New Years Eve

I am ready for 2011... I have my goals set and my plan worked out, now all I have to do is put it all into action. And it will be in action as soon as I wake up to go to work tonight. I will be eating clean from the first meal on. Breakfast will be Oatmeal, peanut butter,Whey protein, banana and black coffee. The rest of the day's food's will be lean proteins, like turkey & chicken... and complex carbohydrates, like whole grains & sweet potatoes, and healthy fats like nuts & extra virgin olive oil.
My first work-out of the year will be Chest & Triceps, with heavy weights and lower reps... later on in the week, I'll be hitting the Chest & Tri's again with medium weights and more reps. Chest, Tri's, Back & Biceps, I'm going to hit twice a week for now and shoulders & legs once a week... shoulders once a week because I have some discomfort working my shoulders, so I'm using lighter weights and doing more reps for now... Legs once a week because... well... I hate working out legs, but I realize how important they are to do... so I'll do one intense workout a week and hope my bicycling will take care of the rest, cyclists do have big calves and quads.
I don't know if I'll get to ride yet, there's still a lot of snow on the streets, but you know I'll keep an eye out on the road tomorrow on my way home from work to see if there's any possibility of a ride. 
Plus I must do one German Lesson. Das ist alles. Auf Wiedersehn.
Glückliches Neues Jahr!!

Wisdom of the Ages

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." or 
"A journey of a thousand miles begins from where you stand."
If the idea of getting healthy through diet & exercise seems like a daunting task to you, take it one step at a time.

“Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy”
Do one thing at a time, break your big goal into little goals and accomplish them one at a time. Always focus on the here and now. When exercising, don't focus on the whole workout, focus on the rep you are doing right now. Stay in the moment.

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”

Visualize the way you want to be, keep the visualization in your mind. Let your old self go, release it... be the person you wish to be.

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”

If you do things the way you've always done them, you can't expect different results.   
 
“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” or
“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.”
 Take time to reflect, sit still, let the silt & mud settle to the bottom until your mind is like a peaceful lake, not a ripple on the surface, reflecting who you truly are. In this state is where all your answers are.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

Don't try and do too much at once. Trying to lose 5 lbs. a week or run a marathon, after only running for six weeks is a path to failure and probably injury. Start slowly, and increase the intensity slowly. Listen to and get to know your body and what it is telling you. 


“He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty”

All quotes are from the "Tao Te Ching" by Lao-tzu

Ready for 2011?

Only 2 more days left in 2010... Are you ready for 2011? Make it count. Ask yourself these questions.
Do I want more out of Life?
Do I truly believe that I am capable of achieving my goals?
Am I willing to do the hard work necessary to make it happen?

I'm ready with my resolutions and I'm starting mine on Saturday, January 1st... I'm not waiting until Monday the 3rd. I have to work anyway, so there's no party for me... in fact I'll be ringing in the New Year while I'm at work. Then when I get home it'll be right into my gym for my Chest/Tricep workout.

It looks like one of my resolutions will have to wait a few days or a couple of weeks. My bicycle rides, there's a lot of snow in the streets and I doubt if it will be gone by Saturday, or even in a week. It's ok though, better days will come. I'll concentrate on my other goals.

A Christmas Story (Fiction... or is it?)

"You look great, you’ve lost some weight, you’ve been working out or something?" Bob asked me. We're standing around a table full of food at one of those tedious holiday get-togethers, you know, the ones where you're supposed to be nice to people you only see once a year.   

"Thanks,  hmmm, Bob is it? Yea, I’ve been weight training 6 days a week and eating healthy for about 3 months now" I say. “You know, counting calories, weighing my food, no junk.”  Bob looks at me with a blank expression on his face, as if I'd just told him I joined a cult or something.

"Oh," Bob finally says, "I can see you’ve been doing something. So, what's that like, you know, working out every day and stuff? I just don't have time to lift weights all day, but I have been meaning to get rid of this beer belly." He takes another sip of beer. "What do you suggest?" Sip.

Bob continued to stand there drinking his Bud Light, holding an unlit cigarette and waiting for an answer.
"You want to know what it is I do?  I overcome. I’m too busy to train, too, but I overcome. I’m too busy to prepare healthy meals and eat them five or six times a day, but I overcome. I can't always afford supplements, my genetics aren't perfect, and I don’t always feel like working out. I used to be just like you, Bob, but guess what? I overcame."

