Yesterday evening, I was having a conversation with my 4 year old son. We were working on repairing a broken toy, when I said "maybe we should just give up" . . . to my surprise he responded, "Daddy, you can never give up". Quite profound for my little guy. I asked him who told him that you never give up, his response, "you and mommy".
The point . . . listen. Listen to what you tell yourself, not to what others tell you can or cannot be accomplished. Do not become passive, and do not view yourself as others wish you to be. Throughout my transformation, I reminded myself on a daily basis of the simple mantra, "I can do this".
As I began to figure out how to limit my daily caloric intake (and feel satisfied), the next step was to increase my daily caloric expenditure. Now, I have tried many many programs in my lifetime, and most of them have worked for me to some degree. However, this was game time. I wasn't getting started to lose a few pounds for an upcoming holiday vacation. No, this time my health and well being were at stake. Looking back, it is now obvious to me that health and well being should always be a primary focus in your life (and I don't solely mean physical health, for me, mental health is far more important).
I continued biking almost daily, gradually increasing my rides to 30-minutes, then 40-minutes. What was I going to do next . . . As you will hear me discuss often in my posts . . . research as well as my own personal experience has shown us that building lean muscle mass will burn more calories than cardio exercise (certainly even more if you do both together). Please do not misunderstand that last statement. I am a strong believer in cardio, particularly considering the fundamental health benefits that accompany it. Lowered cholesterol, improved circulation, etc, etc. I will talk more specifically about how I maximize cardio in another post.
Taking what I had learned from other programs, I knew which muscle groups where the largest, and therefore if "developed" would burn the most calories. Obviously focusing on a wonderfully defined forearm wasn't going to do the trick. There are many large and medium sized muscles which I focused on initially. Here are those areas:
Back - Often overlooked, your back and all of the muscles it is comprised of are a large group.
Legs (I actually almost never do leg specific workouts simply because I ride my bike so often and I run now as well). My focus on legs was and continues to be tied directly to my cardio, kind of double dipping there:)
Chest
Arms - both biceps & triceps
Shoulders - Ahh, my favorite.
Again, I chose these areas based upon their size and ability (if developed properly) to burn calories. I had to build multiple calorie burning engines that would do some of the work for me (they do a lot of it while you sleep by the way).
I began with the clothing rack I mentioned in a previous post - my old friend, the Bowflex Extreme 2. Although it had become the focal point of our dining room (just ask my wife), it was about to see better times. I had purchased this machine initially because I much preferred the smooth resistance it provided as opposed to the clanking of free weights or circuit training machines. It also assists you in maintaining resistance in a bi-directional fashion. I'll explain further; when you lift free weights, it is very easy to say, curl a barbell up. But unless you are very focused, you might let up as you return to the start position. The Bowflex uses "Power Rods", which maintain the tension at all times. Plus, I already owned the darn thing, so I might as well use it.
I began with a plan that would have me working those muscle groups in the following manner:
2-days on, 1 day off (I actually still only lift on this cycle)
Day 1 - Chest/Shoulders
Day 2 - Back, Biceps, Triceps
Day 3 - Cardio and Abdominal work
I started out reasonably . . . I wasn't looking to build bulk (I certainly had plenty of that already), I was looking to lean up. So, lower weight, lots of reps. I would typically do 4-sets of 12 reps for each exercise in my program. In the beginning, I completed 2 separate exercises for each muscle (Example, Chest-I would do a chest press and a chest fly).
On the 3rd day, the day for cardiovascular and abdominals, I used a balance ball (you know those huge balls you see at gyms these days) to work my abs. I had always disliked sit-ups and always had pain from doing them. Balls allow you to really target the abdominals while relieving the strain on your back and neck. Today I use a product called the Bosu Balance Trainer (link on left side of page). I will dedicate a post in the future to this product specifically, but let me tell you, I now love working my abdominals and have continued to see great results. However, I use this product every single day and for many areas other then the abdominals.
A quick re-cap before proceeding . . .
I was now doing cardio (still only on the bike - running hurt way too much at that point), using the Bowflex, 2 days on, one day off and working my abs on the off days.
I have already received a number of messages from readers (thank you all by the way) with requests for more details on how I have accomplished what I have so far. I do plan to give them to you. However, my success has been based upon a number of things.
Eating habits, yes.
Workout program, yes.
Focus/Commitment, BIG YES.
I had to commit mentally and commit in a big way. I was sick, I was overweight, I was eating atrociously, I was not sleeping enough (refer to pre-transformation pictures on the left if you haven't been here before). Although I had been through some extremely unpleasant realizations at the time (Mayo Clinic as an example), I had to convince myself that I could in fact make this lifestyle change. Was it easy? Nope. Does it get easier? Yes.
One last point to make. I have and will continue to describe the specifics (products/nutrition) that have been part of my own transformation, but I am not suggesting that others must follow my "self-prescribed" methods for success. What I have accomplished has been based upon certain fundamentals. They can be applied in a number of ways. I initially used my Bowflex, others may have a gym membership or a set of free weights. Use what you have access to and remember what the profound 4 year old said . . .
"You can never give up"