The Fitness Ninja

Today was an interesting day as most of it was spent in the mall or running around to various stores.  My mind was kind of in  a fog for a good chunk of it as the wife and I decided to do a bit of role reversal with regards to the baby’s feeding schedule.  Usually I do the 8 and 11 PM feeds and my wife does the 2 and 5 AM feeds because I go to work early on several days of the week. Well, considering I have this weekend off I’ve opted to let the wife sleep in a bit (it’s only fair after all) so I am doing the 8 and 5 AM feeds.  I don’t understand how people can get up at that ungodly hour every day and workout.  I am literally stumbling out of bed, bumping into things, cursing quietly under my breath as I try to get my bearings… needless to say it was a groggy start to the day.  However, my wife was up by 8 and so I gave the baby off to her and headed back for a few more hours of sleep.  Felt… so… good.

Went to the mall and, seeing as we had a coupon for a free dessert at East Side Marios (it’s an Italian restaurant here in Canada if you couldn’t guess by the name), we went there for lunch.  Did quite a bit of damage but I also made some compromises to the rest of my meal plan as you’ll see below.  Afterwards we spent several hours walking around the mall doing some window shopping. Went to my favourite bookstore (Chapters)… kinda like the US Barnes and Noble.  I could live there… as I just grab a book or magazine, find a place to sit and mow through it.  Seriously, I have no idea how these brick and mortar book stores stay in business while people like me exist. It’s like a freakin’ public library but all the books / magazines are up to date and much cosier… plus a Starbucks is there to meet your every snack / coffee need (BUT I DON’T USE IT I SWEAR!!).

Also went to Best Buy.  Strange, but I saw one of  my old students there.  This guy was one of the best students I ever had and I told him before I left the profession to work abroad that envisioned him becoming the doctor that he always hoped he would be.  Well, he friended me on Facebook a while ago and it turns out he became a teacher instead.  Poor kid… teaching’s a great profession but it super-saturated in this area right now.  Everyone wants to be a teacher and there aren’t enough jobs.

To make matters worse, some teachers and principals who should be retiring are deciding to stay on longer taking up positions that should be opening up to younger bodies.  They stay because of the tough economic times, to get more money or because they haven’t save, blah, blah, blah.  To hell with ‘em.  They had their run and a pension.  If you retire, you shouldn’t come back as a temporary teacher taking up spots new teachers needs.  That’s my opinion in any case.  A friend of mine who is friends with a principal once told me that for every position that they open up in a school (mostly temporary postings) there are like 500 applications or so.  So how do you stand out in that crowd? You fucking can’t! And if you have a long history in that school already as a teacher who has just retired… you’re almost sure to get back in because of how well you know the staff.  I dunno… kinda sickens me.  I was laid off from teaching and the whole thing has made me bitter (if you can’t tell).  I was pretty good at the job.  Not super phenomenal but good. Tough but fair (and forgiving / flexible when needed).   Students and staff told me so and they seemed genuine in their compliments.  But then there were entrenched teachers who did DICK ALL (and were considered jokes by the student body and staff) and were pretty much secure because of seniority and who they knew.  Frustrating. But then again… isn’t that the case in most jobs? Not what you know… but who you know?

I like my new job quite a bit… also dealing with kids but it just isn’t the same.  That’s life.  Gotta roll with it.  I have to have faith that God is putting me where I need to be at this point in my life.  Gotta believe that.

Where was I? I don’t even know anymore… that topic always leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  Ah yes… this ex-student at Best Buy.  I saw him but didn’t talk to him.  I like him a lot but it just ‘felt’ awkward.  Maybe I’ll approach him next time I’m in there… but then what would I say? Hey man, good to see you again… sucks that we’re in the same boat… not being where we thought we would be in jobs that don’t pay what we’re worth?  That would be one shitty conversation.

Ahhh… enough of my bitching.

