D10: 10.28.15

Weigh-in yesterday was 248. Today was 249. More on that shortly.

Monday’s workout had to take a backseat to work, as I didn’t clear it out fast enough. If I’m not in a position to be on the bike by 10:00PM or thereabouts, it’s very difficult to fit in. Sooner is better, but that’s not quite working out so far. The will is there, but the timing isn’t always cooperating…

Yesterday, I wound up with a fairly extensive client lunch (they chose the spot), which also induced more than a little gastrointestinal distress  and bloat (probably because my diet is typically a lot cleaner than that normally), which had effect enough it was to the point I was wondering if I was coming down with something. Coming down with something I have to very strenuously avoid, if possible, given my current travel schedule, so that, in combination with the gut issues, made me elect to scratch it last night. 

Now, if we know anything about training and diet and weight loss and fitness, it’s that consistency is key and as I mentioned towards the start of this, finding a way to regularly fit this all in will be a challenge. So far, work has had the effect of scrubbing two of the five workouts I had possible in this week’s cycle. It will get better after next week and I have no loss of motivation. Both nights I was dressed in workout clothes and ready to go, but fitness has to take a backseat to my livelihood sometimes. The biggest change is that it has moved up higher on the priority list and doesn’t take a backseat to a lot of extraneous crap it used to do. It is also worth pointing out that I did a fair amount of walking both days, which obviously won’t save the cause from shitty food intake, clearly, but is still an improvement, even if slight…

With all that out of the way, onto today…

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 7.4 miles/~30 minutes
Driver: Megadeth: Rust In Peace
Calories: unknown

Quality Level: N/A Much better tonight, though I had to cut it a bit short due to my right leg beefing a bit on the back tendon side of things...I was able to keep Pedal RPM up around 47 for the majority of it and came as close as I have yet to breaking an actual sweat. Cardio conditioning seems like it will easily take 44 Pedal RPM, so I want to move the baseline up. I also added in a lot more handle work and shoulder held up well, so good there. I get the impression I have at least a tear of some sort in my tricep, though, that might still be shoulder impingement...definitely not at 100%, either way.

Observations/Intel:  After the chaos of next week, where I'll be lucky to get 1 workout in, it will be back to maintaining the baseline and adding time to the workout. If that holds well, then I'm probably going to try to start adding in some HIIT stuff here and there...probably not for the whole workout, but definitely some sprints in there...

I've spent more time on the Air Dyne than I have in quite some time, obviously and I notice that I didn't quite finish all the tuning I was doing previously, as in years ago...so, more seat adjustments, maybe even a new seat, all forthcoming. I'm slowly copying what I did with my actual bike and trying to tune it that way, although I don't have anywhere near as fine of adjustments possible...

D9: 10.25.15

Weigh-in was 246 Friday, but haven't taken a reading since then. May do it tomorrow, if I remember...

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 6.6 miles/~30 minutes
Driver: GWAR: War Party
Calories: unknown

Quality Level: N/A I wanted to take it a bit easier tonight as Friday night I unexpectedly crashed out and while it was nice to get some good sleep, it was also unusual and sort of took me by surprise. Probably an adjustment to the new workload and later time and though not wholly unwelcome, sort of odd. That, combined with a much higher than normal activity level on Saturday, made me want to dial it back a touch so I don't run past my body's current ability to keep pace. Tonight didn't pose any particular challenge, though and maintaining a higher base is coming easier...

Observations/Intel:  Shoulder was throwing a massive fit most of the weekend, to the point where I've begun researching doctors to fix it...I probably won't be able to do many, if any, workouts next week, as I have a very long road trip coming up and it will definitely cut some of my available days out entirely. The following week is another long-ish road trip, though that one will definitely see me hitting the hotel facilities for some gym time, probably Cardio, but I may go play with the weights a bit as well...kind of doubting it, particularly given my Shoulder thing, but never can tell...

