Day 94 maintain!

Ok, this will be my final post, I promise!

I LOVE the maintenance workouts. I planned to take tuesday off except got itchy for a workout and did 8 minute abs and 15 minutes of jumprope. The last two days I've done full workouts from day 67 and 72 to try and keep myself at a high level. However, the new maintenance workouts have put an end to that!

Food wise I haven't gone mental. I had my first mince pie of the year which was delicious and I've gone back to school lunches (spaghetti carbonara and shepards pie...stuff like that.).

I'm really looking forward to christmas, and I'd like to wish everyone on this project a merry christmas and a happy new year!

Goodbye again!

Day 90 Ninety days later..

..Its all over. I simply can't believe it has passed so quickly. At times it seemed to creep along, but after day 70, it just flew. Its been a great experience, I felt a slight lump in the throat as I finished my last workout. I did the day 8 workout, it was great fun, simple but fun. It feels like I'm leaving a familiar place, a way of life.

my critical stats are interesting, very good reading!

• body fat = 10%, down from 15%
• weight = 54 kgs, down from 58 kgs

All of this equals = looking and feeling epic! And my school trousers keep falling down!


This was me on September 15th..

And on Day 90..

and..

To me, the difference is huge. I now have abs and even a six pack! Even just saying that to myself runs a chill down my spine. And I now have arms to be proud of and I feel great. My final photos are up on flickr, so enjoy! ( Notice the lack of a hair cut too! )

As per Patrick's suggestion, I have a few action shots lined up in my workout attire (not very suffisticated I know)

Ok, I must admit the pull up shot I'm in my pyjamas!

I really enjoy the workouts. I plan to continue them on as my full time workout regime, around 4 times a week.

Plans, there are several things that I have experienced during this project that will stay with me for the rest of my life

•  The workouts. I never thought that I could do so many full body workouts in succession. Every muscle is worked and looks good. They're safe, simple and they get that all important burn!
  
• My new found food awaremess. I'll never look upon eating in the same light ever again. I know what to do and what not to do and that feeling of control is fantastic.
  
  
• Jumprope is the business. Yes it can be frustrating but its quick and sometimes quite enjoyable.
  
  
• Oatmeal! I've discovered the wonders of a good bowl of oatmeal every morning, and I don't think that will change for a while to come!
  
  

• 8 minute abs is the bomb!  

Food is 80 percent. I have to say I was shocked to hear that, but I think I understand now. I finished my workout at 7 pm and had a great family meal, Chicken and stuffing, carrots with string beans and some cheesy potatoes, absolutely divine! However, here is a pic of my last PCP meal...cue mournful music...

 delicious, but no sauce! Not needed? debatable..

Now, things I will not miss AT ALL..

• Veggies in the morning, not good but tolerable.
  
   
• Working out every day, I think I'll stick to 4 times a week.
  
   
• Packed lunches to school, the school lunches are good. No fried crap!

And thats about it.

My inspiration I have to say played a good role in my developement. cristiano Ronaldo is a great footballer, but also in unreal shape, peak condition you might say! He even wears a special jaw re-aliner to straighten his posture, apparently having a straight jaw results in better balance?

Ok, team cookie monster and team orange crush! You guys rock on! I feel like its an end of an era almost, I know that sounds odd but its going to be strange not interacting with people you've been so close to for three months. Everyones progress has been equally impressive in there own way. Sara I'll miss your funny and querky posts and comments. Brian your laid back nature and encouraging words. Ian and Susan, what a cool couple! Erin for her ability to get through tough times to reach such great ones! Ellen for your honesty and positive vibes. Alex for fighting on during illness and finally Nicole, for being a great cousin and motivator.  I hope Erin is keeping well with baby Vincent and Alex is making a good recovery, you guys were missed.

I think Patrick is an example of how having someone guiding you along can be so vital. I'll miss his daily e-mails and words of wisdom and I hope we can actually talk someday. Patrick, you're the man! I think the only way I can some up this experience is this; people have asked me "whats this diety fitness thing you're doing?". I say, I am doing the Peak condition project. However, I don't think you can just 'do' the PCP. You live it and experience it. It doesn't control your life, it shapes it and it isn't impossible, its great!

