Today's thought/ pics/ vids

I’m now 5 months into my body transformation so I thought I’d give an update.

Recalibrate

With the cryptocurrency bear market being in full swing, I’ve spent the last 5 months focusing primarily on my health.

Over the last few years as I've concentrated primarily on work and spending my spare time immersed in family (and crypto), I’ve allowed my weight to balloon.

However 2018 has given me the opportunity to step out of the rat race and recalibrate the things that are really important to me.

What has leaped out on me has been the need to get my health back on track.

I’m now in my early 40s. For me, it’s an important stage of my life that will determine the quality of my later years.

The crunch point for me came towards the end of last year. I weighed around 17 and a half stone (245 lb) and I was seeing a specialist about my high cholesterol levels. The Doc thought it could be hereditary and was recommending I go on Statins.

The idea of taking Statins didn’t sit right with me. Particularly as I knew there was so much I could do to improve my health. The specialist seemed to think I was in good shape however I knew that my diet and food habits were pretty crap.

Part of the problem was my lifestyle and lack of physical discipline. I had worked in an office for the last 17 years which meant a lot of time 'in my head' and not in my body.

Whilst the people were great and the job was enjoyable, I was falling into a pattern of a sedentary life, thoughtless eating and token exercise.

I needed a change.

So I took a leap.

I quit my comfortable job of almost 2 decades and decided to get really uncomfortable. Rather than jumping into a work or a money making project. I decided to take 6 months out and focus primarily on improving my health/ fitness as well as taking stock on my future direction in life.

Focus on one thing

I’ve been lucky.

I’ve managed to recruit @ivargereiko and @colossus39 as my trainers and mentors on my personal fitness journey.

It’s been great, I’ve been able to trade my crypto wisdom (and crypto!) for their personal training expertise.

The first thing I’ve learned is that it is important to focus on one thing. Sometimes it is difficult to know where to start. Do you focus on gaining strength? Gaining muscle? Getting fitter? Or losing fat/ weight?

For me it was important to focus on one thing.

I decided to focus on getting lean. I was used to throwing heavy weights around during my lunch-times (‘token exercise’ as I call it) and I knew that in getting lean, I was going to lose 'strength'. I also knew that there will be times where my energy will be low due to lack sufficient carbs, I wouldn't feel as fit as someone should do he works out regularly.

However this was all part of the process concentrate on getting lean first and go from there.

Destroy and re-build.

Simple Math

I’ve learned in the last 5 months that getting lean is it is all about simple math.

Burn more calories than you consume.

I didn’t go on any special diet. Just used more energy exercising than I did eating!

Yes I cut out the bulk of my bad habits (I’ve got a terrible sweet tooth), however I primarily worked to ensure that 5 or 6 days in the week I was in a calorie deficit, and that overall I was in a deficit for the week.

And I stayed consistent week after week.

Understanding what works for you

Outside of being in a calorie deficit (while training and keeping your protein intake as high as possible), it really is a matter of doing work for you.

For some it is about clean eating.

For others it about ‘If It Fits Your Macros’ (IIFYM).

I kind of see-saw between the two. If I get bored of ‘eating clean’, I switch it up with some Intermittent Fasting and IIFYM.

The key is to keep in a calorie deficit.

Attention to Detail

One thing that works well for me is attention to detail. I know some people go crazy weighing themselves daily and recording what they eat. However for me it helps to keep on track.

I know that whenever I’ve got into shape in the past it has been when I’ve been diligent about the detail.

I use the data to ensure that I was going off track as oppose to trying to force myself to lose weight quicker. I think that is key.

Accountability

Another key component that really helped has been accountability. Having personal trainers have helped in this. Every week I have sessions with @ivargereiko and @colossus39. It’s far better to report progress rather than setbacks. Setbacks often means extra work!

Also I like to keep myself accountable to myself. Which is why I record my daily stats and post them @fitat40. It's hard to hide from the facts when there are recorded on the blockchain!

No Rest Days

Another important aspect is mindset. My motto during this period has been no days off!

I try to do at least a bit of cardio on the days I'm not training.

Most times when I got injured in the past it was due to the intensity of the workouts rather than the frequency.

Nowadays I rarely go above 80% maximum effort. That way I can get more training sessions in and in the long run tax my body more, rather than hard.

I think planning rest days is misguided. Given how out of shape I was if I trained 4 days a week and spent 3 days a week largely inactive it wouldn’t have cut it.

Finding an hour in my day to focus on fitness shouldn’t be seen as special. It should be as mundane and routine as brushing my teeth!

