I'm Not Tackling My Health Projects

[HappyDude]

I've used OmniFocus for years and have included photos to better illustrate my situation.

I have about 3-6 different areas of current focus. These folders in projects view (not context) hold the areas of my life that I deem are important to consider myself a well rounded individual. Health, Wealth and Love were the original I began with and now as the years have passed by, have realized school is important considering i'm in the middle of a transition between a community college to a university...

"Clean" consists of the nitty gritty reoccurring projects such as washing the car, cleaning the bathroom and doing laundry. "School" has all things related to school, whether it be to hand in an assignment, type one up, meeting with a professor or simply research an upcoming scholarship. "Health" has projects such as jogging, yoga, meditation, pushups, reading and exfoliating once a week. "Wealth" has things ranging from checking accounts online, researching potential investments and even listing a simple errand to my bank. "Love" consists of projects entailing to take family out to dinner, spend time with my brother, purchasing an upcoming birthday gift for my grandma and so-forth.

I've included a photo with my projects in each category. Most of my available next actions all come from the "Health" folder, seeing as i've purposefully set up this next month to tackle my health projects. Years ago I was much healthier, practicing yoga and meditation everyday. Today, I feel so stressed, thinking too many thoughts. I've gained a few pounds and admittedly feel tired more easily. Of course, i'm only 23 and most of it is in my head; but I definitely want to perform at my optimum, considering I feel each area i've listed affects all others in a negative or positive manner.

I've tackled Love, improving my relationships are home and with those around me a year ago when everything within these relationships got tough. Wealth; i've managed to get out of debt, working 40 hours a week with all work and no play before I came out to Asia for this next month (With more than enough time to focus on the health aspect of things). School has been successful in that i'm simply waiting for universities to release their acceptance decisions and this can be done on the internet, not forcing me to stay in the U.S. for this next month.

My Health projects aren't being tackled while the rest are being done. I'm not sure why this is. It can be a lack of project planning, a not detailed enough successful outcome...or simply that i'm being lazy and prefer cheeseburgers over vegetables.

Thanks for reading.

 

[HappyDude]

Photos of my projects and omnifocus

Attached files

 

[HappyDude]

Health projects folder

Attached files

 

[theilluminated]

I think you are taking things a little too seriously with health. What I mean by that is the amount of lists and projects around it. The granularity is too much and if I took my health and dieting to the point you have taken it I would be annoyed by it.

What I think to myself when looking at your lists is: "Do I have to do all that stuff?", and I bet a part of you is thinking the same.

Think of it in this way: Do you need to have every single next-action when you are for instance doing the dishes? Do you need to create a project because doing the dishes is a multi-step project?

1. Gather all dishes to one place
2. Open the dish washing machine door
3. Put dishes in
4. Close the door
5. Select program
6. Turn it on
7. Open the door when done
8. Etc

In my mind you are thinking too detailed here. I exercise three times a week with weight. On my days off I jog or walk on mountains. I simply know that I will exercise those three times a week, and most likely in the morning. In my gym bag I got a notebook with my schedule, no need to put that anywhere else.

You are taking the fun out of exercising, your system is too rigorous and is counter-productive for my sake. It feels like work instead. I understand the need to have a system in place to get things going, but I feel you are putting too much details here and when you look at it you are overwhelmed. Especially when you see the same items over and over again. This is stuff that should be on auto-mode.

Go meditate when you feel like it, no need to have it on there to simply remind you. If you need to be reminded you most likely do not have the strong desire to actually do something about it. Re-negotiate your feelings on this. I have done similar things, but having lists for things I do every week, something that never goes away, should not be staring at you every time you open OmniFocus. You´ll feel like there is no progression in some cases, that is what I felt at least.

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[TesTeq]

I do not need any projects to do this.

In my mind you are thinking too detailed here. I exercise three times a week with weight. On my days off I jog or walk on mountains. I simply know that I will exercise those three times a week, and most likely in the morning. In my gym bag I got a notebook with my schedule, no need to put that anywhere else.

I agree with you. I run three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), swim two times a week (Saturday and Sunday) and windsurfing when the wind blows. I do not need any projects to do this.

 

[Oogiem]

Not really Next Actions

I looked at the health section and they are not well defined and not granular enough. They are not really next actions and you've blurred some. For me I'd need it much more specific to get moving.

Specifically The Weight gloves one is several next actions at once. Yoga poses is insufficient detail for me. What poses? What is the focus area? For how long?

As someone who is also struggling to do health related projects I think that tracking them in GTD is both appropriate and necessary but that you have to start with fewer of them at once. I would only have a couple of active projects for a while to get in the habit of doing proper exercise.

