Tough Fitness

Evolutionary Eating

2012-01-17T22:01:00.000-06:00

The one thing I can be certain of is that human beings as a species have passed the point of physical evolution. You may not see this in a science textbook, but I have a simple hypothesis and one that ultimately may be a bit controversial.

As a species, we have reached a point in our intellectual development to where we are adversely affecting our evolution. I joke that my wife is blind as a bat. Ten thousand years ago a human with her vision would have walked right in front of a saber tooth tiger and been taken out of the gene pool. But with modern science and optometry, she is able to trick me into thinking she has perfect vision (contact lenses) and now we have a chance at having another kid with bad vision.

Now before I go too far, please realize that I'm not making any moral judgements here or supporting eugenics. I'm essentially stating that as we learn more and more about medicine and science and are able to keep people alive longer, our physical evolution as a species has stopped, and our intellectual capacity is taking over. This graphic above almost illustrates that point.

No longer is survival dependent on physical strength and superior hunting skills. Mastery of intellectual skills is more desired and rewarded. So, there are some of us that wish to "throw back the clock." As our intellectual capabilities have drastically improved, our genetics haven't. We now have abundant food sources and instead of working for days to find our next meal, we can find thousands of calories in minutes and not even have to leave the comfort of our cars to do so.

So this is where Paleo/Primal eating comes into play. By eating like our caveman ancestors did, we can hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls of modern life.

I struggle with paleo eating. I shoot for the 80%. Today I did pretty well, but I did have one big piece of wheat bread with lunch. The problem I always have is a lack of planning. I can find some pretty decent options out there, but my downfall is my lunch meals. I have to be more disciplined on how I eat.

I just cam across this video.

http://wimp.com/mindingmitochondria/

Check out this doctor's speech. Very powerful.

P90X vs CrossFit, a tale of two success stories.

2012-01-16T13:30:00.004-06:00

There are probably hundreds of posts out there in the blogosphere debating the merits of P90X vs CrossFit. There are probably millions of collective keystrokes that have been pushed supporting one side or the other. There has been vitriol, conciliatory comments, moderation, and occasionally agreement. I'm not sure my post here will add much or settle anything, but I figure I'd take a few moments to add to the fray.

My P90X results from Sept-Dec 2008

First off, lets talk about my experiences with P90X. For those of you following this blog, you'll know I had great success with P90X. I dropped 20 lbs or so in 90 days and looked great. After a while, I fell away from the program and over the span of 2.5 years I gained back everything I lost. What P90X does offer is an awesome, specific 90 day plan to physically transform your body. What you do with it after that time is up to you. I tried to repeat the program, I worked a few other Beachbody programs, but I never was able match the initial level of intensity and enthusiasm I had during that first 90 days.

Skip ahead a few years and my before pictures are again where they were in 2008. (Insert bullshit excuses here). I was driving home and out of the corner of my eye I saw a sign for "Reckless CrossFit." This was less than a mile from my house. I found the gym's website, contacted the owners of the ~~gym~~ box and set up my first foundations workout. That first workout was a shock to the system and a definite reminder of what I had lost in terms of fitness.

You can find enough internet dribble on CrossFit to fill reams of paper. To define CrossFit in one sentence it would be "constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement." By doing CrossFit, you'll become strong, but not the strongest; fast, but not the fastest; and so on. You will become a very well rounded athlete prepared for a wide variety of potential physical tasks. This ultimately is a great reason why CrossFit is so popular among police and military. They never know exactly what challenges they may face (outside of a standardized fitness test) but they need to be ready for those challenges when they arise.

When it comes down to a nutshell, P90X and CrossFit are similar but they are also drastically different. P90X has a very specific goal of improving outward physical appearance and is fantastic at meeting that goal in the time prescribed.

90 Days of Crossfit, definite improvement, but not as much fat loss as P90x.

Ask anyone who does CrossFit and when it comes to "getting in better shape" they'll tell you that the physical signs of improved fitness are a "welcome side effect" of CrossFit. For CrossFitters, it's rare to see a goal that has anything to do with physical appearance or weight. A CrossFit athlete may have a goal of a specific weight they want to lift in a certain move, to get a muscle up, to get their "Murph" time under an hour etc. By pursuing these other goals, the improvement in physical appearance will come as a very welcome byproduct. The ultimate goal of CrossFit is improved health, and it delivers.

