Strandlund Says

I Finally Get It

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 02:25:00 +0000

It's been a while since I last updated this blog. I finally have something to say again, so it was time for an update.

First, a bit of back-story. You will need it to truly understand what I am talking about in this post.

As many of you know, I have been trying to get into better physical condition. I hired a trainer a number of years ago to push me and get me into a much more healthy state. I was able to drop from my high of 250 pounds to a much more manageable 205. I would love to get below 200, but I am not sure it is ever going to happen. I am a big guy. I come from big, Northern European farming stock. My grandfather was big, my dad was big, and I am big. Let's just say that I am much more suited to lift up your car as opposed to run along side it.

Also, I have always toyed with the idea of entering the draw for the Hawaii Ironman. Dreading it if I ever got picked as swimming, cycling and running are not strong suits for me at all. Running in particular. Remember, I'm a big guy and not built for distance running.

So, last year, I started running on the treadmill as a good form of cardio. I was getting bored with the elliptical machine and decided that running might not be all that hard (yes, I am an idiot). I am a fairly stubborn guy so I started running by setting the treadmill at 5.0 mph with an incline of 2% to mimic outdoor running and I would run for an hour. I was too stubborn to give up. The first few times I would have to drop the speed a bit as my heart rate would go a bit too high for my liking, but I would run for the hour.

I didn't do this religiously, but I would try to run as regular as my schedule would allow. I tried to run twice per week, but it eventually dropped to nothing.

This year, I decided to try running outside. I would run with my trainer for a bit to a point in one of our parks and then I would do other exercises. I think the furthest we would run would be a couple of klicks. Nothing to far. On days when my trainer wasn't able to work with me, I would run in the river valley. I started with a 5 km loop and then found a 7.5 km loop that I could do in less than an hour. I am not what one would call speedy.

So, today I decided to try a route based on my home. I created a 10 km loop using Runkeeper.com and made sure it wasn't too challenging. There are a couple of hills in it, but nothing major. The hills coming out of the river valley downtown are a nightmare so I didn't want something that was going to kill me right off the bat.

I got up this morning, had my breakfast and coffee and then got ready to go out. I changed into my running gear, put on my new RoadId bracelet, set up my new heart rate monitor and GPS, stretched and went outside.

As soon as I set foot out the door, the skies opened up and the rains came down. It wasn't a lot of rain and as I am a big guy, I get damp running anyway. I started out on my run despite the wind and rain. As I got into my run, I looked at my watch and noticed that my pacing was a bit faster than I was used to. I chalked it up to a bit of extra adrenalin and told myself to slow down. I didn't. When I was running downtown, my pacing was around 6:30 per km. This time, every time I looked, I was closer to 5:30 per km. A full minute faster was not something I expected.

So, as I was running in the wind and rain, I would pass people sitting in bus shelters waiting for their bus. Many people in their vehicles would drive past me on their way to wherever they were going. I ran by some people moving into their new home (well, new to them anyway). I ran past trucks trying to deliver their loads and buses filled with people on their way to wherever. The whole time I was thinking of when I used to be one of them and see someone outside running in the inclement weather. When I would pass them I would immediately think that the person running was nuts. Something was wrong with their head. Why would they run in the crap like that when I am sure they have a nice warm, dry place they could be in instead. Well, this time, I was that crazy guy and yes, I did have a nice warm, dry place that I could have been in. I decided that my health was worth a bit of rain and wind. So I continued running.

As I would check my watch, my heart rate was doing nicely, my pacing seemed to be fast but steady, and the klicks kept racking up. Before I knew it I was at the quarter way mark, then the half way mark, then the three-quarter way mark. I could see my finish and I still had energy to burn. I am sure that I could have gone further, but 10 km was the furthest I had ever run all in one time. Before last year, I couldn't even say that I had run 10 km combined! So I stopped. I stopped my GPS from tracking so it could set my run program and I could analyze it to death. Here is what my watch told me:

Start time: 1:23 pm
Duration: 1:02:01
Distance 10.02 km
Average Heart Rate: 151 (86% of max)
Max Heart Rate: 170 (97% of max)
Min Heart Rate 88 (50% of max)
Calories 1170 KCal
Fat burn % of calories 10%
Average Pace: 6:11 min/km
Maximum Pace: 5:00 min/km
Max Altitude: 662m
Ascent: 55m
Descent 30m

The things that shocked me the most were the duration and pacing. I have never run that fast. I never did it on the treadmill. I never did it outside with or without my trainer. I never thought I could run that fast. I know, for many of my friends who run they are thinking that I am slow. But to me, that was speeding. And that pace was set even though I had to stop for traffic lights 5 times. I don't think it would have dropped my pace much, but my pace was faster than the watch said.

Here is what it looked like:

Pace is in grey and heart rate is in red. You can see that I was able to keep my heart rate in a great fitness zone. I didn't get out of hand but it's easy to see where it starts to burn some of my fat stores instead of the sugars in my blood. I will be tracking this to see if I can keep my heart in the yellow zone longer as I run more.

So what does all of this have to do with the title for this post. Well, I finally get it. This run felt great. I felt great during every moment of this run. There were times when my brain would tell me to quit, but I wouldn't. The numbers at the end showed me that I had accomplished something that I never thought I could. Even with the wind in my face and the rain coming down I couldn't imagine myself wanting to be doing anything else. I was happy just putting one foot in front of the other and listening to the sounds of the world around me. I finally get what all of my running friends were talking about. This was actually fun. Don't get me wrong. I know there are going to be days where I won't get that feeling and I will be slogging through just to get my runs in. But now I can actually see myself entering a half-marathon and not just working to complete it, but actually running it to a respectable time.

I don't think that I will ever become a world class marathoner or ultra marathoner or anything like that. But I may just become one of those recreation runners that you see with a group of people in some of the nastiest conditions mother nature can throw at us.

I am going to try to write more about my running experiences in this space, so let me know what you think.

Dear Saskatchewan Roughriders

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 04:21:00 +0000

Dear Saskatchewan Roughriders:

As I sit here on my couch watching another rough effort against the winless BC Lions, I have come to realize a couple of things.

The first thing that I realize is that I really miss the atmosphere at games at Taylor Field. Since moving to Edmonton, I have only been able to get to a handful of home games in the past 9 years, but I hope to get to more. (I know this game is in BC, but I realized it nonetheless)

But, the second thing I realized is much more profound. I liken our relationship to a father and a child (me being the father and you being the child). Let me explain.

Like any father, I love you unconditionally. I supported you when you were at your worst (2-14 springs immediately to mind) and I have celebrated with you when you were at your best. I wasn't around for the 66 win, but I have been there for every appearance at the big game for the past 42 years. And like any parent, I will continue to be there as long as I am able. However, just because I love you doesn't mean I can be disappointed in you. And let me tell you, right now I am very disappointed in the road you seem to be going down.

It looks to me like you are trying so hard to excel that when it doesn't work, you give up. As individual players, it looks like you don't trust each other to do trust that each of you will perform. This causes you to second guess each other and try to help at the detriment of your own game. It looks like you are always trying to "hit the home run" instead of playing ball control and sustaining drives. I know, you are trying to impress everyone by showing that you can make the sexy, big play. But, you can bore us all to death playing ball control if it means that you play as a team and win games.

It looks like you are going into games with the expectation that because you have been to the final for the past 2 years, the opposition is going to lay down and let you win. As professional athletes you must know that when you are successful you are the targets for every team next year. They each want to prove that they can take you down. And this year, you have been letting them.

I know, you have had your heart broken as some of your favourite players have moved away. But that doesn't mean that your heart had to go with them. You need to look inside yourself and realize that your heart is still in Saskatchewan and you need to let it show. You need to stand up and say that you are still the Saskatchewan Roughriders and players will come and go, but the team remains. You need to go out and play your hardest knowing that players will break your heart again.

Because I love you, I am starting to think that I have been much too lenient with you and you are starting to slide. Maybe it's time for some tough love from your parents. Don't get me wrong, I will still be there for you, but now it's time for you to step up and be there for me. I don't want to punish you, but perhaps I need to take away some of your freedoms until your attitude improves.

So let's make a deal. Right here, right now. You need to step up and improve and I will continue to allow you your celebrations. But, if you don't then I don't want to see a single celebration for anything. That means no celebrating sacks, touchdowns, first downs, interceptions, fumble recoveries, and any thing else that you seem to want to dance about today. Right now, you have nothing to celebrate. So what do you say? Do we have a deal?