I still need to get a new music device as this one is sucking dogshit. 2008 model and the anti-skip may as well be non-existent. It shouldn't be skipping to that extent anyway, clean CDs and a relatively stable base. I also researched a bit on calculating calories on the Air Dyne. It matters less since I'm not on an actually restricted "counting" diet, per se, but once I get full back into it, that information will be nice to have...regrettably, every site I've found thus far has an estimate...I'd guess myself somewhere between 200 - 300 probably, but that will decline as I get in better shape and shed pounds...I don't think that's as good of a measure as distance, though...not too much guesswork there.

D8: 10.22.15

Weigh-in was holding strong at 248 this morning.

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: ~7.10 miles/~30 minutes
Driver: Dropkick Murphys: Blackout
Calories: unknown

Quality Level: N/A Moderate soreness tonight, after a full day of work. Had to fight a bit for part of it, but was able to more easily drive Pedal RPM up to and past 50 and hold it for a bit. I was tempted to really run it up, as I usually do, but elected to sort of secure the 30 minute and 7 mile mark again. I'm going to try to possibly creep the speed up next week but more have in mind pushing times to 45 minutes or so. As I'm relying a ton on the CD player to help me through this, it's super-annoying and distracting when it skips, so I'm going to be finding an alternate source in the very near future. I'm debating an MP3 player, so this might be the time I jump in on that...finally. They sound like shit, sure, but it's fine for Cardio workouts, which is the only time I'll ever be using it...maybe in the car, but probably not.

Observations/Intel:  It's starting to come back a lot easier. Body heat was higher tonight than at any time previous and I came sort of close to breaking a sweat. I'm hopeful I'll be able to keep this trend going through November. I have a lot of travel that month and the first week will probably not afford much, if any, opportunity to train...if I'm by myself, I can keep diet locked down, which will be more helpful, so as long as I don't get any weird cravings and can keep myself from the sixies, I'll be fine.

D7: 10.21.15

No weigh-in this morning. Weigh-in was 248 yesterday.

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 7.00 miles/~30 minutes
Driver: X-Cops: You Have The Right To Remain Silent...
Calories: unknown

Quality Level: N/A Happier with this overall tonight, despite the fact that my right shoulder again acting up and I had some pretty crazy gastrointestinal distress going on from dinner, probably because it was fairly heavy on cruciferous items. At some point I'll remember the dietary no-nos (rather painful tonight and it was a constant distraction, which made it all the more rewarding to fight through it and still improve over previous efforts) and this will get less goofy and more refined, but as it was, I was happy to hit the time benchmark tonight and was able to keep a consistent pace, though once more, not too intensive. Still some saddle adjustment to go. Again, no real strain on either legs or cardio nor was sweat involved...

Observations/Intel:  Took last night off due to sleeping poorly the night before and it was a good thing there. Body is responding nicely so far, though I haven't really tested the cardio part and once I get more into that, it will probably become clear the level it's at and how much work is ahead to get it back to the previous conditioning.

I have also been trying to go random with the diet this week, which I'm hopeful is forcing my body to "snap awake" and have to adjust. The main goal here is building cardio but the secondary is losing weight and I'm hopeful that by "keeping it guessing", it will have a helpful effect. At least, if nothing else, it is one diet theory I have yet to actually try and put in practice, so we'll see...I do have more tried and true fallback methods, if not.

I have not really been having anything post "workout", other than hydration, but for durations of 30 minutes or more, I'm going to be adding in a little bit, just so that I can keep the momentum going and not have to derail it because of soreness. I really want to try to get to a solid 5 of 5 days next week...presuming I don't wind up skipping it tomorrow, that will make 4 of 5, so steps in the right direction...

D6: 10.19.15

No weigh-in this morning.

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 5.00 miles/~22 minutes
Driver: Deadguy: Fixation On A Co-Worker
Calories: unknown

Quality Level: N/A I punted early again tonight because I wasn't too motivated and once I got into it, legs were not there. I still gutted it out anyway, but tonight is the first night I've felt anything at all challenged at this fairly light level. The most I've had is some minor soreness the first week, some very moderate body heat elevation, but nothing remotely close to breaking a sweat. Now, given, the most I'm hitting is a 2 on the Load Indicator, which is around 44 for Pedal RPM, this rate isn't intensive enough realistically to get to that point, unless I start doubling the time I'm on it, so no real surprises there.

