Blogs Blown Away

I swear it was the Wellington windy weather that blew my blog posts away. Ok, you got me, I was too busy relaxing and checking out the sites to post you up and for that I am sorry. But nonetheless I had a good time in Wellington visiting my mum, attending the Rugby World Cup and checking the city out. It was good also to relax the diet back to maintenance levels and enjoy some R and R. I generally kept the diet to maintenance levels for the majority of the trip apart from 1 or 2 meals the food was healthy and portion controlled. The tourist lifestyle of walking everywhere also help along with the 2 runs I did along the coast of the harbour. And damn they were the most anaerobic runs I have ever done. I knew it was windy in Wellington but not that windy. Many times it almost tripped me over as the wind pushed my foot in the swing phase against my leg. I also often had to stop and brace myself to ensure that I wasn't picked up and dunked in the harbour. It was crazy.

I now return from my holiday preparing to take this journey to the next level. While this is not the final journey to the summit I have definitely reached the final Base Camp and am making a move towards the Summit camp. I will blog about the steps I am taking to drive this push to the next level tomorrow. Quite frankly I am excited about the possibilities. New Zealand was also where I began to realise how much transforming I have down in the past month and a bit. This blog has been going for almost 2 years to little to know available and most of the weight and transforming has come in a little under 2 months. I still have about 2 months till my deadline and I am excited about what I will be looking like on that day. Lets Get It, Alpha and Out!

Showers, Caffiene, Carbs

It is funny what your body craves when the cortisol is pumping, the mend frustrated and the sleep rare and distant. A last minute assignment before an international flight had me stressing out. And all I could think about was how it affected my training and diet. I made it perfect till yesterday despite the obstacles but at the crunch point I had to miss my training, chest and back days potentially my favorite, to maintain some sleep. I jumped into the assignment and to keep me going my body it was craving masses of carbs, Caffiene and weirdly enough I was compelled to shower repeatedly. Having said that i managed to return my diet to some normality by the time I finished the assignment.

And now I am waiting for my plane to windy Welligton. It evaluation time. Time to see what's working, what I need to change and planning my diet and training to take it to the next level. Some exciting posts to come, Alpha and Out!

The Past and The Present

Damn what a day. Started with a sleep-in, thank God. I then churned out solid study until it was time to make it into Uni. Smashed through a lively ethics class before settling in to nut out this assignment. Luckily I managed to team up with a couple of other people working on the assignment. Man, that really does help just keep you focused and on task. Training/Stuyvesant partners are worth their weight in gold. With studiers by my side we churned out 3 hours of assignment work. Made a little head way but still nothing spectacular. Think that's a big day already, it's just getting warmed up.

By the time 8pm rolled around we were spent studying so we called it quits. Now Awkward wouldve been wringing his hands in delight at the possibility to go home but Alpha said none of that. Bang! Gym time Baby! I did a solid spinning for 40 mins on the bike including some "hill" sprints and followed this up with a strong arms and shoulders weights session. Now due to my hectic schedule before NZ I have not been able to go shopping or prepare meals for each day and as such while maintaining dietary levels my food consumption is all over the place so I ended up feeling low on energy towards the end of the session. Pre workout mix Jack3d only went so far, covering my cardio and about 1/3rd of my weights session. I don't think this is due to desensitization but rather the lack of food in the lead up to the session. This gave me a little window into the future month when I kick it to the next level and try my hand at the cyclic keto diet. It's google to be interesting and I will post it's details in the near future.

That's the present now for the past. Despite my lengthy day you couldn't wipe the smile off my face at the gym tonight. I'm sure my fellow gymers were freaked out by my chestshire cat like grin as I exerted myself. Why was my face sunny like space? In the mirror I could see myself in my new glory. The weight loss and training is really now starting to reap visible benefits and my thin but solid physique is quite simply thrilling me and inspiring me to take it further. I was thinking about this whole journey from the depths of darkness as Awkward to the present euphoria. Damn if I could bottle that shit and give the feeling to others the world would be a perfect place. I finally returned home at 11pm and low and behold waiting on my desk was my supplements particularly my protein powder, my saviour. Could this day have gone better? Let's start again at 4am to find out but first sleep, Alpha and Out!!!

