Day 90 - Gambarimashita!

Welcome to my peak! For those of you outside Japan, 'gambarimashita' means 'I did my best!'
I'm proud of what I've done with the help of this awesome program, the guidance of Chen and Patrick, and of course, my fellow PCPers. As I stand at the peak, I look across at the rest of my gang standing on their own mountain tops, people I have to thank  - Kristi, Yeeman, Ricky, Shirley, Paul, Jon, and all of the other people who helped me so much. I shout and give them a wave of triumph. We made it!

This long post is in eight parts


1. My banner
2. The PCP mindset
3. PCPing and a better planet
4. PCPing and feminism
5. PCPing and relationships
6. The next adventure
7. Thank you
8. Conclusion


1. My banner


Diet


This was without a doubt the most satisfying part of the PCP and one that I felt most secure about. I had already done some online coaching to improve my eating habits, but PCPing went much further. Weighing food became second nature, making bento boxes a pleasure, shopping meant I saved a load of money. 


I thought, erroneously, that PCP-ing would have me cutting back, but was delighted to be told to eat more. Patrick and Chen grasped from my photos that I have a body type (ectomorph, hard-gainer) I'd need to 'keep the tank very full'. I ate and I ate and I ate. Lots of fish, lots of eggs, piles of veg, carbs in moderation. Comments from colleagues on my food included


'Are you feeding the cat?' (on seeing a plate of veggies and fish)


'What is this, voodoo?' (on seeing me separate an egg yolk)


'Are you really losing weight on this diet?' (Again, on seeing a plate of veggies, bread, fish). 


It really is a relief to know that I can eat well and enjoy it. 


Two tips:


1. Eat food, not too much, mainly plants (Michael Pollan)
2. If man made it, don't eat it


Of course, we can't live by this 100 per cent, but in today's food environment, we need to think this way!

Food eaten out adapted for PCPing by ordering extra veg!

Brown rice sushi roll, a la Youtube. Egg inspired by St. George

Fitness


Doing jump rope everyday strengthens your heart muscles, lungs, and teaches better breathing. On day 90 I belted out my record 630 odd jumps in a row very comfortably. After week 1, my jinga (the basic step in capoeira) got much more fluid and powerful. The diet of wholefoods really helped me feel lighter and more like exercising and moving. 

Better fitness = better breathing

Better breathing = better voice

(One tip I hope you won't judge me for...Sleep in workout clothes, so you don't have any time to waste for morning jump rope!)


Strength


I upped my muscle percentage with alot of work. I pushed myself hard during workouts to feel a good burn. And did my best to get enough sleep, so my muscles would build. Now I feel a real solidity to my body where before I was just soft. It's an awesome feeling and I plan to continue to build my muscles. I was most pleased with how my shoulders developed, but also with my torso and arms. The exercises I found hardest were the legups, press ups, pullups. Legups got better and turned into good V-sit ups. Pressups made me feel like GI Jane. Pullups are in my future!


Three tips for building muscle


1. Go after a strong burn. Days when you just get through should be the exception. 
2. Sleep! The weeks I skimped on sleep showed poorer muscle growth. 
3. Expect a cycle of energy and slump. Muscle tissue gets shredded before reforming as new muscle. 

Capoeira


Doing so much for the PCP (expect to spend a lot of time shopping/cooking/cleaning!) meant that my capoeira time got cut back. However, my instructor Cacapa and I can see a difference. I'm more confident, my moves are stronger and more decisive, and I ask more questions. I need to now work on my musicality and learn the instruments for the roda. 

Barbara Stanwyck


I chose her for her sassiness and poise. As the weeks went on, the people in my group and the people who were ahead, especially Chris and Molly, became my role models. Thank you!


2. The PCP mindset (A-E-I-O-U)


A = Animal. 


Wild animals eat when they need food and they eat what is needed. They move and rest at the right time. They do not eat for comfort, worry about their appearance, step on scales or any other nonsense. 
Their main characteristic is functional excellence. Human animals have the ability to know what to eat, how much to rest, and move for a healthy life. 


E = Educated


The paradox of modern life with processed foods and sedentary lifestyles is that modern humans have a distorted relationship with their bodies. During the PCP program we learn a lot of important information on how to care for our most precious gift. Topics such as muscle growth, how to eat well, hydration, exercise, mind/body, sleep. I've really enjoyed this part of the PCP. Patrick, you have a real gift for explaining how the body works in a way that is both accessible, and awe-inspiring. 


