Dec 29 and 30

Well, I got back at training on the 29th, just didnt get the blog updated.

Sorry, but three kids and a wife will fill ypur time. Especially keeping in mind that the 29th was my tenth wedding anniversary. For real.

I got home from a few days away at a cottage, then got the idea in my head that it was thursday - a rugby training day. So, i went to rugby and sprinted and sprinted- for an hour.

I felt pretty sore the next day, i have to tell you. Especially my hamstrings.

On the 30th, i started my day with a 4k run. Oh, man. I started slow and got quicker by the end, but it was pretty slow.

I will point out that i will not be doing the Resolution Run at the YMCA today, as i missed the dealine to register. Why didnt i register earlier?

Well, nosey, that is a good question. I will point to a cash flow roblem in my house, man. CC's are maxed out and my wife is finally getting a paycheque this week. Life will get back to some semblance of normal .. Soon, I hope.

Sat Dec 24 and Sunday Dec 25

I still don't like Christmas. At least this year I'm a bit better in shape than I was a year ago. At least this year I didn't spend all day in the Emergency department of the local hospital. At least this year .... I'm basically happy if not in the Cristmas spirit.

Hey, at least I said "Merry Christmas" to people instead of "oh, yeah?". It's the season, it just does that to me.

No workout on either day, just a lot of stretching and taking care of my family. Seriously, I'm getting a little worn down with stuff. I was awoken this morning at 2am to care for the year old, then awaoken again at 5am to open stuff that Santa brought. I wasn't moving too well, so the middle child walked into my room to tell the older one "No, he hasn't moved yet!" .... at 5:20 am.

Oh, God was that early.

Friday Dec 23

I woke up sore this morning and still am quite sore.

I did get some stretching in, just not as much as I wanted.

I ate ok, for the last day before a well needed break.

Breakfast: coffee, fruit

Lunch: pizza, water tea

Dinner: chicken with rice. Water to drink.

Ok, off to bed.

Thurs Dec 22

Ok, I'm doing this late and under duress, but I'm doing it. I'm making this quick.

I redid the banner for this blog today. I think it looks cool. Lemme know if you want the link for the web application that will set this up for you. Next, i did this workout after work:

A quick 4k run, at about a 5:10 per KM pace. For me, that's getting quicker.

After the run, I was pretty beat up, but I managed a 20 minute pilates/stretching and Yoga session in my gym.

I ate pretty poorly today:

Breakfast: smoothie and coffee after

Lunch: was invited to a work buffet. Had pizza and pasta. Water to drink.

Snack: tea

Dinner: more pizza.

At the end of the day, I'm sore from the run. Tomorrow, I'm doing a short recovery run with a quick BW training session. Last day before a break. Awesome. I'm pretty tired.

Wed Dec 21

Welcome to the longest night of the year - the sun was only a rumor today - seriously. It was grey and damp ... kinda the stuff ya just don't want to get on you. No snow, which, in my humble opinion, is a good thing.

I really really didn't want to run in the rain today - visibility was low and the stopping distance was long. So, I stayed in my (relatively) warm gym and got this done:

20 BW squats
10 BW TRX rows
20 feet up push ups
15 hanging knee tucks
20 KB swings (20 kilo bell used)

I got five rounds done in 24 minutes - I was pretty sweaty at the end.

Ate this today

Breakfast - frozen fruit smoothie and coffee after

Snack: tea

Lunch: tuna sandwich with veggies, water to drink

Dinner: roast beef and rice wrap, water to drink.

All in all, not a bad day, man.

Tues Dec 20

I thought I'd be in for a tough day when I forgot my backpack in the house after spilling my coffee on my driveway. It was a good indication, but when my six year old threw my iPad at a box in the van, I just knew I was in for a tough day.

Ya think?

Yup.

I ate this:

Breakfast: frozen fruit smoothie. Coffee after.

Snack: tea

Lunch tuna on crackers. No mayo, no salad. No veggies. Water to drink.

Dinner: chicken with a side of stir fry veggies. Water to drink.

Right after work, got a 7k run in with three rounds of:

20 feet up push ups
20 seated knee tucks

I was steamy in my cold garage. It was weird.

Monday Dec 19

Well, ya know .. in all that gloom in the previous post, I forgot to focus on the positive ... I won two twelve lb kettlebells from the fine people at Strength Box.

Innt that justawesome?

Cha! Ching!

I ate ok today - ok, not really.

