Day 90 - Yes!

From 230 lbs (104.3 kg) to 185 lbs (83.9 kg) for a 45 lbs (20.4 kg) loss in 3 months. Beyond that, strength and flexibility that I haven't had in ages, not to mention a physical aesthetic that has me spending far too much time staring at myself.

I could hardly be more thrilled with my results over the past three months. Forget the freakin' numbers, the tale of the tape is the real story here:

Day 1 Front

Day 1 Side - Looks like a smirk, as if to say... this seems silly

Day 1 Back

Day 90 Back 

Day 90 Front

Day 90 Arms - I fuckin love this shot... might have to make a poster out of it or get Patrick to swap out my goal photo of Hugh Jackman.

Day 90 - Uhhhhhhh, simian pose?

Its always funny how no one is ever smiling in the Day 1 photos. It definitely wasn't deliberate... maybe its a subconscious thing like your body is just projecting how unhappy it is.

Altering or Shopping, that is the question... and these are just the pants

Obligatory

I can honestly say that I never cheated when it wasn't out of necessity due to circumstance. And then, just barely. No salt, ever. No sugar, ever. I didn't even touch olive oil even though it was allowed in moderation. I was laser focused on burning up as much fat as possible over the course of the project. I knew I had a load to lose, but had never been particularly motivated to do so since I wore my weight fairly evenly around my body. It wasn't all on my belly or all in my face. It was everywhere so it never really looked particularly like I was massively overweight. And let's face it, living in the US, comparing yourself to the masses (and I do mean that, in every sense) doesn't exactly set the bar very high. Of course, the latest before and after pics beg to differ, but my perspective at the time was, well, I'm not that overweight, and when I have clothes on no one can really tell, so what's my impetus to lose weight?

But the reality was that I was doing a massive disservice to myself having to lug all that weight around. 45 freakin' pounds. That's really hard to imagine. Not to mention that I'm fortunate enough to live in a part of the country where you are really missing out if you don't spend part of your life outdoors. Being overweight and generally lacking energy meant that I wasn't ever taking advantage.

Massively arduous at times, and I never felt like I ever mastered the skips, but on balance I have so much more to be proud of physically, let alone the knowledge to build on as a basis for continued health and strength. The next challenge will be in remaining true to what we've learned, not letting myself relax back into old patterns of food and inactivity, and generally making PCP a part of my life and not just a blip on the screen.

So, huge thanks to everyone involved, and what sort of blog post from me would it be without a list of some sort?

1. All the Pucksters (and honorary Pucksters Tracy, Conny, and Kevin): I feel like we really lucked out, or Patrick performed some sort of black magic to get us all together. We totally gelled as a group, through literal thick and thin. Everyone made an effort to stay involved, stay in touch, provide encouragement, respond to blog posts, post pictures in a timely fashion, and provide commentary and entertainment throughout the process. I admit I had no idea just how much I would look forward to the social aspect and you guys never disappointed. Just wish we could be there for the big HK reunion to witness the actual clash of the PCP titans! Anyway, thank you guys so much! It definitely wouldn't have been the same doing this in a vacuum...
2. The largely unsung hero Chen: what can I say, never a peep, but given the 80% diet/20% exercise formula, Chen may have had the largest physical impact on us of all. 
3. Patrick for putting it all together, providing constant and timely feedback and having the unenviable task of herding all the cats, and teasing more out of us than we know we are capable of. How you manage the workload is beyond me!
4. My brother, PCP alum and musclebound showboat Alexander. What can I say, he set the bar by doing what we all thought sounded a bit crazy at first but absolutely rocked it and had just crazy results. Thanks to him for getting us into PCP and providing that first tangible taste of what was possible.
5. And of course Kim! Through all the veggie farts during the aptly named "push-through" portions of 8MA, motivating me out of bed, providing feedback on my skipping, genuinely delighting in the little food experiments, and putting up with my likely overbearing militant attitude to the whole thing. You look like a million bucks! Muah!

My only regret: not being able to find a suitable blue and white spandex outfit for my final photos out on the lawn...

Day 89 - Pain don't hurt

Well, that's not entirely true... Penultimate day and just wrapped up the workout. Supersets were a real mixed bag:

1. Jumprope: First set were kind of crap. My knees were kind of "giving out". Very wobbly. It was weird and not at all familiar. Even moreso considering that the second set was pretty darn good... back into the 100s sans trip up. I foresee a long road ahead though before the jumprope and I are proper friends.
2. Legs: Pah! 5 sets of 24? No problem! Well, little "problem"... my knees were making a truly awful crunchy clicky sound. I bounded upstairs to demo it for Kim and she looked horrified and disgusted (she's good at that... I give her plenty of reason to practice though, to be fair). Still, was able to kill these, no flopping around or energy issues.
3. Back & Chest: Sweet mother of pearl... these were excruciating! Staying true to the 20 second delay between sets was done, but it was killer. I was a bit disappointed not to be able to get back to at least 8 proper pull-ups again, at least for the last proper PCP workout, but I do feel like I squeezed every last ounce out of this superset. To the point where I nearly faceplanted on the last pushups as I was at my absolute limit.
4. Biceps, Triceps and Shoulders: Talking with Kim afterwards it seems we had a similar experience with this... masochistic here, but I think I could have stood to have more triceps reps in this superset if it was meant to be up to major burn and failure. Maybe 18-20, rather than 15. I presume that cycling through the other exercises plus the between sets delay meant that they were getting a significant rest vs. the tricep specific workouts from before... Curls, were likewise not too bad, but again its probably my one strong suit. Shoulders on the other hand. I started off with a tighter band and quickly realized that was a mistake and had to transition back down to a lighter resistance. Throughout PCP, shoulders have been probably the one muscle group that burns all the way through each exercise, every time. I'm not complaining though as they have been doable, and being able to stay in the burn for that long has really meant I've packed on some serious muscle there.
5. Abs: Failure on these is a really weird thing... First off, I am admittedly terrified of hurting myself on V-sits. Specifically my back. Maybe its because I don't have the voice of 8MA's Spandexo in the background telling me that he will never hurt me. Whatever the reason, great trepidation accompanied each set of v-sits throughout PCP, even though there has been a sea change from my early beached whale (see what I did there?) iteration of the exercise to now doing 30 odd in a go (as always a precipitous dropoff in the subsequent sets). Still, improvement is improvement, so I'll take it. As mentioned, Planks are likewise an odd failure exercise. Not sure I ever made proper friends with that particular pain and general awkwardness. Again, vast improvement (1min 45sec, no prob) but I have that nagging feeling I left a little in reserve...

