Going For Health

Damn it Too Hell

2009-08-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

Two steps forward and turn around and run like hell backwards. Turn around and do it again. Damn it damn it and damn it to hell.

Well, I seem to have a knack at giving myself ways to improve. So, improve I will although when the bar is low it's easy to lift it higher.

It's Monday Again

2009-08-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

I enjoy reflection. It's a must for me think about what I do right and wrong and how to improve. Always room for improvement and last week was no different. I used tobacco and drank to often probably my biggest road blocks in my highway of health. I missed two cardio workouts but I had 4 of the better weight workouts I've had in years. Great week for muscle not such a great week for fat loss.

However, I weighed 212 this morning with 27% body fat. Although I didn't lose as mush as I wanted to I did drop two pounds which is healthy. I'm happy with that but I would like to go down 4 or 5 pounds this week with a lower carb diet, no alcohol and no tobacco.

This weeks goals:

- No alcohol
- No tobacco
- Low carb high vegetable diet with enough calories to feel normal.
- Complete my affirmation statements and read it morning and night.
- Visualization, visualization, visualization!!!

Another chance to do it right and feel great. School is starting again soon and I will be there so I need to get it right before then. Because for the next 7-10 years I will be in a school environment. Wow, that's kinda crazy to think about.

Yesterday Talk

2009-08-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day all in all. The day before however was tough. Busy busy bullshit kept me up the entire shift but that's to be expected. The warmer the weather the higher the idiot counter goes therefore causing me to be busy as hell protecting people from themselves.

Anyway, that's for another blog. Back to me nutrition and exercise. I sleep most of yesterday and got up around three in the afternoon. I stumbled to the coffee pot and downed a few glasses and few more glasses of water. Water is something that I have been drinking a whole hell of a lot of lately which is good. I drink between one and a half to two gallons a day sometimes even more. When I first became really serious about my diet a few months ago I realized that I was dehydrated like a mofo and needed to really work on chugging down the water. At first I pissed about ever hour but now if I don't drink at least a gallon a day I feel like shit and I don't piss at all. Guess that confirms my past dehydration.

I can't remember exactly what I ate yesterday during the day, wait, I had a pumpernickel bagel with low fat cream cheese before sleep and woke up to a bowl of mini-wheats with berries that was really good. Not exactly a low carb type of day but it satisfied me and it's still clean eating. After waking up and getting my mind in the game I went out for another really good 2 mile run in just over 20 minutes. I jammed out to some RHCP and pounded the pavement. I ran the entire 2 miles and was able to maintain a ten minute per mile pace which is great for me at my current condition. It will get better but not overnight. After that I hit the gym for an intense hour or so workout. Did some dumbbell presses and incline dumbbells with four different core oriented exercises. I really like my current phase of weight training. I developed it by putting together several different ideas from the books I've been reading on fitness. Right now my main focus is on my back and core with some power moves at the beginning of my workouts just keep my form in good shape. Stuff like squats, deadlifts, bench and a variety of pull-type rowing exercises.

After that it went south a bit but not as far as it could have. My wife and I had tapas and drinks with some friends at work that ended up lasting until too about 2 this morning. Although I had probably five of six drinks I spaced them out and didn't get stupid and shit faced. It was fun though but I did get aggravated with my wife because she cut me off. It's was good though because it was time to get the hell home and sleep a while which we did. I woke this morning early and didn't feel near as bad as I should have. Ate another Pumper bagel got the wife to work and came back to the couch where I took a little nap refreshing myself very nicely and that is where I am now. I'm gearing up t hit the gym. Been drinking down some water and gatorade to get ride of the blahs that drinking usually causes and I feel back up to par and ready to hit the gym.

This week has been good overall but I've let a few goals slip by and I need to refocus. I've been using tobacco more than I wanted and the one night of alcohol was a slip that I was prepared for. We had been planning last night for a few weeks.

