PenteKing’s BodyBlog

Maybe it’s me. First, there was the fiasco of the spinning class to which nobody came. Then, there was the birkham yoga class that was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was later changed to Wednesday and I wasn’t notified. Now, today, my usual Saturday Fitness Boot camp was scheduled for 8:00 a.m. I showed up, raring to go, only to find myself the solitary participant.

I’m beginning to think I’m a pariah - that people don’t want me around - that my presence is not wanted. If this keeps up, I’m going to develop a complex.

I’ve been seeing this fantastic chiropractor during the past several weeks. I had my doubts, as I had tried chiropractic before with mediocre results. I don’t know whether this chiropractor has the gift or whether he was trained at a better and different school than other chiropractors I’ve seen, but he is fantastic. He’s one of those guys who is always upbeat and happy - you know the kind I mean, but not in an annoying way.

At any rate, we were talking, and he told me that he does 100 pushups a day, every day. I have no reason to doubt him, as the guy is in fantastic shape, but I thought that doing that many pushups every day was bad for you. It didn’t give your muscles time to recover and build new muscle. If I look at my chiropractor, I’d have to re-think that old adage, and yet, my research tells me that my body of knowledge is still viable - that it hasn’t been overwritten by new scientific findings.

So, what gives? Is this guy an anamoly or does he know something the rest of us don’t? What do you suppose would happen if I adopted his routine and started doing 100 pushups a day? Thoughts and comments are not only welcomed, but encouraged.

Usually, when I sit down to write my blog, I’m motivated by one thing or another. I normally have a topic in mind that’s been kicking around in my head for the better part of the day. This community is my preferred forum for airing my thoughts or venting my spleen. Today, though, I have nothing pressing that I want to talk about, nor opinions I want to solicit. I’m in a melancholy mood because one of my best friends, who recently returned safely from Iraq, was told this morning that he’s being re-deployed back to the Middle East. He assures me he’ll be fine, but I have to ask myself, at what point does his luck begin to fade? When do the odds turn against him? These thoughts are then followed by a rage so deep and abiding, that it threatens to suck the soul out of my body.

Why in God’s name are we still over there? Haven’t we done enough damage? What we’ve wrought here will haunt this nation for generations. We’re breeding thousands of people who hate us simply because of where we live. We will one day reap what we have sown, and the harvest will be poisonous to us.

God help us all.

I want to pose a quick question to the community. What type of music do you listen to when you work out? For those of you who have a choice, who uses an iPod (Classic or Nano) vs some other portable device?

I’ll post the results I receive in a future blog.

For my part, I listen to rock music when I’m lifting weights, and disco (blush) music when I’m on the treadmill or on the stationary bike. Of course, this doesn’t apply when I’m participating in the Spinning Class because Tracy controls our music, but when I’m alone, or on the road on my bike, it’s disco time.

In keeping with my new-found desire to build the perfect (okay, the not-so-perfect) body, I am continuing with my plan of innovating my workout and diet routines. Today was the first day of the new leg routine. Let me go on record as saying that it is a KILLER! Five sets of squats, followed by five sets of seated leg presses, followed by leg extensions, leg curls, hack squats and calf work. I finish it all off with deadlifts. Whew! I was about ready to call for an ambulance. The only thing that stopped me was the certain ridicule I’d face at the hands of my fellow gym rats.

So far today, I’ve taken in about 1300 calories, and plan on putting away at least 1000 more before the day is over. That should take care of the calories I’ve already expended, as well as provide my muscles with the nutrients they need to grow. I’m going to stick with this for three months and see what happens. Progress notes and pics will be going up soon. Until then, stay healthy and happy, fellow lifters.

How about those Patriots? I thought the game couldn’t possibly match the hype, but I was wrong. Boy, is that team going to be tough to beat. But back to the matter at hand.

I did my planned new routine on Sunday. My back doesn’t feel all that much different, which probably means I didn’t work it hard enough, but I sure did blast my biceps. Even bending my arms normally sends sympathetic twinges through the muscle. Next time I do back, I’m going to increase the weight by half again, and see if that makes a difference.

Tomorrow I’m going to work my legs, and then hope that I will have recovered enough to engage in Wednesday morning’s spinning class. I’ve put together new routines for these two days as well, and can only hope that they will shock my body into growing some more. I’m also going to look seriously at my diet, and see if upping my caloric intake will pack on some additional muscle. I’m taking in about 1500 - 1600 calories a day, which is barely enough to maintain my weight where it is. I read (on this site, I think) someone’s blog who said that weight loss happened only after they upped their food intake. The theory being, I guess, the body no longer thinks it’s starving, and starts to lean out the way you want it to. I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain, so here goes.

