December 13, 2011 6:33 PM HKT

DONE desu

Well here we are on day 90, I've finished the final workout, had dinner and now at a bit of a loose end. What shall I do with these free hours? Been a while since I've had a completely open chunk of time like this.

First of all I'd say to anyone reading this that if you are thinking about the program, DO IT! The hardest thing was signing up, once you're locked in that's it, just don't give yourself the option of slacking off. The exercises ramp up from a very easy start but by god they are tough at the end, however by then you are well prepared for it. If you'd shown me the final supersets or 1:45 planks 90 days ago I would have laughed in your face. That's the genius of the program, slow incremental changes make for a BIG difference by the end of it. Check the attached photos if you don't believe me!

Now I'm not going to bang on about this being a life changing religious experience but it certainly exceeded the expectations I had for the program. It got me down to a weight where my back/knees aren't causing me any trouble (to be completely honest, I think I'm too skinny right now and am looking forward to putting a couple of kgs back on over the festive season), which has meant I can play a lot more basketball which will help me to stay in shape going forward.

I never really ate that much shit, so all the diet stuff hasn't really been much new information, but that said, I'll certainly be continuing to have a proper cooked breakfast each morning and snacking (on fruit! not snickers bars...) throughout the day.

A couple of shout-outs to Patrick for running this program, and to Alex for doing it before me, I would never have signed up without seeing his stellar results. And to another mate for promising to sign up and us do it together but pussing out at the last moment, you know who you are, I look forward to seeing your progress on the January intake group! I hope I've managed to convince you that the program is very worthwhile doing.

In fact, I think I've convinced a few mates/colleagues to sign up, do I get a cut of the fee Patrick? :)

And thanks to my group as well, been a solid bunch of guys with some good banter on the blogs/forum. Looking forward to an ale with you fellows in the new year.

And now for the numbers:
Weight in mid-July (attached photo of me stuffing my face): 112kgs
Weight at program start: 107 and change
Weight at program end: just under 93kgs

According to my tailor in HK I've dropped about 4 inches around the waist, which was confirmed by my guy here in Tokyo who measured me at 90cm, down from 102cm.

In amazing coincidence I've got my annual medical checkup tomorrow, this will be the gold standard going forward, I haven't been in this kind of shape since university, if at all! So will be looking to keep it going as long as possible.

Thanks all

Photos

December 12, 2011 7:37 PM HKT

Day 89 supersets

Fukking brutal... Had nothing left in the tank for the planks to failure, I think I lasted (a generous) 30 seconds for the last couple. Urk...

December 10, 2011 6:42 PM HKT

First missed training session in 90 days

And sadly it was the first of the superset ones. Yesterday was the first day in almost 90 that there just wasn't enough time to even do the skipping, I left for work before 6 as usual then due to the company charity event (which I performed at) and a farewell party for a very important client I didn't get home until after midnight, completely exhausted. I kind of figured that I might not have time to work out so I cut down the carbs at lunchtime and tried to maintain PCPness at the buffet table at the company event but I still feel a bit slack for missing a day so close to the finish line.

Fortunately I was able to rip out a good session this morning, got a bball tournament game tomorrow evening so will be working out first thing again. I sure hope my shot returns!!

December 9, 2011 5:40 AM HKT

Too light

I played hoops last night and for the second week in a row I was completely unable to shoot the three nor lean on guys in the post like I used to be able to. For the shooting it's a combination of getting stronger/lighter which has completely thrown off my touch, and for the post it's just a matter of not having the mass to chuck around any more.

Now while I do plan on staying with a fairly healthy lifestyle post-PCP, I'm a realist in that I know I'll put on a couple of kilos over the festive season. The bright side of which is that I hope my shooting touch and post game will return!

December 7, 2011 8:18 PM HKT

An eggcelent day

Been waiting 80+ days to use that one...

The mrs forgot to buy my chicken today so I was left with a bit of a dilemma when I got home from work, starving for some dinner. No protein of any kind in the house so I just used 3 eggs instead of meat, worked out about the same grams. Grated up a potato, some onions, tomato and made a fairly tasty fritata. However, including those at dinner, I have now had a total of 9 eggs in a single day (1 + 1 white for breakfast, 1 white AM snack, 3 dinner, 2 whites post workout, 1 white PM snack.)

