New Years Challenge!

I have a Challenge, not only for myself but for all my readers, whoever you may be.

When you think about a task you want or have to do, what is it that determines your success or failure? It's your willpower. Also I think the size of that goal determines your willpower. I can say that next year I'm going to be fit and eating healthy and I'll barely sit down. But that's a lifestyle change and it's a really huge step. I'd fail right away because I'm trying to accomplish too much at the one time.

Let me give you an example. My fiancé had read a diet book and we decided to try it because apparently it was "easy". They said to cut out all sugar and carbohydrates from your diet. So, all eager with our newfound goal, my fiancé and I headed bravely into the cupboards and got rid of everything with sugar and carbohydrates. We had barely anything left but meat and chicken. It was depressing but we trudged on, determined to make a go at it. We took about 5 cloth shopping bags full of food and handed it out to the homeless people around town. We got our new food and tried new recipes. They weren't very good, and let's just say that both my fiancé and I have been put off of cauliflower for a long time. It didn't even last a week. That's because we tried too much at the one time. Mind you the rare few are good at such a drastic lifestyle change, but the rest of us find it hard.

I usually eat a lot healthier when I'm working my 6 day cycle because I have to plan my meals. But on my days off my fiancé and I go crazy cause it feels as if we are free to eat whatever we want. Not good cause I'm confusing my system.

My Challenge to myself and my readers is this: avoid eating fast food for as long as you can. Anything that you can order over the phone or get passed to you through a window is off limits. My fiancé and I are prepared to see how long we can last and I had the idea to challenge my readers to do the same.

I will be avoiding all that I had mentioned before and the only food I will be having that isn't cooked at my home will be from a restaurant where they serve you such things as steaks and are properly proportioned. I will keep my progress posted on this and how long I last. I encourage YOU to do the same, I want to hear your progress as well.

It's small changes like this that need to be overcomed first. Like I said in the beginning it took me a while to get used to going to the gym all the time. It's the same thing, you have to adjust your body to something new. Im keeping chips and very little pop at home and junk food and stuff, but that will all go away in time. Like I said, take small steps. I barely eat chips and pop at home anyways, but chocolate? That's a different story. Hahhahahaha.

Good luck to anyone else who is brave enough to try this with me.

Merry Christmas

I don't know if anyone is still reading my blog, or I've just gotten lost in the black hole of the Internet. But to whoever is out there, even if it's only my fiancé Raychel, then Merry Christmas.

Indulge over the holidays and come back right afterwards. Cause I've got a special announcement and a challenge for my readers, whoever you may be.

Health Regime

Everyone's got some type of health regime, whether it be just brushing your teeth, or something that takes two hours to do. I'm not one of those people that it takes two hours to do. Too much time for someone like me who isn't much of a morning person. The last few weeks I have been mulling over my future and where it's taking me. In the next year I'll be going into real estate and starting my future career, this is one reason why I'm trying to get a better health regime into my life. It's not easy, but one step at a time. When I think of the possibility that my face could be on a billboard, that scares me a bit because I'm not exactly the best at taking care of my face, and I should be when I'm in that type of business. If you're face is the size of a building, would you want to look your best, or mediocre? Also with my fiance and I going forward in our lives, hopefully kids will come into the mix in the next few years, and that comes along with another poke in the back. Everyone wants to set a good example for their kids, and like I had said before, I want to get in shape to hopefully inspire them to lead a healthy lifestyle as well, but along with that comes taking care of yourself. So not only would a good body, and eating right help them lead a healthy lifestyle, but having a health regime and taking care of yourself helps them along that road to a healthy lifestyle. So, I just thought that I would share some of the things that I use all the time, and stuff that I'm working into my health regime. I'm going to start off with the basics and I'll give some explanations why I use them. First off on the docket!

Good old toothpaste. I love this one especially because just after a couple uses you can already notice you're teeth getting whiter and I also love the taste of it.

There's may a debate of what type of toothbrush to use and why to use it. I've tried the normal, non battery, non sonic, non pulsating, non-whatever, and I don't find they get my teeth clean. I like this one by Colgate because it has a sonic head and it seems to get my teeth cleaner.

Gilette shaving foam. I've tried the gel style, but I don't find it lathers up the same and it doesn't seem to lift the hairs like the foam kind does. Also you'll notice that I have the one for sensitive skin. I find that this one is so nice that I don't need aftershave.

I have been using this Gilette Fusion razer since it first came out. Before that I had the mach turbo, then it went out of commission and now I have this one. I find it even better than the last one. This has four blades, gets nice and close, and the best part about it, is it has that green strip where the blades are and when the green strip goes white, you have to replace the blade. Nice and easy for the lazy people like me who forget when to change the blade.

