December 14, 2011 7:25 AM EST

Day 91

My Peak Condition Project 

Day1: 88kgs, 24% body fat. Day90: 78kgs, 14% body fat

What would I tell someone what I've learned in last 90 days?

Overall thoughts? The numbers above speak for themselves but besides that it was the best decision I have made in my adult life (outside of work obviously). I think Patrick and the PCP team have come up with something way beyond a "diet and physical activity program". It's more a "way of life" and "school of body". The program has tought me so much, from very broad aspects such as new exercises (jump rope, floor jumps, planks, etc) that I have never really done so much before as a training method, to more micro elements of human health such as diet and its effects on metabolism. 

I have been properly educated on how the body actually works when it comes to "dieting" and exercise. Before this if I felt I needed to drop a few pounds I'd put myself on some silly "no carbs diet" for a few weeks and jog 20 minutes a day. To be fair it worked a bit in my early to mid 20s (also because I was still in decent shape during that period...the last lingering affects of my university tennis days) but as time went on the results of such practice became less and less effective. PCP has enlightened me to the fact that losing weight, looking good, even having nicer skin complexion is a COMBINATION of diet, exercise AND sleep. It's not just about "uhhhh ok, Atkins diet time and I'll hit the treadmill a bit..." No. This isn't "getting in shape" and this isn't "health". To get into shape your body needs to start recognizing a series of healthy patterns every day, and THAT is what will result in a good physical condition. 

The dietary portion of PCP has been absolutely priceless. I have just learned so much. Can go on forever on this part but to break it down, what will I take away? 3 meals, 3 snacks, and be smart about what you put in those. Remember what you ate during PCP and stick to them as a guideline. Have a few "indulgences" (what's life without them) here and there within a month, but be smart about it. I'd like to think that the times I do indulge I will stick to fresh food, even if it isn't PCP friendly and get rid of all the processed junk that I used to eat before PCP.  So if I want to indulge myself I will have a big pork chop at a German restaurant, an oven baked pizza from my favorite pizzeria, etc.  Never again another Burger King Friday lunch.  Other than that, just as we were taught during PCP I'll be laying off the salt shaker, cooking with natural spices and spending more time cutting vegetables, eating brown rice, using REAL whole wheat bread in my sandwiches, picking the proper dairies etc rather than worrying about filling myself up.  There is NOTHING wrong with enjoying meals and filling yourself.  Just USE THE RIGHT STUFF and satisfaction naturally follows.  I have had some of the most satisfying meals on the PCP diet (steak fajitas, chicken breast sandwiches, spicy swordfish burgers...seriously, u name it).  It's just about finding the time and the product. Not impossible. 

Remember the readings....ie, the importance of not piling on viceral fat (fat that grows near the organs) and how it can statistically shorten your life expectancy. Other great readings that come to mind are ones on the importance of sleep and its impact on muscle growth and overall health. 

Anyway, theoretically this could go on till I vent 90 days worth of what I have learned so in the interest of not writing a book and saving some suspense for future PCP'ers I will cut it right here. 

Patrick, Chen, Thomas. THANK YOU so much for this experience. Has been a life changer, and the jump rope goes everywhere with me now. 


DAY 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Adrian

December 12, 2011 9:55 PM EST

Last Day

Last day of PCP today.  Strange feeling! Kind of like that feeling at being at summer camp.  While u are there all u want to do is go home but now that it's the end all u want to do is stay! I will write my full thoughts tomorrow when it's all done and I have a moment to relax and reflect.  I will say however that I am glad Patrick has written out a maintenance course for us.  Curious to see what thats all about

Photos

December 7, 2011 12:20 AM EST

Day 84

Never thought I'd hear myself say this but I actually enjoy jump rope.... a lot. Another early wake up this morning, cranked the heating way up (as it's freezing), got the music going and skipped rope.  Sweat dripping off me after a few minutes.  2 sets of 9 minutes now.  2 months ago if someone told me I'd be actually LOVING 2 sets of 9 minute rope I'd tell them they are smoking glue.
It's a great exercise for your entire body, similar to swimming.  Fantastic way to start the day.    

