Saturday, day 6 of week 5

Well today sucked, I had to be at work all day and I dont get off until midnight tonight, so I wont be able to get my interval training in. I was thinking about doing it on sunday which is normally my day off, but I might just take the day to rest. I think my knee needs it.

When I got home last night as soon as I stepped out of my truck my knee cap twisted weird and I got 2 sharp tinging pains on either side of my knee cap. It didnt hurt too much and I didnt think anything of it, I was too busy thnking of gettin changed so I can get my resistance training done. So I started my routine and I didnt really feel anything during the warmup period, but once I got into the routine and was changing from one position to another I kept getting the sharp pain again. I gave it 100% and really pushed out 3 circuits and was pretty sweatty, but it just hurt too much to do one more, so I only completed 3 circuits. I was a little bummed but I knew it would be stupid to push my knee harder and risk seriously injuring it.

So maybe its good I had to be at work all day, and now that I just got done overlooking week 6's routine, I think I will relax tomorrow too to make sure my knee is totally fine for mondays routine. Week 6 has alot of leg stuff and standing jumps so I want to be ready.

I weighed in today at 164.5 lbs, so I am still losing weight, which is good cause Im really getting antsy about the gut still lingering. Despite my nearly 3" loss it still stares at me in the mirror and just mocks me. I will be cranking up my interval training next week too. I have to, since I will be posting pictures again at the beginning of week 7. Gotta show improvement for those pics!!

Keep it up everybody and have a great weekend!

Thursday, day 4 of week 5

Not too much to report, I was a little busy yesterday so I didnt blog. But yesterday went good, it was exactly the same as Monday, I did the advanced level and did 4 circuits. I did sweat alot more than on monday though for some strang reason.

Today was a good interval day too, I did the exact same thing that I did on tuesday. That 2 minutes at 9mph goes good, until about a minute and a half, then that last thirty seconds kills! But I did it, and I felt great afterwards too.

For some odd reason its been a little hard to get the will going to get up and go do my workout. It was like that yesterday and today, but once I do start it I feel better and Im glad that I did start. Im not tired or anything, so Im not sure why Im feeling like that...maybe it will pass. Even if it dosnt I will not be giving into it, I will still workout no matter what!

300 - No Mercy

Best scene in the movie!!

Tuesday, day 2 of week 5

Today went good with the interval training. I kicked it up a bit too. I started out with my normal warmups, and then did 30 reps forward and to each side for the wheel of death, my ab routine. Im surprised how I handled adding 5 more reps from last week. Then after the abs I jumped onto the treadmill and did the following routine:

2min at 3mph, then
2min at 6mph, then
1min at 9mph, then
2min at 6mph, then
2min at 9mph, then
6min at 7mph, then
5min at 6mph, then
2min 30 sec at 3mph, and then
30 sec at 2mph.

All running was done at a 2% grade with the coushining level at 3, which makes it a little harder cause it simulates running in sand almost. I was happy with myself being able to do 2 whole minutes at 9mph....I got to 1min and thought why stop, im not tired yet, but then I got to 1min 30 sec and I got tired. But I pushed it out all the way to 2 min. Little goals and little accomplishments, they're nice.

Ive been looking at all of your blogs and I have to say great work you guys. Keep it up! As the weeks go on we will really start to see some major changes in eachothers bodies. You can see it already in some of your pictures.

Dont give up, keep going!

"NO PRISONERS,...NO MERCY!!!"

Monday, day 1 of week 5

Alright, so todays the day, the day I have to take pictures. Im a little nervous because I sit and look in the mirror and Im really not seeing that much of a change, except for in my arms and legs. But I said I would post pictures so I have to psych myself up for them. First off heres a couple of my stats as of today:

Beginning of week 1: 8-27-07

weight- 177.5 lbs

gut measurement- 39 7/8"

Beginning of week 5: 9-24-07

weight- 167 lbs

gut measurement- 37 3/16"

Total weight loss = 10.5 lbs

Total inches around gut lost = 2 11/16"

Im really glad I took measurements of my gut from the beginning, because if I hadn't I probably would have stopped by now. Even with all your guys support and encouragement it is really a downer to look in the mirror everyday and still see a fat belly. But with the measurement numbers right in front of my face I cant deny that this program is really working! Much better than I had ever imagined!! So I sit back and think about the numbers for a second....WOW...Ive lost 10 lbs, and almost 3" in 4 weeks!! Thats frickin awesome!!!! Thats whats really going to keep the fire inside me lit!!!

