What WAS I thinking?!?

Greetings everyone.... I'm back!

As most of you know, I've been experimenting with Crossfit as an alternative to my generally insane regimen of cardiovascular activities. After successfully giving up the copious amounts of swimming, running, rowing, biking and Versa climber, I've discovered that I don't know squat! Actually, I do KNOW squat ( in fact I've recently been certified in my knowledge of the squat, so to speak)., I just can't DO squat. Let me explain; The proper execution of the squat is a fundamental movement associated with what has recently become known as “Functional Fitness”.

My problem is that for the last 52 or so years, my posture has been absolutely terrible. Couple that with the fact that I've always rounded my back instead of bending at the hip when I'd bend over to pick up anythin and you have major flexibility issues. It's these serious flexibility issues that have been seriously hindering my Crossfit progress. A rounded back during a heavy Deadlift, or a heavy Back/Front Squat is a recipe for serious injury. Add to that, a “muted hip” and there are another half dozen functional movements that will take 2 times the energy to accomplish (Wall Balls, Kettle Bell swings, Kipping Pull Ups and Thrusters to name a few).

Over the last several months, I've spent considerable time and effort in an attempt to remedy the situation and I've learned the hard way ( via injury to my knees from a few too forceful “yin yoga” sessions) that I'm not going to be able to fix this over night. I'll continue working on the problem because it will benefit me most in my 60's, 70's and 80's. Hopefully, in another year or two, I'll be able to take full advantage of the CrossFit methodology. I still do believe it is the best program available for overall fitness and wellness in general. I just need to limit it to 2 to 3 days per week and I'll think long and hard about how much weight I'm using.

Bottom line: I need to get back to more running, biking, swimming, rowing and whatever other cardiovascular exercises I can find to attract my attention long enough to suffer through 60 – 90 minutes per day.

I had thought that it was hard when I quit the “Mega Cardio” regimen cold turkey. I find it amazing how much momentum came into play in regards to my achieving so much on a weekly basis. Getting back to the 4:30am swim start is unbelievably hard. I'm also amazed at how quickly the body loses its' hard earned fitness. For example, in March and April of this year, my average 30 minute row was over 7,200 meters. This week I attempted a 30 minute row and it KILLED me to barely break 6,500 meters!

In regards to the title of this latest post “What WAS I thinking?!?”, I've identified an important concept that had been masked by habit and the aforementioned momentum of my previous exercise routines. The concept I'm thinking of has roots in my Christian faith and while not even quite accurate in a religious context, I believe it to be completely valid and valuable in this context. I'm referring to “a dual minded man”. The book of James refers to this person who looks at himself in the mirror, walks away and forgets the man he was. Many a morning, I now wake up and tend to justify to myself why I should just turn off the alarm and pull the covers over my head. I also now regularly consider the tasks I've determined to tackle and I now regularly ask myself “What was I thinking?!?” Yep, to remain in the Biblical mode for just one last stab... “The spirit is willing but the flesh is WEAK”....indeed & Amen...

Even though I've learned to overcome this generically human trait, I still find the struggle applicable in regards to the level of fitness I'm trying to achieve. For example I'd determined that I wanted to run one more marathon in my life with a desire to break the 4 hour mark. I know, in the next 10 weeks, the thought will come up again and again.... “What was I thinking!?!”. Could this also be a gauge of whether we're attempting enough? i.e. If I don't question my decisions.... am I NOT stretching myself far enough?

I honestly think this may be a key concept when we look at our societies inability to tackle the obesity epidemic. This is without question, the reason so many resolutions are dropped by the wayside. We need to constantly remind ourselves of what we were thinking.

I was thinking I wanted to be healthy.
I was thinking, I wanted to test my mettle.
I was thinking a formidable challenge would be enriching.
I was thinking it would be nice to be able to... (put activity here)..
I was thinking I need to pursue excellence, an “Everest” as it were, of my own choosing.
I was thinking I'd feel better.
I was thinking I'd like to play with my grand kids.
I was thinking it'd simply be the right thing to do...
I was thinking I'd simply like a better version of myself.
Etc, etc, etc...

We NEED to keep reminding ourselves.... We NEED to associate with others who do not question our lofty goals but help to remind us of why we're attempting the difficult things in life. We need to continue to challenge others and to encourage them when they're beginning to wonder... “What WAS I thinking?!?”

Since I've last posted I've accomplished the following:

• Gotten my CPR certification.
• Followed through with my desire to become a Weight Watchers leader ( after some time I've filled out the application and was invited to an informal “Prospective Leaders” meeting on August 20th.
• Signed up for a class to become a certified “Spinning” instructor ( for the weekend of Aug. 14th)
• I've gotten around 30% through the NSCA certification process.
• Gotten my CrossFit Level 1 Trainer certificate ( a group I'm MOST proud to be associated with! )
  
  

I'll be attempting to post weekly and I thank you all for joining me on my journey...

Never Fail Again

What a week. I decided to take off a week from work and see what I could get done towards commencing on with my new life.  Boy am I in trouble!

While I was pretty good keeping up with my new commitment to Crossfit, my diet wasn't nearly as good. Too many carbs, too much beer! Organizationally I'm also having problems due to my lack of hard cardio and the subsequent lack of focus. While the week was far from a complete bust, I'm seriously concerned with achieving my new goals.

I'd decided that I want to keep up with running, rowing & swimming as my "active rest" throughout the week and I really want to continue getting up early to hit the gym. I really like the discipline, the people and the routine. I've therefore decided that I can add "skill sessions" to my regular Crossfit regimen. By skill sessions, I mean working on the many fitness disciplines that elude me. Many of these skills involve many of the 10 elements of fitness that I lack and that are core to the Crossfit methodology:
1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance- The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
2. Stamina - The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
3. Strength - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
4. Flexibility - The ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
5. Power - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
6. Speed - The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
7. Coordination - The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
8. Agility - The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
9. Balance - The ability to control the placement of the body's center of gravity in relation to its support base.
10. Accuracy - The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.

These are ideal because I can do these skill sessions no matter how sore I am from the weeks Crossfit workouts. In may respects, getting up at 4:00am, knowing that I'm going to face a tough 30 minutes on a Versa climber, was easier than knowing I'm going to have to focus on my weaknesses and concentrate on refining skills. I find that I'm way too much of an all or nothing type of guy and I'm having a REAL hard time limiting my workouts to Crossfit & Skill Sessions ( along with the regular easy run/swim/rowing sessions).

Some of the skills I'm working on ( and failing miserably at) are:
Swimming - 20 or less strokes per length.
Swimming - Addition of the flip turn on all laps.
Speed Bag - Trying to perfect several different striking methods
Jump rope - double unders
Pull Ups - Performing a proper kipp ( one that does NOT resemble seizure or electrocution!)
Proper form when performing Deadlifts, Squat Cleans, Snatches and Overhead Squats.

And these are just the tip of the ice burg. In any event, I'm finding I need to pull my "Ace in the hole" when I get up early in the morning by simply telling myself that this is simply "what I do". If there is any reasoning with myself whatsoever, I'll simply go back to bed and pull the covers over my head.

Whenever I find myself amidst a greater percentage of recent failures than successes I have to remind myself of my previous successes and I have to lean on my unshakeable belief that the only real failure is when a person totally quits trying. Two examples of this in my own experience are related to weight and smoking. In regards to my weight, my struggles were never a constant battle but there were times when I'd lose 10 pounds only to gain 20 after I'd "fallen off the wagon". The attached photo is one of me "in between". We were on vacation in Washington DC and I can remember half heartedly trying to watch what I ate (very unsuccessfully). I didn't give up even though I think I added another 15 or 20 pounds to what I had, but just upped my game on the next serious attempt.

