Supercross - Dallas Cowboys Stadium 2010

Last month I won 4 tickets to the Supercross this past Saturday evening at the new Cowboys stadium. I took 3 of my kids - and we had a great time!

The stadium is hard to imagine with out actually seeing it with your own eyes. The two big screens are huge. Everything is big. We sat on the second level and had great seats. We were able to park and walk and saved the parking fee (thanks Dave).

One of the things that I enjoy and appreciate very much about living in the South is the patriotism and pride of our great country. At this event there was a police escort, military escort and 12 new air men that took their oath at the start of this event. There are still a lot of proud people where I live - myself included. I don't agree with everything that's going on, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Spring Break - routine breaker...

[Photos: a nice sun set from the back yard as seen over my roof, my peanut butter cookie maker expanding to doughnuts (quite tasty unfortunately), same sun set out front.]

Spring Break, when all the kids are home and not in school, is a time of mixed up routines and broken schedules. Now in my family, I like routine more than the rest, so the others are probably just fine. For me the late nights rolls over to late mornings; late nights often lead to undisciplined eating close to bed time; missing my morning exercise; and other 'changes' as well.

Strength Training
So this week, week 20, I missed my Monday routine. It was actually the first time in 20 weeks (some may be saying after 20 weeks you 'should' miss one). So, Tuesday morning (late) I did a combined Monday and Tuesday routine; also something I've not done before. Excluding the warm-up time, it took 82 minutes: kind of a long workout with the weights. I certainly had some 'tight' muscles when I was finished. No real steps forward, just maintaining previous weights and repetitions.

Wednesdays core day was also missed. Last week I attempted it by myself but was having an achy back, so I stopped. This week there was just no time (probably over slept due to being up late). So this was the second week of not getting this workout with my wife - hopefully we can get this back next week.

Thursday is my heavy bench routine and I changed it a bit this week due to last weeks improvements. I used to do the bar, then put on 45's, then I'd start the 'work' sets and put on multiple 10 lb weights, take them off and put on 25's, ... kind of a hassle due to not wanting to jump to big from the warm ups to the work. But, now I am adding the 25's after the 45's: what that means is my first set is now 185 instead of 175. So, the new sets were: 185, 205, 225, 245 and 250 with 8, 8, 4, 1 and 1 repetitions respectively. I've gotten rid of a couple of the intermediate sets and added another single rep set at 250. The rest of the routine is about the same as before, but I did bump the triceps sets up by 10 lbs.

Running
This week, even with the broken schedule, the running time with my wife is still very high on my priority list and we've been able to get both 2 mile runs in and are planning on getting the 3 mile today. This will only be her second time running 3 miles, so we'll see how it goes. My main goal is to be an encourager to help her accomplish what she wants when she may think she can't.

For myself I've been trying to get in 1 longer run a week and was able to do that at the dam - 8 miles. The Garmin says it was at an 8:14 avg pace. That's fine with me.
Cycling
None. There is a ride on Sat that I was wanting to do, but it conflicts with the afternoon and evening plans. That's kind of a bummer for me. Last year I was zero on the weights by now and 110% on the bike. This year it's different: different goals, motivations, ... very different.

Life
A current struggle of mine: letting people make their own choices; want what they want and not what I want them to want - when those choices directly affect me. These are obvious things to say and very difficult things to do - when you really have to let others choose to like you, to be with you, or even 'want' to be with you. Many friendships and relationships seem to be in this place right now. It's a challenging balance to not pull back and to still let others exercise their own will - even after they've filled up at your table and now move on with out investing back to the level that I would want. It's very much a sense of rejection that has to be dealt with properly and timely.

It goes back to that difficult word "unconditional". I can't think of an easy application of it: unconditional love, unconditional friendship, ... It's a challenging standard to live by - and I continue to be challenged by it, deeply!

I'm meeting with two other men and going through the "Seven Pillars of Health" book. I've done this before with a men's group and a mixed group and each time it's a neat time of learning and applying; but mostly it a time of encouraging. Encouraging each other to seek out the truth and put it into practice in our lives; to be willing to see ourselves honestly and be wiling to make changes. It's a 7 week journey that's main challenge is to apply what you learn and let it impact your daily life.

End of 19 weeks

This week ends my 19th week of 5 strength workouts per week. That's about 90 workouts since starting (missing about 5 over those 19 weeks).