December 5, 2011 11:21 PM EST

Day 83

Coming up to the first day of the last week.  Gotta finish strong.  Have moved my workouts to the morning to keep myself disciplined thru the end. Woke up at 5.30 this morning to knock out the PCP portion of my day.  Haven't done that in a very very long time.  It's tough, especially with the winter cold being here.  But u know what - life's tough.. Laziness is a disease.  Must fight it, and this is the way I will make sure I finish strong

November 29, 2011 8:19 AM EST

Day 76

14 more days. 

Starting to feel a slight "fear of getting out".   I will really miss the structure and the excitement of the new weekly challenge. 

November 24, 2011 3:32 AM EST

Day 71

I am noticing a big decline in my blogging diligence.  It's not so much about the energy at the end of the day, its more coming up with new things to share!  I am not trying to sound AT ALL like I am "tired of it" or even worse "above it all".  It's not like that.   Basically, I think we can all assume that it has been a great and tough journey to find our groove in PCP.  I think in this search for this "groove" we found many things we wanted to discuss and share. Now that we are over 2/3 done, if we haven't figured out the groove by now we'd be in pretty big trouble.  As myself and others alike have found out how to take this thing down, we find less and less we need to talk about/blog about. We know the work - we get it done.  We know how to make the food good - we get it done. We know how to shop - we get it done.  All in all, by this point - we know what to do, so we get it done.  THAT SAID, I will say I find blogging to be very important and so I promise to myself and everyone that I will make a bigger effort here. 

New menu - looks great.  Pumped that we have dinner again :)

I am suffering a small case of shin splints.  Not the end of the day, I've had worse in my days of tennis.  But definitely feeling the sensitivity.  Going to start doing my jumps on carpet and hope it gets a bit better.  

November 16, 2011 2:02 AM EST

Scored some awesome seasoning

For those who shop at Nissin in Tokyo....pick yourself up one of these in the spices section: "Original All Purpose Salt-Free Seasoning".  Very good. Ingredients are ALL pcp friendly.  Tastes fantastic on anything.  

Photos

November 13, 2011 9:08 PM EST

2 down, 1 to go!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a great feeling to be able to see the finish line....

November 7, 2011 2:24 AM EST

Day 54

OK so this weekend:

Attended my colleague's wedding at Nobu.  Great time and beautiful event.  Preparing for the wedding and I came to a pleasant surprise...my suit is WAY too big for me. I had to put the belt at it's tightest to prevent myself from looking ridiculous (I end up looking ridiculous once I hit the dance floor anyway but that's a whole new story).  Anyway, looks like I gotta buy new suits when this is all over.  Guess it's a problem I want to have.  

Managed to squeeze in a trip Motegi as well to watch my friend Andre race.  He won the Championship so it was a great day.  

More to come later....

It's my birthday today ....turned 31.  Thank god for PCP, otherwise this would be SUPER depressing!!!

Photos

November 6, 2011 8:14 AM EST

Day 53

Week 8 Photos

Photos

November 6, 2011 8:13 AM EST

Day 53

Indulgence day was great.  Went to Ex Bar with some friends, slaughtered a pig and had a few cold ones.   Was a bit extreme, but then again so is 8 weeks of dieting.  I really needed it because I'm not going to lie - was starting to go a bit coo-coo.  Now I can put it behind me and move on.    Couple things went on this weekend.  Which I will blog about tomorrow.  In the mean time attaching a photo taken at Ex Bar on my indulgence as well as my new week 8 photos.  

In terms of the workouts, pretty straight fwd.  Patrick puts it in front of us every day and I do it.  Not much else to say about that....(I sound like Forrest Gump)

Photos

November 1, 2011 1:09 AM EDT

Day 48

Each "tough day" is tougher, more annoying, more tedious and more relentless than the previous one.  That's the scary thing about these recent "down days".   I was so over it yesterday.  Not a great end to the month at work, it was a Monday, and I had zero interest. Repeat, ZERO.  I dig deep and think back to Patrick's email about being a mule.  Though I must admit, even that was such a distant and non applicable concept that in my head, all I could picture was that mule lying in the freezing cold covered in snow - dead as a door nail.    I felt like this before, but back then we had the evening meals to at least look fwd to after the workout.  Now, there's nothing to look fwd to except egg whites, milk, an apple, and an evening snack of vegetables. YUMMY.  

This is probably the most negative entry so far.  I am well aware and sorry to those who are reading this.  However as we are meant to tell the world how we feel on this blog - that's what I'm doing.  

