Monday Workout

Still nursing a tweaked back which has now caused my sciatica to act up, the pulling across my thigh muscle is driving me crazy. I foam rolled some this morning which helped but I'm having a hard time reducing the inflammation.

I went for a nice 3+ mile walk this morning, this is the time of the year to live in Florida. I managed to get in a Crossfit style workout before dinner it consisted of
10 DB Snatches (Right Arm)
10 DB Snatches (Left Arm)
30 Jumps
15 Two Handed DB Swings
30 Air Squats
10 Up Downs
I managed to shave 18 seconds off my second round and broke a sweat, some chicken on the grill, brown rice and green beans rounded out the evening.

Back On my Side Of The World

After a grueling 8 hours that started with the "Red Eye" out Vegas my internal clock is back on Eastern Time (I think). Fighting a tweaked back and dry sinus's (try the Neti-Pot...) I feel almost human.

Saturday we got out and participated in this years Walk Now For Autism Speaks. Considering the rainy evening and night turn out was tremendous.  We brought home a whole bunch of gluten free snacks as well as packages and packages of information on Autism. A bit of $165,000 was raised for this years walk.

Rock climbing walk

Live tunes...of course they played Sweet Home Alabama

After the Autism walk it was lunch time so....my wife suggested a BBQ place that she had always wanted to try...me being no stranger to BBQ was all in. Scruby's was the place and as soon as we open the car door you could smell the smoke from the pit. We started with an order of "Sweet Corn Nuggets", my wife had the "Sloppy Joe" I had "Beef Brisket Sandwich" (without the bun, so in reality I guess it was a beef brisket plate)..the other members of the party had chicken tenders and the pork sandwich. They had a nice looking salad bar and an excellent selection of sauces. Lunch for four with drinks and an appetizer $46.00.....All in all it's worth a return trip

Ahhh The 3 Hour Time Change

It's our annual kick-off and so once again were back in Las Vegas and this year we are hanging at The Venetian. Vegas always amazes me, where else can you people drinking beer at 7:00 AM or have a hooker chasing you down the street as you're out on your morning jog...yes this happened to a co-worker...he's now jogging twice a day. The downside of Vegas for me is the 3 hour time change. Everyday out here I wake up a 3:00 AM...no one told my body that it was no longer on East coast time. So I've been heading to the hotels gym each morning....WOW....what a gym a 40' climbing wall all Hammer Strength equipment a full line of kettlebells, foam rollers etc.....
Yesterday morning I went for a 2 mile run on the "Dreadmill" as I was walking towards the weight room all red faced and sweaty one of the staff offered me a cold towel...I laughed and replied "No thanks I look worse than I feel". The Red-Eye out tomorrow night and back to East coast time...I just love Vegas.

Seriously....

Allegiant Air starts charging for use of overhead bins

By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

LAS VEGAS – Starting Wednesday, Allegiant Air is charging passengers up to $35 to stow carry-on bags in its overhead storage bins.
Allegiant's new policy, which doesn't apply to tickets booked before Wednesday, means passengers cannot avoid paying the airline a fee for their bags unless all their belongings can fit into a small "personal item" bag that can fit under the seat in front of them.
Allegiant charges a fee for checked luggage: $35 if done at the airport or $15 to $30 if the fee is paid online, depending on the route.
The Las Vegas-based airline is the second U.S. carrier to charge fliers for carry-on bags that have to be stored in bins during flights.  Read More

I've never flown Allegiant, their schedules just don't jive with how I travel. I understand that they offer amazingly low prices on tickets....possibly the reason they've decided to charge you to place your bag in the overhead bin.
I really don't get this whole "Baggage Charge" thing. A few years ago they started charging to check baggage, at first they told us it was because jet fuel was getting so expensive that this charge was there to help offset the cost increase...so everyone and I mean everyone started carrying on every piece of luggage they could to avoid this charge. In my small mind I'm thinking OK, the jet fuel cost I understand that so why only charge if the bag is checked? If the bag is carried on it's still on the plane, the plane still weighs the same, it still uses the same amount of that expensive jet fuel, so it really didn't make much sense to me.....now airlines are starting to charge for that valuable overhead bin space...before you know it Aunt Sue will be sitting next to me trying to cram her purse, her laptop bag and her carry-on underneath the seat in front of her....Ughhhh
So in my small pea-brained non MBA mind I would think if you got one of those bean counters to do some sort of a math equation they could determine the number passengers then figure out how many bags are being checked then figure out the fuel cost...etc, etc, and throw these numbers into so Excel macro and come out with a figure to raise each ticket price by thus allowing everyone to do whatever the hell they want with their bags...who knows the airlines might even make a few more dollars than they are with their current policy....who knows.

