The Best Shape of My Life!

I got a free health screening this week, and here are the results…

Weight: 195 lbs
Waist Circumference: 35 inches
BF%: 17.9 (used a handheld, not a pinch test)
BMI: 27

Total Chol: 153
HDL Chol: 36

Blood Pressure: 120/84
Glucose: 96

Overall, the results are pretty good. The nurse specifically said that the bodyfat percent was "great"! I looked at her critically…it’s the personal trainer in me, sorry, can’t help it. But at least it did put some things in perspective. From a health standpoint, I’m still in great shape. My blood pressure is the highest it’s ever been, but it’s still within the quite healthy range. The nurse told me that it was probably a bit over the mark (lower number higher than 80) because she had just pricked me to get the blood test, and I hate needles and prickings. Oh well….Life goes on. Total cholesterol level is amazing! I was thinking it would be much higher than that with the diet I’ve had lately. And the stress of my life! Whew, don’t even get me started there. But I’m doing better than I thought. There are a few things, though, that I plan to address pretty quickly.
1. Lowering overall bodyfat. Biggest key here is diet. I know….just hard to implement.

2. Increasing HDL Cholesterol: eat more plants, perform more cardio.

3. Decrease waist circumference: eat more plants, eat less food overall, perform more cardio.

See a trend? LOL!

When I find the answer, I’ll let you know. I’ve been wrestling with this one for quite a while now, and I think it’s starting to really pull me down. What is it worth to chase down the perfect physique? What is it worth to be the fittest, strongest, fastest, biggest, etc. person out there? What is it worth to put my body through all the stress and havoc?

I’m tired of playing games, and I’m tired of marketing scams. Do I need a 6-pack set of abs? Do I need ripped muscles bulging out of every crevace of my body? Do I need a 30 inch waist? Do I need to bench press 450 lbs? WHAT IS IT THAT I NEED?

And, when I find out what I need, then the ultimate question still remains…What is it worth to pursue those things?

Read my previous blogs to get more info on where I’m coming from. Sure, there are automatic answers that have been developed by the bodybuilding world, supplement companies, food manufacturers, fitness equipment providers, and even personal trainers. But are those automatic answers justifiable?

In other words, is there a difference between the marketed answers and the real answers to sustainable health and fitness? Just like the Transformers, I believe there’s more to it than meets the eye. So what is it worth to have a 6-pack? Is that the be all to end all in fitness? Or is there something deeper, something more intwined the fabric of human life?

This may seem like a bunch of ranting, but I assure you I’m not going crazy. I’m going through some heavy changes in my life for sure. A spiritual and pscyhological renewal, beginning work on a thesis, prepping for a new year of teaching, and realizing that I’m 28 and not 18 (though I don’t want to go back to those days…sorry all you young punks out there).

More on this later. For now I need rest. Feel free to comment.

After spending the past couple weeks out of town, it’s crunch time again. It’s so hard to be healthy when you’re on a trip, especially in a city that is absolutely HORRIBLE. But please, spare me the digression into the detest I feel towards Birmingham, and let me focus for now on the more personal issue: weight.

I weighed myself tonight, and I have officially broken 200 pounds! Part of me is excited, and part of me is incredibly worried. For quite a while, I have been wanting to weigh 200, but I never thought I’d actually get to that point. And now that I do weigh 200, it’s not exactly the type of weight I want. Being a personal trainer, I know how to conduct the bodyfat tests, which are an important measure of overall health and fitness. Currently, I’m just above 16%. So what does that mean? It means that approximately 16% of the 200 pounds, or roughly 32 pounds, is fat weight. If you were to take it out, I would be ripped and lean at a mere 168. That is partly disturbing since when I weighed 180 a while back with 10% bodyfat, I was only carrying around 18 pounds of the stuff with 172 pounds of lean body mass. I’ve dropped the lean stuff and added the fat stuff since then. I’m NOT happy.

