Physical Fitness - Conclusion and Pictures

I took photos in July hoping that it would entice me to get back into the swing of things but it failed.  Seeing my fat ass in those pictures mustn't have been enough of a catalyst.  Sorry for the shoddy photography.  

  exhibit A. 2 July 2012 - ~195 pounds

Between July and October, i didn't do much in regard to fitness other than playing in an organized 18+ summer baseball league.  The weight loss can be mostly attributed to keeping a better eye on my diet (although it was nowhere near perfect in the 3 months.)

exhibit B. 29 October 2012 - 188 pounds

exhibit C. 19 November 2012 - 181 pounds

Still not very close to where i'd like to end up, but i'm closer than i was just 21 days ago.  It's not even like I put in that much effort.  Most workouts lasted less than 10 minutes.  Including warming up and cooling down it was still less than 20 minutes on average.  

This piece of advice has stuck with me: "you can either take 15 - 20 minutes a day to exercise and be healthy now, or you're going to be wasting much more time later on visiting doctors' offices and hospitals."

I can't reiterate enough that physical fitness is a lifestyle.  It's not something that can be achieved overnight.  It is a process.  With that said, i'll continue along my path toward fitness and hopefully be able to upload more progress pics in the upcoming months.

Physical Fitness - Day 21

Today is the final day of the physical fitness 21 day challenge. 

I chose to do body weight squats.  5 sets of 20.  30 seconds rest between sets. Duration was 6:30.

Physical Fitness - Day 20

Today is a rest day, which coincides nicely with a drive down to Clemson to watch the Tigers battle the Wolfpack of NC State.

I'll be tailgating before the game, so i'll be eating shitty food and mixing lemon flavored rum with off brand cola.  Maybe my next challenge should be diet related..

Go Tigers!

Physical Fitness - Day 19

Cardio day.  Chose to do Farmer's walks.  

100 yds x 10. one minute rest in between sets. 35 pound kettlebell in each hand.  Total time was 19:06.

Grip was starting to go toward the end, really works the forearms.

Physical Fitness - Day 18

Instead of flexibility, i decided to work on my soft tissue by rolling around on a tennis ball.

If you have carpeting you're good.  On hardwood, throw down a towel or something. Also, when doing the chest or upper back, it's easier just to stand.  Put the ball between you and the wall and go to work.  It looks ridiculous so if people are around, make sure their phones aren't nearby ready to film you.

I did this for nearly 25 minutes.  Worked on my upper back, shoulders, chest, and hips.

Physical Fitness - Day 16

Another rest day.

If i only had 21 days to lose as much weight as possible, i wouldn't be taking so many days off or only working out for 10 minutes on the days i do workout.  However, the plan for this challenge is to reform the habit.  I don't want to go full-throttle for 21 days and fizzle out, i want to change my lifestyle.

No easy task, but one worth pursuing.

Physical Fitness - Day 15

A return to cardio.  I chose to do farmer's walks again.  

This time i carried one kettlebell in one hand for 25 yards, changed hands, did another 25 yards, picked up another kettlebell and did 50 yards.  That was one set.  

5 sets. One minute rest in between sets.  9:00.

Physical Fitness - Day 14

Today was dedicated to flexibility.  I chose to do simple stretches from head to toe while watching the documentary "I'm Fine Thanks."  I find that it's easy to meet my fitness obligations if i simply incorporate it into my normal life.  I would've watched that movie regardless.  The movie was over an hour, but i stretched for 15 minutes.

Physical Fitness - Day 13

Strength training.  I figured i'd better just get it over with rather than wait until later in the day.   On Saturdays, beer consumption usually begins as college football kicks off.  The likelihood of me working out is inversely proportional to the number of beers drank.

Chose to squat.  5 sets of 5 reps with 175 pounds.  Two minutes rest in between sets.  Duration was 12:30.

My lower back pain is virtually gone so i'm glad that i worked through it instead of using it as an excuse to be lazy.  

Diet needs work and i'm definitely not getting as much protein as i should.

Physical Fitness - Day 12

Rest day.  Back at it tomorrow.

Physical Fitness - Day 11

Today is cardio.  Instead of steady state (think jogging) i prefer to do shorter periods of more intense work.  It's not quite HIIT, or high intensity interval training, but i keep the reps high and the rest periods short.   

I chose 2 handed kettlebell swings.  I completed 4 sets of 25 reps with 35 pounds.  Strict one minute rest in between sets.  Duration was 6:00.

Physical Fitness - Day 10

Flexibility day.  My back is still tight and sore but my quads aren't as bad as i thought they'd be.

I started by stretching my neck and worked my way down to calves, then sat on the floor and did some more stretching.  My back feels better after forcing myself to stretch and do trunk movements.

"Looking forward" to doing cardio tomorrow...

Physical Fitness - Day 9

A return to strength training.  I woke up with a ton of soreness in my lower back that made it difficult just to walk around.  I don't know if i slept wrong or what, but the stiffness lingered all day. I kept reminding myself of yesterday's article that talked about pushing through it, so today i did squats. 

After a warmup, I completed 5 sets of 10 reps w/ 135 pounds.  I rested 1:30 between sets and the workout lasted 10:45.

I haven't squatted in quite some time and my quads were on fire at the end.  That last set is when you grow, though.  All the prior sets are just getting you to a point where you're ready to build muscle.  

That's how i lie to myself, anyways. Tomorrow will be interesting.

Physical Fitness - Day 8

The second week of the 21 day challenge starts off with a rest day!

However, I recently read this article on T-Nation talking about the Bulgarian method and how rest might not only be unnecessary, but actually a hindrance to getting big.  Perhaps a 21 day challenge in the future?

Physical Fitness - Day 7

Today, being a Sunday, i had plenty of time to get my cardio in.  I decided to go for a bike ride. According to Map My Ride the route was just over 6 miles.  The hills around here guarantee you get a cardio benefit even from the most leisurely rides.  It took me about 45 minutes.

Physical Fitness - Day 6

Today i worked on flexibility and focused mainly on the areas that were sore from the power cleans yesterday.  Those areas being the neck, traps, and the upper back.  Duration was only about 7 minutes.

Physical Fitness - Day 5

Today is a return to strength training.  I did power cleans but instead of setting the weight on the floor each time, i only repeated the second and third parts of the lift.

5 sets of 8. 95 pounds.  2 minutes rest in between sets.  It took 10:45. 

Physical Fitness - Day 4

Today is a rest day therefore no training.  Back at it tomorrow!

In the meantime, there's local craft beer to drink (Thunderstruck Coffee Porter) and Thursday Night Football to watch.  Cheers.

Physical Fitness - Day 3

THIS DAY...is dedicated to cardio.

I did farmer's walks with my 35# kettlebells.  The gravel lot is approximately 25 yards long with an incline at the end.  

100 yard farmer's walks. 5 sets.  1 minute rest between sets.  It took me 9 minutes.

Physical Fitness - Day 2

Today is a flexibility day.  I not only want to be strong, but i want to be limber as well.  

I started at the head and worked my way down, working my neck, shoulders, triceps, biceps, chest, lats, abs, trunk, lower back, hips, groin, quads, hamstrings, calves and ankles.

I didn't use bands or anything other than gravity.  Most stretches were static aside from the neck, arm circles, and the trunk.  The whole ordeal took about 10 minutes and was completed as i was watching TV.