Week four, day 6

Always Expect the unexpected or at least make allowances for it

Saturday - weekend - cardio/abs....so because I've got clients at 7.30am and I'm collecting my kids later I need to get my training in. Our treadmill at my gym is being serviced so I decide to get my training done at our local chain "Virgin Active".

I'm on the road by 6am heading for Virgin Active. Hmmm no cars there, wonder why? Bounce up the stairs, walk into the gym with a bright and breezy, "hey how are ya". The reply did not please me. "Sorry Sir, we are only open at 7am." Grrrrrrr.

Okay plan B. Back in the car head for my own gym 20 minutes away..open up, lights on, music up and jump on one of the bikes.
Cardio went well, abs even better, clients arrive...job done.

Moral of the story. Make contingencies. For me, I like to get my head around an alternative...which in this case I didn't do...since I'm not big on surprises.

Another great week of progress, everything done right...Oh by the way, I'm 1.5kgs and 2.5% body fat down... Remember my post this time last week, check it out again. Go figure.

Week four, day 5

Upper Body 3 x 15's - Ouch

I approach the squat rack with a little aprehension..I know what's coming.
Don't get me wrong I enjoy the session, but I know it's going to hurt.

I load up the bar smirking to myself, I know my training partner is on his way feeling a little anxiety himself.

Mark arrives, I load up with water, CrE2 (otherwise known as creatine ethyl ester hydrochloride, which, according to the container is up to 40 times more potent than creatine monohydrate and promises 100% absorbtion and a radical pump.) which I can feel working 10 minutes into the session, a bottle full of Synthevol(glutamine) my training log and I'm good to go.

I check the deadlift bar, load the correct weight...and BLASTOFF.

I've done a warm up with dumbells to loosen up my legs and feel the correct movement.

I lift the bar onto the fatty part of my deltoids just below the start of my spinal column. I feel that familiar pain of a heavy bar and embrace it. I don't use padding, I prefer the feel of the steel on my shoulders.

I push my hips back and lower them to a point below parallel with a straight but hollow back, looking straight ahead.

Feeling my way through the first few reps I get into to a rythm and crank out 15. Rack the bar check the clock and breath heavily...wow 30 seconds so soon. Step up to the deadlift bar, take the strain and rythmically grind out 15 of those.

Another 30 seconds and back to the squat rack. Now I'm breathing hard.
Back to deads, back to the rack, back to deads. Now I'm hurting and my mind is telling me it's ok to bale after 10. Man this is heavy and my lungs are gulping every millilitre of air around me. No way 15 is the number I tell the voice and that's what I'm doing.

Onto lunges and step ups, different kind of pain and really heaving lungs.

20 minutes later we're done.

I feel like I've just run a marathon...FAST

My glutes, hams, calves, arms (yeah from holding the dumbells for lunges and step ups) and abs are burning..nearly as much as my lungs but I FEEL GREAT.

I just beat my biggest enemy, the voice in my head....and...the pain in my body.

Why do I do this. Because every day I do I become more trustworthy. Every time I honour a self promise without quitting I become stronger.
Every day I get better...

and that's just menatally and emotionally

never mind the physical benefits which help my physical me incrementally.

WHAT A HIGH - CHOOSE LIFE

Week four, day 4

What a beautiful day in Johannesburg today. We had the first of the summer rains..sky was black, wind was swirling around angrily blowing stuff into the air, it got chilly...and the rain came down and came down, all day. A sort of cross between a summer shower and driving rain. Going home from the gym this evening it was hard to see properly, traffic was backed up and there were the usual bumper bashings...what a beautiful day.

Have I gone nuts

NO, I just have an attitude..a positive attitude. The thing is, firstly, if I love this kind of weather what can get me down, mostly, nothing.

Secondly if we didn't have weather like this how would we appreciate beautiful sunrises, sunshine and warm days. How would we know how stunning a deep valley is with a magnificent river running through it if we didn't have to climb over a huge mountain to get there. How would we know how anger feels if someone wasn't kind to us, and how would we know happiness if we had experienced sadness.

Life is about balance and the real deal is, the fact that we have the gift of choice. We have no control over what the weather is going to look like tomorrow, but we do have a choice about how we feel about it.

