markroxrmx

Running Focus

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:10:17 GMT

So.. using the calculators posted in the post before this one:

You burn 456 calories.
If you jog at 5.5 mph (approx. 9 km/h) for 30 minutes you will burn 456 calories.

Ya know... that sounds kind of high... but whatever, I'll take it! As stated in many post, I generally suck at running. But I usually run at a 6.0 mph/10 minute mile pace... for 30 minutes. So, by this calculators' standards, I'm burning around 500 calories... I guess that's possible.

It's always a guestimation even on the calculator's part right? Back in Phoenix, when I was going through my 1,000cal day workouts, it would generally take me about 73-75 minutes. So 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to 1,000 calories burned. That's using the different cardio machines calculations though. Whatever.

I've been doing paced runs this week so far, but next week I think I'm going to focus on interval runs again. I did do a 10 minute set of intervals yesterday and today within that 30 minutes, but not as intense. I'm also working on breathing ladders so that I can get my lungs up to speed and in shape sooner. Also doing some sipping exercises to help open up my lung capacity.

It's interesting when you've been running for 20 minutes and you're still going at a really good pace... and you yawn.

Leah would yawn during Spin classes and the instructor would always think that she wasn't working out hard enough. But really... it was just that she had more control of her breathing. She didn't go into that uncontrolled 'panic' mode of breathing which is really inefficient.

Anyways. Enough Talk. No running tomorrow. But Saturday, it's on.

Day 23 - Workout & Motivation!

Tue, 29 May 2007 13:45:59 GMT

Lifting day! Kinda unfocused. Did not do any of the heavy lifts today (deadlift, squat, ummm... bench?) but I did work primarily on my back. Then a little chest just to get it going, then bicep curls.

Basically I did:
T-Bar Rows - 3 x 10
Dumbell bent over rows - 3 x 10
Low cable Row - 3 x 10
Assisted PullUps 4 x 10
Chest Cable Flys - 3 x 15
Bicep Hammer Curls 3 x 15
Tricep Dips 4 x 10

So, there's this article in Men's Health about motivation. The bulk of the article isn't 'tips' or anything like that, but rather the science behind motivation. Basically, there are the external and internal reasons for motivation. Obviously internal reasons are stronger and go much further.

There's much more to the whole thing, and even the progression of how we internalize motivations and skills and make them our own but that's not the scope of this LJ cut!

One of the concepts I related to very much in the article is that when we were kids, working out was play. Now, working out is work. It no longer mimics play.

Well, except for me. And for many people who have gotten to that point where they workout because they find it so much fun. Like I do. Granted, I make quite the effort to make it fun, but still, I consistently find working out fun. So it IS play for me. It's probably one of the few things I do on an everyday consistent basis purely for fun since I don't play videogames or really have any other hobbies.

Not that you have to go to that level. But you should find workouts that are fun instead of scientific. Unless you find the scientific aspects fun like I do. All that tweaking with the numbers to see what my body can do, and then even more tweaking after I chart the progress and so on. I find the math in working out, really fun.

Lifting weights isn't for everyone, don't do it all the time. Running isn't for everyone, don't do it all the time. Find a way to play a sport. Find a way to go walking with some animals or people. It's just that we get in these modes where we only have 1 or 2 ideas of what a workout consist of, and if we cannot do that, then we don't workout at all (I must admit, I have been guilty of this.) Which of course is the worst choice. We have to be okay with interim workouts that may not be as 'hard' as we think a workout should be, but it keeps us in the game. It keeps us doing and moving when we're not interested in doing a 'workout' as we define it. There are times when I stop counting and just go all out just to see what I can do because I find that fun. I know some of you guys have very active jobs. Working out even more becomes work when you don't enjoy it.

So be on the lookout for new things you might enjoy, or old things you used to enjoy and might be fresh again. :-) Just keep health and fitness in your thoughts somewhere, don't ever push it out of your head like we tend to do when we give up. Even just doing that, keeping those thoughts in your head during the periods you're not working out, will probably cause you to get back into the game that much sooner.

And don't worry, even if you take a break, I'll probably still be here counting.

FrameWerks Group

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:47:28 GMT

Well.

I must preface this entry with saying that I did squats last Saturday. I haven't really done squats since... I think 1999. So a loooong time. The reason for this is because they're hard, or rather, they take a lot of effort. I always just took the easy lazy route and did ANY other leg machine, as long as it wasn't doing squats. Anyways, I did squats last Saturday. (I still took the easier route because I did them on the Smith machine where the bar is locked into place, and only goes up and down.) My legs started cramping about halfway through the routine cause they were tired, but I finished. I was sore all Sunday. I was slightly better this morning, so I still ran and did my interval cardio workout. Now, my legs are dead. Well, my quads are dead, but in a good way.

I can tell it's in a good way partly because only my quad muscles are sore in each leg. Not the joints/tendons/connecting tissue, and definitely not any of my hip area. So it's a good sore, meaning that the microscopic tears in muscle are focused in my quads, meaning that they'll grow and add to my metabolism. :-)

I ran today though. I run in 10 minute sets.

2 minutes walking. Level 1 incline @ 3.5 speed then 8 minutes jogging at 6.0 speed.
2 minutes walking. Level 1 incline @ 3.5 speed then 8 minutes jogging at 6.4 speed.
2 minutes walking. Level 1 incline @ 3.5 speed then 8 minutes jogging at 6.6 speed.

At this point the breathing part is easy. It's actually the muscle/mechanics of it gets tiring.

Anyways. I'll post tomorrow with my food journal and update picture.

Oh yeah. I joined this workout/health/fitnees LJ community: framewerksand it should be good. Cause they don't use some odd point system, and they're just... workingout and posting pictures and keeping track and generally a healthier/more supportive way of tracking everything than when I did during that 26 days. I suggest anyone to look into them if they're truly interested and want to make more of a commitment.

