Aftermath

The evaluation went better than I thought it would. I could actually walk (although shakily) without any noticeable pain afterward. I actually received some validation on a few of the routine things I was doing. Like increasing the time and resistance at regular intervals while on the bike. One thing that caught me off guard was having to leg press 300 pounds. I was definitely NOT expecting to push that much weight. I only had to press it five times, but man it felt more like 10 reps.
Gravity was not my friend.
The trainer went all hardcore on my abs, which felt great but there was a time when I thought I my back muscles were going to go on strike and walk out on me. I was sweating like a pig.
I did not do any arms and chest today, which left me oddly disappointed. I cannot explain as to why.
The short story, my reps are too slow. I should be doing faster reps, which will raise my heartbeat and burn more fat. I should be working in at least three sets of lower reps and higher weights.
On another note, I fricking gained weight again and will be sweating out another workout tomorrow in order to catch my elusive goal of 60 pounds of weight loss by tomorrow nights weigh-in.

little K

PICT5597
Originally uploaded by no_niche.

Action girl, ready to rock!
This is little K ready to tackle the climbing rock at the local park. Looks like she could scale just about anything. See that bit of mischief in her eyes? The glimmer is always there, ready to go.

The Evaluation

Have a session with a personal trainer today. Will be trying to get information to help with the work out. Want to hear something funny? I feel I should work out prior to the session to make sure I do well. I am hoping to get a boost. More after.
-nn

Day of rest

I worked out three days straight (Mon, Tues, Wed) in an effort to overcome a MASSIVE and FRIED meal I consumed over the weekend. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED EVERY BITE. But I could not bring myself to accept the weight gain associated with it. So I worked up the gumption to actually get to the gym three times in three days. So how do I feel about it? Tired! For this week, I went down -0.8.
The ISO audit drew to a close yesterday and the verbal report is glowing. There were no significant findings and the auditors were recommending the company for certification. In auditor-speak, this is a seal of approval. So what can we do with it? Personally, I can post this accomplishment as another feather in my resume (never hurts). For the company, it allows us to bids on RFPs (Request For Proposals) internationally much quicker. Where before we would have to produce reams of supporting documents, now all we have to do is check a little box and enter the certification number. In the simplest terms, think of it as a significant paper reduction.

Dumb as a box of rocks

Here is a new tip for those new to the gym. DO NOT chew gum while you work out. Especially if you are working on cardio. My thinking about chewing something would help prevent the onset of cotton mouth with all the heavy breathing going on. Well, let me tell you I got the surprise of my life when I actually inhaled the gum!
I can hear all the comments about being so stupid that I am unable to walk and chew gum. I am really opening myself up for it, so blast away. I will not even mention this happened three times before I decided to that it was a choking hazard and actually stopping.
Today, I added another three minutes on the bike and started doing faster and heavier sets. It was much easier going than I thought it would be. I truly believe the super slow sets aided in setting me up for the heavy stuff. I was not out of breath as I thought I would be.
I scheduled a session with a personal trainer (M) so I can get specific advice about getting around to where I want\need to be. The guy was taken a little aback when I told him I did not a six-pack. I am thinking that would be too much overall maintenance. I am just looking forward to waking and walking without pain and shortness of breath. Perhaps a secondary goal of losing the flab of the weight I have already lost (sixty pounds). I am intimidated of being evaluated by someone else. I got to this point pretty much of my own accord. I guess the fear is in hearing I have been doing something wrong or inefficiently. Where I could have gotten here faster than the two years already spent.
I passed the audit with no noticeable findings (yeah!). This is a really big deal for the company (and me). It will look good on future Hunts and increase professional marketability. Pay raise, anyone?

-nn

The Motel

PICT6036
Originally uploaded by no_niche.

I saw it as we crossed into Texas from New Mexico. Off the lonely stretch of freeway there was a run down motel just screaming "come die here". You could hear the echoes of drunken brawls and one-night stands. There stood a small set of cottages in the death throes of neglect. A final way point at the gates of nowhere.
It was a statement of seediness and disrepair. How many stories were trapped in the walls of these little buildings? They were waiting for decay to collapse the walls, so the stories could escape and be told.

k as i will always see her

PICT6383
Originally uploaded by no_niche.

There are certain images which bypass short term memory and are immediately posted into the long term. This is one of those images. No matter how rapidly times seems to pass by, I will always have this moment reflect on. This memory of her in total bliss. This memory of her completely without pretension, just being a happy kid.

