Today was the potluck at work, and I was doing so well. I had a salad, and made a sandwich using sprouted flax seed bread brought from home.

Then... towards the end of the day... weakness set in. I ate not one, not two, but THREE cookies. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Today's workout:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-Over Row

Workout, 2-exercise circuits
* Neutral-Grip Incline Press, 1 set of 10, 1 set of 5 @ 40lbs, 1 set of 5, 1 set of 7 @ 35lbs
* Chin-Ups, 2 sets of 2, 1 set of 1
* Bent-Arm Lateral Raise & Rotation, 3 sets of 10 @ 20lbs
* Swiss Ball Side Flexion, 3 sets of 10
25 minutes, 186 calories burned

Afterwards I jogged 2.5 miles in record time, 24:28... yet according to the HRM, I burned a bit less calories than yesterday at 288. My guess it was because yesterday I had to push harder to make 25 minutes even towards the end.

Anyway, total calories burned in today's workout: 474

Well this morning I was back at 162. Per Metabolic Adjustment, I should really have a protein dinner, but doggone it, I want stroganoff! Maybe I'll just go with it and see how I am in the morning.

The workout went great today, I was quite pleased.

Today's workout:
Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
* Jumping Jack
* Split Jack
* Prisoner Squat
* Alternating Lunge
* Mountain Climber

Workout, alternating supersets of 2
* Elevated Heels High Bar Squat, 135lbs, 3 sets of 10 (heels elevated on 10lb weights)
* Exercise Ball Back Extension, 25lbs, 3 sets of 10 (alternate for weighted back extension)
* Wide Grip Barbell Curl, 70lbs on bar, 3 sets of 10
* Incline Dumbbell Triceps Extension, 25lb dubbells, 2 sets of 10, 1 set of 6
35 minutes, 287 calories burned

After the weights I jogged 2.5 miles in 25 minutes, that's 6mph! I just wish I was consistent. At any rate, towards the end I started running faster to make it at 25 minutes. It was 25:02, so that last push helped. 301 calories burned.

Hey guys.

Well I just came out of a world class funk. Gosh, I'm not sure how it started, but I sure know how it continued. I woke up Saturday morning at 162 pounds, 2 pounds up. By Saturday night I just didn't have the motivation to do much of anything. Sunday morning, I was still 162. I went to a Christmas party in the afternoon and ended up eating much too much bad stuff there, so by the end of the day I just felt like crap. I went to bed at 8:30 with the hopes I'd feel better in the morning, but Monday morning I felt the same way.

Lucky by afternoon, I felt fine but because I had to go to the DMV, ended up not exercising at all. Today's much better, thank you very much. I was 160 this morning, back to where I'm supposed to be for this, the second week of metabolic adjustment. I'm just afraid I'm going to gain weight this week.

So yeah, I'm having one of those weeks. Next week's Christmas! Alright, here's today's workout:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-Over Row

Workout
* Bench Press, 125lbs, 3 sets of 5
* Single Arm Dumbbell Row, 45lbs, 3 sets of 6
* External Rotation, 25lbs, 3 sets of 5
* Swiss Ball Crunch, 3 sets of 6

That burned 233 calories according to the heart rate monitor. No jogging today due to the storm, I'm hoping to make up for that this evening. Yeah right, where have you heard that before?

I really wish I had a great workout report for today, but unfortunately no. This weekend we were out shopping and as I walked around behind my car, I realized the registration said NOV 2007! For some reason we either didn't receive the renewal notice, or it got lost. Whatever the case, I had to go to the DMV at lunch instead of work out.

I also wish I could say I was going to jog after work, but I know how I am. I'm going to give it a try, but kids tend to not cooperate. We also have an added DOG now, which will make it harder. Sure, the dog can go outside, and sure the kids can be held at bay. That's easier said than done sometimes, so we'll just see how it goes.

The worst that can happen is I won't work out at all. Today will become my rest day, and I'll just work out Tuesday through Friday. With Christmas next week, it'll be the same way next week as well.

Anyway. G'day. :)

Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
* Jumping Jack
* Split Jack
* Prisoner Squat
* Alternating Lunge
* Mountain Climber

Workout, 2-exercise circuits
* Deadlift, 4 sets of 7 @ 135lbs
* Single-Leg Swiss Ball Extension & Leg Curl, 4 sets of 8\
* Close-Grip Bench Press, 2 sets of 7, 1 set of 4 @ 115lbs
* Hammer Curl, 3 sets of 8 @ 35lbs

2.5-mile jog afterwards, 27 minutes

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-Over Row

Workout, 2-exercise circuits
* Neutral-Grip Incline Press, 1 set of 12 @ 40lbs, 1 set of 12 & 1 set of 7 @ 35lbs
* Chin-Ups, 1 set of 2, 2 sets of 1
* Bent-Arm Lateral Raise & Rotation, 1 set of 12 @ 20lbs, 2 sets of 12 @ 15lbs
* Swiss Ball Side Flexion, 3 sets of 12

2.5-mile jog afterwards, 30 minutes

Back at 160 this morning... but hey, that's ok. Since I lost the two pounds in the middle of metabolic adjustment, gaining them back in a day really isn't a big deal. It's probably water anyway, not to mention the goal during metabolic adjustment isn't to lose weight, it's to not gain.

At any rate, I jogged 5 miles today in 57 minutes. Joy!

This morning when I weighed in, much to my surprise, I was 158 pounds! That's after the Christmas party weekend, with all the food available. It just shows that persistence pays off! This makes me quite happy.

Today's workout:
Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
* Jumping Jack
* Split Jack
* Prisoner Squat
* Alternating Lunge
* Mountain Climber

Workout, alternating supersets of 2
* Elevated Heels High Bar Squat, 125lbs, 4 sets of 12 (heels elevated on 10lb weights)
* Exercise Ball Back Extension, 25lbs, 4 sets of 12 (alternate for weighted back extension)
* Wide Grip Barbell Curl, 60lbs on bar, 2 sets of 12
* Incline Dumbbell Triceps Extension, 20lb dubbells, 2 sets of 12

Half-hour, 2.5-mile jog afterwards.

Back from the FSP Christmas Party! This year it was held in Monterey, and I must say that it was much better than the ones in Reno or Tahoe. It cost us about the same amount of money, but while in Reno/Tahoe it's just gambling, here we got to do plenty of things. We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, got to walk along the ocean, bought some neat gifts & souvenirs, and had a beautiful drive.

The best part is I actually ate properly the entire time. With seafood being the #1 choice, grilled fish was plentiful! I even managed to work out on Saturday morning.

The unfortunate thing is I came back with a nice case of chest congestion. I decided not to do any cardio today, but judging from how my weight workout went, I could probably manage. Tomorrow I'll do the jogging thing, but for now, here's the weights:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-Over Row

Workout
* Bench Press, 115lbs, 3 sets of 7
* Single Arm Dumbbell Row, 45lbs, 3 sets of 8
* External Rotation, 20lbs, 5 sets of 7
* Swiss Ball Crunch, 5 sets of 8

Isn't it sad that the girl in the clip I used for the Single Arm Dumbbell Row is using more weight than I did? My arms don't look like hers! Nofair!

Anyway, on with life...

Hey there! For the first time I jogged in the rain today. While it wasn't too bad, my shoes & socks are now wet in the toes. They'll be wet the rest of the day. Oh well, all in the name of fitness, right? More like dorkiness.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-Over Row

Workout, first exercise stands alone, other 4 are 2-exercise supersets
* Dynamic Pushup, 3 sets of 6
* Bench Press, 105lbs, 3 sets, each decreasing as failure set in... 10 reps, 7 reps, 3 reps
* Chin-Up, 1 set of 2, 2 sets of 1
* Combo Raise, 25lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10
* Horizontal Lateral Raise, 25lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10

Those last two sets on the raises were awful. I'm still sore from Tuesday's curls!

I had intended to jog 5 miles today, but instead jogged 2 1/2. No biggie, they catered lunch today and not only was it healthy, but I managed to only eat one chicken breast. Yay!

For a while, I've had an additional protein serving, just before I work out. Today I tried something different, replacing the regular protein with a protein shake. It's the same stuff I put into the waffles I make, so I figured what the heck. Taste wise, it could be better, but I really can't call it bad. It's vanilla flavor, but I smelled the vanilla more than I tasted it.

The surprising thing is that when it was all over, I wasn't exhausted. I didn't feel like I was going to fall asleep, and felt really good. I felt a bit fatigued when I started jogging, but by the end of the jog, I had forgotten all about fatigue. Maybe there's something to this, who knows.

Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
* Jumping Jack
* Split Jack
* Prisoner Squat
* Alternating Lunge
* Mountain Climber

Workout, Alternating supersets, 2 exercises each
* High Step-Up, 35lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10
* Romanian Deadlift, 135lbs, 2 sets of 10, 1 set of 9
* Off-Set Incline Dumbbell Curl, 25lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10
* Incline Lower Trap Raise, 20lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10

Afterwards I jogged a half-hour, 2.5 miles.

