Week 14 Day 6

Posted on May 14, 2011 by admin

Our guests have left.   Our house is almost back into the normal swing of things.  Hey it has been a great two weeks.  I went to the gym this morning and started out feeling good.  While jogging my right knee was not feeling right after about 5 minutes.  It felt like it was going to buckle.  I decided to switch to walking at incline to take some pressure off it.  I stopped at 15 minutes then moved to the elliptical trainer.   I did 15 more minutes on the stationary bike.  Not a bad workout but I am concerned about my knee.  It did not botter me the rest of the day so I will see what is up tomorrow.

 

Eating was mostly good today.  With the company visit my meal times are all out of wack and I need to cut about 500 calories from my days.  Dinner was eating takout from Atilla’s greek food.  We had gyros and hummus.  The meal turned into something larger than it needed to be.  My wife and I shared a rice pudding for dessert.   In the end I ate 2,700 calories.  I did go to the gym twice today but with the rain I did not go hiking or do anything to justify eating more calories.   My afternoon workout was promising.  I did 15 minutes on the dual range stepper/elliptical machine and felt no discomfort in my knee.  After that warm up I hit the weights.

Bench press

135-15

185-6,6,6

assisted pull-ups +130 lbs

7,5,6,5

curls with ez bar

70-10

squats

95-5

135-5

185-3  ( my back cracked in 3 vertibra low in my back,  so I decided to not push it, this never happened before.  There was no pain but I did not want to risk a trip to the ER)

135-5

overhead presses starting from the floor

95-6,6,6

dead lifts

135-6

185-3

135-5

curls with ez-bar

70-10,10,10

That felt like a good amount of lifting.  I did not push as heavy weights in some of the exercises but I did more types of exercises than normal.  Tomorrow will be the first morning waking up not worring about friends staying ov

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Week 14 Day 6

Week 14 Day 5

Posted on May 13, 2011 by admin

Not another good day!   I had some difficulty getting going at the gym this morning.  I went to my back up gym because I already knew I was not jogging.  I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes on the bike.  From there I decided to weight lift to get out of the funk.

Bench press

135-12

185-6,6

225-1

135-15

Hammer strength overhead press 45 lbs each side

45-12,10,10,10

Dead lifts

135-10

185-5

225-3

275-1

225-3

Lateral raises on the smith machine

135-8,8,8

I was done after this.  I headed home to get breakfast started for our house guests.  For breakfast I scrambled 3 eggs and cooked them, 1 serving of turkey sausage,  1 chicken and apple sausage, and 2 thin slices of ham.  I also chopped up 4 small red potatoes and added some red pepper and cooked them in the frying pan.  Once it was all done we used whole wheat wraps and made our own breakfast burritos with cheese added too.  I had 2 burritos and a grapefruit.   We all shared what was cooked and it fed 4 of us.  Not bad.

Later in the day I had cantelope with strawberries as a snack and for lunch I had what little fiesta rich and chicken was left over from the night before.   Dinner was amazing!

There were five of us dining tonight.  We had a salad, meatloaf (ground turkey), mashed red potatoes, and broccoli.  We also had wine with dinner.  It was fun getting to cook for our guests.  For dessert we had more fruit salad.

One major disappointment was the weather was bad and we did not go hiking today.  I also did not go to the gym for an afternoon workout.  That sucks but hey this is real life and sometimes things do get missed.  I am sure I will pay for it on the scale.  Let’s see what tomorrow will bring.

 

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Week 14 Day 4

Posted on May 12, 2011 by admin

Carpe Diem—Seize the carp!

OK today was not a great performance day.  I was sore from doing the 4 miles yesterday and dragged through my am workout.  I did 15 minutes on the treadmill, 15 on the elliptical and 15 on the bike.  I only did 45 minutes.  I did need to buy some groceries at the store on the way home  for breakfast for our company so I left the gym early.  45 minutes was enought for a crappy feeling workout.

I ate ok for breakfast and we went site seeing at Arlington National Cemetary.  We saw the Changing of thr Guard.

That was special for me.  I never saw it before but I was a member of the the 3rd US Inf.  “The Old Guard” almost 20 years ago and should have seen this fine tradition that I supported as a cook.   Hiking the ups and downs of the place was something.  It brought back memmories of the 2 hour run I had to do in there once,  it was known as the TOG Jog.  I am glad I only did it once.

We also were saddened to see a Honors Funeral presession pass by.  We respectfully stood by and silently watched as they passed.

That was a grim reminder to live each day to the fullist.  Carpe Diem,  Seize the day!