A P90X athlete may get bigger biceps in 90 days, have better abs in 90 days, but they ultimately may not be stronger than a similar athlete who does 90 days of CrossFit. One thing that struck me was that in P90X, I was never nervous before a workout. However, when I see a move on the board at my box, and it's one that I struggle with, I get nervous. I both love and hate the challenge. When my coach pushes me and gets me to try something that's way outside my comfort zone, I appreciate it (even though at first I might hate 'em.) P90X, without having the benefit of a coach right next to you and pushing you harder misses some of this element.

So, I've rambled on. I've added a few hundred more words to the CrossFit vs P90X debate. What would I recommend? That depends on your goals.

If you are 90 days away from a Caribbean Cruise and want to get in great shape to look awesome on the beach, I'm going to tell you to buy P90X. You'll be happy with the results.

If on the other hand, you're looking for a long term challenge and want to become physically stronger and more prepared for anything life throws your way, I'm going to tell you to find a local CrossFit box.

Ultimately, this isn't an "either or" proposition. I may very well get to the point in a year where I need a break from CrossFit and will be popping Tony Horton into my DVD player again. What is most important is that you get off the couch and move your ass.

3....2....1.....

Goal progress through 1/6

2012-01-06T19:05:00.002-06:00

The last week has been a good one for workouts. Having focused goals always helps.

First off towards my goal of rowing 250,000 meters for this year, I've completed 4500 meters so far this week and with tomorrow's WOD having 3x500 m I'll be at 6000m for the week. I'm not sure if I should count meters rowed in WODs, but we've had rowing in a couple WODs this week.

My diet has been pretty good this week. After my birthday on Monday, I've been on track real well Tues-Friday. I've been picking good Paleo/Primal options and my only slip up was half a piece of corn bread with lunch.

I'm still struggling with pull ups and need to re-do week one of my Pullup program.

More to follow.

--John

2012 Fitness Goals

2012-01-02T01:39:00.000-06:00

I've been doing CrossFit for a bit over 90 days now and have seen some great gains. But, without goals, one can just wander, going with the flow but never setting their sights on an objective. To ensure that I have specific goals for this year, I want to take a few minutes and highlight my fitness goals for 2012.

Row cumulative 250,000 meters for the year (This would average about one 5K row a week)
Deadlift 460 lbs (my current max is at 400 lbs)
Run 10 miles continuously (I have an 8-9 mile Spartan Race in late October and need to train to increase my endurance for this event. Will probably start running more for mileage in the late spring and summer to prepare)
21 pull ups, (right now I'm at about 9 unbroken pull ups. I want to get to 21 unbroken by June 1st.) Will be starting a program doing 5 sets of pull ups Monday through Friday gradually increasing week by week to reach my goal.
Complete "Murph" (google it) at least twice. Want to do it RXd so need to get previous goal of increasing pull ups in the works.
Get to under 11% body fat by May 1st. Right now I'm at about 18-19%, was around 24% in September before joining Reckless CrossFit. This will require a laser like focus on my diet.
Complete the Air Force Academy PFT once every 2 months. Probably will do this on an Open Gym day on the weekends. My goal is to break a 400 point score on the test by September. (My highest score as a cadet was about 350.)

So that's a start. More to follow and I'll be back here updating my progress as I complete these goals.

--John

Redemption

2011-11-08T12:55:00.001-06:00

10 years ago I was a First Class (Senior) Cadet at the United States Air Force Academy. While there were many requirements placed on us as cadets, one of these requirements I didn't take seriously enough was physical fitness.

Sure, I met all the minimum standards, but I didn't take advantage of the vast resources around me as a cadet and actually get in great shape. I was more concerned with sneaking out and riding my Harley I wasn't allowed to own or ride.

When the time came to take the PFT every semester, I kinda got through it. I didn't do great, sometimes I did really poorly. I just never excelled.

With my 10 year reunion coming up next fall, I have a goal.

I want to score above 450 (out of 500) on the Air Force Academy PFT when I'm at my reunion next fall. As a cadet, I never scored higher than 355.

The test consists of the following:

Pull Ups
Standing Long Jump
Sit Ups
Push Ups
600 yard run

Each event starts every 3 minutes. So the entire test takes less than 15 minutes.

