What am I Counting

Ah gentle readers, we'll see if any of you are still reading my blog. You may have noticed my tweets to Facebook my counting up this week starting Monday. I've gotten the curious "what?" to the "that many pushups, huh?" comments. Perfect! Those were just the tease.

Here's the whole story, that I've really only shared with a few people.

A week ago Friday I went to get some blood work done. This is normal as I've had cholesterol issues and we want to watch some organ functions due to the medications I take on a regular basis. No biggie, right? Well, I did my fasting, and headed in, waited the requisite time and then the technician needled me and took a single vial of blood. Still no biggie, normal procedure, etc.

Friday afternoon I got a call from my doctor's head nurse with some news. I was told at that time that my liver tested as functioning abnormally and I need to stop all alcohol intake and acetaminophen intake as well. At this point I panicked, while still talking to the nurse. As many of you know I take Vicodin as prescribed, three times a day, and Vicodin has oodles of  acetaminophen as part of the dose. My panic, the pain that the Vicodin helps hold back, and just as importantly, the withdrawals from said drug by stopping taking it. I voiced my concern to the nurse and she took some notes and went off to talk to my Dr. some more.

A few panic and anxiety filled hours later the nurse called me back with new directions from the Dr. which follow: 1. Stop drinking any and all alcohol, period. 2. It is okay to continue to take the Vicodin as prescribed (whew!). 3. Come back in for another test in 3 months. Okay, all doable, I don't really drink much anyway, and the others are a no brainer.

Then the nurse tells me that weight gain can also add to the liver function abnormality. Oh Crap! I have gained some weight as of late, about 20 lb, eating poorly and not exercising at all. So with this information I determined I need to take care of me and make some major lifestyle changes. The biggest of these is to lose the weight and exercise more.

So, back to the counting. On Monday I began my journey with a major change in my diet and working out. My workout plan is hardcore. Many may know of it, but if not, Google it, it's readily available information. I have started Crossfit. I have been counting the number of days to the Crossfit box (gym) I have decided to join (I am still in the first free week portion). I am learning the moves, and working out HARD. It is a very intense and focused workout, done as a group, with a coach, and a prescribed workout of the day (WOD).

To help ensure my success I am taking the next session of pool off, to not be around all the drinking that can ensue, as well as to ensure that on Friday's I actually get out of bed at 4:15 so I can make the 5:00 am workout, get home and shower and still be to work by 7 at the latest. The good news is that I am only losing 45 minutes of sleep each morning. But WOW, this is really hardcore, and I am sore, and exhausted this week from it all.

By the way, I LOVE Crossfit, it is exactly what I want and need in a workout to get me motivated, and to get me into the best shape of my life, lose the weight and then some, and hopefully help get my liver functioning correctly again. Long story for some short posts, but there you have it. Right now I choose me, and remaking me and my body into a vessel that can and will support a nice long and happy life.

Crud!

Sleep and the need for it has won.....P90X has failed to motivate me to keep getting up so freeking early to workout, and afternoons are not conducive, so, alas, I am "between workouts."

A learning experience, for sure. Something to try again, for sure. Anytime real so, no way. Life is just to crazy busy, and sleep continues to elude me at night. These are my excuses and I'm sticking with them for now.

It's Friday!

Well it appears I can finally actually walk without limping too much. So with the day "off" of work today, but work to be done from home, I will see if I can squeeze in a good workout and refind my groove. But, work needs to come first, so we'll see how well the motivation hangs with me today and what I can actually get done. Hope you all are having a great week!

It's Been a Couple of Days

Well, it's been a couple of days since my last post. Workouts have been going pretty well, until I messed up my foot this weekend. So far, no workouts this week. I am going to try to do at least the abs workout after work today, we'll see if I can get there.