I really feel the emotion now, I'm the worst with goodbyes even if I am thousands of miles away from all of you! I love this song, I feel its appropriate..





Good luck everyone, and who knows I may meet one of you someday (Of course excluding Nicole, I'll see her again alright!)

Great experience and I'll miss all this...thanks once again Patrick!

Day 89 almost there

Its a good feeling, a great feeling. Ok, its not over just yet but I feel that I've made it. I'm going to assess all thats gone on during the last three months and put all of it down tomorrow. I've got some good picture ideas lined up and I'm looking forward to tomorrows wrap up post.

However, todays workout was something special. During the press ups my body was giving up. The DaVinci/shoulder raise combo is a real killer. I think if I'd been facing the prospect of 20 more days of this I would have collapsed and cried, no joke. It suddenly hit me during the curls that tomorrow evening, it'll be done, finito, history. I had a jump rope triumph today. I was show boating with some one legged jumps and double jumps. It was a great feeling and all I could think of was the fact that I looked like the phootage you see of Muhammad Ali. What a man!

So, tomorrows the day. The day we've all been working towards. All the pain, stress and sweat we've experienced as a team is coming to a close, brilliant stuff!

See you then!

Day 88 tired but motivated

Today was a good chance for some good down time. It was a broken up week with Nicole and Mike visiting, exams and so on. However, I've decided that I'm staying in for this weekend to make sure I finish this project as strong as possible.

Todays exercises were good. The v-sits seem to have taken over as the main ab workout for the last few days. I once again managed all full pull ups today, and the chest dips following it are a real challenge but the burn is satisfying.

On a christamas note, we're getting our tree tomorrow which is always a sign of christmas being just around the corner! I'm dreaming not only for a white christmas, but a big mince pie!

See you tomorrow!

Day 86 super sets have arrived with a bang

I am absolutely in love with super sets. They are crazy tough, but the sense of urgency it creates and the extra burn is epic. I have never been so tired after a workout and the whole thing (including jumprope) took 68 minutes which is around 10 minutes shorter than usual. The fact that we are so close is driving me harder. Knowing that in a few days time, the PCP will be a thing of the past for me. Although, so many lessons I've learned and results I've gained will never be a thing of the past! I did the 8 minute abs again today. I love them, no doubt they are tough, but I am seeing the results having done them five days in a row now.

Oh, I lost my third rope today! It snapped completely in half during the second set of 9 mins. I've resorted to my second choice rope which isn't as easy to use. However, only 4 days to go so it will have to do!

Photos! A little late, but the week twelves are up. I tried a good ab pose and thats the best I could come up with. The results are staggering. I'll have my key physical information up on day 90, so that will be interesting!

See you on day 87!

Day 85 walking is underrated

We had a transport dilemma today. Both my parents were busy with work in town and I was in school, which is around 20 kilometres from town, and I needed a lift. So, do I wait for an hour and a half for a lift and inconvenience my Dad? No chance, walk it! My school is around 3 km away from home. Its not a lot, but a motorway and a vicious hill seperated me from an afternoon of relaxation. One major stumbling block was the snow and ice, so much snow and ice! It was difficult to negotiate but I'm here and I'm alive. It took around 40 minutes but it was fun and a nice adventure all the same! As for the exam itself, it went OK. I loath and detest maths. Its the most frustrating subject for me and always has been. Even talking about it now its depressing...so I'll stop.

Alright, PCP. The exercises were a challenge and a half this evening. The forward shoulder raises are killer when you add in the pause at the top of the action. The floor jumps are tolerable for the first two sets, but set 4 and 5 are a real killer. 8 minute abs are tough, but I will never stop laughing at the guy and the corny music. The words "come on gang!" will never leave my mind as long as I live. On a serious note, at first I seriously struggled with the oblique exercises, but they're creaping through now and I'm able to work the full 45 seconds on that one, and I'm cruising through the 8 minutes now which is a great feeling!

