W2D1

Today starts week 2.  I always hate restarting workouts, and if I'd just not stop I'd continue to workout (kind of the point, right?).

This weekend I didn't do anything strenuous.  I rested after last weeks workouts.  I was so sore on Saturday that I didn't want to workout - I rather enjoyed that feeling.  Sunday, I didn't eat much different than the rest of the week except that I had some Cinnabon Delights from Taco Bell and glazed donut holes and maybe a few other things.

I've cut coke down to 2 a day (much better than 6).  Almost all of my cravings for chocolate and bad stuff have nearly gone since I started downing 7+ cups of water a day.  I also start the day with 3 eight-oz glasses of water then brush my teeth.   After an hour I take my meds with 2 more glasses of water.  I then don't eat until about 11:30 or so and have stopped eating about 8 at night.  This is kind of how my body has worked for 20 years so IF seems to be the way I like to go.

I had to take longer breaks than I thought I would between sets, but I did quite well.  I'm impressed by how much I was able to accomplish and the actual workout.

16.5 weeks to go til PCC 13-15Mar15 - My plan is workouts 5-6 days a week through the holidays.  Remember my only goal is one single Pull Up of my 284 pound body; any weight loss that comes with strength is pure bonus.

I want to leave with this link.  In addition to losing weight, there is a chance that the first year or two I might have a lot of extra unwanted skin while it recovers from the weight loss.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/13/160-pound-weight-loss-insecurity_n_6153308.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

I only have 100 pounds that I want to lose (though I'd like to see about 125-130 pounds total) through all of this.  I'd like to be about 230-240 by PCC, but again I'm not working for that; I'd reach my goal by being able to do one pull up by PCC.

Exercise	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4
Forward Lunge with Hip Flexor Stretch
Squat Row	20 L2	16 L2	16 L2	16 L2
Pull Up	6 L1	6 L1	6 L1	6 L1
Body Saw	6 L3	6 L3	6 L3	6 L3
Low Row to Biceps Curl to Y Fly	12 L2	13 L2	12 L2	12 L2

W1D4

Today is the Upper Body Circuit from www.smartfoodandfit.com

After the first Circuit I'm feeling it all - though mostly b/c of the increased cardio.  I didn't realize the last time that I missed two sets in the Circuit.

ugh...so 2nd sets are out as well.  I'm going to have to kick it into gear and really work hard the next four months.

W1D3

Exercise	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4
TRX Side Plank	3x10s L2	3x10 L1	# L#	# L#
TRX Hip Press	12 L2	12 L2	# L#	# L#
TRX Inverted Row	12 L1	12 L1	# L#	# L#
TRX Pike	4 L2	8 L2	# L#	# L#

First Set
Todays workout was far less than stellar.  I'm extremely stressed about a few things in life right now and that caused me to not be able to focus.  Every time I'd get into a workout I'd think about something I needed to fix and fixing those seems more important.  I can't let them be more important than working out.

Later on today I'll do the other three sets in the circuit.

I need to adjust my food plan so I'm not struggling for energy.  The Coke isn't good and it's the only thing I have in the house with caffeine and carbs.  I have to go food shopping tonight.

Second Set
You'll see in my 2nd set I did Side Planks 3x10 L1 - that's not entirely accurate.  I did the left side 3x10 L2 then right side 1x10 L2 then 3x10 L1 to make up for the non L2s I was doing.  It wasn't my side, but my knees that felt like they were going to snap sideways on the right side.

I did do all of the Pikes this time.  This is not a bad workout at all.  It is involved enough that I feel it working; feel the workout; and don't feel like I'm going to die.

Third and Fourth Set
I got wrapped up in home stuff and did not end up doing either of these sets

W1D2 TRX Lower Body Circuit

Today is W1D2 - Remember I am following two routines (mentioned here).  The first is the TRX Pull Up Program.  The second is the Smart Food and Fit TRX Workouts.  Today, Day 2, is the Lower Body Circuit.

Yesterday did not go so well.  I did one set of the W1D1 Circuit A that I have done two weeks in a row now.  I did very well, improving off of the last two times I had done the circuit.  Today, I was going to finish that one, but decided not to and just move on.  What I encountered yesterday was my body telling me to stop b/c of stomach cramps once I completed the first set.  I realized I hadn't eaten yet and I need to eat about a half hour before I workout.  So I ate, then I got wrapped up in work and home stuff and ended up not working out past that first set.

