Day 31: At Confession

At the PCP Confessional:




Sean: Forgive me, Father, for I have cheated. It's been nine days since my last confession.

Father Saeba: Hmm? Oh yes, when you ate the Karokes.

Sean: Yes, Father.

Father Saeba: So, what did you do this time?

Sean: My trip to the pasta restaurant yesterday. It was a cheat, plain and simple. I didn't crave the food I ordered, I was just lazy. I could have gone somewhere else or, at the very least, I could have ordered something healthier than I did. I was weak. I screwed up. I failed.

Father Saeba: Did you learn something?

Sean: What?

Father Saeba: Our mistakes are only truly failures if we do not learn from them. Did you learn something?

Sean: Well, yes,what I said about the food's effect on me was true, but the 'experiment' idea was a complete fabrication.

Father Saeba: You lied.

Sean: Um...yeah, but you make it sound so dirty.

Father Seaba: Just helping you clear your conscience.

Sean: Thanks, Father, I think.

Father Saeba: Are you going to do it again, this cheating and lying?

Sean: No, sir.

Father Saeba: Good, because you really suck at it. God bless you, my son. Add two more sets to all of your arm exercises today, say a couple of Hail Patricks, and be strong.

Sean: Thank you, Father.

Father Saeba: One more thing.

Sean: Yes, Father?

Father Saeba: Try not to think of your PCP diet as a 'diet'. Diets are destined to fail. Instead, think of the food requirents you get every week as new eating habits. It may help.

Sean: Thank you, Father. I will.

Father Saeba: And, make sure you bring me some of those 'Healthy Shelby Doritoes' when you make them. I'd love to know what they're like.

Sean: Of course, Father. Goodbye.

Father Saeba: Goodbye.




We forgive you, Sean. Just make sure you forgive yourself.

More tomorrow,

Happy Canada Day!

Sean

Day 30: Truth and Consequences

Hey all,

Ever since I went to 'Eat More Greens' for my indulgence, I felt like I cheated a bit because I ate organic food. The point of the indulgence was to show me how the food we used to crave affects our system now that we have spent so much time away from it. So, tonight, I decided to try an experiment. I had to meet with a friend to discuss some of the elements of the homeowrk I'm still working on from that English Teacher's Seminar (I sent him the first draft of my work, and asked him to give me feedback). So, to conclude our business, I decided we should go to my favorite pasta restaurant.

Once there, I orderd a true indulgence: shrimp spaghetti in tomato sauce, a Caesar salad and later, when we moved to Starbucks, I ordered small a carmel steamer. I was fine after the spaghetti and salad, but Patrick told me two tablespoons of Caesar dressing equals one apple worth of Kcals, so that bugged me the whole time I ate the salad. Thankfully, the dressing was used sparingly, and I didn't clean the dressing off my plate like I used to do.

The carmel steamer, however, made me feel strange. Unlike the organic sugar I ate at 'Eat More Greens' this sugar went straight to my head. After the 'Eat More Greens' food, I felt super-energized. After the steamer, I felt like I had just swallowed some strange chemical. The steamer tasted great, but, afterwards, my head felt weird and my stomach turned a little. Even now, more than an hour later, my head still feels icky. In the end, the food was no fun at all.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 29: Let's Talk about Sex, Baby!

Today, was a half and half day. That is, I did half my exercises inside, and half outside. I know it's not best to have a break between the exercises and to do them out of order, but I like to do some of my workout where my son can see me, before my wife and I take him to the bus stop, so he can go to kindergarten. My son was very helpful to me today. He pressed the button on my timer for me at the start of each of my plank sets. He was a great help. I even saw him doing a sit-up or two in the livngroom.


In other news, I've noticed something. I thnk about sex alot less, and I mean alot less. Yeah, I know abrubt topic switch, but hey, it's where my head decided to jump to next. I knew Patrick said this would happen to us, but I didn't really believe it until the last few days. The summer season of beautiful Asian women walking around in the tightest of shorts is having far, far less of an effect on me than it has in the past. And, to be honest, I really like it. Before the PCP, it seemed like my libido was on all the time in one form or another,even to the point of distraction. It's really great to be over that. It's like someone cleaned out my head, and now I've got all this room now to think about other things like my writing, which is where I really want my head to be in my free time anyway.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 28: Organic Food, Where Have You Been all my Life?

Hey all,

I got up early this morning and did my 1300 jumpropes. I was really off today, not a smooth set of 100 in the bunch, but notice I have moved up to sets of 100 now. Also, I forgot to wear my hat, so my head took enough wacks to try my patience. I just could not get my left and right hands to play nice together, and I felt out of synch. Oh well, there's always a next time on the PCP. I also added a little walk after today's J-ropes. It was nice to just walk around the neighbourhood and listen to my PCP soundtrack as the morning air cooled me.

Then, as planned, I went to see Transformers II, with some intention of having theatre popcorn as my indulgence, but my friend, Phil, who came with me to the movie, a vegeterian, said, "Do you really want to waste your indulgence on that?" Especially since my friend was going to take me to a really good restaurant later with some great desserts. I agreed with him, and settled for my bottle of water during the movie.

Then, as a gentle rain fell, we wandered around Roppongi Hills a bit, until we finally reached our destination. The name of the restaurant was, get this, 'Eat More Greens' The slogan inside the place was 'All you need is love and vegetables.'

Now, usually, when my friend and I get together for movies, it's fish and chips at 'The Hub', an English bar chain (arguably the only time my friend eats animal products), but since being on the PCP, I have been eager to go into a healthy restaraunt like this. And, boy, was I glad I did. Did I stay in the realm of 400 calories, probably not, but boy did I enjoy myself. Here's what I had, and all of it was 100% organic.

Taco Salad, complete with black rice, potatoes, and a meat substitue most likely made from beans.

A piece of soybean milk cheesecake.



And, a piece of wonderful apple pie.

This meal also included a tiny complimentary purple pudding, some organic orange juice, and a few glasses of water.

The whole meal was a taste explosion! I really felt like I could taste everything in the food, and it was all great! This meal is definitely in my top ten of the best restaurant meals I've ever had. After weeks of low flavor, highly nutritious food, this was down right amazing. I ate until I was full. And, how did I feel after the meal? Like a million bucks! I'm still riding the high of it. I ate my PCP meal tonight hapily and was amazed how both meals only left me feeling slightly sleepy afterwards, and only for a short time. I know I owe my restored sense of taste to the PCP, and my drive to stick to the program has become stronger than ever thanks to this indulgence. Before the PCP, you would have had to twist my arm to get me into a place like 'Eat More Greens', but now I'd rather go there than anyplace else.

I didn't have any junkfood--no salted popcorn, or those cheese and cracker Ritz-Bitz I crave from time to time. Instead, thanks to a great friend, I played it healthy and, boy, am I glad I did.

Love to team!
Love to the readers!
Love to my buddy, Phil for taking me on one awesome organic ride! Let's do it again in August when we go see Wolverine! SNIKIT!

More tomorrow,
Sean

Day 27: When You Gotta Go....

My neice and nephew are over today, so I took my nephew and my son out to the park while I did my PCP workout. My neice had homework, so she could not join us. It was hot as heck outside today, but we managed to stay cool with the help of the water fountain in the park. I managed to get my workout done smoothly, save my jumpropes. I finished them, but was intereupted at my 721st jump because I had to rush my son home. He had to take a dump.

