Lots to cover this week! Let’s jump in (the mud)!

Going into week 2 of Bodybuilding.com’s #StillInIt Challenge, I’ve already reached a level of confidence I’ve not had in a while. I can already see my body transforming, even though it may be minimal at present, and the benefits of lifting more are definitely showing. However, while I started – and ended – my week strong, there was a bit of a hiccup late in the week. I’ll get to it when I get to it, but here are the highlights from my notes on #StillInIt, week 2:

Follow along with the exercise plan here.

Week 2, Day 1: Back and Core Circuit 1: Nothing worth noting. Off to a great start, eh?

Week 2, Day 2: Arms and Cardio Circuit 1: First note: “Talk about killing a workout!” I found a non-Big-Four thrash metal playlist and just killed my arms circuit, adding weight and reps to each exercise and busting through them all God of Thunder style.

Week 2, Day 3: Off Day: From the notes:
Another famous “off” day where I ended up at Title Boxing Club at 5:15am for a Power Hour. My class was lackluster and I knew it would be as I had chosen an old class that wasn’t very creative. Small class size didn’t help, but I did get a good cardio workout in with the class nonetheless.

I didn’t make great choices yesterday diet-wise but I also didn’t overeat anything. Two pieces of fried chicken and biscuit for breakfast, a mushroom cheeseburger from the Food Network Kitchen for lunch (no chips/fries), and a pimento cheese sandwich (no side) for dinner. I somehow got 10,000+ steps in without realizing it.

I opted for water over beer at the Ghost concert, though beer seemed like a pretty good idea. I wanted to be able to set my drink down.

I was worried being out late for the concert would throw off my Thursday morning and make me skip leg day but it didn’t. I was home around 11:30pm and in bed before midnight.

And for the record, Ghost were awesome.

Week 2, Day 4: Legs and Core Circuit 1: First highlight was my starting weight was 221lbs, my lowest to-date and merely 1lb away from my current short-term goal of 220lbs. I think I’m doing something right?

Important note from this day: “I’m beginning to feel a bit of fatigue setting in…”

Week 2, Day 5: Chest, Shoulders, and Cardio Circuit 1: I got started today and had to quit during the third set of the first superset workout. I was distracted, I was stressed, I was tired, and felt like total fatigue had set in. I had to stop the workout and call it a day.

From the notes: I need a break.

Week 2, Day 6: Mudder’s Day Madness 5k

Saturday was the fifth annual Mudder’s Day Madness 5K put on by Harmon Family Center in Maryville, TN. Located at Montvale, a picturesque camp surrounded by farmland and forest, the Mudder’s Day Madness 5K did a great job of putting up a peaceful front for those entering its gates and parking on its grounds. Folks who’d never done a mud run before – like me – had no idea what to expect, and had little idea of how the calm surroundings at the front were nothing like the chaos held within the trails.

My small “team” were in the third and final wave of contestants in the race to begin and I was happy to see it was the smallest of the three. Our team quickly disbanded during the first quarter mile – about the only “running” portion of the race, which sucked a bit, but it didn’t take away from the challenge and excitement of the course that was laid out before us. Over the course of 3.1 miles, we encountered 18-20 obstacles (I didn’t count) that ranged from as simple as crawling over a few bales of hay to butt-sliding down a bank of pure mud and having to pull yourself out of the valley by a rope. Around the halfway mark is where things got seriously messy with mud pits that sank me until I was nearly hip-deep in mud, a thigh-high creek we had to wade through, and a giant slide that dumped you into a waist-deep pool of muddy water among many, many other things.

I understood from the beginning that this was a timed event but that in the world of mud runs, the first finisher is in many ways the loser and that it’s more of a fun event than a competitive one. I’m very glad about this because I actually did very little running and despite making the obstacles with relatively little issue, my idiot knee started hurting again just past halfway through. I guess it’s worth mentioning that I haven’t ran even one step since my half marathon last month, so this was a nice and fun way of getting back on my feet and moving my ass outside of Title for a change.

We finished covered head to toe in mud and while I rinsed the mud off of my clothes and body as best I could and changed into some clean, dry clothes, I was quite proud of the mud in my hair, face, and beard and sported that look for the ride home. This was my bro Kristen’s first ever race and she placed first in her age group. Nevermind the fact that she was somehow registered as a 90 year old woman so she won first in the 70-99 age group. I told her not to worry about it, but to take pride in the fact that she won first place in her age group for her very first race. Not many people can say they’ve been able to do that!

Needless to say, I skipped the gym on Saturday and tried to cool it as best I could the rest of the day with intentions of making up for it Sunday.

Week 2, Day 7: Make up day – Chest, Shoulders, and Cardio Circuit 1, Back and Core Circuit 2: Selected notes:

Doubled up a workout today to make up for missed workouts earlier in the week. I started with a Pure Protein bar and a new pre-workout: ENGN by EVLution…Part 1 was chest and shoulders, starting week 2, day 5 from the top. Finished strong, though I struggled to get my reps in on incline press and push-ups on the Bosu ball. Not sure why…Part 2 of the workout was the Back routine intended for Week 2, Day 6. I finished very strong…I REALLY felt this back workout today and rested afterward feeling the affects of the workouts on my back, shoulders, and chest. I drank a single-serving sample of Myoplex Whey Isolate (Chocolate)…Ultiamtely the pre-workout didn’t give me the jolt I was expecting but I’m going to keep trying it out. The Myoplex protein was phenomenal!

I’m still short what was supposed to be Week 2, Day 7 – Arms – but with tomorrow being a scheduled “off” day and me teaching at Title in the morning, I’m going to just get that workout in tomorrow in lieu of resting. I also forgot to get my progress photos taken this morning, so I will shoot to do that on Tuesday this coming week.

That’s 2 weeks of 8 down, 1/4, 25%. I’m seeing only 8 legs, chest, back, and off days remain, 9 arms days remain. Again, WHO’S COUNTING ANYWAY?