WOD Tuesday, May 1, 2012

4.0 Miles walk/run 51:20

Rewiring The Body

Two weeks into working out in a gym and my body is sore in places that it hasn't been sore in for years....but it's a good kind of sore.

Last Thursday I did over squats, an exercise that has been absent from my programs for years, and my shoulders still felt it on Friday.  Yesterday was back squat day! Due to a jacked up L1-L5 I've stayed away from back squats for the last 18 months. During that time I've done DB lunges, sled pulls and Goblet squats and really concentrated on strengthening my core. Yesterday I re-watched EliteFTS so you think you can squat series on You Tube since I've been out of the groove for a while. I managed to work up to a set of 175, far from where I had been in the past but it felt good. After I was done one of the trainers came over and said I had one of the best squat forms that he had ever seen........since he didn't try to sell me a block of training sessions I taking it as him being serious LOL.

This morning was cardio day..... a 40 minute run. I manged to knock out 3.4 miles running HIIT style. My total for the week was just under 10 miles, not bad for someone that's not a runner.

Oh yeah, I still haven't gotten on the scale to find my starting weight for this challenge.....I should have made it my goal to be under 210 instead of just losing 5lbs, oh well live and learn.

Feb 13

It was a great weekend I managed a CT and an RT, saw a movie, cooked on the grill, cooked a turkey that we bought for Thanksgiving and cut the grass.







Since I cut the grass what would be better than tear it up with the weight sled.....my wife managed to snap a picture or two of my primitive landscaping tool.






We had seen a Spaghetti Squash recipe the other night on Diners Drive-ins and Dives and tried to recreate it at home.

We cut the squash in half and boiled the squash for around 10 minutes..... while boiling we sweated garlic and onions in olive oil and then added squash, sweet peppers, zucchini and mushrooms and let them cook down



After the squash got soft we scrapped it out and added it to the skillet after a few minutes we threw in some sauce and the spooned the whole mixture back into the cleaned out squash boats.






Throw on some mozzarella and back into the oven till browned.

All in all it's one of those recipes that we'd fix again and it turned out to be somewhat healthy.

Feb 7

Got in a double header yesterday an early morning 42 minute walk with my wife.....followed by an afternoon RT session......followed by some Michelob Ultra and the game. The exercise was all good, the beer? It was OK not terrible, not great..just middle of the road.

Feb 1

4.6 miles of an evening walk........there's something to be said for walking a neighborhood and getting the lay of the land. Right at 14 miles worth of cardio since Saturday..



So far the boredom of the new template hasn't set in but then again it's only week two ahhhhh the joys of Adult Attention Disorder...that's what I'm blaming it on. The squat thrusts do get the heart rate up.

Warrior Dash 2011 A Recap.......

Yesterday was the Warrior Dash, It was possibly one of the best afternoons that I've spent...ever. It's not about finishing with a competitive time, even though there is a winner, how do you know what's competitive when it's a 3 mile race across junk cars, hay bales, under barbed wire and over logs and up cargo nets and through tires.....The fact that you hit the finish line with a huge smile on your face lets you know that you were competitive.



You're not an Official Warrior until you get your official warrior headdress.
Yes, you need to start the race with clean clothes, the cleaner the better.








Oh yea, I forgot to mention the two fire pits you have to hurdle just one obstacle shy of the finish line...the last obstacle you ask....well it's the Muddy Mayhem pit so just in case you are on fire the muddy murky dank water will extinguish your flames....






Lots and lots of costumes...the Harlem Globetrotters showed up.











The Jolly Green Giant and Mullet Man also made an appearance. These guys were drinking beer before the race...my kind of guys.











Batman and Robin without any alcohol...these guys were actually stretching and warming up.








If you make it across the finish line you get a medal! In 46 years of life this is the first time that I've ever gotten a medal......







Mud, Sweat and Beer - In this case one for each hand! Both Light Beers which equals one real beer, I think.

My wife filmed my amazing jumping skills...it's no wonder the hair on my shins is missing.

These guys filmed the race with a helmet cam....a pretty decent representation of the race.

and yes this counts as a CT I finished in 47:58 and placed 2404 out of 5159....

Jan 28

I got to work from the house today so I treated myself to a homemade bowl of shrimp and brown fried rice, Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries....Mmmmm Mmmmm good. Unfortunately any gained health advantage from my lunch was lost at dinner time - 18 wings later I left a full and satisfied customer - on well a CE lost. The only saving grace might have been the fact that I had a double header today, a CE in the morning and then a RT before dinner. How did I manage to demolish 18 wings less than an hour after working out? Who knows but I did take in a whole bunch of protein at dinner.

Managed to walk at a 4MPH pace this morning...sunny and Friday...sweet.

