Category: Planning

R6 I:A D16-19 Plan. Victoria Day Long Weekend. Summer’s Here!!!

The plan for the long weekend looks like this:

Friday: Relief, 3 hours coaching
Saturday: Move 400lb treadmill, Vertical Plyo, BBQ
Sunday: Strength, 5k on treadmill, BBQ in rain apparently
Monday: Relief, maybe coaching (not sure if we are working Monday or not…), BBQ in thunderstorm, let off fireworks from deck.

Then Tuesday, and Armageddon at our house as my wonderful wife returns to work and we start taking the baby to the daycare on a daily basis. My prediction, nobody is going to be happy on Tuesday.

She is not going to be impressed...

Take A Moment. The 60lb Milestone.

For me, fitness is a passion, I just love reading about it, studying it, sharing it with people and so for me this lifestyle is easier that for most. That said, weight is and always has been my nemesis. Today, however, I won the latest installment of the Biggest Loser at work bu losing a total of 21lbs in 3 months. Add that to my journey and you have a total loss of 60lbs.

That’s right. SIXTY POUNDS!!!!

It’s not the first time I have done this kind of weight loss, but I am hoping it will be the last.

Many times we get so wrapped up in what we are doing that we don’t take a moment to recognize our achievements. The reason for this is that those of us with borderline obsessive personalities know that the second you take your foot off the gas you risk going off the road completely. For me, that is the final step in my final journey. The ability to step back for a moment, see what I have accomplished, congratulate myself, celebrate a little but then get back to work. In the past I have allowed the celebrations to linger too long, to allow the congratulatory process to lead me back to the place that I started. This time, however, I think I will be OK. My thoughts for celebration are more of the non edible variety whereas in the past, my usual victory dance was around a large pepperoni pizza and a 2 litre bottle of coke! I don’t know what I am going to do to celebrate my 60lb milestone but I know that whatever it is, it won’t get in the way of my 75lb milestone which is my next big goal. That would put me at around 217lbs which is slightly below my current goal weight.

Maybe then I will have that pizza…. with coconut flour crust 🙂

Paleo, It’s Pretty Good. In Other News, Cats Go “Meow”.

Today FitDay decided to publish an article on the Paleo diet. Now I am a big FitDay fan and obviously enjoying the benefits of the Paleo diet so I found this particularly interesting. The article, however can be summed up as follows:

The Paleo Diet, it’s pretty good.

I was hoping for a little more, but they seemed to get the spirit of the thing correct while not pissing anybody off or risking having someone mail them an envelope of veal or even worse, a mean face carved into the side of a summer squash.

More into the spirit of sensational news stories about our health, the Brits are again leading the way by claiming that we can now get human milk from cows. Apparently they have been putting human DNA into cows (any volunteers for that job?!) and getting breast milk. I can only envision a herd of 3000lb breasts wandering around a field but that’s because I am really a 12 year old boy.

Next in my inbox was something I swear I have seen before, lots of pictures of what compromises a “fit” body. I am sure this came up some time ago, only because I remember the graphics involved. It did spawn an interesting conversation about what we as fairly sedentary office workers would consider to be “Fit”. We came up with the decision that it is how you are able to move your body around your space. Not how much over your bodyweight you can bench or shoulder press but rather how able you are to get around and do what you need or want to do. I am very happy that the notion of fitness seems to be graduating towards being “less vulnerable and more durable” as Tony likes to say out in the real world. I know there are people out there who want to hang on to the past glory of muscle heads and steroid freaks but as the population ages we are only going to see more of the movement towards less “dangerous” and more functional fitness.

As for personal news, this past weekend at one point I weighed in at 239lbs. I know I was very light, I hadn’t eaten and so it was not a clear reflection of where I am but HOLY CRAP! It was back in September of 1999 the last time I was in the 230’s without sickness being the cause.