ME, I choose positive over negative, I choose good over bad, I choose kindness over rejection or rudeness, I choose to embrace adversity, I choose LIFE and I am LOVING LIVING it.WHAT'S YOUR CHOICE

Oh by the way, I had a majestic, cardio and ab workout today, ate well and drank lots. All in all A GREAT DAY

Can't wait for tomorrow's 3 x 15 leg day..Deep squats, OW.

Embrace this life, it's all we have.

Week 4, day 3

Mind Blowing session

Upper body again - remember the 15 x 3 sets x 30 seconds rest workout. That time again. Man this workout is just brutal. I upped all the weights so I was really tested and took myself to the limit.

3x 15 bench 70kgs (bearing in mind I'm doing 5 x 5 with 90kgs
3 x 15 seated db shoulder press 15kgs (5x5's with 23kgs)

and so on through seated row, chins, upright rows, close grip bench , tricep push downs, and bicep curls.

Don't forget you get 30 secs between each set so you are doing 8 exercises x 15reps x 3 sets. It only takes about 40minutes but it hurts.

I'm writing this at 5am on Thursday and man I can feel it in my body.
Phenominal.

It's one of those sessions where you just sit there with your meal replacement shake in your hand staring at the ground dripping all over the place. You gather the energy to look at your training partner, and think...words aren't necessary....what the hell just happened. We seemed to be in a trance. There is no time to talk..not with 30 second break..just do, and do hard.

But man...it WAS GREAT...I'm lovin it.

Ate perfect, chugged water and slept real well.

Later

Week 4, day 2

Hello again, good to be blogging. It has become so much part of my life and I really enjoy it.

just done cardio, good hard 20 minutes and 15 minutes of core and ab work.

Have eaten well and hit the water as usual.

Am hectic today so I'm going to leave it there and come up with something more interesting tomorrow.

By the way, want to thank all of you who visit on a regular basis (10 countries and climbing) for it is you who keep me honest.

Accountability in this form is power enough to keep me honest.

Please keep on coming to visit...and I hope that just one thing I've written has helped someone to make a decision about getting into and keeping in
great shape.

Week 4, Day 1

Monday, new week. This feels really weird. In South Africa to day is a holiday and I have in the past treated holidays as free days. However I have a contract...with Adam and all of you and I intend to keep it.

Protein smoothie for breakfast, protein shake for mid morning and a protein smoothy at lunch after training. Barbeque chicken breast, and couscous salad with avo for dinner. Cottage cheese and fresh fruit for meal number 5. Awesome day done. CLEAN

Legs today 5x5..gym was pretty empty which was cool...mind you the squat rack is always free. People seem to be scared of the rack and deadlifts.. I have learned to love both exercises and I value them very highly in any training plan. Compound exercises are KING.

Looking forward to cardio tomorrow, going to go real hard.

Let you know how it goes.

Week 3, day 7

Sunday = free day

Ate pretty well for a free day...lot's of fruit, avocado pear sandwich for lunch, so, pasta in the evening.

All in all a chill day.

See ya in week 4

Week 3, day 6

Go Figure

Saturday morning, I am excited, aprehensive, a little anxious but can't wait.

Today is measure day. I feel leaner, harder, stronger, so it's all good right. WRONG

I open up the gym, take my time opening windows, getting the vibes going and holding myself back I move slowly towards the scale.

NO WAY

I have eaten super clean this week, have trained like a dog, worked hard on the cardio. How the hell can I be a kilo up.

Get off the scale, stare dazed into the far distance and then jump back on...like it's going to be different. No there it is, one kilo up.

OK, let's not dive off the nearest tall building just yet, body fat test to come...that'll be down for sure. Spirit restored I haul out the calipers and get to work.

WHAT BODY FAT UP.

I crash to the floor devastated, sweating profusely, heart palpitations causing convulsions... "how could this happen to me, I'm a professional" I appeal to some unseen power source expecting that with a flash of light my weight will suddenly drop and my body fat will miraculously drop by 10%.

OK last resort...the tape measure, this will show for sure that I have made progress.

