There's NO turning back!

Wow, what a week!

On the work front, things have been absolutely crazy busy, so i sadly didnt have much time to put aside to write the blog every day.

We're nearly done with week 6 and that means that we only have 2 weeks left.

Having said that, if i go back and read posts written two weeks into the challenge, i see that i already started noticing changes in my body within the first two weeks, so needless to say that the last two weeks will be as crucial to change than any other week of this challenge.

But having said that, even though we'll be submitting final results in two weeks' time, i dont think that this journey will end there.

I dont think that I will go back to my old ways. There will be no couch-potato business going on. No bad eating habits, no skipping gym sessions...

There will be more Warrior Races and more Newspaper stories!

More Sleek Geeking. More eating clean and training dirty!

What i like most about what i've learned through this Sleek Geek journey, is that THIS is a true life-style thing. It's sustainable - unlike programs like Body for Life etc.

About 6 years ago, i tried out a 12-week Body for Life course but found that it was too restrictive. I couldn't live like that. It was not sustainable at all. I got angry and at the end of it all, i finished the 12-week program and went back to my old ways.

Not only did the Sleek Geek challenge seem more doable, more sustainable, more fun - but also the sense of community that i got from fellow Sleek Geekers through Facebook and Twitter just made it so much more worth it.

Everyone sharing their stories, giving advice, motivating each other and introducing me to new things like Paleo or the Tissue Salts when i had a cold... little things like that, made a huge difference.

To those who are in later Heats, stick it out!

It's all worth it!

It's better to train hard and be uncomfortable for an hour a day than to be overweight and uncomfortable for the rest of your life.

Happy Easter!

Leo x

3 weeks left - Crunch Time!

I havent written in a few days, and one or two followers of this blog actually told me that they've been missing reading my daily updates.

I just got a bit distracted and have been a bit busy.

Writing a blog definitely takes dedication and can consume a good hour or more of your day just to get the right message across.

So we have 3 weeks left on the Sleek Geek Challenge and it's definitely crunch time now.

A week or so ago, i switched over to the Paleo diet and i have already seen a further improvement on my body.

At 97kg's, I was at my heaviest in October 2012, and I am very happy to announce that to date, i have lost 10kg's of fat, and have build a good amount of muscle too. My current weight is 87.9.

I measured my body fat percentage on the new "Tracker" devices at a new Virgin Active, and i believe these machines are a bit more accurate than the old ones...

According to this Tracker, my body fat percentage is down to 14% - which is great news to me!

But the BMI (Body Mass Index) measurement seems quite bizarre - according to the charts, i'm nearly obese... Which i know i'm not... So If anyone can explain that to me, please do so?

Another great indicator of the changes has been my jeans feeling all baggy, some of my shorts literally falling off, and my being able to wear shirts that i couldnt wear a mere 6 weeks ago...

We have 3 weeks left on the challenge, but having come this far, and having made such great improvements, i dont think that i will ever allow myself NOT to train again.

I might not win the Sleek Geek Challenge in terms of being the buffest or the thinnest, but it sure gave me back the confidence to make me feel like a winner again.

To the next 3 weeks!

Leo x

The Warrior Race

On Sunday, I took part in The Warrior Race's Rookie Challenge which is basically a 7km obstacle course - and believe me, it's everything you think it is - and more!

I managed to convince 5 of my friends to enter the race with me as a team, and together we set out to tackle each challenge as a team, helping each other through, over and under obstacles, all while having fun!

The course consists of 15 challenges, all requiring a relatively good level of fitness to complete - some more demanding than others - set approximately 500m apart.

Take into consideration that your first set of challenges are water-based, and then you end up in dams of mud half way through the race, you're pretty much dirty from the word go.

The Mud-Monster challenge was, in my opinion, the most challenging of the lot.