I can quite safely say I will never be doing that again.

December 6, 2011 4:25 AM HKT

1'45"

One minute forty five, one hundred and five seconds. Doesn't sound like much, long enough to soft boil an egg, wait for the next train, traffic lights to change, etc.

But let me tell you, it's a FUCK of a long time to do a plank. Let alone 4 of them with only 15 second breaks in between!

December 3, 2011 12:28 PM HKT

Still struggling with:

Pull-ups: can't even do a single one yet, even with a resistance band as assistance. Inclines are getting better but still not easy by any means, can never finish the last rep or two on the final set.

Kung-fu situps: after the first set my grip continues to fail every 2-3 reps. Hate these!

Bicycle: After the first 60 second set I just can't get through another full set without a quick break, abs are fine it's just my quads are complete burning agony.

How pleasant that my 3 worst exercises were all on today's program.

10 days left, only a few more chances to do these, will just keep doing the best I can.

December 3, 2011 8:15 AM HKT

Ok this is getting a bit silly

I haven't been this light since university.

Photos

November 29, 2011 9:06 PM HKT

Satisfaction

Now while all the exercises can be tough (pull-ups, kungfu situps and bicycle, I'm looking at you three in particular!) there is none so satisfying to finish as a full group of 90 second planks.

November 28, 2011 8:32 AM HKT

Sprint to the finish line

That latest indulgence note was most welcome, I'd already cashed it in but it was reassuring to see I hadn't gone too overboard. My indulgence was a big dimsum feast and an ocean of vino for a good mate's 40th. Felt absolutely shocking Sunday which was a little surprising as when I had a few drinks for my prior indulgences I was completely shipshape the next day, I guess there are limits to even what a finely tuned PCP body can process!

~15 days left and it's going to be a head down sprint to the finish line. I've gone a little off-program during these few days in HK (aforementioned indulgence and an italian dinner in Macau last night, swapped lunch and dinner portions but still went over the carb allotment with the pasta dish). I don't regret it at all though as the Mrs has been having almost as tougher time of PCP as I have! She's been getting very bored of constantly eating at home so it was nice to take her for a treat to get her onside for these last few days. A nice session on the roulette table helped last night as well!

November 26, 2011 5:28 PM HKT

Indulgence #3?

Inthe interest of transpancy I've elected to cash in indulgence number three(if we get it). First time in HK since we moved and the dimsum was tasty. The chardoney equally so

Already got told off for taking my shirt off by the pool...

November 25, 2011 11:02 PM HKT

Suits

Popped by my tailor today to get the trousers taken in on the suits I had made a month or so before kicking off PCP, "what happened to your belly mister?"

He suggested taking the waist in 3-4 inches at least but I ended up going for just 2 inches just in case we do see a little post-PCP rebound.

November 23, 2011 7:17 PM HKT

Going to failure

I can certainly appreciate the logic behind it, but at first glance I think I prefer an exact number of reps as a goal. Mentally I find it easier to push myself to "just a few more" when I know exactly how many "just a few" is, and it's a nice feeling of achievement to see the number of reps constantly going higher week to week. This time I did as many as I could until my form got really really wonky, 25+ on the first set, only about 15 by the last set.

That said, by the last set and a half of the shoulder press I was going into full body shaking almost fainting mode so I guess I must have given myself a good burn on the davincis earlier!

November 19, 2011 7:38 PM HKT

Pathetic

An equally accurate description of today's weather and my performance on kung-fu situps (grip completely failed, could only do 1-2 reps without slipping from set 2 onwards) and bicycle (needed a break during sets 3, 4 and 5)

Oh well, tomorrow is another day....

November 18, 2011 9:15 PM HKT

4x 90 second planks? Is that a misprint?

Knowing Patrick's sadistic nature I'll assume not!

I'm not too proud to admit the rest period between sets 3 and 4 was a little more than the regulation 15 seconds and I did briefly drop my knees with 40 seconds to go on the last set. But I'm completely blown away I could do three full 90 seconders. I was dying at 30 seconds just a few short weeks ago.

How did everyone else go?

