No Time To Wait...

I decided that 2015 needed to come early. After hitting a major lull and packing on some pounds, it all had to start now. Not January 1. Now.

My wonderful wife gave me a Fitbit One for Christmas, and it's probably tied for my top Christmas present received along with a shirt my kids gave me with hand drawn art on it (they're 7 and 4; I'll take it out this week and put a pic up), and I did get some great gifts this year from my family. The silent alarm is great. It's just the thing I need to get up and going without disturbing my wife too much since it's set for 3:10 AM.

Rundown for today:

Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Rows 12 - 12 - 24 @ 10 lbs

Underhand Lat-Pulls (modified pull-ups) 12 - 12 - 12 @ 70 lbs

Standing Barbell Curls 12 - 8 - 7 @ 33 lbs (bar apparently weighs ~ 13 pounds)

Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curls 10 - 10 - 10 @ 12.5 lbs

Elliptical 21 minutes

For reference (you know, if anyone else besides me cares), here are links to my goals page to view and workout tracker.

2015 Goals

Workout Tracker

I'll probably add some additional goals later on. Miscellaneous stuff.

I did have a bit of a slow time getting out the door this morning. I got out of bed fine, just not so quick to leave. My plan is to BE at the gym by 3:40 - 45, changed and out on the floor by 3:50 and done by 4:40 so I have time to get to my desk. My shift starts at 5 AM, but I try to be there by 4:55 and get stuff like this done. :) I just need to make my lunch the night before more consistently. Nothing like trying to hunt for stuff in the fridge a little after 3 AM when you're not eating it for a while, and you're not particularly hungry at that moment. Nothing seems appealing.

The Fitbit app and site are great because they layout a bunch of goals (that you can modify) such as 10,000 steps in a day, 10 flights of stairs climbed, 30 active minutes, etc. And you can modify these, plus some of them have multiple tiers, like the stairs, after you hit 10, the site offers a badge (did someone say "achievements?"), and then shows your next badge can be earned by climbing 25 floors.

Challenges can be set up and sent to Fitbit friends. One of my friends in California, who also got a new Fitbit for Christmas sent out a "Weekend Warrior" challenge to see who can get the most steps on the weekend. There's 10 people in it (all invited by my friend from Cali), and I'm currently 5th. I do get a lot of steps in on Sundays though since the parking lot here at work is far, far away. The leader already has almost 30k steps, and it's only 6 AM on Sunday...

See you tomorrow.

Ghosts of the Past...

So... even before 2015 begins, I have some goals I want to share, some may not be possible to complete by December 31, 2015, but there should be some significant progress made:

• Ultimate Goal 1: 200 lbs or lower
• Enter the 2015 Color Run for Salt Lake City (8/22/15) - Registration deadline: TBD
• Enter the 2015 Dirty Dash (6/6/15) - Registration deadline: TBD
• Hike to Timpanogos Cave
• While I'm there, tour the cave. It's been 25+ years since I've been there.
• Hike Dry Canyon again (somehow, I didn't hike anywhere in 2014 after going on a few in 2013)
• Hit the gym on work days (seriously, how hard is this... I work 4 days a week. There's a gym where I work. No brainer, anyone?)
• Stationary bike at home on weekdays off (Tuesdays / Fridays and this ties in to another goal below)
• Take Saturdays off, unless working on any hiking or 5k goal above. (because there should always be one goal that's pretty much a 100% slam dunk).
• Walk 10,000 steps per day (usually hit 7k + on work days. Walking the dog could get the job done, and would make my wife happy)
• Get a Physical (because it's been a while)

• Ultimate Goal 2: Embrace a new hobby
• Read 30 books (we don't have a TV where the stationary bike is... books/kindle app will work)
• Placeholder for list of books read in 2015
• Study coaching for soccer and football (hey, I wonder if there's a book....also because...)
• Begin process toward alternative teaching certificate (this is a long range goal, I still want to have my third sabbatical at eBay in 2018)
• Volunteer (in conjunction with my wife's plans, together we'd like to teach our kids the value of helping those who are less fortunate than we are)

So, there we go. Bring it, 2015!

