Workout 10

A day later than usual this week.

Warm up: Mobility > Seems to be getting more important! Feel like old leather.

Squats: Shoulderstand: 15
             Jackknife: 10
             Assisted: 30,30,30
Pullups: Plate Rows: 10
              Inverted Rows: 15,10,7

Then I chopped a whole lot of wood...

Workout 9

Warmup (mobility)

Wall pushups: 15
Incline Pushups: 40,40,35
(Could go to 40, but need abs to catch up)

Seated abs: 30,18,12

I think I have too many fast-twitch muscle in my abs.
The high reps are just a killer. Anyway, I suppose I'm paying for years of lazy ab training.
I will still overcome this hurdle...

The Lull

Starting body transformation plans? Easy.
Starting diets? Easy.
Sticking to your plan? Not easy.

I find that I'm entering one of those periods in my plans where I experience ambivalence. I want to push ahead and get rid of my newly-acquired 'padding', but at the same time there is the desire to 'take it easy' with my eating. Maybe you're familiar with that voice in your head? That annoying, yet utterly convincing part of you that makes the excuses for you.
"c'mon you don't need to be that thin"... "just one more piece of cake won't hurt"... "you can always get back on track tomorrow"... There are millions of such excuses created by your inner 'wimp'.
'Wimp'? You ask.
Yes. That voice is the reason that you don't achieve all that you can. It's the reason you bail out when things get a little too difficult. It makes you a wimp whenever you listen to it rather than your purposes and goals. It deserves to be harpooned and thrown overboard to the sharks. You can be much better if you get rid of it.
So, what I'm gonna do now is start hurling mental spears at that voice. Every time I feel a 'take it easy' or a 'tomorrow is another day' I will throw my mental 'NO!' spear and 'DO IT!' javelin at that annoying twit.
Starting now. I have a workout to do today, and I will not miss it simply because its the coldest day of the year so far. And I will stick to my diet.
I'm in the mood to kick a little a$$...

Workout 8

I'm very sore from Mon. Who would think some incline pushups could do so much damage?
Anyway, I decided to push through today...

Mobility Warmup

Shoulderstand Squats: 15
Jackknife Squats: 10
Supported Squats: 30,30,30 (Progression, but I'll stick here and narrow my stance a bit)

Inverted Row: 11,8,6

Some parts are slower than others. I think this is an indication of some imbalances I've picked up.
I will try to even out the progressions a bit to get everything onto an even keel.

Workout 7

It took longer to get to this workout than I thought. It's 3 days late, but at least it's on the same day as the previous workout.
I've been feeling quite stiff and restricted in my movements, so I included a mobility based warmup.
I hit the progression standard, so I've moved on to Incline pushups (on a counter-top).
Still struggling with the ab-work though...

Incline Pushups: 40,30,25
Seated Leg Raise: 25,15,10

I was a bit tired before the workout, and those two exercises took it out of me.
At least a hot babe gave me a massage afterwards for my efforts!

Passion

Every little boy and girl in the world can probably tell you in one sentence what their passion is in life. Do you remember when your goals in life were wrapped up in a single mission statement? "I want to be a fireman", or "I want to be a vet". Those were the days of simplicity. You were naive to the realities of life.
You were also without all the anxieties and fears that prevent you from achieving. While the grown-up version of you looks at the reasons why something is "impossible", the little version sees only "possible".
Now, it's seldom possible, or realistic, to be like a child again. We do have bills to pay, mouths to feed, and responsibilities to live up to. That doesn't mean we can't recapture some of the wide-eyed simple joy and zest for achieving our "dreams".
We may need to simplify our dreams, realising that the opportunity to be a spaceman has passed us. But, when it comes to our goals, do we find goals that reignite that childhood passion?
There is no point in setting a goal of being "bikini-ready" if you have no drive to wear a bikini, or to feel the thrill of achieving a particular look. You can't fake passion. If it's not there to drive you when the chips are down, you aren't going to succeed. You may be able to get some of the way, but to get to the endpoint you will need passion and drive.

