Day 1

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
Buddha

The start of a new project is wonderful – ideally you should feel energized and excited about achieving a goal and look forward to the final result. But I also notice that when people(including myself) start something, they often focus so much on the end result that the real guts and soul of the project is rarely thought about except in passing while speeding toward the end.

Today is my first day of the Peak Condition Project, and while I look forward to the results, I want to savor the moments everyday, and take as much as I can from the experience, hopefully understanding more about myself in the process.

It’s easy to keep looking toward the end when I have hopefully accomplished my goals but what good is it if I don’t learn and grow in a more substantive way. I recently read an article that stated people get much more from experiences in the form of trips, vacations, respites etc. than from investing in retirement funds or 401ks. The point of it was that we as humans need to take from everyday experiences the good and bad, to grow and in turn we become more satisfied and happy. It wasn’t saying that you shouldn’t invest your money, just that a person needs to enjoy and experience their life on the road to their goals.

And so with that I’m going to live in the Peak Condition Project moment and appreciate the experiences day to day. I’m looking forward to the end results but I’m much more excited about testing my own mettle and gauging the present.

So where am I today? Here’s a shot of me on March 1st, 2009 at 7:33am:



Critical Measurements:
BMI: 27.2*
Fat Percentage: 18.6**
Height: 160cm
Weight: 102kgs
Arm: 36cm
Chest: 108cm
Waist: 101cm
Hips: 100cm
Thigh: 61cm
Resting Heart Rate: 62 bpm

*I’m not a big fan of BMI – Its an antiquated system that never really worked in the first place and has me in the overweight category. Nevertheless I want to track as many variables as possible and look for correlations.
**I get my body fat percentage from a fat analyzer using a micro electric current and a test based on body measurement(US NAVY system). I’m not sure how accurate it is but I will measure and see the results over time.

Today I reduced my food intake by 50% - it seemed really easy except when my sons were eating their cookies and I had finished mine. We’ll see how it goes for the rest of the week. I’m actually looking forward to judging my appetite especially as I reduce the amount of calories I eat and I want to figure out ways of positively dealing with food cravings.

The exercise was great – I’m happy that I’ve been working out regularly for the past several months. I’m really working on my form and technique to get the most out of simple exercises. It is really amazing the kind of workout you can get with very little equipment and your own body weight.

This was my regime today:
300 rope jumps
50 lunges
50 pushups
50 situps

So wish me luck and I’d love it if you came along as an innocent bystander or arrogant spectator – let me know what you think and help me get to where I want to be.

I also want to give a shout out to Tanya who is starting the project too - if its not too much trouble check her out here and leave her a bit of encouragement.

See you tomorrow!