Time for week 3! I forgot my workout bag, so no jogging at work today. I'm going to try to do the half-hour at home tonight. We'll see. In the meantime, today's workout was pretty wimpy due to not wanting to get my work clothes all nasty.

Warmup, 45lb bar on shoulders, all exercises as a circuit
* Overhead Squat, 3 sets of 5
* Squat, 3 sets of 5
* Good Morning, 3 sets of 5
* Barbell Lunge, 3 sets of 5
* Romanian Deadlift, 3 sets of 5
* Bent-Over Row, 3 sets of 5

Workout, circuits of 2 exercises, repeat circuits until technical failure
* Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 sets of 5 @ 40lbs
* Neutral Grip Dumbbell Row, 3 sets of 5 @ 40lbs
* Scaption, 3 sets of 5 @ 30lbs
* Incline Trap Raise, 3 sets of 5 @ 20lbs

Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
* Jumping Jack
* Split Jack
* Prisoner Squat
* Alternating Lunge
* Mountain Climber

Workout, first exercise is standalone, other three are split circuits of 2
* Jump Squats, 105lbs, 3 sets of 6
* Bulgarian Split Squats, 105lbs, 3 sets of 6
* Good Mornings, 105lbs, 3 sets of 6
* Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension, 25lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 6
* Barbell Rollouts, 1 set of 6, 1 set of 5 (technical failure)

I was just fixing my breakfast and thought hmm, I have this handy dandy camera phone (Treo 650) in my pocket, why don't I share it with everyone? So here you go.

Microwave egg poacher, $1.25 or so at Target or Walmart


Crack the egg into one of the sides, puncture the yolk a few times with a fork.


Close it up, microwave for 45 seconds to a minute. Spread out a slice of cheese on the tortilla, ready for the egg. I use La Tortilla Factory low carb tortillas, 3g of carbs, 50 calories apiece.


Break up the egg and put it on the cheese, so the cheese will melt.


Roll it up, and you're done! I usually stick it back in the microwave for another 5 to 10 seconds to warm the tortilla, and also to melt the cheese a little more.


156 calories, 7g carbs... 1.5 protein, 1 carb. You can omit the cheese for 125 calories, 4g carbs.

No jogging today. As it was, I had to fight to finish the workout, because some brilliant person here at work decided that they should interrupt it. Totally threw me off for the rest of the workout.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-Over Row

Workout, first exercise stands alone, other 4 are 2-exercise supersets
* Dynamic Pushup, 3 sets of 6
* Bench Press, 95lbs, 3 sets of 11
* Chin-Up, 3 sets of 1 (ooh)
* Combo Raise, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 10
* Horizontal Lateral Raise, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 10

Every morning as I leave for work, I stop by AM/PM to grab caffeine (in my case soda, not coffee) for the long commute. I purposely go by this display, look for a second or two, then walk away.



Donuts are one of my worst offender foods. It's one of those things where, if I have one, I need more. I've been known to buy 2 to 3 donuts at a time, and have them finished once I get to work. There have also been the days where I've done something like this, only to find someone's brought donuts into work, and then I have some there! Definitely not good.

So isn't it a temptation to go by the display? Certainly. But it's also empowering to look at them and say to myself, you know, it's not worth it. Walking away sets the tone for the day.

Anyway, today I jogged 5 miles at about 5.5mph. The total time was 57 minutes; again, not the greatest, but I'm working on it. My 5k time was 34 minutes.

I complained about this workout last week. I promise not to complain this time. I'll just say ditto, because I do feel the same way. The funny thing is this workout is exactly what I need for backpacking & hiking! Especially if I'm going to do Mt. Whitney in July/August.

OK, the workout:

Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
* Jumping Jack
* Split Jack
* Prisoner Squat
* Alternating Lunge
* Mountain Climber

Workout, Alternating supersets, 2 exercises each
* High Step-Up, 25lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 11
* Romanian Deadlift, 125lbs, 2 sets of 11
* Off-Set Incline Dumbbell Curl, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 11
* Incline Lower Trap Raise, 15lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 11

So yeah, that was tiring. I didn't want to jog today but I went ahead, it took me 32 minutes to do 2 1/2 miles. Far from 6mph, but hey, I did it! Now I need a nap.

Another week of exercises, week 2 of the new workouts.

Warmup, 45lb bar on shoulders, all exercises as a circuit
* Overhead Squat, 3 sets of 5
* Squat, 3 sets of 5
* Good Morning, 3 sets of 5
* Barbell Lunge, 3 sets of 5
* Romanian Deadlift, 3 sets of 5
* Bent-Over Row, 3 sets of 5

Workout, circuits of 2 exercises, repeat circuits until technical failure
* Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 sets of 6 @ 40lbs
* Neutral Grip Dumbbell Row, 3 sets of 6 @ 40lbs
* Scaption, 4 sets of 6 @ 25lbs
* Incline Trap Raise, 4 sets of 6 @ 15lbs

Afterwards I did a half-hour of cardio, jogged 2 1/2 miles.

Today was my birthday: I'm now 38 years old. I was treated this morning by three kids lying in bed with me for a half-hour, hugging on me, playing with me.

My wife got me a BBQ grill, which was desperately needed. My mother-in-law gave me a battery operated fan that she was hoping I could use while camping, but honestly it's a bit big for that. No big deal, I'm sure we can find a use for it.

My son was cute, he bought me a Bionicle robot, and it was obvious that he wanted it himself. Unfortunately the pieces are so small and the way he plays, they'd be everywhere. I had him "help" put it together but I really would rather him not play with it. We'd never find the pieces until one of his sisters swallowed them!

Finally, in the evening Angela and I went to Red Lobster for dinner. I got the fresh Pacific Snapper, which was tasty and made for an easy choice. My one "splurge" was a cheese biscuit.

All in all a great birthday!

Today's Black Friday, but I've been at work all day. There was no way I was going to line up at a store at 4am for the priveledge of giving them money.

So I worked. And worked out. I'm going to start something different, I'm going to provide links to the exercises I do in my workouts. It won't be ME in the videos, mind you, but it'll give you a good idea of what I did.

So here we go:

Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
* Jumping Jack
* Split Jack
* Prisoner Squat
* Alternating Lunge
* Mountain Climber

Workout, first exercise is standalone, other three are split circuits of 2
* Jump Squats, 95lbs, 2 sets of 3
* Bulgarian Split Squats, 95lbs, 3 sets of 5
* Good Mornings, 95lbs, 3 sets of 5
* Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension, 25lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 5
* Barbell Rollouts, 2 sets of 5

Today was a great Thanksgiving.

It started this morning at 7am, with our church's annual Thanksgiving flag football game. At first it didn't look like we'd even have enough people to play, but with the holiday and all people were enjoying sleeping in a bit. We finally got started with the game at 8am. It was a lot of fun, we had a good spread of abilities and ages. We had guys ranging from 10 years old on up to 50!

I've never been known for my football abilities, especially since I haven't played for about 20 years. Still, I did better than I expected, mostly thanks to being in better shape than I've been in for a long, long time. I even caught the ball once! Of course, I dropped it a few times. I managed to swipe the flags of a few guys too. In the end, we played for two hours and all agreed we should play more than just once a year.

Then it was onto the dinner, to which I'm happy to say I did not overeat with. I had my usual 2 cups of lettuce with about 3 ounces of turkey on top, with a tablespoon of Hidden Valley Ranch Light. Three deviled eggs were an indulgence, but I think I got away with it. For dessert, I had a piece of the low carb pumpkin pie I talked about yesterday.

In the evening, we went to Skip & Kelly Bertsch's house and visited, while the kids played. We stayed for a few hours, after which we came home and put the kids to bed. Angel and I watched an hour of TV but I ended up so tired that we went to be at 8:30.

I wish all holidays went this smoothly and were this enjoyable.

While you're eating your Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow, just remember, not all is lost. Remember portion control, and take steps to ensure success... tricks like this low carb pumpkin pie recipe!

To give credit where credit is due, I altered the recipe listed on Bella Online. I swapped Brummel & Brown yogurt spread for the butter, and cottage cheese for the heavy cream. This reduced both calories & fat content.

Pie Shell
---------
3 tbsp flax meal
3/4 cups almond flour (blend almonds in food processor or spice grinder)
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup Splenda
6 tbsp Brummel & Brown yogurt spread (the original recipe used REAL BUTTER!)

Mix dry ingredients first, then add yogurt spread. Blend & spread across pie pan. Bake @ 375 degrees for 12 minutes. Chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
8 servings, 114 calories, 2.5g net carbs, 10g fat, 3g protein, 2g fiber

Filling
-----
1 tsp Splenda
2 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese

Combine ingredients in blender & blend until cottage cheese is no longer chunks. Pour mixture into pie shell & bake @ 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick returns dry. Serve chilled.

