And well done to all of you on completing PCP. Hope you feel as good as I do now. Doing the week 2 workout this am was an eye opener in terms of progress. Sorry I have not been that supportive over the last few weeks on the blogs etc is nice to be back on the blog and reflect on the experience. Will be back in touch with all of you after my sesshin.
Once again well done all...and thank you very much Patrick. You were right, and I am glad I let myself be persuaded to do PCP.
Sunday 29 May 2011
Loads of indulgences...BUT
So back from a week of bliss in the Maldives. I did consciously decided on the plane, that since is our last holiday without a screaming baby ever, and that the logistics of PCP diet compliance would be challenging I would play the diet by ear and indulgence BUT try at least to keep the excesses neutral from a calorie intake/consumption balance point of view. I somehow feel bad about this, but I decided that better to accept this from the beginning and try to build our holiday enjoyment around it. Getting the egg whites in a timely fashion and the weighed-in ingredients at regular intervals on a remote tropical island would not only have been the most expensive ongoing room service effort but also would have taken away from the enjoyment of a very special holiday. And not having missed a single workout or having breached the diet in the past during 82 days I know I can do it, so breaching it on day 83 or 91 I thought would be relatively immaterial. Wish I could have stuck to it but made the decision that would be best to proceed this way and that after the sesshin that starts today and runs for a week I will do 1 more week of high intensity PCP and then give joints and body a 1 week rest.
So the week of excesses (essentially 3 big meals a day, and an excessive intake of carbs) was not the end of the world, it was rob ably the only way to count act the punishing daily exercises regime. Not only did I do the PCP workouts religiously at super max intensity but the typical day also included 1 or 2 scuba dives, 1 hr of yoga, 1 hr of yogalatis, 1 hr aikido practice, plenty of stretching, additional core workout on Swiss ball and loads of
swimming and snorkelling. Sothe result despite not being good on the diet increased toning, strength and cardio condition. However the quality of definition and muscle separation would have undoubtedly increased if I had stuck to the diet. still I am amazed that I s able to keep this active...not so long ago I would have struggled to do 3mins of jumps let alone the rest of those activities. I can confidently say that being PCP fit makes holidays much more fun.
So I will now head off again, this time for sitting still for many hrs a day for 7 days in a row. I have however packed my bands and rope for the sesshin so during the 7 days I will keep active whenever I have a chance to escape sassy practice, and will aim upon my return to give PCP supersets week another and then take the "the finish line" picture.
So the week of excesses (essentially 3 big meals a day, and an excessive intake of carbs) was not the end of the world, it was rob ably the only way to count act the punishing daily exercises regime. Not only did I do the PCP workouts religiously at super max intensity but the typical day also included 1 or 2 scuba dives, 1 hr of yoga, 1 hr of yogalatis, 1 hr aikido practice, plenty of stretching, additional core workout on Swiss ball and loads of
swimming and snorkelling. Sothe result despite not being good on the diet increased toning, strength and cardio condition. However the quality of definition and muscle separation would have undoubtedly increased if I had stuck to the diet. still I am amazed that I s able to keep this active...not so long ago I would have struggled to do 3mins of jumps let alone the rest of those activities. I can confidently say that being PCP fit makes holidays much more fun.
So I will now head off again, this time for sitting still for many hrs a day for 7 days in a row. I have however packed my bands and rope for the sesshin so during the 7 days I will keep active whenever I have a chance to escape sassy practice, and will aim upon my return to give PCP supersets week another and then take the "the finish line" picture.
Wednesday 18 May 2011
Travel Again!
I hate any PCP disruptions, and travel . New surroundings, being on the move, losing access to my beloved blender and the egg whites, all a pain....so my last days of PCP will be challenging ib terms of diet consistency. On my way to London now, then 1 week in the Maldives and then 1 week long sesshin to look forward to. Not the end of the world, at least at will be very active on holiday, with plenty of time for PCP workouts and loads of additional exercise and loads of diving, and actually sesshin food is not the worst for you (actually the tenzos in my UK shamba d a great job in terms of balanced and tasty meals), but unlikely I will have access on demand to loads of eggs etc s think as last resort will pack some protein powder. Might not be too active at all on the blogging front either as access to Internet in either Indian Ocean islands or in remote parts of the UK where the sesshin will take place will challenging. All of you stay strong, the finish line looms near.
