December update

I would suppose it is high time for me to update my own blog.  Recently a couple guys and I decided to put together a baseball blog.  Seems fitting.  That is about all I watch from April to September so I might as well do something mildly stimulating to my mind and vocabulary by writing about it.


So at last I blogged I was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime in Utah.  After looking over the BOSS (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) information for about 3 years I had the chance to take the plunge and do it.  It was a week long from a Sunday to a Saturday morning but it felt like about 387 straight days.  To say that it was a difficult physical and metal undertaking is like saying that WWII was a bit of a skirmish.  Despite getting physically in solid shape for a good six weeks prior I was quickly filleted of my belief that I was ready.  


I won't divulge details so that those that might read this and are thinking of taking the challenge miss out on the "surprises".  Let me list out some of the experiences:  got dehydrated, vomited, stung by wasps, stung by fire ants, lost 9 lbs in 6 days, hiked 80 miles, hiked/walked 31 miles in one day and in the dark, hiked regularly in the dark, slept on the ground, slept on the ground with no blanket, drank water that looked like Pig Pen took a bath in it, drank more water with tadpoles and mosquito larva in it, made fire, got rained on, dodged a flash flood in a canyon, made GORP (Good Ole Raisins & Peanuts) a meal, went 44 hours without food, slogged through rivers, climbed at death defying heights, and finally used duct tape as blister first aid.


Yeah it was hard.  And not really fun.  But it was good.  The people were good, the scenery was amazing, and the skills I learned were awesome.  But mostly I can say I did it.  

12 days till the BOSS Course

On January 3rd 2011 here are the numbers:


Gravity - 181.0 lbs
Lard Count (body fat) - 21.4%
Orbit (size around midsection) - 39 inches
Left Gun (bicep) - 13.25
Right Gun (bowling side) - 13.5
Left Root (thigh) - 22.5
Right Root - 22.375

My goals to be achieved by June 1 are thus:
8% Lard Count or less
Bench Press 200lbs
Run 5k in under 27 minutes
Consume my body weight in beans


Tonight after the turbo charged fitness routine for the past three weeks we sit here:


Gravity - 172.4 lbs
Lard Count (body fat) - ?
Orbit (size around midsection) - 37 inches
Left Gun (bicep) - 13.5
Right Gun (bowling side) - 14.5
Left Root (thigh) - 21.5
Right Root - 22.0


I have no idea where I am for body fat.  The scale I have says I range from 18-21% and there is just no way that is accurate.  You can't add an inch to your bicep, drop and inch from each thigh, and 2 inches from the waist and stay at 21% body-fat.  My best guess is that I am in the 16-17% range.  


So less than two weeks now till my survival course.  The rest of this week I really need to step it up.  I need to hit the weights twice, run two 5k, and do the 9 mile walk again.  That all needs to be done by Saturday.  

Who's the BOSS

I crank out a blog every 4 months without fail!  Oh wait.  It was 5 this time.  


So last I wrote about my insane fitness goals.  This endeavor was more or less a slower process than planned.  The strength has come along nicely.  The goal of bench pressing 200 lbs is within sight as I am working out 3 sets of 10 with 145lbs.  All other areas of strength training are going well with modest 20-25% gains.


The fat lost really was just static from Feb-July.  Poor diet, a trip to New Orleans, and really no particular need to step it up lead to just a status quo for the overall fat/cardio.  And of course with training and 137 degree weather it really did not sound appealing to get out and bust my hump.  


Then I got an email.  It was from the Boulder Outdoor Survival School.  I had been eyeing their courses for about 4 years now.  Lots of hiking, teaching you survival skills in a minimalist environment, and all in the beautiful Utah mountains.  Really all that has held me back is the price tag and the time frame.  Amazingly both of those fell into place when I got an email offering a 20% discount on the Aug 27-Sep 3rd Course.  Perfect.  One week after opening, and finishing over Labor Day weekend.  The 20% knocked enough off the course to buy the plane ticket and hotel for two nights in Provo.  


So with this plan now in place I REALLY needed to get in shape.  Part of the survival school is existing on 1500 calories and hiking 15-30 miles per day.  I had been planning to get in better cardio shape for the Warrior Dash in late September, but this was a full month earlier.


Now in the past two weeks I have not had a thing to drink (alcohol), not eaten over 2000 calories any day, and have averaged 15 miles run/walking, and two trips to lift per week.  Last night I walked 9 miles in 3 1/2 hours.  This puts me light years ahead of the Warrior Dash training.  A little later on, I'll have an additional post with body dimensions, but I can tell you that the belt has been my best friend when dressing the past week.

Surprisingly difficult

Back in 1991 I spent a good sum of money on a cool little system.  I thought it would be nice to have a good stereo to take to college.  It had great sound, played CDs (those new fangled things), tapes, AM/FM radio, and even AUX inputs.  TV sound could be run through this little gem!  I don't remember exactly how much I paid, but it was somewhere around $500.  Or in better terms, $192 less than one semester of tuition in the fall of 1992.

Recently I made the gut wrenching decision to retire the old system.  I had no idea it was gut wrenching at the time.  By "retire" I mean throw away.  Over the past few years it really was only functional to connect an XM radio to (something that had not been invented when I bought it).  The CD player motor is giving up the fight and rarely makes it through an entire song.  The tape deck emits mostly a shriek.  The LCD screen was off and on and only one of the orange glowing back lights works.  But the final nail in the coffin was what appears to be a short in the left speaker.

