Day 80 - Trainers on.

Day 80 - A Long Road Travelled.

80 Days ago I decided to start something. I can't believe I'm still going strong, stronger than ever in fact. I feel awesome, albeit a little fatigued, but awesome. My life feels like it has turned a real corner in the health and fitness department and that is what I was after.

12 weeks in, and my will power is growing with my strength. I've noticed that on this journey (and thanks for hitching a ride with me, I love the company) my eating habits are consistently improving, my strength and admiration for gym work has increased, and my cardio elements are really going from strength to strength. The best bit is that people are starting to notice my body changing and that adds motivation, and the extra support from those around us by means of the occasional compliment goes such a long way in helping us to keep our compass pointing in the right direction.

Changing the Game.

After a little advice from a super fit colleague of mine about distance running training, I've decided to do as I said yesterday. I'm increasing my kilometre count per week, adding the distance to my legs. I really want my body to be comfortable and be able to sustain a full marathon. The only way I can successfully achieve this is to put my trainers on, and get my run on. I plan to taper my gym sessions, maintaining strength and core work but not heavy. I'm going to be continuing with the endurance training, but more reps and lots lighter weight. 

Starting Monday, my program will look a little more unusual - especially since I will mostly train at night. I cannot fit much into the mornings due to work commitments for the next 2 weeks....

So, my plan is in formation. I'm currently working on my running sessions having some variety-flavour! I want to throw in a 5km speed session, a Hills Session (in principle a HIIT Workout), a Spin-Run Brick Session (something like a 5km Spin then 10km Run), a middle distance 15km Run, and a long run (25-35km or thereabouts). I also want to maintain at least 2-3 swims per week, and a minimum of 3 gym workouts. I'm going to spend this weekend building a new endurance, low weight program for myself, so watch this space.

 

Half a Marathon

Since signing up for the Marathon, I've only done sub-10km runs for one reason or another. Today I decided to change that. I thought at first to do a 16km run, then as my run progressed I felt comfortable pushing the distance. I ran 20.9km, so for arguments sake a half marathon and that was a great start.

I have to say, at first I was running with slightly sore right ankle (due to some heavy challenges at footie the other night Bruce Lee was on the opposing team and he had a good go at trying to snap my ankle! After the first 5km were out of the way, my legs started to be less obvious to me and my ankle pains subsided a little. I ran past Jervis Bay Village, Green Patch, Bristol Point, Scottish Rocks, Hole in the Wall and finally arrived at Murrays Boat Ramp (MBR). MBR is about the furthest south you can get to in Jervis Bay by road; located 8.5km from my warm cosy cabin, it did however offer the most fantastic sunset on my arrival - well worth the effort in getting there. I took a few seconds to enjoy the vista afore my eyes, take leak and get back on my way again. As I headed back up the hill (not experienced this particular hill since my Exercise Matapan scenarios from NEOC) donned my head torch and made for HMAS Creswell.

As I approached the 10km point, at around 56minutes, I snapped open my first ever GU Gel electrolyte. I opted for 'Espresso Love' flavour.

After talking with IronRay, I cautiously took small sips of the extra thick gel at 1km intervals. I didn't have my hydration bladder with me, so I took the small quantity of gel and pasted it around my gums and sort of sucked it and mixed it with my saliva to make it more palatable. I have to say though, no complaints on taste or the thickness. I made the gel last a little longer, and controlled the uptake of the energy gel. At the 15-16km mark, I stuffed the empty packet into my shorts zipper pocket and continued on. By comparison to the Endura Brand, the gel was thicker and more noticeably so. No after affects on my gut from either gel is a very good sign for this glutard!

As I ran through the gates at Creswell I felt the surge of energy kick in and I pushed through to chuck in a couple laps of the quarter deck, clock tower and waterfront...just for shits and giggle...well, actually to firstly hit 18km...then I kept going and at 20km I was almost home, thought I'd make the 21km exactly...but 100m out and still under 2hrs of running...I was very pleased.

Average Pace: 5:43/km

Average Heart Rate: 149bpm

Calories Burnt: 1807

I took a screenshot from Map My Ride's website, and it shows a few points of interest. The run was essentially a dark run, with many a kangaroo and cane toad along the roadside. I saw a sum total of 6 cars in 2 hours of road running off-base. It was a beautiful evening, fairly balmy until the sun was finally set and then it was pretty chilly (especially when my sweaty singlet was sticking to me).

These pretty much sum up how I feel at the end of any long run, and why I keep going....

Good Night x

Day 71 - Week 11 in Full Swing

Week 11...

As my last week at HMAS Cerberus starts to close in on me, I have just realised something really interesting. It's been 11 weeks of hard slog in the gym, but thats really helped my focus on my studies too. It was dragging on really slowly, then as I progressed with my training, getting into the blogosphere and seeing small results, the time has literally flown by. Awesome.

So, I thought it would be good to update you all on my progress. So, with week 11 in full swing,  here we go...only 3 sleeps until I go home to Sydney, and my beautiful wifey, Winnie :)

Wake Up Run

I decided, that if my schedule was going to get a little messed up this week, that I would mix up my routine too. As my alarm roused me this morning at 0500h I felt torn - I wanted to get up and go for a short run, but I really really wanted to stay in bed...the justification began and it took around 15 minutes before I pushed past it, and started to sluggishly get dressed. I even checked the weather! So, even though I wanted to run, something was making me resist, but too be honest that was just me being somewhat lazy I'd say.