Sunday 15 May 2011
Tired Legs
Yesterday morning was the first time during all the programme that I felt mentally weak and physically tired to the point of being very close of cutting the rope jumps short. Tiredness has been building up on my legs to the point that feel rock solid upon waking up, way too tight to do any exercise. Guess is unsurprising given how little rest the legs are getting and the extra load of so much aikido practice over the las few weeks. At the end I did manage to complete the morning jumps and breakfast felt goooooood.... Evening workout felt really easy and fun in comparison. This morning I felt the same but knowing that yesterday I felt that completing the jumps was impossible and pointless and even so I did manage to do it, so this morning when I felt the same way I told myself, "if I could do it yesterday I can also do it today...
Thursday 5 May 2011
Bonus Post: PCP Reflections
Because , naughty me, I had not blogged for a while I have decided to chuck in this extra blog before I pass out in bed (been a long day and I have just done 2.5hrs of pretty intense aikido practice) so I am veeeeeeery tired.
MY LEGS: ok here is one of the big wonders of PCP intensity and approach. Maybe Patrick has mentioned before, but one of the things that really predisposes us to have the ability to grow one muscle or another particularly well is genetics (this is particularly true of muscles like calves, where no matter how much work you put into them, if you are not blessed with genetics, they just will not grow). So naturally some of your muscles will develop and show easily with a bit of work, whilst others will require a really cunning and infernal stimulus to even show some minute improvement. Ok this was the case for me with quadriceps. I have done loads of really really heavy squats in my younger days, blasted them with supersets of all sorts until I could not stand...yet hardly any effect...legs really lagged.
Well here is the amazing news...using only my body weight (about only one third of the plates weight I used to load on the barbell for squats) my quads have grown and toned up much more in 70 days than in my peak 10yrs of weight training. Amazing.....still how? I mean, cannot be intensity as done loads of supersets before...cannot the stimulus as I used to use more weight...cannot be the nutrition as used to have a lot more protein in the context of a lean low carb diet...maybe is the type of exercises and the added bonus of rope jumps every day...
the flip sid eof that is my legs feel seriously tired most of the time...but so be it..
CORE: starting to noticed how strong my core has got!!. In the V sits or yoga boat posture...core stability is a breeze and I execute well balanced and effortless and even the 90min planks that I thought would be undoable now are reasonably ok...!
MY LEGS: ok here is one of the big wonders of PCP intensity and approach. Maybe Patrick has mentioned before, but one of the things that really predisposes us to have the ability to grow one muscle or another particularly well is genetics (this is particularly true of muscles like calves, where no matter how much work you put into them, if you are not blessed with genetics, they just will not grow). So naturally some of your muscles will develop and show easily with a bit of work, whilst others will require a really cunning and infernal stimulus to even show some minute improvement. Ok this was the case for me with quadriceps. I have done loads of really really heavy squats in my younger days, blasted them with supersets of all sorts until I could not stand...yet hardly any effect...legs really lagged.
Well here is the amazing news...using only my body weight (about only one third of the plates weight I used to load on the barbell for squats) my quads have grown and toned up much more in 70 days than in my peak 10yrs of weight training. Amazing.....still how? I mean, cannot be intensity as done loads of supersets before...cannot the stimulus as I used to use more weight...cannot be the nutrition as used to have a lot more protein in the context of a lean low carb diet...maybe is the type of exercises and the added bonus of rope jumps every day...
the flip sid eof that is my legs feel seriously tired most of the time...but so be it..
CORE: starting to noticed how strong my core has got!!. In the V sits or yoga boat posture...core stability is a breeze and I execute well balanced and effortless and even the 90min planks that I thought would be undoable now are reasonably ok...!
Been Rubbish at Blogging
Sorry all about the lack of blogging. Writing this before I feel Patrick is about to rightfully tell me off. particularly as we move towards the latter part of the programme I am learning more and more things about paradoxically that big stranger to me: my body. It is funny but for something we live 24hrs a day with, how little time, respect and listening we pay to our bodies.
