Tuesday 30 September

7 weeks into the challenge, only 5 to go. Bit of a wake-up call ...

I told Des not to spare me today. I'm back on top of my game, so no more excuses. And he did make me suffer! But it felt good to give it my all again. One thing's for sure, working out is definitely a whole lot more enjoyable when you're feeling OK.

With the finish line in sight now, I'm definitely going to have to up my game. I still have a tyre around my waist, and my chest and arms are nowhere near strong enough yet, so lots of work ahead ...

Monday 29 September

Confirmation of last week - I am indeed getting fitter. Struggled to get my heart rate above 135bpm on the stepper, even at level 10! Wow, what a change! Only got to 160 bpm about 40 minutes into the training, at 9% gradient on the treadmill.

Did some abs exercises, and then 10 minutes on the bike at level 6. Again, that's quite an achievement, level 6 at 75rpm used to also make my heart rate shoot through the roof. Not anymore apparently ...

Really feel rested after the weekend. Am 100% better, back on top of my game, so can fully dedicate myself to the challenge again. Only got about 5 weeks left and there's still a lot of room for improvements.

Over the last 2 weeks, I only did 3 training sessions per week. And yes, there were mitigating circumstances, but that's just not good enough. Now that I'm well again, I'm going to have to make up for that 'deficit' in training.

Friday 26 September

Giving my body some more rest. We're going to go away for the weekend for my wife's birthday so want to feel 100%. The last 2 weeks have not been great. Felt sick. Didn't eat right. Drank too much and didn't exercise enough. Only things I'm happy about is that I managed to lose some more weight and didn't completely quiet even when I felt too weak to go to gym. I did have to drag myself there but at least I did it.

But now that I'm getting better, it's time to get back on track. I'll allow myself this weekend of, but then I'm going to fully focus on the challenge again. Eat right, cut carbs, cut the booze, take the supplements and stick to the training programme.

Thurday 25 September

Another session with Des and the break yesterday was definitely a good idea. Starting to feel stronger again, but not yet there ... Was still struggling with weights that I know I have lifted before ... But at least, not feeling so utterly 'kak' (pardon the pun) anymore ...

Wednesday 24 September

Slept for 12 hours. Bad stomach bug. Still got a bit of a cold. Just felt worn down so decided to give it a break today.

Tuesday 23 September - Half Way!

6 weeks into the challenge! Woohoo!

Just had to weigh myself: 85.6 kgs, so I've lost just over 7 kgs in 6 weeks, whilst I'm sure that I've gained some muscle as well. Well, I sure hope so, all that hard work can't have been for nuffink ...

Still struggling though, really not on top of my game.

Went to the Barnyard theatre at night for my wife's birthday and had to run to the bathroom every 20 minutes. Even though it was a great show, I thought I was going to fall asleep. My body is screaming out for rest ...

Monday 22 September

Yay! For the first time, I managed to do the cardio session the way Des wants me to do it, without having to scale back towards the end just to keep my heart rate within bounds.

The stepper - that ugly thing that used to cause me to break into a sweat of note within 2 minutes - was now causing no bother whatsoever. Did 20 minutes on it, doing 2 minute intervals between levels 6 and 10, and heart rate never went as high as 160 bpm (used to struggle a lot to keep it below 160).

That was followed by 20 minutes on the treadmill, at 6kmh, with gradient intervals varying from 3% to 9% (in 1.5% increments). This is usually where I don't even make it to 9% - especially towards the end of the 20 minute session, but no such problem this time around.

Definitely getting fitter!

Sunday 21 September

Most of the day was spent recovering from the party ... and this being my usual 'day of rest', nothing to report on the fitness front.

Saturday 20 September

Another not so great day. Still feeling flu-ish and got a stomach bug as the cherry on top.

Went to gym but without much conviction.

Had a party at the inlaws at night, with lots of booze ... not likely to improve my overall fitness ...

Friday 19 September

Eish, a week to forget. I've been needing so much sleep this week, it's not normal. Must be the flu meds.

Got up too late to go to gym (and wasn't 'feeling it' in any case) so I skipped. Rather focus on getting the bookings in today, and giving my body some rest. Tomorrow is another session with Des and then big party at the in-laws ... so I'm going to need my strength.

It's the mother-in-law's 50th bash, and the theme is 'Gods and Godesses' - we were thinking of going as dogs (dyslexic gods) but the idea of being dressed in a hairy, sweaty bearsuit all afternoon wasn't that appealing after all. So now I'm going as Thor. And what with my cough, I'll probably sound like the God of Thunder too :-)

Thurday 18 SEptember

Today's session was slightly better, but I'm still far from OK. Can just feel it that it's not going as well as last week - body's just not the same. No respite for my calves either, Des insisted on 'loosening them up' ... hurt at first but perhaps it was the right tactic.