Observations/Intel:  Rhythm is starting to become a factor and I'm definitely not used to the saddle, which will take a while, I know, from past experience. I also should have chosen a better driver. Though it's fun to pull out old CDs I've not heard in a while and give them a spin, when I need the extra push, it's not always there...that and the CD player I have is cranky...I might have to consider breaking down and just going to an MP3 player, as I don't think I can find another portable cassette player...

There is also the factor of not being used to nutrition timing, so if I don't choose carefully and overeat, even slightly, like tonight, at dinner, it tends to compromise my already shaky workouts. This will improve, of course and it's worth noting that I'm not really using supplementation of any kind regularly, aside from a multi-vitamin, Co-Q10 and Nattokinase. I am going to gradually try to start working in protein powder, though, on a much more regular basis and depending on how things look in December, may also consider going onto a metabolic enhancer...

D5: 10.18.15

When I left for the trip, last weigh-in was 247…weigh-in after my return was 250. One of the biggest changes and one I’m most satisfied with is my being able to drop immediately back into a dietary mindset that forces me to think about each food choice before I make it. One by itself, in the long run, will not matter, but each one is a brick. Let too many slide and the question then becomes whether you’re building a wall or a pile of bricks…

Now...given that I was up 3 pounds after that 10 days is attributable to a few things. Those would be not controlling my diet to the extent I was prior to leaving and the addition of beer. In addition to my stunning ability to very easily add pounds, I also have a fairly high chemical tolerance, so this means a lot of calories from beer...add to this some fairly unhealthy choices food-wise and a lot of work, but not at a lot of activity and the sort of phantom weight drop from the previous postings is gone, but it seems a lot like bloat...we'll see as this week progresses.

Taking my family on a business trip was an interesting experience, but one not likely to be repeated. Without getting into sidetracking specifics, solely on the fitness front, as mentioned, there was the diet issue, but also I didn't get any chances particularly to get in any workout time and was mostly too gassed even if did. Left to my own devices, I would have probably forced the issue and fully intend on training at least 3 of the days the next time I go up there for another week-long trip. I will also be packing protein powder for the stay, which I also didn't do this time...

Today was conversely a lot of activity and as soon as I got back into town yesterday afternoon, I re-took the diet reigns again. In addition to lots of playing outside with my son, I also got right back onto the Air Dyne tonight. Here's that:

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 5.75 miles/~25 minutes
Driver: DBX: Songs For The Wrong
Calories: unknown

Quality Level: N/A I punted a bit early tonight because I was a bit tired from both the trip and the outdoors activity, which varied quite a bit but was mostly chasing around an energetic 5 year old. I also want to try to sidestep my ass being sore a bit, if possible. I was able to keep the admittedly very low level of the previous workouts, even at near double the time. Until I get to the point of going through an entire CD (or at least 45 minutes) consistently, duration-wise, then I can begin to actually start working on cardiovascular improvement on a more training level.

Observations/Intel:  I can tell my mindset is starting to return back to previous days as I also started shopping gyms today. I don't really need to do this for a couple reasons...first, I don't intend on going to one at all in 2015, let alone regularly and second, if I do want to hit one, the hotel I typically stay at has at least a modest one. But...it's good to know what's out there, since the two 24 Hours by me and entirely unsuitable and I'm not driving across town. Fuck VASA/Gold's whatever the fuck and their stupid contracts, so that leaves either private gyms or another chain. The only one that is in both areas would by Anytime Fitness, so I might (probably will) go on-site to one of those to check it out...

My "soft" (*ahem*) goal is to be down to 235 by the end of this year and I may return then both the gym a lot more regularly and to a site I used to frequent, but I can't very well say I'm back until I'm actually back and realistically, that's more like a drop down to 220 before I'm going to consider myself within reason, so I'm back to exercising regularly, then back to actually working out, but a few miles down the road before "back" back, if that makes sense... With that long of a layoff, it may take a while, especially given that I can't dive full headlong right into it and have to make some compromises along the way...

