“A person can achieve everything by being simple and humble.”

Day 117

Ended up going on a run, somewhere around 4-5 miles. Awesome run into the white river national forest, so peaceful! Felt good to get outside, the weather has been really nice, which is great, but we need snow!

Day 118

I made it to the gym this morning around 6:00, worked out with heavy weights for about an hour. Cleaned up the gym and than went to a ski conditioning class at 8:00am. I for sure kicked my own ass this morning. Feeling really good right now, and I am glad about that because I was feeling not so good after Thanksgiving. It was fun to let lose for a little while, but is amazing how much damage you can do in a couple of days, for something that took weeks to accomplish. I gained two pounds in two days, crazy but true, and it was not muscle. Just confirms how vital diet is to the whole process of looking good. You can work your ass off but if your diet is not right, you will not get the results you are looking for.

Day 119

Rest day to get ready for a bit of snowboarding with my wife tomorrow.

Day 120

Snowboarded for about an hour before we got called home. Babysitters kid got sick, somethings are not meant to be. All and all it was a really fun day.

Day 121

Woke up at 4am with a very sick wife and a wide awake eight month old. Still got in 100 push ups, 100 sit ups and when my wife was feeling better I got in a 16 mile bike ride before dinner. The bike ride was awesome, it was sunny and 45 degrees which is great except that it should be snowing, weird dry warm winds are a blowing.

Day 122

Went to the gym this morning and lifted weights. I love getting to the gym when it is still dark out.

I am a third of the way through my get an eight pack experiment.  I currently have a six pack for the first time in my life. When I first started I thought about this time and wondered what it would be like. Well I can say that I am both excited with the results and humbled by the journey, along the way I am learning a lot about myself.

For starters I am by far my biggest critic, which is both good and bad. It is good because I am always self-critical which makes me push myself harder, but bad because I am never satisfied. I am 37 years old and am in the best shape of my life and when I look in the mirror I immediately see the faults and mentally criticize myself for all of them.  It works both ways, it gets me motivated to work harder, to eat healthier, but at the same time it is very hard for me to enjoy any success that I have.

As I think about this I realize this has been a theme of my existence. All good things have always been meet with a healthy dose of some self loathing, and all bad things were always taken as, well I deserved it.  I can think of some things from my youth that might have helped this seed to grow but for the sake of having my big boy pants on I am going to take full responsibility for this and just know it about myself. I have been trying lately to give myself a mental pat on the back every now and again.

Secondly, I do not miss drinking alcohol as much as I thought I would. When people ask me how you could give up drinking my response is the same, “I have drunk plenty and been drunk plenty”.  My nights in college and the ten years I spent snowboarding after college were pretty heavily dosed with lots of alcohol. I can honestly say that not one of those drinks did anything for me, but I remember thinking they were.  I am older now and almost all of the drinking I have done for the last six or seven years has been pretty responsible, but none the less pointless. I have never found the answer to anything at the bottom of a bottle and I have seen the bottom of a lot of bottles. I am also at a point in my life that I do not need alcohol to relax or loosen up, I am pretty loose sober.  At the end of the year I will have a couple drinks here and there but not as often as I use to.

Third I am humbled and thankful for every moment of my life that has lead to this moment right now. I am blessed with a great family and I am living the life I imagined as a kid driving his Chevy Blazer out to Colorado fifteen years ago. I am not even sure how it all happened, but I am so thankful that it has.

Last but not least I am inspired. Even though I am third of the way through my year challenge I feel like my healthy living is going to stick for life. I enjoy challenging myself to eat better and to work harder everyday. I want to be in better shape next year than I am this year and continue that trend till by body just won’t cooperate anymore. In other words I plan to have a six pack till the day I die.

I will end on this note. I am looking so forward to sharing my experiences with others and hope I am lucky enough to help people out on their own journeys to a healthier existence.

243 days to go!

Day after Turkey Day...

Day 112

Well I almost did that. I did make it to the gym at 5:30am. Great workout with a buddy, than I worked for an hour and swam 5 laps in the pool and now I am sitting at my desk at work. Gonna rest tomorrow ride on WED (YEA), kick it on Turkey day, and Friday go to the Beaver Creek Tree Lighting. Awesome week coming up! Happy turkey day people!!

Day 113

Rest Day.

Day 114

Spent the day snowboarding. So much fun!! Can’t wait to ride again, but as usual we need some snow!! Please and Thank you!

Day 115

Turkey Day!! I did not drink any alcohol but I did pig out for the last two days straight. I could not begin to tell you how many calories I stuffed in my mouth, but it was gluttonous and fun! Great little vacation with the family!!

We did go for a two mile run/walk and I did 50 push ups.

Day 116

The day after!!! I got up at 5am and was working out by 5:45. Nice workout, about 15 minutes of cardio than 100 sit ups, 100 push ups, 100 dips, and 100 curls. I am going to try to get into the gym tomorrow for some heavy lifting.

Still Grinding...

Day 106

Great gym work out today, still training at a really high heart rate, but new exercises and much heavier weights.

Got a pretty good cardio in yesterday, some jogging a little interval work, and some stationary bike, about 30 min all together.

Day 107

Almost a third of the way through this experiment and I could not be happier with the results. I feel great about the sense of accomplishment that comes from sticking to ones goals. I am genuinely just happy about what I am doing, but like all goals once you are about to meet them others arise.

Lately however I have been really trying to focus in on how I can make this a career. I really feel like I can help people go through the same sort of journey that I am on. By no means do I feel like I have all the answers or a secret  solution to anyone’s problems. What I have discovered are the tools one can use to transform their body and in doing so transform their belief system.

