Bike ride

It's a great day out so I thought I'd get my ass out on my bike for a ride.  As you can see from the map and plot, I went 11.32 miles in an hour.  I feel pretty good though my knees and ass are a little sore.  I realized that it's probably time for a tune-up and I need a new helmet.  I'd like to get some bike shoes and fast clip pedals.  I think I'll get a bike rack for my car since there are a lot of places around here with good biking.  I'd like to bike up around Fab 8 in Malta.

Never Gymless Day 25.5

Morning: core

• (15 V-ups, 15 blue band slams, 10 blue band twists per side, chinnies til burn) x 3

Today is a make-up day.

Fitness update

I started the Never Gymless 50 day program at the end of June and I've seen some pretty encouraging results with trends in the right direction.  I've lost just under four pounds of fat, but I haven't gotten leaner.  I'm not surprised because it's a strength training program and I'm still eating too much.

I'd lke to get back to where I was during the spring of 2010.  I'll keep chuggin' away and will focus on eating less.

Never Gymless Day 25

Morning: core

• (10 crunches, 15 green band pull throughs, 10 green band rotational chops) x 3
• plank: 65s, 65s, 61s

Gettin' stronger.

Simple request

Just once I'd like to drive in to work without someone tailgating me, cutting me off, rolling a stop sign or running a red light.  Is that too much to ask?

Never Gymless Day 24

Evening: explosive strength workout

• (8 plyometric pushups, 12 squat jumps) x 4
• (6 one-armed blue band arm pulls, 20 medicine ball ankle hops) x 4

I'm getting stronger, but I need to extend this workout by one more pair.  Hopefully I can put some equipment outside so I can do some snatches.

I need to get some exercise

I could go for a bike ride.

Never Gymless Day 23

Evening: EIT workout 5

• (60s running, 60s pushups, 60s squats, 60s rest) x 4

I'm gettin' stronger, but my endurance still sucks.

Never Gymless Day 22

Morning: maximal strength

• (1 pullup, 1 glute-ham raise) x 4
• (2 one-armed pushups, 6 one-legged squats) x 4
• (9 pike presses, 6 green band good mornings) x 4
• (5 bodyweight tricep extensions, 10 medicine ball one-legged calf raises) x 3

My pullups were pretty legit, but I'm not quite able to lower myself past 45 degrees for the glute ham raises.  My one-armed pushups are not real, but it's getting easier each week.  I held an 8lb medicine ball during the calf raises to make them a little tougher.

I'm definitely getting stronger.

Butt stank

I've got to be careful about how many lentils I polish off since they seem to impact my colon just like beans, garlic and buttermilk.  Holy moly.  I thought I was going to blow a hole through space and time this afternoon.

Never Gymless Day 21

Morning: ICT workout 5

• (10 burpees, 10 chinnies, 10 squats, 10 pushups) in 20 min

I only completed 4 35/40 cycles which means I was 5 pushups short of five full cycles.  The burpees were the ones to really wipe me and I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's the constant up and down.

Evening: isometrics

• (wall press (3 angles), overhead press (3 angles), bent over row (2 angles)) x 5 breaths x 4 cycles

Envy

My housemate bought an iPad2 yesterday.  It's mostly just a toy, but it's still pretty cool.  I think I'd rather have one of the new MacBook Airs, but I think I'm envious that I don't have the scratch to just go out and buy whatever.

I guess I should work on an attitude adjustment to want less stuff since it's not going to help me be happy.

Never Gymless Day 20

Morning: core

• (15 V-ups, 15 blue band slams, 10 blue band twists per side, chinnies til burn) x 3

I think the V-ups are getting a little easier, but I still wasn't able to twist more than about 90 degrees.

Never Gymless Day 19

Morning: explosive strength workout

• (8 plyometric pushups, 12 squat jumps) x 4
• (6 one-armed blue band pulls, 20 ankle hops) x 4

I'm still not able to get much lift out of my pushups, but the band pulls weren't that tough unless I started with the band under quite a bit of tension so I'm definitely getting stronger.

Never Gymless Day 18

Morning: isometrics

• (wall press (3 angles), overhead press (3 angles), bent over row (2 angles)) x 5 breaths x 4 cycles

Evening: EIT workout 4

• 50 yard sprint, 25 yard bear crawl, 25 yard crab walk - 15 minutes

This interval workout was a lot tougher than expected.  I don't know if it's because it was 96F or I'm out of shape, but I was only able to do 5.5 cycles.  I even got a blister on the heel of my left palm from the crab walk.  My triceps are a bit sore from yesterday's maximal strength workout so that didn't help.  In any case, I did what I could and I'll get there.

I can tell that I'm amping up my metabolism because I've been really hungry and horny the past few days.  I even had two lunches today because I was starving after the first one.

