Archive for January, 2005
4 Week Experiment
I’ve been planning my training in four week chunks. I think the Navy uses the term “evolution” as their form of demarcation. The last four weeks were spent doing a progression of exercises with the goal of seeing strength gains in several key measurements. I was successful. Here’s the next experiment.
4 Weeks of Intense Strength Training with No Running.
Men’s Health put out a book/magazine thingy called GET FIT NOW, and it reminded me of studies that show that running tends to negate any serious muscle growth. I’d read that a long time ago, but had forgotten about it. This involves slow twitch versus fast twitch fibers, and how endurance strengthens the slow twitch stuff, but that it’s fast twitch that account for more of your muscle mass. I’m not educated enough to speak in depth about it, but I’m willing to try a quick 4 week rotation of this method to see what comes of it.
Reading something in the recent Experience Life magazine helped me bring this decision about, too. They had a piece on body type (can’t access it via the website), and I reminded myself that I’m a blend of endomorph and mesomorph. I can build muscle fairly easily, but I have a hard time losing fat weight. I have to work at it. To that end, running is *not* in the category for my body type. In ayurvedic medicine (Indian stuff), I’m a Vasu, which is also not a runner’s category.
So how did I decide running was for me?
I really love the experience of getting out into nature, of scaling tricky hills and descending into lush forests. I enjoy the miles of distance I can throw beneath me while enjoying a spirital connection to the world surrounding me. It’s one of the only times I feel like I’m in church.
But why did I choose to run?
I guess it’s because I think of running as something “worthy.” People who can run distances are impressive to me. My coworker, Mark, had just run Boston, and it beat the stuffing out of him because of the heat. But a friend who struck me as a lot less serious about his running did fairly well in Boston, so I had this sense that lots of people do this sport at different levels.
My new friend, Luc, pointed out that running (especially trail running and ultras) is the only sport where you can do the same event as the celebrities of the sport. I’ve run in races with “name brand” athletes, and that’s kind of neat. If I were into football (which is what endomorphs are ’supposed to’ like), I wouldn’t be able to hang out with Tom Brady, right? So, I like the fact that running is open to everyone.
Also, no gear per se. I’ve got shoes, a water bottle, a few things here and there, but nothing insane.
So for at least four weeks (the offical program is 7, but I’ll assess at 4), I’m going to throw running out and focus on intense, heavy weightlifting. By not resting more than 30 seconds between sets, I’ll get my cardio from the lifting itself. Of course, I’ll lose some of my endurance conditioning, but I’m not worried. I’ll get it back when I apply myself to that effort again.
What I love most about life is that it’s made up of choices, and that you can often choose several directions. My current choice (for just a month, by the way) is to see what happens when I focus all my efforts on strength training and power building. I’m hoping that this ultimately helps my 30# weight loss goal, even though I’ll build lots more muscle mass (I hope) through this. I hear all the time that a pound of muscle burns 50 calories more a day than a pound of fat. I’m all for it.
Of course, I’ll keep you all posted.
What are you afraid of changing in your life? Why haven’t you tried?
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Just testing this goofy Picasa and Hello stuff with an old picture from last July. 
Un-buh-leeeeeeev-a-bull!
I’m so proud and egotistical this morning. It’s all about today’s gym stuff.
Should I be proud that my workout was crappy? Hell no. I wasn’t really hitting my marks with lifting, but that happens after 3rd shift days. I just can’t recharge the way I used to. Or rather, I can function great, but I can’t do over-the-top efforts, and that’s where my workout is pegged right now. So, let me write that off.
But let’s talk about running.
You might’ve read that I’ve been doing lots of interval sprint training, right? I’m doing that three times a week, and have been for a week or two. But, I was doing this to burn fat and lose weight. I wasn’t really doing it for my running, per se.