Serving size 1/8 pie, 174.5 calories, 7.5g net carbs, 11.5g fat, 8.5g protein, 4g fiber

For reference, a regular slice of pumpkin pie is 30g of carbs & 229 calories.

No jogging today. As it was, I had to fight to finish the workout, because some brilliant person here at work decided that they should interrupt it. Totally threw me off for the rest of the workout.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-Over Row

Workout, first exercise stands alone, other 4 are 2-exercise supersets
* Dynamic Pushup, 3 sets of 6
* Bench Press, 95lbs, 3 sets of 11
* Chin-Up, 3 sets of 1 (ooh)
* Combo Raise, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 10
* Horizontal Lateral Raise, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 10

Today's workout was more difficult than I expected it to be (or remember it to be when I did it before). Then again, I'm lifting heavier weight now. Anyway:

Warmup, Circuit of 30 seconds each exercise, 3 sets
Jumping Jack
Split Jack
Prisoner Squat
Alternating Lunge
Mountain Climber

Workout, Alternating supersets, 2 exercises each
* High Step-Up, 30lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10
* Romanian Deadlift, 115lbs, 3 sets of 10
* Off-Set Incline Dumbbell Curl, 20lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10
* Incline Lower Trap Raise, 15lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 10

Afterwards I jogged for 15 minutes in a desperate attempt to thwart the effects of Thanksgiving on Thursday. The old workouts would have worked well with Thanksgiving in the middle, since it was Monday weights, Tuesday cardio, Wednesday weights, Thursday cardio, Friday weights... I'm playing flag football on Thursday. However, the new plan goes Mon/Tue weights, Wed cardio, Thu/Fri weights. I know I'm not supposed to do it this way but I'm going to do Mon/Tue/Wed weights, with Thu cardio with the football, and Fri back into weights. To make up for lost cardio, I did some today. Not sure if that matters.

The prep phase for my workout plan is complete, so now it's time to move onto the "Maximum Muscle" phase. That's the book's fancy way of saying look, the goal is to gain muscle, not lose fat...

Anyway, before I launch into the workout, a couple of things. First off, my arm is healing, although it looks really bad. Here you go:


The fluorescent lights are obviously enhancing the bruise. One person posted and said I have jaundice; I know that's not the case, it doesn't look near that way in person. Maybe now it'll garner some sympathy!

So anyway, the 2nd thing is today's a protein day. Over the weekend I had noticed I was up to 165, so last night I did a protein dinner. Combined with today's protein day, I should be back on track and then some by tomorrow.

The workout...

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-Over Row

Workout, alternate two exercises at a time until technical failure
* Incline Dumbbell Press, 40lb dumbbell, 2 sets of 5, 1 set of 4 (technical failure)
* Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Row, 45lb dumbbell, 3 sets of 5
* Scaption, 25lb dumbbells, 6 sets of 5
* Incline Lower Trap Raise, 15lb dumbbells, 6 sets of 5

You may or may not remember, but I had taken a month and a half off from workouts completely. As a result, I started over again, so I've done these workouts before. Compare this to the identical workout I did on 5/22/07, which was the 3rd week of this particular phase:

* Incline dumbell press, 3 sets of 5, 30lb dumbells
* Neutral-grip dumbell row, 3 sets of 5, 35lb dumbells
* Scaption, 4 sets of 5, 20lb dumbells
* Incline lower trap raise, 5 sets of 5, 10lb dumbells

I'm consistently above these on each exercise. I didn't consult the earlier exercise to see what weight to use, I simply went with what the book says, which is to lift with a 7-rep max, then do the actual lifting at 5 reps. Pretty cool!

Finally, I found a neat little online Body Fat Calculator that calculates your body fat based on measurements with a cloth measuring tape. According to the site, I'm at 18.3% body fat, which is much better than I thought it was.

Things seem to be going well!

Today's workout:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-Over Row

Workout
Drop Squat, 3 sets of 12
Underhand-Grip Dumbbell Row, 40lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 12
Reverse Hyperextension, 3 sets of 12
Elbows-In Elevated Pushup, 3 sets of 12
Side Bridge, 3 sets of 10
Side Lateral Raise & Rotation, 20lb dumbbell, 3 sets of 12

Ow!

My goal today was to run 5 miles, like I did on Tuesday. I almost made it, but ended up falling flat on my face. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, except for the lack of grace...

See, there was a picket fence, and as I fell, my arm went back and in between two boards of the picket fence. My arm got stuck, but my forward momentum pulled my arm through the boards. Here's how my arm looks:


Not the greatest picture, I know, but it's what I have at the moment. I took that with the Treo.

Anyway, I feel ok, but my arm hurts.

Today's workout:

Warmup, with 45lb bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-Over Row

Workout, all exercises are 1 complete circuit
Multidirectional Lunge, 70lbs, 3 sets of 15
Underhand-Grip Dumbbell Row, 35lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 15
Single-Leg Bridge, 3 sets of 10
Serratus Dip, 3 sets of 15
Plank, 3 sets of 10
Hanging Scapular Retraction, 3 sets of 10

WOW! Today's a cardio day, so I decided to see how fast I could run a 5k. I had measured the distance in the car the other day...

I did it in 32 minutes. Now that's not the greatest time on earth, but it's certianly not the worst. Since I was already jogging, rather than turning around, I just kept going and finished my normal route for a 2nd time.

Yup, I ran 5 miles total! 58 minutes. I think that averages out to 5.5mph, which isn't quite 6. I was really slowing down at the end there. Anyway, I'm happy.

Now watch me go to sleep at 6 tonight.

Greg

This is week three of my workout plan's "prep" phase. Today's workout:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-Over Row

Workout
Drop Squat, 3 sets of 12
Underhand-Grip Dumbbell Row, 40lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 12
Reverse Hyperextension, 3 sets of 12
Elbows-In Elevated Pushup, 3 sets of 12
Side Bridge, 3 sets of 10
Side Lateral Raise & Rotation, 20lb dumbbell, 3 sets of 12 (NOTE: I switched to 15lb dumbbells for the last 4 reps in the 2nd set due to technical failure)

I can't wait until the kids are old enough so we can do something for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Yes, I'm talking about running on the treadmill. Oh, the intentions were good, and I was all set up for it. The kids were down for a nap, I waited a bit to make sure they were asleep. Then I put Babylon 5 into the DVD player, and was all set to watch the Jason Ironheart episode.

When I pressed play, the bedroom door opened up and out came my 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. My son told me, "My nap was good!"

So I ended up running 15 minutes @ 6mph. It could have been worse, I suppose.

No problem motivating myself today. None at all, and why?

I lost two pounds! So I'm at 162; still 4 pounds away from my low of 158, but I'm definitely getting there.

Today, the same as Wednesday:

Warmup, with 45lb bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-Over Row

Workout, all exercises are 1 complete circuit
Multidirectional Lunge, 70lbs, 3 sets of 15
Underhand-Grip Dumbbell Row, 35lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 15
Single-Leg Bridge, 3 sets of 10
Serratus Dip, 3 sets of 15
Plank, 3 sets of 10
Hanging Scapular Retraction, 3 sets of 10

I seem to have a handle on the whole 6mph pace for a period of time (as opposed to for a short bit). Today was a 25 minute jog, 6mph, 2.5 miles.

Another day, another workout. Still on track, still 164...

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-Over Row

Workout
Drop Squat, 2 sets of 15
Underhand-Grip Dumbbell Row, 35lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 15
Reverse Hyperextension, 3 sets of 15
Elbows-In Elevated Pushup, 3 sets of 15
Side Bridge, 3 sets of 10
Side Lateral Raise & Rotation, 15lb dumbbell, 3 sets of 15

Everybody sing: Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Macho, macho maaaaan...

Cardio day, 2.5 miles in 25 minutes. That's 6mph, the longest I've been able to jog at that pace. Now if I can only do it EVERY time, hehe.

I'm not sure what the deal is, but today I did NOT want to work out. It was pure laziness too, it was a real chore to make it through. Still, I made it through. Here we go.

Warmup, with 45lb bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-Over Row

Workout, all exercises are 1 complete circuit
Multidirectional Lunge, 70lbs, 3 sets of 15
Underhand-Grip Dumbbell Row, 35lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 15
Single-Leg Bridge, 3 sets of 10
Serratus Dip, 3 sets of 15
Plank, 3 sets of 10
Hanging Scapular Retraction, 3 sets of 10

Today I did a short run, 15 minutes. I would have done more but I kept worrying the kids would get too close to the 6mph treadmill.

The Friday workout went pretty well, I'm pooped... while I'm still doing 2 sets, I decided to step up the intensity. Yeah.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 reps, w/45lb bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-Over Row

Workout
Drop Squat, 2 sets of 20
Underhand-Grip Dumbbell Row, 30lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
Reverse Hyperextension, 2 sets of 20
Elbows-In Elevated Pushup, 2 sets of 20
Side Bridge, 2 sets of 10
Side Lateral Raise & Rotation, 15lb dumbbell, 2 sets of 20

I was finally able to put the Halloween pictures I took up onto my Flickr page.