A recap of the week:

Diet:

on par with clean food but I've let the calories slip a little low over the past few days so I feel a bit sluggish. Next week I need to think about counting my calories and keeping up with it so I can better determine what works and what doesn't.

Exercise:

Three intense gym workouts with lots of core work. An hour or so on the road bike and 4 miles on the feet. I'm getting back into the swing of cardio which feels great. My wife and I both are building our base fitness back so we can start doing some endurance races next year. This is probably the most important to me and the one thing I have to most patient with along with dropping my body fat. The lower the fat goes the better my cardio conditioning gets and the better my conditioning gets the lower my fat goes. It works nicely that way and I am committed to improving these areas of my life drastically. I can't begin to explain how nice it is see results and feel more confident about myself. Consistency is the crux for me and so far I've been working out steadily for a couple of months now and I am really beginning to feel and see the changes. Here's to the lifestyle to compete and succeed!!!

Workout Notes

2009-08-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today was an excellent day in terms of workouts. My diet left a little to be desired; however, I didn't have as mush chest pain GERD like symptoms today as I did yesterday. I hit the gym around 10:30 or 11:00 this morning for an intense chest and core workout. Bench, Incline Bench, Chin-ups, Pulldowns, Knee Raises and Wood-chops. It was really intense and by the end I was spent. 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps per exercise with supersets for the last four.

This evening My wife and I went out for our Tuesday run which consisted of a little over two miles in 22:48 with no stops. I was really proud of myself for not stopping and keeping up. Although, my wife was feeling a little under the weather usually she woops my ass on running and here lately she has been roasting my shit on the road by too. But not today I stayed close but it was tough.

We ran several distance races together in 2003 and 2004. Several 5K's a few half-marathons and my wife ran a full marathon. I'm disappointed at how far I allowed myself to fall but believe it or not today's 2 miles meant more to me today than any of the past 100's or evening 1000's of miles we ran in the past. Now I can't turn back. Once you can run two miles it's only a matter of time and effort to increase mileage and get in better and better shape. I can no longer walk a little then run a little.

I building stamina losing weight and gaining confidence.

Sitting and Thinking

2009-08-04T04:17:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking, I should probably write more often about my goals and how I am going to achieve them. I need ways to keep my focus in the positive and my goals in the forefront of my brain so that every decision I make I think about how it will affect me overall and in respect to what I want to achieve.

In terms of eating and drinking I understand that everything that goes into my body will ultimately determine how I feel and how I perform in the gym and doing cardio. Junk in equals junk out. It seems that an unhealthy meal or a few too many libations cause me more trouble now than ever. It takes me days and sometimes over a week to get over a bad day. I can't afford to remain in recovery mode like I have for so long. Unfortunately, it seems that I am in a perpetual state of recovery especially since I routinely sabotage myself and return to habits that are less than desirable.

At times I think that I may be over-thinking things and that I should just relax. I understand how important it is to loosen up and enjoy life, food whatever. It is, I just have to find ways to reward myself that doesn't involve eating and drinking bad things. I'm just tired of beating myself down, feeling guilty then recovering it happens the same way every time.

The next time I decide to be stupid I have to stop myself and think about my goals and how I want to look and feel so that I can make the correct decision and not the easy- momentary satisfaction- decision.

I should write more whether it's here or in a paper journal and record the things that I feel and what is closest to me. It helps to reflect on my life and the decisions I have made especially when I have so mush to achieve.

My Monday Check In

2009-08-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

It's Monday Again. I had a tough week last week and in turn I took a step backwards. 214 pounds on the weight and I felt pretty nasty all week. This week will be much better, more diligence in the food and alcohol department. I've had some chest pain I think from GERD which is obviously worrisome but I think I'll be ok. Going for a really tough bike ride this evening so I guess I will find out if it's the ticker or not.