Here's what I felt after my workout last night (at 11pm):  RAGE. 

October 31, 2011 7:12 AM EDT

Day 47

Happy Halloween.  The end. 

October 28, 2011 12:12 AM EDT

Week 7 diet....bit confused...

How you guys handling your week 7 diets?  Not sure if everyone who is reading this has the same, but here is what I've got:

October 25, 2011 1:25 AM EDT

OUCH

Word to the wise:  

When doing the "Standing Ovation" exercise .... make sure the anchor is properly set in a DOOR.  Decided to change it up and use the sliding door that leads to my garden.  Tricky little thing somehow squeezed its way thru and.......ouch. Now I know what it feels like to be cained in Singapore

Was like the last scene in Oliver Stone's Platoon going on in my living room.  Think I made that exact same noise as well.  

Photos

October 23, 2011 10:51 PM EDT

Day 40

Been a few days since I have blogged. Not much to say.  Same thing everyday.  Doing my workouts and hitting my grams on the meals.  Not going to lie I'm really bored.  Bought some books and video games on amazon to hold me thru.  

Anyway, still sticking to it don't you worry family/friends.  

Just not blogging as much these days as I am running out of things to be excited about besides the fact that I'm staying on course.  

Perhaps just the Monday blues....though I feel like I've had 40 Mondays in a row.  

October 20, 2011 10:03 AM EDT

Day 36

Tired.  Sore. Sleep.  

Photos

October 17, 2011 10:31 PM EDT

Small cooking tip....

For those steaming fish a lot.... 

Try grating a little orange or lemon peel on your fish before throwing in the steamer.  Very nice after.  

I recommend a nice cut of salmon with grated orange peel...

October 17, 2011 8:17 PM EDT

Day 34

Really want to drop down below 80kg.  Weighed in this morning at 83 and change (started this program at 88.00 exactly).  I know it's not a big deal and that my body fat % is the most important accomplishment here but just want that small psychological victory on board ...

Getting better at the jumps.  1,350 jumps in last night's exercise and instead of my usual sets of 300, I managed to do it in 3 sets of 450. 

Boom. 

October 13, 2011 11:17 PM EDT

Day 30

Dinner last night consisted of 2 egg whites, an apple, a banana and 250 ml of millk.  Then veggies and an egg white for evening snack.  NOT AS BAD AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.  I think it's all about how you space it out and how you chose to consume it.  Little tip, here's what I did:  Ate the apple as soon as I came home before working out, so I felt energized for the training.  After the dinner, had the two eggs BOILED and cut out the yolk.  The hard boiled egg is alot more filling than just frying egg whites in a pan.  Instead of milk, had YOGURT and cut the banana into it.  Went out to my friends leaving party for an hour and a half, came home and had tomatoes and lettuce with olive oil / balsamic vinegar / pepper, with a chopped up hard boiled egg white in the salad....ate it quickly. Did not waste time with it.  Went to bed perfectly full actually.  So yeah, for those who felt too hungry last night there are ways to stretch out and play around with the materials we are given to help us feel a bit more full.    

Did my jump rope this morning again.  Definitely good to split up the workout.  Helps physically, as well as mentally.  

Photos

October 13, 2011 3:26 AM EDT

1 down 3 to go!!!

OK so ...  A third of the way through PCP!!!  Diet for week 5 looks like a nightmare.  2 egg whites, a banana, an apple and milk for dinner...???!!!???!!!   Here comes the fat burn!  Anyway - rain the pain, bring it, I'm pumped.  

Going to split the workouts starting today FOR SURE.  With this diet, I will need to jump rope in the mornings, eat twice, then do the rest in the evening. All at once followed by the 2 egg whites and fruit dinner will kill me I'm sure. 

October 11, 2011 5:34 AM EDT

Day 27

3 day weekend was great. Indulgence was heavenly.  Went to my favorite pizza place for a pie, then enjoyed a few glasses of red wine at home while watching a movie.  Did my jump rope in the morning before the pizza then the workout in the evening before the wine.  Balanced everything out quite nicely.  

