Workout Log 255 - Canadian Mens Hockey Wins Gold!! Woohoo!!

WOW! What a Game!! Sooo intense! That has to be one the best games I've ever seen and extremely happy to see that Team Canada closed the deal with a 3 to 2 win in overtime/sudden-death. Thank you Crosby for that last goal!! You are Canada's hero!

What a great ending to an overall successful performance at the Olympics. Canada closed the games winning a record breaking 14 Golds. Good Job fellow Canadians!! You represented us very well and we are very thankful. =)

So with gold medals and punishing the U.S aside, it's time to get back to reality...I kept it pretty healthy today with passing up beer during the game and had bottled water instead.  20 min HIIT cardio was completed on the bike and ended the workout with completing abs.

Tomorrow is weight training and cardio. Since I only have one month left till mission 3 is complete, I have decided to skip the last week of building mass and move right into shredding fat and toning muscle(which is 4 weeks long). From that I remember, this part of the workout plan is very intense and I'm usually in the gym for at least an hour.

This is the last stretch of my 3rd journey, so now is the time to really focus on my goal and make sure that I stick with my game plan.

Wish me Luck. ;)

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

See here for last weeks picture and status results

Workout Log 254 - A Day to Relax

No workout scheduled for today as it's my rest day. Kept it overall healthy today.

Looking forward to tomorrow's hockey game (USA vs Canada) and tomorrows 20 min HIIT cardio.  GO CANADA GO!

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

See here for last weeks picture and status results

Workout Log 253 - Week 34 in Review - 6% Fat Reached!!

 Looking back at the last week and a half (since my camera had issues on Monday), I kept it pretty healthy through the week days, but on the weekends, I slightly indulged on a couple of beers and pizza(on reward days).

In regards to workout's, not one scheduled workout was missed and definitely on track. If I were to give myself an honest grade out of a 100, it would a 93%. ;-)

In the middle of the week, I did speak with a personal trainer and was advised to change everything what I have been doing. I have made a few changes with my eating as well as some of my exercises, without modifying my workout plan.

In perspective of all my commitments for the passed 12 days, I was pretty much on target with all commitments. Now with that being said, my numbers speak of something else. I gained 4 pounds?! :-O

Week 34 Pic 1

Upon getting the results on the weight scale, I asked myself one question... WTF?! But then I checked my waist - which is still the same as last week. Is it muscle that was built over the passed 12 days? Can you gain that much muscle in such little time? Maybe it's extra water? Honestly, I dunno....I may have to ask the personal trainer again (if I bump into into her again).

Week 34 Pic 2(with traps shown)

Looking in perspective though, my workout plan has been concentrated on building mass for the passed 3 weeks. My waist line has not changed and is currently stagnant at 29 inches. My latest pic also indicates some visual progression with muscle tone and the abs are starting to become a little more visible. According to my BMI, my body fat has finally broken the 7% barrier and I'm now in the 6% range. Wooohhhooo!!! 1 more percent to go and I still have one month left to do this!!! YES!!!

So yes, hard-work does pay off...but you can't let the weight scale results bring you down. BMI/Fat % is by far the best measurement to go by.

So, looking at this upcoming week, I am going to skip out a week of the building muscle program and jump right into the intense workouts that really concentrates on burning fat while still building/toning muscle. A lot of cardio(at least 15 min every day of cardio) and a lot of repetitions per exercise will be expected. This will be a tough month ahead, but will also be the last stretch of my 3rd journey/mission before I head to the beach.

Wish me luck. ;)

 Week 34 Stat Results

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 252 - Team Canada Women's Hockey Wins Gold! And give an apology?

With over 10 million watching this game, Team Canada Women's Hockey takes the Gold leaving the U.S with the Silver. Score was 2 to 0, shutting out the Us team with 28 shots on goal, but none getting passed the rookie goalie Shannon Szabados. Woohhoo! Way to go Team Canada!

Now, if you haven't heard,  the team then celebrated their gold medals with beer, cigars, champagne and another driving a Zomboni. To be clear, this all happened when the fans were gone. The Olympic officials(IOC) demanded an apology for their 'inappropriate behavior' in public (as they should have celebrated in the dressing room) as well as there were a few girls on the team that weren't of drinking age(they were 18 - drinking age in Canada is 19 years).

