A whirlwind of workouts

Me battling the morning run

So here we are again. And no it is not deja-vu.

It only seems like last week I was here reminiscing about a year of work outs and the end of an era, but bizarrely I’m here again with a similar story.

It was sudden surprise when Jonny announced he was heading home back in February, but I wasn’t surprised to learn it would again be a semi-permanent arrangement.

Moreover, there was little time to bask in the joy of a rekindled C&J, as it was straight back to work.

Jonny needed to prepare for his next adventure to Nepal and I was in drastic need of renewed gym motivation and gains.

So with these goals in mind, we embarked on round 2 and below is a summary of a hectic 5 months…

It all started with circuit hell! And the first few sessions were nothing short of torture.

Each rep was agony, with each and every muscle screaming out for sanctuary. Our initial ambitions were unrealistic and muscle recovery took far too much time to achieve.

After a few rough weeks though, we eventually got back into the swing of things. Workouts were becoming a success once more and definition was beginning to make a welcomed return to the party.

We then decided to innovate, with Jonny buying a bane style oxygen restriction mask and introducing the savage squat rack to our strength sessions.

Unfortunately Jonny’s flight feet then threw a spanner into the works as he spent a few weeks jetting off on a number of untimely drinking holidays. When I later followed suit with a drinking holiday of my own, its was quite clear that things had taken a turn for the worst.

To make matters worse, the weather decided to revert back to the typical British diva we all know and hate and cast a its miserable spell on us, ruining session after session.

Regardless of this, we eventually got back on track, but it meant we had lost a lot of valuable time. To counteract this Jonny had a master plan to promote success; and fast!

Here-in the diet challenge, morning running and 30, 30, 30, 30’s were introduced. I will be going into more gritty details about these nasty little endeavours in my next instalment.

Put simply, the morning runs created more time to train and the challenge offered the motivation to see things through. Twinned with this, the 30, 30, 30, 30’s enabled us to achieve great abs to reward our fat burning efforts a little more.

Unfortunately fate would smite us one more time as I became ill and out of action for over a week with only a week to go before our challenge. Luckily when the storm blew over I was gifted with one last week to put things right.

And boy did we use that week. Jonny’s trusty diary confirmed that we hit the gym harder than we had ever done before. Everyday was filled with some form of gain through pain activity. Put simply, everything we could do, we did.

So now we have parted again for now. We finished our challenge and achieved what we set out to. Jonny has gone to scale mountains full of beans and I am again back on track to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

But from here-on in, the future looks uncertain. As I prepare to move house and Jonny looks set for military action upon his return, things at C&J could once again seize to remain. Or should I say seize to remain the same. I think the motivation for health is deep rooted in our veins now and I think February just proved that our endeavours would be a life-long struggle.

A new adventure awaits and as our motivation to write and inspire remains, all that is left to say is…

Until the next time!

(Chris speaking) from C&J Active

Your everyday fitness friends.

Row, row and row some more

Jonny endures Rowing pain

A lot has happened since I last touched base on here.

Considering this was only a few weeks back, the mere thought is an exhausting one.

But the fact that I am here is a relief, as our last challenge was set to push Jonny and I to our absolute limits!

Last you may recall, we were both charging ahead with our preparations, but the sheer magnitude of what lay ahead was overwhelming.

So just to recap, the battle ahead dictated that Jonny and I must strip down by a staggering one stone. And for every pound over they must endure 1000 reps on the rower. All reps must be completed in 24 hours.

With literally days to go before the main event I was feeling sick to my stomach. The weight wasn’t shifting and I missed out on a crucial cardio blast.

Fortunately this was putting me off my food and I restricted myself to war style rations.

Meanwhile Jonny must have been feeling the heat too, quite literally, as he endured hours in sauna style gym conditions, pouring into a sticky sweatsuit.

Jonny weighed in and went first. He came in 5 pounds over the target. This added to my nerves as I was convinced he would hit.

His stint started early in the morning and went on for what seemed like a lifetime. I only received the occasional update and it did not sound pleasant!

I’ll never know exactly what happened during his date with the rower, all I know is that 6 hours later I at last received confirmation that the deed was done.

