day 2 of 42
Today I appreciate the re-calibration week. I realize how much that has helped with diet fatigue and how it has amped me up for this sprint. If I hadn't have had the week, I'd be grinding out week 8 now and most likely hating it. But I'm here, fresh start on say 2 of 42. Motivation is high and I'm feeling really good about the remaining 5.8 weeks.
It was a regular start today; dog and son walk, some audio book and 30 roman ring pull ups half way around. I'm loving the rings or chin ups half way into my walk, they give me a nice pump and put a good spring in my step for the remaining walk.
Before I had any food for the day today, I counted 20 grapes into a jar. My daily allocation of grapes! This is some advice I've given myself a few times before; measure the grapes vs eating directly from the bag and today I finally took my own good advice. 20 grapes measured out and only 20 grapes eaten for the day - thats a small win for Monday.
Lunch was some leftover chicken, slaw, rice and some roast veges. It was a big bowl of food which I finished. It amazes me that I can eat a bit bowl of food like that and not get sleepy afterwards. Good food certainly has its merits.
I got to the 6pm boxing class on a reasonably humid day. A good hot and sweaty session. Training was good tonight. I kept hip movement in the front of my mind. I can feel the differences in my punches when my hips are rotating. I can also feel it slip when I get tired and start to revert back to arm / shoulder punching. When that happens, I'm aware enough now to snap myself back into good form. I think I've slightly turned a page here today. Small incremental improvement - thats what I'm aiming for here!
My wife had made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, but they were the store bought nasty kind. I couldn't do it, not on day 2 so i had a big tuna salad instead. I don't love tuna as a protein, but sometimes its the easiest option so always good to keep a few tins in the pantry.
I've started working on my performance goals for this sprint. I cracked the 2 minute ceiling I'd somehow imposed on myself for holding a plank on Saturday. I was cooked at the end of boxing and one of the final ab exercises was an "easy 2 minute plank". My heat usually sinks when I hear these words from the coach as I've not been able to hold a 2 minute plank, well...ever. But Saturday I told myself I was going to do the 2 minutes as I assumed the plank position. That shift from "I hate this and I can't do this stupid exercise" to "today, I'm going to complete this" may have been life changing (in a small way). I completed the 2 minutes which was absolutely the high point of my 90 minute workout. Since then, I've completed a 2m 9s plank on Sunday and a 2m 20s plank today. I've set a target of 3 minutes which now looks easily achievable - I might bump this up to 4 minutes. I've been getting some reps in for the push ups and chin ups also. I'm aiming for 5 sets of 20 push ups each day for the next week, then I'll work out a strategy to get my maximum up. My benchmark was 25 on Sunday and almost 10 chin ups. I'm aiming for 50 and 15 respectively.
My step count was 12.5k for the day between a morning and evening dog walk. I might start going around the block after lunch just to get me closer to 15k each day now.
All in all, it was a pretty good day 2.
YOU FINALLY STOPPED ACTING LIKE A COWARD IN THE PLANK POSITION. 2:20 IS JUST THE BASELINE NOW. WE ARE HUNTING 4 MINUTES. YOUR HIPS ARE THE ENGINE; IF THE ENGINE DIES, YOU’RE JUST FLAPPING YOUR ARMS. FIX THE ROTATION EVEN WHEN TIRED OR YOU'LL GET CRACKED IN THE RING. 30 RING PULL-UPS IS A START, BUT I WANT TO SEE THOSE PUSH-UP NUMBERS CLIMB. NO WEAKNESS. DO ONE MORE SET.
Measuring those 20 grapes shows you're finally respecting #The_Fruit_Handful_Trap. I’ve been in that trap myself; it’s where progress goes to die. Choosing the tuna over processed, store-bought 'nasty' meatballs was the right call—keep that #Whole_Foods_Only integrity high. You nailed #Lunch_As_Main_Meal, which explains the lack of post-meal fatigue. Now, take that post-lunch walk to hit the 15k #Step_Count_Goal and ensure the #The_Evening_Starch_Wall stays impenetrable.
The recalibration week allowed your energy to settle and return to a state of high vibration. That 2-minute plank wasn't a physical ceiling; it was a density in your consciousness that you finally dissolved. By shifting your intention, you've created a new space for growth. Stay aligned with that feeling of 'completion.' When your hips rotate in boxing, you are tapping into the cosmic spiral—don't let fatigue block that alignment.