Eric

So Monday morning I showed up for my 8am with Jaysun, ready to hit it. Time to take names, kick ass, and get after it. After tweeting at 7:45 that it was too early, I got on the treadmill and knocked out a mile in about 8 minutes, which is a decent warm-up time.

…and then, I waited.

As it turned out, J had to run his daughter to summer school, and I didn’t make it in until a little after 9. As we headed down to the gym, he told me that he was asked to do an orientation for a new member, which wasn’t on his schedule, but in his job description nonetheless. Before I could ask him what he was going to have me do, he pointed across the weight room and I saw HIM.

Tattoos all over. Barrel chest, like a wine barrel, not a Fisher Price barrel. Enormous arms. And of course, a goatee that would put the guys from Orange County Choppers to shame.

“I’ve arranged for you to start lifting with Eric.”

I thought “Thor” or “Zeus” would have been a more appropriate name.

Depsite my initial reservations—what with him being twice my size, and me being afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep up— I decided to give him a chance. Eric walked over, introduced himself, and shook my hand. He was surprisingly easy going, and eager to get started. Eric was formerly in the Army, and served over in Iraq. To me, he is the opposite of Jaysun. He’s short and stocky, not tall and lean. Jaysun is loud and boisterous [I like to refer to him as "The Man, The Mouth, The Legend"], Eric is pretty calm, and definitely not loud. What they both have in common, however, is their knowledge of lifting, how to workout individual muscle groups, and their phenomenally friendly and positive attitudes. To me, Eric was a gentle giant. Eric used to lift with Carl, a 55-year old monster who chews up plates in the gym for breakfast. One day while they were doing shoulder lifts, Carl felt a pinch in his shoulder, made mention of it, and then kept going. He would find out later that day in the doctor’s office that as he was lifting, a tendon had caught on a his bone and actually ripped off a chunk of bone.

A tendon ripped off bone.

And I’m supposed to be Carl’s replacement??

As “luck” would have it, when Jaysun and I got to the gym, Eric had just finished his first set and I hadn’t missed much, so  he had me jump right in.

Eric is on a completely different system than Jaysun, and he explained to me that instead of working on complementary muscle groups a couple of times a week, he focuses on one key area each day.

This meant I would be lifting Monday through Friday instead of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Monday = chest
• Tuesday = back
• Wednesday = legs
• Thursday = shoulders
• Friday = biceps/triceps

A workout with Eric consists of 7 or 8 individual exercises with a warmup set of 8 reps at 1/2 weight, followed by 3 sets of 6-8 at the chosen weight, and finally a burnout set of 4-5 reps adding 5-10 lbs on top of the previous weight. Insofar as I forgot to write down our exercises yesterday, just think that if you can imagine a specific lift for your chest, I probably did it.

Today was the same sort of routine for a back workout, and that was brutal since I don’t usually think of my back as an area that I need to tone/bulk up/strengthen.

I mentioned earlier that I was nervous about lifting with Eric, you know, since he’s like He-Man and I’m like the 90-lb weakling. That whole feeling was gone after the first rep of the first set. Eric assured me that everyone has to start somewhere, and that the weight is unimportant as long as you’re pushing yourself to your limit, working to get a little better everyday. From that point on, I dove in and gave everything I had, and left feeling only half-dead

Tomorrow, Jaysun is going to join us, and I think we’re doing legs, so it’s anyone’s guess if I’ll be able to walk tomorrow night. What is certain is that I have been feeling so much better this week… even being back in the gym 4 days is a HUGE improvement.

Listen.

Take this seriously for a second.

I know I’m not perfect, so don’t think I’m preaching. But.

If you aren’t being active, this is for you.

If you are the master connoisseur of Taco Bell, this is for you [and me too ]

If you haven’t gotten out and pushed yourself physically since college (or even high school!) take a small step and go for a walk around the block. Enjoy the weather. Get up off of your backside and take 20 minutes to move around. It’s the summer for crying out loud.

You’ll feel better for it, I promise. Even if you’re a little sore the next day, it will give you a legitimate reason to complain, and if you want someone to listen to you, I’ll be that person, because if you’ve read this blog more than once, I’ve complained a few times myself.

Make yourself do something active this week, even just once, and then tell me about it. Not only is it encouraging to hear from people who push me to keep going, it’s just as encouarging to hear someone tell me that they’ve decided to get active too.

Thank you for reading this, and if you know someone who would benefit from being encouraged to be active, tell ‘em about the challenge blog!

Be well, and until next time… take a hike! (OR just go for that walk!)

