More punchbag

Managed to get up to 15 of my intended 30 x 45 second punchbag sets today since starting on Monday... almost there!

It's really really tough. I definitely advise getting yourself a punchbag at home. It's good for stress and a cardio workout.

If you're like me and don't have space to hang one, get yourself a free standing one.

Portion Sizes

One thing I've always had a problem with is overeating and portion sizes. Even now I still have issues, especially when it comes to my junk food days.

A good rule of thumb is to fill your plate using your fist as a measurement. Ideally, your meal should be a fist sized portion of carbs (wholemeal of course), protein and vegetables. That should be enough to fill you up. If you want to go a step further, use a smaller plate. Even though you'll have three fist sized portions of food on there, in your head you'll think it's more because the plate is smaller.

Punchbag Work

Normally I would use my punchbag for warming up before my weights session, but from this morning I'm turning into a form of cardio straight after the session.

To get in the sort of time I would when running, I'm trying out 30 x 45 seconds on the punchbag with 15 seconds rest in between each set.

Needless to say, I didn't manage to get through the 30 sets today, but hopefully it'll be a different story by the end of the week.

Either was still totally shattered after, so should be on the right track.

December Blues

Just spent the last three days binging hard!!! Need to snap out of it.

I've had a good, clean egg and sausage breakfast with some green tea, so hopefully back on track. The real test will come later... off to the cinema to watch Break Ke Baad starring Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone.

Wish me luck!!!

Using the cold to your advantage

Anybody else annoyed with the weather? I sure as hell am. It's ok when you're a kid and you can run around having snowball fights and making snowmen, but when you're an adult, you got things to do!

Anyway, the bulk of my training gets done in my garage at the moment and it's freezing in there. Even though I'm wearing plenty of layers, including double socks, It's still difficult motivating yourself to work out in these conditions, but it has to be done. In fact it can be useful.

Apparently working out in a colder temperature is good for you as the body uses slightly more energy to warm itself up. This would result in using more calories than you would if you did the same workout at a warmer temperature.

It's the same principle when trying to fit your three litres of water in a day. Drinking cold water requires your body to warm itself, therefore using a few extra calories.

Hopefully that should be some motivation to get out of bed on these bitterly cold mornings!

December Weigh In

Well well well, I'm getting good at this! Another loss this month! Not quite the 6.5kgs I lost in October, but nevertheless, another inspiring piece of progress.

Weighed in at 79.6kg this morning. I'm glad to be back in the 70kg zone, even though it's just by the skin of my teeth!!!

Here's how things stand:

1st June - 79.5kg (12 stone 7.3lbs)
1st July - 85kg (13 stone 5.4lbs)
1st August - 85kg (13 stone 5.4lbs)
1st September - 84.1kg (13stone 3.40lbs)
1st October - 86.8kg (13 stone 9.36lbs)
1st November - 82.3kg (12 stone 13.44lbs)
1st December - 79.6kg (12 stone 7.48lbs)

The January weigh in will be a tricky one. Will need to make some good inroads before Christmas.

More of the same please!