Archive for May, 2005
опять
опять is the Russian spelling for “again.”
There are many people pursuing health and fitness goals who falter along the way. They settle for good enough, which is “gut genug” in German. They don’t know how to start again, if ever they hit a wall.
For whatever reason, I think of “again” as the scene in a Chinese martial arts movie. The bald monk is telling me to punch the board before me. He says, 再.
Tomorrow, as many times as I have done lately, I will begin again. “Ancora” in Italian. I will approach this from the body, the mind, the spirit, and the heart. I will enforce discipline. I will use my creativity and my passion. I will find a path.
One side of the coin is that I am weak. The other side is that I am human. Either way, I’m richer for having the coin than not.
다시 (Korean).
Apologies to those who have browsers that can’t translate the foreign text.
Drive
It’s pouring up here in New England. There are flood warnings all around where I live. Rain is coming down like static, trees throw refugee branches and leaves everywhere. The sky is steel wool.
So, I’m at the gym.
Today was another 3.5 mile jaunt, and I used the treadmill today because the little stupid track just doesn’t appeal to me. At least on the gerbil (when confined indoors), I can watch MTV or whatever. It was funny how my heart rate changed depending on the video. B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
At 3.14 miles, I accidentally hit the STOP button. What a pain in the corn that is. I had to wait for the thing to spin back up, and man, it took a little wind out of my sails. But whatever, I felt righteous for getting back into the game and running my head off.
I think I’ve figured out how I want to approach spirituality, in my little four important things part. The whole thing about meeting the Creator won’t happen, as I tend to think of myself as an independent agent within a larger organic entity. I believe there’s a spiritual plane, so to speak, but I don’t see a big guy in robes and long flowy beards there. Here’s what I’ll do.
I’ll measure myself against my personal spiritual beliefs, and against the hunter/gatherer creature ethic. If I’m living within natural law, then I’m meeting my spiritual demands. If I’m true to myself by these methods, I’m doing well. I don’t think I’ll explain much more than that, because it sounds weirdo in text, but whatever. I know what I mean.
I am *so* feeling powerful right now. My strength and speed and stamina feel really good (give or take the torn rotator cuff), and I feel as if I’ve got a decent training method in place right now, which is: make all training fun, and train often as you can find time. That’s about it. Fun. That’s the focal point. Luckily, I include “moving lots of metal around” in the realm of fun, as well as “run for a long time” and “bike for a while.” I’m excited by the process.
What’s giving you a personal sense of satisfaction? And what’s driving you forward?
Cable Vision
Have you used cable machines at the gym lately?
I really enjoy the variety you can get out of this one piece of equipment. I’ll get to the cable stuff I did in a minute. Today’s workout, after biking to the gym, was as follows:
Planks (just swell for core strength).
Swiss ball crunches (big article on getting up off the floor).
Swiss ball Russian Twists.
Lower leg raises.*
Pushups
Chinups (just a few-ow)
Shoulder presses.
Squats (385 with freeweights. Yessuh!)
Leg curls
*I did a neat variant. Lie down on a tall bench, such that your lower back and legs are dangling off. Put a medicine ball between your knees, and keep your legs at a 90 degree bend, as if you’re sitting in a chair. Then raise and lower your legs, as if you’re trying to raise your knees to your chest. The bench gives an extended range of motion.
And then the cable stuff…
Take one of those big arms and put it way up. Take the other and put it way down. Grab the handle of the way up with both hands, and drag it down and diagonally, as if you’re chopping wood. Oh yes, that’s the name. Cable chop. It’s a GREAT core and multi-join exercise.
Then, take the lower arm, and pull up, somewhere between a golf swing and a deep baseball swing. I think it’s similar to digging with a shovel.
Make sure you get both sides (down from left, down from right ; up from left, up from right) equally. That stuff rocks.
I used the machine to do rows. I used it to do curls. I did tricep pulldowns. By the way, doing single-side exercises exercises your core, too!
Then, I did these great chest exercises, where I stood with the machine behind me, and pushed one hand at a time, as if doing a dumbell bench press, but because I was oriented upright, it looked more like a boxer doing a punch. Only, I was doing this punch through molasses. This exercise ROCKED for my chest. It really moved a lot of resistance against my pecs, my triceps, and through my core. I felt it deep.
Did I mention I squatted 385 in freeweights? Wow!
My bike ride home was through POURING rain, so that wasn’t exceptionally pleasant, but it was kind of interesting for what it was. I was wearing plain heavy cotton sweatpants, which was like biking home in bath towels you accidentally dropped in the tub. Whoops.
Eating-wise, yesterday was fairly good until the end. Right around supper time, I got ravenous. I think it’s because I tried to cheat my supper portion and I only ate an energy bar and a few nuts. It wasn’t diverse enough, and it didn’t have enough oomph to keep me feeling full. I added a veggie burger on a slice of multigrain bread, and that helped. Delicious smoothie for breakfast, and a hummus and vegetable sandwich for lunch.