Does this mean you shouldn't set a goal of bikini-ready?
Do so only if it is right for you. Perhaps your passion is more along the lines of being a healthy and thin-ish wife/girlfriend. That is a different goal, with different plans. (note: I hope you girls go for "bikini"-ready, as I feel the world could do with more bikini bods!).
The main point here is to aim at what you really really want to hit. That gives you the greatest chance of success. And success leads to more success.
If you really really want to be a fireman, get off your butt and go sign up. Don't sit around and live with a regret. If you want to be a powerlifter, get on the right program and stick with it. If you want to be a Victoria's Secret Model, do what you have to do to get there.
If your passion calls, only a fool refuses to listen.

Greeks and Romans

I've been looking at some of the Greek and Roman sculptures (along with some Renaissance sculpture) and am as always impressed by the physical development that is depicted. Make no mistake, the subjects of the artwork were great physical specimens.
Here is the kicker. They didn't have any barbells or dumbbells. There were no treadmills. There was no such things as steroids. Heck, there was no such thing as "Nutrition" back then. So how did they get that way?
Calisthenics. (bodyweight exercises).
For the majority of athletes it was simply a matter of advanced use of bodyweight exercise. Think that's impossible? Modern gymnasts build their bodies through practice of gymnastic movement. You gonna tell me that they aren't supremely well-developed? Ancient athletes knew how to use their bodyweight to achieve body transformation.
I look at those statues and I see what is possible. Now, I may never be a Farnese Hercules, but the Hercules version that is the picture for this blog? That is achievable.
All I know for sure is this: If some guy back in ancient Greece could build a great body, then surely I should be able to do something similar in a world where knowledge of diet and exercise is way more advanced.
I will use the same method of training, which is quite cool, seeing as I've already committed to Convict Conditioning. But, I will apply more modern nutrition methods to make sure I reveal whatever I build.
How about you? Want to be a Venus de Milo, or an Apollo? Set the goal, get on the program and give it 100%.
The only thing in your way is you...

Workout 6

Moved onto level 2:
1 Shoulderstand Squats: 15
   Squats (assisted): 40,40,40 -- Bam! Progression Standard
2 Horizontal Pulls: 10,7,6 -- these will take some work!

Time for grub!

Oh no!

From distant shore over tempest sea
Came the great one, Khan Khari.
Heard, he had, of a great beauty
Fairest of maidens, Mara Talsee.

I thought it was about time to throw in a bit of poetry, lest my audience mistake me for a common man. An Uncommon man is what I am!
Why is it that we seek to be greater than the average? What moves us to rise above what we discern as the inadequacy of the masses? Life is easier when little is expected of one. If you just coast along, never straining, never pushing yourself what do you actually miss out on?
You won't waste time on exercise, leaving more time for relaxation or entertainment. You won't stress over what you eat. You'll enjoy more tasty foods and worry less about it's impact on your body. Wouldn't that be more fun! ? ?
NO.
Life without striving after something has no direction, and no achievement. You cannot see the value in pursuing health and fitness until you start to achieve something.
For someone looking to lose weight, just a few kilograms off feels terrific. Getting around is easier. Clothing fits better, and self-esteem grows. And a sense of achievement starts to develop. Believe me when I tell you that achieving a difficult goal feels a million times better than a truckload of chocolate ever will.
Often weight-loss goals change into performance goals, and this is where the real joy starts. Ask anyone who has trained for and succeeded with something (it could be a marathon or a PR lift). They gain a new attitude and approach that makes their whole life better.
But everything starts with the first step. And in order to make that step you need a decision. A decision is when you bend your entire will towards achieving the goal. And then you follow the decision with a plan, plenty of perseverance, and patience to stay the course.
Then your life becomes much better than that of the "average". Then you become "super".
I want to be "super". How about you?

