Bodyweight Exercises Going With The Flow

So the start of a new month, and I started a new bodyweight workout routine. If you don’t already know, I am not a member of any gym, and bodyweight exercises are the main way I do resistance training. So instead of spending money on a expensive gym membership for the new year, I decided to buy myself a new bodyweight workout book. Over the last year I have seen some very interesting stuff using bodyweight exercises from Adam Steer and I was impressed enough to try his and Ryan Murdock’s Bodyweight Exercise Revolution. I am using that they call the 4×7 wave. This means that the workout cycles every 4 days, and you do it straight for 28 days. I should point out here that you build up the intensity , it is not that you do hard workouts every day. 2 of the days are more recovery from the 4th days hard session. I bought the ebook a few weeks ago, so have have had plenty of time to go through everything, but only now am I putting it into effect. February seemed the logical time to try a 28 day workout routine, so that is what i am doing. The book also comes with access to videos of the routines. When I first read through the book I did have some questions that I needed clearing up and Ryan Murdock was great at answering all I need to know. I will say Adam makes the exercises look easier than they are, but I am really looking forward to testing this out.

With the goal to get the abs showing by Easter Sunday I am looking for these Circular Strength Training routines ( CST) to help me on that journey. Of course I will still be fasting for weight loss to ensure I keep losing body fat, but I also want to get more flexible and improve my fitness , and after trying these workouts recently ( though I have to say I tested them not using the in 4×7 flow that they suggest , I just went through the routines to see how they were) I know that they will deliver what I want.

The programme also has a video with Ryan showing you how to use Prasara Yoga so adding this is where I expect to see my mobility improve.

If you want to see if BodyWeight Exercise Revolution is for you then you can check it out here

Tagged as: Adam Steer, Bodyweight Exercises, Bodyweight workouts, Ryan Murdock

Tina

Hi Dave,

Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post your entire fat loss journey via intermittent fasting. After researching it on the internet and having a great feeling during some partial fasts this week (I drank my usual espresso with half and half, had a few nuts till dinner), I’ve decided to take the plunge! I’m amazed at how much better I felt just doing that–more energy, focus. I felt so in control of the food instead of it controlling me.

I’ve about 45-50 lbs I’d like to lose and can’t wait to get started. I read your entire archive and especially appreciate your apparent honesty with regard to the inevitable dreaded plateau!

The only thing I fear is not having my morning huge (12 ounce) espresso with cream! Looking forward to my morning coffee really is a big deal for me, and I don’t think I can drink it black. I may have to do soda or something in the mornings on fast days. I’m not much of a tea drinker, though Lord knows I’ve tried ;~)

Congratulations on achieving your weight loss goal. I’m sure your 6 pack abs are on their way!!!!

Dave

Hey Tina,

Well don’t forget you are only looking at a max of 2 days without that big espresso with cream ! . I am ok with the espresso or an Americano, but if you can’t drink it black , then yes on the fast days switch to something else. The other thing is if that coffee is so important to you, perhaps you fast after it ? In my case the breakfast to breakfast fast is the one I don’t fancy at all. In over a year i have not done one, because for me , my evening meal is your 12 ounce coffee !, no way I could miss it. If you think you could do a fast from say 10 am to 10 am, then give it a go, that way you never miss that coffee ;). This is the great thing about I.F. We are all different and we can make it fit what works for us. I hear you on the tea, It took me a while, I did finally find some fruit teas I like, and I keep experimenting with different flavours, but I do always need a sweetener in them !.

On that 45- 50 lbs, just do the same as I did, look at it over the year, don’t get sucked into this diet marketing hype about losing 35lbs in a month, nobody can lose 35lbs of fat in 30 days.

The abs are a work in progress

Tina

Hello Dave,

Yes…thought about breakfast to breakfast fasting, but my favorite breakfasts pancakes, veggie sausage, etc…all taste best at dinner! (I became a vegetable-and-fish-eater-only after a low carb stint which made me start disliking meat ;~ and rethink eating what started looking like a carcass instead of food.)

I believe that my preferences and just what feels natural and unforced are similiar to yours. On a normal day, I drink my espresso (made at home in a regular drip coffee maker but using Spanish espresso) then eat a small to moderate lunch around 2 pm, then eat a couple more meals till 10 pm. I’m kind of a night owl, and like you, dinner with the family is my fave.

I’m gonna bite the bullet and go for the dinner to dinner fast 2X per week, I think. Hopefully, I’ll find a fruit tea that I like as well.

Don’t get me wrong, Dave–I’m not questioning the way you did it–it worked, you are exceedingly healthy, happy, and you look great!!! But, I can’t help but wonder if you would have lost the same amount of weight in the same amount of time doing 2 or 3 fasts per week in the beginning instead of every weekday. I know that you only did it that way because it felt natural and unforced, and I think I understand that. I have some experience with extended fasts (not for weight loss, but other reasons). It feels good on many levels to fast! There’s the increased productivity, lack of food decision making, the feeling of control, and many more.

Did you read in Rusty’s Fitness Black Book, he gives a link to a New York Times article about IF, “The Risks and Rewards of Skipping Meals”? That was kind of interesting. I find it hard to trust these studies nowadays though, especially after being lied to (intentionally or not) about the ‘eat 6 small meals thing’. I think that one was the one that most contributed to my being fat as it caused me to constantly think about food and ask myself, “What am I going to eat now!” I did Body For Life with great, but short-lived success 8 yrs. ago or so.

