So, today I finished the T25 workout program (both Alpha and Beta). Having done the Insanity program, I wanted to sit and think about the differences and which program is 'better'.
First, to say one is better than the other is like saying a banana Slurpee is better than cherry because it's yellow. Let's see if I can break down which was better for me. First Insanity. This was a very intense program, averaging about 45 minutes for the first half and 60 minutes for the second half. This is a lot of time to commit if you have a busy life. I leave for work at 6:00 am and get home around 5:00pm. That means my only real options to do my exercises are at 4:30am or when I get home. I opted for 4:30am, mainly for the reason that I would rather spend the evenings playing with my daughter and I only have a few hours with her before it's bed time. After that, it's wind down time to spend with my wife.
Doing a very rigorous workout at 4:30 in the morning does not work for everyone. Heck, it barely works for me, and I am very much a morning person. I found as the program was coming to the end, I was having a harder time staying focused and really applying my full energy towards the workouts. I was definitely more tired towards the end, but managed to stick it out and complete the program. It is a very good program and really works you hard. Before I started it, I was at 195 pounds. At the conclusion I was at 176. But, I felt like I hadn't really lost much of the pudginess that was hanging around. Obviously I had lost weight, but I still felt like I looked the same.
On to T25. According to my weigh-ins, I lost exactly 0 pounds with this program. I weighed this morning at 176 pounds. Earlier in the program, I had climbed back up to about 183, and came back down to where I am. I don't know if this was because of the week in Hawaii or just because of the holidays in general, but whatever. I know what you're thinking...what a waste of time. If you're looking strictly at weight loss, then I could agree. However, as I said above I didn't really feel like I looked any better after Insanity. After T25, I can actually tell that my mid section has trimmed down a lot. Pants that I hadn't been able to wear (even at the beginning of T25) are now much looser. I was wearing a size 34 jean prior to Insanity. Now, I can fit into my size 30 jeans. Notice, I'm not saying comfortably. There is a difference between wearing jeans and being able to button them. But that's because my thighs are bigger than they used to be, more on that later.
So, I really do feel like T25 is the better program for me in regards to losing inches, but Insanity yielded better results in regards to losing pounds. And for me I'm almost at the ideal weight anyway, so my focus at this point is more toning and losing the pudginess. T25 is much more about the core work and cardio work. It does incorporate some small weights in the second half, just enough to give you some resistance in the squats and firm up your upper body muscles. If you're looking for muscle gain in the upper body, this is the not the program for you. There is also a lot of focus on the lower body. Squats and lunges and squat lunges and moving squat lunges. You get the idea.
Overall, I like T25 better for the fact that it's 25 minutes long. Friday has a double day, but you can always split them up and do one that evening or on Saturday. I find that I can actually push myself harder on Friday's just to get both of them done in the morning so I don't have to do it that evening.
Now that it's done, I am wondering what to do next. There is a gamma stage that we might look into. I think for now, I'll just start T25 over again. I will probably start with the Alpha again, mostly because while I completed it, I feel like I didn't do it at 100% every time. I am not a very coordinated person when it comes to doing things like dancing or yoga. I am very much the epitome of white guy dancers. So, while I struggled through the program with some of the moves, I know I can go back and do them again at a higher intensity. Plus it'll be good to break up the exercises again. Each phase is 5 weeks, which is just a bit too long for me. I start getting bored with the repetition of the workouts. So I might try to modify the program a bit, combining alpha and beta phases every couple of weeks.
So there it is. I love working out again, and I'm glad I have found a program that allows me to workout and not really interfere with my family time.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Done with Insanity
Well, almost.
I am on the last week of the Insanity program, but I won't technically finish it. Tomorrow is my last day, because I will be out of town for the holidays and I'm not bringing the disks with me. When it's all said and done, here are my results.
Starting weight: 193
Ending weight (as of 5am 11/26): 176
Total weight loss: 17 pounds
My diet hasn't been strict, but it hasn't been out of control either. I'll tell you what though, the second half of the program is TOUGH! They aren't messing around. The bad part (for me) is that they are all about an hour long. And that puts my only real option for exercise at 4:30am. I can do the workouts, and still get ready for work in the morning and make it on time. This also frees up the evenings to spend time with my family.
