Xavi and Kaisa - Muscle in a Month Challenge

Xavi's MIM testimony

2009-04-08T18:26:00.010+02:00

I studied exercise and sports science and I have been a personal trainer for about 6 years. I have always been involved in sports, specifically rowing (competed for 12 years) and for the last 6 years I turned into a triathlete (done a couple of Ironmans and a bunch of other distances). Pretty much all I do is cardio.

I have to be honest and say that I haven't done weight lifting for a long long time. I used to teach group exercise classes and some of them where with weights (endurance not strength or power). With all that cardio training I finished last triathlon season (october 2008) a little burned out and weighing 68 kg. I decided to take a break from triathlons and start to lift weights. I planned my own trainings but when you plan your own workouts you tend to be less hard on yourself than when somebody else trains you. I must say that my own program worked out pretty well since I gained 8 kg in 5 months. I put on a lot of muscle but I also increased my % of body fat. When I started to be a little tired of the weight room I heard about the MIM Challenge and I signed up for it immediatly. I love challenges! It sounded pretty brutal so I wanted to know if I could do it, and most of all, I wanted to know if I could get the results Dax was promising.

I must say that it worked out!
From the very first day it gave a breath of fresh air to my trainings. It was nothing like I had tried before. It combined different methods of training, exercises, rests, etc... This program is great but it should come with a disclaimer: do not do it if you are not commited a 100% because it is super hard, super intense and time consuming! During 28 days you have to put it high on your priority list. I had to change my schedule to be able to fit in the workouts and even had to change grocery stores so I could stick 100% to the diet! (the one I used to go to had the donuts next to the cashier and it was too tempting) :)
If you do what you are suposed to do and commit to the program and the diet with no excuses, the results are guaranteed. Here are my numbers:

Day 1----------------------------------------------- Day 28

Weight: 76,5 kg --------------------------------------75,5 kg
Body fat: 13,5%---------------------------------------9%
Shoulders: 118.5 cm ----------------------------------119,5 cm
Chest: 95.5 cm ---------------------------------------97 cm
Waist (navel): 83.5 cm--------------------------------82 cm
Hips (glutes): 96 cm----------------------------------95,5 cm
Bíceps relaxed: 34.5 (R), 34.5 (L) --------------------35,5 (R), 35,5 (L)
Gluteal fold: 59 (R), 58.2 (L)-------------------------59 (R), 59 (L)
Thigh: 57 (R), 57 (L)---------------------------------58 (R), 58 (L)
Calf: 34.5 (R), 35 (L)---------------------------------35(R), 35 (L)

I lost weight, I droped body fat, pretty much all the measurements went up, and what was amazing is that now that I am back to training for triathlons, even though my weight is 7 kg heavier than when I finished the last season, I do not feel deconditioned! After 6 months of no swimming, biking or running I came back feeling pretty good. That's because the MIM workouts keep your heart rate high. I remember lifting weights and sweating like when running 10 km. If you don't believe it check out the video.

This is a great program if you are willing to transform your body. This is a great program to get fitter and stronger. This is a great program if you need to step up your training. This is not a program for you if you don't think you can commit 100% to a super hard, super intense and time consuming training for 28 days.

This is not a program for those who just want to try if they can, this is a program for those who really want to get what they want!

Before & After pictures (Day1 "vs" Day28)

2009-03-27T23:39:00.022+01:00

XAVI

KAISA

MIM testimony (Kaisa):

I've been a personal trainer for 11 years now and have been more or less fit always but not necessarily lean until the last few years. I lifted intensely in college but since grad school I've been doing weights in an unstructured manner and without a proper goal and had hardly been to a weight room in the last year. Instead my workouts have been circuit types and outdoor intervals and that seemed to maintain a decent level of fitness for me.

I had never tried "on-line" training or on-line programming and really have always thought it would be hard to be motivated. I was so wrong! The MIM experience is probably the most motivated I have ever been and I really enjoyed the on-line training component and community. It was great to have other people to keep me accountable and posting photos and blogs was a great way to keep myself on top of the trainings and the nutrition.

It took me 3 weeks to organize my calendar and reserve time for all the workouts. This was probably the hardest part of the entire program! Not knowing how long the workouts would take and not being able to match the long workouts to my easier work days complicated my life quite a bit.

The first week was pretty aweful. The workouts left me destroyed and the first two days (weekend) I had to take a nap. All week the soreness was so bad that I could hardly sleep. Then my body adapted and I hardly had sore muscles the rest of the time. Or maybe I just got used to the soreness and liked it. :) At first the results were frustrating because I got kind of thick. Then in the second week I started to lean out and my guns started growing like crazy! At the end I almost started skipping arm workouts because I didn't want my biceps any bigger!

The final results were just as promised: more muscle and less fat. I gained 2.5kg of muscle and lost 1.5kg of fat. I gained 3cm at my shoulders, 1cm at chest, and 1cm at each bicep (relaxed). I lost 2cm at my waist, 1cm from my buns, 2cm from each thigh. As you can see from the pictures I became a lot more defined. In addition to the body transformation benefits, I also gained a lot of strength and best of all, I feel really accomplished. I stuck to this plan 100%. I didn't miss a single workout. I did all the workouts with high intensity. I stayed on the diet 100%.

I would recommend the Muscle in a Month program for people wanting fast muscle gain and definition. However, it is a program for people who already have a base level of fitness and a good handle on technique and a desire for pain. This program is REALLY HARD. It will kick your ass. You will hate Dax Moy during the workouts but you will love him when you see the results. I would also recommend doing the program with a partner or participating in a forum to help stay motivated. If I hadn't made a public commitment to this program I would have given up on the first day. This program is also time consuming. You will need to manage your time well and schedule in your workouts. You will need to sleep more and eat a lot. Even though it is intense and time consuming, the results are worth it and really, you can do anything for 28 days. It is a short time to sacrifice for awesome results.

Thanks Dax!

Day 28 - S'ha acabat!!!

2009-03-22T23:12:00.005+01:00

Per fi el patiment s'ha acabat! Bé, no del tot... s'han acabat els entrenaments llarguíssims i intensíssims però encara hem de mantenir la dieta una setmana més. A finals de setmana ens farem les fotos finals i podrem ensenyar-vos l'abans i el després.

De moment us hem preparat un petit video perquè pogueu veure el què hem hagut de patir per arribar a tenir els "modelets" que tenim ;)

IT'S OVER, almost

2009-03-22T21:58:00.002+01:00

All the hellish trainings are DONE! The last day was an "easy" one with just low back and a GVT set of triceps and biceps. And I even put in 7 sets of HIIT (high intensity interval training) on the bike while waiting for Xavi to finish.

At midnight of the last day I had some chocolate cake at my friend's bday dinner. It was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. Ooooohhhhhh.

Now the trouble is that we have to do the after pictures at the end of the week, after the required rest... This for me is harder because we still have to watch the diet but it's not necessary to be so strict. This is harder for me because I'm an all-or-nothing type... I don't know how to have just one piece of chocolate. I eat the entire box. Now that I have tasted sugar again, I am like an addict. I want MORE! It's pretty much like going back to the first few days of the diet where you have cravings and it just sucks. But the worse part is that since we're not training this week we need a lot less calories... So for me, this week the diet is much harder.

To motivate us and to help me stay on the diet, we've scheduled a professional photo shoot for Friday. Hopefully this will help me stay on top of the nutrition. :) I guess we'll see how the pics turn out!

Day 27 - Muscle in a Month

2009-03-21T09:10:00.002+01:00

Farewell to shoulders today. :) It was the last long workout and I'm glad it's done. I don't want my arms or shoulders any bigger. I'm already impressed with the 3cm I gained at the shoulders.

We did a dredded German Volume Training set of chest and back. Starting with those just kills my motivation. Went up on all weights significantly. Cool! Then we did a holistic set of shoulders and abs and finished with legs including the 4x40s of squat jumps. Glad to be done with those as well!

Diet:
BF: rye flakes, oat milk, almonds, fruit
Snack: mandarine, rice cakes with tahini and apricot puree
Lunch: spinach salad with tuna, egg. Ground chicken with onion, spinach, zuccini.
Snack: corn cakes
Dinner: gatpatxo veggie soup with ground chicken, rice cakes with tahini and banana

Day 26 - Pics and Measurements

2009-03-19T22:53:00.009+01:00

XAVI

KAISA

Day 26 - Català

2009-03-19T22:00:00.011+01:00

Avui ha estat el dia més dur de la meva vida! No perquè l'entrenament fos molt exigent sinó perquè avui és St. Josep i a l'institut hi ha molta gent que es diu així. Doncs resulta que s'han posat d'acord per portar brunyols i bombons. La sala de professors semblava una pastisseria! I precisament avui... els dijous aprofito per treballar a la sala de professors ja que tinc unes quantes hores lliures entre classes. Doncs ja us podeu imaginar... en Xavi entre muntanyes de brunyols i bombons sense poder-ne menjar cap!!! Tothom anava passant pel costat agafant-ne un darrere l'altre i fent... mmmmmm.... que bons. He de reconèixer que he tingut temptacions, però gràcies a l'angelet de l'espatlla dreta que ha estat més insistent que el dimoniet de l'espatlla esquerra i m'ha convençut de que no valia la pena espatllar tot un mes de sacrificis per un parell de bombons. He resistit com un campeón!!!

El dia es resumeix amb aquesta imatge:

A part de la tortura psicològica a la qual he estat sotmés tot el matí a nivell físic he tolerat força bé l'entrenament d'avui. Ara sembla que els entrenos que abans em costaven ara ja em comencen a semblar fàcils... aixeco més pes i descansant menys.

