Not sure what I'll be doing today, might go to the gym tonight or for a run. But just wanted to mention that I've now gone 2 nights without a drink. I know that's nothing but it's the most I've done in ages. I've had a bit of a drinking problem for a while now. It got a lot worse at the start of the year. I did a dry January in an effort to break the bad habit, which was awful, then when February came I was made redundant, so it went full reversal. 6 weeks with no work was enough to have me drinking pretty heavy every night and when I got back to work it continued. I might manage one day a week without but I'd spend the evening pretty anxious and struggle to get any sleep.The Mrs has similar habits but while she might drink a few cans of cider, I would be necking neat whiskey and getting wasted every night. So we planned a dry September to once again try to break the bad habits. But 2 days ago we both just agreed that enough is enough, let's start it early. So it's a dry September-plus-a-week. 2 days down. I've barely slept (It's amazing how much noisier the house is when you're not hammered). Long way to go but my mindset is different. Instead of just waiting for the day I can have a drink, I'm waiting for the day I don't need one.

Day 27

Dumbbell lateral raises
8kg 1x15
10kg 3x12

Body squats
3x15

Dumbbell shoulder press
14kg 1x15
16kg 1x12
18kg 1x10
20kg 1x6

Barbell squats
20kg 1x10
30kg 1x10
40kg 2x10

Dumbbell underhand front raises
10kg 1x20 (10 each side alternating)
12kg as above
10kg as above

Barbell lunges
20kg 2x10 (5 each side)
Knees hurting so left it there for legs

Dumbbell shrugs
22kg 1x15
24kg 2x15

Weeks 1-4 Summary

In the first 4 weeks of my "Get Fit in 12 Weeks" journey I have worked out a total of 21 times including:

9 runs covering 24 miles.
9 gym workouts
2 home workouts
1 hour playing football

It's averaging 5 workouts per week so I'm pretty happy with that.

The positives so far:

Regular running - I really struggle to motivate myself to run so at least twice a week is a good start. I think blogging it here has kept me accountable.
Mixing it up - A combination of cardio, weights, boxing and other things I think has really helped me stay interested.

The negatives:

Weight training - I need to be hitting the weights at least 3 times per week to make good progress.
Diet - I did tell myself to ignore dieting for the first few weeks but I let it go too far.

The next 4 weeks:

Get my run up to 4 miles.
Consistent weight training.
Cleaner diet.

Something I have been missing is good supplementation. I was out of BCAAs and running low on protein powder, so I haven't had the right ingredients in my diet to recover effectively. Obviously you can get plenty of protein from food but it's hard to really hit the macros needed without chowing down chicken breast after chicken breast all day. I find protein shakes so much easier and more convenient. I also really notice not having BCAAs (amino acids) supplements. My recovery time after a weights session is a lot slower and it just makes every other workout harder. I should have plenty of both supplements arriving tomorrow. Also, I've ordered some MCT powder to add to my shakes. I've done a lot reading on MCTs and ketosis. Although I won't be going down the ketogenic diet route, there are so many benefits to MCTs that I thought I'd give it a go.

Injury wise there have been some niggles but my shoulder, which was my main concern, has been fine. My knees and shins are sore from the running but I think that will get better with conditioning. One issue I have though is for last couple of days my lower back has been hurting, quite bad today. Not sure why as I haven't been lifting heavy or anything, so I'm hoping it's nothing to worry about. But I have had issues with bulging disks in the past so I'll be careful.

On the alcohol front I'm at 4 nights without. The first couple were horrible, I spent most of the time either miserable or pissed off. Feeling pretty good now though so I'm confident I'll make it to October and glad I made the decision to start it early.

All in all good progress but I'm aiming to do even better for weeks 8-12 and start to shift some of this body fat.

Day 30

Plenty of anti-inflammatory tablets and I was ok for a run.

1 week without alcohol. Feeling pretty good but having mood swings.

