If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll know I've been on a personal mission recently.

After more than 20 years of doing absolutely nothing - a 'couch potato' if you will - I decided enough was enough and it was time to prove to myself that I could turn things around. I set about losing fat in January this year, and dropped 3st through dietary choice alone in the first 8 months. I still hadn't done any exercise at this point, which was a problem.

Read on to find out how the Pose Method of running, a selection of pills and a few bowls of porridge helped me complete the most difficult 10k adventure race in the UK.

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The Pose Method of Running is a system that I hope will give me an edge as I approach my big charity challenge.

I first read about it in Tim Ferriss' 'The Four-Hour Body'. If you've been keeping up with my progress, you'll know that 4HB, as we call it, is the main reason I've been able to get fit and ready for my 10k Obstacle Course charity challenge.

So what is Pose Method Running, and why is it a better alternative to what I was doing? Well, this article isn't just another Training Diary; instead I'm going to reveal what my coach and sponsor, Simon Paine, was able to do for me in just two four-hour sessions. Yep - you read that right. Even the training was four hours long each day. There's a pattern forming here...

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The Four-Hour Body is the main reason I've been able to get fit and (almost) ready for my 10k Obstacle Course charity challenge.

This week, instead of another Training Diary, I thought I'd mix things up by presenting you with the best gadgets available to support your Four-Hour Body, slow carb diet, Occam's Protocol or fitness-related efforts.

All of these products feature daily in my life as I get ready for the race in November, and each of them will make a real difference to you if you're following any of the fitness chapters of Tim Ferriss' awesome book.

But that's not all (yes, I've turned into an infomercial!) - read on and you'll find details of how you can win one of these brilliant gadgets!

Yes, this post marks the launch of my 'giveaway season', so keep checking back for more chances to win nice things. Why not subscribe to the blog so you don't miss your chance...

Without further ado then, here are the top 5 4-Hour Body Gadgets:

P.S. Buy any of these products from the links provided, and I'll make a small commission that will all be given to charity.

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There are now just 11 weeks to go until my 10k obstacle course charity challenge, and the training is getting tougher...

Why Am I Going Through This?

Apart from the personal challenge, which is great enough in itself, I'm doing this to raise much needed funds for Make-A-Wish Foundation. Please visit my JustGiving page now and give what you can - thank you.

I'd like to thank my first major sponsor - Pose Level 2 Coach Simon Paine - who will be teaching me the Pose Running Method, a technique that promises to make the daunting task ahead that much easier.

I'm actively looking for other companies who want to sponsor me. You'll appear on every weekly training diary and the follow-up posts, which typically reach over 30,000 people per update thanks to my sizeable Twitter following and the great people who help spread the word. I'll also do other promotional activities on your behalf. Get in touch with me using the comments system to alert me of your interest.

11 Weeks to Go

Training is getting more intense now as I head towards the big day.

I'm still managing to lose fat as I carry on with a slightly modified version of Tim Ferriss' Slow Carb Diet, but thanks to the strength training regime I started I'm now putting on some lean muscle. In total, since the second week of January this year, I've managed to shift 49 lbs (3.5 stone) of body fat, and in the last two weeks since stepping the strength training up a notch, I've been able to add 2 lbs of muscle.

Oh, and I'm eating like a horse!

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There is now just a quarter of a year until my 10k obstacle course charity challenge... Every week, as I prepare for one of the toughest races the UK has to offer, I'll be sharing what I'm doing to get ready for the big event.

Why Am I Going Through This?

Apart from the personal challenge, which is great enough in itself, I'm doing this to raise much needed funds for Make-A-Wish Foundation. Please visit my JustGiving page now and give what you can - thank you.

I'd like to thank my first major sponsor - Pose Level 2 Coach Simon Paine - who will be teaching me the Pose Running Method, a technique that promises to make the daunting task ahead that much easier.

I'm actively looking for other companies who want to sponsor me. You'll appear on every weekly training diary and the follow-up posts, which typically reach over 30,000 people per update thanks to my sizeable Twitter following and the great people who help spread the word. I'll also do other promotional activities on your behalf. Get in touch with me using the comments system to alert me of your interest.

13 Weeks to Go

The Men's Health Survival of the Fittest race is now just a quarter away, and so I am one week away from really stepping up the training. If you didn't catch up with my progress so far, go and read my first training diary.

My ribs are still holding me back...

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My 10k obstacle course charity challenge is looming... Every week, as I prepare for one of the toughest races the UK has to offer, I'll be sharing what I'm doing to get ready for the big event.

Why Am I Doing This?

Apart from the personal challenge, which is great enough in itself, I'm doing this to raise much needed funds for Make-A-Wish Foundation. Please visit my JustGiving page now and give what you can - thank you.

I'm actively looking for companies who want to sponsor me. You'll appear on every weekly training diary and the follow-up posts, which typically reach over 15,000 people per update thanks to my sizeable Twitter following and the great people who help spread the word. I'll also do other promotional activities on your behalf. Get in touch with me using the comments system to alert me of your interest. (P.S. This post has already reached more than 32,534 people via Twitter alone, and is also being spread on Facebook and Google+.)

14 Weeks to Go

The Men's Health Survival of the Fittest race is just over three months away now, and I'm beginning to get a little nervous about my progress. Since this is my first training diary, let me bring you up to speed.

Back in January, I was a mess.

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What if I told you that some of history's most famous names had some quite unbelievable in common?

Of course, when throwing around names like Bill Gates, Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison, you usually think about how successful and inspirational these individuals are, and how they always seem to take the right turn and make the right decisions. Some would call them 'visionaries'.

But that isn't what they all have in common.

The answer; they're all brilliant at making terrible predictions...

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I've been doing my best to reverse the terrible effects of over 20 years of business travel, power lunches and sitting behind a desk/steering wheel/in-flight TV screen since January of 2011.

I've done quite well so far. Thanks to making the right choices, and being guided by the principles laid out in Tim Ferriss' brilliant book, The Four-Hour Body, I've gone from 32% body fat to 19% body fat in six months, losing over 38 pounds along the way.

[UPDATE: I've now lost over 50 pounds of fat and am down to 16% body fat; check out my weekly training diaries!]

Now, I'm setting myself what is, frankly, nothing short of a ridiculous challenge.

I'll be honest with you. I've done almost no exercise in 20 years. Sure, I've done a little bit here and a little bit there, but I haven't actually done anything you would call 'energetic' in a very long time. I certainly haven't run any kind of race since I was 20 years old, and that was over 20 years ago!

So I am a true 'couch potato' right now. A lighter, leaner couch potato than I was at the start of the year, I'll grant you, but I'm still essentially just an inactive lump.

In November 2011, I will be taking on a 10 kilometre race. Not only that, but the race I've entered is the Men's Health magazine 'Survival of the Fittest' adventure race; a 10k run that includes a difficult (and usually muddy) obstacle at every kilometre!

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Google+ is the new social networking site from Google that seems to be taking the Internet by storm. I'm already a convert and can see a huge amount of potential in the fledgling social web solution, but there is a feature that needs to be added before I can move over from sites like Facebook.

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If, like me, you've ever had the pleasure of going skydiving, you'll know exactly how liberating and enjoyable an experience it is.

If you haven't yet had a chance to find out what it is like to freefall from 13,000 feet, this animation is so good at capturing the essence it may make you want to take the plunge.

Created by Mathias Lachal as his graduation film from the renowned Emile Cohl school, Chute is a breathtaking piece that is worth 2 minutes of your day. And, for my money, if someone like Studio Ghibli don't give this guy a job, I'll be surprised...