If I stay committed and keep working with CrossFit, that in a year's time this test will become rather simple. But scoring a 450 will be tough. I have a spreadsheet here that details everything, and it won't be simple. Here's a basic table of min/max numbers. To get 100 points per stage need to max that exercise.

WOD: 11-03-2011

2011-11-03T19:05:00.000-05:00

Today's WOD:

Warm Up:

Basic Stretch on own.

WOD:

20 Minute AMRAP

10x Push Press @ 75 lbs. (Rx was 95 lbs but I knew I needed to lower the weight for 20 minutes)

20x Sit Up

30x Jump Rope Singles

I managed to finish 10 rounds exactly. My first few round were about a minute and 45 seconds or so. My reps started to slow down a bit after that. I finished my 9th round at around exactly 18 minutes on the clock so I picked it up and made sure to knock out my last round in the final 2 minutes. Finished the last round with 5 seconds to spare but not enough time to get set up on the bar for more push presses.

Overall a great WOD. Definitely was sweating like a pig at the end of that one. One note, my jump ropes are getting better. Got my own speed rope last week and have been practicing a bit. I'm not able to string together Double-Unders yet, but I can do a Single, single, double, single, single, double pattern for a few reps. It's a good improvement in the jump rope arena and I'll be stringing doubles together in no time.

Will be going back tomorrow for Friday's WOD giving me 3 workouts in a row for this week.

Been Feeling "Reckless" lately

2011-11-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

So, this is a big switch for me. I've done P90X a few times, gone through good phases and bad phases. Starts, stops, burnouts and the like. For some time, its been a whole lot of nothing going on in my fitness routine.

Late this summer I was driving to work and out of the corner of my eye I saw a sign in a strip mall. "Reckless CrossFit."

Now I've heard about CrossFit, and know several friends and acquaintances that have had amazing results from CrossFit. I've done the hole P90X vs CrossFit discussion online. I never was one to argue for or against. I've just seen some people get very "into" the discussion.

So, I found the gym's website, and I found the owner on facebook. She chatted with me and I set up a time for my first workout.

Now, having sat on my ass for 6 months not working out, doing my first CrossFit workout was a challenge. Yes, I puked.

But I came back and did the Seven "Foundations" classes and leanred the basics of the CrossFit movements. I have to say, I've been loving it. Before starting in late September my weight was about 221 lbs. (That's even higher than I was before starting P90X and this blog a few years ago...yikes!)

Today, I'm down to 214-215 lbs. So I'm losing about a pound a week with CrossFit. The one thing I love is the community aspect of the workouts. When I go to the gym, I see the same faces. They cheer me on, I cheer them on, and we hang out and talk about how we're doing. It's definitely a great environment.

Yesterday was a really amazing day in my CrossFit journey. I did something I never had tried before. I found my one rep max in a Sumo Dead lift. We started easy, 3 reps at 135, then 3 reps at 155 and so on and so on. Eventually we worked up to 1 rep sets. I did 255x1, 275x1 and finally my last rep was 305lbs. I've never even tried to lift anything that heavy before. My coach thought that I probably could have gotten at least 10-20 more lbs up since I didn't struggle all that much. But dropping that weight, and looking back at that much weight on the bar was impressive for me. It surely was a good moment...but I'll get even better.

So, this is a new chapter in my fitness journey. I will be a CrossFitter for the near future and who knows where it will take me.

--John

Day 3, Shoulders and Arms

2011-03-01T11:02:00.000-06:00

This is going to be a tough week for me for 2 reasons.

I'm starting P90X this week after a long layoff.
This is one of the weeks every so often that I need to cover the office at my job.

See, we have a real small office. My companies HQ is in Rockford, but I work out of our Chicago sales office. Due to the economy, streamlining etc, we only have 4 people in the office. As our main office administrator needs to be in training for the week, I am filling in for her. Now, I'm in sales and normally only in the office one or two days a week. So, a 55 mile one way trip into my office sucks, but is manageable when I only have to do it once a week.

When it becomes a 5-day a week trip, its stressful. But here's what I'm thinking. If I can manage to get a full week of P90X in without any missed workouts this week, then how much easier will it be in later weeks when I don't have the challenges of a 3 hour commute each day.

