I went and hit "Submit"

After a few bottles of New Years Eve courage i signed up for the Child Of the Sun sprint-tri. I've spent the last month of two changing my training from a powerlifting format to more of an endurance format.
I bought a bike yesterday from NashBar and I'm sure that it was the wrong type but due to finances it was the best that I could do. I've found a training program and I'm planning to wean away from the beer. I've got about  about 4 months to get all this in line....and did I fail to mention that I haven't swam for at least 20 years and other than a bike ride last spring it's been almost as long since I've rode a bike..this should be good. The next 52 Day Challenge begins next week and I'm going to try to make my tri workout fit into the 52 DC.
As I ring in the new year I know I've got a good 25 lbs to drop as well as transition from a Powerlifter to a triathlete.... stay tuned

3-2-1 Blast Off

My Hotel Room The Other Night

I'm sore this morning.....

We were in the first heat, 8:00 AM, they were still making the mud as the starter gun fired.

The fit pit was "fully involved" but managed to die down by the time us "old men" arrived

One of the cargo net obstacles.

One of the climb over and climb down obstacles, my upper body is still sore.

Here I am totally worn out, I'm heavier than I've been in my previous two races and I felt it. We ran a solid mile before the first obstacle and I think there were 4 or 5 obstacles in the last 1/2 a mile.
There's another Warrior Dash in January and I'm going to more than likely run that one as well.


If you've ever wondered what a Clydesdale Horse looks like in mud just hit play.....at least I know what my legs would look like with a solid tan.

You Gotta Just Love Cardio

7 Days And Counting

Is It Possible To Be A Little Bit Insane?

Didn't someone once say that "Idle hands are the devil's tools"? I took the week off to paint the house and probably due to the paint fumes killing what little brain cells remained....I decided to sign up for a Sprint Triatholon next year...oh but here is the best part I haven't swan in lets say 20+ years and other than a ride out to Shark Valley last year lets also say that my bicycle riding has been limited since Middle School. Did I fail to mention that I don't even own a bike.....well at least the house has a fresh coat of paint.

Vacation, Staycation or Whatever

I took this week off in order to paint my house...I started Saturday it's now Tuesday I'm almost done, I'm tired and I haven't been to the gym or did anything exercise related except for going up and down a ladder for four days........I'm not in a great mood.

Hat Trick....

Just signed up for my third Warrior Dash, this year.....I'm in the 8:00 AM wave...just how cold could the water possibly be on December 3rd?
Seriously these races are a lot of fun...you get to get muddy, wear a warrior hat and....drink some beer and in my case that will be somewhere around 8:45 AM in the morning.

Todays Text Coversation

Me: I'm here where are you?
Friend: @ CVS
Me: Buy Aspirin?
Friend: No arsenic
Me: Use a fake name


I love technology.....

Race Our Ad

Tuesday, Tuesday.....

Gym time and then a meeting...then a drive to Sarasota where I feasted on grouper and a cold adult beverage.

Kyle Does Life

Kyle is giving away a MacBook Pro....check it out here LINK

7 Simple Tips To Deal With Negative People

7 Simple Tips To Deal With Negative People

Tip #1: Don’t Engage in the Negativity
One thing I found is negative people tend to harp on the bad things and ignore the positive stuff. They also have a tendency to exaggerate issues they are facing, making their predicament seem a lot worse than it actually is.

Tip #2: Hang Out In Groups
Speaking to a negative person can be extremely draining. When I spoke to my negative co-worker, I would be mentally drained for several hours, even though we talked for only 20-30 minutes. That was because I was on the receiving end of all her negativity.

Tip #3: Objectify the Comments Made
Negative people can be quite critical at times. They tend to drop insensitive comments that are hurtful, especially if they are directed at you.

Tip #4: Go with Lighter Topics
Some negative people are triggered by certain topics. For example, one of my friends turns into a self-victimizer whenever we talk about work. No matter what what I say, he’ll keep complaining about everything in his job, which becomes quite a conversation dampener.

Tip #5: Be Mindful of the Time You Spend With Them
As Jim Rohn puts it – “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”. What this quote means is that who you spend your time with has an impact on the person you eventually become.

Tip #6: Identify Areas You Can Make a Positive Change
Negative people are negative because they lack love, positivity and warmth. A lot of times, their negative behavior is a barrier they erect to protect themselves from the world.

