First set of Results

thigh 22 +1"

bicep 15.5 +1"

chest 43 Same as start

waist 33 -1"

BCA                  Today        Before

Weight                      83.3 Kg           84.5KG
Body Fat                      23.3                23.1
Hydration Levels       52.9                 53.1
Viscarol Fat                    6                     6
Muscle                         60.6                 61.8
Physique Rating            2                     2
Bone Density                3.3                  3.3
Basal Calories              1900               1935
Basal Age                      41                    40


So there we go, apparently according to the numbers I'm no better off then I was at the start. That really pisses me off - I know these thing vary throughout the day etc etc, but after a month of living extremely clean, following the exercises to the letter, I've not got a noticeable difference in the numbers. So I've wasted the last month.

I'll do another post with the results at the end of the week - hopefully they'll be a bit more impressive!

Stage 1 complete!

So there we go, the 28-day challenge complete. I'll be getting my results done tomorrow (BCA and measurements) and hopefully again at the weekend, as apparently I can expect the biggest growth over the next 3/4 days as the muscles rest.

To help this along, I'm going to be aiming to do an hour of yoga a day next week, and that's about it! Well, maybe the odd Tabata session, as the next four weeks are going to be aimed at getting my body fat % down to single figures. I think I've burnt off a bit, it'll be interesting to see how much.

Something I've noticed about this last week is I haven't been suffering from DOMS too much, so I'm not sure if my body has just got used to working out every day, or, worryingly, that I haven't been upping my weights as much as I should?

The guidelines stated that for most of the exercises form was the most important, followed by getting the number of reps and Time-Under-Tension spot on. Weight wasn't even mentioned. The first week I struggled, the second I started getting the hang of knowing what weight to use when (doing 4 sets of 5 reps of shoulder presses at 2 sec concentric explosive eccentric compared to 10 sets of 10 reps at 4:0:2:0 for example).

I've discovered I enjoy German Volume Training (the 10x10 mentioned above) - it's lower weights and the first 3 sets you wonder if you've gone to low. Strangely set 8 also feels easier, due to short-term nerves learning the movement or something similar, but then 9 and 10 are real red-faced struggles.

I've also learnt that my strength to weight ratio is a bit low for my liking. One exercise for chest was 40 reps push-ups with 30secs rest x 4 - I could possibly manage 40 pushups in one go, but not 160 with such short rests. And not because of the lactic acid, I could work through that, it was literally not having any strength left after Bench and Flyes. Similarly I can now do 3, maybe 4 pull-ups, but thats it then, I'm down to negatives after that.

So I'm going to aim for a holding pattern of 5 x 5's twice or 3 times a week, with Tabata at the end of sessions and some longer HIIT on the other days.

I'm going to keep eating clean, but relax a little (got some gluten-free chocolate brownies to make next week!). I think I now prefer eating clean - the thought of eating chips or fish (anything deep-fried actually) makes me feel queasy, but being able to occasionally indulge will be nice.

I'm not rushing back to the beer either - yes, I'm looking forward to having one or two this week, but I wasn't gagging for one after work tonight so I'll take my time and enjoy one with a couple of friends when we're all available.

Would I do it again? Not sure. The answer to that will be a blog post on it's own, once I've got the results at the end of the week.

Seems a nice place to end this post, so I will.

Cheers all :)

The Final Three!

So here we are. The last three days. I'm happy to say I've followed the plan to the last detail so far - and intend to for the last three days. Something else I've considered is one of the most important parts of exercise is rest. So I've decided to continue to eat just as clean for the next week - no celebratory Chinese for me on Monday night! I probably will have a beer though - given what I'm giving up this weekend.

My timing of this course couldn't be worse. Considering these are the last three days:

Friday - invite to BeerX, one hell of a beer festival in one hell of a beer city - Sheffield. Huge number of friends are up there for it, friends I haven't seen in months. BUT decided to look forward to Ludlow beer festival instead - need to check if I'm wanted for judging duties this year now I think about it.

Garrett Oliver - a man I'd truly love to meet - a pioneer in getting beer respected in the way wine is in France.  Brewer at the Brooklyn brewery. And I've just found out guest speaker at BeerX. Bollocks.

Saturday - last day of 6 nations. 3 matches, 1 day, including the highlight of the tournament, England Vs Wales. For American readers who might not understand the appeal of rugby, this is the equivalent to your Superbowl. Just without all the adverts and half-time show. And I'll be enjoying it without beer, snacks, fast food, anything. Gutted.