I'd put as a project only one or 2 of those (say the jump rope and the yoga) and really define the outcome. Once you get them on autopilot you can add the jogging and the reading. So I'd put most of those project in someday maybe and really work on better defined actiosn fo the ones you keep.

Personally I'm starting the 6 week plan over at NerdFitness for Strength training and using body weight only. I've broken it down into several areas of focus, eating changes, bodyweight workouts and mental inspiration. I have projects in all 3 areas that are small and discrete enough to actually get them done. Within those projects I have very detailed and specific actions. Eating changes actually spawned a couple of projects. One was to look at and evaluate programs for tracking my food eaten on my iPod. Now that I have one I am using that project is done and the next piece is to accurately track my food eaten. I have a daily repeating action to enter in my food diary because it's not a habit yet. Another was to look up the nutritional content of a bunch of common foods I eat and enter them so they are quick to add to my food diary. That is ongoing as I think of foods I need to enter but it too is progressing.

I have a project in Omnifocus that is to do the Nerd Fitness bodyweight workout for my level 3 times a week. The actual workouts vary over the week. I set it up as 6 separate repeating projects that repeat weekly in OF because you alternate types of workouts on alternate days and the actual exercises to do change. The period for a repeat is 2 weeks hence the 6 separate repeating projects. OF doesn't handle setting repeats very well so I have the Monday of week one repeating every 2 weeks and so on. My weight workouts include the exercises, reps and sets I need to do on each workout and it is linked to a note in DEVONThink where I am tracking them as part of my workout log. I have each exercise as an action in Omnifocus with the reps listed. The actions also have in the notes links to videos of how to properly do the exercises with proper form as I need that because I've never done this sort of weight training before. Yes it seems overly detailed but if you don't like to exercise and don't know how to do the type of exercise you need to do then that level of detail is critical to success.

The inspiration is where I've been putting things like google for images of what i want to look like that are saved in a sort of wish board type note in DeEVONThink so I have a visual goal not just a written one. It's also where I put reading individual chapters of certain inspirational books and so on.

End result for me is that I am moving forward in the program and just starting to see results.

 

[theilluminated]

Gotta say that I second what Oogiem wrote. Exercising is second nature to me so I have no need to think about that, did not think of it entirely from a beginners view. Want to emphasize focusing one one-two exercise programs and not everything at one. And go through the Natural Planning Model with each.

When it comes to exercise and diet it is extremely important to have both hand in hand. About 90% of the people I meet fail the exercise regiment due to bad diet. Necessary preparation in both fronts are equally important. Working with weights is a great choice, but focus on doing the exercises 110% correct. Doing the exercises wrong will make you stagnate in progression in both weigh increase, muscle increase and build-up etc.

If possible work out in the morning. Without food to digest the body can focus 100% on burning fat and using the muscles. This is not easy in the beginning, but after a couple of times you´ll love it. It is also the fastest way to burn fat and increase muscle tissue at the same time. Exercise at least 3 times a week unless you are very active on the other days.

I can go on and on about this, so just PM me if anybody wants more information about a possible setup and dietary suggestions. Been doing this a while now.

 

[darlakbrown]

Define outcomes

Everyone wants love, health and wealth. But what does that mean specifically to you? In other words, when will you know that you have achieved a health milestone? When you've lost 5 pounds? When you've consistently exercised each day for a month and have the habit? Try defining health outcomes for yourself that mean something more to your situation and are more achievable and measurable.

Foe motivation, try finding an exercise partner or attending a regular yoga class. Instead of trying to meditate for an hour, try working 5 minutes into your schedule after you do something that's already a habit (for example, after you brush your teeth always take 5 minutes to meditate or meditate right before you get into bed.) Set up smaller achievable outcomes that you will succeed at and then build on that feeling of winning.

 

[HappyDude]

I think you are taking things a little too seriously with health. What I mean by that is the amount of lists and projects around it. The granularity is too much and if I took my health and dieting to the point you have taken it I would be annoyed by it.

What I think to myself when looking at your lists is: "Do I have to do all that stuff?", and I bet a part of you is thinking the same.

Think of it in this way: Do you need to have every single next-action when you are for instance doing the dishes? Do you need to create a project because doing the dishes is a multi-step project?

1. Gather all dishes to one place
2. Open the dish washing machine door
3. Put dishes in
4. Close the door
5. Select program
6. Turn it on
7. Open the door when done
8. Etc

In my mind you are thinking too detailed here. I exercise three times a week with weight. On my days off I jog or walk on mountains. I simply know that I will exercise those three times a week, and most likely in the morning. In my gym bag I got a notebook with my schedule, no need to put that anywhere else.

