Day One

I've decided to post what I'm doing to get healthy and to be consistent about it.  I look at the heading of the blog and feel that its as true today as it was when I wrote it: diet, working out, consistency, and determination.  The reality is that I have allowed other things to get in front of what is important - my health.  And that is not the way I want to live.  The fact that I've lived in a state of stress for too long (long story) has something to do with the falling off the cliff of fitness.  But that, in a way, is an excuse. So be it, I'm on the path again and feel good about it. 

I went for another mountain bike ride today.  33 minutes in the heat and humidity - nice workout.   Mrs. Ntckfit wants to do laps in the local pond here later.  Sounds good. 

Today:

Today: 181.6 BF%:   24 43.58 lbs. fat
Goal:   167.0 BF%:   18 30.06 lbs. fat

Goal calorie intake: 2400
Goal water intake: 72 ozs.
Goal Calorie Deficit: 500 - 600

This is the plan for the remainder of the year:

Cycle One: (3 Months)

P90X  -      Weight Resistance: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
                   Cardio (HIIT, mountain and road biking, swimming laps, chasing Mrs. Ntckfit) Tuesday,
                   Thursday, and Saturday  (Not doing the program's cardio bits)

Cycle Two: (2 Months)

P90X/Insanity Hybrid       Cardio and Weight Resistance as Above

Cycle Three: (2 Months)  Cardio and Weight Resistance as Above

Kettle Bells, TRX, WODs, Tabata fun

One of the things that I have in the quiver of programs is the Hollywood Physique.  It's a program that focuses on developing specific muscles that create the definitive Hollywood body - think Brad Pitt in Fight Club.  Now, I like the program for its focus on the creating of the body type, yes I'm vain, but the diet is wacked.  Eggs and more eggs ..... then more eggs.   I can appreciate that the protein is natural, that the focus on fats (animals?) is what they are after too .... but the diet is not for me.  I'll take parts of it and run with the things that I find helpful.  I like one of the things that they focus: slowing down and focusing on every single rep to the point you are totally wiped out at the end of the workout.

Ok, enough said for today.

Right.  I haven't posted all summer.  Like to think that was because I was too busy working out and stuff, but not so.  I was looking for a job. Still not a good reason, but I'll use it.  Oh, I got a job.

So, what have I done for workouts this summer? Hmm.  I went mountain biking, which is a blast in one of the best places on the east coast, a bunch.  I went for some road rides on the cape and around here.  I swam laps a few times.  I hiked the Grand Canyon for a hour, then a day later, Bryce, then later still, Zion.  Wow, that was amazing stuff.  A workout at elevation.  I have no wind.


My first view of the Grand Canyon:


So, I've been working out a bit, but it's not enough.

My weight today:  186.3 Body Fat 23%    Ugh
Goal weight:          167.0 Body Fat 18%

The trail on the Grand Canyon.

What is the plan?  6 meals a day.  Eliminate processed food and sugars.  A lot of load of water.  B12, Calcium, and Multi Vitamin each day.  Two workouts a day.  Alcohol consumption eliminated. Sleep 8 hours a night.

I have to choose a program to begin.  These are the options:  P90X, Insanity, Hollywood Physique, TRX and Kettle Bells, Turbulence Training ...... oh, the decisions.

I'll start out with P90X.  It's known and it works.  I transformed my body with it before.  Ok, that's the start.  Going to do early morning workouts.  Then have a post workout drink then breakfast.

Diet.  If I burn about 500 cals working out each day, my nutritionist says I should burn eat 2900 cals a day.  With a 500 cal deficit, to lose weight, that translates to 2400 cals.  I want to eat as close to paleo as possible but found it to be tough.  I'll start that again too.

Day 1 Again

I'm starting the 90 days of P90X over again - the foot issue was my rationalization for not working out.  Which, is partially lame and partially not.

I happened to get out of bed at 630 when Mrs. Ntckfit's alarm went off.  I got up, strapped on the boot, weighed myself, and got my workout stuff on.  I made some coffee for Mrs. Ntckfit when she would be up, put the huge ass protective dog collar on the dog, then head up to the family room.

I decided to start on day 3 of the program, as I'd worked out my chest two days prior using TRX.   The interesting thing about the X is that I know the excersises well - and moved through them with ease.  What's interesting, in a way, is the degree of strength that I've lost.  Makes sense. 