Breakfast: coffee and a BELT one the way in. I have to stop that. Seriously.

Lunch: tuna sandwich and a slice of pizza. Water to drink.

Snack: tea

Dinner: pasta and water to drink.

After night school ... did some QC on the beef I had in the slow cooker. I wonder why I try to do that with a sleepy wife on Mondays. I should just leave it until I'm around on Tuesdays.

After work and before night school, I did manage a 6km run - got it done in just over a half hour. I'm thinking I just keep adding distance until I get to 8kms for an average run. After a few weeks of that, I can go stupid and see just how far I can go...

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Friday was a let down. I did a run, did a decent stretch and then had to rush off to get my kids. Too much stuff to get done. I ate ok:

Breakfast: fruit, coffee to drink

Snack tea

Lunch: tuna straight from the can, almonds and prunes. Water to drink.

Dinner: chicken and salad. Beer to drink.

I felt really tired and got to bed early. I was just bushed.

Saturday my son got me up stupid early. I got up, fed him and cuddled with him until the rest of the family got up. Then I got my run in. I ate ok, for a Saturday.

Brunch: coffee and chicken/salad wraps

Snack: fruit and water to drink

Dinner: chicken thigh and pasta. Beer to drink.

Did the weekly shopping after the kids were in bed. I'm so glad my wife is back to work. Two full paychecks makes my kitchen full.

Sunday was a day of "rest" - I had to run around like a goof after church and then clean the house then rush off to a family function. Ate ok, felt like barfing for most of the evening. Meh, s'ok.

Wed and Thurs Dec 14 and 15

Whoa, Wednesdays are getting to me, really. That and the season is getting to me, too.

I ate decently Wednesday - too many carbs, though.

Thursday was also ok, but again, too many carbs.

At least I got a workout done on Thursday - a run with a this done for three rounds:

1 minute stretching/yoga on the mats
planks x 30 seconds x three positions
10 hanging knee raises

Like I said, a pleasant workout. Not bad, not hard... got a good sweat going on.

Tuesday dec 13

I did my usual morning - darn early.

I ate this:

breakfast: banana, coffe to drink

Lunch: banana bread, coffee

Dinner: soup, water to drink.

I did get a workout in, too. I was really sore, man. But I got a run in - a 5k run in about 27 minutes. I stretched, too. I also played with some applications on the Macbook and made some cool stuff, like this fotobabble.com thing.

looks interesting, hope it works.

I also editing this pic using the Photoshop exress app on the iPad:

Sunday and Monday Dec 11 and 12

Sunday was a bit of a wash - recovering from watching UFC 140 with a bag of chips was kinda painful. Lots of gas, if I can be frank.

Ugh.

I did manage to recover enough to do a 5k run after everyone was in bed, though.

I ate ok.

Breakfast: coffee

Snack: ham and water to drink.

Lunch: chicken noodle soup with a small ham sandwich. Water to drink.

Dinner was tuna on salad with water to drink.

Monday I was really sore in the morning. I went to bed stupid late and regretted doing that all day.

I got to work early after eating a decent breakfast and then proceeded to do as much as I could with my day. At the end of the day, I got this done for five rounds:


10 double kettlebell presses
10 double kettlebell rows
20 feet up push ups
10 seated knee tucks
10 hanging knee tucks

then got this done three rounds:

80 feet farmers walk 30 lb KB in each hand
20 bw squats

I did some foam rolling after this; it really hurt to do. Honestly. I did as much as I could stand, then went and got my parent stuff done.
I ate this for the day:

Breakfast: two bananas and a coffee

snack: tea with almonds and prunes

lunch: tuna on salad with water. Almonds for dessert.

Dinner: bacon and tomato wrap. Oh that was good. Water to drink.

After night school a little popcorn.

Fri Dec 9 and Sat Dec 10

So, I went through my old blogs and I'm just seeing if I can load this:



hmm ... I'm thinking that I wrote this already ... well, whatever. Technology is awesome it it's ability to eat posts. In any case, let's get this done.

Friday was an off day. I know that this week had a lot of off days, but I knew that I had a race on Saturday. I took it easy. Ate well though:

Breakfast: belt and coffee

Snack: more coffee

Lunch: gyro with salad. Water to drink

Dinner: pizza. water to drink.

Saturday was race day. That was cool. Next year, I bring my kids and we walk the route. Simply awesome.

Ate this:

Breakfast bananas and coffee

Lunch Chicken breast and salad wraps more coffee

snack chicken soup and water

Dinner: small bowl of pasta, water to drink.