But wait, there's more! If you act now, you can keep reading this!
We already have the next program. We'll be starting Focus T-25 when we get back. I'll try to post more often about that one, since it'll be a whole new program. I'm excited to do this one, because the workouts are 25 minutes long.
No! No, no, not 6! I said 7. Nobody's coming up with 6. Who works out in 6 minutes? You won't even get your heart rate going, not even a mouse on a wheel. 7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-elevens. 7 dwarves. 7 man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirling on a branch, eating lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreaming about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time baby.
lol. Anyway. Still a long way to go to feel like I am getting the results that I want. It's a good start though. I didn't do Insanity at 100% either. I skipped some day on the weekends, and there were some days where I was really tired and probably could have pushed harder. Repetitiveness in the workouts is a very big danger in these, because it's easy to get bored with them. But sticking with it and finishing them up is a good feeling.
I don't usually like posting pictures of myself, but here are a couple before/afters We'll see what I can do with the next program.
I am on the last week of the Insanity program, but I won't technically finish it. Tomorrow is my last day, because I will be out of town for the holidays and I'm not bringing the disks with me. When it's all said and done, here are my results.
Starting weight: 193
Ending weight (as of 5am 11/26): 176
Total weight loss: 17 pounds
My diet hasn't been strict, but it hasn't been out of control either. I'll tell you what though, the second half of the program is TOUGH! They aren't messing around. The bad part (for me) is that they are all about an hour long. And that puts my only real option for exercise at 4:30am. I can do the workouts, and still get ready for work in the morning and make it on time. This also frees up the evenings to spend time with my family.
But wait, there's more! If you act now, you can keep reading this!
We already have the next program. We'll be starting Focus T-25 when we get back. I'll try to post more often about that one, since it'll be a whole new program. I'm excited to do this one, because the workouts are 25 minutes long.
No! No, no, not 6! I said 7. Nobody's coming up with 6. Who works out in 6 minutes? You won't even get your heart rate going, not even a mouse on a wheel. 7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-elevens. 7 dwarves. 7 man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirling on a branch, eating lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreaming about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time baby.
lol. Anyway. Still a long way to go to feel like I am getting the results that I want. It's a good start though. I didn't do Insanity at 100% either. I skipped some day on the weekends, and there were some days where I was really tired and probably could have pushed harder. Repetitiveness in the workouts is a very big danger in these, because it's easy to get bored with them. But sticking with it and finishing them up is a good feeling.
I don't usually like posting pictures of myself, but here are a couple before/afters We'll see what I can do with the next program.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Car and cars and exercise and cars
I need to overhaul my blog page. I really don't want to start a second blog, considering that I can barely keep up with just one. But, I really want to keep track of my new project. More on that in a minute.
Exercise. I've now completed the first 4 weeks of the insanity program. This week is 'recovery' week, which just means that you should be on the verge of exhaustion instead of 48 miles past it. It's still a tough workout, but it's more of an isolated program to relax your muscles and still have your heart rate up. Kinda like yoga, except not so mind-numbingly boring. (No offense if you're into yoga, I just can't grasp it).
I haven't noticed much weight loss, still hovering around 185. But that's okay. I definitely feel better and notice that my endurance is stronger. I'm still getting up at 4:30am to do the workouts which sometimes is tough, but I get through it. By the end of the week though, I'm ready for bed early. Next week starts the 'max' days. I think we stopped right around this point last time...we might have done a couple of days. But I honestly have no idea what's in store with those. My wife is starting those ones today, so I'll see what she thinks.
Cars. I love cars. I love tinkering with them, learning about them, figuring out ways to make mine better. My first car was a 1981 Toyota Celica. I loved that car too. Of course, in my infinite youthful wisdom I decided to sell it because I thought I could have more fun in a car that had more aftermarket support. I missed that car, and all the potential that it had. So about a year ago, I started toying with the idea of selling my s2000 and finding another Celica like I had owned long ago. It wasn't until I really started researching that I fell in love with the first generation Celica (1971-1977). The style of car is beautiful.
