August 30th 2010 Daily Update

First day of round 2 of P90X meant a new exercise! Some of the push up moves are real killers. My challenge for this week is to get back into consistency of exercising after last weeks limited success.

Morning

• none

Evening

• P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps: 370 kcal, 113/149 bpm, 45:34, 04:14, 00:00

Summary

Daily Total: 370 kcal
Monthly Total: 20,404 kcal

Week 35 Fitness Summary

Week 35 (August 23rd->August 29th) was the recovery week for the first round of P90X. So no weight lifting and exercise was more cardio based. However due to work and other reasons I struggled to complete the week, mostly due to time. I did manage to complete at least some cardio, a mix of P90X and elliptical trainer. Overall though my body went into the week very fatigued so the more restful week had probably helped overall.

Workout sessions this week: 8
Total HRM calories burnt: 2,478 kcal

Total time exercised: 3hrs 49 minutes

HR Zone 1 time: 1hrs 23 min
HR Zone 2 time: 1hrs 37 min
HR Zone 3 time: 0hrs 42 min

Weight loss: 0.6kg
Body fat loss: 0.5%

Weigh In - 29th August 2010: 75.2kg; 18.5%bf

Some further weight loss this week together with the first body fat reading below 19%. Looking good!

So for this week, I weigh 75.2kg and 18.5% body fat. I'd like to get below the 75.0 barrier this month however that could be tough with only a couple of days to go!

Total loss since 7th March 2010:
Weight: 10.3kg
Body fat: 6.9%

August 29th 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 275 kcal, 150/161 bpm, 00:44, 08:32, 10:47

Evening

• None

Summary

Daily Total: 275 kcal
Monthly Total: 20,034 kcal

August 28th 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8: 285 kcal, 153/164 bpm, 00:35, 05:52, 13:38

Evening

• Elliptical Sprint 8: 263 kcal, 146/160 bpm, 00:26, 14:50, 04:45

Summary

Daily Total: 548 kcal
Monthly Total: 19,759 kcal

August 27th 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• none

Evening

• Elliptical Core Synergistics: 470 kcal, 123/162 bpm, 37:51, 12:44, 01:44

Summary

Daily Total: 470 kcal
Monthly Total: 19,211 kcal

August 24th 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 260 kcal, 144/154 bpm, 00:50, 17:54, 01:36

Evening

• Elliptical Core Synergistics: 420 kcal, 120/151 bpm, 36:39, 12:09, 00:00

Summary

Daily Total: 680 kcal
Monthly Total: 18,741 kcal

August 23rd 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 274 kcal, 149/160 bpm, 00:47, 09:59, 09:25

Evening

• Elliptical Sprint 8: 231 kcal, 136/151 bpm, 04:55, 15:18, 00:00

Summary

Daily Total: 505 kcal
Monthly Total: 18,061 kcal

Week 34 Fitness Summary

Week 34 (August 16th->August 22nd) has been another challenging week with work encroaching. Overall I completed the P90X sessions, however not on the correct days, also the cardio suffered due to time constraints.

Workout sessions this week: 13
Total HRM calories burnt: 4,700 kcal

Total time exercised: 8hrs 48 minutes

HR Zone 1 time: 3hrs 42 min
HR Zone 2 time: 2hrs 42 min
HR Zone 3 time: 1hrs 15 min

Weight loss: 0.9kg
Body fat loss: 0.0%

August 22nd 2010 Daily Update

Sunday, the end of another week and a day where I need to catch up on my exercise. Aim for today is 2-3 cardio sessions, Yoga and then we'll see how time is going.



Morning


The morning started well, my elliptical kept an average heart rate of 155 for 20 minutes. That's a record for me I believe.

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 293 kcal, 155/164 bpm, 00:51, 01:36, 17:40

Evening

• P90X Yoga X: 374 kcal, 99/132 bpm, 52:47, 00:00, 00:00
• Elliptical Sprint 8: 262 kcal, 145/158 bpm, 02:58, 11:23, 05:49

Summary

Daily Total: 929 kcal
Monthly Total: 17,556 kcal

Weigh In - 22nd August 2010: 75.7kg; 19.0%bf

Last week's weigh-in showed a weight gain of 0.9kg. I'm happy to say that this week has removed that weight gain! Unsure if last week was a natural variation, or if work intruded upon my routine enough to ensure I gained some weight. 

So for this week, I weigh 75.7kg and 19.0% body fat. I'd like to get below the 75.0 barrier this month however that could be tough and this week is a less strenuous week with P90X. I'm happy to see my body fat has not crept up!


Total loss since 7th March 2010:
Weight: 9.7kg
Body fat: 6.4%

August 21st 2010 Daily Update

Legs & Back was today due to skipping Thursday. I'll complete Yoga and additional cardio tomorrow to get back on schedule. This will be the end of week 3 of the formal P90X routine and next week becomes an easier week in terms of less weights etc.

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 254 kcal, 143/155 bpm, 01:01, 17:36, 01:47

Evening

• P90X Legs & Back: 538 kcal, 124/155 bpm, 37:25, 19:06, 00:46
• Elliptical Sprint 8: 282 kcal, 152/162 bpm, 00:42, 07:10, 12:25

Summary

Daily Total: 1,074 kcal
Monthly Total: 16,627 kcal

August 20th 2010 Daily Update

Commitments meant Thursday didn't happen so my P90X has shifted by one day. I'll catch up at the weekend. Kenpo was today due to skipping Thursday.

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 274 kcal, 149/164 bpm, 00:49, 10:23, 08:49

Evening

• P90X Kenpo X: 557 kcal, 127/166 bpm, 18:42, 27:23, 05:25

Summary

Daily Total: 831 kcal
Monthly Total: 15,553 kcal

August 18th 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 250 kcal, 142/151 bpm, 01:07, 19:05, 00:00

Evening

• P90X Shoulders & Arms: 280 kcal, 105/142 bpm, 47:55, 01:12, 00:00

Summary

Daily Total: 530 kcal
Monthly Total: 14,722 kcal

August 17th 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 275 kcal, 149/160 bpm, 00:35, 11:34, 07:59

Afternoon

P90X Plyometrics: 686 kcal, 140/164 bpm, 14:06, 29:48, 14:08

Summary

Daily Total: 961 kcal
Monthly Total: 14,192 kcal

August 16th 2010 Daily Update

A start of a new week... slowly!

Morning

none

Evening

• P90X Chest & Back: 375 kcal, 114/150 bpm, 43:10, 05:55, 00:36

Summary


Daily Total: 375 kcal
Monthly Total: 13,231 kcal

Week 33 Fitness Summary

Week 33 (August 9th->August 15th) has seen a lot of variation on the weight each day. Overall I had 5 fewer exercise sessions than last week and burnt just over 1,500kcal less than last week. There is a slight discrepancy in the kcals recorded due to stopping the YogaX session after 25 minutes on the Saturday. On a positive note the ~3 hour difference in total time exercised compared to last week is almost all in Zone 1 or below zone.

Workout sessions this week: 14
Total HRM calories burnt: 4,992 kcal
Cardio HRM calories burnt: 1,643 kcal
P90X HRM calories burnt: 2,999 kcal

Total time exercised: 9hrs 32 minutes

HR Zone 1 time: 4hrs 18 min
HR Zone 2 time: 2hrs 43 min
HR Zone 3 time: 1hrs 18 min

Weight loss: -0.9kg
Body fat loss: 0.5%

Weigh In - 15th August 2010: 76.6kg; 19.0%bf

This week has seen my weight fluctuate up and down a lot, most likely due to getting out of my standard routine due to work commitments. At the end of the week the scales show I've gained 0.9kg but lost 0.5% body fat. I'll have to work on getting back into the routine this week and see what happens with the weight. Possibly I've put on some muscle and lost some body fat, or it could just be some natural variation. A little disheartening however overall I've still lost a lot of weight and body fat since March.

