I just completed Week 4 of my push up challenge. The video is posted on YouTube. Here it is:
Mission 1, Day 86: The Fire Burns Hotter
Before I launch into today's post, I wanted to let you know that I recorded a fun podcast today, but my blogging software had some trouble uploading (they have been changing DNS information, so that's likely the culprit). I will get that podcast up as soon as my software will allow me to.
The fire burns hotter than ever today. I spent the evening yesterday reading Flatten Your Abs and then put it into action during this morning's workout. It was a simple 4 exercise core workout, but I felt it afterward. I feel like I need to flatten my abs and since this is what Adam uses, this is what I'm going to use. It worked for him and it is going to work for me.
I did a great Max-OT treadmill session. It was my third one since starting that method. I managed to get 1.51 miles in 16 minutes the first time out, 1.66 the second time out and today I hit 1.75 miles! It is an amazing system for those of you who like to challenge yourself. I find that it reminds me of weightlifting because in order to get further each time you have to push yourself to a higher speed number (akin to increasing the weights) or you won't get to the goal of beating the last time. I also find that in just 16 minutes I have my butt kicked!
As previously stated, the FYA workout was short, but sweet. Several hours later, I am feeling my abdominal workout!
I feel like I've fallen deeper into the zone today. I can't explain it. My nutrition has been perfect today. I've gotten in my EFAs and I've eaten 100% clean. It was a good day.
Accountability Log:
| Mission 1: Day 25 of 40 | Accountability | ||
| Meal/Training Plan: Real-time accountability | Each task completed? | ||
| Day 86: January 19, 2008 | Yes or No | ||
| 4:00 a.m. | Meal 1: Protein shake with glutamine and 15 g. of oatmeal and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 4:00 a.m. | Supplements: Animal Pak, Glucosamine Chondroiten, calcium, chromium, glutamine | Yes | |
| 4:30 a.m. | Workout: Max-OT Cardio, abs, Max-OT Cardio and 6 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 a.m. | Meal 2: Protein shake with glutamine, BCAAs and chromium and small salad and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 9:00 a.m. | Meal 3: Protein shake and large salad and peanuts and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Meal 4: Chicken breast and asian salad mix and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 3:00 p.m. | Meal 5: Chicken breast and large salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 p.m. | Meal 5: Chicken breast and veggies and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Supplements: Casein protein, glutamine, calcium and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| Accountability Areas: | Points | Possible | |
| Meal 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Training | 1 | 1 | |
| Post Workout Nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Water | 1 | 1 | |
| Pre-sleep nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Accountability | 1 | 1 | |
| Daily Totals: | 10 | 10 | |
| Mission Totals: | 226 | 230 | |
| Workout Log: | |||
| Max-OT Cardio (treadmill) | 16 minutes – 1.75 miles | ||
| FYA Abs training | 10 minutes | ||
| Max-OT Cardio (bike) | 16 minutes – 8 miles | ||
Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!
Related Posts:
Mission 1, Day 85: Making the tough decisions
There comes a time when you have to make tough decisions. You get so focused on certain things that you forget the important things. For me, I got so focused on my goals and my progress that I neglected the signals my body was giving me. I know that in the back of my mind I knew it was time for a break, but I wanted to hit my goals. Then I looked back at my log and discovered something interesting. Every single time I've taken a break from lifting I've come back better, stronger and more motivated than ever.
One example would be the very last time I took a break. I came back and managed to shatter a bunch of personal bests. I had some awesome progress with my nutritional issues. It was all a very good experience. This time is going to be no different. I will come back in a week and my weight routine is going to change pretty dramatically. I will be able to lift more than I could when I started the break. This is almost a guarantee.
It is times like this that I realize how important it is to make the tough decisions. For most of us, the first tough decision we made was to start down this fat loss road in the first place. We gave up things we liked. We made a decision and stuck to it. In fact, it gets easier to make the tough decisions once you get yourself used to making them.
Accountability is a tough decision as well. Putting up pictures daily is not an easy thing to do. It was a tough decision for me to dig down and do this. At the same time, it is probably the most rewarding thing I've done on my fitness journey. It is a habit that I will not break. I am here for the long haul.
My plans for the next 14 days involve some serious shredding. I am going to eat a very strict diet. I am going to mix up my cardio every few days to keep my body guessing. I'm going to shred off alot of fat in the next 2 weeks and I need you all to help me along that path. Keep me honest. Hold me accountable. Encourage me. Just keep me focused.
Accountability Log:
| Mission 1: Day 24 of 40 | Accountability | ||
| Meal/Training Plan: Real-time accountability | Each task completed? | ||
| Day 85: January 18, 2008 | Yes or No | ||
| 4:00 a.m. | Meal 1: Protein shake with glutamine and 30 g. of oatmeal and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 4:00 a.m. | Supplements: Animal Pak, Glucosamine Chondroiten, calcium, chromium, glutamine | Yes | |
| 4:30 a.m. | Workout: Lifting and 6 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 a.m. | Meal 2: Protein shake with glutamine, BCAAs and chromium and small salad and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 9:00 a.m. | Meal 3: Chicken breast and large salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Meal 4: Chicken breast and snap peas and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 3:00 p.m. | Meal 5: Tuna (6 oz.) and large salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 p.m. | Meal 5: Cheat Meal–4 slices of pizza with a small salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Supplements: Casein protein, glutamine, calcium and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| Accountability Areas: | Points | Possible | |
| Meal 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Training | 1 | 1 | |
| Post Workout Nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Water | 1 | 1 | |
| Pre-sleep nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Accountability | 1 | 1 | |
| Daily Totals: | 10 | 10 | |
| Mission Totals: | 216 | 220 | |
| Workout Log: | |||
| Squats | 245 x 10 x 4 | ||
| Deadlift Shrugs | 265 x 10 x 4 | [PB] | |
| Bulgarian Split Squats | 50 x 10 x 4 | [PB] | |
| Step ups | 40 x 10 x 4 | ||
| Reverse Crunches | 24 x 3 | ||
| HIIT Cardio Session | 30 minutes | ||
| Pushup challenge training | 15; 15; 14; 14; 12; 12; 10; 41 | ||
| [PB] = Personal Best |
Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!