BTW, got my new iPod Nano today, and already, I love it. I’m going to put together a playlist that will motivate the crap out of me when I work out. Wish me luck, boys and girls.

As you may or may not know (it doesn’t matter, I suppose) I started a new back and biceps routine today. I used some of the routines found here on bodybuilding.com, and threw in one or two that Coach crafted for me. The entire routine took nearly an hour and a half to complete, and I’m thinking it’s a good one, because I am fatigued like I’ve never been before. At this point, I’m thinking I could crawl into bed and sleep for an hour or two to recuperate. (Can’t do that, though - have to watch the New England - Dallas game. There must be something to all the hype).

At any rate, my back and biceps have been put to the test. I’ll keep y’all posted on how I progress. In the meantime, happy lifting to all you guys and gals in the community.

Saturday is usually Fitness Boot Camp Day, but upon wakening this a.m., I discovered that it was raining. I’m not complaining, because the Lord knows that Southern California needs all the rain it can get. It’s been as dry as a politician’s stump speech around here lately. I needed to do some serious cardio, however, so I telephoned the gym and asked if the 9:30 a.m. spinning class was still on for that morning. As those of you who have been paying attention might have realized, I had more than a modicum of doubt about the class actually coming off as planned due to the instructor’s no-show on Wednesday. So, I motored on over to the gym with more than a little trepidation in my heart. Much to my happy surprise, Tracy came bouncing in ten minutes early. After our initial greetings, I told her about my being the only one to make an appearance on Wednesday. Tracy explained that she had notified the owners that she had to attend a mandatory conference (she’s started a new job recently), and neither she nor the owners could find anyone to cover, so they cancelled the class. Because I was out of town on vacation, I didn’t get the memo. Hence, the mix-up. So, I’m offering this apology to Tracy, and letting the community know that she is as stalwart as ever.

 And she let me know that she spells her name without an ‘e’ in it. It seems that she’s been reading these blogs. That makes me happy, because at least I know I have an audience of at least one.

Back to the weights tomorrow. I’m scheduled to do back and biceps, and am planning on trying a new routine which promises to deliver eye-popping results. Here’s hoping the hype lives up to the promise. 

For absolutely no valid reason, the thought has come into my head to run a marathon. I can’t tell you that I was inspired by any one thing, or that I’m trying to emulate a hero of mine or anything like that. I thnk the real reason is simply that I want to see if I can do it. My aerobic capacity has increased tremendously since I started on this journey a year ago. Back then, I got winded walking up a flight of stairs. Today, on the treadmill, I was clocking along at 7 mph for twenty minutes without coming close to sucking wind. I know a marathon is miles removed (no pun intended) from running on the treadmill, but with persistent training and perserverance, I see no reason why I cannot enjoy the fallen arches and balky knees shared by some many runners.

This may be just a passing fancy ( a fleeting thought that drifted in through the transom of my mind), and if so, then I’m saved. If however, this becomes a full-blown obsession, then I am in for an unlimited amount of pain. On the plus side, I’ll be able to eat almost anything I want. (Just kidding, ChickenTuna. Don’t go all postal on me.)

Stay tuned, sports fans.

I usually do pretty intensive cardio twice a week - once on Wednesday and again on Saturday. The weekend cardio is under the supervision of a personal trainer who has all her clients attend what she calls "Fitness Boot Camp." We run the stairs at the San Diego Convention Center (all 100 of them), throw the medicine ball around, engage in short sprint races, and generally try to improve our aerobic capacity and increase our endurance.

Wednesday’s activity is a little different. It’s a spinning class, run by a very lively and fun Italian gal by the name of Tracey. She’s a hoot in addition to being a great instructor. She keeps us motivated, and tries to engage everyone in the class, regardless of whether they’ve been spinning for years, or are only dropping in to see what all the hoopla is about. I love Tracey; I think she’s great.

When I first started, the class had about six or seven participants, which for 6:30 a.m. on a Wednesday ain’t too bad. Over the past couple of weeks, however, the number of participants has been steadily declining. The excuses have all been good ones. One person moved to D.C., another discovered that she was pregnant and decided not to continue, while a third switched to a class that’s held in late afternoon. On the face of it, all good excuses, but the trend was worrying to me. I didn’t want the gym to cancel the class because of low participation. The spinning class fit my schedule very well. If I had to find another spinning class, it would seriously inconvenience me.

Today, however, my worst fears were realized. I showed up for the usual Wednesday morning class, only to find that no one - not even Tracey - had deigned to show up.

There you have it, sports fans. The ultimate insult. Suppose they gave a class and even the instructor wouldn’t come?