Back On Track

A powerful return to form today starting at 5am for a long run. I had planned to go for a long ride on my bike however a mechanical issue (breaking a tire valve) hindered my start. In the old days I would've said That's It and gone back to bed but such is my resilience I changed into running gear and churned out a slow l, steady 7.5 km hilly run. A quick breakfast and day prep and I was on my bike (this time risking the broken valve) and into Uni. A quick bit of intense intervals on the treadmill followed by a solid abs session ended up being a decent gym sesh.

Then the going got tougher as I attempted to plough my way through an ominous impending assignment. This assignment has got me running around crazily in circles, I just can't seem to nut down a definate direction or starting point. Awkward would just fold and procrastinate his time away however Alpha sat back and ploughed away and continued to do so despite little forward progress.

A difficult study block clouded my head and fatigue was creeping in. Luckily I had to ride into work and enjoyed the "angry" ride. An angry ride is exercise usually following intense study or frustrating mental circles where you simply take your frustration out on your body and really push yourself hard to burn all that red mist of mental frustration away. I love it.

A massive shift at work for a Sunday has left me tired but very pleased with my return to pursuing perfection with vigour. Just 4 days to really put the foot down before a holiday. Let's Gooo Alpha and Out!

Needing an Excuse

Hitting my diet targets exceptionally in the past month has resulted in an early depletion of protein powder, a critical component of my diet. So critical in fact it's absence was a key factor in a blow out today. My mid morning snack of fruit and protein went from a pear and a cold sausage to a all out carb fest of biscuits, crackers and cheese. This was followed by the usual crash tackled sleep followed by thirst and a headache. I also missed Uni classes for the first time in a long period. Total meltdown.

Now again this will not destroy my week. I have powered through all my tough workouts, hit my diet perfectly till today and have been edging away at the bulk of Uni I have to study. But nonetheless sub consciously at least my perfection was grinding away and the convenient lack of protein powder was the perfect excuse for Awkward to attack. I honestly think that not being up and at em' early in the morning is a causal factor. Getting up early sets me on the right track from the get go and I generally can continue this positivity throughout the day. However I do need the sleep especially as from Tuesday - Thursday I am up very early to get to the gym. Perhaps I should sleep in a bit but get up and straight after some day prep I should be on my way into Uni straight away therefore getting my sleep and getting off earlyish for a positive day. Considering I am getting close to ramping up for exercise and dieting (which I will outline soon) I need to sort out these little kinks to facilitate my journey to a higher state. Let's Go Alpha and Out!

Saturday Blue's

Ain't talkin bout the blues of the brain

I'm talking bout the ones viewed from a plane

Cloudless purity

Not shrouded in insecurity

Damn! I'm powering through the serenity!

Yes not exactly the thoughts you had when you saw the blog title. The skies of Brisbane have been blown clean by strong winds and whilst difficult to deal with on the bike it has made for an excellent day. There is something spiritually lifting about fine weather. Being able to sit in the sun in comfort, spreading oneself across the grass and just soaking it in.

An early Saturday start to hit up the gym but damn I'm feeling great. Had a good session of a 25 minute tempo run, 20 minute slow walk on incline followed by a good ab workout. I am starting to definitely see my gains in the mirror and that is adding to my motivation incredibly. It is almost sky high at the moment and my mental space is strong enough to protect and support it. While I am now starting to get a bit tired it is more likely to be due to an exetensive assignment I am currently working on than actual "lack of sleep" tiredness. Continuing to hit my diet marks which is simply adding levels onto my motivation and improving my cognition as always. Damn life is good at the moment! Alpha and Out

Delayed Onset F.....un?

You all thought I was going to say fatigue huh. Well far from it. Today I am reaping the benefits of a full on schedule over the past three days. The last three days have involved early starts, some late nights, big training sessions, strict dieting and particularly yesterday strong mental fatigue. This schedule while left me totally drained last night has resulted in me achieving a number of targets. These targets include 3 very close to Pursing Prime Perfection (ppp) days meaning hitting diet goals, training goals and overall strength goals. My study targets did suffer, mainly on the last day but the bounce back today will solve that.