Wordless Wednesday

Bob Harper

I'm always into trying new and different things. After spending years and years of lifting heavy ( I Pick Things Up ) I've spent the last few months changing my training style. Lighter weights, higher reps, less stress on the skeletal system...hey I bought a bicycle and I'm been swimming the last few months.

Almost two years ago I had a bout with Melanoma and even though there's no medical evidence to back this up, but since then I'm not as strong as I once was...is it related to the Melanoma?...who knows, maybe my body wants/needs a change.

Well here's the latest change I joined Bob Harper, yeah the trainer dude from The Biggest Loser..I know what your thinking WTF.... No more chalk, No more 5-3-1, No more Westside who knows but right now I'm taking a break..a deload session of sorts.

Yes, there's a monthly fee but with it comes a three live (video) workouts each week as well daily circuits.....there's a recipe section, a section where you can journal and finally a message board area for support.

I did the first 20 minute Live Session today, and let me be the first to tell you that 30 seconds after 30 seconds of body weight stuff can put a hurting on you.....and as if you didn't already know this "Burpees" just plain suck. I still managed to get in a 2 mile run this afternoon and I am planning to do a Fitness Circuit tomorrow.

At this point one of the things that appeals to me is the use of bodyweight exercises..being on the road as much as I am this will give the chance to workout in my hotel room and not have to search out a local gym every time I want to train

I've watched as Bob has ventured into more Olympic style lifts (total cool) as well as Crossfit (which could possibly be cool). I hope to see some body composition changes in me, as well as I hope to see his fitness sessions evolve to include some Olympic style lifts and possibly yoga.

Mugshots Grill On A Rainy Mississippi Night

Stumbled across Mugshots Grill and Bar this evening, better yet the 5 of us did. Since I'm still in Tri-Training mode I passed on the bar part of the evening but I did manage to find some food to consume.
We started with an order of "Mild" wangs....(the Mild was closer to Medium but still very flavorful) with a side of Chips & Salsa, which I passed on.
My order was the Peanut Butter (with Bacon) Hamburger, yes it sounds odd and looks worse but after I tossed the enormous bun out was actually very tasty.  If you're ever in Flowood MS grab a burger here and yes they do sell Budweiser Platinum I just didn't drink any of it on this visit.

 

TGIF????

 I took the day off from work..not from phone calls or e-mails but from work. I started out at the gym with a 2.5 mile run and then back to the house for a power breakfast of oatmeal and protein powder. Around 11 or so I was bored as all get out and decided to go for a bike ride......as they said in the frontier days "Go West young man, go West" so I decided to heard for the "River of grass"....the Everglades. Growing up in South Florida I spent a bunch of time milling around in the "Glades", fishing, air-boating

and just general growing up. There's a dike that separates the "Glades" from the town and it goes on for miles and miles. I bet it's been 30 years since I'd been out this way..........I rode down the dike for 7 miles...nothing but exotic birds, a few gators and one noisy air-boat. 14 miles later I was back at the car and hungry......nothing beats a 6' double meat Turkey sub from Subway.

Later that evening we went and walked a few miles at "Relay For Life" in honor of my Father. The weather was perfect as the setting sun framed the cancer survivors as they walked the first lap. I'm really astounded by the number of folks who have been touched by cancer.
We grabbed a late dinner at Buffalo's to round out a day off from work.

 

More Health and Fitness News & Tips at Greatist.