Last night, I got home, and went straight into shoulders and arms. I'm not using the same weight that I used to. But, I picked slightly lighter weight then previous runs of P90X and focused on quality form throughout.

Ab Ripper X still sucks. I "presently struggle with" most of the exercises. I have a weak lower back and long legs. Moves like "fifer scissors" absolutely tear me up. I have terrible form, can't get full vertical extension with my legs, and can't even keep up. I'll definitely improve, but this move has always been my weak spot.

Diet yesterday was good. Monica and I signed up for a grocery shopping and meal planning service called e-Mealz. It's a great service. Not only can you save money on food for your family by having a thoughtful planning list for your both your meals and shopping list, you can get healthy too. We are currently enrolled in their "Wal-Mart Low Carb meal plan for 2." This provides us a shopping list and meal planning for the entire week. We're saving money and have good, quality low carb meal choices to choose from. Last night's dinner was a cream cheese egg dish. It tasted great.

Well, that's all for now. Back to work. Yoga X tonight.

Weight gain during pregnancy....in men???

2011-02-28T12:18:00.000-06:00

A British research firm is reporting that the average weight gained during pregnancy is 14 pounds — and that’s by the babies’ fathers.

According to a NY Times article found here the average man gains 14 pounds (or one stone if you're reading this in the U.K.) during their partner's pregnancy.

Guess what? I'm average.

Yup, I don't know what it was. During Monica's pregnancy I gained right along side her. I put on about 14 lbs exactly. I didn't watch what I ate, we ate out more because we realized that after Kylie was born opportunities to eat out would be few and far between. There's a whole list of excuses, but they are all lame.

So, here I am. Father of an amazingly cute 4 month old baby and pants that are a bit tight. Isn't she cute?

Good news though, I've got a plan to take off the added weight. I'm on day 3 of another round of P90X. I'm around 212 lbs right now. It's funny, because I now weigh almost exactly what I did way before I ever started P90X in 2008. However, I can tell my body composition isn't the same. I have more muscle now than I did back then. So, the 212-215 lbs I'm at now is not the same body as the 212-215 I was back in 2008. So at least I've got that going for me.

First couple days of this round have really beaten me up. I'm taking my own advice that I've given others starting out. Don't feel bad if you can't keep up. If the first time through Plyo you're totally killed after 35 minutes take that as a small victory that you made it that far. Don't think of it as a failure, think of it as an accomplishment compared to the "you" that was sitting on the couch last week.

So, I'll be back here blogging regularly about this round of P90X. Can't wait to bring it all over again.

--John

1 Year Smoke Free!

2010-12-01T20:36:00.000-06:00

For some of you, this isn't a surprise. For many others, you'll be shocked. December 2 2010 marks 1 year of me being cigarette free.

Many of you probably have no idea that I ever smoked. I hid it a lot. The only person in my family I smoked in front of was my brother once or twice. My parents probably never knew. A lot of my buddies knew because I'd bum a smoke at a bar etc. Anyway, I just wanted to kinda hash out my life with cigarettes.

I didn't start smoking until I was 22. That's a late time to start for sure. I had smoked the occasional cigar from about 17 or 18 on throughout college. No more than about 1 a week at the very most. After college, a very close buddy of mine and I went on a month long motorcycle trip around the western US. We started at our homes. Me in Illinois, him in Ohio. We met in St. Louis. We told each other a few weeks prior to meet at the first rest stop west of St. Louis on I-70 at 8 am on a Monday. We both showed up a half hour early. My buddy smoked, but I didn't. I bummed a few smokes from him at our rest stops the first couple days. I was on a motorcycle trip, it seemed cool, and ultimately, I liked it. Yes, cigarettes can be very pleasant in the very short term. So, for the rest of that trip I was smoking about half a pack a day.

After getting home from the trip I didn't smoke nearly as much. I think I stopped for a month or two. Then I went out for a weekend ride on a Saturday and bought gas and picked up a pack. I'm not sure why, but it just felt right. Riding my Harley and smoking seemed to go together well.