Dieta:

Esmorzar: papilla multicereals sense gluten amb maduixes i plàtan

Snack: torrada d'arròs i pera

Dinar: gazpacho, macarrons sense gluten amb carn picada, mandarina

Snack: batut

Sopar: macarrons sense gluten amb carn picada, suc de pinya

Day 26 - Muscle in a Month

2009-03-19T15:59:00.006+01:00

The last of the difficult Thursdays is almost done! Thursdays my schedule is not very long workout friendly and I despise getting up early just to workout when I'm already a bit worn out from the week. Well, despite all my grumbling this morning, I dragged off to our studio, alone, for a workout. I am SO much less motivated alone there. I must be a bit vain and get motivated by other people in the gym.

Since I grumbled too long in the morning, I didn't have enough time to finish the whole workout... and must stay after the last class tonight at 9:30 to finish... Uuuffff. Thankfully I only have about 20 min left.

today's workout is hamstrings, bis, and tris. I liked the ham supersets of straight legged dead lifts (lifting 60kgs!), harrup curls (still suck at these), and swiss ball ham curls (no problems doing all 4 sets of 40s with no rest). Probably one of the reasons I couldn't get motivated this morning was because I knew part of the workout were the multiple sets of 40 repetitions of bicep curls that I just HATE. Good news is tonight when I'm done with them I NEVER have to do them again. :)

Here are the results up till now:
Weight: up 1kg
Body fat: down 2%
Shoulders up 3.5cm!!!
Chest up 1.5cm YES! Grandma was right. :)
Waist down 1cm
Hips down .75cm
Gluteal folds up up .5cm and the other down .5cm (at least now I'm even!)
Thighs down 2.5cm each
Calves up .5cm each (DAMN, the last thing I need are bigger calves!)
Biceps up .5 and .75cm unflexed. Too bad we didn't measure them flexed because they are HUGE now.

Diet:
BF: yogurt and hazelnuts
BF: (after workout) yogurt with brewer's yeast, goji fruits, pear, hazelnuts
Snack: walnuts and a mandarin
Lunch: rye bread with smoked salmon
Snack: 1 cup of gaspatxo soup (cold veggie soup), rice cakes with tahini and banana and a little agave (super delicious!)
Snack: 1/2 lara bar
Dinner: salad with tuna, rice cake with tahini and banana

Day 25 - Muscle in a Month

2009-03-18T17:02:00.005+01:00

Great day! We got to sleep in until 9 and I slept like a rock for those 9 hours. Must have been doing some serious muscle building. :)

Then I enjoyed a walk around the lake (about 7km) with Marta before meeting Xavi at the gym for a quick workout. It was refreshing to be done in less than an hour. :)

We have made some friends at the gym which is nice too. There are definite regulars that I will start to miss as these workouts come to an end.

But I will be SO HAPPY to be done with this program to enjoy the fabulous spring weather and getting exercise OUTDOORS before it gets too hot. Xavi and I both are just itching to get on our bikes so on Sunday as our reward for finishing the program, we'll go on a leisurely bike ride. This area is amazing for biking. In fact, the routes are so great that Lance Armstrong trained here for many years!

Today's workout was strange: 10x10 incline bench. That's it! I did end with 5 series of HIIT on the bike which left my legs like jelly.

Diet:
BF: rye and oat porridge made with oat and rice milk, egg, brewer's yeast, berry powder, hazelnut paste and strawberries
Lunch: fish, rice, peas, onion. Fruit salad with pineapple, banana, and kiwi
Snack: rice cakes with hazelnut paste, rye cracker with gomasio
Dinner: spinach salad with muscles, tuna, white fish and lots of veggies; pineapple and strawberries

Day 24 - Català

2009-03-17T22:08:00.004+01:00

Només queden 4 dies!!! Sembla mentida que ja hagi passat gairebé un mes. Ara, que pensant-ho bé i desprès de l’entreno d’avui m’alegro d’arribar al final d’aquesta tortura.
No ho havia fet mai però avui em saltaré el secret de sumari i us explicaré l’entrenament…

4 sèries seguides de:

Clean & press (4-6 reps)
Shoulder press (10 reps)
Elevacions laterals (40 reps)

4 sèries seguides de:

Arrancada (4-6 reps)
Dominades (4-6 reps)

4 sèries seguides de:

Rem inclinat (8-12 reps)
Lumbars invertits (8-12 reps)

4 sèries seguides de:
Dorsal politja (40 reps)
Cobres (40 reps)

10 sèries seguides de:
Bíceps (10 reps)
Tríceps (10 reps)

Total 56 sèries!

Veieu com no exagero, això és una bestiesa!
Jo no sé si es nota que estem passant per aquesta agonia però jo quan em miro al mirall em veig més fort i definit…Què penseu vosaltres?

Dieta:

Esmorzar: Formatge fresc amb compota de fruita

Snack: torrada de pa negre amb pernil de pavo

Dinar: Pèsols amb peix i suc de pinya

Snack: tortita de blat de moro, maduixes i mango

Sopar: Arròs amb pèsols i tonyina, truita de llenties amb tomata i formatge feta, suc de pinya

Day 24 - Muscle in a Month

2009-03-17T15:43:00.003+01:00

Feeling good today! The workout was fun: back, bis, tris. We did pullups which are now my favorites! I was able to do all sets (6,5,4,4) without assistance. :) I'm feeling GI Jane worthy. Dax did put a dreaded German Volume Training set of bis and tris at the end. Those make the training feel never ending. Today I had to push Xavi around a little to get him to finish. He was ready to quit early. Then as a reward we booked massages for next week. Sweet!

Food:
BF: Keifir, rye flakes, brewer's yeast, berry powder, kiwi
Snack: dried dates and figs and a few walnuts (this was during training as I ran out of juice toward the end)
Snack: rice cake with hazelnut butter, corn cake with apricot-almond puree (this was after training with the 5 minutes I had to stuff something in my mouth)
Lunch: peas and onions, fish filet, plain yogurt with delicious ripe strawberries and apple sauce. Yum!
Snack: rye crackers with gomasio, rice and corn cakes with hazelnut butter
Dinner: omelette of eggs (duh), lentils, tomatoes, feta; strawberries

Day 23 - Català

2009-03-16T21:38:00.001+01:00

Avui l'entrenament ha estat curtet... nomès 1 hora! Ara els entrenos de menys de dos hores em semblen curt! Mare de Déu a on hem anat a parar... Hem treballat una combinació de cames i abdominals. He d'admetre que treballar cames m'agradava però amb aquest entrenament les estic avorrint. Els exercicis em són molt durs, fer squats, lunges i acabar amb 40 repeticions de salts em deixen les cames de xiclet. Fins i tot un cop estirat a terra fent els abdominals les he hagut d'estirar de la cremor que sentia... auch! Només de pensar-hi em tornen a fer mal.

Sort que està valent la pena, sinó mireu quines cuixes que m'estan quedant!!!

Day 23 - Muscle in a Month

2009-03-16T15:36:00.004+01:00

Day 23 already!? Wow, suddenly it feels like this month has gone by fast. :)

For those of you who are reading for the first time, I'll do a little recap of the torture.

Xavi and I are participating in a 28 day challenge to build muscle and lose fat designed by the leading personal trainer in England, Dax Moy. It is a super intense program he uses to get moviestars in fabulous shape extremely fast. Now he is making an online version of this program and asked us to be his guineapigs (we must provide him with pictures and write in this blog every day).

Well, it's working! So far I've dropped 2.5% body fat from 20% to 17.5%. My weight is up a half a kilo so I've build 2kg of muscle and dropped 1.5kg of fat.

The program consists of heavy duty weight training with the intention of OVERtraining. It's called "planned overtraining". The idea being that your body can handle it for 28 days without going into a breakdown mode. This means that we are paying a lot of attention to our diet (whole foods, no supplements, no processed food, no gluten, no milk products except for live yogurt, no sugar, no toxins like alcohol and caffeine) and rest.

Now we are down to just 5 more workouts before a whole week off training for supercompensation. We are suppose to see big gains in the rest week when the body finally has an opportunity to truly recover.

Today's workout seemed short, just squats, lunges, and squat jumps all supersetted with core exercises. We are also allowed this week to add some HIIT (high intensity interval training) so i did 5 rounds of boxing and running for 30 seconds work and 60 seconds rest. It was kind of fun in a sick way. I was able to do all squat jumps without resting which was totally impossible when we started this training. They even seemed kind of easy so I did them all down to touching a bench and jumped a little higher too.

Diet:
BF: keifir with rye flakes, home made applesauce, flax seeds
Snack: 2 mandarines with a handful of mixed natural nuts
Lunch: oven fish with onion, tomato, and a half a potato
Dinner: lentils and quinoa, fish filet

Day 22 - Català

2009-03-15T22:44:00.009+01:00

Ja només queda una setmana!

Avui per primera vegada he pogut entrenar sense presses. Fins i tot quan he acabat he tingut temps per prendre una mica el sol. El dia ha acompanyat i no he pogut resistir la temptació de banyar-me a l’aigua encara glaçada de l’estany. Per cert, ja ho vaig comentar una vegada, banyar-se en agua freda és un dels millors mètodes per recuperar-se d’una bona matxacada.

El resum de l’entrenament d’avui:

I cap a dinar a casa dels pares!...

Dieta:

Esmorzar: iogurt amb compota de fruites del bosc i avellanes
Snack: batut, fruits secs i una pera
Dinar: pèsols amb sofregit, peix al forn i pastis de formatge (aprovat per la dieta depurativa)
Sopar: amanida variada amb tonyina, remenat de carbaçó i pastis de formatge

Day 22 - Muscle in a Month

2009-03-15T18:52:00.004+01:00

We are starting the last week tomorrow! Yes! And today I am feeling less thick and more defined. Let's see how the pictures and measurements turn out.