If a person can transform their body by visualizing the results they want, by being accountable to a plan, by trusting the process, what other life transformations can they apply these things to? I think the answer is everything.

On my computer at work I have these taped up; I would like to share with you Arnold’s six secrets to success.

1) Trust yourself- be who you want to be

2) Break the rules

3) Don’t be afraid to fail

4) Don’t listen to naysayers

5) Work your ass off

6) Find time to give back

The thing about all of this, there are no secrets, everyone knows these things. It is when we are able to put them to use and make them become who we are, not what we do that the results follow.

I am gonna get in some cardio at some point today. Peace!

Day 108

Went for a nice run yesterday with my boy. Great gym work out this morning.

Day 109

Rest Day

Day 110

Rest day

Day 111

Circuit workout at the hotel, going to try and go really big tomorrow and get two solid workouts in. The plan is to meet my buddy at the gym at 5:30am for some heavy lifting. Work at the gym for a couple hours and than hit up my trainers ski conditioning class at 8:30 and to work by 10am. Sounds like a perfect morning to me.

It's never too late to become what you might have been.

Day 89

Crazy weekend. I took a rest day today, to help get everything ready for my daughters birthday party which is tomorrow.

Day 90

Took today off as well for my daughters party. She had such a blast and I think everyone did, kids and adults. Two days in a row with no exercise, I will be honest I was freaking out about it a little, but did not want to make the weekend about my workouts. I will get after it this week.

I had some birthday cake, just for the record.

Day 91

Great road bike ride, I road 16 miles in 57 minutes. I did not do this ride for a good time. It was a workout ride. I set the bike in the hardest gear and did the whole ride. There is one step hill by my house in the last mile of the ride and I down shifted here because the bike was starting to come to a stop and I thought I was going to tip over. My legs were burning.

I am trying to get faster on my road bike. I need a cadence meter for the second workout and the third will be hill climbs. I wish I had a $1000 dollar fitness budget as there is some gear that would help elevate my workouts, heart rate monitor, cadence/speedometer for my road bike, workout bench, kettle bell weights, and exercise pad, and some resistance straps, all in due time.

Today was my daughter’s real birthday. I can’t believe she is five already. I had another piece of cake.

Day 92

First day on the floor at the recreation center. I had someone approach me about training, so hopefully I did a good job selling it.

After working I worked out for an hour. Weightlifting routine with much heavier weights and lower reps.  Felt good to workout, I was sucking for air the whole time, but they have so many fans it was hard to work up a sweat. I maxed out at the 55 pound dumbbells for chest fly’s, will certainly be trying to push way past this in the next couple of weeks.

Diet is going well, 151 pounds on the scale this morning.

I will start the 100 sit up challenge today, since I have not done it up to now.

Day 93

Happy Halloween! Yes I do plan to eat some candy tonight while I walk around trick or treating. That being said today is an awesome day.

First time in a long time my wife and I had a couple of hours together, kid free. We went for a 4.5 mile mountain bike ride, which was my wife’s first real mountain bike ride in a really long time. She was awesome and is looking forward to next week.

Got in my 100 sit ups.

Day 94

Early morning treadmill workout. This is the one workout where at the end I know I have put in work. Life is goood.

Day 95

Got my 100 sit ups in yesterday for a total of 200 which is defiantly a personal one day record. I am going to take my boy for a nice long run later.

My wife went back to work yesterday, full time. A lot more Daddy care going on in the Leto house these days. 

Day 96

Run was good, 4 miles in about 38 minutes, felt nice to be outside. Did not get my 100 sit ups in. Passed out on the couch thinking about doing them?

Watching two little munchkins all day is exhausting. I have so much respect for stay at home moms with little kids!!

Day 97

Did a 30 minutes circuit, chest, back, abs workout in the ghetto barn gym last night. I got my 100 sit ups in yesterday as well. Days are getting shorter here, which makes it harder to get in evening bike ride which was the plan yesterday. I will try again today, but who knows what the day will bring. There will be some sort of workout, which I am sure of.

Day 98

Took Maizy for about a 30 minute chariot mountain bike ride, not much but better than nothing. Got in my 100 sit ups and my abs are for sure sore.

Day 99

Headed to the gym to work and workout!

Got a great workout in, I love lifting weights?

Day 100

Rest Day

Still did 100 push ups and 100 sit ups.

Day 101

Awesome hour long jog/walk with my beautiful wife.

Day 102

Trainer Day- Such a tough workout 300 sit ups, dead lifts, plyo-metrics, heavy weight bench 135x20 times, 3x2x1-225pounds eccentric lifting, an exercise I do not know the name of, and 150 pound rows. Ha hurt so bad I was laughing at the end from exhaustion, but felt so good to make it through.

My workouts are going to change up a bit. I am lifting 3 times a week and going to some boot camp classes for cardio. Also putting two rest days back in the mix.  Trainer said I should be really sore tomorrow, we’ll  see?

Switching the routine up a little to shock the body!

Day 103

Rest Day. I am so sore that the bottom of my feet hurt, that was a serious workout yesterday.

Day 104

Awesome day at home with the kids, got some snow which I am psyched about.

Got in 100 pushup, but still really sore. A lot of people are starting to comment on how different I look. I will admit that I like it, “man you look ripped”, is always a nice thing to hear and I don’t see myself getting sick of it anytime soon.

Day 105

At work this morning, and I will get a run in on the treadmill at some point today. I can not wait to go snowboarding with my wife some time soon. It has been way too long.