Fit by 60! - TomO's Pledge

Hi Tom, I've just gone through the last several pages of your diary trying to catch up. This is great reading. You are right: we all have our personal demons. May be weight, but could be a lot of things. I'm much more aware of my demons and how to "manage" them, as I've "learned" me with age.

So give us more on the workout. One sentence that says I had a great workout is just NOT meeting MY needs! I've been waiting for you to get back to it and give us the update. Did your body respond great after some down time? Or were you sluggish? Unexpected muscle soreness? Or no muscle soreness, to your surprise? Your insights would be valuable. Right now I'm exercising every day (though sometimes this is a just a long walk) and I'm not willing to really take any breaks because I'm "afraid" to lose the habit. I think many of us are in this same (like Bethann has written), and your insights on "rest, recovery and ramp up" will be greating reading!
 
Saturday, June 9, 2007

What a difference a day makes! Weight is back down to 233.4. Blood pressure is back down to 115/72. Resting pulse is still a bit high at 59, but at least it's back inthe 50's.

Food was high quality, at 2,643 calories:
108 gm fat, 36%; 26 gm saturated, 9%
260 gm carb, 36%; 39 gm fiber
165 gm protein, 25%
3 gm alcohol, 1%

It sure was great to work out again! Yesterday afternoon, I did Cardio Coach Volume 6. The session lasted a little over an hour, and burned 1,056 calories. Max heartrate was 166 (98% of max) and average was 142 (84% of max).

Yesterday's workout:
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May 24th workout:
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If I compare yesterday's session with the same workout from May 24, it's clear I've become a bit deconditioned. Throughout the workout, my speeds were 10 strides per minute less than they were on the 24th, yet my heartrate was in almost every case about 5 beats per minute faster. I noticed my resting pulse crept up during my 10 days off as well. However, I think that after a couple of weeks I should be back to where I was.

I was happy that I was able to do the entire workout without totally pooping out, though. I could have pushed it a bit harder, but I want to ease back into my routine over a 3 week period, the way Steve recommended. I'll be going solid for the next 3 months, so no use risking injury.

Working out again put me in a much better mood as well. Food intake was around 2,600 calories, but with a NARM of 2390 calories, plus 1,370 calories from cardio and an hour of gardening, I ended the day with a deficit of 1,116 calories. In another 4 days, I should have the surplus I accumulated during my rest period offset with deficits, so at least I'll be even then.

Today is my first weights workout with my new routine. I'm going to take it slow, because there's a lot of new stuff, and I want to make sure my form is good.

That is very true. I think you get to an age where you realize its not so much fun to just eat and not care about it, your health starts to decline. You look at your family and wonder how they are gonna live without you.
People who have never been overweight and tried to loose it often misunderstand and belittle it a lot i guess (not getting at Steve btw here, just generalizing).

Wishes, you understand exactly. Not that Steve doesn't understand, too, because he does -- he's just trying to push me in the right direction, like a good coach would. But I think you understand what I'm talking about on a very personal level.

So give us more on the workout. One sentence that says I had a great workout is just NOT meeting MY needs! I've been waiting for you to get back to it and give us the update. Did your body respond great after some down time? Or were you sluggish? Unexpected muscle soreness? Or no muscle soreness, to your surprise? Your insights would be valuable. Right now I'm exercising every day (though sometimes this is a just a long walk) and I'm not willing to really take any breaks because I'm "afraid" to lose the habit. I think many of us are in this same (like Bethann has written), and your insights on "rest, recovery and ramp up" will be greating reading!

JLynne, I hope the above meets your needs! LOL. Ultimately, though, Steve is right. You can't just keep going and going. I was clearly getting run down before my break, and not making progress. On top of that I injured my back with sloppy form. What I wasn't prepared for was how hard the break would be psychologically. Heavy exercise has become such a habit with me that I really went awry without it. And toward the end of my break, it started going in a vicious circle, with me getting stressed out, and eating more to calm myself down, which would stress me out even more. Many of us here are quite familiar with that scenario.

Anyway, I feel great today - no soreness at all, just invigorated. I can hardly wait for this afternoon, when I do the new weights routine!
 

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It's so nice to hear a happiness in your post again! :jump: It's also nice to see everything is moving downward again on the scales and on the BP, that's excellent to hear, good job!
Kim
 
Good for you for being so gung ho about exercise! That is an accomplishment in itself :). What does your new weight routine look like?
 
It's so cute how cheerful you become once you get back into exercising!:jump: To piggy-back onto something Wishes said :I think you get to an age where you realize its not so much fun to just eat and not care about it, your health starts to decline. That hit home with me this morning. I work very weird hours, nights on Fridays, morning/afternoons on Saturdays. So last night a bunch of co-workers went out after work for drinks and pizza and I came home instead, went to bed reasonably early and had a super early run before work. And I'm looking at everyone piling in this afternoon, looking tired and drawn and doing more clock-watching than working. And, even though we're all a still fairly "young" bunch, I could'nt help wondering how long before that lifestyle starts catching up and the "fun" starts extracting a pretty steep price.
 