Speaking of which, my system seems to be running smooth now. No problems. I hope it stays that way.

And, tomorrow, I will see Transformers II. I'm really looking forward to it. And, for those of you into Transformers trivia, here's something I bet you did not know.



More tomorrow.

Sean

Day 26: Keep it under your Hat.

Hey all,

I was heading out to do my workout today and, since it was pretty darn sunny outside, I decided to put on a hat. Not only did the hat keep me cool, but it was a shield against my skipping rope when it decided to wack me in the back of the head.




I had so much more patience today because I didn't have to feel the sting of fifty lashes to the back of my skull. I'm telling you guys, throw on a bucket hat when you J-rope. You may look a little silly, but if your skipping rope is letting you have it a little more often then it should because you still need to improve your J-rope form, a hat is the way to go.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 25: A Little Golden Key

Hey all,

Today, I headed out to Patrick’s Yoga studio and after sweating through my Day 25 workout I got on Patrick’s super-tech scale and here are my stats:

Weight: 93.5 kg

Body Fat: 25%

Visceral Fat: 12.5%

Basal: 1986

Muscle Mass: 33.0%

Subcantaneous Fat: 16.3

BMI: 27.9

Body Age: 49

93.5 kg! Man! I never thought I’d get this low under my own power ever again. For so long, all I’ve been seeing are the 98-103 numbers. Let’s have a moment of noise to remember the lost fat!

SO LONG FAT!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!! JUST KEEP ON GOING!!!

It looks like I’m body de-aging at a rate of a year a weak. I love that too! And, I finally did one complete set of nine regular push-ups. No knees on the floor. I had to use my knees for the following sets, but when this started I could barely do two! I am getting stronger bit by bit.

And now, something new has been added to the mix. Patrick announced in our e-mail today that we get to have an indulgence, a special treat to celebrate our success on the diet.




Well, guess what? I feel like I’ve been give a little golden key and now I have to choose which one of a million treasure chests I will open with it. Consequently, especially as I left the yoga studio, all my cravings cried out to me like a sort of psychic assault. I wanted cookies, cheese crackers, cake, all at the same time. But, at the same time my willpower showed up and said, “Look, do you really want to waste your only indulgence on something as quick as a cookie, something as simple as cake or cheese crackers? No way! So, I pushed on past all the cookie, cracker, and cake shops, and I am now taking time to think of what I really want to have. I’m going to see Transformers II with a friend at Roppongi Hills on Sunday. Maybe I’ll use my indulgence then. Maybe.

Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 24: Um...Ryan vs. Dorkman?

Nothing major to report today other than I had to do my jumpropes by pretending to jumprope in the house because of the rain. On the upside, not one trip up in the whole bunch! Every other exercise I was able to find a way to do in the house. When you are a former pneumonia sufferer like me, you don't risk spending a long time outside in the rain if you can help it.

Now, since I don't have much more PCP stuff to share, I thought I'd share with you a couple of fan videos I've enjoyed in the past. Here's Ryan vs. Dorkman #1 and #2

Enjoy.





More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 23: Rufus

Hey all,

First, I want to write a big thank-you to Bryan, Shelby (my fellow members on the PCP), and Patrick (our wellness trainer) for their advice and humor in the comment section of my Day 22 post. Combine that with the fact, for the first time in weeks, I didn’t feel lethargic during my big break between classes at work today, and I find myself in a pretty good mood, at least compared to yesterday.

THANK-YOU!

Okay, now that that’s done, today’s exercises went well, but I don’t think I’m pushing myself as hard as I could be, so I’m trying to slow down my pace. Monday and Tuesday are busy days for me, so I know I speed through my PCP workout a bit. The workout still takes me over an hour or nearly and hour to complete, but sometimes it still feels rushed. I’ve got to work harder at getting up early on Monday and Tuesday. Is it going to be early to bed for me on Sunday? We’ll see.

And now, to today’s topic. I’ve introduced you all a bit to Ryo Saeba A.K.A. City Hunter, my hero for this project, but now let me introduce you to my anti-hero. Earlier last year when Street Fighter IV was released in arcades in Japan, I was excited to play it. I’ve been a fan of Street Fighter since the first game was released in 1984 and have played every sequel since then, but when I sat down to play Street Fighter IV for the first time, I saw this guy.

Rufus is his name and, as strange as he is, he would become a cornerstone of what eventually led me to join the PCP.

My bout with pneumonia was still to come, but I was already starting to feel seriously dissatisfied with my appearance. When I looked in the mirror before or after my shower, I thought I looked pregnant, but after I saw Rufus, for some reason, the thought of him increased how horrible I thought I looked ten fold. I started to compare my body to Rufus’s, and I saw them as exactly the same shape. Rufus, was, through the magic of the gaming world, a big fat couch potato who could fight. Me, I was just a big fat couch potato.

Rufus in action in Street Fighter IV

I’m a casual gamer, and there are characters in games I love just like the characters I love in my favorite books, but this was the first time a video game character had a profound effect on my self-perception. It got to the point where I felt bad every time I sat down to play any video game. The games’ powerful characters just reminded me how badly I had let myself go and how much of a physical mess I was becoming.

We are never as fat as we think we are. Rufus isn’t real, and my run in with Rufus hasn’t turned me into some kind of freaky video-game-triggered-anorexic, but I can’t deny the fact that seeing the big fat tub that is Rufus acted like a ghost of Christmas Present for me (Pneumonia would be my ghost of Christmas Future) and moved me significantly towards wanting to change. I will continue to enjoy the games and books I love, but I don’t want to look like Rufus does—ever.

You know, I’m actually looking forward to my next workout.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 22: Cocoa Pebbles

Hey all,

I tried to get up early to my workout to day, but I failed miserably--too tired. I also, unfortunately, have to report my first slip on the diet. I ate a couple of korokes—potatoes and corn surrounded in deep fried batter. My family had prepared dinner and included these on my plate. Everything else fit the PCP except these. However, if I removed the karokes from my plate it would have caused some disharmony at the table since my family had put so much work into dinner. This combined with my cravings as of late made me keep my mouth shut and eat them anyway. I spoke to my family later, thanked them for the korokes, but reminded them gently I cannot eat anything cooked in oil. So, there you are. Do I feel bad? Yeah. Ultimately, it’s my fault. It won’t happen again. On the upside, I didn’t eat a desert treat that showed up yesterday and refused some McDonalds French-fries and deep fried tempura that were offered to me today.

So, now, let’s talk about health.

How do I feel at the end of the third week of the PCP?

I have more energy in the evening, my outlook on life is much better, and I have more patience than before, but my bowel movements have been an on and off problem. I feel like I’m passing large clusters of pebbles. However, I think I know why. Before, when I ate salty food with reckless abandon, I drank a lot of water. But now, with the salt almost completely gone from my diet, I don’t crave water like I used to do (The korokes I ate turned me on to this logic). With the exception being after my workouts, I actually have to remind myself to drink water during my day, because I just don’t feel thirsty. Low water intake means hard dry cocoa pebbles in my bowels. Sorry, to be gross, but I think that’s what’s happening.