I am not a Man

I have been emasculated. My manhood has been removed.
Let me explain...
Yesterday on the train (this train is becoming regular feature!) there were two drunk-and-disorderlies being, well, drunk and disorderly. They were pretty close to where I was, and one of the passengers had already crossed verbal swords with them. I had already started preparing myself to unleash my "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" on them.
Long story short, the rail staff took them off the train. No action.
Late on I told my significant other about the ruckus. What did she say? Not "what would you have done", no. She said I mustn't get involved, because I'm not "prepared" for it. Shlop! Is that my manhood lying on the ground? If in her eyes I'm not prepared to deal with drunk-and-disorderlies, what does that say about her view of my ability to protect her from a real threat? I might as well just hire a personal bodyguard to keep us safe.
Say what you like about the modern world no longer requiring men to fight off threats to his family, or hunting for food. But, as any man worth his testosterone will tell you, there is a deep-seated need to know that you can protect your family, and to know that they trust you can.
My tactic for self-defense has always been "hit first, hit fast, and keep on hitting!" I will not start a fight, but you better believe that I will finish it if you bring it to me. So, could I have dealt with the drunk-and-disorderlies on the train? I am confident I could have. I may not have done any martial arts training for a couple of years, but I still have the knowledge, and I still have the attributes required: strength, speed, timing. I know about angles of attack and vectors. I know I can.
Now I just need a way to convince the little woman...

Workout 5

And back to my poor wimpy abs...
  Wall Pushup: 50,50,50 - Progression Standard.
  Seated Leg Raise: 18,15,9

There is progress, but it's also slow. Bring on the patience!
I have also started trying to get a grip on my eating. It's been in "see it? eat it!" mode for 3 months.
What do I weigh now? No idea. My scale is sitting with the rest of my stuff back in the 3rd World.
Skin pinches tell me that I have a higher bodyfat %, but I have no definitive number.
I'm simply working with what the mirror tells me. At the moment it simply points at me and breaks out laughing. I'm thinking of getting a more forgiving one.
At least it's winter, so I get to hide my current appearance from public view, but I must get it together because the summer is not far away!
Must get my abs showing before I run around in my bikini!  I mean swimming trunks!

How Did It Make You Feel?

In my post "To Eat or Not To Eat" I may have caused some emotional responses.
Ask yourself: "What will I do about it?"
You may choose to ignore the comments, or you can prove them wrong. I know many people are trying to beat the "battle of the bulge". Being overweight is not easy, but then neither is being fit and toned.
You can allow yourself to be fooled by adverts for "5minute abs" or "Instant Fat-loss Secrets".
Or you can accept the post for what it was. A Call to Arms. A Rallying Cry in the battle against mediocrity and modern weaknesses. Look, nobody is perfect. Everybody has their own demons and weaknesses. (Yes, even the super-fit vixen/hunk at the gym). The point here is to take your weaknesses and impale them on your "sword of fortitude". Take those problems (weight, fitness, strength, whatever) and crush them by the sheer power of your will.
Every day, one step at a time, drive them before you.
You could stand where you are and achieve nothing, or you can fight.
You have two real choices: Get busy living, or get busy dying.
Me? I'm going for the gold.

Workout 4

Decided that I need to get the progression standard sorted on the "B" workout.
Only did the Shoulderstand Squats: 50,50,50

Time to move to level 2...

To Eat or Not To Eat

Diet. Its a four-letter word. Women hate it, but spend most of their lives obsessed with it. Men generally think of it in terms of it being an activity carried out by the opposite sex.
At least that is how it used to be. Today almost everyone is on a diet, falling off a diet, or about to go on a diet. Maybe that's why the collective waist-band of modern man has stretched to it's biggest ever. Chairs everywhere quake in fear when people decide to sit. And sitting is the major "activity" carried out by people in this world.
But, it was not always thus...
Your body remembers a time when you ate to avoid starvation. When you ran to avoid being eaten. When you only sat down at the end of the day after a full day of actual activity. Yes, once upon a time the biological machine we call our body ran on good fuel, and performed optimally.
There was no way to get food while sitting on an ever-expanding backside like the drive-through. The absolute ease of obtaining food, along with the empty calories in modern food, has resulted in a population of easy prey. Except we don't have any sabre-tooth tigers around to benefit from it.
Your body will adapt to perform the activities that are the most difficult to accomplish. And your mind will try to find a way to avoid the difficult activities.
Eat with a purpose: "This food fuels me for xxx".
Train with a purpose: "I want to be better at xxx".
If you make your body think it is a gazelle-chasing, tiger-hunting uber-machine of grace and power, by eating and training for that purpose, it will take the necessary shape.
So, what do you want to look like?
A cream-pie or a carved greek statue?
Your choice...

