Final Post

The 90 days of PCP were very tough and worth every dime. I began this ordeal at 100 kilos and with a 36" waist. I am now 90 kilos with a little less than a 34" waist.  I can see my abs! Awesome. My muscles are not necessarily bigger but they are visible. My biceps are larger and many more veins can be seen. My thighs are horrifically large and the definition much more pronounced. All in all, I sleep better, look better, and feel much much better. Headaches are a thing of the past. And in a relatively short 90 days. PCP rocks!

Day 89/90 Last Pics Uploaded

We are at an end to the Peak Condition Project and I am stoked with the results. I was highly skeptical the entire time of what the end result believing my abs would never be visual. They may not be perfect but at least now I know it is possible. I am ready to start a new balanced life so this really never ends. I am looking forward to being more social and becoming less of a hermit but the jump ropes/exercises and the diet are going to stay. I will most likely only exercise 4-5 days/week and will allow myself an indulgence per week. This has been great and it was the best money I have spent in years if not ever. I am trying to convince a few others to try it out. Now I need to decide if I want to to Kung Fu Body or not.....

Day 81-New pics uploaded

Only 9 more days but as most fellow PCPers I have spoken with after 9 days it is not really over as I am certain my habits have changed. What Patrick said about wanting more from your body and once you see results you want more is very true for me. I can see some semblance of my abs for the first time in my life and I admit that I like it. Call me vain but I do not cringe when I look in the mirror...ok maybe a little bit......and then a bit more when I see my mug...not really. I think I look fairly good. Lots of compliments from friends and there are a few people jumping rope in the gym who never did before. Just under 90 kilos now and have been fairly stable here. I would like to lose some more fat but I am more than content. My muscles are larger and less concentrated on one muscle group and more total physique which is great. My two favorite exercises are also my least favorite; pull ups and planks. Both are so tough but I can really feel the isolated muscle burns. When we started this I struggled to do 3 pull ups and now I can muster about 8...ok 7 and a half. I can see my lats a bit now but I realize I need to do more pull ups to get my back to where I want it to be. I will post new pics and you can see how useless and muscle free my back is. But I can definitely see how pull ups will assist this. Food is no problem at all. I do not crave junk food but I do miss an occasional burger or pizza...and Indian food...and chocolate. The PCP breakfast is here to stay. I will not change this and I actually look forward to this meal every day. I may be waking up 10 minutes earlier but it is 100% worth it. Lunch I suspect I will bring in a few days but I do miss going out with some of my colleagues. Which really is the most difficult thing about finding a new balance. Most socializing involves drinking and staying out late. I will need to cater to my social life a bit more though as it has been lacking. Dinner is small and low on the carbs and I can live with that no problem. Steamed veggies are the new norm. Ok now to upload those pics.

Day ? NO clue

I am in the states for Thanksgiving holiday and I have the time and food available to stick to everything but I am not sticking with it all to a T. Eating with friends/family and I have cheated on both quantities and types of food. On exercises I have slacked off as well. Jet lagged and can't be bothered. Much easier for me to stick to everything when in Tokyo under my own roof. I do not feel bad about it all but I really want to see those abs and I have no one to blame except myself. I do have a question though. If at the end of the program we want to lose some more fat if we stick to the harder exercises for another month and keep the food program strict can we achieve the abs we want in case we do not arrive at the exact point we want? Also Jason-I can only do one 90 second plank and the other sets I am shaking and have to put a knee down. Try putting a knee down and then both instead of just giving up entirely. Jet lag sucks.

Day 65-Quick Blog

Burning out on every single exercise now. I am unable to complete all reps of all sets and that is I believe a good thing. Planks were absurdly difficult today and pathetically I was only able to finish one set w/o needing to drop a knee. Weighed in at 89.5kg. Under my 90 kilo target and under 200lbs. Happy about that but feel that I am bound to pack on a lb. or 2 when back in the states. OK I'm out!

Day 60-New pics uploaded

You can kind of see my abs showing through...kind of...maybe...anyone? ahhahahaha. oh well i feel better anyways. Post exercise Friday weighed in at 90.7 kilos which is 200lbs. I am sitting right on my "target". Psyched but I want more...and a pizza. Off to the states in a week for Thanksgiving to see my mom. Excited and I am sure I will eat a nice thanksgiving meal that will not be PCP approved. 30 days more! Well I am not even looking at this like that any more. Frankly after 30 days I will have new habits but perhaps I will eat out once a week and have some drinks occasionally. I never really thought this all would be possible in a relatively short period of time. I want to go out and chase some ladies with my reduced fat physique. Anyone want to join?

