I have committed to doing atleast 3 workouts per week. For every workout that I miss, I am going to pay my wife INR 5000(equivalent to US$100). That’s quite a sum for me.

So either I am going to get fitter or my wife is going to get very rich.

Since the carrot ain’t working too well, let’s see how the stick works in providing me with the required motivation to finally achieve those Six Pack Abs this year.

Six Pack Motivation

Update – April 20th, 2009. The stick worked very well. I have managed 3 workouts in a single week after a very very long time! My wife’s kinda sad though. No extra income this week

Eggs are one of the most basic and cheapest sources of protein and should be a staple in your diet. What better way to have eggs than a delicious and yummy omelette.

Check out How to a make a perfect omelette here

Checkout the discussion on this here.

Workout A
BB Squats – 20lbs – 5/5/5
Bench Press – 20lbs – 5/5/5
Power Clean – 20lbs – 5/5/5
Push Ups – 5/2/2
Rev Crunches – 12/12/12

Workout B
BB Squats – 25lbs –5/5/5
Ov.head Clean – 25lbs –5/5/5
Deadlifts – 55lbs –1×5
Pushups – 6/2/0
Prone Bridges –1x 35secs, 1x30secs

I am considering replacing the Power Clean with Bent over Barbell rows. In fact the recent program had Inverted rows as the basic exercise, but since I did not have the equipment for that, I replaced it Power Cleans – but somehow – not enjoying it. I think I will be better off with BB rows.

Starting slow but steady – 2 workouts for 2 consecutive weeks. The best part of this program is that it starts off easy – atleast for me. I can’t wait for it to get more challenging. I will keep updating as we go along.

Cheers.

One of the ways to do this to constantly seek new sources of information, books, blogs, websites etc. Every time one of these things catches my fancy, i’d like to share it.

I recently came across this blog by a self confessed “Passion Freak”. Check it out I am sure you’ll come home more enriched!

Find Something New Today

Without sounding too preachy, I want to state that if had consistently worked out, pushed myself for those 3 workouts per week, pushed myself to have reasonably clean diet, I perhaps would have got better results.

But there is also an another set of rules, which each one of must also understand and that is Excellence versus Perfection. The credit for this one goes to my idol- Robin Sharma. Try to be excellent in whatever you do, your workouts, your rest, your diet. But don’t beat yourself down if you are not perfect. No one’s perfect. The only key to progressing onwards on your fitness journey, is to realize that your growth will never be perpendicular or linear. It’s always going to be one step backwards and two steps forward. What you need to realize is that one step backward is the foundation for leaping two steps forward.

Keep pushing yourself consistently. Don’t be worried about being too perfect. Just be excellent in whatever your do.

Workout A
BB Squats – 10lbs – 5/5/5
Bench Press – 10lbs – 5/5/5
Power Clean – 10lbs – 5/5/5
Push Ups – 3/2/1
Rev Crunches – 12/12/12

Workout B
BB Squats – 15lbs –5/5/5
Ov.head Clean – 15lbs –5/5/5
Deadlifts – 45lbs –1×5
Pushups – 5/0/0
Prone Bridges –2x 30secs

My starting measurements are as below

Shoulders : 44 inches
Chest : 37.5
Left Bicep : 13
Right Bicep : 13.25
Abdomen : 37.5
Waist : 35
Left Forearm : 10.75
Right Forearm : 11
Left Thigh : 19.75
Right Thigh : 20
Left Calf : 14
Right Calf : 14
Body Fat Percentage : 16%

I think what’s the most interesting part about this program is that its starts of relatively easy thus smoothing the individual slowly and steadily into the program. The initial workouts start of with an empty bar in fact. I started off at 10 pounds because I have been working out in the past and I thought I could make do with some headway. The timings of these initial workouts are also pretty small 15-20 minutes. Slowly but surely, as one starts making progress, the workouts will start getting longer and tougher but what this ensures is that your body is also gearing up on regular basis to handle more weight. The key foundation of this program is the principle of progressive overload. This keeps you from following the same workouts and hitting a plateau very soon. Now I am not saying that you are not going to hit some plateaus here. Eventually there may be some stalling along the way, but there is specific guidance on how to handle these situations as well.

Keep following my progress and I will keep you updated.

And for all you lazy chums like me, who think they have no time to work out, just take a look at this picture.

President Obama

But now i ready to get back on the wagon. Life is all about 1 step backward and 2 steps forward. I think i have found a routine which embodies this very philosophy. The fact that it revolves around my favourite number 5 is just an added bonus and and motivating factor for me. This program is called the Stronglift 5×5 and you can the whole low-down Stronglifts.com

I know this is against a lot of what i was reading and doing in the past. This is not about body-building. This is about gaining strength and improving your physique. You may not have the pump of a builder but you will be a lot stronger than quite a few of them.

What i liked most about this program is the simplicity.

3x 45 minute workouts per week.
5 exercises. All barbell exercises to be done for 5 reps and 5 sets.
Progression in each and every workout.
Can be done easily from home as well (which was an important priority for me since i work out at home)

I am not going to say much, but post my progress. I just finished my first workout today. It was good. Consistency is going to be the key. Wish me Luck!!

This program promised to build muscle and lose fat and gain strength in then bargain. Looks promising and I am will to give a shot!!

Anyone who has been on any sort of a diet or an exercise program knows how frustrating it is to step on the scale after a week and see no change at all. But one should not fret. There are some things that a weighing scale cannot accurately measure and that is the small changes in your Body Fat Percentage.

Weekly monitoring of your Body Fat Percentage is a surefire way to keep oneself motivated.

Learn How to Calculate your Body Fat Percentage here.

Well I’ve been out of action for several months now. Got married in January 2009. The leadup to the wedding was very hectic. But now i plan to get back on track and resume my journey once again. Will keep posting regularly.

Cheers!