Where is a Super when you need one?

There are times when you shake your head and say "If only I had [Insert Superhero]'s power".
I was standing on the platform waiting for the train to arrive. After nearly 20min of standing around trying not to look anybody in the eye, (why are there such weird people around nowadays?), we were boarded onto a different train that had been standing around sheepishly all the time. Well, I assume it was feeling sheepish because that's how I would've felt if I was in that position.
It took 20min to figure out that we could just use a different train? I will assume that lateral thinking is not the railway speciality.
Anyway, the reason I mentioned Superhero Powers is for the dramatically simple solution they would provide to everyday issues.
Train late? I'll fly home. Or run home like The Flash.
Lawn not mown? I'll use my laser vision to give it a trim.
Low on cash? I'll just pull a cash disenser from the wall... Um, ok, maybe super powers won't be the greatest idea. Power corrupts as they say.
So, I suppose I'll just have to deal with annoyances and setbacks. Dang it! If only I could control the thoughts of other people to get things to work more smoothly. But then, how would I refrain from making everyone obey my every command? Guess being "normal" is safer for everybody...

Workout 3

Back to Day 1:
 Wall Pushups: 50,40,30
  Seated Leg Raise: 20, 15, 10

Once again I've been humbled by the simple exercises. It's not a brute strength problem, but rather a strength-endurance issue. I've never had the best of strength-endurance, and haven't really trained for it. So, I will continue to be humbled until I get to grips with it.

Every CC progression standard involves quite a bit of endurance, so I might as well get a foundation going for later on. I'm aching to get past the level 1 stuff, but need to be patient. Perseverance is the key.
One thing that is glaringly obvious so far is that my ab\hip-flexor area is not strong enough. I can tell that it will take a while to balance all the imbalances I've picked up from years of "gym".

Off Topic

Every now and then I may fall off the rails and post something that has nothing to do with exercise. (gasp!).
I've been pondering superhero status today. I know, I should get over this obsession with impossibility. But I've been thinking more along the lines of Captain America ("possible"), rather than Superman ("impossible").
Being a son of Krypton is simply beyond what a human being can accomplish, and is reserved for movies, comics and boyhood fantasy.
Cap, on the other hand, is pretty normal. He's just a guy pimped out with some cool gear and pumped up by some funky drugs. This is at least within the realms of possibility.
So after much soul-searching and day-dreaming, I've finally accepted that Cap is the superhero to try duplicate as my uber achievement. (I draw the line at running around in a silly blue and red outfit however).
What this means is that I will break the Cap's superhero makeup into attributes, and work on those in my training.
Cap Attribute 1: Strength. Wow, amazing how that works out. That just happens to be my current goal. What symmetry! (I accept that my strength will be less due to my desire to achieve without steroids).
More thoughts on achievable superhero-ness to follow... And workout 3.
Yeah, yeah in the end the post is still about exercise. I'm not perfect. I'm not even Captain MDV yet. Get over it.
Early days, but the plan is starting to take shape...