But I can only blame myself. On my quest to get bigger (and finally be able to fit into large-sized t-shirts), I have been pretty careless with my diet. No one’s fault but mine, and I’m not wanting to sound like I’m complaining here. I’ve never had a real weight problem, and if anything, I’ve always been rather under weight. Well, let me explain. According to the "Ideal" bodyweight charts, I’m only supposed to weight 140-160 pounds at 6′ tall. To be quite honest, I disagree heavily with this. I used to be 160, and I was so skinny a lot of people thought I was somewhat anorexic. So I’m not wanting to go down that far. Forget about the charts (published by INSURANCE COMPANIES, by the way…not by health professionals), but I do think that if nothing else, the bodyfat issue needs to be taken more seriously.

So this week, it’s back to the drawing board. Intense dieting and intense exercising…well see how it goes. With any good fortune (and a lot of dedication), I’ll be able to start making a dent in the 32 pounds of badness that I do not want hanging around. If I drop back down to 180 or so, fine. I’d rather be smaller and lean than larger and unhealthy. But beyond that, as long as I keep feeling good, and can see some positive results, I’ll be satisfied.

There are some things that I hate about spring. Allergies and infections are some of them. It seems that no matter what I do, I always get a horrible sinus/throat infection when the weather turns warmer. I’ve been hacking up absolutely nothing all day for the past 5 days or so, and it’s getting more and more unbearable. I’m trying not to depend too much on medication, but at this point I’m downing about every OTC sinus/throat pill I can find. If history is any indicator of the future, I’ll be stuck with the wheezing cough for another couple weeks, which can make life quite miserable.

But on the flip side, it’s a sign that the weather is changing. The days are getting longer and warmer, and some humidity is finally returning. I guess I should be thankful that winter is leaving me behind and I’ll have more time and energy to get outside and do more of the things I love doing. But not till I get over this stupid allergy thing.

I did my workout this morning, though I had to force myself to get through it. I woke up at 5 am, like usual, but barely. I trudged into the gym and pretty much just went through the motions. I think it was a good enough workout, especially considering that breathing is a problem due to my allergy infection. I’m doing light weights this week. If nothing else, it’s giving me something to do so I can remain consistent. I was planning on using light weights to build endurance, but I had to lower them beyond what I wanted since I couldn’t find the energy to lift this morning. But……..I did make it through.

I’m still planning on doing yoga tomorrow morning.

I washed my truck this morning, which was a nice little workout for me. Yes, I wash my truck the REAL WAY, by hand, scrubbing every little spec and crevace (sp?). It’s an F-150 extended cab, so it takes a little while to do a good job…about 45 minutes to an hour. And that’s without waxing, which I probably should do later tonight when it gets cooler.

Anyway, on with the story….I washed my truck and came inside to cool off. My muscles were sore and I was sweating like crazy. The idea suddenly just hit me to find a spa or hot tub or something. Well, since I don’t have one, I went for the next best thing: My bathtub. Filled it up with warm/hot water and got ready to relax. Then I thought about bubble bath. Not exactly the most relaxing thing for me, but hey, a man has to do what a man has to do.

While searching for some bubble bath that wasn’t my daughter’s or that wouldn’t make me smell like fruit, I found a salt scrub. Not even sure where we got it, but I remember using it and how the salt felt (really good). So I decided to scrub myself down.

WOW! I didn’t realize the potential relaxing and healing powers of sea salt and oil. I got out feeling refreshed, my muscles didn’t seem as sore (they still don’t), and I was so relaxed I almost laid down and took a nap. But I had things to do, so I didn’t.

So, I guess the point of this is: SALT IS GOOD! Use it, enjoy it. Just watch out for any open wounds you have. Bug bites, scrapes, etc. They really hurt with salt scrubbed into them. But after the initial pain, it actually makes them feel pretty good.

Go relax.

It’s time for ALLERGIES! I haven’t been able to do a workout since the 14th because I now have my spring allergy infection. Can’t breath, ears plugged, throat sore, and dizzy at times. When I try to do a workout, I either gag or drop the weight. So now my energy is centered on battling this stupid allergy infection, which my medication is really supposed to be preventing in the first place. Ggggggrrrrrrrr.

If this becomes anything like any other infection I’ve had, I’ll be out for two weeks. in fact, it was a stupid allergy infection that kept me from doing anything at the beginning of the year! So 2008 has just sucked so far as far as training and fitness are concerned.

I need sleep. I’m sure that’s the ultimate cause of my problems. But…how do I get more when I have so much to do?