You ask me for advice about diet and training and usually I politely offer some, but deep inside I know you won't listen. He knows that too.  I smile and say, 'Hope that helps. Good luck’ … I know that 99% of people won't listen to me. Once they hear that it takes hard work, sacrifice and discipline, they stop listening and tune me out.

I know he wanted me to say that getting healthy is easy, but it just isn't. It takes a bit of work. No pill can make you lose fat in 30 days. No bracelet will help you build muscle. No electric shock belts will give you 6-Pack Abs.  A good body does not cost five easy payments of $19.95.

But I like it that while you're eating a Snickers and drinking Pepsi, I’m drinking water and eating an apple or some carrot sticks. You see, that makes it taste even better to me. While you're watching TV, I’m hitting the iron, pushing myself, learning about myself, getting stronger with every rep. Can you feel that, Bob? Can you relate? No? Good. This wouldn't be half as much fun if you could.

I do it because of people like you, Bob, either can't or won't. I do it because what I do in my little gym transfers over into the rest of my life and transforms me, physically, mentally, and even spiritually. I do it because it beats watching American Idol or whatever is on TV these days that people are mesmerized by.

When I’m in my little gym, I’m in this indescribable bliss. It's a feeling of being on, or “in the Zone”, of being completely alive and aware. It’s connecting to the universe, being one with everything.  If you haven't been there, then it's like trying to describe color to a blind person. Within this feeling of pleasure and pain, there's knowledge and power and discipline. If you do it long enough, Bob, there's even enlightenment. Sometimes, the answers to questions you didn't even know you had are right there in those iron plates. Yes Bob, dumbbells make you smart, go figure.

Okay, so maybe that's not the exact words I used with Bob, but you get the picture. Will Bob attempt to lose his beer belly? I don't know, but I kind of doubt it. I think Bob is just stuck in a rut, and as the saying goes, the only difference between a rut and a grave is depth.

The way out of the rut is to make major changes in your life, most of which won't be too pleasant in the beginning.  In sports they say the training is the hard part, you train hard so the game becomes easy.  It’s the same with life. The harder you workout, the less stress you’ll have in real life, or you’ll handle the stress better.  Life is all about how you handle things that get thrown at you. 

I started a new assignment at work this week… new boss, all new co-workers, new equipment to handle... this used to be a major cause of anxiety and stress for me. But I was completely relaxed and at ease during my shift, I was confident and eager to do my job, I made a few mistakes, but I didn’t make excuses, I acknowledged them,  I learned from them and moved on… and I credit my new healthier lifestyle and new healthier  attitude for that.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction, any resemblance to a person or persons dead or alive is purely coincidental. And no animals were harmed during the making of this story.

snow day

very busy today... we had a blizzard last night. I took a very rare day off of work today, not by choice... I just couldn't get there... and my workout today was shoveling... now I got to get to bed so I can try and make it in to work tonight. In my 20 year career and all the jobs I've had before that, I've taken off less than a dozen days, not counting vacations, that's unscheduled days, like sick days... This is only the second time I've taken off because of snow... a pretty good record if I do say so myself.

Snow's A-Comin'

There is a Major Snow Storm headed my way, so I have to get to bed a little earlier, so I can get up and dig myself out and make an attempt to go to work tonight...
I'm not doing my full workout this week, for a few reasons, they say you should take a week off every 8 - 12 weeks and it's been 14 weeks for me... I will be doing some compound exercises this week though, (I did Bench Presses yesterday) and some cardio and I'm sure I'll be shoveling some snow... and it's the holiday week anyway, the best week to take off.


Ok Christmas is over, you ate too much and drank too much, you feel bloated. The relatives at the holiday get-together got their annual digs in. "Gained a little more weight, eh."  You think it might be time to start going to the gym and maybe start a diet. Well maybe after the New Years and one more Party.
You start reading those ads looking for an easy way. "6-Pack abs in only 2 minutes a day."  "Eat all you want and lose 20 lbs. in 10 days." "Jolt your fat away with this Electric Shock Belt."... The ads are endless... and so is the gullibility of the people that buy this stuff... there are no short cuts, there is no easy way, no miracle cures, no prayers, magic potions, etc... It's work... buying a gym membership won't do it, you actually have to use it, and pick up some weights, or get on the treadmill.... and it's consistency, you have to do it more than once, and even more than once a week... it's a lifestyle change for sure, but a very rewarding one.

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas Everyone!!
Give yourself the gift of a healthy new you in the New Year.
Now get off the computer and enjoy the Holiday!!

