All ready for my comeback!

So I know that nobody is reading this anymore, but I will still be using this for more of a way to keep track of my progress myself. Since my last post MUCH has happened in my life, but as far as physically I have dealt with an excruciating ankle injury. I rolled my right ankle and ended up with grade 3 (out of 4) tears to all of the tendons and ligaments in my foot and ankle, with permanent scar tissue built up in my achillies. It happened in mid december of 08', and I was unable to walk or run until August of 09', so of course my physical fitness level took a nose dive. The injury along with depression due to other circumstances in my life was a total whammy to my physical fitness attitude. BUT, it is now 2 years after my injury, life has leveled out as far as personal stuff goes, and my ankle is feeling spectacular! I started my diet on Jan 1st this year just like I did when originally doing this program, which was to cut out soda and begin to get myself used to eating right again. I've already lost 6lbs since the 1st, so I was 177 and am now 171. Every little bit I can lose before restarting next week will help...especially with those pullups! Anyway, I will be posting pics on my first start day just like last time, and will be searching for a new online group that is doing the same. One thing I learned last time is that having others to push you deffinetely helps, and competition is a great motivator! Till then....

Update Post here

Well this is just a quick update post. So after I got back from my vacation up at Brian Head Utah I got very sick, apparently from something flu like that has ben passed around at work. This has been the longest flu/cold thing I have ever had!! I am FINALLY getting it out of my system these past few days, and not a moment too soon since I have been sick now for almost 3 weeks!! Since I have been so sick I have not been able to go to the gym, which is KILLING me!!! I still eat great, and always will from now on, so I havn't gained any weight at all. But I still feel so crappy with missing the workouts. I am hoping to be able to resume my workouts starting this sunday or monday, and have decided on actually redoing the original 16 week program, modified for the gym of course, but with a little twist. I will be wearing extra weights for the entire 16 weeks, and will start out with 20 lbs extra, and will work up 5 lbs every 4 weeks. So by the time I get to week 16 I will be doing the exercises while wearing an additional 35lbs.

I decided on this because I really enjoyed Arnels 16 week program and all the intensity that it had. Even though Im modifying some stuff for the gym, I still dont get the same intensity in my workouts like I did when working out in my garage. When I start I will let you all know how it goes. Good luck to all of you that are starting your own journey in the second group! And again, thanks to all for your support! Talk to you soon.

Douglas

Week 1 pictures

Heres a recap of my week 1 pictures, YIKES!!!

Friday, day 5 of week 17

FINISHED WITH MY FIRST 16 WEEKS!!

Well I am now officially finished with Arnels 16 week program, and I am very pleased with my results. A few thoughts before I get to my pictures though, and some of which include the fact that I would like to thank Arnel for publishing his program free of charge. Thank you for your help in guiding and shaping my new healthier lifestyle. Having gone through so much these past 16 weeks has really changed me in more than just a physical way. I now know that I could'nt have sustained my previous ways for too much longer without having suffered some serious health issues not too far down the road. Now I eat healthier, and love working out! I started this program to get in shape, but I ended up with so much more. I now have added time with my daughter Ally, who used to be able to run circles around me, but now has a hard time keeping up with me! I have also incorporated my healthier lifestyle into my daughters eating habits somewhat, which I know will help her to be a healthier child and grow up stronger. Even though I am now complete with Arnels initial 16 week program, I will not stop my journey to reaching my ultimate body goals. I have been incorporating weight lifting into my workout routines to help build muscle mass, and now know how to balance it with proper cardio interval training, along with the much needed proper diet. I believe diet was one of the underliying factors for my success in Arnels program, it is amazing how much better you feel when eating a proper balanced diet throughout the day.

Here are some of my program results:

Beginning weight- 175.5lbs, now 150.5lbs

Total weight loss- 27lbs

Beginning gut measurement- 39-7/8", now 33-1/2"

Total inches lost- 6-3/8"

Average blood pressure reading- 140 over 90, now 119 0ver 79

I have still yet to get an acurate body fat percentage, but using Arnels link I had these numbers:

Beginning body fat %- 27%, now 16%

Beginning BMI- 25.6, now 21.5

I just got back from a vacation up at Brian Head, Utah, where I went snowboarding and sledding with my daughter. It was great because I like to snowboard but its been difficult for me since I was always out of shape and heavy. Not this time!! I had no problems getting off the lifts, or even with getting winded, I had tons of energy and didnt even get tired feeling once! It was awesome. I wasnt even sore feeling the next day like I used to be after a day of snowboarding.

