Ouch

I am feeling last night's workout tonight. My toosh and arms are sore. The second day is worse so tomorrow's workout is going to be killer!
~C.B.~

So out of Shape

Tonight we did the B workout of the Turbulence Training program. IT SUCKED!!! Not just for me either. I knew this would be hard for me. Even though I'm only using my own body weight this was a very tough workout. By the end of each set I was panting like a doggy on a hot day. Douglas is very strong as far as weight lifting goes. He can do pull ups for days and dead lift with the best of them but when it comes to stamina which this workout called for he was in for a rude awakening. B kicked our butts but showed us exactly what we need to focus on. I'm still shaky and my legs probably can't hold me up right now but I know that feeling like this has got to give me some kind of positive result. BOOO to workout B!
~C.B.~

As a lifetime skinny guy I've always worked out with the goal of gaining weight and getting bigger. This goal has led me to some great strength building workouts that have given me a 1 1/2 x bodyweight deadlift, a bodyweight power clean, and a 240 lb bench press at 195 lbs. This is all great but I also have a history of incurring some kind of injury as my weights continue to go up. I've pulled my back a couple of times, pulled my neck, and hurt my shoulder. Each time I do this I swear I'll stay away from the heavy weights and focus on being healthy instead of large. Unfortunately, I seem to get sucked back into wanting to break the 200lb barrier. I recently read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and was very impressed by it. I would strongly recommend the book to anyone. The 2nd Habit in the book is to "Begin with the End in Mind". This means that you should make sure that whatever actions you take are moving you forward to the end result you want and he takes this further by asking you to ask what you would like people to say about you at your funeral or when you're nearing the end of you time on earth. It's a little morbid but it get's you to think about what's really important in life. In my case, will I really care if I have 18" arms when I'm 60? No. What I really want is to be healthy enough to enjoy my retirement with Crystal and to participate in any kind of activity. I also want Daniel to remember me being the Dad on the playground who would chase him all over and play with him and to keep up with him as he started playing sports. Again, he's not going to care if I weigh 200 pounds. I believe Turbulence Training is the right choice to reach my ultimate goals.

Beginning Measurements

Douglas:
Shoulder- 46 1/4
Chest- 42
waist @ belly button- 36 7/8
Thigh- 24 1/2
calf- 15 1/8
flexed arm- 15 1/2

Crystal:
arm (non flexed)- 12 3/4
chest (under arm)- 36
upper abs (above belly button)- 31
waist @ b.b.- 38 1/2
hips- 39 1/2
butt- 44
thigh- 24 7/8
calf 15 1/4

Turbulence Training Contracts Signed!

Today Douglas and I signed our TT contract which was a part of the original Turbulence Training program. It can be found by following the link provided:
www.turbulencetraining.com
We each set three short term goals, to be accomplished by 1/23/2009, which happens to be our 10 year Wedding Anniversary. And three long term goals, to be reached in three months time. We're choosing to put these contracts on our fridge right along side our little guy's Sunday School drawings. We think they're that important. We will use these contracts as a daily reminder to stay focused, a motivational tool so to speak and as a deterrent. I am weak. I need more motivation than most. I will give into the Capri Suns calling my name instead of reaching for water. I'll snack on my son's goldfish or pudding rather than grabbing a piece of fruit. With these posted at eye view I'll be gently nudged toward the healthier goodies in our kitchen. Another motivation are our current pictures. Douglas and I chose to take these pictures in our bathing suits seing as we live in Texas and will be spending a lot of time in them this Summer. Our son is all about water activities! I chose my least flattering suit..... if I can manage to pull this one off confidently I'll feel confident in anything.

Douglas'
Short-term goals:
1.) 200lbs
2.) 16" arms
3.) no junk food

Long-term goals:
1.) Lean 195lbs
2.) No love handles
3.) Complete original TT program

Pumped after first workout of the TT challenge

Crystal's
Short-term goals:
1.) lose 5lbs
2.) Don't miss, skip, or skimp ANY workouts.
3.) Eat everything on menu, nothing more, nothing less.

Long-term goals:
1.) Reach 155lbs
2.) look/feel confident in bathing suit.
3.) Successfully (without deviation) complete TT 3 month challenge.

Feeling a bit shaky but great after fist TT workout.

Final Day of Freedom

Douglas and I have decided to start Turbulence Trainings 4 week challenge. He's been doing TT for a while now as well as trying to bulk up to 200lbs. He has recently reached his weight gain goal of 195lbs and is well on his way to looking and more importantly feeling amazing! I have been going to the gym doing my own thing with only so-so results. I am still pretty far off of my goal to reach 155lbs. The last 10 of my baby weight gain are proving to be a worthy opponent! Currently I am 165.5lbs. Don't get me wrong I am happy that I'm down from my starting weight of 173lbs but I'm not seeing the changes in muscle tone that I want. Also, our tenth wedding anniversary is January 23rd. That's why I've jumped on the band wagon to do this TT challenge (on 12/26) with Douglas. I know that's only one month away but I also know that my hard work will have me looking/feeling better.

NO more pop..... my precious Mtn. Dew. NO more fast food.... my delicious, mouthwatering french fries and burgers, NO more candy..... you yum yum yummy reward for anything I can think of. Today, this last day of "freedom" I will dine on brisket and fixins, I will chug the dew until my eyes turn yellow and I will binge on Christmas treats until my teeth hurt. Tomorrow is anew and I'll worry about the consequences of my actions then.

Pictures and stats soon.

Crystal's Bodyweight Workout

Today Crystal starts a new workout. She will be doing the 4-Week Bodyweight Program for Beginners. This workout consists of two strength workouts that are alternated every other day and an interval workout that she performs after each strength workout. Since the holidays and my travel schedule will have her visiting her parents house a lot, we thought a bodyweight based workout would allow her to keep working out even when she can't get to the gym. Her schedule will be like the following:

Day 1 Workout A followed by Interval Training
Day 2 30 minutes of activity
Day 3 Workout B followed by Interval Training
Day 4 30 minutes of activity
Day 5 Workout A followed by Interval Training
Day 6 and 7 30 minutes of activity

The next week is the similar but with workout B done twice. Each strength workout targets your entire body and doesn't last more than 20 minutes. The whole workout including warm-ups is complete in 45 minutes which is important. We don't particularly like to work-out, it's not a social activity for us. What we need are effective workouts that get the job done quickly and this program should accomplish that with ease.

4th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest

Crystal and I have decided to enter the 4th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. This contest is 84 days long and will run between the dates of Dec 26 to April 11. Crystal and I have been spending the past couple of months in our own personal contest trying to get in shape for our 10 year anniversary on Jan 23rd. We've made some good progress but like everyone else I know, we are always trying to get in better shape. We will be spending the next few days gearing up and agreeing on what workouts we will perform and what we will eat. We will also need to take our before pictures which neither of us are excited about. We will also write out our end goals and intermediate goals for the contest. Have we done all of this before? Yes. Has it always worked out as we planned? Not usually. I think some people feel pessimistic about setting goals and resolutions because they really beat themselves up if they don't succeed 100%. I don't feel that way at all. I think goals are a great motivation and I also think that Crystal and I are going to be in the best shape we've been in in 10 years of marriage on our anniversary. No, we don't have our sixpacks but we're definitely closer to our goal than we were two months ago. Wish us luck and check out the link below if you're interested in participating. The entry deadline is not until Jan 17th.

http://www.transformationcontest.com/rules