It has been the kind of week that drains you of all your faculties, no emotional, physical or mental energy left. I still haven’t got rid of the 3lbs I gained last weekend during my “Hey I am under 240″ celebration. That buffet at Golden Griddle sure did a number on me. I was 241 this morning and am looking forward far too much to going to Marché tonight to expect to be any less tomorrow. I also am under the impression that the spate of weight loss was indeed a freaky cycle and that it has been exorcised by the mountainous breakfast of last weekend. Still, I can expect to at least remain where I am for a while, and then when the planets align again, down it will go. I just hope that I can keep my eye on the target of being 225 by New Year.

Needless to say, that 225 never transpired, but then again what did I expect not really knowing what my body was doing with the food I was giving it? Even I am not arrogant enough to proclaim that I will reach that milestone, since 225 would take me back to before my weight records began in earnest sometime around 1997. From what I can recall, I left University around the 195lb mark. I know the following year I ballooned as my life took awkward turns and twists leaving me in a place I would rather forget. I was up around 300 within a couple of years and even after I got that under control I still never made it back under 245. So we are in fairly uncharted territory, and yes, I am aware that I am painfully obsessed with my weight, not only that, I have discovered an alarming personality flaw… I can’t stand really fat people.

Reasons To Love Bill Gates and A Note To My Athletes

Bill Gates speech: 11 rules your kids did not and will not learn in school

Rule 1: Life is not fair – get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

So why post this here? Well, I have been working on a piece to give to my new gym girls to try and pass along certain messages. It started with what was a quote from Jeff Tucker, a crossfit coach, that I assume he posted for the benefit of his “athletes” as follows:

“I am not your best friend. I am not your drinking buddy. I am not the guy or gal who is there to make you feel warm and fuzzy. I am not a part of your sewing circle or gossip clan. I am not the one you call in the middle of the night and ask financial advice from or borrow money from. I am not the one you ask, do these Lu Lu’s make my butt look big. I am certainly not the one you ask why all my reps did not count…. So just who am I? I am your coach. The one you hired to kick your butt, the one you asked to be honest with you in how to train; the one whom you listen too and take facts from as you grow within the realms of CrossFit. I will make you jump, crawl, pull, push, throw, stuff while spitting profanities or praise, which ever apply. Come here and train – that is why you are here. Train and then go eat some good food, not that crap that makes your results stifle hard work. I will stay late for you, I will come early for you, I will make sure you get the advice you need on movements or food. We are allowed to disagree with each other – and if you can’t handle that then you have choices, we all do. And yes, if you call me in the middle of the night and need help with a get out of jail card, I will do that too. So get in the gym, and GET SOME!”

Since it was too much for my kids, I worked it a bit and came up with something that gives me goosebumps every time I read it…

We are about to start an amazing journey together, a journey that will bind us together in a common goal. It is a journey whose destination is a place you may not even be able to see at this moment. Each step of the way, we will build on your success, celebrate your victories and challenge your shortfalls. As we go you will learn to face your fears, to break down your ideas of what is possible for you and set goals that will inspire and amaze you. I am committed to showing you the endless possibilities you have as an athlete and a person, and I promise to protect you, to assist you and encourage you in every step of that journey. If you fall, I will catch you, but if you hesitate to take a step, I will watch and wait. Your responsibility in this journey is not to me, it is to yourself. You have to take responsibility for who you are and what you do. Your work rate, your skills and ultimately your success will depend on your commitment to yourself as a competitive athlete. To compete is to test yourself against others, but the real test of character comes in the challenges you set for yourself.

But let me be clear…

I am not your best friend. I am not your school buddy. I am not the guy who is there to make you feel all warm and fuzzy. I am not part of your Facebook friends, Twitter followers or gossip clan. I am not the one you call for advice about school or the one you borrow money from. I am not the one you ask if your new Lululemon outfit looks cute and I am certainly not the one you ask why all your pushups didn’t count. Who am I? I am your coach, the one who is accountable for kicking your butt, the one who will make you work harder than you ever though you could. I am the one who you will hate, love and come to understand as the key to your success. I will be the one to cheer loudest at your success and be the first to console you during your challenges.
So train as hard as you possibly can.
I am committed to you, I want success for you, and I want you to work your heart out for it. I will stay late for you, I will come in early for you, I will give you the advice and guidance you need. We will fight with each other, we will laugh with each other, we will go through wars together and emerge victorious from the trenches.