So I weakened my foot/ankle mowing the lawn on Saturday morning in all the topsy turvy soil that makes up my yard. Then Saturday evening, stepping out of my truck, I stepped on nothing other than the garage floor, but somehow twisted it pretty good. Then, to top it off, that night in bed I was picking at a patch of dead skin on the ball of my other foot (yeah, I know, don't pick!) when I thought to myself that I could yank on it quick like a band aid and it would pull right off at the edge of the dead skin. Ohhhhh, was I wrong! I now have a half inch long, 1/16 inch wide hole in my skin, to the muscle, on the ball of my foot that hurts like the dickens to walk on.

Enough whining, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Nope!

Couldn't get there this morning. I am sensing a trend of morning workout M-T, afternoons W-F, and whenever I get there on Sat. I am hopeful I can leave work early enough today to get a great workout in before pool league.

Shoulders and Arms Baaaaby!

Just finished the shoulder and arms workout! It goes; sh-bi-tri, sh-bi-tri, 30 second break, sh-bi-tri, sh-bi-tri, 30 second break, sh-bi-tri, sh-bi-tri, 30 second break, sh-bi-tri, sh-bi-tri, 30 second break, then the BONUS round. I'm not quite ready for the bonus round yet. 45 minutes of that above and I'm wasted. My arms are still shaking and I need to cook myself some dinner. (in case you didn't figure out the code above, sh=shoulders, bi-biceps, tri=triceps).

Motivation waned through the day, but I found it on the way home and did it! Yay me!!! Let's see if I can get up at 4:00 tomorrow and do the Kempo aerobic fight style workout since I have pool tomorrow night.

Deeeeeeep Breath.........

Wed is Hump Day

After nearly falling asleep most of the day yesterday at work, I got to bed around 10 last night and was asleep by 10:30 or so. At 3:45 I decided that another hour of sleep was definitely warranted, so I reset the alarm to 5. I'm going to try to be motivated to hit the shoulders and arms workout after work today!

OUCH!

Alarm at 0400 hrs. Waking body check said that my foot pain was not in a good place. Started to roll over, but pushed through it instead and got up, prepped and started the Plyometric (jump training) workout. Foot pain subsided during the warmups so I was good to go. After the first two groups of exercises, my body decided it had had enough as a little nausea and knee pain hit. So, rather than push a bad position, I pulled out and regrouped so I could fight another day. Still a pretty good workout, about a half hour's worth, rather than the full hour, but no complaints and no excuses. It is what it is. I did my best for the morning, now I move on. Happy Tuesday everyone!

4/17/12

Monday Monday.......sing it with me......

Today I was actually awake and waiting for my 4:00 am alarm, ready to hit it. Wow what a difference that makes. It helps that I rested well this weekend, a few naps, 9 holes of golf, some chores and errands, not much else. Nice a quiet.

I have "cooled down" shaved and showered and enjoyed a recovery protein shake already this morning, but alas, I am still hyped up, muscles twitching, and a light sheen of sweat is still moistening my brow. I'm going to attack this week, at work, at home, in my workouts, in life!

Sat.

Had a great day yesterday! I shot a 44 on the nine holes we played, and would have done a lot better if it wasn't for the finishing two double bogeys. Did some yoga and extra stretching later in the afternoon and boy did that help.

Getting ready to hit it today. I've had my coffee and some relaxing reading time, now I can focus and hit the workout. I hope everyone has a great weekend and takes the opportunity to do at least one fun and frivolous thing.

Fry Day

No, not eat fried food day, fry in the sun day! Still hitting the workouts! Still feeling great! going to do a yoga workout this afternoon, since it will help stretch me out some after my 9 holes of golf planned for this sunny morning. I think layers are the key today, since it is currently under 50 degrees F, but forecasted to 70 degrees. 10:39 am tee time, 9 holes only so my playing partner can still make it to a funeral at 2.

Everyone have a fantastic day, I plan to!

4/10/12

Let it be known, tonight is the night, Danny's first gig as a "Rock Star" when he becomes famous later, we can all look back at this post and say, hey, I remember when ....... :-)

Plyometric jump training this morning, kicked it hard, motivation is back, I am doing better than my first week one in quantity and quality, woohoo. It's going to be a large challenge to get in the workout tomorrow after a very late night with Danny at his concert.

