Phew! What a Day

Ok unofficial contracted Day 1 (I haven't signed off on the contract yet). What a flat out day. 6 hours of Uni study, gym but also put in lots of "down" time relaxing including seeing a great game of AFL finish with my team, Geelong, coming out on top. Regarding the contract I applied by all rules. Apart from some Snooze withdrawals (urges to lie down on bed throughout the day, which I have banned), a large dinner and some slight changes in my day plan it went well and I am happy to kick start the Tattoo Fund with its first dollar.

Abiding by these strict guidelines has overall still empowered me. There was only very brief moments of thoughts of "This is too hard, just a little break," crept in but were easily ignored an crushed. On the Up and Up, Alpha and Out!

Makin' It Legal

Wel maybe not 100% legally binding that would stand up under court proceedings but nonetheless I have began to put all the goals, milestones, rules, rewards and consequences for motivation into a contract which I will sign off on an enforce. As part of my reward for each good day I will put $1.00 into the "Alpha Tattoo Fund" (see right side counter). Getting a tattoo done at the end of my Alpha journey has always been a part of my plan to symbolise the real me embodied. However when a rule, diet or exercise goal is breached I will donate $5.00 for the first breach per day. Subsequent breaches on the same day will result in a extra $1.o0 per offence. Also see in right side counter the running totals. I will pay out any donations at the end of each month and will double the pay out if I don't pay. I have made my penalty so severe because I have tried before on equal payouts but it's power soon diminished. Now it is a pretty big detractor to cheat. I will post up the scanned contract in the near future.

Yesterday was a day of liquid and fruit until dinner. After pretty much a week of inconsistent eating I needed to hit the reset button and I find that the liquid and fruit days do that nicely. I am motivated, determined and empowered by this new vein of power and intend to stick to it for real and if I don't it will be my hip pocket copping the pain also. Alpha and Out!

Remember, Remember..

...the 18th of April, the gunpowder treason and plo...Wait a minute that ain't right, I am not Guy Fawkes. However I am hoping that today being the 18th of April, 2011 will forever be set in stone as the day that the Alpha finally broke free of his limitations.

So why today?

Simply, I cost my team the Grand Final. Defensive blunders made by myself directly lead to 3 tries. And to add the final nail, the team was targeting me- the bespectacled, unfit guy in a team of strength and speed. Deep down, I am still an athlete at heart and to be singled out as the weak link is a very powerful thing. All this could be used to stew upon it, to delve and break it down imploding my already weak self confidence. But NO! No this is not going to happen, Not this time. I am using already as a motivator. I am using that pain, my scarred pride to stir the fire in my belly to never be in this situation again. This will not control me, I will be controlling it.

So next time I am tired I will think of this! Next time I am craving bad food, I will think of this! Next time I am "negotiating" my way out of an exercise session, I will think of this! I truly believe I have reached the final straw, that collection of moments that drive me out of my slumber,the moments that spawn the rise of the Alpha. Boom! Coming at Yer, Alpha and Out!

The Sky is the Limit...

...and I'm just gonna keep movin' on. Stealing a line from some Biggie Smalls rap my Wednesday has followed on from flat out Monday and Terrific Tuesday. Another big day was started early with a motivation session while lying in bed. The session consisted of reading through the Muscle & Strength website for workouts, interviews and transformations. I thoroughly recommend this site for motivation. I then jumped on my bike for a big day of Uni and study.

Hitting all my goals forthe day I returned home for dinner and smashed a fairly large meal. Perhaps over doing it a bit however when calculating my calories I needed the large dinner to ensure it was a sufficient level. The small meals of ~200cals every couple of hours is working wonders, I am still running pumped and energised throughout the day only impaired by lack 0f sleep. A quick rest was broken as I jumped on the bike to Oztag. I played a game of ups and downs. However we won and it capped off another enthralling day, Alpha and Out!

Terrific Tuesday

An flat strap Monday was followed today by a productive and positive Tuesday. Everything is coming together nicely. Gym membership kicked in today, so I will have my first session tomorrow. I have been offered a job and have another running in the wings. Study is coming together and I am approaching it with a renewed vigour.

Diet recovered today with perhaps a little too little calories but none-the-less much improved with more fruit and veges. Again my portions bar dinner was about 200 calories and I felt pumped up the whole day and full of energy and positivity, yet again showing me the benefits of small and often.Exercise today was my riding to and from Uni. Was tossing up whether to ride to gym for a late session, but I am keeping in mind not burning out, last week I only simmered out no full burnt out but I want to improve on that and have a whole positive week. All good in my hood, Alpha and Out!

