SettleNoMore’s BodyBlog

Hey family, I’m kinda looking forward to a challenge I can sink my teeth into. I’ve been talking to the Mrs. and she agrees with me that we should try to complete a 3 month fitness challenge.Maybe something sponsored by a nutrition company or supplement company. That might be the little boost I need to keep on track.  I’d like to start in Oct and go through December and finish up in January. My thoughts are that people get preoccupied with the holidays and then comes resolution time in January. We’ll lets start the resolutions NOW and see the results in January! That way we can extend the maintenance/toning phase into the summer. We all know traffic at the gym will slow down for most of us as soon as the weather turns, so let’s use that to our advantage. My question is, does anyone know of any such challenges? I need to do a bit of research on this subject.

Hey BB.com fam! you wouldn’t believe the week I just had. I just got over a stomach virus that had me down for almost a week. Thankfully its over, its over, its ooooovverrr! I was sick of being sick. but I’m better now. Doc says I lost 5lbs so I guess it wasn’t all bad. I’m getting back in the gym on Monday but I am investing in a little can of lysol for the gym bag and being extra careful to wipe down equipment before i get on it too. Let’s stay healthy out there!

Hey BB fam. I’ve been incognito for almost a month!! Say Whaaatt! I know, but I have been keeping up with my workouts as much as I can. Its been all types of distractions that have kept me away, but I still get in at least 3 days a week over the past month and a half. My Vibram 5 finger shoes have been a great help in my interval training and getting me ready for the Komen Race for the Cure 5k in a few weeks, here in charlotte, NC. The wifey and I just got back today from  a much needed vacation, I gotta tell you BB Fam, I worked out to just to eat this week. The Mrs. and I ran a 5k around the resort at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina and we took a day trip to Savannah, GA. We had to have lunch at Paula Deen’s restaurant while we were there. Boy was it Good! That place will put the "south in your mouth!". We didn’t fall off the wagon, but we were holding on for dear life by the time vacation was over. But that’s what its for right? No one came home feeling totally awful, but we realize its time to shake it off and get back on track. REST, it does a body good? Right? We took the time to plan out the next month and a half to organize our workouts, navigate the holidays and finish the year strong, while heading into January. So I wont call it a comeback, its still in my heart and the drive is still there. I’ve missed you BB fam, almost as much as I miss front squats and Delt work. Talk to ya’ll soon.

Well, 9 weeks in and its getting better. I’m noticing gains in my lifting and Personal Bests in my cardio! Today I ran 2mi in less than 30 min. and its becoming better for me because I wasn’t really trying hard. I’m trying to increase my mileage and endurance so I run at a speed that’s a bit challenging but for longer periods of time. Thanks to my HIIT training I’d been doing earlier that allowed me to build up the wind it was going to take to get to this point. Now getting up at 5:30AM to do this is still a bit of a challenge at times, but its totally worth it once Im done. For the last two weeks I’ve been trying to do 2 a days. AM run/PM lift. 1 gal water. Even though its been tough, the sense of accomplishment is more than satisfying. I drink the 1 gal of water almost everyday, even on weekends. For some reason I need it subconsciously. My body reminds me when I dont drink enough water. I want to say thanks to everyone whose kept me motivated on this site. I hope I am doing the same by writing these posts.

I know this is simple enough for some, but what seems to be the better gauge of progress, the "scale" or "how your clothes fit"?

This is redundant to many of you, but when you don’t get a good nights sleep its hard to do anything especially when it comes to your fitness goals. My daughter has been teething and my wife and I feel as if we haven’t slept all week and its only Tuesday evening! However, I did manage to get to the gym today for the first time in a week. Its just that AM workout that’s suffering since Im getting up 2 to 3 times a night. I take ZMA caplets a immediately after I workout because by the time they kick in its almost bedtime and boy do they work. I sleep hard and wake up at 5:30 ready for some HIIT on the treadmill. However, when my little one interrupts that no amount of ZMA can get me back to where I was. Hopefully my wife and I can get through until she cuts her first few teeth (as if we have a choice). But I can not stress a good 8hrs of sleep to really get the day going right. Well its almost bedtime for me so I will talk to everyone later.

Well I never really left, just been out of town for work, but I did workout 2 of 3 days I was gone. Its when i got back home is when the weekend crept up on me and slammed me. i felt like doin nothin the last few days July 2,3,4th. Thank God its the 5th and I can get back into my routine. My sleeps been off, my eating has not been as clean as I would have liked but Im still determined to get this fat off. Surprisingly I have not gained any weight….aaahhhhh. But Monday morning 6am I will be on the treadmill for more HIIT BABY!!  Since I got the shoes that look like feet (Vibram’s Five fingers), I run better than ever with less shin splint pain. I dont do it eeryday like I had been but I get in other cardio during the week. I have noticed GAINS in my cardio, I can run pretty much all out 5.5mph to 6mph for 45 sec rather than the 30 sec I started at when HIIT cardio training. I have also increased it to 7 intervals instead of 6 intervals. My goal is 1 minute flat out runs with a 90sec recovery time. by the end of JULY. I did meet my goal for JUNE YEAH BABY, since I did a couple of 2 a days, I was able to check off a workout 5 days a week for the month. My reward,  A $500 shopping spree. Now it will probably be more like $300 but I need my pants "taken in"  instead of buying new ones, Whoo Hooo!! This should help remind me to stay on track, because once they’re taken in there’s no going back. Good to talk to you BB.com family, let’s keep it going. "A setback is only a setup for a comeback" I dont know who originally said that.

I blew my nutrition with one meal today and didn’t know it until I got home and added the calories up. Im over by almost 800 calories for the day.This is not good. Hopefully I can make it up by a split day tomorrow, I’ll do my normal 6am interval cardio run and I’ll lift in the afternoon after my meeting. I was hoping to be ahead of my calorie intake but now I’ll be bustin a** to break even. Damn.

With limited time to workout, I was able to get back in the gym for an hour this week. My workout was simple in design.  To my body it was HARD. But I loved every minute of it. I warmed up with a few jumprope drills. Once that was done, some light stretching then onto the BAR. I decided to try something new "complex’s".  I did the same complex for 10 reps. I started with and explosive movement, powerclean to the chest, then push press overhead, lowered the weight to my back to squat, then a  behind the back military press, lower weight to the chest and front squat. All that in 1 sequence. At the 5th set, I added a deadlift after the front squat. After increasing the weight every 2 sets by 5lbs by the 10th set I was burning all over. I finished by some interval training on the elliptical which was just as grueling as the weightlifting. But I loved every minute of it. Im trying to melt this extra fat as fast as possible.