The weekend was rough, in 4 days I got 2 workouts in for 40min each…I just had no motivation.  I think a lot of it comes from not seeing the drastic results now like I was before.  My clothes have fit pretty much the same for quite a while now, the scale went up (actually went down…but the psychological effect was “up”), and I’m getting irritated about not being able to eat whatever I want.  My knee is also turning into a larger problem.  It pops and snaps now anytime I straighten it out.  I wouldn’t call it painful yet, but there is a sensation from the pop.  It’s very similar to when you pop your knuckles, only it happens all the time.  It is a bit concerning.  I am holding out hope that I can drop weight and rehab it a bit, but more and more that seems like it’s only delaying the inevitable.  Surgery is seeming more and more like a foregone conclusion.  I think there’s been too much weight on it for too long.  Hopefully I can drop weight and build strength back in the knee quickly enough that it doesn’t impact the other one.  I’m hoping to have a doc look at it the beginning of next year and if something needs to be done to it have it worked on in the spring.  I don’t want to struggle with crutches on the ice, and I want to make sure I have a solid healthy foundation to try and work through the down time.

The knee issue is really a downer.  To come to terms with the idea that allowing myself to get this/that large and now when I’m working to get down to a reasonable shape only to be hampered by an “injury” that I caused to myself because of the weight is quite depressing (follow all that?).  I’ve always been a firm believer that it’s a weak mind that allows a person to be overcome by depression.  Certainly it will hit you from time to time and you will feel down, but I think you can work through it and deal with the feelings in a reasonable logical manner.  Lets not turn this into a discussion on depression, I’m not talking about some clinically diagnosed chemical imbalance type depression here…I’m talking about the “poor me, my life sucks, I’m ugly” type pussy depression. In an effort to work through this “pussy depression” I decided to spend a couple hours at the gym last night and horse through whatever mental blocks I might have going on.  I also drug myself out of bed this morning and made it to the gym (where I was punished by the talky-talkertons) for an hour worth of elliptical.  I feel much better about the day when I get up and work out…but the bed is so warm and comfortable.  I’m not going to declare victory yet…I still have a long ways to go…but I think this “push through it pussy” mentality will help in the long run.

I’ve decided to adjust my weight lifting routine yet again.  The Monday/Wednesday/Friday thing isn’t working out very well for me.  I think I’m lifting more on the two power days, but I’m not seeing where the “cardio lifting” is helping at all.  I might as well spend that time on the elliptical.  Also, I noticed that lifting less has actually increased my strength better than when I was going every other day.  This makes no sense to me, but it’s supported by my observations.  I’ve also been doing some research online and listening to “David” on the Lex & Terry show Monday mornings.  He’s a former running back for the Rams who is now a personal trainer.  I’m a L&T disciple so my opinion is a bit shaded, but this guy had a 3.x% body fat measurement all through college so it seems like he knows what he’s doing.  Also, something that caused me to give him some more credit, when asked on the show about what to eat he gives general advise but always refers people to a nutritionist or Dr.  That to me says he’s on the up and up instead of trying to come off like someone who knows everything that’s best for you.  This past Monday he said on there that it’s not a good idea to do triceps and biceps on days you do chest…which makes sense.  The routine they had us on in high school (if you want to call it that) did all upper body except triceps and biceps on “upper” days with those muscles on “lower” days…along with legs ect.  So what I’ve decided to do is chest, back and shoulders Monday and Thursday with Triceps and Biceps on Tuesday and Friday.  This should speed up the lifting portion, giving me more time for cardio, and also get a better workout on each of the muscle groups.

I’ve said before that I’ve only been focusing on the upper body during my weight routine because of this damn knee.  I’ve noticed over the past couple of weeks that the elliptical seems to be doing a fairly decent job of building some muscle on my legs.  I’m doing 20min interval followed by 40min weight loss, no break between and both at level 10.  I sweat like a pig during this session so it must be doing something.  I’m drinking tons of water and pissing constantly so it should be working it’s way through my system.  There is a strength training routine on there that I might look at sometime this summer.  We’ll have to see how it goes.