I feel like Kim and I have been utterly spoiled being a day behind everyone else... you guys have had to test out all the fresh horrors that Patrick had in store well before us, and scramble to get the food and diets in order the day of... Anyway, thanks for making our lives so much easier during PCP! Suckers!

Day 88 - Oh la la

Today
Lovin' the local farmers market... fill a massive bag full of as many veggies as you like for $10! So we cycled home with 6 squash, 2 cucumbers, 2 jalapenos, 6 chili peppers, a bag of roasted chili peppers, some number of fresh beets, and 8 tomatoes. We also picked up a bag of fresh peaches, one of which I am enjoying as I write this... Oh, and one more thing that is just soooooo Colorado: there was a yoga competition going on at the outdoor theater space adjacent to the marketplace. Seriously. A yoga competition. Strikes me as a peculiar thing to be a competitive sport, but what do I know... I think Kim was itching to get up there and show off her chops though, so it certainly brought out the competitiveness in her.

Apropos of absolutely nothing PCP, on the ride home we saw a B2 Stealth Bomber fly over and turn to the horizon and just vanish. Never seen one before so it was really mesmerizing. I think they were having an air show at the local municipal airport (which until very recently had a B-17 that you could get rides in, but went down in Illinois. Thankfully it didn't injure anyone but the airframe was a total loss - click here for some phenomenal photos of that plane) as we also saw formation of biplanes buzz over later in the day. Always mean to check out the air show each summer and each summer we forget that its happening!

Anywho, a local took a pic of the B2 doing a flyover of Boulder. Pretty surreal:

Also, we headed out to do a little shopping for clothes... a nice new tie for the wedding, a new summer shirt, as well as some new belts with notches I can actually use to keep my saggy clown clothes from falling off me. Tried on a few other shirts as well, and found that I was enjoying time spent in the changing room without my shirt on more than with the potential new shirts. Kim and I chatted about coming back to the store to do our final photos in the changing rooms since the lighting was so good! I don't know that they would take too kindly to that though... I told Kim that I even felt slightly guilty because I was spending so much time just checking myself out instead of concentrating on the whole clothes shopping experience.

Going to try and recreate the light situation for the last day photos and see if we can't better emphasize our gains than we have with the previous photos which are honestly a bit flat. Key seems to be better overhead lighting as opposed to the very soft light we've had in the bedroom for all the previous photos. Sure to be a trying experience for Kim dealing with my lighting experiments but I bet she'll be glad for the results...

When we got home we decided to do a closet purge to begin the process of figuring out what to do with all the clothes that no longer fit. Almost all my pants will have to be taken in significantly. Some, so much that I wonder if it will even be possible. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow but I have a stack of pants almost knee high that will need to be altered. Not before the obligatory thumb out massive pants pic on day 90!

Workout

1. Jumprope: Slept in a bit this morning so, again, I wonder if this is having an effect or just more ammo for the sleep theory of the previous issues with the jumps, but they were actually pretty decent. Plenty of trip to be sure, but now they were more like every 300 or so rather than every 50 or less. So that was a nice way to start the day...
2. Back and Chest Supersets: Couldn't manage my 8 pullups unfortunately, but still got 7 in... Still don't think I am going low enough on the chest dips but they remain quite awkward and I get a weird clicking in my shoulders so that's always a little worrying. Pull downs were good n' tough right through, but standing ovations were way too easy. I moved farther and farther out to increase the tension, but past a certain point it was kind of silly as it would have been too awkward to even do the motions.
3. Biceps and Triceps Supersets: Two of my stronger muscle groups... I have to admit I barely touched burn on either of these. It was there, just not until the last couple of reps of the last few sets. The last two tricep dips sets definitely ended quite hard though.
4. Abs Supersets: Can manage about 25-30 v-sits now for the first set and the first plank set seems to go on and on and on... I even threw in the leg lifts for shits n' giggles. And then, per the usual, it all faded quite fast in the subsequent sets. Still managed a decent 10-15 v-sits in the ensuing sets though.
5. 8MA: was really afraid that I wasn't going to be able to do these right after the supersets but it really wasn't all that bad. It might be that I am getting to that robotic point with 8MA where, like Patrick said, my body knows the motions too well now so its not really stressing the muscles like it should. Patrick, perhaps you should make an 8MA v2.0 YouTube video, eh? In doing the ad workout homework, it does seem like we've covered a good 90% of the common ab workouts so even if I did change it up, they seem like they are mostly variations on the same core (no pun intended) themes. Still, I think my Kung Fu sit ups could use a bit more work. Would be pretty sweet to be able to get the legs a bit higher and actually be able to hold it for a 5 count.

