Workout done, good day today

Had a great day today of eating (although may have underrate a little) and a great workout at the gym today as well. I am pleased with my day as a whole, it’s a day that moved me towards my goals, rather than further away, and if I can say that most days, I will be a happy camper!

Workout

Leg press 12*180/10*270/8*360/6*450/12*330-9*135-8*80 leg ext
Seat leg curl 12*90/10*105/8*120/6*140/12*95-12*70 lying leg curl
Seat toe press 12*90/10*105/8*125/6*140/12*95-26 *bw standing calfs
Ex ball wall squat 10/10/10/10 30-45 sec rest in between
Treadmill 12 min alt 1.5 min walk/run

Eats

Meal 1 oatmeal, prot drink
Meal 2 apple, prot drink
Meal 3 roast beef/pot/veg
Meal 4 tuna, (didn’t have a carb portion avail at work)
Meal 5 scrambled eggs, with an eggo
Meal 6 still to come

Eats were not perfect, but was better than it has been. Am going to be vigilant to improve this area, as it makes SO much difference, and eating is something I have to do everyday, regardless of the various aches and pains.

All for now, time to get off the computer.

Monday morning, start of the week

Today is day 2 of my ABA challenge and day 41 of my first BFL challenge of the year. I am feeling pretty good today physically and mentally I am ready to attack the week.

I downloaded and modified a spreadsheet that John Stone has on his site and posted it to track my weight and bf. For bf I am just using my weight watchers scale. While I know this is not completely acurate its good enough for my purposes.

As I alluded to yesterday, this ABA challenge as well as the BFL challenges aren’t about losing weight for a picture its about getting healthy for my life. It’s about establishing a healthy lifestyle and getting over all these aches and pains.

Today is a weights day, and an LBWO is on tap. I will be going tonight after taking my daughter to music lessons. If this snow ever stops I will be exercising first thing in the morning. I can’t do a whole lot of shovelling right now so a 530 workout was not in the cards after last nights storm.

Well back to work I will be back later today.

Abs by August Challenge

So, after failing so many times, after so many stops and starts, so many “failures” why would I set myself up for another failed outcome? Well, bottom line is that I need to get healthy. It’s going to take something drastic. I have a 46 inch freaking waist right now. I weigh 235 lbs. My back and neck, while improving from where it was are a mess. I am a currently a poor role model for my family health wise, and quite frankly I am sick and tired of all of it. I got myself to this point. I will get myself out of this mess.

There are many people in the online fitness community that I look up to and/or admire. In the previous post I mentioned John Stone, Jeremy Likness, the Body for Life champions amongst others such as Rob found at www.formerfatguy.com. The past couple weeks I have gotten interested in The Biggest Loser on tv, and although I find they do not focus the show enough on the nutrition side of things, I find inspiration in these guys who have the nerve to do what they do in front of millions. No doubt about it, it takes guts to appear on that program.

So what am I going to do? Why is this time different? Why should anyone believe I am going to do it this time, and not just disapear for weeks at a time and come back with excuses, complaints or tales of how I fell, or slipped or whatever? I cannot answer that. All I can tell you is I will never give up. I will not spend another year at 30 percent bodyfat and feeling like shit, 6 days out of 7.

As I said in the previous post, I will continue my current challenge that started on Jan 2. I am doing both a Torch challenge and a body for life challenge simultaneously, and I will be doing another body for life challenge immediately after this one. This new Challenge that I am undertaking, and today is day 1 of 168 (24 full weeks) is for me and me only. Abs by August (ABA). I don’t know if that is a “realistic goal” but I am going to chase it as if it were. People can undergo amazing transformations in 6 months, I plan on being one of those people. The next 24 weeks is going to set me up for the rest of my life as far as health and fitness.

