Program Review

I'm sorry for not being able to post sooner - internet connectivity problems Congratulations to all who have finished the ten days and to those who are wrapping it up. Thank you Aaron for the chance to participate in this it has been a great opportunity.

During the 10 days I tried to post daily to let you know of some of the challenges and some victories as they happened so I'll try not to be repetitious.

What attracted me to try this program in the first place was the obvious-Loose Ten Pounds in Ten Days
and the program was Boxing Based, Another thing (perhaps not as obvious) that attracted me to this program was the foods in the mealplans (I had most everything already on hand - very little shopping to do). This is a very personal reason but I really wanted to set a goal and finish it.

As I started the program and started looking at others' profiles - I felt somewhat intimidated and outclassed at their athletic backgrounds, percentage of bodyfat, etc - it became quite clear that I was in for a long ten days and had to most to loose (pun intended).

WORKOUTS
To me the workouts as they are presented are grueling. However, they set a benchmark to strive for and become "mini-goals" in and of themselves. I quickly learned that I would not be able to do the runs or even the recommended number of pull-ups, push-ups, etc but what I could do is give it 100% maximum effort and do one more push-up during the next set or workout. I learned that it is counter-productive to compare myself to someone else. Eventhough, we had all been given the same info - this program was going to be uniquely carried out by me (individually) at the fitness level I am at with me controlling only the effort I gave it.

MEALPLANS
Let's face it - the meals aren't going to win any culinary taste contests but eating the way I wanted has gotten me to this point. I needed to learn that if I was going to expect maximum performance I needed to put optimum fuel in my body. For the first few days it really seemed like I was forcing the 6 meals down but my body soon adapted and for the last half of the program found myself getting hungry and ready to eat at the scheduled times. The one food I really missed (minus the few that should be saved for cheat day) is peanut butter.

RECOMMENDATIONS for someone starting the program.
Plan, plan, plan!!!! Take a good hard (honest) look at where you are at (fitness level) and what you will be doing for the next ten days. Arrange your workouts and meals around your schedule - pay particular attention to meetings, situations that could interefere with your schedule (ie-I had a meeting that ran over - also I didn't plan well for a Sunday) and try to work out ahead of time better solutions (should have eaten before meeting & should have taken my meals for Sunday). There will always be the unexpected happen but by anticipating as many things as you can you'll save yourself some stress and possible defeat.

Read and familiarize yourself with the entire plan and articles on the site. Know ahead of time what you are going to be doing (training) and gleen the advice from Aaron and others from the articles.

Personalize it. Don't rewrite it but don't be afraid to make this program your own and don't be afraid to ask Aaron for help. I am not a runner and in my bull-headedness was determined to prove (and to keep up with the others) I could run - ended up reinjuring a knee. I recall someone having trouble with pull-ups and Aaron offering a helpful solution. In order for me to be able to complete the routines - I had to substitute other things such as walking (briskly), using a rebounder (mini-trampoline), and doing more rapid speedbag work to get the cardio workouts in.

Don't be a slave to the scale. Early on I weighed daily but stopped - I found other ways of to "measure" success to be be better such as; how much better I feel, fitting into jeans that a week earlier I couldn't button, etc. There are way too many variables that can influence the reading on the scale - once a week should be good.

SUCCESS
This program was successful for me for several reasons: I "finished" the ten days, I lost 11+lbs, I started some very healthy habits relating to exercise and eating. I wanted to follow the program as closely to the way it was written as possible. I believe the mealplan was the reason I was able to loose the weight. I was very conscientious about portion control and following (minus the couple of times I messed up) the recommendations of what food to eat when.

The only things that I did that perhaps weren't specifically spelled out were:
-Added a mid-morning workout - mostly resistance bands - some were additional speedbag work.
-Drank 4 cups of green tea per day - in addition to plenty of water.
-Kept my body moving throughout the day even on days with a lot of paperwork/deskwork (taking 5-10 minutes every half hour - hour to walk around house, shadowbox, etc)
-Added some great motivational music to my workouts.
-Allowed the "boxing" to be my motivation and get me through all parts of the program.

Currently, I am still deciding on whether to start the 12 wk program (it will be longer - due to me being unable to exercise after surgery) or to do "Another 10 Days." I should be able to make that decision Wednesday after a consult with my surgeon. I haven't given up on eating 6x a day and am still exercising daily. I am really curious what another 10 days will bring - better yet what results back to back 10 day programs will.