Well just getting back into it after a little break over the new year - and with it all the normal obstacles of overeating, drinking, family, parties and recovery periods. And that's just Ash!
No I kid, from what I've heard and was kept appraised of during the last week and a half, all three boys did a great job keeping on track over the festive season. An amazing job actually, considering the usual vices and pitfalls that waylay the normal exerciser - let alone someone who has to get photos taken in the next week!
Let's start with Christmas.
Our last group meeting before the big day was spent with me pouring out pearls of wisdom about how to avoid drinking too much; how to be able to squeeze exercise in even on the biggest family and food days of the year; and how to make sure they were still sticking to their programs despite gyms being shut (and for Greg, not being near a gym for a week whilst he was up around Myall Lakes).
Pearls of wisdom, I thought, but to them it was probably more of a nag :) I mean, you can say all you like about what to eat and what not to eat during the silly season, but when your mother stands over you with peanut butter choc fudge brownies and a bucket of brandy custard; or in Ash's case had stocked out the pantry with a variety of lollies, biscuits and sweets; sometimes the familial guilt kicks in.
Whilst Ash went to his hometown for a week (complete with workouts planned for every day in the spanking new gym down there); Greg was in Myall Lakes doing TRX workouts in the trees; Andre stayed around Surry Hills like a good boy - and promptly got violently ill for a week.
Yes we all have our challenges around this time. Greg longed for a gym, which he dove back into last week with gusto to make sure he didn't lose any muscle (the guy is huge now - and no sign of the waistline he started with). Ash had to throw out half his mother's pantry every few days as it was constantly restocked with foods that would otherwise thwart his attempt at staying the lean, mean fighting machine he's become.
And Andre ... well, over the course of not being able to eat for a few days, getting hideously sunburnt, having no job or fixed address for a few weeks and no money for food anyway, there wasn't much not challenging the boy. Unfortunately that meant by the first week of January he'd lost another 3 kg, taking away a lot of his hard-earned gains from the previous weeks.
We have only a few more days of training left and let me tell you, those boys are working it hard!
Some might question the sensibility of doing this competition to include the last few weeks over Christmas and New Years. I myself have questioned this. But to be fair, this makes it about the most realistic challenge you could get. What 12 week period in anyone's life can be lived, cloistered away from any food, drink, partying or even illness?
It means the results, when they're in shortly, will be reflective of 3 guys who worked hard, had some setbacks, faced normal challenges and still managed to get as far as they could.
Well done to them all for getting from 25/12 - 5th Jan intact! Apart from Andre!
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