Everyday Warrior

I have been intrigued by the legislation in San Francisco that began banning free toys in Happy Meals on December 1.  Besides from being a strange thing to create a law for, I had to wonder how much a happy meal contributes to childhood obesity.  So I dug deeper into the issue and what prompted such legislation.

What I have since learned is that this law was initiated by a San Francisco Supervisor who was alarmed to find a large stash of Happy Meal toys in her bedroom. His reasoning to introduce such a bill was that they toy was influencing children to want happy meals to get the toy.

I find this logic is already flawed since it is not the child, but the adult who actually makes the decision to purchase the Happy Meal.  Most children want every toy they see on tv commercials, but that certainly doesn’t lead adults to spending every penny to support their child’s toy habit!  Also, an independent study showed that while 32% of fast food customers ate at McDonald’s due to their children’s insistence ,only 8% indicated that the free toy was the reason.

The next rationale for this bill is that it would fight childhood obesity.  Again, nutritionists disagreed claiming school lunch programs were nutritionally worse than the fast food meals.  Additionally, an occasional happy meal was not going to impact obesity to any great extent.

On the nutrition front, McDonald’s has added plain apples to their meals rather than the caramel dipped apples and also decreased the portion size of the fries.  This has cut calories by 20%.  S o on the one hand I guess it is a good thing to have fast food places offer healthier choices.  However, the happy meal toy ban did not cause this change as fast food restaurants have been working on this for the past several years.

One good thing is that the proceeds for the happy meal toys which are now selling for ten cents with the purchase of a happy meal, are all going to the Ronald McDonald House.

Bottom line, I think this latest ban is simply a political move to make people feel good and look good.  It really holds no value nor does it have any real impact on the causes it supposedly wants to improve.  Sometimes, I just don’t get politics!

I know this and it doesn’t come as any surprise to me.  Any running stuff I do is only for cardio purposes only and not because I have any passion for running.  I admire people who are into it and can run any distance. 

For me I find I do much better on a treadmill than in any real world setting, like the outdoors.  I have run outdoors in parks and on tracks before, but only as a means of getting cardio done for contest prep.  When I have done this, I don’t think I even go 1/8 of a mile before I feel like I am sucking wind pretty hard.  I will push through and do what I set out to do, but it’s more sheer determination and stubbornness, and not skill or because it comes naturally.

On a treadmill I tend to walk a bit, maybe a half mile, and then run a mile or mile and a quarter.  I will repeat that sequence for a specified time to complete my workout.  Now I don’t know much about settings and what is a good or bad setting on the treadmill.  Typically I set it on random, walk at a 4.6 and run at 5.7.  I imagine people watching me do this are probably laughing to themselves wondering why I bother pretending to run when it’s nothing more than a fast walk.  I don’t care, it gets the job done and gives me the workout I need. 

Lately, the past few months, I have discovered the elliptical machine and have made that my main source of cardio.  I can seemingly go a much greater distance on there in the same amount of time compared to the treadmill.  Not sure how the elliptical motion equates to running, but I enjoy it immensely.

This morning I went back to the treadmill, just for variety, and this time decided when I ran I would set it on 6.o and run 1.25 miles each time.  Well, I did it but was reminded again – I am not a runner!  It was a great workout and I will do it again, but I could actually feel the lactic acid build up in my quads and I think I prefer that to happen only during a leg workout in the gym and not on the treadmill.  Maybe that is a normal part of running, but I will feel silly if I am sore tomorrow! 

 

After a restful week out of the gym we got back to it yesterday and kicked off a new cycle of workouts with a great leg workout.  It felt good to just lift something and mentally leg pressing instead of squatting this time around is a welcomed relief. 

Waking up this morning and feeling my legs beginning to tighten up made me wonder just how well my early morning HIIT session would go on the elliptical machine.  I powered through it and had some good adrenaline going to get through it but my legs were definitely tired and weaker than they were during the off week last week.

Now I am chomping at the bit to get to the rest of this cycles workouts and get back to a full schedule of lifting, eating, and cardio.  I will post soon the workouts and set/rep ranges we will be using this time around.

This week is an off week for me.  We have just wrapped up a 4 week program of 
workouts and both Pete and I are ready for a mental and physical break.  This 
allows us to train hard but avoid overtraining and wearing ourselves out.  We 
typically don't have a set time frame to any given workout plan.  We are good at 
listening to our bodies and gauging when we have hit our peak within a program. 
Sometimes we finish a program in 3-4 weeks, but sometimes we are able to get 5-6 
solid weeks out of a program.  It's a learned balance that has taken Pete and I 
years of training together to recognize. 

