Tired of the on again off again routine of weight loss and fitness? Do you feel like you take 2 steps forward and 3 back when it comes to getting in shape? Have you already given up on the latest New Year's resolution?
Well I'm here to try and help you get on track and stay there, with some tips that got me out of the destined to fail routine and into healthy habit forming.
These are basic steps and I've put them in somewhat of an order, but everyone is different so tweak as needed.
1. Skip the fads.
Fad diets and exercises are worthless for long term sustainability. If it was as easy as taking a pill or "20 minutes a day, 3 times a week" to get ripped, we'd all be hard bodies.
The all lettuce, no carb diet will certainly drop some pounds off of you (and the heavier you are, the more you'll see at first), but you can't live like that and the risk of binge eating goes up when those cravings come on extra strong.
2. Stop drinking soft drinks.
Soda pop is a no brainer, but even all those "iced tea" drinks and juices are loaded with sugars. Diet pop has artificial sweeteners that can trick your body into craving more bad-for-you substances. Even some bottled waters have sugary additives. Energy drinks are loaded with bad stuff.
A guy at my work lost 25 pounds just from kicking his 6 can a day Coke habit.
3. No more fast food.
Yes it's cheap. Yes it's convenient. Yes those fries are delicious. But you've got to stop eating that crap. Even the "healthy" items, like salads, have additives to make you crave more. Plus, now you're right there with temptation in your face, and let's be honest, if you're going to McDs for a salad, you're doing it wrong.
Does this mean you can't ever have that super double cheeseburger you love so much? No, but you can't be having it 3 times a week. I occasionally have a Big Mac Attack too, but I keep it to a couple times a year. Once you're rid of it, you won't miss it so much. Those burgers on the grill at home are 1,000 times tastier anyways.
4. Prepare your own meals.
Stop eating out for lunch everyday (I'll give you a better way to spend your lunch hour in a minute). Bring your lunch to work. The more control you have over your diet, the more control you have over your body.
I spend Sunday evening preparing a big batch of food for my son and I for our lunches for the week. Something that can be stored in bulk and wrapped up in a whole grain tortilla. A piece of fruit rounds it out nicely. Easy and good for you.
Pressed for time? A protein shake in the morning is better than grabbing McBreakfast on the way to work, or those doughnuts at the office.
5. Exercise, exercise, exercise.
No brainer, right? But this can be the hardest habit to stick with.
I DO NOT recommend joining a 24 hour big box gym that you will never go to. And when you do make it there, you'll walk around on the treadmill for 20 minutes and call it good, because all the good equipment has a line and the "trainers" are awful.
DO join a small gym that offers classes. Even better, get a personal trainer. Trainers can be expensive (but you're saving a ton of money now not eating out everyday, right?), but they will come up with a plan and keep you motivated. Invest in yourself.
Some people like to work out in the morning, some people go right after work, but for me, it's the lunch hour. I'm not too motivated in the mornings and it's really easy to blow it off at the end of a long work day. But whenever you decide to do it, stick with that time and make it a routine. It's OK to start slow, but try to make it everyday (or every weekday). It's probably better to do a lighter workout everyday than a hard core one 3 days a week. It'll help to create that good habit if you can do it everyday.
6. Set a goal.
This doesn't have to be to "lose x amount of pounds by summer", or "this many inches off my waist". It can be anything, just make it attainable.
For me it was entering a race that was a few months away and training for it. It gave me something to look forward to and keep me on track. After that race my goal became to do better at my next one. Then it was to cut my body fat down to where I could see my abs that had been in hiding since I was 18.
I like my goals to be somewhat open ended. If I put a definite time on them, it can frustrate me. I don't have a "single digit body fat % by November 1st 2013" goal. As long as I'm working toward it and seeing progress, that's enough for me.
Be realistic. You're not going to get mega ripped in 6 months.
7. Cut out the cans and boxes.
So you're bringing your own lunch now, but is it healthy? Time to ditch those cans of soup and microwave meals. Focus on your food prep and get to where you are preparing the vast majority of your meals from scratch. It's better for you and tastes a hell of a lot better too.
8. Increase the intensity.
By now your body should be getting into the rhythm and habit of daily (or mostly daily) exercise. Time to step it up a bit to hit those goals harder and faster.