Anyway, enough with the hypochondriacism if that's a word. I have some lofty goals for this week. I want to go down at least 5 pounds with the majority being fat, do 5 cardio workouts- 3 run and 2 road bike, and do 4 workouts in the gym. I missed 2 gym workouts and 2 no 3 cardio workouts last week and I suffered for it today. I hit the gym in the afternoon and didn't improve from last week. It was tough but I am very very glad to get in their and bust my ass for an hour on the iron. This evening we are going to ride our road bikes for at least an hour that will be fun and I should be able to bust out around 6-8 miles running.

Tobacco.... I will not use tobacco anymore this week period!

So that's what I am shooting for and next Monday we'll all know how I did.

Until Then.

Monday Measurements

2009-07-27T02:26:00.000-07:00

Bicep-15
Chest-42
Stomach-41
Waist-39.5
Thigh-25
Calf-15 3/4

211lb at 29%BF

Day 2 and Day 3 of Mission RS

2009-07-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Day 2 was a workday and as always it challenged me to be very self-disciplined even when I am tired as hell. My food list as I remember it is as follows:

3 eggs with toast, salsa and a bit of jelly
two boiled eggs with an apple
half a blt - 300 cals
carrots, broccoli, little tomatoes and walnuts
muscle milk and a banana
yogurt, strawberries and some shredded mini-wheats
multi-grain bagel with low-fat cream cheese

I ate at roughly 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 9pm. I was hungry as a motherfucker after not getting my six o'clock meal and went a little over board at 9. I haven't figured how many calories I ate but it probably wasn't more than 2200 given the small portion sizes. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a way to get more protein into my diet during work. I also didn't exercise but they may be a good thing because I was (and still am) sore, especially my legs.

Day 3

I stumbled home after being up most of the night as usual and ate some egg tacos then hit the sack until about 1pm. After thinking about my food today I realized that I ate very little over a 16 hour period from 9 last night until 1 today.

after getting up i ate 3 boiled egg whites and an apple. studied for about an hour, hit the gym for a pretty intense workout came home fixed supper ate and ran 2 miles where I experienced big time stomach problems.

Yoga, typing then bed. I'm done.

Day 1 Mission RS

2009-07-21T02:41:00.000-07:00

I stumbled out of bed at 5 AM yesterday, a bit hungover from the beer I had the night before, my stomach ached and the bathroom was my first priority. After that I drank a couple of glasses of water and began thinking about my goals and reading my affirmation statement. I have momentum on my side right now and I'm developing a rhythm while I do. When the momentum gets less I will already want to get up and think about my goals, hit the gym, do the cardio in the evening and study my ass off so that I can reach as high as I want. This is a critical week, everyday is critical, every decision is critical.

Yesterday I ate very clean. small meals every 3 hours with lots of water but I did get way hungry in the evening and had a bowl of shredded mini-wheats while I was fixing the 6 o'clock meal. Lets see:

6AM: 2 egg white 1 egg with a piece of wg toast butter and a little grape jelly
9AM: 2 boiled eggs with broccoli and carrots
12PM: caeser salad with low fat dressing, Parmesan cheese, chicken strips and a few croutons and an apple
3PM: Little tomatoes, little cucumbers, carrots, walnuts and some strawberries
6PM: grilled chicken with zucchini and squash. A serving of jasmine rice and some strawberries and a bowl of shredded wheat.
9PM: protein smoothie with two scoops of muscle milk on banana and a few strawberries.

Lots and lots of water throughout the day probably 1.5-2 gallons and three or four cups of coffee in the am.

I hit the gym around 1 and had a tough workout with bench press, bent over rows, curls, tricep pushdowns and I double my core circuit at the beginning. Hit the steam room took a shower and of I went.

Later that evening my wife and I did some pretty tough road biking around the area for about an hour and after that I called it a night.

