canoopenstein

This looks like great fun! Bring it on

After feeling guilty all day (as well as sick) I managed to turn things around for the second time. Did a bit of piano practice in the afternoon followed by a delicious chicken stir-fry for dinner and then I went for a walk/jog/run with my sister to the park. We ended up playing tag on the playground which was fun because I had been watching parkour videos all afternoon. It was a pretty great workout. Made myself a smoothie when I got back (with almonds and berries and rolled oats and many other delicious things) and am going to get an early night now

Awesome goals. From the daily battle logs it seems like you're doing great. Keep it up

I was very naughty last night and went out to town. I figured I had been good with alcohol lately so I treated myself to a six-pack. Unfortunately when that was done I went with the trusty old motto of "ah, fuck it" and kept drinking. I even had a few cheeseburgers at some ungodly hour. Feeling pretty awful today, but the sun's out so I'm just going to lounge around eating and enjoying the weather. On a more positive note, I've signed up for a bartending course next week. That'll be heaps of fun. I also had a brilliant workout on Wednesday and semi-completed a chin-up. Goal #1 was completely smashed, #2 is looking good, #3 slipped up pretty bad and #4 is very frustrating but I'm on track.

I just typed out a huge message and then accidentally closed this window. Don't ya hate that? I was saying something about how your day sounds like it went really well. Make sure you're using your abs when you do press ups. If I'm not mistaken you're supposed to clench your bum and tense your abs to keep your lower back straight and strong. I get a sore back if I'm not constantly careful about this. As for the sugary treats, I can understand how it happened. I'm going crazy just thinking about that crepe and cheesecake I'll forgive you for your little slip-up if you promise not to make a habit out of it. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Laureleye, I agree. Mondays usually determine the quality of my entire week. I have some awesome news! I have been weighing myself and pinching myself numerous times the last two days and there's no denying it, I've comfortably hit my 3kg weight-gain goal already! Completing this goal in less than three weeks is something I find hard to believe and it is fantastic because now I feel confident that I have control over my weight and could gain or lose it whenever I see fit. Three weeks ago I didn't think I'd manage to break over 70 during this challenge and already I'm 71 (that's more than two pounds per week). AHHHHHH. Congratulations to me I'm going to keep eating as much as I can for the rest of the challenge but will focus on keeping my diet clean (I've been a bit generous when it comes to sauces and desserts and whatnot) so hopefully I'll finish this challenge with fat-loss AND weight-gain. Hahaaaaaaa I'm so pleased On top of that success, today has been good. I played the piano for close to two hours, which was not all serious practice, but it's still an improvement on last week (and quite an achievement considering the weather) I wish I'd taken a photo outside for you guys. The sky was the most delicious blue you could imagine and I think I managed to spot two or three clouds throughout the day. I haven't had a drop of alcohol all weekend and my Friday workout was so fantastic that i was still feeling it on Sunday. Today I did "push" exercises, working out my chest, shoulders and triceps. My push-ups are a bit behind at this stage of the challenge, I only managed 18 on my first set so that will be a focus in the coming weeks. I attacked my shoulders today to the point where I was struggling to hold a glass of water after the workout. As for the chin-ups, I haven't done any since Friday's workout but had a lovely dream in which I was ripping through sets of twenty without breaking a sweat. That'll be a reality one day. Sorry for the unedited and unnecessarily long walls of text but this is how I type when I'm in a great mood

It sounds like you've had a pretty successful week. Especially because you've identified a couple of problems and eliminated them before they can cause any serious trouble. Congratulations! Keep it up

Hah! As if any British beaches could compare to the likes of Tawharanui!

That's a gorgeous beach... but it's got nothing on the north island

Hello! It sounds like you're doing really well. I look forward to watching your progress as the challenge continues

Hello rhyme, I love your goal to get into parkour. It's something that I've always been itching to do. It sounds like you've been doing really well so far. I get the impression that you know exactly what you want and are really keen to work for it. Keep up the great work!

The week finished off well despite my music practice being a bit slack. Scraping by with barely an hour a day. I've responded to more piano student enquiries but so far i have only confirmed two new students which is a bit disappointing. I went to a party on Thursday night and DID NOT HAVE A SINGLE DROP OF ALCOHOL. It was incredible. I was very tempted to get drunk and stay the night. Instead, I drove home before midnight and got a proper night's sleep. I was especially pleased about this because Friday's workout was fantastic and it would have been skipped if I was hungover. Anyway, congratulations to me. I have had only one beer this week! I should also make a special mention of the ridiculously-delicious, triple-decker bacon and egg sandwich that I had this afternoon. It was the highlight of my day so far (Is that sad? Ah. I don't care. It was amazing)

I've heard only good things about C25K. So I'd vote for that. It sounds like everything is going well, keep it up

I feel like this week has been a stinking pile of unproductive mess.... But in all honesty I think I've just been looking for an excuse to give it up. Despite a couple of slack dietary choices in the last couple of days, missing my workout on Monday (which I replaced with a spartacus workout on Tuesday) and missing two days of proper piano practice - it hasn't been all that bad. Today started with almost 1000 calories for breakfast (there was plenty of french toast and bacon involved) then I spent an hour sunbathing and reading and have just done my 15 minutes on the Rachmaninoff. Time to start slaying some Kobolds and to stop pretending that I'm having a crappy week. Also, the chicken stir-fry I made on Tuesday night was fucking incredible. (excuse the language, I don't know how else to describe it)

I had a shitty day yesterday, for no reason at all. Usually Mondays are my good days. Anyway, it included lazy eating, no workout and minimal music practice. I'm pretty sure I didn't even leave the house :/ Today started off even worse. I didn't set an alarm and woke up feeling empty at 11am. I only had cereal for breakfast and played fancy pants adventure world 3 for an hour. At about 2pm I got a message from my brother (who is in the South Island doing a senior training course for the airforce and is very helpful with fitness advice and inspiration) he gave me enough motivation to get off my butt and do the groceries. I made myself a super-smoothie with almonds and oats and heaps of berries and when I got home from shopping (which was fun, I picked out some stuff for a stir-fry tonight) I convinced myself to do a Spartacus workout. So here I am now, very out-of-breath, about to shower and then cook a delicious chicken stir-fry for dinner. Feeling much better and keen to try the push-up mini-challenge tomorrow