I think the best example of what I'm referring to deals with my many attempts to quit smoking. I'd smoked on and off ever since I was 16 years old and I'd venture to say I'd quit 1,000 times. When I was younger, I even had friends tell my to resign myself to a life of tobacco addiction! Whenever I see someone trying to battle either of these formidable challenges, my most adamant and valuable advice to them is to never quit trying. With that attitude, the only way you can possibly fail is to quit trying. Every time you try, add to your "quitting/weight loss" skill set and continually build up your arsenal of tricks and strategies. Every failure will bring you the lessons that will eventually deliver you to success. I very certainly expect to conquer the above skills by the end of the year but if I don't, you know I'll be trying in 2012.

btw - I haven't smoked in about five years and I'd finally managed to quit at around 4 months into my successful 9 month campaign to lose the 90+ pounds.

I've been pretty good at logging my diet and workouts and I'm probably about 80% accurate. Details can be perused, as usual at:
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/

Crossfit Workouts:
#1
4 rounds of: 400M run 10 Deadlifts (125) 15 Wall balls (20)
#2
Crossfit - 65lbs 20 Thrusters, 20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, 20 Push Press, 20 Deadlifts + 4 burpees on the minute.
#3
w/u 10 min speed bag / run 2 miles - WOD 15min. amrap 200m sandbag run/10 sandbag situps/20 sandbag squats (5 rounds + run) / Cool Down 2 mile run.
#4
WU/Helen (3rds. 400m run/21 kb swings/12 Pull Ups) / Cool Down Team 1,500m Row(750 each)  /200 situps (approx.)

Mad Science & Crossfit

So, I've discovered that my particular metabolism requires an unusually large amount of physical activity to achieve a considerable level of focus in my life. This focus, in turn, enables me to actually utilize the intelligence that my parents and teachers have always told me I'd possessed. Since I can no longer maintain daily extended periods of intense exercise, am I now supposed to simply sit back and embrace a return to life as I knew it? I used to worry about my career and the monetary/lifestyle changes that would occur if I were to halt my exercise routine. I am now beginning to worry about returning to a life of fog. One of my long time favorite animated features that played on television every year was entitled "The Point". It was a story about non conformity and the virtues of finding the assets to our own uniqueness. There's a line in that movie that perfectly reflects what life with ADD is like: "He who points in all directions, points nowhere at all". This week, for various reasons, I'd probably done less intense cardio than I've done in years. I don't like how I feel.

This whole process for me has never been anything more than a continual guessing game that either produced results or didn't. If I felt good, I'd simply try and look at my fitness and diet details and try and repeat it. This is how I'd determined that a diet of 40% carbs., 30% protein and 30% fat was optimal for me. Like so many significant discoveries in life, I'd stumbled upon this by compete accident and I'd refined it through trial and error.

This is however where "The Calorie Lab" becomes relevant. I need to experiment, report results and hopefully learn a few things about how my diet and exercise routines affect my mental acuity. I may determine that there are other ways of achieving focus, I may find that there's no way but through long bouts of intense cardio. What ever I determine though, I have no doubt that I'll become fitter and healthier in the experimental process!

Here's the plan:
Since I can't maintain the long, intense and daily levels of cardio anymore, I need to try something else. Perhaps what I see in the Crossfit methodology is a possible answer to my predicament. Is what's happening with me a simple matter of pushing calories to increase the blood flow to my brain or a way to satisfy a metabolism that needs intense and prolonged activity to achieve balance? I'm thinking it could be a level of "fitness", if you will, that automatically balances my body and regulates it in such a way that will naturally enable me to focus and return to a high level of functionality. I need to test my body in a methodical manner. I know, for example, that if I were to return to a 2-hr. a day regimen of intense cardio (from how I feel right now), I'd be back to a high functioning state in about a four to six weeks.

I intend to attempt to utilize Crossfit as a means of increasing my level of all around fitness to see if I can achieve a similar effect as I'd achieved with the long cardio emphasis. Since I'll be actually changing my body composition, a minimum period for the test would have to be 90 days. For the past month or so, I've been avoiding my Crossfit as I've had some major life decisions to make and I needed to be sharp. One thing I've learned over the past year is that long intense cardio and Crossfit do not mix well. After some of the more intense workouts such as "fran" ( 21,15,9 reps of Thrusters &  pull ups) I'd be intensely sore for 3, 4 or even 5 days afterwards and a simple easy swim would be extremely painful. I'd have to stop the long cardio sessions and when I was able to do so, I'd hesitate to return to Crossfit. A good example is from last Saturday when I did the "Murph" workout ( 1 mile run, 100 Pull Ups, 200 Push Ups, 300 Squats, 1 mile run). I only made it through half of the workout as prescribed before I had to scale it down (After 50 pull ups, 100 push ups and 150 squats I gave in to assisted pull ups) and I ultimately only finished 3/4 of it with 1/4 scaled. All the way through Wednesday I was still so sore, I couldn't do a single pull up. Getting off the couch was a major challenge! Pushups weren't much better and I forced myself to do pushups even though my arms and chest hurt like hell!  Bottom line is that I'm going to have to work through a couple of weeks of severe "Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness" (DOMS) with little intense cardio on the side. Hopefully my body will become accustomed to the breaking down and recovering of muscle. It'll be interesting (and disconcerting I'm sure) to see where my ADD will go in the process.

My blog will therefore appear scant in regards to the amount of activity I'm doing. I intend to attack the Crossfit with a 2 days on, 2 days rest approach until I feel I can go 3 days on 2 days rest and finally move on to the prescribed Crossfit standard of 3 days on, 1 day rest. This is not set in stone. If I have an easy week or my body is handling the workouts well, I could, theoretically do a 3 on 1 off next week... I'll ultimately be listening to my body. I'll continue to track my diet and workouts on the Livestrong website and I'll be adding to the daily "How do you feel?" portion of the food diary. ( I'm thinking of grading scale determined by the number of times I lose my keys on any one particular day! ;-)  )

I am again going to skip my weekly summary of activity except my Crossfit involvement.

Diet and other fitness details can be perused at: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/

Crossfit Workout #1
Wed. Still VERY sore from Sat. "Murph"
4 rounds of "Cindy" (5 Pull Ups (machine assisted), 10 Push ups, 15 Squats) & 120 flights of stairs with 100 Pushups ( 10 every 10 flights for the first 100 flights)
Sat. "Lumberjack 20"
20 Deadlifts (275lbs) - I did 175lbs
Run 400m
20 KB swings (2pood) -  I did 1pood (I think)
Run 400m
20 Overhead Squats (115lbs) - I did 35lbs ( I think)
Run 400m
20 Burpees
Run 400m
20 Pullups (Chest to Bar) - I did chin to bar
Run 400m
20 Box jumps (24")
Run 400m
20 DB Squat Cleans (45lbs each) I did 15# each.
Run 400m
32 minutes ( I think)
Sunday
4 rounds of 400m run.
10 Deadlift (125lb)
15 Wall ball (20lb)
19:30

An Easter Blog

For those of you who are new to my blog, Here's a synopsis.. (those who are not new to the Calorie Lab can skip the following two paragraphs!):

I'm a "late blooming" athlete with severe ADD who has successfully been fending off my ADD symptoms to maintain an extremely technical (and lucrative)  position with a fortune 500 company.  The required prescription to keep me focused and effective was 90 --> 120 minutes of intense cardio daily and a strict diet of 6 daily meals consisting of 40% carb, 30% fat & 30% protein. I've successfully maintained this regimen for the last 5 years but my body (at the age of 56) is no longer able to maintain this level of intensity on a daily basis. I simply can no longer adequately perform in a highly technical field. I need to embark on a new career and I've determined that the fitness industry is where I belong. I'm passionate about diet & fitness and I've learned a tremendous amount about the topic in the last 5 years. I've personally lost 95 pounds on my journey and I've made the transformation from couch potato to athlete. I've been there, done that, and I'd LOVE to help others experience a similar transformation. I also know this is something that I can be excellent at.

