The Adventures of Benjamin Hudgens

Day 20 (Legs and Back)

Benjamin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:15:39 +0000

The way our sleep schedule has been lately two days have really passed since the last workout. However, for us it has only been one. Sometimes we get on weird schedules where we wake up at 5:00PM and sleep at 4:00AM. Right now we’re waking up at 6:00PM, working until 3:00AM, and sleeping at 8:00AM.

That schedule has always put a cramp in my workouts. This time I’m continuing with them and not worrying about it.

We did Kempo X two days in a row and gave my knee a break. With the extended period between the last Kempo X and todays leg workout my knee had some nice time to recover. I finished todays workout. First time ever on this one. I then ran a 12 minute mile around the neighborhood. One hour workout, 979 calories, avg HR of 149 with a max of 182.

Nothing is making these workouts any easier. I can tell I’m getting in shape which is nice. On the other hand I still haven’t lost a pound. I look the same. I’ve cut my calories down quite a bit and I’ve stepped up on the cardio. Still no good results for all the hard work. It is my goal to stick this out for 90 days but at this rate starving myself is a much faster way to see results. I’d be down 15lbs by now seeing as this is week 4. I’m not convinced a 500-1000 calorie diet isn’t the way to go. On the other hand, a doctor might mention the heart attack risks and tremendous strain on your body. A health freak would tell me that years of fad dieting is causing my body to adjust slowly.

I think they’re wrong. I think people are simply different and while the general scales/rules say I should be eating 3000 calories to lose weight I probably should be eating 2000. I’m really eating 2500. I predict my tolerance for no weight loss will last approximately two more weeks before I simply cut out several meals a day and severely limit my calorie intake. We shall see…

Day 19 (Kempo X)

Benjamin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:29:14 +0000

I should be doing Legs and Back today but I’m subbing it in for Kempo X (two days in a row) in an effort to give my knee another day of rest. Aside from some stretching at the beginning of Kempo X requiring you to be in a deep lunge this video still gets your heart rate up but is easy on the knees for the most part.

After Kempo X today I went for a jog. 10min mile pace and mostly up-hill. Today was the first time in MONTHS I was able to jog the entire thing without stopping. And, I did this after a 45 min Kempo X workout.

On the other hand this week has been super tough. I can feel the wear and tear on my body. My joints are starting to feel some pretty good pain. Muscles don’t get sore any longer. However, my joints mainly in my arms and my knee are taking a beating. This is the price I pay for being fat. If I was 50lbs lighter my knees wouldn’t be taking such a beating.

We SHOULD be starting our off week tomorrow but unfortunately we move on to Legs and Back which I suppose is going to push us back a day unless one of these days we get the energy to double up.

I wake up with the intention to double up every day and then… don’t.

Day 18 (Kempo X)

Benjamin — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:19:32 +0000

As stated previously I should be doing Yoga X but instead I’m substituting Kempo X. I actually intended to do this workout yesterday and double up. I needed to do this because a day slipped this week. Not eating on a regular schedule threw my whole system off. I was drained two nights ago to beyond exhaustion without working out. The following day I ate my normal meals but I was starving after eating them.

Today I should be on Legs and Back but instead I’m still a day behind because I missed a day. Thus, I’m on Kempo X instead of Yoga. This would also be a Legs and Back workout day but I’m not sure I can handle it today. My knee has taken a beating for a couple weeks straight now. I can definitely feel the results. My knee gives out prior to my muscle really getting a good burn.

Day 17 (Shoulders and Arms)

Benjamin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:14:26 +0000

This is what always scares me about getting on a schedule. My work schedule can be highly chaotic at times. Yesterday I was working on some things at the office that required I stay at the office after hours. I wasn’t counting on this so I did not take the appropriate food to work.

At approximately 2:30PM I ate my last meal and didn’t get home until 11:00PM. This resulted in me going far too long without any food and I was mentally drained. Thus I woke up today and did Shoulders and Arms late. Basically this resulted in a rest day too early.

Day 16 (Plyometrisucks)

Benjamin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:14:43 +0000

I tried to do plyometrisucks and didn’t make it 20 minutes. Yes, I was definitely tired but my right knee is being a bitch. My right leg is my stronger leg but today is was hurting. Not muscle hurt… Joint hurt. The further I went the more it hurt. I finally stopped in the hopes that I’m not doing permanent or semi-long term damage. I sat outside trying to think of something to do to compensate. It is hard to do cardio and low impact. All I could think of was walking so right away I got up and walked two miles. My heart rate was only averaging 140. I also only burned 650cals on a cardio day. That’s weak sauce.

