My 31 Days CARDIO CHALLENGE w/ pictures

[-=Spitfire=-]

Starting today I'm doing cardio every single day. NO EXCUSES. NO BULL****.

I will be updating this thread with occasional pictures, and at the end I'll make a 31 picture GIF animation so everyone can see exactly how much fat has been lost.

I will NOT GIVE UP. You have a MAN'S WORD.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 1:

Woke up pretty late 2:10pm - THIS HABIT WILL CHANGE during this challenge.

Ate: Blueberry Crunch cereal w/ skim milk

Machine: Elliptical
Time: 30 minutes
Heart Rate: average 165, went over to 170 a few times but always kept a steady heart rate of 165 or more.

After that I finished my Day 3 of my routine which is Back/Shoulders.

Came home and ate: A sandwich of 2 slices of wheat bread + 2 thin slices of tomato + salad leaves + Lean Honey Turkey (about 4 slices) + had a very small amount of WHIP Mayo, like 3 small lines + some Honey barbecue sauce.

Drank a small glass of skim milk and had some cottage cheese.


In about an hour I'm planning to get with some friends and go out play soccer at the local field.

I will update this thread with the DAY 1 picture of my body and statistics.

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What motivates me? CUTTING THE $HIT and DOING IT.

[GilletteFusion]

5'11 175 seems pretty damn small. Can you post a picture?

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 2: July 19, 2009

Woke up late again, around the same time 2ish, in the next day I'll get to normal since I need to wake up in the morning - so that will set me back into normal cycle.

Ate: Blueberry Crunch cereal w/ lowfat milk + a baked chicken wing

Machine: Elliptical, except a different version of it. The motion is more of "skiing" LEVEL 4.
Time: 30 minutes
Heart Rate: couldn't see it, it was broken on that machine, but I'd guess it was pushing 170.

After that I did 4 sets of 21's @ 30lbs, will need to boost that.

Came home and ate: Some leftovers from the baked chicken w/ some barbecue sauce + cottage cheese and a slice of wheat bread w/ a small glass of buttermilk.

Ate another small bowl of Blueberry Crunch cereal - this works like a snack.

Around 8pm I ate 2 italian plums

for my "dinner" I had a can of tuna w/ georgian sauce + some cottage cheese + 1 slice of wheat bread and a bowl of sliced tomatoes w/ sliced cucumber in corn oil w/ vinegar and some salt. Drank a small glass of lowfat milk.

I get hungry however, so I'm thinking I need some kind of a snack in between meals like unsalted almonds. Or is there another substitute, since I don't really like the taste of unsalted almonds. Anyone have suggestions?

----

What motivates me? CUTTING THE $HIT and DOING IT.


Here is a picture I took of my body on my DAY 1, yesterday.

I weigh 185 there (10lbs of that is definitely muscle, since I bulked up from 175), with 13.5% body fat, and 25% BMI.

[ms12weeks]

175 isn't that big, but good luck with you challenge! I love the elliptical.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 3: July 20, 2009

Woke up 12:40pm

Ate: Blueberry Crunch cereal w/ lowfat milk

Around 3pm Ate: Tuna sandwich in wheat bread + lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo - no cheese

5:30pm - Gym time: Machine: Elliptical-"ski". At LEVEL 5.
Time: 30 minutes
Heart Rate: 175 not constant, only when switched to LVL5. At LVL3, heart rate dropped to around 150.

After that I did 4 sets of 21's @ 40lbs boosted by 10 lbs from last night

7-ish - Came home and ate: Salad composed of: Tomatoes, cucumbers, onions + can of Chunk Light Tuna in corn oil and vinegar + one Italian Plum

As of now I'm hungry, but at odds on what I should be eating around this time, during a cut.

PLEASE HELP in that department. What is allowed? Because mostly I'm keeping it very low cal.
----

What motivates me? CUTTING THE $HIT and DOING IT.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 4: July 21, 2009

Woke up @ 10:30am - finally early

Breakfast: NOTHING, went straight to the gym on an empty stomach.

10:55am: Machine: Elliptical-"ski". Brought it down one level today [LEVEL 4.] so I don't burn myself out too early in the challenge.
Time: 30 minutes
Heart Rate: 170-ish not constant.

>> When I was driving back from the gym, I, for a split second felt like vomitting - I think that's due to the fact I did cardio on an empty stomach + my heart has been getting worked, so i feel some kind of pain. I guess it's normal since it's a muscle and it gets worked just like any other muscle when it hasn't been worked that hard before. But I'd like someone to comment on this please.