Dental floss sticks. Great for the way I live my life now because I can just grab one when I wake up half dead in the morning, and I can floss my teeth on the way to the bus stop. Also when I'm at work I have some of these in my bag and when I get something stuck in my teeth I just get one of these out.

This is where my health regime all started. I started taking multi vitamins, I think it was about back in march. I started getting used to taking these things everyday and then once I got into the system of taking them everyday and not forgetting, that's when I slowly started incorporating everything into the mix. I didn't brush my teeth on a daily basis, but once I had this down pat and I was taking them everyday, I moved them into the bathroom, and then got into doing my teeth everyday, and flossing, etc.... Anyways, the one on the left is called Coenzyme q10, great for anyone who has low energy levels like me. I'm not the most energetic person, but these have seemed to help get my energy up, and the ones on the right are multi vitamins from Costco, which is a bulk place to buy anything you can find in a grocery store. Love this store, big sized stuff, lower prices, except be careful what you buy as some of the stuff isn't the best. Now onto the stuff that I'm going to be trying to work into my new health regime.

This is called Clarisonic, by a company called Maia. My fiance started using this about the beginning of the year or late last year, and it helps exfoliate your skin. She bought me the funky looking brush in the lower picture so I could do my face too. Believe me, it wasn't by choice that I started using this, but it does start to work, I'll admit that. With a 750 square foot (roughly) apartment, there's not much room to hide from someone who wants to use new things on you. Another thing too that I forgot to put in a picture of is a moisturizing lotion. One thing I use sometimes is Johnsons baby lotion. Soon I'm going to try that new lotion by Dove for Men, and see if that's any good. Up here in the winters it gets really dry and I find that if I don't use something to moisturize my face starts to hurt bad from being so dry. There are some people I know at work who get really bad hands from the dry winters up here and they have deep cracks and scars from not using a moisturizing lotion. Now mind you, I don't shave everyday cause I don't have to, I shave about every second day. But everything else is kind of basic, I think anyways. What health regime products do you find help you and why? Be interesting to hear.

Willpower

Actor Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion:

Courage. What makes a King out of a slave? Courage.


What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage.

What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?

What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage.

What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder? Courage.

What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?! Courage.

What makes the Hottentot so hot?

What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?

Whatta they got that I ain't got?

Dorothy & Friends: Courage!
Cowardly Lion: You can say that again.


The Wizard of Oz being one of my favorite all time movies, I can almost recite that excerpt from memory. I'm of the belief that courage coincides with willpower very closely.

When we have a goal in our mind Willpower is the key factor to us getting up and out, and doing what we set out to do. Courage takes a big part in that. If I didn't have any courage I wouldn't have been able to go to the gym. I feared the gym. I've feared very few things in my life, and I wasn't going to let a simple thing as a gym have power over me. If you fear something, then that "something" has power over you. The thing that drove me to get my courage and overcome my fear, was my willpower. When I seen that first video about the Sixpack Shortcuts program, that ignited my willpower. Gave me that fire to get up off my ass and get in shape.

It is that moment, lately, that I've been having to reflect on. As the weather fluctuates and gets colder, I found my willpower doing the same thing. Usually what I had done until the weather got colder (provided this was only when I was working) is I came home, grabbed my bag and off I went. For me, if I keep going and don't stop then I'm good. But if I come home and have to wait ten minutes or more for the SUV to warm up, I get too relaxed. Especially when it's winter. Get off the bus, walk home and it's freezing out. Get inside and it's nice and warm. Who wants to go back outside, go to a cd vehicle and go to the gym? Plus the wait for the vehicle to warm up, gets you relaxed and warm. Hard to leave when you're that comfortable.

The winter poses a greater challenge than I had anticipated. It challenges me to find my willpower, to dig down a d remember the reason why I wanted to get in shape in the first place. With me lately I've been slacking off for the last month. I've been going to the gym off and on for the last month. I'm trying to get myself back to that discipline I had in the first month and a half. I've found my willpower again by watching YouTube videos about people getting in shape and reading fitness blogs. The only damper part about the whole thing is that I still am not good at my nutrition. Hard thing to get in control.

Willpower I've found is the easiest thing to get but the hardest thing to keep. I'm not perfect with my willpower and I've had many days where it's nowhere in sight. The days that I do have it are the days I remember. Those are the days I remember why I chose to get in shape, why I'm doing this to better my future career, why I'm doing this for my future family, and why I'm writing this blog.

How do all of you find your willpower? How do you keep it?








I will be doing more frequent updates from now on. Now that I'm back on track for good. Don't forget too that if you would like to recommend my blog to someone I've made it EVEN EASIER to follow my blog. There's a "subscribe by e-mail" option at the top right.

