The Joker seemed like an appropriate picture to start off this blog since part of me thinks I’m insane for joining this program, but like SEAL said in his song CRAZY, “We’re never ever gonna survive unless we get a little crazy!”
Now, a little bit about me for anyone who reads this blog.
My name is Sean Anderson. I’m a 34-year-old Canadian from Regina, Saskatchewan Canada, but I have been living in Japan for pretty much nine years now. I live in Kagawa, a town just outside Chigasaki city. I’m an English Teacher for a small but stable little English school called English 1st. I’ve worked for NOVA (got out just before the fall), and I’ve worked in a Japanese all-girls high school, and I find I much prefer the small intimate environment and work schedule of my current school.
I’ve had zero wellness goals in the past. For years, I relied on my height to (183 cm) to keep people’s eyes off my slowly expanding gut. I did the gym thing once with a friend, but I gave it up when my friend had to quit. For me, this weekly trip to the gym was just an excuse just to spend time with said friend. I’ve been do a semi-regular Billy’s Bootcamp—Abs program starting a couple of months ago, but the only goals with this are to spend time with my wife who does the workout regularly, and to build my willpower in terms of getting off my butt and exercising in preparation for the PCP workouts.
For my inspiration figure, I have selected Ryo Saeba of City Hunter Anime fame. Yeah, I know, he’s not a real person, but, to be honest, no real person has ever inspired me in terms of fitness, made me envious yes, but never inspired me. I chose Ryo because he represents all the things I want.
First, Ryo has an achievable healthy body that will help me take care of my loved ones and myself. I had a bout with pneumonia last year and it really shook me up. It was a wake up call. I need to get healthy if I want to be there for my wife and son whenever and however they need me.
Second, as a fiction writer struggling to write his first novel, Ryo is a prime example of what I hope to create: a character which endures in the hearts and minds of fans long after the author has finished the work in which the character exists, and a work which fans of the work’s genre consider a ‘must watch/read’.
Third, Ryo’s a, albeit largely unsuccessful, sex maniac in his off hours, which represents the fact, while I do not wish to reach for Ryo’s extremes, I’m hoping to improve my overall stamina and, as a fringe benefit, improve the sex life in my marriage. Things are good for my wife and I in this department, but there’s always room for improvement!
Finally, Ryo, when he’s on the job, has a coolness about him that feeds my spirit both as a person and a writer. All you have to do is watch an episode or two of CITY HUNTER to see what I mean—Animated, not the Jackie Chan Movie, The Jackie Chan movie sucks harder than a vacuum cleaner, even Jackie says so!
Here's a little taste of the Ryo I know and love. Pump up the volume and enjoy!
And now for today’s summary.
Height: 183 cm (I don't think the PCP will make me any taller)
Weight: 98.8 kg
Fat percentage (according to electronic scale): 28.8%
Exercise Summary (with number done in each set)
Squats: 15/15/15 Complete!
Push-ups: 7/6/0 Tried to do one more set after my sit-ups for ego sake and only managed to do four before kissing the tatami mat.
Sit ups: 15/15/15 Oops! Did these as full sit ups instead of partial like in the PCP picture. So, did a fourth set the right way for education’s sake. Also, put fingertips on the sides of my head to keep pressure off my neck (Advice from Billy’s boot camp ;-)).
An hour later, after the above work out, my arm and upper leg muscles felt tired, so I moved a bit slower for the rest of the day, but no pain. The weakness is probably just the result of working muscles that haven’t been worked much before.
And, I’m hungry. Yep, only one day in of eating half my usual food, and I’m hungry. But you know what? In a strange way, at least today, the hunger feels good. It means I did everything I was supposed to do today for my first day of the PCP and that makes me feel good. And, one more upside from eating less today is I was not as tired after my meals because my stomach had less to digest. My wife joked when we went shopping today. She said I’m down to a normal person’s meal size. Also, because I’m only eating half my usual food today, My wife and I were able to save a little money when we went shopping—smaller package of chicken.
More tomorrow,
Sean
