Day 70: Fight to Survive - By Bush Stan

There is a song that I find very inspirational and its also the song that helps me get through that last grueling cycle of HIIT or the last set when doing weight training. It is from the soundtrack to the movie BloodSport, and it was written by Bush Stan. I took out the chorus from this quote, simply because it is not relevant (yelling of the work "Kumite" over and over again), and what I find motivating are the words in between.

My body's ready
My heart's on fire
I'm gonna push it over the wire
Perfect timing
Tight as a drum
The final battle's already won

I'm taking hold of every moment
Given strength by the breath of life
I'm gonna stake my claim
I fight to survive!


I've worked hard every night and day
So I'm prepared to make my way
Mind and body are the perfect team
Now's my chance to live my dream

I'm taking hold of every moment
Given strength by the breath of life
I'm gonna stake my claim
I fight to survive!

I cant think of any other song that captures what I feel, or what we shredders feel, as perfectly as this one. This song captures the concept of "earthquake intensity", that Adam Waters speaks of in his blog. When it talks about "... taking hold of every moment".

I could go on and on about the lyrics and how they apply to us shredders, but I thought I would share this with everyone, because I know that my shredding journey has given me the "chance to live my dream", as well as the drive to "...stake my claim"

Be back later to update with workout information and picture.

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UPDATE!

Wow, my workout at the gym today reminded me of the first time I set foot in there. I was beat! My arms workout went well, as did my hybrid-cardio, but today was the first day I implemented one of the cycles from David Grisaffi's book, and boy did that take its toll on me. I am almost positive that a few tears came out of my eyes because of the intensity of the workout. I am following the book, "6 Pack Abs in 6 Weeks", and the workout decimated me. I got through 2 cycles of the circuit and I felt really good that I had accomplished as much, but I knew I could squeeze the third cycle in there.

It was a brief second in which I debated whether I should go even further out of the comfort zone I was in. I did and while I regretted it all day, because my body was completely torn to shreds, at the end of the day I felt good and loved what I saw in the mirror. Its day one of a six week program (will be more like 8 weeks for me), and I can already tell it will be grueling and taxing. I can't see any reason why it would not work.

Day 69: Gaining Momentum

Eat Clean, Shred Hard, Think BIG!

I have made that my motto for the past 68 days (after reading it on Adam Waters' blog) and I don't see myself dropping it anytime soon.

I have been eating completely clean. Tuna, salmon, and chicken breast, along with an ample serving of veggies, fruits, and my protein drinks sum up my food for the past 2 months. I feel great, I don't get urges to eat anything else, and I have not had a single cheat meal. I stay away from complex carbs and don't drink anything expect water and my protein drinks.

Shred Hard... well I am doing my best. Every day I push myself a step further so as to not stagnate and I am seeing the results I want. I go to the gym 5 days a week and don't just walk in and lift weights for a bit while I look at myself in the mirror. I push myself every single day and make the most out of my time and the money that I spent for my membership!

Thinking big... well, some might say I am thinking a bit too big, when I say my ultimate goal is this body right here:

The truth is, you tell me I cant do something, and Ill do it twice, three times, or more. I visualize every single day and my training has taken on a different sort of feel to it. It has become about discipline and meditation, as opposed to simply just a workout. My sessions at the gym involve a lot of deep meditation especially when I sit in the sauna after all my workouts.

All the pieces are set, I am taking this Mission head on.

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I worked on legs today. Started off by doing some HIIT of which I did only 3 cycles, I then worked my gluteus, isolated lateral leg raises, did some leg presses, squats, leg extensions, isolated leg extensions, and then hit the stationary bike for a good 25 minutes.

All-in-all, a killer workout of which I am proud.

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Day 68: Feel GREAT!

So these past two days were spent with me preparing mentally and physically for Mission 1 and it paid off with my performance at the gym today. After reading David Grisaffi's book, Firm & Flatten Your Abs, I really recommend it and see why Adam Waters stands behind it as well. While I have yet to complete my training, the wealth of information the book contains is great not simply for people on a quest for the six pack abs. I am sure that I will prove David Grisaffi right, once I have completed Mission 1 and have a nice six pack.