Please understand that this won't be the group for thinspiration, or anything of the sort. We want to look good, but health is the top focus and there is an understanding that a great body is the by-product of great eating and exercise (health), and it is in that order that we focus our energies.

A real beginning again.

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 01:14:22 GMT

Ah so... it's been a while, and I've been gone... mostly to my real life other LJ, but still... not really focusing on exercise and health and weight and fitness in general. However, we're back. I'm back. I've joined a gym down the street. This past week was the 2nd week straight that I've been working out.

Basically I wake up at 5:05 am, then workout for 30 minutes, then get back home, get ready and go off to work. I can do this at least 5 days a week, and then sometimes, if I'm lucky, I can go again on one of the weekend days. During my '26 days' all I did was run and did ab work, trying to drop as much weight as possible. I had been lifting consistently for many months up until then, but then I just wanted to see how much pure weight I could drop, and just generally be as thin as possible. Plus, I knew that I wouldn't lose too much muscle in the 26 days. More fat. And I lost a lot of it. Roughly 12 lbs of fat, and a total of 15 lbs at final weigh in. The pictures are in the previous entries.

However since then I've mvoed to Atlanta, gained the 15 back, except since I gained it without any exercise, it's pure fat. I still technically fit into my clothes, I just don't like the way I fit in them now, nor do I like how I feel. I mean this at a cellular/blood in my veins level. It might all be in my head, but when I have just eaten fatty foods, or even beer, I can feel it flowing in my veins, and just saturating the cells in my skin... it's gross.

So. Now it's time to rebuild muscle as the focus, and then slowly, very slowly lose the fat.... because that's really the order of things for a guy trying to lose weight and get thinner... build muscle... and then you can really trim the extra fat. It's not an exact balance, but as you build more muscle more fat is lost, even though actual weight may not be much. Which is how even at my recent Lowest weight of 175, I probably looked about 15 lbs lighter.

Now these past two week's I've been trying to get back into exercise shape condition. Now that I feel better... I'm gonna start charting the progress. Well, starting tomorrow. Tomorrow morning will be the weigh in. Tomorrow morning I'm gonna start tracking all of my food intake.Today I have to prepare for tomorrow.

But you know, unlike before, I am working, and I'm going to school, and I'm living with my girlfriend, and I have house duties and just... a busy life... I'm going to start Mandarin lessons once a week too. So, workingout isn't the focus of my day this time around, but it's in there. I have to make time for it and that's why it's the very first thing I do everyday, cause otherwise I'd never get it done.

Pictures will come soon, eventually. Just when I feel like I'm closer to where I want to be... until then, I'll just have to stare at my numbers and stats.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Beyond the 26

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:11:58 GMT

Well, really I'm just gonna have to do what I can do about this. See. I've been in Atlanta for two months now and I'm probably worse off physically than I was at anytime during the last year. This is because I just haven't worked out really for two months and I've been eating like I love food! (which of course i do.)

So. I still can't join a gym (the fees here are insane, $50 a month? What?!) but I really need to get back on track. So... it's back to moderation... as in eating 'right' and proper portions and then also, exercising just a little bit everyday. Aw man. Just a little? I can't go all out? Not in the shape I'm in right now... I'm gonna have to work to get to that point...

So... I figure I can keep track of my food again, and be pretty strict in that area... it's the exercising where I'll have to work at, since I don't have a gym membership. So I have to be all creative and put effort into it, as opposed to the gym where I just press buttons, the machine makes me run or move or something, and then I magically drop weight.

Running outside f'in sucks.

Oh... and I need to do ab work again. Man. I really miss having decent abs.

Anyways. Back in the game.

Update and Update and what now?

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:05:02 GMT

Oh no. I gained 5 lbs. No really. I weigh 5 lbs more in the morning. It's been...almost two weeks since I finished the 26 days and I'm surprised it took me this long... kinda weird though... I thought I gained it sooner than now. Maybe I need a good cleaning? Ha! You know, I probably have like 10 lbs of feces just sitting there in my guts and umm... that's gross. Hm. i don't think I'll ever really get myself to go get one of those colonics. Yeah. Well, maybe. I'm really a 'in the mood' type of person, so who knows.

Anyways, my current eating is just to eat my really boring (but I still like them, however I know that it's not going to last much longer before I move onto a new food) peanut butter & banana sandwiches (whole wheat bread.) That's practically all I eat during the day (granted, I eat like 5-6 of them, but even still that's only roughly 350 calories, and all of them are 'good' calories, with the complex carbs in the bread and fruit, and then peanut butter the magical food. (I am amazed at how much peanut butter I ate (I think I went through 4 large jars during that 26 days) and still lost weight.

Oh. But something I started doing last week was daily yoga. Like a whole yoga class practically, and it's a good one too. I go to YogaToday.com and download/stream their daily yoga class. It's pretty cool. I don't go to actual classes because I can't pay $10-$15 per class, but this is like a whole class with the instructor talking the whole time and guiding you. I really like it. It really helps me with my breathing, especially since I'm generally a really shallow breather (happens when I sit at a desk all day) and so this gets me breathing down to my stomach.

Plus I also neglected doing any real stretching last month, so I'm trying to cath up a little and get back to level. I used to do my own 20 minute yoga routine that did a pretty good job of physically keeping my limber/stretched, but I never focused on 'the breath' like you're supposed to when doing yoga. Yesterday we did some good rapid fire breathing and opened up our 6th chakra and umm... yeah, I liked it. (whether or not you or I believe in the chakras...)

Keep going folks! I haven't decided what my next weightloss/exercise program will be but it won't be a gym. I figure at $30 per month x 12 = $360 ? Is that right? Plus the time commitment to going there and everything else? It's just not... I'm not really in the mood this year. I've been a gym member for probably the last 4 years. I didn't ever really do anything that made progress until my 26 day project. I was too casual about going to the gym and it didn't make an impact.

