Thursday 29 September 2011

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!.......

Sunday 25 September 2011

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.

Friday 16 September 2011

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.

Monday 12 September 2011

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.

Friday 9 September 2011

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.

Thursday 8 September 2011

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.

Monday 5 September 2011

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.

Sunday 4 September 2011

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.

Friday 2 September 2011

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.

Thursday 1 September 2011

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?......