Here things will differ for people, depending on their goals. You might want to do more endurance, or more cardio, or more strength, or all of the above. Talk with your trainer and start pushing to that next level.
9. Cut out alcohol.
This is a tough one for me. I do like to have a drink. For others, it's really easy.
Alcohol dehydrates your body, weakens your mind, and saps motivation.
If you can't drop it completely (like me), you can at least drink smarter. Cut out the cola and other sweet mixers. Drink low calorie beer. Or just plain drink less.
10. Dial it in.
Now that you're in a solid routine and living healthy and exercising regularly, experiment. Try some supplements and different vitamins and see if you like them. Or maybe go the all natural route.
Try some different types of exercises. Get some new hobbies that will keep you physical outside of the gym too. Tweak your diet a bit. Mix it up. Compete.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
So, what do we really have here? It's pretty simple really. Diet, exercise, lifestyle change. You've heard it all before and for good reason. It just plain works. If you can control your input and your output, you will get the results you're looking for.
You have to stop looking for the easy way out to make this work. If it was easy, we'd all be super models and elite athletes. Anything worth doing, is worth doing well. Hard work pays the biggest dividends. Etc., etc., etc.
Your time and money would be better spent preparing your own food, rather than eating some crappy meal out of a weight watchers box 3 times a day (and you'll be happier too).
The money spent on a $1000+ piece of home gym equipment would be better spent on 15-20 sessions with a personal trainer. That gym in the strip mall is only $20 a month for a reason.
I didn't buy the cheapest car I could, because I want my car to perform. Why should I skimp on my body?
Take your time with this, especially if you've never been big on fitness before. It takes time to get results. You may get frustrated, but you must never quit. You will have bad days and good days, but keep at it even (especially) when you really don't want to and you'll see the change.
How long is this going to take, you might ask?
Forever. Because you've made a lifestyle choice. You don't get to a goal and stop. You keep going. This is the new you, living a new fit and healthy life. This isn't a fad. It's you. As a friend of mine once said, "Never let your best days be behind you.".
Friday, January 25, 2013
Monday, November 26, 2012
Climbing - Back to The Wood
Kellan and I met up with my climbing partner, Tim, weekend before last to try out a couple more routes on the Grocery Store Walls. It was a warm Sunday, and we had the whole crag to ourselves, only seeing a couple hikers all day. We were there at about 10:30 and stayed until dusk.
This was Kellan's first time climbing here, so we started out on Peaches and Scream for a little warm up. Tim was nice enough to give Kellan some tips to get him comfortable with top rope belaying me. I have to admit, I was nervous, but the kid did a great job and was very attentive all day, no matter who was climbing. He really seems to enjoy the sport and it's great we can share the experience together,
Satisfied with our warm-up and Kellan belaying we moved left to a cool overhang called Hot Fudge. This is a pretty challenging, sustained 5.8 climb and it took us each a couple tries to nail it. I even managed to get my self turned upside-down on the pendulum swing after a fall under the roof.
I was the first to send it, so Tim and Kellan's pride came calling and they both hit it on their next go.
Tim and I gave a half hearted attempt on the variation, with is a short face climb in the 5.10b range. But it proved too tough for us, so we set our sights slightly lower on Carmel Corner and then hit Blood Pudding, down the crag a bit.
Blood Pudding is a tricky 5.9+ with an interesting crux. Mountain Project has it straight up the middle, or to an overhanging right variation. Tim and Kellan both got shut out on those, but I found a couple crimpers on the left side, that made for an interesting side step to get back on the middle line. Kellan assaulted it again and made it, after a long time trying. Tim decided to pass on another attempt.
We moved down a little more to some routes on the Banana Spire. Tim sent one, not sure which. Kellan and I gave a couple attempts, but our finger tips were too wasted after fighting Blood Pudding. Kellan put in a much harder effort than me, but we were spent.
The following Saturday, Kellan and I, decided to head back and check out some of the boulder problems. I found this helpful little blog on the area and printed out some stuff to check out.
We hit the ones near the Grocery Store Walls, as that's the area we were familiar with. We messed around on the south block, but it proved too tough for us, so we wandered down to the south and checked out some out some of the other walls. Finding easier problems and make up a few of our own.