As a family, we can do anything if we set our minds to it. My mind is set. Is yours?

Sincerely,
One of your many parents.

Operation 204 - Chapter 42

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 05:38:00 +0000

Happy Thursday!

This is another two-fer update as I am going to tell you about Monday's Absolution class and today's run. I also have some good news, but I'll get to that later.

Monday's class was interesting. The class that I attended was held at a different location of World Health than I normally go to. I usually work out at the City Centre location, but the Absolution class there doesn't fit my schedule. So, I found a class that does. Monday night's at 7:30 at the location on 50th Street and 137th Avenue. It is relatively new and used to be a Club Fit before the merger.

Anyway, as this was a newer location I thought that this gym would be a nice place. Yeah, it really wasn't. It was small, cramped, and seemed to be full of "juice monkeys". Ah well, at least I was there for my class. The class right before mine was a Zumba class which is a new take on aerobics. It involves high energy dancing to a driving beat. It looks like the people there were having fun. Anyway, as soon as that class was over, we could get in for the Absolution class. However, the downside to immediately following a Zumba class is that the room smelled like a hockey locker room. So, at this point I am not having high hopes for the class. I am not enjoying the location, the room, or anything.

So, our instructor comes in, introduces herself and tells us about the class. Here was the surprise for me. The class focuses on the core, of course. It does this by having us do various exercises. Each exercise lasts for 1 minute. The class lasts for 36 minutes and there are no breaks at all. Oh crap. As Karissa will tell you, I enjoy my rest time in between exercises. This was essentially a 36 minute superset.

I don't remember all of the exercises that we did, but a short list of what I do remember consists of crunches, crunches with a twist, reverse crunches, wide leg crunches where we had to reach for the opposite heel, reverse crunches with a leg extension, a held crunch while scissor kicking, a side crunch while also lifting the legs, a superman starfish move, and a few others. All I know is that after a certain point in time, my body was just in pain. It was the toughest class I have ever taken - and that includes my time when I took Mathematical Economics during my undergrad degree. But, the 36 minutes did fly by and by the end, I felt good. I plan on taking the class again next week. It will be a new set of exercises so I am looking forward to it.

That takes me to today's run. Today was one of those days where I had zero energy at the end of the day. I really didn't want to go to the gym at all, but I forced myself to go there. I can tell you right now, that there was something telling me not to go. I get there, get signed in, and head to the locker room. I enter my code to open the door and it doesn't work. I try it again, still no chance. So, I try a third time and same result. I head back to the desk and the girls up there say "not again" and check my file. It seems that they gave me a new entry code and didn't tell me. I take the new code and in I go.

I get to my locker, dial the combination and the lock won't open. I try it again. Nope. Again. Nope. I head back to the desk and they check my combination to make sure I am using the correct one. I head back into the locker room to try again, same result. Finally the locker room attendant opens the lock with his master key and I take it to the front desk to try it. They can't unlock it either so I had to get a new lock. So now I need to remember a new entry code and a new locker combination. I was sure that at this point in time, the world was telling me not to work out.

So, I said screw the world, and I went to the treadmill! Again, I set it up for 60 minutes at 5 mph and away I went. Here are the numbers from today's run.

Elapsed Time: 70 minutes
Calories: 923
Distance: 5.38 miles
Distance Climbed: 271 feet
Average Speed: 4.61 mph
Average Pace: 13:00 / mile
Average Heart Rate: 152 bpm

Once I get a few more data points I will graph them to see my progress.

Anyway, the run today was tough. As I said earlier, I didn't want to be there, but I made sure that I finished it anyway. I fought for every mile that I ran and it was tough. No pain this time, but my breathing was a bit more laboured than usual. The last 15 minutes was really tough, but I dug deep and made sure that I completed the hour. I feel really good now for doing the run and the body feels pretty good too. I made sure that I stretched well before running and I think that helped.

So now to the good news. I reached my goal of 204 pounds. I really didn't think that it was possible when I started my plan, but here I am. 39 pounds lighter than the beginning of my workouts and 41 pounds lighter than my high weight of 245. I am quite proud of myself for getting here, but now I need to set a new goal. Now that I am here, I believe that I can do better. So, my new goal is going to be 195 pounds. I haven't been there since high school so I am going to do my best to get there.

The reason for this new weight goal is that I still have a few pounds of fat that I want to get rid of. If I keep working out and eating well then I know that I can do it. At the rate I am going, I expect to have my goal reached sometime in March, but they say the last 10 pounds are the toughest. Wish me luck.

See you tomorrow. I work with Karissa then, so I am sure she has created some new version of hell for me! Going to have to change the name of my chapters now too.

Operation 204 - Chapter 41

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 04:37:00 +0000

Happy Friday everyone!

It was my first workout with Karissa this year. I hadn't seen her since before the New Year's holiday, so I was both looking forward to and dreading this workout. I knew it was going to be tough - I had no idea - but I knew that I needed to get back into my routine.

My legs have been really tight from my running so I got to the gym early today to make sure that I could warm up properly and get all stretched out. I used the elliptical for 10 minutes then I stretched for another 15 to make sure my legs could handle it. I thought that today we would work on legs as we hadn't done that in a while. My guess was correct. We did legs. We also did some chest work, some back work, some tricep work, some bicep work, and finally some core work.

We started out on the TRX Machine again today. The first superset was made up of 3 exercises. We started with my favourite - suspended lunges! I did 12 per side then moved onto a mat to do a hellish push-up exercise as the second part of the superset. This time I had to hold at the top for 3 seconds, then hold at the bottom for 3 seconds. I had to do 10 pushups this way. The final exercise was TRX rows but only 10 reps for this wonderful slice of life. Then a short break. As Karissa thought my push-ups looked a little too easy, she decided to make them tougher by making me hold it for 5 seconds instead of 3. It sounds easy, but it isn't. The part that gave out was the shoulder blades from holding myself at the bottom of the push-up.

After those 3 reps, we moved onto the leg press machine. Normally I don't mind the leg press as I have quite strong legs. This wasn't one of those times. It seems that Karissa learned a new exercise from her trainer and decided to try it on me. This time we did a couple of warm up sets of 10 reps to find a good weight. We started with 4 plates, then moved to 6 plates, and finally 8 plates. So I had already done 3 sets of leg press. Then the hell began. The twist this time was to do 10 sets of 10 reps with a 30 second break in between. I had to have 1 plate removed after 7 sets as I just couldn't push the weight anymore. In case you are wondering, 8 plates plus the machine is 382 pounds. 7 plates is 337 pounds. So in total, for leg press, if you include my warm up, I pressed a whopping 45,610 pounds in a very short time. My legs hated me after that one.

From there we moved to another superset of which there were only 2 exercises. This time I had to do triceps dips on the bench - 15 reps. This time though, unlike the last time I did this exercise, i didn't get to use bent legs as a mechanical advantage. This time is was legs straight out in front of me so they couldn't help at all. Right after those, I moved to do 21s for the biceps. It has been a while since I have done these, so I'll explain them here. I don't even know what the barbell weighed that we used, but you start like any other barbell bicep curl. Starting at the bottom, curl the bar until the arms are parallel to the floor, then lower. Repeat 7 times. Then curl the bar all the way to the top and lower it until the arms are parallel to the floor. Repeat 7 times. Finally do 7 complete bicep curls. Those last 7 are going to hurt - no question. We repeated that tiny superset twice.

The final superset of the day also only had 2 exercises. I didn't mind these ones for some reason. Maybe because my core is getting stronger, so it seemed easier than I would have expected. The first exercise was a plank with a new piece. This time while in the plank, I had to lower both knees to the floor, then back up - all while holding the plank. Repeat 10 times. The second exercise was what we called a quarter Superman. On my stomach, arms spread out to the sides, lift one leg off the floor then lower it. Repeat 10 times per leg. You know you are doing this exercise right when you feel the back doing the work and not the butt. We did this superset 3 times.

After that, I was done. Day over. Off to the rest of my evening. My legs already feel that press exercise, so tomorrow is going to be interesting. I am so glad I stretched out before hand as I wouldn't have been able to walk at all after that.

Next week, I am changing my routine slightly. I am going to take an ab workout class on Monday so that means no running. I am moving that to Thursday then working with Karissa again on Friday. So, my week is, gym, curl, curl, gym, gym weekend. Not bad.

Oh, and for those of you keeping track, I have lost another pound and am down to 208. Getting really close to my goal, which means I should soon start thinking about my next goal.