Christmas Eve

Nothing has changed much this week, I lost .2 of a pound of weight, my waist stayed the same and I gained a half inch on my chest... I think I might just start on my new goals a week early, because without a goal my routine is in limbo. I'm doing my workouts and eating clean, but mentally I'm not focused on anything. "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."
It is the holiday week though... I might as well take it easy for this week, just do my workouts and avoid the unhealthy foods. Don't mind me, I'm thinking as I write this.
The 10 day weather forecast is looking good for a New Years ride, 40 degrees, it says showers, but not whether it's in the morning or afternoon. And January 2nd says Sunny & 40 degrees, even better.
That's all I got for today, everybody enjoy.

Slow Speeder

One of the questions that are always on those longevity tests, to see how long you can expect to live, is "Do you often drive faster than the posted speed?" And if you answer yes, you take 1 - 3 years off of your life, depending on the test. I always answer yes, because I do speed, I admit it. But I don't understand how I lose 3 years from driving fast. If my life expectancy without the speeding is 87, does that mean I will die in a car accident at 84? I don't get the connection.
Here in America, where the speed limit is 55 or 65, there's 11 highway deaths for every 100,000 people. In Germany, where there is no speed limit, there are 5 deaths for every 100,000 people. So Germany has less than half of the Highway Fatalities that The United States has with no speed limit. So how does speeding shorten your life?
Anyway, I'm putting slower driving on my New Years Resolution list, so I can live longer on paper.

Where there's smoke...

One of the best... no, THE best thing I ever did for myself was to quit smoking. I smoked for about 20 years, from my teens to my mid-thirties. I followed my favorite Rock Stars, they all smoked... always had a cigarette hanging off their lips while playing the guitar, or they had it stuck underneath a string up by the headstock of the instrument. I thought they looked so cool. I actually enjoyed smoking, I was inhaling 3 packs a day. That habit today would cost me anywhere from $15- $25 a day. In New York it's over $9. a pack, but you can find them cheaper they tell me. But anyway that's between $5500 & $9000 a year... I think when I quit it was around $2 a pack, that was still around $2000 a year. No wonder I'm broke today, LOL.
More important than the money, is my health... near the end of my smoking days, I was coughing constantly. I had to wake up a half hour early to get the coughing out of the way... then I could light up. At the end I wasn't enjoying it much anymore, and I made some half-hearted attempts at quitting. I wanted to quit, but I never set a goal or planned anything. I'd quit for a day or 2 and then buy a pack.
The day I finally decided to really quit, it was immediate. It was in the early 90's and we were leaving for a trip to Florida, driving all the way. We rented a brand new Mini-Van, it had 75 miles on it and still had that new car smell. I couldn't see ruining a new car with my nasty habit. We were leaving for Florida at 1:30am for a couple of reasons... First I worked nights so I was used to being up at that hour, secondly we figured it would be a good thing to have the kids sleeping through a good part of the ride and thirdly we wanted to miss the morning rush hour near D.C... ok so we have everything packed in the van, kids are asleep, apartment is locked up and we're ready to go. I'm standing outside the vehicle having my last few drags on my last cigarette, smoking it down to the butt and inhaling deeply. I toss the butt on the ground and get in the van to start our epic journey and I've never had another cigarette. I figured if I can quit smoking on such a long trip with the kids screaming and fighting in the back of the car, I'd stay quit.
I did come close to buying a pack on that trip once, we made a stop for a night in Georgia and I'd figure I'd get a 6pack of beer to enjoy for the evening. We walked into a convenience store, up to the beer coolers and grabbed the door handle and... it wouldn't open... it was locked... I walked up to the counter to tell  the clerk of the problem I was having and he says in his southern drawl, "We can't sell no beer on no Sunday." I said it's after 12pm, citing the NY Blue Laws, he says, "in Georgia ya can't buy no beer on Sundays at no time." I woulda had him with the double negatives, but he threw in a third one which counteracted his double. He got me with those triple negatives. Anyway, I almost bought some cigarettes instead, but I had come too far and talked myself out of it.
And that is the single biggest thing I have done for my well-being and I'm glad I was strong enough to stay quit.

