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