I’m also a bit depressed, but I think this is mostly from lack of sleep. I pushed myself a little bit last weekend to finish the first draft of the post-task work I got from that English teacher training seminar I attended on Day 14. Add this to the fact I can’t reach for the comfort foods I crave from time to time, and I’ve been too tired to write save this blog, and, well, there you go. But, you know what, I’m glad I’m suffering. Food has been such a centerpiece in my life, and I don’t want it to be anymore. In order to accomplish this, I need to suffer through and make food less of an event in my life. I want food to be a side-dish in my life, not the main course. Ultimately, I hope I’ll be able to find the joy and comfort I presently take from food in other things like my family, my new found fitness, and my writing. This would be a real triumph. I want an extra-large pepperoni pizza dripping with cheese on a table to be as exciting to me as a coaster on that same table. Maybe this is a bit over the top, but it is how I feel right now. Although now, I'm not so sure I'm going to make my self-imposed Christmas deadline for the first draft of my novel--sigh.

Tomorrow, my anti-hero: Rufus!

Love to all,

Sean

Day 21: Over Egg-sertion

I just got back from pounding out my 1000 J-ropes today. At the start of this program 1000 J-ropes would have seemed like a grueling task, but it's nice to see I've improved enough so that is not so. It is still a challenge, yes, but one I'm glad to take on. There were at least four or five sets of fifty with no trip-ups this time.

The diet goes well, but, like some of my team, I'm getting tired of eggs, especially since I can't put ketchup on them. Today, I downed my egg rations raw because I just couldn't be bothered to cook them. I'm also really welcoming my PCP snacks between meals the last couple of days as my hunger between meals seems to be growing.

On the up side, I'm adding pepper and nutmeg to my chicken, and I find I really love the combination. I look forward to my chicken everytime I cook it.

Now,I need a nap.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 20: My Rising Son

Today had a couple of special treats. First, I got a compliment from my mother in law. She said I look slimmer and more fit. This really gave my spirit a boost.

Afterwards, I headed to the park with my exercise gear, and my son Kai.



Kai played in the park as I did my workout. During my J-ropes, he wanted to try the rope himself a few times. It was cute watching a little three year old trying to jump with a skipping rope meant for his 183 cm tall father. He got tangled, but kept on jumping. He also came over and watched me as I did my push-ups for a moment.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" my son asked.
"Push-ups," I said.
"Push-ups?" he said and then headed back to the jungle gym.

Then, it hit me. I'm really setting a positive example for my son when I take him out during my workouts--something I will continue every weekend from now on. For the longest time, I was worried Kai would see me a no-exercise guy, but now, thanks to the PCP, I worry no more. Who knows, Kai may even join me someday.

Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!
More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 19: Brave New World

Nothing major to report today. I just thank God for the sunny day and get outside and do my workout in the park. My attitude today was much better than when I started yesterday. I also managed to do two 50-sets of my J-ropes clean today.

Speaking of J-ropes, I found this song to be pretty effective in helping me keep my J-rope rhythm. It's called 'Brave New World' and is part of my PCP soundtrack. The song is the opening for a currently Japan-only released RPG game called Namco X Capcom (although some fans are working on an English translation). I've never actually played this game, but the trailers were cool. Gamers, see how many characters you can ID in this video! Enjoy!



Love to the Team.
Thanks to the Readers

More Tomorrow,

Sean

Day 18: A Day of Rest, Kinda

Hey team,

Don't worry, despite what the title above suggests, I did my workout, all of it. However, I stayed home and did everything at the park instead of joining Patrick at his studio today. I've been going at superspeed ever since the PCP started and I just wanted to take five. So, after I write this, I'm just going to chill out until I have to go to work.

J-ropes continue to improve, and I'm back in the swing of things with my leg-ups. I managed to do two regular pushups today before going to my knees again. Man, I hope I can do a normal push-up by the end of the program.

Now a little bit of stats:

Weight: 95.5 kg
Fat Perentage: 26.3%

Nice, eh?

Well, I'm going to go ask my wife to take my picture for this week. I'll post it later today. Until then, here's another piece of my PCP CITY HUNTER soundtrack for you to check out. "Get Wild and Tough" It's my favorite City Hunter Song. I always play it at the end of my workout. It gives me something to look forward to.



Here's the full "in stereo" version. Mind the band members. It was the eighties, after all.



Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!

More tomorrow.

Sean

Day 17: A Dream

Don't worry, guys. Shulky's in a bikini. You just can't see it. There is a comic's code after all.


I went to bed early last night, around 11:00 P.M. (Yes, for me, this is early), and I got a pretty good sleep. I had a wacky dream though. I was back on the prairie in my home province of Saskatchewan (It’s amazing how I can live in Japan for the last eight or so years and still buy the fact I’m back in Saskatchewan in my dreams). Anyway, an old girl-friend of mine (I use the hyphen to indicate the fact there was never a romantic relationship between us) was upset about something so she asked me to drive her to the next town. We got about halfway there when my car broke down and we had to walk. While we walked, we came upon some people throwing heavy rocks at each other. My girl-friend joined right in and nearly hit me with a large rock. When I looked at her, she had a gleam of madness in her eye, so I told her she could find her own way home and left her there with the other crazies. I found a small auto-repair garage in the middle of nowhere and went in to get directions home. They said they were too busy to help me, but that I could use their phone. I picked up the phone and was suddenly pushed ahead in time. I was dressed up an at a party in a large white-walled mansion celebrating the success of my novel. Everyone at the party was holding a copy of my book. I actually held the finished book in my hands, saw the title, flipped through it a bit, but I don’t remember the text inside the book. I even cried a bit, I was so happy. Then, suddenly, I was back on the prairie, apparently called away from my book party by the police. They wanted me to identify my girl-friend’s bloated body as the cops took it out of a small river. It was the last thing I saw before I woke up.

So…um…there you go. Heh. Having been so focused on the PCP these last couple of weeks, I expected a dream more like the image above, except the person doing the jumping above would…y’know…be me.

But after I woke up today, I really didn’t want to do my work out. I wanted a day off! But, I sucked it up, went out anyway and…

I DID MY FIRST SET OF FIFTY JUMPROPES PROPER WITHOUT MESSING UP!

God, it was such a rush. I went through the rest of my workout, and it was a pleasure. I am really improving in the J-rope area. My arms and wrists are finally under control. Sometimes I get the rope moving faster than I can jump and get a bit out of synch, which results in a trip-up. I just need a little more strength in my calves, and I think I’ll be going even faster. As for the other exercises, I made sure I wasn’t ‘cheating’ as per Patrick’s advice. I got a lot more work out of the standing ovation exercise today. I am so looking forward to jumping rope tomorrow.

Love to the team!
Thanks to the Readers!
More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 16: Japan always has Eggs-actly What I Need

Yesterday, I realized, as I got to work, I forgot to pack an egg for the egg-white my new lunch diet requires. I thought, what am I going to do? The supermarket near work only sells eggs by the dozen. So, I took a chance and went into a Family Mart convenience store. There, I found half-dozen eggs. I was just about to give up when I looked on another shelf near the half-dozens and saw exactly what I was looking for: an individually-packed hard-boiled egg.



I don’t remember seeing these in Canada! Mind you, I never had to look for one until today. I got to work, tossed the yolk, and chowed-down on the rest. Way past cool. In other egg-related news, today I downed another raw egg and egg-white to speed things up this morning. A definite time saver!

