Thurday Sept 30

Made it to the end of September. Cool.

Eating today:

Breakfast was the end of the roast beef inside a wrap. Coffee on the way to work.

Snack: water and another coffee

Lunch: Sandwich and chilli from Tim Horton's. If I recall, this is nine dollars worth of 450 calorie joy.

Dinner: burger and 2 beers at Boston Pizza. Salad, too.


This is ok. Nothing great, but not too bad.

I got my email open today at work, only to discover that ZEE had done his Workout of the month for October a few days early. I got it printed off and up in the garage already. I read it and it says Sledgehammer and chin ups .... so, I bought a sledgehammer on the way home. I had a shot at fixing the sandbag, which kind of worked. The zip ties I bought earlier in the week are a bit small. I'll try again to fix it. I need a new door hanger thing for the TRX, too. This month also has KB "Jerks":



and "see saw rows:



and tire flips!

Woot!

One issue might be how to do Glute Ham Raises without a machine... hmmmm. This is what they look like:



I just subscribed to Martin Rooney's Youtube channel, too. He mentions looking at his book Training for Warriors, a book I own. I'll look and photocopy it tomorrow, as well as some exercises for the abs.

While at work, I finally got the application downloaded to do a voluntary PD session with my fellow staff members printed off. I also put together a Poetry blog, too. I was going to ask about the drill to get the holes into the wall while buying the sledge, but then saw the time. I need to work on getting the chin up bar onto the wall this week. I also need about six feet of chain, to attach a KB to me while I do chin ups. I also got the email for my "new" iPhone. It should arrive Monday. Or tomorrow, if I am lucky. I got home and did the following workout:

three rounds of the following:

KB Swings one and two handed, KB cleans
Sldge hammer the tire, 10 times each hand, twice ( first time with the tire!)
"Greco" sandbag cleans
walking lunges with 10 lb weights in each hand. (hands in various positions)
BW and log squats.

I got this workout done in about 30 minutes... then picked up and delivered my kids to gymnastics. Headed to PB after that, then got stuck at home, getting the kids to bed. It's now 9pm, and I am wondering if I go to the rugby club and grab a few more beers and perhaps a lot of verbal abuse, or do I just stay here and get to bed early...

Wed Sept 29

Today was a solid B, again, could have been worse, could have been better.

Breakfast was salmon and eggs. Salmon was a little tough, but the eggs were delicious. Multivitamin. Coffee on the way to work.

Lunch and snack were the same as yesterday: almonds and prunes for snack; tuna on salad with celery and carrots for lunch. Water to drink.

Snack was chicken breast in a wrap. Solid.

Dinner was a roast beef and veggie wrap. Also pretty solid.

After work, before I picked up the kids did this workout:

1) KB Clean + 20 BW Squat + Press 5 x 5 (30, 40, 50, 50 lb KB)
2A) rope climb or rope rows 8 reps (50, 50, 70, 70 lb KB)
2B) push ups (sets of 15 push ups)
3A) KB farmer walks 3 x 150' (8 laps of the garage; 50 and 70 lb KB)
3B) 400m sprints
4) ab circuit 4 x non stop

Did a fair amount of work today; while my daughter was in the pool - got my films from the Beat goes on and got a line on a new iPhone. Might get it, might not. I also got myself registered for the Spooky run on Oct 15th in Oakville. Should be fun.

Tues Sept 28

Man, this was a B day. Mostly good, could've been better. Here are the deets:

Diet:

Breakfast was a steak wrap. I knew I had one left and I finished it. Felt good going down and just plainly damn yummy. Coffee from Tim Horton's on the way in. (Evidently it has no calories, but I'm not so sure....)

Snack was water, almonds and some prunes. Makes things go smoothly, knowhatImean?

Lunch was my usual of hummus, celery, carrots with tuna on salad with some salad dressing. Water to drink. Almonds to finish.

No snack.

Dinner was the semi-let down. Had OJ to drink, breaded chicken strips with a salad, some celery and crackers with hummus. Kinda had a craving for some "carby" goodness, even though it wasn't a cheat day.

Rugby was canceled for the night, as the fields were too wet. Everything is sore, so I will leave the workout for today. I thought about a short run - might still do it, not sure. Also thinking a lot about beer - haven't had one, yet. Trying not to get one, too. Maybe if I go for a run, that feeling will vanish.

Did a lot of my "To Do" list crap at school today - got a few pieces of paperwork completed for my job and to make my job easier. I have a performance review coming up and I'd rather get it done before Christmas. Hell, I'd like to get it done before the new baby arrives. So, not a lot of research or reading done today. Although I did buy a copy of a movie recommended to me by a FB friend... "The Future of Food". I also just learned they are remaking True Grit. Whoa.

I'm finding that facebook is a good place to learn about somethings as long as you follow a pattern. Look for things you are interested in. Start with fitness for example. Make sure you pick an author and floow them, both on and off of FB. With me, it started with ZEE, and went from there. I started with his friends on FB, and am slowly getting around to meeting people closer to me.





I'm finding lunches and snacks at work to be an easy thing these days. I step into the kitchen and just eat what I brought on Monday. No musses or fusses. Saving a bit of money not eating out of the cafeteria like I did years ago. Eating a lot healthier, too - no more pizza for me. I think that last year in Brampton I gained 15 pounds, at least. I'm just going to leave that there; I'm just glad to be where I am today.

I'm also finding a nap needed about 5:30pm. I just have to sit and let my meal digest and close my eyes for about 20 minutes. I'm not sure that is the best thing for me, but that is what is happening without my permission. I sit with my laptop on me, and suddenly it's twenty minutes later and I'm drooling. After the kids were in bed, bought a copy of Iron Man2 and watched it. Pretty cool - but not as good as the first one. Still, liked the soundtrack.

Ripping a lot of movies these days, and found the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championship site - it just finished, and Canada came 5th overall. The US won, dammit. I'm going to try and catch some of the games online in the next few weeks. Should be cool. Tonight, though, it's Hamlet's Disney remake .... the Lion King.

Monday Sept 27

Today was has to be an "A" for everything.

What I stuck in my gob today:

Breakfast: My God this was a good meal: freshly cooked Roast beef and poached eggs. A coffee at work.

Snack: Almonds, prunes and water to drink.

Lunch: Salad, tuna, almonds, celery and green peppers with hummus. Water to drink.

