I managed to go for a run yesterday morning. It was only 2.2 miles, and it was a bit of a struggle, but it felt good to get through it. Obviously, I will have to work hard to get ready for my planned marathon in April. Ugh.

Today I went to the gym with my wife and that’s feeling better, too. I’m still at 192 lbs, so I haven’t really gained weight recently, but I would like to get it back down under 185 before April.

Here’s what I did at the gym:

Exercise	reps	lbs	reps	lbs	reps	lbs
Bench Press	12	135	10	135	6	135
Incline Bench Press	12	55	11	55	10	75
Shoulder Press	9	50	6	50	7	50
Lat Bar Pull Down	12	85	12	85	9	85
Bicep Curls	12	50	12	50	12	50
Pec Fly	12	100	7	100	5	100

 

Not my best work, but it’s better than what I did last Tuesday.

I’ve also been trying to get my diet back under control. Today I had some coffee, OJ, vegetable soup, 2 small veggie burgers, a cup of peach soy yogurt, some cottage cheese and raisins, pasta with tomato sauce, some zucchini pancakes, a tiny sliver of “cookie pie” the kids made, and a bowl of cereal for desert.

Went for a “walk” with the family last night and did a couple sprints with the dog. Man, dogs are fast. I gave 100% and he was still pulling! Maybe I should take the dog more often…

Today, I went to the grocery store and loaded up on healthy foods for lunches at the office. Trying to get back into the swing of things with my diet and exercise. If I’m going to run my first marathon in April, I really must get back into shape.

Ran 1.4 miles last week. Ran 3 miles today. Been to the gym 3 times in the past 10 days. I’m trying.

I seem to have fallen off my wagon.

Over the past 3 months, I’ve been to the gym fewer than 5 times. I haven’t been running lately, either. What kind of experiement in vegetarian fitness does that make?

I wish I had something profound to share about getting back on the wagon, but I’m not even sure I’ve found mine yet. A trip to the gym today shows that I have slipped well behind, but I’m not sure that was enough to motivate a significant change in behavior. Nope, I may need something … bigger.

A medical scare would do the trick, but who wants one of those? Cajoling from friends would probably help. A looming race or contest might do the trick, too. 

How about you? Have you seen my wagon?

Wow, where does time go? I can’t believe it’s been a month since my last post. I have been exercising, mostly, but I haven’t been doing a very good job of blogging. And my diet’s pretty much shot. Ok, I haven’t really been doing a very good job of exercising, either.

You know how it goes. First you skip a workout or two. Then something comes up and you can’t make it into the gym for a week. Then you over do it at some restaurant. Then somebody comes home with a carton of ice cream. Next thing you know a whole month has passed and you haven’t done squat to stay fit.

Tonight I saw a tolerable picture of myself from a few weeks ago. It was actually a pretty good picture. I looked like somebody that works out! That’s when I decided I really need to get back into the swing of things. To hold myself accountable, I figured I better post to my blog.

Kind of late to get to the gym tonight. I resolve to do better tomorrow.

Ugh. It’s barely Week 3 on my Hundred Pushup challenge and I’m already unable to complete one of the workouts. What went wrong? Perhaps I’m still tuckered out from the uppers workout I did at the gym earlier this evening. Maybe it’s because I missed my afternoon snack, then loaded up before dinner, during dinner, and after dinner, all before attempting my pushups. Or maybe it’s that awesome BOSU ball I bought yesterday, kicking me in the tail already. Hey – maybe it’s all of the above! I shall try again tomorrow.

I didn’t record today’s diet on The Daily Plate this time. That takes a long time. I’m not sure I can continue to commit to it every night. In the meantime, here’s what I ate today:

Breakfast: 2c steel cut oatmeal, 2c lite soy milk, 1 packet Splenda, 10oz OJ, 10oz coffee w/ fat free Coffee Mate and 1 packet Splenda

Morning Snack: Missed

Lunch: 3/4 J Alexander veggie burger w/ large bun, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, mustard, and maybe 20 skinny french fries

Afternoon Snack (right before dinner): Banana, 1c skim milk, 20 raw almonds

Dinner: Taco salad (hearts of romaine, spring mix, taco filling [beans, protein crumbles, onions, taco seasoning], salsa, cheddar cheese, low fat sour cream, 1/4 avacado

Evening Snack (right after dinner): 2c frosted mini wheats, 2c lite soy milk

Definitely not the best day of eating. The feeding frenzy at the end of the day would have been much better if I’d spread it out some more. I did get some decent exercise today, though.

• Bench Press (12×95 / 12×135 / 9×155 / 4×185)
• Incline Bench Press (6×135 / 5×135)
• Lat Pulldown (12×85 / 8×115 / 9×130 / 6×160)
• Low Row (9×135 / 6×180)
• Nitro Overhead Press (9×125 / 6×125 / 7×125)
• LF Pec Fly (10×130 / 8×130 / 6×150)
• Tricep Pulldown (12×57.5 / 12×57.5 / 7×72.5)
• <drive home and eat>
• BOSU Pushups (25 / 7 / 17 / 17 / 11)

 

Lastly, I weighed myself tonight and I was down to 189 lbs. Of course, that was before dinner. I’m probably back up to 192 by now.