Very productive day I would say. It was hard as hell to get up this morning but once I did I was very glad because I feel much better and ready to hit Day 2 with a vengeance. I think I like blogging the day after to recap and see what things I can improve on today. I think the biggest thing I need to do today is eat enough during my meals so that I don't starved to death between and ease up on all of the fruit. I know its good for me but I don't think I need so many carbs when I'm trying to drop weight.

The Beginning of My Mission

2009-07-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

Today marks the beginning of a monumental mission of increasing mileage on the bike and running. My weight will fall as a result of some pretty drastic changes in my diet and eating habits and I am going to use all of the goal setting, subconscious programming and visualization techniques I can to reach my goals. This week will be rough I know, anytime you make massive changes in the way you live your life it isn't easy. Although I have been migrating toward these changes for the past two months, well actually for a lot longer, I set a goal date for today to really take it to the next level.

This blog will evolve as well. This will be my training log, an area to record what I eat and how I feel. I want to be able to document the things that work and more importantly the things that don't. The more objectively I look at my life and lifestyle the more I will be able to plan my workouts and eating habits for optimal success.

I name this mission: Reclaiming Myself and dub it Mission RS. Hello Day 1 Mission RS.

Where Have I Been

2009-07-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

I have to say, my motivation for writing has suffered for some reason over the last little bit. My goal was to document my journey from fat fuck to lean mean weight lifting machine; however, I haven't documented as well as I should. This is a setback I am committed to fix. From now on whether I am working, at home, in the gym or anything else I will document my eating habits, exercise routine and my progress (or regress) until I reach my goal!

The last couple of days

2009-07-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

I've felt great and really increase my cardio. My goal is to really ramp up the cardio over the next month and lower my carb intake a bit to shred some weight. This week I've not manipulated my diet just increasing my cardio but maintaining my weight lifting.

Yesterday I forgot to weigh in so I guess things can wait another week. I hit the spin bikes for a tough spin that lasted about thirty minutes.

Today I rode my road bike for an hour and a half with an average HR of 151 which is busting my ass. Not to mention I became very lost while riding. That increased the workout by about 45 minutes but it was great. I hit the gym shortly afterwards and am now getting supper ready for me and my wonderful wife.

You know, I think it is absolutely fine for a man to cook supper every once in a while or often for that matter. Hey, my wife works regular hours and I am home more often than she is so I cook probably three times a week. I don't have to but sometimes it is nice to have a home cooked meal and I enjoy cooking.

That was a tangent, maybe I should start a blog about cooking, beer brewing and excercise.

By the way I really enjoy brewing and drinking beer. I can't quite shake my addiction but I have atleast controlled how often and how much I drink. In my early twenties I drank too much but now I try to keep it below 5 drinks a week. When I cut down the carbs unfortunately the beer will be the first thing that goes. I may get a little snif of bourbon to have every once in a while.

Feeling better

2009-07-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

Had a great workout on Friday, worked saturday and absolutely received my ass in a bag. Sleep most of today and just like many other sundays I just wanted to get up and drink a beer while watching golf. The only difference today was the fact that the tour was on and I wanted to see how Lance was riding.

So that's my weekend hanging around with my wife sipping a copper ale, chilling.

Tomorrow I'll hit the gym and study hard but not now.

Friday

2009-07-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

Banged out a tough but excellent workout today. The weather is amazing and my spirits are high but I'm still suffering from a touch of the cold. Still kicking and getting stronger and stronger.

2009-07-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

Bicep-16
Chest-42
Stomach-41
Waist-40
Thigh-25
Calf-16 1/8

217lb at 31%BF

It's Monday again and my second weigh in and measure is complete. I lost a few pounds but according to my ever so accurate scale I increased my body fat this week 3%. So I lost a lot of muscle and gained it back in fat.