Did Max Interval Circuit at 7 PM when I got home.  Felt like I had a slow start but I’m getting used to these routines.  My right foot has a blister on the big toe though which made some of the moves difficult.  Guess I should thank my lucky stars it’s not worse as I do all the workouts in my bare feet.  Just have 2 more weeks and then I can move on to something else.  I really miss working with the weights and I’ve slacked off considerably on my grease the groove over the last few days.  Gotta get back on it tomorrow.  I’m thinking if my brother takes his weights back before I finish a P90x / Insanity hybrid program… I’m going to switch to using homemade sandbags.  That should be interesting.

Peace.

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Breakfast:  3 Pancakes with pat of margerine, light drizzling of syrup.  Approx. 400 cal. Watered juice.  What a treat! My wife hasn’t made pancakes in ages!!  Oh how I missed them!

Snack 1: None.

Lunch: Small caesar salad with light dressing, 1 small garlic homeloaf, bowl of Italian wedding soup, 4 pizza squares (chicken), split a cheesecake slice with whip cream with the wife.  Oh what a terrific (terrible?) lunch.  I was so full afterwards, water with lemon slice.

Snack 2: None.

Dinner: 2 pieces wholewheat toast with peanut butter, watered juice.

Snack 3: None.

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Should have been a rest day today but as I have to do a full Max workout tomorrow, I figure I would get the fourth fit test out of the way.  Here are the results:

Insanity Fit Test

TEST 1

TEST 2

TEST 3

TEST 4

TEST 5

Switch Kicks

103

120

131

135

Power Jacks

47

55

56

61

Power Knees

87

95

103

109

Power Jumps

35

54

68

71

Globe Jumps

9

10

11

11

Suicide Jumps

14

19

21

21

Push-Up Jacks

30

40

44

50

Low Plank Obliques

52

66

78

85

Overall, not bad as I still keep improving in general.  Although, man, by the time I get to the globe jumps I am wasted.  When I do the final test, I think I will ask my wife to do the counting of the reps so I can just go balls out on it.  My eating was pretty good today except for these damn Krispy Creme donuts my mom left at my house.  I haven’t had those in YEARS.  Thankfully she only left a few.

Alright peace out!

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Breakfast: Oatmeal with crushed almonds, watered juice.

Snack 1: Granola bar (170)

Lunch: Triscuits, turkey cold slices, cheddar, yogurt with granola.

Snack 2: One and a half Krispy Creme donuts (I know… my mom brought over a few).

Dinner: Rice, chicken adobo, wonton soup.

Snack 3: Another donut and a handful of Shreddies.

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Man, winter is finally here with a vengeance.  So far the season’s been fairly mild but tonight, coming home from work, it was absolutely freezing with white out conditions whipping up on the streets.  Thankfully, the snowfall hasn’t really accumulated much on the driveway so I can hold off shovelling until probably after work tomorrow.  I generally don’t mind as it’s a great workout on top of Insanity (I say that now but I’ll probably hate / dread it tomorrow).

As for my workout today, it was Core Cardio and Balance so it wasn’t too bad.  I really appreciate how well put together the schedule is for Insanity.  The breaks seem to come exactly when the body needs them.  Next week I believe I will see two break days (just like this week) with both Max Recovery and Core Cardio and Balance happening a day apart.  That’s a good thing as Max really, really takes it out of you.  I never recall feeling this worn out after a workout even during P90x (maybe I was and just can’t recall it now… I do know that muscle soreness rather than pure body fatigue was more of a factor during those 90 days).

Some bad news:  My big screen TV is acting up.  The power keeps cutting out on it.  Frustrating as I’ve finally got my computer and all my old-school games hooked up to it.  Thankfully, I got an extended 4-year home service plan for it which is still good till next June.  My wife set up a home visit for the repair people to come and look at it so hopefully it gets fixed soon.

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Breakfast: Two pieces wholewheat toast with peanut butter, watered juice.

Snack 1: Granola and yogurt.

Lunch: Rice with beef, carrots and potato stew, watered juice.

Snack 2: Cup of Shreddies with raisins and almonds.