Ever since doing pushups with a BOSU trainer for the first time a few weeks ago, I’ve been wanting to do all my pushups with one. Pushups just seem … better that way.

So, being the detail-oriented creature that I am, I’ve been “researching” BOSU trainers ever since. Turns out, there’s a “pro” version and a “home” version. The difference? Hard to say. However, I believe that the pro version may support a higher weight than the home version (500 lbs vs. 300 lbs, according to a local fitness equipment store manager). After an inordinate amount of thought, a couple of hours browsing the web for BOSU exercise videos, and visits to 5 different stores, I finally settled on the home version for $99.99.

Kettlebell and BOSU Trainer

I also bought a kettlebell today. At $69.99 for a 12kg (26.5 lb) version, it was almost as expensive as the BOSU trainer. For whatever reason, the kettlebell was essentially an impulse buy. I’ve never used one. However, I figured I’d want some kind of weight equipment to use with the BOSU trainer, and the kettlebell seemed more versatile than a medicine ball or a weighted bar. 

So, after mowing the lawn this morning after church, shopping this afternoon, and recovering from my 15-minute workout yesterday (hey, it helps to workout when you’re angry!), I am too pooped to give the BOSU or the kettlebell any serious attention.

In other news, my church announced this morning that they are seeking 4 people to participate in a “Fit Club” as part of an upcoming program about personal fitness as it relates to the biblical story of Daniel. I am all over that! Here’s the deal. Apply online on the 12Stone website. If selected, the church will provide a temporary gym membership and a personal trainer for an hour per day for 3 months, plus a heart monitor. The four participants agree to attend training 5 days a week, eat what the trainer recommends (hope it’s all vegetarian), and blog on the experience. Sounds perfect! I definitely plan to apply. I hope I am selected.

I haven’t been MIA, exactly. No, I just took a family vacation. We went to the beach in South Carolina for several days, then to Florida to meet my new niece and visit with my two siblings and the rest of their families. We had a great time and I feel well rested.

I’m afraid I didn’t stick with my eating and exercise rituals, but aside from five or six dietary indulgences (mostly desserts), I didn’t stray too terribly far, either. I managed to get a fair amount of exercise from walking up and down the beach with my wife, swimming with the kids, and completing Week 2 of my hundred pushup challenge. I also got in a short “uppers” workout with my brother-in-law, a couple quick runs, and a brief-but-challenging “lowers” workout when I got home. Thanks to the volume of activity and an improved tan, I’m feeling pretty fit and positive. I’m definitely ready to pick up where I left off with the Project:Me blog, too, so look for new posts soon.

Calories: 2682 Carbs: 377g Protein: 157g Fat: 68g

My hundred pushup challenge continues. It was more difficult today than expected. It started easy enough, but I just didn’t get as far as I thought I could with the last set. No worries, though. I am confident I’ll be able to complete the challenge if I simply stick to the program.

• 11 reps
• 11 reps
• 9 reps
• 7 reps
• 18 reps

 

I worked out uppers with my friend Gordon tonight. He was a real trooper to work out with me, since he’d already been going for about an hour by the time I arrived. Good thing, since I was ready to call it a night earlier in my routine than usual. I got no argument from him.

• Bench Press (10×135 / 7×145 / 5×145)
• Incline Bench Press (5×105 / 5×135) A new record!
• Curls (12×70 / 12×70 / 9×70)
• ST Shoulder Press (12×90 / 12×90 / 9×90)
• LF Pec Fly (8×130 / 9×115 / 5×130)
• LF Tricep Pulldown (12×32.5 / 12×52.5)

 

I think my diet today may have been a factor in my energy level at the gym. I had an extremely light lunch – just a little pasta. Sometimes it’s impossible to get in a good meal when you’re not in your own kitchen.

Overall, I continue to feel good. I feel like I’m on the right path with the recent decision to change focus to reducing body fat before going back to work on building muscle mass. I’ll come back to that once I’ve gotten rid of my spare tire. I plan to lose that for good this time.

Temptations resisted today: chocolate candy – there was a ton of it in the Rocket IT cafe today.

Calories: 2329 Carbs: 283g Protein: 164g Fat: 63g

Had a good run in the rain this evening. 3.2 miles. I love running in the rain. It’s nice and cool. There’s nobody else around. It’s a great time to clear my head.

Running also seemed a little easier today. I put a bunch of hills behind me and it didn’t kill me. Hopefully this is a sign that I’m getting into a groove and my recent efforts are paying off.

I did struggle with the diet today, though. I went way too light on lunch, eating just a tiny bit of salad. I also ran behind on my shakes, but I managed to get them in anyway. For the last two nights, I’ve had a bowl of cereal at the end of the day to try to get my calories and carbs up to a decent level. Other than that, I think I’m doing pretty good. I do feel good!