Mon - was 6 @ 6 with a PR (personal record) a 210 lbs followed by the rest of the Monday exercises. I also ran with my wife 2 miles and got 50 minutes on the bike that evening. Also spent a little time with a young man who is wanting to loose some weight and gain some muscle for his summer job (motivation to work a water park with out a shirt on...)

Tue - no real changes .. still not able to get 10 pull ups! Man .. I can get 9 1/2 ... but can't push myself for that last half. Most of the rest of the routine is about the same with just minor changes due to the 'eb-n-flow' of training.

Wed - run with wife for 2 miles (second fastest time for her - fastest being last Friday). Lunch core workout by myself, but was poorly motivated and having some lower back aching .. so I called it short and hardly worked out at all. Not a good workout!

Th - gained a rep on the 225 and 235 sets (4 and 3 reps respectively). Just last week I lost one rep on the 235 set, so it's just part of the normal '3 steps forward and 2 steps back' progress: so I'll take it.

Fri - Still at my pull up ladder of 6 (1,2,3,4,5,6,6,5,4,3,3,3), so the last two were up just a little. I also had one more rep on my last set of the lat pull down (from 6 @ 140 to 7 reps). No run on Friday - too full.

Sat - talked with my wife about modifying the routine a little and adding another mile one day a week. So, we ran 3 miles in the morning together - the first time she's ever done that!! So, it's another PR for Grandma!! Go Grandma, Go Grandma ... You're doing a Great job!

Weight wise I'm up a little from my lowest, but I still have a pair of pants that I can wear that don't belong to me ... (that's all I'll say about that)! I'm OK with that for now as I'm not able to give the extra discipline required to keep myself at that level - nor am I able to give the time in additional exercise to do the same.

Tomorrow is the start of 20 weeks .. 6 more and it will be a half year! That sounds like a long time. It will be neat to see what has changed in 6 more weeks - I'm excited to see!

Commitment

Now if you're my wife, who thinks my blogs would be better if she could skim PAST the exercise details and just read the 'real life' stuff, this is one of those in its entirety. This ones for you babe...

---- No exercise details follow ----

Recently I made a list of movies that I wanted to see (maybe while trying to put some time in on my bike on the trainer), but I also picked out a movie called "The Time Traveler's Wife". From the review that I read, it sounded like a movie that my wife and I might both like: time traveling, love, marriage, hope, struggles, ... could be a good mix of guy and gal content. So we watched it the other evening...

I don't want to give any 'spoilers', but I thought it was good. I saw conflict, love, commitment, hope, .. and when it was time for the couple to reflect back on their life; they said they wouldn't have changed anything. That's so rare these days. Most of us think marriage is about myself: meeting my needs, helping me succeed, being happy, giving 50-50, ... what I'm learning after 20+ years of marriage is that just isn't what its about.

As one who believes that God puts people together for the life long journey called marriage - it's so much bigger than ourselves. A marriage is the starting place for a family, for a heritage, for generations to benefit and reap harvests that were initial sown by us. It's about giving 100%: anyone can love someone who loves them back, but what about giving with out getting your needs meet, or lowering expectations and requirements to be happy, maybe seeing our spouse as more important than ourselves, ... and on and on it goes.

The movie to my wife was sad - and she doesn't like sad endings. I however thought the ending was positive. So, we saw the same movie but experienced it differently - imagine that ... ! It lead to some nice discussion about how I saw the movie and why I thought it was hopeful and why she thought it was sad. I don't like to make movie recommendations - but I guess I'm about to: I thought this was worth the time to watch it as husband and wife.

Some of the thoughts; what can I do differently to love my spouse as God would have me too? What unrealistic expectations am I holding on to, or even requiring of my spouse? What areas of selfishness can I surrender? What languages of Love does my spouse respond to?

• Words of Affirmation
• Quality Time
• Receiving Gifts
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch

After 21 years, I feel like I'm almost starting over again. God has given me a fresh love for my wife, so I know He can do the same for you ... if you are willing: to pray, surrender and do what needs to be done; knowing isn't enough - it's got to get into your heart and experienced through your actions and words. I'm hopeful for the next 20 years: they should be incredible - or so that is my desire.

(With the oldest person alive at 114; if we both make it that long - we've got several sets of 20 year increments left ... :-)

Training to prepare for Training

Below is a snap shot of the logged exercises for the last two weeks. It's not the detailed log, but rather a high level log. The detailed log is kept with my weights and that's where most of the details go: including runs and rides. (Yes - I guess that means I keep two logs.)

