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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The stats for the week are in.  Despite getting decent results, I'm going to experiment with the Vince DelMonte method of cutting.  Here are the results for the week:

While I agree with the concept of bringing your calories up to your maintenance level gradually to repair your metabolism, I am hearing Tom Venuto's response to me as I see these results.  I've lost LBM 3 weeks in a row and that means I'm not losing fat fast enough.  Thus, I am going to make a decisive and immediate change.  Effective this week, I have my calorie target on my accountability log.  The plan is:

I will begin with a carb rotation cycle of 3 days low, 1 day high.  The low days will be 2250 calories.  The high days will be 2700 calories.  I will begin with a ratio of 45/35/20.  I will reduce the carbs each week as follows:

As I hit the lower carb percentage of 10% it will be very much like Metabolic Surge.  Carbs will be around 50 grams each day at that point.  The objective is to incinerate as much fat as I can as fast as I can.  This is a routine used by Fitness Competitors as they cut down for a fitness contest.  At the same time, I will be training as hard and heavy as ever.

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