What an experience

I cannot believe ninety days is up, before starting the project I found it quite a daunting thought that for three months there was to be serious commitments on the exercise and diet front.
From my position now I know that it was just a thought and the mind is perhaps our strongest muscle.

The greatest struggle early on was being organized enough to sort out the food prep, this meant buying the right things in the supermarket and then ensuring that when it was cooked and boxed there was enough for both Sasha and I to live off for a couple of days to avoid having to spend too much time in the kitchen. We also tried to avoid too much of the same food to keep it interesting which in itself is a challenge.

The exercises were built up very well over the three months and although the creeps, floor jumps and lunges really were not my idea of fun I understand how important they were in building up the power and strength of my legs. This pain clearly helped me develop the strength to really enjoy the jumprope which I now see as the best way for me to stay in great shape going forward. I can understand why boxers use it so much to keep fit, if you need any more convincing get on YouTube and check out mayweather, pacquio and Ali doing their sets in
training.

The times I found it the toughest to keep going were when i was ill with flu and when the distractions of work and other stress were keeping my mind on other things not PCP related.
The motivation to get through these moments came from the group ( a huge congratulations to everyone you all did brilliantly) and the guidance and comments on the blog which I now know is a very clever social tool for keeping a sense of team spirit and responsibility to everyone else that you cannot let them all down.

Patrick your comments and insights were very well timed and often proved to be the difference between picking myself up in the tougher moments and carrying on and just doing the exercises half heartedly knowing that they would not really be changing much.

Knowing that sasha and the rest of the group were experiencing the same struggles provided further determination to prove to myself that it is possible to push the boundaries.

I have never previously had the discipline that I have maintained over the last three months most definitely not on the food front so I am proud of the fact that to a set and to a gram I have kept as tight to the project as I could.
I really didn't sneak in any cheeky extra food but there were one or two sets I think mostly on the plank front that I have to admit I swerved.
Not sure why but those planks really played with my back and I felt very sick after one or two of them so if I let myself down it was there. I think as well that the pull ups have been the
toughest exercise for me, long skinny arms and heavy body are not a good combo for a good pull up.

I have to say that I think I would have struggled a lot more if sasha had not been doing the project with me, she has been brilliant and I know that she found it very demanding physically and mentally but I have to say my biggest thanks are for my amazing wife. To have completed the project together enhances the pride and sense of achievement and it has been very tough on her whilst doing the PCP she has been looking after me and out two little boys.
I know that she could have done with at least two hours more sleep a night and often the thought of doing her sets was the last thing she wanted t be doing.

The results speak for themselves she looks amazing and there is no way she looks like someone who has had two children in the last two years....WELL DONE YOU xx

I am convinced that during the last three months I have learned a huge amount about myself and I want to thank jasper and bill for talking to me about the project before and keeping me going during it, big respect and what a way to change my life I owe you both a very large drink.

I feel different, I look different, and I look at my life differently. There is so much that has changed and it feels oddly novel. I think that having our two little boys around has given me extra encouragement and just being able to enjoy my weekends more with increased energy is a huge positive.

Funniest moment of the ninety days was going to the tailor and him explaining to me that in order to make my trousers fit he was going to have to remove one whole leg and then use the remaining leg but cut in half to fit the other leg back on in order to try and save the trousers.

I started at eighty seven kilos I am today seventy seven kilos. I have lost I think around eight inches of my waistline, two inches around my neck and I have discovered muscle groups that I had no idea existed.
I enjoy eating all foods but I understand about portion control, I can focus for far longer at work, I sleep better and I really enjoy skipping with music on.

I cannot stress how much PCP has done for me but I will load up my photos tomorrow and you can be the judge, the changes on the outside are mirrored by some big fundamental changes on the inside too and it think this is where I am humbled by the experience.

Patrick what a journey, I encourage anyone that reads this to sign up for the next PCP, and in fact I know at least five people that have done just that since our trip began back in January.

I am looking forward now to future challenges perhaps a triathlon or some action endurance racing and I will not easily forget the lessons I have learned in the last ninety days.

This has been a very interesting and educational period in my life and I will miss the interaction with the other members of the group in the blogosphere, it has been incredibly rewarding and I thank all of you for your support and your commitment to our project.

I hope the pictures show how I feel and I know you will all enjoy the summer :)

Patrick muchas gracias compadre, it has been extraordinary.

