The Ten Commandments

In honor of week ten, I figured that I would share with you my ten commandments of gym etiquette.

I. Thou Shall Not Overexpose Flesh - You may be proud of your rock-hard glutes, but that doesn’t mean everyone wants to see them. Wrap a towel around yourself, even if the shower is just steps from your locker, and please, no naked sitting. Drape a towel over a bench (and yourself) before taking a seat. I had a guy within what I would deem my personal bubble who was naked doing the Captain Morgan. Why do these guys think it is ok for them to show their goods to anyone that is near.

II. Thou Shall Pick Up After Yourself - Even the best round-the-clock cleaning staff will have trouble keeping up with a thousand determined mess makers, so out of courtesy to your fellow club members, throw away used paper towels and tissues. Before you toss your towel in the laundry bin, use it to wipe any puddles out of the bottom of your locker. Strive to make the areas you’ve used as clean as when you arrived.

III. Thou Shall Not Talk On The Cell Phone - Ask any health-club member to name their biggest complaint and the cell phone wins, hands down. I can't tell you how many times I've been on a machine and someone will get on the next one and pick up their cell phone and start to talk to their friend. If it's an emergency I can understand, but after 45 minutes it can't be. Can't these people talk outside of the club while in the car to their friend (oh wait they already do that). How can these people think that they are getting all that they can from their workout if they are focused on the cell phone instead. Even more ridiculous is the guys that bring and use their cell phones in the locker room. I don't have an issue with them talking on them I just don't want to wind up on some bigbutts.com web site. If you must have your cell phone with you remember that all of them have this new feature on them called vibrate.

IV. Thou Shall Not Stink - Your sweat might smell at times, but if you arrive somewhat clean, you’ll keep your workout aroma to a minimum. Make sure to apply deodorant beforehand, and don’t wear clothes that have stewed in your gym bag and can stand up by themselves. On the converse, remember that you’re at a health club, not the local pub, so lay off the perfume and cologne. You may think that the smell of Old English Leather is good, but some of us may think it is offensive.

V. Thou Shall Dress Appropriately - Clothing is designed to keep you cool and to wick sweat away, not expose your assets (even if you have been working hard to attain them). There’s nothing wrong with dressing in a way that gives you confidence and makes you feel good about yourself. But there’s also no need to put on a show. By wearing too little, you can distract some people from their workout. Men, this is not the place to showcase your latest wife beater shirt. Just because it stretches, spandex does not look good on you if your 100 pounds overweight.

VI. Thou Shall Not Treat The Gym As A Meat Market - Trying to score a date at the gym is a big no-no. Of course, the gym can be a great place to meet people who share your fitness interests, but most people are there to sweat, not flirt. See someone interesting? Wait until that person is at the juice bar or walking out the door to strike up a conversation.

VII. Thou Shall Not Spread Germs - Exercise probably won’t hurt your cold if your symptoms are above the neck, but you can easily spread your germs and do some real damage to others. Do everyone a favor and avoid the club if you’re infectious. I am sure that going in the steam room will help your lungs clear out, unfortunately it will probably give the rest of us you flu.

VIII. Thou Shall Not Interfere In A Class – This is one of my pet peeves. The spin class is adjacent to another class. On most days there will be numerous members that will use our class as a shortcut to get a drink of water. This would not be bad if the other class was a yoga class, but in most cases it is a step class so the music when the door is opened is blaring and it causes a nuisance.

IX. Thou Shall Not Set Up Shop - Space is limited in the locker room, so refrain from setting up camp on an entire bench or counter. Use only the space you need, take care of your business, clean up and then move on out.

X. Thou Shall Not Leave Sweat Puddles - Touching other people’s excretions is gross. So get a towel and wipe down that bench, cardio machine, stretching mat, dumbbell or whatever you’ve just used. Most clubs provide spray and towels near workout areas. If yours doesn’t, insist that it does — or bring your own little sweat rag along for the ride.

Christmas Present

"Santa" bought me a new heart rate monitor for Christmas. It is the Polar F11 model. It is not the Shizz Nit of heart rate monitors but it will do for some years to come.