Then we scrambled up to the top of the canyon and thought we'd maybe hit the Grocery Store boulders again, but some guys we saw briefly when we were leaving there earlier were set up and were not too friendly when I tried to chat with them, which is unfortunate, because I thought we might be able to pick up some tips from them.
So we wandered across the road to the other side and found a few other not too established looking problems to goof around on, until our fingers were sufficiently shredded. The rock at The Wood is very hard on the hands and fingers. It's a conglomerate type of rock down there, that's almost like concrete with other rocks embedded in it, so it feels like 40 grit sandpaper with glass glued to it after a while.
With me pooping out on at least 3 problems that Kellan was able to do, I've come to realize he's a much better boulderer than me and will probably be climbing much harder than me in no time.
This was Kellan's first time climbing here, so we started out on Peaches and Scream for a little warm up. Tim was nice enough to give Kellan some tips to get him comfortable with top rope belaying me. I have to admit, I was nervous, but the kid did a great job and was very attentive all day, no matter who was climbing. He really seems to enjoy the sport and it's great we can share the experience together,
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| Kellan finishing out Peaches and Scream |
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| Tim approaching the layback on Peaches |
Satisfied with our warm-up and Kellan belaying we moved left to a cool overhang called Hot Fudge. This is a pretty challenging, sustained 5.8 climb and it took us each a couple tries to nail it. I even managed to get my self turned upside-down on the pendulum swing after a fall under the roof.
I was the first to send it, so Tim and Kellan's pride came calling and they both hit it on their next go.
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| Kellan turning the corner on Hot Fudge. The route traverses the whole undercling crack at the far left. |
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| After the turn, there's still some tough spots to deal with. |
Blood Pudding is a tricky 5.9+ with an interesting crux. Mountain Project has it straight up the middle, or to an overhanging right variation. Tim and Kellan both got shut out on those, but I found a couple crimpers on the left side, that made for an interesting side step to get back on the middle line. Kellan assaulted it again and made it, after a long time trying. Tim decided to pass on another attempt.
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| Kellan on the left side crux. |
We moved down a little more to some routes on the Banana Spire. Tim sent one, not sure which. Kellan and I gave a couple attempts, but our finger tips were too wasted after fighting Blood Pudding. Kellan put in a much harder effort than me, but we were spent.
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| Tim anchoring into the chains on the Banana Spire |
The following Saturday, Kellan and I, decided to head back and check out some of the boulder problems. I found this helpful little blog on the area and printed out some stuff to check out.
We hit the ones near the Grocery Store Walls, as that's the area we were familiar with. We messed around on the south block, but it proved too tough for us, so we wandered down to the south and checked out some out some of the other walls. Finding easier problems and make up a few of our own.
 |
| Kellan on a little problem near Cave Wall |
So we wandered across the road to the other side and found a few other not too established looking problems to goof around on, until our fingers were sufficiently shredded. The rock at The Wood is very hard on the hands and fingers. It's a conglomerate type of rock down there, that's almost like concrete with other rocks embedded in it, so it feels like 40 grit sandpaper with glass glued to it after a while.
With me pooping out on at least 3 problems that Kellan was able to do, I've come to realize he's a much better boulderer than me and will probably be climbing much harder than me in no time.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Pentathlon - November 2012
Kellan and I retested our Pentathlon numbers this weekend, per our 60 day schedule. Here are the results. Numbers in () are changes from last test and numbers in [] are overall differences from first test. First test was July 12th for me, and September 16th for Kellan.
Kellan
Vitals: 13, 5' 2", 90 lb.
Pushups 37 (-18)
Sit-ups 67 (+15)
Broad jump 4' 8" (1-3/4")
One mile 7:53 (-1:39)
Sit and reach +1-7/8" (+3/8")
Wade
Vitals: 39, 6' 2", 184 lb.
Pushups 57 (+4) [+8]
Sit-ups 63 (+11) [+23]
Broad jump 7' (+7") [+3"]
One mile 8:00 (+:10) [-:30]
Sit and reach +1-1/2" (+1-1/2") [+7/8"]
Couple notes on this round:
Kellan's pushups are way down, but his form is much better. He was hovering off the deck a few inches before and is now getting all the way down.
We modified the sit-ups a bit. We now do them with legs out and apart in front of us and one rep is up and touch the ground between your legs. I don't think they are any easier or harder, just more convenient since where we test has no good options to hook our toes.