November 17, 2011 8:04 PM HKT

Feels good

It may just be the painkillers talking but tonight's workout felt GREAT! It was the first time I've skipped and done full reps of every set in what feels like ages (but has only really been a week at most)

Chest is quite sore but whatever, the painkillers/anti-inflammatories I'm taking are stronger and I can always rest it from day 91.

Latest weekly photo is up, looks like I haven't lost quite as much ground as I thought but my trousers do feel a touch tighter since stopping the skipping. That's definitely one exercise I'll be sticking with after PCP finishes.

November 15, 2011 8:19 PM HKT

Chest update

Well it's getting better but not fast enough for my liking. I haven't been able to skip for a number of days now (been doing 40 mins a day on the stationary bike instead) and I feel it's starting to show in the gut region, you'll see in my next weekly photo. Weight is still coming off but again I feel it's because I'm losing muscle. I'm going to give it another few days and if it's not 100% I may just bite the bullet, load up on super strong anti-inflamatory pain killers and grit my teeth for the last 27 days. We're getting closer to the finish line and I want to make the most of every day left.

On a cheerier note, had a good chat today with a HK colleague who is on PCP as well, small world! Seems almost everyone I speak to is doing it/has done it/at the very least knows someone who's done it.

November 13, 2011 12:01 PM HKT

Whoooooahhh, we're two-thirds of the way there

Not quite the same ring to it...

Looking forward to my chest strain healing up and making a strong push to the finish line. For the last few days I've been following Patrick's advice and not really pushing on the exercises that cause (the bad kind of) pain. Today as an example:
Legs
Squats were fine. Pistol squats hurt when I support my weight so I tried them without support, needles to say I couldn't go very deep but I'm surprised I could do them at all. Creeps were fine, progress on these has been great, initially I was dying at a dozen.

Shoulders
Forward shoulder raises and shoulder flys strained the chest/rib area so I only did a couple of sets to get the blood pumping. Chicken wings were fine so I did an extra set.

Abs
V-sit and side crunches are still a no-go so I did a bunch of leg raises and regular crunches instead.

November 11, 2011 5:42 AM HKT

A bit of a setback

As you have perhaps read in my previous blogs, I've somehow managed to mess up some muscle in my chest which is making parts of the workout almost impossible. Fortunately Patrick and Sarah have been on the case, suggested alternatives for the various movements so I can keep working out while also hopefully healing up.

So after 50+ days of not missing anything I have finally not completed a few workouts 100% to the letter. Bit of a bummer but hey, better to spend a few days healing up than struggle through the end and either do more serious damage or not get a proper burn on due to the chest pain.

November 6, 2011 10:24 PM HKT

Biz trip report card

Didn't miss a single exercise for the days I was there, including the skipping I did at after checking in at 1am. However, due to my chest strain I wasn't able to rip out all the reps of every motion. Score: A-

Food was 100% PCP compliant for every breakfast and AM snack as these were handled by hotel room service (and I did bring my scales to ensure it was spot on). However lunches were a bit adhoc, I went for healthy options but it wasn't really feasible to weigh everything in front of clients and the big boss I was traveling with. 2 out of the 3 dinners were totally PCP as I just had them late at the hotel after client drinks. Evening snacks in the room were fine but I did struggle with the afternoon snacks as there simply wasn't time or anywhere to buy fruit from. I thought it better to go without than eat a snickers or some shtt like that. Likewise it was hard to stay compliant on the plane, fortunately ANA did have some decent healthier food options. Score: C

I was sorely tempted by the double magnum bottle of grey goose a good friend of mine laid on at the VIP of ku de ta saturday night, especially after a fairly mediocre session on the tables at MBS casino, but I stayed strong. The only booze I had was the tiniest sips of beer after the kampai at Saturday's big client golf event. Score: A

Overall grade: B+, a good first effort but room for improvement.

November 5, 2011 6:09 PM HKT

God damn it, chest is fucked

See previous post... Incline pull-ups today did something to make it significantly worse. Now instead of hurting when I take a deep breath it hurts every time I breathe. 

On the plus side this tells me that it's most likely a strain rather than anything more serious, but on the negative it's now constant pain. Made it vey very difficult to get through today's workout and I had to puss out on the final reps of a couple of the exercises.

Hoping for a miraculous recovery overnight, flying back to Tokyo tomorrow so will hit the clinic if it's no better. 