Accountability:

1. Every Sunday I will take pics, waist measurements, and BF percentage and post the results on my blog
2. I will blog AT LEAST 5/7 for every week of this 24 week challenge as long as I am near an internet connection (I am travelling twice this summer on camping trips where I don’t expect to be near a computer, although I may be able to blog from my phone. Will look into that)
3. I will not run away in hide if I fall off the wagon, and I will continue to post on my blog, and on the various fitness forums I frequent.
4. I will tell others of what I am aiming to accomplish, point them towards my blog, and open myself up for ridicule if I fail. I will not hear, but will expect, and deserve the “I told you so’s” should I not follow through

Goals

1. By August 10th, 2008 I will weigh 175 lbs or less
2. By August 10th, 2008 I will have a waist measurement of 33 inches or less
3. By August 10th, 2008 I will have a bf percentage less than 10 percent
4. By August 10th, 2008 I will have visible 6 pack abs
5. By August 10th, 2008 I will be able to run 5 km without stopping
6. By August 10th, 2008 I will be able to perform 50 consecutive pushups
7. By August 10th, 2008 I will be able to perform 10 consecutive chins from dead hang
8. By August 10th, 2008 I will be able to bike 75 km in one day
9. By August 10th, 2008 I will have taken more than 1,680,000 steps counted on pedometer, and biked more than 840 km (between Feb 10th and Aug 10th)
10. By August 10th, 2008 I will undergo a complete physical, and have my blood pressure and cholesterol tested to be in healthy ranges.

How

1. I will lift weights at least 3 days a week
2. I will eat healthy 6 days out of every 7 for the duration of the challenge, taking a full free day once a week if i so choose. For at least the end of this BFL challenge ending March 24th, will re-evaluate at that time
3. I will do cardio of some sort EVERYDAY, even if it consists of “only” a long walk with dog
4. I will work very hard on my attitude everyday, as this is what has let me down, leading to the bad eating and lack of exercise in the past

A tall order, but the journey starts, right here, right now. My current challenge, and the subsequent BFL Challenge will be completed within the greater ABA challenge. But this isn’t about a 12 week challenge, or about getting lean for a picture. This is about setting myself up to be healthy, and to instill good habits that I can maintain going forward and about starting to live a healthy life FOR LIFE.

New Challenge

For the past couple weeks, I have started out on the weekends on my long weeks thinking about where I am in my fitness/health transformation and where I want to be. I try to take one or two long walks every weekend, and during these couple hours that I am in the woods, I do alot of thinking, and I was thinking about if anything was possible (with hard work of course) what would I like to look like by summer. I thought to myself giving myself six months, what kind of transformation could I undergo? If I gave every ounce of my blood sweat and tears, make every day as productive as possible with eating and exercise, just what could I do?

My last two weeks have been ridiculous as per my last couple journal posts. I was sick, and then I was layed up in bed most of my none work hours this past week with severe back pain and migraines. Today, I was surfing around the web for motivation and looking at some of the real outstanding transformations out there. I don’t mean the good ones, I mean the 1 in a 1000 ones, such as on the BFL main site, or John Stone‘s transformation, or the one that my friend Jeremy Likeness has taken on in the past. One that motivates the masses. Could I do that if given 6 months? Could I do it if I approached it as if I would not accept failure as an outcome? hmmmmm.

I have not given up on myself or what I want to accomplish. I am so sick and tired of being sore and feeling like shit mentally and physically most of the time. Yes I know that so many people have situations that make my back / neck stuff look like a paradise in comparison. Tired of making excuses. Tired of talking the talk, but not backing it up. It’s time to put up or shut up.

So here’s what I am doing. I am not starting over my BFL challenge/Torch Challenge I started on Jan 2. I am seeing those through. I have 45 ish days left on those. But what I am going to do is refocus. The end of this 12 week challenge and the one to follow are just stepping stones to where I want to ultimately get, 6 months from now, Aug 10th. Are Abs by August possible? I don’t know. But I am going to do absolutely everything in my power to find out.

Feb 10th-Aug 10th
Weeks —-> 24
Days —–> 168

I am going to go work on my goals for this time period, what I plan on doing, how I will remain accountable, and how I will judge my progress. It’s time to stop talking, and start doing.