So I began looking into those ones as well. My original plan was to import one from Japan. Japan has some sort of rule about cars over there where after a certain amount of miles, they aren't allowed to drive them without major overhauls. Something like that; I don't know all the details. Anyway, you can find them for relatively cheap and with super low miles. Plus, right hand drive. And with the U.S. laws about 25+ year old cars, importing them is relatively easy. The problem is paying some dude to put the car on his boat and bring it over. The price quickly quadrupled from the price of the car, including all the documentation needed to legally register it over here. Although looking at how easy it was to register this car, I think I could do it myself. Maybe next time.
So I scrapped that idea because I just couldn't pay that much for it. So I sold my s2000 in June and really started looking for a 1st gen Celica, while also not giving up totally on the Japan idea, in case I could find a cheaper way of getting one. Searching for a 40 year old car and finding one, as you can imagine, is not easy. Well, finding one is somewhat easy. Finding one that isn't demolished with rust or missing half the car is not. I expanded my search to the 48 states and Canada. There were a few that didn't require all new everything, but most were pushing 10k because the owners knew the value.
I finally found one locally and snatched it up. It's almost rust free. There are some surface areas that will need to be replaced, but all the usual spots are clear; fender wells, trunk space, engine space. At least from what I can tell. I haven't had the chance to start teardown on the car yet, so hopefully that rust free feeling will continue.
Don't have a lot of details yet on what's next, we're still in the planning stages. But having the actual car was a big step in the plans. Now we can move forward with the fun stuff. No matter what, I'm super excited to work on this for the next however long it takes. Plus, I'm super lucky and grateful to have an understanding wife that lets me indulge in my hobbies.
Now I need to change up my blog a bit to organize car stuff and other stuff. That's all for now.
Exercise. I've now completed the first 4 weeks of the insanity program. This week is 'recovery' week, which just means that you should be on the verge of exhaustion instead of 48 miles past it. It's still a tough workout, but it's more of an isolated program to relax your muscles and still have your heart rate up. Kinda like yoga, except not so mind-numbingly boring. (No offense if you're into yoga, I just can't grasp it).
I haven't noticed much weight loss, still hovering around 185. But that's okay. I definitely feel better and notice that my endurance is stronger. I'm still getting up at 4:30am to do the workouts which sometimes is tough, but I get through it. By the end of the week though, I'm ready for bed early. Next week starts the 'max' days. I think we stopped right around this point last time...we might have done a couple of days. But I honestly have no idea what's in store with those. My wife is starting those ones today, so I'll see what she thinks.
Cars. I love cars. I love tinkering with them, learning about them, figuring out ways to make mine better. My first car was a 1981 Toyota Celica. I loved that car too. Of course, in my infinite youthful wisdom I decided to sell it because I thought I could have more fun in a car that had more aftermarket support. I missed that car, and all the potential that it had. So about a year ago, I started toying with the idea of selling my s2000 and finding another Celica like I had owned long ago. It wasn't until I really started researching that I fell in love with the first generation Celica (1971-1977). The style of car is beautiful.
So I began looking into those ones as well. My original plan was to import one from Japan. Japan has some sort of rule about cars over there where after a certain amount of miles, they aren't allowed to drive them without major overhauls. Something like that; I don't know all the details. Anyway, you can find them for relatively cheap and with super low miles. Plus, right hand drive. And with the U.S. laws about 25+ year old cars, importing them is relatively easy. The problem is paying some dude to put the car on his boat and bring it over. The price quickly quadrupled from the price of the car, including all the documentation needed to legally register it over here. Although looking at how easy it was to register this car, I think I could do it myself. Maybe next time.
So I scrapped that idea because I just couldn't pay that much for it. So I sold my s2000 in June and really started looking for a 1st gen Celica, while also not giving up totally on the Japan idea, in case I could find a cheaper way of getting one. Searching for a 40 year old car and finding one, as you can imagine, is not easy. Well, finding one is somewhat easy. Finding one that isn't demolished with rust or missing half the car is not. I expanded my search to the 48 states and Canada. There were a few that didn't require all new everything, but most were pushing 10k because the owners knew the value.
I finally found one locally and snatched it up. It's almost rust free. There are some surface areas that will need to be replaced, but all the usual spots are clear; fender wells, trunk space, engine space. At least from what I can tell. I haven't had the chance to start teardown on the car yet, so hopefully that rust free feeling will continue.