Related Posts:
Mission 1, Day 85: Practice what you preach
Every weight workout for the past 8 days I have felt almost sick as I lift. I dread the next set. I dread the thought of having to push myself yet again. I kept thinking that this was just a mental block and so I pushed through it, even making some personal bests in the process. The idea that it is just a mental block just can't be true because I wake up pumped to go to the gym and workout. I am still focused on doing it right.
At the same time, my body seems to be telling me something. About 4 days ago I felt like my right ankle was a little weaker than it has been, so I thought “I better watch that on the treadmill tomorrow.” Well, no problems during my cardio workouts, but yet when I walk around, that ankle feels sort of weak. I then noticed that I haven't seemed to have fully recovered from that workout earlier in the week where I thought I had the right weight, but I didn't. I know my body and it should be fully recovered from that workout at this point. I then analyzed my training to see if I am overtraining (I'm not). I just couldn't put a finger on it until I was at the gym today.
As I stepped into the squat rack for my 4th set it dawned on me. I wasn't sure if I was right, so I put the thought out of my head and continued the workout. When I was done I decided to take a look back in my records for when I last took a week off from lifting. It has been 54 days, or almost 8 weeks. I think my body is telling me it needs some time off from lifting. Therefore, I am going to take off next week. I will be doing my cardio workouts, my push ups and my chin ups, but the rest of the weight training will stop for a week to give my body some much needed recovery time.
Until later…GET BACK TO LIFTING!
Related Posts:
Mission 1, Day 84: Twelve Weeks!
Today is Day 84. I can't believe that 12 weeks have passed already. Honestly, I wish I could see more progress at this point, but at the same time, I do believe I've made some good progress and I'm heading in the right direction. I am shredding hard as I head towards the end of my first mission.
Today I did Max-OT cardio. This type of cardio involves a set amount of time (16 minutes). You go as hard as you can for that 16 minutes, using a slower interval only if necessary. The goal is to increase the distance travelled during that 16 minutes. I started this a few days ago. I got 1.51 miles on the treadmill on the first day and today I hit 1.66 miles! I could feel my metabolism completely revved for a few hours after this workout. It was far more intense than the HIIT sessions I've been doing. Today I did my first session of Max-OT cardio then did ab work and then went back for a second session of Max-OT cardio. It was a tough workout to say the least.
The big milestone today was that I attempted an unassisted chin up and I managed to pull myself up so that the bar was right at the level of my mouth. I was pretty excited about that even though it sounds stupid to get excited by that type of thing. I've never had great upper body strength, but with these push ups and the chin ups, that is all changing.
As Adam says, there is no turning back now. I am forging ahead and this is how my life is going to be lived from now on!
Accountability Log:
| Mission 1: Day 23 of 40 | Accountability | ||
| Meal/Training Plan: Real-time accountability | Each task completed? | ||
| Day 84: January 17, 2008 | Yes or No | ||
| 4:00 a.m. | Meal 1: Protein shake with glutamine and 30 g. of oatmeal and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 4:00 a.m. | Supplements: Animal Pak, Glucosamine Chondroiten, calcium, chromium, glutamine | Yes | |
| 4:30 a.m. | Workout: Max-OT cardio, abs, Max-OT cardio and 6 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 a.m. | Meal 2: Protein shake with glutamine, BCAAs and chromium and small salad and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 9:00 a.m. | Meal 3: Tuna (6 oz.) and large salad and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Meal 4: Chicken breast and cucumbers and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 3:00 p.m. | Meal 5: Turkey breast and large salad (24 ounce) and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 6:00 p.m. | Meal 5: Chicken breast and snap peas and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Supplements: Glutamine, calcium and 3 glasses of water | Yes | |
| Accountability Areas: | Points | Possible | |
| Meal 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meal 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Training | 1 | 1 | |
| Post Workout Nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Water | 1 | 1 | |
| Pre-sleep nutrition | 1 | 1 | |
| Accountability | 1 | 1 | |
| Daily Totals: | 10 | 10 | |
| Mission Totals: | 206 | 210 | |
| Workout Log: | |||
| Max-OT Cardio (2 sessions) | 16 minutes (each) | ||
| Abs | 10 minutes | ||
| Chin up challenge workout | (50) 5 x 5 | ||
I have come up with a great topic for the podcast this week. It will be about gym rats and that's about all I'm going to say. I'm hoping that it will be pretty funny for all of you to listen to. It will involve some observations I've made while at the gym and some of it might be a little bit R-rated, so listener beware.
Coming soon: The eBook entitled Get Back to Lifting: Your Second Chance. It will deal with the issue of how to get back into lifting after a back surgery or back injury. It will be very helpful for people in those situations, but will also help anyone interested in lifting weights the right way. Now you know why I have the new sign off.
Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!
Related Posts:
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- …
- 148
- Next Page »