Well heres some of my pics from my technically ending 16 week program, but remember, I am still going!

I took these 2 pics in the bathroom under different light, just to show that lighting does effect how you see yourself in the mirror!

Heres a comparison set of pictures.

I am very proud of myself and my accomplishments so far, and I am very pleased with my results so far, but I will continue to push myself and my body to until I achieve my physical goals, so stay tuned for more results!!

Merry Christmas everyone out there, and God bless you all this holiday season and in the new year!

-Douglas

Thursday, day 4 of week 16

Hey all, I know its ben a little bit since my last post, but like most of us Ive just been really busy. You know, the usual, life, work, home, and of course the holidays. But rest assured I have still been very good with my workouts, and have ben going to the gym 3-5 times a week still. Ive been lifting heavier weights this week, since my reps were getting too high and the weights were getting too easy. My HIIT has been going really good too. Ive been averaging 4 times a week lately, which I know isnt the 6 that I should be doing, but 4 aint bad. Plus my weight got down to 150lbs and that was plenty light for me. Im now at about 152-153 lbs, and my waist and gut are still the same measurement so that means that I am gaining muscle mass, which is what I want. I feel much stronger than when I first started the weight lifting in week 9. I ran for the first time on monday since my foot injury, and it went pretty good. I first did my HIIT on the bike for 25 minutes, and then ran for about 3/4 of a mile, and then walked 1/2 mile to cool it down. I had some slight tenderness the nex day but it seems fine today. I have to work till midnight tonight so I will be going to the gym late tonight to do my HIIT and maybe run a bit more.

I will try to post pictures on sunday or monday, but cant guarantee it, as I said earlier I am extremely busy with stuff right now. But even with my busy schedule I have stuck to the workouts and the diet strictly. You dont have to worry about me falling victim to my old ways, because like I said when I first found Arnels program, this is a forever lifestyle change for me. Im almost done with his 16 week program, and even though I dont have my full six pack yet, I know that it is only a matter of time until I do achieve my goal. I will still use his diet methods, and his workout methods to keep my body strong and to keep pushing it harder and harder. I will also continue to post on this blog for a long time to come, as I use this to keep me motivated and to encourage and push others to also achieve their goals. Im proud of all that everyone in this group has accomplished. You should be proud of yourself, for we are the few, we are the very few that dont give up, dont give in, and just dont give a damn what anyone else thinks or says! Congrats to all that are in the competition, your final week is coming up, good luck. I will post again soon, see ya!

Wednesday, day 3 of week 14

Hey all, just a quick update here. Last week went pretty good, worked out 5 days last week with 2 of them being weight training days. I have done my HIIT everyday that I go to the gym. Its been a little tuff going to workout so late some nights, but Ive been getting used to it. Ive been doing the 6 rounds of my HIIT on the bike still, and then Ive been walking around the track for about a mile afterwards to keep stretching my foot. It dosnt hurt at all during the day anymore, but it starts to feel a little sore after working out. So I will be waiting for another week before going back to running. I miss running so much that I dont want to screw it up again, so Im not going to chance it.

Hope everyones holidays went well, and the diets were stuck to! I did good, minus the gravy maybe, I did have gravy on my turkey and potatoes, but cmon,...it Thanksgiving!!

Im sore a little bit from lastnights workout, Ive uped alot of my weight lifting amounts, and cut the reps down to 10 or less on some of them. For example Im doing my bicep curls with 40lb dumbells now, and shoulder shrugs with 80lb dumbells, and my back exrcise is up to 230lbs now, and 165lbs for my pull downs, which are like doing pull ups. I feel alot stronger since adding the weight lifting, and Im still losing inches around my gut.

The hardest part is trying to eat 200 to 225 grams of protein a day, that part sucks a little. Well hope everyone is rockin still, post again in a few days! See ya!

Monday, day 1 of week 13

Well I know I usually post pics every 2 weeks but I looked and compared the pics from this week to the ones from 2 weeks ago and there is no noticable difference, so I see no need to post them. My gut measurement was down another 3/4" from 2 weeks ago, so that puts me at just over 5-1/2" now.

