Anarchist

Okay.. Screwed up the plan. But the thing is I'm actually impressed that I followed it through for about 40 days. I've never kept up with any sort of plan for this long. I really believe I can go through and do this thing if I just put a bit more effort and motivation into it. I'm gonna take the same program again. This time, I'm cutting short the preparation period to only a week. I'm starting again from Monday. Also, I'm gonna try quitting smoking again tomorrow. It's easier for me to stay quit when I'm not at work. I just have to tackle tomorrow and then it's Saturday and Sunday. I've to deal with just one day for now - Friday. So it's a plan. Tomorrow 1. Don't Smoke 2. Take measurements in the morning.

Gone totally out of hand !

Day 35 - 43 : Slack Too bad I've been slacking for a week now. I've missed 3 workouts and didn't perform last weeks' measurements either. First thing that comes to mind when I wake up is to go and smoke. I wish I had that kind of motivation towards working out. Anyways, time is not going to come back. I have to get back on schedule from tomorrow. I also have to accommodate the missed workouts somehow. It has to be 21 workouts before 80 days. Only 2 are up. 19 more to go.

Day 34 : Rest Day Still feeling achy from yesterday's workokut. It's around 35 hours after that workout but still.. I thought of doing jump ropes today but then decided against it. I don't want to risk getting too tired and sleeping late tomorrow morning. I might miss the workout. And I don't really like to workout later in the day. Before sleeping today I've to look up some videos for tomorrow's workouts. Thanks for those videos, I don't have any doubts about my workouts. YouTube is a gem!

Day 33 : Level 1 I did the first workout of level 1 of the program. It's seemingly quite similar to the prep workouts. But was noticeably much more difficult. But let loose on diet. I had a big bowl of chicken n prawn noodles and a side of pepper chicken. Actually this much food was normal to me but now, It's actually hard for me to eat this much. I'm not worried much about the quantity of food. But the noodles were really really oily.

Day 27 - 32 : Extra Prep Finally did a pull up! In fact I can do two now. And that's enough for starting the 7 week program. The prep program is officially over. I'm starting the actual workouts tomorrow. It's 3 workouts per week so totally 21 workouts. I haven't updated this thread properly this week either. I'm also getting back to updating this thread everyday from tomorrow. I'll post the week's measurements later in the evening. Update : Measurements End of Week | 0 | 1 |W| 3 |X| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | | | |e| |t| | | | | | | | |Weight (kgs) | 83 | 83 |e| 81 |r| 81 | | | | | | | |Waist (cms) | 104 | 104 |k| 99 |a| 99 | | | | | | | |Pull Ups | 0 | 0 | | 0 |P| 2 | | | | | | | |Squats | 35 | 40 |O| 45 |r| 49 | | | | | | | |Push Ups | 12 | 17 |f| 19 |e| 20 | | | | | | | |Plank (secs) | 31 | 40 |f| 54 |p| 60 | | | | | | | |No drop in waist size. Weight reduced little bit. The needle was above 81 last time and this time it's below 81. But overall clearly shows I've been slacking in my workouts. Yet, this weeks goal was to do a pull up. And I'm happy I was able to do 2 pull-ups by the end of prep. I've written down the 3 workouts for this week. And have looked up tips on how to do them too. I've slacked and postponed workouts since the 3rd week. But now prep's over. I've to get serious again from tomorrow. Regular updates and proper workouts.

Day 25 & 26 : Quit Attempts Again 11 AM seems to be my breaking point over and over again. I'm able to hold myself only till that point. I've failed at around that same time 3 times in the last 5 days. I'm not giving up this thing. I'm trying again tomorrow. I will be wary of the 11 O clock weakness tomorrow. I've to be extra cautious. I find myself falling short in work because of the smoking habit. I'm not able to focus on work for more than half an hour without feeling the need to go smoke. Since I develop pretty complex programs as part of my work, "continuity" is a very important thing. Taking these smoking breaks in-between work is like going two steps up and one step back down repeatedly. This is very serious to me. I used to be a shamelessly proud fellow when it comes to my work. But now I don't even care. When a craving comes, nothing else matters. I'm actually avoiding long meetings because I won't be able to take breaks to smoke. I did a simple calculation today. I smoke about 18 cigarettes a day right now. Each smoke break is about 10 minutes. That's 180 minutes gone per day just from smoking - 3 hours! That's a bloody huge waste of time. 3 hours a day! Never thought of that. I must quit. .. And by the way - no ritual last cigarette this time. I'm just quitting.

Day 23 & 24 : Workout Skip Something very important at work. I had to work almost 18 hours a day for the past two days. I had to skip workouts. I wasn't able to wake up before 8 at all and I had to go back to work as soon as possible after waking up. Besides, I have decided to extend the prep period by one more week. The reason is I'm not able to do a pull-up. The book says, I should not begin with the main workouts till I can do atleast 5 pull-ups. I'm not going to follow the prep routine in the book. I'm going to look up the internet and the nerdfitness guides for workouts that target the pull-up muscles and abs. I'm also going to switch to daily workouts till next Friday. I can do crunches but I don't do them with proper form. Two goals for the coming Friday - 1. 5 pull-ups - Pull-up and related exercises on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 2. 5 crunches - Crunches and related exercises on Monday, Wednesday and Friday Adding up this extra prep week and the 3 days I took before I started the original prep workouts, I'm increasing this program period from 70 days to 80 days. It's my 80 day program now.

