So we are into day 2 of the 30 day challenge. How very exciting! Goals and targets we find always help you focus. This early on however focus on being consistent and understanding how you feel.
As we said on Day 1 the whole team is going to do the 30 day challenge. The reason for this is each of our goals are different, as are the challenges that we set. Working together however we are able to encourage each other and share out experiences.
At Titan we have our Founder and General Manager Ro doing the challenge as well 😄💪🏽
Being super transparent – He is an ex athlete (Runner, tennis player, Football) and knows what it means to train hard and work hard.
But at 39 with two kids, busy work lifestyle, and post knee surgery he knows all too well the challenges that are faced with the mind as well as the body. The rest of the team are also going to share their experiences and we are going to share them here in this 30 day challenge.
How did it go? [General Manager [Ro] – Titan Identity]
It actually didn’t go that well! A sleepless night due to the kids having a restless night led to me and my wife being woken at 2am and 4am, and then having to be up properly at 6am. We all know the importance of sleep, however I know the challenges parents have each and every day, especially with young children….probably even teenagers. Sleep is a luxury. If you can get 7-8 hours, even more it means so much to your bodies ability to recover and re-generate.
I started the day with a groggy head and headed straight for the Nespresso coffee machine. At the same time I was preparing an extra large bowl of rice bubbles for my daughter.
A lack of sleep increases the hormone ‘grehlin’ which increases your hunger and your desire for the less healthy foods. I was hungry but I was also tired as such cancelled out my want to eat breakfast, at least for now.
Exercise I knew was going to be a challenge today as I wasn’t feeling it, but I also knew if I did something, anything I would feel better about it. I knew that trying to exert myself too much today would be a fruitless exercise and would probably increase the likelihood of injury….given my overall posture probably wouldn’t be that great.
My focus today would probably be walking, and getting outside into the winter fresh air. This would be with the hope that I would wake up. Reality is if you are sleep deprived, you are sleep deprived…..there is nothing you can do about it…..not coffee, Redbull….winter air! These stimulants are temporary and they wear out pretty quickly.
As an ex-sprinter I hit the park and did a few walking laps, throwing in the occasional lunge…..looking pretty silly to anyone watching. Loosening up the body helped me mentally and I thought I would do some sprint drills (light ones) and a few run throughs across the oval – 50-60%. I am not a fan of stretching (at the best of times) but I know the importance of doing them – (torn hamstrings – 7 times). Early in the morning, body is tight, and you feel hungover from lack of sleep dynamic stretches are a good way to warmup but also stretch key muscles. You will also get an idea for what isn’t feeling right…..something you don’t always get when you are doing static stretches. This morning I had twinges in my groin, so I knew what to watch out for especially when extending my stride on my run throughs.
I followed up with [5-6] 50-100m run throughs all around the 60% mark occasionally building up speed. Boom that was it, and a light jog / walk home (around 1km).
Some light stretching at home, rolling on the roller around the abductors, hips, hamstrings, calves ….my typical problem areas. In a perfect world I would have probably done some yoga or pilates. I highly recommend this.
Later that day I did another walk….6km in total whilst trying to get my daughter to sleep in her pram. Walking is a great exercise. You don’t have to be a runner to be healthy and fit, or to burn lots of calories.
How was my food today. Using MyFitness Pal I was able to track my food. This was helpful as I could monitor my food intake in line with my activity.
Again, because I was tired and had little sleep I was hungry all day, no matter what I ate, and I craved everything. Science has shown that an imbalance in grehlin levels stimulates appetite, and often the wrong types of food. Today my craving was chocolate.
Do’s and Don’ts
- I missed breakfast. This was bad. You should try to eat a good breakfast as it does set you up for the day, and stops the snacking
- Lunch was a sandwich of some pastrami, cos lettuce, and some great gut healthy sauerkraut…followed by two mandarins
- Many will say don’t eat too much fruit because of sugar. You know what fruits are natural and are from the earth. I say eat as much as you like as it isn’t processed. Try to mix up with lots of fresh vegetables as well
- Dinner was black rice, chicken, broccolini
- I gave into my chocolate craving with a kinda bueno bar – however I was well within my calorie count for today [thank you MyFitness Pal] given I had done some activity…..being consistent helps but its ok every now and then to have a treat. We call them sometimes foods for the kids 😂
Thank you team! that rounds out day 2 of the 30 day challenge. Be strong, call on your Titan and don’t give up.
All the Best!
titanidentity.com 