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Hello Darkness My Old Friend

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In my previous post I outlined all of the exciting things that happened in week 2.  Week 3 was the total opposite.  No extreme challenges, no out of town trips and hotels to keep things fresh.   It was officially back to the grind.  This was really only the second week that I was back at it, at home, and trying to work to making these habits stick.  It felt a little easier to keep my schedule, but the lack of sleep was starting to catch up to me.  Before this cycle, I was trying to get into a habit of sleeping 7.5 hours per night.  My average for this cycle has been 6 hours a night.  This is workable, but has left me feeling tired on many days, although i'm left wondering if it has more to do with eating schedule than sleep, as I find myself perking up pretty significantly after meals.   The tiredness I was feeling left me drinking more coffee, which I think further contributed to my lackluster sleep performance.  It was a nasty cycle that I needed to break. Cu

The Grind Begins

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   My programming for cycle 2 focuses on a few key areas.  Some of them are holdovers from cycle 1, and some are new: 1.  Cook all of my own food that is mostly from whole foods and is dairy, gluten, and alcohol free.  The new change is that I am now allowed to eat 15% of my calories as non- whole foods.  Yay Gluten free waffles! 2. Wake up at 4:30am, eat breakfast, be at the gym at 5:45am.  Do the main workout, plus an extra 100 of something, be it burpies, or calories on a machine,etc.  More work will be added later. 3. Twice a month I will be given an extreme challenge or workout.  These will be grueling/near impossible tasks that I will need to try to complete. 4. Be disciplined in everything.  Sleep schedule, supplements, workouts, meal times, all of it. The schedule change was the biggest challenge from my previous cycle as I did not have the discipline, or desire, to wake up and workout in the morning.  This cycle has changed that.   Afte

The True Art of Being A Man: A Fitness Journey.

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I have a rather simple goal for this blog: Yes, I want to share my fitness journey, but more importantly, I’d like to detail my journey into learning and accepting what it means to be a man. This isn't a journey that involves chest thumping or therapy sessions, and it definitely won't include any naked drum circles out in middle of the forest.  So if you came here looking for those, you should probably go elsewhere. This journey involves something far more simple: Introspection. Looking at myself and my failures, and identifying what it means to me to be a man.  I say "what it means to me" because everyone has their own concept of what it means to "be a man." Some think of a strong burly lumberjack holding an axe, others see someone who's hard working, responsible, and provides for their family, while yet others will see someone who is strong and confident, but secure enough with themselves to cry. I believe that being a man is much more basic tha