Do Overs!!!

So it begins again. I am starting over with P90X from day 1 as of this morning. Refocused and ready to go. I had found myself finding excuses not to workout or just going through the motions, but after a few days of not working out I found myself craving it. So, here I am again, starting over from day 1 of P90X. Today was chest and back, I hit it hard and it feels great. Each morning I need to just take those few minutes to wake up and focus myself before I start, remind myself why I do it, and then rock and roll.

Thursday Equals P90-Why

Exhaustion and motivation have pushed me over the edge this week. My hope is to regroup watching the Master's this weekend and restart on Monday, with new hopes and goals and a new outlook on progress. I tried after work today to do it, but during the first 5 minutes of warmups I found my mind not where it needs to be to do this right.

I have not failed, no worries there. Even if I choose a different path starting Monday, I have won a measure of respect for myself and for what it really takes to get this aging, aching, roundish body back into a body that will last me for a longer lifetime.

Motivation

So Monday exhaustion took the reigns from motivation. I could not even stay awake at work, had to nap after work, then alas, couldn't sleep once I was in bed for the night. So, 4:00 came and went this morning, as well. Crap! I watched the workout yesterday afternoon to know what new one I was getting into, and I knew at 4 that I did not have the gumption to actually bring the intensity I needed for this one, I am hopeful to bring it this afternoon. John & Tim, NOW I understand "Superman - Banana" OMG!!!! It's gonna be a "fun" core workout.

Week 4

I'm fighting the motivational lows right now. Planning my workout for this afternoon between work and getting Josh to scouts. This is a "change it up" week, with Yoga, Core and Kempo type exercises before starting a whole new flow next week. I know I've got it in my to do this and do it right, not just go through the motions, I just need to take some time today and refind that spark and get er done......

Not P90X

Just a quick post not about P90X. Time for something refreshing.

I am asking all my followers to send me positive and calming thoughts for the morning on Thursday. I "get" to go take my every so often, never regular, polygraph exam that is associated with having the jobs I have had and currently enjoy. As some of you well know, these are NOT a pleasant experience, the examiners job is to make you feel guilty about EVERYTHING and try to find something wrong with you. If you come out smiling, they have not done their job well. So, in that vein, my weekend starts as soon as I am done with this fun and excitement of the morning. I'm thinking a nice hard workout in the morning, followed by a gallon of coffee should spike my blood pressure enough to add some fun to the stress and anxiety of the day. Then, I'm thinking maybe a second workout afterward may be in order to center myself before pool league in the evening. Don't expect a post tomorrow unless I find a need to bitch a bit and get it out of my system.

3/28

Needed the extra hour of sleep this morning as I tossed and turned most of the night away, so arms and shoulders after work today!

Tue

Oops, just realized I didn't post yesterday......

This morning was quite the adventure. I had to dig pretty deep to make it through my third round of Plyometric jump training. Not only was it a tough workout, it felt like I was smoking a pine tree the whole time. I had windows open most of the day yesterday and the hurricane force winds blew in an ash full of smoke from the multiple thousand acre fire across town. It was hard enough to sleep without coughing, imagine sucking wind from a hellacious workout into bunt tinder laden lungs. ooooof!

Nuf said, I made it, achieved enough oxygen intake to survive and thrive. Week three, still going strong.

Sunday is Fun Day!!!

Workout is planned for later today. But first, I'm taking the boys to see the Hunger Games movie. Josh and I have both read the book and are looking forward to seeing it. Danny could take or leave it, but will come with us anyway. Saturday's workout was changed up by me, so that I could spend that time outside, in the sunshine and 70+ degree weather. It was AWESOME!

Finding that after almost 2 weeks I need to search deep within myself for that spark to keep it going. It's there, I just have to dig a little deeper to find it. Wish me luck past this small hump in the road as I keep it moving forward.