—patrick

back to the grind

So yesterday, I made it back to the Y. Since I’ve been a little, shall we say, deliquent, I did double duty and started out with some NOON BALL. I was surprised to find that even after a short [cough cough one month cough cough] hiatus from the gym, I wasn’t winded when I played. I was able to get up and down the court, no problem, and even sprint on occasion. The first game was good, but the second game my team decided it would be cooler to hand the ball over to the other team on just about every possession. I didn’t think it was possible, but we lost like a million to 8, which is a lot if you consider we only play for 15-20 minutes at a time.

I shook off the dejection as fast as I could, because I knew what was in store for me: MAJOR PAIN [and Jaysun].

Of all the amusing things in the world, J was asked to be in a play with Venture Theatre. This is not amusing because I don’t think he can act, it’s amusing because he’s been asked to BULK UP for his part… in the FULL MONTY. I’m laughing a little bit now as I’m typing it. He’s already a big dude, so when he told me he had to “bulk up”, I shook my head, shrugged my shoulders, and prayed to God that I would come out alive on the other side. We’ve decided to start going on a regular schedule— Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8, but for the remainder of this week, we’ve decided to hit it where we could.

So. Arms. Bulking up.

Hello, insecurity.

I’ve always had stronger legs than arms [which is true for most people], but it’s been disproportionate. Yesterday was less about worrying about the guy next to me, eating 45lb plates on the bench like a beach bully, and more about starting again, and finding my consistency.

Maybe someday, I can be that bully

So we started with free weights [dumbbells], and doing bench press with those. Yesterday’s theme was ”heavy on the weight, low on the reps”. 3 sets of 5, increasing weight as I went, 55 lbs,  60 lbs, 65 lbs. Next was a 3×5 set of rows, same weights, one knee on the bench, pulling the dumbbell up toward my body. 55, 60, 65. In between those sets, with a 25lb weight, and with one knee on the bench, I extended my arm backwards as far as I could go. 25, 25, 30.

Next was onto an incline press with free weights, this time lowering the weight a little bit, 50, 55, 60… all with 5 reps.

Now onto the decline bench press, and we used this funky looking bar that I had never seen before. If you can imagine, it looked like a regular bench bar, but it had a dip in the middle. J told me it was so I could bring the bar down even further, as the dip was about as wide across as my chest. 2 sets, 120 lbs w/5 reps, and 135 w/3 reps… at this point, my arms were buckling.

Finally, we hit the pulley machine and did a series of exercises that had us pull down the bar, and with the weight resistance set at about 120 lbs, let the bar come back up about to my chest and then pushed it back down 5 times. Down, and then back up to the chest =1. 3×5 sets.

Finally, we made it upstairs to tear my gut apart and do a few sets of ab workouts.

Today, I woke up and realized it all worked: my EVERYTHING hurts. At noon, I’m headed over for my leg workout, which means tomorrow I won’t be able to walk, pick anything up, or move. This is why you shouldn’t quit Re-starting is always so brutal! [Parker, if you're out there somewhere reading this, this is your chance to beat me a few games while I'm incapacitated]

Also, I bought some good stuff for protein shakes last night. I’m told that they’ll have an adverse effect on my stomach for about the first three days. Great. Just keep your distance maybe

Alright, enough rambling. Time to keep on keepin’ on. Or something cliche like that.

Be well.

 

p.s. what the hell day am I supposed to call this now? Any suggestions? I don’t know if this should be “Day 22″, or if it’s like when a person quits smoking every other week and this is “Day 1 [or 2, today] all over again?” Thoughts?

p.p.s. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I know I had a few regulars before, and I promise to stay up on this for the remainder of the challenge [length depending on what the community decides] barring major injury, of course. So, you know, if this has been good for you, and you’ve been inspired [I know at least two of you have been coz you told me yourselves]  tell your friends and stuff

p.p.p.s. I just wanted to say p.p.p.s. It sounds funny.

rebound

Dear friends,

When I set out to undertake this challenge, I could have never guessed how GOOD it would feel to be back in some semblence of decent physical shape.

I had energy. I was feeling more confident. I felt more alert.

I loved watching the lbs fall off.

And then, just like three years ago, I hit the month of May. I know, most people are probably thinking, “MAY? What does that have to do with ANYTHING?”

…and the answer is…

[are you ready for this?]

It’s just a lame coincidence. What a let down.

Three years ago, I was in peak physical condition, and at the height of my working out, I got really sick, and then I started selling cars. Obviously, when you’re sick, there’s ZERO motivation to get to the gym, and obviously, when you are selling cars, your every move is controlled by the dealership you work at, which meant that I had no time to get back to the gym. Besides, between all of the pizza and donuts and other fast food you consume almost daily, being a lazy bastard is almost a given.

This year, it was more subtle. I had just finished my “3-weeks-equals-a-habit” blog [right...], and was all set to post it, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, ______________. [make up your own good story here]. The rest of it is pretty simple.

