Embracing the Process

I'm finding that I really enjoy swimming (or at least, learning to swim.).  I seem to have a knack for it.  Makes me wish that I'd started sooner.  My shoulder, upper back, chest and leg muscles ache afterwards in a different way from working out with weights.  I know a lot of the strain comes from incorrect technique, which results in unnecessary exertion.  I'm also surprised at the amount of energy that I use.  But, it's all good.  Just part of the learning process.

Shortly after my last post, I got back onto the scale.  I found that I'd picked up eight pounds.  It's amazing how quickly the weight can creep back up.  I refocused on my eating and lost three of those pounds by the next weigh in.

It's funny listening to people "weigh-in" on my plate.  I get all kinds of comments, like:

"Are sure that's enough?"
"That's a lot of carbs."
"I could never get full just eating that."
"Do you really like that?"

I'd drive myself nuts if I tried to follow all of the advice that I'm given.  The one common thread is that most folks seem to be impressed with my level of physical activity.  Sometimes, I even surprise myself.  Take last week, for example.  It consisted of two Kickboxing Cardio classes, three Zumba classes, three sessions of resistance training, swim class, a night of Latin dancing, a fashion show (and reception) and dinner and a movie with friends.  Now that the weather is finally breaking, yard work, home maintenance  and metropark activities will start getting added into the mix.  Also, the free concerts will be starting up soon, giving us more opportunities to dance.

The biggest kick that I've had with the warm weather, so far, has been pulling the shorts out of storage.  I work legs equally as I work upper body.  The result, this season I can see the muscularity in them.  It's a good feeling.

Additional motivating factors included speaking with a colleague who had dropped over fifty pounds.  It was great hearing his story and seeing how proud he was of his success.

Well, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing, making adjustments here and there.  Summer is almost officially here and I'm looking forward to all of the activities that it brings, like grilling.  I'll leave you with a picture of my first grilled dinner of the season.

Reps and steps!

Adding Swimming to the Exercise Mix

I've been using the Pebble Jawbone Up app for a few weeks now and I've discovered some inaccuracies in the data transfer process between the watch and the companion phone app.  The watch seems to count my steps pretty accurately, but some of the step data is not being recognized by the phone app.  There has usually been a discrepancy of about 400 steps between the two apps, with the phone app showing fewer steps than the watch app.  The worst case was when the phone app missed 7,000 steps!

I've done some research online and found several references to the issue, but no real fix.  The best suggestion was to use the watch app's primary watch face, as to the two secondary ones seemed to produce the largest errors.  It happened that I was using a secondary watch face when the 7,000 steps were missed.

Even with the errors, I think that using the app has been beneficial.  Reviewing my sleep tracking data has encouraged me to get into bed earlier and get more sleep.  I've improved my sleep time from an average of five hours per night to seven.  I hit or surpassed my 10,000 steps per day goal an average of five out of seven days.

I was reading an article recently on creating successful morning routines, when one particular section caught my attention.  It talked about starting the morning with a quick workout.  The author suggested using an app called The 7 Minute Workout as a guide.  I downloaded the app and gave it a try, at the beginner level.  The app guided me through a series of exercises, with video instruction.  It was more difficult than I anticipated, but not hard to do.  It definitely provides a morning boost!

This week, I took my first swim class since high school.  Back then, my swimming teacher was pregnant and couldn't do much in the pool.  The substitute was not very effective, so I never learned to swim properly.  My wife and I are considering taking a Caribbean cruise in the next year or so and would like to feel comfortable in the water, so we're taking the class together.

The class was pretty small, three adults and two teens.  It was held at the local high school.  We started out with the basics, holding on to the side of the pool, learning kicks.  It was after the instructor corrected my kicking technique that my muscle memory kicked in.  While I felt that my initial instruction had been incomplete, apparently I had learned some things.  I found that I was able to swim half the length of the pool.  Of course, my technique was pretty bad, with plenty of wasted motion, but I felt that I did pretty well.  The instructor called me her "over-achiever." LOL!

My gym has a pool that is used mostly for water aerobics, but there are times when its available for open swimming.  Since water aerobics participants need to be able to stand while exercising, the pool is pretty shallow, only 4 - 4 1/2 feet deep, making it  a perfect place for me to practice.

