52 Day Summer Challenge

So........ after a less than stellar 52 Day Spring Challenge I'm back in for the 52 Day Summer Challenge. In the triathlon world DNF means "Did Not Finish" and that was the first challenge that I started and pulled a DNF.

http://solvingtheibspuzzle.com/fatty-foods/

There are times when it gets piled a tad bit on the high side and Spring 2016 was just that time - listed a house, sold a house, finished construction on a new house, closed on a new house, sort of moved into the new house, a major business event and prepared the youngest for High School Graduation and everything that goes with that, #ClassOf2016 . There were 32 nights in hotels, 21 flights, a new car that has 15k miles on it plus a dozen or so rental cars..... safe to say late March through Mid-May was crazy. Oh yeah, throw in a relative with a quadruple bypass and it gets even more hectic.





This challenge my goals are simple.

CE: 4/6/85 (4.71%)
RT: 2/15 (13.33%)
CT: 2/15 (13.33%)
PG1 (Weigh Less Each Week): 0/7 (0%)
PG2 (No Beer 30 Days): 2/30 (6.67%)
PG3 (Journal 7 Times): 0/7 (0%)

3 days in, and I'm already moving forward! The highlight of this challenge time frame is that the new new house will have room for my weights, bench, GHR and rack. Goodbye Globo Gym and hello working out on my terms, no Keeping Up with the Kardashians on the TV, no cell phones, plenty of chalk and the clanking of weights.

52 Day Spring Challenge

Hope springs eternal, so they say. Spring Break has come to an end, and the day after tomorrow it's road warrior time.... and also time for 4 days into the latest installment of the Men's Health 52 Day Challenge.  While I doubt I'll get "Ripped" for summer, it's always fun to challenge myself.
The next 52 Days will be a bit of a challenge....

CE: 85 - There's 104 blocks (twice per day) to eat healthy

RT: 15 - 15 Resistance training sessions

CT: 15 - 15 Cardio sessions

PG1 Journal 8 times - I've been using Day One to journal, and this goal should help to enforce it.

PG2 Drop 5lbs - Duh.... see PG3

PG3 No Beer 20 days - I'm carb sensitive  (which means I put on the lbs), this will make PG2 an easy goal. CE - Clean eating RT - Resistance Training CT - Cardio Training PG1 - PG3 - Personal Goals What Gets Measured Gets Done..... yes Tom Peters managed to nail it way back in the time of mullets and parachute pants..... 1982. If you don't hold yourself accountable (measured) there's  giant chance it won't get done. Not looking to swing all political but in 1996 Hillary Clinton authored the book "It Takes a Village" (this Democratic twist just drove all my friends crazy) and I agree there is power in numbers..... hence the Men's Health 52 Day Challenge. Time to be accountable till May, 13th 2016.

5 Things I Learned In The Last 52 Days

The latest 52 Day Challenge came to an end last Friday. It was my first challenge after a 5 or 6 year absence, and it was as much fun as I remembered it being.

My Final Numbers
CE: 93/104/89 (104.49%)
RT: 13/15 (86.67%)
CT: 20/15 (133.33%)
PG1 (Weigh less each week): 6/7 (85.71%)
PG2 (Read 3 times per week): 29/21 (138.1%)

CE - Clean Eats
RT - Resistance Training
CT - Cardio Training
PG1 & PG2 - Personal Goals

I could've made the RT number if I did a few 2-a-days, but it's not something that I normally do so I felt as if I was "skirting' the challenge that way. CT numbers are usually easy, because most every hotel has a treadmill or a sidewalk for a walk or run.

CE's & PG1 went hand in hand (you can't out train a bad diet). I stayed away from the beer and in the last week or so really cleaned up the diet. 52 days later I am down 9 pounds.

PG2 was set in place to unplug and get away from the connected devices...... and then I ended up reading using the Kindle app. Actually I found the app easier than carrying around a book with me everywhere I went.