Today's workout was tough as usual: chest, bis, tris, core. This time the dreaded 4x40 cable curls were not part of the plan. Thank God! I've already counted how many more times we have to do those and we are down to just 1 more. We did however suffer through 120 barbell curls and 120 tricep extensions... AND the 4x40 pushups were part of today's torture and I am happy to say I am no longer doing humiliation pushups! Sweet! I could do all of them on my knees. :) I'm still not GI Jane enough to do them "manly" style (because they are after bench and flyes...). I am looking forward to testing myself after this overtraining business is done and seeing how many full pushups I can do as the new stronger me.

Diet:
BF: keifir with apple-cranberry puree and oats
Snack: rice and corn cakes with nut butters and berry puree
Lunch: delicious peas and carrots and onions, fish, green tea (I even said no to dessert!)
Snack: rye, rice, and corn cakes with nut butters and berry puree, 1/2 apple
Dinner: scrambled eggs, tuna, and veggies; apple sauce

Day 21 - Català

2009-03-14T23:15:00.010+01:00

En primer lloc vull demanar disculpes als milers de seguidors del meu blog per no haver escrit res durant els últims dos entrenaments. La veritat és que entre la feina, estudiar i aquests entrenaments tan llargs no he tingut temps per penjar cap comentari. A més, no hi ha hagut massa res a comentar. Els entrenaments han seguit la tònica general de ser molt llargs i durs.
Pel què fa a l’entrenament d’avui es pot resumir amb dues lletres i una imatge. Són aquestes:

Avui he de reconèixer que desprès de 20 dies de lluitar i superar dificultats i entrebancs les adversitats i l’entrenament han pogut amb mi. El dia ha començat a les 7:30 del matí agafant el cotxe per anar a Barcelona on tenia un curs d’oposicions. A part d’aguantar 8 hores de teoria sobre la programació didàctica i les competències bàsiques de la Llei Orgànica d’Educació, quan ha arribat l’hora de dinar no he pogut menjar res! En el menú de la cafeteria no hi havia res sense gluten, làctics o que no estigués fregit per tant no he pogut dinar! Sort que portava unes figues seques en una bosseta.
Un cop s’ha acabat el curs tenia unes ganes boges de tornar cap a casa però l’univers s’ha confabulat contra mi una altra vegada i he quedat atrapat en un embús de trànsit a les rondes durant quasi una hora! Quan per fi he pogut arribar a casa ja eren cap a les 9 del vespre... Tot i això he reunit forces per canviar-me i anar a entrenar. Per variar l’entrenament era duret. S’ha de reconèixer que he fet tot el què he pogut però cap a la meitat de l’entreno no he pogut més... he començat a veure llumetes i fotogrames de la meva vida que passaven per davant dels meus ulls. En aquest moment he decidit que valia més plegar i anar a sopar per poder-me recuperar per l’entrenament del dia següent que és més llarg que la llista de la compra!

Avui aniré a dormir amb l’orgull ferit... espero recuperar-lo demà aixecant un bon grapat de quilos! :)

Dieta

Esmorzar: mató amb compota de pera
Snack: 2 galetes d'arròs i figues seques
Dinar: --------------
Snack: figues seques dàtils i nous
Sopar: tonyina a la planxa i amanida d'arròs

Day 21 - Muscle in a Month

2009-03-14T19:53:00.004+01:00

Results are showing! So far a 2% drop in bodyfat and I am up a kg in weight. Did the math and came out with 2kg gain in muscle and 1kg loss in fat so far. Now I need to lower a bit the calories to lean out but the trainings make me so damn hungry! My biceps and triceps are getting enormous and I think pretty much the 2kg are all there, 1kg on each arm. :) All the clothes I bought over xmas in the states are baggy and I am no longer a medium in Nike pants. This is exciting but I bought 8 pairs of black workout pants to wear at the studio everyday.... Now they look like I'm wearing diapers! Well, thankfully today was 22 degrees and sunny and it's time to buy spring/summer gear anyway. :)

I liked today's workout. :) It was back, shoulders, and hamstring. Oh and core that I have yet to do and have to go back for tonight... I'm looking forward to this training to finish so I can go back to a resonable workout of less than an hour... These training are just way too long for my attention span.

Today I did awesome in pullups! Before today I could do 4-6 on the first set and then maybe 1 or 2 on the second set and then the rest of the sets were asisted from the get go. Today I did a set of 6, a set of 5, and set of 4, and a set of 3 all by myself! And I felt strong. It was way cool!

Straight legged deadlifts were great but then on the harrups my hams were dying a slow painful death... I really struggled on the 3rd and 4th sets and my calf even cramped in the middle of the last set. Then I forgot to bring a physioball (or really, I couldn't imagine carrying it across town) so I had to improvise for ham curls. I tried with the foam roller and it worked slightly with very short range of motion. Then I tried with big boy dumbbells. That worked pretty good until a big boy stole my dumbbells while I was doing pulldowns. The only hard part of "hanging on" to the dumbbells with my feet and toward the end my calves were on fire probably more than my hams. And I left the gym with soreness in a very strange spot on shin.

Diet:
BF: rye oat porridge with 1 egg and 1 eggwhite and rice milk, pear puree
Snack: rye bread with chicken breast, avocado, tomato, and lettuce
Snack: tea, rice and corn cakes with nut butters
Dinner: large salad, chicken breast strips (a few left over pieces) and tune steak

Day 20 - Muscle in a Month

2009-03-13T23:09:00.002+01:00

Yes!!!!!!! We're into the twenties. Now it seems like the end is in sight. :)
;
Today the workout was just legs and low back: dead lifts, squats, lunges, reverse hypers, squat jumps, and prone cobras. Not too bad. :) I was able to do all 4x40 squat jumps without resting! Progress. :)

Diet:
BF: yogurt, melon, strawberries, kiwi, oats, rye flakes, berry powder, flax seeds
Snack: pineapple melon fresh juice, walnuts
Lunch: salad, veggie omelette, lentils, fish, eggplant; pineapple and kiwi
Snack: 2 rice cakes with hazelnut paste and apricot paste
Snack: banana, hazelnuts
Dinner: chicken filet, rice, tomato veggie sauce, salad; pear puree

Day 19 - English

2009-03-12T09:35:00.004+01:00

Make it stop already!!!!!!!! Today is one of those days that I really wish I hadn't committed to this program. If I hadn't promised and sworn to doing all 28 days perfectly I would not have gotten up after sleeping way too little and dragged my buns to the gym (alone!) to pound my already sore and tired body with more and more intense weight training. I would have stayed in my cozy and warm bed instead. Plus today I feel thick, very thick. My biceps are getting huge and I really don't want them this big. I am hating trying to cut calories and I just want some CHOCOLATE CAKE! :)

Well, on to some good news. Xavi's grand mother said (in the middle of family dinner) "Kaisa's boobs are bigger." So, if that is one of the benefits of this program, I'll take all the suffering. :) Xavi did tell me it was just the bra I was wearing that day. (Did he have to burst my bubble???). So, I went to see the grandma again yesterday with my most UNpush-bra and she still told me the same thing. Ha!

Diet:
BF (before workout): rye bread with almond butter
BF (after workout): natural yogurt with pineapple and kiwi,
Lunch: rye bread with salmon, avocado, cucumber and lettuce; ground chicken, corn, pear
Snack: 2 mandarines, hazelnuts
Dinner: scrambled eggs with tuna and potato, red bell pepper

Day 18 - Català

2009-03-11T22:10:00.005+01:00

Un descans inesperat! Avui no hi ha hagut entrenament....

Un dia ens maxaca fins a rebentar i el següent ens deixa respirar. Aquesta tècnica a Guantànamo es deia esfixiament simulat i es considerava tortura!

Bé, a preparar-nos per la tempesta de demà... Si vull acabar l'entrenament que hi ha programat hauré d'anar al culb directament des de la feina i sense dinar. Uffff, que Déu ens agafi confesats.

Vinga, cap a fer nones que demà s'acosta una tempesta! :s

Dieta:

Esmorzar: Iogurt amb plàtan i maduixes

Snack: batut i fruits secs

Dinar: Arròs amb pollastre a l'ast

Snack: mandarina, fruts secs

Sopar: amanida variada amb pollastre

Day 18 - English

2009-03-11T12:00:00.004+01:00

What?!?!? Another rest day? Strange. He did tell us that there will be no more rest days for the reminder of the 28 day program...

Did a nice walk around the lake to get some blood flow and increase mobility to my sore body.

Now for the last 10 days I need to actually diet. The horror! It's been a long time since I have dieted, as in purposefully decreased calories. The diet on this program just specifies that we can't eat processed food, gluten, lactics (except for fermented stuff like yogurts), sugar, alcohol, or caffeine. This is pretty easy for me because I generally avoid this stuff anyway. In my normal life I might eat from these groups 3 or 4 times so cutting them out wasn't too difficult. Now, I actually have to watch the amounts I eat too... Sucky. I will be controlling more the portions of nuts and eliminate dried fruits. I will also decrease sligthly the portions of carbs (rice, potatoes, etc). Let's see if this will help bring out my 6-pack! Currently it's a 4-pack and only visible when flexing...

And I have already chosen my next challenge for when MIM ends. We will first do a 1 week recovery week and then I will start a 12 week conditioning program also designed by a personal trainer friend from London. More on that in the days to come!