The first lap on the mile my shoe came untied. Instead of running with it flopping around I tied it real quick, but couldn't seem to make up the time.
We didn't do the fast lap this time either. We were both pretty smoked and I forgot to bring water.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Tough Mudder's Will Dean - Hero or hack?
I just finished reading a great article in Outside Magazine on the origins of obstacle racing and the estimated half a billion dollar industry it's become. The article delves into the raging legal battles going on between owners, all of which seem to center around Tough Mudder founder and owner Will Dean.
I have to say, Tough Mudder has long been on my list of "must do" events. But it's severe length (I'm no marathon runner) and prohibitive cost (the most expensive entry fees by far) and the fact that it's not even timed or ranked (to avoid awarding prizes perhaps?) have kept it on the back burner for me.
Now, after reading Scott Keneally's article in the Nov. 2012 issue of Outside, I'm not sure I ever want to run it, just on general principal.
Instead, I kind of want to go to England and run the Tough Guy now. :)
Read the whole article here: Playing Dirty by Scott Keneally. It's worth the time if you're an obstacle race fan and gives an amazing behind the scenes look at what's been called "the country's fastest growing sport".
I have to say, Tough Mudder has long been on my list of "must do" events. But it's severe length (I'm no marathon runner) and prohibitive cost (the most expensive entry fees by far) and the fact that it's not even timed or ranked (to avoid awarding prizes perhaps?) have kept it on the back burner for me.
Now, after reading Scott Keneally's article in the Nov. 2012 issue of Outside, I'm not sure I ever want to run it, just on general principal.
Instead, I kind of want to go to England and run the Tough Guy now. :)
Read the whole article here: Playing Dirty by Scott Keneally. It's worth the time if you're an obstacle race fan and gives an amazing behind the scenes look at what's been called "the country's fastest growing sport".
Monday, November 5, 2012
Climbing - Castlewood Canyon
Hooked up with a new climbing partner this weekend. Tim found my plea on rockclimbing.com for someone to show me around Castlewood Canyon, common referred to as "The Wood".
Tim was coming off a long break after a busted femur injury, and me being a noob we were at about the same level of climbing. It was great to have someone show me the area and how to setup a top rope anchor.
When we got there we headed over to the Grocery Store Wall, where the highest concentration of top rope routes are. The problem is, most of the routes are pretty tough and there were a couple groups of people working the easier routes. We finally decided to cut our teeth on Rat's Nest, a tough 5.8 that was a lot harder for me than the 5.9 I did down in GOTG last September.
Not sure if it's just one of those things, or if I just found the worst way up the route. Tim had a tough time with it too, and it took us each 3 tries to get it. Tim was able to red point it, but I had a fall at the crux on my ascent.
We were pretty smoked after struggling with what we thought would be a moderate to easy climb. So when the people to our left were packing up at Peaches and Scream, a nice little 5.6 route with and interesting layback, we moved our rope over. This one was fun, if a little on the easy side. There is a couple reaches after the layback that can be a bit hard if you're on the short side.
We both flashed it without too much trouble. Would have been nice to start on this one and I would recommend it for beginners.
We left vowing to return soon and try some more routes and check out some other walls in The Wood. A great way to spend a beautiful November afternoon for sure.
Tim was coming off a long break after a busted femur injury, and me being a noob we were at about the same level of climbing. It was great to have someone show me the area and how to setup a top rope anchor.
When we got there we headed over to the Grocery Store Wall, where the highest concentration of top rope routes are. The problem is, most of the routes are pretty tough and there were a couple groups of people working the easier routes. We finally decided to cut our teeth on Rat's Nest, a tough 5.8 that was a lot harder for me than the 5.9 I did down in GOTG last September.
Not sure if it's just one of those things, or if I just found the worst way up the route. Tim had a tough time with it too, and it took us each 3 tries to get it. Tim was able to red point it, but I had a fall at the crux on my ascent.
We were pretty smoked after struggling with what we thought would be a moderate to easy climb. So when the people to our left were packing up at Peaches and Scream, a nice little 5.6 route with and interesting layback, we moved our rope over. This one was fun, if a little on the easy side. There is a couple reaches after the layback that can be a bit hard if you're on the short side.
