Bedtime and Exercise

Ever since I was a teenager, I have been a night owl.  I was not much of a morning person at all.  As my parents could easily tell you, I would have to be dragged out of bed in order to get up in the morning and go to school.  It got both better and worse in college.  I actually would get up on my own and was rarely late to class, but I definitely pushed my luck timewise.  On top of that my first semester I often stayed up late to complete some work.  It was there that I would help set my night owl habits and also discover how much I liked anime.  However, it wasn't uncommon that I would only get about 6-7 hours of sleep.

When I got out of college, I did start to get used to waking up earlier for work, but I never quite broke the habit of staying up later than I should and running on less sleep.  Maybe I would get a full nights sleep on a work night if I happened to be exhausted and crash while watching TV; otherwise it was all about sleeping in on the weekends.  Even that started to become a premium when I began attending church. 

I've gotten away with this for a long time and it has seemed to work, but it needs to change.  I know I can't just get away with not sleeping as much as I should be because it will screw up my health later on.  It also has become clear because I have been trying to lose weight, and it hasn't been happening due to a number of factors, but one of them is likely because I am not sleeping enough at night.  So something has to be done.

Sad to say it, but I have taken to having an alarm on my cell phone to tell me to go to bed, because in the past when I have tried to set a bedtime I find that either I will lose track of the time or I will notice it's getting close and I'll just ignore the clock.  So maybe a more physical reminder will help me out.  I've been doing this now for two weeks and clearly it is a time of transition.  The good thing is I find that I am starting to get sleepy around 10 PM, the bad is that sometimes I will sleep pretty hard and wake up later than my morning alarm.  However, I think it is getting better, I just have to keep at it.

So to tie in the better sleeping habits, I am also working to develop good exercise habits as well.  With going to bed earlier, I can get up earlier, and that means time to get things done in the morning before I go to work.  I've been reading that the best way to get fit and lose weight is to exercise in the morning, which is something I have not been in the habit of doing since I was about 13.  Besides the apparently health benefits, it's the one part of the day where I should always have time to exercise (unless I wake up late).  In the past when I have tried to exercise after work, it ends up falling apart within a few weeks because I'm going out after work or there's other things going on so I end up getting home late, and then I should be in bed or I just don't want to work out.

I'm starting off easy right now, doing Yoga in the mornings, eventually I will move on to doing the strength exercises in Wii Fit.  When I get myself into the habit of working out every morning, I will join the fitness center behind my apartment (I think they're open at 5:30 or 6) and take advantage of using the facilities there as well.  I know I can do it, and I know it will be good for me.  I am tired of watching the numbers on the scale go nowhere (weight and fat %) so I'm hoping they will be on a downward trend in the next few months.  Besides, it would be fun to start looking really really good. ;-)  I will give myself some credit for this, I am still within the weight range I have kept for the last 12 years. 

So besides the morning exercise, earlier bedtime and working to eat better, I have also been getting into the habit of walking after I have my lunch at work.  So far so good, and based on some measurements, I am walking about 1.2 miles every day.  That will definitely aid as I continue to move towards a healthier self.

Small Step Forward

Every so often I have talked about the things I do to try and get into some routine of exercising.  Unfortunately for various reasons, I don't stick with them.  Life tends to get in the way, with things such as events taking place after work or emergency surgery putting me off of my routines.  Of course, it is harder to pick it back up afterward.  Clearly, with the number of failures I have had, a new approach is needed.

I think one reason I do end up falling out of a routine is that I, like most people, try to do too much at once.  Plus then I get this fantasy of being able to do all of this stuff and make all of these changes in a short amount of time, and when it doesn't happen, I subconsciously say "fuck it."  I really can't say that because I should exercise.  I need to do it for health reasons, and I know if I want to continue to be my sexy self, I am going to have to make sure to put the work in.

So this time around, I'm going to start on a smaller scale.  On Tuesday nights when I have gone up to Columbia to hang with friends, it became a routine after the place closed that JG and I would start walking laps around the parking lot.  I am taking that and expanding it into something that I do as soon as I get home from work, but instead of driving up to Columbia, I walk around my neighborhood.  So far it seems to be working, I found a route that is a bit over two miles and that is not entirely flat.  I'll probably make changes and walk other places as I see fit.  

The plan is that I would like to get myself into a routine of exercising after work.  Eventually I'd like to make it a run, and go further.  Once I am sticking with this for a few months, and it turns brutally cold outside, then I can look into investing going into the gym behind my apartment.