Gregory was Spongebob Squarepants


Jenny was a princess. It was a Disney one but I'm not sure which. She was the Princess Jenny, of course.


Joy was a bee. Hers was sort of a throw-together, since she fell in love with the bee wings about an hour before leaving. Angel dressed her in a black shirt & black tights.


Before trick or treating, we took the kids to the church for a little party. They had a blast! The girls had their faces painted.


After the party, we went to John & Jennifer McNeely's for trick or treating! From the left, we have James McNeely, Gregory, Joy, Jenny, and the last two McNeely boys, Joseph & Jacob.


As to be expected, the kids got an astounding amount of candy. Gregory was completely out of control, not listening to us, and being rowdy.


In the end though, everyone had a good time. Gregory spent the night at his Grandma's house, while we took the girls home, who promptly went to sleep the second we got there. It was fun!

Cardio Day! No falling down today, 30 minute jog...

Halloween! That means, difficult day!

First there was the work potluck, and of course the candy throughout the office. Then after work, a party with bad food & candy, topped with the kids trick-or-treating.

HOWEVER, I did very well. Not only did I manage to eat properly at the potluck, but the only candy I ate all day was a bite of my daughter's "fun size" Hershey bar.

Finally, in the midst of all that, I managed to work out.

Warmup, 3 sets of 30 seconds each
Jumping Jack
Split Jack
Prisoner Squat
Alternating Lunge
Mountain Climber

Workout, sequential circuit
Multidirectional Lunge, 65 lbs, 2 sets of 20
Underhand-grip Dumbbell Row, 25lbs, 2 sets of 20
Single-leg Bridge, 2 sets of 10
Serratus Dip, 2 sets of 20
Plank, 2 sets of 10
Hanging Scapular Retraction, 2 sets of 10

Cardio day! I jogged 30 minutes today at lunch, and for the first time, I fell. This is the first time it's happened, so that's good. I caught my foot on the upturned concrete.

You watch, Jenny will ask, "Daddy 'urt?" when she sees my knee. You watch.

"YAAAAAAAAAAA!, he said, as he took two ibuprofen.

Today's workout:

Warmup, using a 45lb weight bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunges
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-over Row

Workout
Drop Squat, 2 sets of 20
Underhand Dumbbell Row, 25lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
Reverse Hyperextension, 2 sets of 20
Elbows-in Elevated Pushup, 2 sets of 20
Side Bridge, 2 sets of 10
Side Lateral Raise & Rotation, 1 set of 20 @ 15lbs, 1 set of 20 @ 10lbs

I can't wait until my body stops screaming at me... amazing how out of shape two months will get you.

Why is getting back into the "swing" of working out again so hard?

I lost my workout bag. Now, I can work out without the bag, or the contents, I just have to carry the clothes in a plastic bag or something. What I can't do, though, is follow the workout plan, because the BOOK IS IN THE BAG.

I ran on the treadmill and used the stairmaster a few times, but not having the bag gave me a mental block. So instead of working out 5 days last week, it ended up being two days.

That said, I found the bag; my wife had washed an afghan and put it on top of my bag. Then some other things got put on top of the afghan. That always seems to happen at our house.

At any rate, I have the bag today. Let's do this thing.

I have a confession to make.

I haven't worked out in a month and a half.

I'm sure you've noticed. Blog entries haven't been here either, and while I was at the height of my workouts I made sure to post about them every day. I think that's why I stopped making entries, is I didn't want to post without having a workout. So then Jim died, then my uncle/stepdad died, I moved my mom out of her house and into ours. All that, combined with no workouts added up to something bad.

I got into a first class funk. I've been depressed over the world lately, it seems, so I've been trying to get out. Part of it has been stepping up the exercise a bit, and in the past week I managed to run on three separate occasions. I even have a treadmill in the house to supplement the stairmaster, although it hasn't been getting much use either.

So here we go. After running three times last week, I've decided there's no excuse for excuses anymore. I've started back at square 1 with the weight training program. This week I'm doing two sets, next week will start three. Away we go with today's workout:

Warmup, using a 45lb weight bar
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-over Row

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I forgot to do Barbell Lunges. Next time.

Workout
Drop Squat, 2 sets of 20
Underhand Dumbbell Row, 25lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
Reverse Hyperextension, 2 sets of 20
Elbows-in Elevated Pushup, 2 sets of 20
Side Bridge, 2 sets of 10
Side Lateral Raise & Rotation, 2 sets of 20

That was about a half-hour. I'm going to jog on the treadmill tonight for cardio.

Oh man, what a month. I'll detail it later, but I just had to share this one...

Leo Laporte mentioned Jim Vestal in a blog entry! Jim would be so amazingly pleased. It's a shame it took this to get mentioned.

Still missing you, Jim.

Jim Vestal passed away on September 16, 2007. I met him when I was still a teenager and happened to log onto his BBS, way back in 1987/1988. I've been trying to remember exactly when, but I suppose that's not important. What is important is that Jim was one of the best friends I ever had.

His bbs in 1987 wasn't the best bbs in our area, or the busiest. What made it different was that it was the only Christian bbs, run by a Christian. I was posting a message to his board, telling him how great it was that there was a Christian bbs in the area, when he popped on to chat.

"You're a Christian?"
"Yup."
"How long?"
"Since I was 5 years old."
"Let's meet!"

That was that. I remember the day I went over to his house, we connected very quickly. We were both into computers; he had his Tandy CoCo III, while I had my Commodore 64c. We talked about Jesus. We talked about music, oh man, music. I grew up barely knowing music existed beyond traditional hymns and acoustic folk music. Jim changed all that.

As I grew a bit older and ready to move out of my parents' house, Jim became my roommate. We'd sit and listen to music for hours, or watch science fiction on TV (mostly Star Trek). Jim had never been to a funeral in his life, and in fact had tried to avoid that sort of thing, but when my father died, Jim was there.

We argued a lot, that was one thing Jim excelled at. He actually enjoyed arguing, whether it was big or small. He was famous for his arguments, but as he got older, he realized that arguing really didn't get you far. Certainly the arguments we ever had were never about important things. It was more about whether Petra was better than Whiteheart, or whether a phaser could actually provide enough dilithium to power the Enterprise.

His love of Jesus was evident his entire life. I have no doubt he's with Jesus as we speak. He knew the Bible more than anyone I know. A game he used to play was to listen to the Bible Answerman on the radio and answer the questions before he did.

Jim's memorial service will be this Friday, September 21, at 3pm, at The Rivers Foursquare Church, 1548 Poole Blvd., Yuba City, CA 95993. If you can make it, great, and if not, that's okay too.

He will be missed. We love you, Jim.

Greg Chance

Tahoe Rim Trail #7: Echo Lakes to Barker Pass, Overnight, 9-8-07 to 9-9-07

Ahh, tales of adventure. They're almost as good as the adventures themselves.

This one starts long before the trip. As some of you may be aware, my mother's been going through health issues the past 3 to 4 months, which I don't expect to end anytime soon. With my sister in North Carolina, I'm the only person who can help her out.

The Friday before the overnight TRT #7, I was doing some important business for her. She's been in the hospital for about three weeks, so she hadn't been able to get down to the bank. I didn't get her back to the hospital until 7pm.

I went down to Walmart for some last minute supplies, came home and had dinner with my wife. By the time I was ready to pack up everything, it was 9pm. I was finally satisfied with my packing at... 1:30am.

Day One
I left my house at 3:30am to head on up to Folsom. I was supposed to call my friend from work as soon as I got to 50, which I did. He hadn't realized how close to Folsom I would be when I hit 50 (I thought he realized it was Hazel I would come out of), so he wasn't ready to go. On the way through town, I stopped by Iron Point and said hi to Tom, Vee, Mike, & Christina, all of whom were going on the day hike.

Once I got to REI, it was another half-hour before Tim showed up. We stopped to use the restroom before heading up 50. Driving around the lake, we were commenting on how we should have gone up 80, since that's where we were dropping off my car! Live & learn.

We finally started hiking at 10am. About 1/4 mile in, I realized I didn't have the battery for my SLR, so I opted to take it back to the car. There was no sense carrying around 5 pounds of dead weight unnecessarily! I brought the tripod just in case Tim wanted to use it.

After hiking a while, we ran across a family, and as they passed, I asked, "How's Desolation today?" The look on his face said it all, but he responded, "We're about to find out!" Tim and I looked at each other, each knowing the same thing. We'd hiked a mile in the wrong direction. So we high-tailed it back.

By the time we were on the REAL trail, it was NOON. Hah! And I told everyone at Iron Point I'd "see them up there". At that moment they were probably at Lake Aloha! Anyway...