5 Things I Learned In The Last 52 Days

1. Globo Gyms do kind of suck, mine offers free Pizza & Bagels once a month and they have a huge bucket of Tootsie Rolls on the counter.
2. You can't out train a bad diet, unless you're a genetic miracle.
3. Just like Oprah "I love bread", unfortunately my body doesn't. No Gluten intolerance or Celiac disease here I just think my body says "Oh look a sandwich, don't even bother digesting it, just shove it right there, next to his F'ing belly button".
4. There's something about accountability and community. At the start we were all in this together and no one wants to let anybody down.
5. I miss Crossfit, unfortunately my time schedule just wasn't meeting up with my boxes. I enjoyed the variance of exercises and not having to plan a workout template. My box has a great community, from mud races to birthday parties it's a solid group of people.

and cardio still sucks.

52 - 42 = There's Still Time.

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' Into the future Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' Into the future.  Steve Miller Band – Fly Like An Eagle

I equate 52DC math to sleep math (It's 12:00 PM I have to wake up at 6:00 AM, if I go to sleep right now I'll get 6 hours). I've got 10 days left in this challenge, and I'm a bit short on my goals.

CE: 73/82/89 (82.02%)

RT: 8/15 (53.33%)

CT: 15/15 (100%)

PG1 (Weigh less each week): 4/7 (57.14%)

PG2 (Read 3 times per week): 21/21 (100%) That RT: 8/15 (53.33%) number is a giant cup of suck, and it's all my fault. Yes, I can probably crank out 7 RT's in the next 10 days but playing catch up isn't what this is all about. Of the last 42 nights, I've spent 20 of them in hotels, still plenty of time to get in 15 RT's, but I decided to do differently. The 52DC is all about accountability and I own that one. PG1 - lots of events that involve food will make you fat as well as take you away from the RT's, and I own this as well. PG2 - a strong indicator of time on the road, besides I'm an information junkie. Like I always say "fact is stranger than fiction". All in all with 10 days left not my proudest 52DC performance, but life is a journey, not a destination.

The Nerds Shall Inherit The Earth

Yes, I work in IT,  but I've never seen Star Wars or Star Trek, never read Harry Potter and I don't play video games........ I am not one of you, I am not a nerd.

However, I have been a fan of Nerd Fitness for several years, and for a couple of reasons. First I'm a sap for those Before & After stories and second Steve uses great graphics on his site.

Recently I decided to begin reading using electronic media instead of using a book, told you I wasn't a nerd. Using a $10.00 Amazon gift card I bought my first Kindle e-book, Level Up Your Life. I did miss the feel of paper against my fingers and the sense of accomplishment as I turned each page. However I did like the ability to highlight important passages as well as being able to click on the hyperlinks (nerd term) included in the book.

The content of the book is nothing groundbreaking, eat healthy, limit booze and do full body workouts. What's different is the approach to how one applies this to their life and goals. In a nutshell, treat it all as a video game and then list your goals as quests. Give each "quest" a point value and every 100 points you level up. Easy goals like drop 5lbs might not garner many points, but major goals such as publish a book might be worth jumping up to the next level.

It sounds simple, measurable goals with a sense of achievement as you move forward, almost like the 52DC. I know that 'Leveling Up" makes total sense to the gaming community, so why not apply it to your life.

If this interests you check out Level Up Your Life and create your own "Alter Ego".

Squaterday

Yesterday was the first day that I've trained squats in several months. Yes, we do a bunch of squatting in Crossfit but often it's body-weight or part of WOD where your quads just don't get that brutalized. Well, a very standard 5x5 squat progression yesterday left me wishing I had installed handrails in the bathroom this morning, even the dog felt my pain.

A few days into the 52 DC, and I'm already seeing some results. The scale has moved to the left a few markers. After all these years I know that my metabolism is very easy to figure out....... carbs.... if I want to lose or gain weight it's all based on carbs, and to make it even more crazy I lose/gain weight evenly across my pasty white body. I out weigh my father by a solid 50 lbs yet my pants waist size is 2' smaller than his.

