So, after a week and a half of resting my knee it is not strong enough to start working out again. [No more basketball for a while... Not just for my knee's sake, but also due to the cold weather.] Yesterday was the first day back in the swing of things. I made it through the 40 minute cardio workout without pain, but was admittedly sluggish. I also restarted my diet yesterday, which I broke over some gummy bears and licorice. Even with the candy, I think I did good on my caloric intake, unfortunately, this week's diet is supposed to be no-carbs [candy has a lot of carbs], so I fell short in that regard on day one.
But today is a new day. I have no gummy bears or licorice to eat today. I slept in and had a late start to the day, but I plan to hit up my workout as soon as my afternoon-time salad has a good hour or so to digest.
Here's to a new week.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Day of Rest.
Today [Monday] was deemed the day of rest, as Mike and I had just finished seven straight days without a break. Sunday, for a slight break in the program, due to good weather, we opted to go play basketball. That worked well for our cardio workout, unfortunately, that did not fare well for my physical health. I hyperextended my left pinky finger and tweaked my bad knee.
When resting, my knee feels fine. And it does alright when standing or doing minimal walking, but when constantly bending or doing strenuous activity it gives me trouble and a fair dose of dull pain. Nothing in it popped, and there were no sharp or intense pains when on the court, so I am certain that it is not serious, but it is going to limit my ability to work out.
Due to the holiday season, as well as my schedule this weekend, I will be delaying the completion of my 6-day diet/workout. I will try and do some minimal stuff, like an ab workout, some work with the resistance bands, stuff that is not too strenuous on the knees (or left pinky), and I will work to minimize my intake of carbs, particularly bad ones, this week. I have to give my body some time to heal where it hurts.
Tomorrow night I work a basketball game that will have me standing for 3 hours straight. And, this weekend, I work a basketball tourney (3 games on Saturday, 2 on Sunday), which will be all-day activities, making it hard to maintain my diet during that time.
Monday, Lord willing my knee is feeling fine again - with the aid of a brace, Mike and I will re-start our 6-day Fat Burning Express Workout and Diet.
When resting, my knee feels fine. And it does alright when standing or doing minimal walking, but when constantly bending or doing strenuous activity it gives me trouble and a fair dose of dull pain. Nothing in it popped, and there were no sharp or intense pains when on the court, so I am certain that it is not serious, but it is going to limit my ability to work out.
Due to the holiday season, as well as my schedule this weekend, I will be delaying the completion of my 6-day diet/workout. I will try and do some minimal stuff, like an ab workout, some work with the resistance bands, stuff that is not too strenuous on the knees (or left pinky), and I will work to minimize my intake of carbs, particularly bad ones, this week. I have to give my body some time to heal where it hurts.
Tomorrow night I work a basketball game that will have me standing for 3 hours straight. And, this weekend, I work a basketball tourney (3 games on Saturday, 2 on Sunday), which will be all-day activities, making it hard to maintain my diet during that time.
Monday, Lord willing my knee is feeling fine again - with the aid of a brace, Mike and I will re-start our 6-day Fat Burning Express Workout and Diet.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
On The Eve Of Destruction...
So, here I am at 4:57am. I can't sleep. I have a friend staying at the house who is snoring, and it is keeping me awake. Also, my body is SORE. I've been drinking plenty of water, yet I keep getting cramps in random places. Last night I was getting cramps in my calves and hamstrings. Just a minute ago, I got a cramp in my left ribs. Today marks the 5th straight day that I have worked out. Tomorrow is day 6, but only day 3 of the 6 day Fat Burning Express Workout/Diet, which means I won't get a day of rest until... Wednesday.
Perhaps I should rethink this?
It may not be the brightest idea for me to go 9 straight days without rest. Perhaps I should take Sunday off, and Re-start the 6 Day FBE on Monday. I shall pray about it and consult with my workout partner in the morning...
...As for right now, I think all these cramps are trying to tell me that my body is physically exhausted. Also, I think I may be catching a cold. I've been fighting off congestion and coughing for a better part of the night - rather than sleeping.
Well, I suppose I should try and get some sleep.
Perhaps I should rethink this?
It may not be the brightest idea for me to go 9 straight days without rest. Perhaps I should take Sunday off, and Re-start the 6 Day FBE on Monday. I shall pray about it and consult with my workout partner in the morning...
...As for right now, I think all these cramps are trying to tell me that my body is physically exhausted. Also, I think I may be catching a cold. I've been fighting off congestion and coughing for a better part of the night - rather than sleeping.
Well, I suppose I should try and get some sleep.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Day Two ... FBE
Today is day two of the Power 90 Fat Burning Express DVD workout and prescribed diet.
Yesterday, the diet was killing me. I felt so hungry. I eventually caved in and ate a banana for filler. The manual for the program suggests that if you are hungry to stick within the parameters of the foods in the diet, so, I didn't do too bad by eating a banana. I tried to sneak a second, extra, workout in last night, and made it only 10 minutes before I realized my muscles were way too exhausted to continue.
This morning I woke up to an annoying alarm clock. I geared up. Compression shorts, calf compression sleeves, knee jumper strap, knee brace and running shoes. Mike [my roommate] and I started the DVD and began with stretches and power yoga. After the yoga session came some fast paced sets of various cardio exercises (kicks, punches, knee raises, jumping, hopping, etc.). Halfway through the exercises, I had to take my knee brace off of my bad knee. I'm not sure if I put it on wrong or if it just wasn't helping, but it started to get to where it was hurting more than helping.
We finished the workout and did our cooldown and stretches. Afterward, we made our breakfast: Protein Whey + Banana Smoothie. It actually tasted good. Now comes the hard part... Sticking to the diet for the rest of the day.