11:45am - Ate: Blueberry Crunch cereal w/ a small amount of lowfat milk.


2:00pm - Lunch: "BLT" sandwich: basically two wheat breads w/ mayo, no cheese + lettuce, tomatoes, onions and bacon + 2 pickles - I will cut down on sodium.*

5:30pm - Ate a sald consisting of tomatoes, onions, cucumbers in corn oil + vinegar and 2 fried eggs (I was on a time constraint and had nothing else, but was very hungry - i rarely now eat fried eggs)

9pm - sandwich w/ tomato, onion, cucumber + honey ham and some barbecue sauce on top

around 10pm - two thin slices of chicken in some shrimp sauce (i grab whatever's in the fridge) + 3 black/wheat? cocktail bread + an Italian plum.

----

What motivates me? CUTTING THE $HIT and DOING IT.

[Shwayze]

so are you just training your biceps in this cut?

[-=Spitfire=-]

so are you just training your biceps in this cut?

no, i have 3 full workout days.

day 1: legs/forearms
day 2: chest/triceps
day 3: back/shoulders.

I only included what I have been doing since starting the cut. So tomorrow, when I do my day 1 I'll include my workout.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 5: July 22, 2009

Brunch: Blueberry Crunch cereal w/ 2% reduced fat milk.

2pm: Apple

3pm: Honey Ham sandwich w/ usual, minus cheese, minus mayo.

5:10pm - Gym, on an EMPTY STOMACH
Machine: Elliptical
Time: 30 minutes
Heart Rate: No clue if the machine was giving dodgy numbers or if it truly was my heartrate, but it showed I had "161" - kind of hard to believe because I was going really really fast, as I usually do on the elliptical at RPM of 195 average.

What I've noticed is, that since having been on the "elliptical-ski" (i don't really know what it's called, guys) at LEVEL 4/5 for two days, being back on the elliptical, I was able to be at a fast pace and I could've gone another 30 minutes.

After Cardio, I did my Legs/Forearms day

I do 4 sets of 155lbs on Leg extension 12 reps, and 45/45 --- 45/45 on leg press, same set/rep count

7:40pm - Turkey sandwich (4 slices) w/ the usual + Georgian style sauce + some paprika seasoning. A small serving of 4% Cottage cheese, + half a cup of buttermilk. (What say you? too much on the buttermilk? should I cut it off from my diet? NEED FEEDBACK)

10:40 - dinner




Starting next Monday I'm boosting my CARDIO TIME
----

What motivates me? CUTTING THE $HIT and DOING IT.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 6: July 23, 2009

Breakfast: None

10:55am: On empty.
Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 5
Time: 30 minutes
Heart Rate: 170-175

11:40: "Brunch" - Blueberry Crunch cereal in 2% milk

3:00pm - Honey ham sandwich w/ usual

6:00pm - some cookie snack from a vending machine

9:00pm -
+ a salad (tomato, cucumber, onion in corn oil and vinegar.

11:00pm - unsalted, California style almonds

Haven't weighed myself, and don't really care for weighing myself, but looking in the mirror - i see something's different about my face, it's like it's thinner. But maybe it's my mind thinking it's losing weight.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 7: July 24, 2009

Breakfast: a serving of 4% cottage cheese + some leftovers of beans and brown rice = very small portion in total.

2:00pm: 15 or so california style almonds

3:15pm cafeteria was closed at my campus, so i grabbed a small bag of potato chips, classic - and sierra mist (but drank half of it) still not really good for a cut.

5:40pm on empty basically.

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 4
Time: 30 minutes
Heart Rate: 165-170

7:40pm: "First real meal of the day" - Boiled chicken breasts w/ tomatoes, brocolli, onions, with very little salt sprinkled afterwards. Then some cherries and an Italian plum

10:00pm - 1/2 of Supreme Protein bar w/ a bit of almonds and water

11:00pm - the rest of the bar and water.

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[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 8: July 25, 2009

Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs, small bowl of brown rice + wheat bread w/ water

3:00pm: Gym

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 5
Time: 30 minutes
Heart Rate: 165-170

And my full back/shoulders day - rigorous workout.

6:00pm: Ribs w/ hot sauce + lowfat yogurt

10:00pm - Grilled chicken sandwich w/ water

Starting tomorrow I'm upping my cardio timerun

[iPerfectDark]

You seem to be eating very healthily each day, how much protein do you get a day?

