Long Overdue Update, the Ice Age Cometh, and I am Faster than a 12 yr old!

Well here I am near the end of week four. I expected that the beginning of this journey was going to be hard and I have not been disappointed.

Week One went better than expected. I was able to complete all three days of the cardio work-outs and got two of the strength training days in. By the end of week one I could feel a little wear and tear.

Week Two started off strong and I felt pretty good during the 1st round of cardio......this is where I started to get cocky.

Luckily the universe has a way of keeping you humble. I have had to ice my knees and my Achilles tendon just to get from one workout to the next. The knees are simply due to the extra weight and my body not being quite ready to run around the track.

The Achilles tendon is a different story. One of the best things to come out of this exercise has been my wife and son joining me in the workouts. I have really enjoyed being more active as a family. Both Anna and Hunter do laps with me at the track and we all do the sit-ups and push-ups. We also toss a football around as we walk. It is so much more rewarding to come home from work and go out to do physical activities as a family than sitting on the couch emptying out the TIVO. Back to the Achilles Tendon. Anna bought Hunter a new pair of running shoes and he was convinced that he would now be faster than his dad.....and I couldn't let him win. The worst part was i didn't actually injure my achilles tendon during the race......I hurt it after I had won and was bouncing around gloating.....humbled again....heh

The weight is not coming off as fast as I would like but I am still on pace to meet the month one goal of 10 pounds. I am working to increase my protein and fiber intake as well as working on portion control. I am looking forward to being able to push the physical activity more as I get into better shape.

I actually look forward to the workouts now and am very fortunate to have such a supportive family. Seeing Hunter embrace the new regime and actually getting excited about getting into shape for wrestling is very rewarding in itself. It is all about consistency and I am in this for the long haul.

I promise more frequent updates going forward as well as the previously promised before pictures and a recipe or two.

Tomorrow is our 15th wedding anniversary and I think Anna deserves a medal for putting up with me. I love her very much.

So it begins....

So it begins……..248 lbs/25.7% body fat. GOAL: 195 lbs/10% body fat.

Today is Day 1 of my quest to become 19 again. What have I been doing for the past two weeks? Planning, researching, and eliminating excuses. The last one took the longest.

Here is my plan thus far…

I am going to do cardio M-W-F and strength/core training T-TH-SA. Yep six days a week….the Football Gods look down upon missing Sunday Worship.

I formulated my own beginning cardio plan utilizing The Beginning Runner’s Handbook as a reference. For my core strength training I will be using two separate programs from hundrepushups.com and twohundredsitups.com. I will post links to my work-out plans, including cool pocket versions, soon. (visit pocketmod.com for a cool app that will allow you to turn pdf files into handy pocket sized reference guides).

As far as my diet is concerned, I am going to focus on increasing my protein and fiber intake coupled with fresh fruits and vegetables. Portion control, eating slowly and drinking plenty of water will also be primary concerns.

As you can see, my plan is very basic. I want to do things that are accessible to everyone. As I get into better physical condition I will increase the intensity of my workouts and add in weight training. The key will be keeping things simple and not pushing too hard too soon….I always say I am going to start off easy and then end up over doing it.

8/31/2009

I woke up feeling pretty good this morning after a decent night’s sleep. Of course, it being Monday, I wished I could have laid there a bit longer (or all day…I was pretty comfy).

I had a very busy day at work but my energy levels stayed up and the day flew by.

After getting home I had a snack and waited for the sun to head toward the horizon.

We arrived at the local Jr High track and I started my cardio work out. I am happy to say I completed the 2.75 mile work-out and felt pretty good afterwards. The lightning show kept the work-out interesting as well.

We will see how I feel in the morning…lol.

Day 1 was a success…..153 days to go.

Please feel free to post questions or offer suggestions.

19 Again.....

Here I am; 37 years old and arguably in the worst physical condition of my life. Years of sedentary jobs, sedentary hobbies and several sports related injuries have taken their toll. A few clichés come to mind;

‘Never say Never’……. I remember myself saying that I would never allow myself to get out of shape.

‘Only the strong survive’…….. You have to be strong of mind, strong of spirit and strong in body to survive……if this were baseball, a .333 batting avg wouldn’t be bad…..but this is not baseball.

‘Excuses are like belly buttons; everyone has one’…… if this were true my abdomen would look like the lunar surface.

‘I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired’……time to make a change.

I have always been a believer that if you listen to your body it will tell you what it needs. Recently mine has been screaming for help. Low energy levels; un-diagnosable abdominal pain; atypical chest pain (this is what the emergency rooms tell you when everything looks normal but they feel the need to justify the $100 co-pay); the list goes on. My body finally has my attention and it is time to take action.

Why 19? Well, 19 yrs of age represents the time before the shoulder reconstruction; the two hernia repairs; and the ACL reconstruction. It was also when I was in the best shape of my life; 194 Pounds and under 10% body fat - I felt indestructible. I was in my freshman year at ASU and was determined to try-out for the football team the following year. I was full of what could be and I was more than a little full of myself. I am still full of what could be (or perhaps something else) and I am committed to letting go of what could have been. It is time to move forward.

Why blog about it? This is for me. I want to capture the challenges, document my success and I want to hold myself accountable. My goal is to turn back my physical clock and feel 19 again by my 38^th birthday.

I am currently 245 pounds and 27% body fat.

To be 19 again I will have to lose 50 lbs by January 31^st, 2010.

That is the goal and I will be tracking my progress here.

I will include my work-outs, my diet, and how I am feeling along the way.

I am doing this for my wife; she deserves to have her trophy husband back… hehe

I am doing this for my son; he deserves to have an active, healthy role model.

I am doing this for myself; I deserve to be the best I can be.