Unfortunately the tale of the tape confirmes the scale and the calipers.

How does this happen.

Perhaps my metabolism needs to settle after a time of yo yo eating, perhaps....well actually perhaps really doesn't matter. Facts are facts and I'll never really know but...

What am I going to do about it, how am I going to react...am I going to be proactive.

I'm going to do exactly what I have been doing, and committed to do. Intense weight training 3 x per week, hi intensity cardio 3 x per week, eating 5-6 quality meals per day, drinking litres of water and getting enough sleep.

Luckily I have enough experience to know that what I'm doing works, and these things happen, they just do. I looking for progress not perfection.

At the end of it all, the ground underneath the nearest tall building is safe for another day...and life goes on.

Week 3, day 5

Endorphins were pumping

This is one of those days. Normal work day, everything went as planned, started looking forward to training in the evening and then it was time.

Nothing to suggest it was going to be different. My training partner arrived as normal, I finished with my last client, gym emptied out...just he and I left.

Pump up the vibes, look at my training log, hmmm 5 x 5's today, upper body.

Hit it...set 1, bang off we went.

Fast forward 1 hour, man I didn't want to stop. "Are you feeling different today Bud" I asked Mark, "What do you mean". "Well let's do more tricep work I just don't want to stop training". "Oh yeah I feel exactly the same". Rock on.

It was just one of those sessions where everything just fell into place. All our lifts were up, concentration was intense, the clock seemed to go just slowly enough to recover for the next set, rhythm and timing were perfect...yup, just one of wonderful days that remind you how great the feel of steel is.

Bring it on.

Week 3, day 4

G'day sports fans

Here is a great cardio routine for you.

minutes (Treadmill)
1 - 5kms p hr
2 - 5
3 - 7
4 - 7
6 - 7
9 - 7
10 -11
11 -7
12 -12
13 -7
14 -13
15 -7
16 -14
17 -7
18 -15
19 -7
20 -5

there you go. If the upper numbers are too high just drop them down a bit.


Drank huge amounts of water and and 5 good meals.

Coming to the end of week four.

Feeling stronger, leaner, happier, more focussed than I have for ages.

See ya tomorrow.

Week three, day 3

I Love Weight Training

I love the feel of the steel, the smell of the gym, the clank of the weights and the mind games we play when trying for a new personal best. I love going to gym every day and I love the fact that I have complete control over the way I look and feel. THAT MY FRIENDS IS POWER

Even if I didn't believe all those statements long ago, the more I spoke out loud the more I started to believe them and guess what..they became the truth.

Everything we are started in our minds... we can choose WHATEVER,we want to believe...BELIEVE IT.

Had a great workout last night.

Squats...oooh, I love the burn. Checkout the pic

And the seated guy is my faithful training partner Mark, c'mon Bud no time for rest, one more set LET's GO.



Still eating clean, fresh, healthy food x 5 or 6 meals a day.

Living life and LOVIN it.

EXTRA - EXTRA - EXTRA

In context with my post this morning here is an article I wrote as a preview to a talk I did on health and fitness, I hope you'll find it interesting AND maybe even helpful.

I AM AN ATHLETE
A healthy lifestyle – the mind/body connection


By its very definition the word lifestyle in the statement “A healthy lifestyle” indicates that we are talking about far more than a 10 week diet and running around the block for the same time frame.

The very notion that we can – kinda, sorta, eat properly and do some exercise for the short term, is based in the word, a word that should, in my view be banished from dictionaries, DIET.

Diet always implies that there is an end in view. We all know what I’m talking about. The 28 day grapefruit diet. The 4 week south beach diet. Lose 150lbs eating only rice cakes in 10 days diet and so on.

We also know instinctively at the very least that, you cannot get to where you want to be, physically, and then go straight back to sleeping late and eating cheese cake.

So what is the solution, and how does the mind come into this?

We need to change our identity. There are two types of people who are overweight. People who simply habitually overeat at meal times and people who are comfort eaters. Since the second group is by far the majority I’m going to talk about them. Habitual overeaters simply need to understand how to eat properly. Simple to fix, not easy, but simple.

Comfort eaters however is a different group altogether.