[-=Spitfire=-]

double post.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 9: July 26, 2009

Brunch: 2 boiled eggs, lowfat yogurt, one wheat bread

3:00pm: Gym

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 5
Time: 40 minutes
Heart Rate: 165-170

4 sets of 21's @ 40lbs barbell (the ones that has plastic weight on sides, not sure total with the bar)

4 sets of pullups, first was...
10rp @ 70lbs counterweight
then 8rp @ 60
6rp @ 50
4rp @ 40

5:00pm: Post-workout - 30gm protein bar w/ water

7:00pm - "First big meal" - salad: cucumbers/tomatoes/onions w/ tuna in corn oil + vinegar + 1 boiled lean chicken breast w/ hot sauce.

Boosted my cardio timerun to 40 minutes. Throughout the whole week starting monday that's going to be my new cardio time. Next week 50 mins, last week a full hour.

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You seem to be eating very healthily each day, how much protein do you get a day?

i have not been counting my protein intake, but my LBM is 160, so I'm "supposed" to be taking 160gms a day. I'm actually aware I need a lot of protein on a cut, so I'm going to get some ON whey tomorrow to help boost the intake.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 10: July 27, 2009

12:40pm: On empty

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 5
Time: 40 minutes
Heart Rate: 165-170

Post-workout: 30gm protein bar

3:00pm: Subway chicken foot long + Arizona green tea

9:00pm - Two homemade (BAKED) hamburgers / water

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[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 11: July 28, 2009

Brunch: 2 fried eggs in hot sauce + one wheat bread.

No cardio today, just did not work out today with timing AT ALL. Going to make up for it tomorrow by going twice as hard.

2:00pm - Blueberry crunch cereal in 1% lowfat milk

5:00pm: - About a serving of California style almonds

10:40pm - "First meal" - like 5 strips of lean chicken + one strip of lean pork. All in hot sauce and some barbecue + lowfat yogurt + one glass of buttermilk.

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Tomorrow is my Day 1/3 of workout: Legs/forearms.

[trance__dreamer]

best of luck to you in reaching your goals! =)

[cawiau]

best of luck to you in reaching your goals! =)

X2
You definitely have the dedication down!

*repped*

[trance__dreamer]

X2
You definitely have the dedication down!

*repped*

thanks for the rep, man.

ah, yes. i teach group fitness classes now. so, it acts as my "insurance", in a sense. ... in that it makes sure that i have to exercise. & i get paid to do so!

you guys should look into teaching group fitness classes, too; a good way to meet teh ladies. participants WORSHIP us instructors. & all of the guy instructors, who i've run into thus far, are always swooned over, & every.single.lady. has a crush on them.

it's also an EPIC transition into personal training, which i'm currently in the midst of; *pokes my signature* i can't wait to help pple out just as i helped myself out! it's gunna "feel(s) good, man." *insert that frog picture thingy*

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 12: July 29, 2009

Brunch: Blueberry Crunch cereal in 1% lowfat milk

2:00pm - California style almonds

3:00pm: - Ham sandwich in wheat bread + (unfortunately I just couldn't resist putting on mayo and a slice of cheese...goddamit the devil in me! >:| ) + onions/tomato, w/ some mustard and hot sauce. + I also couldn't resist getting a bottle of sweet tea. ****, this is unacceptable. NO MORE will I cheat!

5:40pm - Gym: Day 1 - Legs/forearms

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 6
Time: 40 minutes
Heart Rate: 165-170
Calories burned: 680
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Damn, I don't think I've sweat like this ever during workouts. I rarely have my full shirt SOAKED like it was. The funny thing is, even though I boosted my Level from 5 to 6 today, I had the energy to keep going, I could've gone an additional 20 mins and it would total an hour. I think it might have had something to do with me skipping cardio yesterday. Got that energy back.

9:00pm - "First big meal"



That would be; onions, tomato, boiled lean chicken... all of it in vinegar, corn oil, some paprika, and some hot sauce. + had one toasted wheat bread and some nonfat yogurt + glass of water

---

Oh and thanks for all the support, and the "rep", definitely adds even more fuel to my motivation, as much as I already have it in me. Thanks

BTW, on the girls loving instructors = it's natural, girls love it when the man knows what he's doing, hence the attraction.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 13: July 30, 2009

10:50am - on empty

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 6
Time: 40 minutes
Heart Rate: 165-170
Calories burned: 640

Brunch: Blueberry Crunch cereal in 1% lowfat milk

2:00pm: - Pork sandwich in wheat bread w/ tomato + hot sauce, mustard + rest of the bottle of Mist. (not good, should've been water, need to be more controlling next time)

5:00pm - About 4 small slices of lean baked pork + some cottage cheese.

