Here we go again.  I'll keep this introduction short.  I am going to start training again, but this time I will be trying to video my workouts and post them with my results.  I plan on picking a new workout program and run through an entire cycle and see how it goes.  First up is the 915 program.  The basic rundown is a combination of heavy and explosive bench press and squats with deadlifts and power cleans.  Each lift in each phase targets a specific weakness with that movement and aims to correct it.  The program is 9 weeks with week 9 being a peak week.

I created a Google Sheets template to plug in your numbers and the whole workout.  Please save a copy it for your own use.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MxbAlEcERBzhc43S1lhPgtIg_pDO9zPuoEwM6smzxZY/edit?usp=sharing

Good in Theory - Bad in Practice

You know those things that you talk about that yeah man that would be awesome, we should totally do it!!!  Then you actually do it and you find out that this wasn't what it was supposed to be or it turned out just bad.  Good in theory, bad in practice has been around forever.  I am currently in one of those good in theories bad in practice sort of things.  I have been reading through different articles and watching different videos on ways to incorporate more of my Crossfit into the PE classes that I am teaching.  The videos I watch all have kids of around my age group and they are all listening and watching and participating etc.  The biggest problem is that there is usually like 6 - 10 kids in each class.  In my class I have 20+ in every class and not all of them want to be there.  The typical response I hear is, I want to play basketball.  Well great, I'd love to play basketball too but that isn't going to happen right now.  The moral of this story is that doing something new is difficult.  Doing something that is new and difficult is even worse.  However, I have read through some different things and it has renewed my confidence that I can make this program work.  I noticed in my car today as I was getting out of my car for work the fortune from my fortune cookie that has been stuck in my rear view mirror for years.  "Your dreams are worth your best efforts to achieve them."  I need to remember that.

Day 1 Crossfit School

Finally went back to teaching after taking the year off pursuing some other goals.  I got hired at an awesome school that gives me the freedom to do what I feel is best in the name of fitness.  I of course am choosing to follow a Crossfit methodology in teaching PE at this school.  I lesson planned like a Crossfit instructor and unfortunately that wasn't overly effective.  The students that I am teaching aren't used to that type of PE and I was met with a fair amount of resistance.  I am going to have to think back like a classroom teacher and make sure that I have my core in place and then attach the Crossfit limbs after.  I am going to continue to follow the path that I have set for myself because I believe in it, but it is going to take some work.

CrossFit

As I grow and adapt in my life, so shall my blog.  I have started a new step in my road to I suppose the final destination.  I have began to train/coach athletes at my current CrossFit box.  It has been an opportunity of a life time and I have loved every minute of it.  While I thought I was a natural teacher, it is still apparent that I am a natural small group or one-on-one teacher.  The classes that I teach especially with the wide range of technical levels makes things difficult and I am still trying to find my stride in how I approach things.

Monday, March 18 2013

20 minutes to establish a heavy single of each:
Back Squat
Press

EMOTM for 10 minutes:
2 Power Clean and Jerks @ 80%

Warm ups went well
10x Pass throughs
10x Leg swings
5x Lunge - arm on knee - sink hips and turn, belly away from foot 
---------------------------------
10x Pushups                       |
10x Hollow rocks               |
10x Superman                    |       X 2
10x Frog jumps                  |    
10x Jumping Squats           |
---------------------------------
Good explanation of back squats and presses - need to cover more about keeping everything tight/tense from the ground up in both lifts

Next time go over the SWOD and WOD separately unless the movement is used in both.

Set timer for the amount of time for the SWOD to help keep everyone on track.

Emphasize the rep scheme more so that there is no confusion.