To add a twist to the tale, in a rare occurrence, Jonny admitted his potential for punishment had reached a step to far and limited my row to the same distance as his; should I exceed the weight count of course. This filled me with a mix of relief and sheer terror, but more so the latter, as I knew this challenge could only spell hell!

I weighed in on Friday night, 9 pounds over the target. I usually weigh in roughly 2 pounds under in the usual morning weigh, so I concluded it was 7 pounds over in total. It was disappointing but still pleasing when I considered my achievement in the wider scale of things. I had lost almost a stone.

So the next morning, it was simply pure punishment for me.

I started at 2.30pm and was feeling good. I was loading with energy items and water and began with a good stretch.

I had pondered the best strategy for a few days, but Jonny was quite adamant that I go with a 100 rep approach with small breaks, until 1000 reps and then have a slightly longer break. His reasoning very soon became clear.

Jonny also suggested that I should aim for each 100 within 5 minutes if I aimed to make good time.

So after starting my quest, it didn’t take long until the reality of the task hit me like a wrecking ball. I was already breaking a sweat.

Soon enough however, Jonny put on the second Hobbit film for me and I was suddenly finding my rhythm.

I was making great time and felt optimistic. I had a vision of knocking out the reps by the end of the film and enjoying the rest of the day, chilling with a burger and beers.

Jonny soon got bored and left me to endure my endless fate alone.

This was fine for a good while, but at 2000 reps I was suddenly hitting some kind of sailor wall. It was like a form of sea sickness. The constant movement back and forth was sending me doolally and a crippling ache in my lower back and arms was starting to kick in.

I was lifted from this trance with a great action scene in the film, but this proved only to be a temporary grace, as shortly after I lost all focus on the film and could only think of pain.

The half way point was an interesting marker. It felt good to make it half way, but disillusioned at the though of doing it all again.

Jonny came back to join me as the film finished and it was becoming clear that I was dropping off the early pace significantly. So much for my early film finish.

I was pre-warned about the torturous nature of the last 2000 reps and oh boy did they deliver! The arm and back pain became more intense with every rep and every rep got slower.

All I could do is slog it out and try to ignore the pain. It must have looked grotesque; sweat stained, red faced, angry and deranged. To make matters worse, the sun started to blaze through the windows.

A powerful hunger came over me with 1000 reps to go and I craved beer and burger like oxygen.

With a few hundred reps to go it was confirmed that Jonny had finished before me. It this point I did not care.

I battled for each and every rep. Jonny assured me that the last 200 were not too bad, due to the finishing line being in sight. I failed to feel that benefit until the last 100 and then suddenly it felt like magic. A burst of energy took over and I at last reached the shore!

A marathon on the rower was complete; and it took 6 hours 20 minutes. I was elated. However it didn’t really stem for pride, but rather relief! It’s only now upon reflection I can appreciate the achievement.

It was odd because after all those hours, the pain was less intense than in previous challenges. It’s quite clear that this challenge was one for the mind. Unexpected but ultimately we couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Getting yourself to the gym is a mental challenge; it is mind over matter and getting through life is exactly the same!

So if this does turn out to be mine and Jonny’s last challenge for many years to come, I’ll leave C&J content.

After all Jonny stated in his last blog, he believes that we should constantly push our limits and never give up. I believe in this too and think everyone should follow suit.

If you don’t quite understand what I mean, try doing the challenge for yourself and everything will soon become clear…

Until the next time!

(Chris speaking) from C&J Active

Your everyday fitness friends.

Armour expert supplies the war

After a sudden burst back on the scene, things are already in full swing again.

But beside all the usual toil and triumph, an unlikely opportunity also came my way recently.

It was one that filled me with excitement, anticipation and unease.

Although the term ‘unease’ sounds contradictory, believe me, in many people’s eye’s dread might have seemed a more fitting feeling.

I say this because the amazing opportunity that was thrust upon me was packaged as a potential poisoned chalice.

But in usual C&J spirit, our ego was unable to overlook a challenge and the advertisement for this challenge was too much of a flirt to ignore.

