An Update on My Training!

"The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory."

- Psalm 118:14

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I'm currently training three days per week following Alwyn Cosgrove's Afterburn 2 training program.

Here's a recap: I performed the first phase (weeks 1-4) of Afterburn 2 during April and early May. Then, Stacey and I started the Warp Speed Fat Loss program for a month. Then I went back to Afterburn 2 beginning with phase 2 (weeks 5-8) in June. I'm on the last phase (weeks 9-12) of the 12-week plan. The current phase looks like this:

Workout A & B (Alternate each workout throughout the week)

Week 1:
Mon - Workout A
Wed - Workout B
Fri - Workout A

Week 2:
Mon - Workout B
Wed - Workout A
Fri - Workout B

Repeat for Weeks 3 and 4

A) Barbell Complex 5x6 (a different barbell complex is performed for Workout A and B)

B1 - B4) Weight Circuits (four exercises using different sets/reps each training day)

C) Ab exercise 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps

D) Finisher x1-2 sets of the Pushup Matrix or Leg Matrix

Recently, I've given myself the time and flexibility within my schedule to train with my Bulldog Kettlebell and Outlaw Rope or to perform some extra bodyweight exercises or go for a bike ride.

Also, I've decided not to perform the metabolic conditioning portion of the original Afterburn 2 workouts (intervals or Tabata's) during the last part of this phase for two reasons:

1. I have already used interval training and Tabata's at a high intensity 3-5 times a week for the past 12 weeks, and
2. I'm playing ultimate frisbee on Sunday evenings and need the rest between workouts so I can play well.

Luckily, the past 12 weeks of intense interval training and Tabata's has given me the conditioning needed to play ultimate frisbee with no issues. In the past, even though I was performing intervals 1-2 times per week, I was not prepared for ultimate frisbee and I found myself having problems getting through the game without feeling winded or suffering hamstring soreness and cramping.

Although it has been very difficult, I'm glad I spent the last 12 weeks increasing my conditioning through the use of intervals and Tabata's. And I am able to maintain that level of conditioning now through my weight training sessions (they are metabolically demanding) and from playing ultimate frisbee (and I will add various intervals to my training again in the future).

This has helped me to continue with my fat loss and conditioning goals while not having to train as often as I did during Warp Speed Fat Loss. I am still following the meal plans from Warp Speed Fat Loss and will continue to do so as I like the principles behind how the plan is set up. I have made adjustments as needed (varying the ratios of carbs) to fit with my current training.

I'm also working on designing my next phase of training which will give me a break from what I've been doing and help me continue to make good progress.

Warp Speed Fat Loss - Days 23 through 28!

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

I must once again apologize for not making consistent updates to my blog about the Warp Speed Fat Loss program. I've been so busy and have had such limited time that I haven't even had a few moments to update my blog for the last week.

I do have a confession to make. I have not trained since last Monday, June 2 (Day 22). As I mentioned in my last blog post, I did my best to stay healthy while traveling to and from the Perform Better Seminar in Rhode Island. Unfortunately, I became very ill after returning home and was sick, sore and too tired to train.

Not only that, but I was swamped at work and at home the entire week. I had a ton of work to catch up on during the week and had a few late nights at work as well as several late nights at home trying to organize some things around the house and catch up on a few chores and projects. I was lucky if I had 5-6 hours of sleep each night for the entire week. I finally had about 8 hours of sleep this past weekend (the end of the program).

However, although I wasn't able to train from Tuesday - Saturday, I still followed the Warp Speed Fat Loss meal plans. Ironically, I lost three pounds during that time period from following the diet only. Prior to this, I had only lost two pounds. That means a total weight loss of five pounds in 28 days on Warp Speed Fat Loss.

Now, that may not seem like much, but you have to remember that I was already fairly lean when I began the program (13-14%), and I have gotten quite a bit leaner while only losing a total of five pounds. This means that I actually gained muscle and lost fat at the same time.

Stacey had reached her lowest weight of 151lbs (a 5-6lb loss) at the end of the third week. However, because I was sick and didn't train during the last week, she took the week off from training. She continued to follow the meal plans during the week, but she did veer from the plan a few times. She ended up gaining back two pounds and ended up at 153lbs (still lower than her starting weight of 157lbs at the beginning of the program).

