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...