I'm going to figure out some sort of home workout program. At least now that I'm Georgia, I can run outside. I mean, I could run outside in Arizona except it's really too hot 80% of the year, and then at the time, I lived in a bad part of town (cheap rent!) and I wouldn't go running out there. So I can still run, and my neighborhood is really a good place to run, and I even see other people running. (You never really see that at all in Phoenix.) I live down the street from St. Agnes College for women and Downtown Decatur. It's... a generally good area that I'm in with some poor streets, but still.

Anyways... let's go.

I'm here.

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 21:49:57 GMT

Aha! So...um. well, I'm past the 26 days.. and thank you to you folks who commented and stuff! That's so nice of you. :-)

Anyways... we made it to Atlanta (well, technically Decatur) and it's pretty cool, or rather... REALLY COLD! Especially compared to Phoenix! But yeah, that was a crazy 26 days, and I did look pretty great at the end of it. Part of the reason I did it was also to prepare for what ended up being 4 days of driving across country (because of that BIG ice storm/freeze over most of Texas, we had to reroute) and well, gas station food just isn't healthy at all. I will admit that I also ate food that I hadn't eaten for YEARS on the trip just because well... because I could. I had Pringles chips for the first time in probably 5 years. Ha. I even ate TWO stacks of them. I know. 900 calories a pop. But then on the last two days I switched to sunflower seeds as my driving food to keep me awake. Even though they're bad, they're no where near Pringles or any other chips.

It's f'in cold here and there's no way I'm going outside to run. The house is a mess and we've just been eating out (sushi!) and oh well. Actually, I haven't gained any weight oddly enough. I've probably lost some muscle which accounts for the steady weight, even though it's a shift in mass from muscle to fat... and I've lost some definition, but my clothes still fit loose so that's good. I'm just trying to eat boring (what I ate during my 26 days) while I can, and then eat 'normally' when I go out with my girlfriend for dinner, or to dinner with new friends/people here in ATL.

So. I also finally got the internet hooked up today so now I can read your guys' LJ's and post and ummm... comment.

Oh, and to Theresa... ha.. yeah, I started that website a while back, just before I came up with the 26 days project and then they were gonna tie in together somehow but then I ran out of time to really give it the energy it needed... I really should just take it down again and re-work it... it's always in the works just like me though.

Talk to you folks later.

26 Day Twenty Six!

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:49:50 GMT

I'm done. 26,000 calories in 26 days. I'll write more. I'm packing and cleaning and I'm about to drive for 3 days, Phoenix to Atlanta. I should get back to that. I'll post more thoughts on this soon. I'm just... I'm proud of myself for finishing. More like a humble proud, not my usual I rock proud...

26 Day Twenty Two

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 06:57:38 GMT

1,000 calories

32 minutes - treadmill jogging
36 minutes - treadclimber

Ya know, today wasn't as hard as yesterday. At least not in the same way. The hardest part was actually making sure I got the workout into my schedule. I ate dinner with my family (which is always risky), but I somehow kept myself to not eating any rice, and just filled up on chicken and green beans. Yeah. I know. I'm amazed too! Even though I'll admit that I did eat enough to almost make me full. Which means that I could feel it in my stomach (sometimes I eat and I don't feel anything in there at all, those are great times!) Then I noticed the time and realized that I would make it to the gym 1.5 hours later. So. I downed half a gallon of water in 30 minutes, then before I actually got home, i stopped by walmart and walked around shopping for um, more food I think. So that walking helped. (Also, making sure I downed the water as fast as possible allowed me enough time to pass it cause that helps with my digestion A LOT.) So then I didn't really feel full of food at all when I went to work out.

However, during my 2nd 16 minutes on the treadmill, all the bouncing caused what food I had pushed down, to start to come up a little. At least I started feeling sick... so... well... I wasn't about to stop running. My breathing has been great, my muscles were good.. the only thing that sucked was that my stomach was feeling full again... and well, I felt like I might vomit. So what to do? See, I run in the back of the treadmill rows, and at one end there is a water fountain and small trash can.

I stopped, grabbed the trashcan and placed it over by my treadmill. Yeah. That's what I did. Just in case I had to vomit while running, I could easily stop and grab the trashcan and well, throw up there. Luckily, I just kept my pace and didn't go any harder so I never had to do that.

Anyways... after jogging, the treadclimber was easy going.

Reposted from GymJones.com:

What you know does not matter - what you do matters. Physical training produces physical memories - not simply muscle memory but a psychophysical imprint, knowledge that is instinctual rather than intellectual. This is useful knowledge. Automatic (instinctive) action and reaction is always faster and more energy efficient than intellectually induced action or reaction. There's already plenty to think about in confrontational situations so any response that does not require conscious thought spares intellectual energy for decisions and actions that do demand it. Train yourself to the point that particular, common actions and responses may be executed automatically.

Any deficiency in physical fitness affects confidence. When an individual realizes he does not have the fitness or skill to accomplish a particular task, or that he cannot use his tools to their utmost self-doubt weakens both intellectual and physical abilities. Flagging confidence limits flexibility, preventing appropriate adaptation to various situations. Confidence allows the audacity of original thought. Again, train such a variety of energy systems (types of fitness) that confidence in the face of any challenge is reflexive.

Strength + Confidence + Flexibility = Strategy (the ability to use it).

Physical fitness relative to the mountain environment or to any situation (physical and psychological) can have positive or negative effects on the individual, his teammates, and the overall strategy chosen to accomplish a particular goal. Get fit and stay fit to accomplish a variety of tasks. The goal of physical training can be summed up in one phrase, “to make yourself as indestructible as possible.” The harder a man is to kill, the longer he will remain effective, as a climber, a soldier, or what ever.

Because exercising for me isn't simply to lose weight, but also to gain mastery over an area of 'myself', I believe that it allows me to transfer success from one area, to the rest of my life. That's why I go all out, it's my gateway to a better life, and obviously I cannot blame anyone other than myself if I fail, no excuses, no woe is me.

26 Day Twenty-One

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 18:42:42 GMT

Just a quick thought before I post today's update.. ha... trust me, the update isn't all that exciting anyways.