The majority of people that come to me for help are very overweight. The first question I ask is “how did you get to look like you do”. Then begins a psychological discourse in which lies the answer to getting lean, healthy and fit, for life.

Mentally, physically and sexually abusive, parents, partners, children, friends and so on, or certain instances, and timelines are by and large the trigger for overeating on a regular basis.

At the time the incidents were occurring, eating large amount of pleasurable food i.e. ice creams, potato chips, pies, pastries etc, were responsible for soothing a traumatized emotional state. This done habitually leads to “bingeing” preceding or following a difficult situation.

After some considerable time the individual is seriously overweight, with a self image problem of varying degrees.

Now, I’m a great believer in the statement….Things in my past are responsible for the way I have become..But only I can be responsible for the way I’m going to be.

A courageous attitude, certainly, but it doesn’t happen overnight. It all starts with a thought and remember that “everything starts with a thought” and I mean everything.

How often have we said “I think I’ll go down to Durban for the weekend” or “I think I’m going to shop for new clothes on Saturday?” See what I mean.

So…although it takes time, a process of conscious/subconscious mind changing through affirmations and a firm commitment to a future healthy lifestyle through goal setting, is all that is needed to get you on the right track, forever. The Will to want to is obviously critical, but I don’t know any fat person who wants to remain where they are and get progressively bigger as time goes by, do you?

I start my clients with a simple affirmation “I AM AN ATHLETE “and I insist they repeat it to themselves many times a day and whilst exercising. It seems silly at first and they are normally embarrassed to repeat it out loud, but the miracle starts happening when, through repetition they start believing it. They start walking with more purpose, up straighter, and with more confidence. This has the knock on effect of making them want to train harder and so they progress until they reach their original goals and it’s time to set new ones.

I’ve seen this happen countless time and although this article touches the surface of my personal methodologies, used with love, kindness and caring, since I’m not a qualified psychologist, my heart soars when I see a client, now a friend, walk into the future with head held high, a strong respect for themselves, and a definite belief that “ They are athletes”


Dougal Macdonald
Body-for-LIFE
Success coach

Week 3, day 2

I was talking to a client of mine this morning. He has been through the same thing that we all go through. We manage to sustain fat loss for a prescribed period of time and then we let go. That is why diet is such a filthy word. It implies that there is an end in sight and that the old life of Big Macs and cheesecake is just around the corner....well it isn't.

If we are not prepared to make a "lifestyle" change..forget about it.

For me, I was lucky enough to find Adam Waters at the same time I hit rock bottom and because of that I KNOW that I will be spending xmas on the beach covered by a six pack and not a T shirt.

As a fitness professional it has got to be the most self defeating thing in the world to be out of shape. Firstly you are always feeling terrible about the way you look... knowing what you do... and secondly, how much credibility can you have if you, as a fitness coach, are...well....FAT.

We all need to find whatever solution works for us and my personal opinion is, that full scale accountability is what works best for most people.

I suggested to my client, who happens to be a very high level executive in a major organisation, that he go to the organisation's Chairman, lay out his plan and goals, and the date by which he will achieve them and ask that if he fails to live up to his daily action steps, he would forfeit his very considerable bonus. Hmmmm....puts a different perspective on how serious you are about getting into shape.

This blog for me is such a win. There are people from all over the planet reading...well hopefully, reading my words after having seen my contract...see early blog entry...and holding me accountable. Barring a real catastrophe there is no way I'm going to skip a meal, training session or cardio workout.

So all of you reading this...please post comments, I would love to know what you think, perhaps what information you would like to see that I'm not including etc.

I would really appreciate feedback to help motivate you to go for your own goals.

Talk to me.

PS...5 good meals, good thinking, lotsa water, and a killer cardio session and....it's another day in the bag. I am getting better and stronger every day.

Week 3, day 1

Upper body

4x10 - 1 minute rest

Bench 80kgs
Seated row 55kgs
Seated Shoulder press 21kg dumb bells
Chins
Close grip bench 60kgs
Upright rows 44kg cable machine
Cable tricep push downs 70kg
DB bicep curls 15kg db's

great workout, 1 hour.

Eating well, chugging lot's of water.