This is going to be a hard week at work since the holidays are approaching, and we have added shows because of it. So tonight I will have to go to the gym after work at midnight to get my first HIIT in for the week, so its going to be a late night for me. Not really looking forward to it, especially since I know I have to do 6 rounds too. I will probably do the bike again this week.

My foot feels alot better, but still not 100%. I am going to try and stay away from any unnecessary movements involving my foot, so that way I will be able to run next week. I really want to run because I know that its the MOST effective form of interval training for burning fat. I am also going to try and be very strict with my diet this week too, as I need to do something to make up for the fact that Im stuck doing a less intense interval exercise. I might not post that much this week because of the busy schedule, so if you dont hear from me dont worry, I'll still be going strong!

Good luck everybody, and work extra hard this thanksgiving week!!

Saturday, day 6 of week 12

This is just a catch up post real quick, I did my workout on thursday, and it went really good. I did the bicycle again for 25 minutes and burned like 235 calories. Then yesterday I went again and did my ab routine, and then hit the bicyle for 35 minutes and burned 315 calories, so I was happy with that. Im sortta liking the bicycle now, even though I really miss running alot, so its going to be nice to have a substitute HIIT for later.

The foots feeling alot better, I'de say maybe %80 now. Soon I will be BACK %100!!!!!

Thursday, day 4 of week 12

Ok, so last night after my warmup I did some ab stuff. Not any of the ab routines, but I just sortta made up my own from different exercises we have used over the weeks. Im feeling it a little today. Then after that I did the exercise bike for 25 minutes, burned like 230 calories, and sweat up a storm!! It wasn't as hard as the rowing but it was nice to do something else. I still cant wait till I can run again!! I love the running so much, especially now that I cant.

I weighed in this morning at 154.5 lbs, which gives me 4 consecutive days of losing weight again, since the last 2 weeks my weight has been pretty consistent. I measured my gut too for the heck of it and it also has lost a little bit more. Hopefully I will see some pretty good results for my week 13 pics next week, ...hopefully.....

Wednesday, day 3 of wek 12

Did my week 12 routine at the gym last night, and Im a bit sore today. I changed up some of the leg stuff since my foot is still a bit messed up, so instead of the squat jumps with weight I did the squat and press exercise from week 10, and used a 35lb plate when doing them. I did 4 sets of 10 of those, and my shoulders are feeling it!! Another example is the bicep curls, I just used 40lb dumbells and those were tough!! I did 3 sets of 6 for each arm, and I thought my veins in my arms were gonna pop! But like I said, Im a bit sore from the workout but not bad, and my foot was doing really good yesterday, but today its not as happy, so I will have to take it easy the next week, and maybe not do too many of the leg intensive workouts and substitute something else. I also did the rowing again, and did a total of 25 minutes and rowed 5094 meters, and burned like 300 calories. I like the rowing but it really starts to hurt my butt cheeks about halfway thru it, so tonight when I go to do my HIIT after work I will try the exercise bike or something else.

Monday, day 1 of week 12

Just a quick update here....I made it to the gym on Saturday to do my 4th day of HIIT for the week, before I went in to work, and again did the rowing machine. That thing is insane!! I set the resistance level to 10, on a 1-10 scale, so its not easy, but thats why Im loving that thing! I made my own program and since noone else uses the thing it retains my info, so that makes it easy for me to jump on and go.

I was supposed to go to the gym yesterday and do my 3rd and last day of resistance for week 11 and my 5th HIIT, but I took my daughter to the air show yesterday and walking around all day just took its tole on my foot. I bought and used some crutches, so that helped alot, but I was still a bit sore, so I took the day off.

I felt bad about not workoing out yesterday, but I know I need to rest it. And just for the heck of it I checked my gut measurement this morning and Im down almost another 1/2" from last week, and have kept my weight at about 157.5, which should mean that Ive lost fat around my gut but gained enough muscle to even out my fat weight loss, which is a good thing!

So tomorrow I will start my week 12 routine, and do the same thing I've been doing, with transfering Arnels program to gym equipment. My foots feeling alot better today, but now my calf is tightening up on the top and bottom, which is suppost to happen one of my coworkers said. He says its the bodies way of helping imobilize the bad body part, by tightening up other muscles.