Anyways, humbly learning loads and slowly but steadily enjoying the benefits of my new more functional leaner body. One that works for me and my daily activities and chosen spiritual development paths, rather that one that has me working for it, that becomes a burden and other than looking strong becomes a hindrance. It is an immensely ego liberating transformation. From the physique of my 20s which was all about impressing others, looking strong and serving the body, now the PCP body helps me pursue a path of freedom, rather than becoming enslaved to it. Yes, despite all the time devoted to preparing meals, and exercising it does not feel like a narcissistic enslaving effort, but one of simply nurturing that most important of possessions that we have. Is funny how some people will criticise or frown upon the time that PCPing consumes, yet they see the endless hours and money spent in looking after their cars as time well spent... The same ones who would not dare put normal gas in their Porsches but the special super expensive alternative pump that is super turbo high blah blah special super duper gas, will not think twice in what they put in their most essential means of locomotion: their bodies.
Either way too much of a random rant. Still going strong. Really enjoying these workouts but my legs are getting increasingly tired during the rope jumps in the morning. probably because they have not had a single day of rest and all the aikido workouts on top of PCP maybe becoming a bit too much. But I am really enjoying the added stability, coordination, and lightness that PCP is bringing, so is very difficult to resist the temptation of putting it all to work in extra aikido training. Still the much needed better physical condition brought over by PCP is allowing me to do 2 classes in a row without being too tired!!! and that is on top of the jumps and the PCP workout.
Still as I was saying legs feeling now really tight during the jumps and I am not doing anywhere near the same amount of jumps as I was doing when we were aiming for jumps not time, and in less time with about the same number of pauses&trips. So before I was doing like over 2,000 in 12 mins and now in 15 I am barely doing 1,000 and I am feeling a lot more tired throughout.
The only exercise I have found to be my absolute nemesis during PCP is surprisingly the bycicle...really struggling with that...everything else seems to be fine...
Anyways, humbly learning loads and slowly but steadily enjoying the benefits of my new more functional leaner body. One that works for me and my daily activities and chosen spiritual development paths, rather that one that has me working for it, that becomes a burden and other than looking strong becomes a hindrance. It is an immensely ego liberating transformation. From the physique of my 20s which was all about impressing others, looking strong and serving the body, now the PCP body helps me pursue a path of freedom, rather than becoming enslaved to it. Yes, despite all the time devoted to preparing meals, and exercising it does not feel like a narcissistic enslaving effort, but one of simply nurturing that most important of possessions that we have. Is funny how some people will criticise or frown upon the time that PCPing consumes, yet they see the endless hours and money spent in looking after their cars as time well spent... The same ones who would not dare put normal gas in their Porsches but the special super expensive alternative pump that is super turbo high blah blah special super duper gas, will not think twice in what they put in their most essential means of locomotion: their bodies.
Either way too much of a random rant. Still going strong. Really enjoying these workouts but my legs are getting increasingly tired during the rope jumps in the morning. probably because they have not had a single day of rest and all the aikido workouts on top of PCP maybe becoming a bit too much. But I am really enjoying the added stability, coordination, and lightness that PCP is bringing, so is very difficult to resist the temptation of putting it all to work in extra aikido training. Still the much needed better physical condition brought over by PCP is allowing me to do 2 classes in a row without being too tired!!! and that is on top of the jumps and the PCP workout.
Still as I was saying legs feeling now really tight during the jumps and I am not doing anywhere near the same amount of jumps as I was doing when we were aiming for jumps not time, and in less time with about the same number of pauses&trips. So before I was doing like over 2,000 in 12 mins and now in 15 I am barely doing 1,000 and I am feeling a lot more tired throughout.
The only exercise I have found to be my absolute nemesis during PCP is surprisingly the bycicle...really struggling with that...everything else seems to be fine...
Wednesday 27 April 2011
Too much of a (not so good) thing
So a bit late with the posts... New glorious pics to follow soon and an updated post but feel that an indulgence update is in order...
Went for a selection of small modern tapas extravaganza at a Madrid restaurant run by a Ferra Adria disciple. Amazing stuff, yet it all tasted overpoweringly rich and oily, particularly the cod fritters. At the end the excitement of the indulgence gave way to a severely upset stomach and abdominal cramps as the meal just went straight through my system. My body was quite relieved to go back to the PCP dietary routine....
Went for a selection of small modern tapas extravaganza at a Madrid restaurant run by a Ferra Adria disciple. Amazing stuff, yet it all tasted overpoweringly rich and oily, particularly the cod fritters. At the end the excitement of the indulgence gave way to a severely upset stomach and abdominal cramps as the meal just went straight through my system. My body was quite relieved to go back to the PCP dietary routine....
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