This week starts number 19 with the emphasis on strength training. I had thought I'd be riding more, but I've just not been able to add it - nor have I been willing to replace the weights or runs up to this point. So, it's looking less and less likely that I'll be ready for the hard century ride (Three State Three Mountain) on May 1. :-(

Positive Note: On Monday I do a different bench routine every other week. This week it was doing 6 sets of 6 reps with 2 minutes of rest between sets; the significant note for me is that it was with 210 lbs - a weight that I've not done before .. , ever. It was difficult and when you do the second set and already know that you couldn't do another repetition, and still have 4 more sets to go .. it quickly becomes a mental battle not to give yourself an out or an excuse to not complete it. (The way the routine works is that you go up in weight after you can to 6 sets of 6 reps. If you can't get 6 reps on one of the sets, then you bump it down for the reaming sets. So, having done 205 two weeks ago; I couldn't mentally get my head around 215 so I opted for a 5 lb increase. In two more weeks it will be 215.) Also on Monday I was able to do weights in the early AM, run with my wife at lunch (in the light rain and strong wind) and then get 58 minutes on the trainer in the evening.

I guess I'm passing through a season where solitude and exercise are opportunities to reflect, think deeply and consider my life. I don't see it as a crutch, substitute, replacement, escape or anything like that; but rather it's part of the mechanism that God uses to draw me to himself. The weights do more than improve my strength and physical health: there's value in what I'm listening too, there's release in being able to yell, scream, cry, dance, sing and have freedom to just be me as I try to beat this body into submission. The running is often a time of extended prayer and listening: wanting to run for joy. Cycling on the trainer is more difficult - it's more like hard work: enjoyable at some level - but much work.

I only slept about 4 hours last night. Not enough I know. It seems like sleep is the second to go for me when stress and anxiety build past a manageable level. The first would be constantly eating (which I struggled with yesterday). So part of today will be spent fasting: with the desire to cast my cares on the one who cares for me; and then to not take them back. I'll probably have a long run during my lunch break - since I won't be eating.

Such is my life. The physical training is progressing well and is a component of the training that happens in relationships with my family and others. PT is of some value, but life is full of training that is so much more important. "Be faithful with the little so you can be trusted with much" .. that's my desire.

Managing expectations - giving unconditionally

[Photos: Youngest at a cub scout activity shooting the BB guns, one of the most fun of the day - the paper rockets, one of the 'ships'.]

It's hard to believe it's been 18 weeks now (over 80 sessions), since starting back on consistent strength training. The next goal is to see what it's like after 26 weeks of this training.

This past week I had all my strength workouts: M-F (approximately 5 hrs). I ran with my wife three days on a 2 mi route; with our last run being a PR of 2 miles in 20 minutes even. (This is great for someone who has never run before. It's a good time of exercise and bonding: three of my favorite work outs of the week.) I also ran by myself twice: 8 and 9 miles with my average paces in the low 8's.

I don't have my log, but I think I only had one session on my bike. Not much time for a ride coming up very soon. I'm still not sure how to put more time in on the saddle as I don't want to give up the strength training, nor the running with my wife. I could swap out my runs, but the wind has been a bear; hard for running, extremely difficult for riding.

No real improvements this past week: lost a couple reps here and gained a few their. I also picked up a few pounds. My middle daughter has become quite a good 'cookie' baker - so we are flush with yummy variations of peanut butter cookies. Unfortunately tonight I found the jar full again of fresh cookies .. and took care of maybe 7! :-(

Tonight's run was kind of neat: I don't normally get side aches, so a 1 1/2 miles I walked for a couple minutes due to the pain. It gave me a chance to think about why I was running and what I should be thinking and praying about on this run. The rest was good - adding a loop to bump the distance to just under 9 mi with ~3 of the middle miles run at a faster time. What was the focus? The short answer: to take off the burden / yoke that I was starting to put on my wife to please me; to meet my expectations. That burden is a thief to giving unconditionally. It's hard to love unconditionally when you have expectations that go unmet. It's much better to lower the expectation bar and focus on raising the unconditional giving bar...

After the run, I was able to come home (after what seemed like just a few minutes but was really ~73 mins) with renewed resolve, purpose and direction. Ready to give love with out conditions or requirements - a challenge for sure. There's something neat about being able to let your spouse fall asleep in your arms or under your affectionate care. I would encourage all who are married to practice this weekly: find pleasure and satisfaction in speaking the Love language of your spouse - even to the point of letting them fall asleep while you continue to give unselfishly. These are seeds that will indeed bear fruit in your spouse.