The opportunity in question was an event called Armour Camp and it was branded as ‘the toughest workout of your life!’

Interestingly this opportunity was gifted solely to me and not fitness fanatic Jonny.

This could only mean two things…

1. The most average Joe and out of prime candidate faced the potentially perilous task!

2. I had to contend with an insanely jealous Jonny who suddenly felt in competition with the big guys to prove his fitness credibility.

All things considered though, the week building up to the event was great. Training was starting to show and confidence was building.

However in true C&J style though I had obtained the devil from Jonny’s right shoulder and hit the booze the night before the event.

It was poor judgement on my part, I know, but at this point arrogance was pulling the strings and in my mind the session was full of its own hype.

Interestingly my carefree approach seemed to be working well and I somehow avoided a brutal hangover the next day.

Upon arrival at the venue however, it quickly became clear that this was going to be no walk in the park.

An abundance of fine specimens in tight training gear asserted themselves towards a huge pimped out warehouse at Trafford Park.

A wave of hangover sickness hit me as I walked towards the afterlife underbelly.

Big signs and echoed voices then reiterated the arduous scale of what lay ahead and I had to sign a disclaimer form.

At this point my cocky demeanour was completely stripped.

Upon entry I was overwhelmed by promotional videos and camera crew.

I was then distracted by a free T-shirt and a card to write my inspirational quote for the day.

I had to go with our trademark saying #beambitious

Although I knew it was all part of the promotion, I still felt inspired. But at this point the corporate vibe again made me question the true nature of the challenge and Mr arrogant made an unwelcome return to the party.

It soon became evident that we had arrived early as I was shocked to see crowds of fitness junkies flock through the doors.

Surely these couldn’t all be enthusiasts?

I started to feel uneasy once more.

During the wait I found myself venture into the preparation room. I was immediately disturbed to find a pull up bar with someone in their late 50’s smashing out reps.

Surely this was a one off guy who was just over the top, I thought.

With this in mind I’d soon had enough preparation and went to join the main room in which we were then split into 5 groups.

As we entered the main arena I was again filled with excitement and awe. I felt ready for the challenge ahead.

Upon entry to a giant circular room we were greeted by Greek god like Under Armour PT’s and was presented with a motivational video projected onto an enormous wall.

All the while speakers blasted out the Prodigy, drones hovered overhead and there were cameras everywhere.

This all helped induce a surge of adrenaline and sent a shiver down my spine.

The PT leader then addressed us all as athletes and initiated the potential suicide mission.

The warm up started in true C&J style with squats, high knees and crucifixes, amongst other things.

At this point the word athlete was playing on my mind and the addition of crucifixes during the warm up sent alarm bells screaming.

I was concerned.

I should have known this was the train to hell as the PT then sealed our fate.

5 stations lay before us. Each one as lethal as the last.

We had to endure everything from the Kettle Bell squat and press, to resistance press ups; and everything in between. All the while the devil’s demons ensured we endured insatiable torture.

As I approached the half way point I was in serious trouble. Last night’s atrocities had caught up to me and evidence of my serious underestimation was being brutally confirmed.

As I approached the bottomless pit of despair, a wave of determination hit me and like a tough old pair of boots, I endured.

I miraculously made it through.

But it wasn’t over just yet.

A challenge called the last man standing was the fearsome finale.

It basically meant whoever could squat the longest was crowed victorious.

Sorry to disappoint but I wasn’t in contention. I gave it my all but collapsed mid-way through.

As the challenge concluded I had a time to take everything in.

People were screaming with encouragement and a mass cheer erupted as the winner was crowned.

Everyone was buzzing with endorphins and the mood was infectious. I felt part of a real community and it was a simple reminder that we all face a daily battle but are stronger if we face it together.

Ok so I may have got caught up in the drama a little bit at the end there.

Other than making me reflect on life, my survival also assured me of 2 things:

1. We are certainly on track with our workout structure. The circuit was very similar to one of our strength circuits

2. We are back on track with our commitment and progression goals

I now feel ready to kick on with our summer workout schedule, even if I may be slightly out of pocket due to a newly developed addiction to Under Armour clothing.