So. I'm sitting here feeling bad about how I've been eating 'normal' (which of course by "our" standards (us people who are reading this) isn't that much anyways), and I just... as much as I think it's silly for other people to stress and phreak out about eating 'normal', I know that i do it also. I mean. After having that mostly empty feeling in your stomach for so long, for so often... when it gets full you just... you feel sick. You've seen the post. Someone ate a normal portion and since it's more than a bite... they feel sick... so that's me lately... well... today. Well. Really it's me after dinner. Man! My will power sucks bad when I eat anywhere else except my house.

So Yeah. I realize that I'm only at around 800 calories for the day and it's already 12noon, so I'm technically on track... but it's gnawing at me. Mainly because I'm going bowling today with my family. AND I know they'll get french fries. And we all know MarkRoX CANNOT RESIST French Fries. Ahhh... maybe today I will. Maybe I'm neurotic enough today that I'll be able to keep my hands away from them. Maybe. Plus there's my added stress about how I might get distracted and not make it to the gym. Argh. ARGH! Okay nevermind that. I'm GOING TO THE GYM tonight. Or Else. Ha. Or Else? Yes! Or ELSE Dammit!

Anyways... how many days left? 5? Hm. Exciting.... man! I'm such a girl! Shut up! ha. I bang hot chicks! Back off!

1,000 calories:

48 minutes - treadmill jogging
11 minutes - treadclimber

It was again really hard to get through this workout. At least the last half. I wasn't up for it. I mean... during the last section, I was totally about to not go over to the treadclimber to finish the last 200 calories. Instead I was going to just decide to come back later tonight and do another session. But then I realized that's stupid and it would just waste more time. Time that I would rather spend with my family. SO. Even though I TRULY DID NOT WANT TO, I sucked it up and stay for that extra 11 minutes. Crazy how that is. I was totally ready to give up and not stay for just 11 more minutes because I wasn't in the mood to do this right then. I might have made that deal with myself in the past (about coming back later that night) but I guess not right now. I can't make dumb decisions like that with my time right now. I need to just stay on track and of course this last part is going to be the hardest (other than the very beginning.) I mean, everday I'm just thinking, what if I quit today?

Then I realize... no... there's no way I'm quitting. That's... I just can't. I won't... ha. Just a few more days anyways.

Oh. The snack bar was mysteriously closed. So no french fry temptation at all today. Yay.

Anyways. Tomorrow is another day.

26 Day Twenty!

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 12:35:38 GMT

1,000 calories burned.

20 minutes - treadclimber
32 minutes - treadmill jogging
10 minutes - treadclimber

Back on track today! Yeah! I was planning on going back in the evening but it didn't work out. I could have pushed and gotten it in there time-wise, but then I realized that I didn't have any clean workout clothes. It's actually kind of sad. I only have two workout shirts now and one pair of shorts that I like to workout in. So I wash them everyday. I know. Not exactly the best as far as water/energy conservation goes. Oh well. I'm trying to look good remember? ha.

I ate well today too. I didn't deviate at all from my foods. This is mainly because I didn't go hangout with anyone else. I just kinda stayed home waiting for people to come over and buy my furniture. (which by the way, was a complete failure. everyone either didn't buy or rescheduled. sucks!)

I can feel the end. Or maybe I'm just too distracted because the end of this means that I'm moving the next day. So I have LOTS to get done before I finish this 26 days. In fact, I'm probably spending too much time focusing on this instead of making sure I'm ready to move when my girlfriend flys back into town so we can drive down to Atlanta. Yeah. That's why no one except you people reading about this right now, knows that I'm doing this. I need to finish and telling some people about this would just cause more trouble than it's worth. I mean, there's something to be said about telling everyone about your plans so that you have that social pressure to follow through... but a lot of times your friends/family are the WORST people to motivate you.

Not because they want you to fail (although some really do) but I think a large part is that your goals are not their goals, so it couldn't possibly be as important to them as it is to you. Ya know? Yeah. So. Here we go.

26 Day Nineteen

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 05:30:06 GMT

None?

Okay so... I didn't get to go to the gym today. I know. Shocked huh? Crazy huh? I am... part of me feels bad but then part of me doesn't. My legs are tired and I know I'll be better having rested. I also didn't go because I had people scheduled to come over and buy furniture all day long (or just at inconvenient times) so I didn't really get a chance to go. Although I will admit... I never lost that nagging feeling/anxiety. I mean... I've been doing this for 19 days now ya know? So that means I really only have 7 more days. I think I'm technically caught up though because I did two days of 2k. So Christmas is covered, and then today is covered. However it would be nice to come out ahead of my original calorie goal. That would be cool. I mean... 1,000 calories did get easier to burn after a while. Obviously I made some gains and got in better shape. Now it's just a mental game with me, trying not to just give up and stop because of boredom.

I don't know... I'll see how it goes tomorrow right? Right. But still... It's starting to sink in that I'm getting really close to finishing this 26 days. Awesome huh? Ha. This will be cool at the end.

26 Day Eighteen

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 06:00:17 GMT

1,000 calories burned:

Ah... I like this picture of me... I think I look younger in it than the other ones. Mainly because I didn't take it at 530 in the morning. I took it later in the day AFTER my mid-day nap. Yeah. I'm rested in this picture. Ha. Oh and another thing, you have to realize that I only post the 'best' pictures of me. It usually takes about 5 shots to find one decent enough to post AFTER editing it ya know? I mean, in real life I don't think my abs 'pop' as much as they do in these photos. I wish they did though.

I'm currently selling a lot of my furniture, getting ready to move to Atlanta next week. I don't think I'll be able to run tomorrow. But I'll make it up the next day. Plus, I think my legs are really fatigued. Not just tired, but fatigued. There is a slight difference ya know? Anyways... trying to make it to the end of these 26 days. Boredom is really getting to me lately. I've lost about 10lbs so far. I would probably would have lost more except I keep deviating from my diet. Luckily it's good food, and It's always with people I really care about, like hanging out with my family for dinner, or with friends I won't see anymore once I move out of state. So it's not like I'm eating junk food, or because I'm just bored and need to stuff something in my mouth. (The usual reason for eating badly.)