Peace and love, in sets, jump rope and delicious fresh food, for now,

James.

Hit the wall

Officially hit the wall on friday morning, lost my voice so completely useless at work, could not keep my eyes open for any serious amount of time, keep nodding off during the day today as well.
Throat is agony and I didn't have the power to do full sets yesterday or today, fulfilled my skipping quota but ache a lot, I need as much sleep as possible tonight and a quiet day tomorrow to recharge a little for the final week of PCP and to be able to function properly at work. The thought of stumbling through the last week is annoying me so like Patrick said one set at a time. I am fractious and am basically having a sense of humor failure which is Sh$t because it's a beautiful weekend here in Hk and I dont want to feel like this around my family.
there was a bake sale in the playground today to raise money for the kids in japan affected by the earthquake our little boy devoured a chocolate chip cookie and I could not hold back I ate a brownie and an oatmeal cookie, I qualify under PCP that they were two dollars each to buy off the kids and I gave them 80 Hkd for the cause, they tasted amazing I will skip and extra five mins tomorrow to get rid of it.
Hoping to feel a lot better tomorrow and want to say how very proud I am of Sasha for keeping up the program, there was a couple of wobbles along the way and I know how tough it has been,
You look amazing and me Rafa and Felix are very very proud of you. One more week mummy keep it going !!!!

blog on the go

i know my blogging hasnt been great recently but my mind has been filled with all kind of bullsh$t, i have struggled to get through my sets without outburst of rage which are not cool or zen whatsoever, focus for the remainder is to unclutter my brain before i sleep and then explode into the workout at 6am, our indulgence on monday was off the scale but it messed around with my digestion a bit, too much olive oil and bread i think after a long time without either really and i snuck in some chocolate more due to my i dont give sh%t attitude than actually thinkning that i wouldl like some chocolate...doh - S T O O P I D.
DETERMINED TO FINISH STRONG AND ON A HIGH summer is on its way will post some photos end of this week.
keep it going people !

weekend

another week done reaching a magic time now i feel with the challenge of the heavier exercises and really pushing the boundaries, another three of my friends have signed up for the april 15th edition having seen me last weekend at the rugby, a mixture of disbelief, jealousy and inquisitiveness ...i may not have been so zen in my response but they are all jacked up for PCP.
forecast for the weekend is 25 degrees with clear skies, la dolce vita.
Big Chief Patrick loving the emails this week mate, keep them coming in, i will take a picture of my new resistance band tomorrow its insane.
keep up the intensity people we are sooooooo close, heading to the newly reopened Ritz Carlton here in HK for our indulgence dinner on monday night, will blog it up afterwards, the restaurant is on the 103rd Floor cannot wait will take some pictures and put them up,
peace and love.

Feeling the strain

Was the weekend of the Hk sevens rugby tournament, a weekend that normally sees me drunk by seven pm on friday night and not really sober until Tuesday morning, this year I managed the entire weekend without a drop and it's a huge result.
I had my usual box and it was full of other guys from the company from the singapore and Tokyo offices with lots of our customers. Needless to say there was some fairly insane scenes involving jugs of beer, pimms and vodka red bull, washed down with crisps, meat pies and greasy chicken.
Now I used to be heavily involved in all of the above and I have to say it was incredibly tough not getting involved perhaps not in the drink but in the food, it didn't help having my clients who know I am doing PCP, wafting meat pies under my nose! I entertained for the entire weekend without dropping the ball and did my exercises in the morning on friday and in the evening on sat and Sunday after all day at the rugby, did my sets this morning too and by mid day I was asleep in my chair at work.
I really hit the wall for the first time since week two I think, physically and mentally there hasn't been much rest for a while and I have to say I'm looking forward to some downtime.
What I realized though and I think it's important to share is that one is capable of resisting the temptations of old on the alcohol and food front without too much will power, I had my food with me and I just ate that quietly while all else around me poured All the things I used to enjoy down their throats.
At one stage I came v close to destroying a meat pie but I thought about what was in it and I backed off, realizing that it just makes extra work for me if slide back into it,
I'm feeling the extra load on the sets now and there are some seriously tough moments, finding that some upbeat tunes on the iPod make a world of difference on those too as well as during the skipping.
I'm not sure I have managed to skip more than about twelve mins before my calves give in, I am currently jumping both feet at the same time, with then some running jumps at intervals after that, any tips on how to get that more like twenty mins would be great,
The end is so close I can taste it but I know quietly inside that things have changed forever and I'm looking forward to the next challenge with my new improved PCP-ass whipped body,
Keep putting up the sets guys we are almost there,
Photos on their way I realize we have skipped a week. Aiming to be asleep before nine tonight to get the rythmn going again at six!!