I had a quick stretch, and set off on my way. As my Garmin 910XT beeped to inform me that I'd ran my 1st kilometre, the rain set in. It was fairly hard going, but a worthy run. I ran at my usual distance pace of 6min/km, and started to enjoy the rain.

I know I only ran 5.12km, and it took me 31:48 to complete, but I feel about a million times better  for actually doing something this morning.

6-A-Side Footie 

90 minutes of indoor football, running around, keeping goal and sweating like a beast. That's the nature of it. Dutchie always organises a game, twice a week without fail. Football fever really is setting in again! I let 2 goals in tonight (as keeper), and scored 1...not bad.

For me, I enjoy playing indoor footie because its a really good team exercise, all working together to try and win. Tackles, rebounds, headers and all the skills (more some that others). I particularly enjoy the level of fitness that it needs, really quickly improves your sprint / explosive power. I can go on.

Just Because...

Training on Fatigue

SO, post footie I headed directly to the gym to get my burn on. I pushed through a 75 minute shoulders and abdominals workout, with the burn and ache of fatigue as I progressed. I made through the workout, knowing that I turned a corner (and hit a wall) with my endurance training. Today I have truly tested my boundaries. You see, I've also increased the number of reps from 8 to 10, and still train 4 sets. I've only reduced the weight a little to allow for the extra work, but I could feel the need for fuel etc kicking in as the fatigue wormed its way into my workout.

I've had a positive day for training, but it hasn't been easy. Today, I struggled to start and as I gained momentum I trained with great energy. I will probably rest tomorrow morning, and train late in the day so I give my body time to get over it.

Days 64-70 - Guilt, Decisions and Fitting It All In..

Guilt Trip?

Why do we feel guilty for missing a workout? Its something that really bugs me. Anyone who regularly trains, watches what they eat and lives an active lifestyle knows that missing one workout isn't going to reverse time, add layers of fat or make us inconceivably unfit.  So why do we beat ourselves up over it? Over the past 10 weeks I've been working really hard to maintain consistency in my training routine, and healthier eating regime. As time has gone by, I've noticed how much easier it has been getting to get myself to the gym, or choose the healthy meal for dinner. I've survived the past 70 days on a balanced diet of guilt, inspiration and reward. But why? Well, I've been reading up on this....

The real fire starter that made me start writing about it was the events of the past week (grad week). As I look back upon a very busy week; a week packed with early starts, long days of presentations  about naval stuff, and late evenings spent social networking; I recall the amount of guilt I felt for skipping a few training sessions, and for the social drinking I've participated in (and there was a lot of that). I woke each day, a little slower, each day hoping to get some exercise, and punishing myself if I didn't get some. I managed two 90 minute football (5-a-side) games, some gym time and a lunch time swim between Tuesday and Friday. Sunday I punished myself at the Flinders Street Fitness First, and today I had a glimpse of a normal day, compressed into the evening session. It was a wicked to give my back and abs the blast they needed, plus a good 15 minute spin, followed by a quick 13 minute 500m swim just about finished me off.

So, after each session, and in particular tonight's, I started to lose all feelings of guilt, once I had punished myself. It's been annoying me as to why I felt guilt in the first place...So, lets talk this one out....

Different Points of View

Is developing a healthy mindset a vital component of a healthy lifestyle? I believe it is. I also believe that making decisions and taking ownership of our choices keeps us on track, without the twang of guilt that makes us feel so bad.

One article I read suggested that a primary reason for people skipping workouts is that the drudgery that can occur when workouts are forced, or in other words, if we want to be successful we need to stop forcing ourselves to do the things we don't like doing. Well, that seems sensible.

My research led me to a US Football Coach, John Gagliardi, who is accredited with being the most successful college football coach in the history of football coaches....wow. He has a philosophy thats so simple its cringe worthy. Intrinsic Motivation.

So, what is Intrinsic Motivation, well it's funny but this was also mentioned during the week at one of the naval presentations by a well regarded Captain. It is the key to longevity in all things; but lets keep it fitness related....It basically this: if you like it or enjoy it or find it fun, you'll keep doing it. FULL STOP.

So if liking exercise is the key to sticking with it, what makes us like it? Apparently, there's three things that we need:

1. Autonomy - the choice to do it is made by YOU, not someone else.
2. Competence - you know what you're doing, or are at least you're improving.
3. Relatedness - the activity connects you in some way with other people.

That's how the US footie coach did it, by creating an environment with all three, nearly 60 years ago.

Points to Remember: 

• Exercise is a choice, not a jail sentence - Knowing that you are in charge of what you do may assist you in getting started.
• Exercise is a commitment you make everyday - Some days you're more committed than others. You need discipline and consistency to keep you getting out of the door.
• Every day is different - Some days you need to work harder to get motivated.

Skipping....?

I often find myself, feeling guilty for asking the following question - How will skipping affect my day? Well, I've discovered recently that a workout isn’t just important for burning calories, it can affect every part of your day, both physically and mentally. I try to remind myself that getting in a workout routine:

Gives you more energy

Improves your confidence and self-satisfaction

Starts your day on the right foot

Helps you concentrate better

Helps you get more things done

Allows you to actively re-commit to your goals

Exercise is one of the few things you can do that seeps into all areas of your life. Just a few minutes and some sweat will pay off in the long run.

