Day 9

Full disclosure, folks, it is nine days in and I am fucking ready to sleep for a year.  Just finished my morning(!) workout, Sqt/PshUp/Rw/Plnk circuit, and I could only complete four circuits in 15; when I did it on Friday I completed six circuits.  I know it's early in the game and I shouldn't feel bad because it just means my body it exhausted; but I still feel like it's back-sliding? I guess it's important to realize that not every day will be an Aha!Progress Moment.  Some days you'll just be tired as all hell and you just have to keep going.

Yesterday when I got home from work; I could barely walk up the three flights to my apartment.  I was destroyed; and work wasn't even that busy. I need to make sure I take Wednesday and actually rest up a little.  I'll still squeeze in a light workout; but I need to give my legs a break I think.

Diet is going really, really well though.  After Saturday's drinking escapades I am determined not to let peer pressure to party (alliteration!) undo all the hard work I am putting in.  I am going out tonight with my brother again to karaoke and again on Thursday for my friend's birthday; it will be a good test.  I think I may just cut out alcohol completely.  Weight aside, it makes me bloat and does my skin no favors.  Plus, I am filming something on Saturday and don't want to be puffy-faced, so I have many reasons to abstain.I  I cut booze out for about two months earlier in the year with a couple of cheats, so this should not be too difficult.

On Goal #4 zero progress has been made; so this week I will begin by looking at listings as well as asking one of my acting school professors to lunch to pick his brain.  On the upside; Sunday I got to be featured in this super awesome photo-project being collaborated on by three artists and an art historian about the Highline Parkway.  I cannot wait to see the photos.

I get into this habit where whenever I delve into something new I feel super zealous about it for like, two days, then lose interest and eventually abandon whatever the project is.  I can feel my attention wandering from my goals, but I am determined not to give in. Same deal goes for my novel and songwriting.  I plunged into both with vigor; only to start neglecting them a few days later.  Consistency is my biggest issue.  I am working on dividing up my leisure time between working on the aforementioned projects and vegging.

FOR THE REBELLION!

-C

Day 8; Week 2 Begins!

Oof. Day 8 begins with an incredibly hard workout. I did the Burpee/Spiderman/Superman, and only managed three circuits instead of five where I left it last week. My body is just totally spent. Probably because I didn't actually rest enough on my rest day? I got about seven hours of sleep; I guess it wasn't enough. I threw 10 push ups in there to feel somewhat more accomplished. But yeah, it wasn't even that I was sore; I just had no energy and ran out of breath almost immediately. I am definitely regretting how much I drank on Saturday night as I feel somewhat bloated from the alcohol still.

Definitely feeling set back a little; I just have to keep my eye on the prize. I have resolved to cut sugar out of my diet completely as well; I kinda-sorta doing that already, but I'm am going to be even more stringent about it.


-C

Day 6: Ow.

So last night was probably the worst waitressing shift of my entire service industry career.  It was like every anxiety dream about work I have ever had (beer running out, new set up and not knowing where anything is, food taking hours(!)).  I have never been so embarrassed to waitress in my life.  I basically didn't stop running around for 6 hours and I. Am. Exhausted. BUT. I would not be on the path to Badassery if I let a little thing like being tired stop me, so when I got up I worked out and did ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SQUATS, MOTHERFUCKERS. That's right. I added a seventh circuit (Or Seventh Circle of Hell, if you like) to my Squat/PushUp/Plank/Row circuit. Not a full seventh circuit, just the squats; didn't have time for the full one inside the 15 minutes.

And now my legs are super tired. Like, ow.  So for tomorrow (Day 7!) I will doing a very light workout; not one of the circuits( SqtPshUpPlnkRw(SPPR) or Superhero). So many parentheses! Sorry, I love them. I have decided that because of the way my schedule is set up with work, Wednesday is my rest/errands day; so starting this upcoming Wednesday I will take a break from working out.  Six days on, one day off seems sufficiently hardcore for Beast Mode Standards.

I'm going to start taking torso photos tomorrow as well.  I can already feel and see the difference from evena  week ago though, which is remarkable. And feels absolutely AMAZING.  I do need to remind myself to make sure I'm resting enough and eating enough protein to keep going at this pace so that I don't burn out; my usual non-commitment to fitness has turned into rabid-commitment; I don't want to hurt myself. Also, MORE STRETCHING!

As Ryan Lochte would say, "Jeah!"

-C

Day 5

Day 5 of Operation: Beast Mode, and I'm going strong.  Excited to finish the week out with a bang; only two more days to go, and every day my goals seem more like possibilities and less the daunting phantoms that they were.

I was supposed to have an audition/interview at 1 PM (it just got pushed back to 5 PM) so I got up at 9 AM, little rough after bartending late and not getting into bed until 2:30 AMish, but I wanted to make sure I worked out today. I did my Burpee/SpiderMan/Superman circuit (I should call it the Superhero Workout), and managed to add a complete circuit (making for a total of five circuits).  Progress!

I moved onto sprints from there; my overall time is improving and I realized that I have a tendency to lead with my chest, which leaves me totally out of breath and puts strain on the wrong places.  I focused on my pushing my legs into the ground more, with attention on my quads, and that improved my feel and performance significantly. I also added two sprints; going from doing three to five.

