Day 90-SOMETHING....Before and After

Couple of observations.....

I've lost whatever sort of tan I had pre-PCP (maybe I should have got that spray-on after all?)

My hair is longer (maybe if I chopped it off I'd lose another 1/2 kgs?)

Sports bras really do nothing for you

More seriously though, I think my posture is a million times better now looking at these shots, something a few people at home have commented on. That's gotta be good.

Since we finished PCP last Wednesday, I've continued with the food. I've been skipping 20-30 mins each morning, and done either the 8min ab workout or 10 minutes of P's ab exercises. Starting back to broader resistance work at the gym on Wednesday. 

I still can't quite believe that 3 months of PCP are over! It hasn't always been easy but I have no regrets.... perhaps only that I spent a couple of months trying to resist doing it in the first instance.

Thanks Patrick.... amazing experience!

DAY 90 - stats

PRE PCP

bmi 20.1 / weight 63.6kgs / body fat 18.91%

POST PCP

bmi 18.8 / weight 59.5kgs / body fat 15.15%

Interestingly, these last stats are the same as the my stats at the end of the second month...  um, certainly didn't feel like I slacked off but maybe I did....?

DAY 90 (well almost....)

Having just received our Day 90 email, I’m sitting here wondering where the last 90 days have gone …  along with a few misplaced kilos and inches. I have emerged slimmer and smarter. My physique and outlook have changed forever (unless I get pregnant again – but that’s another blog!)  That’s what I have come to love about PCP; it’s actually just the start of being able to make more intelligent decisions about what food to eat and how to exercise for the long game. I don’t think you can put a price on that but, if you could, it would be a hell of a lot more than I paid to do this program.

And to think I couldn’t stand to hear Nath (hubby) talk about “PCP” in the weeks and months before signing up. I thought I was in relatively good shape. I had exercised for years and, along the way, had some great personal trainers. I didn’t think I would get much more from, what sounded like, a very regimented 90-day detox. NOTHING I did before compares to this, in experience or outcome.

Patrick has a wealth of knowledge that he disseminates brilliantly. The program is stepped up perfectly so you hardly realise the demands of the exercises (until the last few weeks, which are tough.) The eating program gets a little funky in the middle but, on the whole, I felt like I was eating more than I was pre-PCP. Nath and I haven’t been massively adventurous with the food, keeping our choices very simple in a bid to stay as compliant as possible, but I suspect we’ll experiment a little more now. I’m amazed how much my palette has changed, and foods that I thought I would miss (namely cheeeeeeese and chocolate) haven’t left too much of a gapping hole. The same is true of alcohol; without wanting to sound like a boring fart, a drink is now camped very much in the indulgence category rather than the daily one (where it used to be!) and by 'drink', I mean a glass of, not a bottle! It’s reassuring to say the least, and gives me confidence that this is sustainable.

As for the workouts, NOT sustainable, not for me at least! The last two or three weeks saw a big uptick in sets and reps that demanded 70+ minutes. That said, there are elements that I will definitely maintain on a regular basis (skipping and abs) but I think I will focus my resistance work a little more on strength going forward. Whatever happens, I’ve achieved a great level of fitness that I now have the knowledge to replicate if I feel the need at any time.  PCP has been a reset, it’s my new baseline and I can’t be happier.

Patrick…. It’s been emotional, really! There were times when I thought Nath and I had lost our social charisma forever (swerving nights out in favour of some egg whites and apple in front of the TV at about 10pm after the exercises had been kicked into touch, or going out to our local Argentinean restaurant and ordering a plate of vegetables instead of their mouth-watering steaks.) The farting has been out of this world – Nath’s of course, I’m a girl therefore I do not fart! I’m so impressed with the program content and the way you managed it  - hats off to you.  I know I speak for Nath too (as I quite often do anyway) when I say we’ll be very bullish on PCP with anyone who wants to listen – god knows we’ve been chewing everyone’s ears off with it the last 90 days, WHY STOP NOW?

