Just the Beginning

Well folks, just over 365 days have passed since we started this experiment, and for me, this moment is both fulfilling and bittersweet. Throughout this year I've had my share of ups and downs, learning along the way the values of motivation, time management, and eating healthy.

The Original Paleo Diet

If anything, you could say the Burpee Experiment has given me the determination to continue on this exercise journey, while potentially exploring other fitness avenues, such as triathlons, mud runs, and maybe even a marathon or two. And overall, I feel as though I'm in as good of shape as I've ever been both physically and mentally.

But now it comes down to the question I'm sure ALL of you have wondered over the past year. Is the Burpee Experiment really the greatest full body workout of all time?

And the answer is....

Who the heck really knows? Honestly, there are a million different exercises out there, and what I've learned over the course of this year is that every person is different. What works for some people, may not work for others. I catered this workout to my own body, so if I can leave you with some advice, I'd say try out different workouts until you find one that works best for you.

For me, this experiment worked, and I'll let those numbers speak for themselves. As in my post from December of 2011, I've completed the President's Fitness Challenge for a second time to compare those results. They're listed below along with my results from a 7 minute burnout set as well my 52 week Burpee grand total:

Personal Information
State: Texas

Gender: Male
Age: 28

Body Composition

Height: 5 feet 10 inches (I unfortunately didn't grow in height...)

Weight: 
2011 Weight: 156 lbs.
2012 Weight: 145 lbs. 

Waist Measurement:
2011 WM: 32 inches
2012 WM: 30 inches

BMI/Body Mass Index: 
2011 BMI: 22.4
2012 BMI: 20.8

Aerobic Fitness
1.5 Mile Run Time: 
2011 Time:  12 minutes 8 secons
2012 Time:  11 minutes 24 seconds
Heart Rate: 
2011 Rate: 180 bpm
2012 Rate: 140 bpm

Muscular Strength

Half Sit-ups/Crunches (in one minute): 
2011 Half Sit-ups: 60
2012 Half Sit-ups: 100 

Push-ups (in one minute): 
2011 Push-ups: 56
2012 Push-ups: 73 

Flexibility

Sit and Reach: 
2011 S&R: 12 inches from knees
2012 S&R: 13 inches from knees 

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time (Morning)	Total Time (Night)	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
12/24/2012	REST
12/25/2012	Burnout Set	1	7 min 00 sec			104
12/26/2012	REST
12/27/2012	REST
12/28/2012	Fitness Test
12/29/2012	REST
12/30/2012	REST

52 Week Grand Total: 23,612 Burpees

Finally, I'll leave you all with another stirring quote from Sir Winston Churchill.

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Love and Respect,
Drew

Let's Get Physical

It's now been a year since I received my last physical, and going into my appointment I was feeling a bit apprehensive. Did I eat healthy enough this year? Did I push myself hard enough (but not too hard) in my workouts? Have I gotten those desired results I was after? Did I hear my body talk?

Olivia Newton-John thinks so.

These are some of the more logical and ridiculous questions I've been asking myself over the past few weeks. But before I get into my blood work and physical results, I thought I'd share the results from my final full week of workouts below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time  Per Set	Total  Burpees
12/17/2012	Mix 1	6	6 min 57 sec	30 sec	60
12/18/2012	Ladder	15	12 min 38 sec	30 sec	120
12/19/2012	Pull-ups	6	6 min 43 sec	30 sec	60
12/20/2012	REST
12/21/2012	Mix 2	6	5 min  28 sec	30 sec	60
12/22/2012	Mix 3	7	7 min 38 sec	30 sec	70
12/23/2012	REST

And now for the updated results from my physical:

Physical Results (December 14th, 2012):

• Height: 5'10"
• Weight: 145 lbs. (total weight lost = 11 lbs.)
• Body Mass Index (BMI): 20.8 (in the normal range of 18.5-25)
• Temperature: 98.6 F
• Blood Pressure: 138/86 (a little high because of the coffee I drank that morning...)
• Pulse: 61 beats per minute (bpm)

Comprehensive Metabolic Panel:

Glucose: 98 (expected range 65 - 100)

BUN: 13 (8 - 25)

Creatinine: 1.0 (0.8 - 1.4)

eGFR: 90 (>60)

