JOE gets ripped in eight weeks: Week 6

JOE’s resident videographer and Photoshop genius Peter Cooney wants to get ripped in eight weeks. With a lot of help from Raw Condition Gym, here’s how the start of the second half of the regime went.

You can check out Week 1 here, Week 2 here, Week 3 here, Week 4 and week 5 here So this week has been somewhat of a mental battle. My motivation has been waning and it has been a grind to stick to the diet and get myself to the gym. I expected this to happen earlier if I'm being honest, so in some ways I was prepared for it. With something like this there are always going to be peaks with inevitable troughs, but you just have to remain focused on the goals that you have set yourself. Remaining focused has been key. When I was experiencing a low motivation period I just had to remind myself of the progress made thus far. Whilst taking an inordinate amount of pictures of one's body might seem ridiculous (it is), they play a vital role in maintaining your focus. Being able to see the change really helps to get you back on track and push yourself harder. These are my week six pictures... Before embarking on this journey (I'm getting deep now) I don't think I really appreciated how much commitment was required. I was fully aware but I don't think I ever really gave it my full consideration. I would see people in the gym in great shape and almost believed that it was nothing to them, completely neglecting their dedication and hard work. After busting my balls over the past month or so, I can truly appreciate the dedication, commitment and hard work that is essential to get yourself into peak condition. It's impossible to get where you want to be if you don't have that commitment and drive to succeed. A lot of people have asked about the diet etc and the reaction is nearly always the same; an interest, a desire but very little commitment. I was the laziest person known to man, so if I can do it, anyone can. It's tough, but good fuck is it worth it. Anyways that's enough motivational nonsense out of me. So I went into Raw on Monday and Ant decided that he wanted to do some impromptu measurements. In a week in which I was a concerned that I had plateaued (wasn't helped by my lack of motivation) I'm down another 2% which means I currently sit at approx 10.5% body fat. Take that lack of motivation! It's bloody great news and shows that continued commitment gets results. Of course, the right training and diet is paramount, so thanks again to the lads at Raw who are unbelievable, and the kind folks at Courtneys, who ensure that I'm fed with only the finest meat. I tried to do a few sprints on the sea front during the week, but as soon as I went for it, my hamstring decided it wasn't up to it, so I had to rethink my cardio days. So, I came up with my own circuit that I can do in my back garden; Circuit x3 Jumping jacks (1 min) Running on the spot (30 seconds) Mountain Climbers (1m) Run on the spot (30s) Alternating Lunges (1m) Run on the spot (30s) Walking Plank (1m) Run on the spot (30s) Burpees (1m) Run on the Spot (30s) Squat Jumps (1m) Run on the spot (30s) I tell ya, doing it on a low carb day is hard work and is far more intense than a long run. Plus, my neighbours get to see me in my shorts, which I'm sure they love. Sunday evenings are probably the best part of the week for me. Before, a Sunday evening was a tense fear riddled struggle, now, they're an evening to behold, to enjoy, to savour, to get that one meal that makes everything worthwhile. So Sunday evening came, I sat in silence, the sun, beaming in my window like a bright light beaming in a window, kissed my face like a bright light beaming in a window kissing a face (I was very good at creative writing). I went through my options, I lie I rang New Maharajah almost immediately and as I'm not as lazy as I once was, I drove down and collected it. I got it home and plated it up, a lamb madras never tasted nicer and I would very much like to have many more. wink wink! I have to meet Ant in Raw on Monday to go through my workout and diet for the last leg of the challenge. I fear a week full of low carb days with no cheat meals as that would be absolutely rubbish. But as long as I keep going the way I am, I should be okay isn't that right Ant? Til' next week. Peter (You can, and probably should, follow Peter on Twitter here).