Boot camp & Hip mobility & relaxed stretching

Hi Blog, sorry i haven't visited for such a long time. i guess i need to give an update, try to make it an honest one.

Finished the 12 week transformation at 93.5kgs. This is a bit far from the goal but i still feel that i did well. didn't manage to get my after pics done as i was away that weekend and well as i hit the booze and food hard that weekend i wasn't confident to take the pictures. I guess i should have done it anyway but it's done now.

Been to Australia for just over two weeks, that started out well, high levels of exercise and little food. But the second week the activity levels dropped and i started eating anything and everything. Also took way too much advantage of the cheap wine situation etc. but all in all not too bad.

Upon return i told myself that I'd do the following to get back on the horse:

• Join Bootcamp - to get someone else to whip me into shape and do a range of things that i wouldn't normally do.
• Buy a new set of scales - to measure myself at home rather than at the gym.
• Return to my old ways of eating while during the transformation

Well all good plans have their failings. Firstly the exhaustion of the two weeks away made it hard to start the bootcamp thing - motivation etc. Once i started it i found that a few things happened, firstly i was basically too hard and recovery was difficult and secondly illness, schedules and travel made it hard to commit. Then the riots in our lovely city put a further end to things.

Bought a set of scales but they don't work. This really doesn't help, i need to resolve this quickly.

We bought a BBQ in Australia and brought it back with us. We've used it everyday since getting back to cook up all sorts of things. This can be reasonably healthy living but tends not to be, plus we have tried to really enjoy it rather than just go through the motions. Topping this off I've had some travel and company functions that have had me eating like crap.

Pretty sad result at the end of the day! So best to look forward and see where we stand.

Stayed in a Hotel while away with a good set of digital scales. also, confirmed this by the new Gym's scales (joined another gym as bootcamp was cancelled and didn't want to lose momentum, plus it's close and i can ride my bike). i am 96.5kgs. This is just above my 'oh shit i've blown it and need to start the process again' limit. This might sound bad but i seriously thought that i'd be a lot over this limit. - plus it means i have to start again.

have started bootcamp again and i'm loving it plus i have the new gym so i can do a little extra in between like swimming intervals or just lifting heavy stuff.

and finally food! i am going to do a cycling of diet over the next 4-5 weeks going from fast to feast with some kito days in between. i know this is not the best way to approach things but i don't want to be a guy on a diet and feel that this will suit where i'm at today. Dieting hard again won't start till July. The goal is just to get below the 96 mark and stay there until we hit it hard again in July August.

so, after a long update i wanted to talk about the good stuff i've been doing. Firstly the bootcamp. This is awesome, when it was cancelled i tried to do my own workouts in the gym but they couldn't even come close. The bootcamp had high intensity, motivation, and most of all the variety in moving the body in different ways continuously. Much of the stuff i did this morning for example if i read it in a book and tried it i'd stop immediately because it doesn't feel good, but you can't do that at bootcamp. also, being in the park they have us doing stuff i used to do as a kid, the type of thing that back then you didn't give a second thought about but now almost kills you or just can't be done. This all really knocks the body around in unexpected ways.

After the first session i had a lot of back pain. what i came to realise was that the pain was from lack of hip mobility. having tight hips and working them too hard made for such uncomfortable siting or standing that i could hardly move. i tried a lot of stretching and some hip mobility drills. but i've come to realise that the movements at bootcamp that caused the pain are exactly the ones i need to do to reduce this problem.

The final thing i stumbled apon from listening to an interview was relaxed stretching from a Russian Kettlebell professional. i go hold of his book and it rang some pretty significant bells for me. basically he is saying that most of the flexibility issues i have is in my head and we need to spend time to resolve things through long drawn out stretching. I guess it's similar to yoga but it does work, so much so that i am hooked. at a standing toe touch i was able to hold my knuckles on the floor. Normally i can only just touch the toes and this is for a second, now i'm first knuckles to the floor for 20 seconds. i'm trying this with all stretches in combination with hip and shoulder mobility.