Another line of thought is if I worked on getting myself to bed earlier in the evenings and got up early in the morning, I could hit the gym for a few minutes, come home, get cleaned up and ready, and still hit my bus.  Of course, to do that means breaking years of being a night owl, that could take some time.

I also am taking note of my diet more, and being conscious of how much I am eating.  I've debated going back to one of my more extreme measures of doing a completely raw food meal, but I may save that one for a last resort.  I did it about a year and a half ago, and while it did work well at the time, I am just not ready to invest my time in it again.  Besides, I went from the smoothies I was drinking then, to having oatmeal with honey in the morning, which is already fairly healthy, at least for me.

If I start with this, I can stick with it.

Back to Normal

Went and saw the doctor today for a follow-up.  That had to have been one of the shortest visits I have ever had, simply because I'm basically fine.  My scar has healed up very well, and I am up and moving about and look great.  Not much else had to be done except to look at the scar and advise me to keep it out of the sun as much as possible.  Apparently it could end up looking really ugly if I don't.  Now I normally like being out in the sun anyway, so I'll have to make sure to cover it in sunscreen.

Have I mentioned that medical bills suck?  That's a whole other story though.

Besides that, now it means no more restrictions, and it's about freaking time.  I was starting to feel a bit like a blob because there is some exercise I have not been able to do for the last few weeks, such as my shovelgloving, or even some of the strength exercises on Wii Fit.  Now that I can do them again, I will be working out with a vengeance.  I already did so tonight.

Now I can ride roller coasters as well, which is good because I have been making plans to make a few park visits.  As it is, I am up to 96 coasters ridden in the world.  I will be crossing the 100 coasters mark in the next few weeks when I make my very first visit to Carowinds down in Charlotte, NC.  I can't wait to go because it looks like there are some good coasters there, and it's another Cedar Fair owned park.  I also scored an awesome deal on a hotel that is a mile from the park.  Perhaps there is someone who is interested in joining me?

So glad to pick up where I left off, in a sense.

Yeow

So I am changing up my exercise routine, and already feeling the effects. I read about Shovelgloving a few months ago, and the idea of it intrigued me, so I figured I would give it a try.

The irony is that I have not even gotten a sledgehammer yet, I am just practicing the moves with a broom so that I get them down correctly. However, I am using muscles that don't normally get used, so they're not happy with me. I will stick with this, they will get used to it, and I will tone up and get stronger. This weekend I will pick up a sledgehmmer and really get going.

Something New

The Yoga studio by my house, Greenbelt Om, is looking to add new members to their classes. Since they are appealing for the new members or their doors will have to close, I took another look at the studio. I have visited once before when they were doing a week of free classes, but at the time, there was nothing scheduled that would work for me.

Now I notice they have a few classes from 7:45 PM to 9:00 PM, a perfect time for me since I can get home, relax a bit, change, and then walk to the studio.

So I am going to add yoga to my routine, and I hope they are able to stay open. If you're in the area, I hope you'll consider joining up.

I Can Do This

I am on the fourth week of the 100 Pushups program and this would normally be the point where I would give up on the exercise for whatever reason. Either I'd be bored, or other stuff would get in the way and I'd lose progress, but I'd be too lazy to start up again. Things would fall by the wayside, and then I'd be kicking myself a few months down the road for not sticking with it.

I am not going to let that happen this time.

Clearly fate is trying to tempt me though. Since it is hell week with rehearsals, it means that I am going straight from work to rehearsal and not getting out until late. The perfect example is this evening. I did not leave the church until 11:30 PM, so it was a long night. However, the first thing I said to myself was "Go home and do your pushups." I did them as soon as I got home.

In the past I might have tried to let it slide because it was "too late." I am not going to fall victim to the usual trap, I am going to complete this program and I am going to successfully complete it.

It doesn't hurt that I am seeing results from it. I noticed today my biceps are more toned, they're back to where they were when I was lifting weights for a summer in college. This is good because now they will get even better. I already mentioned that I notice a difference in my chest, and I know that will get better as well.

When I complete 100 pushups, I will be moving onward to other bodybuilding exercises I can do at home. Either I will reach the point that I can do a lot of exercises at home and don't really need a gym (or expensive equipment) or I will get the discipline that I can switch over to going to a gym and getting my full money's worth. We'll see what happens.

It's working

I look at my chest and can see an improvement thanks to these pushups.

Up to 27 now when I max out.