We were off! I really loved the portion around Echo Lakes. In fact, I've decided that very soon I'm going to take my son on the water taxi across the lake, then hike back.

Tim was having some issues with his boots, so he was stopping more often than I would have expected, and hiking slower than me. Quite a few times, I'd hike on ahead, then wait for him. At one point there was a fork going towards Aloha Lake, at which point I decided to actually take my pack off and wait. I had good cell signal so I called my wife, and while talking to her this dog comes barreling towards me at full speed! He stopped short of me and slid on his paws, tilted his head, then booked it the opposite direction. The owners were apologizing profusely, but I thought it was funny. Once I was rejoined by Tim, we had lunch at Aloha Lake.

Aloha's pretty low this year, so rather than one big lake, it was a million tiny ones. It was probably more scenic this year, and certainly a unique feature. Tim ended up getting the scrubber for his water pump stolen by a chipmonk who probably used it in his nest. Some guys camping here were having a tough time hanging their bear bag, and we all had a neat discussion about how tired the elevation was making us feel.

Back on the trail we got warned by someone about how steep the approach for Dick's Pass was going to be. He recommended we go to the top of Dick's Peak, but looking at the time, there simply wouldn't be the time. In fact, we were expecting to be hiking in the dark for a fair amount of time.

At Heather Lake, I ran out of water and used my pump. I was wishing I had fishing gear, because I could see the fish eating bugs off the surface of the water. The sun was going down, leaving gold reflections on the water, and the ducks were bathing. This was what it was all about, right there! As I pumped, Tim went on ahead.

When I was done, I loaded everything back up. Looking at the maps & GPS, I was expecting the steep approach to be AFTER Gilmore Lake, but boy was I wrong. They weren't kidding about the difficulty of Dick's Pass... the incline started shortly after Susie Lake and didn't end for another 9.2 miles.

Speaking of Gilmore Lake, it was at that signpost that I met back up with Tim. My lack of sleep was starting to be a serious detriment at this point, and I mentioned to Tim that we should camp at Dick's Pass instead of Middle Velma, where we had originally planned. He agreed.

We finally reached Dick's Pass at 12:45am. Being dark and lit only by our headlamps, there really wasn't all that much to see, and most of the ground was similar: small rocks, no dirt or brush, so really not much thought put into finding a spot. I chose one on the opposite side of the trees near the trail, to provide a tad more privacy in the morning. We set up camp, and at 1:30am after 22 hours of being awake, I finally got into my bag.

I slept without the rainfly on my REI Quarter Dome, and I gotta say that was the right decision. I got a near panoramic view of the sky! It was a great scene to fall asleep to.

Day Two
The alarm went off at 7am. When I popped my head up, I got a feast for the eyes! It was more colorful than I had expected, and there was a lot more going on here than simple rocks. Once I got my sorry self out of my tent, I spent a good hour and a half exploring. While I was done, Tim had ventured to the top of a hill, and was yelling to me that he could see Lake Tahoe from up there. He wanted me to go, but I wanted to conserve my energy for the trip back.

I really do need to start practicing taking down camp. Packing up always takes me too long! Tim finished packing his stuff up long before me, although to my credit, he was in a bivy. Another problem I had was there was water on the floor of the tent by my feet, on the pad, and on my sleeping bag. It had even gone through, because my socks were damp. The only thing I could think was it was my hydration sleeve, even though the pack wasn't wet and only that spot had water. Cleaning it all up was part of packing.

Once we were packed, I applied sunscreen, put on my hat, and off we went.

The trip down the other side of Dick's Pass and down to the Velma lakes was great, but beyond that the scenery was more typical of the TRT. Lots of greenery, a lot less granite. After the rest of Desolation Wilderness, this part was downright passe! Not exactly boring, but certainly not up to the earlier scenery. As I told Tod on the phone the other night, if you were to do the entire section in one day, it'd be best to go south to north. That way you'd have the average scenery at first, with great scenery as a payoff later.

At any rate, we decided to actually eat breakfast at Middle Velma Lake while pumping water. We called it breakfast anyway, even though it was more like lunch at 11:30. It was a nice place to stop and eat. Our stoves didn't behave very well because the wind was blowing too much. I was able to get a running boil because I was only heating a cup of water, but Tim never going. It was at least hot enough for him to get his Mountain House meal edible. I made oatmeal with the requisite dehydrated strawberries. Afterwards I ate an apple.

On the way back, Tim got really far ahead of me. Despite having a whopping 5 hours' sleep, and eating more than plenty, the tiredness clicked back in and slowed me down. At 5pm, I caught back up with him and he told me a neat story about how he ran into a baby bear on the trail. It ran away but it scared him to death, so he decided to sit and wait for me.

When we finally exited Desolation and got to Richardson Lake, it was dark. Across the lake was a person in an RV trailer who had a FIRE by the lake! I don't know how they got away with having a fire like that, but they didn't seem too worried about things.

The end of the trail was tricky in a few spots. After crossing the Rubicon Trail, finding where the TRT picked back up was difficult. That one wasn't near as difficult as the very end, when you hike down a Jeep trail for barely a tenth of a mile. On the side you exit, the trail is VERY well marked, with reflective TRT signs. The other side, the side we were looking for, was a different story: all it was was a pole with PCT written on it in black sharpie. At night, this made it hard to find, and there were two other trails next to it. Looking at the three maps (National Geographic, TRT Association, & GPS), it looked like the TRT followed the Jeep trail a half mile! That looked to be the obvious direction so we took it, but it was the wrong one. When we turned back, we finally found the right one.

So just remember, at this point, the trail to pick up goes parallel to the Jeep trail but up an incline, and is marked with a wooden pole with NOTHING ELSE written on it except PCT written in felt tip pen. Keep this in mind on Saturday...

When we came out at the end of the trail, it wasn't obvious where we were. I saw a sign up 1/4 ahead on the road we came out on, so I headed for it. Sure enough, that was the entrance to the Barker Pass trailhead and more importantly, my car! We had made it. I won't tell you what time it was, but I will say this: I went straight to work from Tahoe.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

After loading the GPS track into the computer and reconnecting the spots where I lost signal, my total mileage was 34.99 miles, almost 2.5 miles farther than listed on the TRT Association's website. But hey, we had fun. All that's left is #8, then my two makeups, and I'm done!

Greg

My interest in blogging has been waining as of late. Actually it seems like my interest in anything is waining these days. I hadn't worked out in a week, and then hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail on Sunday. I was extremely sore when I was done, and chalked it up to not working out.

Well, the pain on the back of my right foot hasn't gone away, it's only intensified. It's not a blister, it's deep down. It's not swollen very far, but you can tell there's something up. There's also some slight redness.

I'm going to see if it gets any better in the next day or so, otherwise I'll have to go to the doctor. It's pretty painful as it is.

Wow. The past two mornings I've been 168 pounds when I got up. For those of you who've been counting, that's TEN pounds up from my lowest, 158. It's far beyond time to crack down.

Rather than going on metabolic adjustment on my diet plan, I'm back to the beginning. Three protein days in a row, 6 protein meals per day. In addition, I'm adding daily cardio before the workouts. So...

Today's workout:

Cardio: 30-minute jog

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout:
Snatch-Grip Deadlift, 125lbs, 5 sets of 6
Push Press, 80 lbs, 5 sets of 6

Let's get these 10 pounds off and then some.

Today's workout:

30 minute jog.

WOW. I didn't blog for two weeks. Shame on me.

OK, July 29th was TRT #4 for me. 15 miles, although we ended at a trailhead about two miles from the very end. Still, it was labeled "Tahoe Rim Trail", so it counted.

I've been bad, though. I didn't work out AT ALL between then and now. Today I jogged 2.5 miles in a half-hour. So that wasn't bad. Now to keep it up.

Anyway, I promise to be better.

Today's workout:

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, supersets
* Dumbbell Squat, 45lb dumbbells, 4 sets of 12
* Swiss-ball Reverse Hyperextension, 4 sets of 12
* Pushup, 2 sets of 20
* Underhand-grip Inverted Row, 1 set of 20, 1 set of 10, 1 set of 5
* Neutral-grip Shoulder Press, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
* Inline Reverse Crunch, 2 sets of 20
* Dumbbell Curl, 1 set of 20 @ 25lbs, 1 set of 20 @ 20lbs
* Triceps Kickback, 1 set of 20 @ 25lbs, 1 set of 20 @ 20lbs

It's a cardio day, was supposed to have been SEVEN 60-second sprints with 3 minutes between. I ended up doing 4. So that's:

4 60-second sprints
30 min. jog

Today's workout:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, alternating sets
* Dumbbell Alternating Lunge, 45lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* Squat, 165lbs, 3 sets of 6
* Incline Dumbbell Fly, 35lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, 35lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* Rear Lateral Raise, 30lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* Bent-Over Row, 90lbs on bar, 3 sets of 6

Today's workout:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, supersets
* Wide-stance Squat, 145lbs, 4 sets of 12
* Dumbbell Bench Press, 35lb dumbbells, 4 sets of 12
* Wide-grip Chin-up, 2 sets of 2, 2 sets of 1
* Push Press, 1 set of 10 @ 85lbs, 3 sets of 12 @ 80lbs

Cardio day...

