How the 5k Went

I ran in the UAB Dollars for Scholars 5k/10k this past Friday and the good news is that I finished. The official results are in and my final time was 31:34.8 with a pace of 10:11/mile. This is pretty much spot on with what I have been practicing with for the past couple of months.

If there are anymore races that come up, I'll be sure to give them a try because it was kinda fun to get out there in a competitive environment and see what I could do. My goal wasn't to win the race, but I'll go off of what someone said to me after I completed:

Finishing is winning.

Say Goodbye to Size 36

I had to go pick up some new clothes this weekend because everything is falling off of me. The most shocking surprise was what size pants I needed to buy. I have been buying size 36 for a long time and going down to a 34 is just a huge shock. At least one pair of shorts was too big at 34, so I had to get a 33.

I know! I was so surprised, I couldn't believe it.

I plan on gathering all of the over sized clothes and selling them on Ebay. I figure this way I don't have any excuse for getting big again because I won't have the huge clothes to go back to.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 17

Another week, another success. Now that I've reached my first weight loss goal, I'm not setting a deadline to get to my next goal. I figure it will come off as it has been these past 17 weeks.

I have my 5k run today. Truthfully, I'm kinda anxious about it. I'm most nervous about keeping a steady pace and not tiring myself out too early. But, I guess this is all for fun anyways so as long as I finish, what does it matter?

Weight: 183.0
Waist: 35 1/4"

AIM no more

Ok, I'm done with AIM forever. I only really talk to one person on AIM anymore and it's not worth trying to find a stable program to do that anymore. I have gone the extra mile and I can't do it anymore. It's not that I don't want to talk, but I just can't take these crappy programs anymore.

I have tried multiple solutions and none of them are really the best solutions. Trillian is nice but you can't combine your AIM and Google Talk accounts into the program unless you pay for the premium version. I refuse to pay for a chat program. I tried using Digsby but the program is so buggy and full of memory leaks, it ends up self destructing. It's a shame, really, because it is a nice program that did exactly what I wanted it to do.

I still have Gmail's AIM interoperability, but that's just for home use. The Google Talk client is much better, especially when you have a lot of people on your buddy list. Anyways, if you want to chat with me, I suggest downloading Google Talk.

Bodyweight 200x2

Ok, so last week I tried the Bodyweight 200 workout. This week, I pushed myself even further than what I thought I could do. I did the Bodyweight 200x2 which is similar to the Bodyweight 100x2, but more reps and more exercises.

I repeated the following workouts with a 5 minute rest between circuits:

30 Prisoner Squats
30 Pushups
10 Jumps
10 Stability Ball Leg Curls
10 Stability Ball Jackknifes
20 Step-Ups
5 Pullups
30 Forward Lunges
20 Close-Grip Pushups
15 Inverted Rows
15 Squats
5 Chinups

Now, I wasn't able to complete it 100% but I figure 90% is a great start. Needless to say, I am beat!

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 16

I did it! The final week of my weight loss deadline has brought about the result I was looking for. I am exactly 185 lbs this morning. All I can say is that it has taken a lot of hard work and dedication to get this far and I have no plans to stop.

Where do I go from here?
I am setting my next loss goal at 175 lbs. I believe these are gonna be some tough pounds to lose, but if I keep up with my nutrition and working out I know it'll come off.

My reward?
Pasta. I have managed to avoid one of my favorite foods this entire time and it's killing me inside. I really, really, want to have some Italian food and I think I'm going to have to convince my dad to make his homemade pasta sauce and meatballs. Or, my mom's chicken tetrazzini. Damn, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Weight: 185.0
Waist: 35 1/2"

Inverted Rows

Last weekend, I went out and bought a second pull-up bar. I already have one that is cantilevered, but this one screws into the door frame. I wanted to be able to do Inverted Rows at home without a Smith Machine (also known as a squat rack). Up until now I have been doing Elbow-Out Dumbbell Rows, but they aren't nearly as hard as the row.