The "Ebb and Flow" of progress

[Photos: lunch one day (broiled salmon) mmmmm, Birthday breakfast at Cracker-Barrel with my youngest daughter this week (still won the checker games and got 'one left' jumping the pegs), my middle daughter out back riding this evening (nothing like a little riding to put the smile back on a face!).]

One of the certain experiences of regular (and usually intense) exercise is the give and take of daily routines. Today is my heavy bench routine. And today I lost a rep on my 2nd to last set. This is not a big concern really, but rather a reminder that there are many variables involved in the results of a training session: previous rest, nutrition, energy, attitude, wellness ... etc.

It is unreasonable to think that change will only happen in a positive manner. The saying "Three steps forward and two steps backward" is applicable to training too. Often the overall trend is improving, but there are periods in there where gains are lost; to later be recovered with further gains too. Such is the reminder from today: like a tide that is coming in, still each wave will come in and then go back out.

Nutrition wise: my biggest problem has been - I'm hungry a lot (all the time). That leads to over eating. Why am I hungry? I'd have to guess .. stress: I'm eating to feel better, not because I'm actually hungry. So to say I'm "Hungry all the time" is probably not accurate: more likely I've got an abnormally high amount of stress.

Confrontation: as one who doesn't mind confrontation - I wouldn't mind a reprieve at this point. Having to confront people older than ones self is a difficult thing to do properly: done with respect, in Love, gentle but still firm, giving instruction, giving a rebuke, exhortations, corrections, ... etc. Confronting those who are close to us is also a challenge. My life has had several of such confrontations over the last several months: with the most recent one being today.

Handling conflict, being able to correct, over looking an offense, loving unconditionally, giving forgiveness, always hoping, ... these are the real fruits of "A life of Training". The physical training has some value, but real life is all about relationships: with God first and other people next. My life would have little value if I only trained my physical body and didn't also practice disciplines that affect more than my physical person. Forgiveness doesn't require big arms - but rather a big heart. Unconditional love is not related to how much one can bench press.

So as I consider the negative progress with the weights today, I am also considering the positive progress in my life with a properly handled confrontation of one older than myself; of love given with out condition .. a day of true training; another day in "A Life of Training..."

Can what we do as a family affect our health?

[Photos: balloon race, driving cars on the wall, keeping an 'eye' on things, puckering up.]

My family and I went to the Science Museum recently to see a 'Spy' exhibit and a 'Technology' exhibit. It was very interesting with lots of hands on things to do, try, see and learn.

But, rather than give all the details of our trip to the museum, what struck me as I was 'people watching' - there aren't very many heavy to obese people here?! Hmmm ... why is that??

I saw mostly families with kids of all ages (mine ranging from 9-17). As I was sitting there and noticed that, I started looking around more and it was confirmed right away that the general population in there was not a 'normal' sub-section of the general American population: there were very few heavy to obese adults or children.

I mentioned it to my wife who quickly agreed and started pondering the 'why' question with me: "Why do the people at the science museum look more healthy than the ones that I see at other places?" Some of my initial thoughts:

• they are interested in knowledge and may know more about health issues
• they are out with their families doing things together
• they are spending their time and money together
• is it a more educated group, and somehow education can impact our health (but I see medical Dr's who aren't healthy - which is an extreme oxymoron)

I see a lot of heavy parents and kids at the soccer games on Saturdays: so putting kids in sports isn't a clear sign of the 'practice' of good health. I also see healthy people of all ages at the donut store (as well as those not so healthy looking).

My wife and I recently went to Red Robin. It was immediately apparent that the population in there better matched the general population: a much higher percentage of overweight to obese people present. Why? One easy one is: bottomless fries. Or as my wife was saying, where are those bottomless fries going - to peoples bottoms of course.. We shared the fish-n-chips order and it was very tasty - and we had a second serving of fries too. Not that there is any nutritional value, but that they were offered, already paid for and I said sure. And I'm one who thinks about how many miles I'm going to have to run to burn that off: but I still struggle with leaving food on my plate too...

Finial thought: Where we go and what we do can indeed have an impact on our health. Learning to walk away from free food, walk away from food already paid for, ... even, visiting more museum's could be a healthy thing to start doing. :-)

Why do you think the people at the Science Museum are more health than the general population? Please comment. Thanks.

