HACK #2:  In my 2nd blog yesterday, I wrote about my lunchtime encounter with a coworker about holiday eating (or face stuffing), and how it touched a nerve with me (see yest’s blog).  Well, my wife got a double barrell treatment this morning on this very same issue.  Our department had a Thanksgiving potluck lunch planned for today.  As I was about to head out the door for work this morning, my wife says "Now be polite & sample some of the other dishes."  This set me off again.  I responded, "That’s exactly what I get at work all the time.  ‘C’mon Al, just try this, or sample that, it won’t hurt you, you don’t need to lose any weight.’  I tell her (nicely) that I was NOT going to sample dishes, unless it was something I wanted to eat.  We had at least 20-30 people bringing dishes in.  Was I supposed to try "just a little" of all these dishes?"  "Why is it that I am the one who always gets pressured to conform to everyone else’s eating habits?"  I also told her that I do not go around with a self-righteous attitude regarding my diet & approach to food.  I never point out to my coworkers their unhealthy eating habits.  They already know.  It’s their choice to change, or not.  Actually, I try to keep a low profile and quietly do my thing.  Others are free to approach me anytime, if they want to know about clean eating, exercise & how I keep my weight down.  It’s no secret that my diet is different & that I get regular exercise.  By the end of our "one-way conversation", my wife agreed that I should stick to my guns, unless I choose to indulge.  And, I left the house with both of us smiling.  

So………I have finished my relatively small portion meal of turkey, black beans & green beans.  I skipped the carb & fat-laden casseroles, potato salad, white breads, etc., and the TONS of sugar-laden desserts.  But guess what…………There is plenty leftover of my wife’s awesome & delish clean eats black bean dish, which I brought.  But there’s hardly any leftovers of all that other stuff………LOL.  No wonder America is getting fatter & sicker……..

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  LEGS:

(6-10 reps)

–  Hack squats  (10 sets, 60-75 sec’s rest)

–  Standing calf raises  (8 sets, 45 sec’s rest)

–  Leg extensions  (5 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

–  Leg curls  (5 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

–  Squat jumps  (5 sets, 20 lb DB’s in each hand, 45 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

To my way of thinking these days, that’s PRECISELY what I’d be doing……living a LITTLE.  But I want to "live a LOT".  For me………

1)  Living a lot means living with a healthy, trim & fit body, and simply feeling better.  Like the migraines that are rare these days.  Like the fact I get sick much less often than I used to, before committing to a clean eats diet a few years back.  THAT’s living a lot.  Quality of life.  A good quality of life.  And with a body closing in on 50 years, stuffing my face at the office potluck, and generalized eating of processed foods, foods out of a box or with lots of refined sugars is not going to cut it. 

2)  #1 flows into #2…….Living a lot means a lot of years.  I don’t want to be suffering the many avoidable ailments & decline in mobility as I get older.  I want to be active & healthy well into my 70’s, 80’s and God-willing, my 90’s. 

So here’s to LIVING A LOT over the holidays & beyond.  That’s not to say I won’t indulge a little, but really, 2 months of pounding all the holiday goodies and mega-meals?  That’s not for me.  I’m thankful to God for the truly good foods available on this good earth.   And for my good health, which is not something I want to take for granted. 

Sorry if this comes off preachy.  She really touched a nerve.       

Joe Walsh:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzxF-M2erx8 

PS:  Another clean eats day yesterday.  Back on track from recent stress eating crashes. 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  BACK  &  SHOULDERS:

(6-10 reps)

– Pullups: 19, 11, 7, 6, 6, 5  (Extra wide grip, slower reps, 90 sec’s rest)

– Close grip cable rows  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

– Bentover BB rows  (Extra wide grip, 4 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

– Close grip cable pulldowns  (4 sets, 15 sec’s rest)

– Military press  (6 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

– Arnold overhead DB press  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

– Front DB raises  (4 sets, 60 sec’s rest)

– Lateral DB raises  (4 sets, 15 sec’s rest)

CARDIO:  20 min’s HIIT on the elliptical.  HR 165-180.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Spinning Wheel:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uHM7lOly00 

Oh, and my wife brought home ice cream last night.  She & the girls were chowing away.  But not me.  Clean eats.     