Diet:
BF: yogurt
BF 2 (after 8km walk): rye bread with butter and salmon
Lunch: chicken breast, pineapple, strawberries, queso fresco
Dinner: salad with a variety of veggies, strawberries, chicken breast

Day 17 - Català

2009-03-10T18:59:00.005+01:00

Aquest programa d’entrenament és un infern! Això és la guerraaaaa!!!
Només els més forts sobreviuran!

Per primera vegada en dues setmanes he hagut de dividir l’entrenament en dues parts. L’idea original era fer-lo tot al matí però desprès d’estar-me al gimnàs gairebé dues hores i quedar-me sense forces ni ganes de continuar, he decidit plegar i acabar-lo a la tarda.

Jo que deia que últimament els entrenos em semblaven fàcils... doncs m’he hagut de menjar les meves pròpies paraules amb patates!!!

L’entrenament estava format per supersèries d’espatlles i isquiotibials, un munt de sèries d’esquena, infinitat de supersèries de bíceps i tríceps i si això no era suficient al final un fotiment d’abdominals. Tot i portar aigua, figues seques, dàtils i ametlles per anar menjar i poder recuperar una mica d’energia entre sèrie i sèrie no n’hi ha hagut prou... he de reconèixer que avui l’entreno ha pogut amb mi.

Dieta:

Esmorzar: cereals finlandesos d’aquells raros de la Kaisa amb nous i maduixes
Snack: fruits secs
Dinar: amanida variada amb tonyina, arròs i pollastre, meló
Snack: fruits secs i batut
Sopar: patates i mongetes tendres, peix i pinya natural

Day 17 - English

2009-03-10T14:55:00.004+01:00

The hellish trainings are B.A.C.K!!!!! Today's was so bad that we had to save a part of it for tonight... We spent 2 hours at the gym and didn't even finish the workout! Holy exhaustion. We had to tank up with some banana and figs during the workout because we just ran out of steam.

Today started with my favorites of cleans and presses and straight legged deadlifts. :) And I deadlifted my bodyweight! Finally! Next came back, also a favorite, and I am up to 6 chin ups! Sweet! Well, that was the first set... second set only 3 full ones and the last two sets all were assisted. But I'm making great progress. Then came huge sets of shoulders and hams including my other favorites, the harrup curls. Then it all took a downhill turn... Stinking biceps and triceps... I DISPISE doing biceps. How badly I hate the last sets of 40. Uuuufff. Then we called it quits before attacking core. I will do that tonight before teaching.

I was so tired from this workout that I had to change my class plan because I just didn't have it in me to do a Corepole class. Planned a circuit instead so they got to sweat while I didn't have to move much... :)

Diet:
BF: rye & oat porridge made with almond milk and egg, mandarine
Snack: banana, figs
Snack: hummus on rye crackers
Lunch: mix veggie salad with shrimp, anxovies, tuna; melon
Snack: corn, walnuts, raisins
Dinner: hummus with rye crackers, a carrot, rice with ground chicken; melon, walnuts and raisins

Dia 16 - Pics & Measurements

2009-03-09T23:02:00.008+01:00

XAVI

KAISA

Day 16 - Català

2009-03-09T22:50:00.012+01:00

Dia de descans!!!

NO m'ho puc creure! Tan queixar-me de que aquest entrenament era tan dur, que ja n'estava fart,... i avui que no he hagut d'entrenar ho he trobat a faltar! Serà que m'estic tornant un bigorèxic?

Dieta

Esmorzar: torrada de pa negre amb pavo, 2 torradetes d'arròs amb melmelada d'ametlles i fruits vermells, potito de fruita

Snack: 1 mandarina

Dinar: amanida variada, arròs integral de verdures amb tonyina, 1 mandarina

Snack: plàtan, fruits secs

Sopar: arròs amb pollastre i cigrons, fruits secs, batut de fruites

Day 16

2009-03-09T22:42:00.003+01:00

How strange to have a day off. In a sick way I actually missed the training today! Kind of like people who've been kidnapped who start to like their kidnappers. :)

Diet:
BF: yogurt, fruit puree
Snack: 2 mandarins
Lunch: lentil veggie puree, egg, rice cakes with nut butters, melon
Dinner: lentil veggie puree, egg white, hummus with anxovies on rye crackers, golden raisins and walnuts

Day 13, 14, 15 - Cap de setmana SPA

2009-03-08T22:10:00.004+01:00

Cap de setmana a un súper SPA de luxe! Acabem d’arribar d’un fabulós cap de setmana lluny de Banyoles per desconnectar una mica de l’estrès de la feina i la rutina. Aquesta sortideta era el regal que li vaig fer a la Kaisa per Nada... fins ara no havíem trobat un cap de setmana lliure per poder-ne gaudir!

Divendres em vaig aixecar aviat i vaig entrenar abans d’anar a treballar a l’institut. L’entreno va consistir en unes sèries interminables d’espatlles i d’esquena. Tot i això sembla que el meu cos s’està acostumant a entrenar dur ja que cada vegada tinc menys cruiximents J. Un cop vaig arribar de la feina la Kaisa i jo varem dinar i fer les maletes per marxar ràpidament cap a Ribes on ens esperaven dos dies de relax al Hotel Spa “Resguard dels vents”.

Dissabte varem fer una mica els ronsos abans d’anar a esmorzar. Al restaurant de l’Hotel hi havia un mega súper bufet lliure amb pilons de menjar (pa amb tomàquet i embotits, pastes i pastissos, fruita...). Com que part de l’entrenament és també seguir una dieta sense gluten ni sucre ja us podeu imaginar que varem poder menjar de tots aquells “manjares”, no? Una mica de fruita amb un recuit L. Mai més torno a organitzar una sortida quan estiguem fent la dieta! Després d’esmorzar havíem d’entrenar però... no hi havia gimnàs!!! Com que ja m’ho imaginava, abans de marxar de Banyoles varem agafar unes gomes i unes peses per poder fer l’entrenament i no saltar-nos la feina. Aquí teniu la prova de que no ens varem saltar l’entrenament. Cal dir que hi ha alguna modificació ja que al no haver-hi màquines de peses varem haver de posar-hi imaginació. La tarda va ser un no parar de “jacuzzis”, saunes, dutxes i massatges! Per acabar el dia no podia faltar un sopar romàntic al restaurant de l’hotel amb un sortit de verdures a la brasa amb salsa romesco, una espatlla de xai (xavi) i lluç amb guarnició (Kaisa) i un mousse de iogurt amb gers.

Diumenge varem marxar aviat ja que havíem d’arribar abans que el Club Natació Banyoles tanqués. L’entrenament era de pectoral i espatlles. Li estic agafant una mania a les sèries de pectoral que no us ho podeu ni imaginar... les últimes són les sèries de 40 flexions que et deixen els braços com si fossin de plastilina! Aggghhhh.

Sort que demà tenim el dia de descans!!! L’únic dia de repòs en 28 dies d’entrenament s’ha d’aprofitar.

Weekend at a SPA!

2009-03-08T19:16:00.004+01:00

What a fabulous weekend we had away from Banyoles enjoying a well deserved mini break at a Spa. This was Xavi's xmas present for me and it took until March for us to find a free weekend!

Friday's workout was pretty short, just shoulders and back. I had to do the workout at our studio so chin ups were a bit challenging but did them with the help of a giant 1 inch tubing.

Friday after lunch we headed for Ribes, a tiny village in the Pyrennees, for 2 nights at a 4-star spa. Just what we needed at the half-way point of the MIM challenge. Our bodies were feeling sore and tired and we needed a little pick-me-up. :)

Saturday we slept in and had a fabulous breakfast of yogurt made from the cows we could see grazing on the hills from our room windows, and incredibly fresh and juicy fruit. Then we took a little nap and got ready for training. Thankfully Xavi had the mental toughness to make me do the workout. I was already trying to bribe him into skipping the day's beating... We went to a garden, unloaded the Select Tech dumbbells and tubes we had brought with us and got to work. It was sunny and we were next to a flowing river so it wasn't too bad. It did take forever since we had to share weights.

For a long time I have wanted Xavi to give me piggyback rides and he has always refused. This weekend he made up for it! Check out the video for a snapshot of the 10 sets of 10 squats he did with me on his back. :) Wife carrying contest in Finland here we come!

Then we spent 2 relaxing hours at the spa soaking in the tubs, sweating in the sauna and steam room, getting our feet massaged in the relaxing foot path of rocks and water sprays, taking naps on the heated marble slabs, and enjoying the variety of specialty water treatments. And if things couldn't get any better we got massages. Aaaahhh. Perfect for our sore and over trained bodies. After the massages we got pretty and had a delicious Elimination approved 4-star dinner. We had the most amazing grilled vegetables with an almond sauce. These veggies tasted incredible. Yum. Xavi had a half of a lamb and I had fish for the main course. Then it was my turn to keep us on track with the project. Xavi tried to convince me to share a chocolate valcano for dessert... It was really tempting but we're not quitters. Instead we had a super yummy rasberry yogurt mixture. :)

Today (Sunday) we packed up early to make it back to Banyoles before the gym closed. Today's workout was chest, shoulders, and abs. I finally managed a whole set of 40 pushups on my knees... still it was embarrasing but it's getting better.

And guess what?!?!? Tomorrow is a FULL rest day! Sweet! :)

Day 12 - English

2009-03-06T00:15:00.002+01:00

A nice and easy training day today. Only windmills.