Total loss since 7th March 2010:
Weight: 8.9kg
Body fat: 6.4% 

August 15th 2010 Daily Update

Another day without as much exercise as I would have liked. Next week will need to be catch up time. I did however complete the P90X Yoga.

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8: 273 kcal, 149/160 bpm, 00:40, 09:41, 09:48

Afternoon

• P90X Yoga X: 334 kcal, 97/126 bpm, 51:27, 00:00, 00:00

Summary

Daily Total: 607 kcal
Monthly Total: 12,856 kcal

August 14th 2010 Daily Update

Not as much exercise as I had planned, also tried to do the P90X Yoga in the evening, but after 25 minutes stopped as I was not "in the right mind" for it. Will need to Yoga tomorrow.

Morning

•  Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 285 kcal, 153/164 bpm, 00:45, 03:38, 15:44
  

Afternoon

• Elliptical Sprint 8: 260 kcal, 145/156 bpm, 00:40, 16:00, 03:27
  

Summary

Daily Total: 545 kcal
Monthly Total: 12,249 kcal

August 13th 2010 Daily Update

While it is Friday 13th it has actually been a pretty good day to end the work week! Key milestone is today being my 100th day of exercise since March 7th!

Mornings

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 280 kcal, 151/163 bpm, 00:57, 07:32, 11:50

Evening

• P90X Cardio X: 413 kcal, 127/162 bpm, 18:54, 17:52, 04:18
• P90X Legs & Back: 534 kcal, 124/154 bpm, 40:09, 18:05, 00:36

Summary

Daily Total: 1,227 kcal
Monthly Total: 11,704 kcal

August 12th 2010 Daily Update

Today has been another one of those days where I just haven't felt like exercising, work is definitely taking a toll this week however I've struggled through some cardio and the P90X, although wasn't really enjoying it. Can't wait for the weekend!

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 267 kcal, 146/158 bpm, 01:20, 13:21, 05:47

Evening

• P90X Kenpo X: 537 kcal, 125/163 bpm, 19:07, 26:59, 03:22

Summary

Daily Total: 804 kcal
Monthly Total: 10,477 kcal

August 11th 2010 Daily Update

Another long day in the office with back to back meetings. Came home just wanting to put my feet up and watch some TV or sleep, however completed the P90X. Need to catch up on the cardio...

Mornings

none

Evening

• P90X Shoulders & Arms: 353 kcal, 110/147 bpm, 53:11, 01:39, 00:00

Summary

Daily Total: 353 kcal
Monthly Total: 9,673 kcal

August 10th 2010 Daily Update

As expected the all-day workshops are having some impact although I'm keeping to healthy eating for the dinner afterwards.

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 278 kcal, 149/160 bpm, 00:33, 10:37, 09:13

Evening

• P90X Plyometrics: 683 kcal, 139/160 bpm, 14:24, 29:33, 14:04

Summary

Daily Total: 961 kcal
Monthly Total: 9,320 kcal

August 9th 2010 Daily Update

The start of another week and week 2 of P90X. A gentle start with no cardio in the morning due to the heavy weekend of exercise.

Morning

none

Evening

• P90X Chest & Back: 417 kcal, 118/155 bpm, 43:47, 08:06, 00:09

Summary

Daily Total: 417 kcal
Monthly Total: 8,359 kcal

Week 32 Fitness Summary

Week 32 (August 2nd->August 8th) has seen weight continue to decrease however with body fat remaining steady at 19.5% some of this loss could be muscle.


Workout sessions this week: 19
Total HRM calories burnt: 6,531 kcal
Cardio HRM calories burnt: 1,889 kcal
P90X HRM calories burnt: 4,642 kcal

Total time exercised: 13hrs 32 minutes

HR Zone 1 time: 7hrs 00 min
HR Zone 2 time: 2hrs 53 min
HR Zone 3 time: 1hrs 23 min

Weight loss: 1.0kg
Body fat loss: 0.0%

Pull Ups.... arghhh!

When it comes to pull ups.. simply put I am useless! On a good day I can manage perhaps 1 or 2 unassisted, while I have a goal of being able to knock out 10 or even 20 in a single session.

I've been researching the best ways to improve, options include:

1. assisted pull ups (either using a friend, resistance bands, more equipment or other means)
2. negative pull ups
3. mini-sets of 1 or 2 multiple times during the day and gradually increasing the number that can be done in a single repetition.

I've decided to therefore utilise a mix of 2) negative pull ups and 3) mini-set. I have an additional work sheet now to record progress with the aim to be able to be able to consistently complete some pull ups by the end of August.

Bring It!

August 8th 2010 Daily Update

Unsure why however didn't sleep well last night. However up at 8:15am for a morning cardio workout (thanks to my wife for the encouragement to not leave it for later in the day)

Plan for today on the exercise front is cardio and stretching. Likely some cardio on the elliptical, some P90X cardio and then a P90X stretch.

Morning

Absolutely tore through the reverse ellipticals. Considering I find the reverse direction more difficult and have yet to really have a significant amount of time in Zone 3 then the results below are startling. I had little of the awkward posture I usually find on the reverse direction and I can only assume the Yoga from the day before helped. Depending on how measured then this is my best elliptical result whether it is compared to the forward or the reverse direction! If I had just seen the results I would have sworn I was going forward on the elliptical rather than in reverse. Impressed!

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 314 kcal, 159/169 bpm, 00:36, 02:02, 17:31
• P90X Cardio X: 533 kcal, 140/172 bpm, 17:07, 08:06, 19:22

The P90X Cardio X went well, best result to-date for this exercise. I find it fun to do, not too long, and burns a lot of calories. The only exercise I struggle with (in terms of form) are the wacky jacks! By the time I get to the last two exercises (Squat Run and Superman/Banana) I'm pretty much all spent, although hope to see my stamina increase over the coming weeks.

Afternoon

• P90X Yoga X: 410 kcal, 101/136 bpm, 58:39, 00:22, 00:00
• P90X Stretch X: 122 kcal, 88/117 bpm, 13:54, 00:00, 00:00
  

Summary

Daily Total: 1,379 kcal
Monthly Total: 7,942 kcal

Weigh In - 8th August 2010: 75.7kg; 19.5%bf

Official weekly weigh in shows a 1kg reduction in weight and a 0% reduction in body fat. Hopefully we'll see a body fat reduction in this coming week. I have a feeling that I'm not taking in enough calories with my food, and that I'm burning some lean body mass as well as body fat. This coming week I'll aim to up my daily calorie intake by 100-200 kcals of food.

Weight loss continues to be visible!

Total loss since 7th March 2010:
Weight: 9.8kg
Body fat: 5.9% 

Almost up to 10kg of weight loss since March!

August 7th 2010 Daily Update

The start of the weekend, and after a work week of early starts and later finishes a chance for a lie-in. Up at 8:15am and on the scales showed a weight of 75.9kg. First time below 76kg so great news, however this week has been one of weight fluctuations on the daily weigh-ins, like due to the early starts. The official weigh-in comes tomorrow.

Morning

By far my best Yoga X workout to date. Not only did I burn nearly twice the calories of my previous attempt I actually felt like I was working out. I found wearing gloves/socks rather than bare hands/feet allowed me to hold the positions better.