So do us both a favour and get in that gym and work like your life depends on it!

Clarity Of Planning – My Future With Russian Kettlebell Challenge

Old Plan:

Day 1 – Monday – P90X Plyo or Insanity Cardio Plyo
Day 2 – Tuesday – RKC 50 Swings
Day 3 – Wednesday – RKC TGU plus Clean, C&P, Snatch practice
Day 4 – Thursday – P90X Kenpo or Insanity Pure Cardio
Day5 – Friday – RKC 50
Day 6 – Saturday – Same as Wednesday
Day 7 – Sunday – Fountain Of Youth Yoga or Yoga X

New Plan for rest week:

Day 1 – Monday – P90X Plyo or Insanity Cardio Plyo – DONE
Day 2 – Tuesday – RKC 50 Swings – DONE
Day 3 – Wednesday – RKC TGU plus Clean, C&P, Snatch practice
Day 4 – Thursday – P90X Kenpo or Insanity Pure Cardio
Day5 – Friday – RKC Man Maker ROP Practice (Presses and Pullups)
Day 6 – Saturday – Same as Wednesday
Day 7 – Sunday – Fountain Of Youth Yoga or Yoga X

After rest week start the Rite Of Passage:

Monday — Light presses, pull ups
Tuesday — Variety Day – WOD
Wednesday — Medium presses, pull ups
Thursday — Variety Day – Bench Day
Friday — Off
Saturday — Heavy presses, pull ups
Sunday — Off

R5D25-6 RKC, Breakfast Of Champions, Partial Rest Week.

eat_more_fishFriday I was still recovering from the swings and so I decided to bust out a lighter KB and do some TGU. I did 5 a side with the 25lb KB and then, since I was feeling adventurous, I did another 3 a side with the 45. I remembered I had weaseled out of the cleans and C&P the day before so again I set my sights on doing something extra. I did 5 Clean, 5 Clean and Press and 5 snatches with each arm with both the 25lb and 45lb KB. The snatch with the 45 was, if I am honest, borderline dangerous but I think with the 25 I am getting the hang of it.

Saturday I ended up doing around 30 minutes on the treadmill in the morning to try and stop my back from aching which worked out fine. I was supposed to do deadlifts and so I set up the 25, 45 and 70lb behemoth and decided I would do 3 tabata sequences (12 minutes total) deadlifting each KB with a high pull (or upright row) after each DL. The 25 was easy, although seemed longer than 8 sets. The 45 was a challenge and since I was still doing a high pull with each one, it was very taxing and my shoulders were on fire. The 70 just sat there like a fat pug smiling at me struggling with the 45 but out of sheer determination I gave it a shot anyway, it was only 70lbs, right? The High pull didn’t last long, I think I made it through one of the 8 sets. By the time the last set came around I was wheezing like an asthmatic goat and begging for someone to kill Tabata, whoever he is.

Sunday we went out to breakfast with an old friend from work with whom we had worked a few years ago to get her weight down. She brought her charming fiancé and while we caught up on old news the conversation inevitably turned to weight loss. Now I am not a preacher by any means but if someone is asking for advice I am happy to help. I tried in vain to explain my Paleo findings from the last 6 months to them but in the end it all started sounding a little too Conspiracy Theory. I often say that I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that people do what I do but I do encourage people to follow a similar path and to do their own research. The conversation was an eye opener for them, and I think a good opportunity for me to sort out in my own head where I am with my diet and exercise. Maintaining this blog has been a way for me to monitor my progress, attempt to safeguard me from being too extreme and to keep up with recent discoveries in the world of fitness and nutrition but also it gives me the opportunity to help other people to start discovering their own potential. By potential, I don’t mean physical potential, I am talking about the potential to take control of their lives by erasing everything they know and starting over from a new place.