You are taking the fun out of exercising, your system is too rigorous and is counter-productive for my sake. It feels like work instead. I understand the need to have a system in place to get things going, but I feel you are putting too much details here and when you look at it you are overwhelmed. Especially when you see the same items over and over again. This is stuff that should be on auto-mode.

Go meditate when you feel like it, no need to have it on there to simply remind you. If you need to be reminded you most likely do not have the strong desire to actually do something about it. Re-negotiate your feelings on this. I have done similar things, but having lists for things I do every week, something that never goes away, should not be staring at you every time you open OmniFocus. You´ll feel like there is no progression in some cases, that is what I felt at least.

Was this helpful to you?

Illuminated, this first reply was immensely helpful. Thank you so much. Please allow me to express my thoughts as I read your reply.

I think perhaps subconsciously I was waiting to hear advice suggesting I didn’t need to have everything in my GTD/OmniFocus system. Truth be told, many of my projects, especially in the “Health” area of things are set up as a stepping stone to begin to mold a new habit. The projects of taking multi-vitamins and stretching out before heading out in the morning have become routine..and since your post i’ve gone ahead and deleted them because they’ve engrained in me and am confident i’ll do these things.

Going back to thinking I need everything in OmniFocus/GTD:

I remember reading around within David Allen’s Newsletters that GTD shouldn’t just be about capturing all work and no play. The advice I’ve heard is to capture the fun stuff too..like purchasing baseball tickets, splurging on a nice jacket, etc. This mindset has led me to think for sometime now, that I should literally not have anything in my head. Therefore when a thought comes into my head that has potential i’ll capture it on my iPhone’s OmniFocus app. I’ve proactively wanted to capture everything.. even if it’s a small thought that I consider may have potential during my nightly review, though at the moment walking down the street I don’t see it. This leads me to your “washing the dishes” example:

I have the laundry project in my system. I’ve had it for almost 8 months now. Truth be told, I don’t need this project to present itself to me once a week anymore and I especially no longer need the 4 complex action steps I listed 8 months ago to tell me how to successfully do laundry. I think i’ll know when to do laundry, walking past my closet i’ll know if I should do a wash or not... but my dilemma of thinking presents itself when I ponder about not having any projects concerning my laundry and then having my laundry begin to pile up. I’m sure it’s all mental but I consider it a fine line between having something on my radar, or not having it on my radar at all.

I've included a photo here about a (perhaps ridiculous) project of mine, but its one that i've had active for well over a year and feel it does help me called, "Health: Pampering." As a guy, I don't like to think about the little self-care things, but admittedly am a slave to making sure I look presentable. In this project, all four actions are individual, meaning not one before is required to begin the next...they're all simply in the same project because they all consist of "pampering." Baring all, ManScaping is something I don't want to think about every few weeks, freaking out Friday night if I should be presentable or not.. Just as with providing a "self-manicure" at home. I trim my nails about once every 4 days, and these projects have proven useful considering I don't have to think about the next time I need to quickly trim my nails. However, a project such as flossing doesn't exist because its become a habit for me... and therefore can easily lose sight of the fine line of what kinds of these little reoccurring things should become projects and which should not...

...But I digress..

Back To Health:

I thank you for your advice about not making these tasks fun anymore, seeing as i've uniformed all my health projects. I’ll easily admit right now that I lost sight of why I created these projects in the first place, which was to establish the foundation for creating a new habit...though it seems i’ve created so many of them that I lose my flame just by the sight of all of them at once. Perhaps I should just have one or two active to begin with, to establish a habit..then move onto the next?

Edit: You'll also notice i've placed most of my Health projects on hold for the time being, as to not suppress my energy w/ any other upcoming projects in my system.

Attached files

 

[HappyDude]

I looked at the health section and they are not well defined and not granular enough. They are not really next actions and you've blurred some. For me I'd need it much more specific to get moving.

Specifically The Weight gloves one is several next actions at once. Yoga poses is insufficient detail for me. What poses? What is the focus area? For how long?

As someone who is also struggling to do health related projects I think that tracking them in GTD is both appropriate and necessary but that you have to start with fewer of them at once. I would only have a couple of active projects for a while to get in the habit of doing proper exercise.

I'd put as a project only one or 2 of those (say the jump rope and the yoga) and really define the outcome. Once you get them on autopilot you can add the jogging and the reading. So I'd put most of those project in someday maybe and really work on better defined actiosn fo the ones you keep.

