Guns of Steel….uh, well, almost

Chris and I hit the gym hard today. Yea, what’s new. Seriously, today we worked the arms. Yep, the GUNS. The HEATERS. The ROCKS. We pumped IRON. Lifted LEAD. We whined. No; we did NOT whine. Whining is for sissies; those whom have no discipline, nor conviction to get strong. Geez, I’m starting to sound like a drill sargeant.

Anyhoo–we are nearly at the end of the first week our “new regime” (still Week 7), which includes a different type of super-setting. The “negatives” are the best, because AFTER you’ve worked a muscle group from a couple of different angles, you get to lift a slightly heavier weight, and with the assistance of your partner lifting the weight UP, you get to lower the weight S-L-O-W-L-Y. And it h-u-r-t-s. But feels good, too.

Diet? Are you kidding? We’re eating everything in sight. Well, but only a fistful of each portion at at time (i.e., protein/carbs), and at least 5, if not 6, times a day. 

On another note, THANK YOU to all of you who stopped by, either via email, or phone calls, to share your encouragement of our program. I know, it’s silly to some, but to us, it’s a TRANSFORMATION we are looking forward to. Speaking of which, as we “step outside our Comfort Zone”, we’ll be dialing you in as to the progress of our book; again, thanks for your encouragement in that arena (esp. DR & BT). 

Remember: Warm-up. Stretch. Lift. Stretch. Cool Down. Enjoy!

Cardio Times 2

As DT mentioned below, we decided to switch it up and hit cardio times two….What I mean by the “times two” is that when we started out our workout plan several weeks back we were doing 20 minute sessions of intense interval cardio. After a few weeks of 20 minutes, we decided it was time to take it up a few notches to keep our body guessing and to push us a bit. I have to say, interval training is not for the faint at heart….We really push ourselves but we also stay within our target heart rate. I always wear a heart rate monitor to make sure I am staying in my optimal target zone which tells me when I need to push it and when I need to take it down a level to stay within my target zone. We had a great workout today which makes me look forward to Saturday’s cardio session.

CR

Want a good Kardio Kick in the pants?

Step ONE: turn off your alarm. Step TWO: put on your running shoes/shorts/etc. Step THREE: Drink something–powershake, energy mix, etc. Step FOUR: Get in car and drive to Y. Step FIVE: Stretch for 10. Step SIX: Hit the old-fashioned Stairmaster. Do that for 20 minutes. Need to find out how to find your “target rate”, contact Chris or myself. Do this until you nearly puke (should happen between 14 and 19 minutes). Step SEVEN: Immediately get to a Treadmill. Set targets to make yourself work (again; see us for details). Run for 20 minutes, or until you would like to toss your cheerios onto your neighbor (should hit somewhere between 12 and 18 minutes). And, Step Step EIGHT: dismount, wipe your brow, your equipment (uh…the other equipment, please), and then proceed to the nearest trashcan, and release aforementioned powershake, energy mix, etc.

Results may vary. Consult a Physician before intense training. If dizziness or swelling last for more than 48 hours, see a Doctor. Allow 12 to 15 weeks to see optimum results. Read fine print before signing. See store for details. Member FDIC.

Honestly? It’s not that tough, but I was ready for some silliness, AND it actually WAS our workout today. Next weeks cardio? Wind-sprints.

Week 7 - Day 2 Legs/Cardio

I received an email asking if I would blog about the following, “why don’t u write about what you’ve done/learned differently this time, from other programs.” so I thought about it and decided to take a stab at answering from my past experiences and personal opinion……So here goes…It is in my opinion from past experiences that many of the programs I have studied, read the book and implemented, work very well. Body For Life is an amazing program……The Abs Diet is a great life change solution………or for the elite in shape athlete who wants a true challenge, The “300″ workout  has produced tremendous results for those who have signed on for the challenge………. I think people have so many incredible choices of great exercise programs . If you take that great exercise program and partner it with the proper nutrition it can work………did you catch I said “can” work not will work but can work if you include three words to live by during the process. Discipline, Consistency, and Focus….More on these three simple words along with the understanding that there is a process before you reach the payoff…Most people quit during the process before they reach and see the payoff…..

CR

Week 7 - Part B

Yeah, what he said……….We mix it up to keep our muscles guessing and to keep it fresh…..4:30 am in the morning can get real old even after your body gets acclimated to waking at that crazy hour…..This new routine is about stepping out of your comfort zone and making a commitment of discipline and life change…Same goals, same attitude, same pay to play, just keeping things fresh…….Keep um guessing….

CR 

Week 7: Just when you thought it was safe…

….to get accustomed to a workout, Chris and I have raised the bar higher. Much higher. Oh sure, B4L has been great, but frankly, IF you’re going to get your sorry ass out of bed every day, 6 days a week, between 4:30 & 5, why not REALLY make it hurt. And hurt, we did. 

Today starts a new level of commitment to B4L; however, given the fact that Body For Life by Bill Phillips is trademarked (for lack of a better term) by Bill, AND, given the fact that Chris and I are hard at work on our OWN book–that will be published through a new publishing company called, St Simons Press, (we just got confirmation this past week)–we thought it would be good to push out our very own title. Therefore, you will notice that B4L will slowly emerge into something new in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

At the end of the day, what we are prescribing, teaching, instructing, living ourselves is that we want to become Fit for Life (yes, it’s taken). And, while we ARE sticking to the 12-week program, we will be custom designing and further tweaking our program to go 12-months, as soon as we finish this 12-week run. Frankly, our 12 became 15. Why? Because these old farts found that it took us 3 weeks just to get our bodies acclimated to getting up and at ‘em at 5 AM AND cardio and lift; therefore, we needed that “ramp up” time.