BUN/Creat: 12.4 (6 - 28)

Sodium: 141 (133 - 146)

Potassium: 4.5 (3.5 - 5.3)

Chloride: 99 (97 - 100)

Carbon Dioxide: 27 (18 - 30)

Calcium: 9.0 (8.5 - 10.5)

Protein: 6.7 (6.0 - 8.4)

Albumin: 4.6 (2.9 - 5.0)

Globulin: 2.2 (2.0 - 3.8)

A/G Ratio: 2.1 (0.9 - 2.5)

Bilirubin: 0.9 (0.1 - 1.3)

Alkaline Phosphatase: 65 (30 - 132)

SGOT (AST): 15 (5 - 35)

SGPT (ALT): 19 (7 - 56)

CBC W/ Auto Diff:

White Blood Count: 3.6 (expected range 4.0 - 11.0) 

Red Blood Count: 5.33 (4.10 - 5.70)

Hemoglobin: 14.9 (13.0 - 17.0)

Hematocrit: 45.3 (37.0 - 49.0)

Mean Corpuscular Volume: 84.9 (80.0 - 100.0)

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin: 28.0 (27.0 - 34.0)

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration: 32.9 (32.0 - 35.5)

Red Cell Distribution Width: 13.6 (11.0 - 15.0)

Platelet Count: 253 (140 - 440)

Lipid Panel:

Cholesterol: 188 (120 - 200)

Triglycerides: 71 (30 - 200)

HDL Cholesterol: 56 (30 - 70)
LDL Cholesterol: 117 (0-129)

Overall, there seems to have been a good difference in just about everything that was tested (not to mention the 11 lbs. I lost) with the majority of categories remaining in the expected "healthy" range and only a few falling below due to the illness I had a few weeks ago.

With all that being said, my doctor explained my blood work looked great overall and that I'm in excellent physical condition, which is always great news to hear whether you've done Burpees for a year or not... But especially if you've done Burpees for a year...

So, this week I'll leave you this week with a quote from American boxer and former World Heavyweight Champion, Gene Tunney:

"Exercise should be regarded as a tribute to the heart."

L&R,
Drew

Push it, Push it Real Good

As we continue to inch closer to the holidays, the ever alluring aroma of baked goods, hot chocolate, and pine scented air fresheners are beginning to fill many of our homes, bringing back those childhood memories of Jolly Ole' Saint Nick, Rudolph, and Frosty the Snowman. But while most people have given in to that insatiable urge of laying around eating candy canes and guzzling eggnog for the next month, this week has been a brutal test of commitment to an otherwise satisfying year of Burpees.

Even Santa does Burpees

So faced with the final week of two adays and the yearning for some Christmas ham, I took a note from Salt n' Pepa and decided to 'push it' and finish strong.

My results for the week are listed below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time (Morning)	Total Time (Night)	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
12/10/2012	REST
12/11/2012	Ladder	15	12 min 49 sec	13 min 00 sec	30 sec	240
12/12/2012	Ladder	15	12 min 39 sec	12 min 46 sec	30 sec	240
12/13/2012	REST
12/14/2012	Ladder	15	12 min 51 sec		30 sec	120
12/15/2012	Ladder	15		12 min 32 sec	30 sec	120
12/16/2012	REST

And this week, I'll leave you with an inspiring quote from American opera singer Beverly Sills:

"There are no shortcuts for any place worth going."

L&R,

Drew

Where's the Beef?

I'm an American. And I love America. And to me, nothing represents our great country more than a hearty dish of meat and potatoes. But not just any meat. A big juicy hunk of steak.

'Merica

Now growing up, I don't think there was a single food my mom could have fixed that would have overtaken steak's spot atop my own personal food pyramid. No, in my mind, this all-American delicacy was the key to growing strong and becoming a man one day. And besides that, no matter how much our parents tried, what kid actually wants to eat something that looks like it was hocked up by an alien...

"Popeye wants us to eat what?!"

To go along with my own thought process as a child, the National Cattleman's Beef Association had the same idea when their research stated, "beef is a number one source of protein, vitamin B12, and zinc. It also supplies an abundant amount of key nutrients to help children and tweens to be healthy by contributing to optimal growth, cognitive function, red blood cell development and preventing iron deficiency during the adolescent years." In other words, eating beef will help you reach your full "pumptential".