I smoked off and on for the next couple years of my military career. If I went out of town I'd buy a pack. Monica hated me smoking. However, I didn't realize exactly how much. Here's a tip to women. If you don't want your husband to smoke don't say the phrase, "I don't care if you smoke as long as you don't do it around me." Men are simple creatures and will take that at face value. I remember learning this lesson when Monica hung up my leather bike jacket and found two cigarette butts in the pocket. I didn't want to litter and figured I'd throw them out in a trash can later.

I'd stop smoking for a few weeks, then I'd bum a smoke and this habit went on throughout my 4 years in the Air Force. I rarely bought smokes unless I was out of town and away from Monica. After I got out of the Air Force I ended up in a job working a night shift as a manager at a large distribution center. I was working nights, getting home at 5 am or so. Monica worked during the days. This is when I started up smoking kinda seriously. Some days I'd smoke almost a pack a day.

I knew Monica knew. She knew I knew she knew. However I think to avoid a fight we both ignored it. I quit for 13 weeks once, then I started again. With my new job, the first year or so I was traveling. I was gone Monday through Friday and only home on weekends. I smoked when out of town then didn't when I was home. Then I got more brazen and smoked during the day but not at home. Then I'd quit for a few weeks, and start back up.

I smoked a lot when I was doing what you'd think of as "manly" activities. Heading out to the gun range, grab some smokes.

I don't know how many times I threw half a pack of smokes out my car window in anger and disgust with myself.

Then, last year, on December 2nd, I smoked my last cigarette. I think it was a Wednesday. I quit on my own...again...for 2-3 days. On that Saturday after, Monica and I went out for lunch. I finally opened up to her about it. I told her that I needed her help in quitting. I told her I wanted to tell her how I was feeling about it. I asked that if I came home and said, "Damn I wanted a cigarette today so bad," that she'd listen and not judge. I asked her to ask me if I had smoked. I needed to know someone was in there helping me quit and would keep me accountable. Essentially, quitting smoking is hard enough on its own. Especially if you are trying to hide the fact you're quitting.

So, this last year hasn't been that hard. There have been a few days when I've had a really stressful day that I craved a smoke. But nothing would be worth giving up my streak now.

One year smoke free. I can't wait to make it two.

30-Day Primal Challenge

2010-09-08T07:55:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged about it much, but about a month ago I got back on the primal bandwagon. I have to say its been great. My weight loss has been almost effortless and I've dropped 8 lbs of the sympathy weight I've put on during Monica's pregnancy. I wanted to share this with everyone then I saw that Mark Sisson's blog, www.marksdailyapple.com is sponsoring a 30-Day Primal Blueprint challenge.

Go on over to Mark's site and check it out. A direct link to the challenge can be found by clicking here.

Amazon Prime addiction!

2010-08-12T16:34:00.000-05:00

This is a bit "off topic" however I'm going to be including more here about my everyday life and less about just fitness. I figure that way I'll blog more.

That out of the way. Let me say, I'm a huge fan of Amazon Prime. To me, it is the best offering out there. For those of you that don't know what Amazon Prime is, the short of it is you pay $79 a year for a Prime membership. That gets you free two-day shipping on all your orders from Amazon. Also, if you're in a hurry, you get $3.99 next day delivery per item. At first, some people may balk at that $79 fee and think this is not for them. However, you have to look at all the factors before deciding.

Right now there is free super saver shipping for Amazon orders over $25. How many times have you needed a $20 item off of Amazon then added a $7 paperback you didn't really need to get the free shipping? I know I did this a few times. Now, I just order the $20 item and forget about it.
Sales tax. In Illinois Sales tax is outrageous. For example, I was looking at buying my iMac from the apple store in Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL. Sales Tax in ~~Crook~~ Cook County is 10.25%. So, that $1499.99 iMac would have been $1653.74 out the door. Amazon had the same iMac for $1449.00 and I opted for next day delivery. The cost was $1452.99. So, right on that order alone I saved $200+.
You can't beat Amazon's prices. Sure, there are rare exceptions, but 9 times out of 10, the most affordable price you can find online is at amazon. Amazon Prime eligible items are items housed at an Amazon warehouse. But, there are thousands of retailers and companies that send their products to these warehouses for Amazon to ship. That means you have thousands of companies competing for your business all on one website.
It's not just books anymore. Everything is on Amazon. Monica and I have bought diapers, hard to find health food items, water filters for my fridge, furniture, electronics, etc etc etc. You name it, it's available on Amazon. In fact, I've been looking at buying a case of coconut milk off of Amazon for a few days. It's to the point right now that I look to Amazon first before anywhere else.
Subscribe and save options. If you look around, you'll find items available for subscribe and save. For example, we recently ordered a bunch of Pampers. By signing up for a subscription, we save 30% per order, and have free 2-day shipping. We can change the frequency, add an extra shipment, change the size of the diapers, and have free returns. You can't beat it!
Release date delivery. Another new feature is release date delivery for video games and movies. If you pre-order certain items, like the newest version of Halo, the item will show up on your door on the release date.

