no more mr fat guy
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first day at big school

That’s it, 3 weeks of preparation are over, the results are in and it’s now time to move up to a proper training routine… feels just like leaving junior school and heading to the local comprehensive (that’s high school for non-English speakers…)

so how did i do?

The weigh-in and benchmark session yesterday provided some fantastic feedback. Already there is tangible progress, which has come solely from a series of relatively easy changes in diet and routine, along with a pretty big change in attitudes and thought management.

Being more active and eating sensibly has yielded a loss of 3.5kg, 5cm off each thigh, 3cm off the waist and similar off the chest. More than this, I completed a 1km walk/run in 7m 45s (which just falls into the Intermediate bracket, not beginner), a 1km row in about 6m 30s and doubled my push-ups-in-a-minute count from 10 to 20.

As documented previously, my recovery time from physical activity is vastly improved. What was even more brilliant about yesterday was the fact it was a family affair, with my family watching as I got measured and tested. That’s got to be a pretty positive example to set young lad – better than seeing me sitting in an armchair for sure!

a real training program

The honeymoon period is over, it’s time to start working harder, shifting the flab and building up strength and stamina. I left the gym yesterday with a 3-week plan that mixes up the rowing each day with pushups, squats, weights and “interval training” (rowing 100m relatively easily, then 100m with full-on power).

Reality is that the distance to be rowed each day remains at 2km, it’s the intensity that is different and the addition of more exercises in between.

Would have killed me 3 weeks ago – now I am definitely ready for it!

additional changes required

As before I have additional things to do. Previously it was things like “list excuses, valid or otherwise” – this aspect of the training helps mentally as much as it may help physically.

So this week I have 3 things; remove something from my diet, routine or thinking, add something to my diet, routine or thinking and set a goal for the week.

So I am removing – sugar from my weekday morning long macchiatio. That’s 10 spoons of sugar per week. I hope the adjustment to the taste doesn’t take long!

I am adding – regular (daily) meditation. Simply stilling the mind and emptying all the usual chatter. Something I have made efforts to do before, without too much success. The bus journey in the morning is ideal for this, so I have reverted to taking the bus all the way into Perth, getting off much earlier so I still have about 1.5km to walk.

My goal is – to do at least one 500km stretch on the rowing machine in under 2m 30s

all ready to go

So I’ve got my books (training notepad to record times and weights etc.), I’ve got my uniform (training pants and baggy tees), I’ve got my timetable (training program from Britt)… most important of all I’ve got my head in the right place and I’m looking forward to “big school”.

Bring.It.On



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