I've been under the weather over the last week dealing with allergies, sinus problems and generally feeling like shit. My workouts have obviously suffered as well as my blog posting. I've felt especially bad the last two days. Being up for 26 hours on saturday exhausted me more than normal. When I woke up from my nap at home I was really hurting and have been on the mend since then. I plan to take it easy today; however, I might go to the gym if I continue to feel better. I've been pounding water and vitamin C and taking meds to try and get over this as quick as possible. Luckily I have to go see my pcp next week and get my latest lab results to see if my current meds and diet are lowering my tg any. I think I will post the numbers when I receive them just to have a record and something to remind myself how important it is for me to continue to eat clean and excercise.

I certainly hope this week will be really good and I don't continue to feel bad. I may have to forgo my Wednesday shift this week just to make sure I my healthy is where it needs to be. The last thing I need is a huge setback on account of work and I really don't want to pass my germs onto my coworkers or other sick people. Lots of stuff to think about but I should be able to decide by tomorrow.

My diet has been pretty darn good over this weekend. I am beginning to get the hang of frequent small meals with high protein. Although at times I want to pig out. My cravings will get better and better as my health improves.

BTW no tobacco for two days and counting!

The Last Few Days

2009-07-02T13:09:00.001-07:00

I've missed a few post over the last few days. I've been under the weather a bit and haven't had the motivation yesterday and most of today to eat right and exercise. Wouldn't have worked out yesterday anyway because of work. I have to find a way to get some kind of cardio or something in on my work days. Today I slept as long as the mucinex D would let me. I'm up now taking care of some errands and trying to talk myself into going to the gym. I know it would make me feel better especially the steam room. A little steam for the sinus would probably do the trick. I hate being sick. Oh well, I just have to keep on keeping on.

On another random thought. I will always look very carefully when getting out of a car that's parked on the street from now on. It's amazing how much damage can be inflicted on a person's leg when they step out of a car and get dragged by someone passing by them.

Hopefully my motivation will increase today and I can enjoy tomorrow since I will be working on the 4th. It's part of it I suppose. If only the idiots wouldn't stab and shoot each other all night I could at least get some sleep so that I could enjoy Sunday. I doubt that will happen though.

Until Then..

Day 8 M1

2009-06-29T17:29:00.001-07:00

Not a bad day today at all. I didn't accomplish all the things that I wanted to but there's tomorrow and if it isn't, oh well it wont matter anyway.

Food:
Bacon, egg and half a bagel with cream
turkey, cheese and tater chips
bowl of shredded wheat with strawberries and blackberries
bagel with cream cheese
spaghetti and meatballs

Excercise:
Ab routine
Weight training
run 2 miles. 3 minutes running 1 minute walking. I've got a ways to go!

Measurements and Goals

2009-06-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Bicep-16
Chest-42
Stomach-41
Waist-40
Thigh-25
Calf-16 1/8

221.5lb at 29%BF

Bleak to say the least. I have put this off for three weeks now. I've been working out consistently for three weeks now with weights. My cardio hasn't been consistent and my diet hasn't been as clean as I want it to be as you can see from my last posts. I am deeming Mondays as my weigh-in and reevaluate my progress day. A time for me to look at where I have came from and plan where I want to go for the next week. I haven't been a great goal setter for a while and I know that I must set goals and keep them in mind if I am going to see any progress.

This is my first Monday to weigh-in and reflect. Reading over my past posts and looking at my work logs I found several inconsistencies that have been road blocks for my progress.

First my diet. I swear this is the hardest thing for me to plan and keep up with. My nutrient
are way off and I've drank more calories than I should ever drink. Although I've attempted to
eat small meals around 300-350 calories 6 times a day there are many days that I am eating out and blowing that out of proportion.

- My dietary goals this week: 1-No alcohol 2-Record all food eaten 3-no fried food

Weights. I have been very consistent with the weight lifting and it has been the cornerstone
getting my ass of the coach because I feel so much better after a workout. This week should
be no different.

- Weight lifting goals: 1-Complete 4 workouts with higher intensity than last week.

