Yet another day of rest lies ahead. It feels as if I should be doing something, not relaxing and taking it easy. I have decided to put together another program for next month that will be equally intense but focus on a pair of muscle groups instead of doing a full body workout.

While getting my daily dose of blogs I read about the P90X workout program which supposedly can deliver rather stunning results in 3 months. I can’t help but be hesitant when a new “revolutionary” program promises to do amazing things. P90X is however fairly honest, it will build muscle, but if you are heavily overweight it can’t magically remove the fat.

I’ve not fully immersed myself in the program, but it’s apparently a combination of many different workouts that can be easily done at home. That aspect appeals to me because I’m just not much of a going-to-the-gym-fan. Might read a little bit more about it to see what it’s all about.

And from one thing to another related thing… no more workout pain, not even from yesterday’s workout. The difficult thing now is to keep myself from working out when there is nothing keeping me from lifting those weights! Patience is a virtue they say… I’ve unfortunately got very little of that, but getting better.

Ciao!

/ Christoffer

Seriously, why have I not done this sooner? I have to admit that I can now understand why people get somewhat obsessed about working out. I will attribute it to all those natural stimulants being produced when working out, but it sure feels great.

Up at 5:00, a nice banana, blueberry and soymilk smoothie before heading out for the morning walk at 5:10. Approximately 30 minutes later, arriving back home with a freshly pooped dog and I was ready to get myself sweaty. Yesterday I decided to add some more weight (progressive overloading) for today’s workout. It was definitely tougher but felt good to be pushing myself a little bit more than usual.

It’s now 9:28 and I’m at work feeling stunning and fresh (could be due to the recently consumed raw bar of chocolate and orange). While I would prefer to not sit inside a cubicle doing something that is rather uninspiring (at least at the moment), it could be a hell of a lot worse.

Guess that’s enough for today. / Christoffer

Right okay, I’ve got to admit, I may have been somewhat overoptimistic about my challenge. Apparently you have to allow muscles to rest and recover, yeah yeah, I know this may seem fairly obvious. I did actually, honestly, think that 24 hours of rest should do the trick, but apparently you need to give it more. Exactly how long each major muscle group should be allowed to rest remains a heavily debated topic, but there seem to be some sort of theory about 24-48 hours.

Even though I certainly had ambition it might work against me in this case and, well, I’d rather try and do it somewhat properly. With this in mind I shall reduce the exercise to Monday, Wednesday and Friday leaving the remaining days as rest days. I’ll continue with the full body workout program, but after this challenge I may try something different such as exercising each major muscle group once per week instead. Will have to think about that and see what conclusion I come to. Either way, I better heed the advice I’ve been given and refrain from exercising every day.

/ Christoffer

Oh. My. Ass! Never did I imagine that I would feel this way. I feel violated. Chocolate, I need chocolate. Actually, it’s not entirely true I didn’t suspect the oncoming pain. On the evening of day 1 I suspected that day 2 would be a royal pain. Parts of my body had begun aching, lower body to be specific. Legs to be even more specific, actually, my bum somewhat more specifically. The regular and backward lunges have made me aware of those areas I apparently don’t exercise enough, such as the aforementioned bum. Ironically though, or perhaps sadistically, I love it… the pain that is. The pain so clearly illustrates that something has been done and that’s a good feeling.

Quite a few have asked about the workout program I’m using for the challenge and here it is. This is the workout I’m doing 7 days a week for the next 30 days. (Starting 7th of June 2010).

These exercises are all done without break, even between parts. I only stop for a sip of water or, if necessary to catch my breath, but not for more than a few seconds.

I’m using approximately 15 KG of weights, curled bar with 2 * 5 KG weights. Following the exercise it takes me approximately 45 minutes to do the entire thing without breaks. It’s extremely tough, well for me it is, and I strongly recommend a good warm-up. (I do 30 minutes of walking after having had a green smoothie!)

Part 1 – Legs and chest
40 squats – fast
40 chest presses – wide grip – fast
40 squats – slow
40 chest presses – wide grip – slow
40 squats half way up – regular pace
40 chest presses half way up

Part 2 – Legs, lower back and shoulders (repeated twice)
20 regular squats
20 half squats
20 Deadlift
20 Bent over row

Part 3 – Legs, shoulders (repeated twice)
20 regular lunges
20 upright row
20 standing shoulder press

Part 4 – Legs, triceps (repeated twice)
20 backwards lunges
20 skull crushes (bar above head, folding towards head)
20 backwards lunges
20 close grip presses (lying flat on ground, with elbows resting on floor pushing arms upwards from stomache)

Part 5 – Legs (calves), biceps
20 calves rise, one leg at a time
20 biceps curls
20 calves rise, both legs at the same time
20 biceps curls stopping halfway for a half a second then continuing to top
xx max out calves rise

Part 6 – Stomache, legs (inner thighs)
20 crunches
20 inner thighs, one leg at a time. Lying flat on the side with one legged crossed over the one to be exercised.
20 crossed crunches. Left elbow lifted towards right leg. Kind of like cycling with your legs alternating elbows to touch knee.
20 inner thighs.
20 crunches

Done! :-)

5:02 am – What the fuck have I gotten myself into? Am I insane? Should I perhaps stay in bed… if only for a moment?