I will need to make up for this day. My legs didn’t get a solid workout. I might try this again instead of Kempo X and just take it easy my next cardio day. However, Kempo is easier on the knees and keeps my heart rate up really high. Who knows…

Day 15 (Chest and Back)

Benjamin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:26:20 +0000

Another week of pain among us. woke up late today and went straight into working. Thus, we had to push the workout to this evening. This has happened on a few occasions. Like I’ve read several times from other people’s blogs these workouts get a little harder by week 3. The actual work seems to get easier but motivation drops.

I thought about that a little bit to understand it. I think it is because you are driven by the results at first. The fantasy of picturing yourself in great shape. After this long you’ve now worked reeeeallly hard and honestly you probably won’t see much change. Sure… You will feel different but feeling better isn’t quite enough. This is where true determination is going to start to kick in.

Were the past two weeks of pain a waste of time? Can you keep pushing to see change?

On a positive note I made it 99% through today. I did not do FU abs. Instead I jogged a 12 min mile. See the summary for week two. I’m probably dropping fu abs and yoga x for a short while until the areas I need to improve actually improve.

Day 13 (Kempo X)

Benjamin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:11:42 +0000

Holy hot sauce! What a mistake! Yesterday was college football day. To watch one of the games we went to a local bar. I have a weakness for chips and salsa. Knowing this I skipped my afternoon snacks and kept my calories low all day. Not sure if I ate lunch either. Four beers and six very large bowls of hot sauce later I was stuffed. The bartender was amazed… Calling my stomach one of steel. My legs were SORE today. From my knee up to the top of my ass. Got knows what workout I did that worked my ass muscles but I could barely sit down today. Not being able to sit down comfortably is a pain in the ass. (Pun intended)

Well, I was doing okay until this afternoon. All that protein from days and days all getting pushed around by the high moving fast paced carbs…omg! Fire! Kempo X is a bitch when your stomach is upset. That didn’t stop me! I brought it today. Average heart rate of 155 with a max of 180. After Kempo X I went and jogged .9 miles. 11 mins. About a 12 min mile pace. 155 heartrate for 1hr and 10 mins. Did the whole workout and then some. I burned at least half those calories from yesterday. My heartrate monitor claims I burned 975 calories.

Good day!

On… and, I weighed myself this evening. The worst time to weigh yourself is after drinking three bottles of water and who knows what else. My weight continues to rise. WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS!

Day 14 (Stretchless X)

Benjamin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:24:47 +0000

Today was supposed to be stretch day. It was gonna go something like: head to office, come home at decent hour, dink around, eat some dinner, stretch, bed.

It ended up going something like: stranded on side of highway with dead motorcycle, two hour wait for tow, crazy late start with work, frustration, relaxation, sleep.

Notice the stretch part wasn’t in there!

Day 12 (Legs and Back)

Benjamin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:02:09 +0000

HOLY CRAP today was hard. 10 minutes left in the video and I failed. I was dead. I didn’t attempt F.U. ABS either. I made it way further in the video from last week. I did 15 unassisted pullups. I couldn’t do 3 last week. My body is adjusting slowly.

It gets rough working this hard this long and looking in the mirror to see hardly any results. I could lie to myself and pretend I see something but you’re just not going to see anything worth talking about yet. You’d think this much pain would bring nice looking results but there’s that other annoying factor: time.

Fuck time… I hate him.

Last night we met some friends at a buddies house and had some beers. I’ve basically done the best I can to isolate myself from the world for this. It is rough since I’m an avid college football fan and this is prime time. However, there is too much temptation meeting up at bars. One delicious beer leads to another.

So, last night I had not eaten dinner AND ate some bad stuff. Let’s see… six beers, one hand full of chex mix, and four slices of turkey. Calorie wise I probably broke even but get-togethers are bad. It isn’t realistics for everyone to go off the grid for ninety days but that’s the kind of stuff I have to do to stick to something. I’m determined.

Day 11 (Yoga X)

Benjamin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:34:15 +0000

Today we didn’t do Yoga X until the end of our day. I got tied up with some stuff right when I woke up. This is still the hardest thing on this video set for me. Plyometrics is more of a burn but pure difficulty comes in the form Yoga X. If I was limber this wouldn’t be so bad. In fact, I’d argue people who are not limber probably have to work twice as hard. The folks that are limber can put their limbs in positions that are in a bit of rest. Every twist and turn is a struggle. I THOUGHT i was getting closer to reaching my toes but then I looked down and realized my knees were bending. I couldn’t even feel them bend.

For all the poses that require touching your toes I simply didn’t try. Instead I spent section I was unable to complete stretching for that leg or my back.

My back still feels really tender after these. Today I realized it is likely because I’m twisting but not flexible enough to be straight up when I’m twisting. I could just substitute something for Yoga X and be a pussy. Instead I’m going to keep doing it and risk permanent injury.

I went ALL the way through the video until the last 10 minutes. I actually saw the end of the video for the first time. One thing I will never do on this video… chant like a weirdo.

I SWEAT A LOT doing this. Stretching my muscles really takes it outta me!