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 255 kcal, 141/155 bpm, 02:39, 16:28, 01:11
• P90X Yoga X: 534 kcal, 107/142 bpm, 09:11, 02:56, 00:00
   

Evening

Also my best Cardio X, pushed myself much harder as shown by heart rate, kcals and heart rate zones. As Cardio X includes some Yoga and some Kenpo (in addition to Plyometrics and Core Synergistics) I'm finding my co-ordination and familiarity with the sequences improving and I'm also pushing myself much harder. I'm now finding that in both the Yoga and Kenpo sections that I'm having a much more elevated heart rate as I'm giving 110% rather than just going through the motions.

• P90X Cardio X: 510 kcal, 138/171 bpm, 15:28, 13:03, 13:57

Summary

Daily Total: 1,299 kcal
Monthly Total: 6,563 kcal

August 6th 2010 Daily Update

The end of a tough work week, some longer than wanted days, early starts and late finishes. While the cardio suffered I did keep to the P90X. Will need to catch up on some cardio this weekend if possible.

Morning

none

Evening

• P90X Legs & Back: 495 kcal, 120/151 bpm, 41:34, 14:58, 00:00
• P90X Ab Ripper X: 93 kcal, 109/123 bpm, 16:21, 00:00, 00:00

Summary

Daily Total: 588 kcal
Monthly Total: 5,264 kcal

August 5th 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8: 284 kcal, 149/161 bpm, 00:44, 10:38, 09:01

Evening

• P90X Kenpo X: 414 kcal, 112/150 bpm, 43:53, 06:11, 00:00
• Elliptical Sprint 8: 222 kcal, 133/146 bpm, 08:50, 11:17, 00:00

Summary

Daily Total: 920 kcal
Monthly Total: 4,676 kcal

August 4th 2010 Daily Update

Long hectic day in the office today, and a long work day tomorrow starting at 5:30am are going to make things tough and tiring. Skipped the morning cardio workout this morning as Achilles tendon still a little sore however completed the P90X this evening.

Morning

none

Evening

Having a proper dumbbell set makes a big difference on the P90X strength days.

• P90X Shoulders & Arms: 329 kcal, 107/147 bpm, 50:46, 01:46, 00:00
• P90X Ab Ripper X: 120 kcal, 109/130 bpm, 18:51, 00:00, 00:00

Summary

Not a high amount of kcals burnt as no cardio :-(

Daily Total: 449 kcal
Monthly Total: 3,756 kcal 

August 3rd 2010 Daily Update

Tuesday morning, no early meetings so a chance to do my 6:45am workout followed by breakfast. Tonight is Plyometrics (jump training) which is the toughest of the P90X sessions but also one of the ones I enjoy, I just have to be careful with my knees.

No aches or pains from last night's P90X Chest & Back so my body is adapting, not bad for a couple of weeks.

Morning

I'm continuing the Sprint 8 reverse in the mornings and it continues to be a lot more difficult than the forward direction. Left the lights switched off in the gym this morning in the hope of keeping the room a bit cooler and not having to put the fan on... big mistake, had to hop of and switch on the fan part way through.. have learnt my lesson!

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 270 kcal, 145/156 bpm, 00:57, 17:01, 02:28

Afternoon

Wow.. what a killer.. by the last few rounds I was hardly getting my feet off the floor.. could also feel a slight twinge in my right Achilles tendon. I'll need to keep a careful watch on it as I don't want to have an injury.

• P90X Plyometrics: 707 kcal, 139/161 bpm, 15:04, 32:10, 11:46

Summary


Daily Total: 977 kcal
Monthly Total: 3,307 kcal 

Perspective on weight and obesity

While my true goal is one based on a target body fat rather than weight, it is still easier to consider weight as I know the approximate weight that the target body fat would equal. Today I received the new dumbbell set and this helped me put some of the weight loss in perspective.

Back in March when I said "Enough!" to myself and started on this journey to get fit and healthy I would not have considered my 85.5kg weight to be obese (and technically I was not). Yes I was overweight with the fat having built up predominantly on my belly and chest. I also had the benefit of having been in good shape 4 years ago so I knew that my target stats were 70kg, 14% body fat and a 30" waist.

I have so far lost 9.2 kg in weight (using today's unofficial weight in) since March. That is the equivalent of 20lbs in weight or just over 9 litres of water. For those in the USA the small bottles of water sold in the supermarket are typically 0.5l or just over 1 US pint. Try lifting that weight when you're next in the supermarket or find a 20lb dumbbell when you're in the gym! I'm also only part way on my journey and expect my total weight loss to be over 30lbs or 15kg. So that would be 15 litres of water or 30 of the smaller size bottles.

This then helped me take the thought further in comparing this to the obese people I see every day, who are likely to be around 100 to 150lbs (45 to 68kg) overweight (or more!) it is astonishing that the human body can actually adapt and cope with this excess weight.. That's significantly more than my wife actually weighs that these people have as additional weight!

There are plenty of stats available, especially for the USA, and one of my prior posts included some. Once you get to this level of obesity it is not going to be easy (or cheap) to get back to a normal size. Unless very drastic (and possibly dangerous) action is taken it would likely take at least 2-3 years to safely lose the weight. What are the alternatives...

• a life plagued with more and more medical complications (high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, ...)
• a life plagued with even more medication and pills to control the medical complications
• a life likely to be short, maybe without the opportunity to see grandchildren (or at least see them reach their teens/twenties), due to stress on the body and increased chance of an early death
• .....

The list goes on, and on.

So while it is easy to snigger or joke at seeing the very overweight in the gyms, I have to applaud them for taking the first step towards better health and for taking responsibility for what they have done to themselves. Well done to all those who are trying, who have the courage to confront and improve themselves!

Dumbbells have arrived

This afternoon UPS arrived with my Body Solid SDRS550 dumbbells. Due to the weight being 640 lbs / 290 kg the delivery options are limited. On ordering the following confirmation was received from Body Solid.

Thank you for your order. Because the item you ordered is large or heavy, it is being shipped via Freight carrier. Please be aware of the following Freight requirements for delivery. The delivering company is responsible to bring the equipment to the end of the truck only. It is your responsibility to unload the freight from the truck into your home or garage. Drivers do not assist with unpacking or setup. Some freight companies may offer an optional lift gate service to drop the items off on the curb/or inside your home, for an additional charge- call for details.  Packages may be taken apart in the truck to ease with unloading.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find the delivery lorry had a lift gate and the delivery driver wheeled the pallet out off the truck and into our garage. I had visions of having to carry the dumbbells out of the truck and into the house one by one!!!!

Initial impressions are very positive, quality seems good.

August 2nd 2010 Daily Update

The start of a new week! Morning exercise was on the elliptical. Also weighed myself and surprisingly saw my weight as 76.3kg, 19.5% body fat. However official weigh-ins are at the weekend so will have to wait and see what happens between now and Saturday. The 0.4kg loss from yesterday is most likely to be natural variation.

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 269 kcal, 146/155 bpm, 00:58, 16:19, 02:50

Evening

Official day 1 of round 1 of P90X. Went well, definitely a little stronger now than 2 weeks ago although still need to do assisted pull ups and struggle on the diamond push-ups. Overall pleased with the first day. Felt tired on the evening's Sprint 8, guess I'm still recovering from the cardio sessions yesterday.

• P90X Chest & Back: 375 kcal, 114/150 bpm, 44:12, 05:52, 00:00
• Elliptical Sprint 8: 275 kcal, 148/159 bpm, 00:27, 14:21, 05:21

Summary

Daily Total: 919 kcal
Monthly Total: 2,330 kcal

The best yoghurt.....