I guess, the crux of my research points to mindset. Develop a healthy relationship with your training. Have fun, and enjoy what you're doing. Don't be hard on yourself if you need to skip, but remember why you train and how good you feel and use that as motivation to get yourself back on track. It's not looking like an exact science, so have fun with finding out what works for you... I do.

Day 54 & 55 - There and back, and back.

Challenge Set

Ride to Melbourne from Frankston, then if we have enough left in the 'tank', ride back. Approximated total distance 100km... Mr Peds was keen, and so was I.

Saturday 0500h...beep, beep, beepety-beep! Snooze? Hell No! After a quick breakie, I was dressed and ready to meet me bike buddy, Mr Peds, to head into Franko. It was dark, but not so cold outside. I tested my lights, checked my water bottles were full up (with water and electrolytes), stuffed my pre-packed ziplock of dates, and a four spare fizz-bomb electrolyte tabs into my back pockets of my jersey. I tested the Garmin, and as I finished my pre-start tests...My ride arrived!

The wind was already starting to blow when we started our ride from Oliver's beach, at 0645, but the sun was not rising. The tale tale white peaks on the water told me the wind was going to be consistent, I was expecting a little wind....the forecast said it was going to be blowing from the north.... Eeep!

Challenge Met

With the wind in our faces, this trip was going to be as psychological as it was physical. Keeping positive, and almost enjoying the wind burning my cheeks to a new shade of rosie, was in order. Mr Peds and I kept up the motivation in the early stages of the ride with the excitement factor of getting going with this challenge. Later on in the ride we talked about a manner of interesting things to kill the time. I found myself really buzzing throughout this experience. I really enjoyed the sunrise, watching the world around you light up so slowly, but with intensity is really special. Plus, when you start to see things ahead of you it really amps you up. In no time at all we had reached Mordialloc, and the Tour de Cafe. We stopped for a quick comfort break, and headed on. I got an electrolyte get for later, and stuffed in my back pocket.

Cycling from Mordialloc toward Melbourne was very quick in places, thanks to the big riding groups we encountered. Less nervous about riding in a pack, I was really getting into the whole process. Before I knew it we were smashing hills, and moving at a speed of around 35-45kph! This was fairly easy to achieve, since the slip-stream really helped everyone keep pace. I even ended up at the front of the pack for a few minutes - which was quite the opposite, I felt the drag from the whole group and the wind was back in my face! I managed to get my heart rate up to 173bpm! When I eventually dropped back in the group I could barely talk - SHOCK HORROR! What an awesome experience it was; all the fellow rider gee-ing you along, and giving their hand signals for things in the road, movement and such. I find yourself checking and thinking about the pack more than you think about the pain/agony of riding so fast!

At around Black Rock, the pack was all but gone. We were back to riding at around 22kph, and the wind was getting stronger. We joined lots of smaller packs as we went, and before we knew it were in St Kilda.

As we reached this area, Mr Peds pointed out that over in Williamstown you could see both of the new Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) vessels - what an awesome sight to see, Nuship Canberra and Nuship Adeliade parked top to tail, side by side... a rare sight, and it made us both feel quite "charry" - lol, Love Navy!

After this we turned in toward the city and our half way marker...

During the ride my front wheel had developed a lovely jingle-jangle sound, which was coming from the hub. We decided to head to Cycles Galleria to get it checked...one problem, it was only 0800h! So, we headed over to Flinders Station for our celebratory photo (and proof we made it).

After this 'photo shoot' we headed for another comfort break, and returned to the saddle. Knowing (and hoping) that wind would still be blowing from the north, we were confident we'd make the return.

Mr Peds took us out of the city a different way, but it was really busy traffic wise, and we decided to take a detour to make it fun. Just prior to this we spotted a bike shop, with a coffee shop attached (in fact they even had a spin studio for the fit-freaks who can't get enough). I asked for their opinion on my hub. As it happens, some good advice - your hub is a warranty! The bearing cover was meant to be pressed on, by machine, but mine had sheared off - well now the roller bearing were exposed - engineers, we know what that means....bad juju for the bearings! Not much I could do about it on this trip, and safe in the knowledge my wheel wasn't going to shit itself on the way home, I decided to carry on. My bike was gaining some new "memories" from the ride now too....

Whist in the coffee shop we had a lovely cappuccino, and some free protein balls. Yummy. The girl behind the counter was from my hemisphere, Clapham (London) and so we got to talking which was nice to help us relax for a few minutes.

 

 My Protein Balls never come out this tasty. I need more practice, clearly...

Hills...

I'm finding hills to be a great experience. I've learnt to prepare my gear shifts in advance, to make transitioning into the hill climb easier. I've learnt that there's a whole lot of technique in climbing and descending hills. Most of all, I think you need a strong core and endurance in your muscles. Since working on my core more frequently in the gym and training specifically for endurance, I've noticed a new gear in my riding. I've got my power in my legs because I'm holding my core better, my shoulders and chest are better positioned (not perfect, still developing) so that they support me as I ride, and climb. I even got to the point, on the return leg, where I was powering up hills with Mr Garmin (a rider dressed in a Garmin suit) who had monster calves, and I feel suitably bed for leaving Mr Peds standing on those occasions. I did however slow down and he caught me up - I did not want my ride buddy and I to be separated for long! Mr Peds commented on how he thought I'd improved, even since we'd last ridden together. Thanks Mate! As I passed my Personal Best to date of 83.97km, I gave out a good cheer "Boo-Ya" and felt very happy that whatever happened, I was in the realms of a new PB! Smiles all around.