* 30 minute jog to park & back for sprints
* 11 30-second sprints, 90-second breaks in between

Oh, and btw, the toenail on my right big toe finally popped off. The new one's developing nicely, although people think it looks disgusting. It looks better than the black toenail, to be sure.

Today's workout:

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, supersets
* Dumbbell Squat, 40lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
* Swiss-ball Reverse Hyperextension, 2 sets of 20
* Pushup, 2 sets of 20
* Underhand-grip Inverted Row, 1 set of 20, 1 set of 12
* Neutral-grip Shoulder Press, 2 sets of 20, 1 set of 15 @ 20lbs, 1 set of 5 @ 15lbs
* Inline Reverse Crunch, 2 sets of 20
* Dumbbell Curl, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
* Triceps Kickback, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20

This weekend was the Tahoe Rim Trail #3 hike, 22.5 miles, Kingsbury Grade South to Big Meadow. I was going to take lots of pictures, but left the battery charging in my car. Because of that, I refused to lug the camera and saved about 10 pounds of weight. It took about 12 hours, and the GPS worked it out to 8.5 hours of steady hiking. My Palm software estimated about 4000 calories burned, and I think I consumed about 3000 along the way. While I didn't take any pictures, here's one that a guy named Felipe took.


The views were awesome. We could see the entire Carson Valley from the top. Pictures don't do it justice, but here's one that Sheelagh took.


It was a neat day.

Today's workout:

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, supersets
* Dumbbell Squat, 35lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
* Swiss-ball Reverse Hyperextension, 2 sets of 20
* Pushup, 2 sets of 20
* Underhand-grip Inverted Row, 1 set of 20, 1 set of 10, 1 set of 5
* Neutral-grip Shoulder Press, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 15
* Inline Reverse Crunch, 2 sets of 20
* Dumbbell Curl, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 10
* Triceps Kickback, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 10

It's workout time. Because of last week's missed sessions, I'm starting this phase again. So this is Week 7.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, supersets
* Dumbbell Alternating Lunge, 35lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* Squat, 145lbs, 3 sets of 6
* Incline Dumbbell Fly, 30lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* Incline Dumbbell Press, 35lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 6, 1 set of 4
* Rear Lateral Raise, 25lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* Bent Over Row, 70lbs on bar, 3 sets of 6

Wow, the holiday combined with busyness at work, and I didn't post an entry all week. Shame on me!

Saturday was supposed to be the makeup hike for the 2nd leg of the Tahoe Rim Trail. I got up early and made it to Roseville at 5:45am, but only one person was there. Luckily there was another hike meeting in Folsom, so me and the other guy drove over. This one was to Hawkins Peak.

The trailhead was at Grover Hot Springs, just outside the small town of Markleeville.


Overall it was a nice little hike. STEEP! It wasn't too bad until it hit the scree, then it was not only hiking uphill, but like hiking through sand. Uphill through sand, yup. The views were wonderful.


There were actually two portions of the hike. The first part was from Grover Hot Springs to Burnside Lake, which is accessible by car. From there, the second part is up a jeep trail to the foot of Hawkins Peak, which is a Class 2 scramble up some rocks. Only part of the group took the second leg, so we ate a late lunch at Burnside Lake.

Since I had planned on hiking on the TRT, I had the Tahoe Basin map with me. We found out that it actually had Hawkins Peak on it, so we were using it quite a bit.


The jeep trail was pretty steep. Once we got to the scrambling portion though, the fun really started.


It really is that steep. Climbing up the rocks is part climb, part hold, part pull yourself up by your hands.


In the end though, we made it to the top. Hawkins Peak is 10,024 feet high.


The views were pretty far-reaching.


We knew we would end up hiking back in the dark, so prior to the summit, we had them finish hiking back the other way. They picked all the cars but one due to it being a rental car with only one person able to drive(an important detail). They got the cars and met up with us at the beginning of the jeep trail.

When it was over, we ate at the Kirkwood Inn, a nice little place. After dinner, we drove back to Markleeville to pick up the one car at 10:15pm. The parking lot was locked. It closed at 8pm. This was not good, so we drove around looking for a ranger. No dice.

Back in Markleeville, there was a bar that was pretty busy. Two of the guys went in to see if anyone knew who we could contact to get the car. One guy who was pretty drunk said he had a key back at his house, so two of the guys (one of which rented the car) went back with him to get the key, while we went to meet them at the gate.

Back at the gate, who did we run into, but the ranger! We told him what had happened, and he wasn't happy about the situation. He gave us the lecture about how we should have thought ahead, what were we thinking, the whole drill. In the end though, he said he would open the gate. On the way, I commented that even though he opened the gate, we couldn't drive the car out without the keys, which were with one of the other guys.

The ranger actually stuck around long enough for them to arrive. Drunk-guy came and knew the ranger, so we were able to get the car and leave. It was at least 11:30pm before we were driving back. I got back to Folsom at 1:30am, and headed home from there.

Big fun that night! Oh yeah, my toes are doing pretty good, although they were bleeding a bit. It was still worth it. Here's one final picture that Marko (the rental car guy) took. That's my backside and camera to the right.

These new workouts are taxing me much more than the others. Please tell me that means they're working!

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, supersets
* Wide-stance Squat, 135lbs, 4 sets of 12
* Dumbbell Bench Press, 25lb dumbbells, 4 sets of 12
* Wide-grip Chin-up, 2 sets of 2, 2 sets of 1
* Push Press, 65lbs, 2 sets of 12, 1 set of 9, 1 set of 12

I took Gregory up to Chico last night to see my mom at the hospital. She's doing much better, her mouth isn't drooping near as much, and she's speaking less slurred. For a while she had been complaining that her ankle was swollen, and now the swelling is gone. Was it from the thing in her head? Who knows. I'm just glad she's doing better.

Cardio Day(TM)... more running and sprints. With the new phase of the exercise plan, it's longer sprints, but longer in between. Once again I ran to the park, did the sprints, then finished the loop.

* 15 minute jog to park
* 10 30-second sprints, 90-second rest between each
* 15 minute jog back to work

Oh man did this workout kick my butt today! It was a cumulative effect on my arms, the pushups to pseudo-pullups, to shoulder press, to curls. I'm having trouble typing right now. But that's supposed to be good, right?

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, supersets
* Dumbbell Squat, 30lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
* Swiss-ball Reverse Hyperextension, 2 sets of 20
* Pushup, 2 sets of 20
* Underhand-grip Inverted Row, 1 set of 15, 1 set of 7
* Neutral-grip Shoulder Press, 35lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 15
* Inline Reverse Crunch, 2 sets of 20
* Dumbbell Curl, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20
* Triceps Kickback, 20lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 20

This week starts a new phase in the workout schedule, what the book I'm going through calls "Full Scale Fat Loss". We'll see exactly how much over time, but the workouts have changed, yet again. Now there are more exercises per session with less reps, and more cardio days. Today was supposed to be cardio but because of being at the hospital with my mom, everything's shifted. So here come the workouts.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, supersets (two exercises performed immediately following one another)
* Dumbbell Alternating Lunge, 30lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 6
* Squat, 125lb barbell, 3 sets of 6
* Incline Dumbbell Fly, 2 sets of 6 @ 30lbs, 1 set of 6 @ 25lbs
* Incline Dumbbell Press, 35lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 6, 1 set of 2
* Rear Lateral Raise, 1 set of 5 @ 25lbs, 3 sets of 6 @ 20lbs
* Bent Over Row, 60lbs on curl bar, 3 sets of 6

Wow, what a long weekend it's been.

On Thursday afternoon my mom came into MSN Messenger and told me she had been changing the thermostat when she passed out. She hit her head on the floor, and when she came to, she had a big knot on the back of her head. She was wondering whether she should call the ambulance.

In my mom's case, she has MS, so she has trouble getting around at times. This was one of her difficult walking days, so she was worried about trying to walk to the car. Not to mention, she passed out for some reason. So I told her to call the ambulance, and call a cab if she was ok. I would reimburse her cab fare if need be.

On the way home from work I got a call from the doctor, who was having her airlifted to Enloe Hospital in Chico. Come to find out, she had a blood clot in her brain and they needed to have a specialist look ASAP.

Come to find out, all she had from the fall was a bump on the head. It's a good thing she went in, though, because the blood cot was a result of an earlier fall that just kept growing and growing. They set her up for surgery on Friday to drain the excess.