9:00pm - "First big meal"



That would be: Lean baked pork in onions, cottage cheese (2% lowfat), buckwheat | all mixed in corn oil & vinegar + a glass half full of hawaiian punch - the rest mixed with water

[evgeney]

subscribed, don't give up dude

[-=Spitfire=-]

subscribed, don't give up dude

хаха! здорово дружище! братва здесь оказывается тоже тусуется

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 14: July 31, 2009

Brunch - Blueberry Crunch cereal in 1% lowfat milk


2:00pm: - 1/2 slice of Wawa Turkey Provolone 8 Grain sandwich (590 cal) a bit much, however 38g of protein.

3:00pm - The rest of it.

5:40pm - Gym + Day 2 of workout: Chest/Triceps

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 6
Time: 40 minutes
Heart Rate: 165-170
Calories burned: 700

8:50pm - "First big meal"



Contents: Half a serving of brown rice, sliced onions, about half a serving of 2% lowfat cottage cheese, grilled chicken breast (without skin, and fats, i took it out) all of it in usual corn oil, vinegar and hot sauce = no salt added at all.

As of typing this up, I would guess that I'm close to 1000cal of food intake for today.

I also did the first exercise of P90X's "Ab Ripper" program LAST NIGHT, which I forgot to post about. It's 17 minutes long, and they just DON'T STOP. 25 reps of each exercise. I was pretty comfortable with my post-workout ab exercises at the gym I've been doing since I started back in February. And now I try this program, for the first time and my abs are SORE again. Wow. I'm going to be doing the Ab Ripper 3 days a week, I'll just replace my old routine with this and do it at home - it's much more challenging and effective

[evgeney]

хаха ну да, мы русские везде оказываемся

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 15: August 1, 2009

Breakfast - 9:00am - 6 inch Roastbeef on wheat bread w/ pepperjack cheese + honey mustard (Subway)

2:00pm: - Blueberry Crunch cereal in %1 lowfat milk

3:00pm - Salad w/ one rib leftover from Famous Dave's + small serving of 2% milkfat cottage cheese

4:20pm - Gym + Day 3 of workout: Back/Shoulders

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 6
Time: 40 minutes
Heart Rate: 155-160
Calories burned: 640

Cardio was a extremely hard today, I think I'm getting burnt out - My legs were weak when I was on the machine.


7:30pm - The other half of the Roast Beef sub.


9:00pm - Philips seafood restaurant. Basically ate a lot of crab meat, shrimp, clams, salad. Allowed myself a piece of chocolate cake + fudge ice-cream.

Gonna burn all of that off tomorrow.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 16: August 2, 2009

Brunch - 2 boiled eggs + serving of 2% milkfat cottage cheese + one 12-grain toast w/ water

3:00pm: - Gym

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 6
Time: 40 minutes
Heart Rate: 155-160
Calories burned: 653

5:00pm - "First big meal"


Contents: sliced onions, one boiled egg, cottage cheese + 2 small slices of a grilled chicken breast in Canola oil + vinegar + hot sauce + one toast of 12-grain w/ water
and a plum

7:00pm - "Dinner"



A banana, and some roasted unsalted almonds later on.


And so My week two comes to a close, the next two weeks are gonna be harsh. This week I'm boosting my cardio from 40 minutes to 50
as well as my LEVEL from 6 to 7, but I'm most likely going to do level 7 every other day, since boosting my cardio by 10 minutes is a challenge in itself.

Anyone reading this can comment and give out suggestions/recommendations - on food I should be eating, etc etc. I'll take all advice I can get.

[-=Spitfire=-]

Day 17: August 3, 2009

Brunch - Blueberry Crunch cereal w/ 2% milk

2:00pm: - Turkey sandwich on a wheat bread -mayo, -cheese. + bottle of 20oz water.
Roasted almonds afterwards.

6:00pm - Gym

Machine: Ski @ LEVEL 6
Time: 50 minutes
Heart Rate: 160-165
Calories burned: 840

Post-workout thoughts: This is by far the hardest I've sweat in my life. It's safe to say that because I don't have the slightest memory of me ever being this soaked.

7:20pm - "First big meal"
Some rotisserie chicken from Giant, salsa, hot sauce, like a teaspoon of barbecue sauce, one toast of 12-grain bread
and a little bit of 2% milkfat cottage cheese w/ water. And a banana.

11:00pm - "Dinner"


Contents: sliced onions, garlic, teaspoon of cottage cheese, salsa, hot sauce, sweet peas, boiled chicken breast then a bit fried up in Canola oil. All of this in Canola oil and vinega + 12-grain toast + glass of water

Bought a set of 30lbs dumbells so I can exercise outside of gym here, home.