Diet:
BF: quinoa puffs, oats, rye flakes, goji fruits, almond milk
Snack: walnuts, raisins
Lunch: hummus with rye crackers, rye bread with sardines, rye bread with salmon, yogurt with fig paste and hazelnut paste
Dinner: salad with cottage cheese, tomato, sunflower seeds, chicken breast, rice, and lentils

Day 11 - Català

2009-03-04T22:56:00.004+01:00

Bé, ja tenim un altre dia a la butxaca. La veritat és que ho vaig passar molt malament la primera setmana. Ara muscularment ho estic tolerant força bé, on noto més la fatiga és a nivell psicològic. Per exemple, avui hem entrenat pectoral, bíceps i tríceps. L’últim dia que vam fer aquest entrenament no vaig poder acabar ni una de les sèries de 40 flexions. En cada sèrie vaig haver de posar els genolls a terra i semblava un musulmà resant a la meca. Avui he aconseguit fer la primera sèrie sense posar els genolls a terra… estic súper orgullòs ;) La fatiga ve per la part mental, aquests entrenaments tan llargs requereixen de molta motivació i voluntat sinó pots caure una mica en l’avorriment. Això és el què m’ha passat avui. Sort que demà toca un dia fácil, només 100 abdominals! Yippppiiiiiiii. Serà bufar i fer ampolles!

Dieta

Esmorzar: cereals finlandesos d’aquells raros de la Kaisa
Snack: torrada de pa de centeno amb pernil de pavo
Dinar: Macarrons de blat de moro amb tonyina i un tros de peix, fruita
Snack: iogurt amb compota de pera i avellanes
Sopar: amanida súper variada amb tonyina, peix i fruita amb iogurt

Day 11 - Pics and Measurements

2009-03-04T22:34:00.010+01:00

XAVI

KAISA

Day 11 - English

2009-03-04T13:05:00.003+01:00

Got to sleep 9 hours yet still lacked energy during the workout today. I think the daily workouts with no rest are getting to me a little. I'm getting mentally overtrained. Tomorrow will be almost a day off because we only have to do 100 windmills.

Today was chest, bis, and tris. I have definitely decided that biceps is my least favorite body part to work. Today the humiliation pushups were even worse because they were in a triple superset and I couldn't even finish one set of 40 on my knees...

Diet: rye & oat porridge made with an egg, hazelnut butter, and pear puree. Super good!
Snack: mandarine, rice cake with peanut butter and chestnut paste
Snack: almonds
Lunch: rye bread with tuna and cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes, pistaccios, rice cakes with chestnut paste
Snack: nuts, raisins
Dinner: salad, white fish, pear, quark with fig paste and hazelnuts

I think I might have over done it today with all the nuts... Good sources of healthy fats but also lots of calories.

Day 10 - Català

2009-03-03T22:54:00.005+01:00

Un altre dia de patiment al gimnàs! Jo que em creia que tenia les cames fortes... Després de tots els exercicis de cames, que per variar s'han de fer amb una burrada de pes, l'entrenament s'ha acabat amb 4 sèries de 40 salts... dit així sembla fàcil però els he hagut de fer amb una banqueta sota el cul perquè quan arribava a l'últim ja no tenia ni forces per aguantar el pes del meu propi cos (millor caure de cul en una banqueta que a terra).

Dieta

Esmorzar: pa negre amb pernil de pavo
snack: batut de fruita amb fruits secs
Dinar: arròs amb pèsols, salmó i fromatge fresc amb melmelada de castanya
Snack: pera, pa negre amb pernil de pavo
Sopar: amanida variada amb tonyina, peix, mango

Day 10 - English

2009-03-03T17:36:00.005+01:00

Double digits! Yes! Only 18 days to go. And best of all, finally I can see some results!

My bodyfat is down 1.5% from 20% to 18.5%. YES!!!!!!! GI Jane arms here I come!

The workout was a sweat-fest! The club was like a stinking steam room with NO ventilation so I was struggling. I don't do so well in heat and humidity. I had to take a lot of breaks today but I finished the grueling leg day with my pride intact. Squats and deadlifts went up today and I was able to do half of the lat raises with 2kg instead of the iny-miny 1kg dumbbells. I did almost lose my lunch during the huge sets of squat jumps. Definitely regretted the amount I ate for lunch... Lesson learned.

Today I also had music and I thought it would make a big difference but it didn't really. Plus I think I was making more noise because I couldn't hear myself with the ipod. Either that or I'm starting to look hot so people are staring. :)

Diet:
BF: quinoa and rye puffs, oats, raisins, nuts, with oat milk
Snack: pear, mandarine, walnuts
Lunch: veggie puree (pumpkin, carrot, onion, green bell pepper) with rice and peas, chicken and fish with tomato and onions (what a mix of left overs!)
Dinner: huge salad with lots of veggies, kalamata olives, avocado, cottage cheese, salmon, and this other white fish, super yummy mango for dessert

Day 9 -English

2009-03-02T22:33:00.003+01:00

Today's workout felt like a warmup compared to yesterday's. Just back and core. I only managed 4 chinups. Hopefully by the end of this program I'll be able to do more. Could be also because my biceps are shot from yesterday. Did go up to 16kg (32lbs) for windmills. :)

Diet:
BF: yogurt, mandarine
Snack: raisins, mandarine, walnuts
Lunch: Awesome rye bread (Reissumies!) sandwich with turkey breast, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and olive paste; red bell pepper
Snack: rice cakes with almond paste, hazelnut paste, fig paste, and chestnut paste. Yum.
Dinner: salad with tuna; yummy white fish; yogurt with chestnut paste

Day 9 - Català

2009-03-02T10:15:00.003+01:00

Avui l'entrenament ha estat xupat! Només hem fet esquena i abdominals. Sembla mentida que ara aquest tipus d'entrenament em semblin fàcils... fa dos mesos quan entrenava feia entrenaments semblants i em semblaven difícils. A mesura que he anat fent aquest programa infernal els entrenaments d'abans són bufar i fer ampolles. És increible la capacitat d'adaptació del cos. Coses que abans semblaven duríssimes i insuperables ara són relativament fàcils... on són els nostres límits?

Dieta

Esmorzar: Pa negre amb tomata i pernil de pavo
snack: iogurt amb compota de pera i fruits secs
Dinar: macarrons sense gluten amb pollastre i bolets
Snack: batut de fruites amb nous
Sopar: amanida variada, peix i fruita

Day 8 - Pics and Measurements

2009-03-01T21:59:00.001+01:00

Tenim problemes amb les fotos. Ho estem intentant solucionar.
Perdoneu les molèsties :)

Day 8 - Català

2009-03-01T21:31:00.012+01:00

No sé què he fet per mereixem aquest patiment! Avui al gimnàs semblava Setmana Santa! Només m’ha faltat flagel•lar-me i encendre un ciri! L’entrenament ha estat més llarg que un dia sense pa (i encara ens en queden 20). Gairebé més de dues hores on ens hem matxacat els pectorals, les espatlles, els bíceps, els tríceps, els isquiotibials... i fins i tot els queixals, ja que al final he acabat apretant les dents de dolor i cansament. No li recomano l’entrenament d’avui ni al meu pitjor enemic!!!
Reconec que fins i tot ha estat una mica humiliant, sobretot quan han arribat les 4 sèries de 40 repeticions de flexions! No he acabat ni la primera... ho he agut de fer com les nenes (sense ofendre a ningú) amb els genolls a terra i el cul aixecat. A més, no vull ni recordar les últimes sèries d’espatlles on també fèiem 40 repeticions i les he hagut de fer amb les peses més petites que he trobat (2 kg) ja que no em quedava energia per aixecar res més.

Dieta

Esmorzar: torradeta amb melmelada de castanya, cereals finlandesos rars
Snack: mandarina i batut de fruites
Dinar: arròs amb llenties i tonyina, iogurt i plàtan
Snack: torradetes amb melmelada de castanya
Sopar: amanida variada, macarrons sense gluten amb bolets i pollastre

Day 8 - English

2009-03-01T21:03:00.005+01:00

I could eat a horse. I am hungry all the time with this training.

Today's workout was super long and got pretty boring. We spent 2 hours at the gym. That is way too long. Our pecs, shoulders, tris, bis, and hams got destroyed and I have decided that I abhor working biceps. I would rather do pushups and squat jumps and cleans and presses all day than these monster sets for biceps.

Today was also the public humiliation day. I had to resort to the pathetic butt in the air kind of pushups at the end of the 4x40 sets. To my defense, we had already done bench and flys... Thankfully by the end when I was almost crying with the 1kg dumbbells for shoulder flys the gym was pretty empty so the public humiliation factor was lower. And thankfully the 1kg DBs are not pink and Xavi was next to me with the 2kg DBs so I didn't feel so bad. It looks even funnier when a muscular man like him is huffin' and puffin' trying to lift 2kgs. :)

Diet:
BF: mandarine, my favorite porridge (today a mix of rye and oat) made with oat milk and 1 egg white. Served with a 1/2 teaspoon of butter and a sprinkle of salt. Delicious!
Snack: rice cake with fig paste
Lunch: rice cake, pumpkin soup with a few shrimp, lentils, dessert of natural yogurt with berries and tea
Snack: rice cake with olive paste, rice cake with peanut butter and raisins (yummy!), fresh squeezed OJ
Dinner: huge salad with avocado, shrimp, red and yellow bell peppers, tomato, cucumber, pear, olives; chicken with onions, mushrooms, and tomato.

Day 7 - Català

2009-02-28T23:55:00.003+01:00

Avui ha estat un dia d'aquells que serveix d'excusa per no entrenar. M'he aixecat a les 7 del matí, a les 9:30 ja era a Barcelona on he estat fent un curs que ha durat fins a les 19:30 de la tarda. He arribat a Banyoles tard i cansat... excusa suficient per a molta gent per no entrenar. Tot i això he anat directament al club i resulta que el dissabte tanca a les 9 i quan hi he arribat ja estaba tancat... una altra excusa per no entrenar. No m'he donat per vençut i he acabat entrenant a fitness integral improvitzant pesos i modificant exercicis ja que no tenia les màquines per fer tots els exercicis.