While watching ufc 140 : beer and chips. Not a requirement, but it felt good.

Also saw this workout, and will be trying it some time this week.

Thursday Dec 8

You know, Thursday tried to mess with me, but I got the better of it.

First of all, my shift changed at work; I'm now mornings. I hate mornings. I'd rather train then go to work, but today starts with work, then training. I dunno, I'm just particular. I think I'm just whining.

Anyway, I ate this:

Breakfast: belt from Tim Horton's. Coffee to drink.

Snack: more coffee

Lunch: Tuna on salad. Cookie for dessert. Water to drink. (Why a cookie/ I'm sorry to say "because they were there."

Dinner: chicken breast and veggie wrap, water to drink.

So .. you might think ... how did you "beat" Thursday, Mark. Well, I got home after work, got my kit on and went for my run. I did 4kms in about 23 minutes. One of the faster runs I've done of late. I can hardly wait until all of the adhesions in my legs are gone - rugby is just brutal on my legs. After the run, I did some rolling on my legs for about 15 minutes. That friggin' hurt, but it is worth it.

After I got the day done, I was doing some surfing, watching Strombo interviewing Dana White. That is pointing me in a few other directions, too. Anyway, after I finished watching that, I went back into my garage/gym and did some very light stretching and got ready for tomorrow then bed.

Wed Dec 7

Ah, Wednesday, you jerk.


No morning workout, as I had to get into work early. Again. Meh, w/e. No afternoon workout, as I had to work late, too. No evening workout as I had my children then had to go to night school.

Yup. Busy.

I ate ok, though:

Breakfast: coffee

Snack: muffin, more coffee

Lunch: water and salad with tuna. Almonds and prunes. More water

Dinner: chicken breast with salad. Water.

I'm going to bed. Too much right now.

Tuesday dec 6

Today was ok; I had to get to work early, but I got a full run in before work. I just had to be organized. A full morning run for me is 4 km, by the way. At least for now; I plan on onceeasing that over the next while.

Ate this today:

Breakfast was a belt, again coffee to drink

Lunch was later than usual, but runa on salad with almonds and prunes ro eat. Water to drink.

Dinner was two slices of pizza. Water to drink

I'm getting this done a little early tonight, but. Planning on doing some stretching after my kids are asleep.

By the way, I dis this post wih the Blogger app in the iPad, just to say I did it.

Monday Dec 5

I really hate Mondays - especially the ones that have snow. Ugh.

I got to the time of my day where I train ... and got sidetracked by work. Instead of doing nothing, I got a short run in - about 3kms. I'm not impressed with getting distracted, but at least I got something done.

Ate well, though:

Breakfast: Belt from Tim Hortons - about 500 calories. Coffee to drink

Lunch: tuna on salad, almonds to eat. Water to drink.

Snack: tea

Dinner: small bowl of pasta, water to drink.

After night school: a chicken and salad/veggie wrap.

Not a bad day, just ok.

Sunday Dec 4

Ok, today. I woke this morning not feeling good; stuff nose, bloated. Ugh. Just not right. I slept in the basement, too. Just not good. No morning run. I'll have to not do that again.

After htat, the day went downhill. I did manage to stretch a little in the afternoon while my son had a nap, but that was about it.

Ate ok

Breakfast: roast beef on a piece of bread

Lunch tuna mixed with a little mayo on a piece of bread

Snack: some of my son's grilled cheese sandwich - lolz .. and tea

Dinner roast potatoes with roast beef. Water to drink. Piece of cake for dessert with a coffee.

Not a great day for training, but not a bad day for reconnecting with family, which is what birthdays are for. On with Monday.

Fri and Sat Dec 2 and 3

Friday was a weird one - an odd one, if you will. First of all, my youngest child turned one this week. Where I live, that means they are due for some more immunization shots.

Please, spare me the whole "Immunization causes Autism" hype. And I don't believe it.

I had to take him in the morning, which meant no morning workout for lil' ol me. Meh, one day of rest out of a whole bunch is ok. Besides, I got to spend time with my boy. After work, I picked the kids up and met up with one of his Godmothers and two of her relatives at a local Boston Pizza. Meh, I liked it. I ate a whole pizza.

In writing that, I am reminded of Bart Simpson's line "I wash myself with a rag on a stick." It was, however, delicious. Beer, too. A true cheat meal.