Dare I say bring it on again next year Armour camp…?

Until the next time.

C&J Active

(Your everyday fitness friends)

End of the line

It took me an eternity to get started on this post.

For what seemed like hours on end I pondered what to write. And the reason being; I simply found it difficult to summarise the current set of circumstances at C&J.

In contrast, the sheer amount of happenings here has been a relentless onslaught of twists and turns.

It pains me to say it, but after much deliberation, I can only conclude that since my last post, C&J got an almighty kick-start, but then suddenly ran out of gas.

Before I delve into the nitty-gritty, I really feel like its my duty to inform you that Jonny is actually alive! Believe it or not, after 12 long weeks, he lumbered home with far too much facial hair and more insect bites than sense. He was however, unscathed and unhinged as always.

So here is the story since…

It was surreal to see Jonny again. After many stories of flash floods, sentimental sloths and insect injuries, we were soon ‘back on the rack’. And I use the inverted commas because this was the title of the blog post I was originally meant to write…

Pretty much from the get go, training was nothing short of torture. It was quite clear that we were both out of shape and the only way up was to suffer, suffer again and then suffer some more.

After every session, sweat streamed from every orifice and the pain lingered for days on end.

But sure enough things were returning back to way they were.

However, as much as our old routine was rekindled, I couldn’t help but feel as though our ship had already sailed and we were trying ignite an old flame.

I had little time to dwell on this thought though as training occupied my every thought. I’m pretty sure it did Jonny too.

As all fitness fanatics know, with consistent pain, eventually comes the gain. Out of nowhere, definition started to blossom. The unsuspecting fat was stripped, and then the motivation was sparked.

From thereon in training worked like clockwork again. And it was great!

I then got the message that changed everything.

It was short and sweet but reaffirmed what I think I anticipated all along.

‘I’ve got some bad news’, it read.

‘I’ve found some work back in Yorkshire so this will be our last week!’

Although I wasn’t that shocked, it still took me off guard.

But it didn’t stop there.

5 minutes later I got another message.

‘In fact the guy wants an immediate start, my last day will be Thursday.’

The next day was a shock nail in the coffin. Another message came through.

‘Can you believe it, I actually go tonight?’

I was dumbfounded at that last one, I’m not going to lie.

So I dropped everything and decided to head around later that night.

We were going to go for a drink as a send off, but let’s be honest we had to end were it started; IN THE GYM!

It was 2 hours of sheer graft! Our most motivational playlist blasted throughout and every ounce of energy was spent, right until the very end.

And that was that.

We have agreed when we’ll catch up again, but essentially we now head down different paths.

But I’m sure the story wont end there.

We are gym rats, and that’s a fact.

Jonny already has plans to ensure fitness remains a top priority.

So the question is, can we keep it up?

If I have learned anything from the Costa Rican break, I’m going to say yes. I don’t think I need to vouch for Jonny. We all know he’s crazy enough to keep it up.

So although it’s over for now, it isn’t really over.

I’ll be keeping up the blogs from my side and Jonny from his. And whether it be 2 years or 20, I have no doubt that Jonny and I will somehow find ourselves doing burpees for breakfast again.

Until the next time…

C&J Active

(Your everyday fitness friends)

So long C&J structure

Today I feel like I’m waking this withered old page up from the dead.

It now feels like a lifetime ago since Jonny left to live the jungle life and without me knowing it, what was once a way a life has now escaped me.

Looking back to previous postings confirms that the spirit of C&J was getting frosty. It seems as though I was trying to restrain water with cupped hands.

So it’s now been weeks since I last posted on here and I’ve adopted my own structure. I should have known it was inevitable, all the signs were there. Now I think about it, they were apparent pretty much straight after Jonny had left.

I can only conclude that I like to do things my way. However a couple of things concern me with this. One, this is a very stubborn and closed-minded approach and two, I tend to believe my own hype.

Put simply, I think I have all the answers to success; in all aspects of life really.

The issue being of course is that more often than not I don’t have the answers. Moreover the last time I trained my way, I got into some bad habits and consequently the results were bleak.

So have you resorted back to old ways, I hear you ask.