I set out to fix that today by eating lunch.  I had intended to workout after my 2pm phone call and did not, instead I worked through my workout because I felt guilty that I had taken a lunch on Veteran's Day.  It sounds crazy, and might well be, but this is how my brain works.

Today's workout consists of: TRX Abducted Lunge (12-25), 50 Jumping Jacks, TRX Lunge (12-25), 50 Jump Ropes, and TRX Balance Lunge (12-25); for a total of 3 circuits.

The first circuit I did 12 for the TRX exercises and 50 for the other 2.  Wow.  I was worn out after the first circuit; and my stomach hurts since it's been 6 hours since I last ate.  I need to really do better at that.  I sweat a little and felt my heart rate get up there from the exercises.  With Jumping Jacks I noticed my calves hurt after 25 and were burning at 50.  With the Jump Ropes I was just worn out after 20 and the next 30 took forever to finish b/c I kept messing up and stepping on the rope (I'm sure I'll get better as I continue to do them).

The second circuit I did the same as the first.  A little better with the jump rope, going nearly 10 before messing up the first time.

I am skipping the third circuit tonight.  I'm almost completely out of energy and my stomach is yelling for me to eat or I'll be sick.

All-in-all, a good workout.  Not too strenuous, but enough of a workout to make me feel it and my pulse went up to 86... not too bad for exerting vigorously (I'm taking Propranolol).

Time to eat!  Tomorrow is TRX Pull Up Program Circuit B - you can find more information here

W1D1 - TRX PullUp workout

Nothing has changed since last week except that I didn't workout but 1/4 of one time.  I wasn't feeling well most of the week so I kicked in some candida supplements to knock that out again.  Today is really my first day all over again.

After finishing just 2 sets my arms are like jello (which I'm ok with), and my legs don't feel very worked out.  I'll step up the next sets for the squats to get more burn out of them.

By the third set I was able to do some of the pullups at level 1, but I hit muscle failure by the fourth one (remember I can't do a single real pull up).  I was able to do better on the Body Saw the third set not fatiguing and having to stop.  The third set of Low Row... I had to stop at 7, I felt like my arms were going to give out.

During the fourth set, everything was a lot harder.  My arms almost gave out (or felt like it) a few times.  I had to rest during the Squat Row to give my arms a chance to "breathe"; and again during the Low Row.  The Body Saw on the fourth set was so little movement that it was closer to a plank.

I managed to complete the sets in 1 hour taking enough time to eat b/c my stomach was hurting and typing up these entries along the way.

Great way to spend my lunch hour.

Exercise	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4
Forward Lunge with Hip Flexor Stretch
Squat Row	20 L2	16 L2	16 L2	16 L2
Pull Up	6 L1	6 L1	6 L1	6 L1
Body Saw	6 L3	6 L2	6 L3	6 L3
Low Row to Biceps Curl to Y Fly	12 L2	8 L2	8 L2	8 L2

And so it begins... again Week 1, Day 1

I was struggling with how to layout my workouts since I finished the TRX Force workout.  I wanted to go gung-ho again and do a hour of cardio in the morning and at night and TRX at noon.  I was already tired from putting that plan together.  I seem to push things as though I won't have time to do them later so I should pack everything into a fast plan.  What ends up happening is that I start dropping elements as I go and I never actually complete the massive sets of goals I had planned.

Since my main goal is to do a single pull up, I decided to look for a program to do a single pull up.  As it turns out, there is one out there:  http://www.uscg.mil/worklife/cgap/pro_video/References/TRX-FORCE_pullupprep_final-1.pdf

This is a 5 day a week workout, but I cannot do a single pull up so days 2 and 4 are basically worthless to me (I'll still attempt them though).  So I wanted something for days 2, 4, and 6 that would give me some cardio.
I came across this:  http://smartfoodandfit.com/feel-good-total-body-workout-trx-circuit-workout/
With this downloadable PDF: http://smartfoodandfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Trx-workout.pdf

I've decided to do the Lower Body Circuit 1 on Day 2, the Upper Body Circuit on Day 4, and the Core and More Circuit on Day 6.  This way there are cardio days on 2 and 4; where day 6 is kind of a day off from cardio.