Cardio. This is tied for second on the gotta get control and overcome list. I want to compete
in a triathlon next summer. Not complete I said compete. My plan is to reach down and get
into the best shape of my life over the next 12 months. I'm talking 10% or less body fat and
probably around 180 pounds of muscle not 220 pounds of fat. Cardio will play the biggest
role in this and I need to get it together now. I am apprehensive for some reason as I sit and
think about developing a plan over the next 12 months. Why I don't know but I need to get
over it. Anyway,

- Cardio goals: 1-Develop a plan in 2 or 3 month blocks. 2-Focus on a cardio workout everyday.

As I mentioned earlier I plan to take a year and rebuild my body. It's time to get out and live my life to the absolute fullest and to me living to the fullest means pushing myself, overcoming my past failures, doing all of these things while enjoying the outdoors. Competition as well, I want to win no questions about it.

Ok, I have several things to think about and develop today. I will publish my training plan once I complete it. I have finally reached the point where I feel I can launch into something great. I've worked really hard to get hear and I desperately want to take advantage of it, now!

Day 7 M1

2009-06-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

Most of today was spent sleeping.

Food:
Bowl of shredded wheat
Bruegger Western Bagel
Bruegger muffin
starbucks sausage egg and cheese english muffing
3 sam adams ale
bangers and mash-homemade. Is there any other way?

Excercise:
Not a damn thing

D6 M1

2009-06-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Another day at work for me and for the most part I ate well and portioned my food appropriately throughout the day. I have tried to determine how to eat during the overnight after being awake for 20+ hours so I don't feel so bad after sleeping after work and to maintain my energy levels. Around midnight last night I began to feel very hungry but my energy stayed pretty steady. I ate a muscle milk protein bar about 1230 and finished a gallon of water for the day. That really gave me some sustaining energy until about 4 or 430am when I became hungry again.

As far as nutrition effecting my performance last night and yesterday I was able to keep my energy up but did get hungry in the early morning hours. I've found that I need to eat a 300-350 calorie meal every 3 hours especially after midnight on days that I work. I have to keep the meals clean though because it is very difficult for me when I get tired to make the right decision about food even though I know that eating a shitty meal will only make me feel like shit.

I still had a headache after sleeping today but it was quickly relieved by a cup of kona coffee from starbucks.

Food:
bowl of shredded wheat
bagel with cream cheese
baked buffalo chicken wings
greek salad
vegetable sushi
muscle milk protein bar
gallon of water and a honest tea green tea

Excercise:
None other than work

Day 5 M1

2009-06-26T10:06:00.001-07:00

This morning has been pretty good so far. I'm feeling very motivated, been motivated for about three weeks. Probably the most amount of time I've been in high spirits for a while. My mood absolutely depends on my exercise and food. If I workout and eat healthy I find that I am in much better moods more often.

I became very disgusted at myself this morning for no other reason than to be disgusted. I want to do so many things but I feel that my physical shape is holding me back. I want to be 185 with 8% body fat tomorrow. Unrealistic, I know, but I just have to stick to my plans eat well exercise everyday and it will come. It's a marathon not a sprint, I keep telling myself. I'm not very patient though and sometimes that is why I fall off my wagon. Ironic isn't it. I sabotage myself because I'm not making quick enough progress and jeopardize the progress I have made. I said ironic but what I really meant was stupid but when you are doing it, it doesn't seem stupid. That's why I want to be very mindful of my mood swings and keep a positive attitude. I can and will and I will reach my goals!

Food:
Bowl of shredded wheats and dried strawberries
Bacon, egg and tomato on bread for lunch and it was really good
Muscle Milk shake
Burger, fries, buffalo chicken bites and 5 beers. All from Applebees. So much for my calorie deficit for today.
Too much beer this week no way I'll lose that gut if I keep that up.

Exercise:
Stretching and Abd routine
Road biking on big hills for thirty minutes.
Weights, lots of sets and I was spent after.