Time Waits For No One

“I wish I had the time to work out or eat right, I’m just too busy.”  I hear that all the time. Well, I don’t have the time either, I make the time.  It’s funny how these people don’t have the time to care for themselves, but they can tell you who’s on “Dancing with the Stars”, “American Idol” “Jersey Shore” or what happened on “Grey’s Anatomy”…   are other people’s  lives really more important than their own health? I say, turn off that TV and start making your own life more interesting.  I told one person who said she didn’t have time to work out to stop watching “American Idol”, that person got all defensive and told me she doesn’t watch that garbage. Turns out she watches, “Top Model” or something like that…  Big Difference I guess… NOT!!

OK, I did that rant on Buffet Style Restaurants the other day… On the news this morning was a story about a credible threat the Intelligence Agencies found out about, where terrorists were planning to poison Buffet Style restaurants and Salad bars, aiming to kill or harm as many people as possible with cyanide and ricin. So add that to my last list of why to avoid Buffets and Salad bars.

Happy Shoulder Day

It was Shoulder Day today... I've decided to lower the weights on my shoulder exercises because of a constant nagging discomfort. I don't want to call it a pain yet, it just feels sore during certain movements, not only on shoulder day, but also on other days that I lift my arms above my head. So in order not to further aggravate anything I'll use lighter weights and do more reps. The deltoids (anterior, lateral and posterior) are relatively small muscles and don't need too much weight to work them effectively. I might have to add a Rotatory Cuff exercise also. I think that's where the discomfort might be coming from.

I had a ferocious appetite today also, I've already had 500 extra calories today. But I'm not worried about it since I'm already past my goal weight. and I tend to listen to my body when it tells me it's hungry. Of course there's a difference between eating because your body is asking for nourishment and just eating to gorge yourself. I did have a very rough day at work today, it was the busiest day of the year for us. So I might have burned some extra calories.

I've been trying to keep an eye on the 10 day forecast... because after New Years I want to get some cycling in... so far it only goes up to the 29th, and for that day it says, 35 degrees and sunny, I can deal with that. But 10 days is a long way away, and the forecast can change by then. I'll keep an eye on it.

 

Lifestyle with Benefits

There are a few benefits I noticed in the short 3 months that I switched to a healthier lifestyle of eating clean and exercising. I’m much stronger than I was, I can tell by the difference in the weight that I am lifting now as compared to 3 months ago.

 Also I haven’t had any backaches or knee pain lately; I used to get that quite often while I was carrying all that extra weight around.

I’m sleeping better, and that’s a good thing. Since I work nights I need to sleep during the day and that’s not always easy with all the noise in and out of the house and the daylight seeping through the shades. I’m sleeping more soundly and almost all the way through the 8 hours, I usually get up once to use the bathroom, but that’s because I keep myself well hydrated. And when I wake up, I get up with some enthusiasm. I wake up before my alarm goes off most days, I used to have 3 alarms set and stayed in bed until that last one rang, grumbled and slowly made my way out of bed. Now I wake up and shut them all off before they ring… I still set 3 alarms, partly out of habit and partly “just in case.”

 Also I definitely look better, even if I do say so myself. Actually my family tells me also. But you can see some beginning muscle definition…no belly  and I can see the outlines of my abs starting to come through. I remember I was passing a mirror in my house a while ago  and I had to do a double take, I said, “Whoa, is that me?” that was a great feeling. Good for motivation also… because you want to keep going.

And best of all, I feel better than I have in my whole entire adult life. I’ve felt good before, like when I was bicycling regularly a few years ago, I was in pretty good shape back then. But I let it slip away, and it slipped away almost unnoticed. First I slowed down on the cycling, but I was eating the same amount of calories or more. So I started gaining the weight back slowly. Before I knew it, I woke up one day and I wasn’t feeling so good anymore and I’m asking myself, “What happened?”

2 Weeks until New Years

I had a great chest & triceps workout this morning, I met or exceeded all the goals I had written down for today. I was feeling good. I added more weight on most of the exercises, I added sets and I even added extra exercises. My workout today lasted a full hour, 15 minutes more than usual. It felt good, nothing like a great workout.

2011 starts in 2 weeks… what do you want from the New Year? What would you like to change in your life? What would you like to improve about your life? Whatever it is, if you believe it, you can achieve it. Do you want to lose a few pounds? Write down how much and by when.  That’s exactly what I did. My goal was 35lbs. by New Years Day and so far I’m down by 40lbs. So I actually went above and beyond and I still have 2 weeks to spare.

New Year will be here before you know it… make it a new beginning, make it count.  Get ready now, you got 2 weeks to prepare... and by Monday January 3rd. (after you're partied out and recovered.) you can hit the road running.