I have mentioned some of the training-related variety issues that we faced while following the Warp Speed Fat Loss plan in previous blogs, and I will talk about that more in my next blog along with some specific ideas and feedback that I believe to be crucial to the success of the plan.

Not only that, but I recently found out from Mike Roussell that we were not included in the Member's-only section of the site and never received many of the additional email updates and add-ons to the program. This has been fixed, and I just received access to the files as of yesterday!

There are several additional files that would have been helpful to have prior to beginning the program. At least I can go back and read the materials and watch the movie files and listen to the audio files and see if we were on track or missed something along the way that could have accelerated our progress.

Although we are technically finished with the 28-day program, we have decided to continue using the meal plans, but we have switched over to Alwyn Cosgrove's Afterburn 2 program. This is the program I had begun using prior to Warp Speed Fat Loss. It's also very similar in many ways as it utilizes circuits, intervals and a variety of rep ranges throughout the training program.

What I like about Afterburn 2 is that the training is 3-5 days per week (depending on the phase) rather than six days and it uses undulating periodization for the set/rep scheme throughout the same training week.

Also, as I mentioned before, our only true method of interval training is sprinting outside or the use of bodyweight or kettlebell circuits since we don't have access to cardio machines. With Afterburn 2, intervals are performed twice per week and the Tabata method is performed 1-2 times per week. There is also no steady-state cardio on this particular plan. I think this will help us since we have limited access to cardio equipment and will not have the constant pounding of sprinting or jogging aggravating our knees, shins, ankles and feet.

In the current phase, we'll be training three days per week with everything being performed in the same training day. So it looks like this:

Workout A & B (Alternate each workout throughout the week)
Week 1:
Mon - Workout A
Wed - Workout B
Fri - Workout A

Week 2:
Mon - Workout B
Wed - Workout A
Fri - Workout B

Repeat for Week 3 and 4

A) Barbell Complex 5x4 (different complex for Workout A and B)

B1 - B4) Weight Circuits (different exercises and sets/reps each training day)

C) Ab exercise 2-3 sets of 10 reps

D) Finisher x1-2 sets

Cardio A (intervals - 1:1.5 work to rest ratio for 8-10 sets) or Cardio B (Tabata method)

Although there are many similarities to Warp Speed Fat Loss, it is missing the steady-state cardio and uses different frequency and intensity for the interval training. But Afterburn 2 does add the barbell complexes and finishers. In the end, it basically comes down to the same thing: A lot of hard work that creates a huge metabolic disturbance in the body thus raising metabolism and EPOC while burning a lot of calories!

This should definitely help us continue to achieve our fat loss goals while not having to train as often as we did during Warp Speed Fat Loss. Because of our schedule, we can use a few extra days off during the week to rest and also take care of other chores, projects, volunteer activities, etc.

Since we are still following the meal plans and adjusting as needed, we should continue to burn fat and get good results! Also, I will post more about the Warp Speed Fat Loss program in my next blog and possibly a few more. Overall, I highly recommend this program. Although we didn't completely finish the 28 days as written, we did have great success with the program beyond just the fat loss (I'll talk more about that later).

Warp Speed Fat Loss - Days 11 and 12 of 28!

"Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit." - 3 John 1:2

I have to admit that Stacey and I are very happy with the meals in the Warp Speed Fat Loss program. They offer plenty of variety, and they taste good. Mike Roussell did a great job planning the meals for this program. Stacey is a harsh critic of protein shakes and "healthy" meals, but she has been very happy with everything.

Some of the breakfast, lunch and dinners are truly delicious. The good thing is that although there are suggestions on seasoning some of the meals, you are given the opportunity to use whatever spices you prefer. It also helps that Stacey can cook well and adds flavor to the meals using the right ingredients.

I've really enjoyed the various snacks including some of the shake recipes and my new favorite snack is the undeviled egg. All you do is take a hard boiled egg, cut it in half lengthwise and then spread a little hummus over the middle where the yolk is located. To me, this is one of the best tasting snacks I've had! And unlike a real deviled egg, it's not loaded with mayonnaise or other bad ingredients.