Hi Tom. Thank you for meeting my needs. LOL. Your entry was my suspicion, but i'm glad to read it. Your changes are also interesting. I'm going to have to print this out for a fresh read later on.

Kim is right. You happiness is beaming through! Thanks for sharing.... it is contagious!
 
Workout Log, June 9, 2007

Just came back from my first new Weights workout, and I'm stoked! Here it is:
View attachment 3668
I took it easy on the weights, like Steve advised. I was a little worried about my back on the Pendlay Rows, but everything was AOK. :) The Lat Pulldown gave me a little problem, mainly because of the underhand grip - I'm not used to that, and on top of that, I have a little arthritis in my fingers, so it was tough. But I'll get used to it soon enough. I could only handle 2 15 lb. dumbbells on the lateral raises, which is truly pathetic -- but it was the 301 tempo that got to me there. I saw some guy doing the same exercise with 30 lb dumbbells, but he was swinging his arms back and forth like a pendulum, LOL. Big, big difference! We don't have a seated calf raise machine in our gym, so I used the standing calf raise instead. Again, the 331 tempo made this a lot tougher.

I actually liked the bodyweight calisthenics at the end! Of course, I look kind of silly doing jump squats at my weight -- I'm lucky to get 8 inches off the ground! And, by that time, my legs were getting a bit tired, too.

I still had an energy reserve after, so I decided to do 30 minutes of steady state cardio. I burned another 550 calories, with a max HR of 152 (89% of max) and an average HR of 144 (85% of max).

So all together I burned 900 calories in about 65 minutes - not a bad workout.

Kim, Blancita, Cym, and JLynne - thanks for your kind words of encouragement. Cym, I remember you said once that we might have been each other in a previous lifetime. Your comment reminded me of that -- you totally understand what was going on in my head! Four days ago, I started feeling like I did a year ago, almost depressed, but I was rebelling against it instead of accepting it the way I did then.

Actually, I think life is presenting me with a solution for the next time I take a week off. It turns out that Marlene's car, which has 160,000 miles on it, is dying, and it would cost almost $4k to fix it. So instead of running out and taking on a new loan for another car, we started thinking about if we really needed 2 cars. I work at home, the gym is 5 minutes away, and I'm in good shape. So I think what we're going to do is get me a recumbent bicycle, and give Marlene my car. Then, when I have to go to the office (about 3 times a month) I'll just rent a car. $150 a month for car rentals sure beats $500 a month for car payments, insurance, and gas!

So, getting back to the "solution" for my rest periods, this may be it. The next time I have to take a week off, I simply use that week to ride my bike a lot more. That way, the muscles I usually use will get a break, but I'll still keep up a good level of activity.
 

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What made you decide on a recumbent bike? They seem hard to ride from the way it looks, but I've never tried them. You ARE hardcore Tom! Are there paths for riding around your area, to stores and stuff, or is it dangerous?
 
Sunday, June 10, 2007

Weight: 233.2 - Round 5, Day 20. So far this month, I'm actually running a surplus, so that doesn't surprise me at all. However, that will soon reverse itself, and I'll be on my way to winning this Round, too.

The more I think about the bike idea, the more I like it. I think we'll go looking at bikes today. The recumbent ones can be pretty pricey, and I don't know a thing about them. I'm pretty sure we can get a couple of thousand dollars for our old car, so at least it will be a wash financially. But over the next couple of years, we should save a bundle. Since my car is a Honda Insight, instead of spending $250 a month on gas, Marlene will probably only spend around $75 a month. And, of course, we won't have to spend $200 or $300 on maintenance the way we have been.

It's strange, we're such a car addicted society, it seems very weird to think about not having a car, even when you don't really need one.
 
What made you decide on a recumbent bike? They seem hard to ride from the way it looks, but I've never tried them. You ARE hardcore Tom! Are there paths for riding around your area, to stores and stuff, or is it dangerous?

About 20 years ago, I had a ruptured disk in my neck. The neurosurgeon did a fantastic job repairing it, but I can't keep my neck bent back for more than a few minutes without it being very painful. So a regular bike is out for me.

I know it will take some getting used to. They look a lot more "shaky" than regular bikes. I've already decided I don't want one of those that's really low to the ground. They make some that raise you a bit higher, so that drivers can see you.

The town where I live is very bike friendly. It's not like Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara, but it's close. There are bike lanes everywhere, and on the weekend, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of bike riders on Highway 1 by the ocean.
 