Life is good...no really

Week 2, day 7

FREE day

as in free up your brain day. I think a free day once a week is really important to free up the inside of your head and give it ...nothing to do.

No eating plans, no training no....well, nothing.

I can still remember what I ate on my first free day back in 1999.
Breakfast - Packet of biltong (beef jerky) mixed with cashew nuts
Lunch - double cheeseburger and fries and a coke
Mid afternoon - a bar of chocolate
Dinner - mexicana pizza and a litre of ice cream
Boy I was ill.. what was I thinking?

But at the end of that 1st BFL challenge I had lost 10kgs and 20% body fat.

My free day today I have eaten so far:-
Wake up - Cappucino and 2 slices of danish (note.. 2 SLICES of danish)
Breakfast - 3 scrambled eggs on wholewheat (no butter)
Lunch - 1 sausage and greek salad
Mid afternoon - bowl of fruit salad

that's it so far

Things have changed so much - I still believe in the free day concept and although my free choices are much healthier I still enjoy the freedom to choose.

We'll check my stats this time round at the other side of 12 weeks.

See ya monday for week 3..rock on

Week 2, Day 6

End of week 2...WOW

Cardio today went really well. Feeling fitter than I have for a long, long time. Finding I'm able to run harder each time I jump onto the mill.

Abs/ core training also done with care and persistance...am really looking forward to stripping that fat off my abs.

Ate clean today - 5 good meals.

Free day tomorrow and onto week 3. Can't wait.

Hang in there. Honour self promises.

Week 2, day 5

MASSACRE OF THE ENGLISH

I know it looks like I'm more interested in rugby than my health and fitness but this is Rugby World Cup 2007 and we just thrashed the poms 36 - 0....I mean 36 - zip, magnificent Springboks. When last did you hear of the World Champions not putting a single score on the board in a world cup game.

OK enough of that. Ate beautifully yesterday. Am eating a few Pistachio nuts since reading a report that they are the new superfood. Why not.

Feeling fantastic...had a great leg session yesterday doing the 3 x 15 supersets but with squats, deadlift, lunges and step ups.

Am really happy with my progress so far. I measured today and I have lost 2kgs in 2 weeks and dropped 1.3% body fat. My lean mass has increased by 1.3 kgs and I have dropped 1.9kgs of fat.

So all in all a positive result. I prefer to do this slowly and 1kg per week loss works for me but only if I am increasing lean mass which I am.

Cool Bananas everyone - have a wonderful weekend, see ya tomorrow.

Week 2, Day 4

G'day Adam G'day all.
T20 world cup cricket, Australia got massacred by Zimbabwe...WHAT..impossible, no it really happened. I still don't believe it but anyway..let's see what happens going forward.

Getting into ab boot camp now in addition to core training. Am really focussing on doing ab work in a seperate session and not just as an ad on. Building so that when the fat is stripped they will be well developed.

Cardio - best session to date. Felt great afterward and feeling like I can really start pushing hard.

Life is great, live it.

Week 2, day 3

BRUTAL BRUTAL BRUTAL

I have been training for a long time and I don't think I have ever done a session as tough as this.

Don't try this at home folks.

Adam give this a go and if you call me a wooooosy then you are a hero.

For each exercise use a weight that you can just manage for 15 reps

All exercises are supersetted with a 30 second rest in between each set

3 sets of
Barbell Bench press x 15 superset with
Seated row x 15

3 sets of
Seated dumbell shoulder press x 15 superset with
Supported chins x 15

3 sets of
Close grip bench press x 15 superset with
Close grip barbell chins (as in raising the bar to your chin whilst standing straight.)

3 sets of
Cable tricep pushdowns x 15 superset with
Z bar bicep curls

Yup that's all it is folks...takes about 20-25 minutes and don't forget the brown paper bag.

WOW it is tough. Either that or I'm more out of shape than I thought.

Got in 6 good meals but got to bed late...was giving a talk until quite late.

All in all, another great day in paradise

Bring it on

Week 2, day 2

I'm testing a zig zag eating plan and this was the first day. I'm eating normally on weight training days and on two of my cardio days I'm cutting carbs back. Normal protein, carb meal in the morning, thereafter no carbs for the rest of the day. I up my protein intake though to keep my calories up a little. I don't want too much of a defecit.

