G'day,
I have a mild case of the flu so no picture update today. I have decided to take the next three days off training (and blog posting) so hopefully I'll be back on my feet by Day 278, Monday August 13, 2007.
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
G'day,
Today's pics are from "The Spit" which is the top-end of the Gold Coast.
Despite what it may seem from all my "tourist snaps" I have been keeping up with my training!
I had an awesome Lactic Acid workout combined with HIIT cardio at Centrepoint Health Club today.
Until tomorrow...
Eat Clean,
Shred Hard,
Think BIG!
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
P.S. Below are my Day 274 pics, like the bandana Kel?
G'day,
Today's pic is from Snapper Rocks, a popular surf spot for those locals "in the know".
The last time I was at Snapper was 15 years ago when I was a teenage bodyboarder hangin' out with my surfing buddies...how time flies!
I'll be back tomorrow with a picture from Centrepoint Health Club.
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
Eat Clean,
Shred Hard,
Think BIG!
G'day,
Today's post will be short and sweet!
I'll cut right to the chase and show you some pics from today's trek to Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast...
The first pic is my Day 272 pic for August 7, 2007. You can see the Surfers Paradise skyline in the background!
G'day,
My Outback Cardio Tour has now come to a close!
After fending off "attacks" from the locals and over-coming Heartbreak Hill for 4 days I am now back in Brisbane for a one-day "stopover".
Tomorrow I will head down south to the beautiful Gold Coast where I will stay for about a week.
I plan on doing a lot of beach-side cardio during this time. There is nothing like sand sprints up a hill to wake you up first thing in the morning!
I am also looking forward to heading back to my favorite gym in the whole wide world, Centrepoint Health Club. I actually blogged about this gym on Day 55: Open Air Workout
You just have to see open-air pool courtyard surrounded by free weight exercises to believe it!
It is pure heaven to have the sun shining upon you and a cool breeze brushing over you while you pump out reps on the bench press, I love it! I promise you I'll try to get pictures of this club while I'm here.
Ok, I must get some sleep now...
Peace,
AJ
P.S. Below are Day 271 pics taken in front of GoodLife Gym - a chain in Brisbane - the scene of today's Fat Loss Circuit Training Workout. A well-equipped gym with very pleasant staff, highly recommended.
G'day,
That was brutal!
Today I had another "appointment" with Heartbreak Hill as the local gym (20 minutes away) here closed up shop at 11:30 am...on a Saturday morning!
Needless to say I had to fall back on my "cardio contingency plan" again by circumnavigating the whole town on foot...again.
Of course, this meant I had to haul myself up Heartbreak Hill again on my cardio journey.
The good news is that I smashed yesterday's time by a whopping 28 seconds!
How did I do it? Well, I had extra motivation today due to a double pronged attack by the locals!
Don't worry, I'm not talking about the local town folk, I'm talking about the "wildlife"!
Yes, that's right! I was literally chased down Heartbreak Hill by a big dog (that wasn't chained up) and by swooping magpies on the final run home.
It's safe to say that I'm not a big fan of large wild dogs and magpies as I still vividly remember getting harrassed by these two animals when I was a 14 year old doing the paper run on my bike.
Magpies in particular always seemed to sense my fear of them by literally stalking me for miles on end while I did my paper route.
One time this maggie actually ripped me off my bike - destroying my Walkman in the process!
Anyway, I got through unsctathed and set a new personal best in the process today so all is cool now...
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
P.S. Happy Birthday Dave, I'm proud of you bro and all that you have achieved thus far. I know you'll go far in your pro golfing career. Love Ad.
P.S.S. Below are my Day 269 pics for August 4, 2007: Mission 3 Phase 1 - Day 39 of 60
G'day,
Today I couldn't get to the local gym for pre-planned workout because my "designated driver" was sick...very sick.
So, I decided to give myself another dose of much-needed cardio by circumnavigating the whole town on foot.
Here's the weird part, this town is so small (population of 800) that it only took me 10 minutes!
But, it wasn't all peaches and cream as this town is located on the side of a massive hill.
You know what means right? You guessed it, I had my own personal "heartbreak hill" to get over...twice.
