Weekend, Monday, and Tuesday

So this weekend was general conference, and I had tons to do. In typical conference weekend weather, it got cold and rainy/snowy. That kept me from working outdoors.

The wife wanted to make some bread, so I looked around and found a simple recipe for Amish White Bread. I let her sleep in and made the bread. By the time she was awake my kids had polished off one loaf, and each batch makes two. Shortly after we finished the second. So, I made more bread. Those two loaves were gone by Sunday morning. So I made another batch that was finished by Monday morning. In under 48 hours my family ate six loaves of bread.

Now time for a kitchen update. I had ordered some new hinges for our cabinets, because our old ones had been painted over and I had to use an extractor to get the screws out of over half of them. Turns out I ordered the wrong hinges, so I set about removing the paint. After soaking them in paint remover for a few hours I soaked them in mineral spirits. They looked pretty good. I finished antiquing the cabinet boxes themselves by painting them our cream color and then using a stain over the top. I have re-mounted the doors, but have not antiques the exterior face yet. Right now I don't have any pictures of the installed doors, but I'll update the post later with some.

I spent some time cleaning and the normal weekend activities.

As for Monday of this week we had a soccer scrimmage, and this was the first time the oldest got to play since his concussion. He had spent the day skateboarding and his legs were tired. We played a really good team and they picked us apart. One of our coaches was really discouraged, but our best trainer showed up a little late and was able to get some good play out of our team. I think after we've played a few games we'll be okay.

Tuesday I had a cardio day at the gym. My weight-loss has plateaued and I spent some time talking with the trainer about why this is. One thing he asked was if I had any fitness related goals. Last year I did. I wanted to run a 5k and wakeboard. I did both of these things. Now, it's like I've made it. So, I'm now setting my sites on a sprint triathlon. My bike isn't the best for this, it's a mountain bike with big knobby tires, but it will work. I have access to a pool for swimming. But to start I need to run more. We have a fitness room at work, and for $5 a month I can use it. I think I'll start the Couch to 5k program. I know it isn't great to train on a treadmill, but we do enough running at the gym to get in street running three times a week. This program takes eight weeks.

There is a tri in Bountiful that is popular, but one is run in May, and I think they usually do one later in the summer. If not, I'll find one. By the way, if you know of one in the SLC area in August let me know.

I spent most of Tuesday evening cooking. I got complaints about the smell, but the kids ate everything. The reason they complained? Garlic and Apple Cider Vinegar. I made BBQ chicken and some pan fried garlic potatoes.

Ad for today? I guess I'll write about that tomorrow.

Tuesday night, gym...

It was a strength day at the gym yesterday. I got there for the 9 p.m. class. It was chest and back.

So in traditional fashion, we beat the crap out of them.

Started out with 60 chest presses and 60 standing rows. Alternated in 15 rep sets. I felt pretty good that I was lifting 30 pounds heavier than any other guy there. We then did Push-up Row Rows (you do a push-up on dumbbells, and at the top, you row to your hip.)

We then moved onto the TRX chest press/TRX two arm rows. Again, 60 reps, but this time spread out in 20 rep sets. The third exercise in this group was jumping pull ups. You'd jump up into a pull up, then catch yourself on the way down. At the end of these, my fingers actually slipped off the bar, and I landed on my knees. It was on sports court tiles, but it didn't actually hurt. I had to move an exercise mat underneath me for the last few reps after that, though.

Then came the tires. Our trainer, Jason Muir loves his tires. I think it makes him feel like he's in Rocky. He has three tractor tires, of varying size. Yesterday we used them to do push-ups off of. You'd put your hands on the ground, and your feet on the tires. You'd do 10 "inclined" push-ups. Then, while your hands are still on the ground, you'd hop your feet down onto the floor then back up onto the tires. It kind of looks like a donkey kick. You'd do 5 of those, then back to the push-ups. We did three sets of this combination followed by 50 crunches.

I then moved on to TRX Rip chest press/row. The rip is a heavy exercise band attached to a bar. We attach it on both ends, kneel inside, and do an inclined press. This was 60 reps of both exercises broken up into 20 rep sets. The rows are underhand rows, to your belly. Keep your arms body width apart. I jumped ahead a few exercises, because he had Roman Chair leg lifts. Since we only have one Roman Chair, where you put your back against a pad, your forearms on some pads and hold the handle in front of you. There is not an actual seat, you are suspended. (I'll find a picture and post it later.)

