Tag Archives: Gym

Fitness Failure

Well, I jumped on the scale and saw numbers I had never seen in my entire life (which was not a good thing). The scale topped out at 244.6, but when I first stepped on it errored out. Not what I wanted to see, but I’m not really surprised given the lack of exercise and my crappy eating habits. This, as I sit here eating Reese’s pieces peanut butter cookies and write this blog. Those who know me will agree I have one hell of a sweet tooth and once it kicks in I find it hard to control. Throw in anything peanut butter and I’m done for.

 

Speaking with the wife, I’ve decided to put down the treats and try to start a healthier lifestyle. I’ll be visiting the gym soon, a place I haven’t seen in over a year. Anytime Fitness is my gym of choice, I love the fact that I can go anytime I get the urge and not worry about it being closed. They also have been offering group classes and boot camps, which I totally should be taking advantage of but I haven’t. Even after acknowledging my need for fitness and obvious signs, I’ve seen I still can’t find the motivation to go.

 

At what point do I give in and go? How do I gain back my motivation? Will working out with the wife prove to be the motivation I need? I guess only time will tell.

Back at the gym week #1

It’s been a few weeks so I thought I’d give you a quick update on how it’s going. My struggle to get back in the gym has been going on awhile and my excuse has always been that I didn’t have a workout planned. Approximately 30 days ago I started to devise a plan which when the wife looked at it thought I was crazy. I was going from not working out to a 5 day routine which incorporated 3 days of running 3.11 miles each day which has proven to be interesting. I will say I have yet to make the 5 days in the gym as the early morning runs conflict and I’ve thought about cutting out 30 minutes of my workout to allow for the Tuesday/Thursday runs. The one problem I have is Tuesday morning is leg day so it wouldn’t be too smart on my part to do a full leg workout then go run 3.11 miles.

I won’t bore you with all the details of my workout as every person/body is different and what works for me may not work for you. My workouts focus on a different body part each day as this will allow me to spend more time focusing on isolating the muscle while performing proper technique. My time spent per session averages about 2 hours and seems to fly by as the only time I could seem to squeeze the time in is 4:00am. Many people tell me I’m crazy for getting up that early to go but it fits into my schedule and I’d rather go at 4:00am than not go at all. The best part of going that early is the gym is empty so I don’t have to fight for any of the equipment.

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The running regiment has me running about 5:30 in the morning with the wife and accomplishes a few things. First it allows her to get out and do her running which she loves to go early and get it done, but safety is always an issue as you never know what crazy people are out that early in the am. Secondly it’s my additional cardio I need to train for my first race challenge race I have coming up in 2015. I’ve done 5k’s, 8k’s and 10k’s but have never run any hack to back so I’ve signed up for my first challenge race in 2015, the Best Damn Race in Safety Harbor. The challenge race is a 10K race which when I complete I will hit the starting line to get ready to kick off the 2nd race which will be a 5k. Total mileage between the 2 races will be 9.33 miles and it’ll be interesting to see how my body handles this.

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Overall I haven’t seen much change on the scale but I’ve seen changes in the way my clothes fit and just generally feel better all around. One thing I’m really interested is I’m within 5 lbs. of my weight I last hit as a plateau and spent several months trying to break that. I’m not ashamed to say that my plateau weight has been 215 and I’m ultimately trying to get do about 190 lbs. Everything I’ve read tells me my ideal weight is about 160 to 170 and I feel I’d look like anorexic and sick if I did hit that weight so I’m sticking with the 190lbs. These next few weeks will be interesting as I continue to tweak my workout/schedule so I can continue to make it work.

How hard was it for you to get back in the gym after being out for a while? How often do you modify your workouts?

Change is in the air

To say change is in the air right about now would be an understatement. As you can see one of many transformations has already started. The wife and I sat around last night discussing blogs over dinner and I decided it was time to change it up. The apparent cosmetic makeover is the first of many so stay tuned as I’m gearing up (no pun intended) to kick it into high gear. If you wondering what’s coming you’ll just have to wait and see as I have a list of ideas and working on even more as we speak.

 

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The wife and I have set out on a change that’ll affect both of our lives as well. We’re working on our training for our journey into becoming a “Big Couple” which I’m sure is going to a great experience. The wife and I have been trying to spend more time giving back to the community and we both agree this is one of the best ways.

BBBS                                                       (Source: http://www.bbbspc.org/ )

Yet another change came in the form of a change in attitude. Lately I’ve let the little things ruin my abilities to focus on the main objectives and trying to have a good time. Well I’m here to tell you I’m letting go of the negative and focusing on the positive. The negative has been running and ruining my life for far too long so it’s time to let go.

Those who know me will say I’m an “all in or nothing” type of guy and it’s been apparent in my latest attempt at exercise I’ve been more of a nothing guy. Saying those two magical words “food and exercise” to me lately has had zero effect on me and actually caused a decrease in my drive to do so. Yes I’ll admit I have been running, but it’s been so rare that every time I go out it’s like starting over from square one. The biggest hold back for me is the planning. I’ve been told by others that I put too much time into planning. I’ve spent too much time trying to make everything perfect that I lose sight of the task at hand and lose a lot of valuable time. These changes will obviously be over time but one thing for certain is “Change is in the air”.