Starting over is never easy, in fact, making small adjustments is never easy and with that in mind I am going to shake up my life a little by entering into a 7 day rest week. I am going to maintain my RKC swings and other lifts but I think a sprinkling of P90X and Insanity may do me the world of good as a break. I am already on a fish kick to restart my weight loss, since I discovered the real reason for my plateau this weekend during our breakfast. “I’m happy where I am” I admitted. I am comfortable with my weight and my abilities at this point, but I think I may be even happier further down the road. So I am revamping things a little in order to get the engine started again.

So here goes:

Day 1 – Monday – P90X  Plyo or Insanity Cardio Plyo
Day 2 – Tuesday – RKC 50 Swings
Day 3 – Wednesday – RKC TGU plus Clean, C&P, Snatch practice
Day 4 – Thursday – P90X Kenpo or Insanity Pure Cardio
Day5 – Friday – RKC 50
Day 6 – Saturday – Same as Wednesday
Day 7 – Sunday – Fountain Of Youth Yoga or Yoga X

Plus… More fish! (But not less bacon…shhhh!)

R5D22 – TGU And Revisiting My Plan

So I had originally outlined Round 5 as the following 8 day rotation:

Day 1 – RKC Minimum Swings (The RKC Minimum is 4 weeks, then transition into Rite Of Passage)
Day 2 – RKC TGU and WOD
Day 3 – Bench and dips (Chest, shoulder, tri)
Day 4 – Cardio or stretch or Yoga

Day 5 – RKC Minimum Swings
Day 6 – RKC TGU and WOD
Day 7 – Deadlifts and Squat (Legs and Back)
Day 8 – Cardio or stretch or Yoga

Somewhere along the line I declined to do the cardio and set about making 2 x 3 day rotations looking like this:

Day 1 – RKC Minimum Swings (The RKC Minimum is 4 weeks, then transition into Rite Of Passage)
Day 2 – RKC TGU and WOD
Day 3 – Bench and dips (Chest, shoulder, tri)

Day 4 – RKC Minimum Swings
Day 5 – RKC TGU and WOD
Day 6 – Deadlifts and Squat (Legs and Back)

I am, however, not convinced that skipping cardio all together is the greatest idea. You see, I am sore much of the time which is not really a problem per se, however, I find that I am skipping days when I am not up to the grind where I could definitely do a cardio workout instead. So since I have been at this Round 5 lark for coming up to a month now I think maybe I will inject a little cardio back into my weeks and see how I feel.

My Goal Is To Be Overweight

BMI simonWe all know that the BMI is bullshit for most people. I know that it was once touted as the most accurate measurement of “healthy” weight but it just fell short. In demonstrating this I have included my personal table that I hang on to in order to let me know just how obese I am. When I started out, not just this time but at least one other time in my life I was pushing against 295lbs. I don’t want to say 300 because that is a mental block I have, much the same as women have a mental block about the number 200. Regardless of how much you weigh, a 300lb man is, without question, a problem. It’s just that we were brought up on average people of average size and for the average male (who is apparently 5’8.5″ in Canada and 5’10” in the USA) being 300lbs would be a major problem. What I did know, at almost 300lbs was that I was fat. I wasn’t prohibitively fat, I could still work out fine, look OK in a t shirt and jeans but I was definitely an imposing figure. There are pictures in this blog of me which I won’t traumatize you with again, I also have pictures of my at under 200 from when I graduated university before I really hit the weights hard in my 20’s and you can see that although I am much larger, I don’t look unfit/fat, just, well, a bit fat. So what is the point? Well, according to my chart, I was “Severely Obese” which basically translates to near death as far as I can tell but if you go by what the papers say, it makes me pretty average in the USA! So, obviously something had to be done and long story short, I plummeted from Severely Obese into Class 2 obese with little problem. Getting into the Class 1 obese category took longer but by August of 2007, my wedding, I squeaked into Class 1. I made it back in again January of 2009 and again in May of 2009 but seemed to bounce back into Class 2 with regularity. By October of 2010 I was rising to the top of the Class 2 class and getting concerned. Without answering the question of why, it just was a long roller coaster. I was working out the whole time, even doing P90X with regularity as my weight continued to climb prompting me to tell lies to myself about gaining muscle and maintaining my strength. You can even follow my workouts here, since I started this blog in June of 2009 and even though I was working out I wasn’t paying attention. Sure, my weight went down after I started, round 1 of P90X got me about a 20lb loss if I recall correctly but the issue that I clung on to with both hands was that I was working full time and coaching 2 nights a week which wiped me out while doing longer than necessary workouts. As I have evolved and learned during the last 19 months of documenting my physical work I have come to realize 3 things:
1. I have an excuse for everything
2. Excuses don’t work, working smarter not harder works.
3. If I am not documenting my weight, I am probably not eating right.