Hitting these targets has resulted in acquiring self satisfaction. This leads to increased pride and motivation leading to improved self worth ultimately leading to increased self confidence. Now the delayed aspect of it, I believe is due to the mental and physical fatigue of the schedule, temporally hiding these net gains in positivity. Now last night I enjoyed a 11 and a half hour sleep knocking out the summative fatigue from the prior three days. This allowed the acquired achievement peak through and grab hold of me mentality. Damn it's good, I've had that limitless feeling all day so far. Accompanying it is some nervous energy for a anatomy exam today which I am confident about but still have the nerves to drive me. Speaking of which I better head to now, Alpha and Out

It's In the Tweak

Pumping through my new schedule well and sticking to it but really feeling the effects. Fatigue is currently flooding my mind. It's throwing up all kinds of crap my way - "why are you doing this?" "just miss it this morning you'll be right". It's even challenging my basis for training so hard, hitting my diet so well and what am I to do next year. Luckily though I'm am now more than stronger to tackle such obstacles. Mere pebbles instead of the boulders I was facing months ago. Funnily enough the best part of my day not effected by fatigue is the reason I'm cutting sleep short, the gym! I have grabbed hold of my fitness by both hands and have such an intense focus it is overwhelming my will and focus to study. A bit concerning but I'll manage I still have been studying well just with no passion like I have in relation to my fitness.

Fighting back against the fatigue, I incorporated a rest hour between lectures today. Normally I would hope to study but instead waste time procrastinating on the computer. This would lead to negativity which along with fatigue would smash me over. So instead I went for a sleep. I couldn't sleep but I ended up just resting and doing some phone surfing. And lo and behold, it seemed to work, I rocked up to the lecture and did not dose at all ,a record under normal circumstances. It's all about tweaking things until you hit the magic formula of sleep, study and dieting. Alpha and Out!

Beatin' The Tuesday Blues

Hells yea I did. Finally Tuesday did not end in a crap-fest of TV and food followed by sleep-ins and a disrupted Wednesday. I went for a Pursuing Prime Perfection day to top it off and help ensure I kept myself on track. It went right down to the wire but an evening snooze came in the way of calling it. I know a snooze is not the worst thing in the world and that since I had been up since 4am it was definitely needed but it simply just takes the icing off the cake and I couldn't call it perfect.

The change in schedule of rest days etc has worked well so far particularly yesterday. It started up nice and early with a 4 am start to have breakfast and prepare for the day. Jumping on the bike through cold but not freezing temperatures (copped that today on the ride in) I rode to the gym and smashed out a solid session. The session consisted of a warm up, 45 minutes spinning on the exercise bike, shoulder and arm weights and then a warm down. I was happy with the session and it proved to be a bumper start to the day. The day at Uni went well and included plenty of preparation for an impending exam as well as a decent presentation of an assignment. I went home and crashed. Slammed down the family meal and within 15 minutes I was out cold on the couch. This ended up being a 3 hour snooze. I woke up feeling pretty good but instead of just moving to the bed like I used to, I had the foresight to pack my bag and prepare for tomorrow (another 4am start to the Gym) as this always helps me rise in the morning- all I have to do is eat breakfast and get dressed and then I'm on my way.

Whilst the schedule change has been going great so far I think I need to rethink Monday sleep-in. The snoozing left me groggy and lethargic. Perhaps it could involve a later then normal rise at say 6 am, breakky and some study and then a mid morning snooze instead rather than the solid block. I will think more about it until the next one. Alpha and Out!