Then it was time to run. My legs are tired and sore, but for some reason last night's run really hurt my shins. I made it back, and did some planks to finish it out.

All-in-all a good night's workout, and I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.

The wife has been having really bad carpel tunnel syndrome attacks. She usually has to work after I'm home, the kids like to bug her. She's also working more to keep insurance. This is nice because of teenage problems, including braces. I'm sorry you're feeling so bad honey!

Tough night at the gym

Missed the gym yesterday morning, so I went last night. Now, this is tough because it means that on Friday morning I'm getting up early and heading right back.

To add to this, my youngest child slept from 2:00 p.m. until 7:45 p.m.ish. This meant I knew I was in for a long night.

Anyway, I got to the gym, and it was a really tough strength day. We started by alternating between 10 push-ups and 10 burpees, with a exercise band upright row on the jump. We did 10 sets of this. This took quite some time. This was also the end of our super-sets.

Next we moved onto arms, and did 100 curls. I'd do 10 regular, then 10 hammer-fist curls. By the time I was done with this my biceps were cramping.

Then moved onto delt raises. I'd do five out to the side, then five out in front. Again totaling 100 reps.

Then moved onto eight sets of 15 rows. Did these on an adjustable pull up bar, very low with my feet on the floor and my back toward the ground. I rotated between wide grip, overhand rows, and close grip, underhand grip rows. That's as far as I got, then I went on a run. I was exhausted.

Got home, and didn't get to sleep until 2:00 a.m., thanks to the well rested child. When he was back up at 5:00 a.m., so was I.

I decided that I was up, so I'd go back to the gym. Did mainly cardio, and I started getting light-headed. I really should have ate, and slept before going to the gym, but what you gonna do?

The routine this morning started with a 1/2 mile run, then moved into lots of mountain climbers, jump rope, more mountain climbers, hop-touch-reach, and some abs. I finished with a five minute static squat, and by the time that was done, my head was spinning. I figure by the time I'm done with work today, I will be in complete zombie mode.

Hooray for the weekend!

Fun at the gym

So I've helped out around the gym. I've done some web stuff, social media stuff, I even helped lay the flooring. Last night I helped install these...



We had fun with a hammer drill, sledge hammer, and red heads. They should add some excitement to the gym. We have four to install, but didn't have enough red heads (those gingers are amazing.)

For those of you who don't know what a red head is, it is a cement anchor. It is a long bold, that expands at the bottom when tightened. This locks the bolt into the floor.

These pull up stations have adjustable bars on the uprights, and a high fixed bar. We'll be using the lower bar a lot, mainly because we don't have a bunch of members who can do full pull ups. They should be fun!

Flush

I just wanted to drop a note, which means have a big, long write up, about the new cleanse, or flush, I'm doing.

Over the past few months, I've become a little more lax on my eating habits. I've kept my caloric intake fairly low, but I haven't kept my meals balanced, and have gone back to carb-heavy eating. This has resulted in my weight loss plateauing (by the way, I spelled plateauing correctly on my first attempt, and kind of surprised myself.) I've still been working out very hard, and can feel a difference in how much muscle mass I have, I'm just not loosing the fat.

This month my trainer, Jason at Firehouse Fitness, has released a new 28 day weight loss plan. He uses some tips and tricks he learned while getting ready for body building shows. He has also warned us that once we are done, if we don't return to good eating habits, the body will pack the pounds back on. I plan on returning to my early workout eating habits after the next three weeks. This really isn't hard, it was just making sure I had a good protein/carb balance, and not pigging out on anything.

His plan, which he is selling so I won't give away much, is broken down over four weeks. During this four weeks, you need to be performing a resistance exercise routine three to five days each week. He also lays out a diet that consists of a good balance of protein and carbs, and involves eating five meals a day*.

During week one and three, you have a diet with more carbs and add in some cardio workouts on top of the resistance training. His plan lays out when to eat and exercise to optimize weight loss. If you are interested in purchasing his plan email him at muirfitness@yahoo.com, please mention my name.

Week two and four remove the additional cardio exercise, and cut the carbs in your diet. He still tells you when and what to eat, you just don't have to worry about the extra cardio.

