I have a new program!
OK... so I like toys. Knives, video games, etc...and I'm always looking for ways to push myself on this weight loss quest. Enter TOKENS FOR TOYS! A token is worth $2 towards a toy. I get a token whenever I make a good health decision. So if I do Subway for lunch instead of Taco Bell, I get a token. If I go for a run, I get a token. If I go lift at the gym I get a token. I save up tokens at $2 a pop to buy toys.
I think it sounds like fun. It will A) force me to eat better and workout more and B) stem the flow of me buying toys.
Cathy let me buy on credit but I have to do it sparingly. Like, I can't buy another knife while I'm still paying for the first. That sort of thing. The exception is if I find an awesome deal on something I'll most likely buy later anyway. I'm allowed to take advantage of the deal and use more credit.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
New benchmark
After reading about some guys on a forum I post on benching anywhere from 260 to 315 or so, I've become depressed that I currently bench 125. I am convinced I'm using all arm to do it, and very little chest. I read an article on proper form and it said things like:
Keep your feet firmly pressed into the floor.
Sqeeze your shoulder blades together to form a natural arc in your back
OK.... my "bench press" is me laying with my back flat on a bench, legs dangled out to the sides, and force the weight up with my arms. My chest doesn't feel worked at all. I'm pretty sure my form sucks. I can preacher curl 80 lbs, but only bench press 125. That's not exactly proportional.
So... I'm marking 125 as my new personal record for bench press. We'll see where it goes. I've only been lifting regularly for a few weeks. I realize most of these guys have either been really muscular in the past, or have been lifting their whole lives. I'm neither. I've been really fat in the past, and never lifted a day in my life until about 3 weeks ago.
Keep your feet firmly pressed into the floor.
Sqeeze your shoulder blades together to form a natural arc in your back
OK.... my "bench press" is me laying with my back flat on a bench, legs dangled out to the sides, and force the weight up with my arms. My chest doesn't feel worked at all. I'm pretty sure my form sucks. I can preacher curl 80 lbs, but only bench press 125. That's not exactly proportional.
So... I'm marking 125 as my new personal record for bench press. We'll see where it goes. I've only been lifting regularly for a few weeks. I realize most of these guys have either been really muscular in the past, or have been lifting their whole lives. I'm neither. I've been really fat in the past, and never lifted a day in my life until about 3 weeks ago.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Ok I think I'm almost ready to start again
I'm back on the diet.
I'm almost ready to start exercising again. I have the last traces of some health issues that I hope are done today, and then I'm good to go.
My weight for starting back at it is 191.5. That's not horrible considering my average when I stopped was around 188.
Cathy and I are going to try to reduce the number of cheat meals we do. We've been sliding down the slippery slope, and having more and more cheat meals each week. We were up to at least one cheat meal during the week, and then cheats galore on the weekend. Well...with 7 days in the week, pissing away 3 of them means you're about half on half off. Now couple that with the fact the cheat days and good days do not even come close to offsetting each other, and it's no surprise that we've either gained or maintained weight.
Hurdles:
Cathy needs to get better at running on her non-trainer days. 2 days with a trainer is not enough to lose any weight. She needs at least 4 days of cardio as well.
I need to stay healthy. I'm pretty good about not skipping workouts due to being lazy. I do, however, have a tendency to beat my body up too much and then have to take a few days off to recover. That's no good. I never gain any momentum. It's like I'm trying to win a race by flooring it up to 100 miles an hour and then blowing out a tire and having to change it. Meanwhile the competition is putting along at a steady 60 miles an hour, and kicking my ass. As much as it pains me, I think "slow and steady" may actually be the key to winning this race. Getting buff is not about kicking ass one day in the gym. It's about being in the gym 3 days a week EVERY WEEK.
I'll keep you posted.
I'm almost ready to start exercising again. I have the last traces of some health issues that I hope are done today, and then I'm good to go.
My weight for starting back at it is 191.5. That's not horrible considering my average when I stopped was around 188.
Cathy and I are going to try to reduce the number of cheat meals we do. We've been sliding down the slippery slope, and having more and more cheat meals each week. We were up to at least one cheat meal during the week, and then cheats galore on the weekend. Well...with 7 days in the week, pissing away 3 of them means you're about half on half off. Now couple that with the fact the cheat days and good days do not even come close to offsetting each other, and it's no surprise that we've either gained or maintained weight.
Hurdles:
Cathy needs to get better at running on her non-trainer days. 2 days with a trainer is not enough to lose any weight. She needs at least 4 days of cardio as well.
I need to stay healthy. I'm pretty good about not skipping workouts due to being lazy. I do, however, have a tendency to beat my body up too much and then have to take a few days off to recover. That's no good. I never gain any momentum. It's like I'm trying to win a race by flooring it up to 100 miles an hour and then blowing out a tire and having to change it. Meanwhile the competition is putting along at a steady 60 miles an hour, and kicking my ass. As much as it pains me, I think "slow and steady" may actually be the key to winning this race. Getting buff is not about kicking ass one day in the gym. It's about being in the gym 3 days a week EVERY WEEK.
I'll keep you posted.
Monday, October 6, 2008
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