Day 58-Still have a cold

Saturday my throat hurt and I ignored it and worked out quite intensely and the next day I woke up with a horrific cold that I still have not shaken. I have an annoying cough left and I have been afraid all of my fellow PCPers are now leaving me in the dust. I did the jump ropes today as I can tell the cold is almost beaten but I lacked the energy or strength to do the remainder of the exercise. I figured I had gained weight as I was obligated to go to a client dinner the other night and we ate very rich food (no booze though as I was/am still sick). I weighed myself today. 91.5 kilos. Down another kilo despite no exercise for a number of days. I suppose I have been working my abs as I cough so much. Still happy to be only 1 kilo away from breaking the 200 lb.  mark. cool. I have not weighed that much since I was 15. Hoping tomorrow I can get back into the full swing of things. Reed said he could see my abs poking through but I think he was humoring me....

Day 53-I have a migraine this AM

Besides waking up with a migraine life is good. I wanted to do my jump ropes first thing but I am not feeling up to it. I cheated last night. A female friend left some starburst gummi bear things at my house and I ate a bunch of them. I am wondering if this is what has given me this tremendous headache. Perhaps Patrick has found a way for our bodies to reject all the junk food I used to enjoy. My weight has been stuck at 92.5 kilos for the last week and a bit. A bit frustrating but I guess my weight loss will not be in a straight line. I can see a difference but my abs are not really peeking through yet. The exercises are not necessarily getting more difficult but they feel more efficient for killing each muscle group. The jumping rope is awesome. I really enjoy it and am wondering if I will ever have to get on a treadmill again. They are tough but I like them and am doing over 400/ 3 min set with few errors. More than a few times I get over 450 done so I am doing over 2k which is cool considering when all this started I dreaded doing 500. Not loads of time left but I am starting to crave a more balance social life and an occasional indulgence. I know that I must be strict here as we break away that tough sticky fat but it is not easy. Man my head hurts this morning. Hope all the rest of my fellow program participants are in a good frame of mind as well. Off to the mirror to check myself out. Damn vanity.....Oh yeah and my sex drive has gone to zero. Why is that?

Day 44-Feel like a new man

I missed two days of exercise due to a fever but I feel refreshed and significantly better. The two days of illness must have cleared me up as I feel stronger oddly enough. Weighed myself in the gym today. A hair under 93 kilos, which is down about 7 kilos. I can see an abdominal muscle that I have never seen before. Cool. I can see the difference and although I do not think it is significant, my belt buckle tells me otherwise. My suits and shirts are hanging off of me and my jeans are way too big now. I can see that my quads are more defined as well. I still am not near my goal on pull ups though. I can get about 3 before failure and I really would like to be able to do 6-10. I still need to build those weak muscles. Also my lower back fat is still very much present. I miss certain food types but we are half way there and I am getting very close to a weight I am happy with and for once I do not wince when I look in the mirror. I need to get a weekly photo up as I think I am tardy on this.

Day 40-This has been a very tough one

On the brink of quitting this week but keep telling myself it is half over. I am cooking en masse to allow me free time during the week which is spent watching movies. The exercises have reached a new level of difficulty but I can see the difference and I am down about 6 kilos. This morning I did the jump rope before eating and I will do the remainder of the exercises this evening. I seem to store a considerable amount of fat around my lower back and love handles. When will this go away? My gut has come in considerably. The jump rope has become less of a chore and I will jump rope for the rest of my life I think. For travelling it is so convenient-Just pack a small rope. The creep and floor jump are now the toughest for me. After the last set of each I am barely able to stand. (And I hate the pistol squat as well) My knees are feeling a bit worse for wear though. My pull ups have improved but I still find them nearly impossible. I really hope to be able to do 6-10 solid ones without cheating at some point. The diet is fine but my cravings for pizza, indian food and chocolate are becoming more pronounced. Everyone keeps telling me my face has sunken in. I notice it a bit but everyone keeps telling me that. Many others telling me I do not need to lose weight so why am I bothering. I want to get down to 90 kilos and if that big lump of back fat leaves I think I will get there. I think work is making this much more difficult as the market for us is terrible and it seems like finger pointing and back stabbing is increasing. Heading to the states for Thanksgiving so will get a break from work before too long.