I’ve mentioned before that I am using both the livestrong.com and mobile fitness sites to track workouts, consumption and progression.  I ended up paying for a year subscription to both sites.  The livestrong site is good and if it allowed me to track individual workout stats that would be the only one I would need…but it doesn’t.  Mobile Fitness is O.K., originally I picked it up because of the blackberry app but that didn’t work out so well.  I was a bit too lazy to try to find something better and ended up sticking with it.  As I was adjusting my workouts today I came across a section of suggested workouts.  I don’t know a whole lot about this stuff other than what I have just accepted as true in high school and college.  Most of the workouts I’ve seen hit one muscle group per day per week.  There are usually days off as well which has always seemed counter intuitive to me.  Several of the workouts I looked at were for only 3 days a week.  Naturally different workouts have different goals, and if you don’t want to bulk up I could see how 3 days would be decent, but I want to build muscle not just tone.  One workout I saw which immediately seemed pretty lame was the “superhero body routine”.  It’s a pretty stupid name but after looking it over it seems pretty intense.  It’s an 8 week routine that is designed to give you that superhero body.  I’m going to look at doing this workout when I’m more satisfied with my weight.  If I get down to 270 or so before the end of my year of working out I’ll probably kick this in to gear.  It would work out best in my sched over Sept/Oct as I don’t have a whole lot of travel planned for that time.  During the other months a guy might head to the farm for a few days or something and screw up the routine.  I still think cardio is going to be key, and will have to implement 30-60 min worth of elliptical/treadmill a day.  Hopefully by the time I’m more satisfied with my bulk I’ll be able to do the leg portion of the workout.  I’ll paste the workout at the end of this entry so you can see for yourself what it contains.  It seems really interesting to me that it focuses on one muscle group per day per week and it also gives you two days off from weight training.

Something else that I’ve known but has really come to light since I’ve been using livestrong is how much of a nose dive my eating habits take on Friday’s and Saturday’s.  Sunday usually isn’t too bad, but you can bet that a guy will go out on either Fri or Sat (if not both) and get carried away.  That might be O.K. when I’m down to where I want to be, but as I’m working to get there it’s really unacceptable.  I’ll need to focus a bit more on these days and see what I can do to bring them more in line with every other day.  It’s all about will power and understanding that the reward will come later.  Thinking that you “had a good week” and can attack the Chinese food or pizza with reckless abandon is not helping anything.  Working the plan is key.

Superhero Body Routine

Day 1: Shoulders and Traps

• Shoulder: Behind neck overhead press
• Shoulder: Dumbbell Standing Upright Row
• Shoulder: Dumbbell Lateral Raise
• Shoulder: Dumbbell Lying Rear Lateral Raise
• Tricep: Barbell Shrug
• Tricep: Dumbbell Shrug

Day 2: Legs and Calves

• Quads: Barbell Full Squat
• Quads: Machine Leg Extension
• Hamstrings: Barbell – Romanian Deadlift
• Hamstrings: Machine – Lying Leg Curl
• Calves: Standing Calf Raise
• Calves: Seated Calf Raise

Day 3: Back

• Pull Ups Front
• Wide-Grip Bent Over Row
• Wide Grip Front PullDown
• Cable Seated Row
• Straight Arm Pulldown

Day 4: Chest and Abs

• Chest: Barbell Incline Bench Press
• Chest: Dumbbell decline bench press
• Chest: Dumbbell Flyes Incline
• Chest: Machine Pec Dec
• Chest: Barbell Bench Press
• Abs: Reverse Crunches
• Abs: Oblique crunch
• Abs: Cable Crunch

Day 5: Triceps, Biceps, Forearms

• Tricep: Barbell – Close Grip Bench Press
• Tricep: Cable Tricep Pushdown
• Tricep: Barbell – Close Grip Bench Skull Crusher
• Bicep: Barbell Curl
• Bicep: Dumbbell Incline Curls
• Bicep: Preacher Curl Close Grip
• Forearm: Dumbbells Palm UP Wrist Curl
• Forearm: Dumbbells Palm Down Wrist Curl

Day 6 and Day 7: – Relax and Eat Healthy!