Strength, Power and Muscle

Ever since starting on CC, I'm continually plagued by my aspirations of muscular bodacity. Since time immemorial (well... 20 years at least) I've wanted to be big. I wanted to be a superhero. Or at least a reasonable facsimile.
Problem 1: I chose the wrong parents. My genetic construction is not tall, or muscular. These are 2 pivotal qualities in being super-heroic.
Problem 2: I'm actually rather lazy. I look for shortcuts and easy fixes. I like immediate gratification. This lends itself very easily to getting on some type of gear. But...
Problem 3: I'm convinced I need to do it "naturally". Sheesh, what a combination!
Anyway, all is not lost. After years of living in denial I've decided to finally get on with it. Either that, or I've developed a fear of my own mortality and am trying to wind back the clock. So, true reasons notwithstanding, here are the decisions:
1: Pick a goal. Ultimate bodacity is not a goal, it's a state. Defined by qualities. I will simply develop some of those qualities.
2: Pick a plan. I've done it all. HIT, Super Slow, Split Routine, Full-body. I've done high volume and high intensity. But for a long time I had ADD. I jumped around so many times I was the training equivalent of a junkie.
I made good progress on 531. A solid plan. I have just moved country, and my equipment is currently occupying space in a 3rd world shipping facility. I have no idea when I'll see it. Which led me to CC. Achieve goals, make progress, and no need for equipment. The CC train, however, will not allow me to disembark until it is done.
Patience. Perseverance. These will be my guiding thoughts.
Will I get back to lifting iron again? For sure. But only after I wring all the juice out of my current program. As long as that might take.

Workout 2

So CC (Convict Conditioning) calls for Pullups and Squats today.
When I say Pullups and Squats I mean "Shoulderstand Squats" and "Vertical Pulls".
The squats involve propping yourself up on your shoulders with your feet up in the air and then effectively pumping your legs up and down.
The pulls are accomplished by holding an object roughly chest height and pulling towards it.

Seems easy enough. Well, again, it's not as easy as one would think.
I had no problem with the pulls, and cracked the progression standard without breaking a sweat.
The squats are a bit ungainly when you're upside down, and all the blood is leaving your feet to hang out with your frontal cortex. So, as soon as I get used to the blood rush it'll be ok. The squatting action is not a problem, but it does work the erectors quite a bit.

So here are the figures:
Shoulderstand Squats: 40,30,20
Vertical Pulls: 40,40,40 > Progression standard!

I rock! We'll see if I still rock when we get to the more difficult stuff..
Til next time...

What is The Goal?

A goal. That is very important apparently.
I read it somewhere.

So, what's the goal? ... Awesomeness!
I wanna be: Superman. Thor. Spiderman. Name a superhero...
But, realistically I must be SMART about these things.
Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Timed.
[What a bummer that I can't just order a batch of gamma radiation or my own mjolnir ]
[Hell, I'll even take some Super-Serum ]
Specific: I want to achieve a 1-arm pullup.
Measurable: Errr.. When I do a 1-arm pullup?
Achievable: Is this possible? [Uh... Apparently it's not that hard!]
Realistic: Ah, well, this one is always open to debate. I vote for "Yes".
Timed: Well, this one will take as long as it takes. So all the in-between steps will be short-term goals.

In order to be successful, I will need one or two other vital achievements:
1. Lower body fat. Somewhere around 10% will be ok. Currently? 14%. [fatty! ;p]
2. Progressing on all Bodyweight Exercises. [No 1 will help here]
   The exercises?
   [1-arm pushup, Handstand pushup, 1-leg Squat, Hanging Leg Raise, Pullup]
3. Guts. Tenacity. Perseverance etc...

Where is that gamma radiation when you need it?

A long post. Sorry. You can wake up now! I'll keep them shorter from now on (probably).
Tune in for Workout 2... Next!
[And perhaps a bit more clarity on short-term goals...]

Why Blog Now?

Have you ever stopped for a moment and thought: "I'm not all that I can be?"
And had the followup thought: "But it's ok because ... [insert numerous reasons here]"

Well, it happened to me. And I decided that it was just an easy way to accept mediocrity.
I will no longer 'go gently into that good night.'
I've decided to fight.
It may be in one small area at a time. It may take years.
But, this blog is the gauntlet. It has been thrown. It cannot be retracted.
So, it begins...