Last session of the new template and I like it each of the sessions. I'm planning on working in some sloshpipe exercises, sled work and farmers walks. I took measurements on Jan 1st and re-took again this evening - 11lbs gone and 1" missing from the waistline, an 1" off the thighs, 1/2" off the biceps, 1/2" off of the chest and as usual nothing missing from the calves....still 19 1/2"..

A day without laughter is a day wasted. Charlie Chaplin

Jan 27

A bright a beautiful South Florida morning - time for a walkabout

Right at 52 minutes - It was sunny and in the 50's most everyone was bundled up - everyone except me the relocated Georgia boy short sleeves and shorts. Just a few pictures from this mornings walk.....






This is Legacy Park a small park located at the local boat ramp and doc. I've spent many an evening with my wife down here fishing aka "Feeding the fish".






Mommy Duck and her ducklings hanging out on the dock waiting to be fed. One thing about the local ducks...when they're babies they're cute...when they're grown these ducks are ugly as hell.





The clock tower on our round-a-bout. The clock chimes every half hour the round-a-bout no one around here has any idea how to navigate it.





Lots of green grass, palm trees and sunshine. I call it Chamber of Commerce weather. Most of these houses were built in the 60's and have lots of varying and unique architecture.





One of the many many canals around my house- lots of fishing and lots of places for boating.






This is the local Aquatic Center..I grew up around this area and during that time this was the local community pool over the years they've built it out to include slides, water canons and wading pools. I'm of course to big for most of the attractions.




I can say that I've officially found "The End Of The Road". I've walked down this street many a times and I've never noticed this sign.

Jan 26

It's been one of those weeks where I'm not on the road and it's been nice...This evening my wife made a wonderful Weight Watchers Chicken with Black Bean Chili dinner.
1 lb ground chicken
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup dry red wine or water
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (15oz) kidney beans, undrained
1 can (14.5-oz) Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeno peppers, undrained
6 Tbsp low-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded

Cook the ground round in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until brown, stirring to crumble. Add chopped onion and the next 7 ingredients (onion through garlic), and cook for 7 minutes or until onion is tender. Place meat mixture in an slow cooker, and stir in beans and tomatoes. Cover with lid, and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Spoon into bowls; sprinkle with cheese.

257 Calories; 10g Fat (36.1% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 48mg Cholesterol; 578mg Sodium

I managed two servings and I've got some for lunch tomorrow...sweet!

Getting more into this new template and still feeling muscles ache that haven't ached in a while.....I cut the rest periods down to 60 seconds and started with about 10 minutes of stretching and foam rolling.



I managed to get in a four mile walk while my wife was in school. Several folks were still burning their Christmas lights....more power to you! Keep 'em burning till Easter I say. Most of the time that I walk or run in a new place I just start out and sometimes I manage to easily find my way back to the car sometimes it's not so easy and it adds an extra mile or so to my trek....but the nice thing with Runkeeper is that it lets you see the route you've walked.....

Jan 23

A very uneventful weekend (for a change) no travel, no major projects just a few trips to the grocery store, working in the yard, cooking on the grill and a couple of adult beverages...not beer...

Saturday afternoon I got in an RT..nothing that crazy..I got the sloshpipe out as well as the weight sled, and from the inspiration of TNTMan I tried doing countdown sets...I made it through 7 before the wheels came off..I think these may need to be their own session or at least at the beginning not the end of the workout.


I got to try out my new running shoes this afternoon....sweet. I love Nike Air Max shoes. The South FL weather was sunny with a slight breeze. The run was finished with firing the grill up for a ginger infused flank steak, and as the coals heated I kicked back with a glass of Gentlemen Jack on ice. It was a nice weekend.

Jan 20

I woke up this morning threw a frozen banana, blueberries, milk and a scoop of protein powder into MFT and created my 300 calorie breakfast drink. As I got ready for my morning workout I looked out back and noticed my kettlebells and decided that it was time to start working them back into my workout.....It became Kettlebell Thursday this morning. KB Snatches and foam rolling to warm up with then followed up by an intense 46 minute RT session......


I think that the fat loss template I was following is officially kaput....I'm sure it works but it's just so damn boring. The kettlebell swings managed to get the heart rate elevated just as the squat thrusts did....all in all a good workout.





I'm fighting a bit of a cold...I just love being trapped in airplanes several days a week...so I took my lunch hour and went for a run hoping that I could sweat this bug out of my system. 10 hours later I'm feeling better than I did this morning.

Jan 19

Everyday I try to learn something - today I learned that's very hard (almost impossible) to take a picture while using an elliptical....for some reason the picture comes out blurry no matter how slow you go.
This morning I was up at 5:00am and in the hotels fitness center...why so early? Because of the meal the night before. LIBERATORE's of Timonium for their Chicken Parmigiana & Calamari...Wow what a meal. Fresh sauce and fresh chicken made for a mouth watering dish.
So I lost a CE on the 52 Day Challenge, was worth it? Yeah..........

