About me and the RR: 32 years old, 65kg, 180cm
tl;dr: A look back at how a 30-something dude implemented the RR in his life and what helped and happened.
Yo!
I've stumbled upon the RR when I was researching calisthenics. I think I was around 25 years old and while I was never overweight, I've certainly never been "fit". I started out doing the "old" RR (following along with the "old" BWF-App), which had a lot of planks/isometric holds. That was the first time I've ever done something fitness-y in my life, besides the sports I did as a child. With many of the excercises I had to start in low "progressions"; in the beginning - for example, I barely managed to do 3 sets 3 dips (let's not talk about form, haha).
Progress was slow, but steady. I made some good investments in the first year or two, and bought all of the equipment mentioned at the end of the post. To me, they have been of incredible value; it was great having to buy only a handful of stuff for a low price (compared to, say, a gym subscription) that didn't take up much space and I like being able to use it differently as I progressed. For the last few years I've switched to the "Progressive Workouts" app and do the "new" RR-Routine. (iOS-Link)
What has been an extremely important factor in my BWF-journey: Consistency! I've realised early I won't be able to do 3 or more workouts per week (which would've been ideal, but oh well...), so I said to me: You "only" gotta do the RR twice a week, but you have to do it twice a week, no matter what. Since I work in education, I'm lucky to have 12 weeks of "holidays" per year (not all of them are actual vacation days, mind you). Those are rest-weeks, where I'm neither fasting intermittently nor do the RR. I think that helps for recovery and to not put too much pressure on myself. In the last 6 years, I've done the RR during those 40 (out of 52 yearly) school weeks twice weekly, with about 95% consistency (rough guesstimate).
I've plateaued with some of the exercises; I've been considering going for the "weighted" progressions, but I don't feel very inclined to do so. And in the last years I've made attempts to work towards the full planche, but I can't seem to muster the energy, time and dedication...
...which is perfectly fine, because here's one of the reasons I'm writing this post: To me, the RR is a well-thought out, very efficient and very impactful tool to stay fit, both physically and mentally. I'm happy and grateful to be as fit as I feel right now and be without injury for so many years - and I don't want to make it a race. This subreddit can be quite intimidating, since many of you guys seem to be young, eager to challenge themselves greatly, and have started out doing sports early and seem to progress/build muscle quickly. I'm aware that that's a skewed perspective, and comparing myself only to the sucessful "pros" is a recipe for envy and unhappiness. But I wanted to use my voice as an "average guy" who made humble gains and probably won't turn many heads when going to the beach - but that's very much okay. Right now, to me, the RR is about maintaining a certain level of fitness - a routine that keeps me fit, not one that pushes me to my absolute limits. I intend to do it like this for the rest of my life. Sometimes this infuriates me, since it is and will continue to be a lot of work and effort. And despite it being a non-negotiable routine for so many years - it still requires willpower to start the workouts. Almost.Every.Time. But I'm glad I've found the RR, since I like what it does and how good it works - and how easily it fits into my busy life.
I'm so incredibly thankful to all the good people who contributed to the RR, be it by helping to conceive and improve it or by making apps or knowledge free and available to all of us. The RR and this sub continue to make an tremendous positive impact in my life and I'm grateful every week - it has made my life better in many ways. After my post blew up a few years ago, I've been approached by many redditors who started out as insecure and hesitant as I was back then. Hopefully I've helped nudge some of them toward a healthy (and consistent!) approach to something that's often sorely lacking in our "modern" daily lives: physical exercise.
Cheers!
(Here's a photo, since you folks seem so eager to get some visuals to compare yourselves to
. The picture was made after lunch and I did not workout on this day, so it's as "authentic" as it gets):
[sup](I don't have any neat comparison photos from many years ago, sorry...[/sup]\*)*
Other important things to note:
tl;dr: A look back at how a 30-something dude implemented the RR in his life and what helped and happened.
Yo!
I've stumbled upon the RR when I was researching calisthenics. I think I was around 25 years old and while I was never overweight, I've certainly never been "fit". I started out doing the "old" RR (following along with the "old" BWF-App), which had a lot of planks/isometric holds. That was the first time I've ever done something fitness-y in my life, besides the sports I did as a child. With many of the excercises I had to start in low "progressions"; in the beginning - for example, I barely managed to do 3 sets 3 dips (let's not talk about form, haha).