Dinner: Lunchable kit.

Snack 3: 3/4 bag of light popcorn.

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Y’know having considered how horrible my meals were yesterday (especially with regards to dinner and dessert), it brought to mind a recent Men’s Health article I read in the February issue of the magazine.  It was written by the editor and, without re-typing the entire script, he basically made the analogy between having a strong sense of economic well-being and planning for retirement and one’s workout / nutrition plan.  Basically, a person has to look at their nutrition and exercise regimen as a daily investment that will pay dividends in the future.  I realize how cheesy it sounds now that I’ve typed it out… but… thinking along the same lines of this analogy… whenever I cheat at my nutrition, don’t I damage my the future earnings potential of whatever gains my workout routines have netted me?  I mean, I’d never think to ransack my RRSP for some immediate pleasure, so why do I feel the need to keep doing it over and over again when it comes to eating?

It really boggles my mind as I *know* generally what a good nutritional move is versus a bad one.  And, like saving money for the future or a rainy day fund, it all boils down to discipline.  Immediate gains (scrumptuous tasting snacks) versus long term goals (the possiblity of reaching a sub 10% body fat count in the future [also looking great come summer]).

So, with all this in mind, I am reaffirming a vow to eat cleanly until the end of this Insanity program.  That’s basically 2 weeks.  I’m making it a fairly short term goal as I acknowledge that it will be easier to meet (and once met, I can make a new short term goal… rinse and repeat ad nauseum).  What this means is sticking to healthy choices (i.e. no fish and chips, pizza, fries) and limiting myself to single servings of food.

K… now that all that is out of the way… I got through Max Cardio Conditioning at 4:30 this afternoon followed by a session of Cardio Abs.  Got through it fine.  Still taking breaks for a couple of seconds during some of the sets.  I think I might be able to get through the Max dvds without breaks when I go through it for a second round (or during a P90x / Insanity hybrid program).  Speaking of which, I really only have 2 more weeks left of this program.  Thus, I really have to get my butt in gear in planning my next program (more than likely it will be the aforementioned hybrid… seems to be the most popular choice for people who have done both Beachbody sets).

Hmm… now there’s something to do this weekend. Or maybe not… friends are coming over and I hope to do some gaming… haven’t done that in a while.  Alright… peace out!

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Breakfast: Oatmeal with crushed almonds, watered juice.

Snack 1: Granola bar. (170 cal.)

Lunch: Lunchable kit. (350 cal.)

Snack 2: None.

Dinner: Rice with beef, potatoe, carrot stew.

Snack 3: Granola and yogurt (135 cal.)

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Today was pretty uneventful.  My wife went to the doctor’s this morning for a checkup.  The doctor gave her the all clear to start exercising again.  She had a C-section when Elias was born and so she’s been recuperating for the past six weeks meaning not much strenous movement.  Now, though, she hopes to start back up again slowly.  Good on her for doing this… I’m going to try and help her as much as I can by taking the baby whenever needed in order for her to get the quality time to workout.

This morning prior to going to work I did Max Recovery.  Love that workout.  It’s strenuous but not in a cardiovascular way which is nice as you NEED a break from all the crazy running and jumping.

Ugh… can’t think straight as I just got home work.  Ah well, I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.

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Breakfast: Oatmeal with crushed almonds, watered juice.

Snack 1: Granola with yogurt.

Lunch: Triscuits, turkey cold-cuts, cheddar slices, pickles, watered juice.

Snack 2: Mix of Shreddies, almonds, raisins.

Dinner: Vegetarian pasta (alfredo sauce) with garlic bread.

Snack 3: Apple crisp with ice cream… a lot of it. DAMN IT… I always do this to myself.  I know the right thing to do is not eat it at all… then I eat one piece and then ANOTHER.  Geez, I’m turning into a mental case.  Tuesdays are horrible nights as it is “Lost” night for my wife and her girlfriends and they always bring these desserts which just smell ungodly good.  And being as weak willed as I am… I just munch and munch away.

