Day 29 – Weigh In Time

I’m now back to my normal self after fighting a nasty case for feeling like crap :P
Well today was the day that I said I’d get weighted and measure my percentage body fat after 4 weeks on the BFL program. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I stood on the scales and even worse when I used my EAS Fat Calipers... surely I couldn’t have lost that much but it’s true and my new body stats are:

Weight: 16.4 Stone (104.1KG)
Percentage Body Fat: 21.1%

So that’s a loss of 1 stone (6.4KG) exactly and a loss of 4.9% body fat. How F’ING AWESOME is that in just 4 weeks of eating properly and exercising.

I won’t expect that sort of weight loss in the next 4 weeks but my overall goal is to at least get down to 15.4 stone (98KG) and 15% body fat by the end of the entire 12 week program. So if I lose more than that then it’s a bonus but that’s my goal that I WILL achieve.

Day 24 – Feeling Poorly :(

Well even though I feel crap at the moment... I’m still hitting the gym every day. I felt a little embarrassed this morning as I handed over my membership card for the reason that I looked like I’d just sobbed my heart out. But it was in fact a sneeze that refused to be free and bug the hell out of my sinuses causing my eyes to water like the Gaza puppet from Spitting Image.

I’ve joked in the past when people have said “God Man your obsessed” but I can’t deny it any longer... I’ve turned into one of those gym nuts. It feels like if I miss a session I’ve failed straight away. I know in my logical man mind that it’s ridiculous but I have so much determination to complete the BFL program that unknowingly it’s turned into an obsession. I also noticed this the other day when I was told by my boss that I should attend a customer’s site in London this week... I nearly had a panic attack because the first thing I thought was... WHAT ABOUT THE GYM?? Luckily I worked out that I could attend on a Thursday so when I get back from London I could drive straight to the gym... that made me happy :)

Another example of my obsessive nature was this morning when I woke up I felt really crap as I had a headache, sore throat, blocked sinuses and a runny nose... I would normally turn my alarm off and not bother with the gym but since I’ve started the BFL program I find that unless I was seriously bed bound I don’t see a reason not to go. So a pint of water and 2 paracetamol’s later I was in the gym working on my chest, shoulders and arms... which turned out to be a very good session.

I was a little bit gutted this morning as well because the top 10 attendee’s table was on display for January so I eagerly search for my name but it wasn’t listed. It then dawned on me that they don’t take the attendance from scanning your membership card at reception but it logs your attendance using the TechnoGym key. I would have been 4th as well with my 21 gym visits. The guy in 1st place clocked up 54 gym visits... that made me feel less obsessed as this fella had issues. So tomorrow I’m going to use my TechnoGym key... just so I can see my name on the board next month.

I think I’ve babbled enough for tonight so I’m hitting the sack early and hopefully wake up feeling a tad better for my cardio session tomorrow.

Day 20 (Week 3 Complete)

Damn it!! Forgot to update my blog again through the week... well I’m sure no one reads this anyway :P

I’ve just realised that today is day 20 and so far I’ve attended the gym 18 times. I wondered why my weekly washing doubled since I started BFL. So now I’m going to be looking out for my name in the top 10 gym attendances next week. I think I should about 8th position. So if I stick to my days next month I should be in the top 5... WoOoOoOo!!

Well this week has been another success apart from the morning when I couldn’t even manage 20 minutes on the exercise bike and was burnt out within 14 mins. I hate days like today when for some reason you wake up with little energy and it’s a struggle to even get out of bed never mind about caining an exercise bike for 20 minutes. So I had one of those annoying days but I won’t let it bother me too much and will get back on it for week 4 which starts Monday.

I’m a little curious how much I’ve lost so far and what my body fat percentage is but I promised myself that I will only weigh myself and measure my body fat once a month. So the date I’ll be jumping on the scales will be the 08/02/10. I will post my results and possibly a progress picture to compare with the vile one I posted at the beginning of my blog.

So tonight will be my Free Day when I can eat what I want because I’m off to a friend’s house tonight and I think a takeaway will probably be on the books but still no alcohol for 30 days and counting.

Day 13 (Week 2 Complete)

I know… I know I’m turning into a bad blogger.
So I apologise to all my fans and followers ** silence ** and promise that I’ll keep you up to date with my progress from now on :)

Well this has been a challenging week for a few reasons which included being on OOH’s standby and basically working my legs 5 days out of the 6. So the table below shows the workouts that I’ve completed this week:

So next week the workouts will change places but the cardio days will remain the same as the table shows below:

I’ve worked really hard this week and I can see a dramatic difference already with regards to how my clothes fit and my energy levels have just increased so much. Most people think that the more exercise you do the more knackered you will become but that’s not the case. It is in fact the exact opposite because exercise speeds up blood flow and your breathing rate, which in turn brings more oxygen to your heart, lungs, brain and muscles. So in essence less oxygen makes you tired and more oxygen (to a certain degree) perks you up. I’ve also found that these workouts also have a calming effect. Which has had a knock on effect in my work environment and because I workout first thing in a morning it peps me up physically and mentally for the day. So I’m sat at my desk buzzing when everyone else looks like death warmed up supping their morning coffee.