Personally I'm starting the 6 week plan over at NerdFitness for Strength training and using body weight only. I've broken it down into several areas of focus, eating changes, bodyweight workouts and mental inspiration. I have projects in all 3 areas that are small and discrete enough to actually get them done. Within those projects I have very detailed and specific actions. Eating changes actually spawned a couple of projects. One was to look at and evaluate programs for tracking my food eaten on my iPod. Now that I have one I am using that project is done and the next piece is to accurately track my food eaten. I have a daily repeating action to enter in my food diary because it's not a habit yet. Another was to look up the nutritional content of a bunch of common foods I eat and enter them so they are quick to add to my food diary. That is ongoing as I think of foods I need to enter but it too is progressing.

I have a project in Omnifocus that is to do the Nerd Fitness bodyweight workout for my level 3 times a week. The actual workouts vary over the week. I set it up as 6 separate repeating projects that repeat weekly in OF because you alternate types of workouts on alternate days and the actual exercises to do change. The period for a repeat is 2 weeks hence the 6 separate repeating projects. OF doesn't handle setting repeats very well so I have the Monday of week one repeating every 2 weeks and so on. My weight workouts include the exercises, reps and sets I need to do on each workout and it is linked to a note in DEVONThink where I am tracking them as part of my workout log. I have each exercise as an action in Omnifocus with the reps listed. The actions also have in the notes links to videos of how to properly do the exercises with proper form as I need that because I've never done this sort of weight training before. Yes it seems overly detailed but if you don't like to exercise and don't know how to do the type of exercise you need to do then that level of detail is critical to success.

The inspiration is where I've been putting things like google for images of what i want to look like that are saved in a sort of wish board type note in DeEVONThink so I have a visual goal not just a written one. It's also where I put reading individual chapters of certain inspirational books and so on.

End result for me is that I am moving forward in the program and just starting to see results.

Thank you for the advice Oogiem, i've garnered some thought as well:

First off, I completely agree my projects and actions aren't well defined. This area of my life has so many cobwebs that when it comes time to do my Weekly Review I simply write the simplest thing I can imagine in the hopes of making the action step simple.

As noted above, I've gone and placed this projects on hold and will focus on only one or two for the time being. Focusing on creating a well defined successful outcome but more-so attempting to create a thorough explanation of what I want to get done when these action steps become available. In orders, for reading I can write down I want to tackle 60 pages in one sitting, which is about how much i'll usually read in a sitting. For jumping rope I would first have to do some research online to see how agility and best practices of jumping rope come into play...then moving the project forward, perhaps repeating itself every other day.

Oogiem, I agree with you completely that my projects should be much more defined in terms of wanting success in particular projects/areas that I'm not accustomed to...but again i'll admit that i'm not too confident about in what way I should be defining everything within my project. Such as, a defined action step, successful outcome, project name, research..??? Specifically and bluntly, how the heck do I get up and start running? Essentially the toughest point in getting the actual ball rolling.

Oogiem, thank you for taking the time to read and write, I truly appreciate the advice. :-D

 

[HappyDude]

Gotta say that I second what Oogiem wrote. Exercising is second nature to me so I have no need to think about that, did not think of it entirely from a beginners view. Want to emphasize focusing one one-two exercise programs and not everything at one. And go through the Natural Planning Model with each.

When it comes to exercise and diet it is extremely important to have both hand in hand. About 90% of the people I meet fail the exercise regiment due to bad diet. Necessary preparation in both fronts are equally important. Working with weights is a great choice, but focus on doing the exercises 110% correct. Doing the exercises wrong will make you stagnate in progression in both weigh increase, muscle increase and build-up etc.

If possible work out in the morning. Without food to digest the body can focus 100% on burning fat and using the muscles. This is not easy in the beginning, but after a couple of times you´ll love it. It is also the fastest way to burn fat and increase muscle tissue at the same time. Exercise at least 3 times a week unless you are very active on the other days.

I can go on and on about this, so just PM me if anybody wants more information about a possible setup and dietary suggestions. Been doing this a while now.

Consider this a side-note but I completely agree with being active and the nutrition going hand in hand. Again, this has been a bit of a challenge for me. As I mentioned, i'm in Asia for the next month, having already been here for one. I've been purchasing local fruits and vegetables and have seen a small reduction in weight alone. This comes from eating nothing but fast food back in the states, to eating a bowl full of noodles and tofu every night. Last month I would eat healthy in this manner but would not go out exercising, excusing myself saying I was eating healthy, which was more than enough at the time. Then, when I finally did go out jogging, the next day I would find myself inside a McDonalds telling myself I deserved it for the 5 miles I ran the night before. Mentally i've been playing ping-pong with myself, seeing this pendulum effect between healthy eating and exercising not going hand in hand within my mentally...though of course together, they're an amazing duo.

