The 5 Minute Plank ...........will crush you

I took a one week break from working out because I had a big deadline, I am back now... Did a lot of research on working out this weekend, I found the following video on youtube and though it would be a piece of cake......ha, how wrong and ignorant I was.....
First watch this video



Looks easy right....go ahead try it. I tried it and I can tell you I was shaking like I was being tasered after only 2 minutes. My shoulders were burning like crazy. It is incredible that something this simple can cause so much pain and discomfort....but I am hooked I need to be able to do this for 5 minutes myself


The following plank has a lot more variety, here is what is involved

1. front elbow plank (FEP)
2. FEP w/ right arm elevated
3. FEP w/ left arm elevated
4. FEP w/ right leg elevated
5. FEP w/ left leg elevated
6. right arm and left leg elevated
7. left arm and right leg elevated
8. right side plank
9. left side plank
10. right side plank with leg up
11. left side plank with leg up
12. top of pushup position (TOPP)
13. TOPP w/ right arm up
14. TOPP w/ left arm up
15. TOPP w/ right leg up
16. TOPP w/ left leg up
17. TOPP w/ right arm and left leg up
18. TOPP w/ left arm and right leg up
19. right side plank, elbow locked
20. left side plank, elbow locked

Get more details for the second plank here http://physicalliving.com/the-5-minute-plank-for-core-strength-stability-and-rock-hard-abs/

Week 4 progress

The last two weeks have been uneventful in terms of my weigh loss goal. Today my weight was 183.6 on the scale, yes this is lower than last time I wrote a post but it is still only .2 pounds less than 2 weeks ago. So all in all I have lost 5 pounds since I started this 4 weeks ago. The last two weeks were also very busy at work and at home. I did manage to sneak in a considerable amount of junk and this really doesn't make me too happy.

The good thing about all of this is that I have stuff written here, I can look back on this and use it as motivation. I am glad that I still lost weight but I must admit that it does fluctuate, sometimes I will have a difference of 2 to 3 pounds between 2 days. I haven't really done any cardio in the last two weeks. I will try to run outdoors for 45 minutes this weekend, I just hate running on the treadmill and prefer the outdoors except when it is over 90 degrees and very humid

Finally, just like Tim Mitchel did, I am changing my weigh-in day to Friday.  The other #gethawt people all check in on Fridays

Week 2 progress

This week I only lost 0.3 pounds compared to last week, my total weight loss to date is 5.1 pounds. Between last Sunday and this Tuesday I actually gained almost 2 pounds. Looking at the bright side...I lost 2 pounds since Tuesday....

Now I understand why on the tv show The Biggest Loser...almost everyone gains in week two. Week one is pretty easy...almost effortless. Then in week two you take it a little easier and bam..you almost don't make any progress.....a lot of this also has to do with the fact that in week one you will lose a lot of water

I am 183.5 pounds right now..I am shooting for a 2 pound reduction by next Sunday. Unlike last Sunday and Monday, I will not be a pig this week and watch my portions.

Also as a 'fun' thing to do I decided that I would do 500 push-ups today, I did 110 so far and it is not even 9 AM :-)  I remember once as a kid we played poker but instead of money we did push-ups....I believe I had to do 400 or so in a two hour period, some people had to do more. The next two days was torture for all 4 or 5 of us, almost nobody could move there arms in a pushing movement without being in excruciating pain.

The book and DVD that I ordered last week did not arrive yet either...I blame the snow...would have been nice to watch it while it is crappy weather outside.

All in all I am happy that I weigh less this week than I did last week, I am not as happy about the fact that I almost didn't lose anything at all this week, but then again at least I didn't gain anything either.

Halfway through week 2

On Sunday I weighed 183.8 pounds, yesterday I weighed 185.6 pounds and today I weighed 185 pounds. The wine over the weekend weekend and my pig out lunch for Martin Luther King's day made me gain some weight. I am not really worried about this, I hope to be at 181.8 pounds by Sunday so that this week I will have lost 2 pounds. This means I have to lose 3.8 pounds by Sunday

I haven't worked out since last Wednesday but I just came back from the gym and am eating my lunch now. I have sweet potatoes and sauteed pork with onions and jalapeno slices for lunch. Did you notice that if you eat really spice food that you eat much slower than usual, if you eat really fast you sometimes overeat because your brain hasn't got the signal from your stomach that it is full

I have been also looking at stronglifts and their 5x5 program, it looks interesting and I might give it a try
I have also puchased the Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training DVD yesterday to help me with my technique in the deadlift, this DVD will arrive on Friday so I know what I will be watching Friday night. Talking about watching, I saw Black Swan last night...what a weird movie, reminded me a little bit of Vanilla Sky

I am definitely cutting out all the junk for the remainder of this week, this also means no wine this weekend, my goal is to make that 181.8 pounds weight...no excuses

A better coleslaw

Until I came to the United States I have never ever eaten cabbage that had mayonnaise in it. The version I used to eat is much healthier for you. Here is how you make it. Cut the cabbage in small pieces, add pepper, salt, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Put this in the refrigerator and let it sit for at least 2 hours, this will make the cabbage soft. I usually prepare it the night before, put it in the fridge and use it the next day. My kids love it and it is much healthier than the version with mayonnaise. Of course you can also make this with green cabbage. Bring it to work have it as a side with your sandwich instead of chips or fries

Week 1 progress

So today is the start of a new week. I have lost 4.8 pounds so far. I feel kind of embarrassed because I only worked out twice this week. I also had some junk food, here is a list of what it was for the whole week:

• Two small bags of chips
• A handful of M&Ms
• One serving of chocolate chip ice cream
• Five chocolate coins
• Two cans of soda

I did make sure that I did not overeat, I did not even once feel that I was really full.This was a very easy week and I am sure that most of the weight loss was water weight. Let's see what week two brings, I think three pounds for week two is a realistic goal.

Almost halfway through week one

I am almost halfway through week one, so far I have almost lost one pound. I decided to put a pic up here so that I can see the difference later, notice the big smile in the picture? Me, neither!

I cut out most of the junk so far, I haven't had soda since last year and to tell you the truth I don't miss it. I am drinking tea  instead of soda to get my caffeine fix. Today is a day off from the gym for me so this post will be pretty short