Yesterday (Monday) was a bank holiday.  Did my workout at the Tokyo American Club.  Good session.  Tough but good.  Hit up the steam room after the massage.  Concluded the long weekend by inviting my buddy over who I share a house with in Shimoda . He was actually just there over the weekend and shot the shit out of some gorgeous fish that he brought back to Tokyo.  Baked it last night and had for my dinner.   

Photos

October 9, 2011 12:12 AM EDT

Day 25

Night out was great fun.  My friend had an awesome time in the city and that's always good to see.  Noticed a lot of funny things while not on the sauce with everyone else.  Ie, the amount of unnecessary back slapping and squeezing that goes on!  Like "hey man great to see you!!!...(WHACK)  haha.  Not judging at all obviously...just funny. 

Played tennis yesterday for a few hours.  It was great.  Somehow managed to split my head open on the fence while chasing down a deep lob...who does that playing tennis? Me apparently. Oh well, good hustle Hidaka ;)

This morning watched the Fighting Irish kill Air Force, spoke to my family on Skype, then opened an email from Patrick to find that today is our first indulgence! Yeah baby.  No secret in where I'll be spending that one. Savoy.  Actually heading over there.  Going to make it a lunch indulgence so I have the rest of the day to work it off.  

Photos

October 7, 2011 4:41 AM EDT

First night out

So Friday evening here and did my workout in the morning.  

Have a table booked at Feria tonight & going with some good friends.  It's funny how everyone is asking me if I think it's a good idea, what if I feel the urge to drink, etc.  It's like, what, I'm just going to completely abandon this program and all the promises I have made to myself so I can have a few coctails?  No way dude!!!  Anyway, I guess I could have chosen a better place to hang out with friends and let off steam but most people I know don't hang out at spin class, a farmers market, or a pumpkin patch (depending on the time of year) on a Friday evening.   Starting to get a little cabin fever with the same routine so bottom line is I need to get out and need to interact. Just because we are committed to doing PCP doesn't mean we can't get out and live a little!

Enjoy the long w/e!  

October 6, 2011 10:07 AM EDT

Day 22

First week of week 4 and about to go to sleep.  Exercise was definitely longer than week 3 workouts and dinner was so small I thought I was experiencing some sort of optical illusion with the friggin plate.  Anyway - tired.  Going to wake up early tomorrow and crush the workout in the morning so I can have an open/free Friday evening.

Later

Photos

October 5, 2011 4:09 AM EDT

Day 21

Day 21....3 weeks into PCP.  I believe there were some bets against me at 500yen per day that were sold at 24 days.  Get your wallets out and be ready to pay Neil, a true friend, who is a buyer of me! ;)

2 things I guess I want to get out there.  1 is of a positive nature - I am noticing big changes in my body, specifically the stomach, the arms, and the "chub" underneath my chin (pretty much all gone).  Nice to have a jaw line again. Also great to be able to smile without the tip of my tongue hanging out.  

Second point I guess isn't NEGATIVE, but not very upbeat.  Patrick's email about motivation came at the perfect time...last night I was really struggling with it.  I will never abandon a session or cut back on the reps, but boy was it a battle yesterday.  I was tired, hungry, stiff from the previous day's training and generally over it.  REALLY wanted to take a warm bath then hit the sack.  However thinking back to Patrick's email .."be a mule - just go get it done" ... I got up, chucked on the headphones on and just grinded it...miserable, but got it done and felt alright when I was finished.  Anyway, I have to accept that this is all a part of it. The part that separates the men from the boys, as they say! 

1,000 skips was today's exercise. Nice to have a "jump rope only day" on every 7th day to give a little break on the muscles since we train all other 6 days prior to it. Anyway, knocked them out today at work in the parking lot after the market closed as I want to go home tonight and just relax & get good sleep

October 3, 2011 3:56 AM EDT

Day 19

Just a normal slow Monday I guess.  Nothing super exciting going on.  

Had a great lunch though.  Went to National Azabu last night to pick up some pita bread.  Because I bought so much at Costco on Saturday I swore myself before going in that I wouldn't buy anything else.  The problem is they have such a great fish selection there so I had to take a peak....turns out they had beautiful cuts of fresh WILD swordfish.  Not like that frozen crap they sell at Nissin.   Had to pick up a couple of cuts of those badboys....woke up 1/2 an hour early this morning to cook them up.  few splashes of olive oil, garlic powder, and a generous shake of black pepper. Broiled in the oven to a medium/rare cook...some of that, brown rice, and steamed mushrooms for my lunch today at the desk.  