Creatine

Aaaah, that's better! yesterday i was a little down on the whole dieting and transformation thing. After 75 days of no booze, mega exercise and abstinence from the good stuff i had a spike in weight. This tipped me into the territory of wasting my time and that did not feel good.

However, and i can thank blogging for this, i was concerned that the creatine might have had something to do with the gain. i looked it up and read a lot of articles on the subject. Seems i learned two things, firstly that it will make one retain additional water (my suspicion) and secondly that i am not taking enough (was not aware of this at all).

So last night i got home and had another serving, was nice and generous later before bed also. got up and had another nice big spoon and went to the gym. all afternoon i'd felt pumped in my head and body knowing that the substance makes the muscles pump up and that's how i felt. so i was then very surprised when i hit the scales at the gym to see 94.4kgs. had to second check on another set of scales.

So now i've got fat loss and pumped muscles. Chrissy's on fire!

Worked out hard today, have a dinner tonight but will foam roll and stretch tonight ready for pushing things tomorrow. It's squatting day tomorrow! perfect.

aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

Gaining weight! what's up with this? i had an all time low of 94.2 kg and then the other day i get 97kg. That's just wrong!

Have i been eating too much - hell not that much, i understand if i don't lose but not gaining 3kgs in a week. Eating different? i have been taking protein and creatine - the purpose is for quick recovery and although they can help build muscle given the calorie deficit i'm in this is unlikely - plus you can't gain 3kg of muscle in a week.

I have to assume that the weight gain is related to the supplements, higher volume of activity (hardcore TT) and a bit more food. if so this should balance out towards the end of the programme.

Looking at the other evidence for fat loss/gain things seem to be in check. Last week i met someone i haven't seen since i was in Bali last year (just after my BFL 12 week transformation) who instantly said how much slimmer i looked. this is interesting because i should look about the same.

Clothes fit better and yesterday i threw out all my old pants. many that i'd been so proud to wear only a year ago. So let's stay strong and not lose focus.

Spanner in the works is that i am sponsoring a sporting event and have had to ask a friend to fly over and help. he's here the weekend i was due to start drinking - although i'd hope to wait one more week i guess i'll have to break this fast - i will need to be strong to keep the diet in check.

Yes Yes Yes!

I am now below the lowest point of last transformation!! This is a result that comes after a trip home for a funeral and our regional meeting. These two items would normally have meant an increased weight of at least 4kgs - maybe more.

Final 4 weeks begins on Monday i' going to do hardcore fat loss from the TT programs, i'm going to supplement with protein powder and creatine, i'm going to reduce my carb intake after lunch and i'm going to do ESE properly twice a week being careful to stick to calorific expectations when breaking the fast.

Tomorrow morning i'm going to do my photos and measurements - looking forward to posting that.

here we go!

Kicking off the first day of the 8th week i am feeling good about this process. I weighed in this morning at 96.5 kgs. i don't think i'll hit my original goal of 85 at week 12 but i am sure i'll be under the 90 mark making a great point for maintenance.

This week i have a big meeting in Singapore, but that's ok. i am not drinking so i'll keep the food to a minimum and i can still workout without missing any sessions. I will fast tomorrow as that is travelling day - dinner with the team to break the fast will be a good point. i leave late so i can still get a run in the morning. I'll follow up with a fast on Friday when i get back.

Then we start a new 4 week programme. i am going for the Hardcore fat loss because it has a 6 day routine. I feel that i need to really push for excellence over the next 4 weeks. i will start out easy but move for real progression over the four weeks - this includes the intervals.

i will do two ESE days each week also.

Saturday i take my next set of photos - i think the difference will be profound.

GOAL

Hit 97 on the scales at the gym today, that's the lowest those actual scales have ever registered for me! this is close enough for me to say that Goal 1 is achieved. It's late, but I'm happy with that. Now onto goal number two - get below 90. With 6 weeks to go this is going to happen - as Yoda says 'there is do or do not, there is no try'

Have to go to a funeral next week, travelling, visiting friends/family and the event itself will make it hard to stick to food things. But i will do it, no alcohol will be tough - then again no one said it would be easy.

