The Peak Condition Project - Nate

DAY 90 = PCP DONE. A long life of activity, vitality, wellness, and awareness just begun . . .

2008-11-15T22:15:00.003-05:00

So it is so hard to figure out how to make a quality, meaningful, and complete last post. But I'm going to do the best I can and hopefully update from time to time in the future. Once a month or so with thoughts on maintaining, new growth, and encouragement for any new PCP groups to come.

So without further ado, here goes nothing!

SECTION 1: PCP Mindset and changes

So if you decide to embark on this journey of changing your lifestyle to be balanced and healthy, to the high limits of expectation. What can you expect to change about your life?

1. In this world you will never "fit in."

2. You will view yourself and others that have the same level of fitness completely different from the world around you. This opinion is usually that you are better. It's hard to fight against that new prejudice.

3. Your habits will change so much, eating dried figs can seem like an "indulgence"

4. You will be overly critical of fitness, especially of others. The type of people who used to seem "fit and attractive" might not any more to you. Especially if even though they are "fit and attractive" they don't approach fitness the same way you do.

5. You will be happy

6. You will feel "right" or "in the groove" a lot. Things will go your way more often, as a by product of positivity and better performance in all areas.

7. AWARENESS

8. You will value those who are close to you ever more

9. CONFIDENCE

10. Finally, you will change everyone around you for the better, at least for the better of their health, without even trying.

To sum up once you achieve a PCP mindset (It came for me around day 60) so many things happen. All the things above become very noticeable and you will feel very distanced form your former self. But around day 80 you will totally forget how you used to feel and the PCP is like a new skin or personality.

Be prepared for major changes. You your new "powers" for good (those of attraction, confidence and awareness). Fight against the prejudice which comes form self-discipline and turn it into empathy for others who just don't understand what they are doing to their bodies and remember that by making the changes you have you are impacting everyone for the good.

Your wonderful habits will instill guilt in others.

They will also inspire.

Share with those who repeatedly ask you how you are doing it how they too can get in shape. While at the same time realize that most who ask are only hitting on you or making conversation, they don't want a sermon.

And lastly bask in your new found body and posture.

SECTION 2: Where the PCP leads

Be prepared for motivation. You will want to be creative and start more projects. Run with it. But be aware that the first feeling of being superman do fade a little. Around day 30 you see major changes and the workouts aren't too serious yet so you think you can take on the world. wait and be balanced.

The PCP, in my case, also strengthened by belief in natural medicine and I envision a world with everyone in PC daily. It will be a wonderful place when it comes.

Maintenance is a beautiful thing as well. Once you are in truly good shape once in your life maintaining is very easy. 80% of it is diet so never veer to far away from your new habits.

And remember anyone can do the PCP. You can do the PCP.

And once you do the PCP you can do anything else you want.

For me I have many goals. I hope to be back around with those updates in the future. I have some business ideas. So wonderful art ideas. Tons of Parkour and travel to do. And a PCP convention to help Patrick organize. I now have the goals and time to work on and improve my mind-body connection, spirituality, and flexibility.

And not to mention tree-climbing here I come!

SECTION 3: Thanks

Sean, Corry, David, now is my chance to thank you on my own PCP blog for paving the way as the first PCP guinea pigs. Your honest and enthusiastic blogs really made me anticipate doing this even more than I imagined. KNowing I went form commenting a TON to being on the PCP complete roster with you is something I am so proud of. I hope we one day get to meet.

Amy, Tim, Adrian and Emiko, what can I say? This was such a great trip and the support you all gave in the beginning helped so much! We all kind of lost our blogging stamina to some extent (except Tim, a post every day! amazing!) but know you were there doing what I was doing was great and I hope we all get to keep in touch as we continue down our path to whatever our vision of true physical PC may be. I hope we also get to meet one day and reminisce about all the good times. Stay strong my friends!

PCP Japan, you guys are awesome and did amazing it was great to have a group slightly ahead of us to follow and get a preview of what was next to come. Great job guys! You all finished strong!

Hama Mamas, Hang in there and rock that PCP! I hope none of you regret the hard work you are doing and I'm sure Corry's six-pack is motivation for all!

Readers, Family and friends, thanks for the support I hope I have helped you as much as you helped me.

Chen, the man behind the scenes! Thanks for all the hard work with our diets and I hope I one day get to meet you and see you in action!

Patrick, man I don't know what to say. Thanks for the opportunity, the hard-work, and the friendship. I hope the journey doesn't end here and we get to meet in person sometime and not just over iChat! I won't ever forget how I stumbled upon this blog form the yoga garden channel and how I think I have been reading or writing a PCP blog every day since! You have done great work, I hope it pays off, and maybe this time you can make some money at something you love! Keep in touch and thanks again for your inspiration and keeping it real.

SECTION 4: Before and After

BEFORE

Height - 5' 6.5"

Weight - 148lbs

Waist - 32"

Stomach - 33"

Chest - 36.5"

Thighs - 19"

Calves - 13.5"

Biceps - 12.5"

Forearms - 10.5"

Neck - 15"

AFTER

Height - 5' 6.75" (up .25", posture I think)

Weight - 133lbs (down 15lbs)

Waist - 29.5" (down 2.5")

Stomach - 28.75" (down 4.25")

Chest - 36" (down .5")

Thighs - 19.5" (up .5")

Calves - 13.5" (same)

Biceps - 12.5" (same)

Forearms - 10.5" (same)

SECTION 5: Closing Comments

FInd something you love to motivate you and do it! Get moving! Once you have digested this and the other PCP day 90 blogs, get up and move!

You will thank me later.

Do things the hard way because when you get good at that everything else will seem super easy. A simple Parkour philosophy. Practice the hard moves and when those are easy, everything else is cake. Trust me,

You will thank me later.

Do something to make yourself feel good not just your mouth. Eat real food. Be active. And take each moment by the horns. Don't put things off. Do it now. Yes I mean now!

You will thank me later.

Trust me.

BE PROUD TO BE HUMAN.

That's all I have to say. If you are embarrassed about your body and looks. Upset that you get winded walking up a couple-flights of stairs. Fed up with all your medications. DO something about it. It's your life and your body. Only you can fix yourself. So please start with something, anything. The smallest change makes a difference. Your body wants to be healthy, it's this world that doesn't want you to be. Fight against it!

And be proud to be human . . .

Until next time.

Nate

Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout, ‘Do your worst! For I will do mine!’

Day 90 post coming soon

2008-11-14T18:51:00.001-05:00

Hey guys I'm working on my day 90 post I want it to be special so bear with me and check back saturday. If all goes well it will be up in the afternoon. If not the latest will be Sunday. Thanks!

Nate

3 days left!

2008-11-09T22:40:00.002-05:00

Craziness.

I'll be doing a long post tomorrow about our last week homework assignments. Plus I will probably start writing my day 90 post ahead of time because I have so much to explain.

But for tonight I am off to get a TON of sleep because Patrick says that I should and that's way more permission than I need to sleep in after this crazy weekend.

I never thought it was possible for me to sleep any better but I do. I went from being a great sleeper to being a PRO!

And to continue the course of awesome tree climbing goodness here is a great video from someone in Washington. Absolutely stunning and I can't wait to try some of these techniques. Actually tomorrow I may go to Webster Park and try this out. Especially the work on smaller trees. However I will probably avoid doing it barefoot in this 40 degree weather. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Have a good night and sleep well!

Storyboard Parkour and Nature

2008-11-08T16:45:00.005-05:00

I have been looking to the future so much recently. I think it's that I know this 90 day deadline is imminent and I have all this room to do more stuff after!

So I have all these plans I have been forming and I can't wait to launch a few new projects over the coming year. And as usual work ever more toward Peak Condition. And on top of that work towards Parkour. Especially this nature Parkour. I have been watching a bunch of videos on Youtube from other traceurs that have the same idea as me. Let me tell you the basis for wanting so badly to do nature PK.

David Belle is credited with the "invention" of Parkour. But one of the reasons why I respect the man so much is the fact that he does not take credit for this. He feels that Parkour is in every single one of us, that humans have been doing it for centuries but we have just forgotten.

This kind of view of Parkour is amazing in my opinion. Parkour is such a profound discipline that forces you to connect the body and mind in ways nothing else can why not use it to connect yourself to your surroundings? Since so much of the earth is urban now it only made sense for David to develop the parameters of the discipline in such settings. The predictability of urban environments also makes it safer and easier to train. But my view is why not use PK to strengthen your connecting with the earth?

Squirrels, monkeys, cats, wolves, all practice PK in nature. So should we.

So here is 2 videos of nature PK and what I plan on developing. And also a funny (i think) storyboard about the invention of PK. (not David Belle but originally, however many centuries ago)

Darn! There is something, in this case a fence, in my way! I do not want to keep walking around it. What can I do?

Aha! I have it! instead of wasting precious steps and time to go around I will go over!

This works! How did I never think of this before?!

That was cool. Next time I will try something even faster like leaping or vaulting the fence! Sweet.

Hope you enjoyed it! Here are the videos!

Nature Parkour and PCP Day 90 closing in

2008-11-06T17:48:00.012-05:00

So I mentioned before about how I want to do Parkour in nature. The great thing about PK is it can be done anywhere. It's simply getting from point a to b in the fastest most efficient way possible. And to be able to hone those abilities you can practice a certain set of defined movements anywhere. This allows you to become more proficient at getting form point a to point b.

So here are some cool things my buddy Jason and I found today at the local Powder Mills park. Fallen trees make great places to practice cat-walks and balancing. Also I invented (well I've have never seen it anywhere else) the crab-walk. It's a cat-walk but upside-down. It's great for walking down inclined trees in a quadrupedal motion.

Also I have noticed the movements change a lot because of the environment. You have to use more caution than speed because limbs can break and bark can slip or break away. Also things are round an uneven not flat and sturdy. When you gorilla walk a tree or cat walk your feet have to curl and grasp around the trunk, more so the narrower it is.

So I look forward to doing this more and more. There were awesome rock walls, stairs, and railings at Letchworth to practice on too.

Also this winter I am going to start snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing. Also as soon as the snow melts my friend Doozer and I will start hiking trails and country roads with full packs preparing for our trip to Europe. The great thing about the PCP is when you are done and already in shape you can spice it up a ton and it all works to maintaining your fitness.

So here are some pics. Enjoy! It was a beautiful 65 degrees and sunny!

What we were dealing with. Plenty of fallen trees. Many of which connected to make long balancing courses.

The new Crab-Walk!

Jason Trying out a Cat-walk

Jason doing another Cat across a tree on a slope with a 10 foot drop underneath.

Awesome sitting spots we found!

Alright have a good one!

Hiking and a Physical

2008-11-04T19:16:00.005-05:00

So I went on an awesome hiking trip this past saturday. I mentioned I went to Letchworth State Park here in upstate NY.

It was great!

I did about 6 miles of hiking I think. But we stopped a lot for do some random filming and just to mess around. A couple things we did which were much easier in the shape I am in now was climbing trees, climbing a couple steep inclines, and A rocky cliff/slope. It was great fun and I want to do some winter hiking. Maybe even get a pair of snow shoes!

So here are some picks and a new fitness picture up. I don't notice a huge difference and I feel that I won't in the last week but the sense of accomplishment is great. I'm looking forward to PK and good weather in the spring to have the opportunity to really get in amazing shape! These 90 days so far have done something truly amazing. And that is to form a unshakable foundation for fitness. Amy was talking about how she won't be at her "ultimate shape" at the end but we knew this going in. The human body can always improve and that's why it's great. So lets have a great last week everyone!

Enjoy the pics! More to come in other posts. I have a story board of "what is Parkour?"

Also I had a check-up (physical) with my doc today. It went really well! He was super-excited to hear about the changes I have made and noticed them right away and said I am at the perfect weight right now, unless of course I put on more muscle mass. We had a discussion about how health care would be cheaper and better if everyone did the same stuff. And how sad it is as a doctor and pharmacy tech to see how so many people could just make minor changes and have tons of improvement.

And apparently have 98 over 54 blood pressure was a really good thing for someone my size fitness and age. I thought it was freaking low!

