21 Day Challenge- part 2- body-weight, gym free workout

Texts to my buddy for his 21 Day Challenge...for anyone following along. This is a great, low-impact, gym-free workout. See the last post for more details..

Wed

"Wed is leg day. Do 3 circuits of the following:

Alternating leg lunge 

Bodyweight squat 

Push ups

Rev ab crunch 

If 20 is too hard, do 10-12. Try to minimize rest between exercises and take about 1-2min between sets. 

Get 20min walk in too. "

Thurs

"Yo- today do 20min walk in the am- and either 20min walk pm or 5 sprints. Sprints should be done 2-3 min apart and only last 20-30 seconds. Note- if you choose sprints, you will be sore and your metabolism will be boosted. You could also do sprints at 50-60% of full intensity. "

DAY 1- 21 DAY CHALLENGE

I have a friend who wants to get in shape.
So here's what I texted him today- and I'm jumping on this too, but prob beef up the workout a bit.

1- Morning cardio
"Walk 20 min every day this week before eating, before showering. Have water. Then walk."

2- Diet
"You cut out soda last week...This week, cut beer and reduce bread/rice/potatoes"

3- Afternoon/Before dinner workout
"At 4pm, MWF- do 3 sets of the following circuit:
20 push-ups
20 bodyweight squats
20 upright rows
30 sec plank
Take no rest between sets and 2 min rest after each circuit. 3 circuits total."

4- Journal
"Get a notebook...On the front, write 21 Day Challenge. Draw a line down the middle...left column, label Diet. Right column, label Exercise. Diet is 75% of fitness. On page 1- write Day 1.

5- Meals/Supplements
"5 meals a day. Whey protein in water once a day, either mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Fish oil. Pro-biotic. More on this later."

Today is August 10th...Where will you be on August 31st? What kind of shape?

Join us. Summer's not over.

4 Weeks to Beachbody- Spartacus Workout, Rachel Cosgrove

Beach season is upon us. If you want to slim down, do this:

1- Change your diet. Put a time limit on it. I did 3 weeks as of June 1. Week 3 is this week and is hardcore Paleo, no sugar, bread, low carb, as well as some intermittent fasting, reduced alcohol (only tequila), no cream in coffee, emphasis on rest. Normally I eat more like in this graph, about 80% of the time Paleo- but that 20% became 40% over time. This week it's been more like 98%.

2- Change your exercise habits...Adopted a plan to shed weight, by emphasizing cardio with weights- or a circuit. In my case, it was a 2012 Men's Health poster designed by Rachel Cosgrove CSCS. It's not an easy workout at all- usually leaves me gasping for air and drenched in sweat. I coupled that with running in the morning before eating. 4x this week, I'll do Twice a Days, meaning a morning cardio session (this is sprints btw, and possibly surfing today), and in the late afternoon, the circuit workout. (There's three different ones and also some alternate rep schemes that are like games- ex "The Lunatic Ladder)

3- Attitude....You have to have an attitude that this is the beginning. In reality, this is the end of a 3 month workout scheme, based on Owen McKibben's workouts. Month/Phase 1 was establishing the habit, 2 was Muscles or Basic Hypertrophy, 3 was Strength with heavier lifts and lower rep counts, and this is Phase 4- which is essentially Fat Loss. But you never really reach a pinnacle. Looking at some photos of myself in 2013, I was in great shape in June 2013. I was lean but muscular, and surfing a lot. There was definition emerging in my stomach...It's hard to maintain, especially not being officially in the fitness industry, or a model, or an actor. Without a real reason to enforce such discipline on yourself, it becomes hard to maintain. Additionally, stress is just a killer to staying in shape. Sleeping badly, you crave carbs. Sell your car and get a bike- you crave carbs...Or just wanting to have some beers. It's tough to deny how awesome Coronas are on a hot day, or nachos. You just have to do things in sprints and really make a dash for your arbitrary goal line. Mine has been my birthday annually- with the goal of staying in shape for life. But the point is, so I'm coming to the end of this period. Then what? You need to have another plan after this one...That's what being fit for life is about.

4- Be kind to yourself... Similar to #3, you have
to take yourself where you're at. Don't force things. Change takes a while. Yes, be disciplined. But also accept that you're out of shape and need to maybe lighten the rep scheme or skip a circuit if your back feels shakey. Just commend yourself for getting back out there. It's easier not to do anything than something. Of course, it's a slippery slope, but my point, don't beat yourself up if you have to skip deadlifts or use light weights. Most of the time you'll start with light weights, or start by just walking, and end up heavier or running. Just show up. As Tony Horton says, "Do your best and forget the rest."

