Ready for the jump rope show?

You see... I've been in on a little secret since my trip to Japan.

We're all going to meet up in a secret location and do this routine.


Everyone ready?

Time ticks away

Let's see... I'm still a bit wrapped around the "lack of difference" in my body shape, so I decided to take a comparative look, perhaps a little early given that we've got 17 days remaining...

We'll start with the relaxed front shot... comparing 1 and 73.





I apologize for the poor lighting on Day 73, but... ummm... maybe I should quit bitching about a lack of change?  No - it's just one comparison and poor lighting... I really want to argue this point some more.





Hmmm... small changes in the front flex. What about the back?





Some changes there as well... I notice the triceps mostly.

I don't know... the first front photos show a tremendous change. Plus there are those changes that can't be captured by the camera - my hockey playing has gotten so much smoother. That likely has a lot to do with the jump rope, but I'm also a little more stable when getting bumped around.

In more whiny news there is something slightly wrong with my left shoulder. I went to do the da vincis a couple of days ago and felt a horrible pain. I steered clear of the shoulder exercises and I've been generally quite careful with it. I've put a heating pad on it the past few nights, but I've been equally conscious of not letting it's weakness translate into poor form on the exercises. Today's didn't get me into much trouble until the kung fu situps - I got one set done and then it screamed.

I've done some prep for day 90 - I've ordered a suit (per the last post) and I've had a chat with the tattoo artist. Things are falling into place... now it's just pushing through these last couple of weeks to make a big change in my photos. :)

Go Cookie Monsters, go!

After a week…

So it’s been a week since I flew from Japan, and a heck of a week at that.  The jet lag recovery was massively difficult and stretched all the way through Thursday.  Pushing through to get the workout done was certainly in the category of ‘grim enthusiasm.’  Combine that with trying to navigate a method of being a cheerleader for my wife as well as reconstructing my dietary habits.

The trip was amazing and I wouldn’t trade the time I got to spend with Patrick in the midst of the PCP training.  That said, it’s really been a shock to my routine on so many fronts that I wonder a bit if I’m going to get quite everything I had hoped for.  I had a great conversation with Patrick about ectomorphs, those with my body type, and how my body works with a program like this.  I don’t remember vast amounts (I have such a terrible memory), but I do remember him mentioning that my measurements (biceps, chest, etc) weren’t really going to change.  I suppose that’s fine, so long as I the definition I’m forming becomes clear to those that don’t have to see me half-naked. 

I’ve thought a bit about the idea of new clothes and my thinking has certainly been influenced by the trip to Japan.  In Tokyo you see so many guys in these great looking suits – well cut, fitted nicely – and it makes me want to get one.  However… there isn’t much reason for me to have one!  It’d be pretty counter to my “have only what I need,” philosophy that I committed to a few months ago because this suit would just hang in the closet waiting for the perhaps one occasion a year to wear it!

So… grim enthusiasm FTW.  JFD cookie monsters… JFD indeed.

time to fly... mostly

I'll provide the details of my awesome last night in Japan later (likely I'll write on the plane), but for now I'm just waiting for the limo bus to go to the airport. We fly at 530p JST and land at 735p CST. Susan and Olivia will be meeting me there!

Thanks to Brian, Patrick and Patrick's wife whose name I won't even attempt to spell out of respect! :)

Now back home where I can realign my diet and JFD the last 30 days!

Getting toward the end

Alright… it’s Thursday.  Yesterday my boss’s boss’s boss Dave arrived in Tokyo, so we got our first true read-out on our progress.  John B had been pleased for the whole time we’ve been here, but we knew that given the fact that Dave & the Tokyo boss had worked out the trip details they’d be the ones to tell us if we were on the right track.  We met with Dave at 3p and ran through the entire set of work we’ve done…

… and he was happy.  There were only a couple of small edits and he agreed that we were in exactly the right place.  That means we continued to fine tune things the rest of Wednesday evening, will spend all day Thursday doing the same thing, then we’ll spend 3 hours on Friday presenting our findings and recommendations.  That presentation will be for Dave, Antony (Tokyo boss), John B, and the majority of the operations staff.  We expect to have a pretty reasonable discussion of the material.

I’ve struggled with my workout the past couple of days – probably because I’m not eating to the plan nearly as well I hoped or would be at home.  My sleep hasn’t been fantastic either – I am usually awake until 11p or 12a, much later than normal, and then I’m sleeping until 8a, again later than normal.  The bed is nice, but the pillows are odd… maybe the bed is too soft.  I feel pretty sore in my back which I’m attributing to the bed in some degree.