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The weekend didn’t work out so hot for me.  I had a good time, but I consumed a bit too much and didn’t work out as much as I would have liked to.  I got 30min in on Saturday, but the elliptical was quite a bit different than the one I’m used to.  The one’s at snap seem to simulate a cross country skiing type motion but the ones at the hotel simulate a running motion.  I couldn’t get the motion down and didn’t really get the work out I would have liked.  I also credit this new motion for putting stress on my knee that I wasn’t used to.  That along with the plethora of steps at the sporting events really fubar’d my knee.  I didn’t work out on Sunday, I was lazy…all my fault.  Can’t blame anyone or anything else.

I posted on fb about the couple of nagging “hurts” (I can’t classify them as injuries yet), my wrist and my knee.  I can’t do much about my knee, but I can help my wrist a bit.  I blogged a little bit ago about those lifting gloves I bought with the wrist straps.  Before I started lifting I tightened up the straps and made sure it came across the part of my wrist area where my hand would rest on the straps while I’m working out.  To my surprise, this helped immensely.  I didn’t even notice any twinges at all.  I pushed 275 for 8 reps this morning.

I need to rededicate myself to this workout routine.  I’ve been getting a solid work out in each day, but my two a days are not happening.  My goal this week is to hit 2 a day every day.  We’ll see how it goes.

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This has also shown me just how important my two-a-day workouts are.  On the days where I only get one work out in I’m right up against the bar or just over.  And while I’ve been under the magic 2000 cal a day mark…I don’t think just being under that is going to drop the pounds I want to.  On the days where I have hit the two-a-day goal I have been well under the bar…two of the days I have burnt more calories than I have taken in.  As I’ve said previously, though I don’t think the numbers are accurate I think they give a good representation of what’s going on.  I believe carrying a negative balance for the day is a good thing for my body at this point.  I don’t think I’ll hit the starvation switch…and I think as long as I am eating and working hard it will cut in to the fat that permeates my physique.

I really like the comparison this site makes to your daily intake, the amount you burn doing specific work outs, and the number their “science” says you should hit to achieve your goals.  Last week I was doing a piss poor job of keeping my intake down and wasn’t getting in all the working out I need…and it showed when it came time to step on the scale.  I didn’t go up, but I only went down 2lbs.  While that is an acceptable number for sustained results, I do believe that if I more closely reign in my consumption and stay focused on working out I can easily hit the 5lbs a week mark.  I believe 5lbs a week is sustainable till sub 300, then I expect to drop back to 3lbs a week.

I also no longer think I need 2 work outs a day per se, but I need to have a “how hard I work” goal for those workouts.  I think if I burn 2-3k calories over the course of the day along with the carefully monitored intake I should be pretty much on track.  Right now I’m not at a point where I can reasonably burn 2k calories in a session…I’m doing around 1500 if I push really hard (which isn’t too tough honestly).  In another month or so I’m hoping I can get to 2k a session doing cardio.  I’m thinking that my calories burnt during a work out will go down as my weight goes down though.  I’m not sure that a guy at 250 can reasonably burn 1500/hr even if he appears to be busting his ass as much as a fat man is.

We’ll see, a lot of trial and error involved in this.

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The problem with stuff like that is that people go to the fast food joint and everything there looks good.  So while they might intend to order something “healthy” they end up getting a healthy thing along with the fried shit, or they order more healthy shit than they would normal stuff and end up eating the same amount of calories.  You cannot get healthy eating any kind of food like that no matter how healthy it pretends to be.

I haven’t lost as much weight as I want to yet, but just cutting out the fast food joints has made me feel incredibly better.  I have more energy, I feel better about myself and I don’t feel like a tranquilized polar bear after I eat.  I used to feel so sluggish and have an over all low energy level after eating that shit.  Also, it has helped my stomach “problems”.  I used to always pop gas pills and stuff and generally have stomach issues.  After I stopped eating fast food…that has virtually gone away.

Healthy or not…that shit just ain’t good for you.

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It’s not that I couldn’t handle one cookie, I doubt it would even register as a blip on the radar as far as my body is concerned.  The problem comes in with the flood gate that would open up if I let even one sweet cross my lips.  If I eat one, then I have to admit that I wasn’t able to keep up this change and that would open me up to getting ragged on every freekin day.  I obviously could lie about it, but that’s not my style.