Finally, I love your advice about exercising in the morning. Though the Asian air is very polluted, I've purchased a surgical face mask which everyone here wears when walking outside, the mornings are indeed nice to go out and run and exercise. Back home I would always eat a light breakfast before exercising though your advice seems more beneficial. I can see myself afterwards coming back home in the mornings and making a healthier breakfast; perhaps eggs rather than an unhealthy sandwich filled with mayo.

Another person here went jogging without his face mask and got really sick today. He was given Chinese medicine, containing snake venom if you could believe it. But it just makes me think about really not wanting to get sick in China for the remainder of my trip. (He said the snake bile medicine doesn't help him at all, just numbs his throat).

 

[HappyDude]

Everyone wants love, health and wealth. But what does that mean specifically to you? In other words, when will you know that you have achieved a health milestone? When you've lost 5 pounds? When you've consistently exercised each day for a month and have the habit? Try defining health outcomes for yourself that mean something more to your situation and are more achievable and measurable.

Foe motivation, try finding an exercise partner or attending a regular yoga class. Instead of trying to meditate for an hour, try working 5 minutes into your schedule after you do something that's already a habit (for example, after you brush your teeth always take 5 minutes to meditate or meditate right before you get into bed.) Set up smaller achievable outcomes that you will succeed at and then build on that feeling of winning.

I'd like to lose 5 pounds, gain some muscle.

I'd love to attain the inner peace meditation once provided me when I practiced daily, years ago. I'd also love the flexability Yoga provided me, which admittedly made me feel more secure and confident throughout my days.

Finally, i'd love to be able to jog 6-8 miles again without being dead tired. I can do 5 miles, but i'll take frequent breaks and it'll take me about an hour and a half.

 

[malisa]

Great thread. Thanks Happy Dude for sharing what you have. Just reading some things have prompted me to add some items to my someday maybe lists.

And Oogie, I'm off to check out NerdFitness (assuming I can find it by googling).

I belong to a gym and am easing back in to going. I've been eating well for about a week and a half and made it to the gym twice last week. I only did the treadmill because I didn't want to overdo.

I also got a massage last week. It's been quite a while since I've had one and while I knew that my right shoulder is sort of a mess, I was surprised how much tension (or whatever) was wrapped up under my scapulas. I'm going to go another time or two relatively quickly to get that worked out.

As for how to 'ramp up' beyond the treadmill and my stretching and situps routine I do most morning, I've been waffling how to attack it. I have a gazillion personal training sessions waiting for me (paid for) at the gym. I've used them in little spurts but have never been thrilled with the trainers/training. I expect THEM to tell me what to do and they are usually too wishy-washy for me. I want something very ORGANIZED. Very step by step. So...Nerd Fitness for Strength Training sounds just about right.

 

[theilluminated]

My first thought was "I´m glad I do not have to do all that" when I first glanced over your lists. Your project lists are too granular for my sake, remember that there is a sub-project option in OmniFocus. Your issue, if I may be so bold, is that you are relying too much on OmniFocus for everything. I only use it for Project Lists and Next Actions. Information that goes beyond what my next step (multi-step or single-step) is handled in another system.

That other system is Memoir, which is an app I love. You can download the trial and see for yourself if you like it, kinda like a journal with folders. But to me it is a perfect way to structure my projects now and I am almost 100% digitalized now because of it.

Today I changed my workout regiment. Changed exercises and added a couple of additional exercises. Written on a legal pad and placed in my gym bag. That simplicity can be used in other ways. Not everything needs to be in OmniFocus.

And as we talked about, focus on one or two exercises and the diet. Here is something really simple for you to follow.

Jogging Exercise:
This is for burning fat and do it really, really fast. This is not something that will prepare you for a marathon, but it is one of the fastest ways to burn fat. I´ve tried it and you´ll seriously get results extremely quickly with a correct diet.

Warm up for 8-10 minutes. Run for 4 minutes at about 80% max pulse. Relax for 3 minutes and do this 4 times. It is called 4x4. You know that you´re going at max 80% pulse when you feel you can run 1 more minute after each 4 minutes (except the last two times).

Burning fat = high pulse. No way around that. Running 4x4 instead of jogging will make a lot of difference. The human body was built to endure walking and jogging to an extent. People who walk 5 miles in a gym never improve, people who run will improve really, really fast.

Do this while having a timer if possible, or listen to songs that are around 3-4 minutes. Get a pulse watch. Jog alone. Seriously, jog alone. Jogging alone is important in the beginning because you can do it without having someone annoying and in great shape get you frustrated and discouraged. Going for a run/jogging is only fun when people are equal and can challenge each other, that is at least my own experience.