The F11 is an exerciser's dream come true. It's the world's only heart rate monitor that creates a workout program to tell you how much, how hard and how long to exercise to reach your goals. The new, revolutionary Keeps U Fit - Workout Program guides you to your personal goals. OwnIndex® will determine your fitness level, track your improvements, and provide motivation. The OwnCal® feature counts the calories and fat that you burn and the OwnZone® feature will automatically determine each day's target zone. The F11 also features the WearLink™ Coded transmitter made from a soft, fabric material. The electrodes, which pick up the heart signals, are integrated right into the strap for added flexibility and comfort. The Coded feature eliminates interference from other heart rate monitors. The F11 is the closest thing to having your own personal trainer.

Week Ten

Christmas feasting is almost over. I hope that the added work that I put into the previous few weeks pays off as I will not be working out for several days in a row. I guess the good thing is that my body can afford the time away from the training.

I rode today and by far it was the best day of the week as I rode in Zone 3 and 4 for most of the workout. It was Aerobic Endurance Class. I felt so good that I rode an extra 40 minutes after the class in zone 2 at a high cadence. Then it was off to the malls to do some last minute shopping. On the good note the malls were not as bad as I had envisioned. I was expecting to see a wall of humanity fighting over the last of the goods, but contrarily, there were plenty of goods for everyone and most people were pleasant to each other.

I had a good week on the bike and lost a few pounds in anticipation of the Christmas feasts. By weeks end I was at 194.6 pounds.

Heavy Weight for the Week: 195.8
Light Weight for the Week: 194.4
Cardio Training: Swam 0 yards
Bike 5 1/2 one-hour classes (110 miles)
Run 5.5 miles
Weights: 2 sessions of upper body
Misc.: Sit ups crunches
Body Fat %: 11.4

Week Nine

Another week for the records.

More of the same this week. It is a little frustrating watching the weight not move after 9 weeks of working out.

I was able to get my AT back in the 150's which I am glad that it has come up form the past few weeks. I talked to a friend of mine in spinning that said that his AT is routinely in the 180's. I said that this can't be his AT and he said that he has all the correct effects for being at AT and notices instantly when he drops out of AT in the low 180's. I personally think he is overtraining and has basically working in zone 4 and 5 all the time.

unfortunately no swimming this week as I cut back on my workouts somewhat.

Heavy Weight for the Week: 198.4
Light Weight for the Week: 196.2
Cardio Training: Bike 4 one-hour classes (80 miles), Ran 4.5 miles, Swam 0 yards
Weights: 2 sessions of upper body
Misc.: Sit ups crunches
Body Fat %: 11.4

Holidays are upon us!

How does one not put on the seven pounds of "winter fat" between Thanksgiving and New Years?

I know that this has been difficult for me in the past. Every year it seems that I put on a few extra pounds during the holidays and then I need to shed it off in the spring. This is also getting to be a greater chore every year as I get older and the pounds just don't melt away by doing a few extra sit ups. (as my wife thinks I do it)

This week is what I would venture is a typical week for most of us as we are faced with numerous company Christmas luncheons and going out after work for drinks.

This article appeared in Beginner Triathlete and it outlines some general tips for making it through the holiday season without gaining that extra layer of cold protection. It’s standard stuff, but it’s a good read regardless. It pretty much boils down to this:

1. Offer to have the holiday meal at your house.
2. If you’ve been invited to someone’s house for the holidays, bring something with you like a low fat side dish.
3. Fill your plate with the lower fat foods first and then just add a taste of the higher fat foods to your plate.
4. Drink at least 8 to 16 ounces of water BEFORE your meal.
5. If snacky foods are sitting around the house before mealtime, sit away from the dishes or socialize in a room that is not filled with the tempting treats.
6. Get up a bit earlier that morning and go for a run/walk/bike ride/etc.
7. If you can’t get up and workout before the big meal…recruit people/family members to go out for a walk after dinner.
8. Set a goal to work out at least 3 to 4 days a week during the holidays.
9. If you are going to indulge in a few alcoholic beverages, choose lower calorie options. Wine is better than light beer, light beer is better than beer, and beer is better than some liquor and mixes.
10. This is also the time of year to set new goals.
    

Don’t go without, just watch portion sizes and remember that there is ALWAYS time to get a short workout in…if you make the time!

Remember, your health is just as important DURING the holidays as it is during the other 9 months of the year. So, don’t take November, December and January off, just curb your workouts a bit, maintain, and take the extra time you have to spend with the people you love!

Week Eight

Another week in the record book. This week was the same as last week with little movement of my weight. I did see a slight move in my percent body fat as I hit 11% at the end of the week. Also this week, I did another Yoga class and did two sessions in the pool.