NOTE OF CAUTION..This is my own plan and I'm not recomending it to anybody especially my clients. This is something I'm experimenting with.

Felt OK except for a little tiredness in the evening.

My ab training went well, Adam, thanks to you I'm doing the David Grisaffi thing...think I'm ready to notch it up a level.

Cardio - perfect.

All in all - a great day.

Can't wait for my next weight training session.

Roll on friday SOUTH AFRICA - ENGLAND.

BTW Adam - My forecast South Africa - Australia in the semi's.

Opening game of the T20 world cup cricket. South Africa blew the Windies away even with a fantastic Chris Gayle century.

Man I love sport.

Week 2, day 1 ....breaking news

The header was really just to get your attention since there already is a
day 1...

In my contract with Adam Waters (The Master) and all of you, I committed to eating a minimum of 5 healthy meals per day. Well yesterday, for various reasons I only managed 4 meals by the time I hit the sack....but my sub-conscious was one step ahead, and also just a little bit naughty...as far as timing was concerned.

I genuinly forgot the 5th meal by the time I got into bed exhausted and I was a nano second away from dreamland when this little voice in my head nudged me with the question "ummmm, what about your 5th meal."
I mean could it not have reminded a little earlier.

Now I don't have to tell you that when you are that close to disapearing for the day it is real hard to get yourself together enough to get up and make a protein shake.

So...then my little voice reminds me that I have a contract with certain people. Bam, that little voice has my attention, because I take that contract very seriously.

Within 5 minutes I had leapt out of bed, mixed up and chugged down a protein shake and got back into bed feeling very self satisfied.

It wasn't that hard and...I stuck to my plan.

I AM A WINNER

Week 2, day 1

World Cup Rugby

South Africa 59 - Samoa 7....now I know that's not too much of a big deal to those who know rugby but it is a "World Cup" after all...the Superbowl of rugby and each and every game is important. The Samoans are very physical and it's great that we only had one injury.

Roll on friday when we play England.

Back to reality. 5 quality meals and a really hard leg session. Am feeling fantastic, looking forward to training, the eating is becoming a habit and water has become addictive.

Everything is going according to plan...I'm loving life.

Till tomorrow

Week 1, day 7

Cheat Day

Like I said yeaterday...doing cardio today, so off I went to the gym did 20 minutes Hiit, preceded by 15 minutes of core training and ab work. Can't believe how full public gyms are on sundays.

Waiting an hour then my girfriend and I are off to a slap up breakfast. Eggs benedict maybe hmmm.... actually I'm not actually fussed about eating a whole bunch of junk food today which is great.

We went out to dinner last night.. good time to test my resolve. I had beef carpaccio and a salad and a bottle of sparkling water. Considering I normally drink 3 or 4 beers whilst eating out, I'm really proud of myself.

Big day today, I am seriously excited. South Africa is playing their first game of the Rugby World Cup. This is a big deal for me, I'm rugby mad. Adam's country Australia played last nigh and gave Japan a huge smack.

Roll on 4.00pm this afternoon whoo hooo!

Week one DONE 9/10

See you in Week 2

week 1, day 6

No training today, have decided to do cardio tomorrow on my free day. I think this will help to counteract any calorie overload to a certain extent. At least my raised metabolism with allow fat burning instead of storage.

Had a perfect eating day though without much stress. Isn't it funny how when you make a REAL commitment to anything it seems so much easier than all the striving that you've been through before.

Maybe it's reaching rock bottom that makes it easier to realise that there is only one place to go - UP.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Week 1, day 5

Heavy upper body.. 5 x 5's, I love it. Solid upper body session, brutal actually but I really enjoyed it.

Ate very well, drank enough water, confident positive mind set.

Have made a great start to the first week.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I reckon a 9 would be fair.

From the past I know to be careful because right now I'm feeling invincible but I do know that the goblins are lurking around to smack you on the back of the head.

As long as I'm accountable to all of you and Adam I'm cool though...so onward and upward next week with even bigger effort.