Today, I ran on the track inside the gym. There’s a woman I call Motley Crue woman, because she has super-bleachy hair and an uber-tan, and she’s really damned in shape, but her running style is a little bit mopey. I’m usually up to par with her, speed-wise. Then, there’s Egg Man, who’s this guy who wears the same white running clothes every time, and who’s bald, and generally fast as all hell. There’s also Geraldo Gone Bad, this guy who looks like Geraldo Rivera gone the way of Ho Ho’s. He’s faster than me, too. Finally, and this guy comes in later, there’s some guy I’ve never seen who’s taller than me, Frankenstein tall, and pretty powerful fast.
I ran faster than ALL of these people today.
And no, not just once. I passed them all once and just figured I was pacing a little too fast for my own good. But I didn’t slow down. I just kept running. And I lapped them again. Hey, I think. This isn’t normal. Egg Man *always* runs faster than me. I usually mentally white him out of the gym and pretend I’m alone on the track. And then I lap them all again. And I feel STRONG, by the way. I’m not sucking wind and dying. And… I lap them AGAIN.
So, I’m feeling all kinds of great. I’m thinking, WOW! I’m kicking these folks’ ASSES! (They, by the way, aren’t aware that I’m racing them. They’re just working out and being good people.) But then, Frankenstein gets on the track. And he is huge. His stride is something like five times longer than mine. Mind you, I run like a geisha. You could tie my shoelaces together and it wouldn’t change my form.
I see Frankenstein coming up fast. I’m thinking, “well, there goes my rare, first ever feeling of track dominance.” And then, Coach says, “You’ve gotta make him EARN it.” Okay, I think. And I run even harder still.
I kept ahead of him for four more laps, and then decided I’d had enough running and came off the track. Not because he was right behind me. I kept him 1/4 track away the whole run.
Yeah. So. I was really fricken’ fast today, and I felt powerful, and I felt like, “holy shit, that interval sprint stuff really *does* work!”
I’ll get over myself shortly, I’m sure. : )
Cupboards
At work, in my overhead bin, I have the following items:
*Fiber One cereal. (57% of your daily fiber serving in 3/4 cup, and only 60 calories a serving.)
* 6 or 7 cans of white tuna.
* balsamic vinegar.
* salad bag
* whey powder
* oatmeal (whole oats)
* honey
* grape tomatoes
* minestrone soup
* 3 types of green tea
* can dark kidney beans (btw, look at the labels when buying these. Turns out Bush beans have sugar and salt added, those rat bastids).
* normally, I have a bag of almonds or walnuts, but I’m out right now.
So what the Fred is all THAT for?
It’s all parts of very healthy snacks that keep me away from vending machines and other unwise choices. The harder I work at being prepared, the better my chances of not having to report a slip-up.
What are your tricks?
Turd Shift Ramblings
Here it is just past midnight eastern, and I’m doing more vampire hours work. All in a day’s work for those making the world safe for wireless telephony. Yessuh. *looks around and scratches his unruly hair.*
Reading Marine Corps books has been inspirational. This book was neat in that it was a kind of Marine Corps version of Sun Tsu.
It basically broke down conflicts and explained one way of dealing with them. I can see ways to apply it to my day job, as well as to my motivations to train harder with my fitness.
Another one I am midway through and appreciating is:
This involves following a platoon of new recruits through the processes of Parris Island, the Marine Corps’ training grounds. I like it because it is rife with examples of people having to push past their previous limits into new territory before feeling stronger.
It’s the work I do between the ears that makes my training effective. I give more to improving my fitness and nutrition when I’m motivated all the way down to my very core.
When I used to try and lose weight, I’d “want” to lose weight. I’d eat something horrible, and then feel bad, because I really was hoping to lose weight. I’d work out a little harder when I remembered to work out. Seemed like the right thing to do. I’d look at fit people and never quite understand how they got that way. Genetics, right?
It’s so different when you commit to it. When you burn away all the other options. When you open the door to all the good things that will come from your efforts. I am moving with velocity towards my next adventure. I am building skills, doing everything better, and burning pure passion for fuel.
For Fred’s sake, stop TRYING. Listen to Yoda. Just do. It. (I had to add that “it.”) Remove the options and commit.
