A little motivation challenge today but got over the hump. My mental focus on my job search is taking away a bit from the workout and health goals. However, I know that I will be better prepared to tackle a new and challenging job if I have increased my fitness base and adopted many of the nutrition and lifestyle changes that are part of the MAP challenge.
Completed 20 minutes of the Pyramid workout today and finished all except the last circuit. I'll just need to get about 1 minute faster to be able to finish everything.
Also completed the ICP today with first cycle time of 2:06 which is down about 10 seconds from previous workouts. Did 2 more and got times of 2:04 and then 1:55 when I really drove hard. The first cycle time was slower due to sore/tight knees on the squats. I'll need to make sure I warm up a bit more.
Breakfast was 1/2 a frittata with eggs, veges, beans and chicken. Lunch was a salad and dinner is GF pizza made with garbanzo/almond flour, eggs, a bit of cheese, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and onion.
Early to bed for a good night's sleep (hopefully...).
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Day 6
After a slight increase in weight on Day 5 I was a touch discouraged. However, I was down 4 pounds today to 236 #. Feeling good about dropping almost 12 pounds in the first week. I need to stay focused and committed as well as keep the work volume up to meet my goal of 30+ pounds.
Had steel cut oats and blueberries this morning along with some peanut butter on a toasted english muffin. The muffin was not compliant but I wanted to get some peanut butter in.
Doing the Meltdown around noon and will follow up with the ICP shortly thereafter to get back on workout track. A long walk with the dogs this afternoon and Power circuit this evening.
New workout schema for Days 7-11 and starting some carb cycling on the menu side to keep fat loss stimulated.
Lunch will be the last of the meatballs and dinner tonight will be grilled fish (wahoo) with a nice salad.
Had steel cut oats and blueberries this morning along with some peanut butter on a toasted english muffin. The muffin was not compliant but I wanted to get some peanut butter in.
Doing the Meltdown around noon and will follow up with the ICP shortly thereafter to get back on workout track. A long walk with the dogs this afternoon and Power circuit this evening.
New workout schema for Days 7-11 and starting some carb cycling on the menu side to keep fat loss stimulated.
Lunch will be the last of the meatballs and dinner tonight will be grilled fish (wahoo) with a nice salad.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Day 5
Completed Meltdown today while watching the Meet The Press Republican Debate. Not sure what got me more heated! It's going to be a sad election cycle this time around...
Workout densities improved again today almost across the board. I'm close to the max on a few exercises due to time to cycle each rep.
ICP and Power for later today. Maybe a walk for cardio although the sidewalks are pretty slick right now. Maybe the sun will come out and make the choice for me.
Breakfast of leftover frittata, had a few leftover meatballs for lunch. For dinner I had a pan sauteed chicken thigh, roasted fingerling potatoes, and a salad with carrots, celery, and avocado.
Workout densities improved again today almost across the board. I'm close to the max on a few exercises due to time to cycle each rep.
ICP and Power for later today. Maybe a walk for cardio although the sidewalks are pretty slick right now. Maybe the sun will come out and make the choice for me.
Breakfast of leftover frittata, had a few leftover meatballs for lunch. For dinner I had a pan sauteed chicken thigh, roasted fingerling potatoes, and a salad with carrots, celery, and avocado.
Day 4
Day 4 showed a bit of the challenge with weekends and not staying focused on a schedule.
Completed Meltdown with higher work density than in previous days. Was not as sore today as on Day 2 and 3. After meltdown had 1/2 of a egg frittata with veges, leftover indian rice, and a bit of feta cheese.
Had a great metabolic workout with a 90 minute anusara yoga session at Vital Yoga in the Highlands.
Was not too hungry so just had a bit of quinoa/pepper salad for an afternoon snack.
Dinner was gluten free spagetti (corn/quinoa) with super tasty meatballs and homemade red sauce. Ate too much. :) Desert of blackberries.
To bed by 10:15 and a good night's sleep.
Completed Meltdown with higher work density than in previous days. Was not as sore today as on Day 2 and 3. After meltdown had 1/2 of a egg frittata with veges, leftover indian rice, and a bit of feta cheese.
Had a great metabolic workout with a 90 minute anusara yoga session at Vital Yoga in the Highlands.
Was not too hungry so just had a bit of quinoa/pepper salad for an afternoon snack.
Dinner was gluten free spagetti (corn/quinoa) with super tasty meatballs and homemade red sauce. Ate too much. :) Desert of blackberries.
To bed by 10:15 and a good night's sleep.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Day 3
Dragging a little this morning but off onto Day 3. Weight was down a touch to 239.2# so I'm down about 8 pounds total. I'll need to be mindful of portion size though and will probably need to cut down on the rice a bit. It carries a bit more glycemic load than I probably should be taking in right now.
Completed Meltdown with slightly less work density today. I'm feeling sore in the chest (pushups) and tight in the quads from all the squats. Need to keep pushing to ensure full metabolic activation benefit.
Breakfast of 3 poached eggs on leftover basmati rice. Morning supplements and some mint tea.
ICP - Today's first ICP was completed in 2:13, down from Day 2 time of 2:23 and baseline time of 2:35. Did 2 more rounds of the circuit to complete the workout. Round 2 @2:15 and round 3 a 2:15. All improved on the time for Day 2.
Power Circuit - Power felt good.