Now that I have that out of my system, here's my pics from today:

Here's a comparrison set that I made from week 1 and 2:

As for todays week 5 routine, it went very good. I still had to do my usual warmup #1 because I didn't get enough stuff out of the way in the garage to allow me to use my jumprope. No biggy though. I stuck with the advanced level since this week is also circuit training like week 4. Today kicked my butt a little!! LOL The switching the balance ball from hands to feet KILLS my abs!! But I love it...and the balancing on the ball pushups really arent that easy. Its amazing how much it makes your abs burn....they remind me of planks...not so much pushups. I wanted to add some stuff of my own but ran out of time, maybe wednesday.

Saturday, day 6 of week 4

Well today was my last interval day of the week. Today was a littl hard because it was such a beautiful day out and I started doing some stuff in the garage and was just getting into that so much that I really didn't want to workout. I even started to tell myself maybe I'll skip today and do my interval tomorrow, but luckily I snapped out of it.

So after stretching and doing my warmup routine I did the wheel of death for my abs, 25 straight and 25 each side for obliques, just like thursday. This time I threw in some bench presses, some dumbell curls, and some dumbell shoulder shrugs. WOW did those burn!

Then I hit the treadmill and did the following:

2min at 3mph, then
2min at 6mph, then
1min at 10mph, then
6min at 6mph, then
4min at 7mph, then
3min at 6mph, then
2min at 3mph, then
1min at 2mph for cool down.

I did the entire routine at 2% grade until the last 3 min of walking, I went up to 10% grade. That felt really good in the front of my lower legs.

So thats it for this week, another one down. I cant wait to start week 5, Im getting really excited now because Im starting to notice more and more changes in myself, and people around me are starting to notice too. Tomorrow I might put together a stats list of my progress so far, or I might just add it to Mondays when I take my week 5 pics...not sure yet.

Hope all of you are keeping up with it! Its hard but dont forget, ITS WORTH IT!!!

I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO MY OLD WAYS,.....EVER!!!!!

Friday, day 5 of week 4

Todays resistance went very good, I pushed myself a little extra today. Same thing as usual though, started with the warmups, then only waited 1 minute and started the resisitance routine. I chose to do the advanced level again for a total of 4 circuits, which really had me sweatin. I snapped a quick pic of me right after I was finished with my training today.

Enjoy week 3 guys, cause week 4 starts circuit training, FUN!!!! Deffinetely not as easy as I originally thought.

Thursday, day 4 of week 4

Just got this entry in on time, just barely!!! I just finished my interval training for today. I had to do it late because like I sometimes have to, I had to be at work all day today.



I started the same way as usual, with the 8 sets of dynamic warmup #1, and then I did my ab wheel of death, which consisted of 25 straight and 25 oblique side crunches. I uped it by 5 each one.



Then I hit the treadmill, and I figured I'de show you how I did, so heres a pic of my final results:



Not too bad if I dont say so myself. I did the following, all at 2% grade:


2min at 3mph, then
2min at 6mph, then
1min at 10mph, then
2min at 6mph, then
1min at 9mph, then
14min at 6mph, then
2min at 3mph, then
1min at 2mph.


This was a pretty intense run, but I feel GREAT right now.....Im even thinkin after I shower I might see if the miss' wants to "work out". ;-)


Night all!!

Wednesday, day 3 of week 4

Well today went pretty good. I didnt get the interval in like I wanted to because I ran out of time. But I did up my workout today. As you will see when you get to week 4 you can choose your intensity level for that weeks resistance routine, so Monday I chose to do it at the intermediate level which consisted of 45 seconds for each exercise with a 15 second brake inbetween each one, for a total of 3 circuits. It was pretty good but I was left with extra energy so I added some of my own stuff afterwards.

So today I had purchased a second set of resistance tubing so that I wouldnt have to waste time swithing tubes out, it helped ALOT!! I figured I would test myself too, so I decided to do the advanced level for the routine, which allows 60 seconds for each exercise with only a 5 second brake in between each exercise. WOW did this really kick my ass today!!