Three weeks was on a Wednesday [ May the 20th], and I was down 12 lbs.

Thursday [the 21st], Jaysun couldn’t make it for our workout.

Friday [the 22nd] was my birthday, and I felt entitled to a day off.

Saturday [the 23rd], I paid for the sins of the previous evening.

Sunday [the 24th] I went to work early in the day and didn’t get off until late at night.

Finally, I did make back to the gym, only to find out that my membership was on hold because of unpaid dues. I don’t want to be the person who airs my dirty laundry, but I did say from the outset that I would be honest, and the long and the short of it is that I was broke. Given a choice between my rent and my gym membership, I opted to save money for rent. 

This is hard for me type/share, and this is because I hate being a charity case. This year has been brutal. I have had to swallow my pride on so many different issues, and being a 26-year old  buss boy hasn’t helped much. I don’t need a lecture, by the way, you know, the one about my pride, and blah blah blah. In the words of my friend cB, “Save it. Whatever.” I’ve heard it enough to write a book with it, and it irritates me because it’s all commodity rhetoric. If I wanted a pep talk, I would’ve bought a Tony Robbins tape.

 I hated being a busser. I hated not being able to afford the gym. I hated going to work and bumping my knees on booths, supporting all of my weight on my right knee as I stretched out to clear table after table, screwing my knee up worse the whole time.  And to top it all off, there are the questions from people who had taken the time to follow what I was doing. ”Are you still working out?” “How’s the CHALLENGE going?”

I felt like a total LOSER. I was broke. I couldn’t even get through one month of a simple three month challenge. I couldn’t find a better job. I injured my knee at work, and going to work only made it worse,  and because of the job, I couldn’t work out even if I did have the money for it. It was a pretty vicious cycle.

I’m not sharing these things for you to feel sorry for me, I promise. I just want you to know where my head has been. If I were a fly on the wall inside of my head for the past month, I would have left for somewhere brighter a LONG TIME ago. Like Phoenix. It’s been a dark 30 days.

But.

If I’ve learned anything from Jaysun, and from the experience, and from the first 21 days, it’s this: The only person who can hold you down is YOU. Even when there’s not a remote chance that you’re going to push the bar up one more time, it’s because you tell yourself you’re done. [see? I didn't need the lecture ]

Last time I got in a workout funk, I stayed there for 3 years.

This time, I think a month has been long enough.

I won’t let this commitment go by the wayside, and fortunately, things have started working out the other way to give me a boost. I’ve started serving at the restaurant, which takes the pressure off of my knee, and for the first time in a month, it doesn’t hurt. It also takes the pressure off of my finances, since I am making 3x as much as I was before. And then this— I want to share an email a good friend sent me the other day that gave me the extra little push I needed to get over the hump:

<<Hey man, I know it is really none of my business but I really want to encourage you to get back on the horse of the fitness challenge. You should finish. I think you inspired people and that is a good thing. Don’t let this be something that almost got finished. You quit before even being a third ways through. I don’t know if you are still exercising but your blog doesn’t show it. you can do it.>>

Thanks for the support that you’ve all given so far . The comments, emails, and conversations have been very encouraging, and I’m ready to get back after it, one day at a time, pushing myself a little further each time. I will finish the challenge, even with a one month break

I’d stay and write longer, but, you know…

I really have to run.

Days 15-17, or making a run for it

Running outside is such a sensory experience.

The sounds of birds chatting with each other, diesel engines rumbling on down the road, children playing in their yards, the sound of your feet rhythmically hitting the concrete like a drum. Running smells, too. Fertilizer on green grass, wet grass, tar on the street, the ditch under the bridge, flowers, fast food establishments, and of course the exhuast fumes of cars and trucks blazing on by.

As I’ve noted in past entries, I am still distrustful of the treadmill and her mechanical, unfeeling ways. We have a very day-to-day, on again, off again relationship. She entertains many other lovers, and I am convinced she is always plotting my demise. This is why I’ve been yearning for running for sometime now. Maybe you’ve seen the shoe commercials that talk about running like a long lost lover, how it has been a week since you and running have broken up, and how much you miss running. I completely resonate with those commercials, but it has been much, much longer since running and I have been intimate, three years at least. I think this is why I have been so afraid to start with running again, she knows my tendency to be all-in and hot and heavy right away, but then with time I look for other companions to take her place. I guess I have been worried that she would be judgmental and not take me back, but today, I decided to make the first move and take a try with her again. Here’s a small clip [and the 90dcb's first vlog] from the run. NOTE: I have a video recorder on my Blackberry, and for now, it’s what I’ve got, so it’s what I’ll use… [hence, the "ghetto" reference in the video ]

All said and totalled, I think the run went about 3.5 miles, maybe a little longer. I ran to B&N, read a book for about an hour, and came back. I know it wasn’t continuous, but it was a great start.