We got home and put the kids to bed and I got a chance to spend time with my wife watching a rather silly movie "One Day". I didn't eat or drink anything, merely marveled at just how fragile life really is. I also am glad that I see I am living the life that I have chosen, not one that has been grafted onto me. It also made me see that my children really are an astronomically hugely gift from the universe. And cute, too.

I got back on it Saturday morning, as I was up stupid early. I went for a run while the sun struggled to get it's butt out of bed. I thought of a video I'd watched Friday night after dinner of the Ultimate Warrior.

What a tool. I'll give you that the UW was quite an entertainer. He never entertained me, but a lot of the idiots guys I went to high school with liked that WWF crap. I never understood why they liked it. When the UFC came along, they couldn't understand why I liked it. Why would I like something the outcome of which was already predetermined? They allow gambling on UFC; you'd be an idiot to bet on a WWF match. I'm not saying Ultimate Warrior isn't athletic, but he's not an athlete. He's an entertainer. Like Charlie Chaplin. Except not nearly as nicely dressed.

By the way, did you know he legally changed his name to "Warrior"?

Anyway, after the run, things were chill around my house. I did a cool workout with my kids in the gym in the afternoon. I ate ok, but it could have been better.

Thursday Dec 1

Usually Thursdays I walk around like a zombie as I have worked a long day the day before and stayed up late. Not so today, as I was in bed by 10:15 last night. Heck, I got up early and did some reading about MovNat Fitness.

I got a 4.6 km run in this morning, did not have breakfast and then checked my weight. 232 lbs. I checked my back blog posts - I've lost like five or six pounds rather quickly. I'm not sure if it is because I've not been able to afford alcohol as of late, or that I'm running more, or perhaps my strength training wasn't helping me lose weight or a combination of all those factors... but it sure feels good to be that close to my goal weight for Christmas of under 230.

After the run, I got into my gym and did four rounds of 20 KB snatches for both sides ... imbetween sets, I did seated knee tucks, too.

I figure if I can make it to under 230 by Christmas, I'll be in a good position to make weight for Nationals, unlike two years ago. I'm also thinking about what I want to do this summer, knowing that rugby is something that gets in my way of keeping my weight down. Meh, we'll figure that one out when we need to, I guess. For now, I'm waiting to hear about a position at Tapout Burlington. That would be cool.

I ate this:

Breakfast: roast beef and salad wraps, water to drink

snack: coffee on the way in

Lunch small bowl of chilli, small piece of bread, water to drink

Snack: coffee

Dinner 3 pieces of pizza with the family, water to drink.

At work, I put this together using Animoto:

Try our video maker at Animoto.

Wednesday Nov 30

I'm so glad to have seen the rear end of this month. This time of year is the toughtest - eleven weeks of nothing from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I think it's even longer this year, as the holidays aren't until the last possible minute.

In any case, I got my nomination form for a public election in today. I felt pretty nervous, but I'm sure I'll be blogging about more about that later.

I had my usual Wednesday - that is to say a crazy day. I got a run in, though, and it felt pretty good. I'm gradually adding distance to my runs these days. I got to 4.5 kms today - perhaps a bit more tomorrow. After the run, did a lengthy rolling session on my legs and butt. Oh, my. I'm going to try and get a doctor's referral for massage .. oh my...

I ate ok today:

Breakfast: roast beef and poached eggs. Yes, that was as yummy as it sounded. Water to drink

Snack: coffee (i'm basically living on the stuff at the moment)

Lunch: pasta and water

Snack tea

Dinner: roast beef and veggies, water to drink

After night school was more water.

All in all not a bad day - feeling better as I am staying away from really poor food choices, although I'm not making "awesome" food choices. Meh, I figure I'm doing ok - I feel better and that's ok with me.

Tuesday Nov 29

Woke up nice and early; like stupid early. Was really really early. Got up, did the kitchen clean up I skipped last night. The rest of the family got up and I turned on the dishwasher and just got things clean.

I was trying to figure out what kind of workout to do while cleaning up the kitchen and getting crap done this morning. I stepped out into this:

So, a garage workout it was. I got every one to the places they needed to be, and I got my workout done:

20 feet up push ups
20 Kb cleans (30 lb bells used)
20 step ups (holding the same Kbs) height was at my knees
15 hanging knees tucks
20 seated knee tucks

My abs and butt are feeling this one, I have to tell you.

I ate this today:

Breakfast: eggs and ham. Water to drink

Snack: coffee on the way in, tea later.