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| Top of the lay back flake. |
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| Bit of a reach. |
 |
| Just about there. |
We left vowing to return soon and try some more routes and check out some other walls in The Wood. A great way to spend a beautiful November afternoon for sure.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Great Pumpkin Haul
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| Hop the hay bales |
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| Or go around them |
The course was pretty mild, no hills or big elevation changes. Obstacles consisted of hay bales, some bungee cords stretched over the bridges, a few trees in the road and, of course, the pumpkins. Signs litter the course making suggestions such as "Left hand only" or "over your head to the hay bales", which significantly increase the difficulty.
I found it to be pretty easy. This was also the shortest race I've done, coming in at 2 miles consisting of 1 mile mile lap done twice. The terrain was comfy and I have big enough shoulders and long enough arms to transition my pumpkin to several different carry positions. Although such odd carrying (like behind the head) lead to some slight bruising on upper arms and base of the skull.
Kellan had a much harder time. He was pretty much forced to hold his pumpkin in front of him the whole time, and as mentioned above, it was too big for him. He got a pretty decent bruise on his hip from it bouncing against him for the better part of an hour. I spent the majority of the 2nd mile walking with him, but he refused to let me help share his load. He wanted to do the whole thing himself and he did. I did make him power through the home stretch to finish strong though.
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| Victory! |
The interesting thing about this race, is you can essentially make it as hard or as easy as you want. Firstly, by choosing your pumpkin, but also you can register as a 2 person team and split the load. There didn't appear to be any rules about how to carry the pumpkins. I didn't see any backpacks, but I did see a few people with the gourds wrapped up in their t-shirts like a big round knapsack.
Prizes were for fastest male and female finishers and for the 3 largest pumpkins carried. The biggest was 44lb., 2nd was 42 and 3rd was a woman carrying a 41 pounder. Times were estimates as they didn't have a proper timing system set up. There was a clock though, and Kellan and I crossed at 44 minutes and change. Being this was the first time the event has been held, I expect a lot of the wrinkles to be ironed out by next year.
All in all it was fun and I was glad to be able to get out with The Boy and get in some exercise.
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| Soon to be Jack-O-Lanterns |
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Reel Rock 7
Went and checked out the latest installment of Reel Rock last night for my birthday.
I was really impressed with it. Very well done and I'd say the best climbing "movie" (it's actually 4 short films) I've seen to date. Some gut wrenching scenes and lot's of LOLs. It has everything from sport climbing, to hard core alpine, so great off width stuff and amazing solo content. Even a little bouldering in there. If you've watched any of the climbing films and videos that have come out over the last decade or so, you'll likely recognize most of the people in the film.
I saw it on the CO School of Mines campus out in Golden, CO. I haven't been to an event on a college campus in over 15 years, but not much has changed. There were a ton of people there and getting keg beer in a red plastic cup was nostalgic.
Only short coming was a couple hiccups on the play back. The computer they used went off a couple times. It was funny to watch the guy run back there and put in his username and password real quick. Second time was a good crash and it took probably 20+ minutes to get the movie back up. The young crowd didn't seem to mind too much though.
But the film is great, great, great. If you have even a passing interest in climbing you'll love it. If you have no interest in climbing, I think you'll still really like it. It is still touring the world. Check www.reelrocktour.com for dates and locations near you. I highly recommend it.
I was really impressed with it. Very well done and I'd say the best climbing "movie" (it's actually 4 short films) I've seen to date. Some gut wrenching scenes and lot's of LOLs. It has everything from sport climbing, to hard core alpine, so great off width stuff and amazing solo content. Even a little bouldering in there. If you've watched any of the climbing films and videos that have come out over the last decade or so, you'll likely recognize most of the people in the film.
I saw it on the CO School of Mines campus out in Golden, CO. I haven't been to an event on a college campus in over 15 years, but not much has changed. There were a ton of people there and getting keg beer in a red plastic cup was nostalgic.
Only short coming was a couple hiccups on the play back. The computer they used went off a couple times. It was funny to watch the guy run back there and put in his username and password real quick. Second time was a good crash and it took probably 20+ minutes to get the movie back up. The young crowd didn't seem to mind too much though.
But the film is great, great, great. If you have even a passing interest in climbing you'll love it. If you have no interest in climbing, I think you'll still really like it. It is still touring the world. Check www.reelrocktour.com for dates and locations near you. I highly recommend it.
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