Exercise Summary:

To save even more time from now on, I’m only going to write about the exercises that I had any trouble or thoughts about. The rest you can assume were complete—and you’d be right. ;-)

J-rope: 800 complete. Getting faster, but not smoother. Still no complete smooth sets of 50.

Push-ups: 8x5 sets. Sadly, despite my best efforts to do a regular push up, I ate floor after completing one. The push up gods kept me on my knees for these. So, I added two more sets. Not being able to do the exercises as shown in the picture was a bit of a downer. I hope I get the push-up strength I need soon.

Leg-ups: 13x4 complete, but a hodgepodge. I lost my momentum in the middle of my second set. I couldn’t believe it. It was like climbing a mountain to complete the last two. I did it, but not as smoothly as my sets on past days. Again, another downer, but likely caused by my overworked abs in my battle with my bowels over the last couple of days. Things are fine now in that department by the way.

Today was the first day, I felt a little down on myself for my lack of success. I completed everything, but not at the standard required. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. I’ll get right back on the horse tomorrow. Don’t worry.


Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!
And, a little love to myself. The family had curry tonight and I couldn't have any. :( Oh well, I'll get through this.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 15: How about a Taste of Adamantium for Old Times Sake?

Hey all,

Let's get right into the exercise summary:

J-Ropes: 900 done in sets of 50. Not a smooth set in the bunch, but way faster today. I was done in twenty minutes! Thank heaven for small victories.

Incline-pull ups 7 x 5 sets. (tried a full pull up, but not ready yet). Also, I took a little too long of a break between the third and fourth set because I was watching a lady who had decided to walk her dog in the park without carrying a bag to pick up her dogs crap. I watched her like a hawk until she left. I hate people letting their dogs dump where my son plays.

That's right, darlin'. Just keep movin'.

Standing Ovation: 15x3 sets


Outside Curl: 12x3 sets

Davinci: 14x3 sets. I'm right handed, so my right arm is stronger than my left arm, but, in this exercise, my left shoulder is stronger than my right shoulder. Go figure.

Sit-ups. 20x4 I had to do the last two sets as full sit-ups. I think my hard work the other day which marked the end of my constipation had me work my guts a bit hard and that's what's caused the weakness in my abs muscles right now. Just need a few more good night sleeps and I'll be right as rain.

UPDATE: D'oh! I did the day 19 workout for day 15. God, shows you how awake I was. Well, I'll just keep motoring along proper.

Here's my new diet this week:

Breakfast: Carbs-160g Veg-180g Protein- 1egg 1egg white 250ml milk

Morning snack: 160g fruit

Lunch: Carbs-180g Veg-200g Protein-150g meat 1egg white. Looks like I'm going to be hard boiling more eggs.

Afternoon snack: 160g fruit

Dinner: Carbs-120g Veg-180g Protein-130g meat

Night snack:120g fruit 200ml milk.

I'm actually happy to be eating less, finally.

Also, I've been enjoying a little blast fromt the past over the last couple of days. The old 90's X-men Animated series is slowly being released on DVD. I have the first two sets and have been watching episodes as I eat my breakfast. Anyone remember this one? Cool eh?




And, did you know when the show was aired in Japan, they redid the opening--twice. Check it out. X-men: Anime style!

Everyone have a great day,

Sean

Day 14: I Guess the Yolks in Me!

I got through all of my 800 jumpropes today, still in sets of fifty. Not a smooth one in the bunch, but one set came close. I'm also pleased to report my rope hasn't come apart since Patrick fixed it--knock on wood. I was really glad for this short workout today as it allowed me to get to the rest of my day quickly.

As I wrote yesterday, I attended a teacher training seminar in Tokyo. I won't bore you with the details, but the presentations were great to excellent, and I was given much food for thought in regards to my own classes and teaching methods. Because I had to sit through five different presentations, my first packed lunch, made the night before, was very basic: egg, rice, super salad combo. I chose scrambled egg over meat because I didn't want to be super lethargic after eating lunch. I had presentations to watch, after all, and I'm pleased to say my choice worked.

One thing, I was short on time this morning so I did something a little crazy, for me anyway. I drank my 1 egg + 1 egg white raw. I thought it was going to be disgusting, but it wasn't. I may do it again. It sure saved me time.

Oh, and look at this way past cool diet sheet Patrick made for me, readers. Isn't it a hoot?




Love to the team.
Love to my friends and family.
Love to the readers.

More tomorrow.

Sean

Day 13: Sport Billy!

It’s funny how memory works. I was at the park reaching into my bag to get my jump rope and I remembered an animated show I saw when I was just a wee lad of six called Sport Billy. The story revolved around a young boy named Sport Billy who was from the planet Olympus which was populated by god-like beings. Billy himself had a cool magic size-changing gym bag which produced various tools (usually super-powered sports equipment)as he needed them. He traveled to Earth on a mission to promote teamwork and sportsmanship. Described by the show's theme song as a "hero from another planet", Billy battled the evil Queen Vanda and her gnome-like henchman, Sipe. Vanda's mission was to destroy all sports in the galaxy since fairness disgusted her.

Billy was assisted by two faithful companions, a girl named Lilly and a talking dog named Willy. The trio traveled around in a time traveling spaceship, which resembled a giant wind-up clock, complete with a ringing bell, and mounted on two rocket engines.

In each episode the trio traveled through time to save a different Earth sport from Queen Vanda's grasp.

This show is crap by today's standards but does this ring any bells with anyone besides me?



Exercise Summary:

Jumprope: 700 complete. I broke these up into more manageable sets of fifty, and only messed up once or twice in each set. Things went much smoother today. I’m using the finger rests on my jump rope now. My hand position being off clearly contributed to my poor skipping. Dare I say it I think I’m starting to get the hang of this jump rope thing, emphasis on the word ‘starting.’

Lunges: 16x4 sets complete.

Rowing: 13x3 sets complete. I had a Wile E. Coyote moment today. I put my door anchor for my tension rope in a door to do my rowing, but the door wasn't closed just right. So, after row number two the tension rope launched right at me. I saw it clearly as it came for my chest. I felt like I had enough time to hold up a 'HELP' sign.

Nothing injured but my pride.

Standing Ovation:13x3 sets complete.

Tricep Dip 9x3 sets complete.

Forward shoulder raise: 12 x 3 sets complete.

Leg-ups: 12x4 sets complete.

My diet goes great. My family has really started to help me out. However, it’ll be a bit of a challenge tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’m attending a English Teacher’s training event at Toyo Gakuen University in Tokyo from ten until five. So, I’m going to have to pack a lunch for the first time. I’ll let you know how it all goes.

Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!

SPORT BILLY!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 12: I got Schooled while Embracing my Destiny

Today while I was working out in the park, a group of elementary school children entered the park with their teachers. It was kind of fun exercising while a bunch of kids ran back and forth around me from the park’s swing set to the jungle gym.

Exercise Summary:

Jump rope: 700 complete. Hodgepodge, about ten stinging head hits, probably going to have a nice scar on the back of my head when this is all over.

Squats: 18x3 complete.

Incline pull-ups: 6x3 complete

Push-ups: 12x4 complete

Curl: 13x3 complete. Still moving my elbows now and again. Gotta watch this.