Eating a yoghurt a day is typically recommended as a good source of calcium and other important nutritional items. However a quick look at the supermarket demonstrates that yoghurts come in all shapes and sizes, include various amounts of sugar, fat, artificial flavours and preservatives etc.

My yoghurt of choice is Fage Total 2% as it has a high protein level without being high in sugars and is all natural. My other yoghurt of choice is Weight Watchers which has more flavours, less calories however it also has less protein and many more ingredients.

Fage Total 2% Nutritional Facts
per 200g includes %DV based on a 2,000 kcal diet

Calories: 130
Total Fat: 4g (6%)
Cholesterol: 10mg (3%)
Sodium: 65mg (3%)
Total Carbs: 8g (3%)
Protein: 17g

Weight Watchers Nutritional Facts

per 170g includes %DV based on a 2,000 kcal diet


Calories: 100
Total Fat: 0.5g (1%)
Cholesterol: 5mg (2%)
Sodium: 110mg (5%)
Total Carbs: 17g (6%)
Protein: 6g (12%)



Now compare these with the yoghurt that you're eating and see if there is a difference....

Week 31 Fitness Summary

Week 31 (July 26th -> August 1st) has been a successful week. I've completed this week as if it was a P90X week 1 although I formally start tomorrow. As we're now into August I'm also using the new format for recording all exercises via the HRM.

Looking at the summaries below I've completed nearly 13 hours of exercise a week, that may seem excessive however it includes the Yoga and Stretch exercises from P90X. In terms of where I find the time.. well it is commitment and taking the benefits of a very short commute journey to the office which saves me around 9 hours a week in commuting, so my additional commitment on top of that is around 4 hours which doesn't seem too bad. I do however expect to reduce the time spent exercising once I've reached my targets as I'll move into a maintenance schedule rather than the current get fit and lose weight schedule.

Workout sessions this week: 22

Total HRM calories burnt: 6,678 kcal
Cardio HRM calories burnt: 3,079 kcal
P90X HRM calories burnt: 3,599 kcal

Total time exercised: 12hrs 48 minutes

HR Zone 1 time: 5hrs 54 min
HR Zone 2 time: 3hrs 17 min
HR Zone 3 time: 1hrs 53 min

Weight loss: 0.8kg
Body fat loss: 0.5%

Looking forward to tomorrow, dumbbells arrive, formal start to P90X and another exciting week ahead!

I've also spent about an hour makes changes to the spreadsheet I use for capturing my progress. It will now be much easier for me to cut and paste information directly into my blog without having to re-type and also gives me much greater granularity and analytical options. As much as I like MS Excel, it can be a little bit of a pain trying to manipulate and format time numbers. Once you get the hang of it it is fine, however takes a bit of reading help files and trial and error!

Exercise clothing

Wearing comfortable clothing while exercising is a must. It's not necessary to spend a fortune however some of the hi-tech clothing now available really can make a difference to performance and endurance. While I'm not a big fan of Nike trainers, I do like their clothing line. With my exercise regime continuing to step up and a typical week consisting of 10-16 exercise sessions it was time to buy a few more sets of tops and shorts.

While longer shorts are the fashion, and compression clothing is one of the latest things I prefer light weight, breathable clothes. For my shorts I like them to be short so they don't catch on my thighs during stretches, yoga, lunges etc. I also have a 'hot' body (alas not in the Brad Pitt style!) which means keeping me cool is important while I exercise.

A trip to the local Sports Authority and an hour of so of browsing resulted in 4 purchases.

Nike Dri-FIT 2" Split Men's Running Shorts

2 pairs of  of these. They come in a 6 different colours so I have one black with grey and the other black with green. I wore them last night for Yoga X and they worked well.

For the tops I bought two different designs and I went for sleeveless as most of my existing workout shirts have short sleeves.

Nike Race Day Men's Running Shirt

The main appeal of this shirt was the sides and back are mesh which helps with cooling the body. I wore it for this mornings Sprint 8 and either I wasn't pushing myself as hard, or the shirt helped keep me from overheating! This shirt comes in either black or white I chose black (which includes some green inserts)

Nike Polygraphic Men's Running Shirt

A more traditional running shirt which includes a graphic print on the front to add some interest. Comes in 4 colours so I bought the grey.

August 1st 2010 Daily Update

The beginning of a new month, the end of a week means a few posts to write up this weekend.

Jumped on the scales this morning and was pleased to see that the weight/body fat measurements from yesterday were not an anomaly being once again 76.7kg and 19.5% respectively.

As it is now August I will be switching to the new style of measuring kcals. The main difference is I am using my HRM rather than the cardio machine readings and I am totaling up all exercise rather than just the cardio machines. Unfortunately this makes comparisons with prior months  a little harder however will be a more accurate measurement to use going forward.

Today should be a fairly quiet day, a bit of office work, changing the water for the tropical fish, making some room in the garage for the dumbbells that will arrive tomorrow. On the exercise front there will be a couple of Sprint 8 sessions, a P90X Stretch X and then we'll see after that what happens.

Morning

• Elliptical Sprint 8 reverse: 266 kcal, 145/157 bpm, 02:37, 13:09, 04:23

Afternoon

The afternoon was a chance to really kick out some cardio with a mix of P90X and Sprint 8. The Sprint 8 was one of my best sessions to date with over 17 of the 20 minutes in Zone 3 (80%-90% of Max Heart Rate) which for me is 152bpm to 171bpm.

• P90X Cardio X: 459 kcal, 131/166 bpm, 19:25, 15:21, 07:44
• hula
• jump rope
• Elliptical Sprint 8: 313 kcal, 159/170 bpm, 00:38, 01:56, 17:34
• P90X Ab Ripper X: 203 kcal, 118/141 bpm, 24:09, 01:49, 00:00
• P90X Stretch X: 170 kcal, 96/123 bpm, 33:59, 00:00, 00:00

I completed a P90X Ab Ripper X as I skipped the session on Friday evening. I found the session easier (that is not the same as easy!) and I think it makes a big difference doing this session standalone rather than straight after a P90X resistance session. The day rounded of with a stretching session.

Summary

Daily Total: 1,411 kcal
Monthly Total: 1,411 kcal

July 2010 Summary

Another month of exercise complete and some surprising insight, changes and learnings. While the month started slow due to being overseas there was consistent exercise from 5th July to the end of the month with 1 day taken as a break. My target of 12,000 kcals was reached and there was reasonable progress on the weight & body fat loss.

Key highlights for the month are:

• P90X - I came across P90X and have tried 15 sessions. I formally start the proper program on Monday 2nd August.
• HRM - I've started using my HRM monitor again and from 1st August onwards my daily, weekly and monthly summaries will utilise the HRM kcal readings rather than those on the cardio machines.
• Nutrition - Overall my nutrition this month has been good with little or no junk food, alcohol etc. The last 4 days I've upped my daily protein intake to 40%+ and although this may be coincidence the last few days have seen the biggest change in weight and body fat loss.
• I've now lost a total of 8.8kg and 5.9% body fat since I started on this journey on the 7th March.

Month Summary
Starting stats: 78.9kg, 21.5% body fat
End stats: 76.7kg, 19.5% body fat
Weight lost: 2.2kg
Body fat lost: 2%

Days exercised during Month: 26 days
Elliptical calories burnt: 10,624 kcal
Recumbent bike calories burnt: 1,981 kcal
Total calories burnt: 12,605 kcal

Year to Date Summary
Weight lost: 8.8kg
Body fat lost: 5.9%

Days exercised during Year: 87
Elliptical calories burnt: 32,508 kcal
Recumbent bike calories burnt: 12,356 kcal
Total calories burnt: 44864 kcal

July 31st 2010 Daily Update

Another month comes to an end and I'm seeing good results through nutritional discipline, P90X workouts and my standard cardio exercise regime. It is easy to see that I've not just lost weight, but I'm also making progress on becoming toned.