Weights

Learn the exercises for one week perfectly on low weights (with some challenge, not enough weight = false confirmation). I recommend the following exercises in the following order:

1. Squats
2. Inclines
3. Arnold Press
4. Biceps Curl
5. Rollers
6. Twister
7. Kickouts
8. Tricepspress

Start out with 15 repetitions x 3, then 12x3, 9x3, 6x4 and then 4x4. Do XX weight x 15 repetitions x 3 sets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Increase weight (10-20%) and decrease repetitions like written above each week.

Diet:

Three things: Meat, vegetables and fruit. In that order.

Carbohydrates, starch and sugar (and the bad fats) is causing all the problems. There is a need for a certain percentage of carbohydrates or you will only get skinny and not build muscles.

Protein is extremely important due to the muscles, and when you eat mostly protein the body naturally burns away fat. This is what I eat on a continuous basis, because of my exercise program and food allergy. When I had a week off from exercising I dropped 11 pounds by sitting on my chair in front of the computer, just by eating correctly.

I avoid milk, starchy vegetables, wheat products, rice, fruits with a lot of fructose (natural sugar) and sweets etc. Some of that is from food allergies, but things like rice and wheat products are a strain on the intestines compared to meat and vegetables. Meat and vegetables are the two easiest things for the human body to digest, thus leaving more energy to actually burn fat and do other stuff.

Now here is the tip everybody loves:
After you have had a really great exercise, you can basically eat whatever you want. The body is on full-time mode to recover and everything you eat will be used instantly. Do not go overboard with this, but I actually use this time to have that extra sauce, potato chips or something like that.

And that reminds me, lay off the sauce. I am reducing my body fat now and I have before used sauce and dressing etc. Almost no progress unless I ran a lot.

My last tips are as following:
- When working with weights, rest 50-70 seconds max between sets, when you do that the body will automatically start producing more testosterone, which increased muscle build-up.
- Warm-up with 50-55% of max weight when you get to the 9x3 sets and 6x4, 4x4.
- Eat something with protein right after you exercise, like within 10 minutes
- Eat a decent meal with 90 minutes after exercise
- Eat a banana or something similar after 30-50 minutes after exercise

Doing those things and you´ll avoid getting fatigued when exercising early and in general. The body must recover or you will feel sluggish.

Can´t think of anything more right now, but I´ll write if I remember anything.

EDIT: Removes flys as an exercise, it overlaps with inclines.

 

[theilluminated]

Great thread. Thanks Happy Dude for sharing what you have. Just reading some things have prompted me to add some items to my someday maybe lists.

And Oogie, I'm off to check out NerdFitness (assuming I can find it by googling).

I belong to a gym and am easing back in to going. I've been eating well for about a week and a half and made it to the gym twice last week. I only did the treadmill because I didn't want to overdo.

I also got a massage last week. It's been quite a while since I've had one and while I knew that my right shoulder is sort of a mess, I was surprised how much tension (or whatever) was wrapped up under my scapulas. I'm going to go another time or two relatively quickly to get that worked out.

As for how to 'ramp up' beyond the treadmill and my stretching and situps routine I do most morning, I've been waffling how to attack it. I have a gazillion personal training sessions waiting for me (paid for) at the gym. I've used them in little spurts but have never been thrilled with the trainers/training. I expect THEM to tell me what to do and they are usually too wishy-washy for me. I want something very ORGANIZED. Very step by step. So...Nerd Fitness for Strength Training sounds just about right.

Try my program, I guarantee that it will work. If you do the exercises and eat correctly it is impossible to fail and it is really easy when you get going.

 

[theilluminated]

Squats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5LBIOHG1O0

Inclines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb0RcKImUrk&feature=fvwrel

Arnold Press: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj2w851ZHRM

Biceps Curl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO_CNYidOw0

Rollers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U35KX5g-Dpw&feature=fvwrel

Twisters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOWp9KXur9M&feature=relmfu

Kickouts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIDehufxi2s (end of video)

Triceps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM13vOcx1yw

 

[Oogiem]

NerdFitness "rules"

www.nerdfitness.com

Love the ideas for adapting exercises to what you can really do at your level, moving up as you improve, little or no equipment needed and focus on free weights when you do get to equipment as machines will not provide balanced movement.

Also that whether bulking up or slimming down that you can't outrun your fork. ;-)

Anyway it's a supportive group like here but for health and diet stuff.

 

[Suelin23]

I have these sorts of things listed too, but they are in my checklist app rather than my project/next action list app. I realised I wasn't doing health and personal growth stuff either, so I've made separate Saturday and Sunday checklists. Saturday has gardening, home weekly review, shopping, etc. Sunday has personal stuff - yoga, spiritual study, relaxing in the sun, etc. I tried it last Sunday and it went well, I'm feeling better this week because I took time on Sunday to nurture myself.

