Day 117 (D1 of 84)

Ok folks. I am done with messing around. I have a little over 14 weeks before my 30th birthday and I am not getting anywhere fast. I came across Adam Waters yesterday and I have been looking into what he is doing. He is a real inspiration and I think that if I can get into the same mind set that he is then I will start seeing some results. What he does is called Shredding. There motto?

We will focus on the single daily actions that produce results.

We will "burn our bridges" and not look back.

We will never surrender.

Now there are many things that 'Shredders' do. I have yet to do all the research, but the jist of it is this. You eat clean. Low fat, low carb. Eat 5 meals a day. And the best/worst of it... take daily pictures. One of the fav workouts is 'HIIT' High Intensity Interval Training..(I'll get into that in a minute)

Adam changed his entire physique in 84 days. He kept his mind strong and followed thru. I think this is totally possible to do... and so today will be my day 1 of 'shredding'. I hope I can live up to its name!



DAY 1













So, first thing this morning I did my workout. It consisted of a 20 min. HIIT on the treadmill and 60 ab crunches. Today is a rest day from weights so none of that.

OK, so what is HIIT and how do you do it?

Due to its intensity, HIIT recruits fast-twitch muscle fibers. These fibers are designed for short-lived, powerful bursts of energy. Steady-state cardio recruits slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are structured for endurance. Fast-twitch fibers need more fuel than do slow-twitch fibers to function and to recover from a workout. Thus, if your session primarily targets fast-twitch fibers, you’ll burn far more calories during training, as well as calories after the training. HIIT produces an after-burn that can last from one to many hours, depending on your fitness level and how grueling your session was.

Important factors involved in H.I.I.T Training

In order to utilize H.I.I.T properly, we use a tool called the "Intensity Guide" to help us create high points. This guide is used to measure the level energy we are applying to the exercise that we are performing. The Index, starts at level 1 and goes to level 10. On the low end-at level l-you've got the intensity of kicking back on your recliner watching TV. Level 2 would be standing; level 3 could be walking; level 4 might be carrying a couple bags of groceries in from the car; level 5 might be carrying those groceries up a flight of stairs; and so on, up to level 10 , which is an all-out, 100 percent effort. In order to use this guide correctly you must apply it to your level of conditioning. And that's why basically any healthy adult, no matter what their prior exercise experience, can use H.I.I.T training. As an example, if you're a beginner walking up stairs might be a level 10 intensity level. Now, someone who's been training for several years might reach a high-intensity effort by sprinting up those stairs. The point is, your high intensity point is yours. It is distinctively yours and not mine or the person next to you in the gym. It's very important that you realize exactly what your high points are. A true high point on this workout, a true level 10 effort, is one where you can honestly tell yourself you gave it every single last ounce of energy you had. That you looked inside yourself and said I’m going to give it all I got!

H.I.I.T : How to Perform the actual workout!

Remember this can apply to any activity you choose. Just pick something you are comfortable with. Begin your workout with a two-minute warm up phase where we perform the activity at about a level 5 intensity. If you haven't been exercising regularly, you could reach level 5 on the Intensity Index by just walking. However, if you've been doing a lot of exercise, level 5 might be a pretty brisk jog. Again it is essential that you remember that your level 5 is unique to you, and my level 5 is unique to me. Now, after two minutes at a level 5 effort, you will take it up a level. You will reach a level 6 effort, we keep it there for one minute; then we increase the intensity of our effort, up to level 7 for one minute before taking it up another level, to level 8, where we maintain for another minute; then we take it up to level 9. We maintain that high-intensity effort for one minute, and then take it all the way down to a level 6 again-a relatively comfortable pace. We repeat that pattern three times, but on the last cycle (between the eighteenth and the nineteenth minutes of this 20-minute workout), we don't stop at level 9-we try to reach a high point-we go for a 10! Then we bring it back to level5 for a minute, and we're done!

Have a great day and I will see you tomorrow!!


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Just some after thoughts of this post...

1) I'm sure not everyone wants to see my fat everyday... but relax, I promise they will get better!!

2) NO STRETCH MARKS... holy crap... I have had stretch marks since day one of my first pregnancy!! Now you just see my scar from my hysterectomy surgery..