The Route

Breaking 100...

So as we got close to the end, we realised we were going to be around 4-5km short of the target of 100km. So, we decided to turn around at Oliver's beach and do a short loop of 2.5km out and back to make it up.... As we approached those last few kilometres we were both feeling pretty happy, in my case almost euphoric to have accomplished something, that only a few months ago seemed like a dream. I remember, laughing and almost being shocked when IronRay, or Mr Keish would talk about 60km rides. Mr Keish would regularly ride home from the central NSW coast to Sydney, and IronRay is a machine from cycle-hell sent to make us all ride harder. I never thought, and said very frequently that I would never be "caught doing that kind of crazy".... How times change.

3 hours 52 Minutes and 49 Seconds of riding, and I loved every second.

So, as we finished, I played a mental fanfare in my head (well out loud actually), and took a pic of my Garmin screen. I took off my cycle shoes, stretched and prepared for our post ride 2km walk to realign blood flow... Oh My Gosh...We did it Mr Peds...plus we burned 2951 calories on that ride!

 

Achieving Your Impossible

So, as a reflection...and I know this has been said a million times before, so you get my swing on this. IMPOSSIBLE is something we all read wrong. It actually says IM POSSIBLE. Therefore, ergo, there should be nothing that you cannot achieve. For example, my spiritual guide and good friend Peaceful Warrior (PW) took some time off work recently. Without any significant training, she just climbed to base camp of Mt Everest - She completed it Thursday, I believe....but with slow internet on Everest, posted yesterday...you know, time delays, comms lag...blame it on the ISP! She always tells me that impossible is just an excuse. Well, I think, for my slowly ticking off my milestones, and achieving my impossibles, that she might be onto something.

Please, set goals, take baby steps if you need to, but work (like Michelle Bridges says) with Consistency, Consistency and Consistency. Never give up, never back down. I'm on a roll and I'm not planning on going back now. My life is infinitely better since committing to being healthy. It's actually changing my outlook on my whole life plans, and together with my amazing Winnie, and my amazing like-minded friends, I'm doing it.

And Back Again...

Well, thanks to my good mate Mr Peds, and the generous loan of his car, I was able to head straight back into the city to see the peeps at Cycles Galleria. After a quick call had organised a wheel for me. On arrival they told me the it was a "loaner" wheel, since its an upgrade, and that I should contact my local Sydney based shop, to organise the appropriate Cannondale warranty replacement. So, what is meant by "loaner" I asked, they responded with, this is a "free-loaner" as in you can keep it! So, I bagged a freebie Shimano RS21 Rim. As they replaced my tyre and tube onto said rim, my old tube exposed, so they replaced that for free too. I ended feeling a little guilty at the excellent customer service, so purchased some Endura Electrolye gels (which they subsequently reduced for me)...Great afternoon!

When in Rome...

Whilst in Melbourne, and well the parking fee was already paid for, I headed to get some lunch / dinner....it was 1600h by now. I ended up eating a delicious gluten free Thai Pork Vermicelli salad in a cute place on Russell. After, I walked past The Lab nitrogen gelato place...I noticed they had a special on this week only. Sorry Winnie, but I just had to try it (her favourite flavour) Ferrero Rocher, made their way. It was a gelato/sundae to be amazed by....people were queuing for this thing, and I just rocked up, they recognised me (how funny) and I ordered! Boom! It was delicious. The wafers on it were not gluten free, but were made with some type of flour that has yet to even effect me. OMG what a great celebration!

 

On my way home I collected the bike travel bag from a dude in St Kilda, and we removed the pedals and wheels. We locked it in the bag and I need to complete the packing of that bag later today. A fun exercise I'm sure. I was quite sad to see my trusty pedal machine being striped for travel :( I didn't take pictures because it was just too sad. 

Kicking Back...

Today I'm taking a full day of rest, not so much to recover, but to give myself a chance to readjust and relax so I can go hard next week. I've had a long morning, spent snoozing and just ate lunch. Now I plan to work on packing the bike and relaxing some more.

I think thats reward enough for my biggest challenge this year!

Have a great Sunday.

Day 50 - My Half Century!

And here we are.... 50 days into regime to build functional strength and endurance, and to see if I could travel from Fat to Fit. Time is ticking along, and I am moving steadily from unhealthy to healthy - which I guess is the first stepping stone.

Today, not too dissimilar to most early mornings, I was out of bed after a very therapeutic sleep, at 0515h. I was at the gym by 0600h and was stuck into my workout really promptly.

That's me.

Shoulders

Super Strong Shoulders, train them hard and turn them into boulders! Well, that's the plan anyway!  Following on with endurance strength training, I decided to start with shoulder press (military style) using the barbell. With a slightly gingerly taken start, owing to slightly sore shoulders from last nights swim. I did a quick warm up with 10kg loaded on the 20kg bar, 12 reps. I then added an additional 20kg to the bar, and knocked out 8 more reps. I continued to add in 5kg increments over another 3 sets (total weight including bar was 55kg). The last set was only 4 reps, but at this point I dropped to 20kg on the bar and pumped out 8 more reps. After this, I worked back in 5kg drops each 8 reps until I was on an empty bar!

I then warmed up my trapezius, by conducting 12 straight up (to my chin) rows. I then added 5kg to the bar and did 4 more sets of 8. Nice!