I wonder if it would be sunnier in Wales if he smiled more...

Sunday - St Patrick's Day. Nowadays pretty much a national day of drinking and 'Twat in a Hat' day.

Twats in Hats. Amazingly in the 21st Century it's still ok to dress like this without a note from your doctor.

I'm not particularly bothered about having my first sober St Paddy's day in 10 years, but it does mean that the vast majority of my friends are going to be beered out for the following week - when I want to have a few!

O well, there'll be plenty of other times to drink. I am surprised at just how many people wanted me to take a couple of days off the program though. Things like 'O do the last few days next week' or 'You've done 3 and a half weeks, isn't that enough?'. Didn't expect that at all - I expected things like 'plenty of other times for beer' or 'think of the money you'll save'.

The idea behind the 28 days is pattern workouts. So I won't have a rest day in one week, but it'll be 3 days between working arms and back, for example. With everything going on a cycle, taking a couple of days out just doesn't make sense.

The other thing is I'm so close! 3 days! I'd feel like shit if I ran a marathon but didn't bother with the last mile because there was something on TV I really wanted to watch. Or play 75 minutes of rugby and think 'sod this, it's started raining, where's the bar?' I want to finish it. Like I mentioned in a previous blog post - finishing because you have to (eg you're body can't physically do any more) is different to quitting because you can. And hell, if I can do this, me the beer lover, give up beer for 28 days including the biggest drinking weekend of the year, I can do anything!

So, three days left. Body is really feeling drained now - deep sleeps within minutes of getting into bed, no dreams I can remember. Sick of food (especially tuna). Sick of licorice tea and hemp protein shakes. But clothes feel better. I'm nicer to most people. Not to dick's who still think I work at the pub though, as if all there is to talk about with me is what beer's coming on next week. You wouldn't see a postman in the pub and ask him where your letter is would you? So jog on.

Ahem, mini rant over, time to get on with the last 3 days. And hopefully I'll be able to talk about a very exciting project I'm working on soon, which I'm really looking forward to finally be able to talk about!

Gym and Real Life...

It suddenly dawned on me today it's been a while since I blogged. It's just because life got in the way. So it got me thinking...

#1

What do we prioritise in life? For me the top thing is obvious - my son. For those who don't know, he lives in North Wales with his mum - about a 3.5hour drive each way. I know he's my top priority - I left a well paid job in the pub sector for a variety of reasons but I'd be lying if right at the top was I wanted time with James. I didn't want to miss the Christmas period with him because of work. I didn't want to be a week away from a bank holiday and getting down because it meant 4 or 5 days or working twice as hard for remarkably ungrateful people who seem to think that because they are in a pub they don't need to watch over their children *end rant*. I wanted to be a week before a bank holiday and thing 'great, I'm taking my son camping for the first time ever!'

I've now got myself a job that allows me to be flexible - for a start I'm self employed and when chatting to my clients about why I've changed career direction they've been fully understanding and supportive, which is nice.

I think the next three things are all on a par - gym, friends and work. Obviously work is important - it pays the bills (sadly all to high, seemingly the more we try to save energy by going 'green' the more the energy companies jump their prices up). Friends are vital to me - I've put work before them in the past and I do regret it. It's something I won't do again, but good friends understand that there are times when work has to come first.

And Gym. It's a weird one this. Is it more important than friends or work to look after you're body? I'd say no, but it's certainly not less important. As I found out this week. I needed to get the hours done for work ahead of a meeting tomorrow, I also needed to get to North Wales in time for a Parent-Teacher meeting at 4pm. I also wanted to hit the gym - I was over half way (now 75% !!!) and didn't want to miss a day.

The solution was so simple to me - bed at 8pm the night before, up at 6am, get 2 hours of work done over breakfast, hit the gym for the session, another hour at work, drive up to James, P/T meeting, play with son, put him to bed, another hour at work. Bed.

About a year ago I started a course run by Cat at the gym, which included writing down and thinking about what was truly important to us. I did a variation on this about 3 months ago, where you set yourself up with a pad of paper and 20 minutes on a timer. Write down 100 things you would love to do before the timer runs out.

Important to me? Being happy. Simple

At first this is an easy exercise, and things like 'be a millionaire' and 'own a brand new car' were in the first 30-odd items. But after about 15 minutes and 60-70 things (for me anyway) something strange happens. Your concious can't keep up and your subconscious kicks in - you realise you've got 5 minutes left and just jot down whatever pops into your head. Leave the paper alone, upside down when the timer goes off, and forget about it for a day. Then have a look. Give it a go - I'd love to hear how this worked for you (and even if you think it's a waste of time, it's only 20 minutes).