Day 87 - A weight has been lifted. 45 lbs (20.4 kg) to be exact...

Today
Getting back onto a better schedule as I am over a considerable workload hump so I think that has helped all around. Sometimes I am running just a shade behind on the snacks though...


I weighed myself first thing in the morning and saw a shocking 185 lbs looking back at me... that's 45 lbs (20.4 kg) from my 230 lbs starting point. I'm gaining back about 8-10 lbs as the day wears on, but still, I'll take it! So, while it make have taken a while to get rolling, a 1 lb loss for every two days over the course of PCP (assuming I don't put on 10 lbs of muscle in the remaining days, not that I would mind if it all showed up in my chest and abs) is at the rough mental target I had set. 


I don't know how people are measuring their body fat, but I can actually look at my arms and see the slight rise in veins over my biceps. Love it!


Am curious to know what the role the super sets are playing in the grand scheme... Lean muscle production, I presume, given the high reps and rapidity of the exercises. But that's just a guess.


Workout
Got more sleep last night and I think it helped... 

1. Jumprope: Little bit better... I slowed down my pace, so between that and getting some proper sleep, I think those may have helped.
2. Creep: Did these the "advanced" style all the way through!
3. Floorjump: Oddly not too bad after the creeps. I was dreading them, but it was honestly not nearly as bad as expected.
4. DaVinci: Freakin' brutal as always
5. Forward Shoulder Raise: ditto
6. Chicken Wing: I don't find these nearly as hard as the latter two shoulder exercises. Still difficult, but doable.
7. Shoulder Fly: These are great. There is definitely a burn point for each of the last two sets around 18 and its a real struggle to get to 25.
8. V-Sits: Can do a fair number of these before failure for the first set... subsequent sets take a nosedive.
9. Side Crunches: So I don't really feel these much anymore, which is not immodesty speaking, but more like an excuse for stopping at 50 because it doesn't burn so there doesn't appear to be a failure point. Which is weird.

Day 86 - Thuper Thets are Thuper!

Today
Still having a tough time getting to sleep... not sure why. Just lay there for hours. Very tempting to molest Kim, but I don't think she would appreciate it just to alleviate my boredom.

Workouts
Like a lot of the folks that precede us out in Asia, I found that the super sets, while taking just as long as the normal workouts, at least feels like it goes by really quickly.

1. Jumpropes: Meh... being super tired in the morning is probably not helping. My legs feel leaden. Tired of hearing me complain about skips yet? I sure am...
2. Back & Chest: Hey, I actually managed 8 reps for the first set of Pull-ups! The rest were as incline pull-ups, but still... Not certain I am going deep enough on the chest dips, but they still feel a bit awkward. Pull downs and standing Os weren't bad...
3. Biceps & Triceps: Dig 'em. Actually not as hard as regularly truth be told... before, I think the reps were more, as well as biceps following biceps and triceps following triceps made them quite difficult.
4. Abs: So, I can do more v-sits in the first set if going to failure, but then the subsequent sets fail out pretty quick. Same goes for plank... I didn't time it but the first one seemed to go and go before failure... subsequent ones in predictable set over set decline.
5. 8MA: oh yeah!

Day 85 - Almost good

Today
Decent energy, no doubt fueled in part by liberal doses of coffee. However, I could not for the life of me get to sleep last night so my schedule continues to be off kilter.


Workout
I read this story, possibly apocryphal, about when Tom Cruise was studying swordplay with a Japanese master in preparation for The Last Samurai. When asked by a reporter about how Tom had fared in his studies, the master replied, "almost good". That's probably the most diplomatic way to tell someone they are terrible at something... not even good. That is how I feel about my skips now... but its an oddly positive way of putting it, and that reflects how I felt about today's skips. Almost good.

1. Jumprope: ibid... see above.
2. Pistol Squats: Tough, but barreled through them... Right leg definitely far stronger than the left.
3. Floorjumps: First four sets weren't too bad... got a little out of breath, and was shaky on the last set, definitely a little wobble trying to get up.
4. Forward Shoulder Raise: Brutal, just brutal. Even doing the minimum reps per set is beyond me. I have to stop momentarily and then do the final few.
5. Chicken Wing: I don't find these quite as bad. Last set is quite difficult, but at least the reps are doable.
6. Shoulder Fly: Holy smokes... these are tough. I am maxing out at around 25-30 depending on the set. Nice and clean though with tension throughout. My shoulders always want to rise up during these though...
7. V-sits: Ridiculous. First two sets are doable. Third one is so-so. And the last two sets are messy. I simply can't do all of the reps with clean form. I stop when it gets too bad as I'm a bit gun shy on the ol' back.
8. Side Crunches: I like these... I get a very different sensation on my left than on my right though. Not that one feels more strong than the other, just that the motions are quite different feeling.
9. 8MA: Bien sur!

Day 84 - Now that I got that out of my system

So, frustration with skips definitely peaked today and I admit I Hulked out and punched a few spare tires in the garage (where I skip). It feels like forgetting how to walk... after doing so well earlier in the program. I think I'm a pretty patient guy too but I am getting so incredibly pissed I feel like I could crush the grips of the jumprope in exasperation. Will keep at it, but if I am to make this a daily routine post-PCP I presumably need to do at least 10 minutes without tripping up every 50 skips or so as that would basically destroy the whole point of the exercise.

Not all negative nelly of course... pics look good. Not much change over the past few weeks, but that doesn't detract from the overall progress. Will be interesting to see if there are any noticeable changes over the final remaining days.