Jo sempre dic que no tenir temps per entrenar és una excusa molt dolenta, tot depèn de les prioritats que es tenen. Si entrenar i millorar la salut és una prioritat sempre es pot trobar temps per fer alguna cosa.
Jo avui he entrenat de 10 pm a 11 pm tot i estar cansat i amb moltes ganes d'arribar a casa, sopar, dutxar-me i anar-me'n a dormir. Per mi entrenar era una cosa que havia de fer i l'he fet!

Recordeu, no tenir temps per fer una cosa és una excusa de mal pagador... tot depèn de les ganes que tinguis de fer-la :)

Pelvic floor and weight lifting

2009-02-28T14:46:00.005+01:00

Ever since I first learned about core conditioning (probably at OSU in the late 90s) it made a lot of sense to me; however, I always thought something was missing. I thought that the "bottom of the core" was getting ignored, at least in the courses I was taking. No one ever said the word vagina or anus in lecture.

So, for the last half of my career I have been delving into this topic and found it a CRUCIAL missing link in MOST exercise programs, especially for women.

What does this have to do with the GI Jane experiment?

Activities that sharply increase intra-abdominal pressure can weaken the pelvic floor (pf). For the last years I have been sticking to low to mid intensity exercise so this hasn't been an issue especially since I do a lot of kegels and hypo-pressive abdominals and my core and pelvic floor are in good shape.

Well, doing all this heavy lifting with the GI Jane training, I notice the pressure. The last time I did this type of training was in the years prior to gaining this level of consciousness of my pf. Now with the better connection to my body I am really noticing this. It is quite incredible! With dead lifts and squats especially I notice the downward pressure on the pf. Before any lifts I always activate the whole core including the pf to protect it, but I can still see how this type of activity over time can wreck havoc on a woman's body! And imagine women who do intense training without a healthy and strong pf!

The solution:

Make sure you have (re)trained your entire core including the pelvic floor before engaging in activities that greatly increase the intra-abdominal pressure (running, weight lifting, golfing, aerobics, tennis, etc.)
If engaging in these activities, be sure to do diaphragmatic suction exercises after the sessions to counteract the heavy-duty downward pressure on the pelvic floor.

So, at the end of each GI Jane workout, I do a minimum of 10 of these hypo-pressure exercises to help out my pelvic floor and avoid problems in the future. Interestingly my hypos are super strong after the training!

Day 7 - Pics and Measurements

2009-02-28T10:12:00.000+01:00

Estem tenint problemes amb les fotos. Estem treballant per solucionar-ho.
Perdoneu les molèsties.

We are having trouble uploading the pics. We are working to solve the problem.
Sorry.

Day 7 - English

2009-02-28T09:22:00.003+01:00

Woooo Whooooo! I week down! Booowhooo... 3 to go.

Woooo whoooooo I can do 1 1-arm push up. Boo whooo... my body weight is the same.

Woooo whooooo my thighs and ass are smaller and my torso is more defined. Already! Just wait until the end.

Wooo whooo got some extra rest today because yesterday's workout was in the morning and today's in the evening. Booo hooo have to workout again tomorrow morning with only a 1/2 a day of rest.

We had to do some MacGuiver tactics with the workout today. We got to the club and it was closed! Thankfully we own a studio so we had a place to go. Only bummer is we don't have a cage or a squat rack. Picture this... Xavi dead lifts his squat weight, hands it to me standing on a bench, sits down in front of me to take it on this shoulders... He also wore a 20kg weighted vest to make up for some of the difference. Even with this little McGuiver action we got our butts kicked. Xavi hates lunges so he was almost crying during the sets. I love lunges but did my crying during the never ending sets of 40 squat jumps. It was only a total of 24 sets today. The hour felt short. :)

Diet:
BF: rye porridge made with oat milk, 1 egg, 1 egg white, 1/2 tsp of butter on top. This is my new favorite breakfast. I look forward to it when I go to bed. :)
Lunch: queso fresco, pistaccios, mandarine, raisins (I know I know... not the best lunch)
Snack: kiwi, orange, almonds, green tea
Snack: rice cake with olive pate
Dinner: veggie puree, steamed turkey (gross!), ants on a log (celery with peanutbutter and raisins)

Day 6 - Pics and Measurements

2009-02-27T23:35:00.000+01:00

Xavi

Kaisa

Day 6 - Català

2009-02-27T21:35:00.003+01:00

Avui tenia un dia molt atapeït per això he anat a entrenar a primera hora del matí. Per ser sincer he de confessar que sóc un home amb un bioritme de tardes. M’ha costat molt despertar-me, suposo perquè encara estava força cansat dels entrenaments dels dies anteriors. Pel què fa a dolors musculars i cruiximents vaig força bé, em sorprèn la capacitat de regeneració del cos. Tot i això avui em feia una mica de mal l’espatlla esquerra :s
L’entrenament ha estat força llarg, aproximadament 1h 30 minuts. Hem maxacat lumbars, dorsal, bíceps i tríceps. Les últimes sèries de braços eren eternes... més de 40 repeticions per sèrie, al final tenies la sensació que la bola explotaria! Al final la màniga de la samarreta m’apretava tant que em tallava la circulació dels dits de les mans, je, je, je...
Si no us ho creieu... mireu la foto que m’he fet ;)

Per cert, voleu un consell per recuperar-vos dels entrenaments més ràpidament... doncs el meu secret són les dutxes fredes. Quan acabo els entrenaments em dutxo durant uns 3-4 minuts amb aigua freda i la veritat és que un cop acabes et sents recuperat i amb energies renovades :)

Dieta

Esmorzar: compota de pera amb plàtan i avellanes
Snack: batut de fruites
Dinar: patata i mongeta tendra, pavo a la planxa i 2 mandarines
Sopar: macarrons sense gluten amb tonyina, puré de verdures i 1 kiwi

Day 6 - English

2009-02-27T12:34:00.006+01:00

I had to rest my elbows on the shower wall to be able to wash my hair. My shoulders were not being team players.

This is starting to feel like a broken record. Every workout seems worse than the previous one. Today was back, bis, and tris. We did a record of 48 sets! It took 1.5 hours of solid weight lifting. At the end I had to sit down because I was gonna passout.

Did deadlift with my body weight!! :) I'm so proud of that. Tried pullovers and decided I prefered the other option which was straight arm pulldowns.

At the end we had done 266 reps of biceps! Mine were bulging and tight and Xavi said we should stop by the pharmacy for some stretchmark cream that preggers use on their bellies (although they don't work). :) Now I better start leaning out or I'll be huge and bigger than when we started...

Food:
BF: yogurt, kiwi
BF2 (after workout): rye porridge make with 1 egg white and oat milk, butter. (it was soooo delicious!)
Snack: 2 rice cakes
Lunch: steamed veggies (potato, carrot, green beans, onion), turkey breast, pineapple juice
Dinner: veggie puree (pumpkin, onion, carrot, green bellpepper, natural yogurt with berry puree

Day 5 - Català

2009-02-26T17:59:00.002+01:00

Avui seré molt breu... no puc moure els braços! Després de més d'una hora aixecant ferro l'entreno acabava amb 4 sèries de 40 flexions!!! Mai havia experimentat una fatiga tan brutal als braços. No he pogut acabar l'última sèrie... m'he agut de rendir davant la força de la gravetat que m'empenya amb més força cap a terra que la que tenia jo per aguantar-me dret. L'entrenament es resumeix amb una frase i una imatge:

"¡¡¡NO ME SIENTO LOS BRAZOS!!!"

Dieta:

Esmorzar: compota de pera amb un plàtan i ametlles
Snack: 2 torradetes d'arròs, 1 pruna, 2 mandarines i un plàtan
Dinar: Arròs integral amb llenties i salmó
Snack: cereals de mill i centeno amb llet d'avena
Sopar: 2 torrades de pa negre amb sardinetes en vinagre, ananida amb ous durs i una fruita

Day 5 - English

2009-02-26T09:36:00.005+01:00

I'm tired... Had to stay up until midnight working and up early to train before clients and a full day of 12 hours at the studio awates me (if I can get my legs to move and walk there...).

Today's workout was embarrasing. Thankfully I did it at our studio so no one could see me struggling with butt in the air pushups. I had to recheck my notes to make sure I wasn't mistaken. How can it be chest again when we just did it yesterday?!?! Damn that hurt. Bench was great and I was able to do sets with 40kg which is pretty good for me. That would be about 90lbs. However, after bench and flys (and the chest workout yesterday) my sets (yes plural!) of 40 for pushups were pathetic. I couldn't even do one set all the way through on my KNEES! . And towards the later sets I had to resort to the really pathetic kind of pushups where your ass stays up in the air and you just barely drop your chest down and up. At least then I was able to do an entire set of 40 without stopping... Oh my god I have a long ways to go if I want to be like GI Jane!

Check out Caroline's blog (on the side bar) for a chick who can do ALL sets of the 40s of full pushups! She amazes me. :)

Then came the dredded shoulder sets with cleans & presses, presses, and lat raises. I went up to 35kg (or 75lbs) for the c&p. Also pretty good for me at the end of the workout.