So, there's my plug for Amazon Prime. We just ordered a changing table off of Amazon two days ago. I checked out the UPS tracking info and it's coming via UPS 2nd day air from California. It's a 50 lb package going from Cali to Illinois. I did a quick check on UPS and for me to ship this item 2nd day air it would have cost me $212. I don't know how Amazon does it, but it works.

Chest and Back and Closets? What?

2010-07-31T21:39:00.000-05:00

Great workout today. Went to a gun show to promote ASC then came home and knocked out Chest and Back. This workout is a good one. The variety of push ups and pull ups is a great well rounded workout that "just gets it done."

Why is it that days where you get a workout in, you continue to be more productive throughout the rest of the day. Monica and I went to Home Depot and Menard's to work on getting our house ready for the baby. The one thing that we have in the house are crappy closets. The builders put in crappy cheap closet racks that don't utilize the space well. We got three closet sets to make over two closets. The one for Kylie's room (Kylie is the baby's name if you've missed it.) The other two will be combined to get our master bedroom closet redone. Monica has had the walk-in master closet to herself for nearly 3 years. With some planning and effort we hope to share this closet. Wish us luck.

Tomorrow, it will be PlyoX in the morning. Then we'll get at least one coat of paint up in the baby's room. We'll go see a matinee of Inception then come back and finish the paint and start working on the closet system installation.

Sweetness 5K & 8K

2010-06-04T10:39:00.001-05:00

We're excited to have a sponsor table at the Walter Payton Sweetness Run in Yorkville, IL tomorrow (June 5th). If you're looking to enter a last minute race, check out www.payton34.com for more info.

If you're visiting this site as a result of the race, thanks for stopping by. Hopefully we got a chance to meet you yesterday, if not, feel free to contact us.

--John and Monica

Decisions Decisons

2010-05-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

One thing that I've noticed over and over again in life, is that decisions get stacked one on top of another. If you make good decisions early in the day, you tend to continue to make good decisions throughout the day. This can relate to many things. If there's that one task at work that drives you nuts, getting it out of the way early in the day will make the rest of the day easy in comparison.

Similar trends can happen in fitness and nutrition as well. If you start out early in the day and get a good healthy meal in for breakfast, it makes it easier to resist the temptation in the office through the morning. By saying "no" to the cinnamon roll bagel and cream cheese left in the conference room. By passing up on that, you're now more likely to get a healthy salad for lunch and so and and so on. Good decisions breed more good decisions.

On the reverse, bad decisions can easily breed more bad decisions. I've had days when I've been running late, so I grab a sugary gas station cappuccino and a do-nut for breakfast. Next thing you know I'm eating hot dogs and french fries for lunch and choking down 3 cups of diet soda. The attitude is always, "well, my day is shot anyway." I might not consciously do this, but it happens. By the end of the day, I'm feeling groggy, and craving sugar, fat, and carbs. Out comes "depressed John" who orders up a pizza and a 2-liter of coke.

What can you take from this? First, try to start off your day with a good decision. Think of the first hour of your day as the foundation for the rest of your day. Get in that first healthy breakfast, or knockout a workout first thing. Then your decision making chain is starting to get a few good links in it.

If you should falter, don't sweat it. I just had some Mike and Ike's not 20 minutes ago. A co-worker handed me some and I took a few. However, I'm not going to let that affect my decisions on dinner and later. If you do happen to break your "good decision chain," take a moment, realize you did it, and recommit.

One Man's Primal Journey

2010-05-11T14:15:00.000-05:00

Hey folks, my buddy Dan started his journey with "The Primal Blueprint" a few months back. He's had great success and blogged about it over at his own blog. Go check it out, here's an excerpt. Fair Warning: Dan's Blog posts are Long but great!