In the end, I will have to perceiver.  After 1 year, I’ve said I will re-evaluate my intake.  Hopefully at that time my exercise will be able to hold off a few cookies now and then.  If it doesn’t, then what really is the point of all this?  I want to be a normal size and a bit more healthy…but if a guy can’t indulge sometimes it’s just not worth it.

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The challenge during deer season is going to be in the quantity of decent food I eat.  In previous years, I wouldn’t eat that much…but I drank enough to more than make up for it.  If you stay drunk all the time, I’ve found that I don’t get very hungry…weird.  This year, I need to not drink and still eat the same quality and quantity of food that I’m consuming in town.  I’ve picked up a bag of apples and oranges, I have some cereal and milk…some sammich meat and buns.  I think I’ll be O.K.  There aren’t going to be much for vegetables, but that’s just the way it goes.  There should be plenty of meat…hopefully.  I didn’t buy any candy, but I did buy some chips and I’m going to be bringing up some beer.  I don’t intend to eat or drink either of these things…but it’s always been our way to bring stuff for other people.

We’ll see how it works out.

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I’ve been able to stay the path so far.  We’ve gone out a couple of times and I have eaten considerably less than I would have normally.  I still feel full, and not as bloated as I would normally.  It is ridiculous how much less it costs to eat out when you don’t drink.  We went to mex village and dropped 20 bucks for the two of us instead of the 50 or better it would have normally been if we’d been drinking as well.

The only real urge I’ve had to drink was when I was watching the bear game earlier and there was a bud commercial on…oooohhhh I wanted a beer.  I survived though.

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Eating times for the weekend get screwed with a little bit though.  I sleep in a bit later, so I end up eating breakfast a couple hours later than I normally would.  I ate about 1/2 of what I had during the week for breakfast though, given the proximity to lunch and so forth it seemed reasonable.

The cravings have somewhat subsided, for now.  I fully expect them to come back with a vengeance.  I was a bit concerned about the upcoming hunting trip.  I should be able to pack away the same food I have been eating without much trouble.  If nothing else, there is a subway in botno I can hit if need be.

I had planned on beginning my work out today, but it doesn’t seem to be in the cards.  I have a plumbing issue that needs to be handled ASAP at home.  I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit, and it seems the only reasonable solution to working out is going to be joining a gym close to my home.  I would be able to get up at 6, put in 30-45min and get back to the house in time to get the kid off to school and me to work.  Working out at the gym at work would mean I either have to get here earlier or stay later and that’s not always feasible.  Also, if it’s a 24hr gym and the morning session doesn’t work out I can catch it after the kid has gone to bed.  BCBS will kick back about 20 bucks or so of the cost of membership if you go a certain number of times a week.  From what I figured that’s about 1/2 the monthly cost…so 20 bucks a month for a full gym isn’t bad at all.

We’ll see how this week goes…one day at a time I guess.  I feel like an addict…

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I went for a walk with the Sarge last night.  As embarrassing as it is to admit…in the past just going around the block would have me sucking wind.  Last night I would guess we walked around a mile or so weaving through the neighborhood and I was still good to go.  The dog was panting pretty good when we got home and I would have liked to go a bit further.  It’s pretty surprising that such a small change to my diet would have a significant effect, but if you look at how horrible I was eating compared to now it’s easy to understand why things would change.  I’ve been eating better stuff as well as significantly less of it.  I’d guess I’m eating about 1/2 of what I was last week per meal.  I don’t feel hungry, it’s just a matter of getting over the mental issues.  It seems to be getting easier.

Next week, I’m looking at working out.  I should be able to get to work before 8 and hit the gym around 4 or so.  I’m hoping to get in 30min of cardio and then some weight training.  When I was younger I knew exactly how I wanted to lift and what muscles I wanted developed.  At my age now, I’m going to have to look up some information and see how best to work the older muscles.  Given it takes more time to recover and all that, I’m not sure how to go about it.

I’m actually looking forward to lifting.  I’d be nice if I had a partner to go with.  The woman and I were talking about it last night but it just doesn’t work for us both to hit the gym at the same time.  It would be damn near ideal if I could get up at 5, hit the gym for an hour and be back home to get the kid off to school.  That would involve me buying a membership to a gym next to my house.  I’m going to hit the free one at work for awhile and see how things work out.  If/when that one no longer meets my needs, then I’ll look in to some outside gym.

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