You basically slide down a hill into a pool of mud that reaches your middle. Then, as soon as you've walked through to the other side, you have to try get yourself out of this mud dam, up a hill that's about 1.5m higher than ground level - but with all the slippery mud, zero grip and no place to hold, the task requires team work to push you up and over - into another mud pool.

You go through three of these mud pools till you eventually reach dry ground again to continue the race.

Another highlight was the Ice tubs called the "Deep Freeze" - which is exactly what it says. Swimming through a container filled with ice... Brrrrrrrrrr!

From a physical exercise point of view,  the track was quite demanding, requiring you to use every muscle in your body to get you through the course.

Apart from this, you end up full of cuts and bruises from leopard crawling, jumping over things, climbing up walls, jumping off platforms and running over a very rocky hill!

Needless to say, I didnt make it to gym on Monday morning - because i needed the day to recover!

But it's definitely something i will do again!

Bring on 11-12 May for Warrior 3!

The beat goes on...

The other day, somebody asked me where i get the ideas from of what to write about when i blog about my Sleek Geek Journey - and i said, i actually have no clue.

Some mornings i'll sit at my laptop and just start blurbing about how i feel at that very moment - other times i give a lot more thought to it, discussing topics with Graunt while training and how this experiment i'm doing can benefit others.

Well, seeing as it's Friday, and the end of week 5, I decided today to write about my iPod Play-list.

So here's the thing - Even though I train with someone, and we talk a lot during training sessions, I always have 1 of the headphones in my ear... But on the treadmill, the songs on my playlist normally dictates the speed i'm running at... or, the beat to which i do my cat-walk, while walking at a steady pace...

Making a Top 10 list is quite difficult actually, because they're not necessarily my favourites - but they're the most fun to work out to.

So in no particular order, let me share my list with you: (with Youtube Links)

Goldfish - Soundtracks & Comebacks
Madonna - Hung Up
Justin Timberlake - Sexy Back
Gwen Stefani - What you waiting for
Whitney Houston - Million Dollar Bill
Pink - Blow me one last kiss
Michael Jackson Wanna be starting something
Foster and the people - Pumped up kicks
LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
David Guetta feat. Jennifer Hudson - Night of your life
Elton John - I'm stil standing
Sonique - It feels so good
Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite
Glee (Salt n Pepa) - Push It
Groove Armada - Get down

The list goes on... and too many cool songs to mention...

But next time you spot me with my headphones in, one of these are sure to be playing...

Taking a rest-day

Since recovering from this cold, i havent been 100% good for gym really, and after Tuesday morning's weird loss of energy and lightheaded-ness, i decided to take a rest day and not train yesterday.

Instead, i slept late, went to work, came back in the afternoon and made myself some healthy food to munch on while catching up on some series.

I also made a point to get to bed early and to sleep for at LEAST 8-hours... i managed a good 9-hours in the end and felt well-rested and fresh when i woke up this morning.

Tonight I'll do an arms session and try to get to bed early again.

Another reason i dont particularly want to overdo it after not recovering a 100%, is because, like i said earlier, i'm doing The Warrior Race on Sunday 17 March.

I think a good session on Friday and Saturday morning should do the trick - and then balls to the walls again on Monday morning!

Mid-Challenge Weigh-in

Last night i submitted my mid-challenge measurements, and i must say that i'm pretty satisfied with the results this far.

Having read about other people losing 20cm around their waist, i felt a but like an under-achiever, but then reminded myself that my journey is slightly different to theirs in that I was never 'that' overweight to begin with.

I'm merely trying to get fit, active and healthy again.

This morning Graunt and I did Chest exercises, but half-way through the training session, i suddenly had no power to push weights,  i started feeling a little light-headed and suddenly turned pale.

Even though i dont have any more physical evidence of having a cold, I guess my body is still under a bit of strain, which is why it acted like it did.

I continued training, but cut back on the intensity and just monitored myself after every rep.

Eventually i started feeling better and moved over to my cardio training but again, didnt push myself to the limits.