Natural hiatus

The fact is life brings natural hiatus, where rest days are more frequent than you’d like

For example I’m going to New Jersey/ New York for 3 weeks for a holiday and family wedding. I know it will be impossible to train every day when I’m over there. The timing isn’t great because I’m probably only 4 or 5 weeks away from getting super shredded. However I don’t feel guilty. It’s only been the ‘no days off’ mentality that has put me in a great position to enjoy my holiday and push on when I get back.

I also think the temptation to workout when I’m away will be too much. Whether it’s going for a run, doing some calisthenics indoors or finding a gym to escape to, the desire to stay on track is strong!

Just to start

For me, this still feels like just the start of the process. There so much more I have to give, however it is good to take stock sometimes and see how far you’ve come.

After a brief break, I’ll definitely be back on my grind!

As always, I’ll keep you posted on my progress here, and you can follow the detail on my @fitat40 account.

Today's stats

	Month	Day	Morning Weight	Calories In	Workout	Protein (g)	Carbs (g)	Fats (g)
Sun	July	22	212	2407	Chest workout	144	248	79

Today's workout

Walk

15min

Inc DB Bench

60kg x12
60kg x12
60kg x7
60kg x7

DB Bench

45kg x12
45kg x12
45kg x11
45kg x12

DB Press

30kg x12
30kg x12
30kg x12
30kg x12

Hammer curls/ (tricep kickbacks)/ [pressups]

40kgx8, 20kgx8, 10kgx8/ (10kgx8)/ [x10]
40kgx8, 20kgx8, 10kgx8/ (10kgx8)/ [x10]
40kgx8, 20kgx8, 10kgx8/ (10kgx8)/ [x10]
40kgx8, 20kgx8, 10kgx8/ (10kgx8)/ [x10]

Kickboxing bag work

10min

Cycle machine

330cal, 30min, 8.14km

Walk

15min

Last few weeks:

	Month	Day	Morning Weight	Calories In	Workout	Protein (g)	Carbs (g)	Fats (g)	Post
Sat	June	23	215.5	2413	Stretching session	133	225	103	view
Sun	June	24	215.6	2547	Legs, Bag work, +300 cardio	170	239	95	view
Mon	June	25	217.6	1792	+300cal Cardio	141	146	60	view
Tue	June	26	216.7	1549	PT session (Back)	192	125	28	view
Wed	June	27	215.4	2055	+600 Cardio, Kickboxing	204	160	61	view
Thu	June	28	215.7	1610	PT session (Shoulders)	164	134	42	view
Fri	June	29	214.8	1529	+300cal Cardio + Abs	172	92	46	view
Sat	June	30	212.1	1820	Legs, +300 cardio	206	135	44	view
Sun	July	1	212.5	1943	+300cal Cardio	174	117	83	view
Mon	July	2	212.2	1449	+300 Cardio, Kickboxing	132	92	56	view
Tue	July	3	212.1	1451	PT session (Push/ Pull)	140	118	39	view
Wed	July	4	212.6	1965	+300cal Cardio	169	113	93	view
Thu	July	5	212.4	2522	PT session (Shoulders)	165	167	128	view
Fri	July	6	213.1	2110	5k run	162	118	108	view
Sat	July	7	211.4	2299	Rest day	147	136	134	view
Sun	July	8	211.9	1944	10k run, +300cal Cardio	154	158	71	view
Mon	July	9	212.4	2030	Legs, +300cal Cardio	158	219	49	view
Tue	July	10	211.4	2136	PT session (Push/ Pull), +200cal Cardio	157	210	60	view
Wed	July	11	212	1686	Abs, +300cal Cardio	123	169	53	view
Thu	July	12	212.2	1447	PT session (Shoulders)	144	46	76	view
Fri	July	13	211.2	1902	Abs, +300cal Cardio	130	133	60	view
Sat	July	14	209.2	2466	Rest day	139	282	86	view
Sun	July	15	209.2	2950	Chest workout	210	199	102	view
Mon	July	16	210.9	1899	Kickboxing	151	177	60	view
Tue	July	17	209.5	1571	PT session (Push/ Pull)	120	121	66	view
Wed	July	18	209.4	2322	Abs, +300cal Cardio	183	180	79	view
Thu	July	19	210.3	1727	PT session (Shoulders)	159	131	52	view
Fri	July	20	210.3	2712	Rest day	173	201	130	view
Sat	July	21	211.1	3371	5k run, 8k cycle machine	186	397	119	view