Getting there...

Blah...I'm not as consistent as I used to be with this. Aw well. Here's the breakdown for the past two weeks:

Sunday: Chest/back/abs

Monday: Bike (Minuteman Trail - Arlington to Bedford and back)

Tuesday: Shoulders/triceps/biceps

Wednesday: Run

Thursday: None

Friday: Pushups, pullups

Saturday: None

Last weigh-in:
171.0 lb


Sunday: Chest/back/abs

Monday: Run

Tuesday: Shoulders/triceps/biceps

Wednesday: None
Thursday: Pushups/pullups
Friday: Run
Saturday: Run

I must be nearing my "ideal" weight. I'm at 170.5 lb, but that goes up and down depending on my week. Weight loss isn't happening as fast even though workouts have been mostly the same. Diet, of course, could be better, but I'm doing what I can. I give in too easily when it comes to food. I can say for certain that strength is increasing. I haven't checked in with body fat lately, but some of my shorts barely hang onto my hips. There's a quick trick to determine if you're losing body fat/retaining muscle mass. If you're losing weight, but can do more pushups than before, then you're doing fine.

My shoulder seems to be pretty good. I was able to play around with some kids (kids I know, I'm not a creep) at a playground. I was able to do the monkey bars and such. Shoulder held up. I'm also up to three sets of 8 pullups, so that's pretty good. I would say I can go start rock climbing if I wanted to.

Well, I'm just gonna keep going at it.


Last weigh-in:
170.5 lb

Biking!

Yup, late with my update. So I'll just throw it down real quick.

Sunday: Chest/back/abs
Monday: Run
Tuesday: Shoulders/triceps/biceps
Wednesday: Run
Thursday: Heavy weights - chest/back/quads/calf
Friday: None
Saturday: Bike (Minuteman Trail - Bedford to Arlington and back)

My cousins just got some hybrid bikes, so the biking bug is back. Did a loop at the Minuteman Trail. It's nice to be back in the saddle, though the saddle hurts when you've been gone for a while. It's less impact than running, but it's nice to have alternatives when it comes to cardio. Treadmill running can get boring, and street running is inconsistent.

Diet was a bit better, though still very hard for me. I've been upping my weight workouts a bit every week, and my shoulder is still in one piece weeks after removing glucosamine from my daily routine. Things seem to be looking good. Now if the weather gets better, I can't wait to tackle my goal of summiting two 4,000 footers this season.


Last weigh-in:
172.5 lb

Oban 14 Year Single Malt Scotch

So after sipping my Balvenie Single Barrel for awhile, I decided it was time for another bottle of single malt scotch. I've stopped by a few liquor stores during the past couple of months, but all I did was browse the scotch aisle.

Last week on my way to Finale's, I stopped by the wine place next door. They were closing, but the owner was gracious enough to let us in and browse. I struck up a conversation with him, and we discussed my scotch experiences. After describing my progression from blends to single malts, he commented that my palate seems to be developing right along and gave me a brief summary of his journey. I left that night with a bottle of Oban 14 Year Single Malt Scotch ($64.99), which was what the owner described as a nice "next step" on my single malt journey. He encouraged me to stop by and tell him what I thought.


Well, I didn't really have a chance to sip it right away, but a couple nights ago before bed, I poured myself a bit to try. On the nose, it smelled sweeter than the Balvenie. So that right away got me a bit excited. I took a nice sip and let it linger in my mouth. There were hints of sweetness and spice, and it finished quite nice (haha..). I didn't get a lot of burn, and I couldn't really remember how the Balvenie was like. So I poured myself a bit of the Balvenie and went back and forth. In the end, the Balvenie definitely left a presence after the sip. The burn lasts a bit and really warms you up. I also thought the Balvenie was bolder and demanded attention, whereas the Oban was smoother and softer. I don't favor one over the other, just as I don't favor one particular beer, but it was nice to have a different single malt. I'll enjoy this bottle for a bit before moving on to another step.

One thing I do have to note is that after trying the single malts, the Johnnie Walker blends just aren't the same. Granted I've only had the Black Label and the Gold Label, but I had some of those a few months back, and they are lacking compared with the singles. I've had a shot of Blue Label once, and I'll admit that was very smooth, but I haven't had that for a while and can't give that a good comparison. Maybe, when I have a spare couple Benjamins, I'll get a bottle to keep on hand. For now, the Oban will be good enough!

Note: After writing this, just found out Oban is owned by Diageo, which owns among all their liquor companies Johnnie Walker! They also own some other names such as J&B, Guinness, Crown Royal, Captain Morgan's, Bailey's, etc....

