2013 Official Chaz Weight Loss Challenge

[Beanie]

Originally Posted by sparks19

The sit ups were easy at first but now that I am up to 25 full sit ups (all the way up and all the way down. Not crunches) OY VEY lol

Psst... a crunch is actually better for you.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker10.htm

A crunch is easier to do entirely focusing on your abs and leave your back out of it; the sit up is easier to bring your back muscles into and not get much out of the abs, and if you do it incorrectly will put a lot of strain on back muscles - and actually, there's some research lately that the bend to your spine when you're in the top "sit up" position is bad for you.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/48...for-the-spine/

You could read the research articles by McGill on spinal flexion but you will probably find a lot of stuff by people who misunderstand what he has to say. ALL spinal flexion is not bad... poor form is bad.


Don't get me wrong, I do crunches too so I don't have a problem with them (I definitely think that a sit up is inferior to a crunch.) But if you want the BEST bang for your workout, planks are the far superior ab exercise... unless you're deadlifting. ;>

[Julee]

Beanie, should we switch to crunches instead of sit ups for the Fab Ab February thing then?

[sparks19]

Oh yeah I know crunches are better but this program calls for sit ups. My turbo jam ab jam and the booty sculpt and ab focuses on crunches and lots of leg stuff with crunches. But I find that doing the full sit ups with this program (with no jerking movements and keeping buttocks on the floor) works my looow ab muscles in a different way (where my pooch is lol). I do have to have Hannah sit on my feet for the sit ups though or I can't do them lol

[Beanie]

Personally? Yes, I would switch the sit-ups to crunches. Or I would just skip the crunches altogether and just focus on the increasing plank schedule. I have one of those ab schedules on my Pinterest and all I ever used it for was to be able to hold my planks longer. My planks used to suck. They've gotten a lot better over time. Lifting weights helped too.

[eddieq]

Good workout tonight. I did the cardio followed by the yoga disc. I felt like I could "bring it" more the last couple of nights. Just means that I need to step it up. It's the "10 minute trainer" and the last few times it really felt like the 10 minutes flew by. Time to do multiple workouts as a standard rather than a "if I feel up to it".

[Julee]

15x crunches, 2x 10sec plank, 10x modified pushups.

.5mi walk/run and an hour of running around in the yard with the dogs today.

[sparks19]

It was a rough couple of days for me. I have been exhausted. Sleep has been eluding me and WEdnesday night I had worship team practice which started WAY late and we didn't get out of there until 10pm. I was exhausted before I got there so not getting out until 10 had me so frustrated and then I couldn't sleep.

Yesterday was my rest day Thank goodness because I think I probably would have gotten hurt if I tried to do any co ordinated workouts in my sleep deprived state.

Last night I finally got a GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP. It felt so good. Other than getting up at 4 am to let the dogs out (belle can't hold it all night anymore) and Beezer using my foot as his own personal starting block so now my foot is all scratched up and bruised... JERK lol.

I hopped on the scale this morning (even though I shouldn't) and YAAAAAY I seem to have finally passed this 196-198 plateau I was stuck in. I was 193 this morning I feel like that visual reassurance gave me just what I needed after all the doubt I'd been feeling recently (mostly because of being sleep deprived). Don't laugh but I've been so emotional lately about the whole thing and really just feeling beyond discouraged that it's like God sent that little number down to my scale right when I neededit lol

[Kootenay]

Question for all of you:

Do you always weigh yourself at the same time of day and with the same amount of clothes on? I feel like depending on what I'm wearing and what time of day it is (how much I've had to eat/drink etc) there's like nearly a 5lb difference in weight. What's your "real" weight?

[Julee]

I weigh in naked, usually around noon. I always pee first lol

[Beanie]

Originally Posted by Kootenay

Question for all of you:

Do you always weigh yourself at the same time of day and with the same amount of clothes on? I feel like depending on what I'm wearing and what time of day it is (how much I've had to eat/drink etc) there's like nearly a 5lb difference in weight. What's your "real" weight?

I don't weigh myself, however the best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning, before you've eaten or had anything to drink, after you've peed, nekkid. And yes... your weight will vary depending on what you've eaten and had to drink in the days prior. It takes a while for stuff to pass through your entire digestive tract. Getting a "real" weight isn't really possible to do by stepping on a scale, scientifically speaking.
Weighing yourself once a week and not freaking out about slight shifts is the best thing to do. The weight will go up sometimes, and sometimes it will go down. If your clothes are overall fitting looser where it matters, that's what's really important.