Growing up an internet and fantasy geek, I never understood how "jocks" my age had so much confidence and just seemed to put their best foot forward most of the time (not saying that people who play sports/workout are more well-adjusted, just a casual observation), and now it's obvious.  When you push your body to your limit and go past it, not only have you achieved real, tangible results, but you also build mental discipline; you know that when you want to, you CAN do it, you can push yourself and accomplish your goals.  I'm sure not every athlete feels that way, but that has been my primary take away from five straight days of training: I can do whatever I put my mind to.

-C

O: BM - Day 4

Day 4 of Operation: Beast Mode

Woke up, read an article on NerdFitness and then thought, "Wait, why am I just sitting here, I have shit to do!" So I got up and worked out.  Not only did I workout, I added half a loop to my Squat/PushUp/Row/Plank circuit. That's Almost 50 pushups, which is one of my Goals for the 6WkCh; granted those 49 were not consecutive, but still! So feeling really pumped.

Bodyweight Squat:
20 reps
Push up:
7 reps
One Armed Dumbbell Row:
8 lb x 10 per arm
Plank:
20 sec

I completed 6 1/2 circuits; finishing around 14:35 with 7 circuits of Squat and Push Up, and 6 circuits of the Rows and Plank.  Saturday goal: complete 7th Circuit!

-C

Sprinting; Green Things

So for the workout today I took it to the park so I could get some sprinting in.

I did my 15 minute circuit; doing only burpees, Sidermans/mountain-climbers and Supermans. I did one set of each, then immediately went into the next set.

Looked like this:

Burpee (5)
Spiderman (8)
Superman (30 sec)

Burpee (5)
Spiderman (8)
Superman (30 sec)

Burpee (5)
Spiderman (8)
Superman (30 sec)

Burpee (5)
Spiderman (8)
Superman (30 sec)
Burpee (5)

That extra set of burpees were brutal, but I'm glad I squeezed them in (finishing around 14:35).

Then I walked around for a bit to catch my breath, then started sprints. I picked a fairly short distance (.08 mile/129 meters)(I guess? Is that short for sprinting? I really don't know, but it's working for me so far).
My times:
27
26
24
23.6

I hadn't sprinted in a while, so the first two were really warm ups and then I pushed myself to 90% energy for the second two.  I feel good about them, but I don't want to push myself too hard and hurt myself, obviously.

Then I came home, went to the grocery store and bought half the vegetables section.  Took that shit home, chopped the crap out of everything, cooked a ton of chicken and BAM now I'm prepared for the next couple of days.  I know the key to not eating crap is to be PREPARED which has always been a challenge for me.  I am determined not to let poor planning get the best of me.

So say we all!

-C

For the time being this blog is going to be a place for me to publicly record my fitness life without blowing up my FB friends' newsfeeds (you're welcome!).  I was just cast (!) in an indie film, and there is a decent chance  that I will be in a leotard or something similar; this prospect is more than a bit daunting, so I decided to use this as motivation to push my fitness to the next level.  I've been working out every here and there and eating fairly well, but I know I can do more.

I have never been particularly healthy or in shape, though I live a pretty active life now (I live in a walking city).  I played some sports as a kid, but they definitely did not require any rigorous training outside of practice.  Running for more than a block left me really short of breath and I was always tired.  In the last two years I started to put on a little bit of muscle from bar-tending and waitressing at a busy sports bar (running up and down stairs, carrying four pitchers of beer at once, etc).  Then my big sister discovered NF and became a complete fitness guru and the bug bit.  I've always looked at athlete's prowess with envy, thinking "Man, they're so capable and badass, I wonder what that feels like?" Well, time to find out!  I've been eating loose Paleo since around January (including dairy and lots of fruit), and I started working out every so often (maybe twice a week). I used to smoke, but I quit in February, been pretty much smoke free since then with a few lapses.

So, because I am PAF (Poor As F***), I don't currently have a gym membership, which is sad because I really want to get into lifting.  That will happen eventually, like in the next few months when I can find an affordable gym.  But in the meantime, I need to be able to workout NO MATTER WHAT, no matter where or when, no excuses; so I've been trying circuit bodyweight exercises and really loving them.

Coincidentally, NerdFitness is starting another 6 Week Challenge; the timing could not be better!

 I realized that the reason I have never been in shape is because I have never committed to it; I didn't think it was really possible.  Screw that. I have exactly 48 days as of today until we shoot this thing, so this 6WC really is serendipitous.

Alright, this post is already super long, sooooo 6WkC GOALS:

1) Be able to do 50 consecutive pushups
2) Be able to run 5k without stopping
3) Be able to do one pull-up
4[lifegoal!]  Contact at least 5 agencies about getting representation.

Plan:  I'm working out every day, with one break day a week (probably wednesdays or thursday, though that will start next week).  I've realized that I'm the kind of person that needs to go all out; no moderation on this one for me.

Diet: Strict Paleo(started 8/4); basically meat, veggies, eggs, with occasional fruit (but only early in the day), and almonds.  I don't want to give up coffee, so artificial sweetener and almond milk for my morning java (though eventually I would like to wean myself off....though I'll probably have to go cold turkey knowing me).

Running: 2-3 sprint sessions a week, 1 long distance run in the park.
Full body: 15 minute circuits; squats, burpees, push-ups, core strengthers (supermans, planks, etc).

This is Day 3, and I'm feeling great and motivated.

Till next time,
C