Saturday

For those three of you following this, I apologize for missing Friday's post. Here's what happened. I got home from pool very late, so I decided to workout after work and sleep an extra hour. No problem so far. While at work, still early, I was very nauseous and had plenty of hours in, so I left Ill and came home. I then slept from 8:45 to 2:45. Man did that feel good. After that long nap I was pretty much spent, so I decided Friday would be my day off for the week instead of Sunday. So here I am at Saturday, having slept in until 8, now drinking my first cup of caffeine working out my plan for the day. Taxes are number one on the list, a workout is not far behind.

I slept with the window open for the first time in a while, that felt good. Getting ready to attack my day and leave behind a wake of chaos.

Thursday

I apologize for no afternoon post yesterday, it was a rough one without the endorphins of the day to get me through. But, I found my excuse to ensure I got my workout in after work and was successful! This morning was yet another one, today; yoga. I did my best, but some pain in my feet stopped me earlier than the rest of my body wanted, so I promptly switched videos, got on the floor and did the abdominal exercise.

Weighed myself before my shower, I am down a total of 6 pounds in less than two weeks! Still loving it, pushing through a minor plateau, and making it happen.

March 21

Have a meeting with my program VP this morning at 6:00, so workout deferred until afger work today. Here's to keeping the motivation and hitting it later today.

March 20

Sipping my berry banana protein shake reminds me of the vacation trip when Linda and I took the boys to Mexico for a week of fun in the sun. I'm gonna need to do something like that again as a reward to myself before too much time flies by. Second run at Plyometrics this morning......Oh yeah, feeling the burn. I can already tell that things are changing, I am getting fitter, etc. My lungs are working better and my muscles are recovering faster between exercises.

Tomorrow may be a struggle. I need to be at work for a 6:00 am meeting. If I wait until the afternoon, then I will find excuses to not workout. If I workout in the morning, I will need to get up and hit it even earlier. Stay tuned for the decision in the continued saga of Stu and P90X.

Day 8 (Week 2 Day 1)

WOOHOO! Another week starting out! I hit it HARD this morning. Chest and back workout, same one as last Monday, but I was able to do more, last longer, and bring more intensity to the game. One week in and progress is being made. You want more evidence? I am down 4 pounds in this week! Go me!

That's a Week!!

It's 5:29 am on a Saturday morning. Sane people are still in be sleeping or some just getting home from a very late night out. But me, oh no, I am crazy good today! Alarm went off at 4, and I was so tempted to roll over for another hour. I was awake for an hour or so in the middle of the night so I wouldn't have blamed myself too much. Instead, I took a few deep breaths, rolled on out of bed and did the P90X KempoX workout. Lots of shadow boxing, kicks and punches, a great cardio workout with some shoulder and leg hammering in the midst. SWEET!

Now I'm drinking a protein shake listening to the coffee maker go through it's final throws of water through filter. What a great way to start a great day! John and I have a tee time at 8:42 this morning for 18 holes of golf in spring weather, mid 70's today. With this workout first, I should be primed and ready to whack that ball for the first of 2012. Then tonight, another party bus ride to Loveland to cheer on some friends while they dance and perform in a vaudevillian burlesque night of fun! Good thing tomorrow's workout is optional/stretching, I should be able to sleep in and still do well with that one.

I am feeling great, loving the motivation and endorphin rush, looking forward to progress in many life aspects.

Five!

Just late yesterday my legs finally stopped hurting so much from the Tuesday workout, then today I hit them hard again for legs and back! Woohoo! I may not keep up with them and I may not do all the reps they do. YET! But, that's the way it starts, and I can already feel a difference. Kempo X tomorrow, a cross between kick boxing, taibo and what have you, it should be another good one. Regrets on kicking in to this, NOT A ONE!!!!

Day 4 Still Rocking!

