Lessons from this Week

Another week down.  It's been about four since I've been back at it.  I've lost five pounds, toned up a little and am building stamina in the gym.  I quickly realized that stamina is what suffered the most for me during my "leave of absence" as I like to call it.  I can still put up some weight (not a ton, but some), but I struggled with the stamina to do long workouts.  Workouts seem to be getting longer, and my energy and strength lasts much longer than it did prior.

There's a couple lessons I learned this week:
1. If I compartmentalize health, it doesn't work - Health is about lifestyle, not about actions and time.  If I'm only "healthy" during the hour I'm at the gym and the time I'm eating, I'm compartmentalizing my health and cheating myself.

2. Protein Shakes save me.  I think that I mentioned this before, but seriously, if I don't get a good protein shake in me after a workout, I will crash pretty soon after.

3. Working out with friends and others motivates me in the short term much more than remembering the long term health benefits.  Not that those long term benefits aren't important, however it's tough for me to be motivated by them in the short term.  Finding short term motivators keeps you on pace for the long term.

4. I admire my wife's dedication.  She got back in the gym (we invested in a personal trainer for her) a few months ago, and since then she's lost about 20 lbs and remains active despite feeling sick due to pregnancy.

5. Portion control comes with time and patience.  Wow is this a hard lesson for me to learn.

We're celebrating my son's 2nd birthday this weekend, so not much time for the gym today...we are going to a jumping gym however, so that should be fun.

I'm looking forward to starting week five on Monday.

I Don't Like Being Alone

I'll tell you what the hardest part about working out is for me...motivation.

I know all the long term benefits

- Better Health

- Feeling Better About Yourself

- Longer Life Expectancy

- Vanity (always true to some extent)

However none of those are immediate and right in my face when I'm at the gym or getting ready for another set.  I'll tell you what is though...a buddy who's pushing you to finish.

I've also found that I get stuck doing the same workouts and the same routines if I don't have a workout partner to shake things up a bit.

Yay for workout partners.

I Got My Butt Kicked Today

Of all the practices, races, conditioning days, court suicides, shuttle runs, weight lifting sessions and jumping workouts that I've done in my life, there have only been two times that I've ever almost thrown up.  The first was when I was biking up South Fork in Provo Canyon, 20 miles away from home climbing up a hill and the second was today during my third set of burpees.  

I worked out today with a buddy of mine @crossfizz.  It was a CrossFit day and this was our workout:

Five rounds for time of:

400 Meter Run

20 Burpees

15 Two-hand dumbbell bent over rows, 50 lbs each

I finished it in 28 minutes...nothing impressive (some people reported finishing it sub 17 minutes), but not too bad for my out-of-shapeness.  I had to scale it back a bit by finishing the last two rounds of runs on the elliptical and only doing 12 burpess per round.  I was dying by the end, but it was totally worth it.

What a great way to start the week!

It's Been a While...But at Least I've Been Busy

So I'm not gonna lie...it's been a while.  It seems that the holidays, work and other projects have really taken my time away from the blog.  The holidays took a toll on the weight loss and fitness and I've been busy getting back into the groove and putting myself on a good schedule.

Thanks to some friends at work, a supportive wife and an iPhone app (more about the app later), I've got to say that I've been doing a pretty good job at staying active and eating okay.  I won't say that I'm eating healthy yet, but do think I'm gaining some head way on the matter.

My days have been mixed with pick up basketball games with friends, dumbell circuit workouts at home, crossfit workouts with my boss, visits to the gym and a lot of energy trying to be conscious about my diet.  I hear that it takes two weeks to make a habit out of something...I hope that's true and I hope it sticks!

I've found that oatmeal is a great breakfast, boiled eggs are a great snack, open-faced sandwiches are great for lunch, and that most of my calorie intake is for dinner (approximately 50%).  I've got to work on that.  If I don't have a protein shake or something similar following a workout, I can expect to crash about three hours later.  I have a weakness for Ranch dressing (not the leanest of salad dressings) and that I don't really have a major sweet tooth... except for one day out of every two weeks.

Needless to say, I've learned a ton about myself and my habits these last few weeks.  I've got 5 lbs to show for it and about 42 more I've got to lose by Thanksgiving of 2011.