Lunch: small bowl of pasta, small piece of bread. Coffee to drink

Dinner: ham and another small helping of pasta. Water to drink.

Monday Nov 28

Mondays usually suck. This one was merely ok.

I got up, made lunch for the kids and my wife, and got them off to their respective places for the day. I got back to my house and discovered that I was alone. Totally alone ... for the first time in about 15 months. Whoa. That was really a profound thing.

I got to crank my tunes in the garage, I farted a lot and scratched myself. I also got a 4km run in, then did some work on kettlebell snatch.

I did two rounds of 30 KB snatches each side. I used the 30 lb bell.

I got to work, did my thing and then went home, then went back to work.

Meh, not a terrible day; not a bad day. Just a Monday.

Right ate this:

Breakfast: smoothie: frozen fruit, milk.

Snack: coffee on the way in

Lunch: lasagna and a sandwich

Snack: tea

Dinner: chicken soup - was actually yummy.

Felt good at the end of night school, but had a freshly cooked ham wrap. Then went to bed early.

Sunday Nov 27

Again, I went to bed early - it's a nice habit to be starting, especially with the stuff that's been going down around here lately. Anyway, I'm already breaking this streak as I write this, as it is 11:00pm.

I'm going to be right after I post this.

I got up nice and early and started my run before anyone was awake today. I got back and the living room was packed. Not bad run, either. My legs are sore, but I wanted something done before I got into a "hurry up and wait" kind of a day.

The rest of the day is a blur, plretty much.

I know I ate ok:

Breakfast: tuna and salad wraps, coffee to drink

Snack: walnuts, water to drink

Lunch: coffee while out driving with my son, trying to get him to nap.

Snack popcorn

Dinner: tomato soup, a few crackers, water to drink.

That being done, I'm off to bed. G'night, interwebs!

Saturday Nov 26

Got up this morning early - like 6am. I had eight hours of sleep - eight. Awesome. I woke up to find out that Mac won the Vanier Cup... and I couldn't care less. Actually I thought about how much less money the Wrestling team is going to get as a direct result of the victory. Goodness knows that when the Wrestling team won the CIAU Championships back in 1994, Wrestling got nothing more than a pat on the back...

Oh, and the President of the University's husband poking fun at us.

The funny thing is that when the UNB hockey team won the CIAU championships a few years ago, the Wrestling team was already demoted to a club, not a team. Friggin' awesome. Meh, whatever. I'm so used to being ignored as an athlete, I've almost taken it as usual.

What will happen to those young men when they get too old to play football anymore? They'll live on today - the wonderful cheers they got last night and today - for the rest of their lives. And they'll get fat and never do a thing about it, as they lack the tools.

I've got the tools and I'm working on it - I'm getting stronger and leaner as we speak.

This morning's workout was a short run - all three kids were awake when I left and we're kind of having a hanging out day today. Later, we did a gymnastics/MovNat workout in my garage gym. Sorry no pics, the iPhone was busy rocking out. I also did some rolling on my legs. They're sore.

Breakfast : left over pizza

Snack coffee

Lunch grilled cheese sandwich, water to drink.

Dinner small bowl of pasta, water to drink.

As I look back at what I ate today ... not so good, not so good. I will have to do better. After my run I was 236.

Friday Nov 25

I was feeling pretty sluggish today - I have a long week set up for myself and it's looking like it's going to jsut get longer and longer. Which is ok; I am blessed with enough strength to make it through it in any event.

I got my kids delivered to school and got into my gym to get this done five rounds:

20 step ups with 10 lb dbs in each hand - height was at my knees.
10 hanging bent leg raises
20 feet up push ups
20 BW squats

My butt is going ot be pretty sore tomorrow. I did look at an econo prowler, they are about 160 bucks; I feel as though I wasted the money I invested int he one I built and never repaired. Ah well, lesson learned.

I ate this today;

Breakfast: ham and poached eggs, water to drink.

snack; coffee on the way in

lunch: was pot luck at my work today. Meat balls, pizza ... heck I got a chance to try things I never normally do. Awesome

Dinner: small slice of left over pizza.

I went to bed early - about 10pm. I'm feeling this week.

Wed and Thursday

Man, Wednesday. What a 24 hour period of absolute nuttiness, made crazier than usual by needing to stay networked with people, extra working and all kinds of other crapola.

Man, whoosh!

