A Small Reveal

I alluded to a complete change of lifestyle in my last post. It drew a lot of interest and some questions so I contemplated doing a 'halfway' reveal. That would be next weekend but I still am not sure I'm ready to open myself up for input, criticism, or commentary from the general public yet. Sean and a couple of my closest friends have seen and supported me through the last 5 weeks. It's not always easy to be patient and trust the process. I want instant results just like everybody else. So instead of completely unveiling my new plan and body I thought I'd share the overview and a sneak peek instead.

The easiest way to explain what I've been doing is to say it's a balance between exercise, nutrition, and supplements. I'm hitting the gym 11 times per week. I run 5 days per week and lift 6 days. I combine easy runs and speed work and I hit every body part with weights at least once per week. I eat 'clean' 98% of the time. That's no joke! I eat 6 times per day, 7 days a week. One of those meals on Sunday gets to be a 'cheat' meal where I go out to eat with friends or family and splurge on a burger or a milkshake. And every day I follow a routine of supporting my nutrition and workouts with a careful selection of supplements.

Today's cheat meal at Rockhoppers

(Split with my mom!)

The results of this complete change have been astounding. I'm still waiting on an appointment to get my body fat percentage checked so I don't know where I started or where I am now (yet). But I have seen huge changes and my clothes fit differently than ever before.  My performances are improving on both runs and weights. And my energy is through the roof.

And here's the proof:

Completed 5k on the treadmill, the day after leg day and after going out dancing last night, in 24 minutes. My previous best was 24:27 and that was back in 2012. After only 5 weeks I have already met one of my 2015 goals (set a new 5k PR!).

AND

I'm stronger and happier with my body than ever before. Every week I go heavier, go harder, find another way to tweak my nutrition. And while I can't wait to share the full transformation with everyone, right now I am enjoying the journey and focusing on learning and growing on my own. 

Are you ready for 2015? Have you set your goals and outlined the steps to reach them yet?

Planning Ahead

It's a new year and the resolutions are rolling in. We're all either setting goals publicly or bragging about our lack thereof. I've seen it all. "I'm going to run more miles." "I'm going to lose X pounds." "I'm going to do everything everyone else says they're going to do for two weeks then give up and get fat." Blah, blah, blah...

Not me. Not this year. (credit: survivingcollege.com)

I really don't care what you call it: Dreams, resolutions, goals, an action plan....  We all have things we want to accomplish. I've decided on my goals for the coming year and I want to share them here. For accountability, or for inspiration, or for me to laugh at later when life throws me a curve ball and everything I write today goes out the window (again).

Maybe you've heard of Jamie Eason and her LiveFit Trainer. Maybe you haven't. It's a popular (and free program) on Bodybuilding.com designed by one of the top fitness models in the world. It includes exercise plans and nutrition guidelines as well as supplementation advice. It's supposed to be able to transform a normal or average person to fairly fantastic in just 12 weeks.

I've spent the last five years focused purely on running. If I did weights it was to improve my power. If I did plyo it was to improve my speed. If I changed my diet it was to try to reach a 'racing weight'. Everything has been completely centered around running and racing for the last half decade and I'm a little burnt out. So I thought I would try something new and decided this was it.

It's always about the run... and the clock

Don't get me wrong. I'm not giving up running. I'm still going to try to stay in 5k to half marathon shape. And I'm still going to try to walk/jog my way through the 50k I'm signed up for. I'm just not going to make running the center of my world for at least the next 12 weeks.

So on to the embarrassing fun stuff. Where am I starting off on this grand journey?

 

 

Stats:
Neck - 13.5"
Chest - 33"
Waist - 28"
Hips - 38"
Bicep - 11"
Thigh - 20"
Calf - 13.5"
Weight - 137 lbs.

I'd love to get another BodPod reading done before I get too far into this journey but I'm just not sure it will happen. Hopefully the pictures and measurements along the way will show my progress (or lack thereof) just as well.

So I hope you'll follow along and maybe even commit to your own life changing journey. And maybe, just maybe I won't have spaghetti noodle arms by 2015....