Don't have a lot of details yet on what's next, we're still in the planning stages. But having the actual car was a big step in the plans. Now we can move forward with the fun stuff. No matter what, I'm super excited to work on this for the next however long it takes. Plus, I'm super lucky and grateful to have an understanding wife that lets me indulge in my hobbies.
Now I need to change up my blog a bit to organize car stuff and other stuff. That's all for now.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Work OUT!
I am starting my 3rd week of working out. I've already lost 26 pounds and it's AWESOME.
Okay, that's not exactly true, but maybe at the end of this I'll be able to say that. I haven't really seen much of a drop in weight. At any time on any day, my weight will fluctuate by5 pounds or so. If I weigh myself in the morning the scale tells me I've lost about 5 pounds since starting Insanity. If I weigh myself at night, the scale bends in half and begs me to get off of it. This glass of wine probably isn't helping, but whatever it's good.
I've been doing good with my diet. Costco has these mini heads of romaine lettuce, perfect for lettuce wrap sandwiches. Today I had 6 for lunch. Probably not the moderation that I'm supposed to do, but they are so small! They were good though. A slice of ham, roast beef and chicken, with some tomato and bacon, and some mayo/dijon spread. Other than eating healthier, the main reason is that it's just too damn expensive to work in South Lake Union. There are a lot of good places to eat, but only two that are close enough to go to when you're in a hurry. I'm getting tired of Jimmy Johns, which is kind of ironic since I am making lettuce wraps to replace the Jimmy John's un-wich that I usually get. (The un-wich is their lettuce wraps).
I have been doing my workouts in the morning. I wake up at 4:30 to do the exercises, which are about 40 minutes. That gives me enough time to get ready and make lunch. But just this week I started driving in to work instead of taking the bus. It has actually cut my commute time by nearly an hour on a good day. The bus route goes down 2nd ave from basically Seattle Center to the Stadiums. On any day sports games, run-a-way trucks causing cars to explode or some crazy meth lady yelling at parked cars can cause traffic to come to a stop. On those good days, I leave work at 4 and get home around 5:45. Today I left at 4 and got home at 4:45.
Anyway, getting sidetracked. Because I can get home earlier, I am going to switch up my workouts to the evening when I get home. I'll be able to sleep in a little more and actually make breakfast before I leave instead of eating at one of the places that thinks they need to charge $9.00 for half an omelet because of where they are located.
The exercises are great though. If you're looking for an workout routine, I would recommend Insanity. Don't get me wrong, it is hard. And it takes a lot of self motivation to do it, or if you have someone else to do it with you that helps too. But once you get past the first couple weeks, it's great. The intensity is so high with this program you always come out of it feeling like you really got an excellent workout.
I know that I feel better just in general. At least on the days where I needed to run to the bus, I don't feel like I'm going to die the whole way home. (See previous blog entries). It's still too early to see any real results in the mirror or on the scale, but my general fitness level feels higher. We have 51 days left until Hawaii. And while the workouts aren't going to change my Irish...uhhh...slightly white complexion, at least I can feel a little better about myself while I'm turning my skin into a nice shade of lobster.
If anyone has questions about the program, let me know. I think it's great, and will probably continue doing it and probably try to incorporate p90x in the next round to get some weightlifting going on as well.
Okay, that's not exactly true, but maybe at the end of this I'll be able to say that. I haven't really seen much of a drop in weight. At any time on any day, my weight will fluctuate by5 pounds or so. If I weigh myself in the morning the scale tells me I've lost about 5 pounds since starting Insanity. If I weigh myself at night, the scale bends in half and begs me to get off of it. This glass of wine probably isn't helping, but whatever it's good.
I've been doing good with my diet. Costco has these mini heads of romaine lettuce, perfect for lettuce wrap sandwiches. Today I had 6 for lunch. Probably not the moderation that I'm supposed to do, but they are so small! They were good though. A slice of ham, roast beef and chicken, with some tomato and bacon, and some mayo/dijon spread. Other than eating healthier, the main reason is that it's just too damn expensive to work in South Lake Union. There are a lot of good places to eat, but only two that are close enough to go to when you're in a hurry. I'm getting tired of Jimmy Johns, which is kind of ironic since I am making lettuce wraps to replace the Jimmy John's un-wich that I usually get. (The un-wich is their lettuce wraps).