-nn

QAD post

QAD = Quick and Dirty

Have to be speedy. On the midst of an ISO audit. Every one is on pins and needles. Had to work out between 0700 and 0800 in order to be on call through out the day. There are no excuses for not being available.
The work out was expedited and there was not breaks while going between machines. Think I finished in about 45 minutes. Time on the bike had a different twist to it. While there was no appearance of the wall, there was a distinct sense of gravity throughout the session. Like I was wearing ankle weights or something. Had no trouble breathing today, which was a pleasant surprise. Added a set of Horizontal Squats to the routine.

Gotta run.

-nn

Egg of Grayskull

PICT6610
Originally uploaded by no_niche.

By the power of Grayskull!
I have located the mighty egg of power! Behold in its majesty! Cower before the glory that is the mighty egg.
Forgot this gem from one of the many obligatory egg hunts. One question, who eats all the hardboiled eggs the children scurry after? Let's do some math: the parents (or adult other) boil the eggs, set up the mobile coloring stations (so as to limit the mess potential), hide them, and finally get to eat them. Couldn't we just boil them and immediately eat them. From my observations, the kids don't have a glance at the eggs once they are found (unless they happen to be really, really hungry.

Must not focus on breathing

The workout was good today. Well, as good as a workout can be, right. The wall didn't really show itself. There was a hint of it around 6 minutes in on the bike (which comes first, so no surprise there). Still doing 15 minutes on the bike, alternating abs, arms, back, and legs. Dead slow sets with medium weight.
Am able to keep the heart rate in the range of 120 - 140 bpm, whereas before I was all over the map. Getting used to the machines and individual settings seems to help mounting the racks easier. Less brain power for setting up and just focusing on moving the weight. I noticed a little chi breathing just before starting on the set is helpful too.
I worked really hard on my obliques and I think I may have strained my right side just a tad too hard. The walk back to the office was favoring the opposite side. Will know for sure once my day settles down a bit more.
Is it just me? After I workout, I cannot smell anything and I have a loss of fine motor control. Like my nerve endings are dulled or something. Then again, I could just be hungry...

-nn

little m

PICT5575
Originally uploaded by no_niche.

She is watching a puppet show. The whole of her attention is rapt into the scene unfolding before her. She cares nothing of the people and noise around her. If only we could "unlearn" the white noise we pick up on the way to adulthood and live like this. She has us at a disadvantage.

workout was better

Yesterdays workout was much better than last Fridays. I cannot think if I did anything vastly different. Perhaps the work out gods just smiled on my measly presence. I did not hit the "wall" until about the six minute mark and I found it easy to "go somewhere else" until the fifteen minute mark.
I find I have to resist the compulsion to increase the weight stack. My particular circumstances require me to sweat of build muscle, but I feel like I should always be increasing the number of plates I struggle with.
Once I get acclimated to my routine, I will be posting my setups for reference.

On another note, the ISO audit is only five short days away. Everyone in the office is up in arms about documents, approvals, and audit trails. Talk about tense. You would think we were going through an IRS audit en masse. Being punished for not being appropriately considerate with the outcome being a physical punishment. Although I must say I am not overly concerned. Primarily because I am confident my department is the best prepared. I am quizzing them a drill Sargent. And they still seem to like me.

-nn

Workout was the suck

I should have eaten something. At least that is what I keep telling myself. I have meetings through my regular gym session today. Being the thoughtful palnner that I am, I figured I would work out before going into work today. Great idea, poor execution.
I did not put enough into my poor waning stomach and not only did it complain throughout the session, put my concentration was off and there was nothing to fuel the workout. Lackluster until the final 10 minutes, I just could not get into the motions.
Altered the workout just a bit also, perhaps it threw me off rather than the lack of food. Did the regular thing on the bike, then into circuit training with "dead slow" repititions with heavy weight, alternating arms, back, abs, then legs. Seeing it all listed out here makes it appear much more arduous that reality. The final circuit is super fast reps, lighter weight, lots and lots of reps. Sweat pouring off my body. Good thing I keep that little towel with me. Could you imagine getting on a machine after it had been covered with someone else's sweat? Gnarly....

Most important?

The end of suffering or understanding why suffering exists?

You were shot with an arrow. Your life is ebbing away. A doctor appears and is preparing to remove the arrow and begin healing you.
Which would you prefer?

• Would you like the doctor to leave the arrow embedded in your flesh and seek out who shot the arrow (the reason for your suffering)?
• To find and describe the person who shot the arrow (a description of the source of your suffering)?

Or would you rather the good doctor remove the arrow (so the suffering will end)?

Do not concern yourself with the source, depth, or picture of your suffering.

Only concern yourself with ending it.

-nn

littlest kohiko dancer

PICT6529,
originally uploaded by no_niche.

Little J as he shows it is not the size of the dancer so much as the size of the heart. He was definitely one of the highlights of the show. His dancing is so expressive because he is yet unburdened with the trappings of an adult mind. We should all be able to dance with this much feeling, regardless of style. This includes you country dancers out there.