I started with my normal routine, stretching for a couple minutes and then doing 8 sets of the dynamic warmup #1, but I only waited 10 to 15 seconds in between each set of the warmup. That really increased my heartrate and got me sweattin faster. Then I proceeded to start the week 4 routine at the advanced level. I did the routine for a total of 4 circuits, and still added my other little dumbell exercises at the end.

I wanted to run afterwards but I just didn't have time, and to tell you the truth, I didn't have the energy! Doing the avdanced level for 4 circuits really took it out of me. What a HUGE difference between the intermediate and advanced levels! I had a sweat line down to just below my chest, it was pretty crazy. I even started my routine today with an extra 20 minutes.

I feel really good now that Im at work and have had my protein shake on the way in and I just finished my turkey and green beans dinner. I woke up this morning and was still 169 lbs, so thats good. Im really gonna try to kick it up for tomorrows interval again and see if I can burn some more fat!

Tuesday, day 2 of week 4

WOW was today awesome!! Im really surprised but I am actually a tiny bit sore in some new places, so I am assuming it was from some of the resistance training from yesterday. Guess it wasn't as easy as I thought LOL! I also bought some of those medical balls that you squeeze, so that I have something to do at work, and Im feeling that in my forearm today!

So for todays interval training I thought I might change it up a bit, so I started my normal warmup, which is now up to 8 sets of the "Dynamic Warmup #1), which is really getting me sweattin! Then I did my wheel of death ab routine, which only consisted of 20 straight rolls and 20 oblique side rolls each side. Then I hit the treadmill and ran for over 23 minutes and over 2miles! I burned 57 carbs and a little over 300 calories, I was excited. This is what I did:

2 min at 3mph, then
2 min at 6mph, then
1 min sprint at 9mph, then
2 min at 6mph, then
1 min sprint at 9mph, then
13 min at 6mph, then
2 min at 3mph for cool down, then
1 min at 2mph for finish

I thought Ide mix it up a bit today and this is what I came up with. Ive been running the same thing with only a little difference in the speed for the last 3 weeks so I figured I'de throw my body a curve, and it worked! I sweat the most today than any other interval training day yet!

I also weighed in this morning at 169lbs, so thankfully Im still losing some weight. Really going to try and get some fat burned from my gut this week for those week 5 pics.

Oh, thanks to all who leave me comments on this blog, you have no idea how much they really help and keep me going. We are all in this together!!!!

Monday, day 1 of week 4

Well today was the first day off week 4 for me. I really want to hit the interval hard this week cause next week I will be posting new pics, and I want to start seeing a real noticable difference in my stomach area. I already see the change in my arms and legs, but Im looking for gut changes! LOL!!

So in going over the week 4 routine it looks a bit like some week 1 and 2 and 3 stuff with the ball mixed in, not too tuff looking.

I started off today with doing my usual "Dynamic Warmup #1", but I did it 8 times today. I will do it at 8 times for the rest of the week and then starting week 5 I will do a new "Dynamic Warmup" set. I chose to do todays routine in the intermediate level, so I did each exercise for 45 seconds with a 15 second rest in between each exercise, and then a 1 minute rest in between each circuit. I completed 3 circuits, but was left feeling like I still had alot of energy to burn. So I added some freeweights exercises and some basic pushups that I did slowly.

I would have done alo9t more but I ran out of time, so my next resistance day I will deffinetely add another 1/2 hour or more. Also this week I will be doing my own routine with my ab wheel, which of course I named "the wheel of death", because that thing kills your stomach! But thats what I used the last time I almost got to a six pack, but only made it to a 4, so I know that thing works.

I feel a little bit of soreness in my abs though today, so maybe that means the stomach exercises today worked! Thats pretty much it for today, time to eat my tuna, pickle, and cottage cheese now, and watch 300. Im at work so theres not much else to do.

Oh, heres something I found out too about week 4. I noticed that it was taking me too long to switch the resistance bands around for each of the exercises, so I decided that I will go to Walmart and pick up another set of the resistance bands. No big deal since they were only 10$, but it will make it easier to have 2 sets of bands so that I can have 1 set up for one exercise and the other for a different exercise and wont have to waist time changing bands.

Week 3 workout info

So this section will get my late to blog ass all caught up and up to date!! Sorry if it seems short and sweet, but it will be!