So, its agonisingly close to day ninety, but I'm actually going to miss the whole experience. However, its not over yet, not over by a long shot!

See you soon!

Day 84 A good few days!

Ok, I realised I haven't posted in a couple of days. A lots been going on, the Rewucki's coming over, exams and bad weather. Nicole and her husband Michael arrived on Sunday after some major travel disruptions. I haven't seen them since August and they were just popping in after going on a business trip. My sister was over aswell, so I had zero opportunity to workout. Its only the sixth workout that I've missed but I made up for it today by doing yesterdays exercises with todays jump rope. My sister and I stayed up all night to see Nicole and Mike off early this morning so I slept from six until one! It was great, but I sure felt the effects at the end of the day!

Annoyingly, the weather has forced the school to cancel so many exam days so I still have Math tomorrow. Its frustrating, but the snow has been a real laugh. I've finally graduated fully to the full pull ups. I did 50 today, and it was mightily tough but fun! Once again I did the 8 minute abs. I'm seeing the difference of doing them everyday aswell as the other ab exercises. I'm hoping for a full on six-pack in the near future.

So, only 6 days left. It really has zoomed by even though the first month took FOREVER! Anywho, the photos for week twelve will be up tomorrow and I'm gunning for the new workouts to arrive and a chance to get my teeth into some super sets!

See you tomorrow!

Day 81 is...

...nine tenths of this project finito! Wow, my maths must be getting better! Ok, less messing, more serious PCP blogging. Nicole arrives tomorrow at around 2-2:30 (weather permitting) with her husband for a brief 3 day visit. I spent six weeks in Canada with them and my uncle and aunt during the summer which was great fun, so I'm really lookimg forward to seeing them. The strange weather has eased somewhat, although Dublin airport is still being effected, so I hope there are no delays with there flight!

Exercise was good, once again did the 8 minute abs on top of the V-sits and side crunches. The DaVincis remain my main foe, I simply can't get through a full set, however, I shall fight on! I have to say I like the shoulder presses, mainly because it looks pretty impressive when I do them into the mirror! One question I had that I wanted to pose to anyone whos interested, what are super sets? I noticed the group who went before us were talking about them in there last few days. They sound tough, so I'm psyched for them!

On a frustrated note, the weather last week meant major exam cancellation. Result: exams next week. Serious motivation problems setting in, psychologically my mind is saying "good, there done now". But oh no, oooohhh noo! Uuggh, I need to find some will and energy to do a smidgen of study at some stage...doubtful!

However, a good weekend is being had here in the Ryan household. See you tomorrow!

Day 80 into the last 10

Wow, I actually can't believe that there are only ten days to go. It just seems like a couple of weeks ago that I was a PCP beginner, now I'm almost done! I was looking at my day one photos yesterday after I'd taken day 79's photo. The difference is remarkable, I never realised how I could transform my body in such a way. Its going to be a great last ten days, and I'm looking to push it hard!

I tried the 8 minute ab workout on top of my kung fu sits and the bicycle. The burn was unreal, and I couldn't help but think to myself how far I've come from 50 sit ups every other day during the summer being a challenge! As for the other exercises, the pull ups are going OK, I'm now doing the full pull ups instead of the incline so its a massive challenge to say the least. As for the back/tricep combo, thats a real killer. The pull down and pull ups seem to require the triceps to, so doing over eighty odd tricep dips and tricep extension really pose a great challenge and a satisfying burn.

On a non-pcp note, my exams were cancelled on Tuesday and wednesday due to snow, so they will spill over into Monday and tuesday of next week, so thats a big drag. The snow has curtailed a little, yet more snow and very unusually cold weather for this part of the globe is forecast, interesting stuff! On sunday, PCP Nicole and Michael Rewucki arrive for a short visit, but with the airports in dissaray, I hope they can make it!

We'll see!

Day 78 It keeps getting better! (And photos!)

The snow keeps chucking down. School closed today (and possibly tomorrow!) and 8 inches of snow on the ground. Last night I fully expected the snow to come to an end, but I awoke this morning with a sight to behold, a white wonderland! Jumprope was very interesting, a lot of shovelling and brushing was required to clear my jumprope space (not to mention salt).