Elatingly discrouaged

I am discouraged. I am elated. This conflict of emotion is courtesy of my last weigh-in. It appears I have gained 1.2 pounds over the past two weeks. That is the discouraging part. On the flip side of that I can lift more, have higher range of motion, and can run further than ever before. Which for me is anything beyond an quarter mile. I did mention that I have not worked out seriously in well over a decade, right?
The clothes that should (not pinching, can tuck in without inhaling), fit better. The clothes that should not fit better (baggier, shapeless), do not. These are good things. Also on the good list: I can breathe much better, I sleep great and wake easier, I do not require as much coffee, I am not tired in the middle of the day, I can tumble (think of martial tumbling, not gymnast) without fear of hurting myself.
Now that I see this list, the 1.2 pounds seems like a fair trade.
-nn

Stepping it up

The original monthly pass I bought to the local gym has expired and they went all out in order to get me to join. Which I did. The final deal? $100 off enrollment (which is another way of saying less profit) and recurring monthly fee of $24/month. Not too bad considering they originally wanted $250 and $40/month. I think if I held out just a little bit longer, I could have done even better, but I guess I let my guard down long enough to open my wallet.
I started working out three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is not out of the sheer joy of sweating, but I figure the more I use the membership, the less money they will make off of me. I think it is inherently silly businesses make money by selling you services you do not use. It is even sillier people will pay for a service they do not use. I am funny that way.
The first fifteen minutes are reserved for the recumbent bike, and for the first few rounds I was running into a wall of pain as early as five minutes into the session. Now it seems I can hold it off as long as nine minutes but there is not real consistency to that reading yet. I am not considering stepping up the time yet.
I work primarily on abs, back, and gluts, working with smaller weights and high reps. Keeping the the heart rate high so I can shed this damnable weight. Way can't the last twenty come off as easily of the first?
Sweatingly,
-nn

so many ideas, so few words

I read a lot of eastern philosophy. Taoism primarily, with a good mix of Buddhism, Confucianism, and a smattering of Zen. In all the readings there are similar thoughts that seem to appear no matter which path you choose.

• The words you are reading are only sign posts to the truth.
• To take any single source of information, and use it as a path to enlightenment will only lead you farther from the peace you seek.
• Keep a novice approach.
  
• Do not strive, just be.

These guidelines deeply affect my writing style. While the point of most writing is the antithesis of these points: Be precise, write in an expert style (with authority), have a definite purpose.

Is it any wonder I have so much trouble?

-nn

everyone hits rock bottom

Even the iconic stars of your childhood.

guy gone bad

There is something about seeing this guy attempting suicide using prescrip pills and then projectile vomiting that adds a warmth to your heart that you never knew existed...

working it out

Today marks the fourth week of my self-inflicted sentence of working out. My brain has settled into the idea of making sure I spend about three hours a week there. My body has stopped protesting (or protesting strongly) to the regular bouts of struggling to get the stack in the air.
I am recovering faster now than I have, as in I no longer suffer from the aches and stiffness associated with my first few visits. Time seems to pass faster than before also.
I am limiting my lifting to smaller loads and more repetitions rather then the short burst of heavy loads. My focus being on sweating more than creating new muscle. So far so good.
While standing in line at Subway, I overheard a girl (woman) talking about her points allowance to her friends. For the uninitiated, "points" talk is a dead give away the person is following the Weight Watchers Flex program. As I am on the same program, I found it interesting to hear thoughts about it somewhere other than just my head. It is good to know I am not the only person going undertaking a change in eating habits.

sitting in the front row

It's the same every time you go to the movies. The make-out kids sit in the back row, the general population sits somewhere in the middle, and all the children sit at the very front. The reasoning behind why these groups sit where they do is an interesting topic.
The make-out kids can't afford a room. You now, if they had a chance they would be playing sweaty gland games with their partner. At least, this is the memory I have sealed in my brain.
The general population gravitates towards the middle because they want to be considered adult, and adults would not be caught in the back row. They have homes to conduct their skin-to-skin relations and sitting up front would be considered juvenile (and they are clearly not that, right?).
The smallest ones want to be be consumed by the movie. They want a picture so big, their little eyeballs cannot be move without more of the story being there. They are there to be part of the film. No matter where they look, it is an all-consuming experience.
This is where you will find me. Oh sure, I get side long glances, like I should be ashamed of even considering being there amongst the under three foot crowd. The reason are clear; when I go to a movie, I want to be able to completely suspend everyday life. I want to be able to wrap myself in the story being told. I want be there, sitting next to the characters as they celebrate, break down, and even die.

-nn