Photos

October 3, 2011 1:18 AM EDT

Go Irish!!!

Going to take a moment here to blog about something non-PCP related.  

The fighting Irish won a very convincing game this weekend against Purdue, almost shutting them out entirely.  Finally, we have some momentum....I think there is a  big season in us.  

Moment of the game for me ...picture below.  Our running back Cierre Wood jumping OVER Purdue's cornerback.  Guy was running straight at him to take him down and...NOPE! 

So actually, I say it isn't PCP related but it is...as it affects my mood which affects pretty much everything! Patrick sent out an email this morning talking about how PCP gives us a better perspective on the world.  I tend to agree...except when it comes to the Irish ;) 

Photos

October 1, 2011 7:11 PM EDT

Day 18

Sunday morning 8am here and just getting ready to go to my friend Rob's house to watch Notre Dame vs Purdue.  Woke up yesterday at 6am to go to Yokohama and meet Patrick for the first time and work out with him. It was tough dude!  My workouts usually take me about 45 minutes but with Patrick it was about 25.  No messing around, high intensity, straight from one exercise to the other.  Learned a few good tips about how to better my exercise methods.  Was definitely a Saturday morning well spent.  As I was in the neighborhood, stopped into Costco on the way back and went LONG. Big time.  Steak, wild salmon, scallops, tiger prawns, chicken breasts, massive slabs of cod and salmon, veggies, boxes of blueberries and raspberries....I'm talking lots of food here.  Great value too. Suggest all of you in PCP go do this.  It will save you a lot of time during the work week.  

Will hit up my workout today after the game.  

Go Irish!!!

Photos

September 29, 2011 9:29 AM EDT

Turning UP - Exercise, Durning DOWN - Food

Just completed the first day of the THIRD week of PCP.  Less food and more exercise on the diet/exercise schedule from Patrick this morning...starting to see how this is going to get really tough.  I was beat after today's workout...felt good though, and I feel different...lighter on my feet, stronger, etc.  Also, it's small at this stage compared to where I'm heading, but I notice a difference in my appearance at day 15.  Friday tomorrow....need this weekend to get adequate sleep.  I blogged about it on my last couple of entries but I'm having difficulties getting the 8 hours in recently...

Dinner was grilled , lentils and brown rice, green salad.  Though compared to the 100g of carbs last week it was 70 tonight, and instead of the 120g of protein it was 90g ... BIG difference. Thank god we can still eat 190g of veggies.  

Modern Family Season 3 out now on Apple TV so 1 episode of that is my plan for tonight before I crash.  

Photos

September 28, 2011 8:22 PM EDT

Day 15

Good workout last night.  Skipping getting A LITTLE easier but still tough as hell.  I guess "easier" isn't the right word.  It is becoming "less painful". Took my work out to TAC yesterday and brought my buddy Andre with me as he also wanted to check out the club.  Nice to have someone to hit the gym with.  

Late dinner again last night + relax time at home I got to bed around 12.30. Not great.  

September 26, 2011 9:45 PM EDT

Scallops Veggies and Brown Rice

Into an oven proof glass pot:

1) scallops
2) yellow tomatoes, spinach, diced up shitake, red bell peppers, mushrooms...any vegetable really
3) few tablespoons of olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon, salt substitute

Mix it all up, chuck in the oven under "broil" for about 9-10 minutes, add some brown rice, a little cracked black pepper over it...then, magic. 

Photos

September 26, 2011 8:52 PM EDT

Day13

Last night was definitely the toughest work out so far.  Might take a tip I was given earlier to do my skips in the morning and then the workout at night after work.  Was exhausted from work, exercise, and only started to cook my dinner at 9pm.  By the time I was done with it all it was 10.00pm and the day had gone by  Kinda boring.   Upside is I am starting to get quite good at this cooking thing.  When you have nothing else to do but worry about how you are going to make your next meal enjoyable, you are able to surprise yourself a little.  Yesterday had scallops  and vegetables oven roasted with olive oil, salt substitute, lemon, and cracked pepper. Made a big pot of organic brown rice (sold @ Nissin) to last me the week so I just go into that for my carbs as it's nice and easy.   You guys need to get on this salt substitute...saves lives.    