I've been focusing more closely on my caloric intake.  I've been mostly staying under my calorie goal and not touching my exercise calories.  My challenge goal is to do this consistently for 45 days, ending on April 30th, when I'll do a weigh in.

My regular workouts continue at a good pace.  I'm looking forward to the weather warming up so that I can add outdoor walks back into my routine.

That's it for now.

Reps and steps!

My First Week with Pebble's Fitness Trackers

Well, I'm still chugging along.  We've had some above freezing days, which helps with the motivation factor.  The week was pretty routine.  No major cheats on meals and I got most of my workouts in.

I'm enjoying using the Jawbone Up fitness tracker on my new Pebble smartphone.  It's always on, tracking my steps, so I don't have to think about it.  The Pebble doesn't have heart rate sensors built in, unlike many other smart watches, but I've read that there are plans to support third party sensors that would be built into interchangeable watch straps.

I've only been using the Pebble for about a week, but I like the experience.  The watch appears to be pretty durable.  I've been wearing it while I'm working out with the weights and machines and while in the Zumba and kickboxing classes.  It's pretty light, so I usually forget that I have it on (until I get a notification.).

I've connected the Pebble Jawbone Up app to the Up app on my Samsung Note 4.  This gives me more options and trend displays.  It also gives me the option of linking my Up data to the MyFitnessPal site, which I use daily.  I'll have to investigate this further before I take advantage of this feature.  I have other fitness information going to MyFitnessPal already and I don't want the data totals to double.

I've also downloaded the Endomondo app for Pebble.  I'd been using Endomondo on my phone for when I went walking outdoors (not an option in this weather.) and for tracking my workouts on the elliptical machine.  The  Pebble app will allow me to monitor my progress from the watch face, instead holding or picking up my phone.

Pebble's library of apps also include Misfit, Runtastic and Runkeeper.  I don't use any of these apps myself, but I've seen them linked to several accounts on the MyFitnessPal website.

I've seen some sleep monitoring apps in Pebble's library, but I haven't tried any of them.  The Up app will also track my sleep patterns.  I'm just not sure that I want to sleep with a device on my arm, but I may give it a shot sometime in the future.

Now that I have several fitness trackers in place, I think my next job will be to evaluate them and then start paring them down.  Here's hoping that they actually help me to reach my fitness goals.

Reps and steps!

Once More Unto the Breach

It's still cold and snow covered around here, but I got all of my scheduled workout sessions in, except one.  I pushed myself a little more than usual this week, which led to some of the best sleep that I've had in a while.

I've also decreased the weight that I've been using on my squats.  I've opted to go lighter and focus more on the technique.  This has helped me to go deeper into the squat, really working the muscles.  I'm careful not to drop below parallel, that is, keeping my thighs parallel to the ground.

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but, I'm kind of a tech guy.  I like trying out various gadgets and gizmos.  I recently bought a Pebble smart watch.  I went for the original black and white e-Ink display model, not the new color one.  I read that all of the Pebble watches would eventually be upgraded to the new operating system, so I settled on the less expensive model.  One of the things of interest to me was that the watch came with a Jawbone app called Up for Pebble.  It functions independent from the phone, so I can wear the watch when I workout, just like I would a fitness band.  I haven't used it long enough to form an opinion about it, but I'll pass along my observations as I go.

The Delicious Debacle

I was mostly on track with my diet up until Friday.  We had an early morning celebration at work which involved baked goods.  I went to lunch with a colleague and enjoyed a plate of bu'n thit nuong, a Vietnamese dish that has become one of my favorites.  For dinner, we met with friends over St. Louis style spareribs.  The evening was capped off with vanilla ice cream over a warm brownie, topped with whipped cream.

I attempted to offset Friday's excesses by keeping below my calorie goals and not eating back any of the 2400 exercise calories that I'd burned on Saturday and Sunday.

Non Scale Victories

I was told that in addition to my lost weight, it looked like I'd lost 10 years, too.

One person told me that it seemed like I'd lost more weight, while another remarked that my arms looked bigger.