I am living a 100% better life since I made the choices I’ve made over the last 16 months. How about you?
Beatings All Around
It’s official: watching professional athletes do their thing and do it well really motivates me to work harder on my own fitness and nutrition goals.
Yesterday, I went to the little movie theater in town. You know the kind. They have old car seats and couches, mismatched tables, cold beer on draft, and cheap movies. Well, they played the Patriots/Colts game. People from Indianapolis (or fans of such) look away: The Pats kicked the living shit out of the Colts.
I’m not a big professional sports fan. I really only get caught up in such things around the time of the playoffs. But lately, what’s going on is, I’m getting all these new big emotions and motivations around great athletes doing things well. So, I watched the game to see people exerting their power, their finesse, and their fluidity of motion. I saw a whooping instead.
Today at the gym, I repeated my three single chinups. In fact, I got 1.5 out of my first set. I did 12 negatives in there, too, to try and stimulate myself to the next level. I did 35 pushups for the first time, though the last seven or so were crappy. Maybe last 10. By “crappy,” I didn’t really touch my nose to the ground. I wussed out a bit. I posted gains in all my lifting again, and that was a nice feeling. This is the last week of four weeks of measuring for improvements, and I saw gains more often than not, including going from 20 pushups at a time maximum to 35, and going from no chinups to three singles.
I ran 30 minutes of interval drills, sprinting my little head off. I’m really responding well to the stepped up running program. Instead of beating distance into my muscles, I’m telling my muscles to work harder in bursts. When I get back to mixing the two methods together, I’m going to feel PRIMED.
My gym experience was about beating the crap out of myself responsibly. I think the next four week cycle (beginning next Monday) will focus on that intensity even more. I read a great workout on Fran’s site where they did 15 rounds of 1.5 minutes to accomplish a fistful of exercises. I like that because it’s interval training mixed with strength training. I’m all about the mix lately.
I busted my cheats and monster streaks over the weekend. I had a few cheats on Friday (calories not worth their fuel value) and a monster event on both Saturday and Sunday night. I’m not sad. I’m not disappointed. I’m responsible. My effort is on today and the future. Besides, I still posted 2 more pounds of weight loss for the week (though not the 4 I was trending towards on Thursday).
My motivation levels are at their prime when it comes to my fitness, and they’re near the top for nutrition. I’ll bring that up this week. Measuring my motivation and determination on a chart this last week was neat. It shows that I have peaks and valleys to my efforts, and that I need to dig in and push more effectively the moment I see something flagging.
Another note: I’m really aware of one weakness. I tend to feel deprived around foods from time to time. When that feeling hits (and it’s not valid), I need to marshall better defenses than I currently have in place. I’m working on something for that now.
Watching people move themselves forward towards their goals is motivational. I’m really appreciating the blogs I read regularly for that reason. I’ve finally surrounded myself with people intent on bringing their success to new levels. It’s a great feeling.
Thanks!
I Take That Back
Some years ago, Tiger Woods made a difficult decision. He was top of his game, but very erratic. He decided to ratchet back his success, but train up to be more consistently effective at what he was doing. This stung in the short term. He slipped from top place to somewhere obscure for two years. And then? He came back and kicked butt for several years. (Let’s not talk about Singh).
I’m not Tiger Woods, but after printing out my running training schedule for getting up to a 50K, and after talking a lot about it with Kat, I’m going to put off my first ultra until summer or fall.
In my case, I believe that dropping 30 or more pounds will be more beneficial to my overall running career. Last year, I trained and ran several races, but I stayed the exact same weight all year. Training involves proper nutrition, and you must consume a lot more calories for endurance racing, so it goes counter to creating a decent calorie deficit.
I jumped on the scale this morning, and if things stay the same, I’m on track for at least two more pounds gone this week. I’ve had positive motion two out of the last three weeks, and am trending generally towards sustainable weight loss.