Key points

• Time managment
• Simple concise points to the lift
• Better emphasis on the clean and JERK

Helped Allison with her clean 

Finally Done with UNYR2 Challenge

The last couple of weeks have been miserable.  Miserable in a good way, but miserable none-the-less.  I started doing Insanity in the morning and CrossFit in the evening six days a week.  Then I started doing Insanity in the morning, CrossFit in the evening, and then Insanity again later that night for the last week of this challenge.  I probably looked like a zombie and I felt kind of like a zombie, but after staring at the results in the mirror, I know my hard work paid off.  My diet really helped me out during this whole competition.  30g or less of carbs every day.  Evening meal I allowed myself some more carbs to help get me through the week.  I was able to drop tons of fat while maintaining as much muscle as I could.  I have never had those ripples in my chest ever.  I have never seen this much of my abs before.  Previously I thought they had gone on a permanent vacation, but I guess it was just that my fat had gotten in the way.  I still have more work to do on my body and I plan on putting in just as much effort to get that way.  I want to see the rest of my six pack.  I want to get bigger arms.  I want a more defined chest. 

It is funny that at school where I teach all of the not overly healthy teacher ladies come up to me and ask me, How did I do it?  The only answer I can give them, eat the right foods at the right time, exercise like its going out of style, and do it consistently for a few months.  It sounds like one of those random infomercials about weight loss, but I guess that's just the way it goes.  I worked hard, sweated like crazy, and did the best job that I could.  I celebrated with a fast food meal(s).  My wife is happy that this competition is over.  One because of the way that I look, and two now I hopefully won't be as crabby.  Thank you to all of the people from the competition that pushed me past my limits and to the extreme. 

UNYR2 Challenge Half Way Body Shots

Hopefully you can see the yellow calculator that is tucked in my shorts.  Here are my front, side, and back half way body shots.  Excuse the messy stuff in the background.

365 Fit for Life

UNYR2 Half Way Body Shot Comparisons

When you are gaining weight you look at yourself and you see a slow change if a change at all.  You start getting a little bit bigger and your scale looks a little sadder but you don't really feel that you are changing that much.  When I got to 244 I knew I looked different but somewhere in my head I was still denying that I had gained so much weight.  I would look in the mirror, suck it in as much as I could, stand up tall, and make myself believe that it wasn't that bad.  I would stand on the scale and be like, well, at least I'm not xxx weight.  It happens to the best of us and I am going to try my best to not let it happen to me again.

I had looked at my before pictures by themselves and it was disgusting at best.  Then I took my half way shots and looked at them with my originals and disgusting got left in a distant second.  It was absurdly horrendous what I had done to my body.  It almost makes me a little sick.  The motivating part is that I can see a tremendous difference in how I look.  Granted, like most people, I wish the scale was showing a lower weight, but that aside, look at me!!!!  I feel more energized, though its hard to tell sometimes from working out so much, but I know that losing the weight has made me feel more alive.  I have made strength gains in the gym and obviously am dropping fat, which is hard to do at the same time.

Overall my body is shrinking not only on the scale but on the tape as well.  I have lost 1.5 in. from my neck, 5 in. from my chest, 6.5 in. from my waist, 4 in. from my hips, 1.25 in. from my upper arm, 1.5 in. from my upper leg, and .5 in. from my lower leg.  I have lost over 20 inches overall from my body. 

I am happy that we are only half way through this competition because it will give me the motivation that I am looking for to see this thing through to the end.

365 Fit For Life

UNYR2 Challenge 3-10-12 Update

It's nice to be under 210.  I have been shooting for it for like a month.  I got hung up around 217 for a long time.  Then it was 213.  Then I would jump back and forth between 213 and 217.  I woke up this morning and I was 207.  The other exciting part is I am down to a 37.5 inch waist from a 44 inch at the start.  I also fit into most of my pants now. 

365 Fit For Life

I've Been Busy

The cliche is that life gets in the way, I'm too busy, I don't have time to workout.  Most people would see the name of my post and think that.  Actually the opposite is true.  I have been spending a lot of time working out trying to find what is going to work the best for me. 

I have been continuing to do the carb nite solution and I feel that it is going great.  I am not dropping a lot of pounds at a very fast rate but I have been dropping and I feel like this is a great approach for me. 

A couple weeks ago I started doing Bikram Yoga.  Quick summary is, 105 degrees, 20% humidity, 90 minutes, 26 poses.  It challenges me in a different way than I'm used to.  Slow deliberate movements that works on flexibility.  I am used to training for short bursts to promote strength and explosiveness.  It's nice. 