Day 84 - Fuck these fucking skips.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 


Fuck.

One more ab workout: Windshield Wipers

Really, again this is just another version of the Kung-Fu Sit-Ups, but I figured it was a good excuse to just look at this guy's freakin' physique!

Here's the only thing... Looking at that crossbar it looks a great deal like a bench press bar so I wonder if he isn't actually on a bench for the photo. Still, incredible build.

Oh, and the Windshield Wiper details here.

Days 81 and 82 - Adipose pig, adipose.

Weekend
Another weekend, another engagement party it seems... anywho, they were grilling so Kim and I brought our own tuperware full of PCP grillable diet food and have a nice little treat to share: if you like sweet potatoes (and who doesn't), boil or microwave them as you would normally but then instead of eating them, slice them into thin rounds and grill them. They are beautiful. The edges will crisp up a bit and the center tends to stay softer so its like a sweet potato flavored fresh baked cookie. Deeeeelish!


Workouts
Aside from the usual jumprope issues, I'm really quite enjoying the muscle exercises... the dread is no longer there. Its still a "thing to be done" as opposed to something that I can't wait to do, but nonetheless, its a kind of nice respite from work... a massive uptick of which seems to be unfortunately coinciding with this last week. I say unfortunate as its dictating a rather poor sleep schedule at the moment, not that its not welcome since I work for myself...


I totally jumped off the rails in terms of sleep so that may be affecting my morning jumps which, as usual, are horrific. New rope is set to be delivered tomorrow, so let's see if that makes any difference. Not holding out much (r)hope though.


My left wrist continues to pain. You don't realize just how much weight you put through that part of your body until its causing problems... Painful during chest dips, elevated triceps dips, weird clicking noise and pain during elevated push-ups, strain/pain towards the end of curls. Keeping an eye on it, but its pretty annoying.


Still, overall I'm extremely pleased with my strength progress, especially in historically weak areas like my abs. In a curious turn, I'm actually finding 8MA to be more difficult. I think it may be that thing that Patrick said earlier about figuring out the exercises for yourself. By gradually figuring out how to do the ab workouts I feel like I am actually getting more out of them, and not depending on ancillary muscle groups to cheat my way through the exercises. It helps that the improved strength there is also helping make the exercises doable in the first place... although planks are still a bitch! Long way to Frank Zane levels, if ever.


Speaking of which, I know the genetics discussions are to make sure we level our expectations with reality, but its certainly a little disheartening to know that a semblance of abs and something more than chicken chestedness is to be years in the making. Which is all the more frustrating because I actually feel like I have some decent chest strength... but it sure doesn't look like it. 


So, in reference to the next few years of battling genetics to show a hint of abs under that adipose or developing some semblance of a chest, here are what I imagine to be Patrick's parting words at the end of PCP:

Day 80 - Indulgence

Yeah, I know... "uninspired". But my burger, fries, and small ice cream were all delicious and absolutely hit the spot. And more bizarrely (and slightly worryingly) they didn't taste overly salty or sweet and the burger and fries didn't fill me up nearly as much as I would have expected. Still, it was what I was craving the most so it was the best indulgence yet...

Anything strike you as odd about this pair of stores?

The only indulgence I didn't partake in...

Workout
Definitely feeling a bit achy all over still, and my left wrist in particular feels strained. Thankfully my lower back is not as bad as it had been earlier in the week.

1. Jumprope: Waited until the evening to do the jumps and workout because I was so exhausted from the late night's work... And whattya know, burger and ice cream fueled jumps were actually pretty decent. Still had a few trip ups, but the energy level and general cleanliness of the skips was certainly better...
2. Pullups and Incline Pull ups: Six, with a colossally weak seventh. Have been able to do many more of the inclines though, but the last reps in the last two sets are pretty dismal.
3. Lawnmowers: can actually feel these aching...
4. Pull-downs: not too shabby
5. Elevated Triceps Dips: OK, these were freakin' hard today, and that pain in my wrist certainly didn't help. These are always difficult but for whatever reason they were moreso today.
6. Triceps Extensions: Always tough after tricep dips and I usually don't have to go down a band. In fact, I don't think I ever have... but I did today.
7. Kung-fu Sit-ups: These were nice and clean actually. Hard to really feel them in my abs though as the most difficult part is the hanging there.
8. Bicycle: Less insanely difficult than before, but still insanely difficult. Last two sets hit the wall with about 15 to 20 seconds to spare.

Day 79 - one of THOSE days...

Phew... what a tough day. And really it had less to do with the workouts than work which was neverending. Still jumped in the morning but I didn't end up working out until past 9. The whole day was in slo-mo and I didn't end up going to bed until 2am as I wrapped up a couple of huge projects.


Workout

1. Jumprope: Shitty.
2. Chest Dips: I never feel like I am going deep enough in these. Still, could feel them ever so slightly in the top corners of my chest near the connection to the shoulder.
3. Elevated Pushups: So I was evidently out of town for that hike when there was a Pro-Tip to do these from an elevation around knee height. But Kim let me know... phew, really hard, but I really liked them! Odd to say, but I felt more like I was accomplishing something.
4. Standing Ovations: Weirdly I felt these in my shoulder way more than usual, even concentrating on squeezing my boobs at the end of the movement... no danger of explosive decompression like some folks though.
5. Thumbs Up Curls: Difficult as always, but doable with nice clean form. And I could see veins bulging out for the first time in a long time!
6. Show-Offs: Of all the exercises that show my right arm bias, this one has got to be up there. Far easier on my right than left, and also less accurate on the left side. Still, brutal following all the curls.
7. Leg-ups: Amazingly doable... super subtly feeling these in the latter sets in my lower abs. So hard to target those.
8. Plank: Ditto, as massively difficult as these get by the last one, and considering how horrific they were at the beginning

Day 78 - I've been pushing too many pencils

Sounds like a lot of folks were reaching the end of their energy ropes before the last diet update, myself included. So it will be interesting to see if the upped amounts help sustain the pace for the remaining days.