Dinner: Roast beef, hot HOT horseradish (also awesome), celery and carrots salad and OJ to drink.

For dessert: frozen blue and other berries, OJ and Arthurs Juice's "Green Energy" from the organic section of the grocery store. This was my "new" thing for the week, and it tasted quite good.





After work, before picking up my daughters, did four rounds of this workout:

1) KB Clean + BW Squat + Press 5 x 5 (30, 50, 50, 50 lb KB)
2A) KB rows 4 x submax (30, 40, 50, 70 lb kb)
2B) push ups 4 x submax (different widths, inverted etc)
3A) KB farmer walks 8 laps of the garage (this was tough, but I got it done)
3B) 400m sprint - got this recorded by my Nike+ set up.
4) ab circuit 4 x non stop -

I felt really good after this workout. I was feeling tired after dinner, had a quick nap, but still feel really, really good.



I felt good for the day, had my multi-vitamin, lots of water, good food, seven hours of rest .... doesn't get better than that.

On the research front, I was invited to try the Agatsu Paleo-challenge. It is a 30 day challenge to try and change what people think about food. As I am writing this, Robb Wolf is on my Macbook, and really affirming what it is that I am trying out here. I dunno if I want to go through the whole rigamarole of recording videos and posting them on Youtube, as the challenge would ask me to do, but I am not opposed to trying it out, to see what it does for me. In any case, I now have Robb Wolf's podcasts on my iPod, and when I am done Frank Abingnale's Stealing Your Life, I'm in for some help with a Paleo-diet.

Besides, I am so freaking busy, I'm not sure I'd get all the stuff done that they'd want me to get done. I'm being as efficient as I can ... and this is tough, man.

But all in all, an "A" day.

Sunday Sept 26

This was a busy day - lots of things to do.

Breakfast was a Bacon BELT and a coffee from Timmy's - which comes in at 410 calories.

Lunch was at my parent's house. Was 2 sausage and 4 small pancakes; which was ok.

Dinner was pasta and a salad. Not so good.

Snack before grocery shopping was a piece of Salmon steak. I cooked a bunch for the week's breakfasts. I'm SOOOO looking forward to breakfast this week. Salmon and poached eggs ...mmmmm

After church, I went to my parent's place to do a bit of fixing - seems the password for their email was changed. I got into my mother's account and she cooked brunch for my family. Nice trade- off. Next time, I will give them the Apple G4 sitting in my basement. Seriously.

After that, it was swimming for the kids and an oil change for the car. After that it was witnessing my wife go off on my youngest. She cried the entire lesson, and so irritated her parents, I am left wondering why did I sign her up for it?

After that it was apple picking with my eldest - no pics, I am afraid. I forgot the camera. But it was pretty cool to hang with her for an hour or so. After that it was a nap and dinner, followed by a quick nap. I went to get groceries, parked the car and went for a half hour walk. I did record it, and will be up on my Nike+ site soon.

On the way back from groceries, stopped by Shoeless Joe's to watch some football and had 2 beers. Then home to chop veggies for the week and to blog.

Like I said a busy day. Tomorrow is Monday, which is a regular day for me. I know exactly when I am going to poop, when I am going to check my email and what I am going to do for a workout. Awesome sauce.

Later on in the evening, I am reading Mike McNeil's posts about films I should watch.

Saturday Sept 25

Today was a rugby day. Focus on a post season with the Burlington Centaurs.

I had a game at Eglington Flats - what a piece of shit part of Toronto; but a nice enough field ... for a goose shit covered place as it was. Anyway, lots of assholes.

Breakfast was the last of the steak, and coffee to drink.

Water; lots of water to drink.

At 5pm, the game was over, and we won. Lots of yellow cards ... like four or five. The ref was a 20 something who was kinda out of his league .. and the other team was .. well, unpleasant. Whatever, the right team won.

Dinner was chicken and rice with veggies. Beer to drink. I'm writing this, waiting for the end of Law Abiding Citizen to end, my wife to go to bed and I can go and watch UFC 119.

Should be good.

Friday Sept 24

this was my cheat day, and I cheated.

breakfast was a steak wrap

lunch was a timmy ho's ham and swiss with a bowl of chilli (I'll look up the calories for that later)





Dinner was my true freaking cheat ... pizza and beer.

there was no workout, as I was rather hurting. My trap muscle was in .. not in agony, but I am aware of it, that, and my friggin' hernia. Kinda irritating, but nothing that would blow away.

Anyway, I had to get ready for tomorrow.

Thursday, sept 23

today was a decent day

had an unreal breakfast of steak wrap

lunch was the tail end of the tuna on a salad with veggies with hummus. Seriously, I have no food at work for tomorrow. With prunes, too.

Dinner was chicken breast on a wrap, as the kids had gymnastics and I had to fit eating around my workout and picking them up and getting them there.

I went to the rugby club and had beer as a nightcap.

I got this done as my workout:

a 20 minute run, almost as warm up
three sets of
10 push ups (various widths)
BW squats 20 reps
10 50, 70 KB swings
10 50, 70, 50 rows
arm curls

I picked up the girls, went to the gym, got them going, went home and had the most hilarious conversation with my mother, trying to figure out how to get her computer to work with something sent to her. Seriously, I thought I was in some sort of show. I love my MacBook: if you are reading this, stop and buy one, now.

And I feel good. Tomorrow is already set, all I have to do is show up and be the guy I need to be.

Wed sept 22

I'm sitting on the pool deck at a Library/swimming pool watching my daughter swimming

Another post on the iPod touch - I'm being so postmodern.

Ate this:
B: smoothie: almond butter, fruits & grapefruit juice. Taste was different but good.

Lunch was the norm: tuna on salad, carrot, peppers and almonds to eat. Water to drink

Nothing until 7pm, which was steak and salad wraps. Had a steak, shopped it up, added half a bag of salad with pickled hot peppers, onion and ketchup. Awesome. Letting that settle before I get some fruit in, later.

I was sleepy after class- but worked out anyways. Did ZEE's lower body workout:

Four sets of:

1A) zercher squats (bar or sandbag) 5 x 5 - 10 reps (sandbag, then my log as weight)
1B) sprint 5 x 200 meters (this was entertaining the neighbours, to be sure)
2A) DB bulgarian split squats 4 x 6 / 6 (done with the 30lb KBs
2B) kb swings 4 x 10 30, 50 and 2 rounds with the 70 lb KB....