November 4, 2011 3:49 PM HKT

Chest pain (fortunately right side)

I'm not sure how I did it, but I'm now getting some serious pain in my right chest. Every time I take a deep breath it feels like someone is stabbing me right through from pec to shoulder blade. Suffice to say it made chest day very difficult. Dips were agony, pushups were brutal but at least standing ovation was only painful due to the muscle burn. If it was my left side I'd obviously be more concerned but for now I just think it's a strain or something. Hopefully it gets better before my next chest day as I don't think I can just grit my teeth and push through it again. 

November 3, 2011 8:05 AM HKT

Biz trip

Sadly I wasn't able to keep to pcp on the flight over, I didn't have time to pack anything so I had to munch on the plane meal. Went for the Japanese grilled fish for dinner with some of that rolled omelet and a couple of glasses of milk. Steered clear of the rice and miso soup so it wasn't too far off I guess. Got to the hotel around 1am and seriously couldn't be arsed with the skipping but did it anyway. Of course that got the blood pumping so I couldn't get to sleep until 230 or so. Perfect for the full day of meetings today :-/

Breakfast was 100% pcp, going to order a few more boiled eggs to stash in my briefcase. Fortunately I've got about 90 minutes until the car picks us up so now time to work out.

Oh and that indulgence note was most welcome. Sadly I already cashed it in last Friday at Robuchon! The meal was amazing, washed down with a 1978 gevrey-chambertain. Tasted even better than usual as my palate wasn't used to all the super rich flavours. Surprisingly felt fine the next day, was expecting to be a little sick but no worries. Workout the next day was a bit tough but nothing I couldn't handle. Looking forward to the next one!

November 2, 2011 7:58 AM HKT

Wearing down...

The last few days have been tough, simply not enough hours in the day. I'm up at 5am for work so to get 8 hours of kip I need to be asleep by 9pm. Seeing as I'm not getting home until 6 or later that leaves me only 3 hours to do my workout, prep food for the next day and do whatever other errands I have to take care of which is no where near long enough. Hence I'm up later than 9, hence I'm not getting 8 hours, hence I'm tired and irritable all day. "Man I've had enough of this PCP shit" is a phrase you will have often heard around the Foster residence of late.

That said, I'm sticking with it. I'm sure it'll get better.

I'm off to Singapore on biz this afternoon, the thing I'm most looking forward to is actually having those hours on the plane where I can totally relax and snooze. Will try to be as diet/workout compliant as possible but I don't think it'll be possible to be 100%.

October 30, 2011 11:34 AM HKT

Still struggling with chest day

Push ups after chest dips is still brutal. I had to puss into knee pushups for the last few of set 2.. And all of set 4...

On the plus side, this is certainly proof that I'm going as far as my physical limit.

October 29, 2011 9:48 PM HKT

Thoughts at the halfway point

Diet:
No issues at all, food is tasty and plentiful. A couple of times I've been absolutely starving, but that generally ends when I hoe in to my next fruit snack. It's amazing how when you bang a couple of eggwhites in milk you go immediately from hungry to stuffed. Eggwhite magic!

The only real issue on the food front is the prep time. Fortunately the wife has been helpful in preparing my daily bento.

No boozing:
Not a problem, haven't even got cravings. This has dovetailed nicely into my work situation, I started a new job a few months ago and unlike my old company, people don't really go out that much. So I'm not feeling a lot of pressure for "work drinks" every second day. There's been the odd client event where I've stuck to pellegrino, the good thing about PCP really taking off is that I just say I'm on the program and don't need to explain any further, everyone's heard of it now.

That said, I have cut down a fair bit on my socialising as a lot of it was "drinks based". Not really bothered, my mates will still be there at the end of the 90 days!

Exercise:
Not a problem, I haven't missed a single workout and can get through every set of every exercise 90% of the time. I like it how it is constantly ramping up so you are always working hard, but there's a real sense of accomplishment. Two months ago if you'd have told me I could do 4x 50 second planks I would have laughed in your face.

EXCEPT GOD DAMN PULL-UPS! These absolutely suck ass. Unlike every single other exercise I feel like I am making zero progress at all with these fuckers... Really really demoralising.

