Football Epilogue

NOT ME!  Image from: http://sbrsport.me/2013/10/20/planking-and-injury-prevention/ I ran into my boss, more specifically, my CEO at the gym Friday morning. This is a rare occasion as he usually works out on the other end of town. He had to be to a physical for his pilot's licensing so there we were. I'm not often impressed by stuff in the gym. I've seen a lot: 400+ pound bench presses, 5K sprints, etc. but my CEO actually did something that impressed me. He held a plank for over five minutes!  It looked effortless too. He's a smaller guy so I could expect some longevity (I start trembling at 15 to 20 seconds I'm afraid to admit), but that is a crazy long amount of time. The last few days it actually has me pushing my planking abilities.  I'm calling it interval planking where I do 10 to 20 seconds on and the same amount of time off. It's a lot of work at the end of a workout, but we'll see where I can get to. If it's good for the core it's go...

I found an old hard drive with a big archive of old pictures. Thought I'd throw this one up largely for my reference that I've come a long way compared to my biggest.  This is from New Years Eve 2004. I was in full-grad school/study mode and apparently I hadn't figured out what cardio was yet. Note, I picked the most gawd-awful one I could find. There are a few where I make big look good, but I didn't want to set a precedence.

I could use a cardio solution, but here's a workout that got the heart pumping without leaving the room in the morning: Superset pushups/squats, 20 reps each for 5 sets, hands over head for the squats Simulated high pulls, 20 reps for 3 sets, keep traps flexed, oddly a good burn Calf raises on the bathtub, 20 reps for 3 sets biceps curls with laptop case, 15 reps for three sets triceps dips on ledge with feet up on bed 15 reps for three sets Lunges, 10 reps for 3 sets It seemed to work, or at least get me moving and awake. I'll add some core stuff and burpees next time. I'm in San Diego so a run along the bay will work too :)

This is my "old reliable" when it comes to a quick and simple breakfast that can get me to lunch with minimal effort. On travel the Starbucks Classic oatmeal using just the nuts and a splenda packet comes in between 200 and 300 calories with just a few grams of sugar. A small piece of fruit (e.g. a cutie orange) and I'm set.

So my kids have been listening to this incessantly lately. It's catchy...just as "Uptown Funk" is catchy. Have fun!

I'm trying to work a little more lean protein into my diet through the addition of tuna. So far I've used it as a topping to salads and vegetables. It can be a little stronger in taste, but I'll work with that. Citrus can often mellow out the flavor.  In general I'm trying to structure my meals a little more as well. I know when I do this I: a) feel like I'm always eating so I'm not as tempted to snack, b) tend to eat much healthier. I think that's really the only things the weight loss places are selling: structure. I'm a big fan of moderation versus saying no to everything. I've had success with moderation. It leaves us more versatile to the times when McDonalds is the only viable option with two crabby kids and a tight schedule. Part of that is not having bingeable foods in the house as well. That will always be a struggle for me. I travel next week. That will be a challenge.