Day 34-I am near death

OK I am being melodramatic but I feel like a zombie at the moment. Today's workout killed Reed and me. I felt I was going to collapse after the floor jumps and again after the ab exercises. Instead of the normal sense of euphoria after exercising I am experiencing rage.

Day 29 and I am having an indulgent day

Client lunch and dinner means off the diet for the day. Had a wonderful tempura lunch and the flavors were much more pronounced. Off to dinner at Nobu soon and will most likely have a drink or two. My client will most likely want to take a walk on the dark side so we shall see what the night has in store. Did the Day 29 workout after work with Tim and it was a big step up. It took us almost exactly an hour and I do not see how anyone could finish it much quicker. It was clear that both Tim and I have improved massively on the rope as both of us got around 500 done without tripping. He is still much quicker than me and today he was flying and making few errors. I am mixing it up by doing dbl jumps, slow then fast, back and forth jumps, running in place, and one legged to keep from boredom. The lunges were hard but to immediately go into the floor jumps was harsh. I collapsed into a pile of useless goo as the floor jumps put my quads out of action. I imagine that is a good thing. The pull ups seemed a bit easier today but only in relative terms as I can barely muster 3 before going to the incline ones. I really hope I can do more of these by the third month. Oh the Plank. Did not hurt as much today but I fear this exercise.

Days 25 and 26

I can see a change but it has gotten this has gotten to a new level of difficulty. The last two evenings I had serious hunger pangs and wanted to order a pizza or eat some Nutella. I did neither. My jump ropes seems to have gotten worse and it has infuriated me. I was close to ripping my rope in two, hulk style. I hope this rage passes. In reference to Patrick's email: There have been a few naysayers but they do not bother me and I am not going to turn my back on them as friends. I see that as more of a challenge. There are some people at work getting into jumping rope which is cool. Ok now to whinge about some of the new exercises a bit. Floorjump. I felt like an ass doing this outside next to my apartment but in many ways it was hilarious as I must have looked like such an ass especially when I collapsed like a heap of dung onto the pavement. And the V-sit! hahahaha I feel so uncoordinated doing this. My legs come up no problem and my heavy upper body is stuck to the floor. I did an ugly 3 sets. Day 25 was not a fun workout for me. Day 26 I did in my apartment. My jump rope is Donki quality and its squeakiness was heard well over the CCR I had cranked. I might need to get one of those nice Valeo ropes w/ the internal ball bearings. The Creep is brutal. My quads were on fire. I can see that this is going to get very tough. The shoulder press is fine for 2 sets but by the third I am in pain. I suppose the same weak muscles that are incapable of lifting me up to do more than a few pull ups are to blame here. What a wimp I am! "I did the plank today over lunch break and they were easy"-Jim O'Hanlon. Well I have not had that experience. I felt like my mid section was going to explode. Holy sh$t is the plank hard. I can really see that these are going to get brutal and really work the muscle. I had my doubts but they have been dashed. The nutritious diet is fine. Mixing it up a bit more and improving a bit with my time management. Thank god we get Monday off.

Start of Week 4-Day 22

Glad to see the carbs being reduced a bit and slightly less milk in the AM. Hope I do not get hunger pangs. Really miss chocolate....Workout today was brutal. Did the jump rope with Tim and Jimbo which was a good laugh. Tim is ridiculously fast. Embarrassing that I can not keep up with that old fart. Pull ups...yeah they make me feel like such a wimp. I struggled to do 3 so for now sticking with the incline pull ups until I am stronger. Is that ok Patrick? Curls were tough as well. I was unable to complete all the sit ups as well. Did the first 2 sets no problem using the incline sit up machine. Then did a set of 20 and then 15 on the last set. Total exhaustion. Just finished my carb free dinner. Work is frustrating me but the weather is great and I do feel good.