But by writing things down you get a lot more out of it - a word can't be distracted by a phone going off or the smell of coffee herbal tea drifting out of the kitchen. It sinks in more, more readily accessed. You've thought it, written it, seen it, read it, understood it. Compared to just thinking it.

I genuinely don't watch T.V. I've just got the box set of this - 10 years late!

So what do you prioritise in life? Is it as simple as 1, 2, 3. I certainly don't think so. But I know I'm more than happy to give up watching TV in order to get an early night so I can hit the gym before work. I'll not blog for a few days because it's less important. I think getting the top priorities clearly understood is the key. Everything else can be sacrificed for those top 4/5 things then. So the next time you're chatting to a friend about going to the gym, or the exercise you've just done, and you hear those immortal words muttered by them, you can smile and ask why?

'I don't have time to go to the gym'

Halfway house

So that's two weeks down. I've got to say I'm glad - I've had a sneak peak at next week's schedule and it's as if the last two weeks have been the warm up - training the body to learn the patterns before going hell for leather. For example, nearly every exercise I've got a solid idea of what weight I should be shifting, adjusted for the number of reps. My lactic acid threshold has increased, to the stage where the only exercises I struggle with are cable curls for biceps and press-ups for chest.

It's a great feeling when you get the weight/rep combo spot on though. For example, super-setting Dead-lifts with squats with only one Olympic bar meant I was using the same weight for both. I ended up settling on 37.5Kg (a little more than half I'd normally use for both). But for the large number of reps and sets, with a 4:0:2:0 timing, it was perfect - the final couple of reps of both exercises took me to failure, which for muscle building is ideal.

Remember exercise is like sex - if you look as good at the end as at the beginning you're doing it wrong!

I really enjoyed today - had to lower my weights for the holistic arms sets (think RBT without the option to rest!) - and had to drop down to doing negative dips after the first set.

That timing is a beast - if you ever get bored with any weights exercise your doing, try making the down movement last for four seconds and the up movement 2 seconds. Actually, try it now without weights. Arms by your sides, raise out to the side over 2 seconds, lower over 4 seconds. How many can you do right now? Stick it in the comments box - could be interesting reading! I won't do it, as I've just done an arms session!

I can't comment for the ladies at the gym, but as a bloke I always feel a bit of pressure to increase my weights. One thing this programme has definitely taught me is be honest with yourself - I can probably bench/squat/dead-lift all the weight Cat's got at the gym for a couple of reps. But would my form be right? What use is that if my program calls for 10 sets of 10 reps? Would I be able to lower it over 4 seconds? Nope - so for this program that's no use.

Actually, while on the subject, why don't more of the ladies use the free weights? On there own they won't make you muscular at all, and they are great for fat burning. Changing up routines also helps - for one it keeps you interested!

So yeah, week two over and out. 2 more to go. Measurements and BCA tomorrow, and probably an annoying topless photo so I can compare. I'm nervous about this - if I haven't put muscle on have I been wasting my time the last two weeks?

Day 11 done, worried about tomorrow

I was speechless when I saw this so insert your own funny caption

Today was the first time in my life I've worked just arms and chest. My god was it a tough workout, with hollistic sets to drain every ounce of energy out of your arms. I managed to write 'fuck yeah' as my first thought after finishing (I got that idea from someone, somewhere, but can't remember who or where now. Basically when your mind is full of the pain of a workout, as soon as you finish jot down the first thing that comes into your mind. It's meant to be a key to your subconscious or something similar. Most of the time with me it's my son's name I'm happy to say)

I definitely prefer working out in the mornings - whilst it is a struggle sometimes to get out of bed (as mentioned in yesterday's post) it is great to be up and out the house by 7:30am. Or 8am if I'm having a lie in. Get the workout done and dusted - it's not sitting in the back of my mind, distracting me, and then after work if I fancy a relax or socialise it can be a nuisance. So done, dusted, and the rest of the day is my own.

Tomorrow might be an exception though. It's the first fasting day of the program (it may be the only one but I think Cat said there are two in total). I have to fast until 6pm, at which point I'm allowed a cheat meal (although I'm not going to cheat too much!) but it will be nice to have something other than grilled protein and steamed vegetables (I don't have a cooker at the moment, just a George Foreman and a steamer). I'm tempted to stay in bed for as long as possible before doing the small amount of gym work involved - a light core workout.