This is a great week to rest and not get in any weight workouts.  Sometimes this 
week is also a time to ease up on the nutrition end of things too, but for me 
with only 19 weeks until my competition my eating will continue as it has been.  
I will keep my cardio and ab schedule this week, but there are times when an off 
week for me will also be an off week from any cardio too. 

By the end of this week, which sometimes may only be 5 days or sometimes as long 
as 10, we will be fully recovered and raring to get back in the gym.  

When we get back to the gym we will start a whole new program. We frequently 
switch up the exercises, rep range, weights, and even the body part pairings in 
order to keep our bodies moving forward. For example,  in this last cycle of 
workouts we had paired triceps with our back workouts and biceps with chest and 
shoulders.  It's not earth shattering, but it added diversity to the workouts.  
Plus, it seemed that even though we were tired from the workout by the time we 
got to triceps or biceps, those muscle groups themselves were still fresh and we 
could really push them hard. 

It may seem strange to purposely take time off from the gym every 4-6 weeks, but 
it is great for both body and mind.  It really does recharge the body and 
mentally it clears your head and prepares you to bring the focus and intensity 
needed in the gym to every workout.  It's a great time to enjoy the rest, let 
your muscles and joints recover from the grueling workouts give your mind a 
little vacation from the constant regimen and routine of eating well and 
training and just enjoy a little r & r.

So this morning I decided to change up my cardio routine and throw in a little High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).  I have used this before, but probably not in 6-8 months or so.  Today was the first time I did it using the elliptical machine.

To be honest I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, or if I could even do it.  Anytime I try something new I am always a little hesitant about it.  But I usually come across new research or training articles about the great benefits of HIIT and then it gets me thinking I should get back to it, or incorporate more into my program, which is how I came to do it this morning.

I used the elliptical in a 1:2  work to rest ratio.  I would run, or whatever, you would call it on the elliptical, as fast and hard as I could for 30 seconds and then slow to a walking pace for 60 seconds.   I would go through 11 cycles of this and be done in less than 20 minutes.  I gave myself a few minute warm up when I got on the elliptical before I started the HIIT  part.

The workout was awesome.  I worked my butt off and was definitely pleased with how challenging it was.  Mentally it was a battle to stay focused and push as hard as I can.  My front running thought was, “You can do anything for 30 seconds.”

I am used to pushing hard and going all out, but the short bursts were something I am not used to  in the cardio realm of things.  I liked it and will continue to incorporate more of it in my cardio training.

Here’s the link to the latest article on HIIT training that got me thinking about it and using it again.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ultimate-8-week-hiit-for-fat-burning-program.html

After the thanksgiving weekend it seems the holiday season is in full swing.
This has many people talking about holiday eating and their diets going to he'll
and their workout schedule going down the toilet. It also weeks to have people
talking about how much weight they gained in a matter of days.
     But there has been another branch of conversations that I have been hearing
much of this weekend and am encouraged by it's momentum.  W number of people
stuck to their plan and went so far as to go to the gym on thanksgiving! Some of
these people reported that the gym was even crowded! Wow that is great to think
some people have taken on the mindset that thanksgiving is a one day holiday and
not an excuse to go completely nuts for an entire week.
     For me I had a set plan for cardio, lifting, and eating and stuck to it.
Fro that I was proud.  What I didn't account for was how tired I would be at the
end of the weekend after having family up and being on the go with them each
day.  So from that standpoint I feel like a stuffed turkey, simply because I am
tid and a bit off my usual focus and pace.  So I must grab some extra rest
tonight while keeping me meals and cardio on track.  I am surprised at how tired I am,
but still focused and committed to my goals.

I have been giving blood on and off for years, but have been extremely consistent with it for the past year or two.  Since the spring I have been doing platelet donations for no reason other than one day I was asked to do one because there seems to be a higher need for these type of donations.  With platelet donations I can donate every 2 weeks.  I typically can get in there every 2-3 weeks and have kept this going for the past 6 months or so.

The donation process, or at least the time you are actually donating platelets last  usually about 100 minutes or so.  I think I have seen my time start as high as 110 minutes and as low as 94 minutes.  Both arms are used so you can’t move either arm.  Thankfully, they provide tv or movies and headphones.  There is really nothing else to do, which is tough because I am not much of a tv watcher – not for that long anyway.  But it’s worth it so I make due and try to keep my fidgeting confined to just my legs when I start to get antsy.