Yesterday was my upper body session with J, and it was quick and intense. Here it is, quick and to the point.

Day 16: HEAVY upper body workout

I have always been a 90-lb weakling, that is to say that when it comes to upper body strength, I have always felt like I leave something [a LOT of something] to be desired. With this in mind, whenever I’ve done upper body workouts in the past, I have gotten discouraged and abandoned ship because I get a little bummed knowing there are high school kids who bench more than me. With my new found perspective, however, I am looking at the progress rather than perfection. Here’s the breakdown:

• Bench press, 3 sets, 1st at 135 [x5], 2nd at 155[x5] and 3rd at 175[x4]
• Pullups 3 sets [x5 each] I have NEVER been able to do pullups, and one of my major goals by the end of the 90 days is to be able to do 10 on my own, no help.
• Curls with three bars set down, similar to my past curl regimen— 3 curl bars, one weighing 30 lbs, one weighing 40 lbs, and one jumping up to 60 lbs, all lined up. 1st set— 30lbs [x5] 40 lbs [x5] 60lbs [x5] back to 40lbs[x5] and finishing on 30lbs[x5]. At this point, Jaysun jumped in and did the same set. Next set was similar except on the first curl, I went all the way up, and then 5 half way down so that my arms ended up at a 90 degree angle, 5 sets [x5]. After Jaysun went through, I did one last set, and instead going all the way up, we only went halfway up. It may not sound like much, but by the time you get to your last set of 5 reps on the 30lb bar, your arms will be shaking.
• After this, we went upstairs and did 6 different ab workout sets. This was problematic because at the end, I was on my back, and sitting up obviously hurt, but I didn’t really have the strength to roll over and push myself up with my arms, either.  Ultimately, I kind of just wriggled myself off the ground, and stumbled to the locker room.

Thursday, Day 15, was pretty uneventful— which means I used work as my workout. I learning to listen to my body better than I have before in the past, and somedays, I just need to rest, which is exactly what I did.

I’ve come a long way— I am down almost 10lbs and counting, and I am noticing marked changes in my physical appearance as well as my mental resolve. One person reminded me that it takes three weeks to build a habit, and according to my basic math skills, today’s run puts me about 80% there. Also, I have removed the “Workouts” page and replaced it with a pictures page to show my progress. Right now, there is only one picture, and it rough to say the least It is from week one, and I finally got the courage to dig it up off of my phone and post it, so I have some sort of baseline for my progress. Also, FOOD has been updated, and Angela and I are working on a diet now that I understand calories a little bit better.

I know, long post, but that’s what happens after three days, right? If you are contemplating getting back into shape, or eating healthier, or just wondering even if you can do it, I’m telling you, YOU CAN. Believe me, after three years of a sedentary lifestyle and daily eating foods full of preservatives that I can’t even pronounce, the last thing I thought I could do was get off of my butt and get back into shape, but really, that’s all I had to do. Nothing complicated. Take small steps, count your victories, and forgive your shortcomings. Take 90 days, record your progress, and I promise you, it will be worth it. After nearly three weeks, I know it is for me.

Quote of the Day: “It’s not a question of is the glass half full or half empty. What we say is drink the bastard anyway!” —Pete Goss

Have a lovely weekend!
—patrick

Week 2 recap (Days 13-14)

For the sake of not repeating the same thing over and over and over again, I tend to exclude Tuesday and Thursday posts unless they have some kind of significant difference… I think I’ll focus more on food on those days, so look for better food updates and posts. I will also be better about responding to responses, and I want to say thank you to everyone who has lent support through comments, phone calls, Facebook, etc… I hope that this is encouraging to someone who is looking for honesty and simple ways to get back on to the road to wellness and total health, and the encouragement definitely keeps me motivated. So. Thanks.

I’m sitting here contemplating the fact that my 8 oz glass of red wine is 200 calories counting against me, which means I am going to have to find a way to burn at least 500 tomorrow.

And this is a miracle.

I have never thought like this before.

A month ago, this would have been my second glass of wine after a full Red Baron Pizza and 10 or so guilty milano cookies. [Now it's just my second glass, sans junk food]

And this leads me to a simple point: I have made small, incremental changes. Some days I do much better than others, but everyday, I find a small way to improve.

Instead of ordering lattes, I now drink black coffee. I allow myself a sugar bomb on the weekend, usually Sunday.

I have all but eliminated soda, and even worse, energy drinks, from my diet altogether.

I have not had a box pizza in almost a month.