Apparently horse meat is quite moreish

I don't recall ever fasting, and it's been on my mind all day today, especially as I had to do the shopping. I got offered a lift to the co-op today, so did the shopping there. There is something seriously wrong with the system! Fresh, healthy veg, salad and cuts of meat is getting ridiculously expensive, especially when compared to microwave meals available '2 for £5' or similar. There's got to be some form of initiative which can reduce the cost of buying raw ingredients compared to prepared foods - and not necessarily by increasing the price of those ready meals. I appreciate I'm eating a hell of a lot on this program, but even so, the cost of having 'normal' sized meals would still be expensive compared to getting a dozen ready meals. Plus shopping locally means I have 0% chance of eating horse. Shame, as it's a very lean source of protein...

It's why I'm happiest buying my veg from the local greengrocer - I recently have had to live on a very tight budget whilst waiting for a new job to start (which it has!) so being able to buy the deformed muddy carrots cheaper than perfectly shaped, cleaned ones to save a few pence is a godsend. Sadly neither of the local butchers sell turkey - another fantastic lean source of protein, whereas up to recently the co-op offered at least half a dozen choices. Now it's reduced that offer to 1 line of £3.50 turkey breasts to make space for - you've guessed it - MORE ready meals.

It means I'm going to be looking online for protein now, and that goes against everything I try and do (live locally!). I'll still be getting my eggs and basics like chicken breast from the butcher, veg from the grocer and carbs from the healthfood shop, but for affordable, rarer choices of meat I'm going to have to try the online. And while I'm ranting about food prices - what the hell is so special about fresh fucking fish nowadays!

Ahem, so back to the regime. I'm feeling good - the spots have nearly all cleared up, I've certainly got more energy throughout the day, I'm a hell of a lot more focussed and sleeping soundly, although I haven't had the powerful dreams recently. I wonder if I'll have one tonight now I've mentioned it? Time to go find out...

Days 9 & 10

No post yesterday due to a ton of computer and internet problems.

My Favourite Pilates position

Yesterday was a 'light' day, just Lats and Core work. Plenty of food, plenty of carbs all day. Today, no carbs and a longer gym session, working core, back and chest. Felt good to get some good quality leg raises in today, even if I can't lower them over a 4 count after a few sets!

Went for a bit of gentle Pilates tonight as well, so bonus core work but lots of stretching which can only be a good thing. Been fine on food all day but starting to miss carbs now - got a couple of eggs boiling as we speak for a final protein snack before bed.

I'll end up an egg if I eat many more of them

Really am enjoying this at the minute - even if I was up at 6am to make sure I had breakfast and hit the gym early enough to start work properly. Glad it's not just me - had a look on Google+ (I don't use facebook anymore) and +Sean O'Reilly had posted this:

You ever have one of those days where you wake up early and your whole body says, "No the bed is nice and comfy and you deserve that extra hour", but then you tell your body to screw itself and blast through your workout. Yep, that was me today.

It's a small comment, but I like how it feels knowing that how I felt at 6am in the morning was almost exactly the same as a bloke the other side of the world. I like the community feel that brings. Early night tonight, got another carb-free day tomorrow (grapefruit followed by spinach and eggs for breakfast) and then Friday fast until 6pm at which point I'm allowed as much food as I can fit in me. It's a cheat meal as well, but I'll be keeping it sensible with a tikka saag with extra chilli, a mix of brown and wild rice and a side of vegetables, with possible a cheeky poppadom (at least it'll be a gluten free meal, and I'm fairly sure it won't have processed food stuff in it, out Indian in Hay is pretty damn good in my opinion (website here)). Still won't be drinking coffee or alcohol though :(

O, it's mirror muscles tomorrow - chest, biceps and triceps. Perfect for the weekend!

Week 2 begins

Thigh 20"
Chest 42.5"
Bicep 15"
Waist 33"

Weight 84.5KG
Body Fat 23.1
Hydration Levels 53.1
Viscarol Fat 6
Muscle 61.8
Physique Rating 2
Bone Density 3.3
Basal Calories 1935
Basal Age 40

So there we go as I enter week 2. Nothing particularly remarkable- I went back and had a look at when my first BCA was taken and it was 21st of Jan - nearly a month ago, with a lot of night's out and take away between that and starting this program. So I'm going to use today's results as 'before' and see how they compare to the final set. Possibly weekly though, we'll see.