I = Intuitive


The way that we apply this knowledge is going to be largely intuitive. I think I have a relaxed confidence in my body now. I trust that it will tell me when something needs adjusting. I just have to listen.


O = Optimistic


Having a strong and intimate understanding of my body can only make me more optimistic about life in general. Of course, bad things happen - the biggest earthquake in Japan's history happened on my Day 11. However, for a lot of people, including myself, the discipline of the PCP was very grounding. And the endorphines of a great workout or skipping session are better than any night of drinking! 


U = Understanding


We've all fallen from the PCP wagon in some way shape or form. And we signed up for this thing! So while we've gone through some radical changes, we won't judge others (or ourselves come to that) when we see people eating badly or not exercising. We can share what we've learnt with those who really want to know and ask. Live by example, stay chilled!

Educated, intuitive, optimistic, understanding, ANIMALS

3. PCP-ing for a better planet


If everyone did the PCP at some point we'd see


1. More demand for a variety of whole foods. Perhaps more biodiversity. 
2. Lower rates of life-style related diseases, diabetes, heart disease, cancers. 
3. Greater happiness all round

A PCP-ed out world? Nice thought. 

4. PCP-ing and feminism

PCP-ing puts women in charge of how they look and feel, plus cheering on other women. 

"Well, I think I look nice" Julia Roberts as Erin Brokovich

5. PCP-ing and relationships


PCP-ing will raise your expectations of yourself and others. This usually is a good thing, but if a relationship isn't working out, then you'll probably find yourself doing a bit of rethinking. And you'll feel pretty vulnerable too. 


Tip: Use the blogs to make connections, relax, have fun, and get support. Because sometimes, you just won't get it from people you want it from. 


Generally, PCP-ing will be good for relationships by making you a more open and relaxed person. 

Who can resist us?

6. The next adventure


I want to learn and do more with capoeira, get a real career in radio, travel more. Maybe to Kristi's house as she seems to be a good cook and knows some interesting places. I also want to get a meditation practice going. I think this will be an investment for life; just like the PCP has been. 

7. Thank you 

Deep gassho to Patrick and Chen for your insight, plans, encouragement. Patrick, I appreciate you working out with me at the end of a heavy Sunday schedule. 


To all my fellow PCP-ers who made me laugh, encourage me, made me think, inspired. Good luck with the next journey!


To my colleagues, especially Tracy, Russell, and Joy, for encouragement, practical advice, and taking photos. 


To Hayden, for the encouraging emails and being an awesome listener. 

No trouble keeping balance after PCP!?

To my friends at Bantus Capoeira Japan, Cacapa, Bolinha, Abelinha, Cafune. 
You'll see much more of me at class now!


8. Conclusion from Oscar Wilde

'Nothing should reveal the body, but the body'

Day 90 post preview!

Hi gang and congratulations!

Well, here's a preview of the shots from Day 90. Awesome day!

I'll post my final thoughts in a couple of days. 

Need to let  my mind have a rest from all this, as much as my body. 

People who are now in the lead, please pay Mike a visit as we won't be doing 8-min abs for a few days!

Day 89 - Radio in Japanese, report, athlete!

Radio in Japanese!

I am appearing as a guest on a local radio show this afternoon.
I haven't used much Japanese recently but I do eat lunch with my Japanese colleagues to keep my ears attuned. I am scared I won't understand the questions and look foolish.

But I'll do my best to be personable, friendly, and let the host and other guests do most of the talking. You won't be able to listen as it's a local and live radio show sadly. My PCP-ing 'just get on with it!' mentality, and the Toastmasters training will help me through!



Report for yesterday

Workout was solid. Gave my all. Enjoyed the supersets. Feel sick rather than failing on supersets. But if you feel like throwing up, I think you are excused. Jumped rope outside my office, wearing a little blue dress and earrings.

Food - all on the mark. Last PCP meal prepared at work. Last day of weighing, last microwaved eggs, last huuuge plate of veg? I'm not going to change much on Monday despite the running joke that I should have a peak-fat-project. I love this way of eating and want to continue. Except with fewer eggs, please.


Sleep
Hayden saw me online at midnight and sent a single text message. 'You should be asleep'. So I turned off the computer and got 5.30 hours sleep in bed, then just under an hour on trains. The superset really whacked me out. Caught up today! Huzzah!


Gym Field Trip: You're no athlete!


