G’day,

Three weeks down! Mission 2 is going just the way I planned. The first 3 weeks were all about increasing muscularity and strength. The reason I did this was to increase LBM (lean Body Mass) as this is your most valuable fat loss weapon.

By adding lean muscle tissue to your body you reduce the amount of fat you have to burn. This is because lean muscle has a greater metabolic factor than fat deposits. Basically, the more muscle you have the higher your metabolism, which in turn makes it easier to burn fat.

With 3 weeks down I am now entering my pre-cutting phase with almost daily doses of Hybrid Cardio and weight training. Hybrid Cardio is my self designed cardio system which integrates two exercises per session to prevent adaption and similtaneously ‘shock’ your body into growth.

This is all designed to get my bodyfat under 5% by March 24, 2007 so I can live my dream of having a shredded six-pack in Phuket in my planned vacation from March 26, 2007.

Cheers,
Adam

Here are Day 112: M2 Day 22 pics for February 28, 2007

G’day,

It’s official! My plane ticket for Phuket is booked and paid for. However, if I don’t reach my goal of 5% body-fat I won’t be going! I’m serious, I will forfeit the money I paid for the air ticket if I don’t reach my goal by March 24, 2007.

I’m doing it this way because I have to, there is no way I could book a trip to Phuket with 2 days notice, the airlines usally fill up early in late March because it is school holidays in Japan at that time.

I’m also doing it this way to increase the intensity of my weight-training, cardio and nutrition as I enter the ‘pre-cutting phase’ of my 46 day fat loss mission. Trust me, I really want to go to Phuket and chill out as it has been a hectic 16 weeks. But I can only go if I reach my goal, as simple as that.

In keeping with this theme today I did a high intensity weight-training workout. One word…brutal! That was today’s Muscle Rounds workout which focused on quads, hammies, shoulder & triceps. The most tortuous is my squat routine for quads where I did my personal best of 120 kg’s.

Keep in mind this routine is 6 ‘mini-sets’ of 120 kg’s with 10 seconds rest between sets…three times. I also did a personal best for lunges (24 kg’s) and triceps (17.5 kg’s) for Muscle Rounds.

I am taking a rest from cardio tonight as it is not wise to do HIIT cardio on the same day a brutal leg workout because my kind of cardio is heavy on legs. If I overdo it on leg days I may overtrain them and set myself backwards.

Peace,
AJ

Here are Day 111: M2 Day 21 pics for February 27, 2007

G’day,

Today I took my training up a notch, it is now time to ‘cut up’ big time. I have been waiting for this day since I started M2. The last 20 days have been about building muscle with little attention paid to cardio. Thus, the reason why you haven’t seen much change in my six-pack is because I had not yet implemented hardcore cardio.

Well, now it is time to enter my ‘pre-cutting phase’ which consists of almost daily doses of Hybrid Cardio, my self-designed system HIIT (High Intensity Interval training) cardio system.

This pre-cutting phase will last for the next 16 days. I will be doing a lot of ‘double headers’ of weight training and cardio on the same day.

The reason why I have waited till now is because if you go to hard on cardio before your deadline you will lose muscle. It is all about timing and purpose. It also helps to have gone through this type of experience before, for me it was 2 months ago leading up to Day 84.

I am deadly serious about hitting my goal of 5% body-fat, it will be a dream come true to have a totally ripped midsection. This will be the culmination of 17 weeks of hard training, strict dieting and visualization.

I must get some sleep now…

Peace,
AJ

Here are Day 110: M2 Day 20 pics for February 26, 2007

G’day,

Yes, its true! I am a fruit loop, I have been eating fruit all day and as you can see it is having quite an affect on me. Check out my fruit basket below. This is what ¥4000 ($40) of fruit will get you in Japan.

To some people, eating fruit all day would be weird considering I am trying to gain muscle and lose bodyfat. What about the protein you say?

Well, Day 39 Adam will explain…

These rest days are actually just as important as the work days. Resting allows your body to recover and grow. Remember this, your muscles only grow outside the gym. Working out with weights actually causes micro-trauma to your muscles.

You know the soreness you feel the next day following a workout? Thats because you have inflicted microscopic damage on your muscles.