As for day 11 (Thurs.), we seemed to do okay despite the fact that we made Day 10 (Wed.) our no-carb day since I had a work-related event that night and was unable to train. The only "bad" thing about doing this was the fact that Thursday's training was a tough weight session and not having any carbs the day before left us a little lower on energy. It was also hot and very humid on Thursday. Despite that, I was able to increase my weights and/or reps on almost all the exercises.

Our strength exercises included an incline dumbbell bench press superset with a three-point dumbbell row. I didn't increase the weight over the previous week, but I did manage to get more reps. A nice improvement.

I decided to increase the intensity quite a bit when we performed Circuit A of the routine. This is the circuit where we alternate the pushup/jackknife combo with the reverse lunge/cable row combo.

Previously, I used bodyweight-only for the pushup/jackknife combo. This time, I put on my Xvest loaded with 20lbs. That increased the intensity tremendously! I also continued to wear the Xvest when I performed the reverse lunge/cable row combo. I had increased the weight on the exercise by five pounds over the previous week, but wearing the Xvest on top of that took the exercise to a whole new level! I was dripping in sweat and really had to push myself to complete all sets of six reps on both combo movements within the 10-minute time frame.

I didn't wear the Xvest on the second circuit of exercises (squat/push press combo and lat pulldown), but I did increase the weight on all exercises. Once we finished Circuit B, we performed our intervals using a barbell complex. It was brutal! But we finished in just under 60 minutes and felt good when it was over.

Today's meals have gone great. The breakfast was delicious and really kept me satisfied all morning until lunch. Our training for tonight includes intervals and steady-state cardio. I'm actually looking forward to it because my hamstrings finally feel rested and not as sore as they had been the last several days. We should be able to push the intensity higher again today and start seeing more improvements.

Speaking of improvements, Stacey is down to 152lbs. This is the lightest she has weighed in a long, long time! Even though it's only a 5-6 pound loss in 12 days on the program, she is also seeing a lot of changes in how her clothes fit and how she looks in the mirror. That is definitely keeping her motivated to continue with the program.

I'm very proud of her for doing this. She has stuck to the meal plans and the training despite our crazy schedules and all the stress we've had lately. She is really enjoying the training and the meal plans. I'm hoping that she will begin dropping more weight during the last two weeks now that her body is adjusting. If she doesn't lose 15-20lbs at the end of the 28 days, she plans on continuing the program for another two weeks. After that, she will re-evaluate what to do next (2 more weeks on Warp Speed Fat Loss, or something else to get her to her goals).

Warp Speed Fat Loss - Days 9 and 10 of 28!

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you." - 1 Peter 4:12

For me, Tuesday is always one of the hardest days on the Warp Speed Fat Loss program. The lower carbs and small meals make me feel like I'm starving all day long. The meals and snacks don't seem to hold me over, and many times, they do nothing to curb my appetite as soon as I've eaten.

Stacey seems to be doing fine with all the meals and even the lower carb days. The difference is that she didn't eat consistently prior to the start of the program and the decreased carbs and calories is not too drastic of a reduction for her. For me, I'm consuming about half of what I normally eat each day. So it is a much more drastic cut, and I can tell the difference on some days more than others.

During yesterday's intervals, Stacey felt great and really pushed herself. She likes to run/sprint, as she was once on the track team in high school. Although her current conditioning is not as good as it was then, she can see and feel herself improving each time we perform the intervals.

For me, the interval days are brutal. I'm much stronger than Stacey in the weight room and much faster than her when we sprint. I also have much more experience training and am at a much more advanced level. That means that I need more recovery time than someone still "new" to training.

Since we began, my hamstrings have been constantly sore, and performing intervals does not give them a chance to recover. During last night's sessions, I was unable to run my sprints at full speed because my hamstrings felt as though they were going to cramp up or rip right out of my leg. Although the overall session went great, I wasn't able to push myself as much as I wanted even though we had an extra set of intervals this week. But I did manage to keep my intensity higher during the 20-minute steady-state cardio session.

Normally, today would be another low-carb day (10% of total calories) along with our weight training session. However, I have a huge work-related event this evening preventing me from training. We decided to adjust the workouts by one day and made today our no-carb and no training day (instead of Sunday). That means that we will perform today's workout on Thursday, Thursday's workout on Friday, Friday's workout on Saturday and Saturday's workout on Sunday.

