Personal Best! (But Not There Yet)
rowing, personal best, concept ii
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The funny thing is, I wasn't even planning on hitting the gym today; I was going to take it easy and give myself a rare break, since I've been feeling a little rundown lately. I rolled out of bed this morning and thought - what the heck, I'll do a quick workout and get this Friday over with and onto the weekend...
Friday is normally a day that I run, so I wanted to do something cardio in lieu of a lunchtime run. I walked into the gym around 6:30 am and the place was empty, not even the crickets were chirping. As I scanned the room, trying to decide where to begin, my eyes locked onto it. There it was, smug, in the center of the unmoving, silent cardio machines - the Concept II. It was almost as if it was daring me to come over, knowing that I would pass. On the contrary, I walked straight to it and started stretching out for the upcoming battle. It coldly sat there, doing it's best to intimidate me.
I sat down and strapped my feet in, adjusted the damper to max, then turned the electronic display on. I paused and my confidence wavered. Would I come in at 9 minutes again? I haven't been able to break that barrier despite all the tips from the college rowing studs that I know. Form was good, breathing was good, cardio was good, heck - 9 minutes is good! But not good enough. The guy who consistently wins the yearly rowing competition came in with a blazing 8:30 (defeating the guy that he had won with an amazing 8:31) in the previous competition. Since then, I've had my sights set on 8:30. Yeah, me - the average joe with no previous rowing experience. After trying it out a few times, I quickly got to the 9 minute range and thought - I can do this! So now here I was, wondering if I would hit the barrier and bounce backward, yet again.
On the first pull, I felt something was different today. The Concept II felt it as well - I could tell that it knew that today I was stronger than usual. My form was smooth, and my b... read entire entry
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on 3/28/2008
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10.2
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Have Sex, Live Longer
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143
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The number of muscles you send into fat-torching mode when you have sex
30
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Percentage by which your immunity improves if you have intercourse once or twice a week
50
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Percentage by which your risk of dying of heart disease dips if you have at least two orgasms a week
118
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Calories burned by a 180-pound man during 1 hour of foreplay
11
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Percentage decrease in your risk of prostate cancer when you have 8 to 12 orgasms a month
Above numbers from "By The Numbers", Men's Health, April 2008.
Who can argue with this fitness plan?!?!
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on 3/24/2008
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29.3
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Change Is Constant
change, modification, yin yang, balance
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There is beauty in that phrase - a simple statement of three words that efficiently and elegantly describes balance through conflict. Ok, I'll get off my philosophical soap box now and get to the point. I think this concept applies to life in general, but I'll keep it in the context of fitness here, and the point is: if your goal is to be fit for life, then you have to embrace change.
I was talking to another guy my age in the locker room the other day. He is a very athletic person, participating in several sports and has kids that are getting involved with youth sports. Recently he had shoulder surgery and he believes the cause was all of the power lifting he's done over the years. He said now that he's getting older, he doesn't have anything to prove so he has changed his workout to lighter weights and higher reps, focusing more on cardio and conditioning than size and strength. So there's one aspect of "change" and that is we must adapt to changes in ourselves and possibly change priorities or even mindset as we get older or experience changes in our physical makeup.
Something I've been doing lately (and commenting about it a lot here) is trying new modifications to my own workouts. I'm all over the map for cardio, e.g. running, rowing, kickboxing, jumping rope (thanks, kettlebell27!), even adding supersets and 30 second rests to my weight training (thanks, Mitch and ryan!). I've also tried a new thing called 4-minute drills (feel free to ask what those are) and "cuts classes", which are now both staples in my workout routine. Now, I don't have ADD - but what I'm finding is that by adding modifications, variations, new things to the workout, I'm having to adapt both physically and mentally to the new challenges - and it keeps me interested and excited to go to that same ol' gym every day, often more than once daily.
Ahh, yes - change is constant... Much like the yin and yang: inseparable, one is nothing without the... read entire entry
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on 3/19/2008
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13.8
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Mixed (Up) Martial Arts
martial arts, self defense, karate, kung fu
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I've been thinking about creating a group for traditional martial artists, but I'll see how the response to this blog goes first.
So, you're wondering what's up with the title "Mixed (Up) Martial Arts"? I'll get to that in just a sec... First, let me introduce myself in the context of this post. I've been involved with the "traditional" martial arts for over 20 years (yeah, yeah I started young ;) When I was a kid, I took a rec center self-defense class and found then that it was something I liked to do. As I got a little older (late teens) I took judo for a couple of years and even took a tai chi class for about 6 months (sorry, don't remember what style/form). When I found out that a good friend of mine was a black belt in kajukenbo, I decided to take a class to see what it was about and I was hooked. I eventually reached black belt in that system, but then moved to another city, making it difficult to still train at the same school. A year or two went by, and I was itching to train again so I found a school close to home and again, I was hooked; this time in a system known as bok-fu. Starting all over again at white belt, I eventually reached black belt level in the bok-fu system and was a lead instructor at the school.