Mentally, I’m doing well with my career efforts. Spiritually, I think I know what I want to do. I just have to enact it.
Want a motivational movie? Watch MIRACLE. Yes, it’s a Disney flick, but it’s the training of the guys that really motivates you. Have you seen it?
Have you tried one of those cable things? What do you think?
Monday Morning
Focus. I lack the ability to carve out my day into what matters most. I have so many plates spinning that I cannot deal with the minutaie, and yet, the devil is in the details. However, there’s this swell guy at work who says that it’s incumbent upon one’s personal chances of success to take a moment to focus, and to shut out all the distractions, and to set up your approach for everything you’re hoping to accomplish. I believe in this. Here’s the first part of my focus. I want to write down my plan for this month, first in abstracts, and then in fleshed out terms.
First, something from Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s The 8th Habit. On page 58, he mentions that by making four simple assumptions in our lives, we’ll have better, more integrated experiences.
For the body - assume you’ve had a heart attack ; now live accordingly.
For the mind - assume the half-life of your profession is two years; now prepare accordingly.
For the heart - assume everything you say about another, they can overhear; now speak accordingly.
For the spirit - assume you have a one-on-one visit with your Creator every quarter; now live accordingly.
I’m going to try and live by that over the next 30 days and see what that nets me. But let’s get more specific.
Body
I am going to eat better. By “better,” I am going to reduce my calories, as I’m eating more food than my body needs. I’ll stick to all the healthy foods I’m eating, but have a little less of everything. I’ll eat consciously, being certain I know what I’ve taken in. I will keep my body’s fuel tank at 3/4 the whole day, never eating too much (overfilling) and never letting the tank hit empty.
I will do AT LEAST 30 minutes of exercise daily, unless something pleads for a break. Today’s effort was 5 miles of biking and some pushups. Not enough, but better than skipping it.
Mind
I will focus daily on what matters most, and plan my day accordingly. I will attempt to execute against those plans. Distractions, I’ll attempt to put off until a later time. I will stay mindful of what personal improvements I’ll need to help me move forward into these new aspects of my career. This needs LOTS of work.
Heart
Boy, this is a tough one. I’m catty. But I am trying. I’ve just recently realized that I *do* sometimes stop myself before saying something that might be a problem. Who knows? I’ll try hard to stay reserved and focused with my opinions.
Spirit
I’m about as spiritual as a monkey. In fact, had I not read something just today about how the brain interprets what are usually considered “religious” experiences, I think I’d have doubted I’d ever had anything close to a spiritual event. That said, I think I’ll revisit this one later.
Accountability: So far today, accountability to me surrounds my eating. I think I’m doing plenty of good fitness stuff, but I’m not really doing my lion’s share of effort on keeping my calorie content in check. Today, so far so good. I had a nutritious smoothie at home, a half banana too, and I just had some almonds for snack. I’m drinking green tea to stay hydrated. Lunch will likely be a bowl of cereal and maybe some fruit. I’ll check in tomorrow to give you the day’s summary, food wise.
Here’s hoping life goes well. How are you?
Mini Duathlons
I’m doing these mini duathlons lately. I bike to the gym (today’s route was 3 miles), jump off and go lift weights a while. Then, I run 3.5 or so miles inside (today was just 3.5), and then after a shower (why? I’m just going to get sweaty again!), I bike home 2-ish miles (different route). It’s kind of fun.
I’ve been wishy-washy about my races. I’m still up in the air. But what I’m doing in the interim is training up my aerobic base through running and cycling. Lately, my breathing seems to be spot on, but my heart rate is up crazy even when I *feel* fine running. Kat says it’s probably partly stress related. The other part just seems to point to me not having much of an aerobic base and me not knowing it for a while.
Watch this space for lots more work on my fitness and nutrition. I’m relaunching. I’m going to work hard, and I’ll show you my results here. The reason I like to post it outwards is because it helps me be accountable. I still seem to need that, an accountability buddy. In fact, I really want to go back to the roots of how I lost my first big batch of weight. I’m going to do that. Here’s what I will be doing:
*Write a brief reminder list of why this is all important to me.
*Write down the shorter-termed milestones of my fitness goals.
*Portion my food and stick to the portions daily. No matter what.
*Make time, no matter what, for my goals. [email]
Gyms
I went to the little Planet Fitness gym in my town today, after their third or fourth pleading print ad. This time, I can go for $10 a month forever and a day, or some equally long time in marketing-ese. My current gym costs $55 a month, so I’m thinking.. hey! Neato!
The things my current gym offers that the other place doesn’t:
*Swimming pool
*Racquetball court.
*Basketball court.
*Track.
*Tons more free weights. No, tons.
*Lots more dumbells.
*Plenty more square feet.
*100 or so more cardio machines.