No, a promise is a promise and this promise I had made to myself – to do a full body workout (approximately 45-50 minutes) every day for 30 days. The purpose is to see whether or not it’s actually possible to reach some fairly visible results in a very short amount of time. I’m not entirely sure what to expect, but I obviously hope that it will give me some results.

Each morning will start with a green smoothie for initial energy consisting of one banana, some spinach and a water to make it blend properly. The warm-up routine is a quick walk for about 30 minutes outside to get the body working and pumping. (The walking I’ve already been doing every day since august last year, so this is just a continuation of that routine.)

At 5:50 I commenced the workout and finished around 6:40ish. I have never in my fucking life sweated as much as I did today. It was divine, haha! Very tired, and it was tough on my legs as I’m not really used to exercising my legs as much as this, still it was very nice.

The workout routine will be altered each day in regards to used weights, some days less and some days a bit more. I intend on also combining the workout with long distance running, twice per week (Wednesdays and Saturdays).

/ Christoffer

PS: I will be putting up a before and after picture when I’ve finished the challenge for those curious about the results.

PPS: If you’re curious about the program I use, leave a comment and I’ll be sure to put it up.

What a strange feeling it is, to suddenly realize you’ve been asleep most of your life. Watching as a passive observer. What an even stranger feeling when you realize you’re in charge. Life is under your spell, not the other way around. It’s actually ME controlling MY life, not the other way around. It’s strange when the motivation, passion and inspiration hits … and you wonder where it might have been hiding.

I realize it’s been a long time since the last post, but I’ve not been compelled enough… today is different. I don’t know what it is; perhaps the new year, or just… or maybe the music is changing, my passage? My chance to realize my full potential and utilize all the tools life provide me.

Good morning life, it’s GOOD to SEE you… let’s make things happen shall we?

There they are, smiling, happy while being pampered, taken care of and for once not the having to do the pampering. It’s their time, the one time a month where they are the centre of attention and they enjoy it. And why shouldn’t they?

What am I talking about? Well, women and their beauty salons of course. Each day when I go for lunch I walk past one of these places and today was the first time I actually thought about why women do what they do. These are my conclusions.

Women are…

… generally more compassionate, caring and thoughtful than men. I can only draw experience from my own situation. Johanna, my precioussssss, seem to always be one step a head of me. Whenever she goes to a store it’s more often an exception that she will not bring something back for me. She does this almost all the time. Yet when I go to the store a do it because it’s function derived from the lack of something in the house. We’re out of this and that, so I stop by the store and get it. Rarely does it cross my mind I should think outside the immediate need and sperhaps combine it with a little gift for Johanna.

Obviously this is only one thing of many that she does. At home she’s always the one to think of making little treats, or perhaps boil us some cups of tea and sit outside on the veranda enjoying a quiet moment of peace, tranquillity and us-time . The difference between her and I is that she does it to spend time with me, or more accurately, for US to spend time together. I seem to have some sort of attitude that my mere being and presence is enough. I realize now that I too must make an effort to show my appreciation for her. Not by carrying out some regular housework and expect her to love me for that. No, I also have to show my appreciation through means that are outside of the regular “pattern”, tokens… small gifts of appreciation.

What Men are forgetting…

… is that while we are taking their compassion and thoughtfulness for granted we must understand that they too, women that is, need the same affection returned from us. We shouldn’t be thinking that hoovering the floors is a token of appreciation for our beloved. It’s a frigging household chore… we should be doing that regardless, not as a way to state, or make explicit, our love.

Women want…

… to be appreciated and sometimes be the centre of attention. And why shouldn’t they? They take care of us everyday and I know myself take this for granted, although I am making an effort to show my appreciation, but I still have a long way to go before I’m on pair with Johanna. The hairdresser/beauty salon, it’s a way for a woman to get some well-deserved pampering and attention for their ever increasingly demanding men… it’s not all about “this is what women do”, it’s simply a distraction, a way to be … cared for.

It’s funny what thoughts can be conjured up when walking past a hairdresser…

… what Men Don’t Do!

I believe the reason for all the make up, cloths, beauty places and so forth is a result of the lack of attention they get in their own homes and we, the men, are partly to blame for this. Clearly it stretches somewhat beyond the home into media, social construction etc. but still, we need to take responsibility for our women. It takes so little, but can yield so much… a well-meaning long hug, a flower picked from a morning walk or why not plan a simple, but cozy evening at home. Buy a bottle of wine, attach a little card with a message of an evening of relaxation and no work. Cook, make the dinner and just pamper your woman until she’s happily purring away in your lap…