Tip #7: Drop Them From Your Life.......
If all else fails, reduce contact with them or drop them from your life.

As I was stumbling through the Internets this morning I came across a link to a "Zenhabits" titled "7 Simple Tips To Deal With Negative People", good stuff, nothing that groundbreaking, but it is good to know that there are people out there that think along the same lines as I do......I am not alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Relaxing Friday

I took the day off day from work and working out.......Just "JF" and I hanging out do nothing, I gotta say it was sweet.

The Current Gym Playlist

Name			Artist
Alive and Kicking			Simple Minds
All Summer Long			Kid Rock
Break It Down Again			Tears For Fears
Bring Me To Life			Evanescence
Call Me When You're Sober			Evanescence
Check It Out			John Mellencamp
Cradle of Love			Billy Idol
Dream On			Aerosmith
Escape			Journey
Grey Street			Dave Matthews Band
Hells Bells			AC/DC
I Alone			Live
Lose Yourself			Eminem
Love Walks In			Van Halen
Name			The Goo Goo Dolls
Name [New Version]			Goo Goo Dolls
Open Letter (To A Landlord)			Living Colour
Photograph (Live In Atlanta)			Nickelback
Right Now			Van Halen
Right Now			Van Halen
Rockstar			Nickelback
She's a River			Simple Minds
Silent Lucidity			Queensryche
Southern Cross			Jimmy Buffett
Summer Nights			Van Halen
Tom Sawyer			Rush
Trippin On a Hole in a Paper Heart			Stone Temple Pilots
Tripping Billies (Live At Wrigley Field)			Dave Matthews Band
Turn Up The Radio			Autograph
Your Life Is Now			John Mellencamp
#41			Dave Matthews Band

Lunch!

I enjoy making omelets and I usually try to put bunches of fresh spinach it them..so much bunches that I usually end up with an overstuffed omelet that doesn't close right or the fold comes apart...you know the really important stuff when it comes to eating. This morning I decided to try something different, I put my eggs and hot sauce in my Bella Cucina Blender as I normally do..but then I added in my spinach and blended....sweet...no more stuff-age issues and all I need is some ham and I'll be all set for a Green Eggs and Ham reenactment.

Inspiration - Motivation

By Shomari Stone Published: Jul 13, 2009 at 7:28 AM PST Last Updated: Jul 13, 2009 at 10:44 AM PST
 
SEATTLE -- Two months ago Alison McWeeny was lifting steel columns and using her legs and upper-body strength to pull a car when she took first place in a 'strong man' competition at Central Washington University.
Now she's sitting in a hospital bed with one leg, surrounded by flowers, get-well cards and balloons.
"I really wish that I was able to walk right now, because I want to get as soon as possible but I can't yet," McWeeny said. "I feel anxious to get out of this bed." "Read More"

The above video was from "The Night Of Living Dead - Deadlift Competition"  and taken last month, just a little more than 2 years since her accident.

Here's more of Alison's story "Part One" and "Part Two"

Now as everyone knows I hate single legged exercises, I have no balance even with two feet on the ground, much less one foot. Currently I do 3 sets of 10-15 reps of Bulgarian Split Squats every other workout and when it's time to do these you would think that the world is coming to an end, the 3 sets with rest take maybe 6 minutes of the day every few days.....damn after watching Alison I'm a big old baby, because she spends 24/7 on one leg and can pull a hell of a lot more on one leg than I ever could.
The mind, spirit and determination is an amazing thing...living life with no limits, adapting and conquering it rather than trying to have life adapt to you and being miserable.
My hat is off to you Alison....

Three Amigos Chili

It's Fall here in Florida, which in a nutshell means that at some point during the 24 hours that make up the day the temperature drops below 80 degrees.
Fall season is chili season and here's a very easy, very quick and healthy (until you add the shredded cheese and sour cream). The cinnamon adds a nice twist to the flavor and you can swap out the ground turkey for ground chicken. Look 11 grams of fiber (thank you Mr Beans...) and 31 grams of muscle building protein...what's not to like?