That moment when...

Welcome back!

You, me, everybody... well, a few people anyway.

So next year's Spartan schedule was released about a week ago. I was checking for pre-registration options when I noticed something about Utah's race next year.

Utah is getting the Beast in 2015.

What now?

Ha.

12 miles.

Double Ha.

I'm going to run the Dirty Dash instead. Maybe the Tough Mudder.

At least in 2015. I'm guessing that the races rotate (sprint, super, beast). I hope the Ultra Beast isn't coming here, lol. (full marathon). At least, not in 2016. :)

Today's breakdown:

Weight: 295.8 - definitely going in the wrong direction. Maybe it's because I haven't been hitting the gym regularly. Gee, what a thought. Also, need some significant changes in food consumption. Working on that.

I did hit the gym today, though. I almost talked myself out of it. Was woken up multiple times through the night. Cat. Dog. Whatever. Didn't feel like getting out of bed any earlier than was necessary to go to work (even with the time shift). These words kept running through my head:

So, I got up and get my stuff together, went to work, and hit the gym.

See you tomorrow.

Monday, Monday, Monday!

Typically Monday is the second work day of my ... well, week.

I work Sunday, Monday, off on Tuesday, back at work for Wednesday and Thursday, then off on Friday and Saturday. I work 10 hour shifts. I got into the gym at about 3:50 AM today, and won't leave work until 3:30. Basically, I'm present on my work site for 12 hours a day, 4 days a week. About an hour in the gym, 10 hours working, a half hour lunch, and the other half hour (almost) is basically walking to and from my car. It takes about 7 minutes to walk from my car to my desk, 3 minutes maybe to go from the car to the gym locker room. Our parking lot is way out there.

It was a good workout today, spent my time on the elliptical machine doing the "weight loss" work out which alternates from an incline of 1 (flat) and 4 resistance, to incline of 8 and 10 resistance. Since machines all vary, this means almost nothing to everybody else. :)

Did some work on my arms and chest and called it a day (in the gym) and headed back to the car to drop off my gym clothes bag and grabbed my lunch, then headed to my desk where I am now.

Speaking of lunch (and breakfast which I bring), here's the rundown:

Coffee (w/ creamer which I'm now measuring out to make sure I don't just absorb an extra hundred calories for almost nothing in return).
Muscle Milk (1 scoop of powder)
Cottage Cheese (1/2 cup - 2%)
Grapes (about 14 oz.)
Chicken Chipotle Flautas (lunch, 2 sticks)
Fruit Snacks (1 pouch - maybe)
Granola Bar (Peanut Sweet & Salty - Nature Valley)
Ritz Crackers (on standby in my desk drawer)

All of that comes out to about 1,257 calories. Not sure about dinner yet. Was going to make tacos (we bought like 5 pounds of hamburger at Costco, I sectioned it out and froze 4/5ths of it), but wife and daughter aren't thrilled about that, so I have to figure something else out.

Overall, I should stay under 2,000 calories today. The biggest challenge, probably, is keeping myself disciplined on my three off days and not mindlessly eat little things here and there that add up super fast. It's like Fighter Diet founder Pauline Nordin says (paraphrased), "It doesn't matter the work you do during the week if you're undoing it on the weekend."

Also, it isn't much, but between 2 weeks ago when I weighed in (293.8 lbs) and today (291.4 lbs) the scale is at least headed in the right direction.

The Two-Step...

Two days in a row? Might be something going on...

Hit the gym again this morning after getting to bed at a decent time. Getting up at three isn't easy if you're going to bed (sleep) after 10. I was pretty much out around nine last night, so I only did the snooze dance one time this morning.

