Archive for December, 2004
Plugs
I do a lot of web-reading daily. It’s how I keep in touch with others working on their fitness goals. I read the people’s blogs in the right-side column voraciously. They’re almost always positive, informative, and filled with little ditties about what they’re doing to stay fit. Here are some others I really like.
If you’re not regularly checking out Jaime’s Really Useful Fitness Blog, you should. Today’s topic was about how to make more realistic resolutions. I’ve been making thoughtful faces at my computer screen for months while enjoying this site. It’s worth adding to your list of daily visits.
Also, if you want to read about a woman really taking fitness by the horns, check out Fitnotes.net. Fran is always talking about this or that killer workout, and/or handstands. I am always finding something at her blog that makes me think, “I’m not that strong yet, but I hope to be.” Fran uses a program called CrossFit that is just astounding.
There are plenty of great running blogs, but I’m not going to reinvent the wheel telling you about those. If you’re not looking out from my links on the right side of this page, then maybe check out Mark and Air-run’s big ole list. What I tend to do with running blogs is surf laterally around to other people’s links. It keeps my perspective fresh.
Rob Cooper has a site called FormerFatGuy.com, and I like his story because he came from where I was. I wish that guy up in Maine had a site. I’d shove tons of people his way, too. Anyhow, Rob’s site has lots of interesting things to peek and poke about.
In print, I’m currently subscribed to a few various health and fitness magazines. I’m subscribed to:
Trail Runner
Running Times
Outside
Men’s Health
Men’s Fitness
Experience Life
Muscle & Fitness Hers
That last one is a woman’s magazine, but it has so much more interesting articles about fitness and health than the men’s version, which seems to just be big on supplements and the like.
Who are you reading that inspires you?
In the Lab
There’s this old Dr. Dre lyric from Forgot About Dre where he says something like, “Cause I’ve been in the lab with a pen and a pad, trying to get this damned label off.” I’ve always liked that lyric. It really resonates. I feel like that a lot. Always tinkering.
Fitness At the gym this morning, I hit my mark really well. I ran a 30 minute 5K, including some sprints at 8MPH and then walking that off at 4MPH. My cruise speed was 6.8 most of the time.
I increased my weights again since Monday. I’m finding a few things working in this regard. One, I started where I could really do the exercise correctly, instead of starting where my ego wanted me to lift. And I’m getting results quickly, while not sacrificing form. Two, in key areas, like pushups, I reasoned that if I do a few hit and run efforts (4 sets of 20 reps instead of trying to exhaustion and only getting 25 or 27), I might be benefitting myself more. Key things only. Tired muscles are tired muscles.
Current weak spots: biceps and triceps. Having NOT paid specific attention to these, I’m finding I have a weaker set of important muscles. Remedy: do a few sets of tricep/bicep exercises midweek.
Running: I noticed that Alison started her Boston training now. I’m thinking of doing Don’t Run Boston, which I think happens the week before Boston (haven’t found it posted yet). If so, I have to start marathon training NOW? Hmm.. that might be a deal breaker on *that* marathon.
Nutrition Last night, I read the little companion book to the ABS Diet, that Men’s Health thingy with the glowing orange cover. I like it. Fairly simple and no-nonsense. Nothing that blew me away, except I read that there are a few studies saying one should take their protein supplement BEFORE lifting, where I’ve always believed it was supposed to be an after-lifting thing. Ah, but there are studies for everything. The one thing I like about the ABS diet is that it suggests that if you eat the calorie-dense, high fiber foods on their list, you don’t really need portion control. It’ll handle itself for you. Take oatmeal. You can’t gorge on that.
One other thing I’d forgotten about, High Fructose Corn Syrup actually makes you hungry (maybe hungrier), because fructose doesn’t register with your body’s network of defenses, so your body doesn’t deploy insulin to help regulate your hunger, convert the sugar to something useful, etc. Something to beware of, eh?
I liked the little helper book more than the big book. Seems like an inexpensive way to follow the advice in the big book without shelling out for the big one. :)
Not training related I have a new favorite gym show to watch instead of COPS (or as well as COPS). MTV’s “Made.” Have you seen it? It’s fairly inspirational while sweating your sphincter off. Usually, there’s some kid who wants something they think they can’t attain, at least without some kind of coach. The coach comes in and pumps the kid up until they hit their mark. Oh, I did an uninspired but sweaty 10 minutes on the bike, too. I forgot that.