We walked around for over 3 hours and I decided that as my legs were sore I would consider that my afternoon workout.  We shared a great chicken dinner with our guests.  It included some fiesta rice, chicken fajitas, sangria with fresh fruit cut up into the wine, and a pan “fried” banana with a touch of brown sugar and cinamin.   Dinner was potentially a 1,200 calorie meal into itself.  I did my best to estimate the sizes and calorie counts.  If I was close to being right I ate 2,613 calories.  That was too much.  I should have skipped the wine. and my portion of chicken consumed might be wrong  so I could be closer to 2,400 calories.  Either way I feel like I ate alot.   One more full day of company then back to the grind once the weekend passes.  It has been great being off th

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Week 14 Day 4

Week 14 Day 3

Posted on May 11, 2011 by admin

So how could I top a day like yesterday?

I jogger 4 miles straight and did it in 49:43, that’s how.  It felt great to job that long.  I have not done that in forever.  I was day dreaming about running the Army Ten Miler while jogging today.  I did it nine years ago and averaged 10:15 a mile.  I plan to do it next year and I hope to be close in time.

The rest of the day was great food wise.  No eating out, everything was prepared from home (except for some Queso cheese left over from Moe’s Southwest grill), and I kept my calories to 2040 for the day.  I even feel kinda full.  Today’s fun activity was going to the National Zoo.  We walked around for over an hour and had some lunch that we brought.  We then walked around some more.  I left earlier from my wife and friends so I could get to the gym and lift today.  I felt like it was important to hit the weights.  Here is what I did after 15 minutes of warm up on the elliptical machine.

Squats

95-10

135-8

185-5

225-3

135-8

Squats with 45 lb plate held to chest

10,10

Assisted pull-ups +135 lbs

5,5,5,5

Assisted dips +135 lbs

wide grip-5

narrow grip-8,8

Triceps cable curls( this feels much heavier than at the gym at work, I still maxed out the rack)

95-5

80-10

65-10

50-12

That did it for me,  I was done.  Tomorrow has the potential to be a cardio only day.  I will go to the gym in the AM to get my hour in but we will be heading to Arlington National Cemetery to walk around.  We might also go to Great Falls if time allows.  This has the potential to be a 3-5 hour day of walking and hiking.  That will serve as my afternoon workout.

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Week 14 Day 3

Wek 14 Day 2

Posted on May 10, 2011 by admin

Another day for records.    I lost another pound    and I ran a mile in 10:37!   I am closing in on my 10 minute mile.  Another month and I should be there.

I had a good morning workout.  I did 20 minutes on the treadmill, 20 on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the StairMaster.   It kicked butt.

I at well all day, no take out or eating out.  I had a standard breakfast of 4 egg whites, mini pancakes and turkey sausage plus a piece of fruit.   For lunch I had salmon with a baby spinach salad  and dinner was a barbecue of beef and veggie skewers with some honey rice.  I was able to keep calories at 2,200 so I was able to enjoy 3 marshmallows on the grill for dessert adding another 75 calories.   Kick ass!

I did a weight lifting routine in my garage before dinner.

Squats

110-10

138-10

167-8

184-5

110-6

overhead presses from the floor

90-6,6,6

military presses

90-6,6

bent over rows

90-8,8,8

chin-up pull downs

108-12,12,12

lat pull downs

108-10,10,10

It was great all around.  I can’t wait for tomorrow!

 

 

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Wek 14 Day 2

Week 14 Day 1

Posted on May 9, 2011 by admin

I am now officially into my second half of the 100 pound challenge.   I was feeling good this morning so I pushed it in the gym.  I did 2 miles in 22:40.  That is fast for me.  That is more than a minute off my best 2 mile time.  I walked 2 minutes then jogged 5 more minutes to give me 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I then did 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer.  It was a good start for my Monday.

I headed home and showered and ate breakfast.  Then it was crunch time.  We had guests arriving in a few hours and there was more house cleaning to be done.  The wife and I got it all done.  It was tough though.    Folks arrived and we went out to eat.  We went to Moe’s Southwest grill.  I ate a burrito and some chips and even had a sprite.  This cost me big time,  it was an 1,100 calorie lunch.  I ate well for dinner and finished the day at 2,391 calories.   That is on the high side.  I will need to pack lunches from here on out to keep shedding the pounds.

I decided I needed to hit the gym for an afternoon workout to help with the big lunch.  I went to my new gym and did 15 minutes on the treadmill to warm up then hit the weights.

bench press

135-10

185-6,5,4

hammer strength incline press

185-5,6,7

dip press machine

185-10

225-10,10

leg press machine

210-10,10,10,10

leg extensions

110-10,10,10

That was a good solid workout.  The gym does have an area for squats but it was in use.  Tomorrow I might

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Week 14 Day 1

Week 13 photos from vacation

Posted on May 9, 2011 by admin

Here are some of the photos from our vacation time in Bryson City, NC  and the Smoky Mountains.