Feel the Burn? I don't think so....

A word of warning to everyone who reads this, that the popular phrase, that usually runs along the lines of "work out until you feel the burn", I don't agree with that at all. It can cause nausea, headaches, and it can be mentally unhealthy. I say mentally unhealthy rather than physically unhealthy, because usually you can tell what your muscles limits are and how far you can push yourself. The media tends to brings along this idea though that we should be going til we "feel the burn", but what if we do? Ok, so lets expand on that for a minute. Your brain (cause of the media) is telling your body that you should push yourself til you "feel the burn", so you do. What happens on the way to feeling that burn? Your muscles get tired and they can feel weak. But HEY! There's that burn everyone's talking about, that must be a good sign that I'm doing something right. Right? Say you're doing a benchpress and this whole thought process occurs. Is it still right when you feel the burn to keep going, and your muscles can't go any farther and you almost drop the bar on your neck? Or if you are doing lunges and you feel the burn, but cause your only focusing on the burning feeling in your leg, you lose concentration and almost twist an ankle? Does the "feel the burn" theory still apply there? I would value anyone's opinion on this matter. As tonight when I was busy doing step downs I almost twisted my ankle and it got me to thinking about this whole "feel the burn" mentality. Also, just if anyone is curious. I haven't posted for the past few days because I've been suffering from a severe migraine and had to go to the hospital last night to finally get relief. No idea what caused it, and I've only ever gotten one migraine before this. But this one was bad and I was constantly losing my balance and I found it hard to concentrate on anything. All better now, and since I was unable to go to the gym in fear that it would make my migraine worse, I stayed home. But now I'm back at the gym and feeling good about having gone. Good thing I went when I did cause there's a midnight release of a new game I've been looking forward to. Honestly, I'm such a geek, I don't know how I ever found the inspiration to get my ass to the gym like I do. How has everyone else been doing lately?

OK to have a day off

Last night I was doing my switchover from days to nights. Now, how this always works for me, is that I get home about 9, have something to eat and I stay up til about 2am. Sometimes it's not easy to do. And usually right after I get home, I do a workout. But yesterday was my day off for this week. Then after going to bed about 2, I sleep as long as I can which is usually about 1pm, then get up and do my errands and then I'm off to work for my 3 nightshifts.

I got to thinking though that some people are so strict about their diets they don't allow themselves a cheat day or a day off. In my opinion, when you do that, your setting yourself up for failure. As the age old saying goes "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", plus I also like to enforce the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time you do your workouts and eat healthy and 20% is your time off and cheat days.

Now I'm done my first of three nightshifts and I'm on my way home. Then grab my gym clothes and off I go. Then come back home, chill and then off to bed. Then I start the whole day over again tonight.

HEY! LOOK! Another entry..

Well I have a few topics to cover and I couldn't figure out a title first of all. Hahaha.

So, I'm back at the gym and it feels great. Only have been back for one day, but that's better than nothing. When I went there and I was paying my monthly fee, the woman looked at the computer and said in a funny tone "oh wow. You haven't been here in a whiiiile". Come on, I only missed two and a half weeks, plus if we never fall off the wagon and make a mistake, we never learn. I must say too, that I had his happen to me when I first started at the gym. For some unknown reason I would get a headache. I think from lack of hydration. But after a few days the headaches went away. Any of you had this when you started working out?

Also I'm looking for your input. What kid of low carb meals can I make? I've got some ideas already but it's hard to keep things fresh.

Also I said I would give you some info on fall fashion. Living with my fiancé, you get to know the fashions of each season and if they repeated it or it's original. Apparently this one is pretty original, a while ago she was sifting through her new Cosmo to find out what the fall fashion was. After a few pages she joyfully announced that the fashion for fall was Leather and Knit. Interesting combination I think. Hard edgy leather mixed with the sweet seduction and innocence of knit. What do I mean by knit? Anything that looks like its been knitted, that could be a scarf, top, gloves, hat, etc........ So to see for myself if it was true I looked through my Men's Health when I got it, and sure enough in every ad, each person was wearing leather and knot. And this goes for men and women.

Depending on what you guys say, I was debating making a short video about my work days. My workday is long enough, but adding exercise to the mix was hard cause it lessened my time at home. If I can fit a workout into my busy workdays, then ANYONE that wants to get in shape, surely can fit it into their day.

Throw out that weight scale! You are NOT defined by a Number

I don't know what it is, but lately it seems all that's been popping out at me are things about weight. Losing weight, gaining weight, you have to be at this weight to be happy, and all these numbers that are being thrown around.