Monday, day 1 of week 3. My first day of week 3, and all the soreness is pretty much gone now, Im feeling really excited to do this weeks routine too, it looks more like working out!! So like I posted earlier, http://groups.google.com/group/arnels-6-pack-attack/browse_thread/thread/c684f2f2dd880ef6 I bought the elastic bands from Walmart cause I just didnt have the time to buy the bodylastics ones. Price was not a factor, just time. So I not only did the routine exactly as layed out, but I added extra reps because I felt that it wasn't hard enough. I didnt add too much to try and kill myself, but just enough to get that burn going nice and strong. I had to experiment with the bands a bit to find what I liked, and I settled on using the red (lightest intensity band) and the black ( heaviest intensity band) together for the rest of all my exercises for the entire week. Plus my daughter snaked the blue band from me and was happy swinging it around!

Tuesday, day 2 of week 3. A little sore from yesterdays resistance training, but glad to feel the soreness again, it must mean somethings changing! Especially my inner thighs, from the Stationary lunges is my guess. So I figured now that Im starting to feel alot better I should really start pumping up my running speeds, so today after doing my dynamic warmup #1 (7 times now) I started walking for 2 min at 3 mph, then 5mph for 2 min, then 9mph for 1 min, then 6mph for 2 min, then 10 mph for 1 min, then 6mph for 2 min, then 10mph for 1 min, then 5mph for 2 min, then 3mph for a 2 min cooldown. Sorry that writes out really weird, but holy cow did I sweat like crazy!! I had no idea how much harder going from 9mph to 10mph would be!! But I felt great afterwards!!

Wednesday, day 3 of week 3. Well the soreness from mondays workout has gone, only slightly there in my inner thighs, so I will add 2 different workouts this day. After all is finished I ended up doing 20 squats with red/black bands, 20 standing chest presses, 15 stationary lunges each leg, which killed the first set, bt got surprisingly easier the next 2 sets, 20 standing rows, 15 standing shoulder presses, which got cery hard to do during the last 6 or 7 of the very last set, 20 bicep curls each arm, 20 standing rotations each direction, and 15 hip thrusts. Now I wanted a little more so I added 3 sets of 20 doing sitting behind the head tricep curls with both hands using a 25lb dumbell, and also added 3 sets of 15 seated forearm curls, which I have added a video of to demonstrate. Also I felt really pumped today so I added 10 minutes of running which had a single 1 minute 10mph sprint in it. I was very happy with myself, considering I did this after I got home at like 9:30 pm and didnt finish till after 11pm.


Here is the video of my forearm routine, which I added to the resistance workouts 2 days of week 3, and will be adding it to week 4 also. I used to do this exercise alot in highschool when I was lifting weights alot, and love what it does for my forearms. Rest your arm palms up on your leg and let the barbell roll allthe way to the end of your fingertips, then curl your fingers up and finally curl your whole rist up as far as you can, then slowly release it and repeat. I did 15 of these each arm and trust me, YOU WILL FEEL AN EXCRUSIATING BURN, but you will love it!

Thursday, day 4 of week 3. I was happy with how my interval training went on tuesday, but I felt I still had a little more in me, so today I again pumped it up a little. I decided to run the entire duration at a 2% grade this time, and believe me it made a BIG difference! So my run went as follows: 2 minutes at 3mph for warmup (after my 7 sets of dynamic warmup of course!), then 2 min at 6mph, then 1 min at 9mph, then 2 min at 6 mph, then 1 min at 10mph, then 2 min at 6mph, then 1 min at 9 mph, then 2 min at 5mph, then down to 3 mph for a 2 min cooldown. WOW did this version of interval REALLY kick my butt!! But another day and another triumph!! "NO PRISONERS...NO MERCY!!!"

Friday, day 5 of week 3. Again I had to work all day, so it was hard to go straight home knowing I MUST workout, but I did it. Everything was exactly the same as wednesday, except I did not add any interval training at the end. Plus this night I had my cute little workout buddy that found her way into the garage with me to keep me company and laugh at me while trying to mimic me!

Saturday, day 6 of week 3. Today was exactly the same as thursday, with the 2 % incline the entire run. But this time I did my sprints different, the first was 10mph, then 10mph, then 9mph.