Today I did a 5 cycle HIIT to start off my workout and quickly jumped into my weight training circuit, which focused on the chest. I finished that off with some core training + abs, and finally got on the Stairmaster for 30 minutes to finish up my workout with some steady state cardio.

I feel great, its still early, and I think I will go out and enjoy this HOT Saturday.

Enjoy your weekend shredders!

Day 67: Mission 1 Starts Today

Today marks the beginning of Mission 1. Everything I have learned about my body in the past 66 days is being put to the test and I expect for these next two months to be brutal. To recap:

Mission 1 Goals:
1. 6-Pack Abs
2. Body Fat Below 10%
3. Mystery Homage to Jean Claude Van Damme

Even though these goals might seem a bit ambitious for someone with absolutely no prior experience with a Physique Transformation, I am determined and the last 60 days have shown me that I carry in me an amazing drive and discipline.

I unfortunately don't have concrete numbers in terms of my body fat at the moment, because my nearest testing center is about two hours away. I will definitely visit the center sometime within the first week of the mission. The 6-Pack, well, pictures don't lie and I will go based on that and I am using David Grisaffi's Firm and Flatten Your Abs.

Well, enough blogging, I need my good rest and I will see you all tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Day 66

Did a lot of mental preparation today for what I am calling Mission 1!

I rested from the gym today because I expect to start off Mission 1 with a bang and that all begins tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a good day. Im off to sleep now.

Day 65: Food of Mexico

While I live in Southern California, I spend most of my leisure time in Mexico. Up until late last week when my car broke down, I crossed the border at least once a day. Its beautiful and I go there as much as I can because of the culture and the people. Kidnappings and all of that stuff... it happens, but I live life to the max and that involves taking risks.

I mention Mexico because the food there is great, but it also happens to stink when it comes to nutrition! Tortillas, beef, pork, lots of fried stuff, etc. A lot of delicious food that I have not eaten since, well 65 days ago.

Cold turkey, I gave it all up. Can you believe I have not indulged myself with a single "reward meal"/"cheat meal"? It has simply never made sense to me and I have enough self discipline to not yearn for, or cave into temptation. Stopped the light drinking I indulged in when I would go out on the weekends. In fact, because I am so focused on my health and the gym, I have given up those nights of going out and coming back at 6 in the morning.

I made some drastic changes in my life to get to where I am at now and I am proud of it. I really wouldn't have it any other way, even with Taco Bell, In & Out Burgers, and all sorts of delicious fast food restaurants surrounding my gym.

But back on topic, food from Mexico I CAN eat?
Sea food! Delicious and healthy shrimp cocktails and a dish known as "ceviche".

"In Mexico and other parts of Central America, it is served in cocktail cups with crackers, or as a tostada topping and taco filling. Shrimp, octopus, squid, tuna, and mackerel are popular bases for Mexican ceviche. The ingredients include salt, lemon, onion, chile, avocado, coriander, and parsley. Tomatoes are often added to the preparation." - Taken from the Wikipedia Article on it.

I know some of you gal shredders are into the recipes and whatnot, give it a try, its delicious and healthy.

--------------------------------
Went to the gym today and put in a good chest+shoulder workout, along with the "core combo" that Adam implements into his workouts. Did some HIIT as soon as I got there, and ended the workout with some steady state cardio, followed by a few minutes in the sauna.

Day 64: Legs Still Dead

Wow, I am so happy with my workout from yesterday. My legs are completely shattered and it made me work out with a smile on my face today. Put in some good steady state cardio and followed it with a good bicep/tricep workout, that went great because of the live notes. They make all the difference.

Im cutting it short today because as you can tell from my picture I just took about 4 minutes ago, I am beat.

Gym tomorrow in the morning... plan on jumping in the pool and surprising my body by punishing it with a good amount of laps, something it is NOT used to.

Day 63

Well, didn't get much sleep last night so I had to postpone my early AM training until the afternoon to put in those solid 8 hours of sleep.