For one, there is this stupid thing called a BMI. Which stands for Body Mass Index, and it's a stupid calculation of your weight and height and it gives you your ideal weight. Problem is, it's not accurate, for someone like me, who's 5 foot 6 1/2, they say my ideal weight is about 140-145. I would look really scrawny at that weight. Also a second thing is the media, saying what weight people should be.

Just the other day on the news they were talking about weight and Rosario Dawson came up. They said that when she went to go play a drug addict on the movie RENT, she was really underweight and was scrawny, cause that's how they wanted to portray a drug addict. When she was filming for that movie, the media went crazy calling her "beautiful", "the perfect weight". Are these people blind?! She was almost nothing but bones in that movie and the media thought she was beautiful. As for the men's side of things, when did it get popular that men were so skinny they could wear skinny jeans? That's a fad that I wish would have never come out. I can't find one single person on who, a pair of skinny jeans looks good on.

So it got me reiterating, what I've always thought, that people should focus on looking healthy and going by how they look to define whether or not they are healthy. I for one, will never focus on a number, because we shouldn't be defining the looks of our bodies by a number. We should be evaluating ourselves (based on looks), and decide if we look healthy or not. With that being said, there are eating disorders that people have/develop and it's not easy to decide if we look healthy or not when in that state of mind. But we should always use our brains to decide if we look healthy or not. Nobody else should be deciding that for us.

Also, lately for the past week and a half. I have not gone to the gym. I'm starting month two over again. I went  up to my in-laws for a week and my diet went out the window because of my mother in-laws amazing cooking. But as of right now, my fiance and I are both on track for starting a low carb diet, and we are going to stick with it. She has decided on trying to go to the gym more often and since we have both decided to stick to a rough diet plan, then that's all the easier on the both of us. Right now for instance, she's frying up steaks with mushrooms, a bit of potatoes, and broccoli with cheese. Mind you, the cheese isn't that healthy, but I haven't had much dairy today. So for the last time, I'm starting month 2 over again. Who ever said getting in shape was easy anyways?

A good rule that I had read in men's health (this can apply to men or women) that one way to stick to your diet is to post a picture of yourself now, in just your undies, on the fridge. It should make you think twice about grabbing that jello pudding, or something healthier (in my case, it's Pickles, mmmmmmmm).


So, back on track tomorrow, starting a rough diet plan (I can never stick to a diet, a rough outline is what always works best for me), and I'm working on compiling some pictures so that I can get some fall fashion stuff up for you guys and gals. Wish me luck, and hopefully I've inspired someone out there.......is anyone out there?.......

Breakfast

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For me, it's hard to stomach the sight of food first thing in the morning.

I remember reading in Men's Health a while ago that breakfast is the most effective if eaten about an hour within getting up. Me, and actually stomaching it, is closer to that hour mark.

But what my schedule is, on workdays I get up and head right out the door and off to work. I always fall asleep right after I get on the bus. Then once at work, I have my breakfast. So I need something quick and easy for my breakfast.

Here's what I do. I get a cup of yogurt in a container, then take a half a cup of frozen berry mix, and nuke it in a mug in the microwave til it's not frozen. Just a tad warm is my preference. Then mix the two and off I go. It all takes less than two minutes, easily.

What do you guys do for breakfast?

FOOD!

Well I said I would put up a pic of my trail mix that I make and here it is. This is my trail mix that I like to make, cause I don't like the mixtures that they have on the market and can't seem to get enough of this and too much of that.

For ingredients it's easy, mind you, use whatever you wish to use, this is just what I like to do, and I measure nothing, it's all eyeballed til it looks about right. This is mixed in a 8 cup container (at least that's what it said on the bottom), and I mixed in dried apple chips, dried cranberries, non salted cashews, and salted sunflower seeds. I love this kind of mixture because not only do you get the salt from the sunflower seeds, but you also get a bit of sugar from the cranberries and banana chips.

Here is some pictures of it being made:

Any extra banana chips and cranberries may potentially be subjected to my hamster, Muffin.

Also I'll put up my recipe for PuckerPower Chicken. For me, I can't get enough of the sour stuff, and sour candy just doesn't do it for me anymore, it's too plain. So every once in a while, I make this dish that I love.

You'll need:

2 chicken breasts
1 big thing of the Real Lemon Juice
and enough pasta of your choice, and make it about half and half of pasta and chicken.
oh, and miracel whip or mayonaise to taste.

Cube up the chicken, put in a frying pan, pour enough lemon juice in so that it just barely covers the chicken, and cook until the juice is all gone. Then after about 30 seconds of the chicken being dried out in the pan, add enough lemon juice to cover half of the chicken. Cook until most of the juice is gone.

Then cook your pasta, mix together with the chicken, and add mayo or miracle whip, to help prevent the pasta from sticking.

