Staying on track

I haven't posted in a few weeks, but I have been good most of the time.

Thanksgiving week was a bit hectic trying to get to the gym and eat right, but it wasn't a total disaster.

In the past 3 1/2 weeks I have been to the gym at least 2 times a week, and I have been trying to get is some walking on the side when the weather is cooperating. I have also been having "Gym Dates" with my friend Mike once a week. It is nice to go with someone for a change.

My biggest challenge during the next three weeks will be my new work schedule. The mall is staying open later and later (not closing until 10 or 11pm) so getting to the gym (1/2 hour+ away from work) will be all but impossible on the days I close (3/4 of my shifts lately.) Any one who knows me will know that getting up early and going before work is NOT an option for me, I am not a morning person. I will do a lot more walking to make up for my lack of gym time.

My Birthday is next week and the best gift I can give to myself will be a continued exercise regimen and better eating habits !!

This week is the best fitness week I have had in a long time !!

I went to the gym on Monday and Tuesday. I tried a new gym in Cornelius on Monday and really liked it. I over did it a bit on the bench press on Monday and I am still sore today (I will NEVER learn !!)

I was off the rest of the week, and Bailey and I spent some quality time together out on the walking trails. We walked over a mile both days, and checked out a new greenway trail near downtown Concord. The best thing was Bailey was excited about exercising, so she can be ready for the Concord Christmas parade on Saturday. I really hope this trend continues after the parade is over, and we can keep doing our walking "thing."

It will be a busy weekend, but I hope to get in some walking later in the evening. Wish me luck !

Paybacks...

They say paybacks are ..well you know. I must payback my gym buddy/ friend Mike. After killing me in the gym a few weeks ago, he "Made" me move all his heavy furniture this weekend and carry it down lots of stairs ;-) So my arms, legs and back have been killing me all week.

I went to the gym on Monday, but all I could manage was some treadmill time, 60 crunches, and 5 minutes on the elliptical machine. I hope to go back on Monday and get some serious exercise. Now if it would just stop raining, I could go for a walk around the neighborhood.

I am going to try and go walking with Bailey tomorrow, and a few days next week, so she will be in shape for her big walk in the Concord Christmas Parade next Saturday.

No Pain No Gain, but this is ridiculous !!

Well I was off to a good start this past week. I went to the gym twice and had 3 nice walks. Unfortunately I got a bit cocky and screwed myself :-(

I started off with a short walk, 1/2 a mile, and the next night I did a whole mile. I was feeling really good, so I did two miles the next night. While 3 1/2 miles in three days may not seem like much, for a fat guy who weighs close to 400 lbs, and hasn't exercised in a long time it was a pretty big accomplishment. I was feeling a bit sore but not too bad.

The next night I was finally able to able to hook up with a friend and we had a "Gym Date." I did a quick 1/2 mile on the tread mill to calibrate my Nike+ sensor while I waited for my friend. When he got to the gym, he did a 1/2 of cardio on the treadmill, and being the macho (read STUPID) guy I am, I walked another mile and a half on the treadmill.

I started to feel hot spots on the balls of my feet, but I ignored them, as not to look like a wimp in front of my buddy. After our work out, my feet were really sore, so I took off my shoes as soon as I got home. Just like I figured when I felt the hot spots, I had two HUGE blisters on the ball of my feet. The real trouble didn't start until the next morning, my blisters had swelled up something terrible, and due to their position, I could not put any weight on them. I could barely get out of bed.

I was finally able to get my shoes on, but I was close to tears. The best thing for them, would to get off my feet for a day or two. Lucky for me I am working 8 days in a row, so no rest for my poor feet. It was a miserable aturday and Sunday, but I hope the worst is past and I will feel a little better each day.

This whole experience did remind me to listen to my body and not to over do it. I hope I learned my lesson (probably not, I am a bit hard headed ;-)

It can't have been 8 Months ?!?!?!

I just looked to my Blog, and saw that I hadn't posted since February. I knew I hadn't posted in a while, but 8 months, sheesh. I guess I am really a terrible slacker !! I hope the Twitter updated have been interesting.)

I have wanted to post something here several times in the past few months, but I never made the time to do it (much like exercising, eating right, etc.) I have an ongoing thread in my life where I don't prioritize things very well (at work, at home, getting healthy, etc.)