I make time to workout five days a week, instead of a generous five hours a month.

I count these all up as small victories that will have remarkable results. I continue to grow.

Yesterday was basketball. After my day 12 workout, my legs were still pretty upset about the whole “moving around quickly” thing. They carried me around, but I was more or less just a body taking up space on the court yesterday. C’est la vie, or something like that.

Today, J texted me and invited me to come in for a circuit training course he and his wife team up on called a “Bootcamp”. I arrived to the gym to see 9 separate stations all laid out across the gym, ranging from jump boards to squat bars and back to a trampoline. I also noticed that other than Jaysun, I happened to be the only male in the class. A couple of my buddies from noon ball peeked in, but then went back to the gym knowing full well where the REAL workout was.

So the workout started with a quick stretch with Jaysun’s wife, Misty, and then we were off to the races.

Station One: Quick Feet
At this station, seven jump boxes each six inches off the ground were positioned about three feet apart, and all I did was shuffle sideways down the line—left foot and right foot touch the box, two steps, on to the next box, annd on down the line until I finished and sprinted back… and kept going… the whole idea of the bootcamp relies on continual motion, so a person stays at a particular station until the people at the lunges station [from one end of the gym and back] finish.

Station Two: Triceps
Here you picked up a light set of dumbells [10lbs or less] and did an overhead tricep extension exercise, keeping elbows out in front, focused on getting a good solid burn going in the triceps.

Station Three: High Knees
This exercise was like the one from my leg workout last week where I stepped up onto the step-box and brought my other knee up as high as possible, alternating legs. This time, instead of a weight vest, I used a 6lb medicine ball.

Station Four: Curls
At this station, we stood on a rubber cord that had handles on each side, and lifted each of the handles up to our elbows, and curled them… just think of standing on a bungee cord that has handles on each end, and doing a curl with it. FEEL THE BURN!

Station Five: Lunges
Dammit.

[Do I even need to say anything about this one, except that my legs still haven't forgiven me for my lunging indiscretion/masochism on Monday?? Weight bar with 15lbs on each side, over my shoulders, doing lunges from one end of the court [sideline to sideline, not baseline to baseline! I'd be dead that way!] and back.]

Station Six: Pec Stretch
This is the best way I can describe this one: Taking that same bungee cord from the earlier station in your hands, grab it with a narrow grip and pull it out so that your arms and pecs feel the resistance, and slowly bring it back in without letting the center have too much slack.

Station Seven: Jump Rope
Just like it says, and I’m listening to bad dance mixes of Pink and Lady Gaga, so at least I can jump with the beat.

Station Eight: Quick Feet [box jump]
Stepping up onto the box and back down again without stopping.

Station Nine: Trampoline of Doom
Nevermind that the gym trampoline is like a Fisher Price “My First Trampoline”, I nearly broke my wrist back in fifth grade on a trampoline, and the memory is still fresh inside of my head. To complicate matters, J handed me a 12lb medicine ball to hold over my head and instructed me to do high knees while I was on there. The treadmill and the trampoline must come from the same twisted family.

And now you’re back to the beginning, but now when you finish a station, everyone lines up on the sideline and does a sprint or a skip or a basketball-like defensive shuffle down and back… twice… In the end, we made it through 1 full time plus 3 additional repeats, and since I started right next to the lunges station, guess who got double duty? Yeah, next time I’m starting next to the Pec Stretch.

For those of you in B-town with a Y membership, the Bootcamp experience happens on Wednesday and Friday at noon, and is free with your membership, so come check it out.

Expect an updated food post tomorrow. Also, I am on the hunt for a good digital camera as mine has decided to die on me, so anyone in the Billings area who might have one to lend to me for a couple of days would be greatly appreciated! Thank you friends for your love and support. For now, I am going to finish my remaining 150 empty calories, and go to bed with a clear conscience knowing I will work it all off tomorrow.

Days (or DAZE) 9-12

I know, I know, it’s been a couple of days, and you thought I’d thrown in the towel and moved to an island with oven-baked-box-pizza for the rest of my life. Actually, it’s just been busy and the weekend did not have any astonishing revelations or occurences.

I took Thursday off at the advice of my friend Allan, and also from Jaysun. I spent the day stretching, and being generally grumpy with people about not being able to workout. It was pretty interesting for me to see how I reacted when I missed out on any kind of physical activity that day… I was cranky, and it showed. Sorry to any casualties I incurred [wife, family, etc].