I set the pull-up bar at hip height, lie underneath and pull myself up using my back muscles. You can make them easier by bending your knees, but I don't workout like that. I choose to do what I can and then work on improving each week.

Man, do I love, LOVE, these Inverted Rows. It's just an outstanding exercise using only your bodyweight and a killer upper back workout, a huge muscle group. I would love to work on lower back extensions on a swiss ball, but I don't have anything sturdy enough to hold my ankles. Until I do, it'll just have to be the Inverted Rows which I highly recommend.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 15

Coming up on the final week of my deadline and I'm about 1.5 pounds away. It's a little hard to believe that I've been at this for a solid 15 weeks. I can't remember how long I ran that summer of 2004, but it feels like I'm right at that mark where I quit before. I have no plans to stop this time.

I still have a lot of body fat to get rid of but I keep saying to myself that I didn't get this way in 15 weeks and it's going to take more than 15 weeks to get where I want to be. And, where do I want to be? I don't want to have a belly anymore. A lofty goal at this point, but I'm focused on what I want to accomplish and maybe I'll get there sooner than I think.

Weight: 186.6
Waist: 35 7/8"

The strike didn't help

My Name is Earl, The Office, and 30 Rock are some of the funniest shows on TV and they all come on back-to-back. Tonight held the first new, post-strike written episodes and I have to say...I was pretty disappointed. A few choice moments stood out, but they were barely noticeable.

The Office was perhaps the most solid of the three, storytelling-wise, but without it actually taking place in the office, it felt out of place for the first epi back.

30 Rock was too predictable, and that's saying a lot considering the show.

Earl is following the lines of The Soprano's season with Tony in a coma (perhaps the weakest season). Anytime you take the main character out of focus, regardless of "visions" while in the coma, the show suffers.

I seriously hope they have some better episodes coming up because the only stellar comebacks this year have been Lost and Battlestar Galactica.

Daily Diet

I've been asked a few times what I typically eat throughout the day. I've gone over before about Clean Eating, but I guess it wasn't specific enough. Below I will outline a typical day.

Breakfast (7:30 am)
-1 scrambled egg
-1 whole wheat Eggo waffle or 1 slice whole wheat toast
or
-1 1/2 cups of Kashi Autumn Wheat shredded wheat cereal
-2 or 3 large tablespoons of sliced strawberries
-1 1/2 cups of 2% or fat free milk

Mid-morning snack (10:00 am)
-1 apple
or
-2 sticks of low-fat string cheese

Lunch (12:00 pm)
-Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, hold the mayo, any kind of toppings you want
-Salad with fat free dressing or vinaigrette

Mid-afternoon snack (3:00 pm)
-1 apple

Dinner (6:30 pm)
-Grilled chicken breast (8 oz)
-1/2 package of frozen veggies or salad

Bodyweight 200

Not to be confused with the Bodyweight 100x2, this week's challenge brought in new exercises as well as more reps. Here's what I did:

30 Prisoner Squats
30 Pushups
10 Jumps
10 Stability Ball Leg Curls
10 Stability Ball Jackknifes
20 Step-Ups
5 Pullups
30 Forward Lunges
20 Close-Grip Pushups
15 Inverted Rows
15 Squats
5 Chinups

The chinups and pullups are still a challenge, but you know what? I found out that the number of pullups an average guy can do is 1 pullup. The fact that my max is four at once is a good thing.

I may start trying to finish off this Belly Off program and move into something new. But, that would require me to complete the Bodyweight 500.... Intimidating, to say the least.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 14

So, here it is. I'm two weeks away from my goal deadline and just 3 pounds away from my weight goal. This week also hit another milestone: this is the first time that I can remember in a long, long time that I've been under 190. Even when I was losing weight those many years ago, I never got below that mark (probably because I just decided to quit running).

I lost a little bit on my waist this week to come down to 36". I calculated my Body Fat Percentage and it was 21.04% which is Acceptable. I would love to be able to get to the Fitness level (14-17% of body fat) and perhaps after I reach my first weight loss goal, that will be my next challenge.