Have a great night everyone! I'm off to watch some survivor and listen to Bright Eyes!

Wow tomorrow is day 80!

2008-11-01T21:48:00.002-04:00

I can't believe there are only 11 days left. Well tomorrow I will hopefully get a short post in because I will have a busy day I want to leave something each day for sure. Even if it's really short.

Later this week I'll be back with a long post about my awesome hiking/climbing/trail-running/amateur film-making trip to Letchworth State Park hear in NY. It's the Grand canyon of the east, and boy did me and my best friend Jason have a LOAD of fun. More on that later.

So for my indulgence I sampled many things. It all came to the 1,000 calories and boy was it a LOT of food.

So this is what I had. And how it tasted. I got everything at Wegmans again because it is my most favorite place on earth.

1 cup New england clam chowder - Amazing, not salty at all, potatoes nice and soft, plenty of clams. Creamy and good and warm

1 slice garlic cheese pizza, dipped in marinara - Awesome but greasy. I put parmesan and red pepper on it too. I should have skipped the parm because it was too salty. Over-all a very good choice, the marinara was pure awesomeness. Plum tomatoes and basil freshly pureed all the way baby!

2 glasses spiced apple cider - Amazing and it will never get old. I love that taste

1 pumpkin square - Great! But the sugar on top ruined it. So me and Jason are gonna make PCP worthy ones. After all the man is a chef. It had a whole wheat and walnut crust which could stay the same, and the pumpkin on top could have been a little thicker. But it's only pumpkin so pile it on! Veggie servings! And instead of a crumbly sugar topping, which made it WAY too sweet for my PCP taste, we were thinking either only sprinkling cinnamon and nutmeg on top OR if you want to be a little non-PCP drizzling some thin lines of some 80% dark chocolate to bring down the total sweetness of the dish.

Observations - My stomach was PACKED. It was all very good and I am happy with the whole meal and this part was really neat. Hoe I treated it mentally. It would not be easy for me to start eating that stuff all the time because in my head it was a "one-time thing" so-to-speak. So even though post-PCP I may have occasional indulgences what I am saying is that is all they ever will be. My body is not used to that, neither is my taste buds, so getting back into a habit of doing that would require time, money, and many trips to the bathroom. All of which I don't want to spend to start eating unhealthy again.

Over-all my body took it fine. A little sugar rush from the cider and pumpkin bar. A little upset stomach from the grease on the pizza. But not too bad. My best and most thought out indulgence yet!

Until tomorrow have a good one!

PCP Life

2008-10-31T20:00:00.002-04:00

So I am pretty sure that the general feelings and approach to fitness I have developed are going to stay pretty unchanged for the future. I was thinking the other day that I am so content with the changes I have made it is amazing. The fact that so many people are out there trying and wanting to get into shape but go on the these cycles all the time really upsets me. I wish people would just take the time to be healthy because it doesn't take any time at all.

By that I mean the energy and positivity you get form getting in shape is priceless. And before you know it it is all habit, and second thought.

I have noticed a higher confidence in myself. I feel taller when I stand. When I focus on posture I feel powerful and in charge. It is amazing.

The other day I was in my back yard and I just started running full tilt and I don't think I have ever propelled myself that fast before it felt so nice. Post-PCP I definitely am going to focus more on running and biking. I htink it will be a lot of fun. Also as far as Parkour goes I was thinking that it is sometimes seen but not often in nature. I love trail running and that is my ultimate goal but the other day I thought why not take it a step further and do nature PK? After all PK is just getting form point A to point B as fast as humanly possible and it would be so cool to see what kind of movements would be best in a natural setting.

I actually think it would be harder than urban PK since not everything is right angles and firm surfaces.

So here's to the PCP life we have less than 2 weeks. It has gone my so fast but I am already content because I know that you can always improve. I might not have the rippling 6-pack I wanted by the end of the project but the progress I made is so great when I look back on my donut consuming, red-bull pounding, baconater eating past self!

You can only go up from the PCP and refine yourself further and I can;t wait to improve on all fronts of fitness. I am building the ultimate fantasy of running headlong through the woods jumping rocks, crossing streams and climbing trees as we speak.

Off to go day dream!

Have a goodnight everyone!

Some recent PCP thoughts and observations

2008-10-25T18:51:00.006-04:00

So recently Adrian and Emiko had some very interesting posts and I seemed to be on the same wavelength mentally so I'm going to discuss a couple point and comments I left on their blogs.

Recently Patrick sent us an e-mail on how our mind shifts perception. As in if we saw a picture of ourselves now on day 1 of the project we would have been like awesome! That is great! So much changes! But now because we are familiar with our current physique it's no big deal and we want to get better and better. Not to mention looking back the changes do not seem as big as they really are. especially because it's so gradual and we obviously track our progress every day.

Adrian was talking a bit about this and I had this really neat observation and commented and this is how I put it into words.

"Dude this really fits with the latest e-mail on change of perception. It's crazy that the body is really good at forgetting things. People who used to be starving that get a chance to have better lives very shortly forget what it's like to be hungry and this tolerance drops. Same with fitness. The other day I was thinking I feel the same too and I realized it's because I am the same. By that I mean our perception is always now, and we are who we are. Our bodies and subconscious can shrug off prior experience and states of being so well. Why can't our conscious minds? Off to blog about this! haha"

So in more detail I am trying to say this.

I am me.

Think about it. You are the same personally mentally as your were when you were 5 years old for example. It's not until you consciously track the difference that you really notice any progression. It's the same with physical states. Every day you experience some form of pain, most likely a very small thing like stubbed toe. But it still hurts a LOT right? Have you ever felt more pain than that though? Like a burn or a broken bone? Probably. But your mind does not catalogue and compare. The pain RIGHT NOW, is the worst pain, it's not toned down because you can consciously remember worse pain.

The same goes for our bodies function and looks. Yes we used to be much less fit, however our minds only see us as fit as we are right now and lose track of the progress. We have to remind ourselves that we have come a long way.

So in turn our subconscious, and our reflexes, and out instinct, only looks at the here and now. Our thinking self has to be pushed really hard to make a fair judgement of progress from the past. But at the same time very easily looks to future goals. And this went on to Adrian next post where he was talking about the wonderful word of post-PCP maintenance and goal-setting. I left this comment.

"Man we are totally on the same wave length right now. I am definitely constantly thinking about post-PCP. I have decided that My goal for the winter (all winters actually) is to not push myself at all physically. Just pure maintenance. so no changes to diet (except to proper amounts for lower activity) The only things I will work on to improve is flexibility, balance, and fine motor strengths. Like grip and forearms. To get ready for intense Parkour in the spring. I really want to get to my ultimate view of Peak Condition by next fall. And that will be over a summer of Parkour. And of course sticking to a healthy diet. Then when winter rolls around stop where I am at and maintain. It's a great idea i think! Plus I will be motivated to paint/write more in the winter! Good times!"

So anyway this post-PCP paradise is tempting. And get this. I look forward to a time of less intense DAILY WORKOUTS, maintaining a HEALTHY DIET, IMPROVING easier things than strength like FLEXIBILITY and BALANCE, and using my new reserves of energy to tackle other projects like ART and WRITING.

The PCP messes crazy with your head. My pre-PCP self would have been like that's the easy stuff you look forward too? Holy crap!

So the post-PCP life will be good and I think it's great we are there mentally. Granted the workouts still require effort on my part and they probably always will. But diet is 80% of the work and I have that down cold. And also I suffer from random bursts of energy and wants to do things the hard way. Like running to my car form the store with groceries. Jumping random things. Jumping in place. Jumping.

For example, today I was stacking wood. Our primary source of heat is a wood stove, so I have to stack (I actually wish I had to chop, again PCP mentality is awesome) 10 cords of wood a year, sometimes more. Today before I started I just ran around my yard a bit and hung on some tree branches. Then I was stacking and loving it, it started to rain hard so I started doing pull-ups in the enclosure we keep our wood in. Then I tried to see how long I could hang from my hands, then I swung a round, and then I brought my legs up and hung upside-down for awhile. It was awesome. Just so you guys know last year, I would have hated stacking the wood as I have my whole life and probably gave up because rain is a perfect excuse not to work!

So life will be good. Life is good. And I have a feeling being semi-shut-in in the winter will make me have boundless energy come spring.

And not to mention Europe here I come. The details are coming together. I can't wait!

So anyway guys have a good one!

Lack of motivation?

2008-10-21T22:54:00.005-04:00

So it seems as everyone has had alack of motivation recently. Myself included. I think the change in weather, sickness, and busy schedules all takes it's toll.

I have to say for myself it's the weather that's the biggest right now. If there is a PCP 3 group sometime soon they are gonna have it ROUGH in the winter. I have to do my jumps outside and man it is not fun in freezing rain. Especially because, believe it or not, upstate NY did just get it's first freezing rain and snow flakes. I saw them today with my own 2 eyes!

My lack of motivation recently hasn't been a bad feeling though just a tiredness and down-ness from the weather and busy schedule. I look forward to the end of the project here as I assume maintaining will be much easier than the effort i put into it now. Like I said earlier you can always improve and choose to get in even more "peak" condition. But I tell you what I realized the other day I am so happy with my body right now and the changes I have made. And over the winter I am merely going to focus on maintenance. After all keeping the motion of a healthy lifestyle is easy if you stick to the diet. So the diet by now requires so little effort with the numbers gone I imagine maintenance will be great! And then next spring Parkour here I come and the term "peak condition" will bring on a whole new meaning.

Also I have an awesome announcement! I am going backpacking in Europe for 3 weeks in May! Can't wait. I'm staying with some friends in Italy and France (primarily spending the trip there) but my friend and I are gonna take sometime to flit around to a bunch of places and do a eurail circuit of northern europe.

Highlights will be Athens, Monet's gardens, The alps, and of course all the beer and wine we can sample!

Also one other good piece of news. I found out just how many skips I can do in 6 minutes if I don't trip at all! That right! 6 straight minutes of jumps I tripped 5 seconds before my timer went off. Want to know how many that was in a row?

936!!!!

That's right ladies and gentlemen I came 54 jumps short of 1,000 in a row! I was so happy I threw my rope across the driveway and flexed like the HULK!

Alright here is a new update picture of how I look. And I'll have official measurements soon. I can't believe that finally my abs are starting to show up! I am really happy about that.

Have a great night everyone!

Busy Busy Busy

2008-10-19T11:46:00.003-04:00

Hey all,

So I have been insanely busy. Everyone who knows me personally knows I work 30-40 hours a week, do 18 hours of volunteer work a week. Have the daily workouts and food to prepare. Plus 2 nights a week and sunday mornings that I attend my religious meetings.

I tell you what recently it has just been insane! Preparing numerous public speaking parts to give, visiting friends down in Waterloo NY (about an hour away) more frequently, and the cold darkness in the mornings and nights is taking it's toll. It's very difficult sometimes to get going early enough in the morning. And when I don't and have to do my workouts late I immediately regret not getting up early because it's so hard to be motivated. So most days now I am doing my jump-ropes in 40 or below degrees while it's dark. That's really hard.

Plus the past few days it has been near impossible to get my whole workout done in one straight shot.

My diet went up again and it's now the highest it has been for the whole project. It's pretty crazy and a ton of food to get used to but it's working. I have seemed to plateau with weight and also body fat. That last bit I have been complaining about for a month now is still there holding strong. But I know I am doing all that I can so I'm taking it one day at a time.

Our workouts have changed a little. No new types of exercises but we have 1 less this to do. Instead of 8 different exercises a day it's 7. That doesn't really save us any time but it seems more manageable. Especially because I now do 18 minutes of jumprope, which turns out to be about 2500 skips at my pace. And we are working to muscle failure on a few sets the workout takes me more than and hour from start to finish. And boy it is hard to find even an hour now a days.

So I apologize for the less frequent posts. I have a list of things I wanted to post about and I don't know how many of them I will get to since the project is near it's end but I'll do what I can.

New measurements and flexing in a different pose photo coming soon

have a good one.

Nate

Less than a month left!

2008-10-16T12:55:00.002-04:00

Crazy thought huh?