I think the bike idea is a good one Tom. Really!! When I lived in California I used to take a VAN POOL into work EVERY MORNING. Since I lived about 45 miles from San Francisco it was a good thing. However, the only down side was listening to people next to you Blah, Blah in the morning when all you want to do is take a nap, OR have some guy sit next to you that either One wears to much BAD cologne, or TWO has the worst BO ever!! But, it was cheaper than driving myself, and someone else was doing the driving. I'm not kidding, if I had a car pool out here in my area, I would be taking it with NO PROBLEM! I hate driving, and I hate spending all that damn gas money. I live WAY to far out of town to bike into work it would take me all day to get there or I would walk or bike if I could, I LOVE BIKING! I think your making the right call on this one. I hope you find a bike that works perfect for you! GOOD LUCK! Oh and on the workout yesterday, I think you did a fabulous job! Don't put yourself down so much for not being able to jump up off the ground real high or lift using a ton of weights, all that takes time my friend, you'll get there, just be patient and REMEMBER your not 20 any more too, we all slow down a little after 30, so don't forget that. Your doing a lot better than some of the 30 year old me I know now, so keep up your good work!!!! :jump: :) :rotflmao:
 
Thanks, Kim. Yeah, the jumping thing is pretty funning to watch -- all that effort, just to get 6 inches off the ground. When I was telling Marlene about the jump squats, she looked at me in amazement. "You mean, you jump in the air with 200 pounds on your back??" I burst out laughing. Not THAT would be an accomplishment!

There are some things I no longer expect of myself, alas, and jumping two feet in the air from a stand-still is one of them. :)
 
So, getting back to the "solution" for my rest periods, this may be it. The next time I have to take a week off, I simply use that week to ride my bike a lot more. That way, the muscles I usually use will get a break, but I'll still keep up a good level of activity.

I lOVE bike-riding. I used to ride my bike to my other job a few years back beause I lived so close--now I'm far too far away and the route is dangerous. Great workout plans! I'm going to do that as well. Ok, have a great day!
 
Tom, it's good to hear that you're feeling good after returning to working out and quality eating! The bike thing sounds great as well. :)
I also wish that during the next weeks you feel the positive effects of the rest period in your body and mind. It will give you another tool to survive the psychological difficulties of the next rest.
I also congratulate you on the priceless insight into women and the short term weight-gain trouble in the menstrual cycle. +5 pounds is my personal record of weight-gain in 24 hours. Known to lead to depression and emotional eating... Somehow I'm sure you understand us thoroughly. ;)
Great workout yesterday! Keep the BP down! :D
Julie
 
I lOVE bike-riding. I used to ride my bike to my other job a few years back beause I lived so close--now I'm far too far away and the route is dangerous. Great workout plans! I'm going to do that as well. Ok, have a great day!
Hi, Val. Today I tried riding a recumbent for the first time, and it was a blast. The seat was so comfortable. My balance was a bit off at first, but I think after a couple of days, there wouldn't be a problem. We're going to wait a week just to make sure, but I'm psyched!

I also congratulate you on the priceless insight into women and the short term weight-gain trouble in the menstrual cycle. +5 pounds is my personal record of weight-gain in 24 hours. Known to lead to depression and emotional eating... Somehow I'm sure you understand us thoroughly. ;)Julie

Julie, there's an old Buddhist saying -- "If you see the Buddha, run!"
I think the same applies to any man who claims to understand women. :rotflmao:
 
Julie, there's an old Buddhist saying -- "If you see the Buddha, run!"
I think the same applies to any man who claims to understand women. :rotflmao:

Tom, I think it should be jump instead of run....
because Buddha Jump Over The Wall. lol
(It's quite a famous yummy damn expensive dish too) :rotflmao:
 
Monday, June 11, 2007

Weight: 233.0, Round 5, Day 21. Yesterday was interval/HIIT cardio day, so I did Cardio Coach V6 (Candace) again. Session lasted 1 hour and burned 1,029 calories. Max HR was 168 (99% of max) and average HR was 139 (82% of max).
View attachment 3676

I decided to keep the resistance levels and speeds exactly the same as 2 days ago, just to see if I was making any progress in general fitness, and apparently I am. Not much, but the heartrates on almost all the sprints and hills were down 2 to 3 beats. I'm not where I was before the break, but getting closer.

Today is Weights Day 2 -- back to squatting and deadlifts!

Food yesterday was pretty good: 2,403 calories -
Fat: 71 gm, 26%; 13 gm saturated
Carbs: 276 gm, 42%; 39 gm fiber
Protein: 181 gm, 30%
Alcohol: 0

I had a lot of fish yesterday, both for lunch and for dinner, so that, along with a protein shake after the workout, boosted my protein to a good level.

With the NARM of 2,393 calories, plus 1,029 calories from the workout, I ended the day with a nice deficit of 1,019 calories, the 3rd day in a row with a 1,000+ calorie deficit.

Some people say exercise makes them hungry. I find the opposite. I am quite comfortable eating less when I work out.
 

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