What do you guys use for incline pull ups at home? I use my dining table..."KIND OF" works but I don't feel like I get everything out of it 

September 25, 2011 1:05 AM EDT

Day11

Well...to be honest not much to blog about. Doing the exercises as instructed and always doing the maximum amount of suggested reps within the set.  Following the diet down to the T...scale everything I consume and only eat what I'm supposed to, when I'm supposed to.  Hasn't been the most eventful weekend outside of PCP but I'm happy, refreshed, and feeling great when I wake up in the morning.  Did my training yesterday at Arisugawa Park. Was all fired up over the new Nike gear I bought in San Fran a few weeks back so decided to bust it out.  Yellow shirt, black shorts, state of the art "light as a feather" black shoes....got to the park and as I'm skipping rope in the broad daylight it hit me like a ton of bricks that I look like a goddamn giant killer wasp jumping around with my headphones on.  I'm happy with "the new me" but in other ways, like my weekend warrior fashion statements yesterday, I have become what I used to detest. Will try to tone it down and throw a little more gray and white into the wardrobe. 

The Irish won an ugly one against Pitt...a win is a win and so Hidaka is happy  

Photos

September 23, 2011 7:08 AM EDT

oh...forgot to add...

Promised myself I would not weigh in till at least 1 month into the program.  Heard that it's pointless this early on.  That said, I saw the scales at TAC and couldn't resist. 

So as of day 9:   87.5 kilos
                           23.3% Body fat

September 23, 2011 6:25 AM EDT

First workout in the gym...

Did my first PCP workout in the gym today @ TAC as opposed to my workout station at home.  Why not...change of scene, chance to get out of the house and hey why not live life on the edge.  Earlier today I was steaming broccoli for breakfast so I think I was ready to live a little more dangerously in the afternoon. Woke up and went to the apple store to pick up one of those workout i pods that clip on to your waist (sure they have a name but what is the point of remembering these days, there will be a new one out in 3 weeks right) and some adidas headphones....figure I will be needing them over the course of PCP if Im going to be mixing TAC in as a place to knock out my workouts.  Loaded the new ipod with some Justin Bieber...what? Strictly DMX, and Best of N.W.A. and I was off to the races. 

Swordfish for dinner tonight

Photos

September 22, 2011 8:36 AM EDT

End of Day 8

Finished the workout, and just had dinner....shattered and hungry.  Booking this all under the grind.  Would eat the fruit right now but hoping if I eat that right before I sleep I'll be able to not go to bed so hungry.  Watching a little apple tv before I crash...

Tomorrow is a new day.  Notre Dame football late tomorrow night so would like to get the workout done well before then.  My beloved Irish are 1-2 this year.  Cutting out all my favorite foods, a cold beer after work, social get togethers (decided to go with the "eliminate all temptations" approach and pretty much disappear for 12 weeks) for the next 3 months so besides PCP and the company of a couple people who honestly understand and respect what I am trying to do, all I really have is Notre Dame football!!!  Give us a win tomorrow please, I need it. 

Photos

September 21, 2011 11:09 PM EDT

First Lunch

First lunch.... on the desk....a lot tastier than breakfast that's for sure. Chicken cooked w/olive oil, grated garlic & oregano.  1 full tomato diced up and soaked in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and cracked pepper.  4 pieces of whole wheat organic toast (sold in the frozen foods section of National Azabu FYI).  Wasn't planning on it when in its preparation phase but when I looked at it on the table only one thing came to mind: Sandwich.  Was delicious.  

Photos

September 21, 2011 8:49 PM EDT

Day 8...the "first" breakfast...

Woke up this morning excited and ready....till I actually saw what was on my plate.  hahaha.  Now I know what it feels like to be a horse, or any other fiber consuming barn yard animal.  

Woke up nice and early to an absolutely gorgeous morning in Tokyo (after a dreadful typhoon last night) to prepare my breakfast and lunch.  My garden looks like the first scene from the Wizard of Oz, and if anyone sees a Weber BBQ lid ... it's mine. Anyway, beautiful day after the big storm...sounds like day 90 to me. 

Photos

September 21, 2011 8:38 PM EDT

500....