So I don't feel too bad that I've only lost 10 lbs in 18 days. Even though I was planning on almost double that. Ha. I guess technically I have 7 more days left. Hmmm... I think I'll aim for close to 5 lbs more. But if I don't make it... I won't be too bummed. I know that I didn't make it not because I didn't exercise enough, but because I having too good a time hanging out with my friends and family.

But ya know... once I get situated in Atlanta, 165 is going to be my goal. I haven't been 165lbs since the fall of 1997. That was the first time I lost a ton of weight, going from 240lbs down to 150 lbs in FOUR months. But I was all skin and bones. Now I'm going to get down to 165 with a good deal of muscle. I just... I want to see what it feels like to be at that weight with my body composition as it is now ya know? I may not like it even, of course that's pretty unlikely. Ha.

Goodnight.

26 Day Seventeen

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 11:49:54 GMT

1,000 calories burned

60 minutes - treadclimber

Legs were kind of fatigued (as opposed to just tired) today so I took it easy and only did the treadclimber. (Lots less stress on my knees/joints/quads.) Today was... because it was the treadclimber the entire time, I had to concentrate on not losing focus and really just not giving up and going home. For these last few weeks I've kind of forgotten how boring/mind numbing cardio can get when you're not really being challenged. Even though I was going faster on the treadclimber than I have before, I just wasn't really into it today. I guess that's part of the whole thing though with working out, doing it and pushing through the really tough times when you don't feel like working out ya know?

ABS:
My original intention when I started this was that I wasn't going to do any weight lifting. I was going to do ONLY cardio. However after a few days I decided that I would still do some ab work. I'm kind of proud of my abs even though like everyone else, even I can find imperfection when I look at my abs. I'll let you in on a secret. I'm actually pretty lazy. That laziness shows in my abs. Notice how it's not really a six pack? It's really just a 4.5 pack. I don't have the bottom two well developed because I don't do any lower ab work. I used to do leg raises...and since I was lazy and didn't add the 'curl' at the end of them, they really just worked my hip flexors, but they did help develop my iliac furrow (those two lines going diagonally inward.)

Anyways, about every 3 days I find that I have time at the end of my workout to do abs. I use the weighted ab machines. I used to do the ab-roller type crunches but I never got really great results until I went to the weight ab machines. At this time I only do two things. I do the weighted seated crunches, and I do wood chopping with the cable crossover machine. The seated crunches really work the front six pax (mainly just the upper four) and then the wood chopping action really tightens the intercostals and the whole side of my abdomen, making everything just really tight.

So yeah. I guess I run and do ab work.

Just another day.

26 Day Sixteen

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 20:22:32 GMT

Just a quick re-post from my other LJ before I post about today's workout. I talk about how I feel when I run.

"So... Yeah... Ummm... was feeling that slight panic of there's so much to do (which you can feel even if you're on track) but then... I came back down. A few things ran through my head... I read NonProfit's LJ post, and that made me feel better. But then also... I just started doing things. Started cleaning some more, started taking the rest of the pictures to post on craigslist... well.. and then I started about how I feel when I run... I f'in rock at running now. (Well for me, which is a lot since I've never been a good 'runner'.) I just.. these days when I run... I'm this sort of f'in running machine and I compete with other people in the gym. (Sure they don't know it.) If they're running close enough and I can see their speed/incline... I'll race them. I'll match them and go faster even. Yeah. It's kinda funny. Most of the time though I'm just running in the back alone... and then I'm just in my own head, thinking, concentrating on breathing... and these days... I get to this spot where... my thoughts are so focused, my inner monologue is really conversing with me that I feel slightly separate from my body. Connected to both parts, but they are definitely separated. Running becomes more about controlling my thoughts and focus, and less about how tired my body is.

I kind of reach this place just short of euphoria. Yeah. I know how it sounds, me waxing metaphysical and such about running but... that's how it is for me. I actually reach this place. Where the music, my steps, my body, and my thoughts are in line and... glowing. I used to think that it was just about me being in control of my body and thoughts, but that's no longer the main thing for me. What I really like is how more than anything else I do... when I run, everything is greater. My thoughts are clearer, my body functions like an incredible physical machine, and with each milestone/goal that I surpass (minutes, speed, distance) I just add more reasons proving why I can do anything. Because for me, running is 1st a mental struggle and 2nd a physical struggle... just like everything else in life."

1,100 Calories Burned:

60 minutes - Treadmill Jogging

Yeah. I ran pretty hard today. My legs will probably be sore tomorrow. Just a few thoughts, during the 3rd & 4th sessions ( I run in 15 minutes sessions.) it became increasingly difficult to keep focus. It really took effort. Also, during the 2nd run I got a side stitch. You know, that pain you get in the side of your abdomen when you're running and not breathing enough? But of course I'm too stubborn to stop. What do I do? I start breathing deep and hard... breathing with muscular effort. Sucking air in and then pushing it out, trying to get enough oxygen into my gut so that the stitch goes away. It really doesn't go away during that run, but it doesn't get any worse.

Yeah. That was a difficult run.

26 Day Fifteen

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 20:17:59 GMT

Approximately 1600 calories burned.

6 mile hike.
4.5 miles -treadmill running

So I went on a 6 mile hike with my brother and sister this morning. Mathematically that should be around 1,000 calories... but we'll just say it's around 800 or something. Anyways... then I went home a a few hours later I went to the gym and ran for a while. Good stuff. Actually... considering this is the after drinking 5 beers and having several shots the night before... well... actually.. the higher calorie count may have helped me a lot. Because I was a f'in running machine at the gym. Strong too. Even after having hiked 6 miles earlier in the day.