The only bad thing about this is that we now will be training 10 days straight before getting a day off next Sunday. I just hope that I can recover from the workouts each day and not be held back by my hamstring soreness/cramping.

Luckily, even though it's a no carb day, I do fine with the menu choices as I find protein and healthy fat foods to be much more satisfying. Today also gives me one extra day to rest before we go for the long stretch.

Warp Speed Fat Loss - Day 8 of 28!

"I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me." - Psalm 69:29

Time for another update on Warp Speed Fat Loss. Day seven (Sunday) went fairly well considering it was a no carb day. Luckily, we didn't have to train, so not having any carbs was not as bad as it could have been. I'm glad we didn't have to train because we were both very sore, tired and dealing with some minor knee pain from all the lifting and sprinting the previous week.

At the end of the first seven days, Stacey is down two pounds after originally gaining a pound. So that means she actually lost three pounds. Although she hasn't lost much weight in the first week, she can tell the difference in how her clothes fit.

My weight is holding steady which is fine with me since I'm trying to get leaner without losing much weight in the process. I have already noticed more definition in my delts, arms and serratus after the first week. If things go well, I will not have much of a change in my overall weight, but I will be significantly leaner. This means that I will have gained muscle and lost fat at the same time - no easy feat!

Day eight was very similar to last Monday. The meals were filling and satisfying throughout the day and the training session was brutal yet again! Prior to the workout, both of us were still dealing with muscle soreness, but Stacey was also having some knee/hamstring pain in one of her legs. She managed to get through the workout, but she was unable to add weight to many of the movements this week and the pain became more intense. I was also experiencing knee pain after the workout and as I write this. However, I was able to increase weight on several of my exercises during the workout.

I do think we are at a disadvantage with the Warp Speed Fat Loss training sessions compared to others using the program for a couple reasons. First, we train in our garage gym and don't have access to cardio machines for the interval portion of the workouts to add variety. Second, we are using sprints and intense conditioning exercises such as burpees and barbell complexes for the interval workouts. This causes a lot of wear and tear on the joints and body.

I believe this may lead to some overuse injuries by the time we are finished with the 28-day program, but we are determined to continue with the workouts despite some of these issues. We'll continue to ice any sore areas, use cold and hot showers and use NSAIDs such as Aleve to help with pain and inflammation.

After following the program for the first week, I would not recommend it to beginners or those with less than a year's worth of serious training. You have to be fairly fit to follow the workouts as they are written while also using heavy weights for the strength exercises and the circuits.

Also, I am under a huge amount of stress. It would have been better to follow this program a month earlier or even a month later, as I have been swamped with work, planning a huge event, making plans to attend the Perform Better Seminar next week, other commitments, normal household chores, a relationship, not getting enough sleep, etc.

All of these issues don't help with my recovery and make it very tough to stay on track each day. But I am determined to follow the meal plans and training as written despite not having ideal conditions. Besides, life is rarely ideal, so if the Warp Speed Fat Loss program can work for someone in my situation, then there should be no excuse for anyone else.

Stacey is also very busy, as she's been juggling three part-time jobs along with commitments at church, helping with the meals, household chores, etc. Her schedule changes on a daily basis, so it takes even more for her to stay on track, as she has no set routine like me. She has done an excellent job so far and has learned quite a bit about portion control and more while following the program.

More updates to come soon! This week is a bit hectic since I have my event on Wednesday night and will need to shuffle around the training days and meal plans this week.

Warp Speed Fat Loss - Day 6 of 28

"You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth." - Psalm 71:20

I apologize for taking so long to post feedback on the Warp Speed Fat Loss program. I have been extremely busy this week. I have also been stressed with so much happening lately including work, planning a huge event, training, cooking, meal planning, chores around the house, etc.

So far, the first week has been brutal. The first day (Mon) went well because it was a higher carb day (20% of total calories) even though the workout was new compared to what I've done in the past. However, Tuesday through Thursday were "normal" carb days (only 10% of total calories) and the training was harder as we progressed each day.

On Monday, Stacey and I felt fine. We actually found it difficult to eat all our meals that day as they seemed quite filling and very satisfying. But since then, we've felt like we're starving all the time. We've been extremely irritable, have had headaches (even though we're drinking more than a gallon of water per day), our patience has been almost nonexistent (especially with each other), we've had problems focusing on tasks at work, we're sore every day from the workouts, and overall we have felt like crap.