Body changes:
Fantastic! I'm under 100kgs for the first time in years and can now run around the basketball court with plenty of energy. My lower back pain has almost completely gone away, but sadly my left knee is having some serious issues. I've got another brace for it and am struggling through some of the leg exercises, if it gets much worse I'll have to look at some changes but for now I can grit my teeth and bare it.

One nice outcome is that I'm getting a lot of compliments, especially from people I haven't seen in a while. My clothes are falling off me, I'm going to need to hit up my tailor to get all my suit trousers taken in.

So all in all, I am very happy with the program so far. I've already recommended the january intake for a couple of my mates!

October 29, 2011 1:31 AM HKT

ripped off!

I drop almost half a mortgage payment on food and vino and I only put on 600 grams??? I feel like I've been had!

Photos

October 28, 2011 7:05 AM HKT

Early indulgence and new skipping record!

Today is my fifth wedding anniversary so the wife and I will be hitting Robuchon for an absolute blowout. This one has been on the calendar for a while, well before deciding on PCP, and I'm certainly not going to be eating egg whites for my anniversary dinner! I did switch up lunch and dinner so I'll still be getting the eggwhites in.

Hopefully there's an indulgence coming soon, as I'll be cashing it in early. I'd like to say I'll only be nibbling on some steamed veggies and steering clear of the vino but that would be lying...

On a more PCP-friendly note, blasted through the skips last night, 1269 in a row. New record!

October 27, 2011 8:43 PM HKT

Fuck yeah!

First time I've seen only two digits in the 4+ years since I blew up my lower back.

Photos

October 25, 2011 8:40 AM HKT

Starving

For some reason I'm dying of hunger today, despite eating everything on the diet plan. First time since kicking off the plan that I've been this hungry.

Perhaps I got a better burn last night than I thought, and the muscles need more nourishment!

October 24, 2011 8:13 AM HKT

Not getting the burn

The last few workouts have been fairly unsatisfying. I just haven't got the localised muscle burn that I used to. I'm still almost failing over the last few reps, but the muscles aren't absolutely killing me after cool down like they used to. I've been checking the videos and my form isn't that bad (except the last few) so I'm not really sure what the problem is. I guess I'll just stick with it. But after the recent training note this is a little disheartening!

On a cheerier note, I am absolutely killing the V-sits now and can even do the pistol squats (with assistance of course). Amazing how much progress can happen in such a short time.

October 20, 2011 8:30 PM HKT

Photos not looking too good

But the weight continues to come off and the muscles are getting bigger (less small?). I think I'll blame my wife's poor photography skills.

October 19, 2011 7:45 PM HKT

Pistol squats? Are you fkking kidding me?

Those things are impossible...

And for a real kick in the balls, pull-ups on the same day.

Not one but two exercises I am completely useless at. Let's hope I start making some progress on these soon... Getting a bit demoralising... :-/

October 19, 2011 8:16 AM HKT

Skipping outside in the wind = not recommended

Due to the gym in my building being full Monday night I headed outside to the terrace by the garden to work out. Absolutely crushed the skipping, was in full zen mode. Grey night sky, grey wood deck and a grey skipping rope meant I couldn't even see the rope, just hear the tap tap tap of it hitting the floor. It was pretty awesome.

The gym was full again last night so I thought I'd head outside again. Unfortunately the wind had really kicked up and skipping was nigh on impossible. I was tripping up every 100 or so skips as the wind whipped the rope around but I was too proud to go inside to finish off, hence the skipping took forever... Rest of the workout was fine, could even get through the leg-ups. Quite gratifying after my recent failure with those.

Next time I'll check the wind before I head outside!

October 15, 2011 12:25 PM HKT

Crap workout

Not sure what the problem was today, ate the normal food, had a decent sleep last night but for whatever reason today's workout was shithouse. Tripped every 100 or so skips, felt weak as fkk, could get through the exercises (except one, see below) but had no "pop" at all and wasn't getting the burn I normally did.

But most embarrassingly, I simply couldn't finish the leg ups. Quads/abs were burning and I simply couldn't move them halfway through the third set. Took a longer rest and struggled through the fourth set but it was pretty demoralising to hit a wall so hard on an exercise I could normally power through.