So, on reflection, I believe I may have strained my lower left back attempting to do all the v-sits when I shouldn't have. I'm fairly certain that is when it started. I've also been noticing that standing or prepping food in the kitchen for any length of time results in pain between my shoulders within about 10-15 minutes. And for the first time, when doing my skips in the morning, that same lower left area started aching towards the end which was new. So, some not-so great developments on the back front in terms of pain (physically the developments have been great). Been going for three days now, so I'm stretching a bit extra and trying to make sure I am limber before I do jumps or work out. Hope I don't have to ride this to the end.


Coops talking about his now ill-fitting tailored shirts reminded me... before we headed out for our friend's engagement party last week I tried on some jeans I hadn't worn in 5 years and low and behold a perfect fit! That means that I have gone from a 38 to a 33/32 for this particular brand. Not too shabby. And Kim has given me hope that the tailor can likely take in the ridiculous amount of slack there is on a number of other pants and shorts, so fingers crossed there.


Workout

1. Jumprope: On Noel's advice of a few weeks ago I finally crumbled and ordered a new leather rope as I am desperate to see if anything might possibly make a difference. Was good to get the coincidental email from Patrick today as well, so I'll have to try out those suggestions as well. My jumps are so unbelievably inconsistent I just can't nail down what the issue(s) may be... I try to only change one thing at a time so I can see if there is a difference, but to no avail. Different hand positions (x,y, and z). Different length rope. Different speeds. Sometimes its bliss... I can manage hundreds in a row with nary an issue. And then, as has more recently been the case, I am tripping over and over and over. As much as 5-10 times in a given minute on a bad set. Extremely frustrating at this late stage. Perhaps its just psychological... as punishment for a particularly bad set I usually tack on an extra 100 to 200, the game being that if I can't finish two lots of 50 without a trip I have to add another. Weirdly, done this way I rarely have to do more than 200. So, unlike Nike, perhaps its not enough to Just Do It... I need to Just Do It, but with a psychological spike on top for good measure. C'mon dammit, just do it!:
   
   
2. Pistol Squats: always awkward, but getting better... less reliant on the stablizing surface. Amazing discrepancy in leg strength is apparent though between my left and right legs.
3. Floorjumps: Hmmmmmm... tough, but for the first time I wasn't all over the floor after the last few sets. Unexpected.
4. Chicken Wing: Difficult but not as hard as some of the other shoulder exercises.
5. Shoulder Press: Continue to be brutal. Last two sets are to failure each time.
6. Shoulder Fly: I can really feel these in the backs of my shoulders. 
7. V-Sits: I'm fairly certain I stressed out my lower back trying to knock these all out last time, so I took it easier this time. Might have to find a replacement exercise since I can only get through two and a half sets properly and its really jerky in the last three.
8. Side crunches: Tough but doable
9. 8MA... sans Kim. Although I did manage to solve the previous "issue" and now have a high powered fan between the two of us, full blast on her to keep the "issues" at bay however frequently they are issued.

Day 77 - Skips sucked and lower back hurts

Not much more to be said.

Day 76 - Pondering the indulgence choices...

Kim and I have been chatting about our indulgences... It got us looking up some of the things we had enjoyed pre-PCP. For instance, some of the burger meals that I was having evidently totaled a whopping 2500+ calories between the burger and fries. Yikes! Granted, it wasn't very frequent, but still, even though I knew it wasn't great for me I honestly didn't realize the sheer caloric immensity.


Oddly, where I just guessed on the previous indulgences and I think I did pretty well, now that we have so many more than before, we are making sure we are properly on target. And that got us looking up a lot of other fast food places too, out of curiosity. Nothing quite like actually reading the nutrition information to put you off altogether.


One place here in Colorado is a burger chain called Smashburger. Delicious. Or is it, I don't even know how my palette would react nowadays... but looking at the nutrition info they have listed, the burgers alone are touching 1100 calories and 2700 mg of salt. Phew...


Another is a burrito joint called Qdoba. Actually, what I get there would be more in line with the 1000 calorie limit (actually 1025), and they actually provide a nice calorie calculator so you can dynamically customize your order and see how many calories it is. Cheese adds a LOT. One oddity is that they suggest the pulled pork over the chicken as a more lean alternative. Very well done though: http://www.qdoba.com/calculator.aspx

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Today we also had a minor harvest. I think we waited just a smidge too long to pull the arugula this time as it is quite sharp. Its nice though, almost has a heat to it, and Kim prefers it that way. Beautiful zucchini too! Can't wait for the tomatoes to turn... they are getting enormous!

Workout

1. Jumprope: Didn't do them in the morning like I normally do and was curious to see if they were any better in the afternoon. They weren't.
2. Pull-ups/Incline Pull-ups: Managed 7 again, but somehow somehow 60 still escapes me.
3. Rowing: Good solid exercise, but I never feel any burn here...
4. Pull-downs: These are freakin' hard though. But looking back on previous posts,  I should be glad that I feel these in my back now instead of in my triceps, especially with tricep workouts immediately following these guys...
5. Elevated Triceps Dips: Last few sets are serious burn from about rep 10 through 17. Definitely to failure.
6. Ski Jumpers: Also quite difficult and honestly sometimes my form get a little wonky.
7. Kung-Fu Sit-ups: The hardest part of these is holding on to the cross bar on the later ones
8. Sit-ups: Hmmmmmmmm... failure? Is it an 8MA thing that failure almost seemed impossible with these? After about a hundred I stopped because I was planning to 8MA anyway.
9. 8MA: might have to stop doing these with Kim if she can't stop farting in front of the fan blowing right on me. Between the lack of oxygen and my giggling it really upsets my ability to do these effectively dammit!