Davinci: 13x3. Last set was hard. I felt like some kind of deformed marionette

Sit-ups: 18x4 complete, but I did the last two sets as a full sit up. The second set got hard for some reason, perhaps the uneven park ground I was exercising on. I had to do full sit-ups just to finish otherwise I might have quit on set two.

Just a note: It was hard work, but my bowels are moving again, yay! . Moving on…

Patrick mentioned in his e-mail today that this is the time around which the enthusiasm for the program starts to wane. I’ve felt it a little, but then I focus on my hero and think about the following written by a comic book writer named Tony S. Daniel (modified a little to suit me, of course).

I’m trying to save myself from a life that has me feeling twenty-some years older than I actually am, so I can be there for my wife and son for years to come, but of course that means change, and changing is always harder than staying the same. It takes courage to face yourself in the mirror and look beyond the reflection, to find the you that you should be. The you who got derailed by events that took your life’s natural trajectory and twisted it. It’s up to you to find this courage, overcome these events and embrace your birthright, your destiny, and finally realize that with some hard, but not impossible work you can be truly awesome.

I had some great 5KCAL dressing on my pasta for lunch. Yum!
Not steaming. I'm taking my veggies raw. God, I love tomatoes.
Missed my morning snack, and my lack of hunger does nothing to remind me. I won't forget again.

Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 11: A Little Less Number Crunching

I returned to Patrick’s studio for my day eleven workout today. We worked on my skipping form and rope which were both giving me trouble. I had a set of 650 today, but I had to just jump in place for my last three hundred or so jumps because my rope came apart. Patrick, however, managed to get it up and working again.


As of today, I will no longer be recording my weight everyday. It’s such a subjective number as it is continuously affected by hydration, muscles mass increases, and other factors. So, I will post it once a week after my visit to Patrick’s studio for my workout and weekly photo on Thursdays. Speaking of which, you’ll notice I’m in different shorts for this photo. No, I’m not going for a sporty look. I packed everything for my trip to Patrick’s Yoga studio except my shorts, and I had to borrow some from Patrick. D'oh!

Homer runs out the front door (for some reason) forgetting he’s not wearing any clothes.
Lisa from the living room: “Dad! Hide your shame!”
Ned Flanders spots Homer while working in his yard. “Homey, I can see your doodle.”
Homer (mumbling): Shut-up Flanders.

Here's today's stats from Patrick'sawesome scale:

Weight:95.9
Body Fat: 27.1%
Intra-Organ Fat: 13.5%
Basal Calories: 2038
Muscle Percent: 31.8%
Subcantaneous Fat: 17.7%
BMI:28.6%
Body Age:51

Remember, it's important not to get caught up in the numbers.

Here’s today’s workout.

Exercise Summary:

Lunges: 16 x 4. I’m feeling a little pain in my right knee in the later sets because I’m have trouble keeping my back foot straight during the lunges. I think this has something to do with the time I broke my leg. I foolishly jumped off a pile of snow when I was in elementary school and some older kids had to carry me home. Not one of my best moments. What was worse was I never got a walking cast. So, I had to learn to walk again once the cast was off six months later. And, of course, when your leg is in pain, you tend to favor it. The end results were my feet being a little off centre when I walk and a habit of walking on my toes which I had to break—although I had some really ripping calf muscles when I did walk like this. I’ll keep working at it using my push-up bars as visual aids to guide me.

Rowing (for those who like to get nowhere fast): 13x3 sets complete.

Standing Ovation (something new for those who like to pat themselves on the back): 13x3 sets complete. Patrick corrected my form for this exercise.

Tricep Dip (goes great with carrot sticks): 9x3 sets complete. I learned where my triceps actually were today. And, I learned that the triceps are what make your arm look good when you relax it.

Forward shoulder raise (my shoulders weren’t happy with their current salary.): 10 x 3 sets complete.

Leg-ups (try to get as many of these as you can in life): 12x4 sets complete.
My meals continue along the diet guidelines. I’m pleased to say I’ve held tight to my no salt, no sugar diet. Today Patrick educated me on some basic points regarding KCALs and helped me put together my lunch which included sushi, a whole lot of salad, and some rice combine with some tasty 5KCAL dressing. I missed my afternoon snack though. I got busy teaching and forgot about it. Nuts.

Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 10: The Usual, with a Side of Supermarket Scouting

Weight: 97.1kg (+00.7). Nuts.

Fat percentage: 27.9 (+00.2) Going up.

Exercise Summary:

Jumprope. 650 faster, but still a hodge-podge.

Squats: 18 x 4 sets. Complete

Incline pull up: 6 x 3 sets. I did this exercise using the rail on the side of the park drinking fountain. I get exercise and refreshment all in one place. However, I still have to bring my knees up and keep my feet flat so I don’t slip on the pavement and end up swinging. I going to try to get a piece of wood I can put down so the heels of my shoes can get some grip. If not, I’m going to have to go bar shopping.

Push-ups: 12 x 4 sets. Complete. First two sets are so much smoother and easier now.

Thumbs-up Curls: 12 x 3 sets. This went smooth for the most part, but I had to concentrate on not moving my elbows.

Da Vinci: 13 x 3 sets. Complete. Last set was hard. I had trouble keeping my arms straight.

Sit-ups: 18 x 4 sets. Complete.


Breakfast
1 egg + 1 egg white hard-boiled.
Three pieces of whole wheat bread.
Lettuce with Pumpkin slices.
250 ml of milk.

An apple was my breakfast snack—a really big one.

Lunch: My subway days are at an end. I had plain macaroni, a cucumber, a tomato, and water. And, I had some bacon. I want this to be a no-no, but I didn’t have any other meat in the house I could use. This will no longer be a problem tomorrow.

A banana was my lunch snack.

This afternoon, I went and figured out what I could buy at the supermarket near work to meet my diet requirements instead of going to Subway. I was pretty successful. I found several possibilities and will use them on Monday and Tuesday, and Thursday because I’m going to Patrick’s Yoga studio and then work right after.

Dinner: Chicken, spaghetti with no sauce (I’m really starting to like straight pasta), and a salad.

Night Snack: Sliced Banana, 70 ml of low fat yogurt, and 80 ml of low-fat milk.


Some side notes. I haven’t really been hungry and I haven’t had a bowel movement in two days. I feel fine, but I just wanted to make a note of it. I hope the yogurt I ate today will help.

I’m going to Patrick’s Yoga studio tomorrow, so I’ll get to try the super-scale again. I wonder if my body is any younger than 52 now. It sure feels that way.

Love to all!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 9: Rope Revelations!

Today I was given the greatest gift I could have asked for: the solution to my jump rope problem. As I said before, my rope is not too short, but I thought it was, even today, as it hit me in the head and feet. And, now I know why! God. Finally, I know why! I feel idiotic and elated at the same time.

After I finished skipping for the first time at Patrick’s yoga studio, I just tossed my rope in my bag. Since then, I have been outside trying to skip successfully in the early morning. What happens to a plastic skipping rope when it has spent the night just tossed in a bag? It ends up tangled like an old phone cord. And what happens when this same plastic skipping rope is taken outside into the cool morning? It maintains its tangles! The air is cool, so the rope cools and loses its slack (Insert appropriate chemistry term here). Basically, I was trying to jump with a rope that wasn’t straight. And, when I would start jumping, it would tangle up worse and seem shorter! God. Eureka! So, I spent the next ten minutes heating the rope with the body warmth from my hands until it was nice and slack and guess what?