*Machines and equipment a different color than purple. (I’m not kidding).
*Running water. (The new place has no showers).
Why I might go to the new place instead (besides price):
*The guy giving the tour said to me, “You’re obviously an athletic kind.”
This makes perfect sense to me.
Food Tricks
Do you work at listening to your body? Do you listen to your belly? I find that when I pay close attention to my belly, I do better with eating. When I get stressed, and in the minute, I forget to do such things. The trick? Try hard to keep the listening item in the forefront. Butttttttttttt, and what a big butt it is, sometimes you just have to resort to tricks.
One trick. I find that when stress overrides my hunger sensations, I am often just as satisfied with the TASTE of something “bad” as I am with eating lots and lots of it. Meaning, say I want some chips (salty seems to be the way I’m leaning these days). Instead of eating a huge bag of guilt, I’ll buy some chips, eat a serving size (or however many calories I’m willing to deal with), and throw the rest away. Doesn’t work if I leave the bag somewhere for “later.” Later is bullshit when you’re stressed or struggling. Doubt me?
Another trick. Having trouble getting all your water in during the day? I’ve started buying those little 2 quart tubs of powdered iced tea mix (4C makes a green tea one, meaning you get antioxidant help). 1/2 a tub goes with 32 ounces, which is conveniently the size of the average Nalgene bottle. And two things: one, those little individual sized iced teas are a rip-off; the tubs are cheaper. Second, if you’re still reusing your water bottle or soda bottle for days on end, stop. There are HUGE germ assortments that come with such products.
Another trick. Fizzy water makes you feel even more fullerer. Have a bottle of sparkling spring water (check the ingredients to make sure they’re not adding all kinds of schtuff to it) before any meal, and/or throughout the day. The bubbles make you feel a bit bloaty, and sometimes that’s helpful.
Another trick. Really healthy snacks help me make better choices. My desk drawers are stuffed with almonds, walnuts, Clif Bars, and other “safe” items. I’ve got a bag of veggies in the fridge with some dip dip sauce (I just tried Carb Control Olive Oil Vinegarette, and it’s pretty yummy, though I normally like my veggies plain).
Another trick. Same vein. Bring some fresh produce to work and share with your coworkers. Did you ever notice that the average “shared” product is a plate of candy that someone brought from home to keep the kids from eating it? Donuts on Fridays? That kind of stuff? As if we office people need more reasons to get gi-normous. I like to bring in a bunch of fresh seedless grapes, or strawberries, or I even dropped a bunch of bananas off one morning. It’s fun to hear people’s reactions. And they’re always gone before lunch.
What are your tricks? How are you winning the battle? I need the help. My father and a close friend have BOTH dropped a bunch of weight recently, and I’m still standing pat. I’m working on getting back in the game while still enduring 65 hour work weeks. It’s tricky, but I imagine you know what I mean.
Well Then
It appears that there’s another Brogan slated to join the team. I’m really excited. The first one was a surprise, and this one is surprising in its own way. But, uh, yeah. I’m going to be a dad again.
18.75 Miles
My current infatuation with my bicycle continues. I did a good brisk 12 miles in the morning yesterday, and then followed up with another 6-and-change with the family in the late afternoon. I did something nifty, too. I took the bike to the trail nearest my house and tried mountain biking (or trail biking, I guess). Whoa. It’s really difficult. Net result? It made me want to get off the bike and run, instead. I might have rekindled my interest in trail running.
Oh, and I found another nifty little system of trails. They don’t amount to much distance, but they’re super hilly and technical enough to give me some practice, so I think I could loop these into something with my other trails and have a general training system.
My legs are getting all these weird muscles that I don’t get normally when running. I have huge pieces in the backs (hamstrings) and these fatter slabs of quadriceps muscles, too. I guess that’s the result of all the power work on the bike. I’ll take ‘em. Stronger muscles are helpful for trail running.
I’m wearing my Life Is Good shirt today. Click the link to see the picture. : )
I hope your weekend is going well.
7 Miles
I did a seven mile bike ride this morning. There’s something delicious about fooling around on the bike as a different means of exercise to running. I’m just still noodling with it, and no, I haven’t given up on running.
The ride was a neighborhood creep. I live in a town where flat land is hard to come by. Instead, there are hills, like the backs of serpents, whales and dragons. My hills are legend. They are quadricep-thrashing hills. When I go down, I manage speeds around 23-25 miles an hour. When I go up, I’m happy to hit 5.
I kept shifting, moving the gears to their hardest settings as often as I could, and keeping my legs hard at work. I saw a few runners, and I felt guilty. Hey, I’m one of you, I wanted to shout. It’s the same way I felt when I was walking more often. I’m one of you. But I’m not, am I? I’m cycling. I’m one of them. But I’m learning to accept these changes and flows. I’m learning.
Tomorrow, I’m *really* going to attack things.