Done with glucosamine

Well, I did it. I weaned myself off of the glucosamine sulfate. I was paranoid about going off of it, but someone had a knee problem from running and I gave my mostly full second (and only) bottle to him. I've been off for about a week and the shoulder feels mostly the same. Is it a 100%? No. But the fact that it made it through a heavy workout says quite a bit. Here's the breakdown:

Sunday: Chest/back/abs

Monday: Run

Tuesday: Shoulders/biceps/triceps

Wednesday: Run

Thursday: Heavy weights - Chest/back, calf raises, lunges

Friday: None
Saturday: None

For my "heavy" workout, I actually made it to the gym. I had access to whatever I wanted. I started off with body weight chest dips/pull ups supersets. Three sets of five. It felt awesome to be able to do a decent amount of pull ups again. Then I headed over to a bench and did supersets of dumbbell chest presses and one-arm rows using 45-lb dumbbells (I did one set with 60-lb and decided that was too heavy for now). I followed that up with some incline presses and finished off at the lat pulldown with 130-lb. Then I did some box jumps and a quick cooldown at the treadmill. Boy, it was nice to have all that stuff available. Very nice. I know my "heavy" isn't quite heavy right now, but considering that I have never benched my full weight and the fact that I'm getting over a shoulder injury, I'm doing just fine.

I knew the workout was pretty good, because I started feeling some tightness by the end of the day. When I woke up the next day, My chest and lats were sore. It was a feeling I've missed for awhile. Then I started feeling sick. Well, at least I thought I was sick. My gut felt pretty bad. It took me a while to realize it was my core that was sore and even longer for me to piece together that it was from the box jumps. I haven't done box jumps for a while and didn't think it did more than work out my legs. But anyway, I've recovered from that workout and even finished my regular chest/back work out. It feels pretty good.

My first 4,000 footer summit is this coming weekend. I feel pretty confident in my physical state, so I hope to summit and descend just fine. Mt. Osceola is a bit more than Mt. Monadnock, so if I finish in a better state than Monadnock, then I've come a long way.

As for my diet. Yeesh. From Thursday on, it was trash. I even gained weight, though 0.5 - 1.0 lb may be water retention from some salty foods I ate. I was so bloated yesterday that my eyes hurt. Need to concentrate more this coming week.


Last weigh-in:
174.5 lb

Don't go cheap on razors

So, I was at Target restocking on everyday items. I was out of razor cartridges for my Mach 3 razor (No Fusion for me, the three blades work just fine). I pick up a pack of 8 cartridges and it was $20.49 or something. Unit price was $245.00 per 100 count. I look down at the bottom of the shelf and saw a pack of 8 disposable Gillette three bladed razors. Unit price was nearly half. I'm thinking, "Shoot, I change cartridges all the time. Let's try the disposables. I also had one or two disposables lying around at home too.

Cut to the next day when I had to shave for work. Every stroke was torture. My dull cartridge was better that the new disposable. So I'm thinking, maybe it's because I'm not in the shower (I usually shave in the shower). So this morning, I wait a bit longer after applying shaving gel. No such luck. It didn't hurt as much, but I definitely notice a difference in the quality of the shave. Just not up to par at all.

In conclusion, the price difference really is warranted. The quality of the shave is much better with a non-disposable razor. So, don't go cheap! Or if you have, try the cartridges. It's niiiicce.

Beware the Brazilian BBQ Buffet!

So, I ate too much again. Man. Buffets are a killer. I went to a Brazilian BBQ Buffet the other day. This is a meat lover's dream. They bring large skewers of meat over and slice it right at the table for you. So...much...meat. But it was really good. But sooooo much.... I gotta really watch myself. Anyway, here's the breakdown:

Sunday: Chest/back/abs
Monday: None
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Shoulders/biceps/triceps, run
Thursday: None
Friday: Pullups, elevated pushups
Saturday: Run

I added pullups and elevated pushups to try to sneak "heavy" weights back in. I'm only doing three sets of five to start out just to be safe. My shoulder feels pretty good now and it only feels weird once in a while. I'm still taking glucosamine, mainly out of paranoia. I'll stop after I finish the bottle. Eventually, I'd like to get back to bench presses and some lat pulldowns/weighted pullups. For my regular weight workouts, I'm up to three sets of 14, so I upped the dumbbells to 25 pounds. We'll see how that goes next update.

The main thing now is getting ready for my hike. I'm still doing stairs at work, two at a time. Really gets my heart pumping and simulates short bursts going up a mountain. I need to make sure I do my squats and lunges though. Been kinda lax on that since running. Gotta work on my diet some more too. I'm pretty good at work, but I still get too relaxed outside of that. But the guilt's there, so that means I'm paying attention at least. Blegh, fitness is a life long struggle.




Last weigh-in:
173.5 lb