So there I was, doing P90X, doing P90X / Insanity together and still as my fitness improved, my weight really didn’t do much. It wasn’t until my parents came to visit that I realized that I wasn’t really in control of what was going in with my diet and therefore my weight. I stumbled upon the Paleo method of eating and a light bulb went off in my head. It was the same thing I had done back in my rugby playing days to get into shape and drop some weight to get ready for the University rugby season. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon October 11, 2010 (Canadian Thanksgiving) and here I am.

This wasn’t supposed to be a post about the Paleo diet, or about my weight history, in fact, the whole point of this post is the amusing notion that my goal weight of 220lbs is, according to the BMI scale, still Overweight (and borderline Class 1 Obese!). But with a lean mass of 200lbs I am thinking that 220lbs is a pretty aggressive goal especially for someone who has never had a bodyfat % lower than 12% (and that was in University while I was spending up to 3 or 4 hours a day working out).

I suppose I could be disappointed that even after dropping 34lbs I am still borderline Class 2 but since I was 248.4 this morning I am not about to complain. I am on my way to my goal, to be Overweight!

Round 5 Day 1 – The Plan And The Future

lots of kettlebellsSo as you can no doubt tell, I did kind of bail on Round 4 leaving with about 2 weeks left to the 3 month mark. However, the timing was problematic, with Christmas, new weights, new methodologies creeping in I thought it was finally time to move along. I am coming to the realization that this time around, P90X, the reason for starting this blog in the first place, may not actually have a place here. It’s a little sad, and since I am going to commit to having a cardio day during my workout days then a revisit to Kenpo or Plyo may be in the cards. However, the days of following Tony along through mind numbingly boring set after set of curls or pushups are gone. That and his unbearably inane commentary. So what next you ask? Well, as you can probably guess it will involve kettlebells, Olympic Lifts, WODs and a dab of cardio. Here is the plan for the first month, more to follow later as I get into the schedule for the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge). I am also going to try and stay within a calendar time frame rather than a set 90 days, I would like to finish Round 5 around the start of April when my parents and sister come to town to see the baby. Once the weather is nicer, I will have more flexibility in what I can do using the deck outside as a workout platform, so things will change by necessity.

I need to be flexible with the days off, so what I want to do is commit to a 4 day stretch, sometimes it may get to 6 days in a row, other times I may be forced into a 2 or 3 day hiatus. Either way, the rotation is going to be 8 day. 2 4 day stretches containing everything I need. The variety will no doubt come from the WOD which I will mostly take from the Crossfit site but reserve the right to do a named workout should I feel the desire. I won’t be counting days off this time around either which will probably fit me in around the 75-80 day mark. I’m kind of making this up as I go along right now so bear with me. I need to satisfy certain things, I need bench, I need pullups, I need the RKC and I need some form of cardio day to keep my endurance up. I also need deadlifts, clean and press and for the time being some form of squat without getting under a bar. So here goes.

