Last week I announced I would be undergoing a 10-week home improvements workout plan – an experiment to see how much difference can be made in that time while living as normally as possible.
Measuring variables such as 5K race time, body fat, weight and body aesthetics, I naively jumped into the deep end and swam forward.
For those who have done this before, or have spoken to people who have done it before, you or they all say the same thing: “It’s all about the nutrition”.
So here’s tip 1, don’t start a 10-week programme before bank holiday Easter weekend.
The exercises (as seen right) are of course, hard at the time, but once they’re done, that’s it, you’re free for the rest of the day. The nutrition is something that simply can’t go away, you have to live and breath it.
The toughest exercise was the raised knee-in. Having scrutinised the world of YouTube workout videos, I found it was your body in the plank position, while bringing one knee at a time to your chest. It feels like your abs are ripping when you get above 10.
Having known what the plank is, I found the side plank a lot harder than I thought. With your forearm at a right angle to the floor, you raise your arm in the air so your chest is completely straight. Holding that for 30 seconds is no easy task.
I performed this workout three times last week, with a few extra crunches and press ups on Friday and Saturday.
How about food? For the most part I have been sticking to it fairly solidly.
When you’re at work it’s easy, you’re in a routine. So for Monday through to Thursday I had either porridge or eggs for breakfast, Quinoa or Cous Cous with a meat for lunch and a meat with two vegetables for dinner. I would also have mid-morning protein shakes and mid-afternoon snacks(apple or protein shake).
Then came bank holiday weekend. I had one glass of wine Wednesday night and Thursday night. I was also present at an 
engagement party Saturday night and had vodka with soda water and lime, four times. It gets sickly after three.
This wouldn’t usually be the case, but the aim of this is to carry on, for the most part, like a normal man.
I was staying in hotels for a few nights, so it made regular eating difficult too. However, I was still pretty good with it, usually eating chicken with salad. It’s easy to get a hold of when you’re out and about.
Do I feel any different? It’s only been one week. Has it been a shock? Yes. I find myself hungry all the time and look longingly on at people eating Easter bunnies or salt and vinegar crisps. My girlfriend has said I have become noticeably more snappy, but that’s probably because I have to eat a chicken caesar salad while looking at Bodeans across the road.
The first week was always going to be hard, I’ve managed to get through it, with a few flaws admittedly, but it’s done. Next week evokes a new workout programme and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.
Oh wait, it’s my birthday this weekend…