Never Gymless Day 17

Morning: maximum strength workout

• (1 pullup, 1 glute hamstring raise) x 4
• (1 one-armed pushup, 4 one-legged squats) x 4
• (8 pike presses, 5 green band good mornings) x 4
• (3 bodyweight tricep extensions, 12 one-legged calf raises) x 3

I beefed up my maximum strength routine by adding in more difficult exercises.  I was actually able to get my eyes level with the chin-up bar which is better than I've done in a while.  The tricep extensions had to be done on a ledge on the wall because I'm not strong enough to hold myself up lower down.

Evening: core

• (10 crunches, 15 green band pull throughs, 10 green band rotational chops) x 3
• plank: 59s, 60s, 60s

Never Gymless Day 16

Morning: ICT workout 4

• (10 burpees, 20 lunges, 30 lunges) x 5
• (5 body rows, 10 pushups, 10 blue band high pulls) x 5

This workout was pretty tough and took close to an hour.  I was supposed to do 10 pullups and 20 pushups instead of the 5 body rows and 10 pushups, but I'm not quite to the point where I can bang out pushups for conditioning.

Evening: isometrics

• (wall press (3 angles), overhead press (3 angles), bent over row (2 angles)) x 5 breaths x 4 cycles

Gettin' a housemate

Tomorrow my new housemate moves in.  I need the money and she needed a place to stay on fairly short notice so it seems like a decent match on paper.  I haven't lived with anyone for three years so it'll definitely be an adjustment on my part.  However, I really need the money so I'll figure out a way to make it work.  My house is also pretty large so I'm not too worried about losing some privacy.

Weekend recap

There was an ultimate hat tournament in Ithaca on Sunday so I drove down late Saturday afternoon.  I met up with a couple of friends for dinner, we got some ice cream and then walked around Cornell for a bit little before going into Collegetown for a beer.  Cornell is exactly how I remembered it and the cleanroom looked the same as well.

Even though it was wicked hot, the tournament was fun.  It rammed home that I still need to improve my conditioning, but I did ok.  My ultimate strategy is rusty, but my throws were fine.  We had some pretty decent food as well and I met some new people.

The fields were rock hard because the city is reluctant to aerate them.  The ultimate association has offered to pay for the aeration, but the city still doesn't think it's necessary.  When it rains, the water just puddles on top and doesn't really help the grass grow.

I missed a couple of spots with the sunscreen so I got minor sunburn.  It isn't anything a little lidocaine can't help.

All in all, I had a lot of fun though it's a long drive.  I also learned how to "serve tea" which is an old Chinese way of loosening up your hand, arm and shoulder muscles.  I'll have to incorporate it as a stretching exercise before my Never Gymless workouts.

Never Gymless Day 15

Morning: core

• (15 V-ups, 15 blue band slams, 10 blue band twists per side, chinnies til burn) x 3

I felt pretty good after this workout even though I was unable to fully twist during the blue band twists.  This week I added in resistance band exercises to my routine and I think it'll be pretty effective.  I have strong legs and strong shoulders, but I know my core needs some improvement to catch up and core strength is key to athletic performance.

I'm not dropping pounds as quickly as I had expected, but I can definitely tell I'm getting stronger and getting more defined.  I definitely like the Never Gymless regimen and I think I give it the slight edge over Lauren's You are your own gym, but they're both worth owning.

Sore calves

My calves are still sore from Wednesday's track workout so I've been hobbling around like a gimp.  I thought I had done enough running in my trail glove shoes to get used to them, but apparently not.  I'm going to play ultimate on Sunday so hopefully they'll be good to go by then.

"Only one of us walks away..."

I've been angry enough today to feel the anger coursing through me.  It's a strange feeling.  I feel a bit stronger with it, but it doesn't feel as productive as a good mood.

Never Gymless Day 14

Morning: explosive strength workout

• (8 plyometric pushups, 12 squat jumps) x 4
• (6 one blue band arm pulls per arm, 20 ankle hops) x 4

I still need to add some more exercises, but these are pretty effective.  I'm not getting much air with my plyometric pushups, but it'll come.

Never Gymless Day 13

Morning: isometrics

• (wall press (3 angles), overhead press (3 angles), bent over row (2 angles)) x 5 breaths x 4 cycles

Evening: EIT workout 3

• (400m run, 20 medicine ball slams, 60s rest) x 6

I was able to complete this interval workout in 22:05 with splits of 3:22, 3:23, 3:27, 3:56, 4:02 and 3:56.  I wasn't able to run up on my toes after the third lap because my calves were cramping up.  I guess I'm not quite used to my barefoot shoes.  It was definitely a great workout and I look forward to doing it in five weeks to see by how much I improve.  I know I will because I'm getting stronger with each workout.

