Just done some exercise. Totally knackered. First exercise for a while. Off for a shower. Attached camera photo of workout log. This was my first major exercise session for a while. Once again I had let my exercise slip and put on weight. Today I decided to do a bodyweight 500 challenge, with a few extra exercises meaning that the initial aim was to do 560 exercises in total. I did not manage to stick to the plan. The sqaut thrusts almost killed me, so I stopped those after just two sets. Also the ski lateral jumps were too much with the star jumps, squats and lunges. What really killed in the end were the push ups, however I fought on with those. For the final set I went all out and did extra, and when I saw that I was still 20 short, did another 20 star jumps to cool down. I thought about doing some bicep curls later, but then never got around to it.

Last night I was hoping to do another weight training session, however I had underestimated how much I would still be aching after Friday's weight training. My triceps and chest were still aching to the point that I could not even do a press up when I tried. However, I did not give in to defeat, oh no!

When I got home from work I had a large chocolate protein/muscle shake. At 10pm I started my circuit training in the living room. It was a simple routine, involving;

Bodyweight squats
Burpies, but without the explosive star jump
Sit ups
Side crunches
Reverse sit ups (need to check this is correct name - on belly then raise upper body)

I did a few sets of squats (100 in total), did not count thew burpies, but did 3 sets. About 50 sit ups, 10 side crunches on wach side, and about 20 reverse sit ups.

I decided not to document what I was doing, but to focus on working intensively over a short time. I was aiming to finish and get my second protein shake before Heroes started at 10.30pm. As it happened my wife made me a garlic tea (have another cold) and I did not drink my shake until 11.30pm.

It was a good workout, I felt really tired after. I did attempt press ups a few times but there was just nothing there in my arms after Friday night. Maybe tomorrow I will be recovered enough for weight training again. Good news - my back/neck is feeling a bit better too after my dangerous sneeze on Sunday.

It has been over a week since I did my first 300 workout circuit, as I managed to get another cold during the week that lasted until today. I was still feeling a bit run down today, but felt I had to do something.

I decided on a different approach tonight, to do 400 exercises in total, adding star jumps (jumping jacks) to the press ups, squats and sit ups. Also, I decided to do sets of 10 reps, with each circuit more intensive that last time, but with longer rest periods.

I did the first two circuits (80 exercises) of star jumps, squats, press ups and sit-ups and a relatively gentle pace. For the next circuits I started increasing the intensity, by adding jumps to the squats, and attempting claps on the press ups (all I actually managed was to get my hands a few cm off the floor).

I did 9 sets like this, and then on the 10th, as I was still feeling like I had some energy, I decided to work harder and to failure on the last set. So for the last set I completed, in quick succession, 70 star jumps, 50 squats (without jumps) 15 press ups and 25 sit-ups.

In total I managed to do 520 exercises, a massive 120 over the objective for the night! Well done me.

Although I am not actually trying to build my biceps, they have responded a little from the press ups (although surely mostly triceps?), which is why have have added a pic. Maybe I will add some curls into the workout later. There is a dummbell sitting under the bed unused.....

I plan to do the same again next time, hopefully in a couple of days. Maybe I will aim for 600!

Tonight I decided that it was time I took a new approach to my attempts at getting fit. As I have stopped kung-fu for now, I need to increase my body weight training. I walk a few miles every day during the week, and cannot run on my dodgy ankle at the moment, so some home circuit training is the answer.

This evening I decided that rather than just simply do 100 press ups, I would do an equal number of squats and sit-ups too.

It was a very tiring workout, but I split it up into bite size chunks, and updated my Facebook status as I went, which provided some encouragement, of sorts, from friends that were online. Actually the most common comments were along the lines of "don't think you stand a cat in hell's chance of doing the 300 haha" and, after doing my first 100; "You would have been 2/3 of the way there if you didn't stop to tell us all your progress!".

I started at 10.15pm, with 25 press ups, and finished at 11.08pm, with an impressive 15 press ups. I obviously took a lot of rests in between sets. The squats were relatively easy, the sit ups harder, and the press ups a killer near the end. But I did better than usual on the press ups. If anything, giving myself more time to recover, by doing sit ups and squats, must have helped.

But I got there in the end. And the workout is attached for all to marvel at!

Bad weather stopped play. Last night I got in my car and started driving towards my kick-boxing / kung-fu club, but quickly realised that a freezing fog had engulfed most of Essex, and decided that it would be prudent to turn the car around and drive back home. I was feeling tired, and did not really want to be driving around in freezing fog. So Wednesday was an impromptu rest night.

This evening I was reading about bodyweight exercises, and remembered that at the beginning of the year (before I started this blog) I attempted a 100 push-up a day challenge. All it consisted of was doing 100 push ups a day. Any type of push up, in any number of sets. I never completed the challenge that I set myself, I forget why. I did do 100 press ups one day though, in several sets.