Your muscles then respond by calling in the cavalary (protein) to grow stronger to defeat this force attacking it. Think of nutrition as a crucial supply line in a war zone.

That is how critical it is that you eat early, eat right and eat clean after a gruelling workout.

Coupled with your nutrition, rest is equally important. This means taking regular scheduled days off from training (once or twice a week) and getting enough sleep (7-8 hours a night).

It is during these rest periods that your muscles actually grow.

My nutrition plan today consisted of all fruit, all day. Thats right, NO PROTEIN! How can this be? Well thats a topic for another day but suffice to say you must continually shock and surprise your body and metabolism. As I said yesterday stagnation equals no progress.

Your body will always strive to adapt to whatever you throw at it, you must overcome this by not only mixing up your workout routines but also your nutrition plan.

I’ll be honest with you, this all fruit day concept is way beyond my knowledge of human bio-mechanics, I honestly do not understand why it works. The guy who designed this meal plan, Nick Nilsson, knows better than anyone why and how it works.

If you want to know the full story about Nick’s program helps me lose fat AND gain muscle check out Day 74: Nick Nilsson’s Power Surge.

Peace,
AJ

Here are Day 109: M2 Day 19 pics for February 25, 2007

G’day,

Just chillin’ today, only my second rest day in the last 18 days since I started M2.

I’ll do something different today, my first product review! Don’t worry I’m not gonna pitch any supplements, I have said previously that 99% of supplements are a joke and I’m not about to change my tune.

My review is of a new camera I bought recently. It is the Olympus SP-50 which is a ‘prosumer’ point & shoot digital camera. This thing works like a dream compared to my previous camera. It is an easy to understand menu system and heaps of advanced functions that ‘power users’ will love.

As I take pictures daily it is important that my pictures are consistent in quality and lighting. Well, if you go back to the start of M2 and look at the pictures you’ll see a marked difference in the quality at Day 102. This is due to my new Olympus.

If you are in the market for a ‘point & shoot’ digital camera I highly recommend it.

Peace,
AJ

Here are Day 108: M2 Day 18 pics for February 24, 2007

G’day,

A brutal day on two counts. This morning I did Lactic Acid Part 2 which required 5 pre-exhaust supersets for each muscle group…on 20 seconds rest. This is a high intensity form of training geared for maxinmum fat loss in minimum time.

DO try this at home is rapid-fire fat loss is your goal!

The second ‘brutal’ event took place this evening. I got home from work at my usual time of 5:00 pm and discovered I didn’t have my house keys! This threw me for a loop as I am so disciplined now with my nightly schedule.

I have zero time to relax (or waste) when I get home if I am to get to bed by 10:30 pm for 8 hours muscle recovery sleep.

This is because I am now maintaining 3 online picture journals, 3 daily blogs, 2 weekly blogs, 2 online training journals, 1 online daily nutrition journal and a ‘top secret project’ that is a full uncensored daily documentation of M2 which includes daily video and a few other items.

So, you can see what I mean. I have no time to lose. I am living in real time every hour of every single day. This is what I call massive action immersion, I have no idea what is going on in the outside world.

Put simply this is…Operation Block Out The Negative Data Sphere

I don’t watch TV, don’t watch movies, don’t listen to the radio, don’t read newspapers, don’t read magazines and only surf the internet to fitness related sites.

Let me tell you something, this is so liberating. My mind is completely fresh every minute of day, I have no negative energy that comes from ingesting daily doses media propaganda, advertising jingles and 24/7 gossip.

Trust me, anything that is worth knowing you’ll eventually hear about.

Try it sometime and see how better you feel.

Peace,
AJ

Here are Day 107: M2 Day 17 pics for February 23, 2007

G’day,

Today I went hard with Lactic Acid (LT) Training. LT training utilizes 20 second rest periods in order to maximize fat lass by forcing your muscles to increase tension.This is because your bloodstream is unable to eliminate the lactic acid accumulation in such a short period of time.

LT is great for penetrating and stimulating those deep muscle fibres through the ’shock’ effect. The end result is a more intense workout as you constantly feel the ‘pump’ which spurs you on even further.

