Ya gotta want to do it



If your goal is to be the fittest 62 year old fishing guide on the Kenai River...I gotta tell you, it's not easy. Every fall season  for the last ten years I train for life pretty hard, but this year I've ramped it up by about 50 %. I figure it's the only way that I'm going to reach a goal that I keep setting and not accomplishing. I want to be under 190 pounds and ideally I'd like to hit 185. I started back in the gym  in early September at 203, three pounds over my 'Alamo' when I said that I'd never weigh over 200 pounds again in my life ( at one time I was 240 ) . The last 5 days I've weighed in at 196 pounds so I've lost 7 pounds in about 6 weeks, but man it ain't easy....here's a pic of the staples of my diet.

Here's a typical day:  Breakfast is four or five egg whites, sometimes a large bowl of oatmeal. Lunch is salmon salad made with one teaspoon of mayo over lots of lettuce, sometimes Tuna. My other lunch item is a leftover piece of protein and an entire can of vegetables. For supper we have Chicken with no skin (lately I've been boiling whole chickens and stripping the meat) and either a fresh veggie or a large salad. I splurge and have red meat (this weekend a New York) every other week or so but keep the portion to 8 ounces. NO SNACKS. But I will have a mid day Carb Master which is a yogurt type deal of 60 calories.

Exercise: In theory the weight loss is simple, you just need to burn more calories than you consume.  In the past I've done 1/2 hour on the elliptical trainer and judge my workout by the sweat. I'd do a hard sweat one day and then an easier fat burn the next. Well this year I've doubled it. I do one hour of Cardio every morning, 45 hard minutes on the Elliptical set at 10 and then walk up hill fast for 15 minutes, usually my heart rate stays between 120 and 130....this is what I look at ever morning.

The cardio gets a bit boring as you guys all know and I think that's the main reason for failure in the gym. So for me I use the time to explore my other passion on earth, music. I create new stations on my Pandora account and am always finding new musicians and music forms I didn't know existed. Working out in the gym has been one of he biggest reasons for my own musical awakening, listening to music has helped inspire me and I've learned the need to modulate my voice as I sing...so thank you Pandora.

Every other day I return to the gym in the afternoon to lift and walk on the treadmill another hour. I still work two muscle groups at a session but I'm doing way less weight and my body is thanking me for it. Friday I did chest and triceps, instead of dumbbell presses with 70 pounders I'm doing the same reps with 40 pounds.

So, knock on wood.....it's so far so good. My body  feels great and seems to be standing up to all the exercise. I treated my feet to some nice new Asics and I'm convinced that's very helpful for injury prevention. So wish me luck as I move ahead on the program. My friend Greg Davis was by and I told him that when I hit my goal I was going to publish another pic of me in a Speedo.... he said don't do it...please....don't do it. Stand by because I think you'll all get a chuckle out of it.

As I was working the cardio this morning I was mentally reviewing this entry I put together yesterday and I was thinking of all the people who have helped me have success in the gym. Charlie and Bernie and Rex and Josh and Angie, folk that not only inspired me but answered all my questions. So I thought at the risk of sounding like a pompous ass I'd put together a list of things I've learned in the pursuit of fitness in hope that it helps one of you somehow. I guess I have done pretty good at it for the last 12 years....Mohamed Ali famously said " It ain't bragging if you can do it ".

 

1. Dips are probably the worst muscle exercise on your shoulders. If you want rotator cuff problems just go hard at the dips (although for young guys it's a great chest / tricep exercise.  Shoulder problems are THE most common injury in the gym.

2. For benefit cardio is best in the morning on an empty stomach.

3. you need the trifecta for success and not just one component ...exercise/resistance training/diet

4. Buy whatever it takes to help....new shoes, clothes, weight belt, I pod music....whatever it takes to       help you want to do it.

5.  success is a slow simmering process but look at each day as a success...you're there and you're doing it.  Once it's routine and you miss it if you don't work out, you're there.

6. Weigh yourself everyday.

7.  Hydrate...every morning as you work out drink 38 ounces of H2o.

8.  There's a fine line between working through pain and being stupid. The deal is this...if any of these three things occur stop exercising. You can visibly see something wrong like swelling. If you lose range of motion. If you get tingling anywhere in your body.

9.  Ask if you don't think your exercise is correct. For instance f you're doing rows and pushing with your knees and flailing back with you torso....you're doing it wrong. Isolate the muscles with simple movements.

10.  Like everything in life... you HAVE to find ways to make it fun.

 

I hope you all keep coming back. Mile 14 will be  road tripping soon and I promise it'll get funner....nice word huh?