Today, I’m reading from FUNCTIONAL TRAINING FOR SPORTS, by Boyle. I enjoy the first chapter, so far. It’s talking about “how” we lift weights, and how lots of it doesn’t really mimic the actual activities we intend to perform. He goes on to say something like, doesn’t it make more sense to train the way you’ll play? Which makes great sense to me.
Of course, this puts me back in the conundrum of wanting to determine just what “sport” would best suit me. I mean, superhero is not a sport. I guess, at the end of the day, it’ll have to be a blend. Because martial arts would make sense, but so would keeping my endurance training going. Climbing seems good, as I can’t fly. What else, though, is unclear at this time. It’s always fun figuring such things out. : )
Books referenced in this post:
And okay, one for Dre.
Looking Forward and Back
I was reading this blog
(Is it Karen?) and was thrilled to see both a recap of last year’s goals with what results were achieved, as well as new goals for 2005. Man, this is the most invigorating time of the year!
And the snow! Now that there’s a foot down, I’m feeling all pumped about wanting to try some new winter sports. I’ve got an old offer from Annalisa that might still be valid. And if not snowshoeing, maybe cross country skiing. I will definitely run in the snow at the state park some time this weekend. Maybe New Years Eve day, as I forgot to sign up for that 10K and ocean dip.
I feel like shouting out a mighty WOOHOO! to everyone. It’s like being at the crest of the mountain, looking out over all that wicked terrain. It’s that strange amnesia that occurs after childbirth, after marathons, and after a year of training. You look out and only see the peaks.
Can I get a WOOHOO, brothers and sisters?
ACE Says!
The American Council on Exercise has come out with their top 10 fitness trends for 2005:
1. Balance training grows in popularity.
2. Growing tendency to blend mind-body programs like yoga w/ traditional stuff.
3. Shorter duration workouts become more widespread.
4. Wellness coaching and nutritional counseling draw larger crowds.
5. Clubs and trainers offer more flexible workout sessions.
6. Employers are encouraging fitness and weight loss.
7. Functional fitness and core strengthening have strong presence in personal training and group fitness classes.
8. Personal trainers and group fitness instructors share clients.
9. Families get into outdoor fitness activities.
10. Participation in physical activities for socialization and motivation becomes more popular.
What I like most about lists like this is seeing how close to the trends I am. Pretty neato.
Oh Holidays…
I was one of three people at the gym this morning, not counting the nice lady who let us all in. Of course, this made me feel smug, but that doesn’t last past my first exercise, which is a clock-in with pushups. I banged out all 25 with the same power I threw at last week’s 20. Next week, we’ll see if I can keep it going. In fact, I made strength gains in all my measured areas.
The scale this morning was a relief. I stayed dead even from last week (from the last several months). But that’s nice, because given all I’d been eating lately, I was sure I’d post something up. And the other really good plus to this is that I’m definitely putting on more muscle, so staying the same means that I’m chopping fat and replacing it with the good stuff. Yessuh.
Folks keep commenting on how discplined I am, per my journal entries. While it’s true that my physical fitness efforts are well disciplined, I’m failing myself in the areas of eating appropriately. Though there aren’t several major failures, it’s just this steady trickle of taking in calories that I don’t need. Were I to marshall my abilities around what goes into my mouth, I’d feel that I was the most disciplined guy around. However, with that one area still lacking any major progress, I’m convinced that I’m not 100%, or even 90%. As one of my main goals of the first few months of 2005 is to drop down to 210 lbs. from 240, I see every time I slip up and eat something off plan as a failure.
I was trying out the bike at the gym as a means of calorie burning (I liked it, but must’ve not adjusted it well, because my knees hurt like hell after only 5.5 miles). To shake that off, I ran two miles on the hamster, but right at the beginning of this, MTV “Made” came on. Have you seen this show? It’s about people wanting to do X, and then MTV provides special coaches, and it’s usually about overcoming a struggle internal to their self image.
This one was about a high school sophmore girl wanting to join the boy’s football team. It was excellent to watch while running, because I was able to praise my levels of commitment. Even though I slam myself for my nutrition issues, I’m doing much better than I give credit for. While watching this girl destroy her diet at the beginning of the episode, I was thankful that I’ve come as far as I have. Even during the holidays, while eating anything interesting I encountered, I was definitely much better than I’d been in the past.