Last night I finished reading Joel Osteen's book, You Can, You Will. In my humble opinion the book comes down to a couple of points; be nice and have a positive attitude. Joel digs in a bit deeper and breaks it down to these 8 qualities:

♦ Keep Your Vision in Front of You
♦ Run Your Race
♦ Expect Good Things
♦ Have a Positive Mind Set
♦ Commit to Excellence
♦ Keep Growing
♦ Serve Others
♦ Stay Passionate

I love reading non-fiction. ever since my parents gave me Norman Vincents Peale's, You Can If You Think You Can when I was a teen. I tend to gravitate towards biographies and the life improvement genre. Next up on the nightstand, Rich Froning, First: What It Takes To Win. The 4 time Crossfit Games champion will hopefully have an interesting tale to tell.

TBT..... a fitting title for the 52DC

I'm two days in and it's like "Throw Back Thursday".

My goals for the next 52 days are below

CE - Clean eating, the 52 days are divided up into two blocks per day for a total of 104 chances to eat clean. The advantage  of two blocks per day is that if you decide on Friday night you want to eat a whole pizza and wash it down with a 12-pack you don't lose a whole day of clean eating only one block of the two for the day. "Clean eating" is defined by the participant, from Slo-Carb to Paleo you pick what works for you and then follow it. I'm looking to hit 89 CE's over the next 52 days, Funky Buddha Brewery I'll see you late February. You can't out train a bad diet!

RT - Resistance training involves working out with weights. The plan is to drop in at Crossfit Boxes or Planet Fitness locations as I travel. In the words of Henry Rollins "I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.". 15 sessions over the next 52 days.

CT - Cardio training, cardio sucks, if you see me running more than likely someone will be chasing me. Fortunately there are other ways to get your heart-rate up, jump rope, rowing and sled pulls or lift your weight faster. 15 sessions over the next 52 days.

PG1 & PG2 - Personal goals, pick a few things that you'd like to work on for yourself. Weigh less each week, no set number just less than the previous week. Then read an actual book 3 times per week, no RSS reader no toothpaste tubes but an actual book. The current selection, Joel Osteen You Can, You Will.

Goals and current progress are below.

CE: 4/2/89 (4.49%)

RT: 1/15 (6.67%)

CT: 2/15 (13.33%)

PG1 (Weigh less each week): 0/7 (0%)

PG2 (Read 3 times per week): 1/21 (4.76%) The one thing about the 52 Challenge is that it requires you to focus, from the time you wake up till the time you go to sleep you really need to think about everything you put into your mouth and then you still need to budget your time for exercise as well as your personal goals. One of my favorite tools for tracking goals is the "Way Of Life" app, easy to setup and even easier to track your progress.

Welcome 2016

It's funny how planning for the future can suddenly make you remember the past. Case and point, I recently signed up for for the "Men's Health 52 Day Challenge".
*** Sidebar*** the 52DC is a fun, hold yourself accountable health/fitness challenge that I did consistently up until 4 or 5 years ago.
 So now for the remembering the past part..... Since I sort of used this site for broadcasting my 52DC progress, I decided to log in, only to see no less than a 1/2 dozen draft posts over the last 3 years, so I'll save you some time and give you an update.

• Survived a triathlon, barely.
• Spent some time writing for the local paper LINK
• I had 3 relatives/friends pass away inside of 6 months, this sucks.
• Did CrossFit for the last 2.5 years "How do you know someone does CrossFit? They tell you.".
• Still cancer free.

 That's it 5 bullet points, 1 bullet point per year.

I Survived The Break-In

I just finished the 3 week high rep break-in period of NROL. I've actually lost a few pounds in the last 3 weeks, which is always nice. I broke out the MyoTape to take a few measurements, I hadn't done this since January where I was a solid 10lbs heavier than I am today and found that I really hadn't lost that much size, which surprised me.

So now we're onto the Fat Loss II Phase. 4 weeks of 3X12's Ughhhhh
It looks something like this.

Workout A
Alternating Sets       
Front Squat    3x15.
Wide-grip cable seated row    3x15.
       