Today (Saturday), I went to an intro class for CrossFit.  It was tough.  It was short.  Did I mention it was tough?  We warmed up and went over the basic movements that we were doing and then did our baseline test.  400 meter run, 40 squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 pushups, 10 pullups all done for time.  Goal under eight minutes.  I did mine in 7:47.  It sucked, I was tired.  Again I am used to doing my 30 seconds of hard work, and then resting.  It was a change just like the Bikram.  This was more about endurance for me than anything.  My endurance sucks. 

I plan on doing my yoga for flexibility and balance, crossfit for functional strength and endurance, and weights/plyo's for explosiveness and speed.  This should be a great approach to accomplish everything that I am looking for.

UNYR2 Scale Pic 2-25-12

211 feels good.  According to my blog I haven't been in the 190's in almost four years.  High school I was at 160, college I was at 180, adult I have been over 200.  I am hoping to get down past my high school weight more like in the 150's.  I was stuck at 217 pounds for a long time, like three weeks.  I changed things up a little bit and dropped the weight. 

365 Fit for Life

UNRY2 Challenge Update 2-13-12

This is my scale pic from February 12, 2012.  I usually upload it to the site, Weight Loss Wars, but they do not like pictures at the moment, so I will upload it here for the records. 

Went to the gym tonight, did my shoulders workout and it went pretty well.  Did my intervals.  I added one second to the work time and took off a second to the rest time.  I know that it isn't much, but it makes me feel good that I am trying to improve. 
I also sat in the sauna again tonight, no particular reason, it just makes me feel good.  I wrote an article about if sauna sweat was as good as the real thing.  I still have no idea, but like I said, it makes me feel good.

I have 82 days left in my competition and I am currently sitting in 4th place.  To reach my goal I have to lose somewhere around 5 to 6 pounds a week.  I have been averaging about 4 pounds a week since the start of the competition, dropping a lot my first week and then tapering off to the 4 pounds a week.  I know 4 pounds a week is good, but I need it to be better.  4 pounds a week will get me down to about 173 which will be a weight loss percentage of 29%.  Again I know that is a good number as well, but not sure if it is good enough.  Either way, I am happy with my weight loss so far, 27 pounds in about 5 weeks.  I hope I can hit my goal.

365 Fit for Life

Long Time No Anything

It has been a long time, too long since I have updated or done anything really to help myself out. I have joined a website called weightlosswars.com. The short and long of it is people can set up their own competitions be it private or public. I have joined a fairly large competition, 86 people and it has a substantial pot that goes along with it.

I have tried to find the motivation for a long time now to get off my butt and do something productive, but nothing seems to really get me going. I am married so I am not looking for anyone. I do not play sports any more. I am not trying to impress anyone, only myself I suppose. There are really only two things that motivate me, money, and my daughter, not necessarily in that order.

I want my daughter to grow up and be healthy. I want to be able to play any and all things/sports with her for as long as she wants to play them. I don't want to be the dad on the sideline who is out of breath simply by cheering for her when she plays. I want to be the example for her by showing her that she needs to be fit and healthy, not just by telling her.

I am also motivated by money. I mean who isn't? People like money and I am a person, so therefore, I like money. I want to do this to be healthy, and I want to do this for my daughter, but a little money doesn't hurt.

With that being said I am going to try my best to post as often as I can.

I have been doing the Daniel fast for the last 16 days. I have lost around 15 pounds so far. Today was my first sort of workout. I am following the program found at iwantsixpackabs.com. This program will take me through my competition and I plan on sticking with it, unless I need to change it up for something better. I was tired, and I was weak during it. I finished most of the workout, but was lacking big time. I also know myself and I know that when I first start working out after a time being gone, I have to walk that fine line of pacing myself and overdoing it. I tend to error on the side of over doing it and I feel miserable for a while. Tonight I just did what I could so that I wouldn't feel horrible, and so that I would feel like I accomplished something. Give it a week, and I'll be able to push myself once again.

Motivation From Competition

I know I have been on again off again in my own journey to weight loss. I know that I haven't been setting the best example to the people who read my blog. I know I can do better, and I think I have finally found a good way to go about it.