This weekend I'll be around with some interesting posts but this one is just to let everyone know I'm feeling a whole lot better. Just plugged up still. And I was able to do the whole workout no problem yesterday and I think my body was very happy to get to do that!

And also, we have less than 30 days left! 27 days left to be precise! That to me is incredible. I am so happy to be doing this project and I think finally my brain has switched from thinking "I am so happy to have this opportunity" from a student like standpoint to a I really understanding "I know what this is all about and it's part of me" type standpoint.

It's a great transformation to feel.

"Peak condition" is an interesting term. What I mean is the human body can always improve none of us at the end of this project will be as strong or fast or fit as our heroes, so we won't be at a literal ultimate "peak." But the interesting thing is our heroes are at no way at a "peak" either. No one is.

But this project is all about that climb to the top. The search for improvement. The lack of "settling" and the search for healthy, strong, fit bodies. It's also about being in the best mental state possible to never lose the want to carry out those goals, for life.

I really feel that today. I feel like I am already in a peak condition of sorts. I mean 2 days of being sick really threw off my diet and workout schedule and it impressed me so much how easy it was to pick it back up. At the end of 90 days I'm sure it will be that much more solidified.

And that is peak condition.

So I'm sure my final post will talk a lot more about this theme. But I just wanted to tell everyone it's easier to change than you might think. Jut do something. Right now. Don't wait.

Have a great day everyone!

P.S. Great quote from a recent PK video I saw "Share your inspirations, but keep your fears to yourself."

Also there is officially a Rochester Parkour group now! I am sending them an e-mail today and I really hope I can learn a lot and maybe one day contribute to the growth of PK in the Rochester community. They have training sessions that are beginner friendly every saturday so I can't wait to meet up with these guys!

Sick or not to be sick

2008-10-14T21:23:00.002-04:00

Hey all,

Just wanted to say I am feeling much better today. I'll probably be going to bed really early in hopes to keep it that way!

However I think I really bounced back quicker than usual because I am healthier now and have more energy to fight of illness.

So I am feeling pretty good and look forward to getting back into the swing of things tomorrow. My appetite was way down from not feeling well and I could not maintain the PCP regimen of food. Also that wouldn't have been good due to lack of physical exercise. However now that I feel better my body is definitely letting me know it needs that food again and I feel weird to have sat still for basically 2 days. But man that achy flu feeling is the worst things, and the best thing at laying you out.

It will be nice to start working out again and interesting to feel how my body reacts. I'll pay extra attention to make sure I don't push myself too hard or too far.

Alright guys I'm off to bed in a bit.

Have a good night!

PCP Sickness

2008-10-13T11:37:00.003-04:00

Man this sucks!

So late last week I was feeling sick and left early from work friday. Which I HATE doing. It's one of those things that 1 I rarely ever get sick and 2 I know how much extra work gets placed on the crew if only 1 person calls in. It's really tough because everyone in our pharmacy works to the max anyway so when someone calls in there really is no back-up.

So yesterday I felt fine and worked my shift and was great Got my workout in and it was cool.

This morning I woke up and was achy. I thought form yesterday's workout. I also woke up with a really dry mouth so I thought that was why my throat was sore and also really bad mucus which isn't unusual in the morning for me. So I ate breakfast and then shortly after did my jumps. I made it through those OK went inside cut my hair and by then felt really gross so I took a Looooong shower. Felt better. Ate an apple then man the effects for the shower wore off FAST.

Now I have that achy feeling in all my joints. Feel weak. And have the "hot breath" thing that makes me think I have a fever. You know when you exhale out your only working nostril and it feels aflame? Yea. And also my skin is super sensitive to cold right now.

So things aren't looking so good. I'm gonna have to skip the workout today I want to be better by wednesday. Which is the next day I have to work. I haven't officially called in for the day yet but I called to let em know I'm not feeling to hot and I'm Calling back a little later to confirm one way or the other. But I am not one just to down some tylenol and cover the achy-ness and go to work. I really want to get better and that might mean just taking it slow and healing.

Anyway I hope everyone else enjoys the beautiful day!

S'all Good

2008-10-12T23:28:00.002-04:00

Hey all

I just wanted to let everyone know I feel great and am doing good. The new workouts are tough! But great nonetheless.

I'll have a nice post tomorrow but I just wanted to check in amidst my busy schedule!

Night

Chin-ups and Quadrupedal Movement

2008-10-09T12:35:00.013-04:00

So guys finally here are the pictures of the chin-up bar I got for my home. It's pretty cool. It sets up in 1 second and come down even faster. Uses my door-frame or any door-frame really. Does no damage. And has upgrades I can purchase later. It's really neat and I see know way that I can wear it out ever so it seems like a good purchase for just 45 bucks. Not to mention it took 5 minutes to build.

So here is the bar and what it looks like not on the door

And here it is set up from the front

And the back.

You can see how it works now. The rectangular bar sets on top of the trim in the back and the front cross-bar sets on the sides for the trim on the front. When you get on it the cantilevered effect holds it in place and can support 300+ pounds depending on the door. So here it is being used in action!

Cool huh? It's pretty neat I think I really dig it.

So I also wanted to talk a little bit about Quadrupedal movement. Which is using your hands and feet (arms & legs) to propel yourself. They work together to improve speed, reach, balance, or strength.

Basically it is mimicking certain animal movements in nature and naturally these quadrupedal movements are a huge skill in Parkour to develop.

So on the days that I have to do the creep walk in our work-outs I do other things out on my driveway. Among them being . . .

Cat Walk

Gorilla Walk/Run

Monkey Walk/Run

Rolls

and/or Monkey Crawl Mix-up

So I'll give some brief definitions and then hopefully later I can post some pictures.

Cat Walk - See Adrian & Emiko blog since Emiko did a great job doing this on a railing and they have video! Basically you go left hand, right foot, right hand, left foot, repeat. Keep your back straight and head up to see where you are going. It can be practiced on flat surfaces but is great for railing or narrow surfaces as your balance is much easier to hold with at least 3 point of contact at all times.

Gorilla Walk/Run - Basically start by sitting like a frog. If you reach out in front and put your hands down you can get a feel for your "reach" the faster you want to go the farther you will reach. And the stronger you have to be. Beginners use your palms but if you want to make it tough use only your finger tips. If you use your finger tips your hand should look like you are holding a big grapefruit. Fingers curved, no knuckles buckling, or bending toward the ground. If you can't keep your hand like that do it with your whole hand, kind of slap your palms down.

So you reach forward place and shift your weight forward by giving a little leap with your legs. All weight will go to your arms in that place right before being able to somersault if you wanted. Then your legs drop back down next to your hands and you repeat form there. It's a great way to travel fast and work great muscles. Also it a great way to learn the movements for a kong vault and getting used your your butt being over your head.

Monkey Walk/Run - Harder to describe in words but I have seen it described as a cross between a cat walk and a gorilla walk. you can lead with your right or left side and you run like a chimp! You know how they kind of do that sideways shuffle? Well that's what thing is!

You place your leading arm followed by the next right behind it. then swing your legs forward in the same way as you did your hands. and your leading foot should be the farthest thing forward. Repeat.

Rolls - Well I cannot explain it as good as the instructional videos out there so go watch some! But basically I have been practicing rolling over both left and right shoulders so I do not favor any side. The basic principles are dispersing impact. Not rolling directly along the spine. Avoid hitting your head. And conserving energy and speed. It's a lot of fun but when you are first starting boy are you sore after doing a few dozen on asphalt.

Monkey Crawl Mix-up - This is my name for it and there a ton out there. It's basic quadrupedal warm-ups and stretches. Slow everything down to an easy speed and move from form to form. Do anything that feels natural and stretches you in a healthy way. Throw in some rolls and hand stands even. Some pistol squats or even down-dog pose and up-dog. Anything really just be like a monkey having a good time and fooling a round. Who knew working out could be so fun!

That's all guys. Have a great one!

Week 8 is here with a bunch of exciting stuff!

2008-10-06T10:38:00.003-04:00

Hey guys so here are all my updates for Week 8 so far. A lot of stuff to go over so here we go!

SECTION 1: Diet

Breakfast 120g carb 140g veg 2egg 200ml yogurt (up 20g carb, up 20g veg)

Morning Tea 100g fruit (same)

Lunch 140g carb 120g meat 150g veg 1egg white (up 20g carb, up 20g meat)

Afternoon Tea 100g fruit (same)

Dinner 100g carb 50g meat 100g veg (up 50g carb, up 50g meat, up 20g veg)

Night Tea 100g fruit 200ml milk (up 20g fruit, up 50ml milk, down 1 egg white)

Before Workout 50g carb (same)

After Workout 2 eggs white (up 1 egg white)

Comments: I am eating a ton of food now. This is about as much as when we started our diets in week 2! It's hard to actually eat all of this and keep it straight. But I'm doing my best and eating it all every day. My belly feels huge after breakfast and lunch because I have to pack it all in! It's crazy. But it's what we need of course with our active schedules. And this is definitely more carbs than I ever ate on a regular basis.

SECTION 2: Workouts

I'm going to spare all of the details this week since nothing has really changed. We only have a new biceps workout called the show-off and elevated push-ups for new exercises. And the new concept of working to muscle failure is now mandatory for a few exercises. That's really nice because we can get away from the numbers, just like with times jump-roping. So for example if you do 4 sets to failure you work to failure on every set and naturally the amount you can do decreases with every set.

And we are doing 4 set of 4 minutes of jump-roping. I am having a great time with it actually because I am really spicing it up now with tricks and things. I have developed this way of jumping I call the PCP shuffle. More on that later.

SECTION 3: Indulgence Version 2

So my second indulgence was INDIAN FOOD! I have wanted it so badly for so long! It is my all time favorite food ever.

So I went to this great restaurant called Thali of India and got some seafood masala with basmati rice and garlic naan.

Sadly I have no pictures.

So I quickly devoured my 700 or so calories. I evjoyed every bite it was so tasty and amazing! However it was much saltier tasting than ever before and that was the only downside. I loved the spicy goodness and the garlic naan tasted so good.

However I ate the naan last and then is when I started feeling gross. It was the most white flour I had had in probably 3 months and it sat really heavy in my stomach and a few minutes late I really started to churn.

So over-all it was a great indulgence but the downsides were too much salt, so I felt bloated the rest of the day and next morning. And the greasiness of the food made me gassier than usual and the white flour made me sluggish.

All along there a few things I thought I will change in minor ways after the PCP. I was thinking from time to time I may enjoy some 85% dark chocolate. Make myself fresh OJ like usual (2 Oranges, half grape-fruit, half lemon is my usual recipe) and I really want to start making wine and hard cider.

All of those things aren't unhealthy and I'm sure I will have allowance for them after the project. As my indulgence 1 showed me however the days of chocolate cake are over. So what about Indian food you may ask? well the answer is after the PCP I will do much experimentation to develop awesome indian homemade recipes that cut out the salt and butter, and awesome whole wheat garlic naan!

Because man I can't give up those spices.

Have a good one every body!

So I was gonna blog tonight

2008-10-05T23:12:00.003-04:00

Well I guess technically I am but not a long one.

Tomorrow morning I will blog about the following

Indulgence v2: Indian Food!

Workout

Diet

And Chin-up bar!

My schedule is insane so I have fallen into a habit of long posts every 3 days or so. I guess that's bad maybe just slightly irritating to any one who follows all our blogs because when I do one of my jumbo posts that would be a lot to read with everyone else's.

That brings me to my only point of the day. If you are a reader of our blogs please comment! We didn't all get 2,000+ views from each other and our few friends and family who follow I'm sure. So if you read please comment. It means a ton and it's nice to know if anyone else out there may be interested in the project. Who knows if there is a PCP3 group you may be it and know us already before you start!

So comment!

Please

Be back tomorrow. Good night.

Challenges!

2008-10-03T22:30:00.004-04:00

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that the PCP by all means is a huge CHALLENGE!

Right now I have been so busy and it seems so hard to keep up with everything and I have totally been battling not letting the PCP take a back seat in some cases. I don't know why it's so hard sometimes just to do stuff but I have been so worn down and tired it has been hard to do 100% of my exercises some days. And honestly I have let a couple slide here and there.