“Discipline is remember what you want.” Apparently I have selective amnesia.

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… in my opinion the hardest of the Max Workout series.  Seems like 90% of the exercises involve some type of ‘explosive’ movement.  Otherwise, during the other 10%, Shaun T. just asks you to do some form of push up until your shoulders feel like they want to fall off.  By the end of the routine, I am just soaked in sweat, blinded by my own perspiration.  And, for me anyways, the hardest move has to be those power push ups.  They look like a slower, modified version of the crazy “Aztec” push up shown here (NOTE: Watch your back when doing these… very easy to strain them because the move causes you to do a deep stretch in a very rapid manner).

After two circuits of these, I just slow down to a snail’s pace when doing them the third time around.  I don’t feel bad though because if you look closely at Shaun T. and company, a bunch of the participants look like they’re about to die too.  I love that about these dvds… knowing that those who have already gone through the test group still struggle with the pace set up by the program.  Heck, even Shaun T. gets gassed and he doesn’t even do all the reps of each exercise.

In other news, my wife got in touch with both the garage and the guy who crashed into our car.  The guy was a real class act as he didn’t put up a fuss, he apologized sincerely and paid for the repairs in advance (came out to almost 3 grand… makes me wince considering that the whole incident came about because he was trying to give a two dollar coin to a homeless person).  He’s a reminder that there are still a lot of decent, honest people out there.  I’m also just glad no one was hurt.

Because my wife had to leave early for the garage, I decided to do both the midnight and 3 AM feeding last night for the baby.  The baby finally got to sleep around 3:45 after being fed and changed so I think I actually got to sleep around 4.  I woke up again at 8 to look after they baby as my wife went to the auto body shop.  Upon her return I decided to finish cleaning up the house, vacuuming and putting away clutter.  I then surfed for a few hours (still looking for a PC to serve as an emulator box).  Needless to say, I am pretty damn tired and will hopefully sleep well tonight.

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Breakfast: 2 pieces of wholewheat toast with peanut butter, watered juice.

Snack 1: A slice of spice cake.  Leftover from the party on Friday.  Sooo damn good.

Lunch:  Leftover beef stew.  Had potato chunks and carrots, diet coke.

Snack 2: Coleslaw (vinegar based).  Leftover from the fish and chips meal on Friday.  This restaurant called Blue Sea has the best coleslaw and fish and chips in my hometown hands down!

Dinner: Two hotdogs in small buns (amazingly this amounted to 420 calories), watered down juice.

Snack 3:  A slice of spice cake.  Leftover from the party on Friday.  Sooo damn good.  Thankfully, the cake is all GONE now!

Update: Kept having the stupid munchies and so had a cup of dry Shreddies and half a cup of wholewheat nachos and salsa.  Damn.

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Check it out:

Just watched this show on TLC.  It focuses on Eric Chopin, a winner of the reality show The Biggest Loser where really obese people compete to lose weight.  The contestant who loses the most weight earns money and endorsements at the end of the season.  This guy lost something like over 200 pounds.  It was the largest weight lost journey ever recorded on the show up until the season he was on (Season 3 I think).  BUT… guy gained it all back shortly after the show ended.  He gave up a deli he owned prior to being on the show as he got wrapped up in the celebrity and spotlight of being the winner… but after gaining the weight back and spiralling into depression, the endorsments / money dried up and he had no job.  He ended up working for his dad as a small town accountant or something.

Now he’s making the circuit on talk shows (like Oprah and Larry King) to talk about how he’s fallen off the fitness wagon and his attempt to lose the weight all over again.  Feel really bad for the guy.  But then again… I guess his story is a lesson that the motivation for weight loss can’t be all external (i.e. because the world is watching you or because you’re in a contest / competition with other or you simply want to look good).  There has to some internal motivating factor as well (it doesn’t help, however, that this guy comes across as really loathing himself which would probably indicate there is a much deeper reason for his obesity other than just being lazy or glandular in nature).