Woke up like a champ, worked hard at work, and worked harder at the gym.

I worked the legs today and you know, while I was feeling the pain (good!), it wasn't until I was about to leave, when I used the leg extension machine that the pain really kicked in. After I used the leg extension machine I felt the full force of the grueling workout I had put in hit me in full force. My butt was trembling (not kidding) and my legs felt like they were about to give out under me.

It was a good feeling and an awesome end to my workout. It started strong with a great HIIT in which I was finally able to incorporate 5 cycles. 4mph, 8mph, 9mph, 10mph, (4, 8, 9 at 1 min each, and 10 at 2 mins each cycle) for a total of 25 minutes. I had never pushed myself that far out of my comfort zone, but boy was it rewarding. I had an amazing drive today and it showed in my workout and in my level of concentration.

Since I began taking live notes of my workouts last week, I was finally able to implement those into this week's workout and I blasted through last week's numbers, increasing my performance in every single workout, by 5-10lbs on each set.

All-in-all, a good day and an awesome look into what will probably be waiting for me come Mission 1!

Day 62: Details on Mission 1

For the past 60 day I have had no real focus when it comes to my transformation. I have floated around somewhat, knowing that I was making progress, seeing amazing changes, but there was never truly a defined goal.

So, I decided to go after a body like that of Jean Claude Van Damme.




This gave me an ultimate goal and something to strive for always. But even then, my pursuit of that elusive dream body has not been structured. I know I am getting there little by little, but I feel the need to set short term goals, that will better structure my training and allow for a more efficient and faster transformation to where I want to go.

As some of you might have read in my blog, I will be relocating to Austin, TX in approximately, 2 months. I have worked my butt off these past... well I guess we can call it 9 weeks already. But I know there are no limits to what I can do. This is where Mission 1 comes in.

Mission 1

Primary Goal: 6-Pack of Abs... in 2 months time.
Secondary Goal: Single Digit Body Fat%
Mystery Goal: Its a mystery, but it will be a bit of a homage to Jean Claude!

So there you have it... that is what constitutes Mission 1.
Day 1 of Mission 1 will be the 27th of June, because the first day of classes is the 27th of August. That makes it 2 months exactly and it also gives me some time to prepare both mentally and physically for what I am about to embark upon. I will be using Firm & Flatten Your Abs, by David Grisaffi, just like our Adam did and will also visit my local Hydrostatic Fat Testing Center
for this mission.

I'm off to eat some good smoked salmon, because I killed my chest at the gym today. Will be back tomorrow, have a good day everyone.

P.S. - I realized I forgot to mention why Van Damme and not, some other person, like say... Adam Waters! I will explain that in detail, in the next few days leading to the start of Mission 1. I am excited!

Day 61: World PRW Day

In keeping with the rest of my fellow shredders, I would now like to post my PRW. I've thought about this a lot, in fact, I don't think anybody can go through a Physique Transformation and without having to stop and ask "Why am I doing this?", on the most arduous or frustrating of days.
We (shredders) all know this isn't a walk in the park. The discipline, courage, will power, positive attitude, and energy needed for a transformation is immense. In my life, nothing has demanded more of me than this journey on which I have set upon. So, I better have some good reasons for doing this correct?

I could write essays on my motivation for this and I might even go ahead and do that some day, but for now I will only condense my reasons for going through and following through with my transformation. I believe and I am sure other shredders will agree, that a lot of PRWs change as we go along and make progress in our journeys. Sometimes because me meet achieve a goal and in doing so maybe reach the end of a PRW, but other times, because we learn about ourselves and we learn about a different style of life. Not just a healthier life style, but one with a different outlook on life, which in turn changes what matters to us, or what we put at the top of our priorities.

When I started, my PRWs were:
1. A Bet | I bet a friend my Xbox360 that I could lose 20lbs in two months.
2. Health | At age 21 5'7 and 202lbs, eating fast food on a daily basis (twice sometimes), I was starting to get random and severe pains in my heart.
3. Shame | I was ashamed of my body.