That needs to stop.

I don't want to look back and think "Man I could have had a ton better results if I only did THAT or THIS"

I have been keeping everything pretty much at the level it supposed to be but I know it can be a Slippery-slope and I don't want to start down that path. So I hope I can keep things in high gear here and not slip any further. It's not good to get lax on the project AND feel guilty about it so I'm not going to dwell on anything but form here on out I'm going to cultivate the energy and zeal I had on Day 1.

Let's get the adventure going again.

So Help me all hold to this because I know everyone else has there own stresses and problems and I have proven to myself I'm not the kind of person anymore to say "well I just don't have the TIME to get in shape" I have the time and I have the program and I'm afraid of letting you all down. I just need to balance and readjust my mindset.

Six-pack here I come.

And on a positive note the PCP has changed me so much that my diet has not slipped at all. I find it much harder to stick to the workouts. So At least I know at the end of the 90 days eating right is 80% of the battle, and I have the 80% knocked down and covered. But I have 40 more days to get a handle on making working out not a choice but a habit in every way possible. The jump-roping is fine I have never missed a day without a legit substitution but man I just can't get myself to do all my strength workouts some days. It can be a real battle.

So it's time to change and taking preventive measures to not go any further. And as Patrick has always told us the blog is the accountability that keeps us going. If I'm not honest here then I'm not being honest with myself.

Thanks guys for all your support and this probably isn't as dramatic as I made this post sounds, but the PCP has the effect on you. Avoiding 20 grams of vegetable or your shoulder workouts can seem like a HUGE deal with a PCP mentality. While before I would've been like "eh, it's nothing I'll just make it up tomorrow."

Have a great night

PARKOUR HEROS: David Belle

2008-10-01T09:38:00.003-04:00

So this is the last of my PK heros post that I am going to do. I figured since David Belle is the hero I chose to work towards for the PCP he deserved 2 posts. In this post I'm gonna show you a little bit about PK and how it's not always safe. And it is certainly not easy.

For everyone out there new to PK or those that think it's just the next dare-devil risky thing to do beware of stupid videos online of kids just "tricking" that have no training or discipline.

Parkour CAN be dangerous.

But everyone who takes it's seriously knows that you never do anything that you do not think you can do. And the second you do something that you feel uncomfortable doing that's when you get hurt. Naturally you get all sorts of bumps and bruises all the time but we are talking injuries. As you will see in one of the videos below even David Belle and fall sometimes.

So please be careful if you are going to practice PK and work at YOUR OWN PACE. Never someone else's. PK and Free-running are trying so hard to gain a strong footing and a good reputation we don't need people breaking or killing themselves because they were stupid and then PK gets a bad rep.

The other video is from a movie he did. The videos of David Belle are sadly in short supply, especially because so man of the interviews are in french. But I still think it's awesome what he did in that movie and the stunt work involved. You saw in previous posts how he does quality real life PK. So enjoy the bit of entertainment.

So enjoy the videos and learning from David Belle as I have. His years, no decades really, of practice allows him to jump building to building, and I'm sure it also helps him fall better and recover from injury. Go slow, have fun, do PK.

Past the half-way point! Where am i?

2008-09-30T18:00:00.004-04:00

So anyway I'm back after a 3 day hiatus there. The "change of scenery" was a nice break in the pattern even though I had to sleep in my car because my one friend wouldn't stop snoring. Curses.

But we had a blazing bonfire. I learned a ton of cool stuff about bees. Since we camped at my friends farm and they keep 3 huge hives it was really neat. The one apparently has 700 lbs of honey. Crazy! It was really neat to get right next to them and see how they work and communicate it was so cool.

I sadly did not get to do a blazing steel wool trick I wanted to do but playing video games, camping, and burning massive amounts of brush and pallets was fun. And no matter what anyone says that diesel fuel was completely unnecessary my friend Jason and I totally had the fire started even though it was wet from the rain. We rule!

So I wanted to share a few things. One people have really started to notice a difference in how I look now with my clothes on. They are noticing how much more fit and slim I look and that is a huge motivation to keep going. Also I think standing with proper posture (which Patrick e-mailed us about) helps a lot too. Good times.

So I have my updated measurements and a flexing pose that I thought it's time to do so everything can have some hard facts about my progress and how everything is going. Hopefully I can do a nice post tomorrow too about my new pull-up bar.

So here are the new measurements. Both from last time and over-all.

Weight - 136 lbs (down 5 lbs, down 12 lbs over-all)

Waist - 30.5" (down .25", down 1.5" over-all)
Stomach - 29.75" (down 25", down 3.25" over-all)

Chest - 36" (up .5", down .5" over-all)
Thighs - 19.5" (down .5", up .5" over-all)
Calves - 13.25" (same, down .25" over-all)
Biceps - 12.25" (same, down .25" over-all)
Forearms - 10" (same, down .5" over-all)

I have shrunk! Over-all in everything I have decreased that is so surprising that I was building muscle on places I thought had NO fat (calves, forearms, biceps) man was I wrong! It was everywhere. What proves that is my muscles are bigger but the dimensions and wait still shrunk. Awesome!

So here is pic. Be back later!

Have a great evening world!

Updates going into Week 7! And I'm off for the weekend!

2008-09-26T19:05:00.002-04:00

Alright guys I have a ton to post and not a lot of time. it's days like this I'm glad the PCP really gives me the extra boost of energy!

Section 1: Jump-rope

So first off how am I keeping jump-roping interesting? I'll tell you how!

So I wanted to start developing my jumping tricks, I and starting to think how I can start incorporating more Parkour related things. Since many of our exercises are already geared towards that. (aka creep, pistol squats, pull-ups, and floor jumps) So I made a routine I go through to increase the fun! And also increase my stamina, agility, coordination, and balance. So this is what I do.

5 normal jumps

5 on my right leg

5 normal

5 left leg

5 normal

4 normal 1 double (repeat 5 times)

4 normal 1 cross (repeat 5 times)

5 normal

25 running in place at double previous speed

repeat

It's awesome and makes 2 minutes fly! With all the tripping I still do on the cross jumps I can do that whole circuit 2 maybe 3 times. But man am I really pushing myself again!

Section 2: New diet

Breakfast 100g carb 120g veg 2egg 200ml yogurt (up 20g veg, up 50ml yogurt)
Morning Tea 100g fruit (up 20 g fruit)
Lunch 120g carb 100g meat 150g veg 1egg white (up 20g veg)
Afternoon Tea 80g fruit (same)
Dinner 50g carb 80g veg 1egg white (No more smoothies! I'll miss em! This is a very small dinner less calories than the smoothie I'm sure)
Night Tea 80g fruit 150ml milk (down 80g veg, up 30g fruit, up 150ml milk)
Before Workout eat 50g carb (same)

After Workout 1egg white (same, down 1 egg white total back to 5 a day!)

Section 3: New work-outs

Just a list. These are broken up day to day in a way of being most effective. And most tortirous on my body! :-)

Jump-rope 3 minutes x 5 sets

Lunge 4 x 18

Floor-jump 4 x 14

Pull-up 4 x 4-6

Rowing 4 x 20

Elevated Triceps Dip 4 x 6-8 (max, I have done them elevated from the beginning)

Ski-jumper 4 x 18

Seated Sit-up 5 x 12

Plank 4 x 60 secs

Chest dip 5 x 5-8 (8-8-6-6-5)

Push-up 4 x 12-14 (max, hopefully)

Standing Ovation (Formerly Chest-fly) 4 x 20

Thumbs-up Curl 4 x 15

One-arm Curl 4 x 12-17 (max)

Chicken-wing 4 x 15

Side-crunch 4 x 12

V-sit 4 x 14

Section 4: Change of Scenery

So I heard Patrick talk about before that a vacation is a bunk term. That he says instead A change of scenery. I like that better since I have never viewed "vacations" as "vacations" since they are often more stressful, spend resources you don't have, and make you feel like the rest of your year is incomplete and lacking.

So this weekend I'm going camping. I'll have to pack a ton of food but I'm excited because I'm sure my pyro-side will be happy for 2 days. So enjoy your weekends everyone!

Be back Monday!

PARKOUR HEROS: Jereme Sanders

2008-09-24T07:54:00.002-04:00

Hey guys I wanted to finish up with my PK heros. I have this one to feature and a final David Belle post which I'll probably do a week from now or so. Then on to some interesting PCP related equipment that aren't necessary to spend dough on but extremely convenient if you are willing to shell out the cash.

Everything has been going good. These new exercises have reawakened what it feels like to really strain and burn.

Patrick talked to us about the need for mental focus, something I have always agreed with. But I'm glad he drew my attention back to it because I admit I was starting to rush through and not focus on my exercises. So back to focusing on the muscle to really get a a good "pump."

Not to mention the sheer power of the brain to increase performance. They have found in studies that those who mentally rehearse 20 free-throws, then shoot 20 free-throws, do extremely better than those who do not rehearse, and do just as well as if not sometimes better than those that do 20 practice shots then 20 that count. Crazy huh?

So anyway, Jereme Sanders. I'll be honest I don't know much about him but I have really enjoyed all of the work he has done making videos on "Unconventional Training Grounds" for Americanparkour.com. (For those who haven't checked it out go now! APK is the best site ever and Mike Toorock who is in charge of that site has done a wonderful job with PK awareness and community. Check it out!) Haha I should be sponsored. I think he has bee practicing for 4 years.

So enjoy the videos below. One is his 2008 sampler of some of his highlights. No I cannot believe the wall run at the end of the video either. Yes the way must be 15 feet high. And yes he takes 2 giant steps up it to climb over.

Insane.

The second video is one of his "Unconventional Training Grounds" series. Where he has done a great job infusing me with creativity for training. I have often ignored much of the places right around where I live thinking it's not quality PK training areas. BUT Jereme has done a great showing you can do it. Anywhere. And I think the creativity is certainly PCP worthy.

Enjoy! and have a good one.

I'm really really itchy

2008-09-22T22:58:00.001-04:00

So I keep breaking out in hives. Like every day. And popping benadryl non stop is doing nothing good for my energy levels. I'm itchy, cranky and so freaking confused as to what's going on. I hope I haven't developed a food allergy. Since I haven't started eating anything new though and haven't changed detergents, body wash, etc I'm thinking maybe I developed an allergy to some kind of food.

I hope it's not eggs.

I eat 6 a day and it would ruin the PCP if it was eggs.

I'm freaking out guys.

Anyway off to finish my workout and go to bed. And be itchy all night.

Night.

Updates for Week 6!

2008-09-20T16:15:00.002-04:00

So we have successfully finished 5 weeks and are into our Sixth! Almost half -way done which is unbelievable. Patrick mentioned that around day 40 is really when the last fat starts to go and the muscles we have made starts really standing out. I hope that holds true for me over the next week!

So I have a couple more Parkour Heros to post and some other interesting stuff as well but for today I'm just doing some basic updates. New diet. New work-outs. And how I feel.

Adrian & Emiko were talking about being in a recent PCP valley and I felt the same way for a few days. Rather discouraged etc about not seeing and recent progress but Patrick's e-mail came at the right time about visceral fat holding on to the last and how we will start to see changes soon. Especially because "we have taken the training wheels off" and are really kicking it into high gear. So bring it on changes!

Today however I'm upset because I have a random hive-like rash all over like I had an allergic reaction to something. But I didn't eat anything out of the norm and had no contact with animals I may be allergic too. It's really weird. And itchy.

On a sad note my guinea pig Sketcher of 6 years is dying and doesn't have long to go so that's sad but she lived a long healthy life.

So without further ado here is some new info!

Patrick asked for us not to share the specifics of our workout routine at this point of the PCP since it's so close to his final product and we all certainly respect that. So I will list the workouts we are doing and my projected ability. But I'm not posting how they are structured day-to-day since when we do the exercises are what's most important right now. (If I post too much Patrick just let me know and I'll take it down)

Workout Plan

Jumprope 6 sets of 2 mins (every day: and it come to about 1500-1800 skips depending on how fast I do them with a 30 sec break in between sets)

Pistol Squat 4 x 3-5 (max, great PK training)

Creep 4 x 12 (max, great PK training)

Pull-up 4 x 3-5 (max, the real deal now!)