I can see why people get addicted to the natural high you get after a workout and that’s one of the reasons why I think I won’t have a problem keeping this program up for the full 12 weeks. The one thing I do have to watch out for is the boredom factor which I’m going to get round by changing my workouts every 4 weeks to keep it interesting.

I’ve also managed 23 days without any alcohol passing my lips which to the honest hasn’t been a struggle but I’ve not been out since the New Year so not had a problem. So the real test will be tonight when I’m out for a couple’s evening. So the meal won’t be a problem but I will be in Sheffield town centre quite early and everyone will be drinking apart from me but I’m not worried and will probably save a fortune.

Right see you all next week.

Day 6 (Week 1 Complete)

I’ve completed my final cardio session of the week… WooOOooOOooOO!!
So tomorrow is my “Free Day” where in theory and can eat what the hell I want but I don’t think I will. After eating healthy all week and not cheating I seem to have lost my cravings for chocolate. I don’t know if that’s just because I’m too focused at the moment or my body has just got used to not eating that trash anymore.

Well I’ve managed a full week of the BFL program and I’ve enjoyed every painstaking minute of it. Even though its been tough getting to the gym everyday which now feels like my seconds home and will be for the next 11 weeks. I’m still highly motivated and looking forward to hitting the gym on Monday which will be the start of week 2.

DAY 4 & 5

Yesterday’s cardio session was another success as I hit every high point and gave it everything I had to the point where I thought my thighs were going to spontaneously combust. Its like the pleasure pain theory in a way because its hurts like hell while doing the exercise but the sense of achievement that you get knowing that you gave it your all and completed it is pretty awesome.

Today started well as I got to the gym for 7:15 but I take back what I said on day 3, quote: “I don’t seem to have much problem with my leg exercises due to the McKone genes which include muscular thighs”. It seems that a lower body workout followed by intense cardio on the exercise bike takes its toll on the legs. Well mainly the backs of my knee’s and inner thighs… it also feels like I’ve pull my arse muscles as well. All this moaning aside I had a great upper body workout today but I had to amend the program a wee bit because at the moment the weights are a little bit too heavy when trying to hit the high points. This in turn is causing me to lose form so I’ve lightened the load a bit and will increase it again when I start to get stronger. So I’ve included the amended upper body program below:

So tomorrow will be cardio day again so hopefully my legs will have recovered a bit before I hit the exercise bike.

DAY 2 & 3

Well day 2 went great… got to the gym nice and early and completed the 20 minute exercise bike program… hitting every high point. The minutes seem to go a lot quicker when my intensity level sits at 6 or 7 but that’s mainly because I’m watching the seconds when I’m hitting those high points when I’m giving it my all. My legs seem to get heavier as the lactic acid builds up in my muscles as I’m counting down the seconds. It’s a good feeling when you start cooling down and one I’m getting a little addicted to. I’m also starting to find it a little easier so my fitness has improved already because previously I couldn’t complete the 20 minute program and hit every high point.

So today is day 3 which is the lower body program but I may have over done it a wee bit on Monday (Upper Body) because my chest and shoulder feel really tight. If that wasn’t enough I managed to fall down my girlfriends stairs this morning and ripped my arm to shreds on the way down… plus I seem to have hurt my back as well in the fall so I’m now hurting EVERYWHERE!! Hopefully I should start to feel a bit better after today and good as new for the second session of the upper body program on Friday. So this morning I followed the lower body program below:


I don’t seem to have much problem with my leg exercises due to the McKone genes which include muscular thighs. I’m back on the cardio exercise bike program tomorrow and then the upper body workout on Friday.

OFFICAL DAY 1

Finally I’ve started the BFL program properly after last week’s freaky “The Day After Tomorrow” extreme weather. I started with a pint of water as soon as dragged my half a sleep body out of bed then got dressed and headed straight to the gym. Today is my upper body workout and I’m not going to lie its hard going and by the end of the session I did feel like I’d exhausted all my energy stores to the point where I felt a little bit dizzy. It’s to be expected seen as I’m not marginally as fit as I thought I was but after a water top up and a warm shower I felt great.

The upper body plan I’m following for the next few weeks or until I get bored and mix it up a little bit is below:


As you can see it’s the “High Points” that do all the muscle punishing which I can confirm it is punishing. So tomorrow is the exercise bike cardio day so I’ll be up bright and early again to hit the gym :)

It’s FFFFFFFRIDAY!!!