Crazy huh? Well actually I have known that I've been a lot lower on the calorie count than I should be. Especially for how much I'm working out. But you know it's hard to keep track of everything and not try to just get lower and lower on the calories. At least make them equal. For example, I'll eat around 2k calories... but I'll run off 2k calories... so then... I'm at zero for the day... cool huh? But I was never really good at running on completely empty... so... but the zig-zag calorie routine is actually really good for tricking your body and not letting it get used to things and having the metabolism slow down.

Anyways... tomorrow... even more running huh? Yes of course.

26 Day Fourteen

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 19:55:56 GMT

1,000 calories burned - Ha. Look at my face... I'm SO not awake.

20 minutes - treadclimber
40 minutes - treadmill jogging

I had planned on going for another session in the evening just before going out to meet my ex-co-workers for a night of drinks. (Yes, I know... that almost guarantees that I'd go over my calorie count, but I'm not THAT insane yet... I really really liked working with these people.) I didn't really get much sleep the night before, but I still got up to do the morning workout. It was a seriously difficult session, my eyes were really tired, even if my body wasn't. Somehow I pushed through and got back home. I tried to take a nap practically all day long but I kept getting interrupted. (I'm selling all my furniture on craigslist, and several times people came over to buy things.) so I never got to take my nap and make up for lost sleep. So I was already fatigued... but I was going to go through with my evening workout and then try to sleep for a bit before going out that night...

Immune System/Nutrition
Then I got dressed... and... these days, because of how much I pay attention to how I look, and how my body operates/runs from food I eat and exercise... I can sort of feel my immune system. Sounds funny, but it's true. If you know me, you'd know that I often say that I have an Award Winning Immune System! This is because I rarely (like less than once a year) get sick. Seriously. I attribute this to generally not eating trans-fats (partially hydrogenated oils), and getting enough antioxidants. I have it in my head that I'm immune to cancer. It's not that I'm genetically immune, it's that I take in enough antioxidants that there is no F'in way I'm going to get cancer.

SO. I never get sick. I'm intune with my body enough to know when I'm coming down with something, however my immune system is strong enough that I can STOP, SLEEP, REST, and the illness is sent packing. I'm talking about deep sleep where I'm just OUT. Usually It takes anywhere between 3-8 hours of sleep. So either a long nap, or just overnight. This works for me.

Major reasons why I don't want to be sick isn't because I feel like garbage when I'm sick. It's because I can't afford to be sick. I can't miss work (I have to use sick days for ummmm... anything else but being sick...) and if I am sick, that means that I can't work out. So when I'm getting sick and I have to miss a workout, I MUST REST or else I will miss even more days. See how that works? So no second workout today.

26 Day Thirteen

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:30:03 GMT

2,000 Calories Burned.

Morning:
20 minutes - treadclimber
40 minutes - treadmill jogging

Evening:
60 minutes - treadclimber

Okay, so I've decided to not feel bad if I totally hog a machine. My gym has a ton of cardio machines. Between like 30 treadmills, 20 ellipticals and 15 bikes, and then they have just Four treadclimbers. Many times they are full and I've always been polite and not spent forever on one while the gym was busy because I'm sure people were waiting like vultures to swoop in for their turn. Yeah, I'm done being considerate in that way. Nothing happened that has made me change this thinking. I just... I've decided that I pay enough to be a member of the gym and ya know, if I'm crafty enough to get on there, well I'm gonna stay as long as I feel like it. Not that I think I'm 'better' than anyone, but look. I'm here to do this. I think I'm pretty serious about this now. So back off alright? Look. I know you're just gonna go stuff your face later. I KNOW THIS. You know how I know it?

Cause I've been going to this gym for over a year and I've seen you. (No really, I'm not even thinking of anyone in particular.) You look EXACTLY the same. You might spend time here at the gym, but you don't look any different. You might even look WORSE. So back off cause I'm here to WORK. I'm not here to talk and hangout. I'm here to WORK.

I'm going to take as long as I want to on this machine. Especially when there are about 50 other cardio machines.

ha. Anyways, another 2k day right? I don't know... hmmmm.... I'll keep up with this... it's kind of... ya know, I can see how this can kinda be addicting. Oh well. I'm sure once I move to Atlanta and get near some real food I'll get over it. Right? Right. Trust me, I backsliding is a lot easier for me than you might think.

Sore Muscles:
My legs ARE beginning to get sore. Just a overall general soreness, or maybe just tired. Not exactly sore. My calves are sore from all the jogging. My quads are just more... tired... and then there's that slight creak in my left knee. Never really been a problem or pain at all. It's more like... my tendons/muscles around my left knee are just weaker than my right, so when it's tired, I can feel it more. It's more of a muscle imbalance.

So yeah. I've been using Icy/Hot on my calves, but today I didn't want any sort of pain in my legs to nag at me (and I do mean nag, cause that's what it would be, it wouldn't be enough to stop me, more just enough to annoy me.) SO I did something that's not really all that healthy. Although... it's pretty low on the scale of things I could be doing. So. What I did was take some ibuprofen before my workout just so that I would kinda be numb to any aches that might come up during my workout.

See? That's not so bad right? I guess if I had to pop some ibuprofen everyday it would be bad... but otherwise... ha, I'll have to watch that. Luckily it's never bothered my stomach.

26 Day Twelve

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 13:40:24 GMT

2,000 calories burned!

Morning:
20 minutes treadclimber
40 minutes treadmill jogging

Evening:
20 minutes treadclimber
40 minutes jogging

Wow. I did it. My first 2K day. ha. Yeah. It was actually... unfortunately is was kind of easy. No really, it was. I'd say a big reason is because I wore my new workout shirts with that dri-fit material so I was alot 'cooler' and I wasn't self concious about how drenched in sweat I was. Yeah. Well. Hm. I will say that I wasn't feeling that great during the 2nd half of the morning workout.
I just... I ran out of steam. I only had a protein shake before my run. I know I know, lots of people do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. Well, these days there really isn't any way that I could do that. At least not if I want to workout hard at all. So, tomorrow I'll have a sandwich when I wake up and then a protein shake an hour later before my workout. I'll let ya know how it goes.