PRWs I gained in these past 60 days:
1. Inspiration to others | I have inspired others close to me to want to make a change in their lives. Perhaps not as drastic or sudden, but a change nonetheless!
2. Attain my dream body (YES! 6 Pack included)| Look at top picture.
3. Live life differently, through the discipline the last 60 days of training have taught me.

I think I can say that my starting PRWs aren't really there anymore. I won the bet, I am healthier than I have ever been in my life, and well, I am definitely not ashamed of my body anymore. But we all need to start somewhere right? My new PRWs inspire me and have made me a different person. What I have learned about myself throughout these grueling 60 days, is that I have what it takes to make any change that I might want in my life. That there are no barriers except those we set up for ourselves, and that by living a life with a positive attitude and "superfit" body, even the most tragic of accidents can not hold us back (Check out Dougal's Blog if you don't believe me).

There are many other PRWs, some that we might not even know or understand. When I am on that treadmill, going for those extra 5-10 seconds, when my body feels like its tearing itself apart and I am afraid my legs will give out and I will end up slamming face first against the machine, a myriad of memories, thoughts, images, sounds, go through my head. So many, so fast, that I cant recall almost any of them, yet they are there in the back of my head, at all times, pushing me and making me want to go beyond that threshold.

It is always important to know why it is that we do this.

---Update--- I wrote this a while back, but felt it was pertinent to PRW Day.

WHY I FIGHT


What I have been doing over the past 50 days has been nothing short of a fight. A fight against what you might ask? A fight against a person with more than six years of low self-esteem, a life without risks, against a person that I grew to despise. My old self, which you can see to the left.

Someone that succumbed to a lifestyle filled with "I don't care" and "Oh well"s. That same person was fine with sitting at home playing video games and eating a large bag of potato chips all by himself. A person that at work had no qualms about eating fast food maybe twice a day.

He became sluggish, had no energy, and there came a day when he realized he had gone too far and it was time for a change.

As I mentioned in my first post, that change came around the time of my 22nd birthday. I was sitting at home, preparing for the 20lbs challenger/bet my friend and I set upon, and I was wondering how I would pull it off. That is when I stumbled on Adam Waters and his amazing transformation.

Wow! What an inspiration.

Watching Adam's "84 Days In 48 Seconds" video on Youtube filled me with an unparalleled excitement and a sense of urgency. If he could do it, I could do it too. I was filled with admiration and then more than ever I was sure I would be able to not only achieve my goal, but surpass it.

I can honestly say that I had not stopped to think about why, for who, or for what, I was going to do this. In fact, I think I didn't actually stop to ask myself that question until a couple of weeks into my transformation. The change was so rapid, the effects on my body so sudden, that I was simply propelled by the momentum. It was not until I hit my first weight loss plateau, after having shredded about 23lbs, that I began to think about my "Personal Reason Why".

The answer: I was tired. I was tired of feeling uncomfortable in my clothes. I was tired of hiding from old acquaintances because of my weight. I was tired of having a low self-esteem. I was tired of being overlooked because of how I looked. I was tired of not taking risks. I was tired of not living life to its full potential. I was tired of being ashamed of who I was.

I WAS TIRED.

Like I mentioned before, I have had everything a person could ask for, for a good while. What was missing, was confidence. A lack of which, stemmed from me being ashamed of my body. That shame shackled me in so many ways, yet it took me six years to decide to do something about it, instead of being content with being the way I was.

So I fought. I still fight. I will keep fighting. Against that person I grew to detest. The good news? This new Daniel is stronger, smarter, faster, and better, in every single way possible. My change, my fight, just like Adam's, has shown me to live life differently. I fight because when the earthquakes hit, I want to know I went down fighting, not laying in my bed eating some potato chips, playing video games, knowing that I missed many opportunities in life.

Look at the picture from my Day 1. Do you recognize that look? If you have looked at Adam's Day 1 picture, I am sure you recognize it. If YOU have a day 1 picture, I am sure you recognize it. Its the pain, shame, tears, suffering... all hiding behind those eyes.

I will never go back to that.

