Fortunately the trip is just over 3 months away, which is the perfect amount of time to harden down the fitness regime, set some specific goals – and focus on the prize.

Diet

I saw some results with the visceral fat diet that I was on for about a month. I shed between 5-10 lbs. This diet is not practical for the long term as it doesn’t involve any sugar (fruit included, even as strict as no root vegetables, carrots, beets, potatoes, etc). My new focus is to eat well constantly, save for 1 meal a week.

To be successful at this, I have to maintain proper portions. Generally this is only a problem at dinner, but breakfast I can get a little out of hand with the Kashi GoLean Crunch and Yogurt. I’m going to continue to measure my breakfast portions (1/3 C rolled oats before cooking and 1/4 C egg whites, or 1/2 C Kashi with enough yogurt to cover it).

My protein intake has been pretty good. I’ve been having egg whites for breakfast every morning, 2 protein shakes throughout the day, a can of tuna, and 1/2 a chicken breast. I’m not going to change anything here.

I’ve been really good with my alcohol intake. Aside from a glass of wine here and there I have only had 2 ‘drinking’ nights since New Year’s day. This will continue aside from my ‘planned cheats’.

Planned Cheats

• March – Minneapolis. I’m heading on a small road trip at the end of the month to Minneapolis. This will be my first milestone (3 weeks) at which I’m allowing myself some Arby’s, Pizza, beer, Cheesecake Factory. This will of course be all offset by the 14 laps I’ll be doing around the Mall of America.
• April – Birthday. My birthday coincides with my brother in law’s wedding social. This will be a drinking evening, followed by what I’m sure will be delicious social food – cold cuts on rye with pickles and mustard. MMMMMMmmmm.
• May – 1st Camping weekend of the year. The May long weekend is Winnipeg’s first real opportunity to come out of hibernation and enjoy some 50/50 weather. This means some hot dogs, chips, booze, and monopoly. Although the monopoly isn’t a cheat, I will try and stay off beer and focus on gin and soda. We’ll see.

Fitness

Weights – I have been extremely happy with my weight lifting at the gym, and there is not much I want to change here. I am pushing myself more and more in terms of load, and only want this to increase.

• Power lifts: I will be trying to incorporate more power lifts a la CrossFit to try and improve cardio and fat loss while lifting weights.
• Core – I will try to incorporate more core into my routine (2x a week). These sessions will include:
• Front Planks (2 X 1.5 minutes)
• Site Planks (2 x 1 minute per side)
• Decline situps
• Medicine ball twists
• Wood chops

Cardio – My cardio has fallen over the last month. Previously I was doing interval training 2-3 times a week. My current goal for cardio is to go 3 times in addition to my 6 day weight lifting cycle:

• Monday I have 90 minutes of intense rugby practice (core, plyometrics, sprints, etc)
• Wednesday/Thursday – Interval training for 25 minutes. I want to see how far I actually run in this time, and set more specific goals after that.
• Saturday/Sunday – Interval training for 25 minutes.

Size/Weight

I’m currently floating between 225lbs and 230lbs. I want to get to 215lbs by June 7th (90 days from today). I will be posting pictures probably tonight of my current progress to date, for bi-weekly trend comparison. This should bring out the definition I’m looking for in my abs, and also get rid of excess fat on my love handles (still got ‘em) and chest.

Stay tuned!

Shendy.

I did want to take some time (and more than 140 characters) to update my progress thus far. I’m back to ‘Vegas Shape’ as I’m calling it – the shape I was in last June went I went to Vegas with the boys. I have been going to the gym 6 days a week now, actually incorporating a Saturday workout for the first time in forever for the last 4-5 weeks. I am very happy with how the gym is going. My arms, chest and shoulders are starting to get more defined (and bigger hopefully), and most importantly – I can start to see those “abdominal muscles” I’ve heard so much about.

Current weight: 223.5 1/2 lbs – My lowest in at least 10 years. My goal is 215 by mid-April.

Diet

• I have stuck to a diet targeting visceral fat for 3 weeks now, and have cut out sugar completely (except for cheat days).
• I have been eating protein right after my workouts
• Water – I have been consuming about 4-5 L of water a day, but not on the weekends

Improvements/Goals

• I want to see if I can get my heart rate to “target” (192 bpm). No matter what I do, I can’t seem to get about 160.
• I want to improve cardio for rugby. This will involve my weekly dry-land training with the team on Mondays, but also including a spin class once a week, and an interval run once a week.
• I want to increase my bench press. My goal is 275lbs for 10 reps for 3 sets
• I want to increase my squats. I currently push between 225lbs and 275lbs for free weight squats. I would like to get this up 315lbs (three 45lb plates).
• I want to consume more water on the weekends.
• Stretching and strengthening my hips – due to sitting all day in front of a computer, my hips become very tight from time to time, and I have a lot of lower back problems that come and go throughout the year. I have really been focusing on squat stretches, squats in general, hip adductors, and also a lot of stretches for this area.

As soon as I charge the batteries in my camera, I will take some progress pictures. I’m very happy with how far I’ve come, but have a lot further to go.

That’s it for now – I’m off to the lake for a poker tourney with the boys, some Prime Rib a la Brandon Boone, and some delicious chicken wings. Cheat meal? I think I deserve one.

Shendy.