Run Down

Last week was very hard. I started a new programme on Monday with the personal trainer - Buff Dudes. This was super hard work and i really hurt afterwards. When i go to the office i actually had to stop on the stairs to rest in order to get to the top - thought i might not make it at one point.

I did not do any other activity for the week until Thursday for the next workout. Can you believe that i still hurt from Monday's session - and i mean really really hurt not just a little muscle pain.

Thursday's workout was so hard i didn't finish. In fact i almost threw up - only seen this on TV previously. No working out for the rest of the week, only Golf on Friday and some kitesurfing on Saturday (minimal).

The feeling i had was like having low batteries. I was constantly exhausted and felt like i hadn't eaten enough food - not really hungry just like my body was out of fuel. I decided to give things a rest and refuel. i did no ESE for the week and tried to eat extra without going overboard. I think i did ok and didn't really exceed my calorie intake on any day.

This morning's workout was better but still not perfect. But i need to stay with it. So this week i will keep the calories down and stay active. Going to work out wed&fri maybe play golf tomorrow and surf on the weekend - thursday can be rest day.

I will also try to do some extra activity in the evenings - will at the very least go for a long walk. Food wise i will just stick to the plan and try to get one ESE in this week.

I guess this all happened because i was so drained from the week in Vietnam. When you reduce your calories and continue to workout in this situation there is no time for catch up. Question remains whether this is the best way to lose weight or if it has a negative effect. i was clost to getting ill from this but i think i have survived so i think i've cut it as close to the wire as possible.

RESULTS

Let the pictures tell the words rather than letting me type. Only one really important thing to note that the shorts I'm wearing in the after pictures are one size smaller - if i were in the old ones then the fat would be less pushed up and maybe the difference would be more striking.

This is 4 weeks into the 12 week transformation - with 8 weeks to go i think things are looking good. View the difference and try to multiply by three - that gives the mind's eye a view of what the end result will be.

Back and Ready to GO!

Got back on Sunday night. I've had a great week, no booze, minimal food, more exercise than I've ever had in one week, sunshine and relaxation. I even finished 4 books (certainly a personal best).

I had a workout scheduled with my personal trainer this morning otherwise i wouldn't have gone. Really exhausted even though i had a full day of just sitting yesterday. Workout was the Buff Dudes workout A - it was a killer, thanks CB.

i had promised to take some progress photos today but I've not had the chance. Will do it tonight however I'm not as happy with the progress as i thought I'd be - weighed in at 98.9kg this morning where i fully expected to be below 98. But let's keep things in perspective - my pants are not as tight, my wife's first comment when she picked me up at the airport was "wow you look skinny" and there is no way in hell that the past week didn't do anything but make me healthier. and 900 grams is not much, let's see what the wednesday weigh in is (could be some water weight issues).

So, looking back on the previous posts i thought I'd get things into even more perspective. Goals, it is now crystal clear to me that the singular goal is weight loss. This is only achieved through the things that become sub-goals, get fit, eat right, lift heavy, be active - so it's all on track.

I have 8 weeks to go on the transformation challenge - if i can do only as well as i have in the last 4 weeks then i would finish at under 90kgs. i believe i can do a little better than that so it's GAME ON.

Pictures to come tonight!

Dan John changed my life!

I am excited! I watched a video of Dan John a few days ago giving a seminar on O Lifts. He showed that even the stiffest of people can squat, and squat properly down to their heels. I got home that night and tried it - wow, I can squat properly.
If this is not exciting then let me explain. I live in Asia where everyone squats. If you can't squat then going to the toilet is difficult. I have never been able to do this without extreme discomfort and always believed that because i didn't do this as a child and continue on a daily basis that my legs, knees and ankles were no longer capable of squatting - WRONG.

So if you can't sit in a squat or have pain/difficulty in the squat rack then this video is a god send. If front squats or overhead squats are hard then you need to review your approach.

Additionally he explains the RDL properly and how it should feel. In doing them today along with Good Mornings this information really made sense.