Day 60

Seeing as I had done some clean HIIT yesterday, I took it "easy" on my body by going for 30 minutes of the stairmaster, followed right after with 10 minutes of my usual HIIT.

This hybrid cardio had me sweating like crazy and it left me feeling almost dead for the rest of the day.

Having trouble with my digital camera (phone), so will be posting my picture early tomorrow, if I can get it to sync correctly with my PC.

I promised to go into detail about missing 1 today, but I think it will have to wait. I woke up from a very good nap to get this up, but my body is dragging me back to sleep. I can feel some DOMS on my butt already.

Ill just go on the record to say, that I have been thinking about the two months I have left before leaving to Austin, and what is a reasonable goal to set for that timeframe. What have I come up with?

6-Pack

Be back tomorrow, to tie in the 6 pack with my PRW.

Day 59: LOOONG Workout

Went in to the gym today, knowing I needed to put in a hell of a workout. Maybe because I left work early simply to go to the gym, or because I had been looking forward to it all day.

So I went through my normal stretching routine which can sometimes take up to 15 minutes or so, and HIIT the treadmill. 4 cycles, 5 minutes each, 4/8/9/10mph, with the 10 mph being two minutes each time. 20 minutes and 10 seconds later, I was dying to catch my breath but that set the pace for the rest of my workout.

Some lower back, lots of abs, killed my biceps and triceps, and then went back for some Steady State Cardio, putting in a grueling 40 minutes on the bike. Stretched, hit the sauna, stretched some more, and I was done.

Off to bed now, will post on what my first mission will entail tomorrow.

Day 58: Ramping up for Mission 1!

Went to the gym at 6am today. The DOMS from the previous day's workout was at full force, so I only focused on my legs to make sure my upper body recovered appropriately. I was excited to finally, after close to two months of working out, start taking "live notes". I was really motivated to do this because Adam has always done this and because he recently stressed once more, how important it is to going for "progressive overload".

If I am to start my first real mission, I think it is very important that I get all of these pieces into place before. Along with that, I think I will be going to my "local" Hydrostatic Testing Center, which is about 120 miles away, to finally get my fat measured and to use that as my starting point for my first mission. I need to know where I am at, so as to be able to track my progress.

I am going to the movie theater in a bit, to catch M. Night Shyamalan's new flick, "The Happening". I will post today's picture after I get back.


---UPDATE---
Sorry, all. Got back a while ago but fell asleep. I woke up and thats why my eyes are barely open in the picture.

By the way, don't recommend Shyamalan's new movie... its worth, a rental at the very most.

Day 57: Afternoon Workout

Quick Picture from today, be back after I eat to post.

--UPDATE--

Back from my quick meal, shower, and nap.

I am not a big fan of going to the gym in the afternoon. I am already feeling a bit tired from work, and I miss that energy boost that I get throughout the day when I go early in the morning. Not to mention the packed gym in the afternoon, in which you have trouble finding available equipment.

I went in there today, in the afternoon, somewhat dreadful of the packed gym, but I was empowered by the fact that I had not been at the gym in two days and was feeling this itch to get on that treadmill. So, I did my HIIT, got through some abs and lower back workouts, got on the stairmaster while I waited for the equipment I needed to be available, and finally went and did some intense chest workouts (bench press, dumbbell flies, decline bench, incline bench, and some more good stuff. Finished up with a good 10 minutes in the sauna and called it a day afterwards.

Something interesting happened in there today though...

I ran into my first "Energy Vampire" (Like Adam Waters at http://rtpblog2.wordpress.com/ would call them) at the gym. I was finishing up my chest workout with some cable exercises for the chest, when a guy comes up to me and tells me to give it up, and "stop pissing in the wind". He told me to go work on my forearm instead. We are talking about some 250+ lbs guy (looked like mostly fat), that comes up to scrawny looking me, working with the cables that appear to be close to ripping off my arms, haha.

I looked at him, could only muster a simple "Oh", and kept working out until I finished my reps/sets. I walk over to the nearest treadmill where the guy is sitting down laughing with his buddies and run a quick 6 minute mile. Get off, stare, and go take a shower.