So how did I get to 197.4? I eat the stuff that I am genetically created to eat. Natural beef, chicken, pork and fish. Fresh organic vegetables, fruits and nuts. Farm fresh eggs (with the yolk!) by the dozens every week. My diet takes in about 20 times the amount of fat that it used to. I ate more fat in April that I did in all of 2009 combined! I avoid ANYTHING process like the plague. By body runs smoothly and without sugar highs and crashes. I eat a lot less. I sometimes go an entire day without eating because I don't crave anything. I listen to my body tell me when I'm hungry, but my energy level is through the roof! My exercise involves frequent walks with my wife, occasional sprint sessions to keep my testosterone levels up, and a general life of physical activity (I like to pick up heavy rocks and see how far I can throw them!). No guilt for not having the motivation to take a 5 mile run when I get home from work at 9:00 pm. No guilt for having a piece of apple pie for desert on occasion. No guilt for not being perfect. Instead, I have a sustainable plan to be a healthy person by making the right choice 80%-90% of the time, and to live a long and active life. I strongly recommend Mark Sisson's book 'The Primal Blueprint' for any of you who can identify with my struggles. Things have got to change.

Dan has really amazed me. His motivation has inspired me to recommit more to the Primal lifestyle. Thanks Dan!

Do What You Can Do

2010-04-25T20:25:00.002-05:00

I've definitely noticed a pattern in my life. During the fall and winter months, its not that hard for me to get my workouts completed on a regular basis. I've done successful rounds of P90X etc the last two winters and done well. Come spring, the world thaws in Illinois and I start into my routine. For those of you that don't realize, competitive shooting (particularly modern rifles) is a passion of mine I've picked up over the past year. I run a practical rifle program at my gun club and we have monthly matches. Well, starting this program has taken up loads of my time.

We had a "Zombie Shoot" spin-off of this program which was another huge event I ran last year. That drew 70 shooters and looks to be a huge event this year, with 150-200 shooters or more. (If you want to learn more, check out www.thezombieshoot.com for more info.)

What does all of this have to do with fitness? Well, on one level, physical fitness is a huge help in some of the events I participate in. No matter how good one is with a rifle, if you're stiff, slow, or out of shape, you can't fire the rifle in a quick and effective manner. This past weekend we did a drill (you can view a video of the drill here) that required getting into some rather awkward and uncomfortable firing positions. I'd honestly say the flexibility and strength I've gained from P90X helped me to perform some of these drills very well. However, these hobbies and passions of mine take up a ton of time. On a Saturday, I'll be up and out the door by 6 AM to set up for one of our shoots and might not return home until 6 PM. (On a side note, I did wear my bodybugg along to one of these shoots and burned well over 3500 calories for the day without getting a formal workout in. I burn more calories in a day out at the range than I do when I am at work and get a P90X workout in when I get home.)

Furthermore, these events take up so much time that I frankly am pooped and don't get in my traditional workouts. I've looked at my calendar for the next 3 months and it is packed solid. I have things planned every weekend through August it seems. I know that for the next 90 days or so, I'll have limited success getting an intense program like P90X completed on a consistent basis.

So, my plan is to give Tony Horton's 10-minute trainer a try. My goal will not to have dramatic weight loss, but to maintain my current levels and maybe drop a few pounds mainly through getting my diet back on track. Looking through the program, the title "10 Minute Trainer" is a bit misleading. The 10-minute workout is a bare minimum. There are 3 workouts every day, each 10 minutes in length. The bare minimum is to do the first 10 minute workout, if you have more time, do the 2nd, if you have still more time, do the third. So, I'm going to do 10-Minute trainer for the next 30 days and document the results. My diet for the last month has been atrocious. I've not planned well and have taken advantage of too many temptations.

So, Check back here for my review on 10 minute trainer. I'll keep everyone posted.

--John

A confession

2010-04-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. The last month has been pretty rough for me in a couple ways. The last day I updated here, there were some layoffs at my work. This meant that my schedule and such changed dramatically. Where I used to go into my office 1-2 days a week, I'm now in 4 days a week and more. On top of that, in mid March I got sicker than I can remember. I lost about 7 lbs in a couple days and couldn't eat solid food for about 5 days.