Hurt...Repeat

I'm going through the Hundred Pushups program and I redo the fitness test after two weeks like you're supposed to. I increased the number of pushups from 16 to 26, so it's a very good start. That also means things get ramped up a notch. Unfortunately for me last week, my body decided to tell me I tried doing the number of pushups at too high of a level, so I ended up hurt last week from doing it, and didn't do the two other days I was supposed to do.

I'm going to repeat week 3 at a lower level and hopefully I won't hurt myself this time. I found I was able to get through the workout tonight without collapsing after the third set, so I must be on the right track.

Here's to being on my way to greater upper body strength.

7, 7, 5, 4, 16

The title reflects the new exercise I am embarking on. In this case, it is a challenge that in 6 weeks, you can train to do 100 pushups. I ran across a link to the website in a LifeHacker post the other day, and it intrigued me, so I figure I will give it a shot. Ironically I told one of my project managers at work about it, and so he's going to do it as well.

There are many reasons I want to do this:

1. 1. I could use more upper body strength
2. 2. I have never done 100 pushups at once...hell, I don't think I ever did much more than 20 at once, so this would be a good challenge.
3. 3. It would help tone up the muscle and get rid of the fat on my chest.
4. 4. It will help give me the discipline to be able to stick with an exercise program.
5. 5. The potential to gain muscle from this means I'll look hot (yes I'm vain!).

I did the initial test the other day, and could only do 10 pushups, that's pathetic, I know I can do better. In fact, I did 16 when I was supposed to max out at the end of the workout, but perhaps that's because I was already pumped up from exercising?

So this should be fun as well. I look forward to completing it, and I will be logging my progress here. I will be able to do at least 100 pushups on September 2.

Once I am done with it, I'll move on to ShovelGlove

Sweet, It's Working

JH took one look at me the other night and said "Your belly is getting smaller."

I took a look in the mirror and I can see he's right. I notice the love handles are smaller than what they were a year or so ago. It looks to me that the investment in the ab workout DVD's are paying off at this point.

What I'm most proud of is that I am accomplishing this through good old-fashioned diet and exercise. No surgery, no pills, and certainly not one of the trendy diets that are out there. I have many good reasons for wanting to get in the habit of a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. The biggest one is for my overall health, especially with the family history of high cholesterol. Last year was a small reminder that it could happen to me when I tested with good overall cholesterol, but low HDL "good" cholesterol" and high triglycerides. The last thing I want to have to do is take drugs to control the cholesterol and destroy my liver in the process so it's all about the lifestyle changes.

There is one place where I will give myself credit, I've basically stayed within my same weight range since high school, between 180-190 lbs. I want to keep it that way, at least in terms of that if I do gain more weight, it's because I gain muscle and not fat.

Between this and the biking, I should be one healthy person by the end of this summer, provided the heat and humidity don't attempt to kill me later on. Thanks to a screaming deal on woot.com, I now own a heart rate monitor, so I can track just how I'm doing.

Two Wheels Instead of Four

One of my goals is to exercise more. I'm at a decent weight, but the body fat could stand to be less, and quite frankly, who wouldn't want to be toned up?

Last September when I moved into my place, I actually had done a dry run of riding to the Metro station from my apartment, and to my surprise it was possible. However, with the cold weather coming on, that idea was put on the backburner. I'd rather be warm and dry on the bus than out there in the elements ;-)

However, with summer coming on, there was really no excuse not to ride. Add on that I dropped a good chunk of change to refurbish my bike and I want to get my money's worth, it was time to put it all to use. I finally moved past my self-sabotage this past Wednesday and started riding my bike to Metro and back. The way I see it, unless it's pouring outside, I'm going to be on the bike until at least fall, then I'll re-evaluate my options.

The ride itself is fine, it's mostly over sidewalk and bike lanes, the only two snags in the equation are crossing Kenilworth Ave, and Cherrywood Lane. At least Kenilworth has a crosswalk light; Cherrywood I am more at risk because it's crossing the road on a curve, and you know how some people can be when they're in a rush to get to work or get home. Still, I'm getting some great exercise out of it, and it doesn't take much longer than taking the bus. The best part is not having to wait for the buses.

Back into Routine

This writing is more for my benefit. I admit that I have fallen off the wagon a bit when it comes to the food changes and exercise. I could sit here and beat myself up over it, but that will be counterproductive to actually getting back to where I should be. Besides, I've already dealt with the twinge of guilt I've been feeling for being lazy.

