Day 8 of 60

Did my second run of the week today. That's 20 minutes of a run walk combo... 90 seconds of running, 120 seconds of walking, rinse and repeat. I even stretched more than I usually do and walked for 5 mins to warm up.

I felt GOOD the first 90 second run, for the most part. Same for the second 90 seconds, which was encouraging, because I was pretty much hurting the whole time on Monday! By the end, though, I was going to slow that I was kind of jogging in place... but I was still a job by my definition. It's amazing how much more tiring it is to jog than to walk, even if you're moving faster walking!

I've gotta be honest, though... there were some tough things about this workout tonight. First off, my legs aren't in great shape, so, though I'm used to stretching out and really reaching with my legs (which I can do, 'cause I'm 6'10"), they're really not strong enough right now to be able to reach like that. That fact gets more and more pronounced as I get more and more tired.

For the first time, I really feel like this:



... an athlete in a fat body.

Also, I'm used to swinging my arms more than I'm currently able to right now. I account that the added mass I have in my upper body. I mean, I've always had big (thick) legs... but my upper body wasn't as big. ... I grew into my upper body in college, and since the end of my basketball career, I've put the majority of the weight on in my gut. This fact has added additional... action (?) to my run. In other words, I've got some jiggle. As I lose weight and get my legs in shape, it should help the entire situation.

On the weight loss front... I have lost a little bit, though I don't really credit my working out for that yet... my weight always fluctuates a few pounds here and there.




I'm also going to do my first day for the Push-up Challenge. Here's my workout (3 days) for this week, with 60 seconds in between:

level 1	2
level 2	2
level 3	2
level 4	2
level 5	max (at least 3)

The reason why I'm doing this is something that I learned while reading the Abs Diet by David Zinczenko, editor of Men's Health. I started that plan in terms of the nutrition last August, but I didn't add any type of exercise with it. In a little over a month, I lost 8 pounds, and my wife Kate, who had already lost about 20 pounds just from working out, and she was doing a lot of calorie counting. When she switched to the Abs diet nutrition plan, she stopped counting calories and lost another 2-3 pounds and she didn't have the guilt that goes along with calorie counting.

The big thing with the Abs Diet is that you pack your diet with certain "ABS DIET POWER" foods and these foods work for you. They're complex carbs and packed with protien and they really boost your metabolism. Also, if you're lifting weights, you're boosting your metabolism there, too. When you weight lift, you break down your muscles... so your body works to build those muscles back up for hours and even days to repair the muscles... and you're burning calories the whole time. And he makes a good point, too... when you're at a health club, look at the people on the treadmills and look at the people doing free-weights. The free-weight studs are ripped. The people doing the treadmill often are on the thicker side. So, that's another reason is why I'm going the 100 Push-Up Challenge!

Here are the ABS DIET POWER foods:

Almonds and other nuts
Beans and legumes
Spinach and other green vegetables

Dairy (fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese)
Instant oatmeal (unsweetened, unflavored)
Eggs
Turkey and other lean meats

Peanut butter
Olive oil
Whole-grain breads and cereals
Extra-protien (whey) powder
Raspberries and other berries

The great thing about this is that these foods really taste awesome. It isn't like you're keeping yourself from things that you like... there are plenty of things in here that taste great and are great for you too.