Rushfit Week 3 complete: George St Pierre v Bob Harper, who wins?

Twice a week Rushfit calls for a 30-40 mins of cardio in which you "should not feel too out off breath afterwards". I presume this to keep you fresh for the next Rushfit session. Initially  I did some light cardio or some yoga, but this week I decided to kick things up a notch by doing a an hour of high intensity aerobics.

Since I had been using the Biggest Loser Yoga  I picked up the cardio DVD from the new Bob Harper (trainer on The Biggest loser) fitness program The inside out method. Let is be known, this DVD kicks your ass. Within 5 minutes I was sweating and after 15 I was burning up!

The program consist of isometric holds mixed dynamic movements with the aid of dumbbells. The dynamic movements are similar to those used in kettleball work outs and the iso holds are typically switched between plank and squat positions. The negative effect of this is that you get a very repetitive workout and someone without drive may find this an extra burden.

That being said at the end I was totally wiped out even the people in the video were giving up during some of the iso holds. I did the work out twice last week and going back to Rushfit almost seems like a treat. There is two more DVDs in the inside out method; Yoga and Strength. I hope to pick them up this week and tell you how much they hurt soon after

Till next week
TTF
230lb

Rushfit Week 2 complete: 2 weeks late (blame the chest infection)

Right after week one was complete my lungs were assaulted by some viral lout who wanted to take up residence in my alveoli. After two weeks of coughing, spluttering and intense negotiations with the Vascular Tenants Board, I was able to continue with the program, albeit in a weakened state.


One thing I will say about Rushfit is that sometimes it can feel repetitive. This is mostly because of the same warm up and cool down video being used for each work out. I really don't need to here how the warm up is " a multifaceted warm up blah blah blah" every single day, just do it. Another downside is the lack of intensity by GSP and the coach Erik Owings. I expected lots of encouragement and pushing through the tough stages, but Owings sounds calm and passive most of the time and GSP rarely gets things heated up. Sometimes GSP does get pumped about reaching the end off the round or workout and he is a really good motivator but it's not done enough.

That being said, the work outs are excellent. They are well paced and build up in difficulty through each round. As I said before some of the moves (especially in the ab work out) are damn hard, but I found this week I was getting better at them and may actually be able to complete them by the end of the program.


Till next week
TTF
235lb

Rushfit Week 1: Fattie does a Kimura

So how does it feel to get back into training again? On day 1 of Rushfit, I felt dizzy, nauseous and exhausted. Good times!

However, Rushfit is day-on-day-off so the next day I did some cardio (fattie Pilates if you must know). This gave me some much needed stretching and relief from the previous day. Back into the program and things went much better, no dizziness just lots of sweat.

So far there has been 3 rushfit work outs and 3 self assigned cardio sessions.Already I can feel the benefits; with increased around strength and recovery time.I like learning MMA moves which I have not done before, the Kimura really works the abs. That being said when asked to perform a full bridge being held up with my hands I felt that the workout was asking a bit much.

So with week one complete I have a few observations:

Pros:

• The 10 min warm up is excellent and properly prepares you for the main work out. Some other fitness programs skip this or don't spend enough time on it and this has caused injury in the past.
• The round system, 5 mins off, 1 min off x 5, is excellent and creates enough variety to prevent boredom

Cons:

• Some of the moves in the workout are hard to do and some of Ab work out moves are just plain dangerous
• Its the same warm up and cool down for every session and It's already getting annoying. 

3 pounds lost so far, hopefully week 2 will be just as productive

Next week I'll being including my eating schedule for your critique.

TTF
233lb

Fattie does Rushfit, the new workout

Its been 3 months since the fight and training has slowed to a stand still. Maybe once a week I would go for a run or a trip to the gym, but nothing steady and of course the inevitable happened. From a low of 225lb my weight has increased to 236lb. Even with a fairly good diet, without exercise I couldn't compensate for the less than irregular treats.

STOP! This isn't happening again, I made that promise last year. Its time to take action again and this time I'm not making my own program up, I'm letting George St-Pierre do it for me. I picked up Rushfit last week, GSP's 8 week program to "train like a champion". Rushfit appealed to me because it requires no special equipment, only dumbbells.


Day 1 was yesterday and it hurt like all hell, which only means I need to keep going.

More updates soon

TTF
236lb

Fattie has a fight

My apologies for the lack of updates, entries will be more regular from now on.