It's mostly the exercise where I have fallen off, for a while it was too cold to go running or biking, and so I moved indoors, but then somewhere along the way I just fell out of habit. Part of it was not changing things up enough, and part of it was allowing me to be distracted by other stuff, such as deciding to watch a movie.

It was good of me to ride my bike yesterday, yeah I was out of breath, but I felt good overall, and there was a pleasure in knowing that I was offsetting some of the calories from the food I was going to consume later at the Superbowl party. That's what I need to focus on, that I can offset what I eat during the day. Of course, that doesn't mean I can just pig out on junk either ;-) I have started reading nutrition labels and ingredient lists closely to decide on what to purchase and how much to have. I think if I were to step on a scale, I would basically be maintaining my weight. Of course the real number I want to check on is whether I have been dropping body fat. The health unit at work is doing the analysis next week, I think I'll schedule myself to go down there.

My ultimate goal is to find that I have improved my triglyceride numbers. I'll know that sometime in April. I just need to stick with this, and I know I can. Once I can make exercise a habit, then I'll join a gym, but not before then.

Changing up Exercise

Let's be honest, it's too damn cold to be outside running when it's dark, especially when you come home and it's 34F.

I've been slacking a bit about the diet and exercise but I'm climbing back on the wagon in some creative ways at least. For the diet I'm just making sure to push up the vegetable consumption. Lately for breakfast I've been on a kick of eating a toasted bagel with organic peanut butter. The reason for the organic stuff is because it doesn't contain any hydrogenated oils in it. Actually I find I like the natural stuff better.

I'm still working with the boot camp DVD's, which are helpful, but since I can't run, I need something to do for cardio. I'd consider a gym but I am waiting on that until I have more of the discipline to stick to a routine of exercise, because clearly with the fact that until tonight I hadn't done any major exercise for about a week, I am not there yet.

Some of you might laugh at what I now do for cardio, but it seems to be working. I dance, in this case, using DDR: Mario Mix. I was able to find a copy that came with the pad on Ebay and picked it up. Take about 20-30 minutes on that and the game calculates that I burn at least 200 calories, I think it's a bit more since they're basing it on the number of arrows I hit, but I'm doing more than just standing there and tapping the arrows with my foot. Once I've mastered this game, I'll pick up the new DDR for the Wii since my old pad is compatible with it, plus if the game allows for both types of pads at once, it could mean some friendly competition around here *evil grin*

What I can say is that I've noticed that my body is being re-shaped, and that's what I'm going for, to drop some of the fat off and flatten some areas out. The resistance training is helping with my arms, and I know once I am more disciplined, I'll move on to weight training, but for now, this is what is working.

Besides, it's nice when your pants feel loose :-) I'm debating if I will go as far as to run a half marathon just yet, I may push it back until later in the year, when I've had more time to train.

Lordy...

The next time I take an R12 bus home, make sure it says New Carrollton, and not Deanwood Station. Yes, I got on the wrong bus. Thankfully I was able to hop off the bus at college park and just wait for the R12 New Carrollton to come by. I lost about an hour, but oh well.

I decided to turn some of my overripe bananas (they were green when I bought em!) into banana nut muffins. I must say it's nice to be a 3 minute walk from a supermarket because i had to run over there to get baking soda, and I got some walnuts as well. Now I can smell them baking and it's driving me crazy.

This Saturday, I think I'm going to head into the city in the morning and meet up with the DC Front Runners to check them out. I'd get some exercise, and I could meet other people, it should be a win-win all around.

More Exercise

Since the weather has finally cooled off, I am going to start running again. Today was my first day, I made a loop from Crescent Road up to Ridge Road and back down again for a total of 3.3 miles of running. I actually did quite well for myself because there was very little time that I had to walk during that loop. I think I will keep this one up and then start adding more distance. So if you're out and about in Old Greenbelt, you just might see me out there.

Also, I decided instead of buying a new bike that I would get my current one tuned back up so I can start riding to Metro again. It looks like I'll be getting about 5 miles of riding in, so that will be some good exercise, plus I'll save money when I don't have to take the bus! This decision came about because I decided to take a shot at the local bike shop and see what they would say about my bike. It turned out that a regular tune-up plus a new chain could get my bike up and running without issue, and it was about 1/3-1/5 of the cost of buying a new bike, so you know what I would rather do. Really, my current bike is not a bad bike anyway, but I will admit the styles have changed a lot since it was purchased 17 years ago by my dad. Still, I'd rather just keep riding it until it finally falls apart, then I can consider a new bike.