The rope flew around me like bloody wind itself. I did 150 jumps without screwing up. Man, I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.

And now, todays’s stats and stuff.

Weight: 96.4kg (-00.8). Go baby go!

Fat percentage: 27.0 (-00.7)

Jumprope. 600 complete! See above. God.

Lunges: 16 x 4 sets. My legs feel really worked out after these.

Rowing: 12 x 3 sets. Gently down the stream! Complete!

Standing Ovation: 12 x 3 sets. Complete! Hold the applause-heh.

Triceps Dip: 8 x 3 sets. Complete! This went smooth, too smooth. I think I was using my legs too much. I will straighten them out the next time I do this exercise as per Patrick’s advice.

Forward Shoulder Raise: 10 x 3 sets. Complete!

Leg lifts: 12 x 4 sets. Complete. I did these on the grass in the park. Fun, but not as nice as the tatami in my house.

Diet is rolling along, although I’m lagging a bit in the protein. I just have to coordinate my shopping with my wife’s shopping better.

Breakfast, same as yesterday except I had pasta instead of bread this time, and I didn’t have the egg white because the wasted egg yolk would have annoyed my family. Patrick, Team, any other way to get egg white short of drinking them on the sly at work?

Lunch: two subway chicken salads—for the protien, no cream cheese this time, but did have their red wine vinegar sauce. This may have salt, so will stop using it and switch to an alternative Patrick introduced to me. I ate four pieces of whole wheat bread for my carbs. Then, I ate bananas to round out the fruit requirement at lunch and snack time.

Dinner: Fish with seaweed soup, tomatoes, a bit of cheese, lots of sliced pumpkin, and bamboo rice. There were small blocks of tofu in the seaweed soup. I hear tofu is seriously processed, but I don’t know for sure. Should I be eating it?


And finally, I have a cold. WAAAACHOOO! Sniff. Sorry. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends with the PCP, work, my novel, and this blog. I guess my body decided to tell me I need to slow down a bit. I will, but don’t worry team. My PCP will not suffer. WAAAACHOOO! Sniff. Sorry. I’ll just cut back on my novel writing a bit—save it for the train and the weekends. I have to take of myself. As Count Rugen said in The Princess Bride, “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.”

Love to all!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 8: IT HAS BEGUN!!!

I'm sure he means the diet, not MORTAL KOMBAT!

Here it is, my personal PCP Diet:

Breakfast: Carbs-200g Veg-180g Protein-1egg 1egg white 250ml milk

Morning snack: 180g fruit

Lunch: Carbs-200g Veg-200g Protein-180g meat

Afternoon snack:180g fruit

Dinner: Carbs-150g Veg-180g Protein-150g meat

Night snack: 150g fruit 250ml milk

Today for breakfast I had 1 egg +1 egg white scrambled, the majority of a large carrot, one baby tomato, and two slices of white bread (it was all the bread we had in the house), and 250 ml of milk. Have whole wheat bread for tomorrow though!

All my snacks were bananas near the weight requirements of my diet.

Lunch: a cream-cheese chicken sandwich from Subway, sans the bread. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but in Japan, Subway gives you the option to have all their sub ingredients as a salad. Probably shouldn’t have had the cream cheese though. Or should I have? I don’t know. I won’t have it next time, just in case. Forgot to eat carbs with my lunch, although, to be fair, I’m not exactly clear on what food has carbs.

Dinner: Cooked my first piece of chicken ever and had it with rice, a monster fresh veggie salad, and some seaweed soup. Then, I followed up right away with my night snack (banana) and 250 ml of no-fat milk--had to got to bed soon you see.

FRIENDSHIP!!! I will make this diet work. But, team, any help you could give me in terms of recipes and other advice—in layman’s, not experienced health guru English, with the assumption I do not have ready access to a health food store—would be much appreciated. I know Patrick will take care of us, but I could use the support.


Weight: 97.2kg (-00.4). Com’on 96!

Fat percentage: 27.7 (+00.4) This is such a weird number.

Exercise Summary:

Jumprope. 700 complete, but a hodge-podge. Nowhere near smooth yet. Rope came apart three times because I stepped on it. I’m really trying to control my form. I think I’m going to start watching skippers on YouTube to help me get it right.

Squats: 17 x 4 sets. FLAWLESS VICTORY!!!, even my upper leg pain is gone.

Incline pull up: 6 x 3 sets. PLAYGROUND WINS!!! FATALITY!!! This was a mess. The bar at my park was at a good height, but the sandy playground dirt refused to let my heels grip the ground, so I kept swinging forward. So, in the end, I had to place my feet flat on the ground to do the pull ups. I’ll have to find a better spot in the park to do this if I can.

Push-ups: 11 x 4 sets. FLAWLESS VICTORY!!!.

Curls: 12 x 3 sets. FLAWLESS VICTORY!!!

Da Vinci: 12 x 3 sets. BABALITY!!! The first set was smooth, but the last two sets were a struggle to get all the way up. After the curls, I figured this one would be easy. Wrong. But, I’ll get better.

Sit-ups: 17 x 4 sets. FLAWLESS VICTORY!!!

The biggest news today is all my muscle pain, save for a slight ache in my calves, is gone. It’s downright amazing. Finally, my body feels like it’s ready to play. I have a lot more energy in the evening too, which is nice.


Love to all!

More tomorrow,

Sean WINS!

Day 7: Two Old Men Together

Weight: 97.6 kg (+00.3) Up,down,up,down,up. I feel like a two floor elevator.

Fat percentage: 27.3 (+00.2) See weight comment.

Exercise Summary:

Jump Rope: 500. Complete. Was I ever surprised to see this as the only exercise for day seven. Despite my trouble jumping rope the last few days, I thought: Oh well, Bring it on. I headed for the park at 6:30 A.M. and got started. I screwed up every two jumps until I got to around forty-five. My rope came apart once because I stepped on it. The idea of giving up entered my head, but, thankfully, I didn’t listen. I sighed and decided I didn’t care if I screwed up every two jumps all the way to five hundred. I was going to finish this. As I struggled my way towards the first hundred mark, I was seen by a junior high school student who probably thought I was out of my mind—I could see it in her eye.

After the student left, I was alone for a while until an old man sat down on a bench nearby. He lit up a smoke and smiled at me. He asked me how many jumps I had to do after I had just messed up again. “Five-hundred” I said. He was amused. I didn’t make a face at him. I just got back to my jumping. Then, after watching me for a while, smiling when I messed up (I just smiled back), he got up and left. I was somewhere around 450 when the old man suddenly came back and offered me a sports-drink from a nearby vending machine. I thanked him and right after this kind thoughtful act, I found my groove. I made the last fifty or so jumps with no problem. Then, I jumped once more as daytime fireworks filled the sky with their sound. They were being launched from a nearby shrine. I asked the old man what he thought the fireworks were for since it wasn’t a national holiday today. He said he had no idea. I offered that maybe the shrine was celebrating the fact it was Sunday. Yay Sunday! Bang! Bang! He laughed. I smiled, but not at my own joke. I smiled because part of me, as silly as it sounds, thought the fireworks were the powers that be congratulating me on completing my five hundred jumps and not giving up. If that isn’t a reason for a few quick fireworks, I don’t know what is. Heh. Of course, the fireworks were to celebrate the start of an Omikoshi festival, but I still think what I think.

