Archives for February 2008

That's the sound of the weights clanging durng my workout tomorrow morning!  That's right, toe and all, I'm hitting the weights tomorrow morning and hard!  Nothing is keeping me out of the gym for at least my weight workout.  If I can't do cardio, I'm going to pump up those muscles to change my metabolism in another way.  No mercy!  That's my battle cry.

I missed all workouts today due to my inflammed right big toe.  I was able to see the doctor.  He gave me a cortisone injection (ouch), had blood work done and ordered an x-ray (I go next Tuesday).  He wants to be sure that the arthritis isn't eating the joint in the big toe.  If it is, he wants to start taking action to prevent it from getting worse.

I have decided to extend my cut by 2 weeks so that I can hit the cardio very hard (after the foot heals).

I stuck to my nutrition schedule today.  I was up at 3 a.m. but the foot was even worse than yesterday.  I couldn't sleep last night from the throbbing in the toe.  I wound up watching Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood, an episode I had recorded on my DVR.  It is amazing how hard that guy works.  His wife is no different.  They are both extremely driven individuals.  It got me thinking again.

Motivation comes in so many different forms.  It really is up to you, the individual, to figure out wha motivates you and go for it.  Set goals, but plan some “prize” for yourself if you achieve the goals.  Pick a “prize” that will motivate you.  It really doesn't matter what it is. At the same time, you need to be strict about your diet, but sprinkle in cheat meals at set intervals.  The cheat meals are motivation in their own way.  You know you have one just around the corner, so you stick to your plan when you feel like jumping off.

Once motivated, your drive takes over.  You get the engine started with the motivation, you keep it running with your drive.  Drive is grit.  Drive is sticking to the plan. Drive is the analysis you do of your results.  Drive is what's in side of you.  Dig down deep and find it!

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Check back tomorrow and you will see that I've been victorious and have hit the gym for my weight lifting.  I will not “miss” the workout, it will get pushed forward one day.  Honestly, I still have DOMS from my Tuesday lower body workout.  I feel it in every inch of my legs. It is an awesome feeling!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today got off on the wrong foot–literally.  I wasn't able to really walk when I woke up for my morning cardio, so I had to completely skip it.  I hate the idea of missing a workout, but if I had done any kind of cardio my foot would be 3 times the size it is now.

The inflammation has increased steadily.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to have it looked at. 

There wasn't much else going on today so this is going to be a short post.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Higher calorie and higher carb day (refeed day) today.

Workout Log:

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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I woke up this morning and the arthritis in my right foot was inflamed.  This happens several times a year and it gets very painful.  If you've ever seen pictures of gout on a foot, that's what my foot starts to look like.  The big toe joint gets swollen and red and it is painful to walk on.

I headed out to the gym and did my lifting workout.  I also stretched and did my Flatten Your Abs workout as well.  I hit another personal best on my squats (see the log below).

As stated yesterday, I'm on a “no mercy” mission these days and having the foot act up just solidifies that attitude.  I managed to go out and do my workout and even best myself on my squats despite the problem with the foot.  This made me proud.  I've come a long way since starting all of this.  At the same time, once I was warmed up, the foot hurt less.

I also did my steady state cardio in the afternoon as planned.

Not alot of philosophical ideas today.  It was just a long day of work and I'm burnt out.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

I've found something that works for me, so that's why the log here is pretty dull.  I am eating mostly chicken because I like how it tastes.  My starchy carbs are mostly oatmeal with some brown rice at times.  I know how much I need to eat to hit my calorie numbers, so I am sticking with this for now, boring or not.

Workout Log:

275 pounds on the 1-1/4 squat!  I can't wait to see what I can do for straight squats!  I decided to really push hard on the final set and that's the closest I've come to complete failure on squats. It was sort of scary really.

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today was an interesting day overall.  I got up at my usual 3:00 a.m. and hit the gym by 4:00 a.m.  I felt like crap during my workout.  I literally found myself shaking at times.  I totally focused on the rest time today.  I am usually really on it, but today was more so.  For instance, it takes time to grab the bar off the rack for the BB Push Press, so instead of waiting the full 60 seconds, I grabbed the bar at 50 seconds and waited til the stopwatch hit 60 seconds before starting the set.  I was a gelatin mess after this workout!  That's where today's title comes from.  I am taking no mercy on myself, no matter how I feel.

Spent some time today considering how important it is to celebrate our successes.  Your Best Year Yet starts with that question–what did you accomplish?  What did I accomplish this past year?  I began to list the things I accomplished.

• I lost 30 pounds
• I began this accountability blog
• I worked out consistently
• I consistently ate correctly
• I dropped 14% body fat
• I got closer to my family

There's more, but you get the point.  The focus on what you've accomplished helps give you confidence.  The worst you should do is repeat those same things next year.  The best you can do is improve on each of those things and add a bunch more items to the list.  But you need to celebrate your success.  You shouldn't feel boastful for wanting to celebrate your accomplishments.  Those celebrations remind you of how far you've come.  That is very important for your future.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Steady state cardio for 45 minutes on bike
Flatten Your Abs workout 30 minutes

Go ahead and celebrate your successes.  I'm over here showing no mercy, you might as well celebrate!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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Today was a complete rest day.  The only thing I did was stretching and a shoulder stabilization program I just started.  The aim is to strengthen the rotator cuff to avoid injury in the future.  The stretching goal is obvious.

I want to clarify a few things going forward.  I will be posting a push up video every other week.  I am using the 100pushups.info workout program and just decided that if I want to make maximum progress I should not do a video each week.  It is a psychological thing for me.  I will be getting back into the podcasts starting tomorrow (look for a new one).  I will post a video podcast every 4 weeks, but that will not supercede the audio podcast at all.  The next topic for a podcast is going to be nutrition.  I am going to discuss what I've learned from Chris Aceto, Tom Venuto, Vince DelMonte and others.  The podcast will include a discussion of carb cycling, carb tapering and gradual carb reduction.  It should help all the shredders to get a bigger picture of the many methods of nutrition available.  It was fun to put together.

I spent the day continuing my reading in Your Best Year Ever.  I am ready to make some serious goals and those goals will help me make some serious progress. 

I am fired up for my workout tomorrow.  When I first started this workout series I feared this particular workout.  At this point I love it!  I love what the bent over rows have been doing for my back.  I'm ready to get cracking on my 4 x 12 workout tomorrow.  I am ready for more “No Mercy” workouts, that is for sure.

Accountability Log:

Nutrition Log:

Workout Log:

Web 2.0:

On another note, we all know that Adam is in Florida and the event he is attending is being blogged about here.  If you haven't subscribed to Rich Schefren's newsletter I strongly recommend it.  He is definitely an expert on Web 2.0 and marketing in this age. 

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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