Day 21-3rd week done

Have not been sleeping too well the last few nights. Not sure why. Yesterday worked out with Tim and the two of were exhausted. I really had very little energy but finished the workout regardless. Feeling exhausted today and have had  a few occasional hunger pangs but nothing I can not control. I do miss chocolate though and those Reese's peanut butter cups floating around the office are quite tempting. The 1000 jumps (I did 1050) felt very manageable. It took me about 15 minutes. Is that about the same as the rest of you guys? The scale says I have lost about 4 kilos and some have commented that my face is less fat. My clothes fit better as evidenced by the looseness of my belt. I do feel good but time management is an issue. Still spending a lot of time prepping/weighing food. I can tell I am slimming a bit but there is a lot to go as when I lean over the folds are nasty. Also my back seems to store a lot of fat and there is obviously little muscle back there.  My biceps also feel like they are decreasing in size. My libido has come back with a vengeance and the sex addiction is back. Blocky's girlfriend seems excited by this. Having lunch with Jimbo, Tim and another colleague the last few days has been a treat. Good guys and helps to have others in close proximity going through the program and dealing with this POS market. I hope the fat continues to drop so I can see my millimeter Peter again.

Day 18/19-Getting more difficult.

I feel I can see some positive changes in my physique surprisingly quickly. My back seems to store lots of fat though as I can see no muscle there and the pull ups are nigh impossible. I can do 3...embarrassing but true. I can do the incline pull ups but with considerable difficulty. Any suggestions for the regular pull ups? I doubt I am alone with this. Should we occasionally get massages? My muscles are feeling quite tight and today I can barely move as my lower back is in serious pain. I managed to do my workout this morning without pain but I am icing my lower back as I write this because it feels pretty damn bad. The outside curl felt like it was going to rip my arms from their sockets. I have had a few hunger pangs as of late but I am not cheating. Been using a lot more spices to make it manageable as I used to use too much salt. Patrick-What do you think of glucosamine? I used to talk it when I trained for tris as my old coach instructed me to do so. I have stopped while on this nutritious diet. Thoughts there? reading your last email I have not noticed any strange changes besides the gas and actually my libido has dropped off of a cliff. I used to be addicted but for this last week I really have not been in the mood. I do not feel more flexible and in fact my muscles feel very tight right now. What a lovely weekend though. Hope this weather can stick around.

Day 15th-Awesome workout with Reed-san

For an old fart Tim can skip rope quite rapidly. I can not keep up with the geezer. We had a great workout. Both of us worked our muscles to exhaustion and I really felt it today more than I had in the past. I have not slept well the last two nights so hoping my energy levels do not drop off a cliff here. I am spending loads of time cooking/weighing food when I get home. I do not mind it but it leaving little free time for me. Started the reduced carb dinner tonight. Feeling good. I am off canyoning next weekend with some friends. I think I will be able to stick to the diet but I will not be able to exercise for 2 days-Will that be a problem? what is a good way to liven up some genmai? Mine is kind of plain right now.

Day 13-ummm anyone got gas?

Feeling better but man am I flatulent. I am not starving one bit and do feel better but I never really felt that bad to begin with to be honest. My pants are feeling a touch looser and my weight after exercising (is that cheating?) was 96.3kg, down from the 100kilo plateau I have had. On a few of the exercises I think I need to increase my reps as you noted to get that burn. I was sweating quite a bit and those tricep dips are tough as sh$t. During the exercise I never felt my legs getting tired but walking home I can feel my quads and gluts ache a bit. Tonight I spent over an hour preparing shrimp, salmon, chicken, soba and some other things for my meals. If I am not mistaken everyone in our group has a girlfriend or wife doing all this for them....and this is the only time I am envious.

Day 12-I am exhausted

Found some good imported cereal this morning with no sugar or salt and all natural ingredients. I got back from Shimoda yesterday afternoon and have stuck with the exercises and diet. The last 2 days I have not done the incline pull-ups because there are not tables or anything at my apartment or in Shimoda sturdy enough to support me. I did an extra set of push ups even though I know it is not the same muscle groups. Today's exercise was much more difficult for me. I seemed to have little energy which might be because of some late night cardio....The jump rope was very tough, especially after doing 500. I kept stumbling which is very frustrating. The last set of push ups were almost impossible as my shoulders/chest almost gave out. The curls are tough but my biceps look like they started shrinking as I used to use free weights to target them. The Davincis are great. Very tough but I can really feel the burn. And sit ups remain a pain in the ass but I can do them. One question though-I know we are to avoid nuts but is it ok if I sprinkle a small amount of sesame seeds over my brown rice?