And in response I can only say yes and no. For starters let’s just be clear, Jonny’s envelopes have been a non starter. I do feel bad about that, but hey ho some things just don’t work out. The one positive that has come from them though is that they have kept fitness thoughts fresh in my mind.

Let’s continue with the bad. Diet has been a struggle. This has always been an Achilles heal. However without a voice of reason, sticking to a structured and healthy diet has been hard.

Also, completion of the dreaded legs days has been an issue. Possibly the most evil of all sessions and also the best for you. An understandable but inexcusable failure I would say.

And to top things off, cardio has taken a cut. Not sure if it’s the summer heat or just sheer laziness, but one things for sure, the 5 k’s are no longer coming think and fast.

Now lets consider what’s working well.

I think the most important thing at this stage is that I am actually still going the gym. I somehow seem to drag myself there 3 times a week, regardless of my mood.

Also I’m surprised to find that I’m making progress with the amount lifted. It’s quite satisfying.

And last but not least, by some miracle, I seem to still be in good shape. Forgive me for getting carried away, but I’m arguably more so now than before Jonny left.

Well I say this but that’s not entirely true. Arguably I’m getting bigger, sure but I’m also gathering a ghastly gut again. This I guess reflects my downfalls.

But you know what the earth hasn’t come crashing down and its strange to think that Jonny will be heading home in a few weeks time. Well that’s if he’s not married a Costa Rican local yet or started his own tribe or something.

Usually I like to spare a thought to what Jonny might be up to over there in my updates, but at this stage I couldn’t even hazard a guess.

So I expect I will now only find time to post one or two updates before things may or may not return to normal, so for the time being I just intend to keep hitting the gym and I’m going to force myself to do a run in an effort to spark a cardiovascular revival.

Let the last few weeks begin …

Until the next time.

C&J Active

(Your everyday fitness friends)

Trying to get back on track

So we are now approaching week 5 of the C&J split and theoretically the half way point should be in sight.

But in reality my calculations are a little out and I would say we are looking at a good 6 to 7 weeks before things resume to normal.

I think this lack of judgement reflects a couple of things; one I have now fell victim to a schedule which is erratic and without structure, and two, I seriously underestimated the implications of a long haul split.

10 weeks sounds relatively short when you don’t give it much thought.

As previously stated though, all is not lost!

The overarching feeling last week was one of defiance but not defeat. My aim was to get back on track and continue with the C&J structure.

Determined to do the right thing I forced myself to unearth the contents of another envelope.

The content was a daunting prospect. After assessing the mountain that lay ahead, I came to the conclusion there was simply too much to climb. And I don’t say that because the goals sounded unachievable, I just seemed to be backtracking on a schedule that had never been. It’s sad to say, I never even joined Jonny’s journey of structure and as a consequence I have to go it alone.

As this potent thought grew around me like a black cloud I could have easily thrown the towel in, but I decided not to.

Now is the time for me to take charge of my own fitness goals and you know what I think I’ve somehow managed to achieve that this week.

I started by taking elements of Jonny’s routine and applied them to make my own.

Things then started to just snowball from there.

I started with abs and shoulders on Monday.

I then threw in an arms session on Tuesday.

I was making protein shakes on Wednesday.

And then it was chest, back, legs on Thursday and Friday,

And now I’m chilled on Sunday.

I’m not quite sure why I thought I would turn that into a dodgy version of an iconic song, perhaps all this new-found fitness buzz is sending me a little giddy.

All joking aside though, I would like to emphasise the word ‘snowball’. I had one good session and then the next day I just wanted to replicate the success.

I took a look in the mirror and thought, yes them abs are looking good, but what about your arms? The next day it was like, yeh great arm pump but what about your chest. And so on.

My own gripe for this week is the lack of cardio completion. As we’ve said on previous occasions, trying to fit everything in, is a struggle. This is proving to be even more the case as I train alone.

So I guess the best way to summarise this week is, I did fail to get back on track, but that’s because I was trying to continue with a journey I never started.

I will still strive to succeed when the next envelope comes around, however for the next week or so I’m going to see if this snowball can turn into an avalanche.