An observation from the Spy exhibit: - One of the 'things' a spy often has to do is lie or deceive others (not a job that would keep you out of conflict with the Ten Commandments). So they had a section there where two people would interact with each other by asking questions about a picture: one would lie and tell the truth and the other would have to pick if they were being truthful or not. What I found out is that I was able to lie with out being detected by my wife 2 out of 2 times and the one time I was telling the truth she thought I was lying..? She on the other hand was detected when she lied and agreed with when truthful. This wasn't a big surprise to me as I can usually tell when things aren't quite right ... which is a good thing for a Father of 5 to be blessed with.

After 17 weeks...

[Photos: one of the breakfasts I prepared for my wife this last week (1 egg with grilled onion, bell pepper, spinach and cheese with refried beans (no lard/msg)), even 30 minutes on the trainer gets my pores sweating - even in 40 degree temps: it's a messy workout.]

It's kind of hard to believe that it's been 17 weeks now (started on Nov 2) of purposeful strength training (via weights and core exercises). The last recorded session was in March on 2009 - the longest period of time in the last ~7 years with out doing some regular weight training. (It was do cycling.)

As I look at my log entry for that first week, I see several things that are different now:

• I have a much more formal and through (and difficult) warm up time
• The max weight for my heavy bench routine then was 195 for 2 reps: last week 195 is my second set weight and done for 8 reps: followed by 5@215, 3@225, 2@235 and 1@245
• The pull up ladder was up to 4 (1,2,3,4,3,2,1) with a note saying I couldn't do 5: last week was the first week that I can remember (ever) where I did a pull up ladder to 7 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,3,2,1); that's 16 ttl vs 49 ttl
• My routines used to take 40 to 45 minutes and now take 55 to 65 minutes
• I've added a few additional exercises
• All the weights are up from that first week
• I've added a bi-weekly routine change on Mondays switching from a more intense circuit to an intense strength routine
• I've had to replace my heavy punching bag as the other one started to tear after several years of 'taking a beating': my replacement is doing well and still taking a regular beating too

Even with the differences, the underlying structure is still noticeably similar. I'm still doing the same groups on the same days. Wed, core day, has become a time with my wife joining me - since week 7 with only a few absences.

What's nice is that I really enjoy the results - and sometimes the workouts too; certainly it's very nice when they are done. It' s my hope to keep it up for another 12 weeks - June 1. I need to put some thought to some more concrete goals, but will do that when time allows. As for time, it's time to go do my circuit Monday routine now, so I'll just add that I had two 8 mile runs and two rides on my trainer, and three 2 mile runs with my wife this past week - besides the 5 weight and core sessions. I had one day with 3 activities: weights (morning), running(lunch) and cycling(evening) - which is something I enjoy when it happens.

Final thoughts: think about where you want to go or be with your health and fitness, recruit some help if you're not able to put a plan together to help you get there, and very important, START. Then, equally important, PERSEVERE: don't quit, work through the challenges and you will indeed see fruit of your labors - I know I am. :-)

A Discipline called Fasting...

[Photos: a fairly normal protein drink that I make (whey protein powder, filtered water, soy milk, ginger, cayenne, and cinnamon), when not fasting a typical lunch (salad: spinach, tuna, onion, garlic, ginger, peppers, ... ).]


Discipline is often not a word that people like to hear; and neither is fasting. It's my experience that both are an important part of a balanced life.

Fasting for me tends to come in seasons: where it will happen regularly and then not for a while. The fasts are usually of different lengths depending on the purposes: purposes range from intensely spiritual to health reasons.

Yesterday was spiritual reasons (which shall remain between me and God) and to remind my body that food is for nourishment - NOT for pleasure. Since I still did my exercise, I allowed a protein drink afterwards to aide in post exercise recovery. I did this after my strength training this morning and then after an 8 mile run during lunch time. I then broke the fast with my family after helping prepare dinner. And then later I was able to ride on the trainer for a quick 37 minutes. So, it was a good day with exercise, but also a good day with not eating and spending more time in prayer and reflection.

Fasting is a big topic and one that I'm not going to try covering here. I mention it though, because it is worth considering it's role in our lives: especially a life of training, or a life of discipline. It's not a 'diet' thing, but rather a discipline that helps in all areas of life. To be able to tell our bodies 'NO' is a key requirement to be able to 'DO' what we often need to do but isn't easy to. If there's interest I can write at a later date on Fasting and more details on it's use in my life.