Oddly enough the planks weren't so tough today, perhaps because I didn't get a proper burn on with the other exercises.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

October 15, 2011 9:22 AM HKT

8 minute abs

Wow.. That's some serious ab burn...

Got the neck pain as well, hopefully that'll go away soon.

October 12, 2011 11:30 AM HKT

Post-indulgence blues? hell no

Despite slightly overdoing the booze Monday I felt pretty ok yesterday, and couldn't wait to pile into my workout last night.

Not sure what the "proper" feeling was supposed to be from the indulgence but I don't regret it for a second, wonderful meal and great afternoon with the mrs. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

October 10, 2011 5:48 PM HKT

Indulgence!

Tremendous lunch with the mrs at our favourite Italian spot. It's on the 47th floor of Caretta Shiodome so we couldn't have asked for a nicer day to take in the view. I may have slightly overclubbed it in the booze department, 1 glass of fizz, 2 glasses of this ridiculous buttery chardonnay and a limoncello for afters but my word was it worth it. Food was great as always, small portions but plenty of great flavours. Didn't overdo the bread and hence didn't feel overfull afterwards.

Let's see how I feel on the morrow.

Photos

October 10, 2011 12:11 PM HKT

Useful items

In my quest to make the workouts more efficient I've picked up a few bits of kit that are so useful I thought I'd share with the group.
Fingerless training gloves - really take the edge off when doing (failing at in my case) pull ups, also the thumbs up curls.

Long skinny towel - for resting your elbows on when doing a plank. I found due to sweat I was sliding all over the yoga mat I was using before I put the towel down. Using a single towel for both elbows also helps anchor them as you can't pull apart.

Self-counting skipping rope - this makes the skipping blaze by, having to count out every single god damn skip never lets you just disengage the brain. With this rope I just kick off and next thing I know I'm 6-700 skips into it.

GymTimer app - for those with an iPhone I found this is the best app out there for keeping track of set numbers, rest periods and interval periods for things like the plank. As we get further along and do things like timed skips rather than set numbers it'll be even more useful.

Good DJ mixes - while we're on the iPhone I used to listen to my regular podcasts (mostly Adam Carolla and/or Bill Simmons) during my workout but I've found I work out a lot better with tunes playing rather than the chat of a podcast.

Sennheiser MM100 bluetooth headphones - I found it was nigh on impossible to skip with my wired earbuds for my iPhone so I shopped around a bit for some bluetooth ones. Of all the ones I tried (and I did try a bunch) these were easily the best for staying on your ears while skipping. The sound quality and bluetooth range is pretty awesome as well.

And if you have some dough to burn and don't have the pull up equipment to hand, here's an incredibly useful bit of kit:
http://trapezerigging.com/FreeStandingPortablePullupBar/
It cost a pretty penny, and even more to have shipped over, but the quality is absolutely outstanding and it's super quick and easy to set up/take down.

Now off for my indulgence lunch... Lucky I got today's workout out of the way early!

October 9, 2011 11:49 AM HKT

Workout with Patrick

I scheduled a workout at chez Patrick yesterday (well on his roof actually), couldn't have asked for better weather. Highly recommended making the trip down to his neck of the woods, while the exercises we are doing are all fairly simple, it really helped to spend a bit of time with an expert to get form and everything correct. Also very useful to knock off a bunch of Q and A in one go as well.

And on a different note, pretty proud of my lunch effort today. Ham sandwiches with a chicken salad and balsamic vinaigrette.  Delish!

Although probably not as delish as the indulgence planned for tomorrow, lunch witht the mrs at Bice, one of the best italian spots in town. Small portions and the food all fairly healthy and natural so shouldn't be tooooo far off the rails although that does depend on how many glasses of vino I let myself have.

Photos

October 8, 2011 7:45 AM HKT

Yakiniku

The wife was going a bit stir-crazy having dinner at home every night so I thought we'd pop out for something. I racked my brains for something in the area fairly PCP compliant and ended up hitting a yakiniku joint. Had a plate of the leaner beef and a couple of bits of pork, then two orders of the grilled vegetables so all fairly kosher. One thing I did notice though was when I had a bite of the the little otoshi to start the meal it tasted like I was drinking seawater. SO SALTY!

Surely my palate hasn't already changed that much but the mrs thought it tasted fine.. Very strange.