This hill was on about a 60 degree incline so it was rather brutal to get up, but just what I needed as my cardio had been on the backburner since I left Japan 7 days ago.
Even though it is winter here in Australia (mild at the best of times) I actually worked up quite a sweat on this run.
Just for good measure I finished up my cardio session with 100 push-ups and 3 sets of upper, lower and oblique abs.
The bottom line here is that when your pre-planned workout "goes south" for whatever reason you can still get in a a decent workout as long as you have a pair of running shoes and a flat surface for bodyweight exercises.
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
P.S. Here are Day 268 pics for August 3, 2007: Mission 3 Phase 1 - Day 38 of 60
G'day,
Wow! That was quite a bus ride!
Even though I am an Aussie who has spent most of my life living in Queensland, I went into "uncharted territory" today.
This was the first time I had ever ventured this far inland in Queensland and I was in for a surprise.
The biggest surprise was realizing how fresh country air is! Of course, this realization is a result of spending the last 6 years living in downtown Osaka.
So, after getting a quick tour of the surrounding area I got straight "back on the saddle" and did some HIIT cardio to take advantage of that fresh country air.
Here's proof!
The picture below of me doing laps of cardio in the backyard is also actually the only known picture of me exercising!
Before I sign off today there is one small downside to being this far in the outbreak...lack of Internet access!
I will endeavour to make frequent updates over the next few days but I can't guarantee exactly when my entries will be uploaded.
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
P.S. Thanks Suzette, Kirsten and Christy for continuing your very interesting discussion without me. Great comments guys!
P.S.S. Here is the pic of me in action!
G'day,
This will be a real short post because tomorrow I'll be up at the crack of dawn for a four-hour bus ride to the Aussie outback.
I'm really looking forward to breathing in the fresh country air...and doing a heap of cardio!
Since I got to Australia 2 days ago my weight training workouts have gone as planned but my cardio sessions have been almost non-existent.
My physique is already starting to pay the price for the lack of cardio calories burned. Contrary to popular opinion on YouTube I am definitely not a "genetic freak"!
My body type is a classic endomorph (with a little mesomorph) so it doesn't take long for me to fall out of shape if I don't burn the required calories on a daily basis.
The bottom line is that I'm gonna have to train extremely hard every day for the next 24 days if I'm to get anything close to a six-pack by the end of M3 Phase 1.
However, I can draw confidence from my Day 60 pic (24 days out from the end of M1) as it was similar to my shape now.
Lastly, even though it may not look like it, I try to not to take myself too seriously.
After all, life is just a game...isn't it?
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
P.S. Below are deja'vu Day 266 pics as I stood in front of this very same tree back on Day 53 (New Year's Eve 2006)!
G'day,
Today I had a full-day to go sightseeing in Seoul and hit the markets one last time before catching my 8:00pm flight to Australia.
I went back to the markets at Meyondon to pick up some souveniers for my nephews in Oz and got in another round of kimchi - spicy korean pickles.
Phuket Flashback!
However, my day was not without drama! Anyone who has followed my previous travels to Australia and Phuket know that I have a weird tendency to get my flight times wrong, and consequently make last-minute dashes to the airport.
For example, I literally made my connecting flight from Phuket to Bangkok with 3 minutes to spare back in March of this year. Would you believe I was actually getting fitted for a tailored suit at my hotel...90 minutes before my flight was due to take-off!
My "Master Plan"
Well today was different...kinda. I made sure I was back at the hotel by 4:20pm in time for the 4:40pm bus to Seoul International Airport.
This bus would get me to the airport by 6:00pm, a full two hours before my flight was to leave! My master plan started well, I actually did board the 4:40 bus...but then things started to go wrong as we closed in on the airport.
I Started To Smell Smoke!
Would you believe the bus broke down! Its true, a fair dinkum "limosuine bus" carrying me and another 10 people actually broke down and had to pull over on the highway!
The driver then called in for a backup bus which took 20 minutes to arrive. My master plan was already falling apart!
A Mammoth Check-In Line!
We eventually got to the airport at 6:20pm which was not so bad...until I saw the check-in line. In all my travels I have never seen a line so long! It literally snaked around 7 times.