Saturday is Yoga X day.. not entirely sure I'm looking forward to it as I'm not very good, however the general feedback is to persevere, and I also know I am not very flexible so I need to bring it!

We spent the majority of the day at a local shopping mall, so after 90 minutes of Yoga X called it a day hence no Sprint 8 in the evening.

Morning

• Sprint 8 elliptical = 230 kcal (276 kcal, 148/160 bpm, 00:39, 12:47, 06:41)
• Jump rope
• Hula

Afternoon

The second time I have completed Yoga X and noticed some improvement in terms of balance but predominantly in at least knowing what move to undertake based on the name being said. This results in slightly better form as less need to try to see the move being demonstrated on the TV. Also wearing fingerless gloves as find my hands slip and slide on many of the floor positions required.

• P90X Yoga X (289 kcal, 94/122bpm, 46:08, 00:00, 00:00)

Summary


230 kcal on the machines (12,605 month to date)
565 kcal total recorded on HRM

Weigh In - 31st July 2010: 76.7kg; 19.5%bf

WOW! the last few days have seen the body fat really drop from the plateau I had reached. The only change I have made to my diet/exercise regime was to switch to a higher protein diet while keeping the calories at the same level, and that was on the 28th July - 3 days ago. Maybe it was co-incidence however it seems to have made a difference.


Morning weigh in was 76.7kg and 19.5% body fat which is a reduction of 0.5kg and 1% body fat since the last official weigh in 7 days ago on the 24th July.

Total loss since 7th March 2010:
Weight: 8.8kg
Body fat: 5.9%

Dumbbells & P90X

Just had a call from the UPS letting me know that the dumbbells will be delivered on Monday. If all goes well I will therefore be formally starting P90X on Monday 2nd August. I will likely have some business trips during the next 3 months so will need to determine how best to approach the times I am away.

So far this week I've completed the first 5 days of P90X as a trial run although without the full selection of dumbbells I'm having to use my existing weights that for some exercises are too light or too heavy.

Bring It!

July 30th 2010 Daily Update

Corrected a typo from the last two days' entries that had the weight as 78.x kg rather than 77.x kg... OOPS! Thanks to my wife for noticing!

Jumped on the scales this morning and they really did show 77.0kg 19.5% body fat.. WOW!! Let's hope this continues for the official weigh in this weekend as both the weight and body fat have decreased. Would be great to be at 76.9kg 19.5% at the weekend!

12,000 kcal reached and passed!

Morning

My best reverse work out so far in terms of time spent in Zone 3 (08:54), an increase of just over 2 minutes. My target is to reach 15 minutes in Zone 3.

• Sprint 8 elliptical reverse = 198 kcal (278 kcal, 148/159bpm, 00:47, 10:25, 08:54)

Afternoon

• P90X Chest & Back (474 kcal, 119/155bpm, 43:33, 12:06, 00:08)
• Sprint 8 elliptical = 236 (279 kcal, 148/160bpm, 00:52, 11:24, 07:55)

Summary

434 kcal on the machines (12,375 month to date)
1031 kcal total recorded on HRM 

July 29th 2010 Daily Update

Weight measured in at 77.4kg and 20.0% body fat. Not concerned with the slight weight increase as that will just be a natural daily variation and I was up earlier this morning than normal. Good to see the body fat down to 20.0% for the 2nd day in a row however need to have 3 consecutive readings before I formally record it.

Morning

No morning exercise today. Left the house at 6:30am as was presenting at an early morning meetings at work. Should be back to normal for tomorrow for morning exercises.

Evening

I enjoy the Kenpo X session of P90X however I am very uncoordinated! My punches and kicks probably wouldn't harm a gnat! I'm told my co-ordination will improve, so patience young Jedi!

• P90X Kenpo X (448 kcal, 116/150bpm, 43:02, 07:33, 00:00)
• Sprint 8 elliptical = 255 kcal (294 kcal, 152/166bpm, 00:43, 05:41, 13:52)
• Sprint 8 elliptical alternating = 229 kcal (281 kcal, 149/164bpm, 00:41, 13:07, 06:40)

On the Sprint 8, the first session was in a forwards direction, the second session alternated between forwards and backwards every interval repeat. A number of my more recent Sprint 8 workouts have not pushed me as much as I would like, probably due to some level of tiredness, however this evening's first session was back to a good, hard workout.

Summary

Progressing well overall and I remain on target for 12,000 kcal this month of cardio on the machines (59kcal to go!).

484 kcal on the machines (11,941 month to date)
1023 kcal total recorded on HRM

July 28th 2010 Daily Update

Weight measured in at 77.3kg and 20.0% body fat. Not concerned with the 0.2kg increase as that will just be a natural daily variation. Good to see the body fat down to 20.% however need to have 3 consecutive readings before I formally record it.

Morning

No morning exercise today. Early morning meetings at work and wanting to balance the amount of exercise and not over-train.

Evening

• P90X Shoulder & Arms (300 kcal, 105/146bpm, 47:53, 01:37, 00:00)
• P90X Ab Ripper X (82 kcal, 107/123bpm, 15:13, 00:00, 00:00)
• Sprint 8 elliptical = 222 kcal (266 kcal, 144/158bpm, 01:15, 15:20, 03:50)

Summary

222 kcal on the machines (11,457 month to date)
648 kcal total recorded on HRM 

I changed my nutrition (more fish/chicken) as below.

date	protein	carb	fat
27th July	26%	54%	20%
28th July	40%	38%	21%

Nutrition - an example day's food

note: This post may be updated further once I have confirmed the actual brands used for food and their nutritional details.

As a check on the typical calorie intake I have I used FitDay (which is free) to catalogue what I've eaten and determine the total calories and split by carbohydrates, protein and fat. This is a one-off exercise as I don't plan to track to this level each day, however in terms of a representation this gives a very good sample of a typical days food for me.

I'll need to verify some of the details however this suggests I'm taking in around 2,000 kcals a day. This is a little bit higher than my target of 1,800 kcal due to drinking a reasonable amount of fruit juice mixed with water. The one man variable is the lentil soup, which is a guesstimate as it is home made and the recipe does not include nutritional information. The majority of the remaining items have been updated to include the nutritional information from the labels. I may be a little out on portion guesstimates however this won't be significant and may actually result in the daily calories really being a little lower than the figure below.

FitDay also provides an summary of calorie breakdown by Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat.

The ratios of protein, cabohydrates, fat are 26%, 54%, 20% respectively which doesn't put me in the Fat Shredder phase of the P90X nutrition plan. I'll probably need to revisit my nutrition and increase the protein ratio.

A useful exercise! I will reduce the fruit juice and increase the protein intake.

July 27th 2010 Daily Update

Morning

Weigh in - 77.1kg 20.5% body fat. Maybe I'll hit the 76.x kg this week. Continue to be a little concerned on the morning body fat % not reducing although a couple of mornings it has come in at 20.0%.

I'm now including reverse direction as part of the morning workout on the elliptical to provide more variety to my muscles. Reverse direction is harder, I find I need to lean forward more to reach the upper body handles and also I'm not going so quick (rpms) as shown by the 187 kcal machine reading. However my HRM heart rate and kcals are indicating this workout is pushing me as much as the forward direction which typically hits around 220 to 240 kcal on the machine.