According to the government, I should lose 50 pounds not 30. I’m aiming to get down to 210 and see how things work there. The government wants me to be 190. I can easily see where 30 pounds will come from. I think 50 might be a stretch, but who knows? If I do drop 50, I’ll have lost an even 100 since August ‘03. There’s something attractive to that number, but I’m not certain it’s realistic. We’ll see. I never knew I could drop 57 pounds and be in the low 230s, either.
Losing the weight would give me a better body for running. It would also be much easier to propel less weight off the ground for things like climbing, which seems like a challenge I’m interested in for 2005 or 2006. Though there are obvious aesthetic benefits, I believe the reasoning for my decision is based on athletic purposes.
So, no 50K in April. There’s still Pisgah in September, which is a mountain race. There are plenty other ultras in the area. I’m okay on that front.
Finally, I learned something about myself. I think part of why I like training for ultras is that there’s a snob boost to my ego. Man, just when I think I have that kind of stuff in check. Apparently, I much prefer telling people I’m training for an ultra instead of saying, “I’m just trying to knock this leftover fat off my gut.” Thankfully, I’m married to a wife who checks such behavior. She’s great at popping my “bad” ego boosts and then she’s very supportive and uplifting on the stuff that does matter.
Isn’t it neat to learn about yourself?
14 Weeks?
I just mapped out my 50K Don’t Run Boston schedule and nearly puked. 12 weeks? That’s all I have from next Monday until race day. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that my long run next week is 12 miles, and as I’ve just completed a 1/2 marathon distance, I’m in okay shape to do that. Just not particularly quality, yet.
So, do-able, but I’ve gotta get aggressive starting next week. My edited Hal plan from last year says week 14 is 21 miles worth of running. That’s not horrible. I just guess I’m going to have to find some acceptance with street running for a little while longer (trails are still WAY too dark).
Yeah. 50K in 14 weeks. I’m in. I’m training up.
Mmmmm Steak For Lunch
There’s a guy at work doing South Beach. He’s in Phase 1. I only know a little about South Beach, because there’s a popular diet program comparison in a really neat cookbook I bought for dirt cheap at Barnes & Noble the other day.
Anyhow, he’s miserable. He says he’s feeling anemic all the time. He gets peanut M&M’s out of the vending machine when he feels he’s going to pass out from it. I’ve read that Phase 1 is like that. I’ve heard Phase 2 is much better. Not my bag, but some people see results, so I don’t knock anyone for their method.
But yesterday at lunch, I had a steak dinner. Oh yum. It was just perfect. Only a few ounces of steak, some steamed broccoli, and a little rice pilaf (that might’ve been a little high in sodium, but whatever). Delicious. I loved the protein, as I’d lifted hard that morning. I needed the pilaf for energy. And broccoli? Mmmm. And, it was a fairly good lunch portion, which is so rare. Usually, you get 3 meals worth of food on a plate.
I’m watching every little thing that goes into me. This nutrition business isn’t painful or exceptionally tricky, but you really have to stay vigilant. I’ve upped my fiber intake even more, and I think that’s helping. I’m back up to 1 gallon of water a day (which is just slightly over my daily recommended, but not so much that I’ll drown). And I’m seeing progress. I should be able to post another pound of weight loss for this coming Monday’s weigh-in, all things being equal.
The US Government changed it’s dietary guidelines and it’s really getting closer to making sense. I’m told a new version of the food pyramid (or whatever new shape they choose) is coming out, too. Atypical of the government, they actually spelled out (in the fine print) that we should be cutting down on refined sugars, salts, trans fats. They didn’t fall prey to the typical lobbying groups who water down such recommendations. I’m happy about this news.
I’m finding the following is working really great for me, eating wise:
*Smoothie for breakfast, loaded with fiber, some protein, yogurt, and lowfat milk, oh yeah, and chocolate flavoring and today, bananas.
*Slice of multigrain toast w/peanut butter for snack.
*Decent sized lunch, focusing on more carbs, some protein.