500......jump ropes.  OK, so that was tougher than I thought.  Wasn't so much the endurance factor that got to me...well, there was that too, but more the burn on the calf muscles. I mean that was some serious BURNING.  I had to cut it at 250, take a small rest then do the other 250.  Intuition tells me that the amount of these jumps only increase and so I can only pray that my body adapts to all the training....quickly.  

Anyway, in the spirit of "500"....check out this classic Vin Diesel clip


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saW7ui4znKg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

September 20, 2011 9:07 PM EDT

Day 7

The honeymoon period is over, as they say.  Looking forward to the 500 jump rope exercise tonight, I want to see how my body reacts to it. Gotta admit, also looking fwd to my last 1/2 portion meal of my choice.  Going to be another 11 weeks till I get some of that again!  Stopping by the supermarket on the way home to pick up some chicken, veggies, yogurt, milk, and fruit.  Wonder what the first meal / exercise will be for day 8....

September 19, 2011 7:48 AM EDT

Day 5

"Battled" two nights out on the PCP life over the long weekend.  Birthday on Saturday and a wedding today.  Learned one thing from it.  I can pretty much forget about doing any of that again from day 8.  Saturday was tough but I dealt with it.  Drove over to cut the alcohol intake problem out of it.  Leaving 1/2 of every plate on a pre-ordered course menu was awkward and I felt a bit rude but there were plenty of people around me who were happy to pick up the slack so that situation sorted itself out.  Colleague's wedding today at the Ritz proved a little more challenging.  First couple of dishes kept getting picked up by a very unhappy head waiter who kept asking me if there was something wrong with the food.  Not wanting to make a scene or speak about PCP for the 10,000th time in front of my colleagues and friends I pulled the guy aside and explained to him what was going on.  Very helpful chap told me he'd bring the remaining courses in 1/2 quantity.   Came home before the nijikai (second party), knocked out the workout then headed over.  Luckily it was just down the road.  All in all, calorie wise the weekend could have been executed a little better on a PCP front but technically stuck to all the rules so I can walk away happy with it.  2 more days of the honeymoon period then time to bring on the BURN

September 17, 2011 1:40 AM EDT

Preparing the salt substitute

1 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon red or cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Photos

September 16, 2011 9:25 PM EDT

Day 3

Saturday morning,  day 3.  Small burn on the calfs and bottom area but I'm not rushing to buy any A5-35. Workouts are fine and I'm very diligent with the breaks in between reps.  Doing well with the "1/2 of everything" rule I guess.  The problem is I don't really know what 100% of what I usually eat is, b/c I normally eat "tapas" style till I'm full.  Ie, when I order curry I will order 3-4 dishes and peck away at them until I am full and chuck the rest in the fridge.  To simplify things, I am working under the assumption that I eat at least 1 full dinner plate of food under normal circumstances.  So whatever I am eating I just fill up 1/2 a dinner plate. Lunch is easier, as lunch boxes from kiwi kitchen, Mitsukoshi etc can easily be cut in 1/2.  Though I've just been sticking to salad boxes since day 1 as I never eat salad for lunch.  It's the hungriest I am during the day and I always take down a big bento box, chinese, etc so I think I'm playing by the rules with 1 salad for lunch.  Off to George's apartment today to learn how to make his famous PCP Salt Substitute and pick up his pull up bar.  

Adios 

September 15, 2011 5:01 AM EDT

Day 1

So....PCP -   I'm going to own you and everyone who bet against me.  

Woke up this morning not knowing what to expect with the first email from Patrick. My pre-PCP motivator/mentor George Bumstead thought it would be better for me to find out on my own. Have to admit was surprised with the "1/2 portions of everything for 1 week" instruction but works for me.  Seems like a good way to ease into the program. As I am not such a great morning person I'm thinking most of my workouts will be in the evening after work.  As this is just the beginning I'm obviously still the "very excited" phase.  This being normal I guess, as Patrick hasn't rained the pain yet.  Even still... I'm looking forward to it. Been in this poor/mediocre physical condition way too long and it's time to do something about it.  I find being "kind of" in shape similar to being "kind of" pregnant.  You either are or you aren't and I'm definitely not and haven't been since my days of playing tennis at University.  So to conclude my first entry here I'm going to quote my high school coach: "Hidaka, it's not fun getting good but its fun being good". 

So with that in mind, it's go time! 

September 11, 2011 8:03 PM EDT

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