Week 3 pictures and info

Well here are the pictures that I promised. They were taken on Monday, day 1 of week 3. Not a huge difference in the two sets but I feel so much stronger, my arms and legs are tighter and getting really hard. I have been adding some workouts to my routine this week, when I get home later I will fill in details about how the workouts went. For now heres just the pictures.

Week 2

Ok, well this is just to catch you up to speed as of how my second week went. As you know by now (if you've been reading posts from me) Im in the 3rd week of the routine.

I was very sore from week 1's routine. It was really hard to keep myself motivated, so I looked around and found that I could join you guys in the group chat room without being in the actual challenge. I was very glad for this, because without reading some of your stories and talking with all of you I might have given up. But obviously I havn't, so I started week 2 with the feeling of not being alone, it was nice.

Monday, day 1 of week 2, was a very hard day for me. My body was VERY thankful for the Sunday off, but was not happpy when I started the routine again. I start off every day with some stretching and then I do the Dynamic Warmup #1 from Arnels six pack website. http://www.iwantsixpackabs.com/workout/bodywarmup.html I like the #1 warmup alot, its easy, fast, and gets me sweating really quick. I did it 4 or 5 times this day I think, and then rest for 1 minute, and started the resistance routine. I did everything in the routine at a good rate, but I DID NOT LIKE THOSE DIVE BOMBER PUSHUPS!! I did all 20 for each set, but towards the last set they got really ugly! Also I just did the straight plank again, I couldn't do the 1 leg planks for more than 10 seconds.

Tuesday, day 2 of week 2, started off with the warmup, I believe I did 5 times again. Then I got on my treadmill and started my interval training. I started off with 2mph walk for 1 min, then 3 mph for 2 min, then 5mph jog for 2 min, then 8 mph sprint for 1 minute, and repeated the 5 mph to 8 mph for a total of 3 prints. Let me tell you, I have always been able to run at a set pace for long distances, and have never felt the way that this type of running makes me feel. I love it!

Wednesday, day 3 of week 2. Resistance training just as monday, but MUCH easier! I didn't feel as sore on wednesday, so it was alot easier to do the workout, and the dive bombers stayed fairly consistent throughout. Sweat like Mike Tyson at a spelling bee, jeez!!

Thursday, day 4 of week 2, same exact thing as tuesday. (interval day, same speeds)

Friday, day 5 of week 2. I didn't get to workout when I usually do, had to go to work all day. But I read the group postings and got the needed boost to go home and immediately work out. Today was funny though, my daughter got into the garage with me and was imitating me evertime I did a workout number, it was very cute. She layed down above me when I was doing the sittup part towards the end, and was huffing and puffing and lifting her legs mimicking me. Made me laugh...which was hard while doing sittups! LOL

Saturday, day 6 of week 2, due to family problems I had to do my interval training earlier than normal, but it went very well. I am starting to feel like I can go longer and faster, so today I uped the jog speed twice to 6mph and did the middle sprint at 9 mph. It was tuff but I felt really good afterwards. My body is no longer sore, even with the resistance training the night before.

So that was how week 2 went for me. I have started to notice the veins in my forearms starting to pop out again, I missed them! My arms are getting alot harder, and Im noticing a nice cut forming in my triceps. My calfs are also becoming more defined, and my quads are getting like rocks. I look in the mirror and can see a slight difference but most of it is in my face, arms, and legs. I still see a belly there, which disheartens me a little bit. But I have dropped from my starting weight of 177.5 lbs to 173.5 lbs now, so I know there is some fat being burned away.

My discovery of: i want six pack abs

Well its the first week, and I cant tell you how excited I am to have found this workout program. This all started for me one day when I got out of the shower, looked at myself in our floor to ceiling bathroom mirrors and just said "damn, Im fat...and Im sick of it!"

I have a 2 year old daughter, Ally, who is my life and my love. Its amazing the energy that these little people posses! Its actually getting hard to keep up with her and I dont like that at all, so that is my MAIN reason for doing this program, to make sure Im around to see my little girl become an amazing person someday, and to know that I was there to help teach, shape and mold her into the person she will be. But I cant do it if Im fat and unhealthy, so here I am!