Check out the show if you can (might be playing on the net or in rotation on TLC this month).  Supposedly, he’s coming back again on the Biggest Loser to try and lose the weight again.  Hopefully, he can do it.  Here’s another clip from US weekly explaining a bit more:

Man, as if dealing with a newborn baby weren’t enough… our car got in a car accident today.  Thankfully, no one was hurt.  See, my wife, Eli and I went to my parents’ again for dinner.  My sister, after dinner, decided to make some ginger bread cookies.  She was missing a few ingredients and so she went to the local 24 hour grocery.  Our car was in the driveway and rather than taking her vehicle we just let her borrow ours as it’s a very short trip to the store.  Well, on the way out of the grocery parking lot, there was a panhandler sitting on an island in the middle of the road by the stop light.  There was an SUV in front of her who was attempting to give some change to the panhandler.  Well, the guy wasn’t looking and he accidentally reversed and smashed into the front of our vehicle.  The female panhandler started crying and my sister, needless to say, was freaked out a bit by the event.  The guy was very apologetic and they decided to exchange all the needed insurance / contact / car information. He admits it’s his fault and so he stated he would cover the costs of our repairs rather than go through the insurance companies.

So, first thing tomorrow, my wife is going to the garage to get an estimate on how much it will cost to get the car fixed.  I’m going to stay at home and care for the baby and clean the house (I have Mondays off from work).  The damage isn’t horrible.  The car is still driveable.  We don’t think the engine was affected at all.  The front grill is slightly cracked though and the hood is bent (it can still close and lock though).  It’s just another headache to take care of… but I should be thankful that my sister wasn’t hurt (I am) and that Eli wasn’t in the car when it happened.  Still, it’s a pain in the ass.  My biggest worry is that they guy will go back on his word and we will have to jump through a bunch of hoops with the insurance company to get it taken care of (worse yet… that our premium will go up… ugh…).

As I said yesterday, going to my mom’s house means good eats.  It was no different today.  We also had lunch there and it was more of that leftover fish dish and hotdog stew that I loved so much with rice.  Afterwards, we went to the mall to do some window shopping.  I needed to get my wife as birthday present but she didn’t see anything she liked so we held off on that… I know, I know…  not very romantic to be getting her present after the fact but with work and the baby, I wasn’t able to get out to the mall during the week to pick anything up.  Thankfully, my wife is a super forgiving woman.  At the mall, I had a small chocolate, low-fat Yogun Fruz.  Once we got back to my mom’s place, I had 4 crackers and 5 dark chocolate squares before dinner (270 cal.).  Dinner itself was more rice and some beef stew with mushrooms.

Here’s the thing.  As soon as I heard about the car accident after dinner, I immediately started eating more chocolate (like 3 more squares).  God, talk about emotional eating.  I haven’t really done that in a long, long while.  It’s like this super stress came in… and I felt hungry almost immediately.  Kinda shameful when I think about it as I should be more level headed than that… more logical.  Before I left my parents’ house, my sister finished making the cookies she originally set out to do.  I had 2 before I left.  Hahahaha… Those are probably the 2 most expensive cookies I’ve ever had.

Needless to say, when we got home at 8:30 PM I decided to tackle Max Interval Circuit right away.  I brought it and just went as hard as I could for as long as I could on the reps.  Felt “cleansing” to do that given everything I’ve eaten today.  I actually threw up a bit during the workout as I was going so hard and I think my stomach still had some digesting to do with regards to dinner.

Weighted reps for today on the bar: 15.

Breakfast was two pieces of toast with peanut butter and watered down juice.  There was no usual mid-morning snack.

I have to remember to be thankful for all the blessings of this life.

It’s amazing how fast this Insanity program seems to fly by as I am already 2/3 of the way through it.  I feel fitter in terms of my cardio endurance and ‘explosive’ power in the legs.  But… do I look ‘leaner’?  That is the harder question and to be honest I really don’t know.  I didn’t take a progress photo at the halfway mark of day 30.  Maybe I’m afraid to admit I’m not really making any headway in that department as I keep sabotaging my own nutritional goals.  A common phrase I often read in magazines about ’sculpting a 6-pack’ is that abs are built in the kitchen, not the weight room.  If that is truly the case (and I honestly think it is), I am screwed as I keep falling to every temptation that crosses my path.