Never Gymless Day 12

Morning: maximal strength workout

• (10 body rows, 10 hamstring curls) x 4
• One armed pushups: 1, 2, 2, 2; one legged squats: 5, 5, 5, 5
• (10 pike presses, 15 good mornings) x 4
• one legged calf raises: 15, 15, 15

Now, don't get too excited since my one armed pushups were not quite the real deal.  I went down until I couldn't anymore which was just a few inches.  However, the idea is to work on my maximal strength so I figured I might as well get started.  The squats were nearly "real," but my thigh wasn't quite parallel to the floor.  I definitely feel stronger.

Evening: core

• (10 crunches, 15 green band pull throughs, 10 green band rotational chops) x 3; plank: 46s, 53s, 55s

I added some resistance band exercises to my core work because I prefer exercises with a lot of movement.  It took me a bit to get the hang of the rotational chops, but I think I've got it now and they were definitely effective.  I was also able to plank (aka static pushup) for much longer than before.

I'm feeling pretty good so I definitely think this workout regime is working.

Never Gymless Day 11

Morning: ICT workout 3

• 11 pushups, 10 pushups, 10 burpees, 8 burpees, 11 pushups, 10 burpees, 6 pushups, 5 pushups, 10 pushups, 6 burpees, 10 burpees, 10 pushups, 3 pushups, 4 pushups, 6 burpees, 10 burpees, 9 burpees, 10 burpees, 3 burpees

The idea here was to take a deck of cards.  Turn one over and, if's red, do burpees and if it's black do pushups.  The number would be determined by the value of the card (aces are worth 11).  I wasn't able to make it through even half the deck.  I had planned to do 45 minutes' worth, but had to stop after 34 minutes because my knees were sore.  I did manage 70 pushups and 82 burpees.  

I was pretty wiped and I'm not quite to the point where I can use pushups for conditioning.  Gettin' there though.

Evening: isometrics

• Wall press (3 angles), overhead press (3 angles), bent over row (2 angles) - all for 5 breaths for 4 cyles

The good thing about isometrics is you'll feel them no matter how strong you get.

Weekend recap

This weekend was relaxing and productive for me.  I hit the farmer's market Saturday morning and did a mess of work out in my yard.  I finished mowing the back lawn and cut back neighboring plants trying to creep into my yard.  I started to dismantle the firepit, but I'll need a sledgehammer to finish the job.

I found what looked to be turkey bones in my yard as well.  I wonder what took one down.

I finished a couple of books and the plumber came over this afternoon to replace a bad hose.  It turns out the brass fitting was cracked - crappy Chinese crap.  I think I'm good to go so I've got full use of my bathroom again.  Sweet.

I made a pretty tasty vegetarian slow cooker dish out of my white trash slow cooker cookbook - cowboy beans and rice.  I'm sure I'll be hotboxin' tonight.

I also started watching Dollhouse through Netflix streaming.  Holy cow.  How did I miss this show?  It has action, some science and a whole mess of hotties including my personal favorite, Dichen Lachman.  I'd hit that like the fist of an angry god.  I'm not sure what it is about her, but looking at her makes my pants tight.  Eliza Dushku is pretty damn hot as well.  In fact, the whole show is packed full of eye candy.  I wonder why it was ever canceled.

Ear worm

The Archers of Loaf song White Trash Heroes has been stuck in my head the past few weeks.  Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRQotYpS5As.

Never Gymless Day 10

Morning: core

• (V-ups x 15, superman x 20, chinnies x burn) x 3

I was able to do more chinnies before crapping out than last week so I'm making progress.  I think I'll start adding some more difficult core exercises on Tuesday.

Another Blogspot change?

It seems like Blogspot has changed its editor again.  Hopefully it's not to incorporate some Google+ crap.  With every update, I'm more and more tempted to move blog hosts.

Never Gymless Day 9

Morning: explosive strength workout

• (plyometric pushups x 8, squat jump x 12) x 4
• (one armed band pull (green) x 6 per arm, ankle hop x 20) x 4

Another short explosive strength workout.  I need to figure out how to add more exercises without buying more equipment.

Never Gymless Day 8

Morning: isometrics

• (Wall press (3 angles) for 5 breaths, overhead press (3 angles) for 5 breaths, bent over row (2 angles) for 5 breaths) x 4 cycles

Evening: EIT workout 2

• 10 burpees, 50 yd sprint, 10 plyometric pushups, 50 yd backwards run - as many cycles as possible in 15 min

I was only able to do 4.25 cycles because of the plyometric pushups.  I'm still not beefcake so I've got a ways to go.  Fortunately, I've finished every workout so at least I get my participation medal.