I’m positive about 2005. I know this will be a year full of great strides and great successes. It will be a year for trying new things, for reaching new achievments in my efforts. I will run many more races, and I will run longer distances in my races than before. I will be capable of much more than I’ve ever managed in the past. And this comes from all the hard work that comes out of me, daily. And from the support of my wife, my online friends, and the occasional person in real life who inspires me. This will be my year.
And then, 2006 will just shred everything I did over 2005.
Reading:
Training Up
The mental aspects of training are always the challenge, to me. Once I figure out what I want to do with my body, the fight resorts to what’s above my ears. I think often about training up.
Up, as in my head. Up above my shoulders. Mental toughness. Mental discipline. Boy,do I lack discipline.
I’m reading this book (among others) right now:
It goes deep into the day-to-day of leadership training at West Point. I’ve learned a lot in the first 40 or so pages. The book shows me that I want to work even harder on my discipline, at work, in my training, in all parts of my life.
Here’s what I believe: I think I’m leaking efficiency through my lack of discipline. I’m thinking that if I did things a little more snap in all areas of my life, I’d have even more cycles to spin on other things I want to think about. Is this making sense? I got distracted during this paragraph.
Military training appeals to me because they do the following:
*Determine an objective.
*Train to that objective.
*Execute.
*Lessons learned.
It’s such an easy model. You do some up front work. You do the hard work. And then you make good on all the training.
But with that simplicity comes such complex marshalling of your emotions, your drives, your motivations, and more. Focus becomes a prime tool. Dedication. These are the types of books I’d like to read, the coaching I’d like to invest in. I don’t really need someone to tell me how to do a better pushup. I mean, I do, but… But what I really need is someone to shave my mind.
Who else is working on this?
Blade 3
I am a sucker for a good vampire flick.
Yes indeedy. I’m a big fan of the Blade series, and I was quite happy with this latest offering. Critics have been complaining here, there, and everywhere. They have completely missed the point. This is a videogame without a joystick. It is not a “movie.”
The choreography and effects are great. I like the change of technologies in filming. In fact, lots of parts of this movie grain out like old 70’s blacksploitation movies. And while everyone in the world is going to go on and on about how hot Jessica Biel is, I was really impressed with the comic relief provided by Ryan Reynolds. Oh, and did I mention he’s the cover model for this month’s Men’s Health?
Watching a movie like that is all about getting jazzed up. You leave the theater thinking, “If a vampire comes at me, I’m going to give him one serious ass kicking.” Yeah!
The jokes were nonstop when Reynolds was on the screen. There are some really neat casting choices here, including Triple H the wrestler and, wait for it, Parker Posey as the bad girl vampire. Un-huh. She was great, actually. She brought her typical chops to the role in a way that even Steven Dorff couldn’t really quite hit with his role in the first flick. I lurrrrved her version of a trashy vampire.
Funniest joke? The vending counter guy telling me it was $3.25 for a 20 ounce bottle of water. I declined, deciding that if I needed water THAT badly, I’d drink blood instead. >: )=
Killer Mighty Tough!
Today’s return to the gym was triumphant. I thought there should be trumpets playing. But I was quite happy to accept the stream of Foo Fighters, Marilyn Manson, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The music (and videos) is the reason I drive 15 minutes to this gym instead of 3 minutes to the one near my house. The one near my house has played the same 20 songs every time I’ve been there over the last year. I feel murderous when forced to endure that music. (Mind you, if I remembered my old school iPod, I wouldn’t have to worry a bit).
I decided to commit myself to 4 weeks of measuring my progress in selected areas, and working on improving all of those areas over the 4 weeks. Here’s my goal targets for what I’m going to measure.
Fitness
Pushups …. 20 / 25 / 30 / 40
DB Bench…. 120 / 140 / 150 / 160
Lat Pull…. 120 / 130 / 140 / 150
Curl2Press.. 70 / 80 / 90 / 100
Hack Squat.. 180 / 200 / 230 / 270
Romanian Ded 120 / 140 / 150 / 170
Cardio (Measuring heart rate)
Run 30 mins… 170 …………………..
Bike 30 mins… …… 165 ……………
Stairs 30 mins. …………….160 ……
Run 30 mins… ……………………155
Food (tracking +/-)
Veggies
Cheats
Monster Food
Weight
240 / 238 / 236 / 235
I imagine everything there makes sense, right? The food section just means that I want to eat more veggies, have less cheats, and no monsters. That’s easy, right? And can I attain a better heart rate in 4 weeks? Jeez, I don’t know, but it’s just a reason to push myself onto those various cardio efforts over four weeks.