Oh before I leave things there I should have another guess at what Jonny might be up in his journey right now. I’m going to say he’s been adopted by a local tribe and is currently living in a tree house somewhere.

Until the next time!

C&J Active

(Your everyday fitness friends)

Snap out of it!

We love to challenge ourselves here at C&J. You may have guessed.

Bring on the burpees. Lumber us with lunges or leg lifts. Make us suffer with squats; we don’t care.

Yeh ok I’m starting to come across a bit arrogant. I admit I probably head home after a big session success with a certain smugness.

But, and its a big but that ironically could result in something big; there is a demon that far too often wipes that smug feeling off mine and Jonny’s face.

There is a monster that lurks innocently in the shadow. It waits patiently, ready to lure us into its deadly trap.

It’s incredible how some evils don’t have to spring into action to corrupt their target. This particular evil attacks the temptation button with sumptuous smells, tastes and colours.

So I get home after conquering Everest but then whilst at my most vulnerable I hit a blizzard.

I am in fact talking about the dreaded F word…

Food is the Achilles heel.

Failure in this area is often uttered in hush tones in the world of men’s fitness. And for good reason. It is common knowledge that diet is the key to success in the gym.

Some even go as far to say that workout gain works on the basis of 90% diet and 10% gym.

Now I’m not sure how much truth can be taken from these figures, however the mere thought of this stat fills me and I’m sure many others, with dread.

So I get home, endorphins pumping through the blood and I’m feeling great. I even keep up the work with recovery protein shake.

I’m almost there!

All I need to do now is rustle up a nice tuna pasta and then its mission complete.

But no.

I open the fridge and find a pizza glaring at me with its puppy dog eyes.

‘Please eat me. I taste great all you have to do is throw me in the over for 15 minutes.’

I’m sold. Like a man in a trance, I find myself undressing the thing and then doing the unthinkable…

What was a great success has suddenly turned into a catastrophe.

Unfortunately this wasn’t my first time.

And the hardest thing to do is admit to myself that it’s a crisis. I’m sure Jonny would agree.

So with our ever scheming mind, we’ve come up with a plan.

Jonny has supplied us with a stack of strong elastic bands.

Sounds odd I know.

The concept is simple. We place a tight band around our wrist and every time we think, or go to eat an unhealthy food, we must ping the band against our skin with real conviction.

And guys believe me when I say, it hurts like a f****** B****! Its like being pierced with a hot rusty poker. Ok maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it is not nice. Not only that it leaves a nice rosy mark for all to see.

This, I believe, is a technique Jonny has adapted from addiction conditioning, of which the concept is very much the same.

It sounds extreme, but maybe that’s what we need! Jonny has already began his therapy and I’ve reluctantly agreed its time I give it a go too.

Let’s just say the next few weeks are going to be painful. Let’s just hope it will be worth it!

Until the next time.

C&J Active

(Your everyday fitness friends)

The ab life for me

Just a quick one today.

As always things are hectic here at C&J. After a shaky Easter period we have patched up the cracks and the fitness regime is once again working with military precision.

The mayhem of the monthly challenge is back, courtesy of a Bear Gyrlls extreme challenge and we are now back outside as summer begins to show its welcomed presence once more.

After the dark days of bulking during the winter months, the focus is now on fat burning and lean muscle gain. Additionally its all about mental and physical preparation for when Jonny delves into jungle chaos.

So we’ve been hitting the cardio hard!

We have also been smashing the abs. But I’m not going to lie, its been a challenge!

From our experience,we have found that Abs do not come overnight. A washboard physique takes serious manual labour.

A few days off and curry and your back to square one.

So we have found a few battle strategies to help in our pursuit.

One: We incorporate Ab workouts into every session.

Two: We have a weekly rugby league score prediction challenge, of which the punishment is Ab related exercises. (See our previous blog for more details. https://candjactive.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/i-bet-the-new-season-will-get-me-in-shape/

Three: We have to complete 3 sets of varied Ab crunches with 20 reps each morning and night and snapchat each other as evidence.