Team Canada responded with the prompt apology "The members of Team Canada apologize if their on-ice celebrations, after fans had left the building, have offended anyone," the statement read".  The IOC at this moment is still investigating the incident.

Are you kidding me??? In my opinion, the fans were gone, they just won a gold, go ahead and celebrate!! From what I've seen in the pics and video, there was nothing IMO that was offensive. I can easily show this to a 5 year old and not feel awkward if he asks me of what the girls are doing. That's what it boils down to. So what's your opinion on this? Click on the poll on the right side and let me know what you think.

Canada is now in 4th place in the medal standings and lookin' forward to the men's hockey game. USA and Canada will meet again. This time we will destroy them. =)

Anyhow, back to commitments for the day. I completed 20 min HIIT cardio on the bike and abs before watching the big game. I also kept it pretty healthy with having water instead of beer.

Tomorrow is weight training where I'll be working on mostly upper body. Lookin' forward to it. ;)

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 251 - Canada crushes Russia 7 to 3!

Way to Go Team Canada!! As an avid hockey fan and a true patriot, I couldn't miss one of the biggest games of a lifetime. Russia vs. Canada.

It's too bad we lost the game with the U.S, but we shall face off this weekend and crush them in the rematch. Gold medals aside, I just wanna see Team Canada beat the U.S for bragging rights sake... =)

In regards to comittments for the day, I completed 40 min weight traning, working on legs and shoulders. Got good sleep, with all meals on time and kept it healthy with veggies in every meal. Very good day.

Tomorrow is 40 min cardio. I may do the Triathalon thing again as it kills the boredom. Look forward to it. ;)

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 250 - The Triathlon Challenge

To sustain the momentum of changing my routine, I completed somewhat of a triathlon by splitting my 45 minute cardio into three parts : 15 min biking, 15 min running on the treadmill and 15 min on the elliptical.

For each exercise, I increased & decreased the intensity for every 2 to 3 minutes, creating quite a bit of a challenge to my body(heart, legs, you name it - it hurt) and at the same time changing up my routine. This is part of my effort to changing my healthy habits with new healthy habits and avoiding further plateauing.

Another example is changing my morning breakfast from my regular egg sandwich to a bowl of cereal (every other day) and having veggies with every meal(which is not exactly that easy). Every little bit counts.

Tomorrow is 35 min weight training. Looking forward to it. ;)

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 249 - Camera gone to Heaven.

So, good news, bad news....Bad news is, my camera is busted. In perspective, I had a good run with it as it lasted 5 years, which brings the good news.

Good news is, that I'll be getting a new one on Friday. =) So that being said, the weekly pic and review will have to wait till then and will resume future weekly updates to Friday instead of Monday's.

So for today's commitments, I completed 35 min working on all upper body. No increase in weights, but from the looks of what I see in the mirror, I think I'm getting bigger.  =)  All meals on time, but could have gotten more sleep. Will try go to bed a little earlier tomorrow.

Tomorrow is 45 min cardio and abs....looking forward to it.

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 248 - Sunday Swim

In an effort to change things up, I completed approximately 30 min in the pool instead of using the treadmill along with 3 sets of ab exercises.

1 question...Why?

The good thing is, I can see this pool thing becoming a Sunday routine - plus I can now say that I'm definitely getting my money's worth out of the expensive condo fees that I pay each month. ;)

Tomorrow is 35 min weight training as well as the week in review. Stay tuned for tomorrow's results. I did pretty good this week, so hopefully it's good news.

 Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 247 - Toronto Marlies CRUSH the Manitoba Moose!

Ok maybe they didn't get crushed.....Score was 2 to 0. But it was pretty cool to hit up a game at the Ricoh Colosseum and watch the Toronto Marlies(Minor League Hockey) play.

With today as my reward meal day, I had a couple of beers during the game as well as 2 more for the after party. As you can see, it's not easy giving up alcohol when trying to lean up. Especially when you have so many friends who drink around you, as well as being in an environment where alcohol is available (bar, house party, etc.).