 

[HappyDude]

Great thread. Thanks Happy Dude for sharing what you have. Just reading some things have prompted me to add some items to my someday maybe lists.

And Oogie, I'm off to check out NerdFitness (assuming I can find it by googling).

I also got a massage last week. It's been quite a while since I've had one and while I knew that my right shoulder is sort of a mess, I was surprised how much tension (or whatever) was wrapped up under my scapulas. I'm going to go another time or two relatively quickly to get that worked out.

I want something very ORGANIZED. Very step by step. So...Nerd Fitness for Strength Training sounds just about right.

Glad to be of assistance; after all, i’m wanting to learn as much as the next person in this forum.

I’ll make sure to check out NerdFitness as well. Concerning my health projects since my last post, I’ve decided to forego jogging outside for these next few weeks here in China. The smog and pollution is too much. 2 other foreigners have gone to the hospital due to breathing problems. Those who went to the hospital suggest I only run indoors, such as at a Gym in the city. When I return back home in a few weeks i’ll easily be able to go jogging once again, especially since my cousin lives directly across a jogging track, of which I frequent back home. Essentially, i’m stating I won’t be exercising outdoors here in China for the remainder of my trip.

As for jumping rope, meditation and even yoga...these are all still potential possibilities, though I’ve yet to determine what to do with each projects; which to place back in someday/maybe and which two to make active during my trip.

As for the massage, I got one 2 days ago. It cost 30 Yuan ($5) for one hour. It was heavenly. The only sad part is that the people giving you the massage are blind. A bit saddening, though they massaged me head to toe, and it was heavenly. Turns out its a pretty popular place, with a wait-time...though being the American in this small city I was ushered to the front and greeted by their lead masseuse. For $5, I’m planning on going there every Tuesday.

My first thought was "I´m glad I do not have to do all that" when I first glanced over your lists. Your project lists are too granular for my sake, remember that there is a sub-project option in OmniFocus. Your issue, if I may be so bold, is that you are relying too much on OmniFocus for everything. I only use it for Project Lists and Next Actions. Information that goes beyond what my next step (multi-step or single-step) is handled in another system.

That other system is Memoir, which is an app I love. You can download the trial and see for yourself if you like it, kinda like a journal with folders. But to me it is a perfect way to structure my projects now and I am almost 100% digitalized now because of it.

Jogging Exercise:
This is for burning fat and do it really, really fast. This is not something that will prepare you for a marathon, but it is one of the fastest ways to burn fat. I´ve tried it and you´ll seriously get results extremely quickly with a correct diet.

Warm up for 8-10 minutes. Run for 4 minutes at about 80% max pulse. Relax for 3 minutes and do this 4 times. It is called 4x4. You know that you´re going at max 80% pulse when you feel you can run 1 more minute after each 4 minutes (except the last two times).

Burning fat = high pulse. No way around that. Running 4x4 instead of jogging will make a lot of difference. The human body was built to endure walking and jogging to an extent. People who walk 5 miles in a gym never improve, people who run will improve really, really fast.

Do this while having a timer if possible, or listen to songs that are around 3-4 minutes. Get a pulse watch. Jog alone. Seriously, jog alone. Jogging alone is important in the beginning because you can do it without having someone annoying and in great shape get you frustrated and discouraged. Going for a run/jogging is only fun when people are equal and can challenge each other, that is at least my own experience.

Weights

Learn the exercises for one week perfectly on low weights (with some challenge, not enough weight = false confirmation). I recommend the following exercises in the following order:

1. Squats
2. Inclines
3. Arnold Press
4. Biceps Curl
5. Rollers
6. Twister
7. Kickouts
8. Tricepspress

Start out with 15 repetitions x 3, then 12x3, 9x3, 6x4 and then 4x4. Do XX weight x 15 repetitions x 3 sets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Increase weight (10-20%) and decrease repetitions like written above each week.

Diet:

Three things: Meat, vegetables and fruit. In that order.

Carbohydrates, starch and sugar (and the bad fats) is causing all the problems. There is a need for a certain percentage of carbohydrates or you will only get skinny and not build muscles.

Protein is extremely important due to the muscles, and when you eat mostly protein the body naturally burns away fat. This is what I eat on a continuous basis, because of my exercise program and food allergy. When I had a week off from exercising I dropped 11 pounds by sitting on my chair in front of the computer, just by eating correctly.

