cannot break the single mindedness

For the past two weeks i sat down with the full intnention of putting something here that does not relate to working out. I would start "blind typing" (a writer's exercise) in order to get the juices flowing and before you knew it a post would be formed. Only thing is, all the posts were about how-to work out, preparing to work out, and the benefits of working out. So I figured a post about NOT writing about working out would be in order. If anything, just to get a friggin' post up.

So here it is. A post about NOT working out.

I finally enrolled in classes to finish up my degree. I literally killed all of my upper division classes before i opted out. When I say opted out, it was with the intent of completing the lower division classes through the CLEP program, which would satisfy the requirement. For uninitiated, a SLEP is a pass or fail test one takes for a fraction of the cost of regular classes. The problem was I never got around to taking the damn classes. I also found it a little intimidating to take a pass fo fail.

Anyway, I am back on the road to completing the BSIT program.

First class is slated to start on the 31st of this month. Wish me luck.

yay.

-nn

Goodbye Bally Fitness - Hello LA Fitness

My current club, Bally fitness, announced they are closing my current location. Out of consideration, they were tranferring my membership to another club a scant 4.2 miles away. Unfortunately, this does not work out for me. Since I picked the club for its close proximity to work (I jog over on my lunch break), adding another four plus miles to this distance is pushing well beyond the limits of my endurance and the time I have available.

What to do? Well, there is an LA Fitness across the street, simply add another 300 yards to the warm up run and you are in the door. Thinking back, I should have checked out this club when shopping around. Frankly, the key motivator was that Bally's was closer than LA Fitness. I know, it was only just across the street, but back then I never considered I would be able to run that far. I know different now.

Which brings me to my thought for the day. Would you like an exercise in futility? Try cancelling a gym membership. After having waded through the front line support of the Customer Support phone lines,and been promised call backs from supervisors and been "disconnected" and directed to incorrect voicemail boxes and promised action, I have yet to resolve this issue.

A company can be best judged by its actions by gauging responses made after the initial sale. I would be hard pressed to recommend Bally Fitness based on the performance of its personnel during this seires of communications.

-nn

energy leaking out of every pore

I have been working out, just not marking my progress here. As I attempt to write about more than just the work out (let's face it, a singular perspective on anything is boring) I have noticed I have nothing in my head to write about. So rather than bore you with the continual blog about what I do to sweat, I have opted to write nothing at all. At least until something crosses my radar I feel is worthy of putting into words.

Until then, read this:

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.

Savour the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Lovingly liberated from here. I found this aricle to be very wise in the vein of knwoing who we are, what we do, and the how our behavior affects others. Very nicely written also.

-nn

Ode to the "soulless" treadmill

In the past, whenever I heard about or saw someone running on a treadmill, my first thought was "why on earth would anyone want to do that?". They run in one place like an over-sized hamster, going nowhere. They should be outside, where they could at least be exposed to the sun and have a little exposure to nature. What a bland and soulless task to run on an endless twelve feet of belt with nothing to show for it.

Oh what a difference a couple of days make...

There are many benefits to running on a tread, especially for one that is just getting into the running program:
- there are no distractions like cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
- running on a tread allows you to focus on the developing a proper form, which you will not get if you have to stop or slow to accommodate cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
- setting your pace while free-form running is difficult, because you have never had to set the pace before. using the machine to set and keep the pace helps your body set and recognize a proper pace.

In the work out journey, everything has its place. The place for a treadmill is to help you train your body for when you actually begin running "out there".

-nn

Off the bike, on the treadmill.

Never in a million years did I think I would enjoy running on a treadmill. Too many images of a hamster, I guess. Being of a "large stature" it never occurred to me that I could comfortably run for more than a few minutes. Compared to most people, I do not run vary far or long, but using my personal scale, I am running marathons.

Warm up: 2 min @ 3.8 (fast walk)
Increase: 2 min @ 5.0 (mild jog)
Increase: 2 min @ 5.5
Increase: 2 min @ 5.5 with 1.0 incline
Increase: 2 min @ 5.5 with 2.0 incline
Increase: 2 min @ 5.5 with 3.0 incline
Decrease: 2 min @ 5.5 with 2.0 incline
Decrease: 2 min @ 5.5 with 1.0 incline
Cooldown: 3 min @ 3.8

Total time: 19 min
Calories burned: 220

I will not be performing any 5Ks but I find the minute flying sensation between steps liberating.