I sat down next to the old man and popped open the sports drink, while he sat beside me and smoked. We talked as best we could, him with his near non-existent English and me with my limited Japanese. I found out he was 80 years old and lived nearby. I told him as best I could about the PCP and what I was trying to do. I also told him about my trip to Patrick’s yoga studio. The old man had a really good laugh when I told him I was thirty-four, but Patrick’s scale said I had the body of a fifty-two year old. We sat and talked a while longer, two old men together, and then he put his hand on my shoulder, wished me luck. I asked him what he was going to do today. He said, "Nothing, just rest." Then, he left. I sat there and watched him go, and I hoped I would see him again. I slowly finished my drink, looked up at the sky, said a quick thanks, asked for the strength to get through the rest of these ninety days, and headed for home.

Oh, and my rope is not too short. I know that now. My arms are just all over the place and my calves stiff. Patrick knew this all along. After all, he cut my rope. I just had to find the form. Will I mess up tomorrow? Probably. But, I’ve been in the skipping zone. I’ve felt it. It a place where your arms barely move and your skipping rope moves under you like you and it are one. I will find the zone again and, in time, I will come and go from it as I please.

As for my ‘last’ meal before our upcoming controlled diet on Monday, nothing special. I just had a caramel cookie with my 6” avocado-veggie sub at lunch. I usually have two cookies, so one was half. For dinner: broccoli with diced bacon, rice, kim-chee, a few small potatoes, and a small piece of pork.

I really enjoyed the cookie.

Love to all!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 6: When Skipping, Think Location, Location, Location!

I got up at 6:00 A.M. this time and went straight into my workout. I don’t use an alarm clock. My son tends to make his way to my wife’s and my bedroom around this time, and needs me to wake up so he can get into bed with us. So, he gets in, I get out. And, while my wife and son get some much needed rest, I went out and enjoyed the morning air. I went to the park today, and it made such a tremendous difference in my skipping--so much smoother! I also broke out my old white inside-only gym shoes, bought back when I did the gym thing) and turned them into outside-only PCP shoes. Like yesterday, it was drizzling rain today but a little faster and with a touch of wind. I skipped into this wind which helped me get my rope under my feet a little faster. Is my skipping rope too short? The jury is still out on this one. I’ll see how I feel at the end of next week.

Weight: 97.3 kg (-00.5) Weighed before breakfast!

Fat percentage: 27.1 (-00.1) This number reminds me of my grade in High School Geo-Trig. Heh.

Exercise Summary:

Jump Rope: 70/70/70/70/70. Complete. Yeah, I messed up several times, but I made it to sixty on set two before tripping up. Yeah! Now that I’m not unintentionally skipping out on skipping, my calves are stiff and have taken the place of my thigh muscles in making getting up, sitting down, and going up and down stairs difficult. But, this too will pass. Tomorrow, I will give my calves a little stretch before jumping rope—one of the few useful things I remember from high school gym class.

Lunges: 10/10/10/10. There were no problems here. My legs are almost back to normal. Yay! Okay, well, the last one in the third set was a hard, but I just remembered one of Seabass’s comments. Seabass is the nickname of one of the other members who started the PCP the same time I did and is part of my PCP group: group garnet). Seabass mentioned his half diet to a friend of his, and his friends asked him what he was conditioning for. Seabass said he was conditioning for AWESOME! The laugh got me through the pain. Thanks Seabass! I’m conditioning for AWESOME too.

Push-ups: Set: 9/9/9/9. This is getting easier (knock on wood).

Leg Ups: 12/12/12. It’s nice to see my feet without having to look over my gut. Okay, my gut is not that bad, but still…

Love to all!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 5: Son of Man, Look to the Sky!

I got up at 6:30 A.M. today and went straight into my workout. For the first time, I went outside. It was drizzling rain at about the speed my sweat dripped off my face during the push-ups. It was difficult to tell which was which. I think I might start making this early rise work out a regular thing, sans the rain of course.

Height: I think we’ve seen this enough. Heh.

Weight: 97.8 kg (+00.3) Gotta stop weighing myself after breakfast.

Fat percentage: 27.2 (+00.6%) Now that I’m using the jump rope, this should drop a little faster next week.

Exercise Summary:

STUPID JUMP ROPE! HULK SMASH!!!

Jump Rope: Supposed to do: 70/70/70/70/70. Did: 50/50/70/70/70/40. God, I messed up every fifteen jumps or so. My rope came apart twice. Grrrrr. I think my rope might be too short now, but it’s more likely my arms are too tired right now to keep straight enough for my rope to get over my head. Also, I did my jumping on a slightly slanted driveway. Tomorrow, even if it’s raining (which the weather repost said it will be, I’m going to the much more level park just a minute from my house. If I continue to have these problems come next weekend, I might get another rope. In the meantime, frustration burns fat too. ;-)

Squats: 15/15/15/15 (one more set today)

Push-ups: Set: 8/8/8/8 (one more set today)

Sit ups: 17/17/17

Today I thought I’d share one of the songs from my PCP soundtrack.
‘Son of Man’ by Phil Collins from Disney’s Tarzan Soundtrack. I find it to be quite inspiring, especially when you’re trying to do those last few sit-ups. I think the song and video illustrate the change were trying to make fairly well. Soon, we'll be the best apes ever! Enjoy.



Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!
And Mom and Dad, cause I know you’re reading this, love you to you too.

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 4: D'oh!

All this time, I thought my jump rope training had not started yet. No. I just did not see it on the sheet. You see, I use my lap top and not paper to see my exercises for the day. When I load the picture it starts at 50% magnification. I push it to 100% and it cuts off the top. So, I never saw the jump rope requirements. D’oh! So, today was my first time using the jump rope on the PCP. I have to work on form. I move my arms too much and I double jump for some reason. Also, I had to have the rope cut a bit more (Thanks, Patrick).

And now, today’s super summary brought to you by Patrick’s yoga studio’s cool electronic scale.


Weight: 97.5 (-00.9)
Body fat% 26.6 (-1.8%)
Intra-Organ fat% 14.0%
Basal calories: 2038
Muscle percent : 32.2%
Subcataneous fat : 17.6%
BMI : 29.1
Body Age : 52 (My actual age is 34)


Exercise Summary with number done in each set:

Lunges: 10x2/10x2/10x2 My legs were sore during this exercise, but much better since yesterday thanks to sleep. Also, halfway through the lunges my legs started to feel better. Oh, there is still pain, but it’ll go eventually. I also learned my knee doesn’t need to go to the floor in this exercise. I’m happy about that, and so are my knees. I saw Patrick put his hands behind his head for a set, wonder why? I forgot to ask.

Push-ups: Set: 8/8/8/8 I’m glad I’ve got these figured out (One more set today).

Leg ups: 10/10/10: Patrick’s pro tip: put your hands under your buttox for this exercise, and if your buttox goes of the ground a little during each leg-up, it’s okay, but only a little.