I’m beginning to get pretty excited about coming home now that I know the flight is (basically) 100% locked-in for Saturday.  I took some time last night and this morning to begin packing my luggage.  It’s been a nice trip and I wish I could have done more, but now that I know I’m about to go home, I’m ready for it.  My video call with Olivia this morning was about the best we’ve had – she was really interested in talking to me which is a change from previous calls.  I explained I’d be home soon, but then I realized for her it’s not really… it’s still only Wednesday there.  I did get reminded, though, that my arrival time is pretty reasonable – 7:30p – so I’ll actually get to see them both without having to wake them up.

My goal is to see Patrick again, taking the trip out there on Friday evening.  Unfortunately Patrick is in Yokohama and apparently President Obama will be in Yokohama as well.  I’m hoping that either due to my chosen mode of transport (train) or my timing (early evening) I won’t encounter too much trouble.

JFD team… we’re nearly that magical day 60 where we’re in the last part.  Patrick’s email about grinding through the sets sure is timely…

Wow… time flies!

Ok – trying to slam out a blog post before heading to bed.

Busy times guys.  My work days are around 12 – 14 hours, plus I put in 4 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.

Wednesday was Zazen with Patrick, then a great dinner… mentioned that already.  Saturday, after working, was a trip to Tokyo Disney Sea.  Fun, but no rides because of massive wait times (2+ hours).  Sunday was mostly sleep catch up until the evening…

… when I rode a train with Brian out to Yokohama to work out with Patrick.  That was a heavy workout – the standard setup, but with ‘the man’ pushing you along.  Because I was there, Brian got his workout “upgraded” to where I was, as well as Andrew from the Japanese PCP who is a week or so behind us.  I felt a little bad for the guys as I’m not sure how I’d feel jumping ahead by a week or more!

It was nice to see that my form was pretty appropriate for the exercises – that was a big worry.  Watching Patrick on the rope was an inspiration and I began to move my feet a little more / better than before.  Everything else was just normal, only pushed a little bit faster than at home.  The whole thing was done in about 45 minutes, whereas I’d say it’s around an hour when I’m at home.

Monday had me back at work and now I’m headed toward sleep.  Oh – I had a streak of 7 meals in a row with fish in them.  It broke at lunch today, but I still think that’s a pretty awesome accomplishment!

At the moment I’m still set for a Saturday afternoon departure, so I’m going to try and get out to see Patrick at least once more – perhaps Friday.

Long days… and I need some help!

I’m trying to knock out a post really quick before breakfast, so if it seems rushed, it is!

Japan is nice, but after my first day of work, I’m finding the workday to be really long for me.  I guess I sort of expected it, but living it was different.  I’m here for a short period of time and it’s for a fairly significant reason, so I need to milk every minute of productivity.  That didn’t however, keep me from working out last night.

Where I need help, though, is on the food front.  Breakfast is working out alright, but it’s really expensive because I’m eating in the hotel buffet.  I have access to great stuff there – lots of fish – but have no idea what my alternatives might be.

Lunch and dinner (expect Wednesday night with Patrick) have been questionable as to meeting my diet needs.  My host is trying really hard, but he’s still an American that hasn’t completely settled into the place, despite having three years.  That and he has never been particularly focused on what he’s eating – he’s just aiming to eat like the rest of the population.

Wednesday night with Patrick opened my eyes to a fantastic meal, but I have no idea how to replicate it despite plenty of Googling this morning.  It was a dinner of saba fish (mackerel), rice, spinach, seaweed, miso and tea.  It was a ‘homemade’ type place where everything was prepared fresh and with care… it was amazingly delicious.

If lunch and dinner are proving tough, let me tell you that the snacks have been even harder…

This place is fun, but I’m a bit lost!

Established in Japan

I'm pretty much settled into the hotel at this point, having completed a workout here and slept a night.  At this point I'm about to head down for the breakfast buffet in the hotel to try and work out my latest version of the diet.  It shouldn't be terrible, I hope, given my portion sizes that are still embarrassingly larger than most everyone elses.  After breakfast should be a short Skype chat with Susan & Olivia (I had expected it to be now, but we mixed things up when I said "tomorrow"... meaning tomorrow in Japan) and then out to the grocery store around the corner to see what I can grab.

After that I'll spend some time wandering around Roppongi or perhaps jump on the subway to see what trouble I can get into.  We'll meet up with our host around noon for some more wandering in concert with discussion work stuff.

Wish me luck on my 2 hours of Japanese language lessons. :)

For those that are local, I've got a local cell number.  I won't post it on the internet for the world to see, but you can email me (it's just PCIan, if you know what I mean) and I'll pass it back to you.  Can't wait to see everyone!  Oh yeah, I'm planning on hitting Yokohama this evening for the Zazen if anyone wants to join me.

About to board the flight to Narita. Should arrive around 2p JST / 12a CST. Olivia is apparently a confused despite plenty of talk. Will Skype w/ her tmrw.