Friday, Jaysun and my schedules didn’t work, so he made it a cardio day and I hit the court for three back-to-back-to-back games. 45 minutes of solid running and jumping, followed by a good 4 hours of work at the restaurant. I wish there was a way to quantify how many calories I burn a night there…

Friday night someone stole $150 from me at the restaurant and put me in a funk. I thought about buying a box pizza, but I settled on a beer instead. It’s really tempting when somethign frustrating happens for me to eat emotionally. I know that I have used food as an escape in the past, and for all intents and purposes, I think I did a good job of avoiding this particular pitfall.

Saturday and Sunday were both crazy days at work… that’s pretty much what I had for workouts this weekend… filling up bus tubs, running them to the back, emptying them, refilling them, and doing that cycle OVER and OVER and OVER… you get the idea.

TODAY I GOT BACK TO THE GYM! Hello, celebration

Jaysun took me to a room filled with dumbbells and invited me to choose from a set that was either 2, 5, 10, 12, or 15 lbs… and he wouldn’t tell me why. Like a dummy, I chose the 15lbs, thinking it wouldn’t be too bad. You think I would have learned by now. He picked a set of the 12s, and we went outside.

When we got out there, we were behind the Y, and the sidewalk extended a full block in front of us… you can guess what was coming… LUNGES. For the entire block. As I mentioned in an earlier post, J takes my training time as an opportunity to workout as well, so he did the lunges with me the whole way. At the end of the block, my legs were shaking a little bit, and I knew we were just getting started.

We turned right, and did curls with our weights down the next block. After the curls, we turned right and jogged with the weights up above our heads in front of the Y, and at the last corner, we switched weights and did lunges again, this time BACKWARD. I tell you what, he comes up with some crazy ways of breaking me into small pieces.

After a small break, we took the weights and with them in front of me, we SPRINTED a block. After the left hand turn, we walked with the weights held out in front of us, arms locked at a 90 degree angle. After that, more curls. We turned around and carried the weight behind us, over our heads. After that, side lunges. After that high knees, and after that we skipped to the door. Finally, with nothing left in my tank, we sprinted back to the original backdoor entrance, went in and did 5 sets of stairs and 2 sets of abs and we were DONE. Holy buckets. I know I was done. I tried playing noonball afterward to see how far I could push it, but my legs refused to cooperate.

I’ve lost 8 lbs so far I feel a million times better, and the conditioning I am doing seems to also affect my mental resolve in tough situations. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll notice I added a new section on the right side of the page to track my food and caloric intake in keeping with what Angela asked me to do. It helps so much just to see it down on the screen and be able to be shocked by my calories… this week I will be working on synching those two [my food and workouts] up a little better.

Well, off to work Until next time, go outside for a run, it’s a BEAUTIFUL day here!

—patrick

Day 8, or “Battlestar Sciatica”

rgrejbg;ekjnkjgrnekjnrelkjnwk;ln.

That’s about all I could muster yesterday after the arm workout with J. I know I’ve been listing all of my previous workouts, but I seriously lost track somewhere in there yesterday between my 10th set of curls and superset pushups. At the end of the session, I couldn’t put any weight on my arms without them almost buckling. My hands did not want to work, and on top of that, I was now sore all over. Legs? Check. Arms? Check. Everything? Check check check.

Not the sort of thing you want right before you go into work. To make matters worse, I was the only busser scheduled on last night, giving me responsibility for the 60 or so tables we have at the restaurant. I made a decision before I headed in to work as hard as I could and just get the job done. I got in and started my usual opening duties, and then, out of nowhere, PAIN. Not soreness, not “Hey I just got done working out really hard and I can’t move,” but PAIN shooting through my lower back and down through my backside and into my leg on right side. The first time it happened, it kind of just took my breath away. I started mentally going back through the workout, and I realized I didn’t stretch before OR after the workout.

Genius.

Unfortunately, there was not much that I could do about it [i.e. there was no one to call in], so all I could do was soldier on through it and work. I ran to the back and sat down and did a quick set of stretches, and then got back out front. The night was a blur, running from table to table, through the kitchen picking up miscellaneous items, out to the bar to gather things, and before I knew it, the shift was over, and I could hardly walk. I called my friend Allan, a lifelong fitness junkie, and told him what was going on, and he told me he thought it was my sciatic nerve [thanks to everyone on Facebook who weighed in with the correct spelling]… When I got home, he told me a stretch I needed to do [the "Walrus Stretch"], and when I finished doing it, I took acetominophen and icy hot and called it a night. When I woke up this morning, the miracle stretch had paid off! No residual pain! On Allan’s advice, I decided to take it easy today, and make sure that I take time to stretch before and after every workout starting tomorrow…

Off to the parents’ house for a meal with my Grandma, who flew in from Floridia yesterday I was given a great tip by my friend Samantha about counting calories, and I can’t wait to share that with everyone tomorrow when I get the FOOD section up and going. Until then, push yourself, and don’t forget to stretch! [It can be a major pain the butt otherwise ]

Quote of the Day: Energy and persistence conquer all things.
—Benjamin Franklin

—patrick

p.s. I have started to link other blogs as well in the sidebar of friends and local organizations, if you have one you want to have linked, just return the favor and send me a message via Facebook or through a comment here!