Day 73 thru 75 - Busy busy busy

The past few days have been chock-a-block... Friday we had a good friend's engagement party out at a bar down in Denver. They rented the whole place out, open bar (including the oyster raw bar) and hors d'oeuvres galore (salmon tartare and a load of fried nibbles). Needless to say, no alcohol but I did have a small spoon of the salmon as it didn't appear to be have a cream base although it was definitely rich so it was definitely not strictly PCP.


And yesterday Kim's uncle flew into town for a convention this week so we took him out to the Boulder farmers' market. I know, exciting, right? But it really was the best I've seen it... fresh mushrooms, colossal fresh whole grain bread loaves, something called braising greens which I had never heard of but were quite nice (very sharp), white grilling eggplants that were sweeter than the norm and phenomenal heirloom tomatoes. So, we came home with quite the haul. Not to bore the poor guy out, we took a trip down to Golden to see the Coors brewery... Of course, what brewery trip wouldn't be complete without a few sips of fresh squeezed beer, and having never been I decided to partake. Not trying to rationalize it, but it was probably less than a pint and being American beer it was not exactly heavy either. Although it was a good sight better than it is if you buy it in the can (Coors being one of my least favorite beers normally). I was pleasantly surprised actually...

Today we took it easy in the morning and headed to downtown Louisville to show Kim's uncle the old town (historically Louisville was a frontier mining town so it has a really rustic main street) and lo and behold there was a neighborhood fair sponsored by the local Italian American social club. So the three of us Italian Americans strolled over to check out the bocce tournament and food stalls. Shamefully I was mentally judging everyone with their enormous pasta dishes heaped with sausage imbued red sauce... there but for the grace of Patrick go I... Another weird thing: I've been checking out people's physiques a lot lately, watching how people's muscles are working (or not), especially their triceps. The fair wasn't the best example but Colorado is actually decently fit, relative to the rest of America. Which I know is something of a backhanded compliment. Its usually the one state that trends a little behind the obesity "epidemic" here. There are likely a lot of reasons for that, the outdoors definitely beckons... and hey, the olympic athletes all train out here. But the reality is that a 21% obesity rate (2010 data) is shocking by any measure... one in five Coloradans are considered obese. Even worse, check out how fast this has all happened: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html And what better segue to...

Workouts

Not too bad lately. Good energy levels. Really feeling the burn on the workouts. Got my push-up and tricep groove back, which is nice as I feel like I had fallen off the wagon with those. In fact most of the exercises "feel" right, which is a great sensation when working out as opposed to sometimes fighting yourself with the form or simply being confused about why you aren't feeling a given exercise. Of course, standard problem areas remain, including:

1. Pullups: Getting better... I managed 7 (last one was really rough though), but 60 to 70 are oddly out of reach.
2. Bicycles: just brutal... I am cheating on these. There is just no way around it though. I simply can't keep my legs up and do the full sets without them failing repeatedly midset as they progress.
3. All the leg stuff (Pistol Squats and Creeps): doable but killer... threw in the pro tip for 3/4 of the creeps too and it just destroys your legs. Very achy left knee today though (I blame the pistols).
4. V-sits: These start out sooo beautiful and then they deteriorate into a shameful mess by the end.

Interstingly (to me), I can actually do the full Plank sets! Its a fairly sudden change actually. And that's not to say they aren't cruel in their own way, but the fact that I can actually do them for the full time is quite heartening. Possibly related, I'm always getting a little 8MA action on the side... Kim is a great motivator there, but I do actually enjoy them so it doesn't take much.

Speaking of Kim, she and I have pledged to one another to stick to "the outer edge of the supermarket", as Patrick put it. That is a great way to look at it! They really want you to work for those items, eh? But we've really loved the breakfasts especially so I think those are here to stay... If Kim had her druthers it sounds like she would rather stick to apple and egg whites for dinner, but I'm glad for the larger meal with some protein. I find that I really feel like I need it. I'm also finding that my palette is still maturing/changing in some ways. I originally felt that the egg whites were far too bland and missed the yolk terribly. Now, for the first time, I feel like I am actually tasting salt in the whites. I never had that sensation before... Amazing that we are this far in and something like that would still be changing.

Looking forward to the next two weeks! Best of luck and continued progress folks! Almost there...

Day 72 - Keep on keepin' on

Today
It seems unfair to have bitched so much in the past for not having any or enough energy and to not note that I rarely experience the crashes that I did earlier in the project. In fact, while I still enjoy the occasional afternoon coffee, its definitely not needed in the same way, as the crutch that it was earlier... The odd side effect is that it has made me lazier with my schedule. What I mean is that where before my sleepiness reminded me that I hadn't eaten or that it was time to take a break, now I am more likely to let my afternoon tea slip to 5pm, dinner to 8 or 9 and evening snack to 10:30 or 11. Maybe that's OK, but it feels like laziness and something I should keep an eye on lest it slip further and further and I'm back to my night owl schedule of pre-PCP and generally not getting enough sleep again.