What A Difference A Month Makes

It has been about a month since I really locked into hitting the diet hard and damn it feels good. I relaxed my diet yesterday and smashed some of the old "brown" diet for lunch. The brown meaning crackers, cheeses mostly I.e. Processed carbs. A month ago I would've enjoyed this extensively and enjoyed the post-meal crash and snooze. It also would've led to more bad food turning a 750 calorie meal into a 2000 cal binge. However none of this occurred. Whilst I enjoyed the meal I did so in moderation. But when I arose I felt like I was hung over, such was the impact of the "brown" meal. And to think a mere couple of months ago this was all I ate. Then the lethargy brewed up the usual negative thoughts, the put-downs of the soul saying I wrecked all my progess yada, yada. Luckily though I am mentally strong enough to simply leave those thoughts through to the keeper or hit em' for six. They ain't gonna get my wicket.

I had a successful weekend on all fronts. An epic Saturday morning gym session started off the weekend with a bang. Working the chest/ back I made gains in all my sets. I then churned out a fast work at a 15 degree incline on the treadmill. While it was not aerobically tough it certainly was anaerobically. It ended up being a good long low intensity walk. Seeing the Australian Air Forces new Super Hornets tear up the sky at work was amazing and I spent my ride home from work imaging I was flying such a plane, my inner child running riot. A solid rest day came on Sunday with the relaxed diet was exactly what I needed and I churned out some solid study. All on the up and up, Alpha and Out!

"I Love the Smell of Napalm in the Morning"

There is something inherently satisfying and full-filling about accomplishing something and getting shit done before the sun rises. Jumping on the bike after a 4:30 alarm bell and riding through the cold but pleasant morning was and always is a great way to start the day. Follow that with a massive leg session were I made gains in all of my exercises makes it even better. Now I'm on the way to pick up a textbook for Uni and it's not even 8:00 AM. Damn that feels good.

I'm not sure what gives me such fulfillment about rising early and doing things. I have always been an early riser apart from the "dark ages". Coincidence? I think not. Biochemically it can't be the endorphins from exercise because I get that feeling from just getting up to study. Perhaps it's the euphoria feeling from a short sleep generally getting 4-6 hours on such a day. Perhaps. Or maybe it is just the inherent satisfaction that I'm am getting ahead of the masses while they sleep in warm beds. I'm achieving, growing and strengthening my discipline while they struggle to simply bring their feet out from under the covers. I dunno, but whatever it is, damn I love it. It just sets up my day so well and before the sun peeks through I am already in an unstoppable positive mood. Even with the lack of sleep inducing a crash mid afternoon , by then most of the hard work has been done and it allows me to come home and just rest, relax and recover. Top tip: Get up early for a "limitless" day, Do It, Alpha and Out

Get Cut, Get Brained

I'mmmm baccccck! All it took was a bit of study, hitting my diet marks and of course smashing out at the gym. Arms and shoulders today and I made some gains but no loses so overall a successful session. Started off a little slow with a sleep-in feeling the effects of the past couple of says of average food. It's funny how in a matter of weeks a bit of the crap food you used to love now ferments and disgusts you, it's good.

On the first brainstorming point at work last night I have narrowed down an issue of thinking about to much- what I'm doing next year, when should I organize my PT course, will I make it into Med, Do I even want to do Med, what sort of person I'll become when I reach Alphadom. The list goes on. This vast array of thoughts, worries and concerns damage my focus and push me to the edge of mental stability potentially causing blow outs etc. So until the end of Uni I will only have two focuses and everything I do has to support one or both. The first catch cry is "Get Cut" and that entails dropping fat, putting on muscle and smashing out the diet to get cut and drop my body fat percentage. The second battle cry is "Get Brained" and this entails getting my head back into study and going hard out. At the end of the day all I can do now is do my best. There is no point fretting about what my future entails. Two focuses and hopefully greater intensity focus overall.

The other brainstorming work last night was restructuring my week to optimize my activities in my two focuses. Basically I have moved my "rest day" to Monday and I will call it more of a sleep in rather than a whole rest day. I have also scheduled long rides for Friday and Sunday mornings. Ontop of these changes I have scheduled definite study sessions as well as scheduling my gym times plus extra runs. Along with my Monday sleep-in I have scheduled a Friday night relax mainly to watch the Footy but also it's a good time of the week for a rest.

Refocused, reformed and restructured. Lets GO, Alpha and Out!