I always seem to work best under pressure and with a deadline looming. I am the typical procrastinator, I always wait until the last minute, and then have to cram a lot of work into a short period of time (writing college papers, cleaning the house before company comes over, or preparing for a visit from my boss, I wait until the last possible minute, and then stay up VERY late to get ready.)

There is one problem with continuing to do that, I am much older now (I am in my 40's for crying out loud.) and I can't burn the candle at both ends like I used to and stay up until 4 or 5 in the morning (except tonight of course.)

If I wait until the last minute to get healthy, I will never know what the deadline will be. My "wearning" may be too late, and I won't be able to any last minute healthy work. I heart attack (or worse) may be my only warning, and too late to do anything.

I hope I can change my mind set, so I will put things into proper perspective (making myself and my family the first priority !!) Stay tuned, I have made a few steps in the right direction, and I am going to try my darnedest to keep going !!

Rough Day at the Park

We went to the park as a family today. We wanted Bailey to get some more practice rider her bike with out training wheels. It was a beautiful day for it too, it was bright and sunny and in the mid 70s. I think everyone else had the same idea, because the park was very crowded.

So off Bailey went on her bike, after a big push from daddy. She made it almost the entire way around the track, when she crashed into someone. Bailey had ran into a teenage girl walking around the track. Bailey told her to watch out, because she is still having trouble with braking (she gets confused between the pedal brakes and the hand brakes.) She ended up clipping the teenager, with edge of her handle bar, and they both went down. Of course Mommy and Daddy were on the other side of the track so it took us a while to get to her.

Bailey came running towards us crying. When she got to us her said through her tears, she ran into a girl and fell down, and the girl called her "A STUPID BITCH !!" Can you imagine someone saying that to a 6 year old girl ?!?!?!? Mommy wanted to have a few words with this girl, but she took Bailey into the bathroom to clean up her cuts and scrapes.

After Bailey (and Mommy) had calmed down a bit, we found the girl Bailey ran into and made Bailey apologize to her for accidentally hitting her. The little snot said "Good, it hurt a lot." No apologizes for what she said I am afraid (I didn't want to call her out on it and have a scene in the middle of the park, and get Bailey all upset again.)

After all the drama (and trauma) Bailey decided she was done riding her bike today, and she wanted to go home. We felt very bad about the whole situation, and I hope and pray that this does not dampen her love of bike riding and exercising at the park.

P.S. and to top it all off the battery in my stupid Nike+ sensor died, so I have no idea how much walking I did today :-(

Three in a row

I have now exercised for three straight days (let's hope that a habit is being formed.) I walked around the neighborhood tonight. It was pretty cold, but that just means less sweating !! I walked a bit farther than I did yesterday on the treadmill, 0.86 miles. My knee didn't like the hills so much, especially going down hill, but it was bearable. The 800mg Ibuprofen the Dr. prescribed helped out too :-)

Since I am closing tomorrow, and the Gym closed at 5:00, I will rest tomorrow. I plan on walking even farther on Sunday, on top of taking down all of the outside Christmas Lights, so it should be a pretty good day.

2 for 2

We despite my Job's best effort to get me off track, I made it back to the Gym tonight. I had to work late (almost 10pm.) this evening to get caught up on some work. But I changed into my workout clothes as soon as the store closed, so I didn't have an excuse not to go.

I am building up my walking on the treadmill, I walked 3/4 of a mile (up from a 1/2 last night.) I also did 60 crunches and some leg work, to try and strengthen my knee.

The Peak Fitness in Harrisburg is no longer open 24 hours :-( They close at 11pm Monday through Friday, so I should still be able to make it after work when I am on the closing shift.

I plan on walking the neighborhood Friday and Saturday or Sunday (since the Gym will be closed.) So pray for no rain for the next three days !!

Found the Gym

After some extensive searching on Google Maps I found where the Gym is located ;-) and discovered that the will in fact let me come inside. It was very busy tonight (all the New Years resolution people.) I realized how out of shape I had gotten in the past two months. I walked a 1/2 mile on the treadmill at a pretty slow pace. I also did 40 crunches and 30 back extensions. I am going to gradually build myself back up to full workouts. It was nice to get back there, and making the time to go. I have all my work out gear ready to go for tomorrow, so I should be 2 for 2. Wish me luck !