Also if you take this to work, it's a good idea to put a bit of lemon juice in the bottom of your container so that when you microwave it, it doesn't dry out.

Who's brave enough to try that? Probably only me.

Hope you enjoyed my post. Anyone like my trail mix blend?

Good news!

I'm not sick anymore, and today was the second day back to the gym, and I'm feeling great. I love going to the gym now, I don't find it as intimidating as I did in the first place. It's nice now that when I go, I really feel a sense of accomplishment that I got my ass of the couch and went and did something. Not easy after a 12 hour shift either. But I did it.


The diet part is coming along quite well for me now. I've been making sure to have 2 chicken breasts a day, breakfast, and healthy meals. Which is quite a change for me. I've also noticed that since I've been eating healthy, and I decide to dulge in a craving from McDonalds, my body "rejects" it, later on.

I've noticed too that I'm starting to lift heavier weights, I find I plateau'd just a little bit on what weights I lift, but after getting used to them, I find them light. So I've had to bump it up. Loving not only feeling the progress, but when you see physical progress like that, and the very slight muscle definition I've been getting lately, it's all worth it. Now just for my gut to go away. I don't think it's downsized yet, but lets hope it will in this next month. Thanks for sticking with me.

Sorry that this is a quick post, but I shall have more soon. I'm actually preparing pictures. In a couple days I'm going to be showing you, my trail mix that gets me through the days. Plus I'll put up my signature recipe for my PuckerPower Chicken, if anyone dares to try it. A Mr.ChubChub specialty, but only for those like me who like things as sour as they can possibly get them. Doubt anyone else will try it.

Setbacks

Well I've had a minor setback, as do most people when they are trying hard to do something, they have a minor or major setback somewhere along the way.

The Setback for me in the past few days, was that I was sick with the stomach and regular flu. Lets put it this way, I would be afraid if I had to do squats. Luckily though, that went away and I was able to resume my workout regime. Since I was only a week into the second phase, I'm just going to restart the second phase. So from today it's four weeks til I'm done phase 2. Just a minor setback.

Gotta go. But I might be putting up progress pictures soon, or some of my favourite meals. What would you like me to put up?

Ooh McDonalds you Temptress you

It always seems that when we want to get healthy or go on a diet, some temptation comes up that's near impossible to refuse. For me? Well it's monopoly time of the year at McDonalds.

It always seems this way though. Seems like as soon as I make up my mind to get healthy, there's something very yummy and fattening being dangled in front of me. The last time I went on a diet, you weren't allowed carbs or sugars. This diet only lasted 3 days. On the first day of the diet I was at work, and I could've gotten a hot lunch. Rare for a heavy equipment operator to get that, where I work anyways. Regardless, it was lunchtime and the other 3 people that were with me were obviously not dieting as they had a cheeseburger and poutine.

A Poutine for those that don't know is a Canadian dish that's served in every restaurant and some fast food chains like A&W. It's mainly fries, with some cheese curds (usually mozzarella) and topped off with gravy. More information can be found here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

So this year, I'm doing good and I'm going to the gym, gradually eating healthier day by day. Then the temptress comes along called McDonalds. I love it, and what's more is I love to collect the monopoly pieces and try to win stuff. Plus their coffee is amazing. I only eat the chicken stuff from there and most other fast food places. After a certain age and working there I cant stomach the processed patties anymore, the only things I can eat are the chicken stuff. The only somewhat processed burger I can eat is the sirloin uncle from A&W. Funny how you lose that taste for certain things, and what you could eat before, you can't anymore.

Maybe I'll just get a coffee..................hello monopoly pieces!.......

Keep going

It's been a while since the last update. I've started the second phase of Sixpack Shortcuts on Friday sept.23.

It's hard when I got to this stage that I remember not to quit and remember my ultimate goal. It's not easy and I didn't like the gym last night cause I just didn't feel like going. It's mental hurdles like this that are put here to test you. It's hard when days like this come along, but I know if I can push through it I'll be back on track and wanting to go to the gym again right away.

Phase 2 in the Sixpack shortcuts program is about slimming down and creating good, solid, muscle. This is going to be a trying month for me cause I'm going to be trying to get into eating healthy.

With the convenience of fast food and premade sandwiches at the grocery store, it's hard to want to make your own meals and it's tempting to cheat. This is why when doing a nutrition change it's good to ask others in the same house to get healthy too. It's harder doing it alone. Luckily for me its just my fiancé and I living in the apartment and she's excellent at cooking. I don't think there is something she can't cook, and then there's me that can barely cook.


Til next time.

