PCP Life

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

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?

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

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!

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

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

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!