The weigh-in and a challenge.

I'm officially tipped the scale at 186 today. The JWE looks intimidating. I don't drink alcohol and I eat fairly well thanks to a caring wife (you rock Kim!). However, I know my nutrition habits need a lot of work. Coffee and sugar are my biggest weaknesses. My goal for the JWE is to drastically curtail them from my diet (option 2, I guess.

Here's the challenge. No diet program can possibly be complete without a fitness regimen. Over the past several years, I've completely changed my workout regimen. I used to think running was the only way to burn enough calories to keep off the weight. I ran endless miles and suffered overuse injuries but never really achieved the weight goal I had in mind. The problem with running for me was that my heart rate would plateau at a level below my max VO2, which is basically the point at which your muscles can no longer get enough oxygen to keep going. Everyone has a different max VO2 level. The important point is that the amount of calories you burn rises exponentially the closer you get to your max VO2. I now focus on workouts that seek to reach my max VO2. This mainly requires intervals of some sort. I find I don't have the self discipline to do interval training while running, so running is now a much less important part of my routine (one or two days per week). I do something called TRX that is incredible at building strength while also achieving multiple max VO2 levels during a single workout. I reached my weight goal by boosting this type of workout dramatically. The beauty of it is that the workouts take much less time (30-45 minutes) and need only be done about 3 days per week. So, if you really want to get to your fighting weight, focus on max VO2. I challenge JWE participants to stick with one or more TRX programs ("Boot Camp-Ropes and Straps", "Performance-Train Like The Pros", or "Force - Military Fitness Program") for at least six months (TRX can be found on the Internet at fitnessanywhere.com). If you master them, the weight will melt off......Buddy Lee guarantees it!!!!!! If TRX is not for you, then find an alternative. Weekly fitness log-ins have to be posted.