For instance, today after work my wife and I went to my parents’ place to spend some time with the folks and to let them have a cuddle with the baby.  Well, you don’t just go over to my mom’s place for a visit, it’s pretty much understood that you have a meal as well.  My mother outdid herself (as usual) and cooked one of my most favourite fish meals (fried fish thrown in a chunky tomato sauce) along with a stew made from hotdogs and ketchup (sounds super weird I know but man it is tasty!).  Well, I had two servings of rice with this along with a bowl of ice cream and strawberries.  I also had about a cup of pistachio nuts leading up to dinner and a granola bar (170).  Jeez… having written all that, I realize I just keep shooting myself in the foot with regards to meals.

It was worth it as I had a great time catching up with the folks.  I only see my dad every couple of weeks as he lives and works in Rochester, NY.  He’s such a good guy.  I’ve said it many times, but if I can be as good a dad to Eli as he was for me and my siblings, and if I could provide for my family as well as he and my mom did for us, I know we’ll be in good shape (this is actually a pretty tall order as my parents are doing pretty well for themselves [especially when you consider they were raised in poverty in the Philippiines]).  My mom is pretty awesome too.

In any case, after the visit we returned home.  Around 8:30 I decided to tackle Max Cardio Conditioning.  Having felt guilty from all the eating, I decided to really “bring it” during the workout.  Overall, I did fairly well.  Took very few  breaks (a couple of seconds to catch my breath here and there) and I knew to pace myself.  Having done this routine twice now, I realize there is a definite divide in the video.  Seems like the really hard moves are in the first 15 minutes after the stretch, while the last 15 minutes are generally ‘easier’ lower impact moves.  I don’t know… maybe I’m just imagining it… but somehow it just seemed a tad easier near the end.

Grease the groove results today was 10.  I haven’t broken 20 reps in a long time *sigh*.

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Breakfast:  Oatmeal with crushed almonds, watered juice.

Snack 1: Granola bar (110).

Lunch: Lunchable kit (350), apple, granola bar (170).

Snack 2: Granola bar (170), cup of pistachio nuts (350)

Dinner: 2 cups cooked rice and fish stew and hotdog stew.

Snack 3: Bowl of ice cream (1 cup) and strawberries, a chocolate turtle.

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Well, it was the wife’s birthday today and so we had family over for dinner.  To make a long story short, my wife requested fish and chips because she has not had any in over a year (something to do with not being able to eat halibut during a pregnancy *shrug*).  In any case, I got a burger with coleslaw instead figuring it would be healthier alternative.  What I didn’t count on was the completely alluring aroma of deep fried halibut.  I had about 3/4 of my burger (it was pretty bad actually) but then decided to chomp down on my own slice of halibut on top of that.  To make matters worse, I had a tonne of onion rings with the coleslaw then proceeded to eat 2 slices of delicious spice cake with a scoop of ice cream.

OH GEEZ… I am going to pay for that meal in spades with Insanity this week.  But then again… is it really living if we don’t let ourselves truly indulge once in a while on occassions like birthdays?  Hehe.  Don’t answer that.  I know Ishould have been stronger but… oh well.  Just gotta work extra hard from here on out.

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Breakfast: oatmeal with 2 tbsp. of crushed almonds, 1 pineapple slice, watered juice.

Snack 1: Granola bar.

Lunch: Bowl of homemade stew with an apple and granola bar (170 cal. bar)

Snack 2: 4 chocolate Lindt hearts (lying around work).

Dinner:  You already know my sins here.

Snack 3:  Spice cake…yummy, yummy spice cake.

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Check out this hilarious video on pull-up bars.  Thank God none of this has ever happened to me (yet… *crosses fingers*).