I will need to take the next day or two slow, as i dont want to exhaust myself before The Warrior Race which I'm running on Sunday but want to try get in one or two endurance sessions before the race.

I also believe i have some local celebs reading my blog at the moment - so a special mention to those ;-) You know who you are! Thanks for reading!

Happy Tuesday!

LS x

The Half-way mark

Today is officially the start of the half-way mark.

4-weeks down. Another 4 weeks to go.

The next few weeks are crucial for results in Heat 1 of the Sleek Geek Comeback Kid Challenge!

On Thursday i was man-down because of a little common cold, but after resting over the weekend, getting some Vitamin C, Viral Choice and my new favourite cold cure - Tissue Salt - I woke up this morning feeling fit and ready to take on gym again. (Thanks a lot to the Geeks who suggested i get Tissue Salt! It worked like a bomb!)

Graunt and i had a great shoulder work-out this morning and i did some cardio again afterwards.

But for some strange reason, it feels like I've reached a plateau in terms of losing weight.

I can see my upper body (arms, chest, shoulders) changing shape, but for some reason it feels like my middle is staying the same.

From what i understand, my body has adapted and become used to this "new" lifestyle, whether it's the workout routine or my calorie intake. As a result, the metabolism slows down, so you burn less calories and of course, lose less weight or stop losing weight entirely.

Another common mistake is overdoing it on the cardio - which i am guilty of.

Too many cardio days or too long of a cardio session negatively impacts muscle-building efforts as it reduces the body's production of testosterone - which is responsible for building lean muscle.

Graunt did however comment this morning that i'm 'looking all lean...'

I know i started off saying i'm going stick with the blood-type diet during this challenge, but i dont feel that it's necessarily working as effectively as other diets that some of the other Geeks are following so I'm going to park that idea for a little while and try out the Paleo diet. I might stick to some of the principles of the blood-type diet by still avoiding the "toxic" foods on the list but I'm definitely keen to try it out.

To me, my entry into the Sleek Geek Challenge is like a personal experiment, and that's why I'm trying out everything.

In the meanwhile - go read the beginners guide to the paleo diet  for a fun lego-type illustration of that it's all about...

A little set-back - A common cold!

I'm half-way through the challenge, and i woke up this morning feeling bleak.

Not because i'm tired or sore from training, but because i'm down with a bit of a common cold.

And we all know, when grown men are ill, they are the biggest babies... and i'm one of them...!

I just want to stay in bed, be nursed, eat chicken soup and drink orange juice.

Oh...and watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

My biggest concern right now is obviously how much this might set me back in terms of training. In the last 4 weeks since i started the challenge, I trained 6 days a week - possibly overdoing it a bit. I guess the lack of sleep might have contributed too - considering the ink wasnt even dry after my "Fatigue" post - when i started feeling sick.

I posted about this cold on the Sleek Geek Facebook group and was quite amazed at the amount of responses I got about how to handle- and treat it.

General consensus is not to train, to rest, take Vitamin C and quite a few people suggested Tissue Salts...

Seeing as my Sleek Geek Journey is all about experimenting with new things that I've never done before, I've decided that I'll get myself some Tissue Salts.

Tissue salts are a group of minerals that should be present in the body for it to function optimally. But unhealthy lifestyles often deplete our reserves, leading to illness.

Clearly, with all the changes that I've put my body through over the last few weeks, the minerals need to be adjusted and supplemented in order for my body to repair, maintain and nourish itself.

I've also found an article online that claims that if you follow a healthy diet, a good exercise regime and take tissue salts, it will detoxify your body and will improve your metabolism. When your metabolism rate is higher, you will be able to lose more weight too.

So let's hope that I can shake this nasty bug in a day or two especially considering that I've just started training harder to take part in the Warrior Race in 10 days' time!

This might be a set-back for a day or two, but i wont let it get me down!

Happy and Healthy Thursday!
LSx 

Fatigue

I thought I was the only one feeling a little fragile this far into the challenge, but after reading some comments on the Sleek Geek Facebook Group, I'm happy to see that i'm not the only one who feels this way.