I took Friday off and spent a good amount of the day in Chico. When I got there though, she was having tests run. The MD (not the surgeon) had wanted a barrage of tests done to make sure she was fit for surgery. She got to her room late, and after the hospital we went looking for dinner. We ended up getting home that night around 1am.

On Monday, they finally did her surgery at 5:30pm. We stayed at the hospital until she was out of recovery, and got to see her around 10. She was asleep, but doing fine. The surgeon said it went just fine, and she should recovery shortly. Until then, we just have to be there for her.

She's still in the hospital, and as far as I know, still in ICU. I'll find out more later, since I'm heading up to Chico after work.

Alright, here we go. Today's workout:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, alternating sets
* Neutral-grip incline press, 1 set of 6 @ 40lb dumbbells, 2 sets of 8 @ 35lbs, 1 set of 7
* Chin-Up, 2 sets of 2, 1 set of 1
* Bent-arm lateral raise & rotation, 20lb dumbbells, 1 set of 8, 1 set of 5
* Swiss ball side flexion, 3 sets of 8

Well, I was finally able to edit together some video from the Half Dome hike. My biggest regret is that I wasn't able to shoot more video, but what can you do when you're doing both still & video and are under time constraints. Not being able to switch off the video camera also meant that I have no video of myself.

For about a year now, I've joked around with my pastor about how we should do something for the church that parodies 24. One idea I had was a t-shirt with the 24 logo on the front, and a scripture reference on the back that's something with verse 24. I still haven't found a decent enough verse for that. Anyway, on the way up I told him that I finally figured out what we'd do, and this hike was it.

So here it is, 24: Half Dome. Enjoy.

Cardio Day(TM)! Running & sprints:

14 min run to park
12 15-second sprints, 60 seconds rest between each
17 min run to complete loop to work

It's a bit warm.

Today's workout was tough getting started for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that this is the first time I did squats with weights on since Half Dome. Oh, speaking of Half Dome, there's an article in the Modesto Bee that's about someone falling to his death off the Half Dome cables on Saturday. That's three days after I left, apparently the cables were as busy or busier than they've ever been. The guy lost his footing, meaning he wasn't standing on a 2x4, and just went tumbling.

Alright. The workout:

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, alternating sets
* Elevated Heels High-Bar Squat, 125lbs, 4 sets of 8
* Swiss Ball Weighted Back Extension, 25lbs, 4 sets of 8
* Wide-Grip Barbell Curl, 60lbs on bar, 3 sets of 8
* Incline Dumbbell Triceps Extension, 30lb dumbbells, 1 set of 8, 1 set of 3

Today's workout:

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, alternating sets
* Bench Press, 1 set of 3 @ 125lbs, 2 sets of 3 & 1 set of 2 @ 115lbs
* Single Arm Dumbbell Row, 55lbs dumbbell, 4 sets of 4
* External Rotation, 20lbs dummbell, 2 sets of 3, 1 set of 2
* Swiss Ball Crunch, 25lbs behind head, 3 sets of 4

Back in 2005 or so, I had lost close to 30 pounds but was looking for a serious motivator. Something that would kick my butt in gear, something to give me a reason to work like I've never worked before. I mean, sure, having a goal weight was good and all, but when you're looking at 60 more pounds to lose after already losing 30 it's just a number.

Then one day, a person named Diana on the Tivo Community Forum posted this thread:

Thread

She said, "I am home safe and sound after climbing Half Dome in Yosemite yesterday. It took 3 months of planning everything from the lodging to the practice hikes to the variety of trail mix, but it was well worth it to experience the trip with my friends."

I had never even heard of Half Dome before. So I did a little research. There were Diana's pictures, of course, but I found other things as well. I put it in the back of my mind and as I ate right, as I exercised, that was my goal.

Six months ago, I made the reservations for camping at Upper Pines, only a half-mile from the trailhead. To make sure the number of people would be less, I made sure to go mid-week. I planned to do the hike on a Tuesday, with the idea that I'd have an additional day to recover before having to drive home. My pastor agreed to come along; so did another friend from church.

The Good
June 11 was our first date of camping. Because my pastor didn't arrive until 9pm on Monday evening, we postponed the hike until Wednesday so he would have plenty of time to acclimate. We left the wives at the campsite, and at 6am on the dot, we headed out.


Words can hardly express how it felt after two years to finally be on my way. A mile in, we hit the Mist Trail. Steps. More steps. Even more steps. Did I mention there were steps? The guy in the white cap is Bob, the guy he's talking to is Rob, my pastor.


That Mist Trail was aptly named, there's no way you can get past Vernal Falls without getting soaked. Believe me, even though it's only a mile in, the mist is extremely helpful. Just past Vernal Falls is Nevada falls, a good opportunity for a photo. At this point, I was still able to muster a smile. Nah, smiles were all around, all the time.


The trail at this point was rock. On the way up, Rob mentioned to me that the trail designers had to have been in love with steps. They just kept going and going and...


The restroom was a good opportunity to rest. We stopped, reapplied sunscreen and bug spray, and we could see that the sun was now reaching the trail. I put on my hat and away we went. Little Yosemite Falls was next, and gave us a good stretch of flat trail, a wonderful, wonderful site. There was also water access, which we noted for later hydration purposes.

Past Little Yosemite Valley, the trail climbed even more. I ran into a guy named Daryl who was pretty heavy, and Daryl said the trail was much more difficult than he had expected. To me, it was perhaps easier than I expected. Thanks, Diana!

All along the trail, the conservation corps were doing trail maintenance, scooping dirt over the trail divider rocks to ensure water runoff wouldn't erode the trail. I love it: hike this far only to do yard work!

Then we saw it: Half Dome, along with the cables, along with what are called "switchbacks". As Diana described them, they're really giant rock steps that are perhaps as high as two regular steps. They kept going up, I had to stop looking at it because if I hadn't, I might not have even tried ascending the switchbacks. I could post a smaller image, but to truly appreciate it, you need a full 6 megapixel image. If you have the bandwidth, check it out.

Full Res Switchbacks

If you notice, when the switchbacks end, you're still not quite up to the shoulder. No, you have to climb steep granite anyway. No supports, nothing to hold, nothign to rest on. Keep moving! There was a 10-year-old boy at this point, climbing with his father. The kid was a monster, he was unstoppable!

The cables were just as tricky. Again, you have to see the full resolution image to fully appreciate it. This is also where my workouts really, really, really helped. It was still difficult, but not nearly as much as I expected.

The cables are always there, but the poles are removed every year for the winter. When they put the poles up, they also mount 2x4's across each one. They're mounted 15 to 20 feet apart, and barely bolted together with little metal braces. The poles aren't secured as much as just inserted into 2-inch-deep holes. In fact one of the poles got pulled out as we were on the way up, and some enterprising young man in front of me actually managed to pull it back up the cable and back into its hole. At one point, one of the boards came off and went sliding dowwwwwwwwn the rock. This brought home the seriousness of the ascent. Follow the next link to see the 6mp image of the cables.

Full Res Cables

Then it finally happened: I made it to the top!


Again, words can hardly describe my elation. Almost 2 years since Diana's visit (mine was in June, hers in August). 69 pounds lost. I changed my lifestyle from 98% sedentary to daily fitness. I developed my upper body strength to handle it, and after all the effort, the reward was here. I made it to the top.


The Bad: But wait! There's more...

What's interesting is because of the focus of my workouts, some portions were easier than others. I found that climbing the steps was much easier for me than just ascending the dirt trail. I also found the cables to be easier than I expected. On the way down, things were a bit different.

I really wasn't afraid on the way down, but a girl ahead of us was. She held up the line for probably 30 minutes; she was pretty far down but we could all hear her screaming. I took the opportunity to shoot Bob, just before we got to the steep part. Heh. It's all steep, but this wasn't nearly as bad as the later portion.


They describe the cables as a 45-degree angle, but we all agreed that the 45 degrees is probably an average. There have to be some spots that are 50, maybe 55 degrees. I found out REAL quick that the face first descent isn't about using your legs & feet or even arms. It's about hand strength. My hands were my brakes as I kept my feet sideways, inching my way down. Wherever there was a pole, I had to kneel about halfway, brace myself with one hand, and reach over the pole. Then I could continue on. Every so often, the rock would drop down so not only would I have to crouch, but I would have to step down as well. Parts of the cables were loose, due to being replaced and continued on. These parts we had to descend holding onto one rope.

At the bottom, my gloves were pretty ratty. I can't find them at the moment or I'd post a picture, but each one is worn almost completely through in a straight-line pattern of the ropes. At the bottom of the cables, of course, was a pile of gloves with a big sign that read, "Gloves are trash!"


Descending the ropes was probably twice as fast as going up. The same went for the switchbacks.

As anyone who's been hiking long knows, while hiking downhill is a relief for a short time after going uphill for a period of time, but you quickly realize that it takes a toll on another part of your body: the knees. That's when hiking poles come in handy; you can probably take 20 pounds of pressure off your knees by shifting the weight to the poles through your arms.