Goals

I'm still dealing with the belly issue.  It's smaller, but still not gone (Yeah, I know that brownies and ice cream don't help!).  I haven't really set any mini goals lately.  I still don't have one in mind, but I'm sure that something will come to me soon.

Reps and steps.

The Amazing Shrinking Sleeves

Another frigid week goes into the books.  Despite feeling the need to hunker down and hibernate, I made it to most of my workouts.  It wasn't easy, though.  There were days when I really had to push myself to leave the house.  Sunday was the hardest.  I wasn't able to get to the gym.  I had to hit the driveway instead.  Eighty three minutes and eight hundred fifty nine calories later, I had it cleared.  I definitely felt the effects of my snow shovel workout in Monday's Kickboxing Cardio workout.  I didn't work the kinks out until midway through the class.

The diet went okay for the week, but it was a bit of a struggle.  The cold had me craving mass quantities.  I didn't go over my calorie goals, but I ate back more of my exercise calories than I'd planned.  This week started out on the same note.  Breakfast has been the hardest meal to control.  I know that I'm consuming way too many carbs during breakfast.  So, I know what I need to do, I just have to make myself do it.

Now, about those sleeves.  I've been noticing that the sleeves on some of my dress and sports shirts seem shorter, stopping above my wrist.  I know that my arms aren't growing.  I've had these shirts for a while and they've been washed several times, so I don't think that they've shrunk.  I think that my shoulders have gotten larger, which makes the sleeves sit higher.  I have mixed feelings about this.  One the one hand, I'm glad that the resistance training appears to be showing results.  On the other hand, I'm a little annoyed that I'll need to buy more shirts!

Reps and steps!

Moving Down The Scale Again

I got back onto the losing track, dropping a pound.

I maintained my regular workout regimen, though I didn't get in as much cardio as I would have liked.  I did make up for some of it by going Salsa dancing Friday and Saturday nights.

I did get some help with my diet from an unlikely source.  I was channel surfing and happened upon the Dr. Oz show.  By coincidence, he was talking about foods that fill you up, but help with fat loss.  One of the foods that he mentioned was soups, which I decided to have for a few of my meals.  I'd also gotten away from packing a lunch.  I started doing that again, too.

Like last week, I discovered my little victory of the week because of the weather.  It's warmed up quite a bit, hitting the high seventies/low eighties, so instead of exercise pants, I decided to wear shorts to the gym.  Apparently, my body has changed since last summer.  My shorts were loose.  I drew the drawstring tight and wore them anyway, but I'll need replace some of them.

I noticed another thing, this time, because of it's absence.  People would sometimes refer to me as "big man" or "big guy."  I haven't heard that in a while.  I'm not even sure when they stopped, but it's kinda nice that they have.

Weight loss to date:  40.8 lbs

Making Some Gains

This week was pretty uneventful, except for the weather.  The photos on the left show last Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday.  I took advantage of the nice weather Sunday and went for a walk in the Metro Park, hitting some of the walking trails and climbing down to the creek bed.  I ended the week with some more time at the beach (Yes, it warmed up again by the weekend!).

At the gym, I got in my usual workouts, plus I went back to the cardio kickboxing class.  I think I’m going to make it a part of my regular routine for a while.  I didn't have any issues with my diet last week, though I did eat more for breakfast than I did last week.  I think that the extra food made a noticeable difference in my energy levels.  I continued with my usual snacks, eating a small lunch and observing portion control for dinner.  This all resulted in a one pound weight loss.

I continue to notice signs of progress.  My shirts are fitting a little differently in the upper back and chest.  I've started doing bent over dumbbell rows again.  In the past, this exercise has been great for developing my upper back muscles.  Depending on how I feel, I work with 60 – 75 lb. dumbbells, performing three sets of ten reps with each arm.  I've also added incline presses to my chest work.  I’m doing 90 – 100 lb. shoulder presses and 90 lb. shoulder shrugs.  My shirt sleeves are starting to fill out, too.  I’m up to 90 lb. reps on the preacher curl bench and 50 lb. dumbbell curls.  Tricep exercises are in the 45 – 60 lb. range.

I feel like I’m on track to hit some of my body shaping goals by July 23, which will be the eighteen month point of my fitness restart.  It’s possible that I may not hit the weight loss goals, but I consider that less important than reaching my overall fitness targets.