On to the workout:

Back

• Wide grip pullups – 10 reps, 5 reps, 3 reps
• Seated row – 3 sets of 65lbs per arm x 10 reps per set
• One arm seated row – 3 sets 50lbs per arm x 10 reps per set
• Bent over rows – 3 sets (135lbs,155lbs,135lbs) at 4-6 reps per set

I read about a squat stretch from an article I found the other day. It involves sitting at the bottom of your squat (no weight) for 30 seconds, gradually spreading your knees farther apart. This reportedly helps to stretch our your hips (which are a real problem for me). I did 4 of these squat holds for about 15-20 seconds each. I could really feel my form on it, and I hope making these a frequent appearance in my workouts will help improve the weight and form of my squats.

Biceps

• Bicep Curls – 45lbs X 8, 50lbs x 4, 45lbs x 6, 35lbs x 10
• Hammer Curls – 45lbs x 6, 35lbs x 8,35lbs x 8
• "21s" with 25 lbs.

"21s" are great for a bicep burner at the end of your workout. They’re simply 3 sets of seven with the first set focusing on the lower half of the curl, the 2nd set focusing on the top half of the curl, and the last being a full curl from the bottom up. Your arms will BURN after trying these, if not – you’re not using enough weight.

Shendy.

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/26_04_Beginners_Guide.pdf

Shendy.

Most fitness diets have lots of sources of protein and ‘good carbs’ but not a lot of them talk about the essential fruits and veggies. One of the biggest topics discussed in the produce industry is the quality of the fruits and veggies that are consumed now, as per hundreds of years ago. Its no secret that now we are finding that a lot of our foods just don’t have the same nutritional value as they once did. Currently these luscious greens are being sprayed with pesticides and enhanced appearance though waxes and other chemicals that are extremely toxic to our bodies. It is now said that if you eat four servings of vegetables, you are actually only getting about one servings worth of nutritional value. Canada’s Nutritional Food Guide recommends anywhere from 5-10 servings of fruits and veggies a day… this puts you at 20-40 servings to maximize your nutritional value!!

Why all the talk about veggies and fruits?? It’s the one of the oldest sources of food and nutrients available, and I bet if you broke down your diet, you’re definitely not getting enough, or in some cases ANY!! I can’t count how many times I have asked people about diet and nutrition and they NEVER EVER include fruits and veggies in their daily routine, so how bad of a mistake are they making??? Lets go through what these wonderful food of the god’s do for us, in terms of fitness……

Although you may already live and eat a healthy lifestyle, you could be consuming mostly acidic foods which causes your body to be in the form of an acidic state. When you’re too acidic your body absorbs nutrients poorly and may even prove to be in a broken down or…. that’s right a catabolic state, I said that BAD word catabolic. Your body will be more likely to store nutrients as body fat or flush them out completely, this is bad news for the muscles. While in an acidic state, lots of free radicals and other tissue damaging toxins will live and thrive. What we need are lots of anti-oxidants to provide those free radicals an electron and neutralize and prevent cell and tissue damage. Cancers love to live in an acidic body. They thrive on a damaged tissue, and spread through an acidic state. I’m no doctor but I do know that anti-oxidant foods can be very preventative and cancer fighting. Enter alkaline foods!! Most fruits and veggies are highly alkalinizing which can cause nutrient absorption to broken down muscles (this would be your muscles after a hard ass workout).

As before we said fruits and veggies can also be high in anti-oxidants. We read more and more about how they boost immune systems, anti aging, fat loss, development of hair, skin and nails, etc. Anti-oxidants are measured ORAC units, which show the quality of the nutrients that your body is taking in. Some fruits that are high in anti-oxidants are Gogi berries, Pomegranates, Açai berry, Mangostein, blueberries, and any other type of berries. When it comes to these berries, the darker the better!! So after a workout have a handful of refreshing berries, or throw them in your protein shake for a good tasting smoothie!! When it comes to veggies; the greener the better. Common veggies to consume are: Spinach (there’s a reason why Popeye had huge guns!) Broccoli, any type of coniferous greens, and if you can try to find a good source of sea veggies!! (I know its tough you may have to search in extract form for this.)

So what’s the final word??

Along with your healthy eating every 3 hours or so, make sure to include a portion the size of your fist of fruits or veggies. A good idea that a lot of top athletes do is supplement with a greens/berry super food. Most of these are high in anti-oxidants, and increase your nutrient absorption along with all the other benefits that were talked about. All the nutrients that are included in these are veggies or fruits are in extract form and freeze dried so they carry the same nutritional value as the whole food. In some cases they can satisfy up to 6-8 servings daily!! With the discussion on the nutritional downfall of fruits and veggies, supplementing with a green/berry super food is almost essential in a healthy lifestyle. If I haven’t convinced you to complete your diet now, I probably never will, but if you have ever asked the question “Do I really get everything I need out of my diet?” Then I hope I have provided some answers for you.

Matt

Thanks Matt!

Shendy.

Without further ado, today’s workout was:

• 5, 2 minute intervals @ 9mph split with a 1 minute walk at 3.7mph
• 4 sets of “jerks” – 10 reps each @ 95lbs, 115lbs, 135lbs, 115lbs
• 3 sets of barbell shoulder thrusters – 10 reps each @ 135lbs, 115lbs, 115lbs
• 3 sets of lateral dumbbell shoulder raises – 8 reps each @ 35lbs, 30lbs, 30lbs
• 3 sets of side dumbbell shoulder raises – 8 reps each @ 15lbs per rep
• 3 sets of front dumbbell shoulder raises – 8 reps each @ 15 lbs per rep

T’was a gooder.

Shendy.