My blog will continue to basically be a journal of my late life career change. I intend to regularly touch upon the topics of diet, fitness and ADD. Within these parameters I also intend to include material that will in some way (hopefully), inform, educate and perhaps even inspire.  I'm not sure how often I'll be able to hit the mark and I often doubt that people will continue finding value in reading this admittedly narcissistic endeavor, but I'll continue to document my experiences nonetheless. I may simply continue writing, perhaps as a journal, if only for myself. My workouts will be different, but will still be considerable and I will be, at least short term, documenting my increasing foray into the Crossfit methodology. I'll also continue (for the most part) documenting my diet. Several readers have expressed surprise in my willingness to expose such personal information to the masses. The truth of the matter is that if I'm going to make an impact in other peoples lives, I HAVE  to be open about mine (the good and the bad). Besides the obvious value of accountability to help me succeed in my endeavors, I feel a tremendous release in living my life as an open book. Too long have people observed my life, scratching their heads,  as a grand enigma, without knowing what was behind it all.

Before I get on to the heart of this weeks post, I'd like to share something I'd read this last week. It's from a book entitled "Healing ADD" and I found it especially reassuring. The author, Dr Daniel G. Amen says "Through the years I've seen a direct relationship between the level of exercise a person gets and the severity of their symptoms. I have seen a number of ADD professionals ( such as physicians and attorneys) get through school by exercising two to four hours a day." (italics mine). Ever since I've "come out of the closet" with my ADD, I've had numerous occasions where a person has heard my story and I've had them repeat it back to me (to be sure they're hearing it right) with a "so, you THINK the exercise is helping your symptoms" and I reply, no, I KNOW it is helping. It is a very dramatic  effect. While this is nothing new to me, it is something I'm all too happy to have outside validation on. Also, for those of you with friends or family with ADD, know that this could be an valuable and viable option outside of medication.

Today is Easter and I've managed to extract my own Easter message as it relates to me. It goes like this: Last Friday (Good Friday) I was able to meet with HR for my current employer to determine how we can both find a way to amicably and in a mutually beneficial manner, terminate my employment ( I have at most, one to two weeks left at SW). Today, I earnestly begin work on my new life. I have a resume to write, an interview test to take online for a prospective employer and I am now planning my new life out of the death of my old one. Most of you who know me personally, know that I'm a Christian. Chances are however, that you do not consider me as being what many would consider to be "Religious". While I'm not what many would classify as religious, my faith in Christ means a great deal more to me than outwardly meets the eye. To me, a Christian should not be recognized by how someone outwardly preaches a message or by what "things" he did or didn't do. In my opinion, a Christian should be recognized by how they treat others and by portraying an overall and unmistakable element of excellence in their lives. A church I used to attend had a part of their mission statement that read something to the affect: "Attracting others to the Excellence of Christ, the Adventure of Faith and the Joy of Ministry". If I could sum up how I feel about my faith, this would be most accurate. My aim in this new life is to mirror the excellence of Christ. My stepping out on a faith that God has a plan for me will most certainly be an adventure I look forward to embarking on and I truly believe that my ability to help others to reach their own potential through a balanced life of diet and fitness will enable me to experience the Joy of Ministry.

This Easter I'd encourage all of my Christian friends to attempt to utilize this Easter holiday as an opportunity to further experience the life of the Risen Christ in your daily lives through Excellence, Adventure and Service. For those "heathen" friends of mine ;-), I'd encourage a little respect, an open mind and perhaps some friendly discussion over a beer regarding how I perceive the Gospel of Christ. ( see what I did there with the beer? :-> )

For all those that are new to the blog and are interested in more of the details of my recent history, I'd encourage you to read a previous post:
http://calorielab.blogspot.com/2010/02/honorable-employment.html

Happy Easter to you all....

My diet details for this week are incomplete due to my time in Chicago... Details I do have however can (as always) be perused via http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/
What I've done this week:
Very light week with the Chicago Trip and accompanying recovery.
Raced - 180 Flights of stairs for time. (23:57) 4th in my age group 35th over all.
Rowed - 39,416 Meters to make my 1st Million
Crossfit - "3/4 Murph" 1 mile run. 75 pullups (25 with bands), 150 push ups, 225 Squats, 1 mile run (manual)
Ran - 6 miles

Taking a break!

Wow, I have a program that tells me how many people are checking my blog and I'm VERY surprised to see that people are regularly checking for my Sunday update...

You obviously know by now... I didn't post one!

The reason being was that I was in Chicago all weekend participating in the "Fight For Air", American Lung Assn. fundraiser climbing the Presidential Towers.

It was an amazing event. Our team "The Sherwin Steppers" scored a corporate team 1st. place out of 15 teams. We had one age group first place finisher, one 2nd place age group finisher and a bunch of 5th --> 7th age group finishers. To top things off, our team had a truly incredible time. What a group.

Don't worry however, I'll be posting again this Sunday and the way life is shaking me up, I'm pretty sure I may have some interesting news. I'll have stories from Chicago as well...

Until then.. Thanks for checking in...

Think, Think Think....

I'm back....

After two terrible weeks, I've managed to regroup and hit it hard. Diet was great and I'd managed to stay clear of the "brewskis" through this week including St. Patty's day. There have also been considerable developments on my employment front so, I'd managed the above through considerable stress. One more week of careful diet and a small taper to my exercise routine from Thurs. --> Sat. and I'll be ready for the "Presidential Towers" stairclimb in optimal shape. I'm aiming for a sub 24 minute time.

While my fitness routine was good, the fallout from the two previous weeks of "backsliding" ( for lack of a better term) has left my ability to focus in shambles. It'll take another week till I'm anywhere back to an acceptable level. Since I've been dealing with the ADD all week, I figure it's a good time to break the norm of my blog and write about something other than diet and fitness. I've also been asked by several friends who are now privy to my situation "What are you like when your ADD is bad?". I've had to think about it, and all week I've been thinking about how to describe it.

Several years ago I saw one of those public service commercials on TV that addressed what it was like having ADD. It basically showed about 30 seconds of a television screen changing channels randomly very quickly. I liked the idea and thought that it was pretty accurate. But there is more to it.  I once had one of my doctors (who is aware of my ADD) confide in me that he too was diagnosed, as an adult, with ADD. He conceded that his was not as severe as mine, but the important fact was that he found that this tendency to continually and quickly move from one channel to another was in fact an asset to him. He actually found that the quick pace of a busy doctor's office was a perfect fit for an adult with ADD.

The thing that affects me most however from a technical perspective is the need to be able to capture numerous steps and attributes in one complete thought, as it were. A good example of this type of thinking would involve a game of chess. A master chess player can focus well enough to see 15 moves ahead being able to envision pins, forks, checks and various other tactical elements all the while keeping track of the various piece values gained and lost. Ask the same chess player to do the same while being interrupted every few seconds and the outcome would be quite different.

Earlier this week I was working on configuring a server that was utilizing a networking protocol "801.q" which will allow for multiple VLANS to be configured to the same network card. When I am able to focus correctly the switch--> cable--> vlan --> subnet--> interface card --> configuration file and all of the various attributes that need to be considered could all be digested in one piece and I'd simply edit the files. Instead, I'd have to get so far, complete one step and rethink the whole process over and over again. It probably took me four times as long as it would have had my focus been intact. Thus we have this weeks blog caption... That is how I feel most at these times.... tapping my head, saying think, think, think to myself!

