Thursday, May 13, 2010

Day 1: Let's Begin!

Care to join us in a little kung fu?
Hey all,
Welcome to my second blog and, thanks to Patrick Reynolds founder of the Peak Condition Project, my second journey down the path towards wellness: The Kung Fu Body.
If you would like to read my first blog where I battled tooth and nail in my ultimately successful journey from fat to fit, please go to the link below.
For those of you who wish to miss out on something really cool and entertaining by not bothering with the above link, here's the short version. Last year, I was overweight and suffering from breathing problems. Patrick's Encouragement combined with my own fear and desperation led me to join his Peak Condition Project. At the start of the program I was 98.5 kgs, hated exercise, and about as "in shape" as a fifty-two year old bean-bag chair. At the end of the program I reached 82.6 kg (I actually managed to get down to 79.0 kgs a week after the program was complete) with visible muscles and enough new energy to take on the world. My allergies and all my medications became things of the past as well.
Now, almost a year later, while the frequency of how often I exercise has reduced, my junk food intake has resumed a bit, and my muscles aren't as visible as they were at the end of the program, my biggest concern--my weight--sits at 81.6kg. Yes, still less than when I finished the PCP. And, I'm still faster and stronger than I ever was.
How about that?

So what does this mean for this, my next journey? Well, this will be the first time I've joined a health program where I'm already in pretty good shape. Great shape? No. But pretty good. It also means my motivations are both the same and different. Just as before my primary motivation is my wife and son and friends. Every day I work on this program will hopfully mean more time on this Earth with them. But now, and perhaps most interestingly, I'm doing this because, unlike my old self, I enjoy exercise, and I'm curious as to what changes the Kung FU Body with its Strength, Agility, and Flexibility components will bring to my body. Please understand, this is big for me. Last year, I hated exercising--the sweat, the pain, all of it--did I mention the pain?. If you looked up "lazy" or "Lame excuses not to exercse" in the dictionary, you would have found my picture. Now, I embrace the exercise for the most part (I still hate side crunches) like an old friend. This is especially my once greatest nemisis and now my greatest ally: my jumprope.

So, again, welcome to this blog, and let's get into the fun that was Day 1 of the Kung Fu Body.

I headed out to my park for the first KFB workout which consisted of swings, stances, stretches, punches, and kicks.

The Good...

The exercises were fun and inculded two exercises present in the first week of the PCP. While the list was long, the exercises were not hard. My biggest challenge was overcoming my poor balance while kicking and leg swinging, but that's part of what this program will improve.

Things that made me go hmmm....

I doubt I would have had the courage to do the punches and kicks outside in public if I hadn't already built my "exercise outside" confidence during the PCP.

The exercise list looked like a lot to do and it took an hour compared to the sparse list at the start of the PCP. My trust in Patrick and previous experience made this a small matter for me. However, if I was a newbie, I think I might have felt a bit overwhelmed. The newbie mind always makes things seem bigger and more problematic than they really are.

Well, that's it for Day 1.

See you tomorrow.

Sean

3 comments:

  1. Michael,

    Your introductory post is inspiring. While I desire the social and vein benefits of the PCP and KFB projects, learning to enjoy the pain, the work, the progress, for the benefit of oneself is perhaps the most motivating aspect.

    I am proud of you for your progress and your journey. I look forward to seeing how you continue to evolve.

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  2. Wow. I just realized that I accidentally looked at Michael's name from his comment when I meant to write Sean. Sorry, Sean! I meant that comment for you.

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