Earlier this week, I was going through the whole "I feel skinny and fat" at the same time mentality. Stacey has not seen any noticeable changes and has actually gained a pound so far even though she has stuck to the plan consistently and has worked hard during the training sessions. But from what I've heard, it's the first week that is the hardest, and it takes a week for the body to adjust.

However, I feel a lot better today than I have most of the first week. Friday was a higher carb day (20% of total calories instead of 10% like most days), and the training went much, much better. I had an intense headache most of the afternoon, so I took some Excedrin during my warm-up sets. Within 15 minutes, my headache was gone and the caffeine made a HUGE impact on the training. I was like a machine and was able to bust through the heavy deadlifts, weight circuits and the intervals like they were nothing.

I think I may need to start using a little caffeine before my weight workouts (Mon, Wed, Fri) to give me a little boost to get through the workout and be able to increase weight each week. I normally don't take any products with caffeine, and I don't drink soda or coffee, so I am very sensitive to its effects.

As far as the meals go, we're eating six meals per day with fruits, veggies, protein and healthy fats (and the meals are actually really good and give you wiggle room to season the lunch/dinners as you wish), and we're taking at least one scoop of Surge after every workout (six days per week). I usually take two scoops after the weight days (Mon, Wed, Fri) and one scoop after the interval/steady-state cardio days (Tues, Thurs, Sat). It hasn't helped with soreness, but I haven't lost any strength or mass so that's a good sign.

Stacey and I are following the program pretty much to the "T" as far as meals and training go. We've had to make a few substitutions with the interval portions of some of the workouts because I have a home gym and can't perform those exercises on a treadmill, bike, stairmaster, elliptical, etc. So we sprint and jog/walk for the interval/steady-state cardio days and then use bodyweight exercises (burpees, mountain climbers, squat jumps) for the intervals on Mon, Fri and barbell complexes for the intervals on Wed.

So far, that seems to be working okay and gives us a break from sprinting. Hopefully, the second week will go much better and Stacey will begin seeing a difference in the mirror and on the scale.

My 12-Week Fat Loss and Conditioning Training Phase...

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize." - Philippians 3:13-14

When it comes to fat loss and conditioning, you have to learn to push past the pain and discomfort and the mental blocks and keep striving toward the end result. As I've said before, it's simple, but not easy. It takes focus, drive, determination, discipline and simple, hard work.

As Dan John (a strength coach in Utah) has said before:

"Fat loss is an all-out war. Give it 28 days, only 28 days. Attack it with all you have. It is not a lifestyle choice... it's a battle. Lose fat, and then get back into moderation. There's another one for you: moderation. Revelations says it best: 'You are lukewarm and I shall spit you out.' Moderation is for sissies."

I started my next 12-week training phase on Sunday with some interval training. I performed a five-minute warm-up with some bodyweight exercises and then proceeded to run my intervals. It was tough, but it felt good. Sprints done with a 1:2 work-to-rest ratio are no joke (1 minute sprint and two minutes of a light "jog" before repeating for 6-8 sets). I finished with another five-minute bodyweight circuit as my cool down. The total workout took just under 30 minutes.

Today was my weight training day, and it was brutal! It consisted of complexes followed by a four-exercise circuit using fairly heavy weights and moderate reps targeting the whole body. The training session ended with some ab work.

The rest periods were short, and the exercises were difficult. The entire workout from beginning to end took just under an hour. It felt good and let me know that the next several weeks will not be easy, but the sessions will be effective. Not only will I take my conditioning to a whole new level, but I'll be shredded in no time.

Tuesday is considered an "off" day, but this is typically the day me and some friends go for a bike ride and climb the rope and perform a few other exercises. We'll see how this day goes and if it causes any problems with my current training program soon enough.

Wednesday will be another weight workout similar to today (with different exercises, sets/reps) and Thursday will be a short, but intense conditioning workout. I'll talk more about this later this week. Friday will be the last weight training workout for the week using the same exercises as today, but different set and reps. Saturday is an off day.

I'll let you know more about this "secret" training program in the next few days! Stay tuned!