• Sprint 8 elliptical reverse = 187 kcal (277 kcal, 148/159bpm, 00:45, 12:39, 06:46) 
• Jump Rope

Evening

My second go at Plyometrics. I did a better attempt this time and it will be interesting to see if I am as sore tomorrow as last time when I could hardly walk. As an update from yesterday's Chest & Back my left bicep is a little sore, however that is all so compared to last time a big improvement!

• P90X Plyometrics (737 kcal, 142/164bpm, 10:14, 31:26, 16:40)

Considering how intense the Plyometrics was I skipped my evening Sprint 8. Of all the P90X sessions so far where I've had the HRM the Plyometrics has easily burnt the most calories.

Summary

187 kcal on the machines (11,235 month to date)
1014 kcal total recorded on HRM

July 26th 2010 Daily Update

The start of a new week. Looking forward to it! Should break the 11,000 kcal barrier today. This will be the last week were I use the old style of measuring. From 1 August onwards I will switch to measuring all exercis via the HRM.

Morning

• Sprint 8 elliptical reverse = 189 kcal (273 kcal, 147/160bpm, 00:46, 14:08, 05:11) 
• Jump Rope

Evening

It was 15 days ago on the 11th July that I first tried P90X and started with the Chest & Back. I really struggled on the pulls ups and push ups and my entire upper body was painfully sore for the next 2-3 days. This evening when trying Chest & Back (2nd time now) I found a noticeable improvement in being able to do push-ups and assisted pull-ups. Still a long way to go before I can keep up with Tony and the team! We'll see how sore, if at all, I am tomorrow.

• P90X Chest & Back (353 kcal, 113/150bpm, 44:46, 03:51, 00:00)
• P90X Ab Ripper X (84 kcal, 108/126bpm, 15:09, 00:00, 00:00)
• Sprint 8 elliptical reverse = 236 kcal (276 kcal, 146/164bpm, 01:09, 13:12, 06:20)

Summary

425 kcal on the machines (11,048 month to date)
986 kcal total recorded on HRM

Breakfast: All Bran & blueberries
Lunch: Tuna & home made salad
Dinner: Homemade lentil soup (thanks wife!) and 2 slices of wholegrain organic bread
Snacks: Raw carrots, almonds, Fage 2% yoghurt
plus Recovery drink

Week 30 Fitness Summary

Week 30 (July 19th -> July 25th) is the first week where I have consistently used the HRM for all my exercises and this will continue going forward. I have also changed the Excel spreadsheet I use to record my sessions to provide better granularity and data analysis so I can more easily review progress and see trends over the days, weeks and months.


Workout sessions this week: 14

Total HRM calories burnt: 5513 kcal
Cardio HRM calories burnt: 3662 kcal
P90X HRM calories burnt: 1851 kcal

Total time exercised: 9hrs 39 minutes

HR Zone 1 time: 4hrs 26 min
HR Zone 2 time: 2hrs 34 min
HR Zone 3 time: 1hrs 46 min

Weight loss: 0.4kg
Body fat loss: 0%*

*note: my body fat is measured first thing in the morning and will reflect a dehydrated state. During the day my body fat % is measuring at around 18% to 18.5%.If my body fat doesn't decrease in this coming week then it suggests I am not eating enough and I'm breaking down muscle rather than fat.

A  summary table and chart for the week's exercise are below

Monday and Tuesday (19th & 20th) reflect being away from home at a hotel. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday reflect the P90X workouts in addition to my cardio and Thursday was a rest day.


Overall a good week. I am feeling much less sore following P90X sessions.

Dumbbells

The home gym is almost complete! The main area still to get complete coverage is with the dumbells. Currently we have two dumbbell sets we bought in Australia. These look similar in style to the photos below:

Both our sets have interchangeable weights as per below:

• Silver set: 1kg, 2kg
• Black set: 0.5kg, 1.25kg, 2.5kg

While these sets served there purpose there are some shortcomings which means it is now time to expand our dumbbell inventory.

1. The black set end screws work themselves loose after a while and it becomes very distracting to have them loosen in the middle of an exercise
2. The weight coverage across both sets is a little limited, particularly as it is time consuming to switch the weight plates when exercise
3. As per 2), when following the P90X routines there is a lot of varied weight use in rapid succession, it is not convenient to switch weights, assuming there is suitable weight coverage in what we have.
4. As we progress and get fit we will need broader weight coverage up to around 40lbs.

I've decided (and have permission!) to therefore purchase some more dumbbells.  While I'm still researching I will probably go for the following style:

The rubber coating ensures they make less of a bang when knocking each other and will also protect the floor. This style is available from a number of manufacturers in 3lb to 100lb weight, with bundled sets going from 5 to 50lb, 55 to 75lb and 80 to 100lb. I'm anticipating that 5 to 50lb should be sufficient for now and it comes in 5lb intervals.

In the past I've never been a big fan of free weights and I've always preferred the weight machines in gyms. However with the P90X routine, and being at home I'm finding using free weights more enjoyable to use.

PowerLung Trainer

There could be many different reasons however I've always found that my lungs are not as strong as I would like and an area I'd like to strengthen. Could be due to genetics, or being brought up in a home with smokers, or modern day pollution levels - who knows! I expect they all have had some level of impact and as part of my challenge to get fit, my lungs are part of the overall level of fitness.

After some research I came across the PowerLung products. They sell a series of products which with regular use will strengthen the lungs. The products are marketed for Sports & Fitness, Music & Singing as well as Health & Well-being and your level of lung strength determines which product to go for. There are 4 different versions of the PowerLung that are differentiated by colour:

• PowerLung AireStream - Orange - Light Activity & Good Health
• PowerLung BreatheAir - Yellow - Exercise & Active Lifestyles
• PowerLung Trainer - Teal/Green - Fitness & Sports Training
• PowerLung Sport - Blue - Top Performance & Elite Athletes

I went for the PowerLung Trainer (Teal/Green) as pictured below. There are two separate settings for adjusting the inhale and exhale. As with most people, my inhale is stronger than my exhale and for the first couple of days I really struggled to have the strength to exhale. I'm now able to breathe more normally using the PowerLung as my lungs become stronger. One tip is that on the exhale I needed to 'blow' the air out quite forcibly at first as otherwise I was unable to have the lung strength to exhale.

Reminiscing the past - part 3

Have completed my A-Levels at Rendcomb College I went to University in North Wales. We didn't have sufficient time to drive to Bangor during our recent UK holiday so there are no photos for now.

Following graduation I moved back to Kemble and looked for a temporary job while deciding what direction my future would take. Would it be further studies at University, a job in the field of my degree or some other field. I began work in Swindon at WH Smith Retail in the IT department undertaking quality assurance and software testing for the new EPoS system they were implementing. My parents also moved from Kemble which meant I had to find somewhere to live. In terms of convenience and getting on the property ladder I bought my first house.

My first house looks much the same now as it did ~15 years ago. I have mixed memories of the house, it was my first, it was also one that I very ambitiously took on as a renovation job. The interior of the house was in a poor state and very old fashioned and I spent the next 4 years improving. This included:

• Blocking in the open porch to make a proper entrance and utility room
• Knocking down the old downstairs toilet/utility room and making it into a dining room
• New kitchen including units, sink, oven, tiling
• New bathroom, including removing the old hot water tank and fitting in a new bath/shower suite, tiling etc.
• Moving one of the bedroom walls to make a built in wardrobe
• Re-fencing and turfing the garden
• Replacing the old warm air heating with proper central heating
• New windows and front/rear door including converting one rear window into a patio door
• New carpets
• Stripping old wall coverings and redecorating
• Removing old doors and frames and replacing with new frames
• Updating the house electrics

The DIY was a lot of work and I made some mistakes along the way. My first attempt at tiling ever was the bathroom and my lack of experience ensure the tiles were not as straight as they should have been. My first ever attempt at hanging doors and door frames ensured that the doors didn't close quite as well as they should. Overall though the house was significantly better when I sold it to when I bought it.