Pull-down 4 x 15 (max)

Triceps Dip 3 x 8-10 (max)

Triceps Extension 4 x 15 (max)

V-sit 5 x 10-12 (12-12-10-10-10, or hopefully max)

Side-crunch 4 x 10 (max, finally some oblique work!)

Chest Dip 5 x 4-6 (not sure, never attempted before)

Push-up 4 x 10-12 (max)

Outside Curl 4 x 10-15 (not sure, never attempted before)

One-arm curl 4 x 10-15 (15-15-12-10, the most over-rated muscle is the bicep (since so many people think having them makes them fit) but I can't wait to pump em!)

Forward Shoulder Raise 4 x 16-18 (16-16-16-16, I still despise shoulder work, I am not up to par)

Shoulder-fly 4 x 15-18 (not sure, probably minimum, never attempted before)

Leg-up 4 x 20 (max)

Plank 4 x 50 seconds (max, I love them, "meditation on pain" lol)

So again keep in mind Patrick is not having us do every day but broken up through the week. But that's all I can say.

Diet Plan

Breakfast 100g carb 100g veg 2egg 150ml yogurt (same)

Morning Tea 80g fruit (same)

Lunch 100g carb 100g meat 150g veg 1egg white (down 20g meat, up 1 egg white)

Afternoon Tea 80g fruit (same)

Dinner 1egg white 1apple 1banana 150ml milk 1spoon rice/granola (down 1 egg white)

Night Tea 80g veg 1egg white 50g fruit (up 30g veg, up 50g fruit)

Before Workout eat 50g carb

After Workout eat 1egg white (up 1 egg white)

Notes: I am up to 6 eggs a day now and other than that no significant changes except for the added fruit and veggies at night which will actually be hard to eat because I usually am not hungry after 7 pm anymore at all.

So that's about it. I'm gonna blog about one more Parkour Hero, and also a final David Belle post and where I plan to go with Parkour sometime get a pic up of me training. Also I will blog about the neat pull-up bar I bought and this awesome blender that my mom go me that blends my whole dinner smoothie into a giant mug, no clean up! It's great.

Have a great weekend everyone!

PARKOUR HEROS: The Ladies of Parkour

2008-09-16T17:02:00.004-04:00

So I have been chatting with Adrian and Emiko a bit about PK. And not only Adrian is super enthused about PK but Emiko is too. So I thought it would be sweet to post some clips I have found about PK and the women who are really amazing and deserve a ton of respect for what they do.

Females are definitely the minority among traceurs, most likely for general interest and also because women naturally lack a lot of the upper body strength required without, of course, the proper training. They faces some pros and cons though in my opinion.

CONS: Lack a certain level of natural strength and speed. Also girls are generally shorter and have weaker grips. A number of other things can be frustrating, long hair, not wanting to get calloused hands, and I would definitely be less inclined to want to run and jump everywhere if I had boobs.

PROS: I feel women have naturally better balance, dexterity, and flexibility. Also once the proper strength is achieved you can have an easier job of somethings, less shock on joints from a smaller frame/weight, and since most girls are smaller than most guys you can fit under rails and through gaps that we can get into.

Despite any pros and cons girls that practice are undoubtedly awesome and deserve a ton of respect. Hopefully we will see more in the years to come. Below are 2 videos on of Karen Palmer who talks a lot of what PK means and how it's so awesome, also about training and how the metal achievement is just as great as the physical one. And another of Kat from the Urban Monkeys crew in Mexico.

Enjoy and have a good one I hope the weather is just as beautiful as it is here!

PARKOUR HEROS: Sebastian Foucan

2008-09-15T09:57:00.003-04:00

So another featured Parkour Hero.

To give you a little bit of knowledge of Sebastian. He was one of the original advocates and founders of making Parkour into a discipline. He and David Belle used to work very closely together but for various reasons to unimportant to mention here they have parted ways. David is purist and practices Parkour, which is only about movement and fluidity with no waste of energy. Sebastian parted on the philosophy of l'art du natural and turned his focus toward Free-running. Which is Parkour with added flare and moves to make it more visually appealing and some say fun. It is not harder or easier just a different approach.

You will probably recognize the one scene from 007: Casino Royale. Sebastian did an amazing job with the scene no? He is a versatile Traceur and has done much to spread the knowledge and availability of Parkour/Free-running, hosting many training seminars and opening many academies throughout Europe. (Also for any nay-sayers I'm sure that in parts Sebastian did have a stunt double, it's hollywood they have too, but this is more about being proud the PK is getting acclaim in the entertainment industry)

The other video is with MAdonna and organizing her on-stage performance with PK. I think that's really cool. Sebastian is everywhere!

And finally a video of why free-running is different than PK. Parkour purists would not focus on something like this but this video is awesome and finally you get to see how Seb is involved in training others but that he is not perfect. Also you get to see his great physique as well and that once the man gets something. He gets it DOWN.

That's all for today have a good one everybody!

PARKOUR HEROS: Stephane Vigroux

2008-09-14T13:18:00.004-04:00

I am going to feature a string of Parkour Hero's. For those that are new to my blog, Parkour is a goal of mine in conjunction with the PCP.

What is Parkour?

It is a discipline. An art. It is fluid movement through, over, or under any series of obstacles. It's a mindset as much as it is physical function. If there is anything in the world that requires a Peak Condition both mentally and physically it is Parkour.

And I hope the PCP sets me on the path to being a good, and eventually great, Traceur (The one who practices Parkour).

Here is Stephane Vigroux. He was trained by David Belle the founder of Parkour. Is a great speaker, teacher, and advocate of safe and effective Parkour. Enjoy these videos and search around for some more. He is very animated and does a great job of expressing in words the freedom of Parkour

Enjoy and have a nice afternoon!

Week 5 Workouts, Day 30!, Indulgence and a New Record!

2008-09-13T17:54:00.010-04:00

So here is a varied and exciting post for you. I have been so busy and I admit the blog is the lowest on the priority list. But I'm here everyday to comment and read everyone else's because often it gives me the energy boost I need!

SECTION 1: Workouts (As usual I will post the range we are given and my projected goals)

Workout 1

Jumprope: 1600 (max - first time it hasn't increased)

Floor-jumps: 4 x 8-10 (max)

Incline Pull-up: 5 x 10-15 (12-12-10-10-10)

Push-up: 5 x 8-10 (max)

Curl: 4 x 10-15 (max)

Davinci (aka Side Shoulder-fly): 4 x 15-18 (15-15-15-15)

V-sit: 5 x 8-10 (max)

Workout 2

Jumprope: 1600 (max)

Creep: 4 x 12-16 (max)

Rowing: 5 x 15-20 (max)

Chest-fly: 4 x 15-18 (max)

Ski-Jumper: 4 x 10-15 (max)

Forward Shoulder-raise: 4 x 8-10 (max)

Plank: 4 x 40 seconds (max)

Notes: Workout 2 I will have marked ease on. I really like those exercises (minus anything to do with shoulders I hate!). Also the leg exercises this week are great for Parkour! Especially for the muscles necessary to roll, cat-walk, and land from leaps/jumps. I am going to order a pull-up bar to start using because that should help push my back muscles. But I am a little worried at the increase in just incline ones, I can destroy the first 2 sets usually but by the end can get the minimum so I have to pace myself.

SECTION 2: Day 30!

So We are a 1/3 of the way done with our project which is insane! I am feeling great and at times even though my enthusiasm wanes coming back here and putting on the PCP mentality really gets me ready to rock. Kazu from the PCP Japan group, left an awesome comment on my Flickr about all the visible muscular improvement and it really meant a lot to know that he sees that much improvement! As far as I understand Kazu works with massage therapy so he knows his stuff. Go check out his Flickr steam and you won't believe where is with the end of Week 6 from the beginning. The man is rocking it.

So thanks all my readers for sticking with me and sharing things PCP with me in daily life too it helps so much. And thanks to my sister who recently allowed my to eat my PCP-sized breakfast and lunch at her house!

PCP coming to fridge near you!

SECTION 3: Indulgence

Who: My best-friend Jason wanted to be present for this and I totally understand why. He is very supportive of me doing the PCP and I'm glad he was there to share this WACKY experience.

What: A slice of Ultimate Chocolate Cake, made by Wegmans. The most awesome chain of grocery stores in the USA. Seriously. They are amazing and this time of year really support all our local farmers. Not to mention they make all kinds of great prepared foods from sushi, to indian, salad bars, and pizza. On top of that the very large 2-story store in Pittsford NY where we did my indulgence. In that store is an amazing little tea-bar that's part of the store. Going and sampling from the 100's of loose leaf teas they offer is very cool. To accompany my cake I had freshly brewed "lemon-black" iced tea with no sweetener. Amazing.

When: At Patrick's suggestion around 6pm. That gave me enough time to burn it off and not lose sleep. Not to mention it was before work-out.

Where: As I said. Tea-bar at Wegmans.

Why: I used to pound this cake down pre-PCP. I have a huge sweet tooth and love chocolate. So I figured this was a good first indulgence before my body is so used to healthy food that maybe i go into shock later on in the project by something so rich and sweet.

How: I don't know how. I got really hard after the second bite.

Notes/Summary: So the first bite was delicious. The second also. But by the time I got the middle layer of icing I was starting to get sick. For the first time in a month I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and knew I would have to muscle down the rest. So my the time I got to the think layer of icing on top I was forcing it down and was not very happy. But shortly after I got a HUGE sugar rush. I usually am very desensitized to things like that, caffeine, sugar etc. But I felt this for sure. Jason was having a ball with all my crazy ideas and wackiness that starting spewing forth. I didn't think anything of it but I went back and checked out Patrick's indulgence on a chocolate chip cookie and he mentioned the flowing of ideas coupled with a crazy sugar rush. This lasted a good few hours and through dinner and work-out. Actually I never felt a crash because I went to bed early. But I could not wake up at ALL in the morning and was drowsy until about noon. It was nuts. And (I know it's gross) it made me constipated. So in the future (post-PCP) I may at times enjoy a small portion of 85% dark chocolate (it does have benefits) but never cake again.

So please, consider what you are putting into your body.

Oh and here is a pic of the Tea-bar. All the glasses on those shelves are snifters of the loose-leaf teas they offer. It had a neat pagoda style entrance on the other side too. Great place. One thing I want to do is make my own herbal tea sometime.

SECTION 4: Jumprope Record

So Adrian and Emiko have had huge recent success in Jumprope and I tell you what week 4 might just be the week that your cardio hits the "groove." That what I call it when you feel like you could go forever once you do about 300 and your body realizes this isn't so hard stop panicking and just keep jumping! So I crushed my old record of 374 with 790! IN-A-FREAKIN'-ROW!!!! Without tripping!

I was so excited I don't know how I did it but I did and my mind got the better of me and got distracted.

So anyway that's about it for now I'll blog again In a couple days. Have a nice weekend everyone I'm off to workout!

Summary of The Past Few Days

2008-09-11T22:03:00.007-04:00

So I have a lot to talk about as promised so here is a long post. Enjoy it in stages if you want.

SECTION 1 - New Measurements

Weight - 141lbs (down 3lbs)

Waist - 30.75" (down .75")
Stomach - 30" (down 2.25")

Chest - 35.5" (down .5")
Thighs - 20" (Same)
Calves - 13.25" (Down .25")
Biceps - 12.2" (Down .25")
Forearms - 10" (down .5")

Notes: I am really surprised over all about the general decrease in measurements while I only went down 3 lbs. That shows I think that I have been putting on muscle mass. My waist/belly shrunk a lot and I can really tell from my clothes. Which ironically both Patrick and Sean posted about this right about now. I take the measurements without first looking at the old ones so I'm not tempted to suck it in. So I am genuinely surprised at this. But looking at the pictures I have gone from have straight lines like this | | on my sides to tapers in like this ) (. Coolness!