For now .. take control of your eating: eat for nourishment, fuel your body for what you want it to accomplish. Good fuel, rest, training, ... much is required to accomplish great things. :-)

12 lbs in the last 30 days

[PHOTOS: a typical salad for lunch (spinach, carrot, onion, crasins, bell peppers, spices, mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ...), A close up of the albacore - not pieces, but the kind we get is a whole chunk - it's the best I've found and I buy it exclusively!]

This isn't the Biggest Looser, so for me to loose 12 lbs in 30 days - it's a little faster than I'd like. I have been trying to cut back on my quantity of food as my weight passed over my 'warning' line early this year - or maybe even late last year. (A more healthy weight loss rate would be up to 2 lbs per week - at my weight.)

Now to have 12 lbs and still able to lose another 5 with out much concern - I was caring some extra weight that can't be contributed to 'increased strength' - iow lean body mass. So the weight loss is welcomed and I'm trying to to keep it off and see another 5 lbs go with it.

My normal eating is a protein drink (house drink: soy milk, water, ginger, cayenne pepper, Cinnamon, spinach, protein powder, ground flax seed, almond, and sometimes apple, pear and carrots when I use the VitaMix). Lunches will often be salads with tuna for protein and dinners will be with the family and not always as nutritionally balanced. I usually drink 24 oz of water while doing my weight routine and will drink another 50-70 during the rest of the day.

I've not been getting the intense aerobic exercise that I used to - which is one of the reasons I was putting on the weight: I was eating for a much higher training load. Time and other more important commitments keeps the training down, so the eating has had to come into line. But the flip side of that is that it actually feels good to be hungry at times. As I write this I'm a little hungry, but it's 9:30 and no way am I going to eat anything now. My teeth have been brushed (as a reminder to me that my mouth is closed for the evening) and I'm not planning on eating until after my workout in the morning.

I do get my HR up during my warm up and through some of my more 'circuit' types of routines, but it's not the same as running hard or cycling hard / long. But for now, it's what I can do and I'm making the best of it.

I still haven't done 10 pull ups (9 1/2 last week) so maybe this week ...!

I'm continuing to enjoy the weight workouts, so that's why I'm still doing them and this is week 17 after 7 or 8 months off last year. Even my middle aged body is responding well to the training. Today I did a bench workout that works on strength: doing 6 sets of 6 reps with a 120 second rest; today I did 205. I may have completed this 1 other time in the past 7 years of working out with weights. For me it says what I'm doing is working: still.

The bottom line: if I can do it, so can someone else. It takes some discipline and commitment, but the results are great in how I feel and what I'm able to do. Sunday I was able to go for a run after doing a task for my wife. I wanted to run for an hour, so I ran 8 miles and it took 1:04, roughly an 8:10 pace. I haven't done that for a while - and I've not been training for it. So it was nice to just go run and then see the results when I got home. Part of that can be attributed to the loss of 12 lbs.

My encouragement to you would be to think about where you want to be and start working to that end. It's never to late to make a change in your life.

Exercising: reaching Failure

It's not my normal practice, but having worked out with free weights (by myself usually) for several years now, I do know what it's like to not be able to finish a repetition; to know what it's like to have the weights come slowly back down with muscles screaming in defeat.

This past week was week number 16 of my consistent weight work outs.
- I was able to ride my bike on the trainer twice
- My wife and I ran 3 times (which is our goal) together and worked out once
- Failure on two exercises on Th (245 bench, 45 incline dumbbell)
- Failure on curls on Fri

There continues to be signs of improvement even though there were failures in my routine this past week. Eating has been good. The weight continues to come down - with out a loss of strength; which is always a concern when loosing weight and still trying to increase strength. (As of today, I've lost 12 lbs in the last 30 days. It's a bit faster than I'd like, but I think the stress of life is also a contributor - and one that is often out of my control.)

Snow Shots at home

[Photos: shots out back, shots out front, my snow angel, night shot]

No power for 3 days

Just a short note and photos to follow. We had an amazing snow storm last week. Our power went out Thursday night and was out until Sunday.

Other than some amazing walks with my wife through the crunching snow and some snowball throwing, there wasn't much exercise taking place. It was to wet to run, to cold and dark to do weights and motivation just wasn't very high with all that going on.