See you next week.

Operation 204 - Chapter 40

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:27:00 +0000

Happy Monday everyone!

Another Monday, another treadmill day. Again I was dreading today's treadmill run. I curled 6 games on the weekend so I was a bit tired today. I know, all of you non curlers are laughing, but for any of you who have curled, you know how I feel. Non curlers, let me know when you have time and I'll take you out on the ice and we'll see how you do after a 30 minute practice!

So, the treadmill today. The gym was packed today, so I didn't get the machine that I like. There were still lots of treadmills available, but you know how it is, you find one you like and you want to use it every time. So, I used one that I haven't used before. It didn't quite operate properly, but I'll tell you about that later.

So today was another usual treadmill setup. 60 minutes followed by a 10 minute cool down. My heart rate max was set to 154 and the speed to 5 mph. The machine adjusts the incline to adjust my heart rate. If my heart rate gets too high and the incline is already at zero, then the machine will slow down automatically to adjust my heart rate.

I should let you know that I also use my own heart rate monitor as I don't always trust the ones on the machine, plus, to check your heart rate on a treadmill, you really should stop running to grasp the bars in front of you.

This time, the machine didn't slow down when my heart rate went up. I think that I peaked around 171 bpm, but I could still handle it. My breathing was starting to be affected, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

So, the run itself...let's split it into thirds. The first third was hard, the second third was harder, and the final third was pure hell. Again, I wanted to stop many times, but I didn't. I pushed through everything to make sure that I finished strong. My numbers show how I did this time.

Elapsed Time: 70 minutes
Calories: 942
Distance: 5.38 miles
Distance Climbed: 247 feet
Average Speed: 4.61 mph
Average Pace: 13:00 / Mile
Average Heart Rate: 154 bpm

That average heart rate includes the 10 minute cool down and the ramp up to get my heart rate up. So, I was clipping along a lot higher than where my training max is supposed to be. So, as I wasn't struggling too much, I think I need to find out where my max heart rate really is.

To that end, I will be getting tested here at Grant MacEwan College. They do a body age assessment, body comp analysis and a VO2 Max test. I am not looking forward to that, but it is a necessary evil if I want to train more effectively.

Anyway, I am so glad I have some motivation to continue working out, else I would probably stop and that wouldn't be good.

I also think that I am going to be moving my treadmill workout to Thursdays as there is an abs class that I want to take on Mondays. I don't want to do both in one night, as one seems to be enough. So, my week will look like: Gym (abs), curl, curl, gym (treadmill), gym (trainer), weekend. Not sure if I am going to go hit the treadmill this Thursday or not, but I'll let you know if I do.

See you later this week.

Operation 204 - Chapter 39

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:23:00 +0000

Happy New Year everyone!

This is going to be a quick post, as I was back in the gym today for a quick treadmill workout. Not sure why I went back to the treadmill as after last weeks workout, I was in pain for two days after. My legs were killing me for two straight days. My body is not used to running.

Anyway, I didn't feel like going to the gym today either. It was one of those days where I would have been quite happy to not go to the gym. I knew it was going to be tough. There was no motivation to go. However, I went anyway. The treadmill was tough. It was hard from start to finish. There were at least three times during my run that I thought about quitting. But I didn't. I pushed through it to finish.

The numbers this time were better than the last one. I started out slightly slower, 5 mph instead of 5.5 mph like last time, to let the machine handle the incline a bit more to get my heart rate up. It worked. I climbed a lot more this time as compared to last week.

Here are the numbers:
Elapsed Time: 70 minutes
Calories: 911
Distance: 5.2 miles
Distance Climbed: 267 feet
Average Speed: 4.45 mph
Average Pace: 13:27 / mile
Average Heart Rate: 151 bpm

So in all, I went further, climbed higher and burned more calories.

Also, my weight loss is continuing at a nice health pace of about 1 pound per week. I am down to 209 pounds. I haven't been this light in years. Down 2 pant sizes and 1 shirt size. Who knew that working out could pay off like this.

No workout with Karissa this week, so look for another workout post next week.

Operation 204 - Chapter 38

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 02:47:00 +0000

Good day everyone! This post is a bit late, but I am combining two workouts into one post. I am posting about Tuesday's workout with Karissa and today's cardio workout.

Tuesday was a tough day. Karissa and I decided that we would work on shoulders and abs. Take it from me, never do this combination with a trainer as that person will create some exercises that should never have been created. Mine was a Karissa creation and she even said that it was going to be hell. When a trainer says a workout is going to be hell, you know you are in for it.

Tuesday was made up of just 2 supersets. Actually it was just one superset and one drop set. So, let's start with the superset.

This time, the superset consisted of 7 exercises with no break in between. This was a test to see if I could complete all 7 exercises then take a moderate break and get right back into it. Some of the exercises were timed, some were distance, and some were reps. It was all over the place, but it was a monster workout.

We started out with getting into the plank position and walking forward down the hallway while maintaining the plank. The hallway is about 50-60 feet long. At the end of that piece of hell, I had to to standing side crunches (don't know if that's the name or not, but that's what I'm calling them). This movement meant reaching high with one hand then crunching down while raising the opposite knee to meet the elbow. 15 per side for this one.

The third exercise meant getting back into a plank and walking sideways back down the hallway. After that movement, we started exercises four, five, and six. Exercise four was a standard crunch with the legs in the air (thankfully I could keep my knees bent). Exercise five was a crunch with a twist - legs still in the air. Exercise six was one that Karissa called a dead bug. This one meant laying on my back and straightening both legs and pointing them to the sky. Also, point both arms to the sky. From this starting position, lower one arm and the opposite leg then return them to the starting position. These three exercises were done for one minute each. Damn, but it was painful. Very hard to do.

The last exercise in this superset was to get back into the plank and side walk down the hallway again. Finally, I was allowed to take a break. My shoulders and abs were killing me after just one rep. We did this two more times. Karissa was right, it was hell!

After we did these wonderful exercises we moved onto some lat raises to really tire out the shoulders. This is where we did the dropset. We started out by warming up with 10 reps at 7.5 pounds. We did this twice. Then we actually moved onto the set. We started at 12.5 pounds and did 10 reps. Immediately after, we dropped the weight to 10 pounds and did 12 reps. Immediately after that, we dropped the weight to 7.5 pounds and did 15 reps. At the end, I wasn't sure I was going to ever be able to raise my arms again. To make this harder, we did it seated so I couldn't use the mechanical advantage gained from standing. Plus, as the weights never came in front of me, I couldn't use my chest to build some momentum.

Needless to say, this workout was tough. Karissa did tell me that she wouldn't have most of her clients do this as it is a lot of work and she knew my shoulders could handle it. High praise from her indeed.

That leads me to today. Today was cardio day. Remember how I mentioned that I was planning on trying the treadmill instead of the elliptical. Well, today was that day. The plan was to do one hour on the treadmill. Again, the plan was to keep the heart rate at my training rate of 154 bpm. Well, somehow I finished it. The last 15 minutes were extremely painful. I even developed a blister on the bottom of my right foot. I think the sock bunched on that side. As I sit here typing this, my legs are tightening up and becoming quite sore. Ah well, I don't need them for a few days.

Here are my stats as taken from the treadmill.
Elapsed Time: 70 minutes
Calories: 686
Distance: 4.87 miles
Distance Climbed: 55 feet
Average Speed: 4.18 mph
Average Pace: 14:20/Mile
Average Heart Rate: 153

The heart rate was high and the climb was low due to a couple of factors. I started out at 5.4 MPH and was handling that quite well. The treadmill adjusts the incline based on the heart rate to keep it at the target. It was up to 2.1% incline when my heart rate hit 154 and went screaming past. The incline soon dropped to zero and stayed there. Plus the treadmill kept slowing down to get my heart rate down. It became almost too slow for my gait, but I'll talk to Karissa about that. Maybe my target is too low or something like that.

Anyway, my first foray on the treadmill was a success from my standpoint. I feel great tonight.

As a final point, and most of you will hate me for this, I lost weight over the holidays. I am down to 210 pounds. Very close to my goal of 204. I won't hit my goal by the end of the year obviously, but I am still shooting for the 204. Once I get there, I will readjust my goals. It may be time to think even smaller.

No Karissa next week as curling is taking precedence, but I will try to get a cardio workout somewhere in there. If I do, I will tell you all about it.