I just got done looking at some of your blog updates and I just wanted to say that we are really kickin some ass!! Some of you who have been in for awhile, and you know who you are, the og's, you guys are lookin AWESOME!!! Keep up the great work you guys, and girl, see ya!!

Friday, day 5 of week 11

So i got some bad news and some good news, and since I try to be an optimist I'll give the bad news first. The bad news is my foot still hurts, rather bad infact. If its relaxed and sits for a while its actually worse when I walk, but if I massage it and stretch it its not that bad when I walk. And after yesterday when I was leaving the gym it was so stretched out and warmed up that I could barely feel it. Which bring me to the good news, my workout lastnight! I was a bit worried when I was starting but it actually went really good, I just had to modify my warmup a little bit so that my foot wasnt affected. I did really good at the exercises, and actually uped some of the reps and/or weight for a few of them, but I did really good. I was still sore yesterday too from tuesdays initial week 11 workout, which was nice cause I havn't been sore from Arnels stuff in a few weeks. This method Im using of transfering all of Arnels workouts to the gym equipment seems to be going good, it seems more challenging for me than just the resistance bands and small weights. But dont get me wrong, without the bands and other stuff weve used so far I wouldnt be here now. Oh, and by the way, Batman, I couldnt do the towel pullups either, I think I had too much softner and my towel was ripping! I thought that was funny when I read your blog and just wanted to say.

But the best part of yesterdays workout was my HIIT, which I was able to do THANK GOD! I used the row machine, and man did it kick my butt! I did 5 rounds with a 6 minute warmup, and ended up burning like 300 calories and rowing some 6000 meters I think, I could be wrong about the distance though. But it was actually really exhausting and not as easy as I originally thought. So I will be doing that for the next week or 2 until my foot heals, which is slowly happening. I have a good friend at work that is helping me out with stretches and massage techniques, and so far they ar really helping alot.

Alright all, talk to you later. Keep going strong everyone!!

Thursday, day 4 of week 11

Attack of the invisible injury monster!!

Ok, what is the deal?! I think Im being stalked by an invisible injury monster! First my shoulder, then my knee, now my foot!! Im not sure what happened, but I noticed that my right foot started to hurt a little bit after I got home from the gym on tuesday night, which really went good! Im still sore! It was really cool though, I had no problem finding weight machines to use in place of the exercises for week 11, it was great! So I got home that night, and noticed a bit of pain in the bottom of my foot as I walked upstairs to go to bed, but I thought nothing of it and forgot about it when I woke up yesterday morning. It felt fine until I ran, and about halfway through my HIIT it started to hurt, really bad. I ran thru the pain though and finished another good HIIT, Im VERY determined now remember!! But then I went to work and it KILLED me!!! I was limping all night at work and into today. I iced it and took ibuprofin and all that but it still hurt, so today I went to the doctor just to check it out. Im relieved cause he said there were no bone issues that he could see, and after talking to him he determined that I pulled a tendon or the tendons were tightening up, maybe due to shoes, or something shoe related. So I have to stretch it, ice it alot, massage it, and ibuprofin 3 times a day to take down the slight swelling. It sucks, but the good news is I still get to work out, and do HIIT, but I will have to do it on the bicycle or something, maybe the row machine, dont know yet. I hope it feels better soon, cause I really prefer running!!

Take care all!

Tuesday, day 2 of week 11

NEWLY MOTIVATED!!!!!

So I just got done with my results pic that I should have posted yesterday, and OH MY GOD!! Comparing week 11's to week 1's has really shown me what a difference there is and how much I have improved my body in these past 10 weeks! It has rekindeled the fire in me, very much so in fact that Im all antsy just writing this!! Heres what Im talking about:





Im glad I did these pictures....it really does show you the slightest improvements. I was really bummed about my results from the last 2 weeks, but when I compare the pics from week 9 to week 11 I really can see some differences.