I avoid milk, starchy vegetables, wheat products, rice, fruits with a lot of fructose (natural sugar) and sweets etc. Some of that is from food allergies, but things like rice and wheat products are a strain on the intestines compared to meat and vegetables. Meat and vegetables are the two easiest things for the human body to digest, thus leaving more energy to actually burn fat and do other stuff.

Now here is the tip everybody loves:
After you have had a really great exercise, you can basically eat whatever you want. The body is on full-time mode to recover and everything you eat will be used instantly. Do not go overboard with this, but I actually use this time to have that extra sauce, potato chips or something like that.

And that reminds me, lay off the sauce. I am reducing my body fat now and I have before used sauce and dressing etc. Almost no progress unless I ran a lot.

My last tips are as following:
- When working with weights, rest 50-70 seconds max between sets, when you do that the body will automatically start producing more testosterone, which increased muscle build-up.
- Warm-up with 50-55% of max weight when you get to the 9x3 sets and 6x4, 4x4.
- Eat something with protein right after you exercise, like within 10 minutes
- Eat a decent meal with 90 minutes after exercise
- Eat a banana or something similar after 30-50 minutes after exercise

Doing those things and you´ll avoid getting fatigued when exercising early and in general. The body must recover or you will feel sluggish.

Can´t think of anything more right now, but I´ll write if I remember anything.

EDIT: Removes flys as an exercise, it overlaps with inclines.

Memoir seems very interesting and have been scouring for a program to handle all my documentation for a while. I’ll make sure to look into it after the weekend, after my trip to Beijing.

I also have to tell you, since putting all those Health projects “On-Hold,” my mind has been a lot more relaxed throughout my days. No longer do I have a nagging feeling of knowing I’m not moving closer to my health projects...but rather feel a bit liberated, as if the GTD Health shackles have been taken off, forgetting I myself placed them between my own ankles. Concerning these Health projects, I plan to make one or two active for the remainder of my time here in China...and place the rest back in Someday/Maybe, bringing them back up after I feel comfortable with the 2 projects I’ll make active soon (most likely reading & meditation (Meditation is great here in China)).

Moving On:

Concerning the Weights you’ve mentioned,

1. Squats
2. Inclines
3. Arnold Press
4. Biceps Curl
5. Rollers
6. Twister
7. Kickouts
Tricepspress,

I’m assuming you don’t do all these in every single workout session correct? You’ve explained the weights x reps x sets perfectly though would believe you wouldn’t perform it all in one session, right?

I’m impressed and thankful with your mentioning of your routines. I’d love ti begin to implement some of the tactics you’ve shared however there isn’t really an applicable gym in this city. The only weights i’ve seen are at a local school, though all the equipment has been locked away. Trust me when I say this city is a complete 180* from any city back in America. It’s a miracle we have WiFi (Though we waited for weeks and even saw construction workers digging a hole from a local school to be able to provide us with internet).

I can exercise indoors, mainly (ONLY) at home...but not outside. The pollution is ridicolous. Worse than Beijing...and perhaps even worse than Shanghai. This random smaller city houses companies that make products shipped all over the world. Considering this city as the place where they make everything you use; from toothpaste, cigarettes, tires, toys etc. Not to mention all the trash burning they do here, considering China doesn’t have any sort of Governmental trash collection.

www.nerdfitness.com

Also that whether bulking up or slimming down that you can't outrun your fork. ;-)

Anyway it's a supportive group like here but for health and diet stuff.

Okay, just checked out this site and it seems great. I’ll definitely make sure to apply when I return to Beijing.

A support group for health sounds amazing. After reading the main page I kept thinking about the “outrunning the fork” part seemed very true and may be a hurdle of mine I’ll want to tackle as time progresses.

 

[Layla]

Great thread!!

HappyDude, if you're in China, check out if there's a local tai chi group? (Maybe even one that practices indoors?) My sis enjoyed one very much!!

She was in a very polluted town too.. (In the winter you couldn't see the sky for days or weeks due to pollution...)
That massage sounds great! I think it's also an awesome opportunity for blind people to earn money and make a living.. (My mum had a blind physiotherapist and he was awesome too, fixed her shoulder..)

Or maybe check if there's a martial arts group for beginners (if you are one)?
I mean, you're in China!!

The pollution and trash-burning is very sad, I hope people will start becoming aware of the alternatives too.. (like Zero Waste and green industries..) I hear the 'middle class' is rising in China and some people are becoming environmentally aware.. There's Greenpeace China too.. Maybe you and other people there could even help with the environmental efforts or such, maybe with money support or time, or at least minimizing waste in your personal efforts and maybe in communication with others too?
You know blindness and other things can be caused by pollution or trash-burning too...