Workout
Worked out particularly late today, at around 8ish, but my energy was pretty good... I've noticed lots of weird popping and crunching lately in workouts though. Especially in my shoulders, hips and knees. Are others feeling more crunchy than usual?

1. Jumprope: meh... standard trip ups. Counted the first set out of curiosity and it was over 700 so hopefully that means that at least my pace is decent if my form still blows. Trip, pick up, and get right back into them as quickly as possible.
2. Chest Dips: super crunchy in the shoulders... crunch up, crunch down... by the last two sets my motion is very restrained. Tiny dips.
3. Elevated Push-ups: Wow these are excruciating. I think I missed these last week during the hike... killer. I need them though. Feel like I fail out a lot more quickly than I would like. Might have to throw some of these in during the day along with the pull ups to try and get better at them.
4. Standing Ovations: Failure on these is pretty darn close to what I recall the max reps were... 20, I think. That does it. Felt a little sloppier than usual today though, not sure why.
5. Curls: As always, my strong suit... And I really like watching my veins pop, shoulders working. Getting very very vain. :)
6. One-arm Curls: Ditto! Although, since the latter are pretty much to failure I find I have to step down a band to do these nice and clean with resistance both ways...
7. Leg-ups: Once upon a time these would have not only had my legs screaming, but been basically impossible. Now, while the last two sets are quite difficult, these are quite clean up and down form-wise. Difficult but doable.
8. Plank: First one goes by OK. But by the end of the first minute in the second set it gets mental. And the last 30 seconds of the last two sets are just brutal. In the third set my shoulders feel like they are going to be the first to go... By the last set my whole body is shaking to an absurd degree for the last 45 seconds. So, basically insane. But, I look back at previous posts and see that not so long ago just doing a minute was hard enough... Maybe the 8MA supplement is helping? Speaking of which...
9. 8MA! Kim is out with her girlfriends tonight no doubt showing off her new clothes and nubile self! So I did these solo tonight... not quite the same farting through them as it is when there is a chorus.

Day 71 - To trip to trip to trip to trippin' up and down...

Today

Something I neglected to mention from the hike but that Kim and I chatted about this morning: our feet have gotten smaller/slimmer. I noticed it on the hike because my feet, even with fat hiking socks, scooted around a fair bit more than usual in my boots and I got blisters under and on the sides of my feet... which is weird because I've had these old-school hiking boots for roughly 20 years now and its never been an issue before. I shop for shoes like once every 3 years, so while Kim was immediately aware of the change (for reasons that should be obvious), it took the trip for me to become more acutely aware.

Tangent: reminder to myself for tomorrow to make slim cut sweet potatoes on the grill, like thick potato chips. Mmmmmmmmm... Season with little garlic powder and black pepper. Should be lush!

Colossal leap in my protein intake in the diet, so hopefully that will help with the muscle manufacturing in the next weeks. And I admit I do like the additional meat for lunch and dinner... I've really been craving more meat in the diet so this is a relief.

Workout

So, for the first time I actually felt like vomiting during the workout. Twice, in fact. I believe I had read that others had felt this before as well, so I'll be curious to see if Patrick has answers... 

Oh, and I've found the perfect representation of me doing jump rope replete with an apropos Porky Pig laughing at my efforts:

In case the vid doesn't work (had to hack the embed code): http://youtu.be/3caoy4cIXac

1. Jumprope: see vid above
2. Pistol Squats: always difficult, but more annoying than difficult... being totally honest with myself, I am definitely leaning too heavily on my support arm during these. I try to do them with pure leg muscle but always end up throwing an arm out and its like the smallest effort is all that is needed to  help get back up. Feeling guilty.
3. Floorjumps: I skipped ahead and read all the pro tips like I imagine everyone does and saw the one about trying to keep your quads off of your calves... hooooooooo weee, that makes these even harder!
4. DaVincis: so, here's the thing... when we had mandatory sets and reps for these I was pushing through them (what was it, 18-20 reps/set?) but doing bloody awful form and having enormous pauses between reps towards the end of the sets well past when I had already failed. Now that the bar is failure, I feel like I am concentrating on the reps themselves being much more clean and maintaining resistance throughout the motions to and fro... I am doing less, but unless I am missing something, they feel just as, if not more, difficult.
5. Shoulder Press: Similar to the above pre-failure scenario... I'm basically shot with full reps by the third set. Reps 10-20 in the third and fourth sets are dismal form-wise, but I still do them.
6. Shoulder Fly: These I actually feel like I can manage to do properly all the way through. I do need to watch though as I have a tendency to let my shoulders rise up as I get fatigued.
7. V-sits: Criminy... perhaps its because I missed these last week during the trip, but these were extremely difficult. By the halfway point of the fourth and fifth sets, I was totally shot and doing very restrained motions rather than returning all the way to the start position.
8. Side Crunches: Ditto. Yiminey... these were hard today. Although part of me really likes them as they are one of the few ab workouts I can do decently.
9. 8MA: dayum, straight after the latter, this was freakin' hard tonight!

Day 70 - PCP? No, PPP... Primping, Posing and Preening

Today
Not much to report actually... I guess its a good thing that PCP is becoming relatively routine. Don't think I got enough sleep last night though as I was a slug this morning...


Oh, and I don't think Kim likes to take pictures of me since it involves so much primping, posing and preening on my part. Hey, I just want the pictures to be decent!


Workout

1. Jumprope: I really don't get what my deal is with jumprope... first set were so-so, second set was great, last set was pretty bad. Just so very inconsistent. Still searching for that rhythm...
2. 8MA, oh yeah!

Day 69 - Ugh

Today
No energy issues but I can barely walk around my legs and hips are still so sore and stiff from the weekend.