SECTION 2: New Diet

Breakfast: 100g carb, 100g veg, 2 eggs, 150ml yogurt (Up 1 egg)

Morning Tea: 80g fruit (Same)

Lunch: 100g carb, 120g meat, 150g veg (down 30g meat)

Afternoon Tea: 80g fruit (Same)

Dinner: 2 egg white, 1 apple, 1 banana, 150ml milk, 1 spoonful cooked rice or granola (up the spoonful rice/granola)

Night Tea: 50g veg, 1 egg white (down 150ml milk, up 50g veg)

Before Workout: 50g carb

Notes: Over all I am eating more. I'm up 1 egg, 50g veg, 1 spoonful carb-like substance, and 50g carb. But I am only down 30g meat, 150ml yogurt. So I am basically going to consume 3 dozen eggs this week. INSANE! On top of that I find it interesting that Patrick recently stressed that we should never cut our protein portion but it's ok if we (once in a blue-moon) miss some carbs or veggies. But protein is what got cut and carbs and veggie went up! But it's cool I trust them and I am gonna stick to it! Patrick assures me that as soon as my Body fat percentage drops muscles will rip through! And it seems that way since my dimensions have dropped but my weight hasn't much. My muscle are waiting right under the surface!

So I was going to post everything about my indulgence which was very interesting but I certainly want a whole post to share my happenings and observations along with photos. So I'm going to save that for my Saturday post. Tomorrow comes workouts. I am pretty tired and want to go read and rest before bed so good night! Rest well world!

Really busy Week

2008-09-09T20:47:00.002-04:00

Hey all!

It's been a really busy week but I had my indulgence today and I have to share all about it and post the pictures. I'll do an in depth post on that Thursday because tomorrow I will have no time at ALL.

So check back. All is good here I have to go finish my workout so I'll be back Thursday.

Have a nice night and Wednesday everyone. I'll be around to comment just not to post.

Sleep

2008-09-07T22:49:00.003-04:00

So yesterday I was going to try to sleep from 9pm on. I wound up going to bed at 10 pm and like usual falling asleep at 10:05. I sleep very well in any and all circumstances. And usually it can be perpetual to the point of I HAVE to get up because I'm to hungry or have to use the bathroom. So I will try the experiment again sometime. My goal is to make it easier to get up earlier and I haven;t had a day to sleep-in a lot since the project started so I want to put a day aside to shake off my sleep debt.

I'll let you know how that goes.

I took my rest day today because I was so busy but my cardio abilities are a lot better. It feels like I can jump forever without getting that "winded" feeling.

Patrick mentioned in our e-mail for tomorrow (He's in Japan so it's form the future) that around now we might have a hard time with our cravings or maybe just wanting to eat "stuff." It's true! I have been so hungry with this cut-down diet that things I haven't had (or in very small quantities) for months before the PCP (like cookies, candy, etc) are seeming appetizing. The smell is what gets me. I guess when it comes to hunger my body is still like "Give me something!"

We also got the green-light on out indulgence #1. Trust me it's gonna be an adventure I have some great ideas up my sleeve. And you will find this very interesting in the posts to come. I am really curious as to how my body will now react to sugars, salts, and really spicy food, which I haven't made since on the project I have kept things fairly mild.

So other than that nothing is new. Have a great night everyone. Rest well and often!

Freedom

2008-09-06T19:49:00.004-04:00

I have to say the number 1 thing I am loving about the PCP right now is freedom! It really is a great feeling and I am loving every day more and more.

I just wanted to share a couple little things tonight.

1. Thanks to everyone who is supporting me in this. Family, friends, coworkers, and of course the awesome community here with the PCP.

Tim, Amy, Adrian & Emiko, you guys are suck a great group to do this with and I look forward to the end of the project when we can all look back with pride at everything we have done.

Patrick, thanks for the opportunity and for sticking with us and devoting so much energy to this project, it's really great.

Chen, the behind the scenes nutritional genius, thanks for working so hard at getting us all specific diets. For everyone who is reading keep in mind Chen and Patrick have to create a specific diet plan for all 5 PCP2 participants, all 3 PCP Japan participants every week, and of course have provided any maintenance info to PCP1 group. That's a huge job.

And lastly (but not leastly) the PCP1 group. You guys really are the pioneer guinea pigs and I loved all of your blogs and journeys. Sean for your upbeat thoughtful and detailed daily posts that gave me something PCP every day even after Patrick's project was over. Corry for doing so great and always being a nurturing positive influence and showing us how the PCP can change your life. And David for your down to earth posts. You held nothing back and let us take the ride with you on ups and downs, that made me know that even though it wouldn't be an easy journey it was worth it.

2. I totally agree with Emiko that when made improperly the PCP smoothie is terrible. I need a new blender

3. When do we have an indulgence? Is it even part of the PCP anymore? I am have been curious for a long time now to observe how old food i used to eat would affect my body. I don't desire to eat any of it in the least but I want to for the sake of science! And my best-friend has helped me brainstorm what would be some crazy indulgences that would surely be entertaining for me to post about.

4. So I came to a really funny conclusion today and almost laughed myself silly. I was thinking of how Patrick has mentioned many times that he progressively got colder as he lost "insulation" (aka fat). So I thought of something. GLOBAL WARMING IS A MYTH. The earth's temperature is not rising every year it's just the simple fact the earth's population increases their average body fat percentage by 2.5% every year! (not really facts but I could see it as a headline for some satirical paper)

5. Check out how Patrick is doing He is totally killing the PCP still and if I look like that in 5 months I will be totally stoked.

Alright tat's all for now I'm off to relax and read. Night!

P.S. I think I might try an experiment tonight since I have no plans (yea I know not social life right? It's a saturday night with nothing to do, Well I have the PCP baby!) I might go to bed at like 9 and see what happens. I'll let you know!

Week 4! WEEK 4!

2008-09-05T21:08:00.001-04:00

So it's crazy but here are our new Week 4 workouts. Enjoy! And no I don't really know what a Chicken-wing really is yet either. As usual I will show the range given and in parentheses my expected target.

Workout 1

Jumprope 1600 (max)

Squat 4x22 (max)

Incline Pull-up 5x7-10 (10-10-10-8-8)

Push-up 5x5-8 (max - this is a major decrease)

Curl - 4x8-10 (max)

Forward Shoulder-raise 4x12-15 (14-12-12-12)

Plank 3x30secs (max)

Workout 2

Jumprope 1600 (max)

Pull-down 4x10-12 (not sure haven't down them yet)

Chest-fly 4x12-17 (max)

Triceps-dip 4x6-8 (max)

Chicken-wing 4x8-10 (not sure, probably not max since I suck at shoulders)

Leg-up 4x12-17 (max)

So like usual we do each workout 3x each alternating with a day of rest to our choosing.

Have a good night I'm of to shower and go to bed!

So Long Normal Dinners . . .

2008-09-04T21:55:00.004-04:00

Bring in the smoothie for Week 3!

So here is the new diet plan. There are some obvious changes.

Breakfast 100g carb 100g veg 1egg 150ml yogurt (Same)

Morning tea 80g fruit (-20g)

Lunch 100g carb 150g meat 150g veg (-50g carb)

Afternoon tea 80g fruit (-20g)

Dinner 2egg white 1apple 1banana 150ml milk (Previously 100g each of fruit, veg, & meat)

Night tea 1egg white 150ml milk (same)

So at first I was like, "whoa! That's crazy, here comes the real PCP diet for sure." And then I followed that thought with "sweet I don't have to prepare dinner for work anymore pack 2 eggs a banana and milk will be easy!"

I think I will actually enjoy this very much and will make it a smoothie on nights I don't work. It got very hard spending the hour before I went to work cooking and eating lunch while cooking and packing dinner. So here's to only broiling 1 slab of tuna a day and only assembling one salad!

Oh and I thought I would share what I do for breakfast every day. I make scrambled egg (only one lol) with onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc this I put in a whole wheat pita with conviently always weighs right around 50g then I put my 150ml yogurt (minus a little bit because I add a dash of milk to the eggs) in a bowl and top with 50g of granola. It's really nice and since I have it down to a time saving system I really enjoy making it every morning.

So anyway I'm off to finish my work-out I had a lot of yard work to do earlier and didn't get to do it all in one go.

Have a nice night!

Day 20!

2008-09-03T22:42:00.004-04:00

So all the past PCPers have talked about how silly it is to mark any specific "day" with importance. Toward the end of Patrick's project it's not like he was any more "fit" in a day-to-day change. However days do make milestones for some reason and I feel like day 20 is the first big one! I mean 20 days! I don't know what it is but I feel great we have made it this far. I think a lot in numbers so I think our 90 days are broken up into 9 10 day sections (this is all in my brain not real PCP stats here) and that 2 of those sections are already behind me is awesome and crazy. 70 days seems like so much less than 90. And even 90 right now seems like nothing. I am really feeling it and I just want to keep rocking the PCP!

So I wanted to take a second and share with you some awesomely sweet benefits of the PCP. I was re-reading some of Patrick's journey. (I can't believe the stuff that changed and how much the program has evolved and what he (and we) have all learned) But he was talking in one post about how he has more money. So here I am going to explain that benefit and others.

1. Mindfulness - So with the PCP we do not drink our calories. Not buying alcoholic beverages, 4-8$ coffee drinks, and stuff out of vending machines saves money. Instead we drink a lot of just water! Which of course is free or very very very cheap. Every day at work I buy a 1.5L bottle for $1.05. Not bad. Also all the food we buy is fresh and "real" food. Nothing really spoils or goes bad since you have to shop more frequently for fresh produce. Also you aren't forced to buy quantities of things that you don't need. Fresh fish, veggies, fruit etc are weighed by pound. You get what you need, Period. Also we don't snack, so no grabs off the counter just to eat. I used to spend (a few months ago as I changed some habits pre-PCP) $5-8 a day at work on drinks and food, sometimes more. Being mindful saves money!

2. No Gym - We don't waste our money on gyms and fancy equipment because we have our body weight and when necessary simple tools to help us improve. So much cheaper, easier and quicker. No driving to the gym, no membership fee, no fancy running shoes, etc.

3. Your Teeth - When you don't eat things with sugar preservatives and phosphorous you are doing wonders for your teeth. Voila! No cavities to fill! I realized today at the dentist that (although I don't floss as much as I should) what really saved me from having a terrible visit, that was much later from the last visit it should have been, is the fact I don't consume enemies of my teeth. No cavities = no dental bills.

4. No Addictions - We don't eat things with sugars and fats and unnatural amounts of caffeine that literally make you addicted and compulsively buy more and more. Not to mention someone in PC wouldn't smoke and/or have any other unhealthy addictions (aka drugs and alcohol).

5. Future Health - Although there are more things I could list this covers most. David in one of his lasts post quoted someone who said "Those who say the don't have time for fitness now, will have to find time for illness later." And let me tell you, Working at a pharmacy I see this a lot. Every single day. Always. What we are doing for ourselves is amazing. We are giving ourselves the liberties to not be burdened by unhealthiness and the costs that surround it. Not to mention my generation may very well have no hope of assisted retirement and will probably have to work until we drop. So again with the PCP you will wear out not rust out and be trapped inside a body that won't do what you know you should be capable of, if only you took better care of yourself. Bring it on! I can deal with a prescription/surgery free future!

So anyway I am ravenous. To the point I feel I missed a meal. Off to drink my milk! Good night!

P.S. - Another new record 372 jumps in a row!

Records, Records Everywhere!

2008-09-02T11:23:00.006-04:00

So I had a really busy weekend. Sorry for my absence but I am back and the PCP has been growing strong over here! I got to sleep for about 10 hours yesterday and that was fabulous I haven't had a chance to sleep until I naturally woke up in a very long time! But i did have to work at night but I'm not complaining when I'm getting paid double-time and a half!

So today I had a really good jump-roping experience. I have been doing my 1500 in sets of 300 these past few days. The great thing is I have been able to push past the point where it's hard and you kind of hit the zone and your muscles keep going and going. Well today I also had gotten the rhythm! On my second set I had an all time record of 274 in a row with no trips!

But then . . .

In the next set I got 348!!!!!!!

I was so freaking happy.