I moved to dumbbells to work the front and side raises. I worked with a set weight (12.5kg per dumbbell) for front raises and knocked out 3 sets of 8 reps. After, I felt my shoulders starting to burn (endurance training is so much harder than low rep training) and dropped to 10kg dumbbells to to 4 sets of 8 reps of side raises...well, on the last set I needed to drop to 6kg weights to maintain technique, but thats most important so as to avoid injury!

My workout continued onto the cable cross-overs for a final isolated burnout. My shoulders were pretty much cooked after 60 minutes. I moved to abdominals, gave myself a good 15 minute burnout - the usual exercises. I think I'll be adding some new exercises soon.

PFT Training Circuit

So, as a serving member of the RAN, I am required to annually pass the Physical Fitness Test (PFT). That is 25 Push-Ups, 25 Sit-Ups and complete a timed cardio event (2.4km run, 500m swim, Beep Test are the usual methods). HMAS Cerberus has a really good team of trainers (PTIs) and they like to keep us ahead of the curve - so here we arrive at the PFT Training Session. Nobody likes this session, because its simple yet very effective maximal workout. Do as many push-ups, and sit-ups as possible. We were told that today PFT training would be "army style" - i.e. time based, not cadence for push-ups. So 2 minutes and off you go.... I knocked out 75 reps, which is a heck of a lot more than during NEOC (37 reps). For the sit-ups I did the full 100 reps (50 unassisted, 50 held - as ordered), then for the beep test, I got to level 9.4 or something like that...felt a little twinge in my hamstring and backed off...no sense in returning to step one again! So, at last, I listened to my body. Very happy with my performance.

Squish...

After catching my breathe, taking in some hydration and stretching, I asked Commanda Handa if he fancied a game of squash. Squash, is a fantastic sport, great for endurance, speed, agility and well breaking a sweat. Its not a game to 'get fit playing', but one that keeps you fit. I love it, and its been way too long between playing... Again, I reference my heyday in squash, playing box leagues, sunday evenings and just for fun, back in the UK. Well, today's game was a peach. I played from the 'T', used some lovely straight drives (backhand and forehand), added a few little, tight drop shots and a whole lotta aerial floaters! Commanda was not giving up easy, even though we were both tired. It went to 4 games, nearly a full 5 games! I won out in the end, but a good game around. Mr Peds and Crawf-dawg were playing in the next court, looked like a great match too...

Perhaps not this good....

Our game ended up 9-5, 7-9, 9-4,  9-7 - so as you can see, a pretty good game. Plus, it seemed to help stretch out my hammie, and glutes which meant no injury! Phew.

After a long morning of activity, I was actually really pumped, but looking forward to an easy class and a well earned relaxing evening. During class there were a whole heap of giveaway scones, with jam and cream, plus little cakes and treats...Clearly, I did NOT take any, and showed a new level of self-control... I did take photos, they can't hurt me! See You tomorrow....

In swoop the vultures!

Staring at me, eat me, eat me, eat me.... I didn't eat them.

Day 49 - Week 8 Commences

Rest is Best...

This week is going to be a weird one. All of my classes are in the afternoons and evenings, which leads to only mornings being free to train. I will endeavour to make sure I get at least one of my normal daily workouts, and I'm certain I will make up for it at the weekend and into next week....

I clearly needed to recover from my ride yesterday, even though I'm not sore, my body needed to replenish itself...I therefore slept a little longer (through 2 alarms in fact!). I still hauled my butt out of bed, rocked up at the gym at 0745h and trained until 0900h.

Back Day

Monday is "back day", so I pushed through a relatively quiet 60 minutes. This week I have decided to continue with core development, and increase strength work - basically to be an alround strong triathlete, I'm gonna need to train for it, and that includes adding endurance workouts (not just endurance cardio). I'm achieving this a slightly different way. I am increasing the number of sets I perform on each exercise, and trying to maintain 8 reps on each, until I have loaded to a max set of 4 reps. In addition to this, to enable the longer endurance on my muscles I am incrementing the weight increase each time, by a smaller amount. This is allowing me to run around 5 sets of work, ending up at (or close to) my normal finishing weight. I have noticed, however, that this is very hard to do... So, this week should be interesting!

I worked pretty hard in barbell rows, deadliest and lat pull downs. I added some isolation exercises, then did a particularly long set of declined/leaning rows. I completed my back session with high, medium, low single arm rows using the cable crossover. By the time I got to this I was feeling really strong, and managed 3 sets of each side, on each level, using 15kg. After this I closed out using the rope to row and tweak my back using 15kg, but going slow for 3 sets of 8.

As usual, I finished with abdominals. I did hang knee crunches,  and overhead holds interchanging to reduce rest time to zero. I then did a similar activity with leg raises, knee lift crunches, farmers walks and obliques using 20kg disks (for the walks and obliques).

Freestyle Training

After a strange, but interesting day, we were let go at around 1730h - which was pretty cool. As we leaving to go for dinner Mr Peds asks "are you going to dinner, or dya wanna train tonight?"...to which, without thinking, I said that I would prefer to train...after eating lots of snacks (healthy snacks of course) in class today, it felt like a good idea. We decided on a swim, so I quickly grabbed my stuff and we headed to the pool.

After thinking about it for a while, I jumped into the pool (which felt cooler than usual) and so did Mr Peds. He was 'planning' a quick 100m then a 500m swim, initially... I just said that I was going to try and go as far as I could using only freestyle!