Post-V Day- Phase 2 Begins

Been trying to stick to this...Had a couple late nights though that ended in pizza or burritos. Not good. Diet is 85%. Not that this should be a confessional, but its purpose is to motivate me- and maybe someone else. So gotta work harder. Think stress affects sleep and sleep affects brain chemistry. Often if I sleep poorly, I'll crave sugar. Think coffee may be a bad habit too. Definitely been drinking more coffee.On the plus side, went into Wildcard Boxing on Thursday and paid $25 to train with a guy for a half hour. Was really cool and fun to hit some mitts again. We worked on the hook as well as basic jab and cross.



Starting Phase 2 of Mario even though I'm not quite ready. Phase 2 seems to boost everything up- so now you're doing two exercises in a superset with some cardio right after in a circuit. My plan is to finish this by March 15th (4 weeks), and then restart it for another 6weeks. Lastly, the NASM materials came over the weekend.





They came in the coolest packaging-a stealthy black box with ventilation areas- as if it was some dangerous beast. Inside was the book and a bag as well as a T shirt. Very cool. Read the first chapter about the history of personal training. Interesting stuff- and some very cool dedications in the book like the NASM mission statement- "NASM's mission is to empower individuals to live a healthy life." How cool is that? Or "I applaud you on your dedication and commitment to helping others live healthier lives and thank you for entrusting the NASM with your education." Awesome.

Have a great week!
G

Fit Expo 2015 and NASM CPT cert

Went to the Fit Expo down at the LA Convention Center. I didn't know what to expect, but wanted to sign up with NASM for their personal training certification for 30% off. Gotta say- NASM was about the only thing cool with the convention. The rest were like stands selling protein bars and supplements, gym clothes, shakes, and other stuff. Reminded me a bit of like a monster truck rally or the WWF events I went to as a kid. There were a lot of muscle-y guys and scantily clad girls, and a lot of metal playing. Then there were random feats of strength- pavillions set up with guys doing max amounts of pull ups or heavy lifts. I did see Jack LaLanne's son and wife (who's 90) demonstrating a juicer and a lot of folks with excellent posture. But overall, besides signing up for the online course, not much to speak of. I will say, for a fitness expo, they offered some seriously unhealthy food choices- greasy foods like fries and typical stadium stuff. It was interesting to see how many people were eating that stuff. Anyway- I have 180 days to take the test and get AED/CPR training or I'm out $500 (reduced from $700 bc of the Fit Expo). Hopefully, this will give me a knowledge base I don't currently have, particularly about mainstream views of health and nutrition and programming; also motivate me to stay in shape, and give me some credibility. Not to mention, I might actually make money training people.





Cheers, gentle reader. Tomorrow's week 2 of phase 1 of Lopez's Knockout Fitness. It's mostly circuits of supersets. Solid program with good emphasis on clean eating. And apparently Lopez is into boxing and trained with Freddie Roach, which is cool, since I've been wanting to try his gym, Wildcard Boxing. Last week was a good intro to the program, but too sporadic with traveling. I can understand why people would scoff at exercise books like this, thinking it's more bodybuilding stuff rather than functional programming. But I disagree, at it's core, this program offers a sensible approach to diet and exercise and encourages having fun and trying new sports- including boxing, cycling, basketball, running, and even dance. So we shall see..Got this coming up too!



Have a great week!

10 Minute Workout

Boom. Picked up Mario Lopez's Knockout Fitness for a flight back to Boston. It's a Men's Health publication and Lopez co-authored it with a very experienced trainer, Joe Dowdell. Some great ideas and plans in that book. Here's a ten minute workout I just did.



From back in the day:

Last Week of January 2015

The end of the first month of 2015 is approaching. Six days left. What can you accomplish? How did you stack up against your goals? The majority of people forget their New Year's Resolutions by March. How do you keep going?? Here's the answer...You set a larger goal- and if you do fall off, and you have that McDonald's or those beers, or even a bottle of wine, you get back on....



Tomorrow is Monday. What will you do this week to position yourself in February where you want to be? What if January was just a reintegration month? Like that scene in the Abyss when Ed Harris learns to breathe water, there's a re-acclimation process.


So this is what I want for myself this week:

1- Stricter Paleo. Let's tighten up that belt towards an end of February goal of fitting back into the suit I bought last June.

2- Three workouts with weights...Schedule them! Keep a journal!

3- One day sprints and one day of an activity I enjoy (surfing or boxing)....




But what is the larger goal?

The larger goal is to get into the best shape of my life by my birthday in June. I'll have to think of a way to quantify that...But I'm thinking of performance-oriented goals like 50 pushups, 10 pullups, 6:30 min mile.

Set achievable goals. Keep a progress journal. Find compatriots. Succeed. Set new goals. Be fit for life.

ATTITUDE => ALTITUDE