Will cont. this evening.........

Day 4 M1

2009-06-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

Most of my day today was spent sleeping. I didn't eat a lot but I did workout.

Food:

Bruegger's muffin and western square bagel.
Muscle milk shake with frozen strawberries
tortilla and salsa
meatball sandwich
3 magic hat beers.

Excercise:

wide grip pulldowns 4 sets 80lbs 20reps/set
close grip pulldowns 4 sets 80lbs 20reps/set
dumbbell bench 20lbs
dumbbell bench flys 10lbs
close grip bench 95lbs
scullcrusher 40lbs
calf raises 220

Great workout but I was dizzy afterwords probably because I had had about 12 calories during the day. I'm still working out the schedule.

I know that I need to drop my body fat. have to absolutely gotta do it damn it!!!

Yesterday

2009-06-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Work was brutal yesterday and I fell off the wagon a bit on nutrition. I oversleep but was able to get to work in time. I very rarely over sleep but lately it has been difficult to get my lazy ass out of bed. Not sure why, other than laziness. Once I navigated traffic and arrived the day continued much like any other Wednesday. Drive around, give a few people a ride, read all I can during my down time, you know the general stuff. Throughout the day our workload was spaced out just enough to keep my partner and I from getting any down time. Then about midnight, once we were already exhausted, all of the idiots came out and we ended up fighting drunks and drug addicts all night. Horrible night, no sleep and the longer the night became the more intense my headache became. But, finally it ended around 7 this morning. I crashed on the couch at the hall for about an hour, drove home, took a shower and entered into a coma for most of today. So, all of that was an explanation why I didn't exercise yesterday or this morning.

I had planned in my mind to come home this morning and at least stretch it out and do my ab routine but I just didn't have the gusto. I'm waking up now, drinking my first pot of coffee and getting up the courage to hit the gym in the next little bit.

I've also been thinking about XTERRA races and looking at the schedule online. I enjoy mountain biking and running but the swimming is the most intimidating of the triathlon . I would love to be able to train and complete even a normal triathlon and then tackle a longer XTERRA because that just fits my personality. I love the woods, trails, streams, lakes whatever. So this blog may morph into a -training for a triathlon- blog or some bull-shit like that.

I'm all over the place. My nutrition yesterday was interesting and although I will attempt to recall all that I ate I'm not going to put the calories down because I just don't want to know. I really don't want to know the salt content I ate yesterday.

Dunkin Donuts everything bagel with bacon, egg and cheese.
muscle milk protein shake
turkey jerky-the whole pack
nutter butters-a small pack
club crackers-a few
Vienna sausages- damn good
suspicious package of hormel beef stew "microwave ready"
orange gatorade
and a damn snickers bar.

Now that's an interesting mix of preserved goodness that may stick with me for a while. I just can't seem to get my nutrition on Wednesday together. I'm in the meat wagon all day and have no way consistency so I don't know when I can eat or whether I will be near a heat source or whatever. Ideally, I could pack some decent food and take it with me but I don't have the proper cooler and it just weirds me out a little to have my food in that nasty vehicle all day. I need a new profession. badly.

Day 2 M1

2009-06-23T14:23:00.001-07:00

Today's workout was good. I felt taxed but I still had some energy when I left.

Leg Press 8 sets 200lbs
Straight Leg Dead Lifts 6 sets 95lbs
Military Push Press 5 Sets 95lbs on squat machine
Barbell Curls 5 sets 45lbs

I think that's it and I can't remember the reps. I did begin all exercises with a 20 rep set.

Today's Food:

1- Two Hard Boiled Eggs 160 cal
2- Fajita Ranchero Burrito from Qdoba 950 cal
3- Muscle Milk 1 serving shake 300 cal
4- Bowl of mini-wheats and strawberries
5- General tso's chicken, steam rice and dumplings

I became dizzy this evening?