Ang took half a day off so we went off to Harties after a hectic morning at the office. This new online venture is demanding much more of my time than I'd reckoned and Tanya doesn't seem to have much time to help out either. But hey, not complaining, it's providing some seed capital to play with and put the right structures in place ...

Wednesday 17 September

Skipped gym today. What with not feeling well (at all), not having slept much, being on flu meds, calves buggered and stressed out to the max because my new business had suddenly exploded at the beginning of the week - to the point where I had to shut down GoogleAds at 11 in the morning yesterday as we weren't able to keep up - I thought maybe going to gym wasn't the thing to do today. Didn't feel bad about it either.

Tuesday 16 September

Sick today ... started yesterday and got progressively worse, to the point where my wife begged me not to go to gym as I was in no state.

But bugger that, I don't want to miss a session with Des - I'd rather skip one of my private cardio sessions as I reckon they have less of an impact in any case.

It seriously hurt though ... I was short of breath, and on flu meds, so it wasn't the best of sessions. Also buggered up my calves again ...

Monday 15 September

Don't know what it is today. Hangover from all that wine yesterday? I definitely have a cold as well ... maybe the combination of the two ... have no energy today and feel sleepy.

Went to gym this morning but it was a fairly lethargic cardio session. I cut it short after 45 mins as there was just no juice in my legs ...

On the plus side, signed up 10 new clients today for my new business, and Tanya - my dad's secretary - agreed to run the business for me for a 10% cut of turnover. Since the costs are low, I should still end up with about 75% of the profits, after deduction of all the costs. Will be a nice money-spinner for a while to come, especially as the sign-ups are increasing quite dramatically.

10 in 1 day! Last week, it was more like 1 or 2 a day ... Not bad after just a week and a half in business ...

Sunday 14 September

Gone off the rails again - Ang really wanted this to be 'our' day, and do like the good old days, so we spent the whole afternoon at a Indian restaurant eating and drinking wine (2 bottles of Zevenwacht for just the 2 of us) so the diet went completely out of the window today.

I did, however, register for the 94.7 cycle challenge (to be held in Joburg on 16 November 2008) so that'll be like a week after the end of my 3 month USN challenge.

From one challenge to the next then ... especially since I've never done anything like this before. Heck, I don't even own a bicycle. Will have to scrounge around and see if I can borrow one for that day ... It's going to be fun :-)

Saturday 13 September

Eish, if I thought Des was going to go easy on me because it's the weekend, I was sorely mistaken. But then again, that's why you get a personal trainer, I suppose ... to help you explore your limits, and then go beyond those limits to establish new ones. And next time, you do it all over again.

This was my first full 1-hour session, and at high intensity too. It feels like I'm making good progress and Des says so too ... Can't wait for the next assessment.

Anyways, it's been 4 weeks now of working with Des and I know that without his help, I wouldn't have made a quarter of the progress that I have now. My body's shape is really starting to change quite nicely, I can lift/push/pull a lot more weight, and I can work out (even the cardio) a lot longer now. And we're not even halfway ...

Friday 12 September

I'm definitely getting fitter and stronger. On top of my 60 minutes cardio, I now also fit in about 15 minutes of various abs exercises. My abs are getting stronger as well, but then again, we started from below ground zero, so the only way was up.

My first real cheat during this challenge came on Friday night ; had half a pizza at Cappucinos. And it wasn't exactly a lean one either. Most pizza places here seem to focus on stuffing as much as possible on top of a pizza, and then sweaten it and make it extra-greasy. Ang had a pizza at Colcacchio last week and that was nice and lean. Thin base, minimal toppings, but all the taste. Not anything like these super duper American style pizzas ... I much prefer staying closer to the original Italian ones.

But anyway, after half a pizza, I was more than full, whereas before, I would have easily clapped a whole one by myself.

Thursday 11 September

Not only is it my mom's birthday today (not that I remembered, my dad had to remind me - shame on me) but it's also a fairly glorious day all around.

Sun's out, my new online venture is doing well, and I think I've had my best weights session so far. Des was happy with the progress. We did a solid 50 minutes session, with heavier weights than usual, and with very little rest in between. I felt strong too ... Probably still on a high from seeing what just 4 weeks of eating right, training, and taking supplements have done for my appearance.

