Monday, June 25, 2007

Day 229: The Truth About The Last 95 Days

G'day,

Today is Day 229, it has been exactly 95 days since the end of Mission 2. I regret to say that somewhere along the way after Mission 2 I lost the essence of what this blog was all about.

In this post I will outline exactly what has transpired since M2, my successes and my failures.

Where I Have Succeeded

Even though my pre-M3 "muscle gain" training has been a success in terms gaining muscle (2.5 kg's added) it has come at the expense of increased fat levels. To be specific, below is a comparison of my raw body stats between now and the end of Mission 2.

Mission 2 Stats: Day 136
Bodyweight: 74 kg's
Bodyfat %: 6.5%
Fat Weight: 5.5 kg's
Lean Body Mass: 69.5 kg's

Pre-Mission 3 Stats: Day 229
Bodyweight: 80 kg's
Bodyfat %: 10.0%
Fat Weight: 8 kg's
Lean Body Mass: 72.0 kg's

As you can see I have added 2.5 kg's of muscle while also adding another 6 kg's of bodyfat to my frame. This is inevitable as a major part of gaining muscle requires that you increase calories to create a caloric surplus and reduce cardio to preserve muscle.

The truth About Why Mission 3 Was Delayed

While I am happy to have increased muscle in this pre-M3 training period I am not satisfied with the big increase in fat levels. In hindsight, I took too much time off from the end of Mission 2 (while my bodyfat levels were still low) before I started hard training again.

At the time I had valid reasons, like a relationship break-up, a legal threat on my skincare site and the general exhaustion factor of training and dieting full-time for 136 days straight. Added to this was the wrist injury I sustained on Day 169 which put me out of action for 21 days.

My Critical Error Of Judgement

As I mentioned above I now realize that I took too much time off before starting Mission 3. I should have started after I returned from Phuket but I instead decided to take additional time off to deal with those issues that came to a head on my return.

The single biggest error I made was to stop taking daily pictures of my progress on Day 146. This decision really hurt the real-time aspect of this blog and took the pressure off me to hold myself accountable during my "down time".

I believe I have also paid the price with my physique due to not continuing to take daily pictures. As I have blogged about many times before, taking daily pictures was the cornerstone of my early success as it made me push through the pain barrier each and every workout.

In a nutshell, the act of taking daily pictures was the major component of my accountability structure by using "positive pressure" to force myself to follow through every single day.

Conversely, I can see a direct correlation between my physique progress of the last 95 days and not taking daily pictures. I believe this has negatively affected my intensity in practicing my training and diet discipline.

Regaining My Confidence & Intensity

Upon reflection over the last few days I have come to the conclusion that right now I just need to "get back in the game" to re-discover the intensity of my M1 & M2 training and start holding myself accountable daily through progress pictures and real-time reports on my daily action plan.

Truth be told, I am not happy with my current fat levels. A major part of this is psychological, as I was overweight for so long. So when I start to creep back up to 10% bodyfat (like I have now) I get nervous! I feel like I am on a slippery slide in the wrong direction even though I am increasing my muscle mass.

Therefore, my thinking goes like this. Get back into top shape AND then immediately start Mission 3 while my confidence is high and my bodyfat is low.

This will give me the mental clarity I need psychologically to gain muscle mass without the danger of having of my bodyfat blow-out to 15 - 20% while on the caloric surplus that is required to gain mass.

In short, I want to return to the core of what this blog was all about in the beginning (way back on November 8, 2006). That being a real-time blog that documents my progress through daily pictures and training & diet reports, along with insights into my feelings, thoughts and struggles as I progress.

Getting "Back In The Game" Starts On Day 230

On Day 230, I will outline what exactly it is I have planned over the next 50 days and how this will affect Mission 3. I will also start posting daily pictures of myself again and hold myself accountable to my new real-time accountability structure I talked about yesterday.

See you tomorrow,

Peace,
AJ

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wooohooooo... Adam is back!!!!
I just wanted to say that I thought something like this might have happened, but you have to stay positive! The most important thing is that you had the guts to evaluate yourself and even though if the truth hurts, you know you have to pick yourself up and get back on track.

I have missed your daily postings as I am sure so did the others, so it's only music to our ears and we will be behind you back to support you.

I will start my fatloss journey very soon and your daily postings will help me to get through my own challenge and keep my motivation level way up high :)

All the best and till tomorrow!!

Karlos said...

if fat weight at the end of m2 was 5.5 and now it is 8 ...isnt that just 2.5 kg instead of 6?

Mark said...

Adam,

A quick question for you...why room temperature water?

I'm a new reader to your blog. I'm glad to hear that you'll be "back in the game". I know blogging takes quite a bit of time.

Thanks,
Mark

Anonymous said...

Hi Adam,
i love your honesty and determination. part of being successful is to continue to practice what you preach, and you are teaching that while learning it yourself.

looking forward to your daily blogs once again!
LTY Kel.

Unknown said...

Adam:
Gotta tell you that you're way too hard on yourself - not a big deal to gain 6kg or up your BF by 4% - listen, give yourself a break...you've come a long way, made great strides and will no doubt do the same as you gain muscle. So, relax, pat yourself on the back - I am:-) and focus on the next chapter of your life. Got your health, surrounded by loved ones, 5 senses intack? then you're batting a 1000!

Adam Waters said...

Hi kriistina,

Thanks for your warm welcome! Great to be back!

I'm actually feeling good about this now, if nothing else it will show that you must continue to train hard and eat right to maintain the body you have. There may be a lesson in there somewhere!

I look forward to seeing your progress Kriistina as you embark on your fat loss journey.

Cheers,
Adam

Adam Waters said...

Hi Karlos, you know what...I think you may be right! I don't know how I made such a simple mis-calculation

Adam Waters said...

Hi Mark,

The reason why I drink room temperature water was based on the advice I received a trusted friend in the health field about 10 years ago.

From what I recall, very cold (or very hot) water can have detrimental effects on your internal system. I'm sorry I don't understand the scientific basis of this idea, but my friend recommended to always drink room temp water where possible, so I have done ever since.

Cheers,
Adam

Karlos said...

I think that room temperature water is good when youre eating because it helps with the digestive enzymes........
I decided to start posting pictures everyday, and since change happens 24/7 I was even thinking about posting twice a day....
http://karlosbffm.blogspot.com

Adam Waters said...

Hi Kel,

Thanks, you are spot on, I couldn't have said it better myself.

Ad

Adam Waters said...

Way to go Karlos, I'll check your blog out when I get home tonight. Also, I think you are right about room temp water.

AJ

Adam Waters said...

Hi Diane,

You are right. Thanks for talking sense into me. I guess I felt "shame" that I haven't been practicing what I preach for the last 95 days. But the good thing is that I didn't blow out my bodyfat like I did before even in this down-time.

And yes, I have a lot to be thankful for. I really think I just need to get back to training to fully realize all these things again. Training consistently gave me a mental clarity that I had never had before, I need to get back to that.

As always,
great to hear from you Diane,
AJ

Anonymous said...

I've done great work! I'm from Poland and I don't know English well so sorry for my mistakes :P