But now? We are in Week 7 and the game is on. We are seeing results. Chris looks great. He’s lost more weight than I, however, I had less to lose. MY issue was WAIST SIZE. Remind me to tell you the story some day about getting my Tux altered; one of the primary reasons I started this dadgum diddy!

PAY ATTENTION CLASS: as with everything, you need to do homework. With that said, here are a few supplements you MAY want to consider implementing into your diet. They are quite helpful on a number of fronts; not just size, but RECOVERY, ENDURANCE, and SUCCESS. Interested? Thought so.

The products are Creatine, Glutamine, and CLA.  I could go into great detail, but that’s what Wiki is for. Check them out. And IF you have any specific questions as to WHY and HOW we use some of these products, please email us. We’d be glad to share.

Another thing, one of my heros, Tim Russert, passed away recently; he was a great family man, a phenomenal politico and a terrific talent. They said he died of heart disease. As you know, it’s a killer of many people. With that said, you can be sure that many of us are also including Omega Fish Oils: CoQ10, into our diet as a way to help prevent heart disease. Might we suggest you consider the same?

In closing, both Chris and I are BIG proponents of giving props where props are due, and TODAY’S PROPS go to NUTRITION EXPRESS. These cats are fast, professional, on time, and the BEST prices anywhere. Check ‘em out and tell them you heard about them via www.EMPOWERFULLIVING.com (aka davidtemple.wordpress) and they’ll consider giving you a 20% discount with your first order (we hope).

Now…GET TRAINING!

WHAT WILL YOU DO TODAY TO GET WHAT YOU WANT?

Day ___: Can you tell I’ve been out of touch…

I may have been out of touch with the DAYS, but NOT with the WORKOUT. Heck no, we are ON! Just got back this week from The Solstice Film Festival where my indie Short Film, Poke The Sleeping Bear, won BEST SHORT! Yes!

As for working out; let me tell you something, if you get off your routine, even for one moment, I can guarantee you that it will be 10 times harder getting it back…even after just 2 or 3 or 4 days.

Lesson? Stay focused. Stay on target. Do something every day; ANYTHING!

PS: It’s good to have Chris back on his A-Game, after a bout with….uh….his evacuation express (hahahahahaha)

Day 11 - Upper Body Routine

The following are the exercises I did this morning for my upperbody workout…Good workout..My goal was to work to total failure on each body part…For each body part, (chest, shoulders, back, triceps, and biceps) I did 5 sets increasing the weight each set while lowering the reps (12,10,8,6,and 12) and resting one minute between sets. On the 5th set however, no rest moving immediately to 1 set of an alternate exercise to total failure…..The exercises were as follows: Chest Work: Dumbbell Bench Press and Incline Bench Press…..Shoulders: Dumbbell Shoulder Press and Machine Shoulder Press……Back: Assisted Weight Pull/Chin ups and Overhead Grip Pulldowns….Triceps: Dips and Rope Pulldowns….Biceps: Hammer Curls and Machine Bicep Curls……Try this routine sometime BUT make sure you are not using too much weight…FOCUS ON FORM……Form is the key…..As well as drinking plenty of water while working out!!!

CR

 

Day 10 - Cardio

Today was solo cardio day since DT was off to St. Paul, MN to show his film at the Solstice Film Festival. I have to give out major congrats to my man DT, who works so hard at his passion/work….. to have it pay off big time being selected into Solstice. Big things are on the horizon for DT, you wait and see!!! Anywho, back to cardio day, so I am feeling better after my Monday barfing session……my energy has returned to about 90% so I was ready to hit it hard.  The night before while I was doing some preworkout planning, (you gotta have a plan of action always), I weighed all of my cardio options and since I had missed Monday’s workout I decided on tackling the stairclimber machine…… For those of you that don’t know this…I hate this machine!!! This machine causes me great pain…..I loathe this machine….This machine always kicks my butt….I sweat all over this machine……So I decided push my limits on this machine and do a good 25 mins of interval speed work reaching my peak target heart rate. Once I reached my level 10, (on a scale from 1-10), I was spent…… done…..After the speed work I next spent a good 15 mins stretching and off to the showers I went…..Great workout, although DT was missed….

CR

Day 7: Just Say Go!

Got a phone call very early this morning; it was Chris. He was barfing like a mad dog. He warn’t too happy. You know what that meant. Yep; off to the gym…solo. While he said, I have to GO (back to the head and barf my brains out); I had to say, Well, Davo, get out of bed and just Go the gym, sans Gunz. 

It warn’t too pretty, neither. Kidding. Actually, while I did okay with todays UPPER BODY workout, it was NOT the same without the partner.

I’ll say it again: Don’t Do This Program Without A Partner. It’s just better.

That’s it. Nothing too fancy today. Just good clean fun. Hope you’re better soon, Gunz, but know something…I’ll show you puke; tomorrow’s CARDIO!!