Catching Up

I've always had a problem keeping a consistent journal.  My mother always tried to get us to keep good journals growing up.  I would last a couple of weeks, or a couple of months and then I'd fizzle out.

It's been a couple weeks since I posted.  I've been working on a couple other projects: personal website, getting ready for baby #2, me, etc.  I've still been pretty active in they gym, and have been learning a lot about my personal fitness limits, needs, etc.  Here's a recap of what I've learned over the last couple of weeks.

Consistency is key:
I feel my body getting stronger and stronger.  I don't find that I've been focusing on strength, and or lifting more weights consciously, I credit it to being consistent.  I've been in the gym or doing workouts about 4-5 times a week for the last 6 months.  I credit the strength I'm feeling to consistency.

Change in diet comes in small steps:
At the beginning of the year, I told myself that I need to make a drastic change in how I ate.  I would do well for a few days, than crash completely.  I'd get back on, then get back off, then get back on, then get back off.  Recently, I've begun to learn that diet change comes in small steps.  I look at my diet now and I know where I'm strong and where I'm not.  If I try to tackle the entire thing in one swoop...I'll fall and fail.  I've come a long way: my breakfast and lunch meals are far more healthy and consistent than they used to be.  Now I've just got to work on dinner and snacking.  I'll get there eventually, but it won't come overnight for me.

Man it feels good to sweat:
I've done some great workouts with my buddies recently that have just left me dripping in sweat.  It's a wonderful feeling.

I've also done a few great workouts recently.  I'll post some of my favorite from this last month in another post.

Sushi + A Workout = No Bueno

I had every intention to start the week off eating right.  I got to work and was told, "It's Geo's birthday.  We're going to sushi."  They had to twist my arm *sarcastic wink* and got me to go.  The worst part about this in terms of my diet...I went to sushi on Friday as well (it's also bad for my wallet).  I told myself I can't eat out at lunch for the next two weeks (for monetary and dietary reasons).

Since I didn't go to the gym during lunch, I did another homebound WOD.  Here's what I did:

One round each minute until I can't complete the next round of:
5 ground to overhead snatches (25 lb dumbbells) - I did 14 rounds.

About 15 minutes of jumping rope - I warmed up a little for a few minutes, then tried to do a double-under ladder.  5 unbroken then rest - 10 unbroken then rest - 15 unbroken then rest, etc.  I got to 25 and failed about 6 times to get to 30 (I failed at about 19 each time...odd).

I'm a bit gassed and now I'm sucking down a protein shake.

All you can eat sushi + a workout = I don't feel very good at the moment.

Lesson learned.

Lesson Learned About Programming

One of the things that I'm trying to learn is how to better program my own workouts.  I learned a few lessons today about programming.  Here's my Cliff's notes:

1. Be sure to program ahead.  
This one sounds obvious, I know.  I generally have an idea each week of what I want to accomplish and how I want to work my body, but I don't do a good enough job of planning each workout far enough in advance.  I found myself finalizing my workout while in the middle of my warm-up at the gym today.  I feel like planning ahead for each workout would allow me to better prepare myself to perform them well.

2. Finding the balance between hard and easy is going to take some time.  
So one of my weaknesses that I'm trying to program around is first, that I'm not a good runner and my stamina is not the greatest.  When I do workouts, I don't have a problem lifting or pushing heavy weight, I have a problem sustaining strength throughout.  I've been trying to incorporate workouts that include push over a relatively extended period of time (as opposed to stuff like "Fran", which I love, but don't want to rely too much on WODs like that).  I like the CrossFit workouts that include running 400 meters and then doing other workouts in between, like "Nancy".  The second weakness that I'm working on is that I don't do well with movements that require simply moving body weight, like pull-ups.  The experience below will show that I have yet to find a balance between hard and easy while still focusing on my weaknesses.

Here's what happened at the gym today.
So today, as I'm debating what I'm going to do, my mind was jumping between two ideas.  The first was to do a "Four rounds for time of: Run 400 meters + something".  My initial thought was to run 400 meters, than do a round of "Cindy".  The other workout I was thinking about doing was "Death by Pull-Up", which is basically this: on a running clock, you do a set of pull-ups equal to the number of the minute that you're on.  First minute = 1 pull-up, second minute = 2 pull-ups...you get the idea.

I decided that I was going to do the "Four rounds of time of..." workout.  I decided on doing a round of Cindy in between each 400 meters.  I finished in about 15:21  (I needed to do a little bit of travel from where I was running to where I was performing "Cindy"), and I wasn't as gassed as I thought I'd be.  It was a good workout, and I broke a great sweat, but I didn't feel as gassed as I had hoped.  I realized that the workout didn't require quite as much push as I had hoped.  Because I felt a little underwhelmed by the workout, I decided that I'd do some sets of "Death by Pull-up".  I did eight minutes of it and then had to leave to get back to work.

Good lessons learned today and I'm appreciative of them as I work on personally programming my workouts.  The next time I decide to do a run + "Cindy" workout, I'm going to do a ladder of rounds of "Cindy" instead.  Run 400 + 1 round, then run 400 + 2 rounds, etc.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Anyone have tips for personal programming?

Homebound WODs

After a few days of being sick, not eating well, and feeling lazy, I thought it would be a good idea to go to the gym yesterday morning, go into work for a few hours and then spend the rest of the holiday with the ohana (family).  I went to bed and set my alarm for 5:00 AM.  The plan was to be at the gym by about 5:45 or 6:00.  Workout for close to an hour and then head over to work and be back home around noon.

At 7:30, I woke up, rushed into the shower, and made it to work by 8:00.  Fail.