Jan 13

No exercise yesterday, due to flight delays and a late dinner.
One of the things I have a hard time when traveling is going from the Eastern to Central time zone. It's amazing just how much that one hour throws me for a loop. This morning I woke up as I usually do somewhere around 5:45, I rolled over to look at the clock and boom 4:45 welcome to Central time...Ughhhhh..



So I trudge to the elevator molest the buttons till I find the "L"...I shuffle to the front desk and mumble "Can you point me to the fitness center, please?" the desk clerk responds (just a bit to cheerily) "Lower Lobby"...back to the elevator and down another floor....I walked in and was greeted with a complete gym 7 or 8 resistance stations, a dumbbell rack that went up to 70lbs and a huge Cybex Machine. If you're ever in Nashville TN and need a hotel with a loaded gym, indoor and outdoor pool and close to the local attractions and the airport check out the Nashville Marriott.


I managed to squeeze in a 40 min walk on the treadmill. I tried doing ladders with the incline 1 min at 1% incline then 1 min at 2% incline etc... all the way up to 10%...it made the time pass a bit quicker. Then back to the room for and oatmeal, chocolate protein powder & peanut butter concoction and a shower. Have a great Thursday....

Jan 11

Got a very early workout in this morning, again I strayed from the BBOE Fat Loss workout and went my own way. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with this template, 3rd week into it and I'm not following it.

Gobble Squats 3x10
DB Bench Press 3x10
Push Ups 3x20
DB Highpulls 3x10
Scaption 3x10
Seated Reverse Fly 3x10
Planks 3x60sec
DB OHP 3x10
Suspension Strap Curl 3x10

I made into Tampa early evening, changed into my cut off sweatpants and looked for the exercise room....and I found it Ughhh... there was a homeowners version of a treadmill that didn't work, an eliptical that wobbled way to much for a piece of stationary exercise equipment. I ended up heading out for an evening walk around Tampa, FL. I decided that I must be in the better part of the city after I walked past Thee Dollhouse (you can Google it if you can't figure it out).

I can knock off two more 40-4-40's....and my eating is still staying clean, the calories are way under 2500...lots of tuna, chicken and very little of the carbs, especially the bad ones.

Jan 10

Weigh in Monday...down 6 pounds for the week. I'm sure most of it was the "Holiday Bloat" leaving my body aka....no beer for the last couple of weeks.
Managed another Biggest Loser Power Walk session this morning before the workday started and then ended the day with a mile walk next to my wife. Tuna Tuesday is up next..Have a great evening.

Jan 9

Managed to enjoy the beautiful South Florida weather today with a bike ride into the Everglades. I headed 25 miles out into the "River of Grass" where I found Shark Valley and their 15 mile bike path. I've spent the last few months seriously considering buying a bike. It's probably been 20 years since I've been on a bike, and it's true what people say - You never forget how to ride a bike.





But I can tell you that I forgot what it feels like to ride a bike 15 miles......by the time I hit the observation tower (the halfway point) and dismounted from my bike both the bike and my butt let out a heavy sigh........
I grew up down here and saw many alligators during my youth but to this day I never tire of seeing these huge creature. The trail banks were littered with coots, herons, turtles and gators.

From the top of the 65' tower the view was amazing saw grass, water and palmetto bushes. At the bottom of the tower 3 of the biggest gators I'd seen all day were catching a few rays themselves. I rode past Boy scouts hiking, a few runners, lots of families and a bunch of photographers taking pictures of the animals and landscape.

Nothing but grass...click picture for biggie size

Got home early afternoon and managed to get in a RT. My legs were fried from the bike ride so I ignored the designed template and just played it by ear...and here's what I ended up with.

Tomorrow is weigh in, lets see where I'm at.........

Jan 7

TGIF!.... even having Monday off the four day work week was brutal, but I did manage to stay out of the airports.
The morning started with an oatmeal, flax seed and peanut butter breakfast, followed by the grueling commute to the gym....once on the back porch a 40 minute RT session ensued.



My car needed an oil change, so while at the local Firestone I noticed that there was a park behind the shop...as it turns out the park had a walking trail....so off I went 40 minutes later the oil change is complete and I've ticked off another 4-4-40.......





"LUNCH TIME" - since I missed out on a real "Tuna Tuesday" I participated in my own "Tuna Friday"....a 2 egg, egg white, spinach, cheese and hot sauce omelet had the kitchen smelling like the local fish market but it did taste good.
The evening came and of to Sam's to stock up on chicken, veggies and red meat