Thankfully my wife and I got two of 'our' runs in before the weather hit last week. I also got 4 of my weight workouts in. So, all in all it was a pretty normal week. I told my wife if we can run 3 times a week for three weeks she'll see some good progress - so to that goal we've been aiming. We only got two in last week, but this week we are hoping for 3 - in addition to our weekly Wed morning routine together.

Progress is some times measured by not loosing ground as much as gaining new ground. So, with the recent gains it's been nice to not loose that ground over the last week as my weight has come down. I'm glad to not have lost reps - even if I'm not gaining this week .. there's always next week to get another rep in.

It had been 5 weeks since I've ridden my bike, so last night I rode in the garage on the trainer. I had forgotten how much I sweat - even when it's 39 degrees in the garage. Biking is a good workout. I also rode this evening. There is a 3 state 3 mountain ride on May 1 that I'd like to be ready for, so I'm giving up my personal running time for cycling instead. I'll still run with my wife and do weights. Yesterday it was weights in the morning, a run with my wife at lunch and 45 minutes in the garage on my bike in the evening. I like days like that. It was only 2 hours of exercise total, but doing it over three sessions has additional metabolic benefits.

I am starting to sleep better again - due to stresses and heavy issues that are lessening. Tonight was the first night in a long time that I had a serious sweet tooth and struggled with sweets.

It's getting late and I've still got a date with my wife ... :-)

Points of progress last week...

[Photos: even a giant handful of spinach can't change the color from the 'beat' contents, annual pine wood derby.]

Last week was 14 since starting back at the weights. Since then I've seen much improvements in strength - and even now after 14 weeks I'm still seeing some little improvement every week or two. (I can see the improvements more easily and accurately because I keep a log. Each day's routines have the numbers from the previous time I did it (usually one week prior).)

Last week included some running again. That was very nice. I ran twice with my wife on a new 2 mile route that initially seemed much longer since it was more out and back compared to the previous route that had loops and repeats. I'm trying to encourage her to bump up to 3 times a week together - it's a hard sell when it's cold or grey or wet or not beautiful out. But, I know where she wants to go and am trying to help her see the big goal - and attain it. (And it draws us together.)

I was also able to do a couple runs by myself: two 5 miles and 8 miles on Sat. The goal has been to run with joy and for fun - and that's been nice. Most of my runs are in the 8:30 range.

The last 7 days saw a weight loss of 7 lbs. This wasn't my intent, but with some heavy burdens comes some stress and anxiousness. For me that ended up being several nights of little sleep as well as a completely sleepless night. And a few missed meals didn't help much - even though I was trying to get some of my house drinks in. I did sleep better last night, but still not where I'd like to be yet.

Eating has been better. I normally eat well, but have a tendency to eat to much and also add some sweets - usually in the form of ice cream or something chocolate. I'm trying to cut back on the foods that I eat that give me pleasure rather than nourishment. The underlying idea there is that eating food for pleasure means I'm not getting it from where it should be coming from. It's probably a deeper thing for me that I can explain here right now. Life continues to be challenging - but God continues to provide Hope, direction and purpose. And more importantly He is giving me an ever increasing unselfish Love.

Today was workout one of week 15. And the every other Monday routine is 6@6. That's 6 sets of 6 reps with 120 seconds of rest in between. Two weeks ago it was completed at 195, so today it was bumped up to 200 - and it was difficult but completed as well. In two weeks it will be 205.

Life continues to be challenging - but God continues to provide Hope, direction and purpose. And more importantly He is giving me an ever increasing unselfish Love.

The two improvements in strength last week were doing pull ups and on the bench press. Tuesday I did 9 pull ups - and I only have two years of history in this log, but I don't see an entry of doing 9 before: so I think it was the first time in about 7 years of doing weight training. Then on Thursday on the pull up ladder, I've been doing a ladder up to 6, but this past Th I added a second rep at 6 before coming back down (1,2,3,4,5,6,6,5,4,3,2,1). I think that also is the first time doing that. That ends up being ~42 pull ups in that routine.

On the heavy bench day - Th, I finally got a second rep on my last set. So, in search of progress and continued improvement, I added another set at 10 lbs more and squeezed out 1 rep and 20 partials. So my heavy day now includes sets at (after warming up with the bar and 135) : 175, 195, 215, 235 and now 245. For this routine I allow 90 seconds of recover between sets and have a limit of 8 reps max (only a factor on the first two sets).

Exercising with my Wife - and my heart

It was nice to work out with my wife again today. Last week she was ill and unable to join me on our 'core and legs' routine.