Progress was slow, but steady. I made some good investments in the first year or two, and bought all of the equipment mentioned at the end of the post. To me, they have been of incredible value; it was great having to buy only a handful of stuff for a low price (compared to, say, a gym subscription) that didn't take up much space and I like being able to use it differently as I progressed. For the last few years I've switched to the "Progressive Workouts" app and do the "new" RR-Routine. (iOS-Link)
What has been an extremely important factor in my BWF-journey: Consistency! I've realised early I won't be able to do 3 or more workouts per week (which would've been ideal, but oh well...), so I said to me: You "only" gotta do the RR twice a week, but you have to do it twice a week, no matter what. Since I work in education, I'm lucky to have 12 weeks of "holidays" per year (not all of them are actual vacation days, mind you). Those are rest-weeks, where I'm neither fasting intermittently nor do the RR. I think that helps for recovery and to not put too much pressure on myself. In the last 6 years, I've done the RR during those 40 (out of 52 yearly) school weeks twice weekly, with about 95% consistency (rough guesstimate).
I've plateaued with some of the exercises; I've been considering going for the "weighted" progressions, but I don't feel very inclined to do so. And in the last years I've made attempts to work towards the full planche, but I can't seem to muster the energy, time and dedication...
...which is perfectly fine, because here's one of the reasons I'm writing this post: To me, the RR is a well-thought out, very efficient and very impactful tool to stay fit, both physically and mentally. I'm happy and grateful to be as fit as I feel right now and be without injury for so many years - and I don't want to make it a race. This subreddit can be quite intimidating, since many of you guys seem to be young, eager to challenge themselves greatly, and have started out doing sports early and seem to progress/build muscle quickly. I'm aware that that's a skewed perspective, and comparing myself only to the sucessful "pros" is a recipe for envy and unhappiness. But I wanted to use my voice as an "average guy" who made humble gains and probably won't turn many heads when going to the beach - but that's very much okay. Right now, to me, the RR is about maintaining a certain level of fitness - a routine that keeps me fit, not one that pushes me to my absolute limits. I intend to do it like this for the rest of my life. Sometimes this infuriates me, since it is and will continue to be a lot of work and effort. And despite it being a non-negotiable routine for so many years - it still requires willpower to start the workouts. Almost.Every.Time. But I'm glad I've found the RR, since I like what it does and how good it works - and how easily it fits into my busy life.
I'm so incredibly thankful to all the good people who contributed to the RR, be it by helping to conceive and improve it or by making apps or knowledge free and available to all of us. The RR and this sub continue to make an tremendous positive impact in my life and I'm grateful every week - it has made my life better in many ways. After my post blew up a few years ago, I've been approached by many redditors who started out as insecure and hesitant as I was back then. Hopefully I've helped nudge some of them toward a healthy (and consistent!) approach to something that's often sorely lacking in our "modern" daily lives: physical exercise.
Cheers!
(Here's a photo, since you folks seem so eager to get some visuals to compare yourselves to
. The picture was made after lunch and I did not workout on this day, so it's as "authentic" as it gets):[sup](I don't have any neat comparison photos from many years ago, sorry...[/sup]\*)*
Other important things to note:
- Intermittent fasting (16:8) during workdays (Mo-Fr)
- 7.5h sleep minimum
- Protein shake (always) + creatine (sometimes)
- Diet: None
- Lebert Equalizer XL (for rows and dips)
- Ab-Roller
- Stretching band
- Gym-Rings/Pull-Up-Bar
- Yoga-Mat
- L-Sit-Pullups / Intermediate pistol squat
- Dips / Nordic Curls
- Planche Push-Ups / Wide Rows
- Ab-Roller-Rollouts / Banded Ballof Press / Reverse Hyperextension
- 3 x 4 Pull-Ups / 3 x 8 Squats
- 3 x 3 Dips / 3 x 8 Single-Legged Deadlifts
- 3 x 5 Push-Ups / 3 x 6 Incline Banded Rows
- 3 x 6 Rollouts / 3 x 8 Banded Ballof Press / 3 x 6 Reverse Hyperextension
Glad to hear I'm not the only one who who's not a "naturally motivated sports dude"