Day 9-Still in Tokyo

I have not left for Shimoda yet and enjoying the day off for Autumnal Equinox. The breakfast was satisfying and I hope I got skim milk. My friend gave me the kanji for skim milk but it tastes like it is not fat free. Had a cucumber and part of  a carrot and finished off the leftover past from last night. Used a little olive oil with the pasta and to cook the eggs. Had an espresso as well. Did my 600 jump ropes and the first 400 went fine but the last 200 were painful on my feet again. Also last 100 or so I kept stumbling. Quite annoying. Lunges felt too easy today. I think I need to go lower on them to really work the quad more. For my triceps I did them using a wall outside where I conducted my exercises. And the forward shoulder raise was very difficult for me. Abs easier than I expected especially considering yesterday the sit ups I did were strenuous. Off to the beach soon. Hope I get some sun poking through these clouds.

Day 8-Worked out with my man Reed!

Jump rope becoming better but after about 300 my feet really start to hurt. Calves burn but my feet do not feel right. Reed goes at twice the pace I do! Old man power Reed! First day on the diet and I was unable to stick to a T as did not have time to get a proper breakfast while stuck at my desk. Will be able to going forward though. For lunch Tim and I went to find an assortment if stuff and I think we got fairly close to what we were supposed to eat. Had my banana for mid afternoon snack and for dinner I will be weighing my food and eating the exact portion I have been prescribed. The chin pull-ups are very tough. Clearly my back muscles are non existent as the push ups are not nearly as tough. It felt like a really solid workout and I can see this being effective. I like the new routine. I think I am off to Shimoda for a 4 day weekend either tonight or tomorrow morning so I will be blog free for a few days. Looking forward to being near the beach, eating right, exercising and getting some reading done. Also plan on finishing up Season 2 of The Wire. I hope the weather is ok as current forecast is for some rain...

Day 7-Week 1 over

Ate half of my normal diet and managed the 500 jump rope. Went quicker than I though but my calves and feet were aching quite a bit when I was done. Bought my digital scale and ready to start the new diet!

Day 6-Has been a few days

Day 4 and 5 were tough on the diet side. Eating half made me feel light headed and I did the exercises in the morning and got a headache both days during the jump rope. I manged though and have been eating half and did all the workouts making sure to do the higher number of reps within our range. Unfortunately the location in Shimoda in front of our house where I did the jump rope is concrete so frankly my knees are a bit achy as is my back surprisingly. I think the back is b/c of the crappy futons we have in our house. I also did some swimming in addition to our exercise which brings me to another question. If I go on bike rides, or do light running etc is that ok in addition to our PCP program? I doubt this will happen frequently but just curious. Saw a bunch more stingrays while swimming and a small Sole. Quite cool and the weather was terrific. My quads are feeling the extra workout and I am really pumped for this. I was getting so fed up of the damn treadmill. Also has anyone experienced mild discomfort on the soles of their feet while jumping rope?

Day 3 and still very hungry

Same breakfast but half size. Lunch had mixed salad and a cappuccino-sml size. Dinner unsure yet as heading down to Shimoda for the long weekend so will be exercising down there but no blogs I do not think as we do not have internet service there. exercise today not bad at all.should my calves ache this much after the jump rope? gotta run and catch the train!

Day 2

Same breakfast-1/2 cup of cereal with some milk and half an orange. Also had an ice coffee. Lunch I had half a cheese and salami pizza-split with my friend Tim Reed. This was a Japanese pizza so not huge. It came with a small salad and a coffee. Dinner consisted of a small salad again with oil/vinegar dressing, a hard boiled egg, some ocha and a piece of buttered wheat bread. I also had one piece of gum to chew on intraday and no other snacking. I am starving and I started the day light headed. Exercised with Tim after work. Jump rope felt better but still really tough. Lunges I can tell will get painful. Push ups a breeze. Leg lifts not so painful. I am so hungry......

Day 1-My first ever blog anywhere

Day 1 is over and I am looking forward to this. Ate half my normal amount of cereal and gave half of my orange to a colleague for breakfast. Lunch I had 3/4 of my meal of cheese gratin curry which was very heavy. I had zero snacks while on the desk which is rare for me. I am sitting down to a salad with a oil and vinegar dressing.  I did the squats, push ups and sit ups at the gym and they were a cinch. I went to Donki to get a jump rope and did my sets at myt apartment. Umm jump roping is not as easy as I thought. First set I did w/o error but was too fast. the other 5 sets i stumbled a few times and did a dbl jump in between each revolution. the jump roping is going to be very difficult I can tell.

Aw Yeah!

Alex is going to DESTROY the PCP!