Author Archives: Craig

Drop and give me twenty!

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Posted by Craig on February 27, 2010 – 10:58 am
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Not that anyone would ever say that, but if they did, I can actually do it now!

This week I didn’t do much exercise really. I did some light cardio on a few days, but mainly I wanted to concentrate on cleaning the house, and it seems I always use exercise as an excuse not to clean, so I gave myself a week off.

Instead I wanted to test myself, to see if I’ve actually gotten any fitter since starting my quest.

On New Years Eve, I could only do 8 pushups until I was exhausted. And to be honest, they were lame pushups. I couldn’t do a proper one at all.

But on Wednesday I did 20 perfect pushups! In a row! With no break! Okay, at the end I almost collapsed, but so what? I DID 20 PUSHUPS! I’ve never been able to do that! My next goal is 30 pushups in a row!

As for sit-ups, I could only do 15, and I really don’t remember what I was able to do before, so I can’t compare that. Same with squats – I did 20 in a row, but I have nothing to compare them too.

So my new mini-goals are now: 30 pushups, 20 Sit-ups, and 30 Squats. I’d like to add Chin-ups to the mix, but I have no-where to do them. They’re an exercise you need equipment for, and I have none.

Next week I want to get back into doing more vigorous exercise, as I think I’ve been too light on myself these last few weeks. But overall I’m still feeling good, and it’s obviously doing me good since I’m still improving, so I’m happy.

I dont like people watching me!

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Posted by Craig on February 24, 2010 – 5:55 am
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I’ve been exercising mostly every day since New Years Eve, and now it’s become a habit. I just managed to do 20 pushups in a row, and back on New Years Day I could only do 8, so I’ve improved a lot.

The trouble is, I take care of my Father and normally I dont like to exercise when he’s around, watching me. This limits my time to the morning before he wakes up, during the day if he happens to have a nap, or at night before he goes to bed. Its very hard to exerice at night, so that’s pretty much out. I do like to work out in the morning but its not a regular habit yet.

But today I decided to change! From now on, I don’t care what people think and I don’t care if Dad is watching me or not. I’m exercing whenever and wherever I feel like! I did some Wii Fit Yoga and pushups, and now I feel really good. I’m glad that my exercise time is no longer dictated my whenever my father disappears.

Fitness and Stress

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Posted by Craig on February 20, 2010 – 5:50 pm
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As you know I stopped weighing myself, so this update won’t be about getting to a certain weight, or meeting some microgoal. Instead, here’s what exercise I’ve done this week:

Sunday: Nothing at all. I planned to have a quiet day, but I did intend to do some Yoga in the morning. As it turned out, I was feeling tired and sick all day, so I left it.

Monday: 16 Minutes of Wii Fit Yoga; 12 Minutes of Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout. This week I started back on the 100 Pushup program, but I’ve also started the 200 Squat Program too. On Monday I did Pushups Week 1 Day 1, and Squats Week 1 Day 1. My legs are possibly the least fit part of my whole body, so the squats were hard to do, but I completed them, so I’m quite proud of myself.

Tuesday: 25 Minutes of Wii Fit (including Yoga and Jogging Plus). Tuesday I started the 200 Sit-ups Program, and completed Week 1 Day 1.

Wednesday: I intended to get in some Wii Fit Yoga and Step Aerobics in the morning, but due to Dad waking me up in the middle of the night, I didn’t get much sleep and woke up really tired, so I skipped them. I still did my Pushups Week 1 Day 2, and Squats Week 1 Day 2.

Thursday: Starting around Thursday I got incredibly stressed out, and still am. Basically Dad interrupts me in whatever I do (which is a long story). Again, I intended to do Wii Fit Yoga, and Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout, but left it. I did, however, do my Sit-ups Week 1 Day 2.

Friday: Still stressed. Intended to do Wii Fit Yoga, and Jump Rope, but didn’t. I did my Squats Week 1 Day 3, but I didn’t do my pushups.

Saturday: That’s today. So far the only thing I’ve got done is the Pushups Week 1 Day 3 that I was supposed to do yesterday. I will do Sit-ups Week 1 Day 3, then hopefully get some cardio in later tonight. I prefer to do these in the morning before breakfast, but I’ve been so stressed I’ve kinda lost my way a bit.

I feel just about the same as I did last week, which is not bad. I’ve been able to fit into some shorts that haven’t fit me in a long time, and I do feel fitter in general. Not weighing myself has been harder than I thought. I like to end the week knowing that I’ve improved, or not gained any weight. I suppose I just have to be glad and thankful that I did some exercise at all. I’ve exercised every day this year since New Years and I’ve never done that much exercise, ever.

What I really need is a way to deal with my stress. Today, literally, I was so angry and stressed that I bashed my head against the wall. It’s a bad habit that I’m trying to quit. I know part of the reason I’ve been so unfit and flabby is my stress, but it’s so hard to get rid of it. When I’m stressed, I think ‘Stuff everything, I’m not exercising at all today!’. Then usually I get over it, and do a little bit of exercise, but not enough really.

Is it even possible to get rid of stress entirely? Or is the solution to deal with the stress I get in a non-head-bashy way?

Diary of a Survivor – Part 2

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Posted by Craig on February 17, 2010 – 9:25 pm
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The second part goes into more detail regarding the main character and his father, and also introduces his new friend Patrick. Please note that this is written as though someone has found the actual diary, and is transcribing it into a computer, so some spelling mistakes are intentional. I write it myself with a pan and pen, as I have found this gives me a more authentic feeling. I can get into his mind easier, because I’m doing exactly what he is doing. I hope you enjoy it.