Also did arm curls on the bands - I had to. Sorry.

Quick, but done. I had to get my girls and take one of them to her first night of swimming for this year. I didn't eat until after I got home with her. Might have to change that for next time.

All in all, not a bad day, to be honest. I'd rate it a solid B; had a decent diet, tried something new, stayed on the diet and made sure I took my multivitamin and got a decent sleep last night. What might have been better was thinking about what to do when I'm sleepy - get up, and eat some almonds, go for a walk... something.

On the way home, I took a real step in becoming a true "undergrounder" - I canceled my membership at the YMCA. Man, I'm not sure if I feel excited or just hairy. In either case, I'm trying to do something that will truly stretch me. Oh, and I blew up my green garage ball, so's I have something to help me with ab exercises.

Nice a quiet night ahead, I hope. Some researching and some prep for tomorrow needed. Need to get some pics of my equipment up on here, too.

Tues Sept 21

This was a good day - it started with a nine hour sleep. Yup - I went to bed last night at 9pm, slept ok, but then got out of bed at 6am. Un freaking real. Awesome. Can't say it was the most restful sleep I have ever gotten, but in recent memory, certainly the most sleep I have gotten.

This is what I ate for the day:

B: Roast beef wrap with water. Had some more water on the drive in.

S: Coffee. Mainly because someone was driving to Timmy's and I felt like a coffee.

L: the usual, sort of. Had a Curry Tuna steak on a bunch of salad. Carrots, celery and peppers with hummus. Water to drink. Almonds, too.

Dinner: Pasta with veggies. Smoothie for dessert: grapefruit and OJ with frozen straw and blue berries from my Magic Bullet. Simply awesome.

After training meal: 2 Beer, then tuna wrap. Then roast beef wrap.

Rugby was a very short game of touch - which was ok. I didn't think that was enough so I pulled out my bells and did the following:

cleans and presses 3 sets of 8 (both hands)
BW squats 3 sets of 20
40 lb KB snatches, 2 sets of 10
awkward push ups (one hand on the bell, the other on the grass, switching hands)
3 sets of 10
KB rows 3 sets of 10
100m sprints (3 sets of 2 sprints)

I also did two sets of bicep curls with my bands - 10 reps per set

I thought it was the best I could do under the circumstances. Could I have done more? Sure, why not say yes to that. I did something positive though. I got home, talked about family finances and stuff going on this week with my wife. We seem pretty together on everything. I am no longer in the doghouse, which is always a good thing.

I also learned that the post season we'll play in has a few teams we should beat, and ones which I will investigate later on tonight (or tomorrow, since I am aware I am writing this at 11pm and need to get to bed)

Anyway, all in all a good day. Going to bed with a full tummy having completed a pretty solid workout(s).

Monday Sept 20

I was so retarded last night. I got back from grocery shopping after 10:30pm, and had to do some veggie chopping for the week. I did get my lunches for the week set up. What I should have done next is gone to bed. What I did instead was surf the internet until almost 2am. I was reading about Jeremy Piven and his time on set filming PCU. What he has to do with me getting into better shape, I'll never know.

As I was climbing the stairs to get into bed, I kept asking myself why I had done that. I've done that a lot in my life, and never really understood the why for that. I have to get up and be up at 6am, regardless of time or tide. Four hours of sleep. What the hell was I thinking?

In any case, I got the slow cooker going last night, too.

Breakfast was roast beef in a flat bread while getting my stuff together for the day.
I had my multi-vitamin, too. Water and green tea to drink before work.

Snack was water and some almonds

Lunch was my usual tuna on salad, almonds, peppers and carrots with hummus. Water to drink. Honestly, if it wasn't for this diet, I'd be so pissed at myself.

Dinner was roast beef and stir fried veggies with a salad. I had a beer with dinner.

I'm so tired at the moment - I did do the follow workout after I got home from work:

1) KB Clean + BW Squat (sets of 20) + Press 5 x 5 (30, 40, 50 lb KB) Last round of cleans was with the 70 lb KB!
2A) KB rows 4 x submax (40, 50, 50, 70)
2B) circle push ups 4 x submax
3A) KB farmer walks 3 x 150'
3B) 200 yard sprint. (next time 200m sprint x 2)
ab circuit 4 x non stop

Honestly, I felt like falling asleep, but I got this workout done as best as I could. I was really impressed with the cleans with the 70 lber. I did feel a little weakness in the right shoulder during some of the presses, but got them done, too. I'm thinking something left over from that burner up my arm on Saturday. Had another Epsom salt bath tonight. Still feels a little tight as I am typing this.

I spent my prep time at work surfing for the stuff I am now doing. Lots of links that are dead, as the material I was given is 10 years old. I've put together my own program for what I am doing - just borrowing lots from this ancient pile of photocopies, too.

In other words, not much done for my trip to Nationals done today - but that was to be expected, as I was SUCH an idiot last night.

Sept 19

A lazy Sunday - at least I woke up early. I went to bed right after the bath last night; my body is letting me have seven hours of sleep and that's it. So, I was up at 4am. Odd, but I got up and did some reading/prep in the ManCave. Watched Steve Jobs deliver the Keynote speech on Sept 1. I learned a few things about my Apple TV, my iPod Touch and other cool things.

I would also like to mention that I just got a 5th generation iPod Nano - the one with the camera in the back. I'm thinking it's just better suited to me. Easier to record things, and my kids were playing with it today, making hilarious movies while driving around. I'm going to see about making a video on it, then posting it here.

Anyway, got back to bed about 6am, slept until it was time for church. Had a decent lunch then hung out for the day, went swimming then out to dinner. Just chilling at the moment, waiting for the kids to fall asleep, then off for a walk, then groceries.

This is what I ate today:

B: coffee, water and some veggies. Wasn't really hungry, to be honest.

L Tuna with veggies on bread with water to drink. This was really tasty - made extra for tomorrow's after workout snack.

Dinner: sirloin burger with caesar salad. Two beers to drink.

The swimming was all about stretching under water. Did three sets of ab crunches, lots of shoulder and neck range of motion stuff. I felt a lot better after the swim, though. Sauna and whirlpool, too.