Swindon is famous or perhaps infamous for the Magic Roundabout. The first time people encounter it they sometimes panic, however the concept is straightforward and if each of the mini roundabouts is handled on its own it is straightforward to traverse.

I moved on from WH Smith after a couple of years and started working at British Telecom (BT), also in Swindon, as a Software Engineer. By the time I left BT a few years later it was clear I would be staying in the field of IT. My career did however change slightly on leaving BT. Rather than continue working for an internal IT department of a corporate I moved into consultancy working for an System Integrator called OS Integration which later rebranded to be Conchango.

Conchango was based in Egham, Surrey and with a 60 mile daily commute it became time to move. Selling and buying a new home was not a smooth process. The Estate Agent originally contracted to sell the house didn't meet my expectations and we had to switch to a new Estate Agent who did and excellent job on selling the house. This then meant looking for a new home in or near Egham and while I found a home, the owners were undertaking this as a private sale and messed around, perhaps outright not being honest. Irrespective of what happened the end result was having to live in a rental apartment for 3 months while looking for a new home.

Eventually the right house came on the market at the right price and the new home in Egham was bought. The house now looks very much like when I lived there. Once again I undertook some renovation on the house including replacing the wooden windows with uPVC ones and also redecorating.

As we were in Egham I also popped to the old Conchango office to see if anyone was there that I still new. While Conchango had been bought by EMC in April 2008 I had not expected to see the office closed however on arriving the office was empty, a to-let sign was up and the Conchango logo was a faint image where the sun had left its mark on the now removed signage.

Time has obviously moved on and Conchango has been fully assimilated into EMC and is no longer run as a separate entity. The Conchango website now just redirects the user to the EMC website. Things change and move on.. My time at Conchango was memorable for many reasons and it is sad to see the company no longer present as its own entity.

Reminiscing the past - part 2

My trip to the UK allowed for an opportunity for my wife and I to go and visit the places I grew up. Some of these houses, schools, towns are places I've not been back to for many years and all of them were new to my wife. I'll write some separate posts on the general sight seeing as this post focuses upon my years living in the UK.

After Cherhill my parents moved to Kemble to be closer to the schools my siblings and I attended.

During the time my parents lived in Kemble I attended Rendcomb College, a boarding school for 11-18 year olds with the final 2 years being co-education. The school has since now expanded to include pre-school and ages below 11 years old, fully co-education and also day students. As a fee paying school it has needed to adapt to the changing economic environment and it is good to see the school continues to thrive.

The main original school building which was originally a large mansion built in 1865 by the Goldsmith family. Rendcomb College was founded in 1920 by Mr. F. N. H.Wills.

Walking into the main entrance it becomes clear that there have been some changes in the ~20 or so years since leaving Rendcomb. The statue of King Saul still dominates the entrance hall (and he is still missing one of his big toes) however the large snooker table is gone.

The Stable Courtyard is much the same and is still the main location for teaching Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

The Old Rectory looks the same however it's use has changed to no longer be the exclusive home of year 1 and year 2.

The Arts Block looks the same however with Mr Burden retiring wood-working is no longer taught at Rendcomb which is a shame. Many families who sent their children to Rendcomb will have wooden stools, bowls and other items made in Mr Burden's classes.

Stable House and Lawn House, which were built during my final couple of years at Rendcomb remain although their uses have changed a little.

Looking back, Rendcomb College was a defining moment in my life, the 7 years spent there were those that most shaped me into who I am now. I would love to be able to go back to the age of 11 and redo those 7 years with what I know now, some things would be a little different!

July 25th 2010 Daily Update

Scales showed 77.1kg and 20.5% body fat this morning.

Morning

I'm significantly improving at the jump rope however still unable to complete an unbroken 5 minute session without tripping on the rope. Also continuing to improve at the hula so now am comfortable to say I can hula!

• Sprint 8 elliptical = 231 kcal (272 kcal, 147/161bpm, 01:04, 13:08, 05:57) 
• Jump Rope
• Hula

Evening

The Yoga X workout is 90 minutes and is tough. I was falling over on many of the balance routines, lacking strength and flexibility in much of the first 3rd of the session. In time I'll become more flexible and better able to balance.

• P90X - Yoga X (387 kcal, 99/132bpm, 56:49, 00:00, 00:00) 
• 30 min recumbent bike = 245 (332 kcal, 133/151bpm, 13:55, 15:41, 00:00)

Summary

476 kcal on the machines (10,623 month to date)
991 kcal total recorded on HRM

July 24th 2010 Daily Update

Back to normal routine today

Morning

• Sprint 8 elliptical = 247 kcal (308 kcal, 154/167bpm, 00:44, 06:09, 13:51)
• Hula
• Jump Rope

Felt like a good exercise, not fatigued and pushed myself a bit. Will break the 10k barrier for the month today and looking good for the 12k target.


Evening

• P90X Back & Biceps + AB X = (459 kcal, 113/157bpm, 62:25, 03:30, 00:34)
• Sprint 8 elliptical = 238 kcal (278 kcal, 148/162bpm, 01:08, 11:24, 07:37)
• Hula
• Jump Rope
• Back Extensions

The P90X Back & Biceps really burns the biceps, I can still feel it a while after the session has ended. I do need to get some more dumbbells as I don't have sufficient variation in weight to really push it. Ab Ripper X remains a really killer to the point of almost feeling a little nauseous. I am however already noticing some gain in strength.

Summary

Passed the 10,000 barrier today!

485 kcal on the machines (10,147 month to date)
1045 kcal total recorded on HRM

Weigh In - 24th July 2010: 77.2kg; 20.5%bf

The weight is still reducing, I've lost an additional 0.3 kg since 16th July weigh in. The Body Fat % is more stubborn. Have had a 20.0% measurement on one morning but overall it remains at 20.5%. I know it will reduce, just have to be patient.

Morning weight in was 77.2kg and 20.5% body fat

P90X HRM summary

For each P90X session I complete in the next two weeks I will include the data from my HRM for comparison

exercise	kcals	avg bpm	max bpm	zone 1	zone 2	zone 3
Ab Ripper X	120	109	130	18:51	00:00	00:00
*Back & Biceps + AB X	459	113	157	62:25	03:30	00:34
Cardio X	510	138	171	15:28	13:03	13:57
Chest & Back	474	119	155	43:33	12:06	00:08
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps	370	113	149	45:34	04:14	00:00
Core Synergistics	583	125	159	37:04	20:59	02:31
Kenpo X	561	121	153	34:47	23:08	01:53
Legs & Back	495	120	151	41:34	14:58	00:00
Plyometrics	737	142	164	10:14	31:26	16:40
Shoulders & Arms	329	107	147	50:46	01:46	00:00
Stretch X	190	96	123	33:59	00:00	00:00
Yoga X	534	107	142	69:11	02:56	00:00

Update 26th Jul 2010: I've changed how I'm recording the P90X sessions and will now record the Ab Ripper X session separate to the main strength sessions. Rows above with a * currently include Ab Ripper X in the numbers and these will be replaced as I re-complete each session.

July 23rd 2010 Daily Update

Scales showed 77.5kg and 20.0% body fat this morning. First time I've been down to 20.0% in a good 2-3 years. We'll see if the body fat remains at 20.0% over the weekend as I've been at 20.5% for a while.

Exercise continues this evening following yesterday's rest day.

Evening

P90X followed by a double Sprint 8 workout on the elliptical trainer.