Oh by the way - THIS IS MY VISUALISATION PIC. I had a friend put my face onto the body so that I have something to shoot for. I've done this before, it is a great technique.

If I get close I'll be ecstatic.

Have a great weekend

Later

Week 1, day 4

Now I know I'm committed....

Planning my day yesterday I realised that I had absolutely no time for my own training, which was cardio and Abs/core.

When people tell me they have no time to train my stock answer is "my diary is always free 45 minutes before I wake up"

So...this is where the rubber meets the road, am I going take heed of my own glib comment. ABSOLUTELY...no hesitation. Entry in the diary, 4.00am own training.

Did I get up when everyone else is sleeping. For sure, at 4.00am I was on my way to the gym...which I just happen to have the keys for...and ended up having a great session.

Honouring self promises is key to the wellbeing of your self image. Simply doing what you say you are going to do gives one such a sense of confidence.

The more you are able to do that the more you start trusting yourself, the more others start trusting you, the better your self image, and so on. It's an ever increasing positive circle.

If you want to do one great thing today...make a decision to honour your self promises, and you'll see how great you feel about yourself and how it positively impacts other.

Accept the challenge...give it a try.

Heavy upper body session tomorrow...can't wait.

Week 1, day 3

BIG OUCH

A hard leg session is always painful, but this one....whoaaa, squats, deadlift, lunges and step ups. My legs are toast.

But...it feels great, feels like I'm back..in the groove.

Ate super well, drank lots of water gave myself a 9.5 for the day.

Feeling confident that I'm moving towards my goal. Looking forward to weight/bodyfat saturday. Going to do it weekly.

So...see you on day 4

Week 1, Day 2

Ab and Cardio day today and talking about abs, check this out. My son was 10 years old when this picture was taken. How's that for motivation.

I've decided to do my ab training on cardio days and following on from that I'm going to give serious effort to strengthening my core at the same time.

So..pulled into the gym at around 12.00pm (great time at a public gym... "Virgin Active" is the one I use...because the place is very quiet. You can get to everything you need.) and spent about 15 minutes on my core. This is something new for me but I am committed to it and look forward to newfound health and strength in my lower back and abs. Really enjoyed it and I know it's really going to benefit my health.

From there straight into my cardio workout. Hiit for 20 minutes. Well it wasn't really high intensity but it was increasing intervals. Don't want to blow the whole thing by leaping into something that my head can handle but body can't.

I realise that I've only got 36 sessions but I've learned over time that patience really is a virtue.

See you for day 3 tomorrow.

Train hard, eat right, drink lots of water and...go like hell.

Week 1, Day 1 "The Journey Begins"

Woke up this morning with a real sense of anticipation. No nervousness, no fear, no what if's, just a sense of knowing...that I am on the way back.

That's what happens when you plan properly. Room for error is greatly reduced and isn't it cool that you can relate that to real life. When you plan properly, life seems to run a whole lot smoother.

So...day 1 complete. Ate 6 complete meals, drank a bucketload of water, and trained like a demon. My training partner is on the same page as me with this "journey" and when my program called for a 90 second break between supersets that's what we did. None of this hanging around for 3 minutes talking rubbish about what we did over the weekend.

On a scale of 1-10, we both gave the session a 9 and I give my day a 9.5.

Very happy with day 1. Onto day 2.

So...what's the plan?

The goal

I will be the 2007 international BFL age group champion.
By November 25th 2007 my body fat will be 8% and I will weight 89ks

Where am I now

I weigh 100kg and my body fat is 17%

The Plan

I commit to completing 18 upper and 18 lower body sessions using Alwyn Cosgrave's Hypertrophy program.

I commit to completing a minimum of 36 cardio sessions using a variety of Hi intensity interval training sessions of not less than 20 mins duration.

I commit to eating not less than 5 meals per comprising healthy protein carbs and fat and based on Tom Venuto's BFFM.

I commit to spending a minimum of 10 minutes per day visualising my goals and daily action steps.

I commit to blogging my progress at least 5 days per week.

This is my contract with Adam Waters, all of you who read this blog and myself.

See you on day 1

Dougal
"I believe, I can"