So today I worked on my lower body (i.e. Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves & Abs). All I can say about today’s workout is that when I try to get out of bed in the morning I’m just going to collapse in a heap. My thighs are still on fire and 18:00 in the evening… so I’m still feeling the burn.
The 20 minute exercise bike session tomorrow should loosen them up for the big official start of the BFL on Monday… WooOOooOOoo!!

The GYM was open… WooOOooOOoo!!

Finally the gym was open this morning even though I was the only one in there which was a little bit eerie. I still managed to nearly cough up a lung on the exercise bike using the intensity index and the high point rule.

So just on the off chance that you have no idea what I’m talking about let me explain.
The intensity index is basically a self-regulating measure of the focused energy you are using. So for example on the low end at level 1 you’ve got the intensity of sitting on the sofa watching TV. Level 2 would be standing; level 3 might be walking; level 4 might walking fast; level 5 might be a brisk jog; and so on, up to level 10 which is an all out 100% focused effort. This is only a 20 minutes cardio workout but due to the change in intensity levels it works you really hard.

So today I used the exercise bike as my cardio tool of choice. So I started warming up for 2 minutes at an intensity level of 5 to get my muscles warm and the heart ready. Then I gradually moved from a level 5 to a level 6 intensity by the time I got to 3 minutes. So that every minute I would increase my intensity level up by 1 until I reach level 9. Then drop down to level 6 again and then start building up the intensity level again up to level 9. This happens 4 times in total but on the last level 9 I would hit my high point when I give it everything I have at level 10, which I would hold for 1 minute before cooling down at level 5. Just reading the above explanation back to myself it sounds a little confusing so the diagram below should make a bit more sense.


Interval training is based on your own levels of fitness and mine will improve over time. So I’ll be doing these cardio exercises 3 times a week.
Well seen as my first week of the BFL program has been massively disrupted the reset of this week will be warm up sessions so I can get used to the program. Sooooo I’m starting it officially on Monday… no excuses and hopefully no more snow.

Extreme Weather Update

Looks like my BFL program will have to postponed until next week due to the continuous snowfall through the night. Just tried to call the gym and there’s no answer so its most likely that people can’t make it in to open up… plus what crazy fool would want to risk going to the gym in this weather… well this crazy fool for starters :P

Day 1 & 2 (Cancelled)

Well yesterday morning (day 1) started off well as I was up and out of bed at 06:15 and out of the house for 07:00 but a bus decided to breakdown at Todwick crossroads so a trip that would normally take me 15 mins took 50 mins. So got to the gym late and only managed to do half of my program which I might add takes a lot longer that the 45 mins that it should take.
That aside I still had an awesome session even though is totally different to the way I’m used to training but I’ll get used to it.

So trying not to let yesterdays broken down bus fiasco dishearten me I looked forward to day 2 which is cardio day. Then opened my door to a snowstorm this morning but still got in the car and attempted to get to the gym but 30 minutes of crawling at a snails pace to the M1 I decided to turn around and knock it on the head… F’ING SNOW!!!

So to sum up my BFL diary so far it’s been a pretty disappointing start and all from things that have happened outside of my control. So tomorrow should be Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves & Abs but if the weather is still shitty I doubt the gym will even be open. If the gym is closed tomorrow or I’m unable to get there because of the snow I will just use this week as a warm up week and start it officially next Monday (11/01/10) which pains me because I’ve been really geared up for this week… GGGRRRR!!!

Anyway I apologies if you’ve just eaten and find the following photo grotesque… but this is where the public humiliation steps up a gear. The picture below is my before photo (if you’ve not guessed already) and I’ve tried to capture the depressed self loathing look that everyone has when they take a before photo… I think I succeeded :P



So using the trusty scales at the gym and the EAS Fat Calipers my current body stats are below:

Weight: 17.4 Stone (110.9KG)
Percentage Body Fat: 27%

So let’s see if I can keep this momentum up otherwise I’ve not posted this horrid photo for nothing.

Happy New Year :)

Happy New Year everyone… hope everyone had a great time last night and don’t feel too hung over this fine morning.
Well this was supposed to be day 1 of 90… but being the boy genius that I am decided to start my program on a day when the gym is closed… I have no idea why I thought it would be open on New Years Day.
Anyway that minor inconvenience to one side I’m going to officially start the program on the 4th January so that I have Sunday as my “free day” but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to sit on my arse for 3 days… nooooo.
Today I’m going on a long walk with my gorgeous and very supportive girlfriend then using the Saturday as a warm up session so I can get used to the different way of training. Then on to the official day 1 on Monday where I’ll post a before pic because I thrive of public humiliation :P

P.S.
As well as a 90 day program I’ve decided to also not drink any alcohol for the same amount of time as well… again just to see if I can because I don’t think the BFL program will be hard enough (YEAH RIGHT!!).