Metabolic Work - Brisk walk
Completed Meltdown with slightly less work density today. I'm feeling sore in the chest (pushups) and tight in the quads from all the squats. Need to keep pushing to ensure full metabolic activation benefit.
Breakfast of 3 poached eggs on leftover basmati rice. Morning supplements and some mint tea.
ICP - Today's first ICP was completed in 2:13, down from Day 2 time of 2:23 and baseline time of 2:35. Did 2 more rounds of the circuit to complete the workout. Round 2 @2:15 and round 3 a 2:15. All improved on the time for Day 2.
Power Circuit - Power felt good.
Metabolic Work - Brisk walk
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Day 2
Woke up a little stiff this morning from yesterday's workouts. The chest/pecs and elbow tendons seem to be the most sore. Ripping out over 180 pushups yesterday didn't help that cause at all!
Did the full Mobility Matrix this morning which helped loosen things up a bit. Feeling some compression in my left and right lower back areas. Iu think some foam rolling should help with that.
Completed the Meltdown which was a touch easier today given that I utilized all 4 pairs of exercises rather than just pushups and squats. It's a great way to get the metabolic engine going in a quick 16 minutes.
ICP completed in a time of 2:22 today which was 13 seconds faster than initial baseline. I attribute most of that time improvement to less fatigue (baseline was set after 1 minute of each exercise) and slightly better execution of the russian twists.
Power Circuit completed. Not too bad.
Good meals today with steel cut oats/blueberries for brecky, baked mahi mahi on indian rice for lunch.
Dinner out with some friends was my first test of the program out in a social situation. Not drinking was actually pretty easy and I just had seltzer water and later some lemon water. My meal selection was actually pretty easy as we went to Lola's in the Lower Highlands which has a great menu for the program. Enjoyed some tableside prepared guacamole and had Lamb Albondigas (meatballs) served with roasted vegetables and a delicious white bean ragout.
Supplements before bed along with some Tulsi tea to relax and unwind a bit.
Did the full Mobility Matrix this morning which helped loosen things up a bit. Feeling some compression in my left and right lower back areas. Iu think some foam rolling should help with that.
Completed the Meltdown which was a touch easier today given that I utilized all 4 pairs of exercises rather than just pushups and squats. It's a great way to get the metabolic engine going in a quick 16 minutes.
ICP completed in a time of 2:22 today which was 13 seconds faster than initial baseline. I attribute most of that time improvement to less fatigue (baseline was set after 1 minute of each exercise) and slightly better execution of the russian twists.
Power Circuit completed. Not too bad.
Good meals today with steel cut oats/blueberries for brecky, baked mahi mahi on indian rice for lunch.
Dinner out with some friends was my first test of the program out in a social situation. Not drinking was actually pretty easy and I just had seltzer water and later some lemon water. My meal selection was actually pretty easy as we went to Lola's in the Lower Highlands which has a great menu for the program. Enjoyed some tableside prepared guacamole and had Lamb Albondigas (meatballs) served with roasted vegetables and a delicious white bean ragout.
Supplements before bed along with some Tulsi tea to relax and unwind a bit.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Day 1 Workouts
Overview of Day 1 Workouts
1) Meltdown - 16 minutes of work, wanted to quit after about 90 seconds but ground it out. Tingly arms, not enough air. Thought about how much (relative) enjoyment involved in putting it on (cocktails, big meals, etc) and how painful it is to (slowly) bring it back off. Actually, it might be a good motivator to contemplate how unpleasant it actually is versus the (real??) pleasure of all the less beneficial habits involved in putting it on.
2) Individual Circuit - I got the benchmark assessment completed to set the baseline for exercise quantity. Then, completed the circuit in 2:35 for the baseline time. Chest a little taxed from the Meltdown this morning.
3) Power Circuit - Missed this today, was very taxed due to misunderstanding the Meltdown and used pushups for all 4 cycles.
4) Other Metabolic Workout - Rode down to Urbanistic Tea (a cool urban bike and tea store) on my cruiser today since it was such a nice day here in Denver. Total bike time around 20 minutes and I tried to interval it up a bit - harder riding for a minute or so then a little easier.
I felt it was a pretty good start to the program today. The next week or so will take a lot of focus and motivation, especially over the next few days as the soreness kicks in.
1) Meltdown - 16 minutes of work, wanted to quit after about 90 seconds but ground it out. Tingly arms, not enough air. Thought about how much (relative) enjoyment involved in putting it on (cocktails, big meals, etc) and how painful it is to (slowly) bring it back off. Actually, it might be a good motivator to contemplate how unpleasant it actually is versus the (real??) pleasure of all the less beneficial habits involved in putting it on.
2) Individual Circuit - I got the benchmark assessment completed to set the baseline for exercise quantity. Then, completed the circuit in 2:35 for the baseline time. Chest a little taxed from the Meltdown this morning.
3) Power Circuit - Missed this today, was very taxed due to misunderstanding the Meltdown and used pushups for all 4 cycles.
4) Other Metabolic Workout - Rode down to Urbanistic Tea (a cool urban bike and tea store) on my cruiser today since it was such a nice day here in Denver. Total bike time around 20 minutes and I tried to interval it up a bit - harder riding for a minute or so then a little easier.
I felt it was a pretty good start to the program today. The next week or so will take a lot of focus and motivation, especially over the next few days as the soreness kicks in.
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