Some recent PCP thoughts and observations

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!

Week 8 is here with a bunch of exciting stuff!

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!

Updates for Week 6!

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!

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

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!

Week 4! WEEK 4!

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!

New Workout and Progress

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!

Some PCP Observations.

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

Eye of the Tiger!

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.