My master plan was in tatters by this stage as I started to wonder if I'd even make it on the plane in time. Half and hour had soon passed and I figured by the length of the line It'd be another 40 minutes until I could check-in.
My Saviour...
Once again, I was going to cut it very fine...until a "bright spark" from KAL decided to cut the line in half by opening up more check-in counters on the other side.
Hooray! I was then able to check-in within 10 minutes, get through customs and immigration, all with 30 minutes to spare!
This was a personal best for me...that I will try to beat on my return flight back to Osaka!
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
P.S. Below my Day 263 pics are some photos of my brief time sightseeing in Seoul.
G'day,
I have touched down in Seoul after a short 2 hour flight from Japan. I'll stay here for one night before I take off on an 8 hour flight to Australia tomorrow.
My hotel in Seoul is located between the two major entertainment districts, Meyondon and Dongdaemun. I was able to walk to both and check out the scene which was extremely lively!
Cool Places In Seoul
Meyondon has a real "buzz" to it with a ton of shopping stalls (selling mainly fake stuff!) along with heaps of places to eat traditional spicy Korean food, like kimchi. If you haven't tried kimchi before I highly recommend it, especially if you'd like to clear your sinuses.
Dongdaemun is a more "upscale" market area dominated by large shopping malls and nightspots. I actually stopped in at a coffee shop on the way back to my hotel and watched the last 10 minutes of the Asian Cup final between Korea and Japan.
Much to the delight of the locals Korea beat Japan in a penalty shootout 5-4 after the scores were locked after extra time. The crowd went beserk, some rivalries never die!
The picture below (from Photos.com) accurately depicts the "buzz" of downtown Seoul.
The Reality Of Training In Hotel Gyms
Tomorrow I'll get up early and do a workout at the hotel gym which has a good supply of cardio gear but very light on with weights.
The more I travel, the more I realize that getting a decent gym in a hotel is very "hit and miss". This is regardless of what rating the hotel is. However, it is up to me to adapt my workout to the eqipment on hand rather than complaining about it!
Before I sign off I'll reveal the answer to the question I posed back on Day 260 regarding my "shocking loss of strength".
Answer To Day 260 Question
The reason why I was unable to lift the same amount of weight for barbell bench press compared to my previous Lactic Acid (LT) workout 2 weeks earlier was because of an error I made with my rest periods.
My rest periods were only 10 seconds in length while they should have 20 seconds for LT. I mistakenly used 10 seconds rest because I mentally prepared myself for Muscle Rounds instead of LT beforehand.
This was a very simple error but one which perplexed me at the time. As I follow the Metabolic Surge fat loss training program this mistake is quite easy to make as the rest periods vary between 10, 20, 30 and 40 seconds for each of ther different types of routines within the program.
However, this is actually the strength of Metabolic Surge as your body is continually being stimulated by the change-up and as a result it cannot adapt to the constant barrage of different workouts. This "non-adaption" was (and is) a key driver for my success over Mission 1 & 2.
For more information on Surge and an RTP bonus offer check out my Day 75 Post: Nick Nilsson's "Power Surge"
Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT
P.S. Day 262 pics from my hotel room in Seoul.
G'day,
6 hours until I take off for my summer vacation! I have a 3 week holiday to Australia and a short stopover in Korea.
I'm really looking forward to the break from the "daily grind" of Japan and chillin' out with my family in Oz.
However, it won't be all fun and games! I still have Mission 3 to attend to, with my phase 1 six-pack deadline fast approaching. In order to complete this phase successfully I'll have to remain laser-focused on my routine and complete the daily actions required to reveal that sixer.
I am confident I will make it happen because I was able to continue Mission 1 successfully when I went back to Australia (and Hong Kong) for 12 days over Christmas.
Anyway, I'll write more about this topic of how to stick to your workout and nutrition plan while "on the go" as I go through this experience myself.
I must go now and do some final packing before I head off to the airport.
Next time I post to this blog I'll be in Korea!
Catch ya!
Adam
P.S. I'll reveal the answer to yesterday's post tomorrow.
P.S.S. Below are Day 261 pics for July 27, 2007: Mission 3 Phase 1 - Day 31 of 60
