Speaking of "SmashPlan" this weekend I managed to smash my head into a few other players diving for a ball playing goalie, and in-turn messed up my left shoulder. Instead of letting that sidetrack me, I'm pivoting... and going streaking!
Starting over is never easy, but once you find that spark of energy - that motivational drive to make it happen - you're on the right track to reach your goals. Day 1 was a breeze, and I find myself falling back into my old, healthy, habits once again.
Just over the last 6 months, I've quit on business ventures, daily activity and following a healthy nutritional plan, bounced out of a reality TV show I'd been cast for, and yesterday I said "nope" to a marathon I'd signed up for with friends about a year ago and dragged my family all the way to Florida for - I need a quitting intervention.
My SmashPlan Fitness program is designed to be very, very simple. 400 calories/day from additional exercise isn't a huge hill to climb, and about 60 minutes of nearly any moderate activity is more than enough to hit that mark. And once again, I'm creating the SmashPlan Fitness portion to meet my goals and work to my strengths; I personally like bodyweight exercises and running, and live in a community where I can get out and ride my bike or hop on the treadmill
30 Days - 10 Pounds. I'll be focused on calories and protein, not overly concerned with carbs, macros, timing, etc. The key word is simple. As you can see by the final numbers in this nutritional plan, this is a reduced calorie "diet" for 30 days. The food options are light on calories, and you can see by the meal choices I'm not starving myself by crash-dieting, I'm choosing healthy, low-calorie options and sensible portions of things I actually like to eat.
168 is my new 208. I'm using "fat" as a relative term; while I've never been anything but an OK athlete, I used to be considerably heavier than I am today. The guy who was steadily approaching 210 pounds, smoked up to 2 packs of cigarettes a day, and couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without catching his breath was exorcised in 2001 when I'd had enough and dropped 60 pounds. Since then, I've had my "hey, let's run a marathon this weekend" weight of around 148 lbs. and my "it's off-season, so a cheeseburger is OK" weight of 155-159 lbs.
World's Toughest Mudder has come and gone, but before tackling WTM this year I took on Tough Mudder Tennessee shortly before the 24-hour party in the desert. I wasn't sure if I would go, but since it was driving distance from my house, it means I could stay in my bed and drive to the event the morning of, a rarity in OCR for me. So I decided to hang out with my fellow Legionnaires for a weekend in the mud.
Last week Mud Run Guide posted this article - Big Trouble in (Little China) Agoge 003 - written by former Agoge finisher Chris Cow. He was troubled after this personal experience didn't resemble the same event that he wrote two glowing articles about - Inside the Spartan Agoge Class 002 - and - On Leadership and Endurance. Something didn't add up in his mind.
Margaret was lucky enough to grab a few minutes with the man behind it all, Spartan Race Founder Joe De Sena - simultaneously the most loved & hated, respected & feared individual in all of the sport of OCR. M covered the new obstacles, new rules, and the difficulty of the new course criss-crossing the ski trails of Squaw Valley.
Bunim/Murray Productions, producers of the successful reality shows Project Runway, Real World, and most recently The Selection on History Channel is currently casting a competition style series. Yesterday, Mud Run Guide spoke with the casting agents for the show to find out who are the ideal candidates for their newest show "Special Ops Experiment (working title)".