Again, I didn't realize it would be gut wrenching right away.  One afternoon I just decided to take it down and toss it.  No real reason that day was the day.  I took it down off the standard Res Hall room shelf that was its home in the beginning and now was going to be its last happy home.  As it sat on the floor I realized that this little hunk of entertainment bliss had been with me every step of the past 20 YEARS.  A few days turned into three weeks.  I couldn't throw it out.  Every house, every apartment, every Res Hall, every girlfriend, every party, every night I went to sleep and struggled to wake up.  The JVC Micro Component UX-1 was there.  Every bad bowling night, every tired duty night, every sad breakup, every frustrating class, every bad fashion choice, every KC Royals loss, and every loss of family.  It was there.  Kansas, Michigan, California, Oklahoma.  It was there.  The small infrared eye just waiting to play a happy tune or commiserate with a grouchy mood.  It was just as happy playing Metallica, ZZ Top, Rod Stewart, Guns & Roses as it was All Creatures Great and Small read by James Herriot, or a dramatic presentation of Wind In The Willows acted out on cassette.

So as the old friend sat on the floor I suddenly realized that I could not identify one single item I had with me the past 20 years.  23 moves, 78 bowling balls, one ex-wife, a house, three dogs, and girlfriends too numerous to name.  No clothes.  No furniture.  No books.  No memorabilia.  I can't think of one thing that has not spent some time in the attic at home or wasn't acquired after college started.  Nothing.  I was throwing out part of my history.

I'm not even sure why I am writing this.  It isn't alive.  It didn't record the last 20 years and won't give me advice on how to live the next 20.  It won't feel sad in the dumpster.  But I guess it and I are really the only ones that know the whole story of HS to now.  Not my friends, not my family, and nobody or nothing else.  It takes all my secrets to the landfill with it.  20 years from now can I or will I say the same thing about another item or person?  Next week I move out of what will probably be my last Residence Hall, and when I leave I won't be taking a friend with me that might know more about me than anyone else on the planet.  Thank you to an item that faithfully gave me the gift of music, and the magic of radio in good times and in bad for the past 20 years.  RIP, and don't tell my secrets to some strange toaster, egg crate mattress cover, or half eaten can of soup.
They wouldn't understand.

A Day In The Park

An absolute must watch video if you at all are concerned with where the world is heading these days.

Not off to a rip roaring start

The fitness plan is not exactly off to a rip roaring start.  I had the convenient excuse of our first winter weather this past week to keep me indoors and doing less than anticipated.  Add to that the gym renovations that will conclude this Tuesday and I had the perfect storm of reasons to stay inside.


I did however eat somewhat above mediocre and did some extensive stretching and my numbers did improve slightly:


174.8 lbs
20.4 % body lard


After reading more about the diet and playing around with the "slow carb" diet from the book I am reading, I am a bit skeptical.  It feels a lot like the Adkins diet.  I don't doubt that huge up-ticks in protein intake, cutting out sugar, and cutting out/down processed carbs is a good idea, I'm just not sold on cutting them out completely.  The jury is still out on that.


It is also pretty difficult to just start exercising a lot when everything else in your lifestyle stays the same.  Everyone around you does the same stuff, eats the same stuff, and generally you just have to make the decision to make large changes to most of your free time.  No easy task.


Next week should be good.  Gym open.  Weather slightly better, and 3 day work week.  Next week I hope to drop below 20%.

Fitness Goals 2011

Well, I might not look exactly like this, but I sure feel that way.  So it is time to get serious.  I started reading this book called 4 Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss.  He is basically one of those crazy mad scientist guys without the science degree.  He takes, eats, and tries all kinds of weird stuff to come up with a way to lose fat in the most economical way possible.  Supposedly you don't have to even exercise.  I doubt that, but the eating plan includes large amounts of beans so really how can that go wrong....


So here are the ugly numbers:


Gravity - 181.0 lbs
Lard Count (body fat) - 21.4%
Orbit (size around midsection) - 39 inches
Left Gun (bicep) - 13.25
Right Gun (bowling side) - 13.5
Left Root (thigh) - 22.5
Right Root - 22.375


My goals to be achieved by June 1 are thus:


8% Lard Count or less
Bench Press 200lbs
Run 5k in under 27 minutes
Consume my body weight in beans


Pretty simple.  I will track my progress weekly if not more on this blog and share what is working and what isn't.  Hopefully this will not only keep me on pace and serve as a good record, but maybe motivate or help someone else out there achieve their fitness goals.  


I mean who doesn't want to be in shape like this......


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDAPnajWq-0

2011

2011
2011 will be a different sort of year and a different approach to life.  My past approach has just gotten me periodically in debt, fat, and grouchy.


Some items that will be changing this year:
-Health and fitness
-Social life choices
-Money management
-Motivation


I've done a poor job writing on this blog and that will change also.  If for nothing more than an electronic placeholder for trial and error documentation, I plan to have posts multiple times a week.


Happy New Year everyone.  Remember, make changes now since there are only 720 days till the end of the world.