I absolutely love the way he explains things, so simple, so clear, no bull shit. Check it out!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6529481301858251744#

Progress!

Well i feel that this transformation period got off to a shaky start but that now we are beginning to see progress.

Progress because i was 100 even on the scales yesterday - i won't hit 96 by next Monday but i will be in Vietnam that week and hope to weigh in at 96 when i return.

Shaky with the first two weeks being completely carb free. I did not like this and honestly feel that it did no good. I'm glad to be back eating healthy foods again.

I've got a personal trainer twice a week which really pushes things up a notch. I'm forcing him to stick to the TT programme but just having someone push you that little bit more in resistance and intervals is really good. He's also helping me with foam rolling and stretching which i really like and am beginning to see the benefits of.

Food wise i'm now comfortable with whole foods and intermittent fasting. i like some of the concepts out there like the paleo diet, cheat days/refeeds, protein at each meal etc. But i'm not getting bogged down with it. i combined some of this on Sunday by beginning my fast a noon on Saturday, working out really hard Sunday morning and then having a big BBQ on Sunday afternoon. In my mind it's like going on the hunt, tracking down the animal, wrestling with it for half an hour and then lugging the thing home for a feast - might not have any real nutritional or metabolic relevance but the thought process made it enjoyable. Plus i got a good cheat/refeed in that was high protein. Back to eating normal food today.

People have started to notice my weight loss, my clothes are starting to fit better and i can see a difference in the mirror. Upon my return i will post some before and after pictures - i'm actually looking forward to that.

Personal Trainer

Today i started with a personal trainer - the dude is very expensive so i hope with is worth it. After today's session i know that this just what i need.

As i'm in the TT Transformation No7 i need to stick with that programme - which PT Dude hates because it hit on his territory of being the know-it-all. But i don't care, the objective is that he helps me with form and motivation (pumping up the effort a little here and there). I also want him to help me with interval/intensive cardio with things other than the bike or treadmill. They have the TRX and Kettle Bells there which i'd like to use for that but also just someone pushing me really hard on body weight circuits would be good.

This morning he really got me going, this is truly good stuff. Because there was a lot of introduction etc we didn't get to the intervals but i was stuffed anyway. I am only going to use him for twice a week for a couple of weeks so i need to make the most of it. once i've completed the TT competition i might do a three month course with these guys.

i believe that the TT workouts are great but this will push me through to the next level.

Results are good to date. I know the scales don't say much but i have had some really good comments lately. Sunday someone i haven't seen since last year commented on how amazing i looked and yesterday three people commented on how much weight i'd lost, how fit i looked and how i'd lost the recent fat look - all these coming form very different perspectives. Also i can see a difference in the mirror - you'll have to wait till week 4 to see that.

TT Transformation #7

Well well, i had planned to do this 12 week transformation all on my own. Then Craig B. of TT launched another transformation contest so i had to join. This is great as it will give just that little more motivation to stick at it and to get the best results. Also the social aspect will help etc.

Down side is that i started on the 26th of December but didn't take my pics (see below) until the 1st of Jan, which means that essentially i have an extra week in the programme. but then this is good too, one more week will mean just that little bit more fat loss etc.

Today i weighed in at 102 kg a full 2 down from last Monday (again i only count the monday weight as relevant and all others are just a guide). as Monday the 28th was two days into my low carb diet i think that most of the water weight was already lost and therefore the 2kg i've lost since then is real weight loss. it should be, i've been spot on my eating and working really hard in and out of the gym.

Took my pics for the competition on the 1st. this is very sad for me in a few ways. firstly if i compare the pics to the beginning of last years 12 week challenge then there is no difference (eventhough i am almost 9kg lighter and much fitter). Secondly i just look so damn fat. When i watch 'The Biggest Loser' i always think of them as being much bigger than me. Also as i've lost some weigh i feel that i'm better than before (almost feel slim) as today i'm down at least 16kg from my heaviest - i can wear normal sized clothes etc. But in those pictures the truth is there and cannot be denied - i am very very fat.

All the more reason to stick at this 12 week challenge and shake this 'fat man' thing forever.