To everyone in our group… what a relief that last email was, after today’s assault on the old muscles?! Is anyone opting to do Day 1/Work out 1 – come on, own up? I’ve found everyone’s blogs very cathartic at times, hilarious at others, but mostly motivational. Thanks to everyone for rounding off a brilliant experience – Brennan… I’m not thinking about Kung Fu, but GOOD LUCK TO YOU MY FRIEND! Oh, and special thanks to Rob, Tracey and Clive, all of whom have made the whole thing a little more personal. Best of luck x

(PS. Final stats and pics to follow)

Day 87 - GIRL POWER

The last few days of superset PCP are proving to be a rather weighty challenge for some in the Davison household. I have to admit to using free weights rather than bands for the shoulder assault today (burn doesn't come close, dislocation might be more appropriate?) and thought I might get it in the neck from Nath as watched whilst tiptoeing his way daintily through the skipping, breaking in the middle to touch up his manicure. BUT NO....  he later huffed and puffed his way through the exercises with the same weight (3kgs), stopping to ask through pained, gritted teeth"Is this the lightest weight we have?" ENOUGH SAID... he's clearly embarrassed. He's currently on  a plane to Hong Kong - Babe... when you read this, might I suggest you get one of the boys to explain the off-side rule before footie kicks off Monday night?

For those of you coming up through the ranks... it's tough, no denying. Since the reps and sets went through the roof a week or two ago I've been concentrating on form. It's meant I've struggled hitting some of the reps but I'm not going to beat myself up. I'm taking a long-term view on the benefits I can continue to reap from living in a much more PCP-compliant world going forward. Wednesday may be Day 90 but really it's the beginning of putting everything we've learnt into real life practice. As for the results of PCP itself, my trainer is coming into the gym on Day 90 (his one day off) to go through it with me and record the ugly truth about what I've done to my body over the last 3 months. Fingers crossed.

I count myself lucky that I've not had to hold down a day job at the same time - my hat off to everyone (including the other Mrs Davison) for getting through such a grueling program. 

Day 86: super-set / super-burn / super-tart

Before she beats me to it, I really did ask my wife if we had any lighter weights than 3kg today. In mitigation I was in mid 5x da-vinci/forward raise super set agony. Insane levels of hunger seem to be a common theme with other tail end PCPers as well I see. I thought we'd kissed goodbye to that scene after week 3. Continue to amaze myself with my skipping prowess - banging out around 180-200 a minute for the 2x9 minute sessions and now only tripping a few times. Weird ups and downs of enjoying the skipping and then not but in general still enjoying the overall exercises and diet and reckon i'll be sticking broadly to a lot of it in the real world..... Its quite binary, for me at least, with one omission/stray on the diet leading to another and starting a vicious cycle of poor quality food, therefore adding a few bad things back in won't really work. Won't miss doing 1.15 of exercises every day but definitely up for 30 mins 5 times a week - await to see what the P has up his sleeve in the way of maintenance plan...

Day 79 - Hugh Jackmann pleeeeeeease

Roller coaster continues... feeling better about things today - ignore the last post. Was defo under the weather last week - boys have colds and I came down with a mysterious rash - and stressed about a talk I have to give at the Royal Society of Medicine next week. Feeling more under control, more positive -  skipping and work out OK this morning.

Just enjoyed our PCP dinner watching Jonathon Ross - can't go wrong with a bit of Hugh Jackmann guest action, how GORGEOUS is he?! Hopefully not too unlike Nath's transformation when we're done with PCP (I can hope) - just need to get a voice coach in for that all important Aussie twang and we're away! Funnily enough, he talked about his eating regime when preparing for his Wolverine roles - steamed chicken and broccoli every two hours from 8am. I wonder if he farts like Nath too........?

Random post I know, just wanted to up the atmosphere on my recently downbeat thread.

Day 75 - how many?

PCP has been a real roller coaster for me and, I say this knowing Patrick has just emailed about being mindful not to move the mental goalposts but, I'm having a tough week. I'm now struggling with the number of sets/reps being set; not meeting them feels like failure, likewise having to reduce my resistance/weight to try to meet them. Of course I know I look better than when we started (fitter, healthier, smaller - whatever) but I visualize progress as a steady upward trajectory. Right now I feel knackered, run down, weaker than I've ever felt (can this be true....?) - but at least I'm not ill. Ummm.... should be punching out far more upbeat posts at this point in the program - fingers crossed for next week.