So I scheduled an appointment for this afternoon, which was perfect for me.  It was after some morning errand running, a workout, and then donating blood would be my last stop before returning home.

The problem is I drink a gallon of water a day, which normally isn’t too much of an issue but after every workout, my bladder seems to go into overdrive for a while.  I don’t know why.

I was fine when we started and in my mind was comforted by the fact that I remembered the first time I did a platelet donation one of the nurses had said it is not like whole blood, so if I needed to stop and use the restroom they could do that.  Well I was 40% complete according to the monitor when I thought it was a good time to use the restroom because I was going to burst and couldn’t take it anymore.  So I asked. No problem and they shut the machine off.  Then they told me that they can’t restart me today;once they shut it down there is no resticking me and starting back up.  That’s when I became extremely disappointed in myself.  I knew I had to stop because I held it as long as I can, but I didn’t realize that would be it for the day.  The staff was confident they had  taken at least a unit or two, and I think 3 is the max, so I guess it is ok, but it still bummed me out that I couldn’t complete the whole time. (104 minutes today I think)

So moral to the story – don’t drink too much water before donating blood for 1 1/2 – 2 hours!

Under the nutrition tab I posted a pic of the 2 turkeys I bought over the weekend while the prices were super cheap on frozen turkeys. I love Thanksgiving as a holiday and part of that love comes from sitting down in front of a meaty turkey and knowing I will be eating turkey for days after.  Turkey is a great source of lean protein and so I have learned to take advantage of these Thanksgiving fire sales.

I am not even cooking the Thanksgiving turkey this year, so both of these 22lb. turkeys are going to be cooked and used at some point as a break from eating chicken.  The sales were too good to pass up, as the turkey is priced at 1/4 the price per pound as chicken breasts.  22lbs. of turkey can go a long way for one person and it will!

I easily could have brought home 3 or 4 turkeys but 44lbs. is plenty of turkey and guaranteed to last me a while.  Both turkeys fit very nicely, each on their own shelf, in my freezer and while I didn’t consider it  at the store, I am not sure I could have fit  more turkeys in there, so it was probably a good decision to stop at 2.

So there you have it – my reasoning for stocking up on turkeys this time of year.  In trying to meet my protein needs, I want to be  a smart shopper and stretch my money as best I can to get the most bang, or in this case  -protein, for my buck.  Now if only chicken would have sales once or twice a year like this, I could really stock up (& buy a bigger freezer)!

 

We just finished an intense chest and bicep workout which was just unreal.  Each workout seems to top the last one in effort and intensity.  I am just blown away  with where we are at in the gym.

At the moment, we are definitely running on all cylinders.  The training is through the roof.  I am cranking out the cardio and actually enjoying it! Imagine that.  It seems with cardio, that once I get into a rhythm with it and am doing it consistently I actually thrive on it.  I have been looking forward to doing it and haven’t even been listening to music to get me through it.

I am looking forward to this journey as we continue to push the limits in and out of the gym of what we once thought possible and continue to make gains and set new goals.

Right now I am having the time of  my life with all of this.  Not just the training and bodybuilding, but meeting new people, new opportunities, building this blog, the facebook page, all of it has just been awesome.

There is definitely a lot of positive energy and motivation around right now and I am loving every minute of it.

As of today there are 21 and a half weeks before I make my pro debut.  I have my plans laid out that I need to follow and execute in order to arrive at that competition in my best condition yet.

Over the past week or two I have bumped my cardio sessions up by about 5 minutes each.  I am only doing 3 cardio sessions per week and won’t increase the length of the sessions any further.  As I progress I will add additional sessions, but three sessions per week has been my normal routine throughout this “off-season.”  In reality, there is no such thing.

Pete and I are In the midst of a great workout program.  I have been enjoying the intensity and also pairing up tri’s with back and bi’s with chest.  I feel we have  been able to bring more intensity to those bodyparts and each rep just feels massive.

On the nutritional front, I am eating clean as usual and keeping a detailed record of what I eat, but I am by no means dieting or cutting calories.  I am eating no different than I do pretty much year round.  I may be just a bit more aware of times I want to eat cheat meals and what exact foods I am willing to eat.  Other than that it is eating as usual.  I actually think the combination of eating, lifting, and the cardio is resulting in less bodyfat this off-season, but yet my weight has not changed, so I think I have maintained and perhaps added some muscle mass.

That’w where things are at right now.  I am looking forward to hitting the grocery store this weekend to stock up on frozen turkeys!  And then next week my most favorite of holiday meals – turkey day!!