Unfortunately, these setbacks were "ready made" excuses that I didn't overcome. The last 3-4 weeks have been terrible. My workouts have been non-existent and my diet has been terrible as well. So, I'm back here writing, I need to get back on track.

Major Announcement

2010-03-02T21:05:00.000-06:00

My Bodybugg Review...kinda

2010-02-25T10:56:00.004-06:00

I was going to do a video blog about my Bodybugg. However, I ran across this.

I know that everyone would probably much rather watch Chalene Johnson talk for 2 minutes than my ugly mug.

The code she references is "bbgcj24", all lower case. I don't know if that discount code is active any longer.

I have to just piggy back on what Chalene says. The bodybugg makes you so aware of your activity. It's changed my habits. I'm going for walks on my lunch breaks to get my calorie burn and step count up. On lazier days I'm making sure not to eat as much to maintain that calorie deficit that I need to hit.

It's an awesome fitness tool, no matter what your goal. If you want to increase mass, then eat a bit more than your burn. If you want to lose a pound a week, eat 500 calories less than your burn. It's simple.

I can't say enough good things about this tool.

How many push-ups can I do?

2010-02-21T17:47:00.002-06:00

Here is some info.

Check out Clippers for Carter for more information on Carter Hammond.

If you are willing to pledge for this great cause, please click here to send me an email!

If you want to see some info from Beth's day, check out her "I'm Going Bald" page on facebook.

I'm including two images below.

Beth Before:

Beth After:

Why P90X doesn't work.

2010-02-15T09:13:00.003-06:00

P90x doesn't work! It's just glitzy glam marketing and a waste of your money. You can spend your money on P90X, but you won't get in shape, you won't get leaner. Here's why:

You can buy the DVDs, but, then you have to do the workouts.
You actually have to follow a diet plan. They have a crazy theory that you need to burn more calories than you take in.
They actually expect you to workout 6 or more days a week. Who has time for that?
Tony Horton wants you to work out over an hour a day. Again, haven't you heard of 8-minute abs?

Obviously this is satire. I don't think P90X is a gimmick. I've seen it work for far too many friends and customers to think otherwise. I was reminded of this today when discussing the program with a customer. He said, "So and so has been doing P90X and has had good results." I thought, "Of course he has, anyone who actually follows the program has great results. It's the folks who 'modify' the program or only do it one or two days a week that don't succeed."

As a Beachbody coach, I've had lots of customers purchase P90X. Usually I can tell right away if a person is going to have success with the program. Some people buy P90X, but right off the bat tell me how they are going to modify the program. This is warning sign number 1 that this person isn't going to a.) complete the program, or b.) have much success.

Tony Horton didn't just haphazardly put the program together. All the routines are designed and scheduled to flow into one another. For example, just when you're dying of soreness from 2 tough upper body workouts in 3 days, the next day is a "relaxing" yoga day that challenges your muscles, while stretching them. Just what your body needed. Some folks think Kenpo X is too easy, but its designed to get your heart rate in the fat burning zone, not to get your heart racing.

My advice to anyone that is thinking about buying P90X is to only purchase it if you're committed to following the program to the best of your ability. This means committing to the schedule, the diet, the intensity etc. Now, no one is perfect. Everyone has to modify at times. There are days when I've been crunched for time and knew that doing half of Chest and Back is better than none of Chest and Back. These things happen.

First Video Blog

2010-02-04T18:47:00.001-06:00

Thanks for watching guys

Video Blogging & Game Plan Chicago

2010-02-02T15:39:00.002-06:00

So, just a quick question. Should I start video blogging? I've thought about it for a while and I think it might be a really effective way to talk about P90X and other Beachbody workouts. Just wondering, anyone have any thoughts?

Also, Monica and I had a fantastic time at the Game Plan Road Tour event in Chicago this past weekend. Had a great time learning about how to more effectively build your Beachbody business. But the best part of the weekend was the great workout we got to enjoy, compliments of Mark Briggs. The workout was fantastic. WE did some nice circuit training. Upper, Cardio, Middle and Lower (UCML) was the name of the workout. It was a killer.

If you ever have the opportunity to workout with Mark, take him up on it.

Jerry Stackhouse P90X endorsement

2010-01-25T15:39:00.001-06:00