I have been doing my workouts in the morning. I wake up at 4:30 to do the exercises, which are about 40 minutes. That gives me enough time to get ready and make lunch. But just this week I started driving in to work instead of taking the bus. It has actually cut my commute time by nearly an hour on a good day. The bus route goes down 2nd ave from basically Seattle Center to the Stadiums. On any day sports games, run-a-way trucks causing cars to explode or some crazy meth lady yelling at parked cars can cause traffic to come to a stop. On those good days, I leave work at 4 and get home around 5:45. Today I left at 4 and got home at 4:45.
Anyway, getting sidetracked. Because I can get home earlier, I am going to switch up my workouts to the evening when I get home. I'll be able to sleep in a little more and actually make breakfast before I leave instead of eating at one of the places that thinks they need to charge $9.00 for half an omelet because of where they are located.
The exercises are great though. If you're looking for an workout routine, I would recommend Insanity. Don't get me wrong, it is hard. And it takes a lot of self motivation to do it, or if you have someone else to do it with you that helps too. But once you get past the first couple weeks, it's great. The intensity is so high with this program you always come out of it feeling like you really got an excellent workout.
I know that I feel better just in general. At least on the days where I needed to run to the bus, I don't feel like I'm going to die the whole way home. (See previous blog entries). It's still too early to see any real results in the mirror or on the scale, but my general fitness level feels higher. We have 51 days left until Hawaii. And while the workouts aren't going to change my Irish...uhhh...slightly white complexion, at least I can feel a little better about myself while I'm turning my skin into a nice shade of lobster.
If anyone has questions about the program, let me know. I think it's great, and will probably continue doing it and probably try to incorporate p90x in the next round to get some weightlifting going on as well.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Exercise...To the extreme
I rock a mic like a vandal. Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle.
What a dumb song.
Quick one tonight. I didn't get a chance to work out this morning. We had errands to run and swim class this afternoon. The classes were a half hour behind schedule. When out class finally started, no one had shown up for the next class so we just kept going until the next one. Bonus!
When we got home, I had tried to convince myself that the swim class was a good enough workout for today. But considering my daughter is only 15 months old and we don't really do a lot of actual swimming, I decided to suck it up and just do a workout tonight.
This last week I've been doing p90x. It's a good and very challenging program, but I feel like it just isn't giving me the workout I really want. The weights are good, and i push myself with the weight level, but I was a good workout. So, in all my infinite wisdom I decided that I will switch it up tonight and start Insanity.
Now, if you're unfamiliar with Insanity...it is a pure cardio program. High intensity, long interval training. It incorporates some muscle toning routines...like pushups and stuff. But there are no weights. Here is a promo video of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W-aNTrq_a4
It truly does kick your butt. It's such a good workout though, and exactly what I wanted. I'll admit that I took more breaks than they did, but I pushed through and did what I could. I remember the first time we did this one, and I seriously felt like I was going to puke half way through it...and we had already finished p90x. Tonight I felt the same. I know I wasn't pushing as hard as the first time though.
I think I am going to stick with Insanity for this week. I might switch the two programs weekly. Do weights one week, do intense cardio the next. I think that will be a good break up in the intensity while also switching up the muscles.
That's all for tonight. Go Seahawks!
What a dumb song.
Quick one tonight. I didn't get a chance to work out this morning. We had errands to run and swim class this afternoon. The classes were a half hour behind schedule. When out class finally started, no one had shown up for the next class so we just kept going until the next one. Bonus!
When we got home, I had tried to convince myself that the swim class was a good enough workout for today. But considering my daughter is only 15 months old and we don't really do a lot of actual swimming, I decided to suck it up and just do a workout tonight.
This last week I've been doing p90x. It's a good and very challenging program, but I feel like it just isn't giving me the workout I really want. The weights are good, and i push myself with the weight level, but I was a good workout. So, in all my infinite wisdom I decided that I will switch it up tonight and start Insanity.