Weekend in Sydney

I enjoyed a restful and relaxing weekend in Sydney and then was thrown into reality with all guns blazing. In Sydney, I arrived Saturday morning. The morning was relaxing at Dad's office and then in the afternoon we rocked up to Bondi Beach, albeit without togs but took in the atmosphere. Taking in the atmosphere of a excellent if not crowded beach only 30mins from the CBD is a big plus for studying in Sydney. Saturday we attended a church sermon for people of hard-knocks and their supports which was interesting. However we when exited the chapel the skies had angried and clouded over which diminshed the drive south towards Wooloonong. Accompying this weekend at the hands of my generous host I allowed a large quantity of bad food into my system. Think french toast and ice cream or fish and chips at Bondi. However reflecting now my portion control on the majority was much improved upon other trips.

I arrived home early this morning and had to race home and then straight to a job interview. The response's are becoming more regular leading me to think that a job is just around the corner. I was planning to head in early and do some work before Oztag but was just so dead tired I relinquished to bed for some snoozing. A successful if not damp session of cycling and Oztag capped off a massive three days. Now back into Uni and gunning myself back in front of the pack. Alpha and Out!

Winning the War

Sometimes a General can push through an enemy border with ease crushing resistance at will but all of a sudden he reaches a green field. On this field is the mighty army outnumbering his own. Should he push on and continue forward or should he make a sensible retreat and regroup and plan his attack to move forward?

This was the position I found myself in today. I had racked up many victories today, heaps of study, awake and alert for lectures, completed a good presentation. This with the 4 hours sleep last night resulted this day being rewarding but tiring. Part of my plan to avoid alone TV is to ride back into Uni after dinner to study and gym sessions. I had some study to do but when I got in I missed the closing time for the library housing the books I needed. Unperturbed I continued on to the 24hr library. I sat down and was hit straight away with tension and yawning. I tried to do work but it soon became clear that like the General the more productive solution was an early night. I might've conceded the battle but I'll be damned sure I'll win thewar. Alpha and Out!

In the Studying Groove

What?!? Being able to focus and produce work, presentations and study, this can't be right? Believe it or not I was really slotted deep in the groove and just churning out the hours of study. This is a great feeling, probably on par with those perfect days of exercise and diet.

Speaking of which while diet was near perfect, exercise was minimal today due to the study load. However I remain in good spirits. I believe this is a outward projection of the recovery from the depths, the good diet today and the satisfaction and confidence I get from "takin' care of business". To top of another "perfect" Monday I have rejoined the UQ gym and have maintained my cold turkey TV ban so far since it was imposed on Sunday. Good day today now lets make this the norm, no swinging of the pendulum, Alpha and Out!

The Weekly Wrap 3rd April 2011

Another roller coaster week with great heights and deep troughs. Here I breaking it down to really examine what happened.

Positives:

• Made it to Wednesday afternoon before positive turned to negative, usually occurs Tuesday night
• Monday-Wednesday went extremely well, went from strength to strength, good diet, exercise everything.
• Despite an average Friday (on 4 hours sleep) I made it to the lecture for at least half and avoided a shopping binge on crap food.
• Was able to easily pick myself up on Saturday night and am back in good spirits

Needs Improvement:

• The downer from Wednesday night to Saturday morning was caused by a TV binge on Wednesday night. This has lead to me going cold turkey for watching TV alone. Lets see how long I can break the habit for.
• Got to lowest points in a long time on Thursday. This was due to bad diet and my poor sleeping patterns.
• Maintained poor sleeping patterns- sleeping through day, awake at night. Will attempt to break this with exercise and really wearing myself out every day.

This Week's Focus:

• Make it to Friday lunch in a positive and productive mindset.
• Follow my Week Plan and accomplish my study goals
• Reach 92.00kg by Sunday
• Join the gym
• Gym 4 times minimum this week
• No Alone TV at all

The Rewards:

• If I make it to Friday 12:00pm I will reward myself with a takeaway meal.

Ok, nuff' talk lets get down to business, Alpha and Out!

Miccccccchael Jorrrrrrrdan!!!!!

The other MJ, the Man, the God who wore 23 on his back. I have been listening and searching for inspirational words of wisdom recently on Youtube. Amongst others such as Muhammad Ali, Will Smith and P Diddy, Michael Jordan stood out more perhaps because he has retreated from public exposure the last couple of years. The passion, drive and the innate belief that he held in himself are really admirable and really pump me up to move forward rather than look back. What made him so powerful in my eyes was how he combined his talent with an insane work ethic clearly observed when he played baseball in the Minor leagues for awhile where he was often first to arrive and last to leave. I encourage all of you to hit up Youtube and finding words of wisdom from your heros. Here is a quote from the man himself doing one of his famous Nike ads, Alpha and Out.

"Maybe its my fault that you didn't see that failure gave me strength, that my pain was my motivation,"

(pic from http://2jumphigher.com/air-jordan-shoes-help-you-jump-higher)