Decided it was time to get back to the weights as I have not been on those in quite some time. Nothing big since I'd been away for far too long. A few sets with the bench press (95 lbs), shoulder press machine (uh, not very much, I'm shocked at how weak my shoulders are), and the triceps extension machine (again, WEAK!). After all of that, I hit the elliptical machine again for my 33 minutes. I went a little harder this time, getting my heart rate up into the 150s and burning around 400 calories (according to the machine - my Lose It app says around 600).

It's about consistency right? Time to find that rhythm and keep at it.

Almost 5 months...

Somewhere along the way motivation wandered into a dark room and decided to stay for a while.

Now, I've gone to the gym here and there and just never got back on track.

Inspiration comes in different forms. Heroes. Best Friends. Striving for health. The list goes on and on. My wife is an inspiration for me to get back on track. Mostly out of fear of being totally left behind.

About nine months ago my wife was struggling with weight loss, like well, pretty much all of us. She'd been doing roller derby for about a year at that time and was still considering herself one of the "big girls." Those are the rare gals that somehow combine weight and speed to be formidable blockers and intense hitters. They kind of remind me of football players that line up in the trenches. You know the big guys, that look like couch potatoes (sometimes), and then totally shock you with their speed and quickness.

So, my wife began cutting her portions. A lot. Now, it kind of comes easier for her than others because when she eats, she pays a price. It (eating) makes her sick a lot of times. She has to eat, but sometimes it's a gauge of how sick she wants to tolerate that day. The weird thing is, nobody can figure out what's wrong. Doctors haven't figured out the trigger, and for all intents and purposes, the triggers are everything and nothing.

Some days she'll eat a salad and be fine, a couple of days later, she'll eat the same type of salad and wish she was dead because of the pain she's experiencing. Same for burgers, fish, dairy, bread, oh hell, I'll save some time and just say "everything."

In the last nine months, still doing roller derby, my wife has shed an amazing 65 pounds. Sixty-five! She's gotten to the point that she can push it really hard and compete with some of the jammers.

Even when I was hitting the gym consistently, I was seeing nothing happening. Granted, I sure didn't give it a year. Messing up that muscle (excuse coming) in my back/neck back in March just made me revert back to being only "slightly" active.

Food consumption changed only a little bit. Portion control was anything but. Probably more like "outta control." One of the problems is that I sit at a desk. Four days a week. 10 hours during those days. Work is interesting, if not repetitive. And I ALWAYS feel like eating something. I bring my breakfast and lunch to work. But always feel like there needs to be more. Juice and soda is free here. Talk about a fight every day. We do have coke zero, diet, etc. But you know how it is. Why get those when there's a cherry coke RIGHT THERE!?

So the transition needs to happen, instead of spooning out three tablespoons of cottage cheese, I need to measure it. Turns out I can easily get a full serving (half of a cup) from a heaping teaspoon. I made sure I came with just ONE serving of cottage cheese today. A couple of clementine oranges. Leftovers from dinner the other night (homemade beef-a-roni), and we'll see how it goes from there.

Spent about a 33 minutes on the elliptical machine this morning. Weight loss mode.

Inspiration comes in many forms. My inspiration is my wife and her toughness, consistency, and determination. Inspiration is knocking on the door where motivation is hiding and inviting it to come out to play.

It's been...

I'm finally back. Did you miss me?

It's been a rough month and a half. First my neck and back issue, and then, when I thought I was all set to go again, I had a rough bout with a head cold (still clearing out some sinus issues, but overall feel pretty normal).

So, here's the rundown for today:

Bent Over Dumbbell Row: 2 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs; 1 x 15 @ 12.5 lbs
Lat Pulls: 2 x 10 @ 70 lbs; 1 x 12 @ 70 lbs
Standing Barbell Curl: 3 x 10 @ 45 lbs
Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl: 3 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs

I also spent 10 minutes on the bike. Cardio is SO not my thing, but it needs to be done. I plan to work my way into it gradually, though.

It's good to be back.