So far, I've been doing it for five days, and have lost 4.5 pounds during that time. I can say that I've felt hungry at times, which is weird. I've eaten more for breakfast and lunch than I normally would. The extra cardio has made me tired, but I overall feel great. (The big problem with the extra cardio is that I'm going out jogging/walking and it has been extremely cold this week.) The jogging is making my leg muscles more tired than usual, but that's all good. Nothing like muscle soreness, eh?

As I go into week two, I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Back to the gym

So my son was sick yesterday, he actually had a fever, so we didn't go to wrestling. My wife had dinner ready when I got home, so we ate a little early, then she went to the gym. She had the excitement of hitting the 3,000 workout, and did more reps than I did.

When she came home she told me that Jason, our trainer, really needed my help, and I needed to hurry up and go back to the gym. I knew he was having some of the flooring redone, and figured he just needed help moving some Sports Court flooring. It turns out he was moving all of the flooring, both the sports court and rubber matting.

The flooring is pretty cool. It is individual 12 inch square tiles. They have two sides with loops, and two sides that click in. We were creative, and made some of the gym's logos in the flooring.

I'm glad I went, Jason seemed a little out of it. The biggest problem was that classes were still going on. I kept having to kick people out of my way. I ended up helping for a little over three hours. The floors look great. We didn't get the rubber flooring down, but that can wait until the weekend.

I did spend the three hours I was there bent over. So this morning when I woke up to go the gym, my lower back muscles where very tights, and they still are. So are my hamstrings. I think I'll try to hit the gym tonight, if I loosen up at all.

3,000

I thought about making the title of this post something witty about Sparta and the 300, but I'm too tired. (By the way if you are not familiar with that story, go and get "Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae" by Steven Pressfield instead of watching the Movie 300. Excellent book.)

Today was 3,000 repetition day at good old Firehouse Fitness. I walked in, and there were only five exercises on the board. 1,000 Mountain Climbers. 500 Touch and Reach. 500 Push-ups. 1,000 Crunches and/or 1,000 Jump Ropes.

Have I ever mentioned how early 6:00 a.m. feels when you go to the gym? If not, it feels very early indeed.

We had more freedom to complete our exercises today. In fact, we do many variations of these exercises, and Jason let us choose our method and where we started in the rotation. Since they all looked unpleasant, I started at the beginning.

1,000 mountain climbers takes a little while to do. I did mine with my hands on a medicine ball, I like being up off the ground a little. I did them in batches of 100.

When that was over, I moved onto the Touch and Reach. This is a simple exercise that involves squatting down, and touching the floor between your legs. You then stand up, and extend your hands above your head. Think burpee without the push-up or jump. I've done many forms of this exercise, but kept it simple. I used a medicine ball in my hands. Some people got on the bosu, and used weights in their hands (for about 10 repetitions.) I saw some walk toward the exercise bands, but no one used them. No one used the small tires either.

At this time, it was getting toward the end of class. I usually have to leave 10-15 minutes early so that I can catch my train to work. I got down and did 50 push-ups, followed by 100 crunches. I kept this rotation up until I had to leave.

All-in-all, I did 1,900 repetitions this morning, and now want to sleep.

Soccer practice and the gym

So this is what Spring soccer practice looks like in Utah. The funny thing is this was right before it got bad. I just thought it was cool looking seeing the clouds move in and collide with the mountains. Then it got windy, then rainy, then we started to see lightning in the distance at the end of practice.

It had been a pretty nice day, then we had a 10 degree temperature drop.

So after practice I decided to hit the gym. I'm not sure that was a great decision. Our trainer told us that he had been told that all the workouts were hard, so he was going to show us a hard workout.

I was never very big on jumping rope, even when I was young. I was decent at it, I just didn't think it was that exciting. That being said, I'm less of a fan now. We started the workout with 500 "jumps" over the jump rope. I can get out about 100 before I step on the rope. This is a huge improvement from when we started at <a HREF="http://muirfitness.com" target="_blank">Firehouse Fitness</a>, when I could only get out 20, and could only do about 80 total in one workout. I did have to teach my wife not to double bounce or you do twice the work, and it takes forever.

After the jump rope, we moved to 100 exercise band touch and reach. You take a heavy exercise band, stand on it with the handles in your hand, spread your feet apart, then squat down and touch the floor and stand up and press your arms all the way up. (I never did this as a kid but wouldn't have liked it either.)

We then moved into mountain climbers with our hands on a medicine ball. Mountain climbers are the exercise where you have one foot forward, and one foot back then jump and switch. The position of your feet. We did 200 of these.