The exercises were tough today, very tough! The pistol squats are bad, but the floor jumps are something else! My legs were dead, I could barely stand up following the last set. After working the back yesterday, the shoulder exercises were particularly challenging. I could still feel the effects of the back workout so that felt good. One final workout point, has anyone else found that the better you become at the jumprope it actually begins to become a pleasurable experience? I don't know about anyone else, but I used to loath them. Not to mention that I'm no longer feeling tired during them which is always nice!

Ok, to the real importance stuff, results! Pictures for week 11 are finally up and I have to say that I feel very proud of myself when I look at them. I used to always think, wouldn't it be great if I could turn half my fat into muscle? well, I think I might have done just that!

I shall see everyone tomorrow!

Day 77 jumprope in a blizzard and pull ups

Hello all!

The snow continues! Even as I write this its coming down. It was an interesting experience jumproping in a snow storm. It was a besutiful sight, but an unpleasant feeling all the same.
My exams roll on I'm afraid though, and its English up next, a big 'un!

I had a full workout today, as I did day 77's jumprope instead a full workout yesterday because I was tired and mainly, the fact that Barcelona and Real Madrid were battling out the biggest game in world soccer last night, Barca stuffing Madrid five nil! It was a great game, my inspiration, Cristiano Ronaldo, didn't have a great evening (playing for Madrid).

So, pull ups, pull ups, pull ups...why are you so damn tough! I've been slowly weening myself off the easier incline pull ups to make the step up to a full 6 sets pull ups. And today, I did it! However, instead of doing 6 sets with 8 reps, I did 10 sets of 5 reps. For the simple reason that five is my maximum. The kung sits are a true killer, and taking the pro-tip for the day on board for the sit ups made it doubly difficult, but 10 times more satisfying to complete!

Well, the inclement weather is due to continue into next week, and with exams coming up, not to mention a visit from fellow PCPer Nicole with her veteran PCPer husband, its going to be an interseting and hopefully good twelfth week of PCP life!

Talk to you tomorrow!

day 76 snow, oh and more and more...!

It has been an unprecedented snow fall this year. Usually we wouldn't see snow at all until January and certainly not this much! Its been great fun, my exams have been disrupted which is great. I've been doing my jumprope in the snow and its been a right laugh and a half!

Ok, serious stuff...indulgence numero tres! Flapjacks! Absolutely stunning, what a treat!

The hand shot is just to show size, they aren't massive, but god dammit they're good! My mum estimates around 250-300 calories per cake. I made up the rest with cheesy potatoes and juicy gravy on my roast! delicious!

I hope everyone is having a good time and had a great indulgence. One last note, team cookie monster is behind Alex. heres to his full recovery!

I'll be back tomorrow!

Day 75 much to discuss!

First and foremost, I mentioned yesterday We had a piddly amount of snow. Ah, today we got A LOT! About half a foot. Ok, thats not much by North American standards, but with more snow forecasted for the next few night, we can possibly hope for a full foot?? One of the best things about snow is not snowmen, not snowball fights but the fact that our exams start tomorrow. There is almost zero chance of getting to the school tomorrow, the road outside our house is steep and covered with snow and ice, and I think the school have sussed it, they've moved the exams back by 2 hours and are considering scrapping school tomorrow all together, lets hope!

The snow also presented a major challenge, I've done my jumprope outside throughout this project and the snow threatened that fact this afternoon. But never fear, a boiled kettle of water and a half an hours scraping and brushing did the job! I would say I had a better workout doing that than anything else! However, by the end the small amounts of water that I was jumping on turned to ice, and I nearly fell on my arse, but thankfully I survived! One final snlw related note, We live on a very steep hill and the chances of any vehicles other than a tank getting up it. So, I probably should have warned the 15 or so motorists who were stupid enough to be driving, not to go up the hill?? No, much funnier to watch them slide back down!