Well, so far I’ve been doing better for the rest of the week. Monday was hard, especially in the afternoon/evening. I usually am always tired at that time of the day anyway, and I was moreso on Monday since I didn’t get much sleep. Then, of course, I got a second wind, so I was up late Monday night, too. But I got a bit more sleep, so Tuesday was okay.

Here I am writing this at 11 pm. But that’s about normal for me, and I do get to sleep an extra hour tomorrow morning. So I guess I’m not really sleeping an "extra" hour, but I have a bit of time to use as I want. That might help a bit.

I’ve done three workouts so far. Two strength and one cardio. I feel great. Even for being tired, worn out, and very heavily stressed this week, I’ve been doing pretty well. I’ve even been eating better than usual. I forced myself to buy healthy snacks and foods for this week, and I’ve been eating them. Of course, I haven’t been perfect, but overall, it’s been an improvement. Maybe the lack of sleep has caused me to find other avenues for good energy.

Tomorrow morning I’m planning on hitting the gym and doing a third strength workout. I’m starting to feel the results again, and I think I’m starting to see some changes. Nothing major, by any means, but if nothing else, I’m feeling better about what I’m doing, how I look, etc.

I’m also back to drinking more protein shakes (mostly I make my own) and using vitamins. I’m using a multi that has BCAA’s in it as well as some other stuff. I hate taking pills, so I found something all wrapped up into one massive pill. Of course, a "serving size" is two pills. Painful. But, I know my body needs the nutrients. And maybe the other stuff will work on me a bit, in a positive way.

We’ll see what I feel like at 6 am when I wake up. Have a good one everyone.

This week is spring break for not only the school I teach at, but also for the university. How convenient! Yeah, on one level. But not for my health and fitness level. Oh well, we all need a break every now and then.

I did play some tennis with my bro-in-law yesterday, and I went out and ran today. It was beautiful today! Even a bit warm. Around 70 degrees or so. It felt good to be outside and run a bit. Now I’m tired.

Diet sucks, but that’s been the norm for me lately. With my time schedule the way it is, I can’t keep up with myself, much less with fitness and diet. But I’m doing the best I can, and I have been eating more home-cooked meals, which tend to be healthier for me. Beats ordering pizza and Chinese every night!

Ok, so more rest and fun while on "vacation," and then I can get back into my routine of things. Maybe even drop my bodyfat back down to 10%, like it was at one point. Maybe, just maybe, I can "run" off (through various cardio and strength activities) enough blubber to get back into some 33 waist jeans. That would be the day.

Hey, it’s good to dream while you’re on vacation. I think. Have a good one!

I’m finally overcoming my infection/allergies. My medication (doctor restarted the prescription) starting kicking in, and I’m feeling a LOT better. So this week I’m back in the gym, with a slightly different approach. With grad classes in the evenings, and everything else that takes up my time, I’m going back to my morning workouts.

HELLO 5:30 AM!
Yeah, early…even for a morning type person.  But we do what is necessary, and the gym isn’t as crowded in the mornings. I have pretty much free reign, so I don’t have to wait in line for a machine, the bench, or, my favorite, the squat rack. Not that it gets used that much anyway. I’m using a split routine approach now. I don’t like splits as much as full bodies, but when I only have about 30 minutes, I have to cut something.

Today I did a legs/shoulders/bi workout, and yesterday chest/back/tri. We’ll see how it goes when I repeat tomorrow and Friday with the same thing. I’m going to try and get a bit of cardio in sometime. We’ll see.

I’m just happy to be over this crazy allergy/sinus infection and getting on with my life. One less thing to have to stress about.

Allergies and Asthma. I hate them both. I have them both. Now. It’s painful, frustrating, and very irritating. I haven’t done a real workout in over a week, and I’m beginning to feel the effects of it. Some people are even fortunate enough to lose a bunch of fat weight when they’re sick. Nope! Not me! I gain weight…albeit very small amounts.

I’m going to try another workout tonight. Basic, light weight, a bit of walking…just to keep myself doing something. The medication I’m on isn’t really strong, so I have energy, etc. I just can’t breathe sometimes very well. The inhaler is getting used…a LOT.

We’ll see how it goes. I expect to get over this by the end of Feb. Usually when I get an infection like this, it covers my sinuses, ears, throat, and lungs. It’s bad, for several reasons.

GGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!