Gym doubts

I'm not sure if I need to continue my LA Fitness Gym membership ($33 per month) which costs me an additional $100 per week for 2 X 1-hr sessions with the Personal Trainer.  Nice as she is - and knowledgeable - it is difficult to justify such an expense as I am perfectly capable of designing my own workout sessions - using the home gym.  I will think about this for the next few weeks and decide by the end of the summer.

A few things things which I dont like about LA Fitness:

• No antiseptic wipes for the machines, god knows what kind of bacteria or other bad germs I might be picking up...  Last Friday they completely ran out of paper towels.
• People lounging (resting) on the machines between sets.  WTH?  I even asked one guy the other day (while he was resting on a machine in-between sets) if he was using the machines.  He just nodded yes and continued to rest... 
• Horrible music.  Is it really necessary to listen to Britney Spears and similar 'no talent' people almost all the time? 

What I do like?

• The hours - they are open early and late.
• The multitude of machines: you can try a new one every 4 or 5 days and won't run out.
• The place is brand new so everything works, most of the time. 
• Nice lockers and bathroom facilities
• A large pool that is almost always available: now I just need to get Kathy to teach me some proper swimming strokes. 

Here is my planned 'Monday' circuit at LA Fitness:

Bench press
Military press
Squat

Deadlift
Shoulder pull-up
Pec deck

Glute kickback
Shoulder press
Lunges




This guy's double is at my gym. Makes me feel a little better about my own 185+...



July 8 2013:
Weight: 184.8
Bodyfat percentage: 22
Miles run:  0
Strength + conditioning: 0
Mountain bike:  0
July 7:  No S GREEN day

Back on the road again!

I am finally able to run again, after a forced lay-off of nearly 18 months.  Last week I ran three times (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) - no more than 30 minutes at a time. Even though I am running without any pain, I am still very concerned about re-aggravating the plantar fasciitis so for the foreseeable future that will be it:  3 times per week (Tue, Thu and Saturday) and no more than 30 minutes duration.  Will increase the duration slowly - no more than 10% per week - once I start feeling a bit stronger.

So what does it feel like to start running again?  Fantastic - and horrible.  Fantastic because at one stage there I thought I might never be able to do it again.  Horrible because said running is taking place in Houston in summer - even the minimum temperature is over 70F and it gets into the mid to upper 90's in a hurry, almost every day. 

Since I got back from Africa from my most recent inspection trip I have not yet gotten back into the gym, mostly because my personal trainer has been away or had other(better?) things going on.  From next week, I will start to re-integrate twice weekly PT sessions with the running.  I will try to do the gym session (with the PT) on Wednesdays and Fridays, and work on my own on Sunday and Monday, for a total of 4 times per week.

On top of that I'm planning on about an hour or so of mountain bike cycling on Sundays, Wednesday and Fridays (i.e. non-running days).   Will try to increase the Sunday bike outing to 20 miles+ as time goes by. 

And finally, it is time to kick-start another period of 'No S' dieting: no snacks, no sweets and no seconds on any days except those starting with S, or Special days such as public holidays, festivals and birthdays.

How about one more mid-year resolution?  We will be traveling to French West Africa (Republic of Congo) in November this year, so I had better shape up on my French.  From today I will be tackling  Rosetta Stone French lessons and from next week - or as soon as I can get my courage up - attending the French conversational meetups in our neighborhood.

July 7 2013:
Weight: 186
Bodyfat percentage: 22
Miles run:  0
Strength + conditioning:  50 minutes
Mountain bike:  14 miles, 1 hr 15 minutes.

Today's workout:  The Andy Routine (Wimbledon)

15 reps of each

Medball situps
Rocky solo with medball
45 degree twist with medball

Lying opposites with Swiss ball
Hip cross-over with Swiss ball
Reverse hyperextension with Swiss ball

Seated Ab crunch
Crunch with a cross
Pushups (aka press-ups)

Home gym vs 'real' gym

For years now, I have been sporadically working out in my home gym, which consists of a basic weight lifting station (with adjustable bench), a hanging heavy bag for boxing (sadly under-utilized!), and old but still working C-2 ergometer (aka rowing machine) and a combination of items which I use in the back patio.  These consist of a Swiss Ball, a medicine ball and various stretch bands which I affix to one of the walls and then push and pull in various directions.  Of course there is also an Atlas brand exercise mat for abs and other exercises.

About 3 years ago, using exclusively the home gym - plus lots of running - I was in peak condition with relatively low body fat, weight around 160.

Subsequently due to the on-going plantar fasciitis issue I have had to stop running,but I did join a regular gym (LA Fitness) and work out there at least twice per week with a personal trainer.

The results so far have been unspectacular, mostly because my weight has not dropped.  At least it hasn't increased any further either!

So what do I like most about the 'real' gym versus my back-yard gym?

There are other people around, for one thing.  Always interesting to see what other folks are getting up to, and it is inspiring to see some of the 'beach body' types.  Also you realize all too soon that there are many other people in even worse shape than you!

I like the fact that the gym has literally dozens of machines, one for practically every part/muscle of the body.  It is really quite amazing to have such a variety of equipment - often more than one in the same category.  There are also rows and rows of aerobic stations.  Some of which - alas - I can't use right now, such as the treadmill.  The time will come.