*Small afternoon snack, lately a small bowl of oatmeal and nuts.
*Dinner heavier on protein than carbs, as I’m less likely to need energy in the evening.
*Snack before bed of something filling. Either popcorn, oatmeal, or two tsps of peanut butter. (The natural stuff, not crap).
This mixed in with a mountain of water (and other beverages like fizzy water and green tea) seems to be doing me well. Oh, and a multivitamin and extra B-complex stuff. I keep trying to remember to take Omega-3 capsules too, but one day I took one and it melted in my mouth and grossed the HELL out of me.
The more I read about nutrition, the more it confuses me. There are so many theories. The weight loss theory of choice at the very moment is basic: calories in versus calories burned, and trying to keep a deficit. But.. BUT… even that has some issues. People talk about making sure the deficit is spread out over the day. Meaning, you should never stray from any more than 300 calories deficit at any point during the day or your body will freak out and think you’re starving it. And what about all these recent calcium studies that say eating a heap more yogurt and drinking low or non-fat milk fights fat absorption rates?
It never ends, really. That’s a multi-BILLION dollar industry, you know. Mmmm, smell the money?
It’s like every time I see folks putting their boxed lunches into the nuke. I can always tell who’s just in need of convenient, balanced nutrition, and who’s trying to fix themselves via the prepackaged miracle. Hey, it *is* one way of measuring calories. But there’s so much more to the equation.
Man, I’m starting to sound preachy. I’ll just leave it at that. However you find your way across the finish line, if you’re even in the race, good for you!
Woohoo!!!!
My first ever chinups. Three singles. Kinda. I’ve gotta ask a question. You know those setups where you can do chinups, dips, or ab leg lifts? Know those little handles that jut out in the center of it? I pulled all the way up to those, but didn’t know where to put my chin, officially, to make it a real chinup. I just kind of hung out at the top of my pull for a moment, and then lowered down slowly. Was I at the top or did I have to do some final, unrelated movement to make it an official chinup? Anyone know?
It was Lee who mentioned that she liked seeing new people at the gym. I think she said she liked the new energy. I forget now. But whatever. I wanted to say thanks, because I went from seeing the people as some temporary clutter taking up stuff I had free access to over Christmas, and instead I see them as all kinds of potential and excitement waiting to happen. I spent a little time near a woman using the trainers for a workout, and it was nice hearing them talk about fitness and nutrition, especially since it was obvious that she was new to these kinds of things. I felt happy that someone else was taking advantage of the resources around them and trying to better themselves. Much nicer attitude to take, yes?
The rest of my workout was stellar. I did sumo deadlifts and sets of dips on the parallel bars. I did wide grip lat rows and all kinds of other metal stuff.
And then I ran 30 minutes worth of interval drills again. I did it on the track this time, and that forced me to work a little harder. I sprinted 1/4 of the track, and then jogged the next 3/4. The only thing was, the track was full of walkers and this one really slow runner, and I kept hitting my corner to sprint at the same time someone was also rounding the corner. I didn’t want them to think I was trying to “show them up” or something by sprinting. Hell, I’m the slowest runner I know. But whatever. That’s my own insecurity. I did my 30 minutes of interval training and impressed myself with how much torture I’m willing to take.
My quads are KILLING me from these drills. Is that normal? Anyone else feel that way?
Motivationally, I’m back to reading military books. I’ve got a book detailing the experiences of US Marines during The Crucible, which is the 50-something hour ordeal they go through at the end of training. It’s similar to the Seal’s Hell Week, which I’ve read plenty about. What I’m trying to glean from such materials are nuggets on the mindset. I am looking for the motivational tools, the pep talks and language they put around their efforts. To me, the women and men who train to protect our country, locally and abroad, are great models for motivation when it comes to endurance, toughness, and pushing for accomplishments. (Thereafter, when it comes to discussing how our armed services are applied to the world, is another matter. I don’t need to discuss my opinions on that.).
So what are your most recent accomplishments? What’s up there in front of you as a challenge?
