After getting Ross Enamaits books a few weeks back I decided to take up his 50 day workout as a starter to improving my overall strength, conditioning and health (more info on why I did this is on the about page).

Well now to my review of how those 50 days have gone.  What I’ve learned, what I’m gonna do now and how well I’ve progressed.

One Workout is Easy – 50 Workouts is Hard

Its not starting up thats necessarily hard for people.  Its the consistent ploughing on regardless of what happens around you.  You can see this by the number of unused gym memberships around the world.  The number of weekend warriors and keyboard kung fu masters.  Doing a workout is tough but doing it the next day and the next day is hard – but the rewards are awesome.

There’s No Excuse

Well sort of.  Its easy to know what to do when you’re honest with yourself and have a bit of imagination.  When I say fit in this instance I mean general fitness not athletic fitness.  If I can fit in workouts between an insane work schedule (~60hrs per week) then anyone can.  This brings me onto the next one…

There’s a Lot to Learn

Although I’ve learnt shed-loads over the past few weeks I still have a lot to learn about my body, how it works and whats best for it.  I’ve read Ross Enamaits books (Infinite Intensity & Never Gymless), Pavel Tsatsouline, numerous forums (BWC, RT, MAP) and articles (TN) but I still consider myself a beginner and naive.  The learning is one hell of a motivator though.  I love trying new exercises and incorporating new ideas into my workouts.

I’d say my body is one hell of a good guide too and if you listen to your’s you’ll find it tells you a hell of a lot.

Sleep Is Good

I used to think sleep was a pain in the arse.  A weakness of the human condition that needed to be crushed with some form of genetic engineering.  However, after increasing my physical activity the need for sleep has become a very welcome healer and miracle worker.  In fact I can say exactly how I’ll feel given certain amounts of sleep:

  • 6hrs – Very bad, all over body aches from poorly healed workout stress.  Very groggy, confused and lethargic.  Very irritable and grumpy.
  • 7hrs – Can just about survive the day but mentally not 100%.
  • 8hrs – My preffered minimum and after 8hrs I feel great.  Muscle soreness is virtually nil, mind fresh and body springing.
  • 9hrs – Bliss but it’ll push me into staying up later than normal.
  • 10+ hrs – Fantastci but it starts to reverse my hours.  After this long a sleep I often don’t sleep ’til 3am that night.
Everyone is different thoguh and some people can get away with less while others need more.  You can find you’re own sweet spot with some experimentation.

More Structure

I’ve come to the conclusion that having a weekly plan isn’t enough.  I need set workouts because it’s too easy to forget a muscle group or target when you’re in the midst of it.  So I’m gonna start building my workouts on Sunday ready for the week ahead.  So I’ll construct a post and schedule it for the day – it’ll be a great way of making sure I stay on track.  Like my own personal coach.

Shit Food Makes You Ill

When you get used to eating good food with lots of organic grains, meat and fish then eating heavily processed foods and high carbs like chocolate makes you ill.  I had a tin of Quality Street 2 weeks ago and it made me ill for the entire weekend.  I couldn’t move, had body aches, felt sick and very lethargic.  It makes for a very useful self-regulatory reaction to poor food.

Stats

Here’s a few before and after stats for the past 50 days.  Its helping me see what I need to improve on and where I’m lacking.

  • Pull Ups: 1 – 4
  • Plank: 0:40 – 2:03
  • Forearm Killers/Wrist Roller: (2 + 1 + 1/2) – (3 + 2 + 1)
  • MMA Workout: 2 x 2min rounds – 3 x 3min rounds