Operation 204 - Chapter 37

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:26:00 +0000

I am a bit early with this update, but that is because I am not working out tomorrow. Something about it being Christmas Eve! So, we moved my workout to today.

I wanted to work on some specific areas today as I have noticed there seems to be some imbalance between my right side and my left side. Unfortunately, curling creates a body that promotes one side over the other to tighten up and get stronger. For me, it's my left side. The left side is definitely stronger than the right side and it looks tighter.

So, today was upper body work with more emphasis on the right side than the left. We started with single arm incline bench press using the machine. On the machine you sit as opposed to lay down. We did 12 reps at 25 pounds per side where both arms pushed at the same time, then we switched to doing single arm pushups while holding the other arm at arms length. This was just to find out if this was going to work. Then we moved to the seated bench press machine where we did the same thing. We liked how this looked, so we started the 3 sets of doing incline press then bench press. The part that was different is that we pressed twice with the right side and once with the left side. Very tough at the end. We also dropped the reps to 10 instead of 12.

The second superset we did was focusing on the back. We did single arm lat pulldowns first then moved to single arm rows. Again, we did more on the right side than the left. We first did a set to see if it would work then moved onto 3 sets of 10 reps again. This time for the lat pulldowns, instead of holding the weight at arms length, I had to hold it down. Alternate arms and do twice as many on the right as the left. The rows were the same.

So, now I am at home and I am not sure I am going to be able to lift my arms to wash my hair in the morning. It was a tough workout.

There was one scary part of the workout though. I discovered a strange lump on my chest. It is right above my sternum, dead centre of my chest. Not sure what it is, but it hurts to touch it. I will be calling my doctor about it, but probably won't be able to get into see her until January. I don't think it's anything, but I want to be sure.

Anyway, I am not going to be working out until Monday when I do my cardio again. My next weight lifting workout will be on Tuesday due to the holiday schedule. I am also curling starting on Boxing Day, so I am sure I will get some exercise.

See you next week and have a very Merry Christmas!

Operation 204 - Chapter 36

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:42:00 +0000

I know, another Monday and another update. You can't believe it. I am not sure I can either. I decided that I need to keep up the cardio work that I started last week. Today I did another 65 minutes. However, this time, I remembered to save my results from the elliptical.

Total elapsed time: 65 minutes
Total calories burned: 726
Total distance: 7.32 miles (11.78 km)
Average speed: 6.75 mph (10.86 kph)
Average pace: 8:52 / mile (5:33 / km)
Average heart rate: 149 bpm
Target heart rate: 154 bpm

I know for those of you who workout or run a lot more than I do these numbers are quite sad. But for me, I think they are amazing. I wasn't sure that I could complete another 65 minutes on the elliptical, but I did.

This time, the first 20 minutes were tougher than last week, but I was able to fight through that and the last 40 minutes were a bit easier. The last 5 were really easy as that's my cooldown period so I get to take it easy.

Weigh-in today showed another pound gone. Dropped to 211. I am happy with that, but want to continue dropping.

Also, here's a quick update on Friday's workout. I have been fighting a cold for the last 10 days or so. Friday, as you will remember, we did 30 minutes of abs. It was very hard to cough yesterday during day two stiffness. Coughing hurt! Not sure how I am going to pay Karissa back for that one, but I will find a way!

See you Thursday - had to move my next session up as Christmas comes this weekend.

Operation 204 - Chapter 35

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 05:04:00 +0000

Good day!

Today was my regular Friday workout again. I barely have the energy to write this post, but write it I will.

Now that I am working out with Karissa once per week, we have been discussing areas to work on and like an idiot, I said that I need to work on my abs a bit more. Well, today we did. We also worked on my back, chest, and shoulders.

We started with some light warmups consisting of T-push ups with a pushup in between each T and lat pull downs. We did three sets of these.

After that, we moved to the cable machine where I did a form resembling an incline pushup, followed by an upwards row, followed by a form resembling a decline pushup, followed by a downwards row, followed by a side twist. These were all done one immediately following the other. But, we only did two sets of these. Also, these weren't done to number or reps, these were all done for 1 minute for each exercise. I hate that as I previously mentioned. I don't know when the end point is coming so it is very hard to keep going for the entire minute.

For the last thirty minutes, we moved onto the ab work. I don't remember all of the forms that we did, but I will try to list them here.

Around the world crunches (they look like the letter u)
Side to side knee touches (a diagonal crunch)
V sit twists
There were a couple of leg lift moves
There were a couple of plank moves
There was something else painful

All I remember is that it seemed to go on forever, and my abs were screaming at me by the end of some of the motions. Also, my hip flexors were cranky from all of the leg lifts. I think there were 9 or 10 or 11 different exercises that we did. Again, these were all done for 1 minute each - no rep counts. Pain is all I remember.

That was it. Once we were done the ab work, I was done for the day. I was tired, but it was a good tired.

So, that's it for this post. I will be working harder over the next few months as I want to increase the gains that I have made to date. Keep watching for future updates.

Operation 204 - Chapter 34

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:08:00 +0000

Good day everyone!

I know, it's been a while since I have last updated this blog and I thought that tonight was a good night to bring you up to speed. A lot has happened since my last update, but I won't be going into a lot of details here. Just the high points.

Since my last update in September, I started curling a lot more often. This changed my workout plans as I could no longer workout on Tuesdays nor Wednesdays. My trainer, Karissa, couldn't train me on Mondays or Thursdays. I like my weekends, so I could only workout on Fridays. Once per week wasn't enough to increase my fitness levels so we chose to begin my maintenance phase. We will begin strength training again once curling is complete.

So, on Fridays we have moved to a more general workout style that is sometimes whole body and sometimes just a couple of specific areas. The workouts haven't been any easier because we are in maintenance, but they have been more imaginative. Somehow, I still surprise Karissa with what I can do. I must say that my balance has improved immensely.

Also, during this time, I have been quite ill. I ended up seeing a specialist as I really couldn't eat. I had to change my eating habits completely. For the most part, I cut out foods that made me too full. I stopped eating bread and pasta. I stopped eating anything that might be too spicy (which meant tacos and chili - two of my favourites). I stopped drinking alcohol entirely. True, I hadn't had anything since July anyway, but I continued this. I stopped eating out entirely and really watched what I ate at home.

The funny thing was, I began to eat properly. I always ate healthy, but now I started to eat properly. I actually ate more in the long run than I normally did before. For example, prior to becoming ill, I would have an Nestle Breakfast Anytime to start my day. At noon I would eat lunch (cottage cheese, sandwich, sugar snap peas, a small rice pudding cup, an apple, and a rice crispy square), then at around 6 pm I would eat dinner (normal dinner - protein, starch, veg). That would be it for the day. After I became ill, my eating changed. Breakfast was still a Nestle Breakfast Anytime, 10 am for a snack (All Bran Bar usually), noon for lunch (cottage cheese, sugar snap peas, rice pudding cup), 2:30 pm snack (apple and rice crispy square), 6 pm dinner (protein, vegetable, starch), 9 pm snack (usually ice cream). So, you will notice I actually ate more.

The end result of all of this increased eating - a loss of 31 pounds. When I stepped on the scale on Monday it read 212 lbs. I am not sure I have weighed this much since high school. It's amazing. For a while, I was losing anywhere from 3 to 4 pounds per week. And I feel great.

My illness hasn't completely left yet and I am still on medication so still no alcohol, but I have been able to add some breads and pastas into my diet. I have also been able to bring in some spice too. All in all, the illness worked out for me. Hard to believe.

So, now that you are up to date on that, I will be keeping you up to date on my workouts. This week, I started with 65 minutes on the elliptical machine with an average heart rate of 149 (including warm up and cool down). My target heart rate is 154 so I was quite happy as I sustained that for 55 minutes.

Friday, I return to Karissa for my next workout. She has already warned me that we are working on abs a lot for the next while to help tighten the areas where I have lost the weight.

It looks like 204 is right within reach, but I may end up passing it as I am starting to like the way that I look - for the first time in a long time.

See you Friday!

Operation 204 - Chapter 33

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:55:00 +0000

It's been a while since I last updated this blog, and it seems fitting that I am updating it with another workout update.

It has been a while since I have worked out, but that is because I am battling an illness. Still not sure what it is, but the latest thinking is that I have ulcers. We are also looking at my gallbladder as it could also be the culprit, but for now we are treating the illness as though it is ulcers. The problem is constant pain and I can't eat much. The bonus is that I have lost 10 pounds in the last 2 weeks. That is bringing me closer to my goal of 204 as I am now at 229.

