The Body is an Amazing (and Confusing) Machine

In previous posts, I've mentioned that I believe that adopting a more fit lifestyle has made me more resistant to these “bugs” that are going around.  I believe that has also boosted my body’s ability to recover.  Here a couple of very recent examples.

Last Monday, I started developing a mildly runny nose, which led to a little throat irritation.  I was feeling less than a 100%, so I decided to skip the Cardio Kickboxing class.  That night, I took some cold medicine and went to bed.  When I woke up the next morning, I felt exhausted.  I lay in bed for a while, waiting to see the feeling would pass.  It didn't, so I took the day off from work and went back to sleep.  I finally woke up again after 11:00 AM.  I felt better, but not great.  I took it easy the rest of the day.  I was feeling more like my usual self by bedtime.  When I woke up the next morning, the symptoms I was having were pretty much gone.

Around the end of November, I was at the gym, doing some bench presses.  One lift went awry and felt pain in my left elbow.  I was able complete the move and rack the bar, but the area was incredibly sore afterwards.  I soon discovered that direct pressing movements were going to be out of my workouts for a while.  So, I had to remove exercises like military presses, tricep pushdowns, pushups and flat bench presses from my routine.  Fortunately, movements like flies and angled presses were unaffected by the injury.  I was able to work around the injury and continue my workouts.

As time went on and my elbow felt better, I reintroduced some of the pressing movements, using small amounts of weight.  I gradually increased the weight, taking care to stop when I felt pain.  Last week, my bench press was approaching normal levels for the first time since the original injury.  As I locked out, I heard a kind of popping noise and I thought, “Oh crap!  I've really done it now!”  To my surprise, my arm felt great.   I’d expected pain, but I felt relief instead.   I finished the set and did a couple more, adding weight as a test.  Everything was fine.  What I think happened was what I thought to be an elbow strain was probably a dislocation, which popped back into place during the exercise movement.

In both instances, illness or injury, the discomfort was manageable and the recovery fairly quick.  I’m even more of a believer now.

Exercise and diet for the week went well.  When I couldn't eat my healthiest, I practiced portion control.  I didn't eat back most of my exercise calories this week, anticipating doing a little damage at a Super Bowl Sunday spread.

My best moment of inspiration for the week came from my four year old grandson.  He was looking at pictures on my phone and came across a recent “before and current” comparison photos.  He pointed to the image on “current” side and said, “Pop-Pop, that’s you.”  He pointed to the “before” image and looks at me with a confused look.  He asked, “Who’s this other Pop-Pop?”

Reps and steps!

Day 730

Friday, January 23, 2015, marked 730 days into my restarted fitness journey.  2013 was mostly about losing weight.  2014 continued along that path, but then became more about getting fit.  I ditched the scale and concentrated on developing my physique, with mixed results.  My ending weight for the year was practically the same as the first year’s, staying at around 50 lbs. of total weight loss.  So, while I didn't gain much weight, I didn't lose any either.

On the other hand, the body shaping / muscle development went really well.  There was noticeable development in all of the muscle groups.  I decreased my body fat and reclaimed clothes that I hadn't worn in years.  I said “Goodbye” to the “Big and Tall” clothing section in 2014 and “Hello” to spandex workout gear.

My diet improved over the first year.  Finding and using the MyFitnessPal app and site was a very important part of that.  Before I started using it, I’d been regaining some of the weight that I’d lost.  The app made me take a hard look at what I was eating.  I made the adjustments and took off 14 lbs.

I've been pretty consistent with my exercise program, usually getting in a minimum of three workouts a week.  Diet, while better, is still not what it should be.  I’m indulging myself a bit too much, taking in too many fat calories, even though I mostly stay within my caloric goals.

My imperative for 2015 is to research healthier alternatives and incorporate them into my diet.  I need to create better meal plans that include healthier between meal snacks.  I see this as my final hurdle to maximizing my fitness and reaching my health goals.

Speaking of which, the goals that I set for 2014 were to:
…incorporate the dietary lessons learned on the fast into my normal diet.  I had enough success here to do no harm.  More focus and effort will be required to actually meet this goal.

…get my waist size down to a size 32.  I didn't make this one, though the last belt I bought was a size 34.  Even though I didn't make goal, I consider that a win.

…have a visible “six pack.”  I give myself “honorable mention” on this one.  I've done a lot of core work and, sometimes, I can see hints of them.  More incentive to trim the fat that’s covering them.

…further refine and develop my musculature.  This has been a win.  I’m very happy with my progress in this area.

Some Non Scale Victories from 2014

I feel stronger and healthier.  I seem to be more resistant to colds and the like, with faster recovery times.

Picking up a 35 lb. dumbbell and having to check the weight markings because it felt like I’d grabbed a 20.

Discovering Cardio Kickboxing.  Aside from the intense workout, I've learned some pretty cool punching and kicking combinations.

Upping my overhead barbell press to 110 lbs., dumbbell curls to 55 lbs and pec deck to 170 lbs.

Goals for 2015

My goals for 2015 are pretty much the same as I set for 2014.  The main lesson that I've learned (relearned?) is that to be truly successful, I must fully incorporate all three fitness pillars:  Proper diet, exercise and rest.  Doing two and a half will only get me so far.

Through the grace of God, I've come a long way in these past two years.  Even with not fully meeting my goals, I've been successful.  I’m stronger, fitter, and healthier, with more energy and stamina.  I've met new people and made new friends, both online and off.  Best of all, my dedication to the process motivated my wife to create a schedule and start hitting the gym herself!

I’m looking forward 2015’s successes and hoping that you’re finding yours, too.  Beast mode on!

Reps and steps!