I've already not eaten enough today.  I didn't have time at lunch so I ran up and grabbed a lot of baby carrots.  That's it!  Tonight, I need to plan out what I'm going to eat over the next few days and when.

Workout Summary:

This workout I figured I wouldn't have a lot of energy going in since I didn't have much in the way of food.

I completed a massive 1 circuit before wanting to lay down and sleep.

Forward Lunge with Hip Flexor Stretch	35s
Squat Row	15
Pull Up (Level 1)	6
Body Saw (Level 1)	6
Low Row to Biceps Curl to Y Fly	8

I'll go eat a little bit and get some more glasses of water.  I may come back and at least do another circuit before I go to bed.

How Do I Feel:
Tired.  Great as far as muscles go.  I probably could've increased the difficulty on the Squat Rows a bit, but I'm sure my body will let me know about those later.

12 weeks and continuing where I left off

It's time.  I fixed my stationary bike so the seat doesn't hurt when I ride for an hour.  I replenished the vitamins I just ran out of.  Finally, I adjusted my workout space so I have mats for the floor.

I've noticed in 12 weeks that I've gone from feeling great to feeling bloated, crappy, and out of energy.

I haven't fully figured out what I'm going to do for eating, but I'm leaning towards:

1. drink three glasses of water (24oz total) 
2. one hour later taking vitamins and eating breakfast
3. eat lunch and dinner within 8 hours of breakfast
4. not eat any more until the next breakfast
5. drinking approx a gallon of water in a day
6. < 2 cans of Coke to start, work down to none once omega3s and fish oil kick the brain back in to focus
7. parallette work for about 5 mins every hour for a break - to be able to hold myself up
8. 1 hour cardio in the morning - walking, biking, elliptical, jumprope, insanity, etc
9. TRX at lunch

I still have the same goals as before:

• Do a single pull-up
• Lose weight and size - but secondary to the workouts and not the primary focus
• Get to 260 pounds (from there I'll adjust down)
• NOT develop chicken legs.  I have watched a lot of videos about upper body competitions (Battle of the Bars, etc) and I see fully developed upper bodies, but really thin legs.

I have not met my original goals, yet:

• My overall goal is to lose 80 to 100 pounds by October.  Technically, it is possible to lose the weight.  Ideally, I would like to be 160-180 by the end of the year and only doing maintenance workouts 3ish times a week. -- http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2013/01/day-1-14jan13.html

• Do one pull-up

I've been evaluating what I didn't do to get to the weight loss goal I had set. 

• I didn't cut out as much Coke as I thought I could.  Now that I have the brain focus from the Omega-3 and Fish Oil I can wean off Coke again.
• I adjusted my eating while working out and ran out of energy during workouts which made them painful (figuratively) to perform.  At one point I was eating less than 800 calories a day... not good for the energy, but I wasn't hungry at all.

In order to drop the weight I want and increase my performance I need to:

• Find my balance of food that keeps my energy up, and helps my focus (to replace caffeine and HFCS)
• Get in full workouts (not stopping because I ran out of energy)

I know from analyzing my last 10 months of workouts, and blog entries that I have several factors I allow to stop my working out:

• Losing brain focus and reverting back to Coke
• Losing energy
• Not seeing gains

I also know that if I can fix the first two those are the biggest part of my problem.  The third is fixed by doing cardio for about an 45min-hour (or 3 1/2 miles walking or more) and then TRX.  If I get in 2 hours of workout a day then in a couple of days I'm hungry all of the time.  At that point it's a matter of keeping the food, I should eat, in stock.

In addition, if I stop working out my weight and size fluctuates up and down for about 10 weeks, but will essentially stay the same.  I weighed myself over the 12 weeks that I stopped working out and noticed that I stayed between 276 and 282 until about the last 2 weeks.  At that point, my body got bigger and my weight went up to 287... right back where I was 24 weeks ago... 24 weeks (almost a half year, wow).

My rest between "seasons" is over.  It's time to kick it in again.  My kids want to build a Ninja Warrior gym in the backyard and I've always wanted to build a half pipe to blade on.  I'm leaning towards building the Ninja Warrior gym, you know for the kids.  I can't do any of the exercises that require me to pick up my body with my arms so I'll stick with the TRX for now.