Corny, I know.

-nn

Goal attained: 60 pounds finally!

I am aware it has been an entire week without a post. Work hit me hard and missing my elusive sixty mark last week killed my creative streak. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I finally broke the into the 60-65 pound weight range! I weighed in last thinking I would have just barely made the .6 pounds required to hit sixty. Lo and behold, my weekly total was 2.6 pounds. The sweat and work is paying off and know I am thinking I could actually make my published goal weight of 179 (but don't hold your breath for that one).

I have stepped up the resistance for my fifteen minutes on the bike:
Old settings:
- 3 min @ level 8
- 12 min @ level 10

New settings:
- 2 min @ level 8
- 11 min @ level 10
- 2 min @ level 12

The weights have gotten progressively heavier, favoring more weight and and fewer reps, rather than the multiple dead slow reps I started out with. Talking with trainer M helped more than he knows.

Additionally, I started finishing up with a three minute pilates session which concentrated on my abs. Of which I can for the first time in twenty years.

-nn

Want more effective work outs?

Breath like a baby. Seriously.

Take some time and watch a baby breath. For those unable to observe a small child, watching an animal sleep will do in a pinch. It is most evident if they are sleeping. You will notice when a baby inhales, their stomach rises. The baby is breathing from their core (diaphragmatic breathing, if you care for professional speak). The baby is breathing in a most natural state.

Somewhere on the way to adulthood (and the acquisition of an ego), we are taught to be an adult is to be fit. Or at the very least, to give the appearance of being fit. This is when we all start breathing by inflating our chest. Most times, we are not even aware we are doing it. The bad part about it is we cannot effectively fill our lungs with that most precious commodity of oxygen.

Breath like a baby.

-nn

Damn, damn, damn

Well, hell. I was reluctant to weigh in last night, and it goes to show you: if you think you gained weight, you most likely did. I went up 0.4 pounds. Not a tragedy, but it appears the mighty 60 pound mark still eludes me. Thinking back over the last week, I am fortunate I did not put on more. Being sick all week and having to work is not the best frame of mind to be in. Normally, when I am sick, I just eat whatever comes into view. You know the "feed a cold..." axiom? I live by that. At least I used to. Whatever. So starts another week of critical consumption.

The workout was fragmented today. The remnants of my cold hindered me, forcing me to go blow my nose three or four times. Trying to breath was interesting. I did manage to push more weight than ever and the slow sets were not as productive as they could have been. Guess my mind was not fully committed to the session.

Picked up a new camera for J. She has been really down since Miss B and family picked up and moved out of town. I am hoping this new toy will help her out of her doldrums. It pains me to think there is a part of her I cannot heal. This is all up to her.

-nn

Recovering

There is so much to catch up on. We had a MAJOR ship date last week and my presence was required at work. In itself, not a big deal, but the kicker was I caught the stupid seasonal cold going around the office. I was jacked up on cold drugs the entire week. This combined with the long hours made the week less than desirable (downright intolerable, to be precise). The good news is we shipped on time, which is a huge accomplishment in the face of all the other activities which were occurring at the same time.
My work outs suffered greatly and I was too zonked out and over booked to make it to the gym or the Weight Watchers meeting. Come to think of it, I missed attending. I never would have thought I would miss sitting in a room lamenting (and celebrating) the woes of weight loss (or is that weight gain?), but one really does not know unless one does without, right?
I felt strong enough to work out this morning, I do not think the good feeling would have lasted until this afternoon, if I had waited. The run over was slower but not painful, so I am taking that as a good sign. I power lifted, working on chest and arms, while throwing in a smattering of heavy abs and core. The sweat was pouring off me. It was much easier than I thought it would be after not doing anything for five days. Another good sign.
Normally, when I am sick, I go so far off program I do not think I will find my way back. This time, I remained aware of the food I was eating and even kept up on drinking my daily water. I actually think it helped me get better faster.
-nn

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.

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

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

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....

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

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.