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ABS  &  CARDIO:

–  Crunches with 25 lb weight  (5 sets)

–  Crunches with 10 lb weight, working a different angle  (5 sets)

–  Laying down leg lifts over the head  (5 sets)

–  Situps on the decline situp bench  (5 sets)

CARDIO:  Spin class  (45 min’s)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Stripes:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfxcq77FkdE 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  ARMS:

(6-10 reps)

–  Curlbar curls  (6 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  DB curls  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  Close grip bench press  (6 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  Curlbar tricep extensions  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  Straightbar curls  (4 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  DB curls  (3 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  Cable tricep extensions  (4 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  Cable reverse tricep extensions  (3 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

CARDIO:  17 min’s of HIIT on the stairmaster, HR 160-175.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

This is turning into a bulk period.  I can see definite size increase in arms, lats, chest & quads.  The cycling of my workouts has been working towards that end.  I’ve been staying in the 6-10 rep range the last few months.  But within that framework, I’ve been drastically changing things up from week-to-week:  Changing the exercises, order of exercises, dropsets, supersets, rest between sets & occasional high rep sets.  But I’m not giving up on the diet focus to cut a few lbs of bodyfat.  So here’s a repeat from that genius Tim Allen character in that Oscar worthy flick Galaxy Quest:  "Never give up.  Never surrender".  So…….you guessed it……here’s the clip:      

Galaxy Quest:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI5hi4c4y9k 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  CHEST:

(6-10 reps)

–  DB incline bench press  (5 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  Incline flyes  (4 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  DB flat bench press  (4 set’s, 45-60 sec’s rest)

–  Flyes  (3 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

–  Hip pushups  (4 sets, 45-60 sec’s rest).  Stu, these hurt.     

–  Pec dec machine  (3 sets, 20 sec’s rest)

CARDIO:  30 min’s of intervals on the elliptical, HR 150-170.

ABS:  Roman Chair knees to chest  +  situps on decline situp bench  (4 sets each, 20 sec’s rest)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

I finished the book A Tale Of Two Cities this morning, by Charles Dickens.  I read it years ago, and started reading it again a couple months ago after getting the idea from my blog.  I had quoted from it and it gave me the idea to reread this great story.  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…..".  A 2nd quote, the last sentence in the book:  It Is a Far, Far Better Thing That I Do, than I Have Ever Done:  It Is a Far, Far Better Rest That I Go To, than I Have Ever Known."  Good stuff.  It took awhile to read the book due to the busyness of life.  Just don’t get the chance to sit down very often to read long passages.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting reaquainted with this story about the horrors of the French Revolution in the late 18th Century. 

CARDIO:  15 min’s HIIT sprints on the treadmill, HR 165-175 (My right calf held up).  Followed by 15 min’s of intervals on the elliptical, HR 160-165.  Sweat like a hurricane.      

ABS:  Laying down leg lifts over the head (5 sets) & crunches (5 sets)

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!      

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Oh, almost forgot:  GO NAVY!           

However, I did experiment with something new today:  Supersets with DB squat jumps, holding 15 lb or 20 lb DB’s in each hand for added weight.  Man they are killer cardio.  I will be adding them into my workouts.  Major heart thumper.

So as I was blasting out sound effects on squats (or trying not to), this funny clip from my favorite Mel Brooks movie was playing in my mind.  Love this movie.  Blazing Saddles.  Mel at his bestest.     

Blazing Saddles:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6dm9rN6oTs 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —   LEGS:

(6-10 reps, 60-75 sec’s rest)

–  Smith Machine squats  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset DB squat jumps)

–  Standing calf raise  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset w/ seated calf raise)

–  Hack squats  (4 sets, last 2 sets superset w/ DB squat jumps)

–  Leg extensions  (4 sets, last 2 sets superset w/ DB squat jumps)

–  Leg curls  (4 sets, last 2 sets superset w/ DB squat jumps)

CARDIO:  Uh, no. 

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!     

Ya just never know…….The other day we rented the Hannah Montana Movie for my girls.  I had NO INTENTION of watching it.  I’d never seen any of the HM shows, and just seeing the cutesy dolls & other merchandise in the stores made me want to hurl.  So I left it to my wife to watch with my girls, but she was having none of that.  Made me watch it, to spend time with my 2 favorite girlies.  Well, I discovered that Miley Cyrus can sing.  She actually has a good set of pipes.  I’m never going to start watching the HM shows or go out and buy up all her music.  But I have to admit:  My preconceived notions were wrong.  So, to give her props, here’s one song from that movie, called The Climb.  One that shouldn’t make you nauseous.        

The Climb:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmKsCMgROCQ 

WORKOUT THIS MORNING  —  BACK  &  SHOULDERS:

(6-10 reps, 90 sec’s rest on pullups, 45-60 sec’s for the rest)

–  Pullups:  27, 14, 8, 6, 6, 5  (Last 2 sets superset with cable rows)

–  Bentover BB rows  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset with cable rows)

–  Military press  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset with front DB raises)

–  Lateral DB raises  (6 sets, last 2 sets superset with front DB raises)

CARDIO:  30 min’s LIIT on the elliptical.  HR 130-150.

Just getting to the gym IS a successful workout!