Now, if you're unfamiliar with Insanity...it is a pure cardio program. High intensity, long interval training. It incorporates some muscle toning routines...like pushups and stuff. But there are no weights. Here is a promo video of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W-aNTrq_a4
It truly does kick your butt. It's such a good workout though, and exactly what I wanted. I'll admit that I took more breaks than they did, but I pushed through and did what I could. I remember the first time we did this one, and I seriously felt like I was going to puke half way through it...and we had already finished p90x. Tonight I felt the same. I know I wasn't pushing as hard as the first time though.
I think I am going to stick with Insanity for this week. I might switch the two programs weekly. Do weights one week, do intense cardio the next. I think that will be a good break up in the intensity while also switching up the muscles.
That's all for tonight. Go Seahawks!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
p90x update - Day 3 and 4
So I started p90x on Tuesday. So far it's been 2 days of weights and one day of cardio. Tomorrow is yoga. I hate yoga. I don't have the attention span for it. I barely have the attention span to read my email. And, this workout is 90 minutes long. I remember from the last time that we didn't like it, but we struggled through it. I'll still do it though.
I do feel like I'm not getting enough of a workout with it though. The weights are fine, and it's really hard. But sometimes I feel like if I'm not dripping with sweat then I'm not doing enough. Lifting weights just doesn't generate that much. I will keep at it though, but I'm contemplating switching over to the Insanity program and just doing cardio.
Today was our Microsoft company meeting at the Key Arena. It was scheduled to go from 10-4. So I spend the last week planning out my bus route to and from and the best options that I could find. I've been told that I'm slightly O.C.D. about stuff like that. haha. So of course, the meeting runs an hour long. I didn't plan for the meeting to go an hour long, so I don't know when the next buses run. I do know that my regular bus runs every half hour between 4 and 5:30, plus one extra at 5:15. I also know all the stops it makes.
Steve Ballmer wraps up and I make a bee-line to the door. I had been looking on my phone for the best route to get from the Key Arena to 2nd Ave and Bell St. It doesn't look that far away. (Famous last words). My normal walk from my office to the bus stop is about 6 blocks. This is more, but it doesn't look like much more.
I leave the Key Arena at 5:04pm and the schedule online for my bus says it will be at 2nd and Pike at 5:17pm. Pike street is 7 blocks away from Bell street, and if there is no traffic or lights it take about 3.5 minutes to get there. I estimate the bus will be at 2nd and Bell by 5:15pm.
I get to the monorail station at 5:06pm and realize the only way I will get there is by running. I definitely wore the wrong pants for this, but at least I don't have a bag to carry today. So I run. Less than 10 minutes to get there. This is MUCH further than I had anticipated. The combination of nice pants, dress shoes and a sweater is not a good one for running.
As you can see in the picture below, it is not close. I know where the first stop is for the bus, at 7th and Bell street. Due to construction, they have to make a detour off of Bell st and go down Wall street to 2nd, then up to Bell. By the time I run through 3 don't walk signs I make it to 2nd and Wall and I see the bus coming. It's 5:15pm. I dig out whatever I have left and try to run more. Somehow I manage to make it to the bus stop and as I turn around the bus is pulling over to pick us up.
That's all for now. I don't think I'll be doing daily posts, but I'll check in often.
I do feel like I'm not getting enough of a workout with it though. The weights are fine, and it's really hard. But sometimes I feel like if I'm not dripping with sweat then I'm not doing enough. Lifting weights just doesn't generate that much. I will keep at it though, but I'm contemplating switching over to the Insanity program and just doing cardio.
Today was our Microsoft company meeting at the Key Arena. It was scheduled to go from 10-4. So I spend the last week planning out my bus route to and from and the best options that I could find. I've been told that I'm slightly O.C.D. about stuff like that. haha. So of course, the meeting runs an hour long. I didn't plan for the meeting to go an hour long, so I don't know when the next buses run. I do know that my regular bus runs every half hour between 4 and 5:30, plus one extra at 5:15. I also know all the stops it makes.
Steve Ballmer wraps up and I make a bee-line to the door. I had been looking on my phone for the best route to get from the Key Arena to 2nd Ave and Bell St. It doesn't look that far away. (Famous last words). My normal walk from my office to the bus stop is about 6 blocks. This is more, but it doesn't look like much more.
I leave the Key Arena at 5:04pm and the schedule online for my bus says it will be at 2nd and Pike at 5:17pm. Pike street is 7 blocks away from Bell street, and if there is no traffic or lights it take about 3.5 minutes to get there. I estimate the bus will be at 2nd and Bell by 5:15pm.