Anywho, indulgence #3! I haven't had it yet, buts on the way. I'm having flapjacks (golden syrup, sugar, butter, oats) for desert and a full sunday roast for dinner, butter on the potatoes! I estimate 350-500 calories in the flapjacks, and the other 500 will be made up by buttery cheesy potatoes and some lovely gravy! I can't wait, I'm going to savour every mouthful, and tackle the next two weeks HARD!

Anywho, I'll have indulgence photos up later on, and body shots up on flickr too!

See you tomorrow, hopefully with mlre tales of snlw and no exams!

Day 74: part two

Wow, that was tough. Two workouts in the one day is UNBELIEVABLY difficult. I felt confident of achieving two in one day, and I did manage it...just. The jumprope was great today. I'll stop short of saying I've mastered it, but in 38 minutes today I only tripped 9 times. I estimate that in 38 minutes I'd jump 3,700 jumps or so, would I be right? So I'm aiming for a trip free jump rope session before this project is out. The pro-tip for the creeps was too right, absolutely sickening in the fourth and fifth set. The shoulder raises still present a massive challenge, I've decided to split the six sets up into two lots three on that one, simply because I'm cooked after three sets and I do my abs in between (I do the same thing with the DaVincis).

Anywho, today was a tough day and I'll feel it tomorrow alright! Pictures will be coming tomorrow night, and I'm hoping to show off some good results for this week following today and tomorrows work after a slow start to the week.

See you then!

Day 74: part one

A lot has happened over the last few days. Friday from a PCP perspective, terrible, everything else, GREAT! I was all set to go home yesterday evening when a friend invited me to his place along a with another mate, it was a great night of playstation, snooker and movie watching in the cinema (yes, all of this was in his HOUSE!). They are two friends I've made from my new school so it was an opportunity not to be missed. However, I didn't get home until 10:30. Which meant I had to have dinner at there house, so it was first PCP-food failure. Peas (which I ate a lot of and of course are PCP friendly) with chicken bites (a bit like chicken nuggets) and chips (fries). I have to say I felt a bit greasy and queasy after the chips, but I wasn't going to make a fuss as a visitor in someones home. On top of that, upon my return home, I promptly fell asleep on the couch! So, woke up at 12:15, no chance of a workout. But a good day in any case.

So, day 74 is going to be my first 2 workout day, thats why this post is entitled "part one". I've taken care of day 73 exercises late this morning, and have ear-marked early evening for todays workout. I felt ultra-motivated after missing out yesterday, and I'm gunning for my second workout in around 3 hours time! As for the exercises themselves, all went well, the
kung-fu sits are a killer! But I managed to go to failure (ie: two at the end of the last
set!). The elevated tricep dips are also tough, but I manged an extra eight at the end of the sixth set.

Amazingly, today the 27th of November 2010 IN IRELAND! There was SNOW! Its a great thing to awaken to on a saturday morning, a sheet of snowcovering the lawn. Although an inch of snow is not a lot (especially for Nicole in Canada) but for Ireland, its pretty great. On top that, a very impressive lightening storm started at around six this morning and persisted for around three hours. So, skipping was in the snow and was very entertaining to say the least!

I'll be back later on with blog post two for day 74, and all the workout two info, see you then!

Day 72 feeling a little better

Home from school for the second day running doesn't bode well for PCP exercises OR my exams. I didn't anticipate any workout today, but I picked myself up and did a make-shift session. I knew I would have no chance of finishing a full workout, so I looked at yesterdays exercise (which I missed) and todays. I combined the two with fewer sets to work my whole body, but no extremes. I did 3 sets by 8 reps of pistol squat per leg, 30 elevated press ups, 3 by 15 rep shoulder raises, same for thumbs up curl, some one arm curls and 90 sit -ups, 28 chest dips and 40 V-sits for the abs. Aswell of course as 6 min by 3 set jumprope. So it was pretty intense and I felt relieved after missing out yesterday. Although I still feel fairly rough, but I'm on the road to recovery (I hope!)

