It’s Official, Be Specific, and The Relentless 5K

It’s official now.

The build-up to a Relentless Transformation comes with rapidly swinging emotions.  Am I really doing this?  Hell yes I’m doing this!  What if I don’t meet my expectations?  I’ll crush my expectations!  And around and around they go, impossible to control.

By Day 1 the swings are gone.  Replacing them is raw energy.  It’s a day when caffeine ain’t got nothing on the natural high.

On Day 2 it’s official.  There’s latent fatigue from Day 1 after the mega energy burst.  It creates a grounded realness to the experience.  Yes, this will be awesome, but yes, this will take hard work and habit formation.  Roll up your sleeves.  One step at a time.

Photo courtesy of Relentless Riss, who is rocking her Transformation!  Instagram: @relentlessfit

Specificity of Training

One of the hallmarks to a Transformation is individualization.  A word on that for your benefit.

When your goal is physique change, planning is necessary.  The more tailored the planning, the better.

If you’re just starting out, anything will work.  Like, almost literally anything.  Simply getting moving is the priority.

If, however, you’re building on an already solid base, thought is required.  Not rocket science, but exercise science.

My Case Study

Take me for example.  My goal is to close this program with similar leanness to the first go-round, only with more muscle mass.  More muscle mass requires initial growth.  How do you achieve growth?

My workout from yesterday (specifics below) is NOT growth oriented.  Unfortunately, the Muckfest this Saturday isn’t growth oriented either.  Instead of bemoaning the Muckfest’s timing, I’m making the best of it.  The Transformation will happen in 3 tiers:

• Tier 1: Muckfest focus, aka (for Transformation purposes) 1-week cleanse phase to put Memorial Day weekend eating/drinking to bed
• Tier 2: 5-6 week growth phase, focusing on strength volume
• Tier 3: 2 week cut phase, focusing on bodyfat loss

Out of scope for the day, but also relevant to any planning phase:

• What specific physical focal points do you have?
• How will you address them?  What movements will you use?  Repetition/set schemes?
• What equipment is available?  On what days/times?
• Are you tying in performance goals?  During growth, this is very do-able.  During cut is usually not the best time.
• Is recovery baked into your program?
• How will you know if you’re “winning”?  Do you have metrics and/or periods of re-evaluation scheduled?

Back to You

The goal of the above isn’t to overwhelm you on your own journey.  Simply getting moving may be enough.

However, if you’re shooting for the stars, take a moment to consider how you’re getting there.  Initial attention to matching planning with goals goes a long, long way.

Day 1 of 55 Recap

Excellent first day.

The exercise was on point, and my Fitbit read out 20,670 steps, 10.45 miles.  Not too shabby.

For those interested in replicating the workout at any time, here’s the protocol to what I’m calling…

The Relentless 5K

This is a mock obstacle course race that you can perform in the comfort of your own home/gym.  The goal is to start your 1/4-mile runs on the slow end and up the pace each time you return to running.  By the close of the “race” you should be fatigued.  Empty out the gas tank on the last 1/4-mile and the subsequent finish line sprint!

1-mile warm-up jog

Repeat the following circuit 3x:

• 10-15 Chin-ups/Assisted Chin-ups/Jumping Chin-ups
• 1/4-Mile Run
• 15 Push-ups
• 1/4-Mile Run
• 10 Bodyweight Turkish Get-ups
• 1/4-Mile Run
• 6 Forward and Backward Bear Crawls (traversing an approximately 10 foot mat length)
• 1/4-Mile Run

Closing 0.11 Mile Sprint (the finish line!)

Let me know how you do.

The Food

You saw breakfast yesterday.  Here’s the rest:

I met two guys – Joe and Justin – at the PaleoFX Conference in April.  They run a company called Natural Force Nutrition, geared toward eliminating the unpronounceable chemicals from supplements.  I’ve had these samples for a while, and I decided to give them a whirl.

Raw Tea, the pre-workout supplement is akin to NO-Xplode, only minus the Hulk-smash-rage.

Pre, During, Post Workout:

Post-Workout:

At this point, I decided to move straight to dinner.  That made it a light eating day, but on the heels of Memorial Day gluttony, I didn’t feel so bad about it.  Future days will involve more food.

Dinner:

Free-range ground turkey, quinoa, green peas, fresh avocado, sea salt, pepper, and garlic.  Kimchi and power greens.  Probiotic.

The Rest

Day 1 sleep was 8 hours, 13 minutes (8 minutes restless).  That’s good enough to exceed my goal (8 hours per night).

Stress levels are in check, and I’m excited for all that’s to come.  Let’s go!