So, today I finally felt well enough to try and workout again. I was willing to give it a try last week, but Karissa thought it best that I take another week to see if I could really get back into it. She is really looking out for me as I believe today that she made the right call. I was dreading today as I haven't been in the gym for two weeks and knew that today was going to be tough. It was.

We only had 2 supersets planned for today to ease me back into the workouts. The first superset was made up of 3 exercises. The first exercise was a rear leg kick with the leg attached to the cable machine. I don't know what weight Karissa set me at, but I could sure feel it in my hamstrings. We did this 12 times per leg. The second exercise was mimicking the sweeping motion in curling using the resistance band. Very tough as this was done for 30 seconds per side. The final exercise in this superset was twisting to pull the cable weights - a good core exercise. This was done 15 times per side. However, this last exercise changed slightly each set. The first set had my hands in tight to my chest, the second one had my hands about half-way extended, and the last had my hands fully extended. This kept bringing the shoulders into play each set.

The second superset was also made up of 3 exercises. The first exercise was lunges with the back leg strapped into the TRX. 12 per side. The second exercise was scapula push-ups - 15 of these. The last exercise was TRX rows - the one where you row your entire body - 10 reps. I was only able to complete 2 reps of this superset as I was too dizzy to continue. My illness hurt me here as I was very dehydrated and it hit me at this point. The reason for my dehydration is that it hurts whenever I put something into my stomach, so I avoid eating and drinking. I am going to have to find something that works for me here as I want to continue my workouts.

A couple of other things that I should mention here. I have had to give up coffee, chocolate, bread, pasta, and anything too spicy. Oh yeah, I also haven't had a beer in over a month. These restrictions on my diet - all self induced - really suck, but all of those things hurt more so I have given them up until I heal.

Anyway, my workouts now move to Fridays so I will update this story then.

Operation 204 - Chapter 32

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:23:00 +0000

The weekend is over, Monday is past, and today was another workout day. I am writing this 3 hours after the end of the workout and I am still wiped. It was a tough one today with a bunch of new exercises in store.

I knew that today was going to be tough because I was finally able to get even with Karissa. I will talk about that more at the end of this post. She had set a very ambitious plan for today, but it was a bit too ambitious as we weren't able to get through it all. We could only get through 2 of the supersets. Two of the most deceiving supersets ever.

The first superset wasn't that bad...on paper. Once I actually started it though, it got a lot tougher. It was another 3 exercise superset. The first exercises was one where we put a single handle on the cable row machine. I had to hold it in front of me and lift the weight by twisting my body. No shoulders, no arms, no legs, just abs. It's a lot tougher than it sounds. Especially when you have to do 12 per side. The second exercise was 24 t-pushups while holding a weight in one hand - 12 per side. The last exercise was 12 cable rows. We repeated this superset 3 times. The shoulders were screaming at me during the final t-pushup set, but I was able to get through it.

So, if I thought my shoulders were cranky after that, I was in for a rude surprise for the second superset. Again, it was a 3 exercise superset and another piece of equipment was introduced. The first exercises was walking planks down the long hallway and back. To do this, get into the plank position and move yourself sideways down the hallway. Murder on the wrists and abs. The second exercise was done on the RBK platform. Imagine one board attached to another by suspending it over the second board by a spring in the middle. This make the board very unstable - essentially a wobble board that moves in all directions. So, for the second exercise, I had to do a plank on the RBK and twist it back and forth like steering a car wheel extremely quickly. This was done for 1 minute. The final exercise was a sidestep squat down the hallway and back again. To do this, you step one foot out, squat, then bring the other foot to the first. Repeat another 25 times or so, then return back to where you started.

All of that was repeated 3 times. Those walking planks were one of the most painful things that I have ever done. I had to stop frequently as my wrists were killing me. That is a lot of weight to be placing on my wrists for an extreme amount of time.

We did have one other superset planned, but we ran out of time. I think that I am glad that we ran out of time as they sounded nasty.

Now that I have updated you on the workout, here is the story about how I got even with Karissa. As I told her when I started my program, the reason for all of this work was to improve my curling. As she hasn't really curled before (there are pictures of her curling a game, but the form was really bad and sweeping wasn't really a priority) I wanted to take her out on the ice to show her how I curl so she could create my program with that in mind. Sunday was finally that day.

I picked her up and took her to the Saville Sports Centre where I had booked a sheet of ice for an hour. I had already had 1 game and 1 practice under my belt this season, so I already had my "sea legs" and the ice wasn't any problem for me. However, Karissa wasn't ready for it at all. She had also done a killer leg workout on Saturday so she was already sore. This wasn't going to help.

To start with, we just went up and down the sheet to get her used to the slider and the feeling of "slipping" on the ice. After that, a couple of practice slides (where she didn't fall down...until the second one), then it was onto throwing rocks. At first, her position was horrible. It looked like every beginner's slide. I was able to get her into a proper position after just a few rocks. She had her foot behind the rock, trail leg extended, and shoulders square. She looked great out there.

Once we had thrown our rocks to the other end, it was time to show her how to sweep. The first time she went down with a rock, it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I have never seen anyone hold the broom where she did and her footwork was comical. I did have her take off her slider for this so she could walk with the rock as I didn't want to kill her...at that time.

I was able to show her how to sweep properly and how to get more downforce on the broom. By the end of it, she looked better, but there is much room for improvement. We alternated between throwing the rocks and sweeping each others, so it gave us both a bit of a break between sweeping. She was doing fine, until she threw her last rock. She threw it well, but as she went to stand up, both feet slipped and she went down hard. It looked like it hurt - turns out it did. On the drive home, she decided to take a look at her knee and she had a nice big bursa on it. It was swelling up nicely. On a side note, she has awesome legs. Like I mean exceptional legs. Just had to get that out of the way.

I did get an update today on the knee. The swelling has left, but the knee is still a bit sore. It's nothing too bad, but she did land hard. Now, even with that, she learned that the sport is a lot tougher than it looks. She always knew that, but now she also has the feeling for it too. I think that it has given her some ideas on some new exercises to help work those specific muscle groups, so we will see what happens as the workouts continue. Also, she is interesting in hitting the ice again, so I may take her out again later in the season.

I am really going to miss Karissa when my sessions are complete. Not sure how I am going to deal with that day.

No update on Thursday as Karissa is busy and so am I. Off to the 306 on the weekend, so another chapter next Tuesday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 31

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:02:00 +0000

Here is Thursday's update. Mixed feelings about today as I think I actually enjoyed today - but I can't admit that to Karissa as she might think that this is actually enjoyable for me.

Today was more all-over body workout again. Also, there was more balance work that I totally destroyed (ha ha ha ha).

For the first superset we did 2 exercises, but they weren't the easiest. The first one was doing the lunges with my back foot strapped in the TRX machine so I had to keep my balance in multiple directions. Not easy, but I was able to do it to completion. The second exercise was a three-part one using the bosu ball. Part one was to lunge onto the bosu. Part two was to lunge to the side (while still facing forward). Part three was to lunge backwards. This was repeated for each leg. For this superset, we increased the reps each time. We went from 8 to 10 to 12 reps. The 12th one was getting damn tough for all of the exercises as the legs were starting to scream.

For the second superset we moved back to three exercises and we did them all on the cable machine. This time we joined shoulder presses with tricep extensions and bicep curls. We also did a change up on this one where the first round was reps and the second and third rounds were timed - except for the shoulder press.

Round 1 - 15 shoulder presses, 45 seconds of tricep extensions at a high weight, 45 seconds of bicep curls at a high weight.
Round 2 - 15 shoulder presses, 45 seconds of tricep extensions at a high weight, 45 seconds of bicep curls at a high weight.
Round 3 - 15 shoulder presses, 1 minute of tricep curls at a low weight and high speed, 1 minute of bicep curls at a low weight and a high speed.

Finally we were able to move onto the 3rd superset. This time we moved to the mat for 2 exercises. The first one was stability ball abdominal extensions. This move was done by kneeling on the ground and leaning on the ball. From that starting position stretch forward and then use the abs to bring the ball back to the starting position. The second exercise was holding a weight and then pretending to stir a large cauldron for 1 minute - 30 seconds clockwise followed by 30 seconds counter-clockwise. We repeated this superset 3 times. My shoulders were ready to call it a life time after that one.

