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)...