Fiddleman

Curvy - I am doing overhand pull-ups. My understanding from reading supple leopard on pull-ups is that one needs to really squeeze the gluts, hold a strong core in a hollowed body position with feet together pointing forward to create the right amount of torque to get that chin over the bar. I do not think I am doing most of these items which is causing failure too quickly from bad form. So much to learn...

Thanks Tally! These are really helpful. I am going to get to work on these tools starting today.

Yes, I think that is a legitimate concern. My only point above was bougie size is information the surgeon's team never revealed in all the post op meetings. Nor did I find out a goal weight (I chose what made sense - center of normal BMI).

Thanks for posting the article! Most of that happened to me when I first started.

So I did another cross fit session today where one of the segments was Tabata WOD (8 rounds: 20 seconds on, 10 second break): Pull-ups: 45 Push-ups: 102 Sit-ups: 122 Air squats: 150 I RXd the Tabata WOD with a good total rep count, but still am struggling to get my pull-up numbers up. For those who are really into muscle anatomy, what muscles are allowing me to kill push-ups and which muscles are causing a much faster failure rate on pull-ups. After a while, I cannot lift my body above arms at 90 degrees from a hanging start. I am really good at planks and can hold them for 5-6 minutes. What muscles are helping me hold these planks? I assume they are the same ones used in push-ups. Besides just practicing rote pull-ups, is there a smarter way to get better at these? Perhaps some isolation technique I can practice off the bar? I thought about handstands, but these do not appear to work the same muscles. I want to figure out why I am failing always when my arms get to 90 degrees (after 10-15 successful executions). Is it my biceps that are weak? Also did a split jerk WOD and running during the session after doing the usual warmup routine and mobility segments.

Ran another 3 miles at cross fit putting today's total at 7. If I added up right, my total is 72 so far of running /walking.

Mine has to be resistance by muse. Rise up and resist what we thought was best for us.

I never have found out about my bougie size, even 14 months out. The only indicator I have is I can eat about 5 oz protein comfortably. At 1 month out, it was 1-2 oz comfortably. At 3 months, it was about 3-4 oz comfortably. Not sure it makes any sense to go back and ask now. Water under the bridge. If I find out they did a 44 on me, what, am I going to ask them to redo it with a 34? I do not think so...

I ran 4 miles yesterday in the morning, but also did an unconventional contribution to this challenge: helping my SIL move. Lifting heavy furniture and walking about 3 miles worth over 5 hours with hill. Up and down. Up and down. Let me tell you, I was drugged tired yesterday evening. Maybe low on electrolytes, carbs or both, but all I wanted to do was go into a deep slumber at 5 pm. Still sore today. I guess moving uses a lot of new muscles. dunno, felt like a lot of squats, deadlifts and biceps curls to me. I ran 4 miles this morning and will be going to crossfit this afternoon.

Ha! Isn't that just like the Internet for you (lifting pictures). Apologies to anyone offended for posting this article as it appears content is in poor form. Stick to Inclusion of weights with your cardio program as well as a nutritional diet focusing on a balance of macronutrients and you should be in good form to shield yourself more against the angst of skinny fat syndrome due to rapid deterioration of muscle.

Yeah, yeah. It wasn't meant to win any Pulitzer Prizes. I just found it interesting. There is something to be said about too much cardio though. It will eat away at your muscles. Cardio in moderation is fine.

3 miles of walking on Saturday and 2 miles of running today with strength training Workout. Surprisingly, some body aches that I thought were "normal" went away when I took Friday and Saturday off from serious fitness. Tomorrow is going to be the start of pure cross fit (3 days on, 1 day off) for next 6 months (will pretty much stop all at home workouts). I am excited! I will continue to put in the running miles as a recreational activity. I will probably reduce to 5 a day outside of running done in crossfit WOD.

I found this article today on the subject of being skinny fat by accident. It was so informative that I want to share it with you: http://www.functionalfitmag.com/blog/2012/01/31/top-10-ways-skinny-fat/ Let me know your thoughts on it. Quite a number of the items are common, but some you would not suspect as being causes of the skinny fat syndrome. I had issues with too much cardio and no lifting when initially reaching goal at 7 months post op. I was skinny fat. Not so much anymore, but there are still areas for improvement around my belly button.

Protein drinks do not fill me up at 13 months like they used to at 1 month. Unfortunately, that is just a natural consequence of the stomach healing up. The exception is my casein protein drink at bedtime because I make it very thick, like a pudding or even paste, by increasing the protein to between 50-60 g for 10-12 ounces of water. One strategy I have when hunger strikes is to eat a protein stick or something that is lean protein and about 1-2 ounces. I never have a problem with calories when eating protein to satisfy hunger, even if every 2 hours. Sometimes even 1 hour after last " meal." I eat to fuel. If I am hungry, I am going to eat to fuel the metabolism and stay anabolic.

GT - is reverse 5:2 going to be safe for you given your limited access to high quality nutritional food sources? You would probably need to also consider increased supplementation of Vitamins and minerals, but again, your deployment may make it difficult to source them consistently. Here is a short discussion on reverse 5:2 after a very quick search: http://www.minimins.com/5-2-fasting/310609-5-2-diet-johnsons-up-down-days.html Do you think doing a reverse 5:2 will be safe for you?

Sometimes? Ha! The day is not complete if we are not challenging ourselves in all things.

It looks like it is safe to come out now.

Anytime. Happy to help!

You may look into eating complex carbs 1-1.5 hours before your run, perhaps with some protein. Some say 2:1 is a good ratio of carbs to protein. Running requires a lot of stored glycogen (energy) and it will be depleted during your run if you do not take the opportunity to fuel up before the run and/or during the run. Back when I was running in 1-2 hour blocks of somewhere between 6 and 15 miles, I would fuel up on some carbs during the run at 30 minutes to prevent hitting a wall at 45 minutes. Same thing applies to my cross fit workouts today. I do not run so much continuously anymore or as hard, but am still a strong believer of fueling up on complex carbs before an intense WOD or, in your case, a long endurance workout. You can try gels, energy squares, whatever, but I have also found regular food like apple slices and nut butter or steel cut oats and protein powder work very well as a pre workout snack. The carbs are needed for both optimal physical and mental response both during a workout and everyday life. Good luck!!

New picture taken today when I was in a 1/2 sleep state recovering and relaxing. What do you think? Here is a bigger one:

You are welcome. I think you will like it, but see if you can buy a smaller size just in case you do not prefer the taste. GNC has a 30 day satisfaction return policy, even on open products. They do want to make sure their customers are happy. That being said, I do prefer vitamin shoppe over GNC for my local supplement shopping.