The highlight of the day was checking my weight on the way out of the change room - 246. I'm down 4 pounds in two weeks. That was about what I was looking for. Good progress, which might have been better, but that I stray off of a healthy diet .... a lot. I was thinking about how much further I might be if I stop eating stupid things. I know that I am making progress, it's slow, but steady. I was also thinking about where and how I will get on to a mat somewhere on a regular basis. Frustrating that I haven't gotten that locked down yet.

Anyway, certainly I am looking more muscular than I have in the past. Arms and shoulders are more defined and I was getting around the pitch yesterday. That was cool.

What I need to work on this week is more sleep and taking a multivitamin. I have them, I just need to put them somewhere where I'll see them in the morning and actually stick them in my mouth. Diet seems to be ok, I just need to work on cutting out beer and eating more of the good stuff.

I've also got to keep on my workouts, and I am going to get my chin up bar ready to go, too. Need to tighten the bolts and talk to my neighbour about getting it up.

Sept 18

This post is an experiment - a post written on my iPod Touch. Why? Why not. I wanna see if I can do it.

Saturday is rugby day- played in both games, too. Seems my play in set piece was needed. I do so like playing prop. This is an awesome time of the year to play, too. Cool weather with a soft pitch. Awesome.

Ate fairly well today, until after the games.

B: water to drink, eggs on bread with hummus and veggies

Water and Gatorade during the day with an apple

Dinner roast beef on a bun. Decent.

Beer as medicine.

Got home to a hot bath and a doghouse. I should have come home earlier, but needed some time to be me.

I didn't hear one fat joke on the day- but I did impinge a couple of nerves in my neck, resulting in the most intense burner I've had in a decade. Seriously, what a cheap shot artist that guy was. At least I stepped on him later. Sorry to report that we lost both games.

To morrow I need to stretch, workout and clean the vehicles. Other than that, I'm easy. Kids are so cool.

At the moment, just back from swimming at the YMCA of Oakville - weighed in after a night of debauchery and eating , meh, semi-ok... to weigh in at 246.

Friday Sept 17

It was mad rushing around the place today - and I hate that. I got my kids to school a little late, but at least work was a laid back day, full of guest speakers and time for people to get their thing done. I feel almost guilty taking a pay cheque.

I delivered the bigger log to Christopher Reed's place today. I had to get it there now, before the end of September. Too much stuff coming down the pike at me to let that one stay in the garage. I worked on my part of my parent's 50th wedding anniversary speech today, too. And the proposal for a ProDev day in November, fielded some messages about wrestling at Mac, did some research and got ready for Monday. All that in a few hours.

I was rushing around, getting lunches ready today, butting up cucumbers and strawberries for my family, I just missed getting a smoothie for me. Seriously. I was in the van, just after dropping my kids off, and it just hit me: I didn't make myself anything for breakfast. Weird.

So, breakfast was a coffee and BELT from Tim Hortons. I know, crappy start to the day.

Lunch was chicken, rice and a salad. Awesome and delicious. Water to drink

Snack was was almonds and water to drink.

Dinner was chicken, rice and a salad. Kind of repetitive, I realize, but this was my eldest daughter's night to cook - I wasn't going to say no.

I'm having a beer, ripping a copy of Alice in Wonderland as I write this about 11pm.

There was no "workout" today, as I drove to Etobicoke to get the log out of my garage. After that, I picked up my girls, went home and hung out with them, going for a walk. Emily smushed her face on the sidewalk, which ended the pleasant walk rather quickly. As she was calming down, I left to do some setting up at KATA, arriving there about 7:15. There might be pics of my doing stuff around the gym online somewhere. I'll see and link them to this blog. It felt good doing stuff like that; I kept telling myself I was working on my Karma.

Anyway, tomorrow is a rugby day.
A

Thurs Sept 16

Saw this today:





and I also went to the FILA website and found the Fila Web TV, too. Lots of wrestling, especially greco, on there.

Then, went back to facebook, saw a link to Flowwrestling.org; they posted a link to someone's video of the 2010 World Championships, too.

This is what I ate:
breakfast: smoothie: strawberry/blueberry with orange juice and grapefruit juice. Green tea at work.

snack water and almonds

Lunch tuna on salad. Carrots and other veggies with the last of the hummus. Water to drink

no snack, dinner after rugby training.

Before I got to pick up the kids, I did the following quick workout three times:

one arm rows, 50lb KB
10 push ups
snatches 50 and 70 lb kb 3-6 reps per side
5 presses 50lbs

ab exercises:
planks, side planks and elevated side planks.

I was rushed, but got it done.


The kids started gymnastics and I had a coffee while watching them do their thing. A lot of what my older child was doing was just bodyweight training. Squats, leg lifts, skipping rope, etc etc, etc.... will try do do that, too with her.

After gymnastics, I got them home, and into a bath before going to rugby. We're losing a lot of time, thanks to the setting sun. We trained a little under the lights right next tot he clubhouse. That stretched out training for another half hour. Beer in the clubhouse after. Got some groceries on the way home.

Dinner was a chicken breast with broccoli and veggies. Then I had the last of the ground beef burgers I made on Tuesday. In a wrap with some salad and green peppers. That was pretty good - but I've had better. I was messing around with the wireless at home, trying to see if I really could blog on the iPod Touch. I ran out of "oomph" and battery power before I got that done. I'm doing this post with Safari, and it seems ok.

Anyway, I went to bed to late, woke up semi-cranky on Friday. But that is another post.

Wed Sept 15

Today was a mixed bag, man. I did fairly well on my diet, not so good on my training today.

Here's my food log for the day:

B: Steak wrap. Simply awesome, yummy and a great start to the day.

Snack: Green tea, almonds and walnuts.

Lunch Tuna on salad, with carrots, peppers on hummus. Almonds and prunes, too. Water to drink. Lots of water to drink.

Dinner: Sandwich night. Made myself a chicken breast wrap with some lettuce. Veggies and Tostitos Rounds with hummus. Water to drink.

I did a fair amount of prep today - getting myself ready for the next three or four days. Things go smoothly at work, for the most part. I'm liking what it is that I do for a living and it gives me ample opportunity to research into things. I did some Facebooking with Craig Ballentyne, which was cool. I found WebMD's diet and nutrition website too. Lots of useful info there. And I read something else about PubMed. That'll be something I climb through tomorrow, too.