This process results in a cycle of positive energy that will help transform your physique and get the rapid weight loss you desire. I highly recommend incorporating LT training into your workout routine if you are on a fat loss journey.

Until tomorrow…

Eat Clean,
Shred Hard,
Think Big!

Peace,
AJ

Here are Day 106: M2 Day 16 pics for February 22, 2007

G’day,

Today’s post is for people who are serious about shredding down to single digit bodyfat. First, a little background. I started my fat loss journey on November 8, 2006 at 20.8% bodyfat, I am currently under 10% with my goal of 5% by March 24, 2007 already ‘in the bag’.

Obviously I am doing something right. Today I will let you in on my ‘secret’ fat loss weapon… Hybrid Cardio. This form of cardio has been a major component of my success so far. Actually, cardio is the most important ‘shredding’ tool that you can use.

My system combines two forms of cardio in one session, one at maximal intensity (Tier 1intensity) and the other at sub-maximal intensity (Tier 2 intensity). The major benefit of Hybrid Cardio is that it allows a quick high intensity workout while preventing adaption which is body’s number one enemy when it comes to transforming your physique.

Hybrid Cardio also gives you variety with your cardio sessions so you never get bored. For example, today I did skipping (Tier 1) and boxing (Tier 2) and felt the ‘buzz’ kick in after only 5 minutes.

This ‘buzz’ is the chemical reaction of endorphins flooding you brain and bloodstream.

It does not get any better than this!

This is THE ONLY way to train, hard, heavy and intense.

Until tomorrow…

Eat Clean,
Shred Hard,
Think Big!

Peace,
AJ

Here are Day 105: M2 Day 15 pics for February 21, 2007

G’day,

Today I experienced first-hand a key component of physique transformation. This is the concept of progressive overlaod, this really is the key to your ongoing physique progression.

I increased my weight load on most exercises since the last time (on Day 65) I performed this routine, Fat Loss Circuit Training Part 2. Tracking this progression is possible because I diligently log every single workout with full stats on my weights, reps, sets and techniques.

I highly recommend logging your workouts in real-time, while your actually doing your workout. I log my stats during my rest periods (as short as they are) and at the end of my workout I’ll write a review of my workout with both positive and negative points.

To be precise today I went hard with quads, hammies, shoulders and triceps with my ‘rest’ period again being 40 seconds of double hop skipping.

I increased my weight load on quads (with squats), shoulders (with barbell overhead press) and triceps (with dumbell overhead extension).

It was an intense session and I now feel I’m getting back to my peak level of fitness on Day 84.

Until tomorrow…

Eat Clean,
Shred Hard,
Think Big!

Peace,
AJ

Here are Day 104: M2 Day 14 pics for February 20, 2007

G’day,

The human touch is an amazing thing. Today I had my first massage in 103 days and don’t I feel better. To be specific I had a foot reflexology massage. This style is very intense as each part of your foot relates to a specific organ of your body. If you have never had one before you can really open up a can of worms!

Why a foot massage? Well, my feet have taken an absolute pounding over the last 103 days. They have run 210 kilometres at high speed, skipped for 40 hours, cycled for 50 kilometres and swam for 15 kilometres.

To say they were in need of some TLC is a understatement! The bonus is that my calf muscles were included in the treatment. My calves have taken an equal hammering and it felt great to get them some relief as well.

I am going to make massage a weekly appointment. Next time I’ll try a hand massage, should be interesting as my hands are usually pretty sensitive to reflexology.

What do you think? Is getting a massage purely a luxury or is it a necessary component of optimal health and well-being? I am definitely of the opinion that it is the latter.

To quote one of my mentors, Randy Gage, he said if everyone on planet Earth got a massage once a week there would be no more war. I agree with Randy.

Anyway, today I went hard with ‘Fat Loss Circuit Training’. I did chest, back, biceps & calves with my ‘rest’ period being 40 seconds of skipping. It was tough, but I still feel great now, 6 hours after my workout.

Training hard in the morning really does juice the rest of your day!

Below are Day 103: M2 Day 13 pics for February 19, 2007.

Peace,
AJ