Oh and I started my workout much later than usual last night, not going to do that again. Felt weak and could barely get through it.

October 6, 2011 9:22 AM HKT

No carbs for dinner?

Yikes! I don't really feel full unless I've got some rice/bread/pasta in my belly. This is going to be the first real test i think...

October 2, 2011 6:33 PM HKT

Hokkaido POWER

Glorious autumn day in Tokyo so the wife and I thought we'd take a stroll around Yoyogi park. Little did we realise that the Hokkaido food fair and its king's bounty of temptation was also on at Yoyogi this arvo. I was strong for a while, resisting the siren song of the jaga butter, miso ramen, stewed crab, sapporo classic etc etc but eventually I folded like a cheap tent and got involved. I kept it fairly PCP, a stick of grilled lamb and a lamb chop for protein (eyeballed at fairly inline the protein allotment but perhaps a bit too much salt) and some boiled white corn for veg (totally PCP, no salt/soy/butter like the grilled stuff). Very tasty.

And even better, when I got to the gym tonight for the workout I felt strong as FUK! Blasted through the skips, did an extra 100 for good measure, and busted out extra reps on all the exercises to ensure I went to almost failure. Felt good! Pity today isn't pull-up day as I perhaps could have even managed to rip one of those out (or more likely not...)

Now if that's a placebo effect, bring on more Hokkaido-based placebos!

October 2, 2011 9:07 AM HKT

A few thoughts

It's been a few days so I thought I'd put my latest thoughts out there.

Workouts:
Overall, no problems. I have the gym in my building completely to myself 90% of the time. I set the stop watch on my iphone when I kick off, and to help time the rest intervals, each workout has been taking 25-28 minutes. Much less than I thought! I'm sure that's going to change in the coming weeks.

For some reason I've got crap at skipping the last few days, I could rip out 500+ easy before but now starting to trip up around the 300 mark and then every 1-200 from then. One thing I did find that helped was actually saying the number out loud every 10 skips.

I've now got the motion down for the rowing exercise thanks to Alex, an ex-PCPer. It's hard to tell from the picture but it seems you need to anchor the bands at almost floor level, so you are able to pull upwards slightly to finish the motion. I guess I had been anchoring them too high.

Pull-ups, are you fkking kidding me? I can barely move my shoulders off the mat for an incline pull up, so to see actual pull-ups on the workout list was quite a surprise. I'll be sticking with the incline ones for now thanks... But Alex did say to stick with it and eventually real ones will come.

Oh, and speaking of pull-ups, seeing as there's no smith machine in the gym or any bars anywhere near here that I could see, I bought one of these: http://trapezerigging.com/FreeStandingPortablePullupBar/
This thing is AWESOME. Really well made, and takes <30 seconds to set up and pull down. I just cart it down the gym on pull-up days. Feels pretty cool to be bringing my own equipment to the gym.

Diet:
Again, no real problems there. It's still a truckload of food, despite the cuts made for week 3. Again, I am sure that will change. That "big steam" idea was great. I lifted a bunch of carrots and broccoli and steamed a couple of kgs worth in one go last week. Makes it easy to pack my bento in the morning. Onions have been great as well, chop up 3-4 at a time, slop a bunch of balsamic on them and caramelise them over low heat in a pan with the lid on. Takes forever but the results are certainly worth the time.

Protein has been mostly either chicken, fish or roast beef. My local supermarket sells these 50-100g packs of roast beef which makes sandwiches so easy. Also been cooking up a lot the chicken with fresh shredded basil and fish with fresh dill and lemon juice. It's really all the seasoning it needs. Oh and I ordered a bunch of stuff from worldspice.com, I think some of you other punters have as well? They mentioned there had been a few orders from Tokyo of late.

Dinners have been getting a little boring of late but fortunately the mrs has stepped in to make them a little more appealing. I've always been a decent cook, but really suck at plating. Check the pic for one of her latest efforts. Minced chicken hamburg with the usual veg. Bit of a baguette or a bowl of rice for carbs, easy.

Photos

September 28, 2011 11:20 AM HKT

First non-PCP meal

Had lunch on the calendar with my old boss for a while and couldn't really blow it off. Went as PCP-friendly as I could. Green salad with wafu dressing, followed by steamed fish and mashed potatoes.