All through elementary school I was always told how smart I was and with my IQ I could go so far... "If only I'd applied myself". The late 50's and early 60's were not very good times for those of us with ADD. In fact, thinking back, it's absolutely amazing that I grew up to be as good natured as I am. For all practical purposes however, the constant "changing of channels" is pretty easy to deal with on a daily basis. Good habits, a high priority on organization and a good sense of humor can do wonders to allow me to be successful on a daily basis. A continued career in the technical fields for me, however, would be a prospect that would most certainly be doomed to failure.

Speaking of humor as a coping mechanism, I'd recently run into an old "alt.support.attn-defecit" news thread I'd started in January of 1995. It was entitled "The top xx things ADDrs should NEVER do" (it started out as the top 10 list but was so popular we were aiming for the top 50 instead). The many responses and stories were really very funny

Here is a sample of my first top 4 :
1). Never put a warm pop in the freezer for a "few minutes" just to get it cold.
2). Never put coffee/soda/ANYTHING on the car roof "for a sec." until you get the car loaded.
3). Never start some bathtub water and run downstairs "for a sec" to do something real quick.
4). Never pull away from the gas pump without first checking to make sure the nozzle is not in your car, but in it's holder. (I've never had a mishap with this one but, I ALWAYS check because I could just see myself doing it and the consequences scare the heck out of me!)
5). NEVER buy something now that you need later, with the plan to get it out when you need it.  If you remember you bought it, you won't remember where you put it.

I don't remember how many we ended up with but if you need a good chuckle here is a link to an early compilation of it and some of the stories were great:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.attn-deficit/browse_thread/thread/9448537852813c9f/6dc4c87b4f1aeea6?lnk=gst&q=top+10#6dc4c87b4f1aeea6

What I've done this week:
Weekly Totals: (Sunday --> Saturday)
Running - 20 Miles
Rowing - 23,643 Meters
Swimming - 4,400 Meters
Versa - 1 Mile 29:30
Bike - 87 Minutes
Speed Bag/Jump Rope 5 minutes each alternating - 45 Minutes

Diet
19,420 Calories Consumed
8,475 Calories Burned during exercise.
14,616 Calorie Maintenance Goal
10,945 Net Calories ( Consumed minus Burned)
3,671 Deficit ( Goal minus Net)

Eyes on the Prize

Those of you who know me know I do nothing half way.... This can be good... This can be bad. This week it was bad.  I attended two separate events that involved mass quantities of beer. My diet sucked, my workouts sucked... the week sucked.... I made almost NO progress on my NCSA training.

Fortunately I have a large goal on the horizon; the Presidential Towers stair climb in Chicago on March 28th. It's time to get serious. I've prepared my breakfasts & lunches for the week. I've scheduled my workouts to make the most of these coming two weeks. I've scheduled time to study.

Winston Churchill once said, regarding his considerable alcohol consumption; "I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.". This week, I can not say the same. So much so, that I'll not drink another beer until our celebratory toast with pizza on the evening of the 28th. I will also use my time away from the brew to reconsider my habit of daily consumption. Yep, that'll make for a very unique St. Patty's day! Oh well...

In any event... Two weeks ago I'd been in the best shape of my life (4 sub 30 minute Versa miles in a row!). I've gained a few pounds since then but I'm certain I'll be able regain what's been lost & then some.

I won't bore anyone with the details of my less than stellar exercise and diet week. If you're really interested, as always, you can check my food diary on livestrong.com under the user "stairclimber_d".



 

I Yam What I Yam!

It's been another interesting week. After my vacation from what I've come to refer to as my "mega-cardio" schedule, I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things. Martha is starting to feel better after her sinus surgery but is still quite a ways from being 100%.  My talks with management at work have yielded some changes in that I've been reassigned to a different group where my diminishing skill set can be put to use in the best manner. 

Change, change, change... After literally years of an iron clad routine aimed at a significant challenge, It's like I have to re-invent my life. Do I REALLY need to maintain the 90 min. of cardio while I study for my NSCA certification or should I retreat to a more normal 1 a day strength/30 min. cardio routine and use the extra time I'd have spent on the cardio towards actual time in the books? If I return to a more traditional fitness schedule, do I incorporate Crossfit?  If I change up from a lot of cardio... Will I be able to handle the change in diet that such a modification would require? I would most certainly miss that extra 1,000 to 1,500  calories I've been accustomed to. To make things even more difficult, in times of stress, disappointment and frightening levels of change, I tend to over eat and drink WAY too much beer. Everyone knows you can't out "work out" a bad diet! (and a bad diet makes those workouts that I do engage in SO much harder... )

Funny, but when my ego takes a spill as it has with my recent job reclassification, I always tend to find myself, without even being aware of it, quoting the wisdom of one of my favorite cartoon characters "Popeye"... with him, I'm comfortable uttering the ideal statement regarding a healthy attitude towards self acceptance and a realistic ego and I quote; "I yam what I am and that's all that I am".

There's really so much to like about Popeye. Growing up and watching Popeye all through the 1950's decade, I believe he had an enormous positive influence on the baby boomer generation. He ALWAYS stood up to the bully Bluto, he demonstrated the power of a healthy diet (He's strong to the finish cause he eats his spinach! ) and always did the right thing when it came to Olive Oyle and Sweat Pea  (not to mention his friend and obviously obese and diet challenged fellow character "Wimpy")...

While I like the original song lyrics to "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", I do believe the song from the 1980 film captures the essence of Popeye even better...

I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam 'cause I yam what I yam

And I gots a lot of muskle and I only gots one eye
And I never hurts nobodys and I'll never tell a lie
Tops to me bottoms and me bottoms to me top
And that's the way it is 'till the day that I drop
What am I?
I yam what I yam!

When it came right down to it, Popeye was a stand up, regular guy... The proverbial "working class hero" who had his moments of greatness but was never cast as a perfect creature... His language was raw and unsophisticated, his voice was annoying (as was his nyuk, nyuk nyuk laugh) and even though he was strong and had forearms as jackhammers, he was hardly good looking and was stricken with that unsettling ocular anomaly, "The eye". It's no wonder that I find a real affinity with the character. But than again, what would I know about living and growing up with a feature as unsettling?  ;-)

What I've done this week:

I'm eating late today and want to post... this week is a 6 day total. Next week I'll post Sunday --> Saturday..

Running - 8 miles

Swimming - 1.3k m

Rowing - 21,828m

Stairs - 209 Floors

Bike - 70 minutes

Versa Mile in 29:40

Calories Consumed - 18,864

Calories Burned through exercise - 5,384

Net Calories (Consumed - Burned) - 13,480My 

Maintenance Goal - 12,528 (I did overeat this week by about 1,000 calories)


My NSCA studies are SLOW... the first chapter has been difficult... I'm almost done with it ( I'm actually thinking I probably don't need to memorize as much as I have)...

"Life Can be Hazardous to Your Health"

In the last couple of weeks or so, the press has been saturated with stories involving needless deaths and crusades to alleviate the dangers of everyday household objects. Three of  the items that I'm referring to (There were more but I can't seem to recall now) were the deaths of the Georgian luger at the Olympics, the trainer at Sea World who was killed by a "Killer Whale' and the recent crusade in the news to ban hot dogs because they are so dangerous.

I also noticed that in each case of the deaths, people were immediately looking to place blame. People want life to be perfect. Do you think there was ONE time when that luger got on his "sled" that he didn't think it might not be his last? Let me see, the object is to go the fastest but someone was at fault for making it too fast? Will padding around the columns REALLY make a difference when a body hits it at 90+ mph? The day the trainer at Sea World died the headlines read "Who is to Blame?". For crying out loud, the woman daily got into a tank with a "Killer Whale"... do you suppose there's ANY way to make such a proposition absolutely fool proof? My parents taught me to be careful when I ate small round objects (hot dogs). When I was too young to take responsibility, they cut them in half for me. I did the same for my son (although I did have to give him the Heimlich once when he was choking on some backyard leaves he had ingested one fall day).