Yesterday I went to a gym, Tipness, near Ikebukuro station. I was reminded of the sense of guilt that used to besiege me when I went to the gym - typically at the end of a week or month to 'get my money's worth' and of course, this interfered with a workout. It's still hard to motivate myself to pick up workout bands and rope some days, and that's in the comfort of my own home! A lot of the selling factor of gyms is 'comfort and choice'. The lady showing me round did not really talk about how the machines worked except to say 'you can change the weight' but she did point out the jacuzzi, sauna, massage room. And of course, NUMBERS! I got a free trial of the 'machine-that-tells-you-if-you're-lardy'! Apparantly, I am 79 on the scale of 1 - 100 for athleticism. An athlete is an 80 and a pro is 90, so don't look for me at the London Olympics next year!

I'm so glad I have these numbers to tell me whether I am healthy or not and how I need to train in the future. I've been really lost the last 87 days without them.

FINAL SOLO WORKOUT JUST COMPLETED TODAY, SATURDAY!

Patrick, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm ready for whatever you've got on the final worksheet tomorrow! Serve it up with a cherry on top...

An introduction to capoeira

Do you ever think about doing something and then put it off? 

I did with capoeira - for five years! I kept thinking - Oh, I must try that cool-looking-Brazilian-dancey thing'. And promptly procrastinated for five years.

As PCP-ers, we know the value of just getting on with it! So for those who have been asking about capoeira or those who are finishing the PCP on Sunday and looking for a new challenge, here is my introduction to the wonderful art of capoeira.

Capoeira - dance, art, music, martial art, play...
The art began in the days of slavery in Brazil. It was a way to learn self-defence skills but use the cover of dance-like movements and song to appear to be just playing around for fun. Capoeira went through various stages of being practised outside the slave community, including being banned for a number of years. Some people say the tradition for capoeiristas (people who play capoeira) to have nicknames comes from high profile Brazilians wishing to hide their capoeira identity.

More on the history of capoeira here. 

Isn't it just for super-bendy-hardcore 'naturals'
No, it isn't, but if you keep doing it then watch out! A capoeirista is flexible, strong, and has fast reflexes. There are difficult and jaw-droppingly beautiful moves too, but you can play capoeira with the basics, jinga, defence moves, attack moves.

Cool couple demonstrating the basic moves of capoeira in Miami!

The idea is to keep the energy going, analagous to the give and take of a conversation. Only the conversation is between two bodies.

It all sounds kinda sexy. 
Uh-huh. Of all the sports I've tried, including modern dance and salsa, capoeira is the sexiest. I think it's to do with the to-and-fro in the roda, plus power and grace. There are explosive moves, defensive moves, hand gestures, skin on skin. All done to music and singing.

To crudely oversimplify, capoeira is an electric combination of play-fighting and dancing. The basic move of capoeira, the jinga, means 'swing'. It comes from Brazil and you do it without any equipment except the musical instruments.

No equipment except musical instruments? Is it like a PCP workout?
Only in the sense of using body-based exercises. I'm going to annoy Patrick and say, if you do it right, it is a ton harder. In a PCP workout you know what you're going to be doing with your body for a given set. In capoeira, you need to think and move at the same time.

Capoeiristas do meet and practise in halls and such for classes, but most groups put a huge focus on the roda and playing outside, under the sky, on the beach, in the park.

Serious Play
A capoerista combines the energy from the music, clapping and singing from people in the circle, and their own feelings in the moment. It can be both cooperative and deceptive, aggressive and whimsical, fast and slow, close up with arms and legs nearly touching, or cartwheeling acoss space.

An adult can play capoeira with a child of five, a beginner with a mestre (master). You can have fun in the roda if you know three moves - jinga, a defence, and an attack. Awareness of yourself and the other is key.

Is it like a performance?
It is very expressive, but I don't think it is a performance. There is no line between the people forming the circle and watching and the people playing in the roda. In the roda, when you want to go from standing on the outside to entering, you just wait for a suitable moment, signal to someone and 'buy' the game.

If you've ever moved into a flow of traffic or made people get out of your way on a train, then this should be no problem!

Is there a hierarchy?
Yes and no. It is very tribal in nature, there is a leader of the roda who leads the singing and signals the start of the roda by dipping the berimbau, a musical instrument that looks like a large bow. And there are levels of skill displayed by the colour of the cord. The colours vary between groups, so it's a bit hard to tell. I'm on my second cord which is red, black, and blue - the snake!

Respect for the teacher is extremely important, as is for each other and the safety of the roda. The moves can be dangerous, so you need to leave your ego outside.