So now that I had my motivation I just needed that 1 last thing to push me into gear, so would'nt you know it, I found my last piece of inspiration in a movie. A stupid movie of all things, and I know it might sound stupid, but it was when me and my girlfriend were sitiing down one evening and watched 300. Besides the fact that I thought the movie was great and seriously kicked ass, I just watched and thought to myself "wow, Im 29 and I dont look anything even remotely similar to these guys, and most of them were in their 30's and 40's!" So I went online and researched a 300 spartan workout regimine, and one of the Youtube videos that popped up was Arnel's week 7 (or 8?) video. So I watched it along with others but something about Arnels just caught my eye, so I checked out the six pack abs website that I saw in the video. I then emailed him my email address and got access to the real six pack abs website and sat there for about an hour and read it from top to bottom.

The thing that really grabbed me with Arnels program was that after looking at the exercises for each individual week I sat and thought "hey, this looks like something I could do". So I did some research on nutritional guidelines I should follow for eating better, checked out some of Arnel's sample menus, did a little more research, and wholla! It took me about a week to write up my 1st weeks diet plan, but I ate good during that week too. I quit soda completely!! Cold turkey. But you know what, it was'nt that hard. I've learned that if you are eating the right foods, and eating more frequently, you dont get cravings for alot of the bad stuff that we have been blindly stuffing into our mouths for years and years. I had to give up the Ho Ho's too, but Im ok with it!

Now I have my diet planned out, my routine for all 16 weeks printed out, how and when I will be working out all shceduled, its just time to start!


First off let me just say, the first week is the hardest! I am so out of shape, so weak feeling, that it makes it hard to even keep going. I really tried to do all of the reps for each specified exercise that was writtin out but some of them I just could'nt. I kept track of exactly how many of everything I did do though, and it helped give me something to try and beat the next time I was going to do the resistance day. Honestly, the first resistance day, Monday, I could'nt finish the entire workout. My head was pounding and I could feel extreme pressure building up in the back of my head. Im still not sure what it was but I do know that I have a history of heart and blood pressure problems that run in my family. Also my blood pressure reading the Sunday before I started was 134 over 89, which is not good.

Tuesday came, the second day of my 16 week journey and my first interval training day. Lets just say I was motivated...but not really excited. I have chosen to run for my interval training days for the entire 16 week period, I have always loved running so I figured great, its something I like so I know I would stick to it. It was VERY hard....I ran for 4 minutes at a medium jog, then sprinted as fast as I could for 1 minute (actually only 38 seconds), it was NOT easy! I then continued to jog again for another 4 minutes, sprinted again, this time for 45 seconds, and then jogged for another 4 minutes till I gothome. I then went upstairs to take my shower and sat on the floor in the shower for a good 10 minutes before I had enough energy to stand and actually shower! Funny...but not really.

Wednesday's resistance was a little easier. I actually did 3 full sets of the pull ups, first 7, then 9, then 10! I was very excited then, so happy I found enough energy in me to finish the entire routine. This time I had only a very slight headache...a good sign I guess.

Thursday's interval day was alot better than Tuesday's, I used my treadmill which made it alot more enjoyable than running in the sun. I ran fo over 1 mile, keeping my jogging at 5 miles per hour and sprinting for 1 full minute at 8 miles per hour. I repeated this 3 times just like the program requires, and I sweated my brains out!!

Friday was great! Did all of the required exercises, but only could muster 3 sets of 10 for the pull ups, but hey...its week 1. I still finished everything, and I ws very happy with myself.

Saturday was my last interval day of the week, and I was glad too. I pushed myself as hard as I could and ran through the sore muscle pains and did exactly the same routine that I had done on Thursday. I was very sore and achy, like most people doing this routine know. But I had done it!! Week 1 had come and gone for me, and I survived it!!

"NO PRISONERS.......NO MERCY!!!!"

WEEK 1 PICTURES

Well, heres my pics from Monday, August 27th, my first day of the "i want six pack abs" workout routine. What can I say, not much to look at, but hey, thats one of the reasons Im doing this!

As you can see...years of eating fast food, eating once a day, not getting any exercise, and drinking soda can give you this physique too!! If thats your desired physical appearance. But as for me, Im sick of looking like this!

So today starts my 16 week journey, and hopefully by posting these hideous pictures it will give me the added boost of motivation to get my butt in gear and start getting healthy. I will be updating my pics with bi-weekly photos taken every Monday. So here they are.....WEEK 1.