The Chairman's Fitness Challenge Blog

My objectives are weight loss (one to two pounds per week), strength increase, and stamina improvement.  

1)  Working out

I am going to back to the original program that gave me quite good results a few years ago - the Men's Health Hard Body Plan.  It is a few years old now (originally published in 2000) but the exercise programs are still sound.  I am going to do the beginner's program, three days a week, and evaluate after six-to-eight weeks whether I am seeing results and-or should move up to the intermediate program.  

Cardio will be three times per week - 20-30 minutes at a reasonable intensity level.  I have a pass for cycling  classes at a local fitness studio - I will start mixing these in once I get my base cardio fitness level re-established.

I am going totally old school - logging all my workouts with weights and reps in a cheap notebook.

My Mens Health Big Book of Exercises is lurking in the background if I need to change things up some.  

*** A note on schedule *** 

One of the difficulties for me has been scheduling in my workouts with all the external draws on my time (including kids activities four to five times a week).  Following the old-school approach, every workout will be scheduled and posted in a conspicuous place in the kitchen so there is no excuse NOT to make it happen.

2)  Food

Less beer, wheat and red meat, more vegetables and low-fat protein sums things up.  I will start by logging food for a week then making some strategic decisions on what needs to change.  As a family, we are addicted to high-quality red meat, so this will be tough.  Our bread counter is overflowing with way too much  white flour products as well.  (I cannot believe we even have a bread counter...)

At this point, I am not planning to track every calorie, but I will be doing a reality check every few days to ensure I am keeping things at about 1800 calories or below.  If the weight is not coming off, I may have to revisit this approach.

3)  Sleep

Healthy sleep patterns are well-documented as a key component of wellness.  Staying up to midnight every night, surfing the internet, is not doing me any good.  7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep, and out of bed (not just awake) by 6:30am, are my two goals.  My experience has been that, as my cardio fitness improves, my sleep requirement will drop.  Time will tell.

Accountability

The act of logging and posting is one form of accountability on this commitment, even if nobody reads.  (This is well-documented, and worked for me before...)  I am going to snap some week zero pictures, which may or may not get posted.  

I am also considering doing a public event or two this year - I have been challenged to do the Badass Dash in October by a family friend... and I cannot do it in the condition I am now!

Rewards

If When I get down to 180 lbs, a new guitar may be the right way to commemorate it.  I have wanted a Fender Telecaster for, oh, about thirty years!