Wild meat

Well I've been a bit busy. I haven't worked out in a couple days, due to getting back into sleeping at night. Lately I've been sleeping as if I were still on nightshift. Changed that now though cause I went to visit my future inlaws.

They live north of us, about an hour by 12 seater plane, in Fort Chipewyan. Not a very big place at all, but it's a nice place. Right now we are about a half hour boat ride away, at their cabin. It's not very big either haha, the cabin is a 2 room, I'm not very good at guessing lengths but I'd say that it's about 40 feet, by 40 feet.

My future inlays are native, and they hunt for a good majority of their food. They managed to snag a moose a couple days ago and we had some for supper tonight. The way it was cooked up was in a stirfry, very little seasoning, with some veggies. It's very good if you havent had it before. It has a kind of smokey taste to it, it holds together quite well so you know that it's very lean, and it's very filling as well.

Going to see tomorrow if we can catch some wild chickens as well. Wish me luck in shooting those!

I still have a couple days of workouts that don't involve weights, so I can do those. Seeing as it's Thursday right now and we go back to town on Monday, I'm going to have to get creative. I need weights for a couple of my days here. I will check what we have around and I will report back.

This will be interesting......... And just maybe, I'll include some pics.




Please note this was slated for Thursday and it's Friday now. Connection issues last night.

3rd times a charm!

Well this will be my third time going through the four day cycle. I'm surprised that you notice results so quickly. Since I have never worked out before this and I'm just getting into shape now. My pathetic attempts have reached a whopping 20 pounds on the benchpress. Woooo. There is still one workout that I have problems doing though. When you are at the bench press and you turn around to face the bar, (backwards basically) and you sit up and you push the bar up above your head. That's still hard. Can't do very many of those yet. I'm sure it will come in time though.

Soon coming up to two weeks on the program as well and I'm very excited. Wasn't sure I'd last this long at it. As I had said before, I'm surprised at how quickly you notice results. Not on my body yet, but in the amount of weight I can lift. It hasn't gone up by much, but it's nice to see that slow gradual climb in the weights.

As you also have noticed I didn't post yesterday. That was my day off, and it was great. Didn't do very much until later on in the day when we decided to go out for the night. It's nice to let yourself relax and give yourself a day off. Like was stated in the Sixpack Shorcuts video's that if you need to take a day or two off, then do so. They recommend to do about 4 days a week.

Yay for completing another set

Well remember how I told you that phase one has 4 days? Well I've just completed day 4 for the second time. WOOT! Feels awesome.

I also purchased a monthly membership at the gym I've been going to. I decided to go monthly instead of annually. This will cost more in the long run, but it's more manageable finance wise. It's great because you don't need a card or anything, they just scan your fingerprint, then when you go in, you just scan your finger, and you're good to go. I love technology.

Today was still hard but not nearly as hard as yesterday. For these last two days you don't really need to go to the gym. But the mentality of that you're out of the house and you're there to workout really helps.

I survived the dreaded Day 3!

What do I mean by that? Well with the SixpackShortcuts System, in phase one there is 4 days that you repeat in a cycle, 1-4, then take a day off if needed.

So if you read the "Near Death Experience" post, that was based on day 3. I think day 3 is the hardest one that you have to do, so far. 20 seconds of 5 exercises, back to back, NONSTOP! Then rest for 90-120 seconds. This time I actually managed to do the whole thing. I may have thought about after the 5th set that I was going to puke up my water, but I DID IT!

The hardest one of those to do was the pushups. I found out by my body's reaction this time that I was doing them wrong the last time. You do normal push ups, but when you lower yourself down, you have to push your feet apart, while in the downward motion. Kind of like a jump while you're going down. Then when you come back up, you bring your legs back together while in the upward motion. I know I definitely felt it where it was supposed to be, and that was in my abs. Felt it immediately when I done the first one correctly. If you've ever tried the electronic muscle stimulation, and you felt your muslces moving on it's own, thats what it feels like. For everyone else who hasn't tried that, it's like your muscles are contracting hard and fast. Odd feeling, a tiny bit painful at first honestly. But that's the way you know you're working it. Not pain mind you, but when you feel the muscle.

Mr.ChubChub WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? Why did you keep going if you felt like you were going to puke? Because I didn't want to let myself down. I know there's something in me that can do it, and I've got the drive, just need to make my body match my willpower. So I started off the first 5 sets breaking for 90 seconds, then I bumped it up to 2 minutes. It was very hard, but I'm glad I persevered. I also sweated A LOT!

If anyone doesn't think they can make it, talk to me, I know what it's like, I know that point where you want to give up, but deep down you really don't. I'm no expert, but I can share my experiences, and hopefully that inspires others to get through their workouts as well.

That's the hard day done and over with, the other 3 days are easy compared to this.