*D4: 10.08.15

Another 247 weigh-in this morning and legs and especially glutes notably sore, probably from all the jumping and so on yesterday. Today was a bit more of the same of that (trying to get in as many outdoor activities as I can with my son while the weather still holds) and I threw in a little walk around the neighborhood, so the Air Dyne gets another night of rest. Frankly, I would still have tried to get on it, even with the slight soreness, but I had a couple back to back late nights and I'm too tired to motivate myself to do that. I really need, in fact, to crawl into bed. Daily, I'm trying for greater overall activity, along with the diet mods and that should hopefully carry over through the weekend.

I have also decided that I am going to try to sneak in a workout or two at the hotel next week. During those days I travel a ton and am usually pretty wiped by the end of the day, but wife and kid seem to be acting like they might be coming down with a little something, so that could be an opportunity for me hit the treadmill or elliptical for a bit if they wind up checking out of the day early...we'll see. If not, then postings will resume on my return the 18th...

*D3: 10.07.15

Weigh-in was 247 today, which I'm attributing to a normal fluctuation. It's not water weight, since I had a ton of that yesterday and losing water weight essentially translates to dehydration. I doubt it's fat, either, but perhaps part of it may be chalked up to diet modifications. It certainly isn't to the moderate amount of Air Dyne activity...we'll see how that progresses. Gains in weight loss, particularly for the somewhat very overweight, always happen fast in the beginning, which is nice for that little high, that little lift...except I've done it enough and trained people enough that had it happen that it's just a normal facet of this sort of lifestyle change.

No workout tonight as I wound up playing yard basketball for a little over an hour and a half with neighbors on both sides and my kid. My son is digging the idea of dunking (I was the only one there who could, so I did...a lot), which means me lifting a 5 year old in the air high enough so he could do that too. Repeat several times and there's my lifting workout...

If' I'm not in my office at work, my job can be fairly active, depending on how many customer visits I've scheduled that day. It's a lot of sitting while driving, to be sure, but there's a decent amount of walking and getting in and out of the car also, which all contributes. Tacking in the dietary changes should keep the trend going pretty well there, though I realistically only have one workout possible this week, then working in the yard this weekend, then a week long trip right after that, which will afford many chances for me to get worn out, but probably not so many for actual exercising...I am going to bring along my CD player and headphones anyway, in case I am inclined to go hit the treadmill or something, but it is vacation for my wife and son, so that's pretty debatable...

Diet is 85% or more of results, so even without working out, keeping that going will pay dividends...the combination of the two is better, though, of course...

D2: 10.06.15

No weigh-in this morning...those will be at least weekly, but definitely not daily. I also seem to be fighting off something, some sort of gamboo, which is nice, considering I just got done with one not too long ago...ahhh, the joys of having a child in school...

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 3.0 miles/~15 minutes
Driver: Black Breath: Razor To Oblivion
Calories: unknown

Quality Level: N/A Again, this is really just getting back to it consistently. Ass again was the only thing that presented any discomfort, again no challenge to either cardio or legs. Between yesterday and today's sessions, zero sweat and I only got very slightly thirsty today towards the end. Could definitely again have gone longer and were it not for the EP ending, probably would have.

Observations/Intel:  Used the handles a bit more today. I also stretched beforehand, which helped a lot. I got a pretty good smooth rhythm going for a bit, though obviously the pacing is pretty pedestrian. Also discovered I needed to do some slight maintenance and I assembled the book rack incorrectly when I put it on years ago, so I will have to, at some point before I get into the heavy duty side of things, take half of it apart and re-assemble. Maintenance and fine-tuning I may get to at some later point...possibly this weekend.

My challenge will be to not swing the thing into overdrive, to hold some degree or normalcy, of balance, of temperance. Already, I feel the old urges to just get on and burn. I'm not built for marathons and that's more of what I'm trying to do this time than a full-on sprint...

