First, I am travelling today and right now I'm in a hotel room in Las Vegas as I write this.  I brought my camera with me and have taken my pictures, but unfortunately, I forgot the cable that allows me to download the pictures to my computer.  Consequently, my pictures will be placed in the appropriate posts when I return home. (Note:  I have added the pictures to all posts (obviously).)

I drove here from Los Angeles today and it took over 7 hours due to traffic.  I used that time to start doing some planning for the next 85 days.  I know where my weaknesses are and I started planning to improve in those weak areas.

Starting tomorrow I'm going to do 2 cardio sessions daily when on a non-weightlifting day and 1 cardio session when it is a weightlifting day.  I am going to continue on my New Rules of Lifting program until the end of the first mission (100 days) because I've been seeing good results.  After that, I am likely to give Metabolic Surge a try.

I need to take the time to sit down and type up all of my plans so that I can execute on them properly.  Right now they are all just floating around in my head, having been formulated on the drive here tonight.  I have learned through my business training to get these things in writing.  By doing so, I increase the likelihood of being successful with my plans.

I plan to start blogging on specific topics as I move forward through this 100 day mission.  Whatever topic hits me as I sit down to blog will be the topic in the post that day.  I am even planning a weekly podcast to begin Saturday, December 1, 2007.  At first the podcast will just be me speaking my mind, but eventually I'd like to interview various people and put that up as a podcast.

Keep shredding hard everyone!

Until tomorrow…

So much has changed in the past 14 days.  I've gotten myself on track by blogging daily and taking pictures every day.  I will be going to Las Vegas for a business trip and I am bringing the camera and the tripod so I can continue to post my pictures.  I notice that in my last few pictures I have a big smile, something I didn't have at first.  I also notice that my stomach has shrunk in size. 

Honestly, when I look at my pictures, I don't feel like there has been adequate change in the past 14 days, but at the same time, I can see that there is major steps being taken in the right direction.  The smile alone is a step in the right direction.  I can see that my “love handles” have gone way down and my stomach has tightened up.  Even my chest is lifted.

During this Group Shred I've become a member of an online family of shredders who each intend to banish the fat from their bodies.  We have encouraged each other during the past 2 weeks and we've all been successful as a result.  I finally got to watch Joni's video and I thought it was extremely sweet of her to say everything she said.  She, too, is on a 100 day mission like me, but she's about 10 days ahead of me.  I am going to continue to watch her blog and give her encouragement.

Christy is another one that has stuck out in my mind.  She's got alot to overcome, yet she's not using it as a crutch.  She is doing her best to lose the fat and not complaining about her inability to really exercise.  I've been very proud of the progress she's made.

I am proud of every member of the Shredder Council and I appreciate everything they've done to encourage me the past 2 weeks.  Without their support I might have given up.  Now I'm to the point where this is close to a habit.  1 more week to officially ingrain this into my mind as a habit!

As I think about how to get the level of results I want, I've been considering the Metabolic Surge program.  I think I'm going to give The New Rules of Lifting and Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle a bit more time.  I want both programs to have a chance to play out before I change things up.  Jeff Anderson and Marc David told me that it is important to change programs from time to time just to keep the body guessing.  I plan to try out Metabolic Surge, most likely during my second mission.

Finally, I want to thank Adam Waters for writing the article that got me started blogging in the first place.  His article inspired me to take action and I am very appreciative for that.

 

The end is near in more ways than one.  The basic move tasks are done and I just have a few tests to handle tomorrow and that will be the end of the entire project.  At the same time, tomorrow is the last day of the group shred. 

 

I look forward to the next 87 days of my first mission.  I am going to shred hard and lose the maximum amount of body fat possible.  I am currently considering what my goals should be and when I have them, I will post them for all to read so that I can be held accountable.  I am excited about the future plans for the Shredder Council.  It is all just exciting to me.

 

I read everyone's blogs daily and try to post something on each one.  It isn't always possible due to time constraints, but I do my best.

 

Today was a HIIT day.  I followed the same pattern as before.  I did a 3 minute warm up followed by 1 minute at 3.5 mph and then 1 minute at 8.0 mph.  I did that cycle 10 times and followed it with a 3 minute cool down.  I am liking this HIIT pattern alot.

 

The rest of the day was spent debugging a phone problem.  I finally figured out that the phones were just not compatible with the upgraded servers.  That was sad, but at least the problem is figured out.  All that remains is to test with the phones that are coming tomorrow.

 

I have been very reflective lately.  I'm sure alot of that will be coming out in the blog soon.  Stay tuned for that.

 

Until next time…

It just bugs me when people lack the focus to get their job done.  I've been working with a guy who is probably the sharpest, most intelligent human being I've ever worked with, but for some reason, he can't manage his time if his life depended on it.  As small problems are arising that are extremely important to resolve, he's spending his time meeting with a customer who's application is working perfectly, but who wants changes to be made to enhance his application.  In the meantime, the phones at the new office are only partially working and we have no solution in sight.

Where's the focus?