On the measurements front, I haven't a clue what's going on. I've gained half an inch on my biceps, lost an inch on thigh and waist and half an inch on my chest. I'm hoping this is the clean living stripping away fat, in preparation for them to grow again but with muscle. On my thighs especially I've noticed there's a lot less fat and the muscles are more prominent. Again, only time will tell.

Today's workout was a huge one, with around 50 sets. Yet strangely it was one of the most fun ones - thanks in part to an easy day yesterday and a bigger intake of carbs as per the instructions. I lifted heavier on the low rep exercises and the mid-rep slow movement exercises, and bashed out 40 reps on the final few exercises without stopping, with one exception - press-ups. Even here I improved - hitting 30 full press-ups on the first set non-stop and 40 half-presses on the second set. So certainly improvement. Feeling good today, and looking forward to tomorrow.

Weird thing I noticed today - slightly disgusting but I'm curious about - sweat didn't seem entirely related to effort. What I mean is on the 40 rep exercises I'm obviously going lighter and get drenched. On the high weight exercises, I don't seem to sweat as much, yet I'm certainly going all out as the final rep of the final set is almost failure! Strange....

Week 1: Done!

So I'm 25% through.

That 25% looks a lot like 50% in the bar...

The biggest surprise is I'm not missing stuff I thought I would - the occasional beer(s), the weekly take-away, the morning coffee.

I think it's because all I can think about it what I'm doing to myself. It's meant to be a shock to the system, and it's working. I was nearly in tears at the end of today's workout (and it was a small one by comparison) as I had nothing left to give.

Breakfast is served...

The program seems to take this into account - it said today would be a smaller workout, and also that I should eat more. I didn't think it physically possible to eat more, but starting the day with a double portion of oats then 3 eggs on peanut-butter toast set the pace. 2 lunches - both massive tuna pasta salad with tons of raw veg, nuts and seeds and hemp oil (I've lost my coconut oil, which is a sentence I never thought I'd say). Then tonight was a double portion of stir fry chicken with buckwheat noodles. O, and I snacked in between - 2 bananas before the workout, protein shake directly after, couple of handfuls of nuts this afternoon and a peanut sandwich waiting for me as soon as I click 'publish'.

And there's a rice salad in the fridge in case I wake up again in the night hungry. I'm allowed to up my carbs today, and seeing the workout planned for tomorrow I'm taking full advantage.

Definitely seeing an improvement in my lactic acid threshold - jump squats today I managed the full 40 on the first set without stopping, before dropping to 35, 30 and strangely 35 again on the other sets. I certainly had to sit down for a couple of minutes at the end of that session!

The epsom salts and magnesium/zinc seem to be helping - I certainly feel less sore all over than I did mid-week. We'll see how I feel after tomorrow's 44 sets though! I'll know how I'm doing tomorrow as well - got a BCA planned and will be taking measurements again in the morning. Not expecting wonders but it would be nice to know those muscles are getting bigger under the layer of fat :)

Day 6 Dusted

I'm glad I didn't give up. It seems to be an easy option for some people - and there's varying degrees of giving up. Is lowering my weights on the final couple of supersets giving up? Not to me - my target is the number of reps and good form. I'd rather do that then manage 3 sets and give up on the 4th. THAT is giving up.

Whatever works for you

There's something about me that's accepted that whatever I do it's my responsibility. So whether I've got a trainer counting out reps, timing me or asking for one more, or if I've got the gym to myself, I do the same. Or nearly - I'd feel more comfortable trying a much heavier weight or new workout if there was a professional by my side. I'd hate to loose a couple of days training due to injury!

Giving up is something only you are responsible for. You are the one that lives with the decision. And that's something that can eat up at me - I don't shrug my shoulders and move on, I haunt myself on what I've given up on. Sometimes I'd love to walk away from something and not be bothered by it, but most of the time I'm thankful for having the confidence in myself to finish what I start. The other little tool that helps me with this is thinking of myself next year being next to me. What's the best excuse I could come up with to quit, and then 'tell' that excuse to the future me. His reaction is always the same, and I pick the weights up again.

I really do see things as dares to be proven

I haven't always been the same. I used to need the compliments or support from other people - maybe one really important person or one particular crowd - but the last couple of years have made me realise that, at the end of the day, I'm the only one responsible for my life.