Now, when I say "traditional" martial arts, the two main systems that I've been involved in were not true, thousand-year-old, traditional systems, such as karate, judo, kung-fu. They were both eclectic styles, meaning they were comprised of pieces of various traditional systems, thus forming a new system in their own right. Which is why I think they were better, at least from a modern, practical self-defense perspective.
Kajukenbo: "ka" (karate), "ju" (jujitsu), "ken" (kenpo), "bo" (chinese boxing, aka kung-fu)
This is a martial art that was born in the 40's in Hawaii, and was used for teaching WWII soldiers hand-to-hand combat survival techniques. Because of this, it is direct, bruta... read entire entry
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on 3/11/2008
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12.1
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I Love Mondays
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Well, the truth is I hate Mondays... Coming down off the weekend, getting back into the grind of work, ugh. Especially with the weather we had this weekend: sunny, blue skies, 70 deg F. Hangin' out in the backyard under a shady tree with a Corona in hand - does it get any better?
It's a good thing I went for a run early in the morning on Sunday (1 hour earlier than usual due to daylight savings), otherwise the transition to Monday would be even harder. Not only getting back to work, but getting back to working out, too! Today was one of those days where any excuse would have kept me from the gym. Luckily no excuses came up - I semi-reluctantly went to the gym and ended up having an excellent workout... Pushed extra hard to make up for those Coronas. I ended with planks and as I was holding, shaking, dripping sweat everywhere, I felt fantastic.
As for the work thing, I've heard a saying, "It's not work unless you'd rather be doing something else" This is very true and Mondays are definitely a day I'd rather be doing something else. But as for the workout, "I Love Mondays!!"
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on 3/10/2008
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6.8
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Hey, Quit Showing Off!!
showoff
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Someday soon, I'm going to start that workout journal... Today, however, I'm just going to rant.
Ok, I'm usually not one to whine; I normally am pretty easy going and go with the flow. Not once, but twice today while at the gym I received comments that rubbed me the wrong way and basically implied that my purpose for going to the gym was to show off.
First, I was in a group conditioning class and as we were nearing the end I was pushing pretty hard (like I normally do). The class was doing planks with 30 seconds on and 10 seconds off, for 3 sets. I like to test the limits (go hard or go home, right?) so I was staying up between sets. On the final set, I went one step further and was alternating bringing each knee up to my midsection (this was mainly to take my mind off the extreme pain at that point, but it actually makes the plank a little more challenging). I heard someone from across the room say, "C'mon Paul, quit showing off!" To which I responded, "Hey, I'm just trying to push myself." Ok, let that one roll off and leave it at that.
Next, since I never go *just* for a group class, I was in the gym after the class warming up with chin-ups and dips. Between warm-up sets, a guy next to me said (loudly so that others would hear), "I need to find another time to come here so I don't have to be next to you and feel so inferior!" I just smiled back and accepted his 'compliment', but it really just pissed me off. Maybe if he actually did a chin-up once in a while instead of standing around talking in his workout clothes, he wouldn't have to feel that way.
I'm happy with the way I look and feel, but it sure isn't magic - it's consistent, hard work. I realized long ago that the only real difference between someone that wishes and someone that achieves can be summed up in one word: ACTION. So normally, if these two incidents were isolated I probably wouldn't even be typing this. But since they were ... read entire entry
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on 3/6/2008
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18.7
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Rockin' the Workout
music, mp3, ipod, rock
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I couldn't decide whether to make this a tip or a blog entry. It gets a little personal with taste in music and I've been wanting to start a blog, so here goes...
I am definitely a music lover and although MP3 players haven't been around that long (relatively speaking), it's hard for me to imagine working out without my iPod attached to me. How did I ever get along without it all those years? When I first got it, I tried running with it and the earbuds kept falling out. I was thinking, "This is a freakin' hassle..." Well, it's good that I persisted and got a pair of earbuds that have small, rubbery hooks that hook the ear and keep those buds snugly in place. Now, if I don't have the iPod with me (rare), I almost dread going to the gym and having to listen to "80's, 90's, and today" pop crap on the radio. Or even worse, get caught up in conversations with those people that stand around talking more than working out. Can you tell I'm a bit of a loner?
So, the point of this blog is to give some suggestions on how to fit the music to the workout, because for me it makes a huge difference. I will say that my musical baseline is metal on the slightly alternative side. I was a teenager during the hair-band 80's metal era and a little bit of that taste lingers, but I do like to explore new artists and stay current. Here are a few samples of what I listen to for any given workout:
Weightlifting: Mostly aggressive base riffs, low distorted guitar chords, double-bass drums.
*Metallica, anything from the early days: "Whiplash", "Hit the Lights", "The Wait", "Am I Evil", "Blitzkreig"
*Disturbed, mainly from "The Sickness", but others too: "Voices", "Stupify", "Believe"
*Stone Temple Pilots, anything from "Core" in fact, the whole thing
*Limp Bizkit: "Break Stuff", "Rollin'"
*Linkin Park, lot's of good stuff: "Hybrid Theory" (the whole thing), "Bleed It Out", "Given Up", "What I've Done"
read entire entry
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on 3/5/2008
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25.1
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