Hans and Franz say beef will help pump...you up!

With all that being said, my beefy results for the week are listed below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time  Per Set	Total  Burpees
12/3/2012	Mix 1	6	7 min 08 sec	30 sec	60
12/4/2012	Ladder	15	13 min 03 sec	30 sec	120
12/5/2012	Pull-ups	6	7 min 02 sec	30 sec	60
12/6/2012	REST
12/7/2012	Mix 2	6	5 min 38 sec	30 sec	60
12/8/2012	Mix 3	7	7 min 53 sec	30 sec	70
12/9/2012	REST

Today, I'll leave you with that famous quote first voiced by actor Robert Mitchum in the 1992 Beef Checkoff Program's marketing campaign:

"Beef. It's what's for dinner."

L&R,

Drew

Exercise the Demons

This past week of two-adays was unfortunately cut short due to what could only be described as a brutal mix of both the swine flu and Ebola virus. Suffice to say, I spent the better part of the week and weekend doing my best impersonation of Linda Blair in the Exorcist...

Head spinning and all...

Now, obviously I didn't really have the Ebola virus...but I did take all the preventative measures needed for a super airborne disease by quarantining myself in my house for four days straight. Morgan Freeman would be proud...

And as many of you know, when you feel nauseous, eating is one of the last things you want to do, so I unfortunately ended my reclusive four day vomit-fest looking like Christian Bale in "the Machinist"...

Okay maybe I'm embellishing a bit...

With that being said, because of this horrible illness, I was only able to finish one two-aday and half of another one before before being bed-ridden. Below are the meek results from this week:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time (Morning)	Total Time (Night)	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
11/26/2012	REST
11/27/2012	Ladder	15	12 min 56 sec	12 min  48 sec	30 sec	240
11/28/2012	Ladder	15	13 min 05 sec	min  sec	30 sec	120
11/29/2012	SICK
11/30/2012	SICK
12/1/2012	SICK
12/2/2012	SICK

This week I'll leave you with a funny quote from Emily Blunt in the movie The Devil Wears Prada:

"I'm one stomach flu away from reaching my goal weight."

L&R,
Drew

Giving Thanks

As we reflect on all the things we've been thankful for over the past year, I look back with a sort of fond relief, proud of what I've accomplished, but also grateful to be so close to the end. Because I've made it this far, and also because this past week was a time for family, friends, and food, I decided to reward myself (and my body) by entering a 5 day food coma.

Now, although taking a week off from exercise generally makes it that much harder to get back into your routine, I've continually endorsed the idea of giving your body breaks along the way in order to keep your joints and limbs fresh, and your mind "in the game".

So with that being said, I have no workout results to report from this past week other than getting up and down from the couch to indulge my gluttonous alter-ego with more turkey and gravy...

I'll leave you this week with a great poem written about Thanksgiving from an anonymous author:

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump,

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

L&R,
Drew

Putting on the Final Touches

As I said in an earlier post, this past week I started putting the final touches on this experiment by incorporating all of my previous workouts into three separate "Mix" days.

Those workouts are listed below:

Mix Day 1: mountain climbers, lunges, star jumps
Mix Day 2: one-leg, jumping jacks, diamond buddha
Mix Day 3: broad jumps, box jumps, pull-ups

I decided it was important to bring these exercises back into the fold by taking a page out of Tony Horton's book and "confusing" my muscles.

My results from the first full week of triple mix muscle confusing sets are listed below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time  Per Set	Total  Burpees
11/12/2012	Mix 1	6	7 min 03 sec	30 sec	60
11/13/2012	Ladder	15	12 min 57 sec	30 sec	120
11/14/2012	Pull-ups	6	7 min 09 sec	30 sec	60
11/15/2012	REST
11/16/2012	Mix 2	6	5 min 47 sec	30 sec	60
11/17/2012	Mix 3	7	7 min 54 sec	30 sec	70
11/18/2012	REST

And this week I'll leave you with a quote from the P90X muscle confusion master himself, Tony "Don't Smash Your Face" Horton:

"If you go up and down a ladder a bunch of times, you'll get some exercise from that, but if you climb a rock wall, you're going to get a lot more. The nuances in muscle confusion is that it's multidimensional." 

L&R,
Drew