It's a strangely comforting thought. It's nice knowing I'm not depending on anyone. Don't get me wrong, it's great to have a support network and help from friends. But it's nice to know that if something goes horribly wrong we're resilient enough to deal with it by ourselves. It's something that doesn't just apply to the gym or the sports field - but every part of our lives. Sick of the kitchen always looking a mess? YOU do something about it. Sick of being the only person who cleans the kitchen? DO something about it!

Bitch/moan/talk about quitting, whatever you need to do to dump, and then get on with it. You'll only regret it tomorrow if you don't.

What would mini-me say to my best excuse? What kind of role model gives up?

Bit of a change of tone in today's post, think I started talking more to myself than anyone else! But hey, this is my way of dumping :)

Day 5 - What a difference a day makes

I feel a bit stupid for what I wrote in yesterday's blog post now. Today was horrible. I woke up about 4am, absolutely starving, and then couldn't drift back off to sleep. Slept through my first alarm, so woke up in time to get breakfast at 9, 2 hours later than usual! So that got me a little on edge.

Ain't this the truth!

Then for the rest of the day I just felt weak. I could barely walk, getting into a car made the driver burst out laughing and around 11am I had to get a snickers bar in me. I know that doesn't sound like much, but when you're on your 5th day of no sugar, milk, gluten etc, it's a big thing to need an instant sugar fix - my legs had turned completely to jelly.

I still stuck to the program though. Thankfully today was a short day (only took 1.25 hrs!) and didn't work the legs too much. But my arms were too tired to hold me up for leg raises, so after 4 reps I'd have to stop and rest my arms - not my abs which I was expecting.

Then for back press-ups were involved. 40 explosive ones superset with swiss ball crunches. The crunches were fine, but I managed 10 regular press-ups, dropped to my knees and managed the rest of the first set in batches of 10. The second set I managed 5 full press-ups before dropping the knees. The third set I couldn't do 10 knee-press-ups (what are they called???), so got some 10kg dumbells, laid on the bench and did what I thought were ok-ish upside press-ups with them. 4th set I didn't even try a press-up, and finished the forty reps on 5kg dumbells.

One thing I did manage to do was the 40reps of lateral raises, though god only knows how. But it was a small victory. Cycled home on the lowest gears my bike had, and was so tired at the end I couldn't get my leg over the bike, so I fell over instead. Hey, it worked.

So the rest of today has been eating, eating and eating. I've upped my carbs whilst keeping the same amount of veg and protein. Which now means I must be approaching eating my own body weight daily. I'm sick of food, I can tell you that. I never want to see another tin of tuna, or chicken breast.

A little something to 'lighten' the mood

But this is what I've signed up for. I'm hoping an early night coupled with the supplements I bought yesterday (magnesium and calcium - need to find out what R-ADA is and where to buy it) will mean I'll be back to right tomorrow. I need to - Lower back, Lats and Arms tomorrow. Might have to go a bit lighter on the 40 rep exercises at the end though...

Day 4 - Starting to Pay Off!

I don't mind admitting it took me about half an hour to actually get out of bed this morning. Not just the DOMS, but for the first time since starting this program I didn't drift off straight away. Still just about scraped the 8 hours kip though.

The next problem was getting down the stairs this morning. On advice from Cat, I took them backwards in the end - my legs were truly demolished yesterday with those squats. 

As tasty as it looks...

Hit the gym, doing arms and back. Loved hitting a new PB in the straight-leg Dead Lift which I'm positive I can better next time, which is even better. It's definitely harder using free weights then it is the multigym machine I started on a year ago! Got to grips with the counting thing as well - saying out loud the rep number at the top of the lift. A slight problem with this system is being unable to actually talk towards the end of the workout, but it's a start!

But a couple of things I've noticed happening - I've developed quite quickly a couple of large spots. Nothing too disturbing, but I'm putting this down to the detox diet I'm doing; those toxins have got to get out somehow, as well as the more obvious routes.

I'm having incredibly strong dreams. By that I mean not only are they very real (and grounded - nothing too weird yet) but I can clearly remember them when I wake up, something I've only rarely been able to do before. Usually I remember having a dream and that's it. For no reason whatsoever I feel comforted by these dreams, which leads nicely onto the other thing.

I feel f*cking fantastic! Apologies for the language, but one of the reasons I don't swear often is that when I do I mean it and I can't think of a more powerful word at the moment (answers on a postcard please). Yes I ache, yes I discovered the lowest of my bike's gears cycling home this morning, and yes my nose now has a massive red friend for company. But I'm smiling all the time. Walking up town to do the shopping felt great. Bad news in the post this morning didn't get me down, I got on the phone and dealt with it (instead of my normal trait of ignoring it). I've sorted out all those little things I've been putting off. I've just realised I haven't played PS3 in 4 days.