Workout
The above definitely had an impact on the workout today...

1. Jumprope: Not awful, not great. Decent energy, but plenty of trip ups. Skipped for an extra minute at the end to try and make up for it (and of course I tripped up during that too... best intentions)
2. Pull-ups/Incline Pull-ups: I actually managed 6 proper pull-ups today. Is it bad that I sarcastically chuckle to myself during these? Like Kim mentioned, 70... really, 70? My form is shot at 20-30 so the rest of the sets really feel like going through the motions.
3. Rowing: More difficult that usual. Really felt it more in the center of my back... Possibly related to a similar top center ache after packing out on Sunday morning.
4. Pull-downs: Not to bad. Last reps of last two sets are a real bear.
5. Elevated Triceps Dips: And I used to be so gooood at these! Still manage to do them all, but by the last two sets, especially the last few reps it feels as though I am going collapse onto the floor.
6. Ski Jumpers: Following the former, these are quite difficult indeed.
7. Kung-fu Sit ups: Again, possible fallout from the hike as my hips have really been aching, but these were far far more difficult than just a few days ago. Was even difficult just to maintain my grip on the bar to hang for long enough to do the full sets on the last two.
8. Sit-ups: Oddly one of the stronger exercises today...
9. Another delightful 8MA with Kim!

Days 66-68 - PCP Backpacking/Mountain Climbing Trip

They said it couldn't be done. OK, I said it couldn't be done... A proper hike in, camp, climb and pack back out, all PCP-compliant (sans the muscle workout of course, but tell that to my thoroughly exhausted and aching body and the 5+ lbs that apparently vanished in 2 days).


Overview
The trip was a pack in trek to our campsite (~12,200 ft/3,718 m), sleep, wake up and summit Mount Massive (2nd highest peak in Colorado at 14,428 ft/4,398 m), return to camp for the night and pack back out the next morning. Doesn't sound too bad, right? But the thing about the trail layout meant that on the day of the actual climb we had to hike down about a thousand feet before switching to the summit route which in turn gave us about a 3500 ft gain to make in 2 miles. So, very vertical.


The initial hike in to the camp site, was gorgeous, and up up up all the way...

Clothes
Turns out, as this was planned well in advance of PCP, I hadn't given any thought to having to buy new clothes and the night before when I got out my hiking pants I discovered that they evidently belonged to a much heavier me. And while that weight loss undoubtedly helped with the overall climb enjoyment (not having to lug the 38 lbs that are gone as of today), it also meant that the large pack's hip belt bit and pinched my hips quite badly against my ill fitting clothes. So I have some sizable swollen cuts and blisters on the hips.


Campsite
We found a gorgeous spot. Sheltered and with ample access to water, and even twin lakes that the forestry service evidently stocks. One of the group even caught a trout which we ate the night after the summit.

And of course between the lake and nearby snow drifts, the group's booze stash was kept well chilled. Never fear though, fellow PCPers, as incredibly tempting as it was (especially the night after the summit), I didn't touch a drop.

Food
You know how Patrick has been telling us why we aren't drinking as much water as we used to and that our veggies and fruit are mostly water? Turns out that also makes them incredibly heavy foodstuffs to pack in... 


Usually (pre-PCP), I would pack in dehydrated food since its very compact and incredibly light. So, the initial hike up to the camp site with my sack of veggies, fruit and eggs was excruciating. I don't think I am exaggerating that the pack was probably tilting the scales at roughly 80-90 lbs all told. But, on the upside, I had very little trash, no cans or bottles to pack out and it almost certainly helped keep me hydrated throughout the trip. I admit though, some of those dehydrated meals smelled quite nice.

Handy Egg Canister

Sample fritter (eggs, yellow squash, garlic, pepper, onion, and tomatoes)

The Summit
The weather played along great! Just an absolutely beautiful day, and the temperature moderated perfectly the higher we got. We could actually see our campsite from the summit so we charted our own rather unorthodox descent via one of the many chutes spilling off of the ridgeline.

Summit!

Our campsite was between those two lakes in the distance

The chutes heading back

Heading down the chutes

My friend Matt demonstrating the pitch!

The small rocks and gravel gradually gave way to larger stuff... probably not the smartest route at the end of the day.

Looking back up at the peak from the moraine field

The Last Night/Next Morning
Not surprisingly everyone hit the booze pretty hard when we got back to the camp site after summiting as is the usual tradition. And at almost any other time I would have done the same... The next morning as we all rolled out of our tents at 6am (one guy had a flight to make back in Denver) everyone was complaining of headaches and nausea. Really, the perfect storm for a hangover though: sun, summit, altitude, exhaustion, dehydration, lack of sleep and alcohol... Despite the biting blisters on my hips, I think I may have gotten the better bit of the bargain on the descent by abstaining.


Non-PCP
Well, perhaps not surprisingly not everything was quite in line, but mostly for good reason:

1. Jump rope and muscle exercises at altitude and after some exhausting climbs were never going to be realistic. And the additional weight and clutter were the last things I needed.
2. 8 hours of sleep never happens when camping and this was certainly no different. You try to make it happen but even in the best of circumstances you're lucky if you get 4 to 5 hours of fitful sleep.
3. Timely meals. I really gave it all the effort I could to try and snack every few hours but it was quite difficult, especially during the summit as you really don't want to stop when you've got any momentum. A nice juicy Fiji apple part of the way up to the summit was an awesome treat though...
4. Also, as noted before dairy is pretty much a no go unless you have some sort of lightweight refrigeration unit to pack up.

And of course... 8MA with Kim when I got home!