Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Day 90, Finished! Kind of...

Well, I never thought I'd see day 90. But here it is. And I can honestly say that I've reached Peak Condition.

Cardio is awesome. I can run as much as I want without getting winded, take the stairs three at a time at the station, and do multiple sets of pretty much any exercise you put in front of me, and double jump the rope until the cows come home.


Physique is right there for you to see. If you haven't looked at Day one or two for a while check out what a difference 90 days can make.


Coordination is fantastic. I can do all kinds of jumprope tricks, block punches and kicks more quickly, execute asana better than ever, and spin the 'chuks with precision.



Balance is great. My center of gravity changed a little bit when I lost all that weight, which threw off my balance for a few weeks, but I've got it recalibrated now. With my body in this condition I can keep my skeletal structure in any position I choose, including this one.


Flexibility is superior, my back and hamstrings are open like never before. My tendons are also working more independently from their attaching muscles (don't worry if that didn't make sense to you, it's only stretch otaku like me who care about that kind of stuff) I'm still spending a lot of time on the groin but I should be at that hanging side split before the PCP ends July 23. More info on my secret technique coming later this week) I achieved front splits only a month into the project but am not totally satisfied with them.



I talked to Chen a lot this week, and we've both decided that this is kind of a stopping point. It's almost sad to say it, but I'm pretty much finished with the training aspect of the PCP. By the way, here's what a usual meeting of the minds looks like:


Of course I'll maintain this condition until the full term of the project, but I don't want to get any stronger and I can't lose any more fat safely.

So, this is pretty much it. Not much next to Bruce Lee but pretty good for Patrick Reynolds!

And it was all done without a single dumbell, gym machine, protein powder, or any other gimmick people try so hard to sell us. Just a jumprope, a resistance band, two chairs, my own bodyweight, and a bunch of eggs.

So, where do we go from here? I'm going to spend the last month of my Project learning and teaching everyone how to make the principles of the PCP work in a regular life, without measuring your grams or keeping a rigid workout routine. In short, I'm going to figure out how to make The Peak Condition Project sustainable.

I'll still do the daily blog until July 23, but I think I'll switch to weekly pictures, since not much will be changing on me from here on out.

Thanks to everyone for your love and support. If this project has taught me anything it's that we are not stuck in our ruts, routines, and roles. I can only hope that one day I will be able to help you change your own life for the better.

So, see you in tomorrow's blog! Phase 3 begins!

9 comments:

Corry said...

HUGE congratulations, so inspiring. You must feel great. This mama is very proud of you! All the best with phase 3 now.

David said...

Wow...

Wow wow wow! You are so inspiring, Patrick. Congratulations on your hard work and discipline. It has truly paid off.

I'm looking forward to your future Phase 3 posts!

Anonymous said...

Seeing your results makes me want to do PCP that much more. Awesome work man. Very inspiring.

Nate

Sean said...

I am so looking forward to my own Day 90 now that I know what the end can look like. Inspiration doesn't come much better and clearer than this. I'm feeling a new surge of determination coming on, so thank you for that.

Good luck with phase three, I'm looking forward to reading all about it.

Anonymous said...

Ahh! I can't believe it's over, it feels like yesterday I was reading Day 5's post. I can't believe how quickly it went.

Only three months, wow.

Patrick said...

Thanks everyone!

Anonymous said...

Patrick: I am proud of your progress, energy and consistency with posting your challenges and successes. You're an inspiration to folks following along. I can't wait to see where you go from here. Love you.

Anonymous said...

Do you ever still crave sweets like cookies and pies and cakes?

My sweet tooth is the devil on my shoulder! Even though I know fruits are fresher and better... Whenever I see pastries and desserts I still crave away! I'm wondering if it will go away like my craving for meat went away (for the most part) after about 6months of vegetarianism...

Does this go away after a while? Or is it just something to ignore?

Patrick said...

Yes, the craving for sweets goes away to a large extent after just 3 weeks. At times, I still crave something sweet after a meal, but the natural sweetness of fruit hits the spot now.

The times I eat a processed sweet it's too rich for me and tastes like chemicals.