I much prefer honest anecdotal experiences such as yours.

I got a sort of pleasant surprise this morning. I did a pre-IF weigh in this morning, as I need to go shopping for a morning breakfast beverage before starting my IF program in earnest. I had been afraid to weigh since the holidays, but I found that at 5 ft. 4 in. and 158 lbs (instead of the 170 lbs I suspected), I think my wgt. loss goals should be a bit less than 45 or 50 lbs! Yep, 35 lbs sounds a bit sweeter! Maybe by my 48th birthday on May 5 I won’t be ashamed to don a swimsuit with my 6 year old son at the lake. That would be too soon to have met my goal probably, but I should be a much improved version of myself by then!

I have a couple of kettlebells, and an awesome home-made resistant strap set thanks to a guy on YouTube. I don’t know much about structuring my own workouts, but I’m gonna go for it. I have not currently been exercising regularly, so lots of new beginnings this year ;~). Budget restraints keep me from buying a structured workout program right now, so I’m trying to glean all I can off of the internet and put it all together.

I look forward to reading your blog. You are a true inspiration. Have a great week, Dave!

Dave

Hi Tina,

For the first 8 weeks of using I.F. I did only use the 2 fasts per week. My weight loss in those first 8 weeks was high ( 26lbs in first 8 weeks ), but then of course it slows to normal levels. I then experimented during the week with a condensed eating window, however since June of last year I have only used the 2 fasts per week on a regular basis. I do now find I will still sometimes skip a meal in the daytime because I am not hungry, but my 24 hour fasts are now only 2 days per week. As I say it is just about what works for each of us, we are all different, but certainly my advice for anyone starting is to use the 1 or 2 24hr fasts on a weekly basis.

Tina

Oops! I meant to say “an awesome set of suspension trainer straps, thanks to a guy on YouTube.” ;~)
DEE

Hi Dave,

First of all, congratulations, you are truly an inspiration!

I really need some help. I’ve been eat stop easting since last November now and haven’t seen great results in terms of loss over the past couple of months. At first it was quite typical for me to stand on the scale to find another pound had dropped off, however that then changed in the new year.

At first, I thought it was because I was sneaking a little milk in my tea and coffee ignoring Brad’s advice, however for the past three weeks I have been strict and not done this in an attempt to shift the last niggly pounds.

I rememeber you mentioned that when you were down to your last few pounds the weight loss slowed down, however I feel like I’ve plateaued. I honestly can say I’ve been around the 10 stone 10Ibs mark for three weeks now. My ideal weight is 10 stone for my 5 ft 6 frame.

Do I seriously need to step up my game to lose the last ten, by stepping-up I mean eating clean foods (boring) and working out more? Also, I have quite a busy social life and although I have been drinking alchohol throughout my eat stop eat journey I think it may be hindering my attempts at this stage.

Please advise, I’m deflated and beginning to obsess (which I hate) and need some fire in my belly to fight the last few annoying pounds.

Dave

Hi Dee,

Yes, I did also hit the plateau in June last year when I was six months in. I can understand the frustrations, because I felt them too. The only thing I can say is hang in there and just keep doing what you are doing. Focus on that what you have done that has worked this far.

Just so you know, the plateau for me lasted for for over 2 months. I took a break from fasting for 3 weeks to see if I was overeating, but only gained 2 lbs in that time, which came off as soon as I went back to fasting twice per week, but going lower and finally hitting my target weight still took some time. That last 10lbs was not moving, the only thing I really changed was increasing the difficulty of my bodyweight exercises.

I did write this post at the time which may help you, and if you follow up from there, you will find more posts where you can see what my thoughts were at the time http://retireddieter.com/2009/07/break-a-weight-loss-plateau/

Again, all I can say is , Follow the 24hr fasts as intended ,if you know you are not consuming too many calories, those last few stubborn pounds will finally move.

Looking back now, the weight loss plateau was an interesting time, because the challenge for me was to stay true to my retired dieter principles, so I was not giving up alochol, I was not going to stop eating foods I loved, and I was not going to start exercising an hour a day either. I had to try and change things around using the beliefs that had worked so well for 6 months. The body is s a very clever machine and it clearly knows how to hold on to those last few pounds. I would love to find some research studies on weight loss plateaus that explains how the body seems to have some natural preservation system to keep some fat in reserve.

DEE

Thanks for your words of encouragement it’s really helped. Its odd but before you responded I had already decided to miss a fast for the first time due to feeling frustrated and fed-up. Following this I thought it may be an idea to take a break mentally (not physically as the fasts are quite easy to do) including exercise as I was starting to obsess which is unhealthy. I think after this break/week I will be ready to tackle the next hurdle!

Dave

No Problem Dee, glad I could help. I know not seeing the scales move can be tough, and we all do obsess over the scale weight. I am trying not to so much these days, but if I am honest, I still don’t like to see the numbers move up, even if my belt notch is saying I have not gained !. In terms of the workouts, As I say I don’t think you need to work out more, just change it . I am always surprised how when I change my bodyweight workout routines how I ache in new places !

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Bodyweight Exercises Going With The Flow

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