I got through week ONE! YAY!

That was awesome. Today I have passed the Week One mark. WOW! I'm so happy. *idiotically does happy dance* you know you all do it too ¬_¬

Now the true test approaches, I finished my 6 day cycle of work, I now have 6 days off, and this is the challenge. Usually I'm prone to eating out cause of convenience, so now this is the true test to keep up my new diet. I like the sixpack shortcuts diet because, well, there is no diet. You start off by only changing one meal a day and then you slowly incorporate more. Just three basic rules to keep in mind: low fat, low sugar and low calories.

If I can do this and keep it up for a week, and I still have the urge to keep going, then anyone can do it. I'm on of the biggest procrastinators, and not afraid to admit it. But i'm changing that now, and love it.

I also have a tip for everyone. After your workout, if you choose to have a protein shake (like I'm having right now), it's most effective if you drink it within the 45 minutes after your workout. Learned that from a co-worker of mine.

Not so sore

I started back on after my day off. I went and did the first day again, and surprisingly I'm not as sore as the first time that I did it. YAY!

The only other thing I have for people that are just starting out working out, like me, and haven't done anything before this. Sixpack Shortcuts is hard, but it's worth it. Plus with doing the weights, just go at your own pace. I'll admit it, at first when I benchpressed at the beginning I did ten pounds. I'm still at ten pounds. lol. But what I've found too, is that when doing bench presses, I think the weight of the bar is about five pounds as well, so you're pushing about 15 pounds. Just a heads up for anyone new to working out.

Day 4 and Day off!

Well I forgot to update yesterday as it was getting a bit late when I got home from the gym. But last night was easier than day 3, I didn't feel like I was ready to collapse and die.

Day 4 consisted of 20 seconds each of, high knees (basically stand there and bring your knees up to about your waste, so you're kind of jumping in place almost), and then 20 seconds of, what they call "Half Burpees", sounds retarded for a exercise I think. But that consists of being in a push up type position so that you're arms are fully extended, and you jump your legs from full extension til you're knees at are about your waist. Great for the abs. Then it's 20 seconds of crunches, but instead of bringing your shoulder and head up, you bring your knees up. They're harder actually a bit easier than normal crunches.

So you do those three exercises for 20 seconds each, no rest in between then you're supposed to rest for 90 seconds, and you're supposed to do 10 sets. But for the first 6 sets I only rested for 60 seconds. Then for the last four I was feeling a bit tired so I rested for the full 90 seconds.

It was worth it, I feel my abs today and they definitely got a good workout. They aren't sore, but you can feel that they were worked.

Now, that was all last night. Today is the day off, and then back on my 4 day routine again. They said on the http://www.sixpackshortcuts.com/ website that to take the day off if you need it. Well I didn't need it, but I didn't have time today as I'm switching from dayshift to nightshift.

Back to the gym after work in the morning.

Near Death Experience

Well today proved to be one of the hardest workouts I've done so far. It went like this:

20 seconds each of:
squats with arms raised,
push ups, and you push your legs out as you go down,
this workout where you lay on your stomach and stretch your arms from the front of you to shoulder height,
jumping jacks,
and this combination of a push up stance, but you just move your legs, alternately back and forth, kind of like a bicycle.

You do all of those for 20 seconds each with no rest, and you're supposed to do 10 sets of those. I made it to 5 sets. So that's 5 exercises in a row, non-stop, then you rest for 90 seconds. And for those of you who are like me and are not in shape, you have no fear, in those 20 seconds, the hardest one was the pushups, and I done two of those per 20 seconds. Even though I only done five sets, and not the whole 10, I'm still happy with what I got done, as any bit is an accomplishment towards my ultimate goal. I also had to stop at 5 cause I feared my body would have to be carried out by paramedics if I went any further, hahaha.

PS: I love robaxacet (I think that's how you spell it), it sure helped today.

Another day down

Tired this morning. Gym ontop of a 15 hour day (12 hours plus bus ride) doesnt leave much time for sleep but I fit in what I can. Well I did day two last night, turned out not to be as grueling as day one. Just some barbell exercises and some cardio/abs.

I'm surprised, even though you start to feel tired, when you push yourself and get through it, you want to do more. That's the case with me anyways. I get it done and then I feel my body yearning for more. Sounds crazy I know. Only difference with today is I find (like yesterday, after I got moving) that your legs are a bit tender when walking down stairs.

I will update tonight after my workout and get these entries on the right day.

I survived the first one.

So, after carefully deciding whether or not to go through with this new workout regime, I Xmas to the conclusion that a test trial is best. I've already paid the $97 for the first month, and my employer has a deal for gym memberships that expires on the 16th.