Alternating Sets       
Supine hip extension w/leg curl    3x15.
BB push press    3x15.
       
Alternating Sets       
Dynamic Lunge    3x15.
Swiss-ball crunch    3x15.

Workout B       
Alternating Sets       
Snatch-grip deadlift    3x12.
T-push-up    3x12.

Alternating Sets       
Bulgarian Split Squat    3x12.
Underhand-grip lat pulldown    3x12.
       
Alternating Sets       
Romanian deadlift    3x12.
Lower-body Russian twist    3x12.

Time for the classic

CE: 90

RT: 17

CT: 17

PG1 (Turkey Trot or Warrior Dash)

PG2 (Drop 5 lbs)

Starting tomorrow this is the plan for my next 52 days....90 meals of clean food, 17 resistance training sessions, 17  cardio sessions, a race or two and the goal of dropping 5 lbs.

I'm almost finished with the Break In template for the New Rules of Lifting and then it's onto Fat Loss II for the next few weeks.

This should be a good challenge

Rewiring The Body

Two weeks into working out in a gym and my body is sore in places that it hasn't been sore in for years....but it's a good kind of sore.

Last Thursday I did over squats, an exercise that has been absent from my programs for years, and my shoulders still felt it on Friday.  Yesterday was back squat day! Due to a jacked up L1-L5 I've stayed away from back squats for the last 18 months. During that time I've done DB lunges, sled pulls and Goblet squats and really concentrated on strengthening my core. Yesterday I re-watched EliteFTS so you think you can squat series on You Tube since I've been out of the groove for a while. I managed to work up to a set of 175, far from where I had been in the past but it felt good. After I was done one of the trainers came over and said I had one of the best squat forms that he had ever seen........since he didn't try to sell me a block of training sessions I taking it as him being serious LOL.

This morning was cardio day..... a 40 minute run. I manged to knock out 3.4 miles running HIIT style. My total for the week was just under 10 miles, not bad for someone that's not a runner.

Oh yeah, I still haven't gotten on the scale to find my starting weight for this challenge.....I should have made it my goal to be under 210 instead of just losing 5lbs, oh well live and learn.

An Audio Post

Just trying something different - an audio post - 6 minutes of your life that you will never get back..

Day One

The latest 52DC challenge began this morning and runs till July 22nd, my anniversary.
Since I've recent;y joined a gym I'm dragging out a template that I did several years ago from Men's Health Power Training.
Week 4A
Hang Power Clean
Front Squat
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Bench Press
Bent Over Alternating Dumbell Row
Push Press
Single Arm Pulldown
Seated Russian Twist
Plank

Week 4B
Hang Power Snatch
Lateral Stepup
Zercher Good Morning
Close Grip Bench Press
Standing Cable Row to Neck
Jackknife Pushup
Mixed Grip Pullup
Seated Russian Twist
Plank

Week 4C
Snatch Pull
Split Squat
Single Leg Back Extension
Reverse Grip Bench Press
Facepull
Push Jerk
Side to Side Pullup
Cable Wood Chop
Plank

Week 5A
Muscle Snatch
Single Leg Squat
Romanian Deadlift
DB 1 Arm on Ball
Facepull
DB Split Jerk
Chinup
Barbell Torque
Plank

Week 5B
Hang Power Clean
Back Squat
Single Leg Good Morning
Bench Press
Two Point Dumbbell Row With Twist
Push Press
Single Arm Pulldown
Swiss Ball Weight Roll
Plank

Week 5C
Snatch Pull
Bulgarian Split Squat
Romanian Deadlift
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
Standing Cable Row to Neck
DB Push Jerk
Chinup
Barbell Torque
Plank

Week 6A
One Arm Dumbbell Snatch
Overhead Squat
Single Leg Back Extension
Incline Bench Press
Bent Over Two Point Dumbbell Row
Push Jerk
Pullup
Cable Wood Chop
Plank

Week 6B
Clean Pulls
Stepup
Seated Good Morning
Side to Side Pushup
Standing Cable Row to Neck
DB Push Press
Mixed Grip Pullup
Wood Chop on Knee
Plank

Week 6C
Power Clean
Split Squat
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Dip
Facepull
Split Jerk
Side to Side Pullup
Seated Russian Twist
Plank

The first exercise is 3 sets of 3 the rest of the exercises follow reps of 10,8,8,6. This program contains a lot of volume but I will enjoy the variety of the exercises.