A new morning routine

2009-06-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

I work an odd shift-work schedule so morning is relative to when I wake up which may be 430AM or 430PM however it may fall. This morning was a little different as well as being the first morning in a while that I did anything remotely related to stretching or moving my body beyond walking to the bathroom. Generally Tuesday is my sleep in day and today was no different. Got up pretty late and my wife was already at work. So, yea that was really late for me but it was nice. Ate and drank a little water then did some stretching and core work. I found a pretty tough routine on beginnertriathlete.com and adopted it as my morning routine along with some stretching and mediation exercises. Yes, meditation. Sitting quietly and doing my best to remove the million thoughts, many negative, from my mind and focusing on what's around me calms and relaxes not only my body but more importantly my mind.

Interestingly, over the past few months I have read some about Zen and Zen's relationship to my long time devotion to Christianity. It's very interesting and although I still feel somewhat sacrilegious even thinking about Zen I do think that some of the ideals or dogma is useful to me. I know my grandmother would probably hit me with a switch if she was alive and read this.

So meditation is a part of my morning routine. The stretching is very yoga like and gets my heart rate up and my muscles warm and ready for the core workout. I also cool down after with stretching followed by the aforementioned meditation.

So the core routine as beginnertriathlete.com prescribes it goes something like this.

Crunch, Knee-up Crunch, Hip Lifts, Oblique Crunch, Side Plank Dips, Oblique Leg Extension, Superman, Bridge Leg Lift, Pushups, Heal Touches, Bicycle Crunch, Half-up Twist.

I do 10 of each in a circuit and right now I only do one circuit. As my core strengthens I will increase the reps and add sets as needed.

This morning was the first try at hitting this up and it went well. I was able to get through the entire set although the hip-ups were very difficult. Whatever ABD muscle that works is not very strong but I will see some improvement I am sure.

I'll be hitting the gym this afternoon and hopefully running with my wife this evening. I am also going to post my diet and exercise regime this evening and will do my best to remain accountable and post what I eat and what exercise I complete on a daily basis. I plan to weigh and do some measurements this weekend and each weekend following.

Until then.

Day 1 Mission 1

2009-06-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

This evening I worked out at the gym as you can see below. Felt kinda tired this evening and fat but I still got out and walked with the wife down and hit it pretty hard. This is the third week I've worked out consistently and today my sets increased which increased the workload some. I got to the gym about 730 and left about 845. Although I lifted well I kinda gave in on the ABD portion of the workout, which ironically is probably the most important part of my workout. I may think about doing the ABD portion after I get up in the mornings. I also want to add some stretching first thing even after work. So, my first blogged workout goes as follows:

Bench 95lbs X 8 sets 20,10,10,10,7,7,5,6

Bent-over Rows 85lbs X 8 sets 20,11,10,10,10,10,10,7

Push-downs 35lbs X 5 sets 20,10,10,10,10

Calf-Raise 240lbs X 5 sets 20,20,20,20,20

ABD: Crunch 30

Should have completed much more ABD!

After my workout I hit the steam room had a shower and headed home.

My food today hasn't been great but not terrible. I'm going to record my meal plans here but I will begin that tomorrow. I need to find what really works ans stick to it.

Until tomorrow.

What it's about

2009-06-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

It's about accountability, determination and the overall need and want to become a healthier person. It's about recording my progress and faults so that I can achieve more and more. It's about achieving lofty goals and seeing them materialize in real-time.

I have many goals to accomplish this year.

- I want to complete my first triathlon this year.

- I want to drop my body fat below 13% and weigh less than 190 lbs this year.

- I want my cholesterol and triglycerides within a normal range this year.

- I want to feel good about myself everyday and avoid mood swings.

- And above all I want to win!!!!

Regardless of the what I have done in the past, actually, in spite of my past I will win and I will accomplish my goals and dreams.

Stay healthy, Eat right, Exercise!