Today has not gone like I thought it would. I went to bed very excited about starting the new workout cycle and the Transformation Challenge. However, today I have been "behind" the entire day. It is almost 9:00 pm and I am just getting to write this blog. Hopefully, this inauspicious beginning to Cycle 31 and the Transformation Challenge are not any indications of how either will go. I slept horribly last night and stayed in bed too late this morning trying to "make up" the missed sleep. That did not work. LOL! I got up around 6:30 this morning and pushed through my entire morning routine, finishing it substantially later than I normally do. I also had to go shopping for some items for my mother and to get the newspaper for the Transformation Challenge pictures. After that, there were a number of tasks that needed to be completed around the house. I also needed a shave and haircut terribly and took the time to get that done. By the time I completed all of this, it was close to 3:00 pm.

I started the first workout of this new cycle at 3:15! It did, however, turn out to be a GREAT workout. It confirmed that I was correct in adding more challenging elements to my Sunday workouts. Sunday used to be my planche push-up training day before I injured my arm and shoulder. It was a short, but tough workout. All of the elements in my current Sunday workout are designed to get me back into planche push-ups training by the mid to latter part of this year. As I mentioned in my blogs detailing my new workout cycle, I deconstructed my ab workout from weeks 2 and 5 of last cycle and moved elements to Sunday's workout and other ab workouts. The planks and evacuations worked well with today's workout and I can actually feel them in my abs. I also added weight to my hanging leg raises today, which brought some much-needed challenge. As I mentioned this was a GREAT workout. I managed to get in a decent mile run today in spite of the course being wet and snowed out in some places. I will take the 6:45!

I screwed up my Transformation Challenge entry photos today. Luckily we have three days to submit them. I failed to hold the newspaper in all of three of the photos. LOL! I will retake them on tomorrow. Those that I took today revealed to me just how far out of top shape I have allowed myself to get. Diet has to be a top priority now. Although eating mostly clean, I still allow too much of the bad stuff to creep in. I am blessed in that I can "correct" for this in a couple of days. However, when I don't consistently correct, I look horrible. Those pictures were a wake up call. So, I am up for a great 12 week challenge. During the first 9 weeks, I will seek to keep the diet clean and concentrate on gaining a little muscle mass. The last 3 weeks I will "cut" up whatever I have! LOL! I entered the Transformation Challenge in the LEAN category. I have not seem myself TOTALLY cut up in almost 10 years. My abs are much easier to get clean than are my back and quads. So my goal is to be ripped from head to toe in 12 weeks. If I do this, I will be HAPPY---win or lose!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend and wish you all the very best of all possible weeks. Here is what I did today:

• Stretching regimen
  
• 3 x 50 quasi sit-ups
  
• 3 x 50 push-ups
  
• 3 x 50 reverse crunches
  
• 3 x 50 crunches
  
• 3 x (2 x 30 sec.) side planks
  
• 3 x 30 sec. front planks
  
• 3 x 30 sec. evacuations
  
• 3 x 15 hanging leg raises (chin-up grip, straight leg, 5-lb ankle weights)
  
• 1-mile walk
  
• 1-mile run (6:45)
  

TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE DAY 1:

• Registered for Challenge
  
• Joined Dymatize BodyGroup