I did get a chance last night to watch some GR Wrestling on USAWrestling's UStream site. They have a lot of stuff there, man. Several weeks worth of video which just keeps growing over time. I sent the three emails about on the mat training I wanted to send, and got a response. I'm leaning towards Hamilton, but I'll have to do a dry run once. I also got an email back from KATA. We'll be talking Friday, as I'm going there as a volunteer. Oh, and I'm dropping off the tree branch Friday, too.

I'd been feeling sluggish all day, I did get a chance to chat with my wife online, as she was at home after her check up with her OBGYN. Baby is fine and due the second week of December. I'm stoked about that, man. That'll be awesome.

I got home, she met me at the door - I didn't even get out of the van, she was in the passenger seat, looking to take me to the bank. We solved our RESP problem with the banker dude today. Well, at least some of it. That took until 4:30, the time we had to pick up our kids. I got them home, got them dinner, helped them with reading and piano. I did take a load of stuff out of my garage for the bulk pick up tomorrow. I should have taken the time to get the car out of the way, but at least there is less stuff in there. After that, I was zonked. I helped get the kids in bed, then I had a nap and now it's 10pm - I thought I could go for a short run, but I'm writing this and then going back to bed.

So, no workout today. Tomorrow is rugby. I'm going to have to make up for today after rugby tomorrow.

I'll do it, trust me.

Just have to read this and get this stuff done;

read PubMed
download and print OAWA form
contact the two dudes who wanted to go to Mac for training
prep for Friday
get to rugby, KB workout afterwards
make sure I get the log into the van after work.
start taking the multi-vitamin again.

Tues Sept 14

It was alright today - was prepped for work, and everything worked as it should. Got some work done, some prepping done, some reading done, some work for my workouts done ... a lot of stuff just basically got done.

Here is what I stuff into my gaping maw:

Breakfast: 500 calories of Timmy Ho's goodness with a BELT and a coffee

Snack: almonds and walnuts

Lunch was tuna on lettuce with veggies and hummus. Water to drink.

Dinner was "mixed pot" night: left over burgers, left over chicken breast. Veggies and hummus with grapefruit and orange juice to drink.

After training: had a chick breast in a wrap with some ketchup. Beer, too.

Rugby training was not as long as I would have hoped, as the sun went down about 8pm tonight. Should have done an after work training session, but sat with my wife and co-miserated about her day. She needed me more than the Iron did, trust me. Seriously, not something I'd question, man. She needed me.

I'm looking forward to trying to get to bed before 11pm tonight, hoping to get a better sleep pattern set up. Everything else is good. Tomorrow is a full body workout.

I also learned tonight that CrossFit in Burlington is inexcess of 120 dollars per month. Who has that amount of cash, man? Fer real!

Monday Sept 13

Today was a much better day - despite the fact everything went haywire at work. Meh, whatever.

Breakfast: sirloin steak wrap on the go. Man, not sure if these are good for me, but they are quick, full of protein and just plain yummy. Someday I'll take pics.

Snack: water and a handful of walnuts and almonds.

Lunch: Tuna on mix greens. Carrots and green/red peppers with hummus. Almonds. Water, water and water.

Dinner: Grilled home made burgers: ground beef, eggs and onion soup mix. Veggies on the side: Peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, onion, and a little ketchup. Nice burger bun, grapefruit juice (four grapefruits per bottle!) and water to drink.

I think today was a nice recovery, at least diet wise, from the weekend. Back on track.

After school, I did this workout:

Day 1: Full Body Work
1) KB Clean + Squat + Press 5 x 5
2A) rope climb or rope rows 4 x submax (broke the TRX door hanger! Damn!)
2B) ring push ups 4 x submax (did elevated push ups from the back of the van)
3A) KB farmer walks 3 x 150' (30/40, 40/53 two rounds 53/70 lb KB)
3B) 150 yard sprint
4) ab circuit 4 x non stop

The ab part I wasn't too happy with - I will take Rooney's Training for Warriors and Men's Health 2010 into work tomorrow to photocopy a few pages to get a few ab exercises on the wall for me to see during the workout.

Looking into things today, I saw this, something to help me make better smoothies. I love my Magic Bullet. Friggin awesome.

Need to do a short run tonight, rugby tomorrow.

Sunday Sept 12

I was sore this morning, testament to the contact I gave and got yesterday. I thought I did ok - I was also thinking that I made more than twenty games this rugby season. This has been a long season, with one regular season game left and at least two more post season games, too.

Whoa, that's a lot of rugby, man. And it just keeps going.

Here's what I put in my mouth:

Breakfast: Cora's after church. Western Omelette - which was pretty good, coffee and water.

Snack: Salsa and chips (which was better than the cheezy goo my kids had, but not much) and two beers.

Dinner: Pork ribs, salad, corn. With an awfully sweet Blueberry wine and water to drink. Coffee and Apple Upside Down cake for dessert.

All in all, not the greatest of days for my diet. Not too impressed that I missed even a light workout, although I did do an awful lot of stretching throughout the day. I mean, at one point I was chatting with my mother in her living room while I did hamstring and calf stretches .. awkward, but so so so so necessary.

Lunches for the week planned and picked up. Should be good.

Saturday Sept 11

It was a good day today. Some weird stuff going through my head, but got it out in time for the game in Hamilton. We won, by the way. I stole a far number of balls against the head v their second team scrum. I got to captain the team, too. That was pretty cool.

Most importantly, we won and got the bonus point. We've now won the league with a game left to play. That's just freaking awesome.

Anyway, diet today was not good.

Breakfast was a 500 calorie blow from Tim Horton's. A BELT, which was awesome. I got home and had a half sirloin on a sandwich bun. That was pretty cool, too.

I had nothing else until after the rugby game, except lots and lots of water.

Dinner: After the game, I had a huge salad, three burgers and a pitcher of beer. That was awesome, but put me off of my diet, man. Have to make up for that tomorrow.

After dinner: I got home and we had chicken and veggies for family dinner. I didn't have that much, as I was pretty stuffed from the rugby game. I felt pretty good getting two meals in, though.

At the end of the game, felt pretty good, but I have to tell you, I was starting a feel my shoulders seize and really get tight. I thought I was going to get into the first team game, but didn't. Meh, whatever.

after the after dinner, we all went for a short walk around the block. Felt good to be able to stretch a little and get the muscles working. Tomorrow I'll do an all body workout, just to get everything moving and recovering.

Friday Sept 10

I felt pretty good this morning; I got a full 7 hours of sleep, man. It was awesome. Tonight, I'm going to break with tradition and go to bed even earlier. Fo show.