The weird thing is that I think sleeping is what helped. Not being rested but mental rehearsal. The brain is an interesting thing and it works on solutions to problems while asleep, often in dream format. Last night I was dream of jump-roping and doing it as fast as possible and getting many in a row. While it seems like it certainly helped! Thanks Subconscious. You rock.

So besides that I was gonna say on little thing about my shoulders. That's that I agree 100% with Adrian that my shoulders are not up to snuff. Man! I can't believe how hard it is to do some of these sets to the max, or minimum for that matter. If I want to get into Parkour I will definitely have to work more on my shoulders so I'm glad with the PCP that they are targeted EVERY DAY!

So other than that not much else is new. I just picked a number of interesting peppers form my garden and can't wait to experiment with them. Habeneros, jalepenos, hot thai peppers, and cubaneros.

So 2 posts back a reader from Germany (That's awesome by the way, simply great that the PCP is spreading it's borders! And I am delighted that you would comment on my blog Jochen) asked for some descriptions of the exercises we do. I would be happy to oblige and here I will explain 2 today and tackle some more tomorrow. Sometimes it's easy to forget Patrick explains everything to us and we get to pass it along!

Lawnmowers: For these guys you anchor the dongle for your resistance band at knee level. Stand sideways with your forward arm on your hip facing the door. Then with the other hand grab both handles and pull back. You just move your arms and exhale as you pull. Return to starting position with control. This works the lower lats in your back.

Ski Jumpers: Anchor the dongle at about waist height. Face the door and slightly squat and lean forward lie you are skiing down a slope. Grab a handle in either hand and start with your hands near your hips. Bend at the elbow to extend the forearm backward. This will give a great burning sensation in your triceps!

Try em out!

Have a nice evening everyone!

Really quick post

2008-08-30T22:20:00.002-04:00

Had a pretty long day so I don't have a lot of time to make a post. I just wanted to say I played some frisbee today and hurt my hand, the frisbee repeatedly hit the same spot and now I have a swollen bruise. I hope it doesn't make gripping the resistance bands and push up bars hurt too much.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I'll post more tomorrow

New Workout and Progress

2008-08-29T21:52:00.005-04:00

So everybody without further ado here is my Week 3 (That's right Week 3!) workout. I'm gonna post the minimum-maximum (which isn't rally a max since we can work to failure) and after in parentheses what I plan to be able to do, since some workout I cannot do to the max yet.

Workout 1

Jump-rope - 1500 (max)

Squats - 4x10-15 (max)

Incline Pull-up - 5x4-8 (8-8-8-8-5)

Push-up - 5x8-12 (12-12-12-10-10)

Curl - 4x10 (max)

Side Shoulder-fly - 4x10-15 (12-12-12-12)

Sit-up - 4x15-20 (max)

Workout 2

Lunge - 4x10-15 (max)

Lawnmower - 4x5-8 (don't know yet but I think max)

Chest-fly - 4x10-15 (max)

Ski Jumper - 3x8-10 (max)

Shoulder Press - 4x10-15 (don;t know yet probably in the middle my shoulders need work)

Leg-up - 4x10-15 (max, barely)

So I mentioned that I was gonna keep track of my measurements over the weeks. I wish I had the resources and time to also eep track of body fat percentage and measurements of muscles when flexed but I have myself to measure myself so here are my updated measurements so far on Day 15!

Weight - 144lbs (down 4lbs)
Waist - 31.5" (down .5")
Stomach - 32.25" (down .75")

Chest - 36" (down .5")
Thighs - 20" (up 1")
Calves - 13.5" (same)
Biceps - 12.5" (same)
Forearms - 10.5" (same)

Results: It seems our intentional quad building has worked! Also places that had fat have shrunk! And my smaller muscles groups and always lean parts of my body (arms and claves) have not changed, understandably since we have only had one week to work on them and they should not shrink since I had very little fat there. My sister and I joke it's a Belle-Isle curse to put all fat on your stomach. It's true, trust me.

Alright I'm off to clean up after my workout.

PCP advice of the day: Don't jump at night when it humid, reason = mosquitos

Have a nice night world!

Just a quick post

2008-08-28T21:48:00.005-04:00

Hey guys. Just wanted to say I am really feeling good and can't believe 2 weeks are now over! The mind is really funny, when we are busy time goes really fast in the moment, but in retrospect seems to have been forever. And when we have little to do in the moment time seems to drag but in retrospect went very fast.

I look back on this week with pride at how much I have already accomplished. I am so grateful to be here and to have all of you sharing in this experience. Amy, Adrian, Emiko, Tim, and Patrick it's so great to have each other to make a fitness based community around here on our blogs. Thanks so much for the encouragement. That also goes for my family and friends who are reading this blog. Thank you.

So anyway my diet changes as of tomorrow. Our last week of "Stuff our face" diets were to get our metabolisms up to light-speed, and used to burning healthy amounts of healthy food. We are now trimming portions of our diets down so that our body can burn it's excess fat (which as Patrick said in his closing PCP post, even skinny people have, but it's in the muscle tissue). He also emphasized that we "eat our snacks" as naturally these will keep our metabolisms burning from dawn till dusk without stopping to "store" fat.

So here is the new diet

Breakfast 100g carb 100g veg 1egg 150ml yogurt (down 50g carb)

Morning snack 100g fruit

Lunch 150g carb 150g veg 150g meat

Afternoon tea 100g fruit

Dinner 100g meat 100g veg 100g fruit (down 50g veg & meat)

Night tea 1egg white 150ml milk (down 50ml milk & 1 banana)

There you have it!

Have a nice night everyone!

Some PCP Observations.

2008-08-27T22:36:00.003-04:00

So I have been noticing some things and I thought to post them here in a little interesting list. So here goes!

1. Reflexes - I thought it was a coincidence at first but there are multiple times a day that I realize I have sharper reflexes than usual. I manage to catch something I drop or react to something out of the corner of my eye better than usual. I think it is definitely a PCP side-effect and I hope it improves more!

2. Contentment - I have been a lot more content. I think this is due to lack of boredom. I'm getting a lot of exercise, eating a lot of good food, and resting well. Nothing could be better. I wish I had a way to work at home so I could have even less stress and be more self-sufficient. I haven't watched TV or done something pointless on the computer since the project started and you know what? I don't miss it. My recreation is c=solely reading, studying, having a good time with friends. I hope that after the project I will have more time for my art I barely get to pick up a brush once a month now it's terrible! But I will remedy that in time.

3. Creativity - The fact I am accomplishing what feels like a TON right now has given me so much creative inspiration. I can see why "lazy" Patrick has found the need to start more projects I already have been formulating some post-PCP projects in my head and I hope I really get to tackle at least a few of them.

So that's a couple things I have for now. More (many more) to come in the future.

Oh and one side-note. In our e-mail form Patrick today he said that if possible we should do or last sets to muscle failure. Crazy right!? The PCP1 group did not do this until their last month or so. I'm gonna do it and hope it for the best.

Mainly because I loathe the inch or so of fat left on my stomach and want it to be gone! ASAP!

Thanks for reading everyone! Have a wonderful night's rest

A Couple Random Thoughts

2008-08-26T20:33:00.002-04:00

So my Dad and I were driving around the other day and we noticed many more people running/biking/jogging/walking/hobbling along the road than usual. We came to the conclusion that they are "Olympians." Many people have been encouraged by the feats of athleticism at the recent Olympic events and are in turn motivated to give getting in shape another go. This of course is a great side-effect. I just wish more people stopped "forcing" themselves to be healthy and actually enjoyed it. The faces people make when they run border between hilarious and pitiful. But I can sympathize I have never been a runner, but now I'm a jumper!

Also on the topic of Olympians it really upsets me that any one of them would take any amount of money to be in an ad for McDonald's. All the good they do for the world by being a fitness example is shot down when they make people think they not only eat McDonald's but that they enjoy it and it is food of "Olympians." Gimme a break they should be ashamed.

And finally Usain Bolt is crazy. They man could chase down a gazelle, seriously.

He could.

So I tried the "official" boxing jump today, It's when you basically run in place and for every step of a foot the rope passes under. I tell you what, it is WAY easier to get winded like that. Your arms have to go twice as fast to keep up but once you get the rhythm it's much harder to trip over the rope and you can do many in a row no problem. The problem is I don't have the cardio skills to do sets of 100 I start to get winded around 50. It's a goal of mine to work up to that slowly though.

Anyway I'm off for my night tea. Have a good night everyone.

Seriously though, he could catch a Gazelle and kill it, with his teeth.

Like a cheetah.

Bees!

2008-08-25T10:41:00.006-04:00

So I was doing my jumps this morning outside and I had the great pleasure of snapping some shots of some bees (Honey Bees and Bumble-bees I think) I hope you enjoy the shots down at the bottom!

So anyway I am totally surprised at how fast my cardio-abilities are improving. I did all 1000 jumps today in sets of 200 and I didn't get winded in the least I think I hit the perfect pace all the way through.

So a little update on how my workouts are doing. I am doing really good with most thing but cant hit the max range of the reps we were given on 4 exercises. I'm not to worried because I can hit any where in the range we are allowed OK so I'm not falling behind. But the 3 I am having the most difficulty with are the pull-ups (first time I did them I had my hand the wrong way and they were a lot easier that way) the curls I can get max reps on 2 sets, and both shoulder-flys (forward and side) I can only get max on the first set. So it seems my shoulders biceps and back need the most work right now.

Hopefully I will see just as much progress there as I have with my Jump-roping.

So Have a great day everyone enjoy these little creatures as much as I did!

David Belle

2008-08-24T08:04:00.002-04:00

So as everyone know (or maybe you don't) my Hero for the PCP is David Belle. I thought I would take a little time to tell show you some things about him so you can respect the discipline he follows as much as I do. The work he does is incredible and I feel he is someone who has the PCP mindset and body. So enjoy a couple of these vids!

This one is some highlight's of his work. Gives me chills.

This is an interview with David. It's translated with subtitles but the fact he can talk at all while doing this stuff is . . . insane.

So enjoy the vids. Have a nice day everyone I hope the sun is shining where you are. If not make it shine!

Eye of the Tiger!

2008-08-23T22:11:00.003-04:00

So I'm going to start off by describing our new work-out routines. Patrick unveiled for us our exclusive PCP2 privilege and that's that we not only get a sneak-peak at his book but are following the new and improved methods that Patrick and Chen are much more confident in wielding results in 90 days. Sorry guys we can't share with you the pages form the book but we can share our routine, but I must say the color-coordinated informational picture diagrams are very helpful!

So the way it works is we have a Workout 1 & 2 and a day of muscle rest with just jump-roping to use on any day of the week we choose. So every week you should do 3 of Workout 1, 3of Workout 2, and 1 day of just skipping.

I planned my week as follows:

Saturday - Off day

Sunday - Workout 1

Monday - Workout 2

Tuesday - Workout 1

Wednesday - Workout 2

Thursday - Workout 1

Friday - Workout 2

So you get the picture. I won't post that every week I'll just let you know what day I choose to rest. I'm not going to regret having to rest today, I had a lot going on. I had a friends funeral to go to and then after one of my buddy's and I worked on our project of turning an old zenith wood box TV into a fish tank to get our minds off of everything. I was at the point of almost not doing anything I was so wiped out but I checked my e-mail read some comments and knew I had to do it.

I killed those 1000 skips.

I never attacked the jumps so hard and felt so good I did sets like this 200-100-100-100-100-100-100-200 I rested about 20 seconds in between.

At 300 I wanted to punch something in the face it was awesome.

From jump 400-700 I didn't trip once.

And at 800-1000 I couldn't feel my legs.

I tell you what nothing so far has given me more courage in the PCP if it wasn't for the fact I would get to bed to late and throw off tomorrow's schedule I would do my strength training now but I wanted to be able to blog and share that one great thing is the PCP gets you in the zone and helps you work through tough times.

So my workout is as follows.

Workout 1

1000 Jumps

Squats - 3x15

Incline pull-up - 4x8

Push-up - 4x10

Curl - 3x10

Side shoulder fly - 4x12

Sit-up - 4x15

Workout 2

1000 Jumps

Lunge - 3x10

Incline pull-up - 4x8

Chest Fly - 4x12

Triceps dip - 3x8

Forward shoulder fly - 4x12

Leg-up - 4x15

So there you have it!