Perhaps you've all detected my innate tendencies towards the dramatic, but beyond my personal quirkiness, doesn't anyone else feel we are neutralizing the ups and downs of life to create a vanilla backdrop to a soundtrack of white noise? Is life without the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" truly better? Or do we need someone to blame and pay to equalize the outrageous fortune part. People who deal with their own mortality each day are some of the only people who are embracing life to its fullest. I heard a quote this week; "Fate leads those who follow but drags those won't". I tend to think that those who follow will generally have a better time of it than those who are dragged to an indiscriminate fate. 

So, how does this apply to me? While I'm not nearly defying death on a daily basis, I have made some decisions regarding my career that some consider foolhardy. If I hadn't made the decisions I've made though, the decisions would have been made for me to a less than desirable outcome. On one hand, I've been encouraged by friends who know me and feel I've thought this through. Others have not been so encouraging and seem to think I should either hang on to this job tooth and nail till I'm of retirement age or declare a "disability" status and hobble any future career progress while I sit by and collect a percentage of my current salary. Granted, our standard of living will not be the same but who said the ability to live in the burbs and to be able to afford a new car every 4 years was the standard of a good and happy life? Yep, I'm taking a gamble. Yep, it might not turn out exactly like I want. All I know is that "My fate" has determined that a retirement from an IT career is simply not going to happen. It's nobodys' fault. I can follow the flow, make some decisions or get dragged to the inevitable kicking and screaming...

My blog is going to change drastically from here on. I've made some decisions, set some goals, and I'm going to have very little time other than to post a quick weekly status for those of my friends who care. If I have anything I feel is worthwhile to my friends in the fitness community in general, I'll post a heads up on facebook. All are welcome to peruse and comment however on a weekly basis.

I've checked out almost a dozen different personal trainer certifications.. (NESTA, NPTI, NASM, ACSM, NSCA, NCSF, NFPT, ACE, IFPA, ISSA, AFAA). The NSCA-cpt option seems to hold the most respect industry wide. It is also the hardest to obtain. I've a copy of the text book they suggest for test preparation and it looks like it'll take quite a bit to digest. I'm amazed at the detail included and am humbled by how much I don't know. If I can finish a chapter a week It'll take 6 months. Soo... it's a race against the clock... I need to finish the certification process before I outlive my usefulness to my current employer.

My wife has gone through sinus surgery this week and I've spent most of my time trying to make her comfortable and try and keep up the house doing the things she's particularly adept at in keeping life manageable. As far as exercise goes, I've actually taken a vacation! I haven't worked out or tracked meals in over 4 days. It is wonderful to be able to move without any DOMS related pain! It's been years since I've let my self rest this much. I'm in major transition and I'd been wondering how to schedule my workouts (i.e. a standard 1x30 min. aerobic + 1 set of muscle group resistance or Crossfit)

Due to my decisions regarding certification however, I start a full workout schedule on Monday with my customary 90+ minutes of hard cardio daily. I'll need to be extra sharp so that I can somehow fit in an hour of effective study daily. 

I'm hoping to attend the Arnold Classic next week. I've volunteered to help with the Crossfit sectional games but I intend to take in as much as I can of the rest of the event (from the perspective of a fitness related professional).

Thank you all who've supported and made constructive comments regarding this endeavor. I've learned a lot doing this so far and I'll most definitely return with improved insights and a more 'to the point"/concise blog tracking my adventures with the caloric economies of life.

But "What's my Motivation?"

For the past several years I've always felt a little bit deceptive when I've spoken to others about my fitness regimen. The source of my motivation was totally unknown to anyone except for a small select few. After all, not everyone has the motive of saving ones job and his very standard of living riding on whether they stay fit and maintain the discipline to eat right and rise early as religiously as I have.  I have however recognized the substantial gift I've been given throughout this entire situation. The motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." I've completed my goal of retaining my position and career as long as I have but I am, without question, a different person than what I was 5 years ago.

I am surprised with what I've become.

Things are changing though. While I still intend to maintain a strict adherence to a high level of fitness in order to achieve a certain level of mental focus, the pressure is off. But what about my motivation? I'd have to say that the person I've become is every bit as motivated as I've been during the last 5 years. I've BECOME an advocate for healthy living and am witness to what a commitment to exercise can mean to our health both mental and physical.

Nathan Pritikin known for his work in the area of longevity and diet sums up what I've determined about the importance of exercise with the following:

Priority of Exercise
Exercise must have top priority, one that supercedes everything except your
spouse, your children and the food that you eat.

The excuse of not being able to find time to exercise is a cop out. We find
the time to sleep because it is mandatory. So is exercise.

If you don't owe daily exercese to yourself, you owe it to the people who
love you -- your family and friends.

It is unfair to think of exercise as taking extra time. It simply doesn't.
With the new energy you've got you'll  get more done and probably sleep an
hour less every night.

Schedule your exercise the day before and then fit your work schedule
around IT!

I'm also convinced that for most people, the morning is the best time to get the most regarding a workout and making the most of your day. Steven Covey in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People uses the analogy of "Sharpening the Saw" meaning to take care of yourself first in order to get the most efficiency from yourself on a daily basis. I'd even like to take it a little further and ask if it is wiser for a workman to sharpen his saw in the morning or mid-day?

I'm not really dogmatic about the above statement, but I think most people should seriously consider it.  Here is something I picked up from the people over at www.sparkpeople.com that I think has merit:

Top 5 Reasons to Love A.M. Exercise
1). Exercising early in the morning "jump starts" your metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours, sometimes for up to 24 hours! As a result, you'll be burning more calories all day long--just because you exercised in the morning.

2). Exercising in the morning energizes you for the day - - not to mention that gratifying feeling of virtue you have knowing you've done something disciplined and good for you. (Much better than a worm!)

3). Studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity--a benefit that lasts four to ten hours after your workout ends. Exercising in the a.m. means you get to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while you're snoozing.

4). Assuming you make exercise a true priority, it shouldn't be a major problem to get up 30 to 60 minutes earlier--especially since regular exercise generally means a higher quality of sleep, which in turn means you'll probably require less sleep. (If getting up 30 to 60 minutes earlier each day seems too daunting, you can ease into it with 10 to 20 minutes at
first.)

5). When you exercise at about the same time every morning--especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time--you're regulating your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day, and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes.

Exercise Extra: More than 90% of those who exercise consistently have a morning fitness routine. If you want to exercise on a regular basis, the odds are in your favor if you squeeze your workout into the a.m.

So my motivation has changed but it has not waned. I think another surprising aspect that I've learned is how my spirit is edified by the daily act of pushing my limits and in learning that these limits can be continually challenged and expanded.... I think perhaps the knowledge of my ability to consistantly grow and improve could very well be motivation enough.

I'm skipping my weekly tabulation of exercise and diet this week. I'm lucky I found the time to finish the blog this week...