Food intake for the day:

B Steak and veggies wrap for breakfast. Simply awesome

Snack: decaf green tea and a handful of almonds

Lunch: tuna steak on salad with a little dressing. Carrots and peppers with hummus. Water to drink.

After workout Snack: a bit of steak, dipped in ketchup

Dinner: fish with rice, veggies with dip. A beer with dinner

My workout today was after work, before I went to pick up my kids. I did this four rounds, increasing the weight from 30 lbs to 72 lb KB's in my garage. I used the TRX out of my door from the house into the garage for ring push ups and the rope rows.


1) KB Clean + Squat + Press 5 x 5
2A) rope climb or rope rows 4 x submax
2B) ring push ups 4 x submax
3A) KB farmer walks 3 x 150'
4) ab circuit 4 x non stop

I had to keep it quick and with the ability to finish off my day - hell, I have rugby tomorrow, too. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow - it's going to be a good game and I'm going to be playing with a lot of friends. What else can you want?

Thurs Sept 9

Food intake as follows:

B: Smoothy - frozen blueberries and strawberries, OJ and Grapefruit Juice in the blender. Tased good.

Snack; almonds and water

Lunch: tuna on salad, almonds, carrots and pepper with hummus, lots of water

I got through the day, got home, we hungry, so had another smoothy, just like the first one, except I tried some vanilla protein powder in it, too. Interesting taste and texture.

Dinner was an awesome sirloin steak (made a bunch for next meals, too)with horseradish, BBQ sweet potato and another salad. Good stuff.

Got through rugby practice and was pretty sweaty so I let it go at that. Tomorrow I will do the all body workout from ZEE. Should be a good time.

After training, I had a few beers, then got home. Went to bed at 11pm - which was an hour earlier than the last few days. I'm working on that for the time being - need more sleep, man.

Need to find a place to get on the mat right after rugby season ends. That, and the amount of time sleeping need to be the priorities next week. After that, I get rid of the beer.

Wed Sept 8

I was feeling rugby sprinting this morning - and I had to get to work as early as I could to get some stuff done before the rush. Ugh. Missed my chance to check out the Y and get some time in the whirlpool.

Wait a minute, I think they're doing a reno ... man, I dunno. I think I'm going to go check it out in a bit. Have to get this done, first.

I got to work, got my stuff done and then had a pretty good lunch. Feeling a lock of energy at work, but didn't want to have two green teas on the same day. I actually fell asleep at my laptop, drool coming out of my mouth when I woke up about 10 minutes later. I'm thinking that is either diet related or sleep pattern related.

I came home after work and did this workout four times:

1B) Mixed bodyweight pulls (vertical) 5 x submax (on the TRX)
2A) med ball cross over push ups 3 x 10
2B) 1 arm DB rows 3 x 10 53 KB
3A) shrugs 3 x 10-16 (70 and 53 lb KB)
3B) recline rowing 3 x sub,ax (on the TRX)
4) gun show: biceps / triceps 3 x 6 - 15 reps (with the stretchy cord)
Biceps Use: zottman curls, hammer curls, cheat curls
Triceps Use: tate presses or band extensions
run / abs 4 rounds: run x 200 meter + ab exercise (I ran across my park and back, then did an Ab exercise)

It was pretty quick - but I had to get my girls, and I had to set a little up ahead of time. Next time I will have almost everything set up, so it should go quicker.

I ate this today:

B;Steak wrap, green tea when I got to work

L:Salad with spicy tuna, carrots, peppers with hummus, almonds and prunes. Water to drink

D: last of the sloppy Joe on a burger bun, veggies and a salad and a beer. Almonds as dessert.

I got my workout in, got to play with my kids and generally had a good day. Weird that I fell asleep at work.

Tues Sept 7

This was a wrong day.

I woke up before the alarm was supposed to - but I still let it wake me up. I had my five year old on my head, kissing me before I could really wake up. That was the nicest part of the day. I got up, got the kids up, and went down to a breakfast to beat the band. It was awesome. Steak and a smoothie.

I got my wife off with a breakfast, the kids to school and then back here for a workout, which I called off becuase I was going to go to rugby tonight. I'm glad I did that. I read a lot of material, prepped for work and got there, just in time.

I had a difficult time switching back from being off to being on. Seriously. I have a fair amount of prep to do tonight to make sure I get through tomorrow. Ugh. Should have done a lot of it at work, but just couldn't get my rear end in gear. I did get an application for my iPod Touch which allows me to use it as a very good remote for my Macbook. It'll make things easier for me this year, trust me.

I picked up my kids, talked to them about their day, my wife got home; we had dinner, which was really easy to prep thanks to careful planning, got the kids in bed for 7pm, then went off to training. I'm glossing over the good stuff; the stuff with my kids as I'm not sure it warrants comment beyond the fact that we're a good together family. I even played some scrabble with my eldest daughter until the battery on my Touch ran out.

At rugby, I got a lot of sprinting done, not much of a warm up and more than a few knocks to the head while playing full contact rugby for 90 minutes. I was sweating, even in the 20 degree weather. Awesome.

Here's the food log for the day:

B: Half a flank steak, smoothie (frozen blueberries and strawberries, grapefruit and some orange juice blended together)

snack: handful of almonds, water and some hummus and peppers

lunch green leafy salad with a small can of spicy tuna on top, peppers, carrots with hummus, almonds, water and six or seven prunes.

snack: four spoonfuls of spicy ground beef left over from last night's dinner. Yummy cold.

dinner: chicken breast, spiced rice, water and a salad with vinegrette. Made in less than 20 minutes, thanks to prepping most of it yesterday. For dessert, I made my daughter some fresly squeezed OJ, using real oranges. I didn't get any, as she liked it so much.

snack after rugby: one half roast beef and tomato wrap, left over from Saturday. It was awesome. a pitcher of beer washed it down. That wasn't so good for my diet.

I think, all in all, that today was a positive day. I got some stuff ready for tomorrow, just not enough, in my opinion. I have some time to work my typical magic but I shouldn't have to. Meh, I'm all good. I still have my triggers for bad dieting.

Tomorrow I am going to try and do a quick arm workout at home, after picking up my girls, followed by some sprints and some stretching. I also got an email that my copy of Corps Strength is coming, and I tried to order some of Mike McNeil's t-shirts, only to find out that they do not exist. To top it off, I found another gift card for Chapters in my bedroom this morning. More training books/vids for me!