The fight was a little over 2 weeks ago and it was exciting to get back into the ring after 2 years off.The 1 minute rounds caught me off guard, but it made me work harder in each round. It was scrappy for sure, but hey novice boxing is always more fun to watch :). By the way my official weigh in was 231.0lb

Anyway I'll stop blabbing and you can judge for yourself.

TTF

From another angle

Final Week: 27lbs lost in 10 weeks, the war continues

Bodyweight: 236.5lb "BodyFat": 32.1

I called the Royal Society today to confirm that indeed the laws of thermodynamics are intact. Eat less and move more is the key for Fattie to Fittie and it works.


My fattie-to-fittie plan works for me because I don't have to suffer while I lose weigh (except the rough sparring sessions). I have regularly "broken diet", enjoyed alcohol and did not exercise everyday. However, the old habit of rarely exercising  is broken and 4-5 days a week I work out. The cheat days are now weekly not daily and only for one meal. In fact, today as a celebration I ordered the "fat bastard burger" (I'm not making this up) and I still hope to lose weight by next week. You can too.


Fight night is only 3 weeks away and if you are in the Niagara area I hope to see you there to support a fantastic coach. Then the new challenge starts, reach 200lb by February 2012 and run 10km. This I expect will be much tougher with muscle gain versus fat loss coming in to play. So, I have decided to get a quality pair of fat calipers to track the fat loss. Thanks for all the support and look forward to more updates.


Till next week
TTF

Week 9: Fattie runs for 30 mins, covers 5.3Km

Bodyweight: 240.0lb "BodyFat": 33.0

The owner of a running store in St. Catharines once told me that running is 10% Physical and 90% Mental.  His numbers may be a little off but the theory is sound. Getting from 10 mins to 20 mins took months, but going from 20 mins to 30 mins took 2 weeks. Increasing my runs by 2mins every couple of weeks, made it mentally easier but the jump to 25 and then 30 was pure gut instinct. "If I can do an hour's training at the boxing club, I can jog for 30 mins". So I say ditch the harsh leveling up of Couch to 5K and use the mentally easier 2 minute increments


Weight loss was however a struggle this week, even with the 2lbs gone by the end of the week, it fluctuated almost every day. Looks like I'm headed for the dreaded plateau.  With the 10 week challenge over soon, I will be making a new challenge. All ideas welcome but I'm thinking reduce body fat and increase running time for a start.


Check out the blog next week for the final weigh in of the 10 week challenge.


TTF

Week 8: Salt, Fat and just saying no. Nancy Reagan would be proud

Bodyweight: 242.5lb "BodyFat": 33.9

Sushi, Pho, Curry, Pasta and a lazy weekend should only have spell doomed for this week. But as you can see things aren't as bad as they seem, though I would be surprised if this trend continued to next week. The demon salt as opposed to fat and sugar took an evil toll shortly after the last post and It took most of the week to normalize my water weight.


However, I consider this a minor accomplishment given reducing water weight requires only potasium, some exercise and ironically a lot of water! Not over eating during excurions away from home was a much harder ordeal. How could one resist the allure of a boat load of British style curry? Or not say no to a second portion when at a pasta buffet? It is easy to justify the extended eating as pleasing company or justifying money spent. However, just as those reasons are a personal mentality  so are the counter arguments


So, I reversed my old fattie reasoning and turned it into weight loss reasoning. "Surely my friends will be proud and admire me more with trimmer physique than if i were to take their second portion", "I may have paid for all I can eat, but I will feel richer without a sore belly and the inevitable self loathing". It worked and as such I am also learning how to eat happily (i.e. without the eternal submission to rabbit food) while maintaining a healthy weight.


So I raise a glass, of water, to a healthier lifestyle (with a weekly indulgence)


Till next week
TTF

Week 7: Pizza won't make you gain weight, fact!

Bodyweight: 245lb "BodyFat": 34.2

I took a trip to FanEx on Sunday, which, having never been before seems to be Canada's largest gathering of virgins and people that think charging $30 for an autograph is acceptable. What I find incredulous by the overly offensive odour coming from the pot marked-asthma-inhalered attendees was, that with all the free comics, games and candy being given out that no one was giving out samples of deodorant. Right Guard could make a killing there.


That being said the only food stuffs on offer was pizza which I grudgingly accepted and consumed in copious amounts. So how in the hell did I drop 4 pounds? Because half a pizza doesn't kill weight loss just like full fat salad dressing doesn't make you gain weight. It's when you eat the salad with a cheeseburger EVERY DAY and use  pizza as desert for a pasta dinner that things go bad!!