Yesterday I went to the grocery store and picked up all paleo foods.  Very cool. And I had an almost Paleo diet day - minus the empty carbs bagel in the morning.  It was good!

The meal plan for the day:

Meal 1-  Egg whites, green onions, feta cheese, cantaloupe   & P90X Recovery Shake
Meal 2 - Shakeology  
Meal 3 - Turkey and ?
Meal 4 - Almonds, apple, peanut butter
Meal 5 - Steak tips and brocolli

Water intake:

Mulitvitamin:

Other:

Day Ten - Back and Chest and Ab Ripper X

Right.  Back at it.  The weekend move really messed with the schedule. And the fact that I knocked myself on my *&^ moving a ton of stuff.  Well, that is more a rationalization than anything. I have to say that I set the alarm two times for 4:30 AM and bagged it.  The bed is such a draw.  I used to pop out of bed and head down every single morning for nearly three years.  Three years.  What happened?

Funny how working out is after a while.  I can feel the change in two weeks - more energy by far.  I think too that I have been eating a lot better contributes to that.  The paleo diet is out there, I've been in and out in doing it completely, having difficulties with following it ..... hmmm.


So doing P90X again, man, I think its time to turn the sound off and plug in the iPod. This is the second time I did Ab Ripper X since I started again.  I forgot how I liked it, but didn't.

Day Nine- Kettlebells and Interval Run

And its raining.  I'm sitting here on the couch and getting ready to change into my workout gear - nifty wicking shirt, compression things, sneaks, Saucony hat, oh, and shorts n socks. Gripping stuff, I know.  My dog is staring out the window waiting to be fed.  So, I decided to post prior to the work out - and here it is.  Man, this is a very gripping post.  Hmm 

I ate clean as a whistle today and drank a ton of water.  I'm on day for of an Advocare cleanse and it's working out.  I haven't noticed too much of a change.  But something is up.  More energy maybe?  Hmm.

Mrs. ntckfit (thanks Ryan) found the tickets to Elvis Costello - we're going to see him Friday in Boston.  She'd lost them in the cyber world of her online email accounts. But, alas, with guidance from afar - ticket agent - they were located. Yes.

Off to swing and run.

Right.  Starting over workout.  Gah.  Let's see, the intervals were great - 90% max for about 15 total mins. Then KB swings.  I went with the 30 lb KB.  Fine.  Out of shape.  Given.  Turkish Get Ups - used a boot for form for the first set then went to 15 lb KB.  I was running out the last interval and I tweaked my calve.  The one I tore about three years ago.   A strain and little pain.  Time to stretch.

Meal 1 - Advocare Meal Replacement Shake

Meal 2 - Two hard boiled eggs and almonds

Meal 3 - Grilled chicken and mesculan salad, walnuts, avocado, and blue cheese.

Meal 4 - Apple, hard boiled egg - a bit apart - and some almonds

Meal 5 - Avocado salad with shrimp, and some sort of sushi - haven't headed out to dinner yet.

Day Eight - Shoulders and Arms

It's 5:31 AM and I'm finished working out. Started at 4:30, completed shoulders and arms and 1/2 of ab routine. Weird thing is the body weight and fat.  Odd.  182.4  25%

Great day, eating wise.  I ended up eating chicken, a sweet potato, and asparagus for lunch.  Man.  That was good.  Anyway, the morning meal sucked.  Bagel and egg.  Well, not really, but I'm working on eliminating breads.   I actually thought of not taking a sweet and low with my ice coffee this morning, but my local server already made my regular.   The take on the Paleo diet is tre cool.  Good food - not processed crap.

I ended up reading a lot about strength conditioning - and this one blog called - cannot find the link.  Damn.  Well, I'll find it again. The site was put up by this fitness pursuant - nice - who had a plan for 2011.  He broke it into 90 day blocks.  Sounds good, as P90X is 90 days. Then he was going to go into Insanity for 60, then on to TRX and Kettlebells.  If I got that wrong, its close.

Anyway, so I was thinking, "Why not do that?"     So, that's what coming here.  I have to pick up the TRX gear.  I think during Insanity I work in resistance with the TRX.

Night.