Been walking around half-naked ever since :-)

Wednesday 10 September

Yoh, after seeing the difference in that picture last night - and that in just 4 weeks, still can't believe it - I was super motivated to get cracking at the cardio.

Did my usual 60 mins combined treadmill/stepper/bicycle but on top of that, quite a bit of abs exercises. Going to make that a habit. There's still a bit of a 'tyre' around my waist and that's got to go ASAP.

Went out to celebrate at night - really felt like a pizza, but had grilled chicken breast, greek side salad, and - yes, sangria! You gotta give yourself a little treat from time to time hey, especially if the results are there.

Tuesday 9 September | 1 third behind us

Another hard work-out with Des. Afterwards, I actually felt a bit strange - like I'd pushed too hard. This lasted well into the afternoon.

But it's now evening and my wife has just taken some pics, which I'll upload in the side bar to your right, and boy oh boy, has it been worth it. What a difference!

And yes, that tan is thanks to the sunbed, and it does help, but it's clear that I've lost weight and that my body is getting some definition. I did weigh myself this morning at the gym and I now weigh 87.2 kgs. That's a whopping 5.5kgs less than 4 weeks ago - and I'm sure I've gained some muscle in the mean time, so my body fat percentage should have dropped quite a bit.

I'll only know for sure once Des does his next assessment. I believe he said he'd do one after 5 weeks. Since I started the challenge a week before I started training with Des, that'll be right around the halfway mark then ... Here's to looking even better by then :-)

Monday 8 September

Don't know why I need so much sleep. It's weird. At night I just can't keep my eyes open. Went to bed just after 9 PM and struggled to get out of bed at 6.30AM. I don't normally need this much sleep.

Maybe it's the combination of working out and the excitement of starting a new online venture ... yeah, that must be it.

Workout went really well today. Did my 60 minutes of cardio and did 2 x 3 sets of 15 reps ab exercises on that 'high chair' thingy (where you sway your legs upwards in front of you) and 3 sets of 15 reps of ab exercises on the rubber ball (crunches the upper abs).

Although I know I've lost a fair bit of weight in these (almost) 4 weeks, there's still a bit of a tyre around my waist so want to get rid of that ASAP. As Des says, you can never do too many abs exercises.

So on the days when my cardio sessions go alright, I will add some abs exercises from now on.

It will have been 4 weeks tomorrow since the start of the challenge ... so I'll weigh myself, check bodyfat, and upload updated pics. Can't wait for the results :-)

Sunday 7 September

As usual, Sunday was a day of 'rest'. USN recommends that you work out for a maximum of 6 days a week. Had a birthday party so strayed a bit from the usual diet ... had some potato bake, chops, wors and what have you. My taste buds almost exploded :-)

Also had a few glasses of wine. This was my first real 'cheat day' since I started the challenge, and all in all, I don't think I overdid it at all.

Saturday 6 September

Got to gym at 8am, and the parking lot was starting to fill up quite nicely. Joburg day today!

We went last year and I got horribly smashed, so it was quite a contrast with today. Seeing all the partygoers getting ready to get shitfaced whilst I'm looking after my body and my health.

Don't get me wrong, I still like a glass of wine now and then, but now it's limited to 1 or 2 glasses a week, whereas before, I'd easily polish off a bottle of wine by myself when we went for dinner. And sometimes even when we just stayed at home. I think I was starting to get some alcoholic tendencies, which is another reason why I felt I needed a clean break. This challenge is just what I (and my body) needed.

Tried the Voltage for the first time today, and I don't know if it's because of that, or because I rested yesterday and had a good night's sleep, but the weight training went a whole lot better. Des still wore me out though - had to rest a bit when I got home just to get my energy back, but that didn't take very long. Had a Protein Plex shake and then lay down for a while and after that I was fine again.

Checked my Polaris heart rate monitor - it had gone up all the way to 187bpm - probably about the maximum for a guy my age. I can feel it too when I work out - it's really pumping and after some of the exercises, I really need to catch my breath. Fortunately, my heart rate seems to come down faster as well after every exercise, so that's a step in the right direction.

According to Des, this will definitely get a lot better as I get fitter, it shouldn't spike that high anymore.

Friday 5 September

Slept badly again, and wanted to finish the website that I'm working on (www.licencebookings.co.za) so decided not to do cardio today. Felt like the right thing to do; I don't suppose there's any point in just going through the motions when your body is telling you to take a break.

Decided not to feel guilty about it and just focus on getting the website done, and give my body some rest. Asked Ang to sleep upstairs so she could cough away without bugging me as I really, really need some sleep.