So adding a thousand calorie meal to my week when I spar twice and work out the rest of the week does nothing noticeable. So with that out of the way I think It's safe to say that the 10 week fattie challenge is going well.


Till next week
TTF

Week 6: I have been asked to fight in October...

...Challenge accepted!

In a white collar boxing even in aid of legendary Ontario coach Keith Murphy. I will be fighting at 200+ (of course ) against an old foe of mine. Keith has been suffering from MS for 21 years and struggles to walk and see every day. Everyone in southern Ontario knows Keith with his no nonsense coaching style and heart of gold to all fighters.


So accepting a fight for Keith's benefit was a no brainer. I have fought the other fighter in an exhibition a couple of years ago. He is taller and fitter, but I'm now 30lbs lighter and still dropping. So who wins?
Me of course, but lots of training is needed, ESB folks are a great help of course but it's ring practice that counts so the gym time has gone up.


We'll see next week if the increased work load has affected my weight.


Till next week
TTF



Bodyweight: 249.2lb "BodyFat": 34.5

Week 5: Fattie does the Funky Monkey and other interval exercise fun

Bodyweight: 251lb "BodyFat": 35

Well that was productive :) Weight has started to come off again. Who'd a thunk it, not going out for dinner every other day helps reduce weight. I still have no idea what the body fat % is all about because i know I'm shedding inches, that is unless my body uses only water as excess fuel.

I won't blab on today cause I don't have much to say other than I have finally added the video of me following the Jeff Fenech arm interval training. I know the guys on ESB are familiar with this but I thought it might be more entertaining with a fattie. There is also a  round of heavy bag for critique at the end.

Enjoy,

Till Next Week

TTF

Week 4: An injured arm, a heavy bag session and lots of sushi, what could possibly go wrong?

Bodyweight: 254.5lb "BodyFat": 34.4

I've been hurt in boxing before. I'll never forget my first real body shot, it put me out of training for weeks and to this day I would still take a hundred head shots over one body shot. That being said, even when that happened in sparring I still kept going to the end of the round (probably not the smartest decision I've ever made). But the pain I felt throwing my first left hook  on Sunday's training was show stopping.


So now I have some sort of strain in my left bicep, leaving me few options for boxing training. As compensation for the lack of training I took it upon myself to go to eat-all-you-can-eat sushi...twice. Given the enormous salt content of soy sauce combined with reduced exercise I took or more water and lost less fat. Booooo!


So that leaves me with extra weight loss yoga, which has helped me understand my inner feminine side (while sweating like a pig may I add). Running has also become more common, I'm determined to get to the 5K mark by December. The change in training has meant a further delay to the "Fattie does the Funky Monkey" video but rest assured it is coming.


Till next week
TTF

Week 3: I got hammered on beer and still lost weight! Sounds like an infomercial

Bodyweight: 254.5lb "BodyFat": 35.4

It would seem that getting viciously hammered on Canadian beer has two effects; the first is that the next day there is a tendency to denounce the demon drink for all eternity (a lie that is consistent across continents) and the second is that it is still possible to lose weight in the same week. That being said I'm sure the permanent damage done to my liver and the lost day for recovery is hardly a good balance.

This week marked a couple of mile stones; the largest drop in one week (that is probably water weight) and my return to sparring. It has been over 18 months since i stepped in the ring and boy did it hurt! Not so much the fists battering my face, but sparring after a boot camp session with the guys from BigTyme Boxing club tore my lungs up.

Sparring consisted of a short fighter, a tall fighter and a south paw, a good mix with lots of different punch combinations. It was only 30 mins but i got out a lot of ring rust, maybe i'll stick up a video in a few weeks. Anyway; weight is down, running is up to 14 mins and training is on track, everything's coming up Milhouse!

Till next week
TTF

P.S. The "Fattie does the Funky Monkey" video will be posted next week. A weekend of boozing prevented this from being recorded

Week 2: The laws of thermodynamics work! As long as you don't eat salt.

Bodyweight: 259.2 "BodyFat": 35.2

As seen by the last entry, clearly I wasn't doing something right. Using MyFitnessPal.com it was evident immediately that eating poorly (or at least not as well as I thought) was the cause. I literally tracked everything I ate as well as the exercise that was completed. Unfortunately the interval style training that boxing employs is not covered by the website and so I have to make an educated guess on work done.