Now I think 3 is our most effective method to date. At first it is a struggle, but due to the evidence aspect,you are forced into it. Anyone who doesn’t snap the evidence inevitable gets punished with extra sets in the gym.

So a few weeks on, this daily task is now becoming a way of life. And it last our abs are starting to feel the effects!

So as the sun steadily heats up for its  settlement we are feeling quite confident that we will be ready!

Until the next time.

C&J Active

(Your everyday fitness friends)

The ‘pair’fect way to train

It really is the age-old question. How do we keep ourselves motivated?

From the day it all began and probably until the day it all ends, we have and will continue to fight for this self-starting solution.

I bet its everyone’s inner frustration.

Even those who sail the seven seas and have time to write a book about it, will have days were the demonic laziness casts out its chains and cripples them.

Anyway I think you get the picture.

Now, what has this got to do with C&J I hear you ask?

Well I’ve been pondering where we are at training wise a lot lately and its no secret that the dynamics of our regime and even our rants about it, have undergone a mass fluctuation. It’s evident just from looking at our WordPress stats. It looks like a roller-coaster I wouldn’t like to ride, put it that way.

And what’s interesting, is that a clear pattern has emerged.

What’s always been great about us, is how Jonny and I lead polar opposite lifestyles and are bought together through shared interests. However in recent times, this contrast has proved both testing and costly.

Let’s consider a real life example. I think this will be the best way to summarise our dilemma.

Jonny and I were training hard for our head to head battle. Hours of heavy labour and man hours were being spent in the gym.

Things were shaping nicely.

With only 2 weeks to go confidence was sky-high and the competition was heating up.

And then all of a sudden the unthinkable happened!

As Jonny’s expedition preparations came to fruition he realised that he had an important and grave task to complete. As he put it ‘the next few days are not going to be pretty’.

He had to take a shot of death, and from what I can gather, his words pretty much hit the nail on the head.

He was struck down with typhoid fever and was forced into a shivering fit of isolation, whilst his reluctant antibodies were plunged into chaos.

Not pretty!

But anyway this quite simply, left me in the lurch.

All of our sessions were cancelled! C&J Active had come to a halt. It was now C active and I had to go it alone.

Don’t get me wrong this didn’t deter me for one second! As far as I was concerned it gave me an advantage, a chance to take charge with a clear run to victory.

So with this in mind I hit the gym pretty much everyday, as originally planned.

At first it was great. I was picking up momentum and my confidence was swelling.

However as time wore on, and it was becoming clear that Jonny was out for the count, my productivity started to wither.

I was still hitting the gym hard, still attacking the same routines, but I just couldn’t ignite that fire to dig deep. I mean progress was good, but it just wasn’t enough to deliver the goods and reach my goals.

And then Easter approached! Alcohol and poor diet plagued us both and suddenly C&J was plunged in turmoil and our head to head was forcibly postponed.

So it was today, as we embarked on our recovery session, that confirmed what I knew all along.

It was a great session and suddenly we are back on track.

Just having someone with you to train sparks and feeds that little thing called motivation. It feeds it like fuel to a flame, and then fans them flames just as they threaten to extinguish.

Having someone to slap you if you consider giving up, having someone to distract you from the excruciating pain as it hits you, having someone to remind you of that end goal and to remind you that you can actually do it; it all acts as a winning formula for success.

Training in pairs is truly underrated. The power of shared goals should never be underestimated.

So it’s no secret that the clock now ticks away on our time before Jonny’s descent into the jungle. How will we continue without the power of 2? Will we conjure up a new solution or will we simply wing it? Or will we have no other option but to scour the surroundings for a new fitness friend? One things for certain there are no quitters in C&J’s gym so it should be interesting to see what happens…

Until the next time!

C&J Active

Your everyday fitness friends

Suffer for your sins part 3

The icy blast of the cold night air targeting my sweat ridden sores. Relieved but overwhelmed I hobbled to my car trying to muster up a master plan, whilst ignoring the unrelenting pain that had me in a vice.

Just to recap Jonny and I were currently 2/3 of the way through a punishment, which really did deliver in its purpose.