But in perspective of the whole situation, I had nothing compared to my buds and believe I was overall  conservative with the drinks. In other words,  it could have been a lot worse if I had zero will power.

As for the workout today, I also decided to have this day as my 'rest day' and will reconvene tomorrow.

So far, no missed workouts and looking forward to tomorrows scheduled HIIT cardio. Boooyah!

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 246 - Feeling The Burn

Completed 35 min weight training as well as added in additional 10 min HIIT cardio.

For that little time of being on the treadmill I burned approx. 200 calories and felt really good leaving the gym with a huge sense of accomplishment (since I was contemplating of whether or not to do the extra cardio). Glad it's done though. =)

Tomorrow is only 20 min HIIT cardio and abs..lookin' forward to it.. ;)

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 245 - Have I Plateaued? Helpful advice from a Personal Trainer

With last weeks results concerning me(no change when I worked my a$$ off), I bumped into a personal trainer and asked for her expertise where I may be going wrong. After explaining what I am trying to achieve she pointed out that everything that I'm doing has become too routine. Basically she was pointing out that I may have plateaued and needed to shock my body again by revamping of everything I'm doing.  

She gave me the following tips/examples of what I should do; hopefully this will help you too :

1. Change the foods that I eat and include veggies in 'every meal'.
(I eat a lot of veggies already but will increase it)
(I'll need to change my routine of eating the same healthy foods through-out the week for other healthy foods and mix it up in sequence)

2. Change my workout routine.
(My workout program just recently changed (to build muscle) and 'should' see results very soon)

3. Include more cardio and try to mix up the cardio - High Impact, Low Impact &  HIIT Cardio
(I will include 10 min HIIT cardio for each non-cardio day)
(I will change up my cardio routines to include different exercises - e.g elliptical, treadmill and bike - all in one workout)

4. Get more sleep
(My sleep has been pretty good lately, but it doesn't hurt to add an hour)

5. Drink more water
(I've always got water and keep a case in the trunk of my car, so no problems in this department)

6. Eat 5 to 6 times a day (or every 3 hours).
(I already do this, as my blackberry tells me when to eat and I'm pretty good in this area - nothing to change here)

7. Absolutely no alcohol.
(Awww man... really?? that sux)

So with the extra knowledge above, I've already implemented #3 by splitting my 45 min cardio today in to 3 parts : 15 min on the treadmill, 15 min on the elliptical and 15 min on the bike. Also, while I was on the bike and treadmill I would change up the speed every min or so to get my HIIT in there as well.

As for the rest of the tips above, I'll need to implement these new things into my routine starting with my next meal, workout or sleep.

Tomorrow is weight training and 10 min extra HIIT cardio. Looking forward to it. ;)

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results 

Workout Log 244 - Trinidad Carnival 2010 Photos - A Missed party

Looking back at May when I made my 1st post, my main reason (or spark) for losing the weight was to attend the greatest show on earth - Carnival Trinidad in 2010. This is a time when for 3 brief days each year before lent, the whole country forgets their differences to celebrate life!

In perspective, I 'should' be recovering right now from the party(just ended yesterday). But that's ok - I have been to Carnival once before - I just wanted to relive the moment again! =)

So, in a last minute decision, I decided to go to Trinidad for Christmas to visit family instead and at the end of March(next month) to go to a 5 star beach resort for a week.  I believe the core reason to going to Carnival 2010 back in May(aside from the beautiful ladies in Trinidad - hence why I married one) was that I just wanted to take off my shirt freely without feeling...fat. Hence why I was very open to going to the beach instead of partying my a$$ for 3 days. Which would have been nice though... =) I mean, just look at the pics!!!  =) Oh well...What's done is done....There is always next year =(

 

  

So looking at today's commitments I skipped out on 2 exercises(leg presses and straight-leg deadlifts) and replaced it with extra cardio on the treadmill. Burned approximately 300 calories on the treadmill and felt great. All healthy meals on-time and even had a good night sleep...

Tomorrow is 45 min scheduled cardio and abs...Looking forward to it. ;)

Mission 3 Commitments - Status of the Day

 See here for last weeks picture and status results