Spite.... I don't like to lose. I like to compete. Did I mention that I don't like to lose? I started a competition with one of my college buddies to see who can drop 20 pounds first. Prior to this competition I felt lethargic, sluggish, and every other adjective to describe a lazy person. If nothing else I am getting up and moving because I don't want to lose, health and fitness aside.

Maybe that is what everyone needs, a little competition. Or at least something that will motivate them. What motivates you to get up and do something healthy?

365 Fit For Life

February 5th Quick Tip

Trying to save money at the grocery store is like trying to push a rock up a hill. Both are doable, you just have to work at it. My tip for the day is to go to the grocery store with just cash in your pocket. It is hard to keep a budget when it is so easy to swipe some plastic. If you only have cash in your pocket, meaning literally leave all credit/debit cards at home or in the car, then you have to force yourself to really look at what you are buying. Do I really need a name brand food item? Do I really need another box of 100 calorie packs? I have done it now a few times, and I think it works. I still get nutritious food, and I think I save money because I only buy what I really need.

365 Fit for life.

Reality Check

No one likes to hear truth, especially about weight loss. Reality however, is just what people need to hear. We all want a yes man in our life to sugar coat everything. Someone to give us reassurance that if we eat too many cookies that we won't pay for it later. Why do you think we talk to so many people all the time about the same topic? We are all looking for someone to agree with us. Reality isn't supposed to agree with us, reality isn't supposed to take sides, reality is just that, reality.

There are many different ways to look at things. Some need a soft touch, others need someone to yell at them. In either scenario, we all have to accept some truth, it's up to us to decide how we want it, but in either case, all that matters is that we get it. I hope that you are able to take a reality check every now and again.

365 Fit for life

Lower Body Nobodies

I talked earlier about the guys that do nothing but arm lifts. These are the ones with hulking arms, and stick skinny legs that you see exclusively near the bench press. I was walking on the treadmill at the gym and I noticed a few of these, lower body nobodies.

I am not sure why I find these guys to be of such interest or concern to me, but they are. I think it is because I like to be balanced and well rounded. I see these guys every day I am at the gym, and I wonder if they know that they could get bigger upper bodies by getting bigger legs.

While doing my cardio I saw two guys that I usually see at the gym. They definitely qualify as the lower body nobodies. A thought came to mind on what type of information do they read. Obviously they care about their fitness, or otherwise they wouldn't be at the gym so much. I just wonder what is telling them to lift the way that they lift.

I do not want you to think that I know everything, or that my approach is the best way. Far from it. I just hope that in whatever you do, you try to do it in the best most efficient way possible. I love to read information about fitness, and I hope I can share as much of it with you as I can.

365 Fit for life.

Urban Exerciser

I have decided to create my own class of gym goer. I am going to call them the Urban Exerciser. We have all seen them at one time or another, you might even be one. These are the guys that go to the gym in their jeans, usually ripped, work boots, or dressed in some other attire than what we would traditionally see in the gym.

I was at the gym the other day and I saw an Urban Exerciser. He was wearing a bandanna, with ripped jeans, and a shirt that started out like a normal shirt but then was reduced to a t-shirt version of a wife beater.

I am not necessarily saying that the above mentioned attire is a bad thing, because to each their own, I am just saying that I am not an Urban Exerciser.

365 Fit for Life.

How Did I....

How did I? That is a question that I am sure every person on this planet has asked at some point. How did I lose my job? How did I gain so much weight? How did my marriage end? How did I become so lazy? I have been asking myself these same type of questions. Since this is a fitness blog, I have asked myself, How did I get so fat?

I suppose we would need to decide what fat is? Is fat what other people say about me? Is fat what society deems me to be? or... Is fat what I have decided for myself? Fat, is as subjective as you want to make it. A girl that is 100 lbs may think that she is fat, while everyone else around her thinks she is too skinny. Fat might not be 300 lbs to some, but extremely obese to others. Fat has to do with a lot of things. How tall you are seems to be a big factor. While media and other outside sources have a great deal of influence on what we decide is fat, it ultimately boils down to what you decide for yourself. At various times through out my life, I have decided I was fat. Today is one of those days. I am not at the heaviest I have been in my life, but I am close enough to it to not feel good.