Its just what I needed too, because today I started stepping it up a bit. I did my HIIT already at home before I came into work, and then I will do my week 11 incorporated into weight machines when I leave work tonight and go to the gym. Im not going to kill myself but I am aiming for soreness tomorrow. I am very determined (now more than ever!) to do good with my HIIT these last 6 weeks and to really change my body dramatically. Thanks for all your support you guys, and girl, ( ;-) Pie )it helps me alot. From the simplest of comments, to the long and lengthy written out ones, they all matter to me, and help keep me going. Thank you all. God bless all of you!!

Monday, day 1 of week 11

Well, Im a little dissapointed in myself. My progress was not as good as I know it could have been. Since my last gut measurement I have lost another 1/2", which is good, but I think it could have been much much better. I know why this is though. I have been slacking a little on my HIIT. I only did it 3 times during week 9 and only 2 times last week. I told you how I cant do the HIIT at the gym because their treadmills suck, but I still would run for 10 minutes at 7mph and also do 10 minutes speed interval on the stairmaster, but those arent the same as good ol' HIIT on my treadmill. So my gut measurement now in week 11 is at 34-7/8", and my weight held pretty steady at 158lbs.

Due to my dissapointing performance and results, I will have to modify my workout this week, and see if that helps. So I plan on combining week 11's workout into my gym exercise, which means that I will be doing week 11 but not exactly like Arnel does it, I will be copying all the exercises and transfering them to weight machines to try and up the intensity. I will do that on tuesday, thursday, and either saturday or sunday. I will also need to do my HIIT at home on tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, and saturday or sunday. I know were not suppost to do HIIT before weight lifting, but it will be several hours between the 2 workouts, meaning I will do my HIIT at home before I go to work, then after work I will go to the gym to do my workout, so I dont think that will affect me in a negative way. Let me know if you know any different, as I deffinetely dont want to start screwing up now.

So without further ado, heres my pics from the beginning of week 11:

She wants to know what Im looking at....

Overall Im still happy with my results so far, deffinetely alot better than the out of shape body I used to have. But I have a long and hard 6 weeks left of this program, and I intend on doing my best to get as close as possible to acheiving the results I desire. Im starting to see lines form around my middle abs and my "V" lines are coming in alot more clear on my obliques, and I can barely pinch the skin and fat on my sides, but I still have most of my fat on my front gut and my lower back, but not for long!!!!

Friday, day 5 of week 10

Nothing new to report, I will be doing my week 10 workout and HIIT when I get home tonight. I just thought I'de post some pics of my little devil angel from halloween.








In the spirit of being a more healthy person we handed out glow bracelets instead of candy this year, it was a hit! The kids were all excited and loved them, so it will be a repeat tradition next year. I wont post again until Monday, when I will also be adding new pics....o joy!

Thursday, day 4 of week 10

Ok, so, tuesday went pretty good. I went to the gym after work to do my weight lifting. I have been writing down all the weight levels and sets and reps of everythin Ive been doing, so when I went tuesday I uped the weight levels for almost all of the exercises. I know Im only going 2 days a week but last week I didn't get that sore feeling that I was hoping for. So for example, I uped my bicep curls from 3 sets of 10 with 30lb dumbells to 3 sets of 7 with 35lb dumbells. And I uped my squat press from 3 sets of 20 with 3-45lb weights on each side to 3 sets of 20 with 3-45lb and 1 35lb weight on each side, so I added 70lbs to that exercise. Also when I do my benchpress with dumbells I went from doing 3 sets of 15 with 35lb dumbells to doing 3 sets of 10 with 40lb dumbells. One other example was I changed doing shoulder shrugs at 3 sets of 15 with 50lb dumbells to doing 3 sets of 10 with 70lb dumbells.

Those are just some examples of how I uped my weight levels, and it really worked good. I was a bit sore yesterday, especially in my quads, and it was nice. Its almost gone today, which is good cause I have to go back tonight. I didn't get to do any exercises at all yesterday with it being halloween and I got the day off, so I took a nice 2 hour nap midday and rested alot before taking my daughter out trick or treating. I will add a day of workout on maybe sunday to make up for it.

Pictures again on Monday, but dont hold your breath for too much impovement, see you guys!!