I'm not fond of gyms but after shopping around for one, I found a nice and quiet gym where everyone just keeps to themselves. It's called Worlds Gym. Not a bad spot, and there's rarely more than a couple dozen people in there, at the most. It's also a 24 hour gym, so that cuts back on the amount of people, plus it fits my lifestyle.

Day one (done yesterday) focused on total body workout. What I did was sone warmup push ups, benchpresses, weighted squats, calf raises, to name a few. There was a bit more than that but I won't bore you with the details. Everything is done in two sets of 12 with a 90 second rest period.

For someone like me, who is 5ft 7", and about 190 pounds, and doesn't exercise at all. It was tough. It wasn't "oh my god! I'm gonna collapse at any second!" tough, but the exercises were hard and the rest time gave you just enough time to recover and go again. The only one I had issues doing was the third exercise. First you do benchpress, then curls, then you sit and push a barbell up and above your head. That's the only one I could get my arms up about halfway and they stopped. My muscles just refused to go any further.

I must say though, for someone like me, who didn't exercise before, it's tough. But with the 90 second breaks it's very do-able. I'm surprised honestly that I didn't find it as hard as I thought. I didn't think I'd make it halfway through, because as you write things down, your head starts to spin and doubt tries to creep it's way in.

Today is the day after and I'm feeling good. I thought I for sure would be sore and that's partially true. If I move my left arm back further than I should, then yes, it feels a but tender, and getting up and sitting down is a little tender, but not too bad.

Thanks for reading. Questions?......

Well, that's a bit disappointing

Watched the first video for the SixpackShortcuts, and it does not live up to only one part of the introduction video that I first saw. The one that I had seen on youtube, led me to a site and there was a part about "using your own body weight".

Time to face the anxiousness about gyms and get a membership to one. I don't want to be spending the money to get my own home gym, nor do I have the room for it in a one bedroom apartment. Doing it from home was one of the things that I was most looking forward to. This does look like the most promising way to get in shape, in the least amount of time. Getting fit buzz has kinda been killed right now. Time to take some time and think about this and I'll see about getting a gym membership and where I'm going from here.

Prep day!

Today has been the prep day to get ready for my new lifestyle change. I've gotten my membership at the Sixpack Shortcuts website, and I've watched the first video.

I had issues with my credit card last night and trying to get the subscription. Thought all hope was lost. When an hour later I get a call. I examine my phone and I see the name "Texas" come up on the caller ID, and I think to myself "those damn telemarketers never leave me alone" and this is at about 11 o'clock at night. So I hand the phone to my fiance and she answers it, looks at me with a confused look and hands the phone to me. To my surprise it was Mike Chang who phoned me, -*insert small idiotic star struck moment here*-and for those of you who don't know who he is, he is the creator/founder of Sixpack Shortcuts. He was giving me a hand to set up my account because I was having problems with my credit card. He was able to help me out and we got it resolved, apparently he was having issues with the website as well. We also just chatted for a few mins too, nice person, and it really says something about the company if he's willing to call and make sure everything goes smoothly.

Now I'm more determined than ever to make sure I go through with this. I'm off to work right now for nightshift and when I get back in the morning, I'm doing my first workout and going shopping for some groceries. I shall let you know how it all goes.

New beginning

Welcome to my blog. Im am going to be getting in shape and thought I would share with you my non-sugar coated opinions of today's exercise fads. I want to get in shape, and stay in shape, like everyone else but I want people to have honest answers. I find most companies, obviously, give their preferred answers. That's frustrating when you're looking for the pros and cons. I'm going to share every step of the way in my blog to get fit, the good, and the bad.

I'm going to be starting the Sixpack Shortcuts, to get me into shape. It isn't going to be easy either as I don't exercise. This is a lifestyle change. I'm looking forward to this program, as it says you can use your own body weight for the exercises. I hope that's true, I don't particularly care for gyms, and I'll explain why.

I'm not sure if there is anyone else that feels the same way, but, for anyone who doesn't look like they belong on the cover of a muscle magazine, a gym can be intimidating. I can easily point out my own flaws, and when I go to a gym I hate it. You walk in, and you gaze around the room and notice how many fit and muscular. That's when those little red flags pop up in the back of my mind saying "I don't look like these people. Why am I here?" and it starts to infuriate me, because I don't look like them and there isn't anyone else who looks like me. Ever since I went to the gym for the first time, I thought there should be two types of gyms. One for the fit and muscular, statuesque type people, and another one for the rest of us ;). It would be less of a daunting task I think. What do you think?

Now it's time for me to order the greasiest pizza I can find and pig out before I start my new regime, tomorrow.

If anyone is interested in Sixpack Shortcuts here's the link: http://sixpackshortcuts.com/