My goals

CE:90
RT: 20
CT: 20
PG1 (40-4-40):
PG2 (Drop 5lbs):
PG3 (No Alcohol 40 days):

PG1 40 minutes of exercise for 40 days
PG2 Hey everyone can afford to drop 5lbs
PG3 I always have 3 PG's...so it's no beer while on the road only on Friday and Saturday nights.

It's Sunday......

Somewhat MIA this week, both from posting on here as well as the 52DC forum...
It was just one of those weeks. I managed to get in 3 solid RT's as well as 2 CT's totaling 6.63 miles. I had to late week meeting, one ended up at PF Changs, I never knew that you could create a 1000 calorie chicken plate without using breading.....It was a good meal.



I got a small surprise from the scale mid-week...211.2. Down from 236/237 during the last week of 2010. I should be able to hit 210 by Warrior Dash time. This weigh in was before the whole PF Changs nightmare and my planned Saturday cheat day.



My TNT Diet Book arrived yesterday and I've skimmed through it and it's not that far off from how I'm currently eating. I still need to drop my carbs more and increase my healthy fat intake. I'll need to concentrate on the "Muscle Building Zone" and do a better job of feeding the furnace after my workout.

The book cost me less than $9.00 with shipping..If this whole TNT diet thing doesn't workout I figure for the amount of recipes that the book contains I bought a pretty decent cookbook for $9.00. The exercises don't appear to be anything ground breaking as I must have 5 or 6 of the Men's Health exercise book.

Accomplishments week of 4/2

This past week
I replaced roadwork cardio with DVD cardio, not a bad choice
Got in 4 resistance training sessions
Lost 1.6 pounds
I managed to drop my carbs to under 80 grams per day



The scale showed 212.6 this morning, not a bad way to start the weekend. I'm going to chalk it up to the Cardio DVD's and the drop in carb consumption. I should be below 210 by the end of the challenge.



I dug out my old GymBoss timer the other day and began using it for intervals, planks and rest times between sets....I forgot how handy this thing can be.




The food of the week Gardein Beefless Tips Package. They were 2 for 1 at Publix....yes I'm a bargain shopper. I cooked them in garlic and low sodium Soy Sauce, not bad tasting. 150 calories, 8 grams of carbs & 18 grams of protein all in 3/4 of a cup and yes I ate the whole bag.

On a lighter note I managed to snag my wife with a great Aprils Fools prank. I made a fake hollow roll of toilet paper. When she went to pull the toilet paper off of the roll she was greeted with a nice April Fools message. It worked like a champ.....

No One Wants To Eat What I Eat

This morning I drank my normal morning morning shake while I made breakfast for everyone, I got cleaned up stepped on the scale and........I lost a few oz's.....Food was within 10 or 15 calories of the day before no there was no major calorie deficiency so how could I have possibly lost weight? Note the sarcasm in that sentence, could it be the types of food that I'm eating instead of solely that number of calories...Hmmmm



Breakfast consisted of one whole egg, 1/2 cup of egg whites, peppers, frozen spinach and some leftover ground beef....so how come no one wants to partake in that for breakfast? I think I lose them at the ground beef with the eggs.
Roughly 300 calories, 6.5 grams of carbs and somewhere around 30 grams of protein, not a bad way to get the morning going. Tonight chicken on the grill some lentils and a salad....salad, really what's the use?


I've been enjoying this latest workout template, mostly from the book Power Training, it's a book I've had for years and so many of Coach Dos's workouts seem to help me shed
weight.


I bought a Bob Harper DVD at Sam's a few weeks ago and had never taken the time to run through it...damn 40 minutes into the 60 minute workout I was done....I even did it without weights. I must have something to do with weighing 160lbs and not 213.6.