I told myself that afternoon that I needed to at least get some sort of workout in.  I decided that I wanted to do a metcon, but didn't have much to work with.  I don't have a pull-up bar, and in terms of weight, all I have is a small set of dumbbells.  I decided that I'd do a variation on Cindy.  Here's what I did:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 hanging dumbbell cleans
10 push-ups
15 air squats.

I ended up doing 17 rounds + 7 squats.  More importantly, the workout ended up doing what I wanted it to do.  It was short (including warm-up it only took me about 45 minutes), got my heart rate pumping and I broke a major sweat.

One of the things that I love that CrossFit has taught me, is that you don't need a large gym with a lot of weight or cardio machines to get a good workout.  If you put the right movements in the right combination and challenge yourself against time, you've got yourself a great workout.

I definitely love going to the gym and working out amidst the energy and with good workout partners, however it's also good at times to know that when I want to, I can kick my trash with a 20 minute workout at home.

Too Many Rest Days

Last week was a brutal week for me.  After my workout on Thursday, my hands were shaking for about an hour.  I told myself I needed a few rest days.

I didn't work out, Friday or Saturday, and I never workout on Sunday.  Three days are too many days for me to rest.  At work this morning, the only thing that I could think about doing during lunch was SUSHI!  Luckily a buddy of mine and I had planned a workout, so we did not end up caving.  

Instead of sushi, we did the following.

Four rounds for time of:

400 meter run + 50 air squats

I completed the workout in 14:23

Not a good time, but also not a bad one.  Lesson for this week: try as hard as you can to not take three days off.

Listen to Your Body. It'll Tell You.

So I had an interesting experience yesterday morning.  We decided to spend the weekend at my in-laws home.  Fortunately we get to do that every so often because they only live 1.5 hours away from us.  Typically when we go, my mother-in-law spoils me with great waffle breakfasts, we get to eat at my wife's cousin's awesome Mexican restaurant, and we spend a lot of time being lazy and lounging around the house.  It's awesome.  It is a great way to unwind and recalibrate my thoughts and gain my focus back.

Yesterday morning when I woke up, my body told me, "It's time to go to the gym."  I had been planning on going so that I could make up a workout that I missed on Friday due to a birthday lunch, however, I'd lie if I said that part of me wasn't trying to talk myself out of it.

I listened, went to the gym, had a great workout and had a wonderful day!  I still got to lounge around, play with my son and be lazy, but my body felt great the rest of the day.

I believe that our bodies want to be active.  They want to be used.  I made a decision yesterday morning to consciously listen to what my body is telling me.  I realize that it can work both ways however.  Sometimes it'll tell you to slow down (which is just as important at times as being active), however if you're healthy, treating your body right, and being active, I'm going to venture to guess that majority of the time your body will tell you to get out and get active.

Morning Trips to the Gym

I woke up Monday morning (President's Day) and went to the gym.  It was sort of out of necessity.  I was going in to work for a few hours (by choice) and I had plans with my family after work, but I still wanted to get a workout in.  I got to the gym by about 6:45 jumped on an elliptical machine for about 45 minutes, jumped in the shower and was at work by about 8:00.  The rest of the day I was invigorated.

What tough about morning trips to the gym?
1. The gym is packed.
2. I cherish my sleep like it's gold.
3. My bed is so comfortable.

What's great about morning trips to the gym?
1. An early morning workout will kick start your metabolism.
2. Your family is typically still sleeping.
3. It's like jolt of energy for the rest of my day.

So...I've decided that I'm going to start making morning trips to the gym twice a week to do some cardio.  I'll probably still go to the gym during lunch to workout with my buddies from work, but this will give me some easy and needed "me time" in the gym (although it is difficult to stay motivated).

I calibrated Nike+ on my iPhone to record my workouts on the elliptical (my joints need low impact).  Hence the screenshots.

I'll let you know how it works out.  I anticipate that it will help with the weight loss over time.  Prior to my senior season for Volleyball in high school I wanted to drop a few pounds.  I started running three mornings a week before school and it got me in pretty dang good shape...I dropped the needed weight as well.

Why I Love Crossfit

So I've been fortunate this past month or so to be working out with a group of guys from work.  They're big fans of Crossfit, so I've kind of been thrown into the middle of a crazy workout regimen.  At first, I was really intimidated by the concept and the workouts.  I'm still intimidated by some of it, but not as much anymore.

Courtesy of Crossfit.com.  This isn't me by the way.

If you aren't familiar with Crossfit, you should look into it.  It's a training program that is used by different law enforcement agencies, military personnel, athletes, and martial artists to name a few.  By design, the programs delivers fitness that is general, broad and all inclusive.  Workouts tend to emphasize multiple muscle groups in motion together.  The great thing about the workouts, is that they are scalable to whatever your fitness level.  My explanation does it no justice, so you should check out the Crossfit Website and the Crossfit Journal.

As I mentioned, I was really intimidated by it at first, however I have grown to love Crossfit.  Here are a couple reasons why:
1. Results.  Isn't this the ultimate reason you do a work out.  We do Crossfit workouts about three days a week.  In the last month I've lost 7 lbs.  I've also felt myself get stronger and increase stamina.
2. Adrenalin and Heart Rate.  Crossfit workouts don't take a lot of time (partly because in many of them you're competing for personal best times), however your heart rate skyrockets for some of them...it's a great feeling.
3. Time.  Effective and efficient workouts.  That's great for me because I mostly go to the gym during my lunch break.
4. Satisfaction.  When you're done...you feel great about the fact that you finished.

Needless to say.  I'm a fan.  Crossfit is really about "functional fitness" to me.  If you get an opportunity...look into it.  Like Milk, it'll do a body good.

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.