Never Gymless Day 7

Morning: maximal strength workout

• (Body rows x 10, hamstring curls x 10) x 4 with 60s rest in between exercises
• Medicine ball pushups x 3 + 60s rest
• Assisted one legged squats x 5 + 60s rest
• Medicine ball pushups x 4 + 60s rest
• Assisted one legged squats x 5 + 60s rest
• Medicine ball pushups x 4 + 60s rest
• Assisted one legged squats x 5 + 60s rest
• Medicine ball pushups x 5 + 60s rest
• Assisted one legged squats x 6 + 60s rest
• (Pike press x 10, good morning x 15) x 4 with 60s rest in between exercises
• One legged calf raises x 10, 12, 15 with 60s rest between sets

I had an easier time with this workout than I did last week so I'm definitely making some progress.  I was able to do the full pike press workout and could do more calf raises.  My balance still needs some work, but it'll come.

Evening: core

• Crunches x 10
• Lying hip swing x 20
• 33s plank
• Crunches x 10
• Lying hip swing x 20
• 33s plank
• Crunches x 10
• Lying hip swing x 20
• 37s plank

I was able to plank longer than last week so I'm making progress.

July 4 weekend

My goal this year was to be away from Albany for every holiday I get off.  I spent a night over Memorial Day weekend in Beacon.  I had hoped to go up to Canada for this weekend, but it didn't work out so I went down to Ithaca instead.  I played pickup frisbee and realized how much further I need to go to get into shape.  That night, I went with my friend to a barbecue hosted by some of her friends.  The food was good and the host had some fireworks.

The next morning, we went out to breakfast and she told me about the badass martial arts classes she's taking.  She even showed me how to arm bar someone to establish distance.  I like the "science" of fitness about as much as anything.

I drove back Sunday morning and ran into some pretty heavy rain near Oneonta.  I did some chores around the house and read quite a bit.

This morning, I did my exercises and got my ass out into the yard.  I finished mowing the front yard and mowed as much of the back yard as I could before the charge ran out.  I then got out my ladder to clean off my gutters.  It turns out the guards are the perforated kind rather than the ones with slits, so they were easy to brush clean.  I got up on the roof over the hot tub to brush off some leaves.  I was going to go over to the other side, but my shoes were wet and I chickened out.  Heh.  I'm getting my yard into better shape for sure though it still needs a lot of work.

My July 4 dinner was baked beans, salad, grilled squash, a grilled chicken sandwich and a Mexican Coke (made with real sugar):

I feel pretty good because I was productive.  I've got to keep it up this week so I can catch up on my chores.

Never Gymless Day 6

Morning: ICT workout 2

• (10 medicine ball woodchoppers, 15 medicine ball slams, 10 burpees) x 8 for time

I was able to complete the series in 25:26.  I'm not sure if that time is good or bad, but I was able to finish so I feel accomplished.

Evening: isometrics

• (Wall press (3 angles) for 5 breaths, overhead press (3 angles) for 5 breaths, bent over row (2 angles) for 5 breaths) x 4

Survival knife

My new survival knife, a KA-BAR Becker BK2, came yesterday and I'm pretty stoked. I was looking for a good knife for camping and for when I go hiking. I also wanted something sturdy to prepare for the eventual zombie apocalypse.

Holy moly. This knife is solid. I wouldn't exactly call it heavy because it's well-balanced, but it has a... substantial feel to it. Most reviews stated you can cut everything from tree branches to tomatoes with it without a problem so it should be useful. It cut a cardboard box like a hot knife through butter.

It came with a durable plastic sheath which makes it tough to actually get the knife out. I must be doing something incorrectly so I'll poke around on the internet for help.

Here's a picture of the bad boy:

Pinole

I read Born to Run earlier this year and have been intrigued by pinole ever since. I finally decided to make some for an in-game snack since I'll go down to Ithaca this afternoon for some ultimate.

The following recipe is based off one I found online (I doubled it):

1 cup of yellow ground corn meal
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
2 tbs of agave nectar
1 tbs of ground maca root
some chia seeds

Toast the corn meal in a skillet over medium-high heat until it browns up - 5-10 minutes.
Mix toasted corn meal in a bowl with everything else. Add 225 mL of water and mix to thicken. Form into "cookies" and bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes.

After baking, here's what I got:

They sort of look and smell like snickerdoodles, but I'm pretty sure they'll have their own taste. I'll find out later today and will edit this post with the taste results. Maca root has a pretty strong flavor, but so does cinnamon.

7/3/11 edit: I tried a couple of these today and they taste ok. They're really dry so I would add dried fruit and/or some chocolate to them the next time I make them.

Never Gymless Day 5

Today is rest day, but there is an option to do a light workout so I jumped some rope and then did some jumping jacks on my mini trampoline.  It wasn't much of a workout, but it helped work some of the kinks out from the previous four days.

The Never Gymless plan is 50 consecutive days, but I'm going to spread it out over ten weeks so that I have the weekends to do my own thing - hiking, frisbee and biking.  I'm not as beefcake as the target audience so I could use the extra couple of days of rest.