I wasn't very warm, so the first 10 laps felt like an eternity on my aching arms and legs, but as I reached the end of 500m I started to drift into a focus-zone (or meditative state) that allowed me to think/mantra: "...1, 2, 3, Breathe.... 1, 2, 3, Breathe...." and before I knew it I was at 20 laps. My first kilometre out of the way and behind me, I decided to push for 2km. At the 1500m mark I decided to make that 3km.... at 50 laps I thought, Nah, I can do 4km and thats the stuff of Ironmen, like IronRay! 

With that as motivation, and trust me IronRay is highly inspiring to me, coupled with the sight of Mr Peds zipping along beside me, pushing just as hard (if not harder) than I was, made me stay focused  to make the 80 laps. I normally get to 2km of pure freestyle and start to keel over. Today, I was driven, inspired by Mr Peds, thoughts of IronRay's recent Ironman success, and the possibility that I might actually make it through this swim. Mr Peds stopped at 3km, good job buddy! He did some laps with the pool buoy, so I hope his shoulders are now burning as much as mine are!

I completed the last 20 laps in the pool, by myself. Yet another relaxing end to a dreary Cerberus day!

80 Laps, 4km in 02:00:57, which is an average pace of around 30 min/km, and a the icing on the cake is the very pleasing 1422 calories burnt! I'm pretty pleased with that effort! Now I need to build swim speed, with more speed sessions, so I can improve upon it! Oh, and this was my first time to 4km with freestyle only! Strangely enough, the only areas I am remotely sore are my abdominals (why is this?) and my shoulders (which is obvious)....

I can never seem to wash the smell away....

With my swim session over, I decided to rinse off and head home. I now plan on relaxing with a yummy bowl of Steaming Quinoa, Raw Spinach and a beautifully Smoked Salmon fillet! I'll also enjoy my Casein shake before bed tonight. I've even earn a glass of 'Nudie' apple juice it! :)

Determination

To me the real thing about this whole process I'm going through, 49 Days in, is that to be consistent, to Just Freaking Do It, to be satisfied (and the rest); I need to have real, focused Determination. In my mind, and really that's why I write this blog (to unload my thoughts each day), determination is the will to keep trying, to set a goal and smash it. Its knowing your limits and pushing yourself, safely beyond them each and every day. 

Rewind to pre 2000, When I used to kick box, remember the good old days Mr Mouldie, I used to say that to deliver a good hit, sometimes you need to take a few to get inside their guard. I took a lot of hits, but I'm not an ice sculpture, not made of glass. If on the first try I got knocked down, I got back up (cue the Rocky soundtrack) and I tried again....and again, and again until I did succeed.

So fast forward now to today, I still live like this. I push, push a little bit more and keep pushing until I get what I want...Soreness is a sign that I'm trying hard, but I'm good with that - I'll sleep easy knowing I woke up with determination, and kept the intensity all day and now I sleep satisfied!

Don't just half-arse it, bloody well do it. Get stuck in and keep going, even if it hurts a little. Break your Personal Bests and keep doing it. Goodnight.

Days 46-48 Rest, Reload & Ride

Lots of Rest....

After my fairly intensive Thursday, I found myself using my rest day to its fullest, sleeping and enjoying a day off on Friday. I ate some yummy squares of chocolate, and rewarded my big week of training.

Just a couple of squares....

Saturday, wasn't a good weather day, so no good for long runs or rides thanks to the addition of wind gusts. So, I used my additional rest day to buy some groceries, relax at a little French Cafe, and chill out. After all, it is just as important to rest your mind as well as you body.... Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! I also took the opportunity to load up with some healthy carbohydrates, in the hope that I might get to burn them off at some point over the weekend....

Biggest Ride Yet

After a slow start, and a later than normal wake up, I decided (since the sun was shining) to take a ride. Since my first road cycling milestone is to ride from Crib Point to Frankston, I decided to give it a stab. I really wanted to use my new quick disconnecting Garmin bike mount, and see how easy it was. Full visibility of the displays, ease of connect / disconnection on the mount and just the level of cool this lifted me to, made this so worthwhile!

I headed out from Crib, toward Hastings, turned off the highway just prior to Tyabb and cut across the peninsular toward Mornington. As I approached Mornington, I turned onto the highway in the direction of Frankston. I shortly after turned off the highway again, and in my infinite wisdom, took the turning for Mount Eliza.

Not knowing the elevation of Mount Eliza, I continued ahead (in hope of a good view of the peninsular).... In the few kilometres that were between me and Frankston, I started to feel the burn.... Incline getting steeper I was up out of the saddle, in the small chainring on the largest sprocket of my gears...basically as loose as I could get it....on and off the saddle I went, moving very slowly. The long, winding climb, never seemed to end.... Eventually, after what felt like forever (in reality around 15 minutes of riding), and as I saw my heart rate reach the highest I've ever seen it rise, 175bpm (95% Max HR), I saw a black BMW pass me and almost instantly disappear in front of me...

"WOW!, that must be some freaking awesome decline I'm about to riiiiiiiiiide! Yeeeee-ha!" 