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What changes have you decided to make in your life? How did those changes affect you in your life?

This body was made for running?

Some years ago when I was in high school I played football. For those who knew me back then it wasn’t a stretch as I was 5’10 and 220lbs. I wasn’t the biggest guy but I managed to hold my own when it came to football. Here I am twenty-three years later with two bum knees and about ten extra pounds from what I was in high school so what do I do? I decide to take up, running of course. I know I’ll never be a runner to take on a marathon or even a half marathon, but I’m using running to try and reclaim my body and fitness level I was at in high school. The years of physical torture from football seems to have taken to my knees the most. Over the years it’s no secret that I’ve been in and out of training at the gym and managed to drop below what I was in high school, but quickly fell out of the routine and gained it all back and then some. Finding those activities and knowing my limits for what my knees can endure have been a constant challenge but I do have this knowledge. What I choose to do with it is a different story. I’ve been searching for that motivating factor to get me to commit to the gym 100%, but have yet to do so. Over the next few weeks I’ll have to do some soul searching and see what it’ll take to motivate me but for now nothing I seem to do or say works for me.

Have you ever lost motivation or desire to continue your fitness journey? What did you do to motivate or rekindle that spark or desire to continue on your journey?

Move that Scale

Since the beginning of the year I’ve always been in some sort of weight loss challenge which is always a great motivator, I mean who doesn’t like a little friendly challenge amongst friends. While the competitive side always wants to win, my reality is I’ve already won because I’ve committed to the challenge. Well that’s partially true as I’ve been half-assing it lately and the scale has been my reminder. While I’ve got my desired weight loss goal set in stone I’m failing miserably as I watch the scale. Telling many in the past to not pay attention to the scale and watch for the visual changes, I feel as if those are slowing down considerably as well. Even with taking lunch, healthy snacks and my daily runs with the wife it’s becoming harder and harder so this is my official wake up call to myself. No longer will I procrastinate on running or even trying to finish my workout routine, which is my way of procrastinating on working out. I will also not be a slave to my sweet tooth and give into my desire to indulge. This will prove to be my ultimate test as my job is going to prove to be my biggest challenger due to the fact that on any given day you’ll find sweets flowing pretty much everywhere and we have our own soda fountain which is like 100ft from my office (my biggest weakness). With committing to working out and continuing my healthy meals, but watching the sweets I’ll move the scale in the right direction. This week was great for me as I managed to lose 2 pounds, which was great as the scale had been stuck at the same weight for about 3 weeks.

What motivates you to lose weight? How do you keep from falling off the wagon?

Stop The Scale

Those are three words I don’t really like but if I had to sum up in three words they’d be “stop the scale”. It seems as though I’ve hit my first plateau in my renewed weight loss journey, but I’m sure it’ll be a temporary one. I’ve weighed in for the past three weeks now at 228.8, which some may say maintaining is great but not what I’m looking to do currently. The question is how long will I be at this plateau? Many years ago I had the same issue while working out and managed to stay at the same weight for three months. Trips to the gym became more of a “chore” and “obsession” at the same time. Every trip to the gym would start with a weigh in and then I’d go off to do cardio for an hour generally ending back up on the scale. There were actually days I’d do this for hours and honestly it frustrated the hell out of me. While it took many changes both physically and mentally I finally conquered that plateau and continued on. Knowing this was actually mentally unhealthy for my weight loss, but still not able to control my actions. While maintaining is actually a great thing it can mess with you mentally and cause one to lose drive. Not exactly what I had in mind when trying to lose weight and I actually became obsessed with the scale at that point. I’ve had to take a step back to see what I can change as plateaus are usually your body’s way of adjusting to your lifestyle change. Whether it is by changing diet, exercise, or even both that’s what I’ve had to do in the past to beat the plateau. One thing is for sure….. This is the week that scale will move again. I’m just hoping it’s in the right direction.

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Have you ever hit a plateau when dieting or working out? How did you conquer your plateau?

Memorial Causeway and Fitness

Living in Florida we have the luxury of having beautiful weather about 90% of the time which I’m now learning to take advantage of. Cardio is key to fitness and who wants to be strapped to a treadmill when you can be out exploring and enjoying the Florida weather, so that’s what the wife and I have decided to do. Some of you may know but in April she’ll be doing the Iron Girl Half Marathon which involves two bridges. Many people say “Oh no big deal it’s just a bridge” but for those who run can tell you, they are far from it. The wife wanted to mix it up a bit and train for her upcoming half marathon by involving some Florida scenery along the Memorial Causeway. We decided on the Memorial Causeway for many reasons which include location, the fact that it’s one of the bridges she’ll be running next month, length and the incline. Those features mixed in with the gorgeous scenery make for some great times and excellent cardio.