LA Fitness also has a wide variety of free excercise classing ranging from spinning to AbWorks and more.  In due course I am going to join one of these on a regular basis. 

The big advantage of the home gym is of course that you don't have to travel to get to it.  Always available - literally 24/7.  My LA Fitness gym is only about 2 miles away so just over 5 minutes to get to, which is not bad.  There is also an economic incentive to use the LA Fitness facility regularly - which is of course the fact that it costs me about $30 per month! 

Photography

I haven't made much progress with the weight-loss:  not running has just not been any good for my waist-line.  I try to get out on the mountain bike for an hour every day and succeed about 4 to maybe 5 times per week.  While fun and certainly taxing on the legs, mountain biking is just not nearly as effective as keeping the pounds off, at least not for this individual.

Unfortunately the plantar fasciitis is still around.  It is not painful when waking up in the morning and doesn't present any real issues in just getting around.  So I can do all the routine things such as walking around, the grocery store, going to the movies, a sport event, or whatever.  As soon as I start to walk any longish distance - a half or mile or so - things change.   I  start to feel the stress on the leg and by the next morning there will be some low-level pain and disomfort.  Back where we started.

I am now really close to the point where I am going to seek out a surgeon to do endoscopic plantar fascia release.  Will give it another few weeks as I have an upcoming trip to Africa starting on May 21 and lasting until June 19.

Something that is going well is my photography, getting the 'hang' of my new Nikon D-4 camera.  Here are a couple of pics I took last week at the J Fred Duckett twilight event at Rice University. 

The lens I used was a Nikon 200-400 Zoom with 1.7 teleconverter. f/6.7, 1/3200 sec, ISO 3200. With my D-300 I might get 'lucky' and get a shot like this. With the D-4 firing at 9 frames per second there is (almost) no luck involved,  All you need is a good angle, some side-lighting and enough depth of field. It helps to be able to push the ISO and still get nice detail as is visible on the hair.

 

 

'Won' my first Diet Bet

That was not too painful. I put in $25.00 for my first DietBet 28 days ago, cut down on the snacking and drinks a little bit, and exercised more (mountain biking and regular 3 times+ per week at the gym) and voila:  down 8 pounds from 189 to 181.  Got back $44 and change.  Will lend it to someone on Kiva and have already entered another DietBet starting today; the bet is $30.00.  My 'late afternoon' weight will likely be around 183, so will probably have to lose another 8 pounds - to 175 - to 'win' this one. It could get a little more challenging this time around.



First night ride on the Terry Hershey trail last night - that was fun! A perfect cloudless night with not a breeze, and remarkably quiet - all the better to hear the tires rumbling across the asphalt. Makes you feel fast even if you're not. I guess you could say I am 'almost' a biker now - just need the spandex and technicolor dream shirt. Not!

BTW for about $120.00 the Lumina 650 by NiteRider delivers a nice bright light which makes it a breeze - and very safe - to ride at night.  I had no difficulty seeing the trail and it produces enough light even on the medium or low setting to pick up anything of significance.  Easy to mount on the bike and easy to recharge from a computer.  Very light too.  

Trader Joe's in the neighborhood

First time visit to the new Trader Joe's on Voss, yesterday. So much better than the Trader Joe's on Shepherd with lots of space, wide aisles, friendly and helpful employees, great selection of stuff that you can't get anywhere else. Quinoa and black bean tortilla chips with fresh salsa, anyone? And items like real wild rice, almonds and Trader Giotto's Olive Oil for a whole lot less than at 'Whole Paycheck'.  I also like the tricolor quinoa, veggie burgers, organic tempeh, canned soup, excellent value table wine and I am sure that I will be finding some new stuff in future.  Just a great little shop for vegans and vegetarians.  Yes they sell meat and other stuff too but the pre-prepared food section is just bursting with non-meat items, as is the meat-alternative section (tofu, tempeh, no-meat sausage etc).

When we couldn't find some item a store employee escorted us around the store to two different areas personally, and the checkout process was quick and painless.  No stupid card needed for discounts, and best of all they don't try to 'force' you to check out yourself, one of my pet peeves.  So sayonara Randalls and Kroger, with a Trader Joe's less than 4 miles from my house, you are fresh out of a long-time customer.

DietBest progress:  Down just one more pound to 181, very close to goal!  Will have to be extra-diligent this week to maintain at 181 in order to get my $25 back.  Which I will likely use to enter another DietBet right away! 

Dropping some elbees

A combination of 'no S diet' and increase in working out and mountain biking did the trick this last week: down a total of 6 pounds for the first 14 days on the DietBet.  Need to shed another 3 lbs over the next two weeks to get my money back.  Definitely do-able unless I fall into a big pile of donuts or a bacon and cheeseburger trap.  :-)

Really enjoying the mountain biking as a sub for running.  Still hopeful that in time I will be able to resume running, as plantar issues seem to be receding every so slowly.

Drove by a guy yesterday who had crashed into a metal retaining barrier on the trail, seemed to have badly hurt his shoulder.  Indirectly this was caused by a vandal who had knocked down a trail sign (warning of sharp S curve and steep downhill).  What a shame.  Even so the bikers need to take it easy on this mixed-use trail.  There is no need for excessive speeding and certainly not around blind corners.

This week my goal is to post 5 consecutive Green days on 'No S', could not get beyond 2 last week.