Have a nice night everyone. And if you're stressed do yourself some good, don't turn to comfort food and the TV, your body doesn't know what's best for you but your brain does, so tell yourself to go move, walk, run, jump, do some squats, anything and trust me you will reap the benefits.

New diet. aka more food then ever!

2008-08-22T20:21:00.006-04:00

So we got our new diet plans.

I have to say this, I have never been a breakfast guy, wasn't serious about even eating anything in the mornings till I read Patrick's PCP blog. And even then It was a banana or a cup of yogurt with some granola, maybe some fresh fruit like berries. And in the case of having a morning off I would make eggs and toast around 10am. Not really breakfast.

So without further ado Here is my Week 2 diet plan. After I blog here I'm off to make that smoothie (If I don't feel like the clean-up I'll just eat them separate. The first time I do make the smoothie I will be sure to share the experience).

Breakfast 150g carb 100g veg 1egg 150ml yogurt

Morning snack 100g fruit

Lunch 150g carb 150g meat 150g veg

Afternoon snack 100g fruit

Dinner 150g meat 150g veg 100g fruit

Night tea 1 banana 1egg white 200ml milk (blended together in a smoothie if you like)

I have to admit I didn't eat everything to the max today. That's more carbs than I'm used to, and much more vegetables so I will have to focus on really following the diet plan to the full. This is going to be the biggest challenge I think. Everyone has been talking a lot about "routine" I say bring it on! If I can get into the habit of eating the food and preparing it and getting up early to do it so be it!

So we all got the most interesting e-mail from Patrick yet. It is about our exercise plans starting tomorrow. More on the tomorrow. But trust me it's cool. Can't wait!

PCP2 team we are really in it now! Lets rock the PCP!

Have a nice night everyone.

Week 1 Comes to a Finish!

2008-08-21T17:40:00.008-04:00

Well Week 1 I will be sad to see you go. But, at the same time I am totally stoked to see what week 2 holds!

Patrick suggested maybe taking some picture of us enjoying out last 1/2 meal of whatever we want. Well last week before the PCP began I had my last splurge (on chocolate cake) and was fighting the temptation ever since so I wasn't about to set myself up to fail this week by eating something with addictive properties like chocolate and sugar!

So I had a tasty dish of Shanghai Shrimp and a fortune cookie!

And of course a silly picture of me enjoying it's tasty goodness!

And the little piece of wisdom my cookie provided!

So I also went out today and bought everything else I need for the project that I didn't already have.

The scale for food. Push-up bars (which are very interesting. I find the push-up a new experience, I like how there is little straining on my wrists and also how it seems to work the shoulders more. But they are more difficult) and also some great little dishes to separate my food for the day to bring with me to work.

I'm going to do a weekly pose I think to give a different angle than the flickr stream so here's for week 1!

Thanks for reading and the support. Have a peaceful evening everyone.

No way!

2008-08-20T11:04:00.003-04:00

Is it the 20th of August already! It's crazy I don't know what happened to this month.

So I'm just gonna post a few points briefly because I am very busy today.

1. Week 1 is almost over! Craziness

2. I know I promised pics of my vegetable garden and I will get those up soon. I'm just swamped today so expect them in the next couple days.

3. So far for the Salsa & Sauce Project I am going to do a green salsa (per patrick) and a spicy peach salsa (per amy). I think for sauces I am going to do a garlic habanero. And I am not sure what else quite yet.

4. The weather here has been perfect! 67-72 degrees every day with a nice breeze and some fluffy clouds. We have had a really rainy summer which is nice because everything is still green but sadly come this weekend it's supposed to get back up to 85-90 degrees and sunny for maybe 5 days and no rain! I hate that. I am definitely an autumn guy. I love the 55-75 degree range!

Thanks for all the support everyone and I will be back tomorrow! Have a nice day!

Revelations

2008-08-19T22:01:00.003-04:00

So I realized a couple things today.

1. I will never do my jump-roping right after dinner ever-ever again. It was a strange feeling. Instead of my muscles not being able to keep up with my breath, it was the opposite. I was getting winded way easier.

2. Patrick's right, around day 4 or 5 is when you start getting hungry because of our 1/2 portions. I had to eat a hard boiled egg between lunch and dinner because I was STARVING! And I kinda hope Patrick lets us choose eggs or protein powder because I love eggs! But then again eating a ton every day could get old i guess.

3. I don't know who originally said it but "I would rather wear out than rust out." I love this phrase and it is so true. I work in a pharmacy and I tell you what, I get really tired of people, or even pity people who have become complacent. So many people blindly go day to day not taking care of their bodies, the #1 most prized possession we all have. I don't have anything against people who aren't "skinny" or "fit" it's people that would rather RUST out than WEAR out that get on my nerves.

Patrick said in our last e-mail, "I will consider the PCP successful not only if you five get in shape, but if you get an education about how to take care of your most important asset, your one and only body!"

Amen.

So please start being more mindful and get on the path to taking care of yourself. Set your mind on wearing out not rusting out.

Be proud to be human.

Thanks for reading my serious post everyone! Have a great day!

I Still Can't Believe It

2008-08-18T10:50:00.003-04:00

I feel like a little kid as I sit hear and sweat off my 650 jumps. I am still so excited for the PCP! I hope my enthusiasm stays strong. And I will tell you what helps the most. You guys! Thanks everyone for their comments and support and blogs and everything. The PCP stands out so far in one way in my mind. Fitness should be communal. But sadly it's something we don't get. Here on our PCP blogs we have the community support to keep going strong but as soon as you set foot in the "Real World" it's a different story. So thanks guys!

So anyway I have a number of little side projects I have wanted to do that are related to the PCP. First off I got an idea from the little side convo Patrick and I had on Frank's hot sauce last post. I want to make PCP safe hot sauces and salsas because I love spiciness! My family has a rather large vegetable garden and fruit trees so this time of year is perfect for making any sort of fresh-producy-goodness (Sean I think you are wearing off on me lol) .

So this is where you come in!

I want to make 2 Salsas and 2 sauces. So come up with some ideas and comment or e-mail me and about a week from now I will document the experimentation/creation and share the recipes here for all!

Go nuts! I'll take some pictures of my garden and the various hot-peps I grow tomorrow!

Also I did my first 194 jumps today all in a row! I was so happy.

Have a great one guys!

Back on Track

2008-08-17T22:39:00.002-04:00

And on my Mac. I had to use my parents PC for a few days. Glad that's over! Whew!

So I realized today this whole eating half thing can be very deceiving. My brain automatically just wants to eat half of what I could eat, not have of what i usually eat. The problem being that if i ate half of what i could eat i would be eating about as much as i usually do! If that makes any sense, good.

So my Thai lunch was excellent. I ate half of what i usually would at a special occasion, however it was my biggest meal in days so I had a really small dinner. I even had to force myself to eat that, but when I started then I made it through dinner fine.

Other than that it was a pretty busy but less frantic than usual day. I got at least a dozen intense games of table tennis in the past 2 days and I tell you what, it can be cardio if you play against someone who really knows what they are doing and you are striving to keep up! Table tennis rocks so get out there and play some! Not to mention it's an Olympic sport.

Anyway goodnight everyone. I'll report back tomorrow. Maybe I will have something interesting and thought-provoking to share.

Have a great night!

Bonus PCP note: Frank's hot sauce has no calories! Woo-hoo! But if you are worried about sodium (as we are) it's fun and easy to make your own hot-sauce. More on this later . . .

Thai food . . .

2008-08-16T16:47:00.002-04:00

is heaven sent.

So I just finished my work-out for the day. It went well. I did 115 jumps in-a-row! Immediately after I did I couldn't break 20 in-a-row but so it goes.

Anyway about Thai food. Tomorrow I am going to a Thai themed lunch and I myself am going to go make a red curry sauce to steam mussels in for the party appetizer. I absolutely love ethnic food. Cooking it, eating it, smelling it, eating it, and of course eating it. (the spicier the better) So thankfully we can eat whatever this first week but just half otherwise i would be screaming tomorrow as everyone else ate tasty sticky rice and mussels and curry.

I'll make sure to tell everyone how it goes though and maybe post my curry recipe sometime this week. The only thing that is really non-PCP about it is definitely the sodium.

Side thought. You know that annoying but handy word you have to type in to leave comments? Does anyone else verbalize it in your head every time and try to pronounce it? I do!

Have a great day everyone!

That was easy!

2008-08-15T19:10:00.002-04:00

But it won't be for very long . . .

So yesterday we got our week one diet and exercise e-mail from the Boss-man (aka Patrick).

It was much easier to handle than i expected. Mainly because the last thing that stuck in my mind about PCP1's routines was squating jumpropes. SQUATTING JUMPROPES! That actually made me cringe. But thankfully Patrick isn't throwing us in the deep-end . . . yet.

Diet

Go about your regular diet. Except that you will eat only half of what you usually eat. Go ahead, have a beer or a glass of wine or piece of cake too, but only half of what you usually drink. Everything half. And start to cut your salt intake as much as possible.

Comments: Easy-peasy. I have already changed my diet a lot because of the PCP. I changed to being a pescetarian like Patrick and David, and have cut most all sugars, salts, and perservatives. So small portions is OK with me too. I did a 2 week juice fast this time last year and ever since my body has adapted to diet change much easier.

Training

500 to 1000 jumpropes. Aim to be just on the edge of winded. This is the zone when your body burns fat.

Squats - 5 sets of 20. Before we get to all the fancy muscles on the upper body, we need strong legs.

Push-ups - 4 sets of 8. Use push-up bars if you have them.

Crunches - 4 sets of 15. Go slowly, curl your body up as if you were rolling up a newspaper.

Comments: I'm going to try to build to 1000 jumps by the end of the week. But I tell you 500 is fun, but hard. I can get maybe 60 in a row, tops. I don't have push-up bars yet so I'm elevating my feet. This work-out is pretty low-key but I don't see it staying easy for long. I cower in fear of the though of squatting jump-ropes and 200 v-sits.

Till tommorow, Have great day everyone! Lets rock the PCP!

Launch time approaches!

2008-08-11T22:22:00.009-04:00

Hello World!

It's so great to be typing this post. Day one is tomorrow! I can't even stop a smile from being on my face! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and share with everyone how I feel about the PCP and where I want it to lead.

My name is Nate Belle-Isle, (some of you may know me simply as "nate" since I've been around commenting on all the blogs for some months now) and I am 20 yrs old. I am really interested to see how the PCP changes my dimensions so I am going to post some measurements every 30 days. Maybe I'll make a graph!

Height - 5' 6.5"
Weight - 148lbs
Waist - 32"
Stomach - 33"
Chest - 36.5"
Thighs - 19"
Calves - 13.5"
Biceps - 12.5"
Forearms - 10.5"

So I am intrigued to see how my body changes over the next three months and want to provide concrete figures for that. I noticed something funny though, that my right arm is slightly bigger than my left. I think that by the end, a small goal of mine is to be more balanced. The PCP does not favor one side over the other so I hope by the end to be balanced in both size and flexibility. And for everyone else out there that hasn't had a chance to "officially" do the PCP, it doesn't mean it can't change your life. I have already lost 15 lbs just from being encouraged from the information on these blogs. So join in!

My most anticipated PCP side-effect? Setting the mindset!

My biggest fear about the PCP? All of my clothes not fitting! Again! (I wear dress clothes and suits 80% of the time, I do not want to have to get my suits altered again! ha ha)

So those of you that have seen my banner up top saw that my one goal of mine is for the PCP to improve my practice of Parkour. For those who aren't familiar, Parkour is (to put it simply) the art of moving fluidly through any obstacles, and the discipline of getting faster and more efficient in movement.

My Hero David Belle is the founder of the discipline and he has the physical abilities, physique, and vision I really admire and I hope he will help me make it through the low points. And for anyone who is interested in learning more about Parkour/Free-running, check out American Parkour and also Urban Freeflow.

So here we go on this adventure! See everyone tomorrow!