Mestre Pintor in the roda

How is a capoeirista's body similar to the 'PCP body'? 
Strong and flexible; in this order, abs and back, hands, arms, legs.
Aware, e.g., of own body relative to partner, of the people in the roda. Good peripheral vision.
Athletic, e.g., to execute consecutive jumps, lunges, acrobatics.

Isn't it all a bit hardcore? I'm just finishing PCP...
Yes, it can be. To get really good, you need more than just physical skill. You need  to learn music, Portuguese songs, playing instruments, getting confident in the roda, learn to relax.

In PCP terms, we learn the relationship between food, rest, muscle stimulus. They coexist and you cannot have one and neglect the others. When these elements come together in the right proportions, there is tremendous energy and power. I think capoeira is like this - music, movement, improvisation of the roda.


I'd rather tackle something with several sides to it than run on a treadmill!

If you'd like to know more, feel free to contact Graduado Cacapa, the teacher at my capoeira group, Bantus Capoeira Japan - Classes in Roppongi, Mitaka, and Kichijioji, Tokyo.

Day 88 - Beginning to see the light!

Kicking and a bit melancholy - you gotta love the Velvet Underground!

Report for Day 87


Workout - Gave my all

Strong workout. I couldn't not do my best having decided to do it for my mum. Of course, we work out for ourselves, eat well for ourselves as a rule but sometimes it is nice to 'give' the energy of a workout to someone else. I read on the Runner's World website that one guy dedicates his last set to service men and women on duty, which gave me the idea.

Dedicating exercise to someone is a bit different to thinking of your inspiration. You might think about what that person has given you, why you are grateful they are in your life, the different sides of their personality, reflect on the relationship you have with them. Not something for regular practice, which should be on the exercise only, but if you need a lift, then I do recommend it.

Nutrition

Some salt on the rice I'd bought out, otherwise all good.

Sleep

Just over seven hours saw me straight. Gave up on the morning workout to get a bit longer rest. Patrick's advice to sleep plenty this weekend has been heeded!

THREE MORE DAYS!

Day 87 - Bananas, report, my mother

I feel like I'm going bananas! This post is in three part, moan, report, and my inspiration who is my mum. If you're in a hurry, just go to the end!

1. The moany bit

The following things have drained me and led to tears in the last three days, but I'm all over that now. Thank you for your encouragement!

1. Three consecutive late nights but my body was waking up naturally and getting up at 5 am.
2. Different WO (Patrick swapped round a superset so we could do one together.) and feeling out of the loop.
3. Guesswork with meals, eating too much salt, hurry, some packaged food. 

The elusive balance between nutrition, sleep, stimulus is lousy when it's out!


2. Report

Sleep

As I said, a pitiful - under 6 hours on top of a debt from the previous day. Missing only a bit of sleep at this stage is BAAAD. I'm now in a late night exercise rhythm and snippy about it.

Work out

I honestly cannot remember much about the morning WO, other than I did it quickly and hard and still ran out of time to go to the park for bar work. I wasn't prepared to break my perfect attendance on exercise on Day 86!

At home station at 10.50, pullups and KF sit ups at park near my station (wearing a long skirt)
Through door at 11.15 ish, failure ab sets. Felt sick and stupid.

Couldn't tell if I was in failure as my form was so poor from the start.

I certainly gave my all. Sometimes 'giving your all' doesn't feel really RAH!
It feels like nothing except the task at hand.

Nutrition

Some guess work - protein at dinner was sashimi, then a 53 cal. packet of dried fish with all kinds of nasties in it, and a bit of leftover fish at home. Everything else was on the mark.

3. Inspiration

This is my mum, Pauline, with William. She's shy of having her photo taken, but this gives you a sense of her personality.

It's her birthday today and I miss her. I've sent her present and am going to talk on Skype, but sometimes, living abroad is tough.


Doing the PCP has sometimes reminded me of things she said as I was growing up.

1. Don't overschedule. Living healthily means giving yourself enough time to do things.

2. Enjoy the physical world around you - gardens, flowers, and as you see in the photo, cats.

3. Sit at the table to eat. During my childhood, she spent about 3 months with a naso-gastric tube with liquid food, but she always sat at the dining table to be with everyone. And did this without bumming us out. 

And one obvious one, that no PCP-ers need reminding of

4. Don't smoke.

Did I mention I miss her today?

I dedicate my workout tonight to my mother, Pauline Lewis. 

Day 86 Haiku

Night time work outs suck
Chocolate salty balls. Do them
With a smile. Ichi-ni.