On another note, I am taking my trainer to the curling ice on Sunday night. It is my turn to show her how to play the great game - and to pay her back for a bit. I will teach her how to slide, throw rocks and, most importantly, how to sweep. I don't think that I will work her too hard as I don't want her to fall and hurt herself, but I want to make sure she has a sense of what I do so she can find some exercises that will work for me.

This ends a busy week of 3 golf games, 2 workouts, 1 curling practice, 1 curling game, and 1 poker tournament. Not a bad week if I do say so myself. And on the best note, Karissa was totally impressed with my progress so far.

See you Thursday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 30

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:12:00 +0000

Good day everyone. It's another Tuesday so that means another update.

Karissa returned from vacation and today was my first workout with her in 2 weeks. As you remember, the last 4 workouts were on my own. It turns out that she had spies at the gym to ensure that I was there and working out. It sounds like there was at least 3 of them. The report was favourable, I guess, as she said that she heard good things about my workouts. I didn't even pay them to say nice things about me.

How to describe today...pure hell seems to fit. I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn't know it was going to be this bad. I am sure that it didn't help that I have been unable to really eat for the past 3 weeks. I think it's time to see the doc again. Anyway, I digress.

It started out with me doing my warm-up on the elliptical and once Karissa arrived I was ready to leave that machine behind...she had different ideas. It turns out that we were to incorporate the elliptical into the first superset. That first one consisted of 2 minutes going as fast as I could on the elliptical - I found out that they have a limit as to how fast they will go. The machine kept stopping on me once I was over 16 mph. I had to keep it below that speed. Anyway, 2 minutes is very painful. Once that exercise was complete, we moved onto squats. We kept the weight lights (95 pounds) and did that 10 times, then we did a shoulder raise/squat move while standing on the bosu ball - flat side up. Karissa wanted me to do this while standing on one leg, but that wasn't going to happen. We repeated this superset 3 times.

The second superset didn't involve legs, but it was another tough one. Another timed event (which I hate). Come to think of it, I blogged earlier about hating timed events. Maybe that's why Karissa puts them in...I have to remember that one. The timed event was one where we used resistance bands and did alternate punches using the bands as the weight. This was done for 1 minute. We found out that the band on the left was much tougher to pull than the one on the right, so my left side got really tired. The second exercise was bench press - again low weight 75 pounds (10 reps) then 24 T push-ups. The shoulders were starting to complain on this one as we completed this superset 3 times.

The last superset was another 3 hellish exercises. Again, the first one was timed. This time I had to do alternating rows with the resistance bands for one minute. After that piece of hell, it was time for 10 lat pull-downs, then finally 12 concentration curls (per side). Repeat twice more for a total of 3.

I was completely done at the end of today. I had nothing left and had to rest a bit before I could even shower. It took me about 30 minutes to recover enough where I could move and get things working again. Very tough day. And from the sounds of it, Thursday is not going to be any easier.

Tomorrow, I have my first curling game of the season, so we will see if all this work is paying off. Practice on Sunday went well and I seemed to be a lot more comfortable on the ice than I usually am after returning from the off-season.

I also have some bad news for the guys reading this. Karissa is no longer single. That's right, the girl that wasn't looking for a partner has found one. He works out at the gym and is soon starting there as a trainer as well. Time will tell, but I think that she is going to be taken for a while. So, you all missed your chance. She is one very attractive and fun girl.

See you Thursday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 29

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 03:25:00 +0000

I hated today's workout. Can't say it ant plainer than that.

The biggest problem with today's workout is Tuesday's workout. Tuesday's was so leg intensive that my legs are still killing me today. And of course, there was some leg work to do today.

Today was the same workout as Chapter 25. Pure hell. This one was 2 supersets comprised of 4 exercises each. The difference today was an increase in weight and reps for some of the exercises over what I did last time.

Superset 1 - Tabletop single hand ball toss and catch (heavier ball this time) 15 per hand, hand to forearm planks 10 per hand, lunge-punch combo on cable machine 12 per hand at 30 pounds, then squat-single hand row combo on cable machine 12 per hand at 60 pounds.

Superset 2 - Supermans x 15, Scorpions x 10 per side, stability ball side crunches x 12 per side, then the final insult - crunches with leg lift and reach to opposite leg.

I am completely dead after running through this group of exercises. I literally have nothing left after this one. Everything hurts and I lose enough water sweating as the heart pounds for the entire thing.

On a brighter note, today was my last one without my trainer. Karissa returns on Tuesday so I am sure she will have some fresh hell for me that she thought up while on vacation. Also, she will be all rested up and be raring to go. Ah well, I will be happy to see her even though I know that I am in for it. At least I have proof that I was there doing my workouts in her absence as some of the other trainers saw me.

Full weekend ahead with 2 golf tournaments and a poker tournament. Won't have much time to be here, but you never know. If not, see you all again on Tuesday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 28

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:19:00 +0000

As much as I enjoyed the workout last week, I disliked this one. This is one brutal set of exercises and as I didn't sleep well last night, I was extra tired today. I did think of not going, but then I would have had to explain that to Karissa, and I didn't want to do that. So, I went.

Today was the same workout as Chapter 24, so you would think that I could easily do it as I did it before. Yeah, not so much. This was one painful workout the first time and it was equally painful this time.

Same two supersets of which both had 3 exercises. And today was a a day where each exercise was repeated 4 times. The first superset was deep lunges, 5 different ladder runs, and one legged lunges with the back leg on the bench. Those final lunges are the worst. The legs are just screaming by the end of it. It was all I could do to complete these. So, in case you are wondering how many I did - 24 deep lunges, 5 ladder runs, and 24 bench lunges.

The second superset was also tough. Again it was 3 exercises to comprises the superset. This time it was 1-legged shoulder presses, followed by 1-armed power rows, and finally tricep extensions while standing on the bosu ball. The reps were 24 for the shoulder press, 24 for the rows, and 15 for the triceps. And again, this superset was repeated 4 times.

So, I was able to get through it - somehow. I now have Thursday to look forward to. I know Thursday is going to be painful as it had some very tough exercises as well and this time Karissa's notes tell me to up the weight and reps.

On a better note, this is a good week for getting some exercise. Monday was golf, today was the gym, Thursday is the gym, Friday is golf, and Saturday is golf. To complete my week, Wednesday is laundry and Sunday is poker. I think I need to find some time in there to go throw some rocks too as curling starts next Wednesday. Yes, you read that correctly. I should have some good posts from the curling season too.

See you Thursday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 27

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:12:00 +0000

I am not going to lie to you, I actually enjoyed today's workout. I know, strange isn't it. It's not because today was easy, not because I had to do it on my own, but...I don't know why. I just enjoyed it. Sick.

Anyway, today was my second of four workouts on my own. Karissa is still down east partying with friends and threatening to stay there. All I know is that she better not as she still has work to do getting me into better shape.

Today was the same workout as Chapter 23 in case you want to go back and read that one. I will go through the exercises here again, but today was a bit easier than last time.

The first of 3 supersets was bosu lunges (15 per side), sideways ladder work (3 times, then 4 times, then 5 times), and finally the much hated sippy bird things. I hate those, especially this time as I did have to hold weights while doing it. My legs scream at me by the end of the 12th rep on each leg as it is trying to balance me while doing all of the heavy lifting.

The second superset consisted of bosu squats (15 reps), bosu pushups (15 reps), and stability ball flys (15 reps). This superset, like all others, was repeated 3 times.

The third, and final, superset was another 3 exercise grouping. The first was tricep pull downs while balancing on one leg (10 per leg), Russian twists (15 per side), and lower back extensions (15 reps). I actually enjoyed the Russian twists this time. Again, I don't know why, but I did.

Also today, I had a good conversation with a fellow gym member names Mark. We discussed the benefits of hiring a personal trainer for the gym. We both agreed that hiring a trainer is a good thing. For both of us the trainer was more for motivation to get to the gym and use it. Mark looked like more of a power lifter, but said that his problem is that he works hard for about 3 months, gets to a point where he is happy, then ignores the gym for the next 9 months. He wants his trainer to ensure that he makes it longer than 3 months.

My motivation for hiring a trainer is a bit different. I have been a member of World Health for many years, but like many others, I didn't go to use it. I was essentially throwing my money away. I knew that I wouldn't go back unless I had a reason to, so that is why I hired my trainer. If I have an appointment, I am going to keep it. That gets me into the gym. Since then Karissa has given me a program that I am able to stick with for short periods while she is gone, but I am going to have to work on continuing to attend even when my sessions are complete. That is something that we will work on when she gets back.