As I sped down hill, in the drop bars, I saw my speedo on my Garmin 910XT reach 63kph! Oh yea! So speedy! That was a pretty awesome reward for the hard climb. As I continued to speed past Frankston, I had a thought....I'll just turn around at Seaford.... As I passed Seaford, I thought I'll be okay until Edithvale....then at Mordialloc I thought about pushing onto Black Rock. So as I reached Black Rock, and 60km travelled I pulled a u-turn and headed back toward Mordialloc. I stopped at the "Tour de Cafe" for a little rest. This place was awesome. There were purpose built racks to 'hang' your bike by its saddle, and it felt safe enough to just leave it there! 

Tour de Cafe

The other awesome thing about this place was that they not only sold coffee, food, but cycling fuel - bananas, electrolyte and carbohydrate gels, energy drinks and lots of other cool stuff like that. It was a haven for all those cyclist coming from Melbourne, or like me, from the south. With a lovely marina view, and the sun in my face, I enjoyed a cappuccino and a banana for $5. The Dextrose gel (cola flavour) which I got for $5 as I left, perked me up on the way home.

As I sat there, contemplating my return to Frankston, and the potential for butt-soreness if I went any further than that, I munched on one of my GU Chomps (which I brought in a ziplock) and downed a swig of coffee....BUZZ! Game on! After a few minutes of polite chit-chat with an older fellow rider, I jumped back on my trusty Cannondale and head on my way. I return the 20 odd kilometres to Frankston and pulled up at the train station, just in time for the next train to Crib. Perfect. After such a great day out on my bike, I feel like I've worked my body from head to toe! - especially my hip flexors and thighs! So, my first time beyond 80km and I feel good - 83.94km in 03:22:52...plus I was riding all by myself. I'm very happy with that result :) Even if I am writing this post a little after midnight - I called my Mum back in the UK to wish her a happy Aussie Mumma's Day! Did you call you mum tod?

 

Well Look at that - Max Speed 63kph, Max Heart Rate 175bpm, Max Cadence 123rpm!

 

Balls

After dinner, and a little more work on my engineering service paper, I decided to watch some movies and make some Protein Balls. This week I plan to use them to prevent me snacking on bad snacks, and to hold-off hunger. My 'balls' are simple, they're made up of almond meal, chopped dates, shredded coconut, Mayvers peanut & cacao spread, coconut water, ground cacao nibs and a generous scoop of Casein protein powder. All mixed, rolled and squished together, by my fair hand to produce an epic tummy filler of healthy goodness!

I'm pleased with the outcome, 7 days worth (2balls per bag) plus some spare to give to friends! 

Sharing is, indeed, caring!

Day 42 - Week 7 Begins

Compound or Isolated

It was recently brought to my attention that I might gain additional traction with my weights and strength training routine if I were to train using compound exercises. As it happens, I've been doing this already, incorporating a healthy mix of compound and isolation exercises - so it feels like I'm going good.

Functional fitness is that which simulates real-life activities and uses a wide range of movements through a wide range of motion. At the heart of these routines are a variety of compound exercises. Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that work several muscles or muscle groups at one time. The type of exercise has more benefits that just being a little bit harder on your workout. Here' what I've learnt:

1. You burn more calories during compound exercise training
2. You simulate real world exercises and activities
3. You get a full body workout faster
4. This improves coordination, reaction time and balance
5. This improves joint stability and improves muscle balance across a joint
6. It reduces the risk of injuries during sport
7. It keeps your heart rate up and this benefits your cardiovascular system
8. It allows you to exercise for longer with less muscle fatigue
9. It allows you to lift heavier loads and build more strength 

Isolations exercises work only one muscle or muscle group and only one joint at a time. These exercises are often performed with the commercial weight machines we see in the gym. These machines isolate one muscle group, so gym users can move from one machine to another to obtain a 'full body workout'.

Isolation exercise is a really good way to focus on specific muscle groups. I used this method of training to recover from my torn hamstring last year, and I hear its a great way to increase size or bulk of specific muscles (if you're into that).

From what I've read the balance is definitely in favour of training with lots of compound, using isolation exercises to improve the performance of specific muscles, groups or joints.

Get To It, Learn New Variations....

I often use the isolation machines to warm up (since I do a major muscle every day), then move to compound exercises for the bulk of my workout. I've always tried (where possible) to complete as many exercises standing to improve my core strength (hoping that one day the hard work will pay off and my belly will shrink)... You get out what you put in....

Everyday, Learn Something New...

When I reached the gym, in the early pre-dawn cool air I had already decided to give a full compound workout a go. In exchange for the seat row machines, I used free weights. Mr P gave me a few tips on some of the new versions using a barbell, which was very useful.

I trained hard today. I started with barbell bent over rows, working a couple lightweight sets to practice then chucking on the weight (quite low) so I could focus on technique - going back to basics helps to reinforce what you think you've learnt! After completion of another 3 sets of rows, I then moved to dead lifts. I could feel the difference to my normal machine use almost immediately, and more so in my core! I still used the lat pulldown and the isolated forward inclined row machine - I like the challenge of both, plus its was a good variation and to feel the isolated muscles after working the core also made me more aware of my technique!

I love working my back one side of the spine at a time, using the cable crossover. I modified the normal seat row variants into standing, well, semi-squating routines and felt my legs stabilising whilst holding firm in my abs - whilst focusing on working my back. So good.

After 60 minutes of gym time, all spent on my back (which will love me for it later) I moved to some quick abdominal work. Farmer walks with weight discs, leg and knee raises, not to mention the hanging leg raises - which I found I was swinging more than normal? So, weird!

Another good workout, which was lucky since work commitments meant no evening cardio tonight....which led to a little over eating / indulgence...but I'll push harder in my workouts tomorrow! I'm comfortable with that!