Food:
BF1: yogurt, mandarine
BF2 (after workout): rice porridge made with oat milk and 1 egg and 1 egg white; pineapple juice with greens supplement
Snack: walnuts, 2 mandarins
Lunch: Brown rice, salmon, pear puree
Dinner: salad, rye bread with smoked salmon

Day 4 - Pics and Measurements

2009-02-25T22:21:00.011+01:00

XAVI

Weight: 76 kg (- 0.5 kg)
Shoulders: 118.5 cm
Chest: 98 cm (+ 2,5 cm)

Waist (navel): 83.5 cm (+ 1 cm)

Hips (glutes): 96 cm

Bíceps: 34.5 (R)

34.5 (L)

Gluteal fold: 58.5 (R) (-0.5 cm)

57.2 (L) (-1 cm)

Thigh: 57.5 (R) (+ 0.5 cm)

58 (L) (+ 1 cm)

Calf: 35 (R) (+0.5 cm)

35 (L)

Posing like the pros? Thong included :)

KAISA

Weight: 60.8 kg (-600 gr)

Shoulders: 98 cm (+ 2 cm)

Chest: 83.5 cm (- 1 cm)
Waist (navel): 75 cm
Hips (glutes): 93 cm (- 0.5 cm)
Bíceps: 27 (R) (+ 0.5 cm)

27 (L) (+ 0.5 cm)
Gluteal fold: 58 (R)

57.5 (L)
Thigh: 54 (R) (- 1 cm)

54 (L) (- 0.5 cm)

Calf: 38 (R) (+ 1 cm)

37.5 (L) (+0.5 cm)

Day 4 - Català

2009-02-25T18:39:00.006+01:00

Avui, seguint la tònica dels últims 3 dies, m’he aixecat cruixit de dalt a baix. La primera cosa que m’ha passat pel cap quan m’he aixecat i he vist que gairebé no podia ni seure a la tassa del lavabo ha estat que avui no podria entrenar.

Els que em coneixen saben que sóc molt tossut i desprès d’esmorzar he anat cap al gimnàs, amb la mentalitat de fer el què pogués. Arribar fins al club i pujar les escales fins a la sala de peses ha estat tot una epopeia. Però no m’he donat per vençut, he pujat a la bicicleta estàtica i he començat a escalfar... amb una pedalada dolorosa darrera l’altra he començat a suar una mica. Un cop he acabat l’escalfament i els exercicis de preparació he posat els pesos a la barra, avui tocava bíceps, tríceps i cames. Amb tot l’optimisme del món he aixecat la barra... Gran sorpresa quan de mica en mica he anat fent totes les sèries que tocaven, i fins i tot amb més pes que el primer dia! M'he sentit com el "pu... rei del gimnàs".He quedat sorprès de la capacitat d’adaptació i regeneració que té el cos humà. Quan el cap em deia que avui no podria un cop m’hi he posat el cos a respost molt millor del què m’esperava.

Això m’ha fet pensar ja que moltes vegades ens donem per vençuts abans de començar i no provem les coses perquè no confiem en nosaltres mateixos. Avui el cos m’ha tornat a recordar que no hi ha coses impossibles i que si volem fer una cosa només ens hi hem de posar,pot costar més o menys però ho aconseguirem.
He d’admetre que ara mentre estic escrivint això em tornen a fer mal tots i cadascun dels músculs del meu cos. Tot i això ara m’ho agafo diferent, ara veig el dolor com el senyal que em recorda que el meu cos s’està adaptant. És el preu del canvi cap a un nou i millor jo :)

Dieta:

Esmorzar: Mató amb compota de pera, un plàtan i un grapat d’ametlles.
Snack: batut de fruites
Dinar: puré de verdures, macarrons sense gluten amb tonyina, 2 mandarines
Snack: iogurt natural amb compota de fruits vermells, cereals de mill i centeno, i una torradeta d’arròs.
Sopar: amanida d'arròs i pollastre

FAQ English

2009-02-25T14:02:00.004+01:00

People keep asking me why I'm doing this. Yes, it does seem a bit extreme and superficial. And it is. Mostly I am doing this to see if I can. I'm curious to see what will happen with my physique if I train hard. No, I don't think I'm fat and need to lose weight. No, I don't have an eating disorder or body morphic disorder. I'm content with my body and size but I'm curious. I want to experience serious training for a specific goal and being trained by someone else. And it is a great project to share with Xavi. Nothing like suffering together in the gym to strengthen our marriage. :)

The other comment I get is: "That can't be healthy."

There is some truth to that. For a person whose body is not prepared for this kind of training, this would be dangerous and unhealthy. For us as we are already in good shape, have taken the time to do corrective exercises, and have good technique, this training is harsh on the body but the body can adapt to the intensity. It's not really the training that is the issue, it's the regeneration and recovery. This intense training paired with clean nutrition and rest is ok for the body. Since it is planned overtraining, we are only doing 28 days. If not paired with good nutrition and appropriate recovery techniques, this training could lead to problems.

So, this is not necessary for health but nor is it unhealthy if done properly. The body can withstand a lot and it is good to push your limits occasionally.

The last question we are getting is: "Will you do this with your clients?"

The training we do with clients is personalized. Each client is assessed and trainings are based on this kinetic chain assessment, the person's goals, experience, health history, time availability, other current/past activities, and desires. So, we might use some methods from this program with a more advanced hypertrophy desiring client with no injuries and who has already completed his/her corrective exercise phase. Handing over a predone program really isn't personal training so that is not what we do. At the end of this experiment, if we like what we've done, we will recommend the program for those who want to train on their own and fit the prereqs.

Day 4 - English

2009-02-25T13:33:00.007+01:00

Oh my GOD it's only day 4?!???! That means another 24 days of this hell!

I suppose if I just got to train, eat, sleep, and relax this would be ok. Running a business, creating another business, being a wife, and doing this challenge is a lot. Definitely don't think this would be possible with kids unless they came with a nanny and a maid. :)

Well, it's now or never so I'll work hard this month and reap the benefits later. Once the goal is achieved, maintaining is much easier.

Slept crappy due to all the soreness. Woke up everytime I changed position because it hurts to move. Every muscle I own is sore. And I've never done "planned overtraining" training. I usually don't go to town on a muscle group if it's still sore from the previous workout. Well, with this program, that is the point. It better work because it's bloody painful!

Today was an "easy" day so the workout took "only" an hour and included bis, tris, and hams. We messed up in writing down the workout and did more work than was intended... Hams were on FIRE. Harrup curls rock in general, but suck when done in never ending supersets with 2 other ham exercises. Uuuffff. I think my moaning and groaning is starting to bother the other gym users. :S

Food:
BF: rye bread (the real kind from Finland!) with butter, natural yogurt with pear puree and berry sauce
Snack: banana, almonds
Lunch: carrot-onion-lentil puree, chicken breast, pinapple juice with a greens supplement
Snack: rice cakes with almond butter and agave, mandarine
Dinner: salad with chicken, avocado, rukula, cucumber, olives, pear, seeds, bell pepper; apple sauce with berry puree

Results so far:
Weight is up a half a kilo. Start measures were done around 11am where as now we're doing remeasures and pictures in the evenings so that half kilo is probably an actual loss of a half kilo.

Measures keep changing but in general shoulders, biceps, and calves (iik!) are bigger while hips, thighs, and chest (double iiik!) are getting smaller. Waist and ab are still more of less the same. Ideally I would like shoulders, biceps, and chest (a girl can dream) bigger and thighs, calves, hips, and ab smaller. A visible sixpack without flexing would be great. :) So, I need to drop at least 3-4% body fat while gaining some muscle.

What do you think, can I do it in 28 days?

Day 3 - Pics and Measurements

2009-02-24T22:24:00.013+01:00

XAVI

Weight: 76 kg (- 0.5 kg)
Shoulders: 118.5 cm
Chest: 98 cm (+ 2,5 cm)

Waist (navel): 83.5 cm (+ 1 cm)

Hips (glutes): 96 cm

Bíceps: 34.5 (R)

34.5 (L)

Gluteal fold: 58.5 (R) (-0.5 cm)

57.2 (L) (-1 cm)

Thigh: 57.5 (R) (+ 0.5 cm)

58 (L) (+ 1 cm)

Calf: 35 (R) (+0.5 cm)

35 (L)

KAISA

Weight: 60.8 kg (-600 gr)

Shoulders: 98 cm (+ 2 cm)

Chest: 83.5 cm (- 1 cm)
Waist (navel): 75 cm
Hips (glutes): 93 cm (- 0.5 cm)
Bíceps: 27 (R) (+ 0.5 cm)

27 (L) (+ 0.5 cm)
Gluteal fold: 58 (R)

57.5 (L)
Thigh: 54 (R) (- 1 cm)

54 (L) (- 0.5 cm)

Calf: 38 (R) (+ 1 cm)

37.5 (L) (+0.5 cm)

Day 3 - Català

2009-02-24T17:07:00.001+01:00

Avui ha estat un dia dur. Només portem dos dies d'entrenament i el cansament i el dolor muscular és intens... Si no fos perquè la il·lusió d'aconseguir el què ens hem proposat serà més gran que el dolor que sentim ara ho deixaríem córrer. Reconec que els entrenaments són més "heavies" del què em pensava... Bé, ja se sap, tot costa esforç i sacrifici sinó no ho valoraríem :)

M'he aixecat amb molt dolor a les espatlles (ahir les sèries d'espatlles van ser infernals) i em pensava que no podria anar a entrenar ja que no podia girar el volant del cotxe per sortir del garatge.

Un cop al gimnàs i després d'escalfar m'he anat sentint millor. L'entrenament d'avui era cames, pectoral, dorsal i abdominals. Dit així sembla poca cosa però s'ha fet llarg (temps aprox. 1 hora 30 min). Fins i tot les últimes 4 sèries de 40 abdominals he hagut de posar la cançó de Rocky al mp3 per motivar-me "Pa pa papappapaapa, pa papa pa pap apap ..."