I was surprised more than anything else, because I could see no way in which that might have been a constructive or positive comment on his part. Even more so, because it was the first time in my close to two months of going there, that anybody has said anything but a positive comment.

Goodnight everybody.

Day 56: Van Damme's Code of the Samurai

"The difference between me and others who had the same dream was that I was and still am unable to understand the meaning of the word quit or give up. I will not quit. They would have to kill me before I ever give up on anything I believe in. This is the code of the samurai, at least the way I understand it."

That was said by Van Damme during an interview with FightingArts.com

I read this while visualizing today. Whether he is right or wrong in regards to his interpretation doesn't really concern me. What is of relevance to me however, is how I believe I have this same mentality. In a sense, I think all of us shredders have this mentality.

It is a rather simple ideology, but it is actually not something everyone carries within him. If you tell me I can not do something, I do it, not once but twice, or three times. You tell me a goal of mine is out of reach, I get there at an incredible pace.

I don't know what, if any name, that kind of attitude carries, but I believe it defines who I am in a sense.

I remember during the first few days of my transformation, I mentioned to a few Energy Vampires ("friends") that I had ran two miles the day before. They laughed, asked if I was sure I had not walked or jogged those smiles, and stared at my body with smug faces. I invited both of them to the gym the following day, and ran 3 miles in front of them. Their faces of disbelief fueled my training for the next few days.

One of them even joined me in my transformation, only to give up about 5 weeks in, despite my constant words of encouragement.

P.S. I want to thank Adam Water's who I consider my mentor, for mentioning me in his blog:
http://rtpblog2.wordpress.com/

Adam, count me in the ShredderSphere come day 30 and thanks to all of the Shredders for your words of encouragement, they are fuel for my training and transformation.

Day 55: Fathers Day

Quick post today...

Celebrating Father's Day with my family today, think I will be taking today off from the gym.

Have a good one.

-UPDATE-

Was doing some visualization and mind prep/pumping and thought id post my day 5 picture. Since I never really planned on posting these pictures up on the internet, and was using them mainly to keep a visual track of my body during my transformation, I am actually in underwear (briefs) in the majority of the pictures. Hah... so I am not too sure those will be going up on the net anytime soon, as much as I would like to be able to show everyone a timelapse video.

Day 54: Heh, Treadmill, YOU LOSE.

So, I get to the gym today at around noon, in not the best of moods. I dragged myself out of bed, shaking off the remnants of the DOMS that afflicted my legs from the previous day's workout.

I go through my pre-gym ritual (shower, protein drink, visualize, listen to music, etc.), but I am still not feeling it. I wonder if I should stay home, but remember I already took two days off this week.

So I get to the gym and I stretch out longer than usual creating a routine for the day's arms workout. I finish stretching and I sit there, "my treadmill" (the one I always use and with whom I have a love/hate relationship) stares at me. I put in a good HIIT yesterday, but was not completely happy seeing as I wasn't able to go through the full 20 minutes.

I don't do HIIT every single day because of several reasons, but I broke my rule today and went for another HIIT. My reasoning behind that? If I managed to pull off an amazing HIIT and rip that machine to shreds, that would set the pace for the rest of the day's workout. 5 minutes into the HIIT, three words come to my mind.

No matter what.

I don't remember how or why those words formulated in my head, but I ran with it, and I ripped through my HIIT beautifully. 4 cycles of 4mph, 8mph, 9mph (1minute each), and 2 minutes of 10mph. 20 minutes later I got off of that treadmill smiling even though I felt my upper body was about to fall apart, and sweat was dripping off of every single limb.

The rest of my workout was great and I feel like a champ right now.

So, next time you need something to motivate you... whether that be Adam's "Is this pain?" (which I have used many times), or your own personal thing... give "No matter what" a try. In my case, I guess I was determined to finish that HIIT at max potential no matter what, because the rest of the workout would be ho-hum had I not.