Off for the weekend, so no workout updates until next Tuesday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 26

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:17:00 +0000

I have to day, today was the toughest workout that I have done so far. Not only did I have to do it on my own as Karissa is on vacation but of the 4 workouts she left me to do, today was the hardest. It was the timed workout - no set reps - everything was for a period of time. I can honestly say that I hate that. I think I know why, but I won't tell you until the end of the blog.

So, today was a workout of 3 supersets. This was the workout that we didn't have time to complete 2 weeks ago, so I made sure I completed it today. I took longer than the hour, but as I was on my own, it didn't matter how much time I took.

The first superset consisted of 3 exercises - 1) walking lunges with a twist to each side while at the bottom of a lunge while carrying a medicine ball; 2) side-steps while in a squat position down the length of the hallway and back; 3) side-steps with a cross over (foot in front, then foot behind) down the hallway and back. All 3 of these exercises were done for 90 seconds each. This superset was repeated 3 times. Pure hell! No other description fits.

The second superset also consisted of 3 exercises. This time I moved to the cable machine for the work. The first exercise was an upward chop, the second was a downward chop and the 3rd was one where I had to balance on one foot, squat and upon rising I had to pull the cable across my body. This time I had to do these for 45 seconds per side for a total of 90 seconds per exercise. Repeat 3 times. Not as much hell as the first superset, but my back really hated this superset. It started to bug me a bit too much, but I wanted to make sure that I got through it. I had to go a bit slower, but I did get through it.

The third and last superset was 3 very hellish exercises. This time it was bent-over alternating dumbbell rows for the first exercise, lat supermans for the second, and hands to forearms planks for the third. These were all done for 60 seconds each and each superset was completed 3 times. Even more hell than the first superset. This was back to the 7th circle of hell type of superset. The planks are the hardest thing that I have ever done. I honestly thought of stopping early, but then I knew that it would hurt even more once Karissa got back to work me over, so I completed it.

So, I was able to get through a day on my own, but I didn't enjoy it as much. It's nice to have someone there to push me. Also, I wanted to tell you why I hate this particular type of exercise. It is the time thing. I have a stopwatch to time things - it has a countdown feature so it's easy to set, but while doing the exercise, I can't tell how much time is left. I need to know where my end point is so I can push to complete the exercise. With the time, there is no end point (that I can easily see) and my brain wants to stop to check to see where I am at. At least when I am doing reps, even if the amount is huge, I can count and know where the end is. At least this was the only time day that I have - at least until Karissa gets back to enforce some other type of pain.

Ah well, the next 3 exercise days are on my own. It's going to be a trial.

Operation 204 - Chapter 25

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:17:00 +0000

Thursday night and I am reporting after another tough workout.

This one was extra tough as my legs are still killing me from Tuesday. I thought I was over the DOMS, but no, they are back with a vengeance. This time it is in a new muscle area so the balance work is causing new muscle tears. Oh well, it will only toughen me up.

Tonight was all about the shoulders and core. Again, it was only 2 supersets, but they are enough to make one tough workout.

The first superset consisted of 4 exercises and we did 3 sets. The exercises were 1) table top on a stability ball while tossing a small medicine ball up with one hand and catching it with the other. 30 tosses later, I could move on to the next exercise. 2) Hands-to-forearms planks performing 8 on each side. 3) Lunges with a punch movement attached using the cable machine - 8 per side again. 4) Squats with a one handed cable row performed on the up stroke so the legs would help generate power - again 8 per side.

The second superset also consisted of 4 exercises which we did again for 3 sets. This one started out with 15 Supermans, then 8 Scorpions per side, then 8 side-crunches per side, and finally 30 alternating toe reaches. For that last one imagine doing a crunch while lifting one leg straight up and trying to touch the opposite hand to the raised foot.

I have to say that the last superset was the most painful. Everything was screaming at me by the end. The first superset was no picnic either as there was a lot of leg work included and they weren't happy, as I previously mentioned.

On another note, for the next 2 weeks I get to repeat the last 4 sessions on my own. My trainer, Karissa, is off on vacation (not sure who approves these) so she won't be there to push me. Somehow I am going to have to motivate myself to complete everything - and she wants me to up the weight that I am using while performing these exercises on my own. She is off to the eastern parts of Canada and the US for the next 2 weeks. I'll probably text her at odd hours just to drive her nuts while she is gone just to give her some grief. But, when she gets back I am taking her out onto the ice so she can experience curling and try to figure out some exercises that will mimic some of my movements. I am going to try and make her pay!

That's it for this week. Tomorrow I am off to Capital EX so I won't be back at the gym until Tuesday. Enjoy the long weekend.

Operation 204 - Chapter 24

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:51:00 +0000

Another Tuesday, another update.

A bit interesting today as I am writing this and am still recovering. Had a bit of a stomach flu for the past couple of days so today was a tough one. I almost cancelled, but then I would have felt worse, so I pushed through to get to the gym and to get it done.

Today was another tough day as it was more balance and speed work. Working on the endurance and balance is a real tough one for me. Karissa works me hard that's for sure.

We only did two supersets today. I say "only" like it was easy. It was anything but easy.

The first superset consisted of the deep lunges where I had to touch my elbow to the instep on the same side - 12 per side, then I had to do 5 different runs through the ladder on the ground finishing with a short run through low hurdles. The 5 ladder runs consisted of 1) both feet in then step with one foot on each side, then to the next space; 2) same thing as 1, but starting with the other foot, 3), side stepping the ladder by stepping both feet in then one foot off to one side, then back in and one foot to the other side; 4) running the same as 1 but backwards; 5) running the same as 2 but backwards. The final exercise in this superset was lunges with one foot on the bench 12 reps per leg. We tried with one foot strapped into the TRX, but I could not keep my balance at all on that. I will have to work on that. We repeated that superset 4 times.

The second superset consisted of another 3 exercises that we repeated 4 times again. This time it was much more balance work. The first exercise was shoulder press while balancing on one leg - left leg on the ground while pressing with the right and vice versa for the other side. 12 reps per side here. The second exercise was one arm cable power rows. This time we upped the weight to 35 pounds which sounds much lighter than it really is. On one cable machine it's 35 pounds and on another it would be 80. The point of this one was to row the weight with as much speed as I could generate on the pull stroke. Another 12 reps per side. The final exercise was tricep pull-ups while balancing on the bosu ball. Another 12 reps here.

So, what did I learn from today. First, I learned that I am down to 239 so I am dropping some weight finally. Second, I learned that my balance really sucks, but I get better quickly. Third, I learned that this particular workout is murder on my legs. Everything I did brought the legs into play. Fourth, I learned that my insight was correct. Ask Karissa about that. And finally, I learned something about my motivation.

I learned that I am not motivated by a desire to get into better shape. Don't get me wrong, I do want to get into shape to feel better and that is why I got back to the gym, but that isn't what is keeping me going. I am motivated to work harder so I don't disappoint my trainer. I work hard to ensure that she is happy with me. I think that if I disappoint Karissa, then I am failing. How screwed up is that - A motivation that is totally external to me and is nothing more than looking for validation from another that I am doing what I should. The worst thing about that is that I am not sure that I want to change it. The fact that I am motivated at all is still a good thing, so I guess if it's external, so be it.

Anyway, I am not working out tomorrow as I am heading to Taste of Edmonton to sample some delicious food, but I will be back on Thursday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 23

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 04:22:00 +0000

Another Thursday, another update. I know you are looking forward to it.

So while I type this one out, I am watching today's stage in the Tour de France (I PVR it every day so I can watch it in the evening). It is strange knowing that these guys can't do my workouts as they don't have the strength, but they can climb a mountain that has an average gradient of over 8% at a speed of 20 km per hour. There is no way I can do what they do. I am not sure that I can wrap my brain around the dichotomy.

Anyway, today was more of the third phase, which is cardio and balance. I have to tell you that today was mostly balance. My abs are going to kill me for the next few days I am sure.

We started out with some warmups by first doing lunges on the bosu ball (15 per leg), then we placed a ladder on the ground and I had to start at on end beside it and step both feet in then both feet out into each gap down the length and back up - speed was the word for that little exercise. We did this superset 3 times, but I had to increase the ladder portion each time - down and back 3 times, then 4 times, then 5 times in the last set.