Day 32

Pressups 4x25

Decline situps 4x15

Barbell bench press
40kg 1x18
50kg 1x16
60kg 1x14
70kg 1x10
80kg 1x4

Dips
1x20
1x15
1x10

Incline dumbbell flye
16kg 3x8

Rope Tricep pushdown
32kg 3x12

Wanted to do more, especially core, but I had to cut it short unfortunately. First real pump I've felt though and starting to look leaner.

Day 33

Since I busted all my tournaments I thought I'd get a late night workout in. Haven't done sled pushes before, they're killer.

Seated cable row
39kg 1x20
45kg 1x16, 2x12

Back extension 3x15

Lateral pulldown
39kg 1x18
45kg 1x15
52kg 1x12
59kg 1x10

Deadlifts
40kg 1x10
50kg 1x10
60kg 3x5

1 arm dumbbell rows
24kg 1x12 each side
26kg 2x12 each side

Preacher curls (EZ curl bar)
10kg each side (not sure what the bar weighs) 3x8

Sled push 40kg added
5x10 yards back to back
x3 sets

Battle ropes
5x30 seconds with 30 seconds rest

Week 5 hasn't been great, just 2 runs and 2 gym workouts. After 2 weeks off I'm back at work tomorrow. I'll try to make this a good week and establish a decent routine to keep things progressing.

Tell you one thing...no matter how much i walk and how good I eat I seem to not lose weight.

You ever thought about a poo transplant? and

Yeh losing weight can be really tough. I think genetics plays a bigger part than most people think. That and lifestyle. I spend pretty much all day every day sat on my arse so even though I'm getting regular exercise my metabolism and daily calories burned is probably still fairly low, so it's easy to over eat even when it seems like I'm not eating much.

Day 36

Felt pretty good today so decided I'd go for 4 miles. Half a mile in I realised how stiff I was after 2 days off. Still did it though and not a terrible time.

Day 37

Really enjoyed this gym session. Feeling my strength come back slowly.

Pressups 4x25

Back extension 4x15

Bench press
40kg 1x18
50kg 1x16
60kg 1x14
70kg 1x10
80kg 1x6

Seated cable row
39kg 1x18
45kg 1x15
52kg 1x10
59kg 1x9

Incline dumbbell Bench press
24kg 1x10
26kg 1x10
28kg 1x9
30kg 1x4

Deadlifts
40kg 1x10
50kg 1x10
60kg 1x10
70kg 1x5

Cable flye (med-high)
27kg 1x15, 12 & 10

1 arm dumbbell row
28kg 3x10

Just throwing my 2 cents in: I recommend switching to paleo diet. I switched almost a year ago and I feel and look much better. Keep up the good work.

Just throwing my 2 cents in: I recommend switching to paleo diet. I switched almost a year ago and I feel and look much better. Keep up the good work.

@jongordon84 Congrats on your progress! Do you really think supplements are such a big deal? Protein powders are obviously super useful and convenient when it comes to hitting macros (which is even harder on a vegan/vegetarian diet), but if you look at the studies nothing else seems to be worth it, except for maybe creatine monohydrate. Perhaps I should experiment a bit more and find out for myself.

I just go by my experience and honestly I have always noticed the difference when I'm taking BCAAs. My recovery time is so much quicker. There could be a lot of placebo effect in there and also coincidence ie if I'm taking them I'm probably also taking protein and likely eating better etc. But it seems to work so I'll keep doing it.

As for MCTs I've only just started using it so I have no idea yet.

Day 38

Skipping 5x3min rds

Punchbag 5x3min rds

Sled push 10ft 50kg added 4x5

Seems like a short one but I put a lot of effort in. More rounds, more punches, more power and more weight. So far this is the best week yet.

Day 39

Dumbbell lateral raise 10kg 4x10
Superset with
Squats 4x10

Barbell shoulder press 35kg 4x10

Barbell back squats
20kg 1x10
30kg 1x10
40kg 1x10
50kg 1x10

Seated dumbbell shoulder press
17.5kg 2x10, 2x8

Laying ham curls 15kg 3x10

Dumbbell underhand front raises
10kg 3x10 each arm
Superset with
Smith machine calf raises
40kg 3x15

Dumbbell shrugs 25kg 3x15