Didn't get to workout - had to get to work early. Made it there, then got get into my pile of a to do list that was waiting for me. Sheesh! After that, it was home to pick up two kids then off to my night shift. Eek. I finally got to bed about midnight - but should have gone to bed a lot earlier. I'm bushed today.

Wednesday, I ate well:

Breakfast: roast beef and eggs, water to drink

Snack: coffee on the way in

Lunch tuna on salad

Dinner: roast beef, veggie and salad wraps. Water to drink

Thursday, I woke up, got the kids to school and then got my workout in. I didn't have a lot of time (wow, really - what a surprise!) so I got a set of mats out and just started to move:

20 BW squats
15 bench flies (25 lb DBs used)
10 hanging knee tucks
20 push ups

Did five rounds and then had to get on with getting to work.

Ate this:

Breakfast: Belt at tim Hortons, coffee to drink

Snack tea

Lunch tuna sandwich, water, water and more water

Dinner ham from the slow cooker, veggies and water to drink.

I got a 4km run in, tonight. Felt pretty good after, but I'm ready for bed now.

Tuesday Nov 22

I just didn't feel like lifting today - I'm trying to get more running in and I'm feeling as though things in the gym are getting a little stagnant. That, and I looked at the weather for the next few days: it's not going to be pretty.

Ate this:

Breakfast: egg and roast beef. water to drink

Snack coffee on the way to work

Lunch tuna on salad, water to drink

Snack: cuppa tea

Dinner salad, rice and roast beef wrap, water to drink.

So, I ran today, a nice short one, which my wife was grateful for. I got home to a bit of a mess - got the youngest in the car and off they went to a doctor's appointment. I got to work and then just stayed busy the rest of the day. I got home, saw my wife out the door to pick up two of my children from school, then went out for an interview. After that, I got home, had a bite to eat and got the baby in bed, the girls in bed and then am just sitting here, pondering what the heck I did today.

Woof!

Monday Nov 21

OK, so ... yeah. I got my workout done this morning. It was kind of different being able to be loud for a change, as my youngest is now in daycare. I'm almost out of the woods, at least in terms of companies phoning me non-stop. I do, however, need nigh school next semester and something else to help bring in coin. Things are tight all over, but I need to think about paying the bills.

I watched a bit of the film "Warrior" today. Man, there's a scene in it, where the Science teacher character meets with his Principal and has bruises on his face. I mean, I've already done that in my teaching career, and I can't say that I would have been as nice to me as my boss was at the time. The dude in the film got suspended for fighting. Me ... I was playing rugby, but the point is made. There is another scene - the one that I had to stop watching so I could make it to work on time - in which the Science teacher character is asking to be trained for fighting by an old buddy. Synchronicity.

I got this done, though, for four rounds:

20 Zercher squats, 45 lb sand bag used
20 feet up push ups
20 seated knee tucks
20 kb swings (53 lb kb used)
10 ab roll outs
5 chin ups

After that, I got back into the house and I was alone. No little kid looking to be helped, diaper to be changed... it was nice. I miss him a lot, but it was nice to get work done instead of changing a diaper. I even got my lunch packed for the next few days, too.

I ate well, too:

Breakfast: roast beef and poached eggs, piece of bread, water

snack: coffee on the way in to work

Lunch Tuna on salad. Water to drink.

Dinner salad and roast beef wraps. With Srachi Sauce. That was tasty.

After nigh school ; nada

Saturday and sunday

So, I went for a run early Saturday morning. I have a few activities coming up that revolve around running and so, I was thinking I needed to run.

I checked my Nike+ account Sunday night after a second run ... and I was right disappointed with myself. less than 200kms run this year. At least with my iPhone. My account usually goes dormant during the rugby season; but it was dormant for almost the entire year. One of those resolution thingys, to be sure for 2012.

I mean, I worked out - a lot more this year than in other years - I just didn't run. I'm thinking that isn't a good thing.

In any case, I ran early Saturday morning, ate well until the annual Centaur's banquet. Then I ate awesome. Roast beef almost an inch thick. Roast pig with veggies... oh, it was awesome food.

Sunday I was not feeling well, surprise, surprise. I had coffee and water to try and get myself moving, but it wasn't until after church and a nap that I felt even decently able to move. I stretched a little, but mostly waited. Finally at about 9:30pm, got my run in for the day.

On with Monday.

Friday Nov 18

So, I spent the day off line, sort of, at a thing hosted by my employer. I was on Twitter - the dude at the front of the room had his twitter account on the big screen at the front of the room and I kept twittering so as to appear on the big screen.