Anyway, not a fun week ahead, exams ALL next week and a hard week of PCPing ahead. However being sick over the last couple of days has given me a boost to really kick on and push myself harder than ever of the next two and a half weeks. I had an interesting piece of news yesterday, my brother was speaking to a friend of ours (now head boy in my school) about the project. He is fitness conscious and a member of the senior rugby team, he said he'd like to get his "beach-body" going for his summer vacation in 2011 after his final school exams in june. So, the first person to express a real, genuine interest and actual express a desire to do the PCP. It was a nice piece of encouragement, and it actually made me feel proud of my achievement so far, to know that others close to me are attracted by the project.

A funny story tofinish up today with, a dad of one of my brothers friend (who shall remain nameless) was finished a workout in his personal gym (well, if you can afford it...) proceeded to eat an entire packet of biscuits! Upon questioning from my brother, he said "well I deserve it, I had a workout". Thats sums up a lot of peoples attitude, if I workout, I can eat whatever I want. Well, all I can say is, good luck!

Anywho, I hope everyone health-wise is in better form than I am, and as PCP

Day 71 crap

Thats what today has been. I have something that resembles a cold, but it feels so much more dibilitating. I felt it pretty bad last night, however I managed the 5mins by three sets with the rope. Today on the other hand was a different story. No school, no workout which is fair enough. Even if I had tried to do it, I really don't think I'd have stood a chance. My mum was having none of my attempts to persuade her to allow me do my jumps and since she has just begun to recover from a virus herself, I don't blame her.

So I certainly haven't started week 11 well at all, and it remains to be seen how I get on tomorrow, I still feel pretty rough. So I took Patrick's advice to eat half my carb allocation for the day.

Anyway, I got some well needed study done at home and I feel marginally better, see you tomorrow.

Day 69 the big 70

Since I began this project, I ear marked day 70 as a crucial number. The hard beginning is done, the middle has past and its a clear run to the end. I'm running on results at the moment. Any time I feel I don't want to do it, I think to myself "you didn't come this far thinking like that." Although, I haven't had to call upon that too much this week. I feel very motivated 90% of the time and I'm going to go harder than ever to the end.

So, dieting is a smooth operation these days, I'm so use to eating the way I am, I almost can't remember what my old routine was. There are certain foods I've discovered in a big way during these 10 weeks. Oatmeal I love, eating tonnes of fruit every day and brown bread, I feel I'll keep up those eating habits (and others)going well beyond the end of this experience.

Something I've been meaning to touch on at some stage is the fact that I've been labeled as a positive person by my fellow PCPers, I love it! I have always thought of myself as a negtive, glass half empty person, yet since I've started this project, my entire outlook has changed. Perhaps the phrase "healthy body, healthy mind" is truer than I've ever thought it was!

Anywho, its been a great week all round for so many reasons that I hope I've conveyed recently on my blog posts, see you tomorrow!

pictures...

...are up, week 10...3 to go!

Day 68 well thats just mean

I thought I had a nice family, until they decide to bake flapjacks (golden syrup, sugar, oats and lots of other yummy things) and a buy an apple pie. The aroma in the kitchen is unbelievable. And while they were being prepared, I was tucking in to an egg white and some plain yoghurt. However, my will remains strong! In twenty two days time I can eat Anything I want, not that I will. I think that 60 odd days ago I wouldn't have been able to resist apple pie or flapjacks, but now I can, that feels good.

As for Ireland vs New zealand yesterday, it was great. Although Ireland lost 38-18 it was great to see the best team in the world (New Zealand) and to be in the new AVIVA stadium for the first time, it was pretty special. The All blacks have a player called Dan Carter who is without doubt the best player of recent years. Yesterday he went to within two points of being the all time top points scorer in world rugby history. So it was sensational to see a master at work, even if it meant him masterminding a victory over Ireland!

Ok, PCP, its all good. I got my favourite rope back after using a lighter one after my old one snapped. The chest dips are becoming much easier each time I do them. I took Patrick's leg up advice and stalled at the bottom of each one, it really adds to the burn big time! I LOVE the bicep exercises, mainly because I love the look of my stronger arms. I'm determined to work my arms to death for the remaining 3 three weeks to get maximum results, because they've always been my weak point.

I'll have my week 10 pictures up this evening, lets hope they turn out well!

Til' tomorrow team!