If anyone is interested however, I've still tracked my daily calorie inputs and expenditures and it can still be perused here:
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/

Honorable Employment

In 1993 I was working as a "Tape Ape" in a data center tape library for General Electric in Brookpark, Ohio. Even though I was working for GE, I really didn't make a lot of money in that position (Benefits were good though). To supplement my income however, I'd leave my second shift position at GE and work for a cleaning company cleaning office buildings. When I got out of there I would go deliver newspapers ( I had two different stints doing this. One was WSJ home delivery and the other was restocking USA Today boxes downtown). I'd be able to get to sleep by between 08:00 & 09:00 to get up at 15:00 and make it to work again by 16:00. This was nothing new to me. My father worked two jobs as long as I can remember. I've had literally dozens and dozens of jobs since I’d graduated from high school. From my generally blue collar background, working two and three jobs in order to make ends meet were pretty much the norm. Out of all the jobs I've had, I'd managed to be pretty good at most of them. I can't remember ever being fired from a job. I can remember however, one that I screwed up so bad, that I left at the end of the day. I didn't even give them a chance to fire me! (I never even went back to collect my paycheck!). But that was a rare experience with something that I was obviously not suited for.


It was right around this time that my Son, who was about to enter first grade, was diagnosed with ADHD. The Internet was pretty much a new thing but I was successful in finding some information regarding ADD & ADHD in the alt.support branch of usenet newsgroups. Something that became a huge surprise for me was how much regarding the symptoms of this affliction was applicable to ME!? At 45 years of age, I decided to see a psychologist and was diagnosed with severe ADD. Life was about to change drastically for me.

We immediately started experimenting with medications and it didn’t take log to discover that “Dexedrine” (a rather powerful amphetamine often prescribed for weight loss) was a perfect fit for me.

The biggest difference I’d noticed while taking my medication was in my ability to learn. While working in an IT environment at GE, I had soon discovered that I had an affinity with the Unix operating system. Everything involving Unix suddenly made sense. I was now able to easily read and digest computer manuals and books and digest I did! It was not unusual to hear my peers comment on my insatiable appetite to learn and stay current amid this seemingly endless stream of information technology. I was indeed very proud of the fact that some called me the “Human Man Page” ( a man page is the integrated Manual Pages that document each of the commands associated with the Unix operating system) and I very much enjoyed being a key go to person when it came to my job.

Needless to say, my income quickly doubled, tripled and eventually quadrupled from the days when I had to work two and three jobs to eke out a reasonable living. I’d found my niche’. I finally found something in which I had a natural talent to build upon. I really tried to make the most of it. My wife, at one point, rightly appeared concerned that I had been reading NOTHING but computer manuals for years on end.

All went well until the end of 2004. I’d gained considerable weight and my blood pressure was at dangerous levels. I had had an episode with chest pain that resulted in at trip to the ER and two coronary stents implanted in my heart. My doctor could no longer prescribe the Dexedrine. My new goal was to lose the weight ASAP and get back on the medication, also ASAP. At this point, I could maintain my job at a reasonable level for some time, as long as things didn’t change too drastically.

In the process of losing the weight, I discovered an amazing phenomenon; A combination of a lean body, a regimen of hard cardio for about 1.5 to 2 hrs. per day, and a diet of properly timed 5 or 6 small balanced meals a day would perfectly mimic the effects of Dexedrine without the side affects. This discovery was made at the end of 2005 and it managed to work perfectly until I ran into problems with my knee in the spring of 2009.

My usual routine was to get up before 4am to get into the pool by 4:30. I would then move onto about 40 to 50 minutes of cardio with another 30 to 40 minutes of cardio at lunch. The swimming was something I felt I needed to learn and was not really considered part of the hard cardio I was trying to perform. The daily cardio consisted of biking, running, stairmaster and running regular stairs. The years of this grueling schedule were made possible by the thought of returning to near minimum wage jobs and the changes that such a change would make for my family.

When my knee developed problems, I was reduced to trying to use the little swimming I had learned, rowing and this “UBE” hand crank machine to try and reach an 85%+ heart rate for prolonged periods of time. While the rowing proved to be a valuable tool, it wasn’t enough and I started to fall behind in my job. A perfect storm was starting to brew. I was unable to continue the high level of performance I’d grown to expect from myself and at the same time, the environment I was working in started changing drastically to where I needed to learn the new technologies.

I’d managed to get back to running and biking but the handwriting was on the wall. With a recent injury limiting my continued “cardio therapy”, I’d determined that I have some choices to make.

Through all the jobs I've had, I've always been inclined to give my all to quality work. With every job, I'd always been surprised at the skill & "tricks of the trade" that could be utilized to perform a level of quality the uninitiated could never attain. Whether it was washing dishes, floor maintenance, laundry, stock room work or food preparation, there were skills and tricks that were often a challenge for me to perfect but I usually got it and I usually learned to excel. To this day, I often walk into a buildings lobby and can recognize a superior wax job on the floor and I'll stop and appreciate the skill and pride that must have gone into producing a quality piece of work. Martin Luther King Jr. once said "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

I’ve come to grips with the prospect of returning to having to work multiple lower paying jobs and to change my standard of living accordingly. I’m still not about to “quit my day job’ as it were, but I need to prepare for a new phase in my life. I refuse to be continually mediocre in my job and my body is simply unable to take the continued stress of extended periods of hard cardio. I have a newly developed passion for diet and fitness and believe I’m uniquely gifted in encouraging others. I intend to talk to the Weight Watchers organization to see what it takes to become a leader since it was with WW that I lost over 90lbs. I’m 100% in favor of their methodologies ( I KNOW that it pays almost nothing, but it’s a start). I’ll probably try for some type of NSCA certification and see if I can find a fit somewhere coaching older adults. If none of this works, I can return to physical jobs that I know I can be good at even if I have to work 80 or 90 hours a week. I intend to continue to make myself valuable to my current employer in any way possible and intend to try my new endeavors on a part time basis until I’m ready to switch.

I’d recently had a dialogue with a friend regarding the meaning of professionalism. It is my contention that a professional is one who “professes to be” a certain individual whose life embodies a particular skill set. A doctor is a doctor at work or at home, (if he is a professional) he’s a doctor if he’s alone or with a group. His entire life reflects that of a doctor. I was once an IT professional and IT is now just a job for me. I intend to rectify this status and hopefully I’ll soon be able to return to the realm of professionalism. If not, I can always return to waxing and buffing floors. It may not be a profession, but at least I’ll be damn good at it.

What I’ve done this week:

*** Hip problem made swimming & biking the main stay… running turned out good as well.

Versa 1 Mile *** First time in almost 2 years… sub 30 minute… 29:30…
Swimming 5,800 Meters
Running 14 Miles
Rowing 0 – Still too painful on the hip.
Bike 130 min.
Stairclimbing 0

No official Crossfit… Although I did put together a crossfit type WOD

5 rounds of:

10 Pull Ups

30 Push Ups

21 minutes.

My Current Weight is 161lbs.

22,828 kcal Consumed

6,704 kcal Burned During Exercise

16,124 kcal Net (Consumed - Burned)

Daily Goal 2,088 (maintenance)

Weekly Goal 14,616

Surplus of 1,588 kcal ( 1/2 lb gained)

Details can be perused at:

http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/

Ego at the Door

What an interesting week for me...

This weeks post therefore, will be going in a different direction. Less "preaching", more status.... ( ironic because much of the volume of activity and detailed accuracy will be less!). While this will not be quite as interesting to read, I will end the post with a cliffhanger of a personal announcement that will guarantee your return next week. (damn,... do I watch too much TV or what?!)

In any event... The big news in my life at the moment is how everyone did yesterday at the "Tackle the Tower"... Talk about reinforcing the thoughts of last week!

Our small training group had 3 1st place age group finishers and EVERYONE did fantastic. Personally, I overcame some minor injury pain to best the course record for my age group (which I previously held) by 9 seconds... I'm pleased & VERY proud of the accomplishment. btw - MB... Yep, I felt like puking at the top!