Four days in, four workouts completed. Yesterday was an adventure it stiffness. The lactic acids had built up in my legs and hip area from the Plyometric day so I was quite the gimp, especially if I sat too long. Then add in stairs up or down, wow! What a great pain, knowing that it's all because I actually worked out hard and my muscles are rebuilding themselves for the next time. I had forgotten how much I love and hate it. The hardest part is actually the first 5 seconds of the alarm clock. After that, I get my head in the right place and go, then the rest of the day I get to feel self righteous and great about myself, and there ain't nothin' wrong wit' dat!

Day 3

I am coming to realize rapidly that I need a whole lot less sleep when I a working out like this. Yes, it is hard to get my backside out of bed at 4 am, but then I get the endorphins coursing through my body and I'm set for another great day. I head to bed roughly the same times as before, but alas, don't really sleep until later. Maybe this is my key to getting more done......

I absolutely LOVE starting my days this way!!!! Heart pumping, sweat pouring, muscles screaming. It all puts my head in a good place for the day, and has me starting each day doing something for me. I'm an addict, who had forgotten the endorphin rush but has rediscovered it.

Day 2

This morning was plyometrics. I'm pretty sure the name is derived from "metrics" meaning a measuring system and "plyo" meaning to ply the fibers of one's muscles from each other. Combined they refer to a torturous journey that takes pride in how far apart they can pry these muscle fibers from one another. That was one hellaciously fun and crazy workout. When Tony said, "...we're halfway through..." I almost fainted. I was reaching for the pause button to just say enough for one day, when they started the next exercise. I said to myself, "Self! Suck it up! Yes it hurts, but in a good way! Just do this!" So I did and made it through the hour.

Let me just say that it is a wonderful thing that shaving is not a precision task. Between my shaking legs from today's workout and very sore shoulders from yesterday's, I'm glad I don't use a straight razor, or I'd be short one juggler.

Woohoo! Day 2 is in the books! I'm getting into this love/hate relationship and feeling great!

WOW!!!!

Okay, first off let me say, I should have actually called yesterday's posts Day 0, but I'm aonly an engineer, numbers don't really mean that much :-P

Day 1: Alarm went off at 4:00 am Mountain Daylight Time. Voided the bladder, put on some working out clothes and was into the warmup by 4:10. WOW! What a workout! As imagined, I couldn't keep up with the pros in the video, but no worries, I did my best and then some. After the hour, I saw there was another 18 minutes of abdominal workout. Ooof! I was spent. So, to ensure I gave the abs their due attention, I saved them until after work. I just finished that horrific fun a few minutes ago. OMG! I've got a long way to go, but I've taken the first step........

Based on what I'm feeling now, I expect to be nearly crippled in my upper body tomorrow, thankfully (or not) I will hit it early again then and work out some of those kinks. Day one is in the books, I ate well and hit it hard. Time to take Josh to his Boy Scout meeting soon. Early to bed and out like a light tonight :-)

Day -1 Continued

Finished the pretest, fully expecting to not be up to the levels they suggest to start the program. Surprise, surprise, I scored lower on a couple of items than suggested, the same on a couple more and exceeded their minimums in the other categories, which in my estimation puts me square in the heart of the starting goal. First off, woohoo! Second, wow, I thought I was (am) in pretty crappy shape, 45+ pounds over weight, etc. but I am "in shape" enough to start. Really worried about the rest of America's health now.

I'm pretty sure I have a large bruise on the inside of my chest where my heart was trying to beat it's way out, and my arms feel a little jello like, but I am ready to do this!!!!

P90X Day (-1)

I am starting the P90X extreme workout program tomorrow (3/12/12) for the full 90 days. My diet plan will not be the one outlined in the P90X plan, but a modified version of the "Flat Belly" diet I had some success with before. My goal here is to blog about each week at a minimum, I am hopeful to blog each day. So, send me positive thoughts, and focus as I work to try to better my physical, and along with it my mental, etc. Since the only way I can ensure I will actually perform said workout each day, it will happen early in the morning. My alarm is set for 0400 hrs.......

I will take the "pretest" for a baseline before I eat lunch today! I am excited and scared, but most importantly I am doing this for me, and no one else.......YAY me!