Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 200
Day 200 Today marked my 200th day in a row of working out. It's amazing to think how fast the time has gone. There have definitely been some moments where I wanted to skip a workout but overall I've really enjoyed this process. I feel healthier than I've ever felt. I have more energy, I sleep better, and generally I've just felt really positive. Not everyday is great like I said, but I can truly say that my life with exercise everyday is better.
I haven't been posting progress photos. I'm not that big into posting shirtless photos of myself but at this point in time, I think it would relevant to this process. Below is a photo of me today and beside it a photo from Nov of last year when I was in Mexico. The lighting is different, but it's safe to say my body has definitely changed.
July 20th, 2013 Nov 21, 2012
The exercise everyday, has been a big part of the change but I would be remiss if I didn't emphasize the importance of nutrition. In a later post I'll get into some of the specifics a bit more but generally I followed the following principles:
- Protein with every meal. I don't really count grams but I aim for at least gram of protein per lb of body weight (175lbs)
- The 1st 2 months (Where I noticed the biggest change) I was dairy and wheat free.
- I eat every 2 - 3 hrs
- 6 days a week I ate no wheat and virtually no starches. Saturday's I ate whatever I wanted.
- I eat vegetables until I'm green in the face
- I increased my fat intake. Especially healthy fats. Fish Oil everyday. Some weeks I ate up to 5 avocados.
I don't know what my body fat percentage is. I may get it checked sometime next week if I have time. In the meantime I'm happy with my body composition at the moment. In the next few months I'd like to see how much muscle I can add to my frame while maintaining do my best to stay lean.
Today's Workout:
Rowing Machine: 1000 metres (4:05)
Db Complex: 10 lb Dumbbells
- Backwards Arm Circles: 10 per side
- Full Forward Raise: 10 reps
- Db Curl to Press: 10 reps
- Reverse Db Fly: 10 reps
- Db Punches: 10 reps
Superset 1:
Exercise 1: Chin-ups 3 sets / 12 - 15 reps / 30 seconds rest Set 1: BW x 15 Set 2: BW x 15 Set 2: BW x 12 Exercise 2: Tricep Dips 3 sets / 15 - 20 reps / 30 seconds rest Set 1: BW x 20 Set 2: BW x 20 Set 3: BW x 20
Superset 2:
Exercise 3: Keiser Rope Pull-in 3 sets / as many reps as possible in 30 sec / 30 sec rest Exercise 4: Push-ups 3 sets / as many reps as possible in 30 sec / 30 sec rest
Keiser Arm Blast
Exercise 5: Tricep Pushdowns 2 sets / as many reps as possible in 30 sec / 30 sec rest Exercise 6: Bicep Curls 2 sets / as many reps as possible in 30 sec / 30 sec rest
Battle Ropes
Tri-set (no rest between exercises)
Alternating Wave: 20 sec Double Wave: 20 sec Jumping Jack: 20 sec 2 sets / 1 min rest
Well 200 workouts down, 165 to go. I'm feeling pretty optimistic about reaching my goal. In 2 weeks Nicole and I will be in Ireland. Working out on travel days will be a bit challenging but I think I can make it work. There may be a couple days I'm jet lagged but I'm used to being tired. I typically do a good job of enjoying all that Ireland has to offer. This includes generous portions of mashed potatoes and pints of Guinness (It does actually taste better there). It will interesting to see what I look like when I come home.
My body has been feeling a bit more sore than usual the last couple weeks, so I think I might actually try to take a week off the weights. I've been dying to try a gymnastics gym, so I might do that. I think it would be so cool to be able to do a back flip. Also, my friend Kim Wiebe teaches a great yoga class. I think my body would definitely appreciate some focused flexibility work. I feel like I've been getting a lot of yin, maybe its time for some yang.