Adam Waters has posted a challenge on his blog regarding a 14 day “shred” that I am going to participate in.   The challenge is to eat clean and shred hard for a 14 day period beginning on October 26, 2007.  As part of this “group shred” I will be posting daily pictures of myself on this blog.  It will be up to you, the reader, to hold me accoutable for my actions during this period.  As always, I'd appreciate comments as I go along.  Anything you can say to me to encourage me will be greatly appreciated.  Let me know that you are out there and reading this stuff.

To Adam I say this–you are an inspiration and I plan to make this the first of 3 100 day personal challenges I am setting for myself in the next year.  I want the best results I can get.  Clean eating, training hard and shredding the fat–that's what the next year is all about for me.  Watch me do it live on this blog!

To everyone, I am planning to do a weekly podcast starting in December.  The topics will range from weight lifting routines to fat loss tips.  It will be an enjoyable addition to the information I already present on my blog.

Today was Workout B of Fat Loss III in The New Rules of Lifting and it was another killer.  I was amazed at how hard the workout was.  Each giant set has 4 exercises performed with no rest, but with 60 seconds rest between giant sets.

Exercise	Weight/Sets/Reps
Front Squat	175 x 2 x 10 155 x 2 x 10
Chin-ups (assisted)	(160) 4 x 10
Step ups	30 x 4 x 10
Dumbbell push press	40 x 4 x 10
Back Squat	65 x 2 x 20
Lat pulldown	60 x 2 x 20
Step ups	10 x 2 x 15
Dumbbell overhead press	25 x 2 x 20

I got up today with an excited feeling, knowing I'd be going in to lift again!  I drove to the gym and visualized myself doing the workout.

This phase is Fat Loss III from The New Rules of Lifting and it involves doing giant sets–4 exercises done without rest like one giant superset.  It then calls for a 60 second rest before repeating the cycle.  The visualization was to help me with motivation once inside the gym.

I took the time to set up my various equipment for the first giant set.  I racked up the warm up weights and did 3 sets.  I then got to work.  Remember, no rest between exercises and 60 seconds between giant sets

Exercise	Results (Weight/Sets/Reps)
Deadlift	185 x 2 x 10 175 x 2 x 10
Explosive Pushups	BW x 4 x 10
Bulgarian Split Squats	20 x 4 x 10
2 Point Bent Row	35 x 4 x 10
Deadlift from a box	135 x 2 x 10
Dumbbell Bench Press	60 x 2 x 10
Walking lunges	20 x 2 x 10
Seated Cable Row	135 x 2 x 10

I'm on the final day of my latest rest period and I have to say, I can't wait to get back to lifting.  I spent some time this week thinking about it and I've come to alot of interesting (to me) conclusions.

I started lifting weights about 17 months ago.  I spent over a year working out 5 days a week.  I didn't rest unless I was injured.  I pushed and pushed and then one day, after about 13 months of training, I looked at myself in some pictures that were just about a year old.  What I saw was pretty much the same thing I was seeing every morning in the mirror.  Not much had changed despite spending a year working out.

I started doing alot of reading at places like http://www.bodybuilding.com, http://www.discussbodybuilding.com, http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com, and http://www.global-fitness.com and I realized my mistake.  I thought my body would change in the gym.   What I found out is that my body changes more when I'm resting than when I'm working out.  Rest is an important component of a body transformation program.  It is why everyone tells us to get enough sleep.  At the same time, it is why we are told to take a rest from lifting every 12 weeks or so.

I had always noticed that I would have little aches in my knees or shoulders, but I always took that to mean that I was sore from working out.  When I took my first one week break I quickly realized that the aches were due to working out alright, working out constantly without rest.  The one week off was hard to take because I was afraid of losing the gains (no matter how small) I had made.  When I returned from the one week off I found that things were just the opposite.  I was stronger than when I had left.  I was able to resume my workouts with even heavier weights. My endurance on the treadmill was even better than prior to the break.

This time will be no different.  My aches and pains are gone completely.  All my body needed was a little rest. Interestingly, these aches and pains only become noticeable after 6 to 8 weeks of intense training.  I've concluded that every 8 weeks or so, my body will require a bit of a break and I plan to give it that break. 

This brings about some new expecations from my side.

Today was another cardio only day.  My week of rest is almost up.  I decided to go for a one mile run because I had no time to hit the gym for cardio.  I took out The Stick and massaged my calves to avoid any cramping that usually occurs when I run.  I then set out using the path I'd created on http://www.mapmyrun.com to do my one mile run.

I concentrated on a good, even pace and focused on my breathing.  At the half mile point I could feel the burn in my lungs, but I continued to push.  At 3/4 of a mile I went faster, pushing my legs to move in larger strides.  As I came in for the mile, I decided that I felt good enough to go one more time, so I continued.  I managed to complete both miles in 13:37.  I did not have any problems with my calves, but they did feel tight, so I took The Stick and rubbed down the calves until all tension and tenderness was relieved.

It felt good to get in that run.  Now I just look forward to the results on Sunday.  This has to be the cleanest eathing week I've had.  There have been some issues on certain days where the calories probably should've been higher, but overall a great nutrition week.