Day 7, OR cooking for fun and for profit

You don’t realize how much you take walking for granted until the day after a brutal leg work out. I think Confuscius said something like that, and I completely resonate with him. The act of sitting down became a full-fledged production, in three steps:

1. Prop hand against secure surface for support
2. Lower self to desired seat
3. Cringe

See how simple that was? I read an article in Men’s Health that said that while I might be tempted to skip a workout due to soreness, I needed to press through as it aided in recovery time, so it was off to the gym to stoke my blossoming love affair with the treadmill. Since Jaysun wasn’t there, I had to figure out a way to honestly push myself and get in a good workout, and while I was whispering sweet nothings to the revolving belt machine of death, she mentioned to me that she had pre-set programs. Naughty girl. After taking a brief course in rocket science, and fumbling around quite a bit, I managed to hit the right buttons to get her singing the aerobics course, and we enjoyed 35 minutes of pure, unadulterated running bliss. Score.

After I left, I cruised to the store and bought ciabatta bread, swiss cheese, a red pepper, a bottle of chardonnay, and a little bottle lime juice.

I have been a fat ass for the last two years. This is a conservative estimate, and I don’t mince words because there is no other way of saying it. I have taken the easy road, and in between feeling alternately dizzy and nauseous working out on Monday, I told Jaysun that my life was so much easier as a fat ass, to which he laughed, and then made me finish my situps. In the interests of being lazy, I would go to the store, buy a box pizza [Red Baron Supreme Fire-Baked Crust has been my favorite], go home, throw it on my little rotating pizza cooker, and watch TV. Wham, Bam, thank you ma’am, and a WHOLE pizza later, I would feel full, guilty, and ready for bed, only to wake up the next morning, ready to go through the routine all over again.

I met with Angela the Nutritionist yesterday to talk shop and see what we could come up with to move away from the Box Pizza Lifestyle. Since I decided to undergo this process, I have not had box pizza once, I have had fast food only twice in two weeks, and I have all but given up soda. I told all of this to Angela, and she told me that I was on the right path, and that my first order of business would be to simply count calories. She told me that after we had a general idea of what I was taking in that we could come up with a plan for ways to reduce my bad caloric intake, balance my diet, and not give up everything I love while doing it. So later today, I’ll be adding a new section called “Food”, or something like that, to record my calories.

But back to last night. I’ve always been a little intimidated in the kitchen, and this is because I just haven’t actually gotten in there and gone for it. So with a little inspiration from Men’s Health, I pureed the red peppers with some lime juice, a pinch of salt and pepper, [and took my liberties] and added a little bit of the white wine and some marinade seasoning. After blending all of that, I marinated some chicken in a white wine garlic seasoning mixed and grilled two ciabatta rolls. After grilling the chicken, I pasted the grilled rolls with the white wine red pepper sauce, a slice of swiss, and added the boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

And then I ate the best meal I’ve ever cooked for myself.

Sitting down with a glass of chardonnay and my new favorite sandwich concoction, I reflected on the completion of my first week. I’m approximately 1/13 of my way finished, and I feel about 100x better than I have in years. I’m still sore. It’s not easy. Some days I just want to roll over and die, or at least pass out for the rest of the day. I know that it’s still the honeymoon, and the real work is ahead of me, but at the end of the day, I am so encouraged to see my progress after one week and a series of small choices and concessions in my diet. So today, there’s no quote of the day, just a toast, so raise your glass with me to health, hard work, and the pursuit of wellness.

Cheers.

Day 6, busting my butt… literally

O.  M.  G.

It’s been 4 days, and parts of my upper body STILL hurt. Poke me and find out. I’m not shy. Nevertheless, I was excited about yesterday’s workout. It’s strange… I’m finding the more I push, the more I want to get in and get beat up. I started it like my other workouts— starting on the treadmill, my archnemesis, brusier of egos… and chins! But yesterday, when I got on there, it felt a little more familiar, like there was just a big misunderstanding between us when we first met, and I had never really given the poor bastard a chance. Last week I warmed up on a pace of 4, so yesterday I pushed it up to 5 and went for five minutes. The pace was almost leisurely, and in some sick way, I began to see how people could actually like the treadmill. Weird.