Day 38 - Harsh Realities

Its all about the hard yards. I'm finding out that day by day, the challenge of travelling from fat to fit is more about the willpower, resilience and the ability to go the distance, than it is about much else.

Going The Distance

The ability to go the distance is pretty important. The way I see it, you need to be in it for the 'long haul' if you want to achieve more than just a temporary fix. You gotta put in 100% everyday, with consistency (of course), but more than that. You have to be prepared to sacrifice a few things, or take on new burdens, to take a few hits on the way. The pathway to success is not smooth. I'd say, I've always said that:

"You have to fully appreciate the rough in life to get the most out of the smooth."

This is one of those occasions. After my glutard-slip the other morning, which after 37 days is pretty good (although going back to day 1 bowel/intestine cleansing sucks, but is required), kinda bites just a touch. I've got a lovely array of mouth ulcers, a swollen gut, achy joints and I'm feeling really irritable and tired to boot. These are my "immediate" impact symptoms of eating just the tiniest amount of gluten. I'm paying for my flawed eating choice, and I'm learning too. It's hard coping with this, but it is a necessity. I am far from perfect, and I'm not too proud to admit when I make blunders such as this. This blog holds me accountable, which is nice, but really truthfully when I'm led in my bed tonight (and last night) groaning with stomach pains, the accountable doesn't come into it at that point. Whats going on there is an internal dilemma. I'm fighting the pain, with knowledge, knowing that I can and must go longer than 37 days, that I must fight the pains and cramps. You see, you don't stop until you hear the bell ring. 

The Old Glutard-Slip-The Jab!

"It ain't over, 'til its over."

Today, was hard for me. I couldn't concentrate, my body was sore (and not from training) and yet life goes on...and so do I. Tough Titties! Cry me a river...blah blah blah. When you know you messed up and that you need to re-hash the plan to prevent it happening again, do just that...don't dwell or get cranky - just fix it, move on and shut the heck up! 

So, thats what I did; I talked to the 'peeps in power' today, organised (hopefully) better glutard-friendly food, trained my tired mind in the classroom, achy muscles in the gym and more over I forced myself to run in the very cool and drizzly night air, alone! I pushed through all the crap going on and decided to fight, not frown.

I'm telling you this, because you might be giving up smoking, or have to quit sugar, or have some special reason to go against the grain in your life.. You might feel like giving up, reverting back to your former less strict self, or just falling off the wagon...worse still, you might just be crying about all the wrongs you've been dealt..... DON'T YOU EFFING DARE! 

Just don't, okay? Keep your chin up, it happens to the best of us, but the difference between someone who wins and someone who quits is very slight:

Isn't that right, Mr Mouldie

You are NOT made of glass and you WILL not crack, shatter or splinter.... Every slip is a new opportunity to learn something, to put new measures in place to prevent it. As an engineer, I know its part of the process - making mistakes is ok, just don't make the same one over and over and over! Learn, move forwards, take the hits and be proud of your resilience to all the BS. Tough talk, but its needed.

So, how do I prevent this happening to me again? Well, firstly a few 'safe guards' are now in place at work. I have also invoked the help of others to pull me through, so hopefully one less failure point and some extra support. But I know, life is a minefield and occasionally you might just set another one off...oh well, learn from it.

Now, I want to win, I want to prove to myself (and all those neigh sayers) that I can achieve this lifestyle change. I will not give up.

Arms & Abs

This morning's workout was powerful, hard work session of arms (biceps and triceps) and abdominals. I used the whole 60 minutes for arms, plus an extra 15 for abs. I was almost late for class. I think even though I was training hard, I felt the pain early on - my stomach was sore and my joints ached...Being swollen makes you feel nauseous, but I pushed through and blasted some 'ripper' burps and farts as I did!

The whole workout, and time sat in class today, I was planning my punishment session for this evening....

Run-Time 

Not the cool run-time you stick to when diving deep and technical, run time...the times when you go running and don't enjoy it! Tonight's punishment - run at least 10km outside of Cerberus. Run in the cold and dark and drizzle. Pretend to enjoy it, be you know I didn't. It worked, I pushed through did almost 11km in 60 minutes and really went through it all. The elation of finishing, the procrastination pre-starting...Mr Joe and Edd both can attest to my tardiness in getting started! I felt the aches of running with soreness, the wind (and moist farts that always make you worry) the burps and puke-feeling you get when you train through indigestion or stomach cramps. My knees hurt, my feet were sore....every excuse my body and brain tried to get me to turn around, I ignored. I pushed through....Just Frickin' Do It... (I'm starting to hate this phrase, but it seems to work). The dim lit streets around Crib with all that wild, unkept foliage and trees was the real test...I can't remember how many times I got whipped by a tree, bush or shrubbery! My brain said: "NO, Gaffa, NO!" but I chose to GO GO GO!!!

How I felt after 11km Running, tonight.

I can remember the surge of joy, then pain, then followed sleepiness. I felt so tired on return to my cabin...I dozed there and then....lost about 20 minutes, sitting in a chair - hadn't even removed my shoes. After, I took a long, warm shower and feebly stretched, groaned and burped some more pukey burps...

 I still feel a bit wasted, but I do know this: I made positive changes today - I stepped forward after taking some hits. I pushed through a range of emotions, justifications and 'reasons not to'...I passed my own test, now it's time to rest.