• P90X Core Synergistics (583 kcal, 125/159bpm, 37:04, 20:59, 2:31)
• Sprint 8 elliptical = 210 kcal (270 kcal, 146/166bpm, 01:00, 12:42, 06:29)
• Sprint 8 elliptical = 218 kcal (279 kcal, 146/160bpm, 02:27, 12:14, 06:25)

Summary

428 kcal on the machines (9662 month to date)
1011 kcal total recorded on HRM

P90X will be formally starting on Monday

I've tried a few of the P90x workout sessions, the Plyometrics is one of the real killer ones in working the muscles and leaving me sore the next day. The sessions tried so far are:

• Chest & Back - left my entire upper body sore!
• Plyometrics - left me struggling to walk for a couple of days
• Legs & Back
• Kenpo X
• Stretch X
• Chest, Shoulders & Triceps.

All of these sessions have pushed me hard and my body is hardening (I think) to the workouts as the soreness following a session wasn't so bad last night!

So my approach will be to continue with my current nutrition, I'm not avidly counting my calorie intake however my guesstimate will be that it is in the area of 1800kcals-2100kcals.

I'm making one minor change to the schedule. I'll be switching the days that I do Kenpo X and Yoga X around so that the 90 minute Yoga Session falls on a weekend. I may not complete each session on the required day depending on travel commitments, however if there is a break then I'll either continue from where I got to or I will restart the current week. I will continue with my current workout in addition which includes 2 x 20 minutes of cardio each day in addition to the hula and jump rope.

My official start will begin on Monday with Chest & Back X. For the remaining 4 days of this week I'll continue with following the following P90x sessions:

• Core Synergistics (Friday)
• Back & Biceps (Saturday)
• Yoga X (Sunday)

Bring It!

Update: 25th July 2010

I've decided to delay the start until the new dumbbells turn up. If all goes well that should be the first week in August. Without the dumbbells it will be more difficult to really assess progress as I'll have a very limited selection of weights to work with.

In the interim I'll continue with P90X next week in the current ad-hoc manner, which will mean P90X most, if not every day, however I'll mix up the order a bit and cover the sessions I've not tried yet.

July 22nd 2010 Daily Update

Work intrudes on a Thursday morning with meetings starting at 7am hence no pre-work work out! I'll aim to catch up this evening. Weighed myself this morning and a minor weight loss over the last week, I'm happy with that considering the diet is harder to be as disciplined on when away from home. Current weight is therefore 77.4kg. Body Fat remains the same at 20.5% which is a little disappointing however I know it takes longer to see this drop due to the way scales work and the body stores fat.

From an exercise standpoint, today was a rest day after 17 days continuous exercising. We'll be back to the standard routine tomorrow.

July 21st 2010 Daily Update

Morning

• 25 mins elliptical = 300 kcal (369 kcal, 146/162bpm, 05:09, 03:55, 16:40)

Evening

The evening exercise was carried out back at home as I've been in Washington DC the last few days. Good to get back to my own gym equipment as the hotel gyms are hit or miss in terms of quality and quantity of machines/weights. Tonight's session saw me break the 9,000 kcal barrier for the month. Less than 3,000 kcal to go this month to hit my 12,000 kcal target.

• P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps + Ab Ripper X (422 kcal, 109/149bpm, 66:41, 02:06, 00:00)
• Sprint 8 elliptical = 242 kcal (287 kcal, 150/167bpm, 00:40, 10:19, 09:22) 

Summary

542 kcal on the machines (9234 month to date).
1078 kcal total recorded on HRM

I've adjusted the Heart Rate Monitor so that my max heart rate is 190 rather than 220-age. We'll see if this increases the accuracy once I re-run the fitness test.

I won't typically post the Heart Rate Details for the P90X however for the session this evening my heart rate was 109 bpm average with 149 bpm max and 422 kcal burnt. Even with the Heart Rate monitor likely having the kcals 15% high, it still shows the body is being worked. Alas I was too weak to complete many of the exercises (many variations of press-ups for example). As a reminder the kcals burnt by exercises not on the elliptical trainer or recumbent bike do not count to my monthly or yearly targets and are not included in any of the totals shown.

July 2010 mid month fitness update

May and June saw me take my exercising to the next level with a lot of cardio pushing the recorded calories to 11k and 13k respectively. This exercise combined with a more regimented nutrition approach began to rip the fat of my body and provide the beginnings of visible muscle tone.

July started slowly with the first few days without exercise due to oversees travel, however since then I've recorded over 8k in calories burnt. If I average 300 kcal for each of the remaining 11 days this month then I'll hit my target of 12k albeit at a lower number of calories per day exercised.

Average kcals burnt per day of exercise

• May = 611 kcal/day
• June = 590 kcal/day
• July = 461 kcal/day (projected based on an average of 300kcal for the remaining 11 days)

However these figures can be misleading as in June I've begun adding more weights and other exercising to the schedule and in July I've begun to take my first few tentative steps into the world of P90X. July may also see me surpass an average of 300kcal for the remaining 11 days so we'll see what happens.

What is clear though is that my stamina has noticeable increased, my weight has noticeably decreased and there is a significant reduction in visible body fat. I'm still only part way through my journey however I'm ~50% towards reaching my goal with only 77 days of exercise over 5 months.

My upper body is still very weak, I can only do 1 pull-up and 10 press-ups. My target is 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups before the end of the year.

In terms of sacrifices made, there have not been too many and none that I'd say have negatively impacted my happiness in life.

• Investing time in my health. My shorter commute to the office (10 minutes a day rather than 120 minutes) means that I now have 'spare' time available in which to exercise that I didn't have before. In terms of eating my diet has changed to some degree. 
• Alcohol has been cut out, however once I am below 75kg I'll go to 1 glass of wine with a meal when eating out. To replace the wine I'm drinking carbonated water when eating out and it has not felt a burden or chore at all. The money saved in cutting out the alcohol covers a significant amount (if not all) of the cost for the additional gym equipment I'm purchasing.
• Eating out - we're still eating out as much as we used to, I'm just much more considerate of portion size and willing to leave food on the plate if I am feeling full. In terms of selecting what to eat I typically go for fish however the odd steak is still selected. The food tastes good, I like fish so once again no burden. Typically appetisers are skipped (or are a salad), and desserts are left to my wife to eat!
• Pizza and other fast food - we no longer have these. The odd slice of pizza would be ok, but trying to get one slice of pizza delivered is not easy!
• Grocery Shopping - we never bought much processed food (e.g. instant/ready meals) so this hasn't changed too much. There is a bit more vegetables and fruit, a little less sweet potato fries, and quite a lot more All-Bran and Shredded Wheat.

The main point is that, depending on how bad your existing diet is, you can still enjoy eating out and not feeling hungry while losing weight and getting fit. When exercising it is important however to push yourself hard and get the heart rate up if you want to see results quicker, however above all be patient. I spent 4 years putting on 15kg of fat, I'm unlikely to be able to lose it in 4 weeks! My target is 8 months which keeps me at an average of 2kg a month that is sustainable and a healthy weight loss rate. If you go too extreme then statistically you're likely to put the weight back on again within a year and also stuff up your metabolism.

July 20th 2010 Daily Update

A gentle start followed by a hard push near the end saw me hit my highest recorded heart rate since beginning to exercise back in March 2010. 173 bpm, probably could have gone higher as wasn't pushing 100%.

• 46 mins elliptical= 563 kcal (591 kcal, 137/173bpm, 11:47, 20:40, 14:05)

Summary

563 kcal on the machines (8692 month to date).
591 kcal total recorded on HRM