Brian.

Not your most inspired day but you still covered more human powered distance in day than most people do in a week.

It's been a frustrating week and especially the past few days. The short version is that I got in my 3 workouts, stretched 5 times and hit my 150g target 6 times. So, only 1 missed target, I dropped the ball with my 150g target today. I decided to have a bit of a cheat day and I really should have built a bit of slack into my target. The other problem which is quite a big one is that I got injured during weight training on Wednesday. I thought I might have a hernia at first but I'm pretty confident that I have actually strained or partially torn an abdominal muscle while doing squats. While it is healing I don't want to put any undue pressure on it from squats or deadlifts for a month or so. My weight training is an upper/lower body split so I did my upper split on Friday without too many issues. As I see it I have a few choices. I have opted to stick with upper body weight training 3 times a week and to up my running to 3 times a week again. I have missed regular running this week and I can use it in place of my lower body weight training.

I was hoping to keep this updated more this past week but I have been so busy with work. I have apprentice engineers to train along with doing my own job and although I enjoy it, it has tripled my work load. Anyway, I missed my stretching Thursday and Friday but completed it every other day so I'm on target there with 5 days out of the week. Eating wise I'm fairly sure I hit the target everyday, if I was out, it would have only been by 5-10g so I am counting that as successful. I have got a much better handle on what I plan to eat this week so as long as I stick to it I'll be fine. I had my first weight training session today after taking a week off and I felt it. I'm doing 5x5 stuff for the first time so working out how heavy to go was a little tricky but I got there in the end. Finally, I did my 2, 1 hour disconnects this week. The first I did on Saturday morning by reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. I left my phone on silent in the other room to avoid temptation. I have to admit, it felt strange but I got through a lot more pages than I otherwise would. The second I did on Sunday while cleaning the kitchen. I would normally stick the TV or some music on but I did it in silence and found it strangely calming. I even managed to throw in an extra run last week of just over 6km in 30 minutes.

on the 15k run, boo for the blister but at least its only a little one.

So far so good with my eating goal even with the hectic nature of being at work. On a side note I have eaten very clean for the past week and decided a cheat meal was in order for my lunch. Ending my clean eating with a few hotdogs wasn't a good idea, I feel rough as hell now. I've only missed 1 day stretching (Thursday) and I have even got in 2 6km runs along the way. Tomorrow morning I will attempt my first disconnect session.

I decided to move on from the TRX because I think weight training would be more effective at increasing my muscle mass and strength. The other reason is that I really like doing squats and deadlifts and that cannot be re-created with the TRX. I am keeping the TRX though so that I can use it when I have to work away from home etc. I hit my targets of 150g protein yesterday and I also did 15 minutes of stretching after a run of about 6km. I felt like I managed to stretch a bit further last night.

Some fantastic goals there, best of luck.

In the last challenge I did I didn't re-measure any of my physical stats apart from weight until the end of the challenge. I personally don't think body measurements change much week to week so I tend to do my monthly.

All the advice I have seen on barefoot/forefoot running is to ease into it really slowly

I was back at work today after a bit of time off so I was feeling a little groggy by the time I got home. I decided to give some stretches a try that I found online. I'm fairly sure some of them are yoga poses or at least beginner poses. Anyway there were 10 stretches and it took me about 15 minutes, holding each one for 60 seconds. I feel quite good now that they are done. Protein wise I hit my 150g today give or take 5g either way, today I surprised myself with just how clean I managed to eat.

There are suspension trainers which are similar to the TRX but far cheaper on places like amazon. Failing that there are also guide on how to make your own suspension trainer on youtube. If you want a genuine TRX they come up on ebay but they are normally expensive, a cheap one would likely be a knock off.

Preparation wise I have made all the food I'll need for work on Monday & Tuesday. If I don't make something before hand I tend to eat badly at work.

I really like the 'Yoga For Inflexible People' goal, I will be very interested to see how you get on with that because I am pretty inflexible myself.

Good luck with everything but especially the smoking one. The benefits from that goal alone with have a huge effect on your life.

Thanks, steal all you like I normally cover just under 6k unless I am really pushing the pace in which case its over 6k. I have found that while using a foam roller the last few days that my flexibilty has increased in my hamstrings already so I'm expecting some good things from this part of my challenge. Thanks Eve, I see you are still kicking ass. Protein wise most of it will be from food sources. I eat eggs for breakfast and have done since the last challenge and that normally provides me with 30g of protein, lunch will be turkey or tuna based so that will provide another 30g. I tend to snack on Almonds which is another 10g and my main meal will provide about 40g depending on what I eat. The remaining 30-40g will come from whey protein which I take with milk. I expect to get technology withdrawl for the first few weeks, I love gadgets.