Diary of a Survivor (Part 2 begins on page 8)
Click here to download: Diary of a Survivor (81)

Diary of a Survivor – Part 1 (updated)

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Posted by Craig on February 17, 2010 – 7:25 pm
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I have had an image in my head for along time now. Hundreds of thousands of people inside a long, wide tunnel, with nothing but their own company to keep them happy. No matter what I did, this image would never leave my head.

Then one day I had a lot of free time, so I wrote this out. Once I started, it couldn’t stop till my hand cramped up. This part is just over 1000 words, and is the story of a man and is sick father, forced to evacuate Sydney, Australia along with millions of other people. I still have lots of thoughts about thsi tory, and I look forward to writing more parts.

DIARY OF A SURVIVOR – Part 1

Edit: I have updated this file to fix a few unintentional spelling mistakes.

Click here to download: Diary of a Survivor (81)

Please leave a comment after you’ve read it, I’d love to know what you think.

Uni on hold

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Posted by Craig on February 15, 2010 – 9:02 am
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Well, I had to put this goal on hold. I was all set to start Uni, but then my Father had a bad fall, and has gotten a lot weaker since then, so I put my Uni on hold so I could stay at home to take better care of him. He was doing well, which was why I thought I could take the time to go to Uni, but now I can’t see that happening.

I’m going to look into doing it via correspondance.

See more progress on: go to university

My Internet Addiction

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Posted by Craig on February 14, 2010 – 7:50 am
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So late Friday night my Internet died. As it turns out, some idiot cut a cable somewhere in the area, so I was without the Internet until they fixed it, late Saturday night.

24 hours without the Internet was HELL. Yes, I’m addicted to the Internet, and without it, I barely got anything done. I did no writing on Friday and Saturday, I didn’t exercise, and I didn’t clean up the house (which really needs to be done).

But having said that, I don’t think being addicted to the Internet is a bad thing. While I have it, it helps me out a lot. I can connect with my friends, and just knowing that it’s there makes me happy.

But without it, I’m lost. Thankfully in this day and age, I won’t be without it very often.

What do you think? Is it bad to be addicted to the Internet?

Readjusting my goals

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Posted by Craig on February 14, 2010 – 7:36 am
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Okay, first things first. Yes, I met another goal this week. My average weight was 87.7 for the week, so yay me.

The reason why I don’t sound too excited is, I’m readjusting my goals. I’ve decided to stop weighing and measuring myself daily. Sure, if I’ve lost weight then I feel good, but if I put on weight, I feel bad all day. From now on I will be weighing and measuring myself monthly.

And because of that, I’ll be readjusting my goals. My new goals will not be based around numbers. In fact, my whole life will no longer be based around numbers. My goals shouldn’t be to get to a certain weight, or certain waist size, because numbers don’t mean anything.

My new goals will be more ‘real’. Such as look good in a singlet, be active every day, eat healthy every day, etc. I will still do a weekly update on Saturday, but it will be more based around what I have done that week.

So what about last week? Well I kinda tapered off this week. I didn’t so very much exercise at all. Due to some family stuff I was very busy and stressed all week, and I was quick to use this as an excuse not to exercise. Well no more. My new goal is to be active every single day. And by active, I don’t necessarily mean exercise, but I’m including other activities too, such as cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, etc. As long as I do something active every day, instead of sitting around on my butt in front of the computer, then I’m good. So last week I kinda failed. I also had pizza for dinner on Thursday, but only because my Father begged me. BEGGED me!

I’m going to focus more on being fit, and being able to do more stuff, rather than aiming for certain numbers. That’s why another of my goals is to do 100 Pushups in a row. And do 200 situps in a row. As you see in my links, there are some very good programs to help you do that.

I feel good, now that I have my new goals! No more good or bad days! I’m going to be thin, fit, healthy and happy!

I think I'm addicted to weighing myself

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Posted by Craig on February 11, 2010 – 7:14 pm
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Every fitness article I read always states that weighing yourself is bad, and yet I don’t want to stop doing it. I know I’m measuring my waist too, but I get more glee from seeing my weight a kilo than from seeing my waist drop a cm.

Logically speaking, measuring my waist should be the more important. There have been days when I put on weight, or take off weight, and my waist stays the same. Which means, I suppose, that my weight measurement isn’t that accurate to begin with.

So then why can’t I stop doing it? I could still measure my waist and track it here on my website. Perhaps I could even measure the rest of my body.

What do you think? Should I stop weighing myself? Please leave a comment!

A surprising result!

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Posted by Craig on February 6, 2010 – 9:02 am
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I didn’t expect to meet any goals this week. My weight and waist seemed to level off. I didn’t put on any weight, but I didn’t take off a great deal either. I didn’t mind though, I understand that my body needs a rest sometimes.

But when I worked out my averages for this week, I got a little surprise!

Goal 6: to get my average waist measurement per week below 100cm!

Achieved today! I got 99.6cm for my average weight this week, so I guess my body was doing something while it rested.

My new goal is to get my average waist per week below 99cm! I know I can do it. Maybe not next week, but it will happen. :D

Date Weight (kg) Waist (cm)
Week 1 90.9 104.0
Week 2 90.3 102.6
Week 3 90.1 102.2
Week 4 89.3 101.1
Week 5 88.8 100.0
Week 6 88.4 99.6

The other thing I need to mention is that my weight for today was 87.8kg, a new low!! What a great start to the day.