Having the measurements gives me something to shoot for, and gives me something to train to. I have discovered that if I’m left to my own devices, I just kind of futz around and train in a million directions. I’m following the lifting program from the Men’s Health Book of Muscle, by Ian King.
(I think Amazon is hosed. This is showing up to me as a generic shopping link instead of a picture of the book, MEN’S HEALTH: THE BOOK OF MUSCLE, by Ian King)
The book is great for several reasons. There are some great illustrations of various muscles, including really detailed drawings that help explain the makeup of your musculature. It’s focused on guys (sorry), but the same musculature exists in women, so you can extrapolate. The workouts at the back of the book are a mix of really dorky looking (things you wouldn’t even want your dog to see you doing), and really good body mechanics.
I’ll be honest: when I’m at the gym, I do some of the dorky looking ones, but even I have limits. Most anything where I have to stand on one foot and balance, while really good for my core and several thousand other muscles, I will only do in privacy, because I have the balance abilities of a one-legged drunk. However, I follow the general gist of the program and substitute same muscle-set exercises for the ones that dork me out.
My only criticism is that the workout is still mired in the bodypart mindset instead of full body workouts. I like all the new stuff in plyometrics and overall body strength workouts that I’m reading about. I’ll probably follow this stuff by King for a few more months, but in the end, what I’ll really want will be a little more holistic, and not so focused on specific parts of the body.
So, I felt mighty today. I hit those first week goal numbers with no problem. I could’ve done more pushups. I could’ve done 10 more pounds on my DB bench. I was a little week on the dumbell curl to press efforts (mostly because I don’t work my biceps separately to any other exercise). Yes, I’m the ONLY guy at the gym not obsessed with curls. But man, I’m tough.
Superhero
One that would have the fruit must climb the tree. — Thomas Fuller
I got that quote off a box of Celestial Seasonings Pomegranate something tea. There’s a big monkey on the box. I like that. Someone gave me the tea because it curdled when they put milk in it. Milk. Pffff.
If I wrote a fitness book about trying to become a superhero, do you think it’d have “traction” with people who are interested in fitness, but kind of blase about the offerings? And by trying to become, I don’t actually want to fight crime. I just want to be good enough to do it. Like, maybe have the fitness, the endurance, the agility, the fighting ability… and I want to look good in a Batman costume. Okay, I know there’s a few frivolous ones in there. Endurance…pff. But otherwise, it seems like a neat quest, eh?
If I build it, would they come?
Entropy
A long time ago, when online “handles” were more important than one’s own name, I remember wanting to use the name “Entropy.” (I never did, by the way. I had MUCH worse online names). However, the reason I thought it was applicable was that I seem to fall prey to entropy with great ease. I’m like the copper of fitness. I’m a fresh piece of bread left out on the countertop for a week. You get the point.
I hurt my back last Wednesday and then didn’t hit the gym again that week. Well, this is a new week, and it’s six days later, and I missed the gym for the last two days. Now, I could argue that my kid wasn’t sleeping well for the last several days and I’m just making up sleep. But today? I was just mostly lazy. I did some brisk walking to take the place of my 30 minutes planned run at the gym. What’s up with that?
There’s fresh snow on the ground, and more than 1/2 of my clothes are pressure stacked into the hamper right now, awaiting my extra efforts to get them clean. I can keep making excuses, but the real reason is just that once a pattern is broken, it’s hard to pick it back up again. Don’t you agree?
By the way, I worked out yesterday and today. I did pushups and dumbell rows, and curl-to-press, and all kinds of things I could do with what I had at home. That’s a great thing, to have a PLAN B set up. But, in the long run, I need just a little more structure to ensure I’m going to do what I’m going to do.
So, tomorrow, it’ll be back to getting up at 4:30 and hitting the gym by 5. It will be back to lifting and running out my 30 minutes of good cardio. It will be back into my pattern, because it’s all I have right now.
One great thing about nature is that it breaks down old structures and uses them for new purposes. Look at a fallen tree trunk that becomes home to thousands of creatures. Look at feeder fish that fuel bigger fish. Look at photosynthesis. Entropy is present in at least two of those. : )