One of the things I appreciate about Crossfit is the concept that you "leave your ego at the door". I believe there are MANY upsides to this approach. The primary reason of course, is to avoid injury. The workouts in Crossfit are no joke. You have to know your abilities and limits and those individuals who are new to Crossfit NEED to scale it down. A person who lets his/her ego to determine the weights and repetitions to be used in a workout is setting themselves up for injury. For me, there are numerous other advantages to being totally objective and without ego. To engage my ego during a Crossfit workout would be to risk  an ego resembling nothing more than a bloody stump! I am regularly humbled by how I lack basic strength in many movements. If my ego were to be engaged, I would refuse to engage in that particular activity and that activity would remain my weakness. With my ego at the door... I will continue to better my last without fear of what others think (no matter how pathetic) and I will eventually turn these weaknesses into strengths. I've often seen the effect of ego result in absolute refusal to try things that "I know I would be terrible at" or "I wouldn't be as good as the rest of you". We ALL have our strengths and weaknesses. As weak as I am on certain movements, I know I can do other things better than most. Pride in your abilities is good but when training... The only critic who matters is you and the only competition that matters is against yourself. This is why, I believe, during crossfit type competitions, you'll often see those competitors cheering each other on. When ego is set aside we all win and we all become champions.

On to my status: 

My intention for the week was to take it easy with my usual schedule through Wednesday (No hard PR type of efforts) and to taper from Wed. for the race on Saturday. Wednesday, during my crossfit workout I attempted a 285 pound deadlift that hurt my hip. I've had problems with the hip before and was diagnosed with osteo arthritis. I'm pretty sure I hadn't pulled a muscle but, due to the lack of cartilage, moved in such a way that ground bone against bone. The pain I feel is similar to the arthritis in my knee and has the markings of an aggravated state of inflammation as opposed to a pulled muscle. Bottom line... most activities hurt and I've got to stay away from things that aggravate it until the inflammation is eased. I'll be swimming with a pull bouy  a lot this week. 

This type of injury plays absolute havoc to me and my schedule... For one, I burn, via exercise 6000+ calories a week that I'm used being able to EAT!.... my diet needs to change big time. Since I was tapering this week for  the race on Sat. , it is more manageable. Still, it will take a week or so of adjustment. I'm not posting my usual activities and calories this week because they are only about 70% accurate.  Feel free to check out my food diary.. I still log.. just not as accurately. I know I've burned about 2,000 calories more this week than what is recorded on the livestrong myplate app. ( you drink 4 Olde 21 IPA beers (10%abv) and 3 or four Steel Reserve beers and record what you ate and I'll be impressed). This is also a good opportunity to demonstrate that I'm really NOT OCD!  It doesn't really bother me to skip some entries... it is a tool to be used and I try to use it accurately. This week was very different and I'll be back on track next week.

My plan for the week therefore is to reduce my caloric intake. I need to limit my activities to those that do not aggravate my hip and I need to modify my diet to include as many anti inflammatory agents as possible ( salmon, raw pineapple and extra fish oil). It should be a challenge.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a professional. In my eyes, a professional is one who "professes" to be something as an integral part of his identity. For 15 years now I've been an IT professional. 24x7 I've lived as a systems administrator and I've lived and breathed IT. For reasons I'll explain next week, it's over. I've experienced professionalism and have experienced being outstanding in a field. I've decided to officially declare my intention to seek a new career.  I'm still not sure what field I want to pursue (I have some ideas). It's funny, I'm 56 years old and it's still like i don't know what I want to do when I  "grow up". Whatever it is, I know I don't want to be mediocre at whatever I do. So... I'm hoping to try something part-time to see if I can succeed with it and will then tender my resignation. 

In this economy, I know, I'm nuts to do what I'm proposing... Yep, I'm nuts... I'm scared, I'm excited and I know that God has a plan for me and I'm here to fulfill it.

Misery LOVES Company

Funny how when you’re new to something, the people who are there to show you the ropes will leave a lasting impression on you. In particular, I’m thinking of a spin instructor who introduced herself to me as “MB”. MB however, isn’t your run of the mill spin instructor. MB has, without a doubt, a gift when it comes to giving others encouragement. I myself, new to athletics and 50+ years old needed all the encouragement I could get. MB knew everyone’s name and she had the unique ability to get people to push themselves HARD.

MBs’ forte’ was stairclimbing. Even though she hasn’t competed in years, she still holds age group records for the “big three” stairclimbs; Sears Tower, US Bank Bldg in LA, and the Empire State Building. Several “nuggets” of wisdom from MB; “If you get to the top and you don’t feel like you have to puke…you didn’t go hard enough!” or once, after watching me do a mile on the Versa climber; “Daryll, you’ll do well… you KNOW how to suffer!”. The quote that I’d like to elaborate on however is one that I’d originally scoffed at; “You’re only as good as the people you train with”. She said it often.

I regularly think about that statement and am amazed about how true it is. More about MB later… Right now I need to go WAY out on a limb here and potentially embarrass two of my favorite people on this planet.

First, I’d like to talk about my friend Dan. Outside of being an impressive athlete who is always willing to give his all, Dan actually DOES what he says he’s going to do. One day a couple of years ago, (when I was just discovering the sport of stairclimbing), I told Dan about the competitive stairclimb at the Sears Tower. I half jokingly asked him… hey you want to go race up the tallest building in North America? Dan stopped and thought for a second and shortly thereafter replied that he WOULD indeed like to see what it would be like to climb (for time).. the Sears Tower. Several months later, in Chicago, after the climb, I had to toast Dan (over a now established tradition of beer & pizza after a stair race) for actually DOING what he said he would do. Yesterday morning, Dan & I had scheduled a training session downtown with the aim of running 190 floors of stairs. I wanted to bail but I knew Dan would be there and it would be wrong to stand him up. Without question, Dan’s reliability as a training partner has over and over again helped me to follow through on a training plan that I very easily could have ditched and has helped me to grow as an athlete.... btw - Something also to think about is the amount of discouragement created during times when others DON’T follow through with their commitments.

Next in line is Melissa. The unlikely attribute that I’d like to Melissa is “Bad Ass Toughness”…. Yep, a very attractive, petite blond young lady around 5’5, maybe 110lbs. You’d only have to see her climbing 62 flights of stairs… non stop wearing a 14lb weight vest. Melissa will roof her house and perform construction projects that I wouldn’t think of tackling. Melissa plays hockey… In the men’s league.

Last fall I had the privilege to participate in a fund raising workout called “Fight Gone Bad”. The evening of the event, I arrive at the gym, ready to go and I look around to see that I’m doing this grueling workout with a group of young men that are not only half my age, but are generally amazing athletes to boot! Needless to say, there was a certain ambivalence associated with the status of this “Old Fart” among these guys. All I had to do was think of the diminutive Melissa playing hockey with the men. Knowing her and her toughness has, without question, helped me to become a better athlete.

Yesterday morning Dan & I ran stairs. My back was hurting from a large set of back squats that I’d performed with poor form. My hamstrings were also screaming and I’d had a VERY long week. We cut is short to 19x5 instead of our usual 19x10 (Dan was also feeling under the weather). Afterwards I decided to go for breakfast and as I sat there licking my wounds, having already decided to skip my 10:30 crossfit workout (I’d also already read that the workout was the aforementioned grueling “Fight Gone Bad”). Killing time waiting for my meal, I checked my mobile facebook to see a status from Vincent R, one of our Crossfit practitioners… It read “Pain is temporary. Glory is forever.”

Need I say more… Thanks Vinnie.. I PR’d that Fight Gone Bad.