We had a great view!

We crossed some narrow log bridges along the way.

We crossed state lines.

We could have gome  all the way to Maine!

Some of the trails were steep, and the pace was slow.  I made it though.

Heading back to the truck was great!  Down hill the whole way.

We biked the 11 mile loop of Cade’s Cove.

We saw a bear while biking Cade’s Cove.   That was a bit scary.

And there was plenty of water to see.

Water falls!

 

 

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Week 13 photos from vacation

Week 13 Day 7

Posted on May 8, 2011 by admin

I lost weight on vacation!   I was afraid I would have gained 5 to 7 pounds but no,  I lost weight!

That really made me happy.   I had worked my butt off hiking with my wife.  We had one day where we hiked for 5 hours and 30 minutes.  My body ached and I skipped some dumbbell weight workouts because I was not feeling up to it.  I was worried and things turned out OK in the end, plus I had an amazing time.

Today was the first day back into the gym.  In the morning after sleeping in I decided to do 30 minutes of cardio then 30 minutes of weight lifting since I had not done a real gym workout in a week.  Here is what I did:

30 minutes on an elliptical trainer

squats

95-10

145-8

185-5 (not deep enough, but my knees were sore)

145-5

overhead presses starting from floor

95-8,8,8

bench press

135-10

185-6,6

Hammer strength machine incline press

225- 5 sets of 1

hammer strength machine decline press

185-6

I got home and ate a bigger than usual breakfast and started on house cleaning with the wife.  We have guests coming from out of town and really needed to straighten up.  We each have had relitives pass away and our house has boxes of stuff we needed to go through to straighten up.  We will not get through it all, but we will do as much as possible.

In the evening I decided I needed a break from cleaning and did a 35 minute garage weight workout.

squats

70-10

90-10

110-10

over head presses from the floor

70-8,8,8

dead lifts

110-10

138-10

167-10

184-5

201-5

chin-up grip pull downs

108-15,15,15,15

That felt great.  I needed to the extra weight workout.

I ate well all day.  I consumed 2,301 calories for the day.  Not bad.  I will need to tweek my eating back to smaller meals with break snacks through out the day.  I feel proud of myself.  I just turned 40 and am doing what I set out to do,  lose 100 lbs.  I am hald way there.   I wi

 

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Week 13 Day 7

Week 13 Day 6

Posted on May 7, 2011 by admin

Travel Day!   Wow this day sucked for exercise.  We packed up and headed home from the Smoky mountains in North Carolina.    It took 1 hour and 45 minutes from the time we woke up to be loaded and on our way out of town.   The positie thing about loading the truck was the numerous trips up and down the stairs to get to the cabin.   From the parkng spot you meeded to hike up some stairs to get to the from door of the cabin.   The first few were not to bad but after a while carrying bags and other stuff tires you out.   The finalle of packing up was loading the motorcycle onto the hitch mounted carrier in the dark with only a flashlight.   We started packing at 4am this morning when we got up.  We did not get home until after 5 pm and then had to unload the truck.

Along the way we stopped at many rest stops for bathroom breaks and to stretch our legs.  We also stopped for breakfast at a Cracker barrel   and had tuna sandwiches that we packed our selves.  We had fruit and some granola bars along the way and drank plenty of water (and COFFEE!)   Being we were tired we had subway sandwiches for dinner.    The day would have been fine if we had done a hike of 1-2 hours, but sitting in the car for 10 hours was not productve for weight loss.    Tomorrow is judgement day.   I will see what I had done to myself.  The scale does not lie.   I think I gained 5-7 pounds.  I hope I stayed the same or lost weight but I missed doing my normal weight workouts this week.  I tried with dunbbells to keep it going but in the end I was not able to maintain my lifting as I needed to.  Some days activities took too much out of my to lift.  I guess in a way that was over training.

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Week 13 Day 6

Week 13 Day 5

Posted on May 6, 2011 by admin

Yesterday was an extremely active day, today was an easy day to balance things.  We did a 1   mile round trip hike to see the biggest waterfall of this trip, followed by a 6/10ths of a mile hike around a mill, and we topped the day off with a hike to the top of Clingman’s Dome for another 1.2 miles round trip.  Three miles is not bad for a light workout but pales in comparison to yesterday.

I ate well most of the day.  Lunch was the calorie buster at about 1,000 calories.   We ate at a buffet after a trip to a casino.  I was not a winner at either place.   Today was the last day of fun in the mountains as we head home tomorrow morning.   Sunday will be my first day back in the gym and I can’t wait to see what the scale says.    I had good days and bad days here in the Smoky mountains.   I do not know if the good outweighed the bad.  Time will tell.

Posted in fitness, Uncategorized, weight lifting, weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Week 13 Day 5