So, what's with the "Vibra Belt" on the left? In one of my earlier posts I wrote about the steam bath and the guys who work out in them. Eduardo mentioned that he too can't believe how some people will look at the latest weight loss fad and jump on it. My belief is that as long as it is fast and does not require a lot of work people will buy it in droves. That is why you see so many pills, creams, and machines makes the weight loss industry a multi billion industry.

I talked with several of the trainers about the fact that my anaerobic threshold (AT) point has been going down over the last few weeks. Over the last three weeks it went from 161 to 144 on Friday. This is unusual as it should be going up as my fitness level improves. After today's class my spin instructor (Laura) suggested that I may be over training the cycling. She said to cut back on some of the spin classes and do more varied workouts (like weight training, swimming and running). She may be right since the spin class is one thing I do every time I go to the gym. I also took Saturday off and noticed that my AT was at 152 on Sunday. I'm going to have to take a closer look at my workouts in the future and vary them.

Heavy Weight for the Week: 196.6
Light Weight for the Week: 195.8
Cardio Training: Bike 6 one-hour classes (120 miles), Ran 8.5 miles, Swam 2250 yards
Weights: 3 sessions of upper body
Misc.: Sit ups crunches, Yoga Class
Body Fat %: 12.0

Shvitz

I have been using the "shvitz" at the club. It is amazing how many guys use this as their main form of working out. I mean there are guys in there that I never see in the workout area. Do they think that this will turn them into body builders?

I really like the few guys who think that working out in a sauna is a great idea. This has to be the quickest way to a heart attack that I can think of. Not only are these guys out of shape but lets start working out in something that mimics your stove.

The main benefit of a sauna are to sweat... and the benefits associated with deep sweating are:

• Ridding the body of toxins
• Cardiovascular workout
• Relaxation and stress reduction
• Induces a deeper sleep
• Soothing relief to sore and stiff muscles and joints.

I use it after working out and get into a cold shower after. Nothing like it. Here is a link to some more information of sweat boxes.

http://ask.yahoo.com/20000421.html

Yogi Bear

Just call me Yogi Bear...

Another Friday night and again I got talked into doing another Yoga class after spinning.

This time around I learned a new challenging stretch (I mean pose). The pigeon, as it's called, is supposed to stretch, strengthen and tone the spinal column; also, it strengthens and limbers hip joints and groin muscles (I can confirm this); it also stimulates metabolic and reproductive glands and organs and increases vitality (I can't confirm this).

To the right you can see what I mean by challenging. It is by far not as easy as it looks... LOL.

For a guy that is 6'2" and 195 # this is a chore to get in to let alone get out of.

Killer Abs

I've never really had a great set of abs, and I guess I never will.

So why all of the sudden do I start doing sit ups and leg lifts? I really don't know???

If you didn't know, abdominals are broken up into three main sections... the upper abdominal, the lower abdominal, and the obliques. I guess the picture on the right is an inspiration to us all that don't have a six pack.

I guess the reason why I started them up again is that over the last seven to eight weeks, I've really not noticed any change in my midsection. Other areas of my body have changes slightly... midsection not so much. I still have a slight beer gut that doesn't seem to want to leave. I know that abdominal exercises will not reduce fat around my midsection, but I still have made a point of doing situps (even though I detest them). What I am expecting (mostly wishing) is that the situps will tone and build the abdominal muscles. If I ever get rid of the extra flab the abdominal exercised should help me attain my goal of possibly having a set of six pack abs... LOL.

So little time... so much flab to loose.

Week Seven

Another week in the record book. This week was uneventful except for the weird thing that my light weight was on Monday and my heavy weight was on Sunday. Conversely I lost body fat % as the week went by.

What does the girl on the right have to do with this weeks blog? (Besides having a great body)

That's seven weeks and counting. It's been a good week with lots of time spent at the gym. I got reinvigorated with the weekend off and my legs feel a lot better. Week was capped off with a zone 4 and 5 training session on the bike. I hit a max heart beat of 173 during that workout.

Heavy Weight for the Week: 197.2
Light Weight for the Week: 195.6
Cardio Training: Bike 5 one-hour classes (100 miles), Ran 7.5 miles, Swam 1000 yards
Weights: 3 sessions of upper body, one session of lower body
Misc.: Nothing new this week
Body Fat %: 12.2