Every morning, on the bus, I try to have some quiet time between God and myself. I read some Bible passage & pray about the day. I can’t remember the details but last Tues. MB came to my thoughts (perhaps because of the upcoming "Tackle the Tower") and I specifically prayed for her not knowing exactly what her situation is. Later that day, I ran into an acquaintance of hers and I found out what a hard time she had been presented with in her life. I know she needs to take her time getting back to a regular routine and she should take all the time she needs. I also think it’s important that she KNOWS what an influence she has made on others. I do hope she is also aware of the healing power of exercising the gifts that God has uniquely equipped her with. Where ever she goes, it is also my prayer that others can return the encouragements. When all is said and done, “You’re only as good as the people you train with” and we’ve not been at our best since she’s had to leave.

As usual, I look at things from a perspective of balance… It is not simply a matter of how Dan, Melissa and MB can affect me as an athlete… I wonder, am I giving back all that I can? For sure, being reliable & tough are traits that I can demonstrate to help those I workout with be all that they can be. In future posts, I’ll continue to give examples of how others have helped me and how we, in turn, can emulate those traits to encourage those around us.

So, TJ, Blondie, Nick, Cheryl, etc, etc… I already have great examples and you’re all fair game… Thank you all… I am indeed a lucky guy…

What I’ve done this week:
Run 8 Miles
Swim 3,000 meters
Stairclimbing 307 Floors
Rowing 44,461 ** Including 10k PR of 40:23 (Avg 201.1/500)
          Concept2 Virtual Challenge Month of Jan. I was captian of "Crew Omni Fitness" - We rowed
          1.25 MILLION meters and came in 52nd out of 193 teams!
Crossfit #1
Reps - 21,15,9 of OH Squat (small bar), Abmat Situp, Sumo Deadlift High Pull (95#)
Crossfit #2
Back Squat 1,10,1,20,1,30 - 135,95,125,75,125,65 ( I think... was to discouraged to look at total!)
Crossfit #3
Fight Gone Bad:
3rds. 1 minute at each of 5 stations w 1 minute rest between rounds for # of reps
Rowing for calories
20lb Wall Balls
Box Jumps
Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (75lbs)
Push Presses (75lbs)
 - (no details) 232PR rx'd except 16lb wall ball for 20lb wall ball.

My Current Weight is 159.5
Consumed Calories 22,685
Calories Burned 6,886
Calorie Goal 14,616
Net Calories 15,799
Calorie EXCESS = 1,183 (1/3 lb)
Details can be perused at:
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/


***** This post was posted on Jan 30, 2010....   On  Feb. 6th, a group of us raced the Erieview Tower. Dan, Melissa and I ALL placed first in our age group.... It seems that success loves company as well!

The "Suck Factor"

Several months ago I had the opportunity to attend a seminar to hear Crossfit founder Greg Glassman speak. One of the terms he used relating to the efficacy of any particular fitness tool was its “Suck Factor”. I believe he used the Concept2 rowing machine as prime example. Activities with a high “Suck Factor” are usually very painful and there is generally a direct correlation between their ability to cause discomfort and their value to create in us an increased level of fitness. When I think about it, I’m truly surprised by the number of activities I engage in that can fall into this category. Crossfit in general, rowing, stair climbing, running, biking and Versa Climber are all activities that I know have, each quite literally, inspired the proclamation of the qualifying phrase “THIS SUCKS” from me on more than one occasion.

While it is obvious that a major part of my motivation to seek out these more extreme methods of training is simply an increased level of fitness, there is also a broader, deeper, more meaningful approach to life that I’m attempting to apply to my time on this planet.

Some time ago I read this quote that has had a huge impact on my views relating to physical discipline:

“There are two doors in life: pleasure and pain. And, through whatever door you enter, you are sure to leave through the other."

Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom (1637)

It amazes me how simple and effective this sentiment is and yet how profound and universal its’ application can be. After considerable thought, I cannot think of another single concept that could have a greater impact on our troubled world today. Be it health and fitness, diet and obesity, economics or diplomacy, if we were to simply grasp and apply this simple truth, our lives as a whole would be very different.

In relation to fitness and longevity however, I believe there is special relevance. The particular relevance that fascinates me most involves the tactical advantage to life that can be garnered over the inescapable pain that we are each going to face throughout our lives. Simply put, by willingly and purposely choosing that door of pain, our choice of pain is therefore at our own discretion. We can therefore choose the type of pain we feel we can deal with the easiest. If our first choice is pleasure though, we’ll never know until it’s time to exit, the manner of pain that will inevitably be thrust upon us. This tactical advantage of one “tempo” or first move has huge implications.

I usually like to workout on my lunch break. During the spring and summer months there is a route I like to run that takes me down the Detroit-Superior Bridge. Everyone I run with knows I like a particular downhill section of the bridge. I’m not sure why, but the particular grade of descent feels perfect and I feel like I’m running at a 4 minute mile pace (probably closer to 6 min. mile pace in reality). Make no mistake, it hurts like hell, but if I’d have to choose, I’d say that it would be my pain of choice… Yep, music blaring, wind blowing in my face and a downhill momentum that gives me an unbeatable high even through the pain.

Make no mistake, I have no illusions of perfect health & guaranteed fitness into my senior years. On more than one occasion, people who have heard of my exercise regime have pointed out that I could go through all this and end up getting hit by a bus! In fact, just the week before last I heard the story of legendary Coney Island strongman Joe Rollino who was probably, pound for pound, one of the strongest men who ever lived (he was said to be able to lift over 600lbs with 1 finger!). Mr Rollino was in the middle of his daily 5mile walk at the age of 104 and literally got hit by a minivan and was killed.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10024/1030522-122.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml

There we have it:

The choice of hard work, discipline, self denial and the willful acceptance of the pain of our choice that will eventually be rewarded with pleasure.
    or
The life of instant gratification, general ease and lack of discipline that leads to an indiscriminate pain that is beyond our control.

The choice is ours. I will, nonetheless, continue for as long as I can, to make the choices that will benefit my future as best as possible.

What I’ve done this week:
Versa 1 Mile
Swimming 2,400 Meters
Running 10 Miles
Rowing 30,858 Meters - Includes 30 min. PR of 7,321 (PR by 72 meters!)
Bike 90 min.
Stairclimbing 438 Floors (248 Stairmaster,190 Real)

Crossfit #1
With a continuously running clock, squat for 60 seconds. Subtract the number of squats completed from 60, and do that many pull-ups in minute two. In minute three, squat again, subtracting the number completed from 60. Do that number of push-ups in minute four. Minute five is squatting again, and minute six pull-ups.
The pattern is squats, pull-ups, squats, push-ups, squats, pull-ups, etc. The goal is to stay within the workout's formula for as long as possible. Don't do more than 60 squats in any round. In any case, stay moving for at least 12 minutes.
Competed 1st round squat/pull up/squat/push up. - 45Squat/15Pullup, 40Squat/20Pushup
2nd round squat/pull up (3 short) on pullups - 40Squat/17Pullup, 40Squat/20Pushup
3rd round squat/pull up (21 short) on pullups - 30Squat/9Pullup, 38Squat/22Pushup
Cool down: 5 sandbag turkish get ups on each side (10 total), 20 situps
Crossfit #2
Team - John B. & Myself
2000M Row
60 Box jumps
50 SDHP
40 Burpees
30 Sandbag getups
20 Overhead squats
400M Run
23:05

My Current Weight is 160.5lbs.
22,100 kcal Consumed
8,028 kcal Burned During Exercise
14,072 kcal Net (Consumed - Burned)
Daily Goal 2,088 (maintenance)
Weekly Goal 14,616
Deficit 544 kcal (about > .25 lb)
**** F.Y.I. – I estimate my accuracy to be approximately +/- 15%. I do NOT track condiments, coffee cream or my nightly “hershey’s kiss” I grab on the way out of the office in the evening. Whenever possible, I over estimate my calories consumed and I under estimate my calories burned. This will account for the ½lb à 1lb weight discrepancy.

Details can be perused at:
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/