Jaysun, armed with his usual innocuous torture devices, came into the workout room with a chair, a squat bar with 10lbs on each side, a jump box, a jump rope, and a weight vest [which I later found out was 40lbs]. The thing about Jaysun is that for now, he doesn’t see a lot of value in me doing HUGE amounts of weight, instead he likes to nickel and dime me one extra rep at a time. Here’s what I mean: The first exercise was just going to be a straight minute of doing squats, but after a minute, I was still going. At some point, he told me I only had 30 seconds left, but even after that, he asked me for 10 more reps, just to get the extra push out of me. So, other than the jump rope exercises (and even those were suspect), times listed below will say 1min, but they actually reflect a philosophical minute, like if you’re flying Delta, and they tell you the flight has been delayed, just for a minute.

• “1 minute” free-form squats
• [with weight vest now] sitting down on the chair and standing back up, “1 minute”, which sounds easy, but when you add another 40 lbs with a vest [which J referred to as my "girlfriend"], it gets to be pretty tedious. After my minute, he told me that when I came up, instead of just standing, I would be jumping as high as I could out of the chair… for “1 minute”…
• Box jumps, with weight vest, 1 minute [same as last week, feet flat on floor, jump onto 2 1/2 box, jump off]
• High knees, with vest [with my left foot on the box, push off with my right and bring my right knee as high up as possible], 1 minute each side
• Ditch my girlfriend, 1 minute rope
• [break]
• Lunges with the squat bar, across the room and back twice [~25 lunges]
• Make amends with my girlfriend, back into the sit’n'jumps
• Ditch the witch, 1 minute rope
• 1 minute squats
• High knees
• 1 minute rope
• 2x 30 seconds wall sit [back straight against the wall, hold a 6 lb ball straight out in front of you and hold sitting position]
• Ab workout with 6 lb ball [in crunch position, J drops the ball down to me, and maintaining my position without falling back, I toss the ball back] 2x sets to the center, left, right, and overhead [80 total]

My friend Jenn noted on my last post that she thought that it would get a little easier for me soon, but I am definitely feeling it in my “seat” today. Jaysun is so good at taking me to the point where I feel like I’m going to collapse, and then pushing me further anyway. Today, I am going to make time for a run, I just haven’t decided how far to go yet. I also meet with my nutrionist today to put together a game plan for my diet, and this way, I can see some noticeable results all the way around. I am noticing that I wake up earlier in the day, and just like EVERYONE has told me, I have a lot more energy to work with during the day. So far so good! Off to tackle the rest of my day, see you on the other side.

Quote of the Day: The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret to outward success.
—Henry Ward Beecher

Be well, friends

Rest? Hardly. (Days 4&5)

So after the first three (official) days of the challenge, I felt pretty encouraged. Last week, I

• ate fast food only 1 time, which is down from my usual 7-8 times a week
• only had soda three times
• lifted more in one week than I had in the previous year combined
• lost 5lbs

For the weekend, Jaysun just wanted me to do some sort of cardio workout, like a run, and I had it all planned, but on a whim, my mother-in-law came to town and decided to spoil my wife and I with lunch (hence my fast food!), a shopping trip to Costco, and a couple of other stops. I was bummed because I didn’t get my run in before work, but apparently that didn’t matter. I had to work, and at the Outback in Billings, that’s no small task…

I started at Outback a week ago, and in my quest to become a server/bartender, I get to pay my dues like anyone else would, and start as a busser. Friday and Saturday nights are always the busiest, and typically we have 3 bussers on those nights, but because of a mix-up in communication, we only had 2 on Saturday night, which proved to be a major pain in the butt [and arms, and shoulders, and back]. I showed up to the restaurant at 5:45, got on the floor at 5:50, and did not stop RUNNING until after 9… it was like a 3 hour workout. To make matters worse, after my butt-kicking upper-body workout on Friday, my “everything” was sore… arms, chest, shoulders, all of it absolutely killed, and the first buss tub that I filled with dishes and picked up was PAINFUL. Unfortunately, it was the first of well over 100 tables that I cleared. There was a 30-minute wait to be seated for over 3 hours, which meant that as soon as a table got up, it was my duty my get there as fast as I could, load all of the remaining dishes from the table, clear it, wipe the table, and run the dishes to the back. Bussing is not rocket science, but it can definitely be a good workout Eat your heart out, there’s your stinkin’ cardio.

Sunday, I did actually get to rest, with a short nap in the afternoon, and some ping pong as my “physical” activity for the day.

This week I am going to be more picky about the food I eat, even more so than last week, and try and gain an understanding about how food really plays into my workouts, how calories work, and small steps I can take to start trimming the fat [insert corny joke track here]

Today is day 6, and I’m on my way to the gym… today is anaerobic day, or as I like to call it, “How to make barfing look good.”

Weekend Quote: Character is, for the most part,
simply habit become fixed.
—C. H. Parkhurst