Workouts Great, Weight the Same

August 2015

I've added a bit more running (mostly treadmill but some road) to my weekly workouts, and I'm still lifting.  The body weight though never changes.  It fluctuates from 227 to 230 lbs.  If I skip dinner, then I may weigh in at 227.  It has nothing to do - so far as I can tell - with the number of calories I eat.

I may have to go back to the Atkins Diet.  It was great once upon a time, but I don't know if I have the will to do it again.  However, I also don't seem to have much choice.

I've been substituting veggie, fruit, protein drinks for meals.  I've been increasing my fiber consumption.  I'm drinking lots of water.  I'm not eating sugar.

I am still eating rice and bread.  I am still drinking coffee with cream and sugar substitute in the mornings.  I may have to simply nix the breads and rice.

Ingredients for one version of my protein shake; I use water or
unsweetened almond milk for the liquid base

230 Lbs, Very Strong, Very Fat @ Age 45

Things are not going too well.  I gain 10 pounds in Ramadan, and now I'm sitting at a very fat 230 pounds.  I feel terrible, but I keep eating poorly.  The only positive thing going for me these days is that my strength training is going very well and I'm the strongest I've been in many years.

I need to find a way to be this strong but a lot less fat (I'm not trying to be cut or ripped; that was too hard to do as a young man so now it's simply not in the cards for me).

Moderation does not work for me.

I need something extreme and I need a goal.

So here are the goals:

By September 12, 2015

Weight: 210 pounds

Body fat %: 20%

Exercise Benchmarks: run 4 miles in 44 minutes on the treadmill at a 3% incline, bench press 210 pounds x 25 reps, dead lift 210 pounds x 10 reps, leg press 320 pounds x 10 reps

By November 14, 2015

Weight: 200 pounds

Body fat %: under 20%

Exercise Benchmarks: run 5 miles in 50 minutes on the treadmill at a 3% incline, bench press 195 pounds x 35 reps, dead lift 250 pounds x 10 reps, leg press 370 pounds x 10 reps

HIIT Added; Getting My Knee Fixed

It's been a rough time.

Without running as a mainstay I've felt blah.

Over the last 14 months I've packed on solid muscle, but I've also added about 10 pounds of fat and that is proving to be very hard to reverse.

Yesterday I went to the gym to try something new: HIIT.  That stands for high intensity interval training.

I jogged on the treadmill for 1.25 miles to warm up, and then I did a little HIIT on the elliptical machine and the stationary bike.  On the elliptical I did 10 minutes of 1:1 (one minute of high intensity, 1 minute of regular intensity).  On the stationary bike I did 5 minutes of HIIT using the 1:1 ratio as well.

I was definitely tired afterwards.  I liked it. I'm going to do this more regularly in my workouts going forward.

Let's try this again… Falling off the wagon… Getting back on

It's been a tough 12 months.  It was around this time last year that I began to slack with my diet and workouts, and it has had a noticeable impact on my physical and mental well-being.

Today I am 45 years old, and I am still trying to stay in shape.  That I am still trying is a positive sign.  I've fallen off the fitness and healthy living wagon (again), but I'm going to climb back on today.

Up to now this blog has been about me chronicling my efforts to keep myself motivated.  I am going to try to use this blog going forward to educate myself on fitness and healthy living issues that impact men over 40.

Never, never, never, backslide! It sucks!

I let myself get lazy last year, and now I'm paying for it.

I didn't run very much.  I got lazy with my diet.  I got away from the "food is fuel" mantra.

Now I'm trying to get back in shape and it is depressing.  At this time in 2010 I was really getting into shape.  Now, 4 years later, I'm struggling.

To make matters worse, a few months ago I twisted my right ankle.  It's been on-and-off achy every since.  I was able to get it healed to the point where I could run on the treadmill again.  Back in March I was at the Grand Canyon and was jogging along some trails.  I didn't injure it per se, but the achy feeling return soon thereafter.  It subsided a bit, and then on Sunday I went out for a 3 mile run (only my second time out this year and the longest of the year).  It felt great, but on Monday the ankle start aching, and it's been pretty bad every since.

I joined a local gym (Planet Fitness).  I'm trying to lift weights while the ankle gets better.  I'm feeling very impatient though.  Recovering from workouts takes longer, and I have less time to spend at the gym when I do work out.

Tough Mudder Michigan 2013: Team Red White & Blue

The smiley faced guy in the white Team RWB shirt
is my buddy.  The guy in the red Team RWB shirt
with the pained look on his face is me.  We just crossed the
finish line.

June 29, 2013 - Brooklyn, MI.  My first Tough Mudder was, for me at least, just what I expected.  It was tough, and it was muddy.  It was a 12 mile course with 20 obstacles interspersed throughout.  It is, to date, the hardest event I've tried, and I loved it.  I'll definitely do another one next year.

I was definitely not prepared for this run.  It's not that I didn't train right.  I just didn't train enough.  And I came in too heavy.  I gained about 15 pounds over the winter and I didn't shed the weight before the Tough Mudder.  That hurt me too.

I ran with a small team of 3 (myself included).  Our group, Team RWB, had a total of about 50 who ran in smaller groups such as ours.  My team was great.  They could've completed this course faster but they hung back so I could keep up.  That sucked.

Tough Mudder is something to be tackled with friends.  It's a great bonding experience.  I'm looking forward to running it again next year.

Tough Mudder, Chicago Marathon

I'm doing the Tough Mudder on June 29, 2013 in Michigan with a few friends.  I'm not as ready as I should be, but I will be okay.  I anticipate being very sore the next day.  After this race, I'm going to be singularly focused on training for the Chicago Marathon.

That's right!  I got into the marathon!  Team "Leave No Veteran Behind" was able to secure a few more spots on its team.  I tried to sign up with them initially, but because of the messed up registration and subsequent lottery, I did not get in.  Now I'm in.

Yes, it's going to be hard, but to hell with second guessing.  I'm going to do it.  I ran the Soldier Field 10 Mile run over Memorial Day weekend and have run up to 5 miles at a time since then, so I have some base from which to work from henceforth.

I bought a beginners marathon training plan from Runners World and will try to follow it to the letter.  The period from July 10 through August 10 will be tough because that will be Ramadan and I fully intend to observe the fast and train.  My initial thought is that I will do my runs in the evening after I break my fast.  That way I can hydrate, fuel up, run, and then re-hydrate and re-fuel before going to bed.

The training calls for a 4 mile run today and tomorrow (each), and then a 10 mile long run on Sunday.  The 10 mile run is going to be hard.  I'm going to need to get up early and just knock it out.

Here we go!