Today we had some extra fun by taking the camera with us. We both took a few pictures of each other working out. Of course not all pictures taken are to be shared ... but, I'll attach a couple here for fun. More than the photos taken today are now the memories we've shared together. [Photos: one of the roses I recently gave her, both of us doing our high jumping (trying to hit our heads on the ceiling).]


We do the normal warm up routine of stretching and some core exercises then start our circuit. Today it was:
- good mornings
- decline sit ups
- jumping (one leg at a time and then both trying to hit our head on the ceiling)
- squats
- leg raises
- L's
- and lastly calve raises

We did two circuits of this. The only thing that I help my wife with is doing the sit ups - lifting her up and letting her do the negative portion of the exercise. She will help me sometimes to - by hitting me in the stomach when I'm doing mine. The rest of the time we are sharing the same space, talking, being playful, teasing, laughing, admiring, ... enjoying our time together.


I like working out alone most of the time - which is good since that's my norm. It allows me to be more intense and not have any inhibitions with someone else around, but it's still nice to work out with someone else once in a while - especially my weekly routine with my wife. When I get to work out with others it's not just about my training but about interactions, sharing, helping, coaching, encouraging .. all the stuff that happens in my own head for myself now gets to be shared and spoken.


If given the chance to exercise with your spouse - take it. Don't get frustrated that you are at different places, don't be impatient, but rather enjoy the time together. Be silly, vulnerable, show a part of you that your spouse may not get to see very often - open your heart and let down your guard. I can only speak from my own recent experience - it's working for us! :-)

Monday - WO with Chris

Monday I got to workout with C.Mac. He's working nights right now, so he just came to the house on his way home ~5:45.

Monday is more circuit like: short rests, changing from one exercise to another, moderate weights with higher reps. The routine is basically four circuits:
- bench and dips
- decline and dips
- incline and butterflies
- three different triceps exercises
It's a good routine and gets the blood pumping and lungs working. He's bigger than me, so body weight exercises like dips are tough, but that didn't stop him!

After a good workout it was inside for a house drink: "What color do you want?", was the question. He likes purple, so I opted for a 'beat' base. So into the Vita-mix went beat, spinach, almond, flax seed, pear, protein powder, yogurt and soy milk. It's a good nutritious earthy tasting drink that I think helps recovery when taken shortly (with in 30-45 minutes) after a good work out. As it turns out, this one wasn't as good tasting as the "Green" drink I made for him last time (not a complaint, just an observation). I guess that's because this was both a 'Green' and 'Violet' drink - its just that the beat has a stronger color (and flavor) than the spinach. But none the less, he finished his drink before leaving!

Then the next day - he got a call mid-morning, something he's been waiting hoping for .. to be chosen. Congratulations C.Mac!!

Birds Everywhere...

I'm not sure why, but there were about 4 days this past week when our neighborhood was "FULL" of Robins. Going out side in the morning you would hear the birds and see them, everywhere, hundreds and hundreds of them. It was very neat.

I don't recall them collecting in our neighborhood in previous years. They're gone now. I'm not sure where they came from or were heading, but it was very cool to have them for those few days! :-)

To sit out side in the morning when it's quit and so many birds are talking ... it was quite spectacular. A very neat memory.

Trivia: "One Robin can eat as much as 14 feet of earthworms in one day!" - http://www.northrup.org/photos/robin/

Blink blink ... 10 Days later

Thankfully my exercise, even at a lower priority than in the past, is still at a higher priority than Blogging has been. So, I'm into week 14 now, with 7 sessions in those 10 days. (Not all at my normal time, but squeezed in at different times.)

Week 13 had no running or cycling, but I did get all 5 weight routines in. On the 25th I was able to do the 6@6 bench routine at 195 (two weeks before it was 185). Next Monday I'll try it at 200 or 205.

On my heavy routine I saw one extra repetition, from 3 to 4 reps @ 225. This week I'll try to get 4 again and that help me to lock in the improvement by having it two weeks in a row. It's not unusual to see a little variation here and there, but if I can keep the improvements from week to week then they usually stick. I look for improvements every 1 - 2 weeks.

Some of the other points of improvements:

• The pull up ladder is still up to 6.
• First time of doing 9 pull ups.
  
• I did 57 sit ups in 60 seconds.
• My heavy punching bag is now ripping and will soon have to be replaced.
• A few other exercises I've bumped the weight up 10 lbs.

All in all - I am still logging improvements in strength.