Thursday 4 September

Another sleepless night. And it was very noticeable at gym. I was flat ...

Des also told me that we're not progressing as well as normal. He was expecting me to get stronger sooner, and suggested I start taking USN's Creatine X 4 and Voltage. Should help me get to a higher level sooner.

Going by today's 'performance', I suppose he's right. I did feel like I was lacking energy and that's apparently what Voltage does - helps get your energy levels up. And the creatine should help build muscle.

When I mentioned it to my wife, she was against it. To her, it sounded like taking steroids. Now, that's something I'd never do. Yes, I want a nice body, but I don't want to look like one of those beefcakes that you see at gym ...

Googled 'creatine' and according to Wikipedia, there doesn't really seem to be any adverse effects to taking it, and it doesn't sound anything like steriods, so I'm going to give it a try.

I know I've lost weight but I also know that I could have done that regardless. What I want to get out of the USN challenge is to get a nice, lean, muscular body. So I need to build some visible muscle as well ... (without ending up looking like He-man).

Wednesday 3 September

Cardio today, and I really struggled. Felt listless. Did 20 minutes on the stepper, than 20 on the treadmill, and hardly made it through 20 minutes on the bycicle. Had to lower the difficulty level all the time just to keep going.

Didn't sleep well last night, maybe that's why. The wife's got flu and lies there just coughing all night, plus I've been working hard on launching a new website, and can't seem to switch off my brain.

Oh well, ups and downs are to be expected I guess ...

Tuesday 2 September

Three weeks into the challenge and today went really well. My workout schedule has changed, now I do weights with Des on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning (early - I like it!) and do cardio on the other days. Sunday is a rest day, as before.

It's nice to get to gym early every day now. I get the 7am time slot on Tuesday and Thursday and 8am on Saturday. Much better than only starting at 11, which sort of breaks your day in half.

I felt very energized, and we did a full 50 minutes. Intensively. Felt good afterwards.

Monday 1 September

Spring Day!

And after 2 weeks of really nice warm weather, I was greeted by a spine-chilling cold wind when I got out the door this morning at 5:15. Yikes!

Did my hour of cardio, lost about 830 calories. That's less than before. I wonder if - as one gets fitter - one loses less calories for the same amount of 'work'? Seems to be counter-intuitive. Maybe I just didn't press on as much as I should have.

Cheated a bit and went to weigh myself at the gym. I'll have to see if Des' scale confirms these measurements but if they are correct, then I've lost over 4 kgs and 4% body fat in just 3 weeks. That's a nice boost.

Des will probably only do a second assessment after 4 weeks of weight training. As I started the challenge a week before I started doing weight training with Des, I'll be in week 5 of the challenge by then. Can't wait to see how I've progressed by then.

The whole 'going to gym' thing is starting to become routine. The really fit people at gym seem to be there every day so it probably just becomes part of your lifestyle after a while ...

Saturday 30 August

Calves still felt a bit fragile so I just did 2 x 20minutes treadmill and 20 minutes cycling. Works out to about 900 calories so that's a nice calorie deficit to start the day with.

Ang and I went to the driving range for our second lesson. Even though she hasn't practised since last time, her swing is better than mine. Dammit.

Went out for supper and had sushi. That's a lot better than last night - ordered the 'waist watcher' special at the Grill Shop at the Rock Cottage (in Radiokop). The 'grilled chicken breasts' came in a 2cm thick basting and the greek side salad was drizzled in some sort of sauce. Not good!

Friday 29 August

Another work out with Des. It went quite well. Seemed like we're getting closer and closer to the magical 60 minute workout. I must be getting fitter ...

Not all that much stronger though. Still struggling a heck of a lot to do 3 sets of 12 reps with most of the weights that he's handing me. Even if they don't look all that heavy ... I never thought of myself as 'weak' but if you see what some of the other guys there are lifting and pushing, I feel like a wimp. But ja, as Des says 'we'll make you strong'.

It's a process, so you can't really expect miracle results from one day to the next I suppose.

Thursday 28 August

Now I know why my calves hurt so bad last week ... we did some calf exercises yesterday - same as last week - and this time my calf muscles really burnt. Last week, I got no such warning, and foolishly spent 20 minutes on the stepper the next day, which completely buggered up my calves.

So today, I sidestepped the stepper quite nicely and instead spent 2 x 20 minutes on the treadmill and another 20 on the bicycle.

Went to the driving range in the afternoon to work on my swing. It needs work. A lot :-)