So what I’ve found out is inclines are no joke and an excellent way to help increase your cardio and overall fitness. The wife is using them to help with her half marathon training and I’ve been using them to help improve my cardio for paintball. The rundown of our bridge cardio was very simple, we wanted to go over and back three times in an hour. The total mileage for this after picking our start/end point totaled 3.77 miles. Attempt number one brought us a time of 58:05 which given the fact it was our first time and were trying to gauge how we would handle it. Keeping in mind this is a run/walk activity I feel the number was fair but we always strive to do better.

The second attempt seemed a bit easier, not much, but a bit easier. We found we were able to run a bit more at a slower pace but we were still running. After everything was said and done our time came in at 51:16 so we managed to shave almost seven minutes off of our previous time. We found the incline running to be a bit easier, not much but just a little bit. Needless to say we were pleasantly surprised when we saw this change in our times.

Our most recent attempt seemed harder for me personally, but then again I hadn’t done any cardio in over a week. It’s funny how it takes forever to get into shape but only takes a short time to fall out of shape. With that being said the wife and I were able to finish this time in 49:01, which means we were able to shave off a little over 2 minutes off of our run/walk for the week. Every trip seems to bring us the results we strive for and I’ve had others express interest in joining. Every trip back seems to bring us closer and closer to reaching the cardio fitness we both desire. Although we have different end results in mind, the road to get there is still pretty much the same path.

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What have you been doing to increase your cardio? Do you or prefer the gym or exploring the natural sites of where you live?

My new obsession

I’ve determined over the years that I have an addictive personality when it comes to certain things. When I find something I’m into I tend to get to the point where I’m almost obsessed. My latest obsession is the scale, it is for this reason alone the wife and I don’t have one in our house. I’ll admit there are days that I’ll jump on the scale at work as many as three times in a single day. While I know this can be bad for motivation, I find myself drawn to that contraption that either makes us happy or can make us cry with the displaying of just a few little numbers. Keeping that in mind I find this obsession to be a love/hate relationship. I love it when the #’s are down, but hate it when my #’s are up. Often counter-productive and uncontrollable at times this seems to play head games with me and can alter my mood tremendously for better or worse.

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What is your latest obsession? Do you have an addictive personality as well?

New Year….. New Rules

With 2013 starting off on a positive note I’ve decided it’s time for some changes in my life. No longer will I allow others to dictate how I spend my time and I’ve decided to allow for more “me” time. This year will be filled with the things I love such as paintball, theme parks and plenty of fun times with friends. Last year I allowed my life to be dictated by others and this made for some pretty miserable times. With that being said I’m holding myself personally accountable for the following.

Family:

This year I’ll work on trying to deal with family in a better way. I’m fine with most of my immediate family; however there are a few that the relationship is strained between. I’ll do my part to try and rectify things, but it’s a two way street and I’m not going to put in 100% of the effort.

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Paintball:

2013 is the year of paintball for this guy and I’m committing to do at least three different scenario games. Whether they are at our local field, South Florida or even Georgia they are on my radar and I will pick at least 3. I missed out last year on a few events that I wished I had done, but time just didn’t allow for it. This year I won’t allow that to be a factor. I’ve made some good friends thru the sport and look forward to expanding and making even more friends who share this common interest in 2013.

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Fitness:

This year I’m committing myself to a fit life. No longer will I be a slave to the sweets and allow them to affect me physically or emotionally. This is important to me as it will help me pursue my paintball aspirations. I know last year I said I wanted to play at least one tournament and I think this will be my year to do so. In 2013 I’ll be devoting more time to a sport I truly love and fully support. For those I know who play as well I wish you the best of luck in your upcoming season.

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Relaxation:

I’m holding myself personally accountable for at least one fun day every two months. This could be a simple as a quiet day at the beach with my wife or visiting our favorite Theme park (Universal Studios) for some fun filled rides and excitement. Either way it’ll be about taking time away from work to spend with the wife, something we are both equally guilty of doing.

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Sleepy Blue

Charity:

With the year kicking into full gear already we’d like to spend more time doing charity work. This could literally be anything from helping out at Habitat for Humanity or even helping out with Toys for Tots. We’ll also be collecting bikes again for Jingle Bikes for Kids again. I was genuinely surprised at how few bikes they had to give out this past year.

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What changes have you vowed to make in your life for 2013? How do you plan to accomplish them?

Day 1 of the New Year

As day one of 2013 came to a close I’m off to a good start on my resolutions, but then again who isn’t on day one. What is usually a hectic morning was filled with lounging and laziness. This was a great bonus as it falls into the “me” category. The wife and I then decided to go grocery shopping which included a lot of healthy food and no junk. I now know remember how expensive it is to eat healthy. The wife and I are also off to a good start for the year health wise as she’s decided that she wanted to go back to Weight Watchers but I’ve decided to try it on my own thru diet and exercise. Weather today was awesome so the wife and I decided to take the boys for a walk and it felt great to be out of the house. We’ve also signed up for the Glow Run 5k which is January 12th in St Petersburg, Fl. All in all today was a great start to the New Year and what will hopefully be a great year.

How did you spend the first day of 2013? Have you gotten started on implementing any of your New Year’s resolutions?

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