Shopping Day

Right. Went shopping with a list that I took from The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf.  What did I get, let's see: Strawberries, cantaloupe, avocados, bell peppers, steak tip meat, ground turkey, carrot sticks, onions, sweet potatoes, and baby spinach.   Here's a video about the diet.




With what I have in the fridge now, its looking good for a good week of eating.   I mentioned the Advocare cleanse in the post below.  A co-worker put me on to Advocare and it looks like a great product. I'm suspect of products that are out there, but in in a healthy way.  I've seen what P90X and Insanity did for me.  Now it's a "wait and see" with this upcoming Advocare cleanse.

Went to to a local diner for breakfast and logged into Fitday.com mobile.  The Fitday journal, logging into Beachbody for the workouts, and this blog all keep me honest.

I'm looking into TRX right now too. 

Time to cook some meat.

Later

Day Six - Back and Chest

Right.  Day six of P90X.

Just finished the weight resistance part of this morning.  About to start Ab Ripper X.   Truth is that Im the edge of bagging ABX - but will not. 

This is the third time I've done the program.  But its starting all over again.  Current weight - 181.8 lbs. at 24% body fat. In a month or so, I'm going to work in some Insanity cardio workouts.  Both programs are Beachbody products.

This week I go shopping for food that follows the Primal Diet.  That should be interesting.  I'm going to fire up the FitDay.com account to log my food.   I know what I need to eat, when it comes to total calories and fat, protein, and carbs percentages.  So, after shopping, log it, I start an Advocare cleanse.

Later.

Hola! No workout today

Hmm.  I got up early to go for an interval run, and holy crap, my glutimus maxius was .... well, the pain was there.  It was from the lunges yesterday.  So, I bagged the run.  The thing is that that sucks.  Well, maybe not "sucks" but I could have gone, maybe should have gone.   Chalk one up to getting back on the path, this day was a rut.

Day Five - Legs and Back

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  What happened to my blog - I put, what, three hours or so into the design, and "poof," it's gone!   Grr

Anyway, I got up at 4:30 AM this morning.  I know.  Holy crap!  But the leg and back workout was sweet - the legs still ache and its 12 hours later.  That says something,  More later

Day Three - Shoulders and Arms

Done.  Right, this is my favorite workout of this program.  Feel good.  I was going to workout yesterday in the am and the alarm didn't go off.  Hmm. Subconscious mind at work? Hmm.

I was reading about functional fitness.  Looks good.  The workouts that really workout your whole body are intense in a different way, rather than the isolated weight excercise workouts.  Like flipping a huge tire, or swinging a sledgehammer.  Crossfit takes functional fitness to a new level.  There's a new gym that opened up that is works this angle to.

Day One. Chest and Back plus Ab Ripper X

So, I started P 90X today, first day of 90 to come. The workout was great.  I'll stopped working out partly due to a nasty shoulder sprain that turned into "frozen shoulder." So, the first day is in the books and I feel great about it. ABX was tough.  I know that time will change that. Heading off to down a recovery drink.

So I was thinking that the reason for the shoulder putting out of action sounds lame, in a way.  It was something that scared me like no other.

I found out I sprained the AC joint on my shoulder.  And by not using it, my shoulder literally froze up.  The range of motion just, well, it was NOT good at all.  My PT (she is incredible, btw) told me to talk to a orthopedic surgeon about my shoulder - and that I might have a torn rotator cuff.  And that would suck big time.

So off I went to a hospital in Boston and had my first MRI.  The next day, I met with the surgeon.  It went well until there were four doctors in the exam room and he brought up interesting here.  "Oh shit," I thought to myself.  "I have a tear, I HAVE A TEAR!"   But no.

Teres Minor Muscle

Turns out I had a tumor in my shoulder, I know.  It was in the teres minor in the shoulder, taking up a lot of the muscle.  Hmm.   The doctor told me that he was setting my up with a colleague and friend at Dana Farber for an biopsy.  So, I was headed to one of the foremost cancer centers in the world.  Holy crap.

Fast forward and the biopsy came back negative.  What I have is a lipoma in the muscle - very rare.  Lipomas are just fatty tumors.  Did you ever have a dog that had bumps under their fur?   They're lipomas.

So, after three months of PT, I received the green light to start lifting weights again and today was day one.