D1: 10.05.15

Weigh-in this morning was disappointing, but illuminative. The scale read 250, which I don't doubt and marks a repeat of the last highest weight I was in 2007 after I finished filming a movie, a role for which I put on considerably bulk. I was, however, also considerably stronger then...right now, I'm teetering on the edge of having to shop for a size up in clothing, which I've not had to do so far and don't want to start...ever.

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 2.75 miles/~15 minutes
Driver: Revco: Sex-O Olympico
Calories: unknown

Quality Level: Bah. This week I'm just trying to get back to it at all, so it's mostly testing and so on. Interestingly, at that pace, which was without a warm-up and featured me trying to stretch my leg muscles in the course of riding and pausing to dick around adjust the seat and so on, I was not challenged in either a cardio sense at all. I didn't even get particularly overheated, not enough to sweat at all. I probably could have maintained that pace indefinitely but my ass was getting sore and I want to do this progressively rather than diving in face-first and getting derailed with forced off-days, as even though this was an extremely light workout, it was realistically also nearly a 6 year layoff, so muscles and body are not used to this at all.

Observations/Intel: I didn't really use the handles much, other than sporadically. I seem to be nursing some sort of either Right Tricep or Right Shoulder (possibly/probably (?) Rotator Cuff) injury of some kind. No idea how or when I aggravated it or where it originated, but shooting hoops in the yard with the kid definitely makes its presence known and felt. I don't want to be put on the shelf with another injury, so I'm taking that side of things very slow. It might have been when I went to the driving range, as I recently elected to go buy a set of clubs and pick up golf again, about 20 years or so after the last time I played it. I'm not a golf dude, by any stretch, but did play a lot in my teens and it's nice to see the drives are still straight, even though every other single facet needs to be practiced for it to remotely come back...

Realistically, the earliest I can consider getting into the gym regularly is going to be (maybe) in 2016. I travel a lot for work, with next week being the first of 3 week-long trips I will be making this year. Not sure how much, if any, working out will happen next week, since the fam is coming with, due to lots of intense petitioning and lobbying on the part of my son, who also has most of his school break then and is not at all a fan of my travel schedule. My wife and I also have wine nights on Fridays and Saturdays, so working out will be out both of those days as well.

This week is more trying to see how my body reacts to any sort of stimulus like this. I want to be back up to about a half hour, if possible, by the workout Thursday night, but it takes a bit to get adjusted to the Air Dyne seat. Duration will probably not be an issue, but the tush soreness might be. In any event, the plan after our return is for me start trying to ramp up a bit more performance. I don't know when that will be - hopefully in October - but I'm far too heavy and out of shape to attempt any kind of rush. On the last 2 trips of this year, I can incorporate the hotel's workout facility into the mix and at least get some treadmill time, if nothing else. They have a light set of weights that I might play around with also, but weights are secondary for the time being, the plan being to get cardio back in order first, then try to work out scheduling to get back into the gym and then resume a lower key sort of modified strength training...along with cardio and family life and work and la dee da and so on...

Re-re-re-introduction

This is not intended to be a public journal in the respect of me promoting it at all, though if you do somehow stumble across it and like it, I do have a couple other blogs (http://d-dubhsc.blogspot.com/) Happy Sippin' Companion, which is my wine blog and (http://d-dubisyourhero.blogspot.com/), The Stars Are Also Fire, which is my hot sauce blog, either of which will also take you to my rather sizable collection of Yelp reviews as well. I am putting this here primarily as a more permanent journal, rather than using LiveJournal as I did the second time (I didn't use one at all the first time, back when I was in college) or Bodybuilding.com, as I did the 3rd time (though posts from here will probably appear there, if I decide to resurrect my presence on that Forum) in a section I called my War Journal.

So, why then put it here? Psychology. Even if an imagined audience, this helps hold my feet to the fire. My story will follow from here, as to why I'm now doing this starting-over (sort of) business for a 4th time, but I find this is one thing the internet is useful for...keeping an accounting. This will also help me track progress as well...