Holy Sh$t

In the middle of my fourth set of curls yesterday my left arm caught fire, not literally that would be hideous, but there was a searing pain on the inside of my bicep, I actually cried albeit briefly and with a smile on my face, I know a bit joker-esque but it happened so I thought I would share it.
I remembered what Patrick had said about pain being temporary and I reloaded and managed to get three quarters of the way through the final sets, the outside curls actually loosened it up a bit so must have been a barrier of some sorts...a small stick of dynamite going off in my arm!
Sunday was one of those days where everything went wrong at least that's how it felt, by the time the kids were in bed I basically couldn't open my mouth to talk I was that washed out. Consequently when the alarm went off this morning at six it got smacked, just couldn't do it first time that's happened for six weeks, did my sets tonight just doesn't sit well so will do back to back and do them tmrw morning. It's too late after getting home at seven to work out for an hour then shower eat twice before bed and try and relax.
Have discovered the joy of skipping to really loud music, fifteen minutes now flies by its basically four really great songs, when a crazy beat kicks in I can run skip at never before seen speeds at least for me anyway. There is also a cunning plan of skipping with weights in the handles for ten minutes and then for the last five take the weights out you can absolutely tear it apart because your arms now feel lighter than air.
I think ninety second planks suck balls.
Loving my new diet sheet for this week patrick am craving huge quantities of fruit though....struggling with 150 grams a day.
Straining at the leash for the finish line now team, change gears again and punish those sets....GO GO GO.

blogging from work

this week i have been mostly in the doldrums emotionally, exercises and sets done to a tee but my heart wasnt in it for some reason....where there was joy this week there was nothing...which is strange more than anything and although the feeling is there that we are all doing something great for ourselves every day my mind has been elsewhere.
I think being stuck in front of screens all day and then watching the disaster in japan unfold on the television really got me, the helplessness of the situation and those poor people, i think humbling maybe the expression i am looking for. What it demonstrates is the fraility of human kind and that is tough to quantify, what it makes me believe though is that if you give it your all, 100% everyday then whatever happens you know you have tried your hardest and put your heart into it. if you leave nothing on the table then the contentment starts to spread but sometimes the getting to that point is the real test.
I think that is what i am learning from this project apart from the nutrition and the belief in a solid exercise structure, it requires you to examine yourself everday for an hour, to stress test your frame and mind, something that we all do far too infrequently.
I know there is a quote out there about idleness but its more than that, it is a beep test of ones character everyday to get out there and do it, to be organised about the food and exercise to actually care about how you feel and how you look, although not of all these things are a novelty to me i see the simplicity of it and due to the way i feel and look now it just seems to make sense.
Quite often before i would hit the gym for an hour at lunchtime to do some cardio and lift dome weights but i never saw any results. i considered myself to be realtively fit albeit too heavy but couldnt get what i wanted.
The combination of what we are doing now has cracked this cycle and the belief in it is self-reinforicng, you do it and you feeel better simple. You look better, you sleep better. I take pride in the fact my giant shopping trolley is overflowing with fruit / veg / low fat milk / youghurt / eggs / fish and chicken and thats it, no health food products / no tins / no atrificialallnessmadeinafactory rubbish at all. It feels good to bring that home to my family!
A clearer mind has led me to be on the one hand more reflective about things that actually matter and on the other more driven and convinced that there are certain things that are changing and will be changed due to my actions in the future.
This week has been a fruitless exercise at work but the wheels keep on turning, in my personal life i feel as though i have achieved a lot and it matters so much more, a brilliant revelation that i had to share with you all.
I now am excited about the last four weeks and i hope you all are too, for those of you that i know my amazing wife included you all look fantastic, for those of you that i dont you all look great too, i feel a post pcp coming out evening in HK if you are all keen, happy to organise to swap war stories,
keep up the hard work everyone, prayers to those in japan and in the middle east, the karmic wheel is spinning just keep the faith.
ENJOY THE WEEKEND ONE AND ALL.