Inspiration

This time, my inspiration has nothing to do with me.  I have a cousin who is a little older than me, who has had some fitness issues in the past.  He managed to turn them completely around.  He’s become a runner, averaging 5-6 mile runs.  He eats very clean and has become a smoothie guy, making his own fruit and vegetable smoothies.  He works out regularly in his home gym.  He’s probably now in his best shape since his time in the military.  His success helps to motivate me to keep working towards my own.

Weight loss to date:  45 lbs

Where's the Spandex section?

This week’s weather was pretty similar to last week's.  It started off in the low single digits, later warming up to the high twenties, then dropping back into the low teens.

I was only able to get in two workouts, two zumba classes, and four walks.  My diet was not great this week.  I think that I'm fighting hibernation mode.  All I've wanted to do is eat and sleep.  I picked up 2.4 lbs this week, though I refuse to believe that much of it is fat.


Undeterred and buoyed by many positive comments, I bought myself a couple of wicking workout shirts.  They don't fit nearly as well on me as they do on the model in the photo, but they're passable.  I can't wear them tucked in yet (They show off too many lumps!), but evidently they didn't look too bad untucked, based on the feedback I received.

I guess the purchase of the shirts was my "Buddy Love" moment.  In the Eddie Murphy version of "The Nutty Professor," super heavy Professor Krump had just changed into his fit alter ego, Buddy Love.  Excited to be thin, Buddy goes on a shopping spree at a sports clothing store.  His exchange with the store clerk went like this:

Clerk:  You Iookin' for any kind of clothes in particular?
Buddy Love:  Spandex! All Spandex! Where's the Spandex section?

I was kinda like that.  I'd seen some of the super fit at the gym wearing the wicking shirts and I'd wanted to give them a try for some time.  I finally decided that I'd lost enough belly fat to wear one in public and not feel embarrassed.

Wearing them has given me a new goal to add to my goals list:  Get to the point that I can wear the shirt tucked in.  I guess this would actually be a subset of the "Flat stomach/six pack" goal, but who's counting?

Motivation

• More positive comments and encouragement.
• Noticing people checking me out during my workouts in the gym.
• ...and the best motivation to date:  My three year old grandson spontaneously proclaiming, "Pop Pop has muscles!"

Special Motivation

This is Sam 'Sonny' Bryant Jr., a SEVENTY year old bodybuilder!!!  If this doesn't motivate you, I don't know what will!

Weight loss to date: 47.4 lbs.

More Cold, Less Exercise

Yet another week of arctic weather.  We had a couple of sub-zero days.  The rest were in the single or low double digits, except for the day that it warmed up enough to snow (4-6 inches).  Between the cold and some other obligations, I only made it to the gym twice this week.

I got in three of my daily lunchtime walks, missing two.  I did a snow shovel workout, moving some wet, heavy snow (I went to bed an hour early that night!).  I made it to two Zumba classes, one elliptical/track session, and one round of resistance training (legs and shoulders).

I took it slow with the shoulder exercises, as I wanted to make sure that I didn't stress my shoulder again.  I started off with three sets of 50 lbs on the shoulder press machine.  I usually workout at 70-90 lbs.  On the first set, I had some discomfort, but nothing serious.  It felt fine as I worked through the other two sets of presses.  I finished the session with three sets each of shoulder shrugs, upright rows, dumbbell flies, and dumbbell raises.

Since I wasn't able to work out as much as I wanted, I concentrated more on my diet, paying particular attention to my portions.  Even so, I was not looking forward to getting on the scale.  After last week’s total, I seriously considered skipping it this week.  I’d been having a pretty positive week and didn't want to spoil it.  I went ahead and jumped on the scale anyway.  It turns out that I lost 4.6 pounds.  Crazy, right?

Motivation

• I bought some size 36 pants, without bothering to try them on.  They fit fine.  On a side note, I walked around the Big and Tall department while I was shopping.  It felt a little weird to realize that everything in that department was now too big for me.
• Some folks have started referring to me as “The Skinny Man.”
• I've been getting more questions about my diet and training regimen.

Here’s hoping that we get some better weather next week!

Weight loss to date: 49.8 lbs.