The Return of an Old Foe and the Emergence of a New One

Well, it’s been about two months since I posted my last update.  I had a lot on my plate, both personally and professionally, in addition to the usual holiday commitments, which consumed much of my time.  This will serve as my “catch-up” post.

The Return of an Old Foe and the Emergence of a New One

I've been very pleased with my recent progress.  I've been receiving a lot of positive acknowledgement from others and it’s become more evident to my own eyes.  Sometimes success brings carelessness and not a little hubris.  Because I’d been doing so well, I started “rewarding” myself.  My old friend, Coca-Cola, was making regular appearances again at meal time.  Chips, cakes and pastries were finding their way back into the house.  Some of my clothes started fitting a little tighter.  That’s when I recognized my new enemy:  Complacency.  I was becoming complacent and that was going to eventually lead to a major setback.  I realized that while I was staying mostly within my calorie goals, the fat calories I was taking in weren't helping my cause.

As the saying goes, “You can never out exercise a bad diet.”  That was proving to be true.  I found that I’d picked up a few pounds leading into the Thanksgiving holiday.  I committed to eating more sensibly for the rest of the holiday season.  By better planning, I was able to enjoy the holiday parties and dinners, while re-losing the extra weight that I’d picked up.  My diet still isn't as clean as it could be, but it’s better than it’s been recently.  I’m just happy that I was able to recognize my mistakes and correct my course before I went too far astray.

Positives

Health:  Many of the people around me, at home and work, have been sick over these past few months.  A couple of times, I got a few of the symptoms, but they never fully took hold or lasted overnight.  I credit my healthier lifestyle with strengthening my immune system.  It probably also didn't hurt that I had gotten my annual flu shot!

Appearance:  I am enjoying the physical changes that I'm achieving.  It’s such a kick to see my muscles develop and to watch the fat decrease.  Others have noticed, too.  I've gotten compliments from the fitness instructors at the gym, acknowledgements from “the muscle guys” and kudos from others.  One of my most fun experiences of the holidays was seeing the surprise on the faces of some of my extended family at our annual holiday gathering!

Achievements

• I bought a new belt.  It was a size 34”.  When I started this journey, I was wearing a size 42”.
• I bought more sweaters and vests.  I used to hate how I looked in them.  I felt like a sausage!
• I burned the safety net.  I donated two leaf bags full of my larger clothes to charity.  No turning back now!

In my next post, I'll be taking a look back at how I did in 2014 and to finalize my goals for 2015.

A look back (Get it? LOL)!

Steps and Reps!

The Chipmunk Workout

The week began strong.  Monday through Wednesday, I got in some good workouts.  My back was much better, so I started adding more weight.  Zumba class was high energy and I even jogged a few laps on the track.  Then I got hit with some kind of bug, which put me down for the rest of the week.

As if that wasn't bad enough, we found that a chipmunk had gotten into the house.  We spent the weekend trying to get rid of it.  It zipped around, hiding under the furniture in the family and living rooms.  We finally came up with a plan of attack.  We opened the front and side doors, figuring if we gave it an escape route, it would take it.  We didn't know what piece of furniture it was hiding under, so I had to lift up each piece until we found it (This provided the resistance training part of the workout.).  My wife was positioned to force it toward the doors.  Then, I chased it out the door (That was the aerobic part.).

On Monday, I was still feeling like crap.  I was tired because I couldn't sleep.  My coughing kept waking me up.  I finally broke down and started taking cold medicine, which helped me sleep, but left me feeling groggy in the morning.

I started feeling better by Wednesday.  Thursday was my first good night’s sleep.  Friday, I felt well enough to give the gym a try.  Friday is a Zumba class night.  My normal routine is to first do 30 minutes of elliptical, to get warmed up, then it’s off to the hour long class.  I didn't think I could do both this Friday, so I went straight to Zumba.

By the end of class, I was a little winded, but I was able to keep up with all of the routines.  After class, I spent twenty minutes on the weights and machines, just to see how the muscles felt.  I just did upper body exercises, with bench press being the most strenuous.  I find exercising the lower body requires more energy than upper body work, so I decided to wait before trying those again.

The twenty minute workout went okay.  I thought about ending the session in my usual way, with core work and some yoga stretches, but I ran out of steam, so I just went home instead.

I felt pretty good on Saturday.  I did my complete workout and the Zumba class with no problems, except for the occasional cough.  I wanted to get up and go to the gym this morning, but I couldn't push myself out of bed, so I took today as a rest day.

I didn't have much of an appetite over the week, except for breakfast.  I had a full breakfast almost every day.  I’m talking potatoes, bagels, jam, sausage, bacon…the works!  I skipped lunch three or four times and didn't do my usual snacking.  I kind of picked at dinner, but ate quite a bit of comfort food to make myself feel better.

A Couple of Observations from the Week

Even though I was not feeling well, I really wanted to work-out each day and was very disappointed that I couldn't.  That reminded me just how large a role that fitness has come to play in my lifestyle.

After Saturday’s Zumba class, I was standing in the middle of the room, talking with another member of the class.  The front and side walls of the room are mirrored.  As we were talking, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror.  Now, we look in the mirrors all of the time, both in the classroom and on the gym floor, but we're usually focusing on a specific movement or body part.  This time, I caught the whole package.  It was like seeing myself for the first time.  My muscles were pumped from the resistance training and my core was tight from the floor exercises and Zumba class.  I really saw the progress that I've made.  I know that doubt will creep in again at some point, but I’ll keep that picture in my mind to counter it.

Sorry for being so long winded, but I wanted to catch everything up with this post since I didn't feel well enough to write last week’s post.

One last thing. The song, "300 Violin Orchestra," by Jorge Quintero, pumped me up Saturday, when I really needed it.  Have a listen:

I’ll get back to weighing myself again next week.