And it would seem that I wasn't too far off. 3lbs in a week, yet my curious "bodyfat" measurement has gone up which I'm sure people will attribute as water loss. Which would suggest that since my "bodyfat" has gone up that I have been using water as energy. So with that in mind I have either discovered a new form of energy or the body fat measurement isn't exactly accurate.

But, all things considered it looks like progress is being made, but will the trend continue?

Next Week: A new video!: "Fattie does the funky monkey!"

TTF

Week 1: Where's Jillian Michaels when you need her?

Weight: 262.2lb "Body Fat": 34.5

So, 1.5lb and 2% body fat lost what does it mean? We'll either I'm lazy and only worked out 3 times this week or I've broken the laws of thermodynamics.

That being said hearing the good news that one my other chubby buddies has lost 50lb since the start of the year has been a big kick in the ass. Smaller portions and better food has probably helped in the small loss this week but recent developments may spur a more aggressive training regime in the next few months...a fight!
Provisionally I will be fighting on the 3rd week of October in a white collar event. More news on that in the coming weeks as training intensifies.

Next week, there will be a new video upload, this time i will be trying to increase speed and power.

Till next week
TTF

10 week Fattie challenge

So progress is slow and I could say the same old fattie excuses that "it's summer" and "cheese has energy and burgers have protein". However, I promised not to make any excuses so I've decided to add something that bring excitement to the TTF blog ... a graph!

Ok, more specifically a graph that will track a 10 week challenge to lose 20lbs. Its a little ambitious and there is no last minute sweat session to cheat. So I present you with the initial weigh in.

I have body fat measurement on my scales which I know isn't very accurate but any number that drops (or rises if i have a bad week) is a good indicator. I'll update every Wednesday with the news (hopefully good)

TTF

Running for fatties

Running is great for boxer because its an easy way to build cardio and lose weight. Problem is when you have to shift around a big heap of lard around your belly, running becomes the devil.

When I first started boxing  I tried the famous couch to 5K program (C25K). After the first couple of weeks I found it impossibly hard and after speaking to a running coach (probably should have done that rather that using the Internet), the reason became clear. The C25K ramps up too fast for fatties, hell the running sections increase 50% from week 1 to week 2!

The advice given to me was to start with a 10 minute run. If you can't run 10 mins you need to start with some other cardio and build up to a 10 minute run. Try to run 3 times a week, it's only 10 mins, I do it while the oven is heating up. Then every 2 weeks (or whenever you feel comfortable) increase the run by 2 mins. Once you reach 20 mins, confidence begins to increase and you are able to make larger increases. Tadda!! How to run if your a fattie.

It works! Today I increased to 12 mins and I bet I'll be telling you about 14 mins in two weeks. Mark my words

TTF

A journey of a thousand miles blah blah blah

My morning run used to be such a calming experience. The sun gently rising behind the trees, the subtle crescendo of the world waking up while I use the time to iron out the problems of the day. Now it feels like a forced march in Hanoi with food poisoning!

"Please sir I need to stop, I need the washroom"
"DI DI MAO!!"
"But my chest hurts and I think I'm going to vomit"
"MAO DI DI MAO"

That being said I can now pace myself to finish at the starting point and Ive lost 5 pounds.
The struggle continues

TTF

Woo hoo!! First Video upload: Heavy Bag work

Shot this last week, it's not pretty but its a start. I appreciate any comments or help

Some punching variety and trying to move my head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Bjxla3Oq8

Mostly a variety of hooks (with bad footwork)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImEUU2nzorQ

Longer video of cardio bag work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVlO23CY5nQ

6am is too early to train...it says so in the Bible.

...and Jeff said unto God: "This is bullshit! What kind of time do you call this?!" 

God replied : "Bro, if you don't get up now you won't train at all today"

Jeff replied:  "Nuh uh, I totally worked out last night, jeez I think my eyes are stuck shut"

God said: "Buddy quit your whining, wash your face and go train like a Boss"

"Dude, seriously after work I promise, just let me sleep" Jeff complained

"Right, like how you promised you would have salad for lunch yesterday and you stuffed your face with a Nutella sandwich, "'cause its got energy in it"" God was getting a little angry now

"OK I'll do you a deal give me 5 more minutes and I'll get up"

"Up bitch! And do you pilates for fatties!!" ( I may be paraphrasing now)

Yadda yadda yadda, Jeff did Yoga in his PJ's at 6:15am. The weight loss continues.

TTF