Monday Sept 6

I got up early today - or at least early for a holiday Monday, anyway- at about 7am. Funny, I'm going to be dropping my kids off at school at that time tomorrow.

I got up, and went to check my email, and got stuck reading online articles about, well, fitness and nutrition. I should have been getting my workout done, but I was just reading. I got upstairs about 8:30 and went to workout and shave about 9am. As I got closer to the Oakville Y, they are running some sort of a road race today. I drove very slowly - so slowly, I missed my turn and ended up down at the bottom of Kerr Street in Oakville in a park, right on the lake. It was quiet, I did three rounds of the following workout:

warm up

30 two arm swings
farmers walk about 60 yds
20 push ups
30 body weight squats
10 band bicep curls
10 KB snatches 30/30/53 (both sides)
10 KB swing/press combos

This took about a half hour, without lots of breaks. Pleasant outdoor park, with a few curious onlookers. After, I went for a shower, whirlpool, sauna and shave at the Oakville Y.

While driving in and while doing my thing there, I pondered about whether or not to put a hold on my membership there. It's nice to go there and chill before work, but I'm not sure I can afford it this winter. That, and I'm looking for a bit more results than the last few winters. To top it off, there is no mention of Judo on their online schedule. That might just be the tipping point for me staying there. The question then comes back to where am I going to get some mat time this winter?

I'm volunteering for a few hours on Friday Sept 17th at an event for KATA - at least I let the guy know that I was interested in volunteering. One wonders if he's going to follow up with me at some point in time.

I checked my weight at the Y, too. 249. Which means I lost a pound, officially. Unofficially, I weighed myself at the end of summer school - I was 244. Which means I gained five pounds in August. I ate like a pig, drank like a pig. Was basically a pig in August. But that's over now.

I got home, cleaned a little, then wondered about what to do for the rest of the day.

B:500 calories of joy - coffee and a BELT at Tim Horton's and some almonds when I got home.

L: Gelato at the Ice Cream place in Oakville's Harbour

D: ground beef in a taco, salad and a beer.

Put on some chicken breasts for the random lunches and dinners for the week. I really have to get the schedule for the week complete tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll be doing meals without a plan, and that isn't good.

As far as stuff watched or read, saw this:

Revolution Beginnings from Chris on Vimeo.

and thought it was pretty cool.

I think I will be going on a run in a bit - heck, let's do it now. Check the run, it's on the Nike+ website.

Sunday Sept 5

I did four rounds of this workout

1) KB Clean + Squat + Press 5 x 5
2A) upright rows 4 x 10 using the bands and the van as the anchor.
2B) push ups 4 x 10 (some inverted, some not)
3A) KB farmer walks 3 x 8 laps of the garage 30, 40, 50, 70 lb KB (always two KB)
(there was supposed to be a sled drag as 3B, but no room. Next time.)
4) ab circuit 4 x non stop
I will have to re-watch ZEE's video to see what the ab circuit is, but I did three or four exercises for the abs, non-stop for this this time.

Took about fifty minutes, but I had my kids out there, watching, interrupting and being around. My eldest needs to get a bit more training in for her sports - I like her to be stronger and better trained than I was at her age. I will set out a workout for her to do with me once a week. She will be training with a swimming club and a gymnastic club, too. I also wanted my youngest to see me working out, and see me having fun.

Food log:
B: "Construction Plate" at Cora's - eggs over easy, 1 piece Brown toast, slice of melon, pineapple, turkey sausage, 3 strips of bacon, coffee, water

After workout snack; 1 litre of water, handful of almonds.

Dinner: Veggie and beef soup, steak sandwich on a bun. Steak was half a flank steak I cooked the other day with water. I really should take photos and upload them, as this was delicious. Blueberry/pomegranate juice for dessert.

After getting the groceries, I had to eat something. I took a small can of spicy tuna, added some celery, preen pepper and onion and put it in a spinach wrap. Awesome.

Found the SST diet and made some selections for my lunches and family meals this week. Should be interesting, at least. I think tomorrow I have to get the hard data on my start weight at the Oakvile Y, will do some light KB's in the morning, with a light run at nightfall.

Research and reading

I downloaded an MP3 file (to add to my collection) from Mike McNeil about, well, something. Haven't listened to it, yet. It's on my laptop, so it's one of those things I will do at work, trying to get people around me healthier. I also read this article from the SST website on Sprinting in Training. I'm thinking I need to check the references for myself and perhaps include a session or two of sprinting on the track at the YMCA.

You know, I also found out I an watch full episodes of The Ultimate Fighter online for free. Right now, I'm watching some of season five... where the idiot didn't make weight. Ouch.

Watched this, too. Lots of good stuff on this blog.

Sat Sept 4

I'm really trying to get back to a regular sleeping schedule, but not finding a great deal of success. Shooting myself in the foot rather badly on that one. Anyway, tried to follow ZEE's workout for September, but forgot what was on the list, so I did what I could recall. In prepping this post, saw that I did a lot of stuff from the DAY 2 and DAY 1 list.

Had a good read of the Toronto Star, cleaned the kitchen, fed my kids and was, generally speaking, a good husband and father. I needed a workout.

Here's what I did three rounds of:

1) 30 BW Squats
2) 10 30/40/53 KB Snatch, presses
3) 10 40 lb sandbag cleans
4) 10 log OH Squats / Presses (log is drying out but needs to be washed. (~40 lbs))
5) 80 step Farmers walk with 30 lbs.
6) Inclined push ups

Took about 40 minutes. Felt good after, except for all the wood crap on me. It was rather odd, as I was using my iPod touch for music in the garage and I checked my FB messages in the middle (only twice, I thought of Mike McNeil and stopped checking until AFTER the workout was done ....). Never had that option before. Next time I turn off the wireless in the Touch.

Anyway, I also did a brewery tour at Cameron's Brewery in Oakville. I went there before hand, as the guy I know who works there promised a "special gift" for people who came by and mentioned his FB status. It was four free beer.

I went and saw the Ontario Blues play the BC Bears; it was a chilly day, the first one of the winter to come. I stood on top of a bar stool on the balcony and had just an awesome view of the field.I tried to sneak someone else up there, but was shot down rather nicely. It was kinda funny.