Now to relax from these fairly aerobic types of exercises we did 100 jack knifes. We laid down, put your arms above your head, and your knees together, then raise your arms and legs and touch them together. This is a wonderful combination of a crunch and a leg lift. I actually like doing these, just not doing 100.

After this, Jason wanted to get our hearts pumping again. So we did a new TRX exercise. He called them "body thrusts". As he was explaining the workout he looked at me and said, "No dirty jokes." This exercise consisted of taking the TRX straps and holding them like you are doing a row. This leaves you leaning back in a squat. You then lower yourself to the ground, son your behind barely touches, then pull yourself back up until you're on your tiptoes. I asked if it was meant as a row, or a shoulder exercise and was told that it didn't matter it was just meant to drain your energy and get your body working together. I started these and they seemed easy, but they did drain my energy.

After that he wanted us to run. This didn't excite most of us because of the weather I mentioned earlier. Jason managed to convince me to do the run. Only one other person did, everyone else threw 100 roundhouse kicks per leg to get their heart rate up. By the time I finished my run our class was almost over.

There were two more exercises, throw 200 punches with five pound weights in your hands, and 200 bicycle crunches. He did have me get in the final part of class, which he calls the "Ring of Fire.". It was jumping squats.

It was a really good workout, and helped me fall asleep quickly, even though the weather is so rough for April.

"Don't hurt yourself showing off"

We went to the gym today, and my back has been hurting a little, although today it felt much better. When we got there, there were five new people. It's nice to have more people coming to the gym. There were two guys from my wife's high school who were pretty buff, and a third, smaller guy, she didn't know. As the trainer broke us up into groups, he grouped the four guys together. My wife just looked at me and said, "Don't hurt yourself showing off."

Now I first lifted weights about 20 years ago. I know my limits. I have always been pretty strong, but realize I'm getting older, especially with my recent back incident. I didn't know these guys from Adam, and their opinion of me just isn't that important. I set out just to get my workout in.

Today was a heavy arm, and core day. We started out doing some dumbbell lifts. I started with my usual weight, and the new guys all started much higher. I finished pretty quickly, and they all had to drop down to smaller dumbbells to finish.

We then moved into some tire lunges. Only one of the tractor tires was out. I got started. When I was done with my first set, one of the other guys came over and started. When I started my last set, the other two came over. At this point, my wife looked over and saw me doing lunges at the same tempo as the other guys. We were all trying to look funny, four big guys going up and down in unison around one tire. My wife pulled the trainer over, and told him to watch out for me so I didn't hurt myself.

Well, we went through the workout, and I actually finished more exercises than any of the other guys, and felt pretty good about myself. I was not injured, nor did I show off.

As my trainer said afterward, "Be glad you have someone who looks out for you, and cares whether or not you get hurt." And I am glad. Love you honey, even if you worry a bit too much!

Oh my aching back!

Okay, so it has been a long time since I posted anything. Right now I'm laid up with a bad back. Luckily it is not too serious, only over-training on my legs.

About 6 weeks ago, my wife and I joined a gym, Firehouse Fitness. It has been great. We've made lots of new friends, and the trainer "prods some serious buttocks". So far I've lost about 20 pounds. I've taken about 2 inches off the circumference of my chest, and slightly less off of my waist. The real difference has been, for lack of a better word, the density of my muscles. According to this body fat analyzer, my body fat has decreased by about 10%. Not too bad.

This brings us to my current predicament. One of the main focuses of our training is squats, lunges, burpees, hop touches, etc. When I went to the gym on Monday we had a cardio day, which included a lot of functional exercises focusing on squats, and kicks. To end the workout we did a squat burnout. During our second 90 second squat my legs cramped. I stretched out, and left not thinking much about it. By the time I got home my back was killing me. I've found that I can relieve the pressure on my back by massaging my hip joints. The doctor this morning basically told me to pull back a little on the lower body (he doesn't want me to stop going to the gym), and he has me going to the physical therapist to get some exercises to help tighten my core up, and make my body work better together. He thinks in the next few weeks I should see this pain go away.

Anyone who wants a great workout, come to Firehouse Fitness on any Saturday morning. Our trainer offers free workouts on Saturdays. (I know that sounds like an ad, but I just really like the gym. I have not been given any reimbursement for this plug, but am open to that idea!)

I'll keep you posted on my progress.