Three Amigos Chili  (LINK)
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapeño peppers
1 can (10 1/2 oz) each chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans, drained
1 can (14 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp each salt and cumin
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Hot sauce to taste

PREPARATION
In a pot, heat the oil on medium-low. Add the onion and sauté until soft (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add the turkey, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with juice, chickpeas, beans, broth, and spices. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. (Freeze the leftovers and save $5 by eating them for lunch.)

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Calories:     293 calories
Carbs:        32 g
Sodium:     788 mg
Fat:           5 g
Protein:     31 g
Fiber:        11 mg

School fails spelling test: Misspelled sign near a Lauderhill elementary school upsets parents

Posted: 9:27 AM
Last Updated: 3 hours and 29 minutes ago

• By: WPTV Web Team

LAUDERHILL, Fla. - Some parents are upset after noticing a misspelled sign near an elementary school at the corner of 50th Street and Pine Island Road in Lauderhill, reports WPLG-CH. 10.
The sign reads "SCOHOL" instead of "SCHOOL." And according to WPLG-CH. 10, one parent said the sign is a bad lesson for all kids.
A parent told WPLG-CH. 10, “It's a shame...kids need better than this!"
The station reports that Broward County paid out good money for the incorrect letters. But so far, no comment has been issued from the county.




School fails spelling test: Misspelled sign near a Lauderhill elementary school upsets parents

NROL Fat Loss II

I've been through both the "A" & "B" workouts of the Fat Loss II portion.....these high rep sets have not gotten any easier, however the high reps paired with several HIIT sessions each week has caused the needle on the scale to move back towards the left.

Oh and another thing I still can't stand single legged exercises, they never get any easier and they usually bring on the occurrence of me trying to hop on one foot while my other foot is draped over a flat bench.....in other words doing all of these exercises and reps will certainly provide results.....what's the old saying "Do what your weak at you will get stronger"...well close to something like that.

I must say that I do like the exercise change up every 4 weeks or so, it weens me from my steady diet of squats and deadlifts - deadlift and squats.

Workout B      
Alternating Sets      
Snatch-grip deadlift    3x12.
T-push-up    3x12.

Alternating Sets      
Bulgarian Split Squat    3x12.
Underhand-grip lat pulldown    3x12.
      
Alternating Sets      
Romanian deadlift    3x12.
Lower-body Russian twist    3x12. 

My Latest Addiction

I spend hours and hours each day on the internet, sometimes work related sometimes not so much work related. I recently camE across Pinterest, wow think of it as a public cork-board where people post their motivation, favorite food, fitness or health. the topics are endless and limited to what people want to post.

I Survived The Break-In

I just finished the 3 week high rep break-in period of NROL. I've actually lost a few pounds in the last 3 weeks, which is always nice. I broke out the MyoTape to take a few measurements, I hadn't done this since January where I was a solid 10lbs heavier than I am today and found that I really hadn't lost that much size, which surprised me.

So now we're onto the Fat Loss II Phase. 4 weeks of 3X12's Ughhhhh
It looks something like this.

Workout A
Alternating Sets       
Front Squat    3x15.
Wide-grip cable seated row    3x15.
       
Alternating Sets       
Supine hip extension w/leg curl    3x15.
BB push press    3x15.
       
Alternating Sets       
Dynamic Lunge    3x15.
Swiss-ball crunch    3x15.

Workout B       
Alternating Sets       
Snatch-grip deadlift    3x12.
T-push-up    3x12.

Alternating Sets       
Bulgarian Split Squat    3x12.
Underhand-grip lat pulldown    3x12.
       
Alternating Sets       
Romanian deadlift    3x12.
Lower-body Russian twist    3x12.

Time for the classic

CE: 90

RT: 17

CT: 17

PG1 (Turkey Trot or Warrior Dash)

PG2 (Drop 5 lbs)

Starting tomorrow this is the plan for my next 52 days....90 meals of clean food, 17 resistance training sessions, 17  cardio sessions, a race or two and the goal of dropping 5 lbs.

I'm almost finished with the Break In template for the New Rules of Lifting and then it's onto Fat Loss II for the next few weeks.

This should be a good challenge

Lost A Clean Eat This Evening......