After a beer while on the tour, I had a few more at the club. Then got home, went out to dinner with my family. Nutrition is not my best thing while drinking, I can assure you. Although while in the VIP section of the game, had some delicious steak and veggie wraps.

Beer will be the thing that gets in my way, along with mindset - I have to think about Nationals, even now. With every meal I take, every workout I do. I am thinking that the Y's Judo will be my on-mat training base, with some extra Friday trips to Mac. I wonder how much that will cost me in terms of money and time away from my family.

At dinner I ate a sirloin burger with a salad and a beer. Some of the kids' veggies, too. I was a little light in the head from the beer and the day. I got home, sat on the comfy chair in the living room and promptly fell asleep. My dear wife finally raised her voice to get me to go to bed at 8pm.

I woke up at 11pm, went to my office and stayed up, reading and watching workouts, Henry Rollins and other silly videos on YouTube until about 4am. I went to bed and woke up before my wife at 7:45am. I had a shower, and got off to church. No breakfast, as my stomach kinda hurt (ya think?). I made it through Mass, and then went to Cora's for their Construction Plate, but just couldn't finish it. Just too much food; but it was eggs, toast and bacon. Had too much coffee, too. Got the waitress to bring me a water; my eldest daughter took the last third of my glass of water for herself.

I'm thinking today will be a KB workout across the street with the TRX. Will print off ZEE's September workout a few times; might get it laminated, too.

I think a focus on Nutrition should be on for this month. I found my SST Lean Body diet; I'll see about scanning it in at work this week. Or typing it up might be better. Needless to say, my biggest trigger for bad nutrition is the rugby club. There is just such a connection between that clubhouse and beer. I need to change that association.

Hmm.. maybe take my kids there and workout there today?

A bit on Nutrition

here's a link to think about putting together better lunches this school year.

I'm hoping that with these tips, and those from the SST menu guide I got a few years ago, I can have delicious food that will help me get skinny.

I was up and at them early today, but I know I will be facing one of my "poor diet" triggers later on today: the rugby club.

Breakfast was quite good: steak, veggie and egg wraps with chimichurri sauce. Awesome.

I've just finished cleaning my kitchen (a late August project) and now am looking forward to working out, then watching the Blues rugby game.

Some inspiration

Went looking around for a fun run in mid October, something to train for.

I found this: a "haunted run" in Oakville.

Should be interesting, have to confirm with my wife, though.

And, since I might be getting to a hospital, might want to get a better cell phone, too.

Ah, yes, last thing for today. I will post some pics of my own garage gym with this post. It's not quite finished, but it's prepped for some construction later on in September. Then my chin up bar goes in, then the rest of my stuff when it gets too cold to train outside.




and the before:





Now, there's some more stuff I had to put back in, but you get the basic idea.

Friday Sept 3, 2010

Workout for the day is a 25 minute run, followed by some stretching. I did KB's yesterday and did a fair amount of reading today: for instance, this article which reminds me to pick up decaf green tea for school; and hung out with my kids, too.

I wanted to see the new iPod Nano at Sherway, but it wasn't in yet. Meh, w/e.

I ate this today:

B: smoothie; frozen blueberries and strawberries, canned peaches and pears, pomegranate juice. Into the Bullet. Yummy.

L; Chicken breast and veggie wrap. Also yummy.

D; Fish, prepared by my daughter, veggies, salad (with vinegrette) and another smoothie and a handful of almonds for dessert.

Just waiting for my wife to decide if she's going on her own trip to the grocery store or not. I usually do go, but this request began with the sentence "I want cake, but not the regular cake. Another kind of cake, and good." Rather than chance a second trip, I left it for her to go herself or make a specific request. ;)

Felt good most of the day, got a little frustrated with having to clean up as much as I did. I'm going to be busy this fall, so I enjoyed the down time while I had it. And ... I set up this blog, too.

It's not the workouts that are going to get in my way ... it's what I put in my mouth that will get in my way. I know my triggers, and I will watch out for them. Actually, I will do a post on my triggers by the end of September.

After the run, I also took the "before" shots. Ugh. They look pretty bad. I'm really looking forward to seeing the "after" shots...

I'm going to Nationals

I'd like to start this blog by pointing out the end goal: Making 96 kgs at the end of March 23- 27 in Edmonton

Link is here.

Let's start off with the stats:

I'm 40 and will be that until just after the Nationals.

Current weight is somewhere around 245. As I write this, it is the start of September.
I'd rather get down to weight slowly and be able to maintain that weight for at least six months after. That is to say that there should be another post on Sept 1, 2011 that says "I'm still 215."

In terms of wrestling skill, I'm just rusty - one or two on mat sessions per week should be fine. Anymore than that and I firmly believe I would be risking injury. Besides, I need to take into consideration that I've got my third child due in November.

Challenges to this:

One and only: time.

Oh, and Money.

But the money will follow - I need to find the time in the week to get on the mat - I do have some leads on that: YMCA has a Judo club, BAMA is local, KATA has some late night training times, Xtreme Couture is interesting. But taking into account travel time, especially to Xtreme Couture and KATA, is something that might prevent me from getting on their mats.

I'm thinking we alternate times and locations, keeping the Oakville Y's Judo club as the base for training. Has a pretty good weight room, as long as the idiot trainers are not there. Also has a rock climbing area for extra training. Finally, this place is pretty close to my work.

Money as a challenge is ok. I'm going to be working full time, my wife will be off by the end of September, and the money situation here will be strict, not one of desperation. If we were desperate, I wouldn't be doing this. I'd get another job.

As long as my wife sees me train, I will be destined to participate in the Nationals. If she, or myself see me repeat what I did last year, I will not be going. It's funny, since I threw in the towel in January of 2011 and decided I wasn't going to fight in the 2010 Nationals, I've lost ten pounds.

I see this blog as something I can use to monitor my progress and see what things I do correctly and what things I can work on. I should be doing a food diary and a training diary daily. There are links for me to use to monitor my running, too.

I'm using this event, this process to also further educate myself in physical fitness and training. The truth of the matter is, I've got a lot of things going for me, I just don't really know how to put together a fitness plan. Perhaps this process will get me to the point that I'll feel comfortable leading a fitness class. And, more importantly, I'll be able to look like a better role model for my kids. But most importantly, I know I will be getting away from the plague of Diabetes and Heart Disease running rampant in Canada today.