Day 1

"Ranger Abs"

This seemingly innocuous title belittles how crushingly difficult this workout was. Although it only took about 15 minutes, it was easily the most difficult core workout I have ever done.

The routine was as follows:

100 Flutterkicks (4 count Ranger style, not the wimpy single count infantry kicks)

100 Leg Raises

100 Scissors

100 Situps

100 Flutterkicks...

...without stopping, as fast as possible. I hit muscle failure halfway through the scissors, took a 2 minute breather, and reached muscle failure again while finishing the flutterkicks. This was the first time in a while that I experienced true muscle failure where I kept pushing until my legs and hip flexors began to spasm.

Needless to say, this ab workout was a serious gut check (no pun intended). On the Army Physical Fitness Test, I have always scored poorest on the situp portion, as my abs are fairly weak compared to my pushup strength and running.

I'll try to conclude each day's blog with a quick update about my weight and nutrition.

Day 1 (Phase 1 Workout) Starting Weight: 158.5 pounds

-Feel good, motivated, trying to get plenty of water and not so much coffee.

-Phil