More details on my Professional Development blog - email me for the URL.

After the show, I get back to my school and I see this:



for time:

30 chin ups,
60 push ups
90 BW squats

I'm down with that...

Too bad no one in my family would help out by going to bed on time. Meh, it's a dad's life, man.

Thursday Nov 17

Got out of bed still feeling sore from Tuesday. I knew I needed to do work today. Got this done for four rounds before my skills as a dad were needed:

20 zercher squats - 45-50 lb BTB used
20 TRX Body rows
20 feet up push ups
20 seated knee tucks
20 KB swings (53 lb bell used)
10 ab roll outs

ate this today:

Breakfast: hamm and scrambled eggs, coffee to drink

Snack: coffee and water

Lunch: tuna on salad, water to drink

Snack: various snackables of low to non existant nutritional value. Water and or coffee

Dinner: chicken with rice. water to drink.

S'all good about that snack - wasn't very much, man.

Wed Nov 16

Man, I registered for the Spartan Race last night ... got the extra early price too. Still trying to get some of the characters from my rugby club to come along, but w/e.

I got into my garage this morning and just streched and did some mobility and static holds today. I am rather sore this morning from yesterday's workout. I did check weight and I was 237 today. Which is progress, I guess.

I ate this:

Breakfast: Tim Horton's belt ... 500 calories of yum. Coffee to drink.

Snack coffee

Lunch tuna sandwich .... slice of pizza and water

Dinner ham sandwich, mustard on rye bread.

After night school diet: nada


I got to work, set up my sched for the day and was promptly smacked in the head with this video:

Tues November 15

Oh, man. I did a workout this morning that was pretty tough and long:

five rounds of;
20 zelcher squats, using BTB ~45-50 lbs
20 KB swings, 20 kilo bell used
10 trx body rows
20 feet up push ups
20 seated knee tucks
15 bench flies - 30 lb db used
10 ab roll outs

took me about 35-40 minutes to get it done. I'm bushed. I tried to get a couple of shots of the last round, but my iPhone slipped. I got some nice pics of the ceiling of the gym instead... I'd like to get some sort of a tripod rigged up. Meh, I got a whole bunch of other things to worry about in the short term. Maybe this'll go on my wish list...

In any case, I ate this:

Breakfast: smoothie - frozen mixed berries, milk and protein powder.

Snack:coffee

Lunch: tuna sandwich, water

Snack: more water

Dinner: pancakes with a little maple syrop with the family.

Monday Nov 14

Normally, I hate Mondays. I think it's just the start of another long week of morbid lock step decent.

I am, of course, kidding. Mondays are usually the one day where people tend to leave me alone to get crap done that I avoided doing since Friday. Today, however, I got a chance to make some decisions in my life and a bit of clarity is always welcome. I step forward into a new paradyme.

I any case, while I was letting someone else do my work for me (seriously, don't take that the wrong way, they did my work voluntarily. I really think it would have been easier for me to do the work, but I digress) ... and I got this website emailed to me. Seems Demonbells are going to be the next big thing. Too bad that there is no shipping to addresses outside of the US for the time being...

Anyway, I had a guest training with me today:

I'm so blessed by this little guy, and his sisters, too. And their mother. Who else would put up with the likes of me?

Anyway, only had like 25 minutes to train today, and I got this done AMRAP:

20 BW squats
20 feet up push ups
20 KB swings (53 lb bell used)
20 mountain climbers/man makers
20 seated knee tucks

I think I did four rounds, if not then I got five rounds done. Either way I was pretty sweaty and felt good at the end of it. I had to go and be a dad after this.

Breakfast: nothing but coffee

Snack: water

Lunch: Tim Horton's lasagna. Coffee and bread.

Dinner: pasta and a small piece of garlic bread. Milk to drink.

After night school eating: nada

Friday Saturday and Sunday Nov 11-13

Well Friday was a back to work day. I felt marginally better after being puked on most of Thursday. However, it's all good.

Ate well, chose to not workout as I was still recovering from illness and got to bed early. It's been interesting, man

Saturday was a lot better - I got a bodyweight workout done as the sun set, which is about 4pm here, nowadays. Got this done for four rounds:

20 BW squats
20 seated knee tucks
20 push ups

Then I had to go be a dad.