I know it's early days, and I'm only 1/7 through the program, but I'm really looking forward to the end results! 

One thing I will say though, it's hellishly expensive eating healthily, especially the quantities I'm getting through. I've managed to scrape 4 days out of £30 of shopping - today's £30 wasn't in a supermarket as I can't use the car and it's got me half of what I would expect. I was lucky enough to have a bag of hemp protein left over from when I didn't really know what I was doing, but things like the cost of Tulsi tea compared to normal tea (apparently it helps with cortisol in the afternoons and evenings) mean you get less for your buck. And don't get me onto the price of supplements like krill oil and magnesium tablets.

Don't get me wrong I'm sure they are value for money, but when the purse strings are so tight, and I'm eating enough for four by myself each day, I've got to watch what I spend and where. So I'm going to look into buying groups next time I need supplements.

*I've added links to the things I've mentioned so people can see what I'm buying and recommend cheaper shops if they know of them. Having said that, online prices are about 1/3 cheaper than what I paid today :(

Day 2

I hate taking pictures of myself

Height                   180cm
Age                          26
Weight                   83.1Kg
Whole Body Fat     22.4
Hydration Levels     53.5
Visceral Fat               6
Muscle Mass         61.3Kg
Physique Rating         2
Bone Weight            3.3
Basal Kcals            1917
Basal age                  38



The results of my most recent Body Composition Analysis, about 3 weeks ago (gym was busy this morning so didn't want to ask Cat for another one so soon). Biggest problem I had today was counting reps - when I'm doing something like a bench press over 4 seconds, I sometimes got either the third or fourth rep counted as something else as I'm counting the 4 seconds. But aside from that, pretty good.

Need to think of a way of doing super sets with access to only one barbell when I need a heavier weight on one exercise - there is a multigym next to the bench which I may use - I like using the free weights though as you can feel yourself stabilising the bar which I like to think of as a free bonus workout for my core :)

Strangely nice to feel really limited in one move - I was doing a lot of reps of a shoulder exercise (lateral raises) and on the second set I had to stop for a second about 3/4 through, and that was only using 2.5kg weights!

Need to get more punctual on my 60seconds rest periods, going to look for a timer app that lasts for a minute, beeps then resets so I can just hit 'go' again at the start of my next rest period.

Found it strange doing upper body only - every time before I've done free weights they've been whole body workouts, but about halfway through it felt normal. Note to self, wear tracksuit bottoms next time doing an upper body only session!

Looking at my notes I wrote as soon as I could after finishing - took me a few minutes to be able to stop my arms shaking and start drinking my shake! 'Going to feel this in the morning' and 'arms completely shot to bits' are the two parts I can make out clearly. So all good.

Still managing to keep on top of my food - had a massive portion of turkey, vegetable and mixed bean curry I made the other day (cooked in Coconut oil as well ;) topped with mixed seeds and flax, on brown rice. That was about two hours ago so I'm due another meal now and then probably bed by 8pm again. Giving up everything hasn't bothered me so far but I was predominantly gluten free before, and the only dairy I took was the odd Cappucino. Missing coffee only when I smell others having it - going to the pub after work and having a pint of soda water instead of beer didn't bother me in the slightest.

One thing I did find strange walking home - really found myself craving going for a run! Presume this is part of doing a big workout first thing (9am) in the morning - my brain wanting more of that Endorphin rush or something similar - after about 20 minutes it passed and all I wanted was a hot bath and cup of tea!

That will probably do for today - tomorrow is a Leg and Lat day (hopefully squats won't hurt too much thanks to kettlebell training, albeit at a much lighter weight!)

28 day binge

I really didn't want to do any form of detox or 'giving up' for January. The reason so many people fail at those targets is because it's a forced thing, not something they want to do. First thing you have to change is your mindset.

So I've done that, using the considerable amount of extra time I've had recently to try new things and see where I want to go next. This was described as a challenge, and the person telling me about it knew exactly how to phrase certain things to make me bite!

28 days muscle building program. Now I don't want to be an Arnie, or anything similar, but after so long of working out with the plan to loose weight (and lower body fat %), a programme of workouts designed to make you bigger sounded refreshing.