I get to the monorail station at 5:06pm and realize the only way I will get there is by running. I definitely wore the wrong pants for this, but at least I don't have a bag to carry today. So I run. Less than 10 minutes to get there. This is MUCH further than I had anticipated. The combination of nice pants, dress shoes and a sweater is not a good one for running.
As you can see in the picture below, it is not close. I know where the first stop is for the bus, at 7th and Bell street. Due to construction, they have to make a detour off of Bell st and go down Wall street to 2nd, then up to Bell. By the time I run through 3 don't walk signs I make it to 2nd and Wall and I see the bus coming. It's 5:15pm. I dig out whatever I have left and try to run more. Somehow I manage to make it to the bus stop and as I turn around the bus is pulling over to pick us up.
As I'm standing there ready to puke all over the sidewalk like the crackie that I just ran past, the driver opens the door with a smile. I somehow manage to ooze my way up the steps. In all my wheezing and coughing, she probably thought I was dying from some Ebola virus. No one sat next to me, which isn't surprising since I was shivering from the cold but in an all out sweat.
I am not in shape to be running like that. I am glad that I managed to catch the bus. But I really need to keep at my exercises. And as much as felt like Mr. Freeze stabbing me in the lungs, I loved it. It was a good workout and really amps me up to keep at it.
That's all for now. I don't think I'll be doing daily posts, but I'll check in often.
Monday, September 23, 2013
p90x redux.
I was thinking about the last time that actually exercised. My daughter is 15 months old now, and I stopped exercising after my wife was pregnant. It's been about 2 years since I actually did any sort of physical work. Unless you count running about a mile to the bus stop to catch the bus, and then trying to convince myself to not vomit the whole way home or die from hyperventilation. Oh there was another time about a year ago that can only be classified as a brisk walk, which resulted in cramps by the time I got to the bus, and stabbing cold pains in my chest.
I am out of shape. No doubt about it. The first time I did p90x, I saw pretty good results. After we completed that program, we moved to Insanity. Two very different programs, but I feel p90x is a good stepping boulder to getting back into exercise. In fact, you can see my original posts somewhere on this blog. So tomorrow morning I start it up again.
My vitals are about the same as the first time. ~190 pounds depending on how much ice cream I've eaten in the last n hours. Being 5'8" ish, most scales say my ideal weight should be 160. I don't think that is where I want to be, but my goal out of this is to lose 25 pounds.
My diet has already changed mostly due to gluten allergies. But I am going further and really doing a better diet. No slipping or cheats (once I finish all the 'bad' foods that I currently have). But there are a lot of things that I can give up now. Soda, which I don't really drink now anyway. Coffee, various snacks, etc.
I don't know if I will post every day again like I did. My previous posts were done as more of a review on the actual program. But I will probably have some random things to say about it, so i'll post them here. Unless anyone is interested in some details on the program. Let me know and i'll write it up.
I took pictures but I'm not going to post them yet. I'll probably do a before/after when I'm done. Plus, I take stupid pictures.
I am out of shape. No doubt about it. The first time I did p90x, I saw pretty good results. After we completed that program, we moved to Insanity. Two very different programs, but I feel p90x is a good stepping boulder to getting back into exercise. In fact, you can see my original posts somewhere on this blog. So tomorrow morning I start it up again.
My vitals are about the same as the first time. ~190 pounds depending on how much ice cream I've eaten in the last n hours. Being 5'8" ish, most scales say my ideal weight should be 160. I don't think that is where I want to be, but my goal out of this is to lose 25 pounds.
My diet has already changed mostly due to gluten allergies. But I am going further and really doing a better diet. No slipping or cheats (once I finish all the 'bad' foods that I currently have). But there are a lot of things that I can give up now. Soda, which I don't really drink now anyway. Coffee, various snacks, etc.
I don't know if I will post every day again like I did. My previous posts were done as more of a review on the actual program. But I will probably have some random things to say about it, so i'll post them here. Unless anyone is interested in some details on the program. Let me know and i'll write it up.
I took pictures but I'm not going to post them yet. I'll probably do a before/after when I'm done. Plus, I take stupid pictures.
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