Okay, so it’s been three weeks since I was “inspired” by Hard 75 to come up with my own workout challenge. There have been some successes and some failures.
Successes:
33 of 36 workouts done
14 of 18 Challenge 100s done
“Some” weight loss
Definitely stronger and more fit
15 hours of audio books and 100 pages of Personal Development read
Bonus Successes:
Studied Spanish every day (actual streak is over 240 days, and I’ve only missed about 40 days of the last 800+)
Flossed every day of 2023
“Failures”:
Nutrition was a C-Minus, at best, and I drank Pepsi every day of Weeks 2 and 3
Although I lost “some” weight, all of it was lost in Week 1, and part of it was gained back and maintained thought Weeks 2 and 3, for a net loss of 3 lbs
Doing essentially three workouts a day was really draining me and I was beginning to feel like I used to when I over-trained for running events: sort of broken down.
Lastly, I failed to properly document/post my workouts for the whole last week, though I did 10 of 12.
If I had chosen to do the Hard 75 plan, I would have had to start over from Day 1 virtually every day! This is part of what I don’t like about that approach. In AA they have a saying: “Progress, not Perfection.” Perhaps that sounds like an excuse for farting around and failing, and I guess that could be true. But given the above data, why would I throw away all the good, just because I had a couple of failures?
Instead, I have decided to reevaluate, recalibrate, and retool the program as I move forward with Week 4. I’m planning to start the day with “turbulence training” – a very short HIIT workout (four moves, one minute each, with one minute rest between moves). This will spark my metabolism and get me revved up for the day. I will follow that with a 10-15 minute flexibility routine. I am ditching the Challenge 100 workouts. In the evenings – at least for now, I will be doing a BODi/Beachbody workout program called B4 LIIFT4 (which is the LIIFT4 preparation workouts – still intense, but shorter, to ease into the program), along with playing racquetball 1-2 days per week.
Nutritionally, I’ve got Pepsi on the hit list again, along with improving hydration, general food quality, and using intermittent fasting more regularly. I truly believe removing the sugary drinks will make a BIG difference in getting the weight/fat loss moving in the right direction. Reading, photos, etc., will continues, but I will be adding in daily meditation to the routine.
Okay, that’s it. I’m okay with how I did in Weeks 1-3, for both the successes and the failures to learn from! Looking forward to even greater success in the coming weeks! Peace and blessings all!