Oh. I have to plan my meals better. I was out and about today with my brother when it had been a little over 3 hours since I had eaten. I started to feel really weak and broke out into a cold sweat. Usually my legs start to shake. That's when I know that I REALLY NEED TO EAT. Yeah. These days if I go too long without eating I physically start to shake. It's kinda crazy.

Anyways. Christmas really threw me off track. Today I'm back to where I was before Christmas, but still that's about 3 days worth just lost. So I'm going into overdrive and all out right? Right! Mostly I have to get back on track with my diet and watching what I eat. (Visiting my parents house is wreaking havoc on things! My mom's food is just too good!)

I like this song. It makes me wanna run.

26 Day Eleven

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:39:48 GMT

1,000 calories burned.

40 minutes - tread climber
15 minutes - treadmill jogging

So. I actually took it easy today and just did 40 minutes on the treadclimber. My gym only has 4 treadclimbers and one of them is out of comission right now, but the other 3 were empty so I started there. After the first twenty minute set, no one else was really using them still so I stayed on for another 20 minutes. After that I got kinda really bored and so I went to the treadmills so I could run for a little while.

That's a good warmup/leadup to tomorrow where I'm gonna do the two 1,000 cal workouts. It should be alright.

Nervousness:
This might sound kinda funny, but I actually get a little nervous before my workouts. 1,000 calories just seems like such a high number and even though I know I can do it, I still get nervous. What if I can't do it today? What if my body just isn't up for it? Will I be able to will myself forward? Will I be able to push myself hard enough? I have verbally answer to myself 'yes' before any more doubtful thoughts creep into my head. But I like it. I think that if I didn't feel a little nervous before these workouts, then that would mean that they are already too easy. Right? It would mean that deep down I know I'm not challenging myself. Just to be clear, I'm not afraid, I'm nervous. Nervous energy is much easier to channel than fear. Fear is paralyzing. I'm not afraid.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow is a 2K day.

Let's go.

26 Day Ten

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:43:40 GMT

It's Christmas Day! No Fitday entry. No keeping track of eaten food (at least not on paper or on fitday, but yeah, all in my head.) and no exercising, unfortunately.... Trust me, I ate a lot. I probably ate in the neighborhood of 3,000 calories. 3k calories and not any of them 'healthy' calories. It... does gnaw at me somewhere, knowing that I went so far off track from my daily eating habits.

Anyways. Here's the thing that many people do not realize. After such strict eating... a cheat day or at least higher calorie day does you some good. It really does me some good. I usually feel stronger. Well, after I get over the bloated feeling. ha. But really, after eating so cleanly, introducing some amount of 'regular' foods kind of helps to fill in the gaps of nutrition that I miss out on from eating only smoothies and peanut butter sandwiches. (I have looked back and yeah... that's apparently ALL I eat these days.)

I will say that since I feel stronger... I have some sort of renewed energy to go all out with my workouts. I'm going to actually attempt a 2,000 calorie day. I will break it up into TWO workouts, but still. 2k right? That's going to be amazing. I also bought new workout shirts. Some of those special Dri-Fit shirts and stuff. I have been wearing a medium undershirt and a large t-shirt during my workouts just cause I sweat so much but I still soak through them both.

At least the dri-fit ones won't look as gross when I sweat off 5 lbs of water. (And trust me, that's how much water I lose.)

Anyways, here's to going all out. I have 16 more days before this project is over and I'm on to the next one. I'm not going to weight myself until Sunday. I know that if I do I'll just be... discouraged from the loss of progress because of one day's worth of extra eating.

I have my plan and I'll just have to stick with it right? So don't give up. None of you. Let's go.

26 Day Nine

Mon, 25 Dec 2006 03:53:18 GMT

1,000 calories:

Approximately 7 miles - Jogging on the treadmill

Yeah. So actually today was really good. I ran really well. I got a bit tired there at the end but I am without a doubt in the BEST SHAPE of my life. I have never been able to run so many miles without dying. Seriously, a few years ago I was even training for a half marathon and I couldn't run nearly as well as I can now. (I must admit that both my training and eating efforts back then were very very poor.)

Of course... the gym isn't open tomorrow so that means I won't be able to knock out the 1k calories. So I'll have to make it up as the week goes on by adding 250 to each session, or more, depending on how I feel ya know? It will be good to eat a little more and have my 'cheat day'. From previous experience, I know that my body responds really well to them. My goal tomorrow is to not eat past 'full' and to eat slowly, and to eat more protein than carbs. That's really hard, especially when EVERYTHING seems like it's made of starchy carbohydrates. Especially if your family is asian ya know? Rice? Noodles? Yeah. Carbs.

But I'm not gonna stress too much. I'm not gonna focus on the weight and let any eating disorder symptoms come up. Nope. I will just enjoy my time with my family... and of course drink a gallon of water during the day so that I'm not snacking on empty calories. (Alright, alright, but that's always what I try to do okay? Besides, it's a good trick we should all do anyways.)

So yay. Christmas is here and I've done NINE DAYS of 1k calorie workouts. Good job folks! Here we go! Keep it up!

26 Day Eight

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:52:23 GMT

1,750 calories burned.
Too much time spent at the gym today.
Treadmill - Jogged approximately 8 MILES.
Stationary Bike - approximately 11Miles.
Treadclimber - 20 minutes.
So.... Yeah... I don't think that I'll be doing that again. Excuse me for saying but HOLY FUCK THAT WAS HARD. No really. I started out trying to pace myself but after 30 minutes I realized I had slowed down too much and figured out that I was going to be there for 3 hours! So I had to pickup the pace and really get back in gear to catch up. Running wasn't so bad. I just ran a lot further than I have in like 10 years. After running 8 miles and then biking another 11... if I had done any swimming it would've been like a traithlon... except my time would've really sucked.

