was long (upon remeasuring, they found it was 13.2762 miles instead of the standard 13.1). This actually meant that my average pace was 7:10. My race time, had I run a 13.1 mile course, would have been somewhere just under 1:34:00.

So in response to your comment, rk1, I'm hoping to earn that BQ this October. A 3:15:59 or faster gets me in for 2009, whereas a 3:20:59 or faster earns me the BQ for 2010 (I will have joined the 40-44 bracket by April 2010). We'll see how it goes in the remaining 9 weeks of training.

To rk1 and ww: I'm learning that the secret to increasing overall speed is making sure that your training combines of a high percentage of miles run very slowly sprinkled in with a low percentage of miles at anywhere from 5K-10K pace. Sounds counterintuitive, but I have gotten great results from this. Good luck with your ongoing prep for upcoming races.

Your progress continues to impress me, bobev!!

Great job with the workouts and weight loss progress, even with the ankle injury, dybo70.

LW: 273.5

TW: 268

A big drop this week. This seems to be becoming the norm for me though. A couple of weeks of modest to no movement followed by a big drop. Since I started logging my weight on here every day, I can see the pattern in my weight log. This week if the trend continues, I expect my weight to bounce back up by a couple of pounds before coming back down and surpassing 268 for a new low. That being said, 268 is still a milestone for me on this journey. It is officially 40 pounds lost since I started and I am out of the morbidly obese category. Baby steps.

 

Hey ww (I wanted to address your specific question in a different post):

What to do about Saturday the 23....hmm...I would suggest not so much a taper as I would call for a "stepback week," and run the half the following weekend as scheduled.  So you would do your 11.5-12 this weekend, step it back to 8-9 on the 23rd, and run the half the following weekend. I would also cut back a little on the mileage and pace in the three days before and after the half, so that you have one challenging workout in the seven day period surrounding the HM (the race). I believe that if you successfully run the 11.5-12 this weekend, then you will be able to handle the half in two weeks, and the stepback in between will be good for your body.  

Depending on how your schedule works out, you might want another stepback the weekend after the half (again, 8-10 miles), before continuing with building your long runs beyond 14 miles which you would likely do two weeks after the half.

LW: 170

TW: 165.5

 

While it looks like a big drop, last week was an estimate based on my average (which is always a little higher than my current weight).

I've really been enjoyed eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables from our local farmer's market and farms recently. This has made eating healthy a lot more fun.

I've also started getting out running (for the first time in a long time - for a lot of different reasons I've been hesitant to start this back up). Up to now I've mostly focuesed on changing my diet and nutritional habits and generally being more active.

Now I'm going to try to start adding running back into the mix. As motivation, my brother (who is a runner) has asked me to join him on a 5k run next month. So we'll see how that goes.

In other good news, when I started this whole thing back in the end of December I weighed 195 pounds (my most ever) and set a goal of getting to 165 (last time I weighed that was over 6 years ago). While hopeful, I was somewhat skeptical that it would actually happen (as I've tried and failed many times in the past).

However, as of this weigh-in I'm within .5 pound of my original goal and the target for this labor day challenge. I hope to be celebrating officially reaching that goal next week.

My aim is to lose another 5 -1 pound across the next challenge or two before finding a good maintenance spot in the mid-150's that I can stick to long term.

Thanks to everyone for all of the motivation and encouragement.

 

Hey ww (missed your question until now)

With having two big races so close together I would do like wrm suggests.  Since you will put allot of effort into the half marathon race I think it makes sense to ease off a bit afterwards.  I would also listen to your body.  If you are sore or tired then give yourself a break.  In this case over training could be worse than under training. Good luck can't wait to here how it goes.

 

 

CW:  183.2 lbs

LW: 184 lbs

LDC: 175 lbs

Slow and steady I guess and hard to see only like 1/2 lb a week, but know I am replacing fat with muscle and it is just going to take time as if I cut any fewer calories would be in starvation mode.  Would like to get bel.ow 180 for LDC and 1/2 marathon 9/7.

JHarris,

Awesome job man ... Congrats on meeting goal (heck .5 is a rounding error on scale right!!).  Glad to see we have so many new runners in the group and you will see that obtaining these new health goals is a little more fun than just cutting calories.  Just take it slow and easy.

I need a few more lbs to hold below 181.5 to get to join you with 40 lb loss from 10/29/07 (after AFC was only there for a week or so and does not count) .  Fittingly if I can pull off marathon 10/19/08 it will be a 10 days short of a year since deciding enough was enough! 

Hey WW ... Maybe we could write a Book ....."Couch to Marathon in 355 Days!"

Awesome Job Men!!  I am glad we got our 2nd wind in LDC as seemed like we were fadding between April and July.

I had a 5k kayak race on Friday (38 minutes) and 5 more 500m races on Saturday.  The rest of the week we watched the kids race (in the 107 degree heat and sun).  I still managed to eat like an athlete, even when I didn't work out like one.  Didn't get any running in, but I did paddle about 10 kilometers.

There were about 20 paddlers in my 5k.  15 of them beat me, but 4 didn't.  Two of the four were the only othey guys in my age category, so I am now officially the Men's Master Class C 5K Kayak Champion (gold medal!) for 2008!  Woot!  (The other two guys I beat were 62 and 74 years old.  13 of the men who beat me were older than me.  The 2nd-place finisher was 50 years old and finished in 25 minutes.)

So I didn't weigh in last week.

Previous week: 174.5

This week: 177

I'd call it normal fluctuation, except it was 180 on Monday.  :-(   I'll get back to serious calorie limiting now.  Can't find time to count these days, but I'll at least pay attention!

Bobev: Sorry I missed you.  Let me know when you're coming to town again.

Congrats to all the other runners, new and experienced.  Sounds like you're all doing great!

I popped in at 193 today.  I am starting to get back on track.

This week's progress report.

CW: 160 

GW: 160

Run total of 47.5km

Preparing for 5km race on Sept 21, and full marathon Oct 12.