After that we moved to a 3 exercise superset consisting of one-legged sippy birds with dumbbells (I'll explain), squats on the bosu ball with only my body weight, and finally push-ups on the bosu ball. Ok, the sippy birds - picture that stupid little desk toy that has the bird that bobs up and down. The exercise looks like that. One leg is stretched out behind as I bend over so you can draw a straight line from my head to my toes along that leg for the entire exercise. While holding dumbbells, this exercise really works the legs and the core as I had to keep my balance. We did this 12 times per leg. The squats and push-ups were 15 reps each.

For the third and final superset, we used a larger exercise ball. This superset consisted of flys while I was in a table-top position. The exercise ball was one end where I rested my neck and my legs were the other end. This position meant I had to keep my stomach really tight to maintain my balance. We then moved to tricep pull-downs while balancing on one leg. Thirdly, we did Russian Twists - again the table top position on the exercise ball but this time I had to twist to each side and maintain my balance. The last exercise was lower back extensions (essentially supermans but upper body only). For this superset it was done 3 times with the reps as follows: Flys - 15, triceps - 10 per leg, twists - 15, lower-back extensions - 15.

It was also an interesting day from a trainer-trainee perspective. For some reason, everyone thought that today was the day to talk to my trainer - Karissa was little Miss Popular today. She was busy trying to watch me to ensure that I was performing the exercises correctly and trying note to be rude to the people that kept coming up to talk to her. Maybe they just don't get that I pay good money for my hour, but oh well. Also, we discussed ways for her to set up a couple of her other students that she thinks would make a good couple. I will be looking for updates as to how that works out as the guy that thinks would be perfect for someone has a thing for Karissa. She doesn't know it (well maybe she does by now) so that could be interesting.

I will be back with another chapter on Tuesday but I may post more this weekend as I am off to the Edmonton Indy to watch some car racing and enjoy the weekend.

Operation 204 - Chapter 22

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 04:04:00 +0000

Here's the latest instalment of my workout saga. It was an interesting day today too.

Again, I didn't feel like going to the gym. It was a busy day at work. Busy enough that I didn't get to have lunch as meetings went long. This didn't help my mood at all. Also, my legs and butt finally stopped hurting yesterday from Thursday's workout. And finally, I have been losing my voice for the last 4 days so I think I am fighting something off.

Anyway, I was expecting another day of extreme weights but Karissa had different plans for me today. It seems that today was the day to shock my system again as we started phase 3 of my program by adding endurance to the list. Today was not about completing a set number of reps, but it was about continuing for a length of time.

For the first superset, it was walking lunges while hugging a medicine ball to my chest and twisting to each side at the bottom of each lunge. This was paired with side-steps and side cross-overs (shuffle sideways by crossing on leg in front of the other then in behind the other). That last exercise looks a lot like a dance move. Anyway, that superset consisted of doing each exercise for 90 seconds. That doesn't sound like much, but this was endurance, so speed was also a factor.

The second superset was on the cables where we started to mimic some of the motions that I will use when curling. Sweeping motions mostly, but also a little bit of balance work. Exercise one in the superset was what I can only describe as lawnmower starting. Two hands on one cable handle and pulling up like starting a lawnmower. Exercise two was a two-handed pull down on a rod attached to the cable to mimic the curling sweeping motion. Exercise 3 was one where I had to balance on one leg, dip, and then extend while pulling the cable across my body. All 3 exercises were 45 seconds per side, so 90 seconds each.

Superset 3 was one that we didn't have time to complete (thankfully) as it consisted of bent single-hand alternating rows then supermans where I had to bring my hands from an extended position down to beside my head and back to extended before dropping. I have done these before, and they are not nice. The last exercise in that superset was planks from hands to forearms and back to hands. 90 seconds for each of these as well.

As I mentioned, we didn't have time to get that last superset completed 3 times (like the others) and we only did it once. However, Karissa has told me that we will complete that one on Thursday.

I assume that we will be meeting on Thursday, but I can't be sure. I mentioned to her boot camp class that they may want to push her down the stairs at the Hotel Mac. Not sure if they will, but you never know.

Anyway, I'll let you know what happens on Thursday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 21

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:53:00 +0000

Sorry this post is a bit late, but last night my computer just would not work. Couldn't get it to boot up at all, so that is why I am posting this today.

Also, there was no workout on Tuesday as Karissa had a migraine and I had no motivation to get my fat ass to the gym. I think the craptacular weather here is to blame.

Anyway, yesterday I was back in the gym to endure insane amounts of pain. I knew that it was going to be a tough day as I hadn't been in for a week and we had some catch-up to do. Also, my left hamstring was a lot tight, so I wasn't sure how it was going to behave.

The first thing I did when I got to the gym was to stretch out the hamstring. Once I had done that for about 5 minutes, everything felt better. I then moved on to the elliptical to warm-up before Karissa got there to work me with the weights.

Once Karissa got there, she informed me that we were going to kill the legs then move onto some cable work to start introducing some speed work while increasing the weight. I wasn't looking forward to the leg work as I was having problems with the hamstring, but I was able to suck it up.

For the legs we did a superset of leg presses, step ups, and walking lunges. However, this wasn't as easy as it sounds. For the leg presses we did 10 plates (10 reps). I found out that the machine starts at 21 pounds so for the leg presses I did 471 pounds. For the step ups we used a box that was 2 feet high and I had to bring myself completely up using one leg only. The other leg couldn't help out once it was on top of the box. 10 per side for that one. Then for the walking lunges, I did those while carrying a 40 pound barbell on my shoulders. We did 3 revolutions of the superset as I didn't have it in me to do a 4th. I was completely drained.

For the cable work we did two more supersets. The first one was flys, presses, and twists. I can't remember the weight we used for these ones. I know it wasn't insane, but the cable machine is a completely different workout as everything feels different. I think that we will increase the weight a fair amount the next time we use this set.

The second superset consisted of bent rows, bicep curls, and reverse chops. Again, I can't remember the weights we used, but the last few chops were getting tough. I am sure we will up the weight on these ones too next time.

So, after a day when I really didn't want to be at the gym, I was able to make it through and I know that it is better for me. On the way home though, the hamstring really acted up again so I made sure that I got enough water into me last night to help that. It feels better this morning.

See you all again on Tuesday.

Operation 204 - Chapter 20

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:24:00 +0000

Another Thursday workout is now behind me. It was an interesting workout.

I was in a bad mood for today's workout as I had to spend the day in interviews and packing my office. We are having our offices reconstructed for the next week so we all had to pack up and move to temporary space. I hate moving. So, with that in mind, I went to my workout.

We wanted to do a body check to see the progress that I have been making. This didn't go well either. We tried Tuesday, but the machine was broken. This time it was working so we did the impedance test, did all of my measurements, and put everything into the computer. The computer spit out the results that I haven't changed at all. Not one bit. I know that I am stronger and I have more definition in my legs and arms, but there was no change anywhere. Weight was the same, measurements were the same, and impedance was the same. We aren't sure what this means so we will test again in 6 weeks to see if there are any changes happening. I will also be stepping up my cardio work to see if that will make a difference.

So, after that, we got to my workout. We were in a shortened period today because of the testing so we didn't do too many exercises. We started with the superset of squats, a strange dumbbell bench press and barbell tricep extensions. For the squats we were up to 70 pounds per side. With the bar and the weights, I am up to 185 pounds. We will push this as I could have done more on my third set. For the bench press, we used 35 pound weights. This one was strange as I pressed both weights then the right one then the left one. This counted as 1 rep. For the tricep extensions, I used a 60 pound barbell. Really pushing myself today. In fact, in the final set of the bench press, I did fail at 6 (couldn't get to the 8 reps that we are doing).

The second and last superset consisted of leg press, lat pull downs, and upright rows. For this one, the rows were at 90 pounds per side, the lat pull downs were at 120 pounds and for the leg press we really pushed it. We started at 8 plates (360 pounds) in the first set, then moved to 10 plates (450 pounds for the second set) and lastly up to 12 plates (540 pounds) for the last set. This was a struggle, but I was able to complete the 8 reps for each set. This means that we will be upping the weight again next time.

So, after setting personal bests again, I feel quite good. It still doesn't explain why my body isn't showing any changes, but who knows on that one. And finally, my lovely, beautiful, and talented trainer, Karissa, put me in a much better mood by the time we were done and she even offered to help me move once she got off work. However, I was done shortly after she was done at work so she wasn't able to aid me in that. But the offer was nice.

See you all next week.