Bé, ara dutxa i cap a treballar. Gràcies a deu que avui no he de fer cap classe a Fitness Integral. Ahir saltant quasi em moro!

Dieta:

Esmorzar: cereals finlandesos amb fruits secs
Snack: batut de fruites
Dinar: Amanida variada (ou dur, enciam, rúcula, anxoves, olives, abocat, tomata, cogombre...), un filet de panga (peix) i 2 mandarines.
Snack: mató amb compota de pera, llevadura de cervesa i nous
Sopar: amanida, pasta sense gluten amb tonyina i kiwi.

Day 3 - English

2009-02-24T15:08:00.005+01:00

Uuuuuuffffffff.

I am suuuuper tired from today's workout.

Thankfully Xavi was there to motivate me. At one point he did tell me that if I didn't put some more weight on the bar I shouldn't be wearing a shirt with a Fitness Integral logo... He was right, I was able to lift more and finished the set with 4 more kilos.

The workout was incredibly brutal. The hardest workout I have probably ever done. I think my arms doubled in size from being so pumpped up. I was able to do some full chinups which made me proud. Still no where near full sets of chin ups. If I want to be like GI Jane, I better improve my pullups and learn how to do 1 arm pushups. :)

We did superset of legs which included squats, lunges, and squatjumps. Auch! Today also included a total of 10x10 for bench press split into different super sets with back.

This program is the first time I have done windmills. I like them. :) Started first day with 6kg to get the technique down and today did sets with 14kg. Cool.

Later I had a hard time demonstrating exercises for a circuit group. Tomorrow I'm not sure I will be able to move. Had to use the elevator today too...

Food:
BF: rye porridge, apple sauce, walnuts, greens supplement
Snack: walnuts, 2 mandarins, 1/2 apple
Lunch: salad with avocado, sardines, cucumber, tomato, olives, 1 egg; panga fish
Snack: oat milk with bambu
Dinner: salad, gluten free pasta with tuna

Day 2: Pics and Measurements

2009-02-23T22:43:00.012+01:00

XAVI

Weight: 76.5 kg

Shoulders: 118.5 cm

Chest: 95.5 cm
Waist (navel): 83.5 cm
Hips (glutes): 96 cm
Bíceps: 34.5 (R), 34.5 (L)
Gluteal fold: 59 (R), 58.2 (L)
Thigh: 57 (R), 57 (L)
Calf: 34.5 (R), 35 (L)

KAISA

Weight: 61.4 kg
Shoulders: 96 cm
Chest: 84.5 cm

Waist (navel): 75 cm

Hips (glutes): 93.75 cm

Bíceps: 26.5 (R), 26.75 (L)

Gluteal fold: 56.5 (R), 57.5 (L)

Thigh: 55 (R), 54.5 (L)

Calf: 37 (R), 37 (L)

Dia 2 - Català

2009-02-23T19:33:00.002+01:00

Kaisa

M’he aixecat amb una mica de mal de coll. Hhmmm... M’he pres unes boletes homeopàtiques pels refredats i m’he netejat les vies nassals amb aigua i sal. Espero que m’ajudi a no caure malalta... ara no m’ho puc permetre :s

M’he aixecat força masegada de l’entrenament d’ahir. Normalment els cruiximents em surten al cap d’un parell de dies... ja veurem com estarem demà... ai, ai, ai!

Xavi

No ha fet falta ni arribar al matí per adonar-me que tenia tot el cos cruixit... m’he despertat unes quantes vegades ja que cada vegada que em girava el mal de cames i d’esquena em feia veure les estrelles. Quan m’he hagut d’aixecar m’he adonat que estava millor del què m’esperava. A mesura que anava passant el dia però m’anava encarcarant i els cruiximents anaven creixent, tot i això he pogut entrenar ja que el que em feia mal eren les cames i l’esquena... l’entrenament d’avui eren espatlles i braços. Això vol dir que demà no podré moure res!!!

Dieta:
-Esmorzar: compota casolana de poma amb formatge fresc i un grapat de nous
-snack: 2 prunes, grapat de fruts secs
-Dinar: amanida variada, puré de pastanaga amb arròs integral, un tros de peix.
-snack: 1 poma, suc de fruites
-Sopar: Hummus amb torradetes d'un pa raro sense farina, truita amb xampinyons i trossets de pernil de pavo, un tros de peix, 2 mandarines

Day 2 - English

2009-02-23T13:47:00.004+01:00

Woke up with a slight sore throat. Hhmmm... Downed some vits, did a sinus "bath", and took a homeopathic cold remedy. Plan on keeping this bug from taking over.

Definitely have some soreness today. I'm usually a 2nd day DOMS girl.

Food:
BF: 2x natural yogurt, applesauce (home made), oats, brewer's yeast, walnuts
Lunch: carrot, onion, pink lentil soup, brown rice, panga fish, kiwi
Snack: pistaccios, queso fresco + agave, veggie/fruit juice
Dinner: hummus on rye cracker, carrot-onion-lentil soup, panga fish

The workout wasn't too bad compared to yesterday's and compared to tomorrows! Just shoulders and arms. I must say typing this is a bit difficult... Part of the workout were a total of 100 bicep curls as part of supersets... I'm already feeling those.

Tomorrow's workout looks like HELL! Lots of legs and I think it will take at least 90min...

Going to bed. This program is leaving me super tired.

Day 1: Pics and Measurements

2009-02-22T19:45:00.019+01:00

XAVI

Weight: 76,5 kg

Shoulders: 118.5 cm

Chest: 95.5 cm
Waist (navel): 83.5 cm
Hips (glutes): 96 cm
Bíceps: 34.5 (R), 34.5 (L)
Gluteal fold: 59 (R), 58.2 (L)
Thigh: 57 (R), 57 (L)
Calf: 34.5 (R), 35 (L)

KAISA

Weight: 60.6 kg
Shoulders: 96 cm
Chest: 84.5 cm

Waist (navel): 75 cm

Hips (glutes): 93.75 cm

Bíceps: 26.5 (R), 26.75 (L)

Gluteal fold: 56.5 (R), 57.5 (L)

Thigh: 55 (R), 54.5 (L)

Calf: 37 (R), 37 (L)

Dia 1- Català

2009-02-22T19:31:00.000+01:00

Avui la Kaisa I jo hem començat el compte enrere, tenim 28 dies per millorar els nostres cossos. Com? Sotmetent-los a entrenaments intensos i seguint una dieta extremadament saludable sense productes refinats, ni gluten i sense sucre!!! Aquest petits sacrificis ens han de permetre eliminar greix i estimular el creixement muscular. Estem segurs que tot aquest patiment valdrà la pena.Ara us podeu preguntar... què els hi ha picat per fer això? Doncs, la veritat és que estem participant en un projecte d’un dels millors entrenadors personals del Regne Unit, Dax Moy, que vol comercialitzar el seu sistema d’entrenament i necessita gent que faci els seus entrenaments per demostrar que funciona. Vosaltres sereu els testimonis de la nostra transformació i podreu jutjar si aquest programa d’entrenament intensiu funciona.

L’entrenament d’avui, tot i estar acostumats a fer exercici regularment, ens ha deixat fets caldo. No podem revelar els detalls dels entrenaments però us podem dir que hem maxacat pectoral, dorsals, lumbars, isquiotibials i abdominals. La kaisa ha tardat uns 65 minuts i jo uns 85 minuts (ja que he fet servir pesos més alts i necessitava una mica més de recuperació que ella). Un cop hem acabat ens hem hagut d’ajudar un a l’altre per baixar les escales i obrir la porta del cotxe!Després de l’entrenament hem anat a dinar a casa la meva mare, celebràvem l’aniversari de la Kaisa. Quan ha arribat el moment d’obrir els regals a la Kaisa encara li tremolaven els braços.

Ara només pensem a anar a dormir aviat i poder-nos recuperar per poder-hi tornar demà. Uffff!!!

Day 1 - English

2009-02-22T18:26:00.008+01:00

GI Jane Experiment has started!

Today Xavi and I got sweating toward our new and improved bodies.

We are guineapigs for Dax Moy's "Muscle in a Month" program with a goal of increasing lean mass and decreasing fat %. It is a super intense 28 day program based on a principle of planned overtraining. We will be finishing grueling workouts daily, following his Elimination Diet, and paying special attention to recovery and regeneration strategies.

Did starting measurements and the dreaded before pictures. Pasty white... And how can I have bigger calves than Xavi!? I'm hoping to lose some fat from there in these 28 days.

Today's workout was a definite shock to the body. For the last year or two I have been following a maintenance plan of twice a week full body circuits that lasted less than an hour. Xavi has been doing 3 times per week hypertrophy for the last half a year.

The actual workouts are top secret but I can disclose that we hit chest, back, hams, and core and did what seemed like an endless series of supersets. It was exhausting! We did a full 15 min warmup of activation exercises to prepare and then the actual workout took me 65 min (Xavi spent 85min) plus another 15min of recovery exercises. Haven't workout that long in a gym for a while! At the end even my eyelids were trembling.

Then we went to my birthday lunch with Xavi's family and his darling mom made an Elimination Diet approved 5 course meal. I was so wiped out from the workout that pouring water was difficult...

Today's diet:
Bfast: natural yogurt, banana, pineapple, kiwi
Lunch: Course 1: salad, cooked eggplant, onion, red bellpepper, goat cheese
Course 2: brown rice, chicken, veggies all in a delicious paella style dish
Course 3: papaya
Course 4: "cheese cake" made with "fresh" cheese (low fat), corn meal, and agave
Course 5: green tea
Snack: rye crackers and home made hummus
Dinner: quinoa, peas, red bell pepper, tuna, homemade apple sauce for dessert

Going to bed early to aid recovery. :)