Jump Rope 60/60/60/60/60. Oh yes, these were not perfect sets in terms of form and flawless execution, but I almost completed the last set entirely without tripping up.

It was nice exercising at Patrick’s studio. Having other people there really helped, although there were only four of us. The work out went faster. A real treat, besides meeting Patrick’s lovely lady-friend Kazue, was meeting Kazuhiro Ono. He’s completed the PCP and maintains his connection with the program. His blog is here:

http://thepeakconditionproject-kazu.blogspot.com/

Oh, and Patrick took my week 1 complete photo. Have a look.

After leaving the studio, every snack shop and bakery called out to me. I could smell the sweetness in the air, see the sweetness in the bins and on the shelves. Sentences starting with’Well, Surely Patrick wouldn’t mind if I….’ passed through my mind, but I’m glad to say I resisted. I got to where I was going, stiff legs notwithstanding. I’ve had my 6” avacado-veggie sub, and now, although hungry, I’m going to work on my novel for a couple of hours before starting work. Life is good.

Love to the team!
Thanks to the readers!

More tomorrow,

Day 3 All Pain. 00.4 Gain?

Hey Team and readers!

Height: 183 cm
Weight: 98.4 kg (+00.4)
Fat percentage (according to electronic scale): 28.4% (+2.6%)


Exercise Summary with number done in each set: 1/2/3

Squats 15/15/15 Complete! Knees ached through the whole exercise, but the pain dropped a bit halfway through the second set once my blood got flowing and my muscles realized I wasn’t going to quit.

Push-ups, 10/10/10 Complete! I did two more than the max required in these sets to celebrate the fact my modified sit ups on Day 2 were actually the correct way to do the exercise. Thanks, Patrick. I goofed and didn’t see Patrick’s knees were on the floor in the picture. However, to be fair, there is no ground in the picture to see, so Patrick looks like Superman flying through the air (compliment intended).

Sit ups: 15/15/15 Complete! Pain here too, but because of the pain, I felt my ab muscles. I’ve had pudding for a gut for so long, I wasn’t sure I had any muscles left to feel. ;-)

Weight up just a touch, but don’t worry. I haven’t cheated the half diet. I know from word of mouth the weight dips up and down a bit until the body figures out exactly what you’re doing to it. Not worried.

Today will be my first day back at work since I started the PCP. I’m just coming off a four-day-weekend. Here’s where the real test of will against snacking begins. I’m looking forward to my half lunch. a six inch veggie avacado subway sandwhich. (Update: Oops, wait, it's Wednesday. I'm eating lunch at home. Guess the veggie avacado fix will have to wait.)

No cool video today because I couldn’t think of one that fit the post.

Love to the team!

More tomorrow,

Sean

Day 3 Update: Working Through The Pain

My legs hurt. The lunges on day 2, as much as I enjoyed them, have really given my underused thigh muscles (rectus femoris?) something painful to think about. I move like a stiff old man now. The worst is sitting down. I pretty much have to drop into any seat I take. I actually used the train rings to lower myself into the train courtesy seat today. I'm writing this more for posterity than to actually complain about it. I can handle it. I'm just worried I'm not going to beable to the next round of lunges to come. Fortunately, I have a little help. Tomorrow, I will visit Patrick's Yoga studio, and, hopefully, he can give me a few pointers to work through the pain.

Day 2 When the Going Gets Tough, The Weak Modify?

Hey Team and Readers!

I was reading over the PCP website again yesterday, and I don’t know if I missed it the other times I read the site or what, but I saw that some of the PCP exercises are based on basic kung-fu training techniques. I shouldn’t be surprised really since Patrick, our wellness coach, is a Bruce Lee fan. Heh. But, the kung-fu reference reminded me of something a friend found for me on the internet a few weeks back. If you’re a lover of either the Dead or Alive Fighting Game Series or Final Fantasy, or if you just love great CG action, these are the videos for you. These are the first two parts (third one still being made) of a series called Dead Fantasy where the ladies from DOA and Final Fantasy go at it in a super chop-socky battle. It was done independently by a programmer named Monty Oum, and the series is considered one of the greatest fan-created works out there. The reason I bring it up in my PCP blog is, not just because it’s cool and can hype you up before a work out, but it’s an excellent example of how some things, like a super healthy and fit body, only happen if you do them yourself. A DOA/FF is something the respective owners of the two franchises would have ever done, so a fan stepped up and did it himself. No one is going to hand me a healthy and fit body no matter how long I sit on the sofa and wait. I need to get off my snack-lovin’ ass and make it happen!

Enjoy the video! Monty Oum's Dead Fantasy Parts 1 & 2:




And now for today’s summary.

Height: 183 cm (still not taller) Maybe I should start measuring my…nah!
Weight: 98.0 kg (-00.8)
Fat percentage (according to electronic scale): 25.8% (-3% Huh?) Oh well, Patrick mentioned once that we shouldn’t put to much stock in the fat percentage calculations of electronic scales (although they do beat the heck out of your Physical Education Teacher measuring your fat with that pincer-proctractor thing. I’ll keep posting the number, but take it with a grain of salt.


Exercise Summary with number done in each set: 1/2/3

Lunges: 10x2/10x2/10x2 Complete! These were fun in spite of the fact I had trouble climbing and going downstairs afterward. I felt every one of the 13 stairs up to and down from my bedroom. Ouch. I should also mention I also had some trouble keeping my fists on my hips from time to time. My arms wanted to swing to give me support, but I fought the urge as hard as I could and was 98% successful. Oh, and yes, I did lunges for both legs three times, hence the 'x2'.

Push-ups: 0/0/0 proper 20/20/20 modified! I got set up to do the push ups, sweat dripping off my brow from the lunges, but, each time I started, my arms promised to give out and make me eat floor. My arms, you see, were still weak from yesterday, and my chest still hurt. I tried everything. I moved on to the leg-ups and then came back and tried again, same deal. I put on the most rockin’ music I had, same deal. I sat there looking at my computer with Patrick’s picture doing the push-ups and thought about how I didn’t want to report failure (points to the power of the blog as motivation). So, I decided to do the only thing I could think of. I did the push-ups with my knees on the floor. With my legs out of the equation, I was lighter. It was tough, but I still managed to work the same muscles, and I pushed the number up to twenty for each set to make up for the missing weight. My arms and chest still hurt, but I feel much better than I would have if I had done nothing. Patrick, I hope I did good. Please advise me in this regard.

Leg-ups: 10/10/10 Complete! With this exercise, the only way I could put my legs straight up was to lift my butt off the floor, either because of my lack of flexibility or my twisty skeleton displaced by years of poor posture. So, after a few like this, I decided to lift my legs as high as I could, but keep my but on the floor like Patrick in the PCP picture. My legs weren’t exactly straight up, but I did my best.

The ‘eat only half’ diet goes well. Without thinking, I took a few steps toward the family snack basket last night. I resisted easily, but not without some longing. I was surprised at the habitual move. Snacking behaviour hiding out in my subconscious? Yipe! Don’t worry. I will resist. My hunger—our team’s hunger--is a badge of honor. In our Day 2 e-mail Patrick wrote: At first it's easy but around Day 4 your body might say, "I've had enough of this crap, hand me a cookie!"

Um…anxiously awaiting day 4. ;-)

More tomorrow,

Sean