Day 20 : Nothing much Rest day today. No workout. I kept control of diet. Didn't smoke on the way to work or back to home. But it actually worked the wrong way. I ended up smoking more than usual. This is not going to work. I guess cold turkey is the only way. Day 21 : Pull Up Frustration Today was the last-but-one prep workout but I'm still not able to do even a single pull up. I'm able to lift myself up if I bounce a bit with my feet but I'm not able to lift myself up completely either. It's as if I could do only the middle portion of the pull up - not the starting nor the ending. I can't begin level 1 of the workout program unless I'm able to do pull ups. Only a few days left now. Day 22 : Jump Rope I find myself motivated even on these rest days to workout. But I also like the 3 workouts per week pace. It helps to keep it easy. So I decided I'd do some light activities when I feel motivated at times other than the workout days. I've already stopped using the elevator at work. I go up and down 4 floors using the stairs. 4 or 5 times a day. I've always like jumping rope. So I grabbed my old skipping rope and did around 150 jumps tonight. I was panting and sweating in a matter of about two minutes. Also I tried quitting smoking again today. I'm still able to hold up only till around 11 O Clock in the morning. It gets totally irritating and restless by that time. I just have to smoke. I was almost going to shout at my boss today when I gave up my attempt.

Day 19 : Failed Again I was holding up only till 11 O Clock. Someone called me for a smoke and I just couldn't say no. This sucks. I quit cold turkey about 7 years back and then stayed quit for 6 years. I started again last year, but it's so much harder to quit this time. I'm trying again tomorrow. I'm going to try cutting back slowly this time. For the next 3 days, I'll skip the cigarettes I have on the way to work and back to home. I'll be skipping 2 or 3 cigarettes this way. I've already stopped the first cigarette in the morning since I began this workout program. So by cutting the ones on the way to work, I'll be down 3 or 4 cigarettes a day. I'll do this for the next 3 days and then cut some more. And yeah.. did today's workout. Only two more to go - the prep-workouts will be over this week.

Totally love watching that measurements table.. my waist's back in two digits again

Day 18 : 2nd Week Measurements Completed second week schedule and it's time for measurements. Actually when I went out with my friends yesterday, all of us weighed ourselves at a weighing machine stand. It showed 81 kgs for me. I thought the machine was wrong because I was sure I'm stuck at 83. But wrong. When I made measurements today, I had infact lost 2 kgs somewhere in the last week. My home weighing machine showed 81 kgs too. I quickly measured my waist and surprise! I'd lost 5 cms. And this is at night at 12 o clock. So I'd be even smaller in the morning End of Week | 0 | 1 |W| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | | | |e| | | | | | | | | |Weight (kgs) | 83 | 83 |e| 81 | | | | | | | | |Waist (cms) | 104 | 104 |k| 99 | | | | | | | | |Pull Ups | 0 | 0 | | 0 | | | | | | | | |Squats | 35 | 40 |O| 45 | | | | | | | | |Push Ups | 12 | 17 |f| 19 | | | | | | | | |Plank (secs) | 31 | 40 |f| 54 | | | | | | | | |Steady improvements in the test workout too. I was able to hold myself in plank for a whole 15 seconds longer than the last time. But still no improvement in the pull-ups. I have only one week preparation period left and I've to do pull-ups before that. This weeks' focus is pull-ups. Also I'm gonna try quitting smoking again tomorrow. I have one last cigarette with me. I'm gonna go ahead and smoke it now. I read in a book that I should focus on the nastiness of the cigarette during my last ritual cigarette. I've had too many last-ritual cigarettes now :/. I know that even though I've to quit for my own good, I actually enjoy cigarettes and the reality is I'm quitting something that I actually enjoy.. however evil it's consequences may be. I've to be strong tomorrow. At this point, even one day without smoking would be something I'd rejoice. I've to go back to waking up early from tomorrow. And did I mention I've lost 2 kgs and 5 cms.?

Hi pink.. thanks for being supportive on this. I know if I add quitting cigarettes as well as controlling my diet, that would be too demanding. Because I'm already waking up too early than my usual and dragging myself too hard into starting the workout. It's surprising how lazy it feels even after doing it for over 2 weeks. But I'm just keeping the other things in mind. My first priority right now is to keep up with the workout schedule.

Day 17 : Diet Mess-up (Again) Woke up late again today. But since I didn't have to go to work (saturday), I had plenty of time to workout. I completed the 6th prep workout (3 more to go). Somehow I must get myself to do pull-ups before I begin the actual workout program. I did some lat pulldowns using an exercise band. I'm planning to do some more before I go to sleep today. Messed up my diet again today. I went out for lunch with some friends (after a long time), and let go of diet control. To add to it, the food at this restaurant was just amazing. I have to give up smoking as well as these diet glitches to make the workout program really effective.

Day 14 : Regular Programming Woke up early. Performed the scheduled workout. I've also started another habit from today - Never to use elevators. I work on the 4th floor by the way. I know just workouts are not enough. I'm trying to build activeness into my lifestyle as much as possible. Day 15 : Rest Day Bad day again. Indulged heavily in food. I'm letting control of eating go about 3 or 4 times a week. I've to bring it to zero. Otherwise, the discipline I'm building regarding the workouts could go to waste. Day 16 : Skipped Workout I had to skip today's workout. A relative just passed away - not close but she was an important person in the family. So I had to drive out of town in the early morning to attend the funeral. I came back at about 9 at night but since I drove myself was too tired to workout. I'm doing this workout tomorrow morning. I still am not able to do even one pull-up. I have only one more prep-week before the actual workouts start. I need to be able to do atleast 5 pull-ups if I'm eligible to start the workout program. I'm looking everywhere for tips to get started doing pull-ups.