The plan was simply this. Jonny and I vowed to not drink during January and maintain our current weight. Failure to do so would result in 1000 burpees each for each discrepancy.

We both failed and massively underestimated the consequence that was to come.

As I drove home, the endorphins started to kick in and the warmth of the heating triggered a new wave of optimism.

‘300 left, no problem. 100 after tea, 100 before work and 100 after work.

Its a plan’, I convinced myself.

As I sat down for much needed food, an incapacitating ache starts to wrap me in chains. My eyes had suddenly turned into shutters.

‘Oh s…!’

I dashed for the full fat coke for caffeine.

It was no use.

After tea I hauled myself upstairs and embraced the burpee position. I began the punishment once more and felt like I had been hit by a truck.

My wrists were wailing in pain, my legs felt like match sticks that were about to snap and my blistering feet screamed with dismay.

I could only manage 30 before collapsing in a cold sweat, shaking on the floor.

It was at this point I lost all hope.

The only ray I could cling on to, was the hope I would recover over night.

It never happened. I awoke an hour early to honour the deed, but was left paralysed with pain.

It was over.

As I hobbled into work, barely able to walk, never mind anything else, I thought of the impossible task of completing 270 burpees in 30 minutes and the horror of enduring all of the agony again upon my failure. It was a poisonous prospect.

As 5am approached the pain thankfully started to ease slightly. The same thought haunted me again. So with nothing to lose at this point I heading home for one final fight.

Thankfully the traffic was sparse and I got home in good time.

Like a man deranged I ignored all pleasantries, offers of food and got straight to it.

Likewise Jonny had struggled to make headway and was in a blind panic to succeed. Luckily he had 20 minutes head start and could see some light at the end of the tunnel.

I used this to spur me on.

Fuelled by adrenaline, determination and dam right insanity, I defied all of my bodily cries to stop.

However my body only (very reluctantly) allowed me to complete 10 at a time.

I felt like a boxer in the final round who was clearly flailing and knew they had to go for knockout.

Another 10 done.

Time seemed to have slowed down to give me a fighting chance.

Another 10 done.

The sweat was like a tropical storm flying from me.

Another 10 done.

My face was ruby red.

Another 10 done.

I had to see how Jonny was doing. He had 50 to do and I had 100.

Another 10 done.

I felt like my spine was about to snap.

Time soon started accelerating. But then I had a buzz from Jonny to say he was done.

Now this is were I add a twist to the tale. As the task was for us both to complete 1000, we had agreed a clause that should one flounder, the other can jump in to help. But in light of this, we also agreed that should one of us fail, we would both have to restart the punishment.

So with no time to spare Jonny jumped in to endure more pain. He must not have been impressed.

It was a race against time.

In sets of 10 we went for it.

With 10 minutes to spare I had lost all mental reasoning.

I had come this far not to fail and I was hitting it like an express train determined to make my destination on time.

I was numb to all pain and did not stop braving the burpees until the very end.

Jonny did like wise.

It was over.

I recorded a finish of 970 burpees. Hands shaking like a pneumatic drill I text Jonny to find out our fate…

It felt like a life time for a reply.

…

1040 his final total.

I threw a bottle of water over my head and then lay on the floor for a long time.

An overwhelming sense of pride hit me like I could never have imagined.

What started out as a silly little game of resist the temptation, ended quite differently.

I didn’t expect to feel like I was in the depths of despair, but to overcome what seemed like an impossibility was emotional.

Now I know I’m coming across all braveheart again. I know it was just some little challenge that we conquered up. Unfortunately no medals will be coming our way; but for me it felt like a metaphor for life.

No matter how bad things seem, if you really put your mind to it you can succeed. Its about standing up to your fear and smashing through it.

For me though, the most important lesson learned from this, is the value of teamwork.

If it wasn’t for that final push and helping hand, I would have failed. In fact we both would have. I think its just worth bearing that in mind.

Anyway you will be glad to hear that after a few days of Compeed, ice and rest Jonny and I are somehow still around and back to the gym. Although funnily enough the word ‘burpee’ seems to be a swearword, at least for now.

Until the next time!

C&J Active

(your everyday fitness friends)