This morning, I decided to give gym a skip - and sleep. 

We all know that sleep is a key component to the training.

I've written about my sleep app (Sleep MotionX) before and how it monitors your sleep cycles and wakes you up at the optimal time - and it's been working well.

Late nights due to social events or work sometimes cuts into our sleep - but luckily sleeping in on Saturday compensated for any negative effects that may have accrued from such a regime during the week.

But then, there's "Sleep debt".

Your body knows when you've cheated it of a night's rest, typically7 to 8 hours-and it keeps a biological ledger of sorts if you continue to do so. 

Is that why we've all just reached this state of fatigue? 

We've all been pushing ourselves for the last 4 weeks, made radical changes to our lifestyles, changed our diet and burnt a lot more energy than what we normally would have done... 

Good sleep habits will foster regular good sleep, and the more of these you incorporate into your lifestyle, the better your sleep will be.

 
But all you should do when you're tired is sleep! 

 

 

CRAAAAAVINGS!!!

I've never really been a big fan of chocolates, but since Monday I've had this craving for Chocolate.

It carried on through the whole of Tuesday, but i refused to give in to the craving.

On Tuesday evening i was invited out to dinner at a friend's house, and what did i buy her as a gift?

Chocolates.

Secretly hoping she'd open them after dinner, i ended up buying myself a low Kilojoule fruit bar  at Woolworths while standing with her box of chocolates in my hand.

If there was one thing i would normally crave, it would be Salt & Vinegar Pringles... or Simba chips for that matter. But Chocolate?

It has apparently been claimed that you can get addicted to chocolate and now there is new scientific evidence that reveals chocolate contains some addictive qualities.

Researchers claim that the same alkaloid compounds found in alcohol are also present in chocolate.

But the thing is, i've never been a fan of chocolate, so why the cravings?

Eating chocolate makes you feel good, because it increases levels of serotonin in your brain.

Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that is responsible for feelings of well-being and enhanced mood.

High levels of stress can also make you crave chocolate, since increasing serotonin levels can also lead to significant reductions in anxiety. I guess that might be one of the factors. I have been feeling a little stressed the last couple of days.

So, at the end of a very healthy dinner, Miss Vivienne served Chocolate Mousse for desert.

She served them in little espresso cups.

Just enough to not make me feel guilty for having it and just enough to kill the craving.

Changing the pace

Today marks the start of week 4 on the Sleek Geek Comeback Kid challenge.

Up until now, i've done a fair amount of weigh and cardio exercise, i've been eating properly, i've been taking meal supplements and i can definitely see progress.

This weekend, I did however realise that now's the time to change the pace and work a little harder.

Not that i havent been working hard...

So at 8am on Sunday morning, i headed out to a S.W.E.A.T 1000 class with Johan to tackle one of the most demanding excersises i've done in a long time!

S.W.E.A.T 1000 - Specialised Weight Endurance Aerobic Training. Quite a mouthful! 

"A total body work-out, S.W.E.A.T. 1000 interval training works by asserting different positive stresses and strains on so many different factors to the human body. "

"Integrating the components of interval training, functional training, core stability work, athletic training, and agility training – it is basically the result of taking everything that is the highest level of physical training and putting it into a 1 hour  dynamic, action packed class that is different every single time."

What i loved about it though was, firstly, the music... and then secondly, they turn off the house lights and all of a sudden it looks like a night club in there, with fluorescent lights and disco balls and pumping music... A clubbing experience to kick start your day!

I must be honest though - i did crash an hour after completing the class... I was knackered!

So much for wanting to rest the entire weekend...

But after a good nap, I thought about what i've just put my body through. I realised that i've just pushed my body to where i've never pushed it to before and realised the potential it has / i have.

So the bar has been raised and i know what i'm capable of.

Let's tackle week 4! We're almost half-way!