Some time ago, probably back about 12 years ago, as of this writing, or so, I elected to undertake a course towards better physical health and overall fitness. This basically involved losing a bunch of weight, quitting smoking entirely and changing my diet notably, all of this in an effort to regain my formerly excellent conditioning of about 10 years or so prior to that, back when I was in college...or rather, that was my starting point. I went with juicing ala Jay Kordich for a while, raw vegetables also and then started hitting a REC Center (ditched the raws, kept the juice), but rather quickly over-ran all the equipment in the gym when I turned to strength training.

It came as somewhat of a surprise to me that I enjoyed it as I did when I discovered it in college, as prior to that, I hated the gym, completely loathed it. I now realize this was due to the shitty weights my dad, in his effort to be helpful, bought for us as well as the ridiculous arrangement my old high school had with theirs. I've also found most enjoyment when my workouts tend to be an intensely private thing, combinations I was able to discover and keep going forward.

From that previous REC Center, I went to another (abandoned the juice in favor of a
"scientific" approach, with a heavy emphasis on supplements), overran that one and finally joined a Gold's Gym, which I thought was decent, but then it moved in the company's effort to leave the bodybuilders who made it into something (yes, by this time, I was well into "bodybuilder" mode) behind while it chased to fluffy/poofy crowd. I dropped that membership and went onto 24 Hour Fitness, which I really loved (this was across 3 moves, by that point). It was there that I really REALLY got heavily into that mode as well as biking (I harbored notions of racing competitively for a while, before realizing that was beyond foolish) and for a while, was having a blast on that front.

In 2009, however, a couple things laid considerable damage to that plan. The first of these was an abdominal hernia, that I'd managed to "achieve" during an intense coughing fit one night. I placed it probably back to 2007 sometime and it had gotten successively worse, to the point I could barely engage in band practice, let alone workout, even lightly. By the time they operated on it, the hole would have easily fit a softball. The second was my then-girlfriend becoming pregnant with my son, my first and only.

Prior to that, I was unquestionably in the best shape of my life, easily the strongest and thanks to the bike, very strong in the cardio department as well. In the final numbers prior to the surgery, this is where I left off:

Goals: Long Range: Current Status

Legs:

385 Deads | 405 Deads | 365
18 plates for reps on Inverted Leg Press | 20 plates | 17 plates

Shoulders:

135 Rocky BB Press for reps | 155 | 135X2
Stack Shoulder Press machine (255) | N/A | 200
265 C. Glass Upright Rows for reps | 315 | 225

Chest:

BW + plate for reps | BW + 2 plates for reps | 4 sets at 8 reps/15 X BW reps
180 on Hammer Super Incline for reps | 200 | 180 X 2
320 Hammer Decline for reps | 360 | 300

Back:

315 C. Glass Hammer Rows for reps | 360 | 300
10 @35 plates T-Bar Row for reps | 10 @45 | 10@ 25/ 7 @35s

The physical injury healed quickly enough that I could return to the gym for light workouts or do them at home on the Air Dyne, but I quickly found out that going to the gym was a waste, as my heart wasn't in it. My head definitely wasn't and I could not concentrate on all for my infant son. Rather than chance damaging myself with weights, I punted on the membership and dove headfirst into the daddy thing. The Air Dyne got demoted to the basement once the child became active and my job went full tilt skidding downward. I eventually quit that job for another, but the new one, while much more pleasant, was also correspondingly busier and it turned that I was eating out every day, sometimes more often. Obviously, this is not a good recipe, though I think I have that more in hand, in terms of balance.

Suffice to say, as of today, my cardio is in what I would charitably refer to as piss-poor shape and I could get nowhere near the final lifting numbers I left off with, but I will never again have that kind of luxury in order to immerse myself that deeply and probably not the desire, either. So, this one goes to something hopefully more sustainable.  Along the way, I also passed 40, which makes the fight that much more uphill. I will get into as many of the starting numbers as I can bear and so on in the next post, but here's where I left off...

Height: 6'0"
Weight: 209
Chest: 44"
Arms: 15.5"
Forearms: 12"
Thighs: 25"
Calves: 15.5"

Yep...I've got a long way to go...again...