I've had the same hiking shoes for the past year, and haven't really had a problem with them until now. I wear size 6 1/2, they're size 7. Where you really tell the difference is in the toes, that portion is pretty loose. With this hike, that caused a problem. I had also completely forgotten to trim my toenails, so for 8 miles downhill they slammed against the inside of the shoes.

I was doing pretty well until the Mist Trail. All those extra steps made me fear for my knees, and fatigued me like nothing I've experienced. The last mile after Vernal Falls, I can only describe as a death march. I had to occupy myself by counting steps: 400 from the bottom of the Mist Trail to the first set of restrooms.

Back at camp, we all greeted the wives with huges & kisses. My kids ran up to me and were actually very understanding as I removed my gear. I got a chance to take off my shoes & socks, and found out exactly why my toes were hurting as much as they were.


So that's the sordid tale. Was it worth it? Abso-frakkin-lutely. Would I do it again? Yes, although I'll wait a while. A long while. Perhaps a few years.

When we were almost done, Bob asked me what we should do for next year's "extreme" hike, so jokingly I said, "Mt. Whitney". Bob took me seriously. I told him to ask me again in 6 months.

Thanks for your patience and reading to the end! If interested, here's the full gallery, including family pictures at Yosemite:

Gallery

It's almost time. It's a little after 4am on Wednesday, the guys are getting up at 5am for breakfast. We plan on a hearty one, to make sure we're fuelled up for the big event: Half Dome! The plan is to start hiking at 6. Happy Isles is only a half mile from our campsite.

OK, so what now? The nice thing for me will be prayer before leaving. I almost had a small disaster when I couldn't find my camera battery. All this time & planning with no photos to show for it? The battery & charger were in the car's center console all along.

So we should get some nice photos up there. See you at the top!

I've been having trouble sleeping tonight. I always get this way right before leaving for a vacation, wondering what I've forgotten. I did get a reprieve, though, because my cell phone rang and someone from work needed help. Normally I'd shove it onto someone else, but this was a guy who's in the Phillipines on a family emergency. His problem, come to find out, was that he had changed the time on his computer but not the timezone. Yay! Greg saves the day!

Pastor Rob put a little bug in my ear about wanting a shakedown hike on Tuesday and hiking to Half Dome on Wednesday. I still want to go on Tuesday, but if Bob agrees with Rob, we'll go ahead and wait until Wednesday. Not that it would be the end of the world, but this has been a long time coming. I'm itching to go up!

Either way, I'm excited. Excited and nervous; I know I can make it to the top and back, but I'm still nervous about how my poor body will feel before it's over. I suppose that's normal.

So those are my thoughts at 11:30 the night before heading to Yosemite. When I get back, I should have a picture like this of myself... see that little cave below where the person's standing? People actually hang out there. I won't be that daring. Cheers.

Last workout before our trip. Sunday's the Men's Breakfast so Rob and I get to whine to everyone, while sounding excited all the same. Here we go:

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, alternating sets
* Deadlift, 125lbs, 3 sets of 5
* Single leg swiss ball hip extension, 3 sets of 6
* Close grip bench press, 1 set of 3 @ 115lbs, 3 sets of 5 @ 105lbs
* Hammer curl, 1 set of 5 @ 30lbs, 2 sets of 5 @ 35lbs

4 days and counting, Half Dome here we come. Check out the cables.



Here's another picture looking up towards them, for scope.



Keep in mind that the picture you're looking at was shot from the shoulder, which is 8 miles in. It's gonna be a blast!

I'm still sore from yesterday's sprints! Hopefully that particular soreness will be reduced before next week...

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, alternating sets
* Neutral-grip incline press, 35lb dumbbells, 1 set of 10, 1 set of 9, 1 set of 4
* Chin-Up, 2 sets of 2, 1 set of 1
* Bent-arm lateral raise & rotation, 10lb dumbbells, 5 sets of 10
* Swiss ball side flexion, 5 sets of 10

5 days 'til Half Dome. Here's an interesting bit of info: 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California calls the Half Dome hike "The Burn".

I went to REI last night and picked up some National Geographic topos for Yosemite SW (which includes HD) and the Tahoe Basin (for the Tahoe Rim Trail). They're pretty nice maps, but cost $10 apiece. They're pretty sturdy and should hold up to repeated abuses on the trail.

It's Cardio Day(TM)!

This afternoon I jogged my normal route (2.5 miles), stopping mid-way at the park for sprints. 10 15-second sprints, each separated with a 60-second rest. This was also my first jog wearing the heart rate monitor, I was about 156 during the jog. I peaked at 174 on the 9th or 10th sprint, and went back to 156 when jogging again.

My legs are feeling it this afternoon.

The countdown has begun... Rob Christian (my pastor), Bob Copp, and myself are climbing Half Dome in Yosemite in 6 days. What is Half Dome? Here, look at one of the most famous pictures in the world, taken by Ansel Adams.





A bit of background: back when I started my weight loss and becoming healthy, I was trying to find a goal to achieve. Sure, a certain amount of weight by a certain date was a good goal, but I wanted something concrete.

Then on the Tivo Community Forum, a woman posted about this same hike. It was at just the right time, so that became my goal.

Half Dome isn't for the faint at heart. It's 8 miles one way (16 miles round trip). It's uphill the whole way up, and if you know anything about hiking, you know that means your knees will be feeling it the whole way down. The last portion of the hike is up a 45% grade that you literally pull yourself up cables to reach the top of. You spend a good 12 hours up there, and much of the hike is exposed to the sun. You need plenty of water, which means plenty of weight.

I made camping reservations back in January for the Upper Pines campground, across the street from the Happy Isles trailhead. We're all extremely excited about going up.

This is why I've been working out every day, making sure I have squats & lunges in every workout I do. When I started I didn't have much upper body strength, which I'll need for the ascent up the cables. I feel pretty confident now that while it's going to be difficult, I can make it.

So again: 6 days left!

Today's workout wasn't too bad. They ordered pizza at work today, I had none. I won't have pizza again probably for a few months. They just love pizza here at work but unfortunately it doesn't help the weight loss plan much. Anyway, here you go:

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, alternating sets between exercises 1 & 2, then 3 & 4
* Elevated heels high bar squat, 115lbs, 5 sets of 10
* Cardio ball weighted back extension, 20lbs, 5 sets of 10
* Wide-grip barbell curl, 50lbs on bar (not sure how much bar weighs), 3 sets of 10
* Incline dumbbell triceps extension, 1 set of 10, 1 set of 8 @ 25lbs ea

That's it, back to the grindstone...

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, alternate sets
* Bench press, 105lbs, 4 sets of 5
* Single-arm dumbbell row, 50lb dumbbell, 4 sets of 6
* External rotation, 20lb dumbbell, 4 sets of 5
* Swiss ball crunch, 4 sets of 5

I was just commenting to another guy in the workout room about how gains in workouts happen so quickly. A few weeks ago I couldn't do a rotation with 20lb dumbbells, I had to use 10's. The same week I was only bench pressing 85lbs. I'm also doing chin-ups now when I couldn't do any. It's not like 3 chin-ups are going to break any records except for the fact that it breaks my record.

My record, back in the 8th Grade, when I was never able to win any Presidential Physical Fitness awards, simply because I couldn't do enough chin-ups. At 37 years old, you would think I wouldn't care anymore, but I do. So now I can do more chin-ups than my 13-year-old self could. I wonder what he would think.

I did my first Saturday cardio day in quite a while today. As per instructions, of course, it was 6 30-second sprints at full speed, with a 2-minute rest between. Two things worked against me, though: the heat and my breathing, still not quite up to snuff. I'm on Robitussin full time at this point. All I have to say is I better be back to normal by next weekend.

I must be getting better, the bronchial congestion has set in. That also means my workouts are becoming harder, simply because it's harder to breathe. They say that exercise can actually make your asthma feel better, so I'm toughing it out. Today's punishm... I mean workout:

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, alternating sets
* Deadlift, 115lbs, 5 sets of 7
* Single leg swiss ball hip extension, 5 sets of 8
* Close grip bench press, 105lbs, 2 sets of 7
* Hammer curl, 25lb dumbbells, 3 sets of 8

Yesterday afternoon had me so busy I wasn't able to post my workout same-day. Sorry about that. I did more chin-ups than ever before, which was great! Here we go.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 w/45lb bar
* Overhead squat
* Squat
* Good morning
* Lunge
* Romanian deadlift
* Bent-over row

Workout, alternating sets
* Neutral-grip incline press, 30lb dumbbells, 1 set of 12, 1 set of 11
* Chin-Up, 1 set of 2, 1 set of 1
* Bent-arm lateral raise & rotation, 10lb dumbbells, 4 sets of 12
* Swiss ball side flexion, 4 sets of 12

That swiss ball thing was difficult, only because I'm not the most graceful of creatures. I kept rolling off.