Day 1 – RKC Minimum Swings (The RKC Minimum is 4 weeks, then transition into Rite Of Passage)
Day 2 – RKC TGU and WOD
Day 3 – Bench and dips (Chest, shoulder, tri)
Day 4 – Cardio or stretch or Yoga

Day 5 – RKC Minimum Swings
Day 6 – RKC TGU and WOD
Day 7 – Deadlifts and Squat (Legs and Back)
Day 8 – Cardio or stretch or Yoga

R4 Finale – Fit Test Weekend

start-finishLast time I did this I thought I was in pretty good shape, I was part way through Round 4 when I did the Insanity Test which you would assume would make me already pretty fit. The P90X test results are from the end of Round 1 and my failed attempt to go back to the gym, right before starting round 2. That being said, I am pretty disappointed in the heart rate section. I don’t know if it was because I did burpees to get my heart rate up and therefore was using more muscle groups that doing Jumping Jacks. Whatever the reason, my recovery does not seem to be very good. However, subjectively I feel like I am recovering quickly. Maybe I should leave an Insanity workout in my schedule just to keep my cardio and endurance up a little. Does a resting heart rate of 70 seem high to anyone else? Sitting here at my desk, my heart rate is a more comforting 60bpm…

So now I have my results I don’t really see any glaring areas that I need to improve upon other than 2 things. First I obviously need to change my body composition, which is underway. Second I need to show some measurable improvements in my strength because shorter workout times have me worrying about losing strength and muscle mass. So all that remains now is to put together Round 5 – The Exit Strategy.

P90X Fit Test

Resting Heart Rate   70 (+0)
Pull-Ups   16 (+9)
Vertical Leap Inches   18 (+5)
Push-Ups   50 (I got bored after 50…again)
Toe-Touch+2″ (+3″)
Wall Squat (Seconds)   90 (+30)
Bicep Curls (Reps | Wt )   25@35lbs
Total Poundage   875 (+75)
In & Outs   50 (+0)

Heart Rate Maximizer (Done after Burpees not Jumping Jacks, so not really comparable)

Immediately After   150
After 1 Minute Rest   141
After 2 Minutes Rest125
After 3 Minutes Rest116
After 4 Minutes Rest95

Measurements

Weight 249.0 (-29lbs)
Body Fat % 21.7% (-5.12%)
Chest 46.25 (-3.75″)
Waist 43 (-1″)
Hips43.00 (-3″)
Neck17.75 (-1.5″)
Right Thigh 26 (+1″)
Left Thigh27 (+2″)
Right Bicep 18.25 (+.25″)
Left Bicep19 (+1.25″)

Insanity Fit Test:

Switch Kicks – 145 (+20)
Power Jacks – 50 (+0)
Power Knees – 114 (+0 Very odd)
Power Jumps – 27 (+27 did 0 last time)
Globe Jumps – 11 (-3)
Suicide Jumps – 12 (+1)
Push Up Jacks - 50 (+0)
Low Plank Oblique – 40 (+4)

Previous P90X Fit Test

Resting Heart Rate   70
Pull-Ups   5
Vertical Leap Inches   13
Push-Ups   50 (I got bored after 50…)
Toe-Touch-1″
Wall Squat (Seconds)   65
Bicep Curls (Reps | Wt )   40@20lbs
Total Poundage   800
In & Outs   50

Heart Rate Maximizer

Immediately After   150
After 1 Minute Rest   123
After 2 Minutes Rest106
After 3 Minutes Rest99
After 4 Minutes Rest93

Fitness LevelsDay 1

Weight278.00
Body Fat %26.82%
Chest50
Waist44.00
Hips46.00
Neck19.00
Right Thigh 25
Left Thigh26
Right Bicep 18
Left Bicep17.75

Previous Insanity Fit Test:

Switch Kicks                125
Power Jacks                  50
Power Knees                 114 (on weak side)
Globe Jumps                   14
Suicide Jumps              11
Push Up Jacks              50
Low Plank Oblique     36