Day 53: HIIT Gut Wrenching

When I was but a boy and I was scheduled to rehearse for a play or I had a small crush on some girl, my stomach would kill me. A strange feeling induced by my being nervous. I outgrew that, but recently it has resurfaced.

It happens when I am scheduled for a session of HIIT. Sometimes it starts the day before, other times right when I step into the gym. Even though Ive been able to rip through my HIITs before (20 minutes of 4mph, 8mph, 9mph, and 10 mph[2mins]), it is those extra few seconds that are essential at the end that scare me.

Those extra few seconds in which a multitude of thoughts, pictures, people, faces, songs, and feelings, rush through your mind are incredible. But I often times fear I wont be able to go through or push myself. Ive yet to fail to push through, but HIIT is the only part of my training that induces that feeling in me.

I put in a very good session today: HIIT (15min), intense leg workout, and finally some lower back and abs. Every single day I focus on my legs, I see a major difference from the previous workout, with an exponential increase in strength. Today was no different and I pushed myself to the limit while on the leg press machine, and when working out my squats.

Time to sleep, gonna go for another awesome workout tomorrow.

Day 52

So, I haven't gone to the gym today, YET. But I felt I needed to discuss something with everyone. I have yet to explain why my blog's URL is "projectjcvd".

JCVD = Jean Claude Van Damme

There came a point in my transformation where, for inspirational purposes I scrounged up all of the Jean Claude Van Damme movies I could find. As a young boy, he was always my hero, despite his drug addiction and whatnot. I always admired not the man, but his characters in his movies. I even joined Karate as a kid, because of Jean Claude Van Damme.

So, I watched his movies, all the while my body kept changing, and at one point I realized JCVD had become my "128kb picture".

What do I mean by "my 128kb picture"? Adam Waters throughout the length of his blog has had 128kb picture that he has used to visualize his dream body.

The same thing I now do with Jean Claude Van Damme. Will it be hard? YES! But it gives me a goal to strive for. It helps me visualize and it/he have so far served a great purpose in my training and in my development.

Take a good look at that picture. That is what I am aiming for and it is essentially the ultimate mission for me. Ill be back to update this later and wrap it up, along with a new picture of me after the gym today.

UPDATE

So, the gym was a no go today. I knew today was going to be a busy day at work, which is part of the reason why I had to go in early and skip my early morning workout that I love, but I had no idea I would be completely swamped for the rest of the day.

I decided I would go for some shock to my body, seeing as a workout was going to be out of the question. I only ate fruit today and deprived my body of protein, to prepare it for the good protein intake and intense workout that awaits me tomorrow.

I'm calling it a day and getting some good sleep to make sure the DOMS from my bicycle HIIT from yesterday is gone by tomorrow. Ill be going for a "pure" HIIT and an intense leg workout tomorrow. Excited.

Why I Fight

What I have been doing over the past 50 days has been nothing short of a fight. A fight against what you might ask? A fight against a person with more than six years of low self-esteem, a life without risks, against a person that I grew to despise. My old self, which you can see to the left.

Someone that succumbed to a lifestyle filled with "I don't care" and "Oh well"s. That same person was fine with sitting at home playing video games and eating a large bag of potato chips all by himself. A person that at work had no qualms about eating fast food maybe twice a day.

He became sluggish, had no energy, and there came a day when he realized he had gone too far and it was time for a change.

As I mentioned in my first post, that change came around the time of my 22nd birthday. I was sitting at home, preparing for the 20lbs challenger/bet my friend and I set upon, and I was wondering how I would pull it off. That is when I stumbled on Adam Waters and his amazing transformation.

Wow! What an inspiration.

Watching Adam's "84 Days In 48 Seconds" video on Youtube filled me with an unparalleled excitement and a sense of urgency. If he could do it, I could do it too. I was filled with admiration and then more than ever I was sure I would be able to not only achieve my goal, but surpass it.

I can honestly say that I had not stopped to think about why, for who, or for what, I was going to do this. In fact, I think I didn't actually stop to ask myself that question until a couple of weeks into my transformation. The change was so rapid, the effects on my body so sudden, that I was simply propelled by the momentum. It was not until I hit my first weight loss plateau, after having shredded about 23lbs, that I began to think about my "Personal Reason Why".

