While I’m still in Maui wrapping up my time on the Island I’m starting to look ahead to coming home tomorrow and starting my first day of the John P. Get Healthy Challenge.  One commenter read my last post on my goals for the challenge and apparently thought I was nuts, or at least wasn’t serious. So before I start I’m going to clarify a few things about how I’m going to go about this.

To start with, there are no rules. For example, my goal of 500 – 1000 calories probably sounds ridiculously low. But it will vary by activity level and if it needs to be a little higher because of my activity level one day it will be. That said, it’s not as unrealistic as you think. It’s about what you eat and when you eat it. More importantly, if you time the right foods, you just don’t feel hungry and don’t get the ups-and-downs that a lot of diets have.

Second, all of this is predicated on drinking a ton of water. It sucks for the first few days because you have to go to the bathroom constantly but that subsides and proper hydration is key.

Next, sleep is essential. I’ll be getting a full nights sleep (almost) every night. Without proper time to recover my plans won’t  work.

So far all of that is pretty standard so what else? Lot’s of ice and hot water.  I expect to be sore, really sore, all over. To expedite recovery I’ll be applying ice to sore muscles and joints then getting into a hot shower or bath and cycling that a few times. It helps to speed up flushing of toxins that build up in the muscles and shortens the cycle of being sore so I can work the muscle again sooner.

As for some of the other goals, most of them are things I’ve done before (like the bench numbers) so it’s just a matter of working my way back up, the same way I did before.

I’ll also be documenting this heavily and will be looking for/experimenting with “hacks” to help me through it. I’ve got some friends in Dallas that are trainers, massage therapists, fitness product experts, … that I’ll  be interviewing and seeking ideas and advice from.

This will be fun and I can’t wait to see the results!

Friend and colleague John Pozadzides has set up the 2010 John P. Health Challenge (see official rules) in which I look forward to kicking everyone’s butt, even though for me it starts post birthday (jan 4) and post wedding trip for my stepsister (no real point starting before that). If you have seen the latest video of me interviewing John it’s not hard to believe that I’m at the heaviest I’ve ever been (no excuses) at 206lbs (how’s that for transparency).

That said, I’ll be committing to the following (as per John’s req).

1. 500 – 1000 calories a day intake (depending on workout load)
2. Exercise 7 days a week (from intense to just taking a walk)
3. Daily Updates (twitter, facebook, etc.. starting on MY start date 1/13/2010)
4. 250 Pushups per day (25 pushups 10x per day).
5. 100+ crunches/ab reps per day (20 reps 5x per day)
6. Run 16 miles per week (4 miles, 5x per week)
7. Drink 1 Gallon + water per day
8. Get back to 225lb bench by 2/28, back to 315 by 6/30
9. Be able to do 20 straight pull-ups by 2/28
10. Minimum drop 30lbs, ideally 36lbs

Do you have what it takes?