Yesterday, the diet was killing me. I felt so hungry. I eventually caved in and ate a banana for filler. The manual for the program suggests that if you are hungry to stick within the parameters of the foods in the diet, so, I didn't do too bad by eating a banana. I tried to sneak a second, extra, workout in last night, and made it only 10 minutes before I realized my muscles were way too exhausted to continue.
This morning I woke up to an annoying alarm clock. I geared up. Compression shorts, calf compression sleeves, knee jumper strap, knee brace and running shoes. Mike [my roommate] and I started the DVD and began with stretches and power yoga. After the yoga session came some fast paced sets of various cardio exercises (kicks, punches, knee raises, jumping, hopping, etc.). Halfway through the exercises, I had to take my knee brace off of my bad knee. I'm not sure if I put it on wrong or if it just wasn't helping, but it started to get to where it was hurting more than helping.
We finished the workout and did our cooldown and stretches. Afterward, we made our breakfast: Protein Whey + Banana Smoothie. It actually tasted good. Now comes the hard part... Sticking to the diet for the rest of the day.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Day One... (Coincidentally Day 11)
I wanted to start blogging on a daily basis, as I track my progress in my goal of losing weight and getting in shape. I was greatly motivated to want to write (tracking my progress; documenting my thoughts and feelings; keeping record of successes and failures) by my brother in Christ, Jon Sherwood, who has done an exceptional job of keeping record of his progress in his goal of competing in and completing an Ironman competition, which he recently did a couple of weeks ago.
My motivations to lose weight are many (to allow me to be more active again; to have a greater amount of energy; to better be able to serve both God, the church and the community; to be more attractive - Lord willing I should ever meet Miss Right; etc.), but the greatest motivation - being a man who has suffered many injuries, especially to my knees, and who has a family with a history of diabetes and heart problems - is that of health. I want to do my best to ensure that my body is not what prevents me from being a good steward of the gospel. I also want to have great health for my family; to be a motivation to my mother, grandmother and sister to look to and follow; and to be healthy for my own family, should the Lord see fit to ever bless me with one, because if I have kids one day, I truly want to be able to play with them and enjoy their company. [No one wants to be the father that's too brittle to throw a ball in the backyard or shoot some hoops at the park.]
We started the 90-day Power 90 fitness program 11 days ago. The workouts, which alternate between sculpting and toning the muscles and doing intense cardio, have been great. Unfortunately, results have not been positive since beginning. This is due to two reasons, which we are correcting. 1. We had not, until today, committed ourselves to eating healthily. 2. We, in retrospect, should have started with the 6-day Fat Burning Express program and diet (which comes with Power 90), as it is beneficial for jump starting the metabolism to ensure positive workout results.
Today, technically day 11, we began Day 1 of the 6-day Diet and Fat Burning Express program. This morning saw us start with the workout, which was very intense, 40 minutes of non-stop fast paced movements. The workout was taxing on the knees, especially for me - having one bad knee, but I wore my brace for support and got through it okay. The level of intensity was good enough that I continued to sweat 10 minutes after having completed the ending cooldown and stretches. For breakfast, a protein-whey and strawberry smoothie, followed by a couple multi-vitamins and some fish-oil. For the rest of the day, walnuts and almonds for snack. Spinach, mushroom and turkey salad for lunch. Apple for snack. Finish the day with chicken for dinner. And, of course, water, water and more water - all day.
My motivations to lose weight are many (to allow me to be more active again; to have a greater amount of energy; to better be able to serve both God, the church and the community; to be more attractive - Lord willing I should ever meet Miss Right; etc.), but the greatest motivation - being a man who has suffered many injuries, especially to my knees, and who has a family with a history of diabetes and heart problems - is that of health. I want to do my best to ensure that my body is not what prevents me from being a good steward of the gospel. I also want to have great health for my family; to be a motivation to my mother, grandmother and sister to look to and follow; and to be healthy for my own family, should the Lord see fit to ever bless me with one, because if I have kids one day, I truly want to be able to play with them and enjoy their company. [No one wants to be the father that's too brittle to throw a ball in the backyard or shoot some hoops at the park.]
Nearly two weeks ago, my roommate, Mike, and I decided to go in on a fitness program together. We had already been exercising together in the meager apartment complex gym, but our results were inconsistent and, to be honest, we really had no direction. We were clueless. A lot of people, both that I had met in person and had seen on television (ESPN and other sports networks) had been raving about P90X. Mike and I looked into and, upon investigation, we determined that it was too advanced for our level of fitness, but we liked the consistent positive reviews and the documented results that it had yielded for others. In reading up on it (on the Beachbody website) we found that P90X had a entry-level predecessor, Power 90, which we ordered.
We started the 90-day Power 90 fitness program 11 days ago. The workouts, which alternate between sculpting and toning the muscles and doing intense cardio, have been great. Unfortunately, results have not been positive since beginning. This is due to two reasons, which we are correcting. 1. We had not, until today, committed ourselves to eating healthily. 2. We, in retrospect, should have started with the 6-day Fat Burning Express program and diet (which comes with Power 90), as it is beneficial for jump starting the metabolism to ensure positive workout results.
Today, technically day 11, we began Day 1 of the 6-day Diet and Fat Burning Express program. This morning saw us start with the workout, which was very intense, 40 minutes of non-stop fast paced movements. The workout was taxing on the knees, especially for me - having one bad knee, but I wore my brace for support and got through it okay. The level of intensity was good enough that I continued to sweat 10 minutes after having completed the ending cooldown and stretches. For breakfast, a protein-whey and strawberry smoothie, followed by a couple multi-vitamins and some fish-oil. For the rest of the day, walnuts and almonds for snack. Spinach, mushroom and turkey salad for lunch. Apple for snack. Finish the day with chicken for dinner. And, of course, water, water and more water - all day.
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