The answer: I was tired. I was tired of feeling uncomfortable in my clothes. I was tired of hiding from old acquaintances because of my weight. I was tired of having a low self-esteem. I was tired of being overlooked because of how I looked. I was tired of not taking risks. I was tired of not living life to its full potential. I was tired of being ashamed of who I was.

I WAS TIRED.

Like I mentioned before, I have had everything a person could ask for, for a good while. What was missing, was confidence. A lack of which, stemmed from me being ashamed of my body. That shame shackled me in so many ways, yet it took me six years to decide to do something about it, instead of being content with being the way I was.

So I fought. I still fight. I will keep fighting. Against that person I grew to detest. The good news? This new Daniel is stronger, smarter, faster, and better, in every single way possible. My change, my fight, just like Adam's, has shown me to live life differently. I fight because when the earthquakes hit, I want to know I went down fighting, not laying in my bed eating some potato chips, playing video games, knowing that I missed many opportunities in life.

Look at the picture from my Day 1. Do you recognize that look? If you have looked at Adam's Day 1 picture, I am sure you recognize it. If YOU have a day 1 picture, I am sure you recognize it. Its the pain, shame, tears, suffering... all hiding behind those eyes.

I will never go back to that.

Day 51

So here we go.

It is day 50 of my transformation. I long surpassed the 20lbs goal I set for myself. In fact, I reached that goal around day 22.

I started at 202lbs and I am currently down to 159. Following Adam and Tom Venuto's blogs/training, I have achieved my success by feeding the muscle and doing some very intense cardio.

I tried taking pictures every single day, since I began, not for a blog, but to motivate myself and track the changes in my body. I often times stopped taking pictures either because I saw no difference and was upset with what was happening (or not happening) with my body, or because I could see the difference on a day-to-day basis without having to take pictures of it.

I started by doing only cardio, and not just any cardio, but the boring 45+ minute kind of cardio that someone that doesn't know much about his own body might use. It worked, there is no question about that. But I eventually hit a plateau, and had to move on to different things to keep shredding the fat.

That included a much more intense weight training program and something I have found to be invaluable, and that is HIIT. What would I do without HIIT?

So, I met up with a buddy that has been working out for a while, so he could give me some pointers and teach me a few things about working out the chest. Benchpress, incline, decline, dumbbell flys, and a few other chest workouts, all wrapped up with a nice hybrid-cardio, 10 minute HIIT on the stationary bike (I did pure HIIT yesterday and don't feel like I should do it every day), followed by a few good laps in the pool, and ended with a few minutes in the sauna.

Project JCVD

No, this is not a blog about Jean Claude Van Damme's new flick... it is a blog about my physique transformation challenge.

In late April of 2008, I was feeling down about myself. I had just found out I was relocating to Austin, TX, after having been admitted to a graduate program at UT Austin, and my birthday had just passed by. I had everything going for myself, good job, great girl, family, friends, etc... but something was missing in my life.

A sense of confidence perhaps?

The week of my birthday I decided to make a change for myself and asked a friend to strike a bet with me, in order for both of us to have a motivation behind our transformation.

20lbs in two months was the goal. We weren't sure we would be able to achieve this goal, and at one point even thought of changing it to 3 months.

Ill post more on my background and "Personal Reason Why", in the following posts. For now, let me just say that I am on day 50 and have lost 40lbs and see no end in sight for my ultimate goal that I will be discussing later.

Today, I hit the gym at 11am and did 15 minutes of HIIT (1 minute of 4mph, 8mph, 9mph, and 2 minutes of 10mph). Bummed because just two days earlier I managed to do the same but for 20 minutes. Followed that with some Muscle Rounds of chest and shoulders, and lower back and oblique workouts, and 10 minute HIIT on the "StairMaster". Finally, sat in the sauna for a good 15 minutes and that ended a long but good day at the gym.

I will show you where I am at physically, tomorrow, but for now... take a look at where I was at the day I started my transformation.