Not ideal but not as bad as it could have been. Probably a bit light on the veg and a bit heavy on the salt.

September 25, 2011 8:49 PM HKT

New record (and questions for Patrick)

536 skips without tripping! I almost didn't want to mention that I tripped 3 more times before I got to 650....

Onto other parts of the workout, I've found that I just can't do the rows or standing ovation properly. I've loaded up the handles with every resistance band in my set (2 each of 3 different resistances for a total of six bands at once) and I still find the rowing motion waaaaaay too easy. As I'm not the incredible hulk, nor did I ever crew at oxbridge, I figure I must be doing something wrong. Likewise for the standing ovation, I've tried to match the motion on the chart but all I get is a burn in my shoulders, nothing in the chest. Again, I'm clearly doing it wrong.

Any advice Patrick?

September 24, 2011 6:22 PM HKT

Iron chef?

Onions caramelised in balsamic vinegar (so good! will make this all the time now), spinach with black pepper, katsuo with fresh basil. All portion compliant, I'd eaten half of it before talking the photo.

Ignore the Riedel bag, tonight's dinner was washed down with a fine 2011 vintage from the Tokyo waterworks bureau.

So far I've found the diet pretty straight-forward, I hope olive oil isn't too off-limits? We don't have a steamer so I've been cooking a lot of the veg in a big frypan in their own juices with a tiny slurp of olive oil to get things going.

So far the exercises haven't been bad either, with two exceptions, the incline pull-ups (I can still barely move my torso off the ground) and:
Oh fkking lunges
I really really hate you
My legs are jelly

Photos

September 22, 2011 6:00 PM HKT

Incline pull-up!

How embarrassing... All the rest of the exercises are fine but my tyrannosaurus rex arms are so weak I can barely lift my carcass off the mat.

Now time to play some hoops with my jellied muscles.

September 22, 2011 6:01 AM HKT

Wow

That's a lot of food. I haven't had a breakfast like that on a workday in months.

Looking forward to seeing the new training plan. Last week's was a nice intro but keen to get something a bit more substantial (I know I may well be ruing that request in the coming weeks...)

September 21, 2011 7:19 PM HKT

New goal

389 skips in a row... Next time 500!!!!

September 20, 2011 6:29 PM HKT

Steak dinner!

I decided I'd take Patrick's latest note to heart and asked my wife to pick up a steak for my dinner as I believe there won't be too much steakery in the upcoming weeks. When I got home she proudly presented me with the saddest, tiniest looking 60 gram sliver of beef I have ever seen. And with a big smile on her face she said, "that's HALF!"

I think she's enjoying this more than I am...

September 19, 2011 9:13 AM HKT

Good weekend

Had some mates up from Osaka that I only see once or twice a year and also had a very good friend (and ex-PCPer) up from HK with his gf so Saturday night was always going to be fairly punchy. Oh and another good mate was having his birthday BBQ Saturday as well!

Somehow I was able to stick to the "half" plan. A couple of ribs (not racks) and a burger at the bbq early, a couple of sticks of yakitori late, and a grand total of 4 beers and 1 whiskey for the entire night. Last time my Osaka mates were up you could have quadrupled that figure and still not even come close to what got taken down.

Oh and despite the sore legs from the lunges I managed to play 2 hours of hoops Sunday arvo in a sweltering hot gym and for the first time in 4+ years my level of play rose (slightly) above "appalling".

September 17, 2011 6:27 AM HKT

First test of willpower

Friday night poker with the lads and industrial quantities of Priya was shipped. My usual modus operandi would have been to take down at least three plates worth. Proudly I just stuck to one small helping and went very light on the rice/naan. Oh and I didn't even have a single beer. I count that as a win.

Sadly the success didn't translate to the poker table itself. This was the first night ever that I lost money while playing sober :(

September 16, 2011 12:48 PM HKT

Waste not want not?

Into the second day and the "half-diet" has been interesting. I've simply been buying exactly what I normally would, eating half of everything then chucking the rest away. Motainaaaaaaiiiiii!

September 14, 2011 9:11 PM HKT

KIcking it off

Well I just got home from a monster dinner at Bourbon St, what better way to commence my PCP!