Yeah. Let's not ever do that again.

If I have to make up any calories (which I WILL because of Christmas) I'll just do it at a max of 250 extra per day. No more of this doubling up. That sucks too much. It also sucks too much of my time. Let me tell ya... the 1st 1,000 was pretty easy... and then it became much harder after that, but it wasn't physically harder. It was all mentally harder. I just got really really bored. Ya know? I started chunking the time, just trying to go from each segment to each segment, but it was still really boring.

That's why I'm not doing to many calories ever again in one go. It just gets too boring. ha. I know parts of my legs will be sore tomorrow. I'm in pretty decent condition, but I've really gone all out today. I'll consume more protein the rest of the day and a few more carbs. And of course water. Because I did lose about 4 lbs of straight water during the workout. Oh. I did drink a 150 calorie gatorade drink after the 1,000 mark. That help ALOT. But not with the boredom.

I will say this. That was really insane. But I'm really really glad I completed it. I know, it's just one day of the 26 I have to do but... it was really important to me that I didn't give up or even compromise at all on this one. I HAD to reach 1,750. It was even harder when I would figure out the math and realize HOW MUCH LONGER I''d have to be at the gym.

I'm glad this day's workout is over.

26 Day Seven

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 05:41:52 GMT

250 calories burned.
Jumping rope - 25 minutes.

Yeah. That's all. I know. I'm quite... yeah. Well. I was about to go the gym, when I decided to make a phone call. Unfortunately things ocurred during the phone call where I had to make a decision to not go to the gym. This really frustrated me however in the grand scheme of things it was the right thing to do. Sacrifice one thing for another right? Have you priorities straight right? Okay. Sure why not.

Distractions:
So other than us overcoming ourselves (laziness), we have all of these other people in our lives who may or may not mean well, but they stop us from achieving our goals. It's not always their fault. It's just that our goals aren't as important to them. Even if they don't have any of their own. So. We have to do our best to not allow them to stop us. For example, I will not make the mistake of calling anyone before I go to the gym. If I am dressed and just about out the door, or even on my way to the gym, I am not going to call anyone. I'm not going to give anyone the opportunity to stop me from working out. If they truly need something from me that takes me away then THEY will call ME. Right? Otherwise I'm left alone until the end of my workout.

On several ocassions, I was dressed and almost out the door when something interrupts me and STOPS me from going to the gym. I can lessen these opportunities by cutting down my 'preparation' time. The time it takes to get dressed and get out the door. If it takes me 10 minutes tops to change clothes, drink a protein shake and leave, then that's a small window where someone call stop me from already being at the gym running.

Compensating:
Now I've still made this commitment to burn a total of 1,000 calories a day. I tried jumping rope here in my apartment but that didn't last as long as I had hoped. So. Tomorrow I have to make up what I didn't burn today. Yes. Tomorrow I have to burn 750 calories ON TOP of the 1,000 daily burn. This is gonna suck. A LOT. However I am comitted to doing this for at least 26 days. I cannot give up now. I have to remember that I can do this and it's really just a mental barrier that I'm trying to overcome.

Anyways. Tonight I'm back to drinking a gallon of water. Tomorrow I should definitely be hydrated during the workout. Just to give you an idea of how long it will take, hypothetically, 20 minutes on the treadclimber comes out to 320 calories. 1750 Calories divided by 320 = 5.47.

5.47 x 20 = 109.38 minutes. That comes out to roughly 1 hour and 50 minutes. Basically two hours.

So I'm going to need an actual carb sport drink. I'll decide that tomorrow when I stop at Circle K. I'll probably end up getting a small gatorade or something. We'll see.

Note to self: DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO STOP YOU FROM YOUR DAILY WORKOUT.

26 Day Six

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 13:28:18 GMT

Today was pretty awesome. I saw the movie Rocky Balboa (I had to go alone since no one else wanted to see it.) and then I had to wait at home for people to come over and buy some furniture. The people never showed up so I ended up going to the gym at around 8:45. Luckily it doesn't close until 11pm on weekdays. I had a RockStar Energy drink beforehand for some kickass boost. (Even if it might all be in my head.)

So yeah. I get there and the treadclimbers are open but I've really gotten into actual running on the treadmill. So I begin.

1,000 calories.

60 minutes - treadmill interval running
8 minutes - treadclimber

I ran for 60 minutes. Although that is a little decieving because I ran in 15 minute spurts. Each one totalling 220 calories. I will say that my running has gotten ALOT better in just the week that I've been doing this.

Music makes a big difference though. I'm perfecting my current running play list. I'll post it here soon and even upload them for download.

I ate on the higher side of calories again. I think it was around 1600 today. I might try to lower that by about 200 tomorrow, just for a zig zag effect.

Some promising news on the actual 'weightloss' side. I think I've broken past the 5lb water barrier and lost some actual weight. Remember, I lost 5lbs of water that FIRST day and haven't been able to get down past that, until now. I'm down another two pounds. So not taking water loss into account, the scale reads that I've lost SEVEN POUNDS so far. But it's really probably 3-4 actual pounds. Still awesome. I'm getting REALLY cut now, and I'm not really starving.

If you did the easy math, it's like I only consumed 600 calories (that's what the eating disorder starving kids aim for (or less)) but I still got all the benefits of 1,000 MORE calories. Yeah. I really don't understand people when they're trying to lose weight by JUST not eating or not eating enough without exercise. It just slows your metabolism down too much and then not causing any weightloss.

So, my lower belly fat is disapearring and my back is finally beginning to get cut. (I hold a lot of fat back there.)

The thing that's great about running compared to the treadclimber is that even though I get more tired the longer I go, I run that initial 30 minutes pretty hard and I'm getting that Afterburn effect. Even though I'll technically burn MORE calories on the treadclimber DURING exercise, because of the afterburn effect from running HARD on the treadmill, I'll burn MORE calories over the course of the day .

Sounds good.