Wordless Wednesday

Changing It Up This Morning

I got up this morning planning to get in either a bike ride or a run but alas it was raining...I had lifted last night so a resistance session wasn't in order...so I broke out a Bob Harper DVD that I picked up off his site several months ago for $5.00.
As I unwrapped the DVD I was thinking how tough could this really be? Well damn, It was all I could do to last 30 minutes before I had to take a break...it was tough, my quads and glutes were on fire, even after several hours I could still feel the fire.
Not an easy workout by any stretch of the means and well worth the $5.00/

Eating My Way Across The Top Of The Gulf

Took a 6:00 AM flight out the other morning heading for Panama City, FL.....no not "Spring Break 2012" but for business in Mobile, AL. A road trip with a couple of colleagues and that means one thing and one thing only.....a Gulf Coast food tour.

By Tuesday evening we were all suffering from our early flight so when the subject of food came up it had to be something quick and some place that served beer. The decision reached was hot dogs (rock, paper, scissors can solve most any major decision). We asked "Siri" where we could find hotdogs and she found us a place just a few miles away, halfway to paradise, now for the beer part. A phone call to the restaurant and the question asked..."Do you serve beer?" "No"..Sad Face...then we heard these magical words...."but feel free to bring your own!"....what, seriously...I love Alabama!....We wheeled into Mike's Smokehouse Market six pack in hand with our focus set on hotdogs and beer, but the focus quickly changed when we were greeted with samples of pulled pork and smoked chicken (marketing 101)...so two meats, coleslaw and "Mac-N-Cheese" (a vegetable) and out on the patio for a BBQ feast. We were served a selection of sauces, mustard based, vinegar based, ketchup based... you name it, it was there. Mike even came out to visit us while we ate, we offered him a beer but he turned us down saying something along the lines of "If I start now I'll never make it back into the kitchen", Mike I appreciate your honestly and it left us with one extra beer. Meal 1 complete......

 

The next day for lunch we headed out for Firehouse Subs but we ended up at Cheryl's Cafe & Market and good thing we did. As soon as we opened the door we could smell all of the home cooking and see all of the homemade deserts.
I settled on the Reuben (hold the dressing) with a side of fresh fruit...amazing and one of the best sandwich's I've ever eaten and I'm a "sandwich guy" (225lb 5'8" do the math). If you are ever in Spanish Fort, AL it's worth the stop....Meal 2 complete.

 

 

The last stop  Original Oyster House.....when we pulled in I was thinking to myself "I wonder how many Original Oyster House's there are n the world?" because I bet I've eaten at three of them. The meal started with a large Yuengling, fried green tomato's with a side of fried pickles.....I never said it was a healthy trip. My dinner choice none other than Shrimp and Grits...wow as my taste buds delighted....the grits were not to cheesy and the shrimp not to blackened......The portion was just right we all left full but not suffering with that "I'm stuffed" feeling......Meal 3 complete.

You don't get great road trips every week, hell my arteries couldn't handle it, but when you do it's nice.....and yes I ran a 5k one morning and hit the gym the other so at least in my mind those two events erased all the fine Southern food.

Rituals

Rituals....I don't really have many, I'm no where near OCD, for the most part I go with the flow.
But.......when it comes to shoes I do have a ritual. I usually buy a pair of shoes and then they sit in their box for a minimum of 48 hours, then I finally break them out for their initial wearing, in today's case it was a trip to the gym, then I return home sit on the bed, unlace them and put them nicely on a shelf and return to wearing the older shoes, which have now been demoted to "Everyday" shoes (i.e. worn while washing the car, cutting the grass..etc...). I go over in my mind that these are my "NEW" shoes and I plan to wear them for only exercising in......fast forward three weeks and I'll be kicking these babies off without unlacing them and where ever they land they'll stay till I need them again.....yeah I don't have many rituals.

Another Month In The Books

It was a month of trips...Atlanta GA, Jacksonville FL, Charlotte NC, Baltimore MD and then back to Jacksonville FL.....with that being said the swimming and biking suffered but all in all I was somewhat pleased with my numbers.

For March I'm planning to do
Swim - 4000 yds
Bike 25 Miles
Run 25 Miles
and also including several hours of strength training.

The Winter 52DC finished up this week as well......my numbers.

CE: 93/104/90 (103.33%)

RT: 13/10 (130%)

CT: 10/10 (100%)

PG1 (Cycling): 10/10 (100%)

PG2 (Swimming): 15/7 (214.29%)

48 exercise sessions over 52 days, I can't say that I'm disappointed in that number. I'm still loving cycling and swimming and hopefully as the weather warms the hotels will begin opening up their pools.