Accomplishments week of 3/26

This past week
Spent time in Jacksonville, FL
Got in close to 18 miles of cardio
Got in 3 resistance training sessions
Lost 1.8 pounds


Again the scale was kind this week, dropping 1.8lbs for the week including a major breakfast screw up, I'll just call it a "Metabolism Adjustment". Three days on the road this week and I really didn't get near enough food into my system....then you add in all of the exercise it's no wonder that I lost weight and I'm sure some muscle along with those pounds. Dropping the carbs is working I'm going to continue on getting the total carbs down closer to 50 grams each day.

Calories 1,571

Fat 59.3 grams 34%

Carbohydrate 100.4 grams 26 %

Protein 155.8 grams 41%

Hump Day

Got on the scale this morning to a surprising 214, down from 217 on last Wednesday
The major change is the diet and particularly in the area of carbs and types of carbs. I've gone from approx 150 grams per day down to 100 grams per day and I've replaced the brown rice with the lentils and black beans. I'm trying to eat most carbs early in the day and after I workout.



Post workout breakfast this morning - egg, egg whites, frozen spinach and fresh peppers and about 1/2 cup lentils.
The water intake has also increased, as much as I dislike water I forcing myself to drink 96 ozs per day......Believe me it keeps you alert looking for rest stops on long drives.

The new workout template really seems to test my endurance, it's been a few years since I've done dumbbell complexes as a warm-up and the kettlebell swings as a finisher manages to send the heart-rate towards the higher numbers.

I've managed close to 15 miles since Sunday, which for someone who is not a "runner" sucks. I have no idea how anyone ever ran or jogged before WalkMans and iPods.......if I didn't have something to listen while running I'm sure that I would get lost in my thoughts and run into a telephone pole.

OK, so it's starting to come back to me.

After 2 days of good clean eating mixed with some exercise I'm back in the grove. The KB Swings are giving my cardio a run for the money. It's been over a week since I've gotten a decent RT session in.

The RT plan is as follows:

Warm Ups	Sets		Reps
DB High Pulls	2		5
DB Hang Snatch	2		5
DB Squat Press	2		5
DB Bent Over Alt Rows	2		5
Push Ups	2		5
Core Rows	2		5
Workout A	Sets		Reps
1a Weighted Hip Raises	3		10-12
1b Suspended Inverted Rows	3		10-12
2a Goblet Squat	3		10-12
2b DB Bench	3		10-12
3a Plank	3		60 sec
3b DB One Arm OHP	3		10-12
4a DB Shrugs	3		10-12
4b KB Swings	3		25
Workout B	Sets		Reps
1a Deadlift	3		10-12
1b Kneeling One Arm Row	3		10-12
2a Sumo Squat	3		10-12
2b DB Incline Bench	3		10-12
3a Side Plank	3		60 sec
3b Lunges	3		10-12
4a KB Swings	3		25
4b Hammer Curls	3		10-12

Ahhhh Another 52DC Begins

The Spring 52DC has begun (FAQ's Here).

I've backed off on some of my goals due to an enormous workload the next month or so.
CE: 90
RT: 17
CT: 17
PG1 (Lose 5lbs):
PG2 (Walk with wife 10 times):
PG3 (Post to FitDay 30 days):

Starting weight is 217, Ughhh up a half of a pound since the end of the last challenge. I've been signed up for another Warrior Dash....at the end of May, so I'd like to go in weighing under 210lbs.

It's been a tiring last week or so, I got some sort of stomach bug and re-framed from eating for a couple of days, then the time change and then a change in time zones due to travel...it has been exhausting.

I'm having a hard time getting motivated for the start of this challenge, hopefully a RT this afternoon will kick it into gear. I lost a clean eat last night....I've had 6 flights in the last week and 5 of them have been delayed due to mechanical issues......so last night once I landed it was Corned Beef sandwiches and PBR's...yes I'm back on the no beer thing for a while.