Monday, day 1 of week 10

Im dead tired, so I'll make this quick. I did the week 10 routine today, and it was actually really intense doing it like Arnel layed out, which is to try and do only 6-10 reps and 3-4 sets, then only 2 sets of the last 4 exercises. I was strict with the 30 seconds or less between supersets and it really had me goin! The towel pullups were suckin, I think my towel was ripping, so halfway through them i changed to regular pullups...no biggy. I also do pushups durring my warmups now, so since this weeks routine is pushup intense my chest and arms were dead afterwards! As soon as I finished I jumped on the treadmill and did my interval. It wasnt as intense as the previous weeks since last week I didnt really get a good HIIT in at all, but I still did 4 rounds. 2 at 10mph and 2 at 9mph, and ran for almost 2 miles and 20 minutes total. I think I burned 49 carbs and like 280 calories.

Tuesday night I will go to the gym again and hit those heavy weights again, cant wait!! Ive been keeping my weight steadyish the last few days, which has been around 159lbs to 157.5 lbs, so hopefully the weight lifting will curb the sudden weight loss thing. Im still losing fat around my gut though, I think Im down another quarter inch or so from last week.

Friday, day 6 of week 9

Well I went to the gym last night for the second time this week. Did the same routine as tuesday, which consisted of some supersets that I created myself. Still having an issue with the treadmill at the gym though, so I ran at 7mph for 10 minutes and then did some interval training on the stairmaster, which surprisingly made me sweat like crazy. It wasn't that hard but it just really got me breathin heavy and sweattin alot. Overall I was pretty happy, and I feel pretty good with the slight soreness from the gym workouts. Today Im not as sore, so when I get home I will do my HIIT. I havn't had a descent HIIT all week, since Ive been using the gyms treadmill, but Im not too worried.

Im still losing weight too. As of this morning I was 157.5, which brings my total weight loss since I started to 20 lbs exactly. The number itself sems a little low for my taste, but Im pretty happy with my bodys look right now. Im not getting the skinny scrawny look that I was afraid of, and my chest looks to me to be descent sized, and my arms and legs dont look scrawny, so we will see. I still have most of my fat left right on my lower stomach and back, but its slowly being eatin away. I can tell though that Ive lost some fat on my butt, it feels harder and not so squishy. I have been eatting a little more protein than the last 8 weeks since I have started the weight lifting, and somedays I have 2 protein shakes instead of 1, and I have been eatting more wheat bread and other complex carbs.

I hope to have some good results to report on my next picture posting, which will be on week 11, but Im not getting my hopes up. I dont really expect to see much of a change.

Wednesday, day 3 of week 9

I know its technically thursday but screw it, I gotta post this now and get it out of the way. Well I went to the gym Tuesday night after work to start my first day of heavy lifting and weights, and man did I forget something about lifting weights.....THEY'RE HEAVY!! I did pretty good though, I started with my warmup that I have altered a little bit to make it more intense, my body was getting too used to it. So now I can only do 4 sets of the warmup as opposed to the 8 I was doing, and it gets me sweattin! So I did that first in a small warmup area, and to tell you the truth I felt like an idiot sortta. I mean, everybody in there is all laying around, stretching, quiet, slowly doing ab stuff,...and then theres me kickin my legs up and doin burbees and jumping jacks and pushups and straight jumps.....it was a bit embarassing,....at first. Once I started sweatting I thought, what the hell are these people doing here? Dont you go to the gym to sweat and workout? So I told myself screw em, let em look and think whatever they want, Im not there for them.

So then I went to the weight room and started. I pretty much covered all the major muscles and did it while creating my own little supersets. It went pretty good, it took me over an hour and a half to do the routine I made up. I was really tired too. I tried to do my HIIT afterwards but the treadmills dont work like mine, they are very hard to manually change speeds while running fast, so I will have to see if I can program them. otherwise I will have to keep my HIIT to my house, which is fine too.

Then today I got home from work and did my week 9 resistance. It went pretty good, but Im a bit sore from the weight lifting,....WHICH I LOVE!!! I havn't been sore feeling in weeks!

The new schedule I have come up with, and will try next week will be something like this:
Monday-resistance, HIIT
Tuesday-weight lifting, long distance run
Wednesday-resistance
Thursday-weight lifting, long distance run
Friday-resistance, HIIT
Saturday-OFF, (maybe HIIT if needed)
Sunday-OFF

If anyone has any suggestions as to my weight lifting, or has some good links to exercises please hit me up! Thanks again guys, and you all keep up the great work!