People always seem to ask themselves, when did I get this way? Or, How did I let myself go like this? People know the answer, they just never want to say it. I know why I feel this way. I know how I got to where I am right now. It is by doing all the things that I know I'm not supposed to. I hid behind my own pride that no matter what I do, I will always be able to bounce back.

I am definitely at the crossroads once again in my life. Down one road I can live with my foolish pride and see how long I can go without doing anything about it. On the other road I can swallow my pride, and do everything that I know is right. I am going to try and choose the latter. I went to the gym the other day and that is for a new post, but I will leave you with this: It is never too late to do the right thing.

365 Fit for Life.

I Went To The Gym

I went to the gym on Friday. My girlfriend was visiting her mom for the night, so I figured that this would be the best night for me to go. It has been at least a solid 3 months since I have set foot in my gym. I know I know, that is a sad thing for anyone to say, especially when I try to encourage anyone who reads this to make good healthy choices. If you have been following this blog, I have changed my forum up a little bit. I still offer as much advice as I can on whatever it is I decide to write about, but I have also added more personal things about myself. I tried in the beginning to write every day, hence the title, but not writing about things that are personal makes it difficult for me to write every day. Now that I have thrown in more things about myself, I find it easier to write the 365 like I had intended.

My gym experience was both a good thing and a bad thing. The good, obviously, is that I went to the gym. I did some shoulder and chest work and then did my cardio. It felt like I was doing this for the first time, in more ways than one. First of all, my gym got a face lift. The front entrance was different, the machines were different, the placement was different, it was like I was wandering around a new gym for the first time. Second was that my mind wasn't really in the right place. I'll write more on that later, but let's just say that I couldn't convince my body to push itself like I usually can.

I did only four miles on the bike and I only walked for 30 minutes. Usually I run and/or do intervals, but today, I just couldn't make myself. I talked to myself a little bit reminding me what I was doing, and that I knew that running was better for me than walking. Despite my efforts, I felt content and comfortable with me walking, and I felt justified that I didn't want to hurt myself the first time around. I suppose I will have to live with that justification in the hope that it will pass in time.

Despite the bad, I still feel good that I finally got up and did something. If nothing else, it gave me a couple new things to blog about. I hope that today is the day that you have decided to get up and do something good for you, regardless of what it is or the outcome.

365 Fit for Life!

New Day's Resolution

I am 26 years old. That means I have probably made something like 12 or so resolutions. I am sure they have ranged anywhere from I want to do better in school, to I want to save money, to I want to be in better shape. My resolutions as of late have been more towards the latter. New Years resolutions are great. The only problem is that more often than not they are only great in theory. I don't remember where the first time I have heard a rant like this, and I know I'm not the first and I know I won't be the last, but here is my own version none the less.

We need to get rid of New Years resolutions. They make the people who actually follow through with their goals look bad. Resolutions seem like nothing more than setting our selves up for failure. It seems to come from those who want that instant gratification. It is those people who think they can give up an addiction in one shot over night. The problem is that is seldom true. Procrastination, sloth, gluttony, laziness, they are all addictions. We are addicted to being lazy, to being unmotivated, to being depressed. We let ourselves go all year and we think that the best time to start anything is tomorrow. Tomorrow usually comes in the form of New Years resolutions. It is the time we think that a new change can be upon us. That this one fateful moment is what we need to turn our lives around.

Now I admit, for some people this works. A new year is a new start for a lot of people, and a lot of people do take advantage of it. What we all need to do, whether you can stick to your resolution or not, is stop waiting for the new year to make a change. Every day is like a new year, because every day should be new. Every day we can wake up in the morning, know it's a new day, and make our daily resolutions. I can wake up in the morning and say to myself, I will not hit the snooze button today. I will eat a carrot for lunch instead of a bag of chips. I will turn off the tv and go outside. I will walk an extra flight of stairs today instead of taking the elevator.

Each day is a new day. What is your new day resolution?

365 Fit for life.