Even though we're between challenges I still try to adhere to a clean eating plan....try is probably the key word in that sentence.
It seems as if the "Food Channel" is on an awful lot in this house and one show that's in heavy rotation is Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. For someone that eats a bunch of meals on the road and for someone that wishes to eat as healthy as possible...this is the last show that I need to be watching.
Well it turns out that one of Guy's stops was just a few miles South of the house, Sonny's Famous Steak Hogies was where Friday night "Date Night" was planned.
They say that TV tends to put 10lbs on you, well I think it also adds a few hundred square feet to a restaurant, because Sonny's looked a whole lot bigger on TV than it did in person. The place had maybe 7 booths and 3 tables......but what it lacked in size it made up for in taste. I ordered a #95 with a side of hot peppers,  the bread is baked daily on site and it was soft, fresh and light.......so all in all it was worth losing a Clean Eat as well as making a second trip on another evening......and the prices were very reasonable, the four us ate for less than $40.00.

The Trifecta

So for the third time this year I participating in another Warrior Dash and for the first time this year the race is about 20 minutes from my house, no planes, no rental cars and no hotels.....I can't wait. My wife and I had registered for the Disney 5k at the end of September but she tore the upper part of her Achilles a few weeks before the race so those plans got nixed.  I guess at some point in the next few week I'll have to switch from the elliptical back to running......in hopes of being able to competitively run 3 miles through mud, water and over fire....

The Building Blocks.....

I have a few rules that I try to stick with....

If I'm going somewhere with a group of friends I'll drive that way I have my car and I can leave when I want to.

I don't stay in hotels with a number in their name.

I don't use drive-thru's it's easy for them to forget to put straws, napkins etc... in your bag and you don't discover it till you're home.

I don't like lending books, CD's, etc......this ones self explanitory

Occasionally against my better judgment I break these  rules and often it comes back to bite me in the butt.

Several years ago a friend asked me if I could point him in the right direction of getting healthy, so I lent him my copy of the the book of all books...New-Rules-Lifting . Several years later I'm still without the book and he's still in the same shape that he was back then.

NROL holds a special place with me, it was the first "Real" exercise book that I bought. Years ago I had just dropped 80lbs basically using starvation and cardio (knowing what I know now....not the right way) and I decided to start lifting weights again. Being internet savvy I searched the WWW and time and time again NROL came up as the place to start so I bought the book and started the program, I'll never forget the first time I pulled 200 lbs on a deadlift...fast forward to last week and looking for a program that I hadn't done in a while I bought another copy of NROL.

I'm now on week two of the "Break In' portion...it's been a long, long time since I've done high rep sets followed by a HIIT  session...hopefully the mirror will show some results.


My 52DC results were less than desirable, I missed my CT by one session, there really is no excuse for missing by one session......my weight loss was non-existent....as we fire up for the next 52 DC I plan to run trough the NROL templates, there's a years worth in the book....

Here's Your Sign

Ever Had One Of Those Days

The alarm went off waking and bringing me only to a level of confusion.  Usually, I am up before the alarm.  I stumbled into the bathroom and just stood there in the dark.  The voices in my head argued.  “Go back to sleep you will be on vacation next week and can double up on your workouts.” - ”No – get it done today and allow yourself to enjoy your vacation.”  I stood there – holding onto the back of a chair until the voices quieted down and I decided to go to the gym.  What did it matter if it was not the best workout or if all I did was to go through the motions.  Another 40 minute RT would have been chalked up. READ MORE.......

The above was written by TNT Man,  an active and supportive member on the Men's Health Forums.... I plan to be as active and healthy he is till the day I leave this earth. 

We've all had those days when we just don't want to get our of bed, get motivated and get going with the day. I kind of had one of those days this morning. It was the first night home in a week, the dog got walked at 3:45 AM ( don't ask me about that ) and since my wife blew out her Achilles I knew there was no way that she would be accompanying to the gym.......but I also knew that my body needed the activity...so I dragged my lazy road weary behind out of bed and off to the gym I went...and an hour or so later I felt like a new man.

Speaking of road weary here's one of the reasons and one of the reasons I lost a CE......ready for this...dinner Budweiser, fried pickles, grilled gator, seafood gumbo and an oyster po-boy....I was as bloated as I could be... then couple that with an early morning flight home and while being on Central time and my body still being on Eastern time... I was one bloated, tired human being. Plus to top it off I showed up for the Miss Crawfish pageant only to discover that I should have read the sign closer.