So, today was day one. As anyone in the fitness industry will tell you, the most important part of training is diet. You can do as many sit-ups as you like, but no-one will see them unless you stop putting fat in front of them. So for 28 days I'll be having no alcohol, no wheat, no dairy, and no sugar. 

A solid breakfast, then into the gym. Straight after the workout, the buzz I felt was really something. Now, about 8 hours after finishing, I'm shattered and have a pretty good idea which bits are going to be sore in the morning!

I've managed to eat regularly, hitting about 130 grams of protein, which will have to go up by the end of the week but it's a good start. It's now about half seven in the evening and I'm ready for bed!

Sorry for the boring blog, but I need to keep a log of how I'm feeling. I'll hopefully get my BCA done tomorrow so I can have some more useful stats then just weight. I'll write up my blog earlier in the day as well, when I'm not so tired. I'll also measure a few parts of my body as this is supposed to be generating bigger muscle in a month!

What does the future hold?

Quick note : Didn't realise how different a post looks on the blogger app to actually on the website. I'll get it sorted tomorrow 

Haven't the faintest. Some bits I do know, and the biggest one o those is my son will soon be ving away. His mum is moving to North Wales, about 3.5hrs away. I'm not angry about it, but it took me by surprise as I thought he'd be living in the area for the rest of the school year. Trying to put a positive twist on this, I've going for the 'don't worry about things you can't change' line. What I am doing is spending as much time as I can with him.

Anyway, that list thing I did yesterday. Interesting reading tonight, working out what themes are coming through, especially in the last third, where there is a definite swing towards doing something with children which I really didn't expect. Travel is another big theme coming through, then writing and owning my own business. The writing I'm doing through this blog - I really wanted to write last night's post straight after doing the list - 20 minutes wasn't enough. I find it really relaxing, I used to keep a hand-written journal and it's something I might go back to.

So I've started acting on these themes already. I've wanted to do a degree for the past couple of years, but really had a sense of what's the point towards it. Business management was the only course I could think of, because I could see the point of it. Doing a subject I enjoy, but that had little use in the real world, seemed a waste of a lot of money, time and effort. But an advert in the paper clicked with me. A maths or science degree with teaching thrown in. Funding appears to be readily available for these, and maths was a subject I enjoyed and was good at. Your answer was either correct or wrong. It's clean and functional, and just makes sense in my head.

So thats the first step - I'm calling the number on the advert tomorrow to find out more, and get started on it. My own business is something I can wait for - I've spent just under 6 years in a family business and can fully appreciate how much hard work goes into it every single day. While I'm taking time to sort me out to be the best I can, a savings account will hopefully live up to it's name so when I'm ready for my own business so are my finances. Travelling is something I'm keen to do a lot more of, and I want to work my way into a position where I can travel, properly, for a period every year. Who knows, developing my writing on here and subject matter by travelling far and wide could lead anywhere.

Hopefully it'll lead to entertaining and occasional thought-provoking posts. Time will tell.
Ed
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Best sport in the world!

An old idea for my first business 

Welcome to the blog

A traditional first post I felt was in order. I'm Ed, I'm 26 and I recently realised I'm drifting through life a bit.

I enjoy drifting, and follow a simple mantra of if I haven't done something before, and the opportunity arises, I'll try it. Sounds fancy, but one of the first things this mantra was Sushi, so don't expect too much from it.

I've left my job in the family business to see what else is out there. I've always worked in pubs and bars, so thought it was about time to change. However it soon dawned on me I have no idea what I want to do with my life.

A friend suggested I try something to give me an idea of where I want to go. Set a timer to 20 minutes, turn off all distractions and write a list of 100 things you want to do. They can be anything; jobs, people to meet, places you want to go to,g etc. The only rule is there are no limits to what you put down, just write down what pops up. 100 items in 20 mins is quite a pace.

What happens, in theory, is after roughly 10 minutes your conscious brain can't keep up so your sub-conscious takes over. I did it today and around item 60 some really random things pop up. Stuff I'd never considered before. You're supposed to leave it a day or so before you review the list, so tomorrow I'll take a look and see what themes pop up. I know writing was one of the things I put down, so hence the blog.

It's had some effect - as I type this 3 big things I've been putting off have been done. The biggest was fixing my decks, which I've just had a play on. Granted that may not sound big, but I had them working briefly last year, and they've sat there randomly not working since.

Anyway, that'll do for tonight. I'm not promising, but I would like to update this every day. One thing's for sure, it's going to be a mixed bag of a blog...

Ed