On Sunday, ate ok - still not where I want to be with the diet, but whatever. Got to watching this, though and got inspired to workout:



Did this workout five rounds:

20 bw squats
20 feet up push ups
20 mountain climbers
single combative drills:

double leg attacks
bjj legs up
hip hikes
high hip hikes
Roger reversals
Roger pick ups

then I got the inch ropes around Roger and worked on my arm throws.

I was pretty sweaty at the end of this. I felt awesome.

Thursday Nov 10

I hated this day.

Hated.

I got nothing done, didn't eat well, and got barfed on.

Hated today.

Wed Nov 9

OK, I am still pretty sore - not sure from what ... might be a long rugby season, might be from the KB lifting yesterday or over the weekend ... might be the wear from doing extra work.... might be a piss poor diet.... I dunno. Just feeling sore.

Did get a workout in, though. Had to.

Did this for four rounds:

Indian club work - castings, rotations, "Other" ... both single and double handed exercises. Pretty cool.
20 BW Squats
20 seated knee tucks

lots of stretching before and after this workout. Like I say, not sure what is going on.

Ate this:

Breakfast: steak wraps with veggies. Not just for lunch or dinner anymore... water to drink.

Snack: coffee on the way in.

Lunch I skipped this mean

Dinner: roast beef wraps. Water to drink.

Tues Nov 8

Right ... I got this done today:

20 bw squats
20 push ups
20 kb swings
5 chin ups
10 ab roll outs

I did that workout four rounds, then did 2 minute goes on kettlebell snatches. I got 45 each side

I ate this:

B : bacon BELT and coffee

Snack water

Lunch tuna on salad, walnuts, too water to drink

Snack coffee to drink

Dinner bbq burger in a wrap, salad, water

All in all, nota bad day. I'd like to get my what I stick in my mouth under better control- today was a step in the right diection. More steps are needed.




On to Wednesday, the kookiest day of the week around here!

Monday Nov 7

....and Monday rears it's ugly head. I got a letter from my old insurance agency on Friday, so I had to go into their Hamilton offices this morning ... which meant no Monday morning workout. Night school is on tonight, which also usually means no after work workout, either.

At least the way I was awoken this morning can bring a smile. My middle child tickled me awake at 6am .... I'd be upset, but it was pretty funny, man.

Ate this:

Breakfast: roast beef and salad wrap, coffee to drink.

Snack coffee

Lunch:tuna sandwich

dinner: roast beef and salad in a wrap. Water to drink

After night school eatings:

Sunday Nov 6

Ugh, what a day.

This was a day I was looking for, but I really didn't know what to expect. To be frank, I was more than a smidgen disappointed. I went to the East York KB Club's Snatch event at Strengthbox. Always a great place to go, I really think quite highly of the place. Heck, I have almost all the same equipment they do, just a lot less knowledge.

And ... today showed me, I have a lot less ability with the kettlebell.

I didn't eat very well, I was woken up early and .. lot of stuff went wrong with the day. But, I gotta tell you ... 121 snatches in six minutes isn't what I was looking for. I was looking for a lot more than that, to be frank.

In any case, I will get better at doing this; I mean, where else can I go but up? Still it was a well run event, which ran on time - something which people don't think is important, but I feel is.

Sat 5th november

Yeah, it's the day. Imma watch Natalie Portman help blow crap up tonight and set up a meeting to move my money out of a regular bank. Perhaps set up an investment portfolio or something like that.

I did a pretty long stretching workout today with all three of my children in the gym today. Lots of back and legs stretching, planks and ab work. My kids were busy putting stuff on the mats and just playing in general space with things. It was cool to have the little one do a few somersaults and laugh when he finished them. This was for about an hour, although the little guy lasted about half that before he got hungry.

I ate this today:

Breakfast: roast beef and veggies. Oh, this was good. Coffee and water to drink.

Lunch: tuna and salad wraps. Water and milk to drink.

Dinner: roast beef wrap with salad and veggies. Water to drink. Was aiight day for a diet, man. Tomorrow is the Kettlebell competition, so I need to keep clear of bad things. Watching some informational and inspirational videos online at the moment, trying hard not to think about the Cogeco bill I am going to get this month...

Friday Nov 4

I didn't get a morning workout in, as I had to get to work early. I got to work, said hello to the boss and retreated t my workspace.

I need to work on getting batter at technology, and I noticed a buddy currently in China was online, so I called him on Skype. ...and it worked! I can now say that I Skype with people (ok person) in another country.

I'm cool, my mom says so.

Anyway, I had to get to work so I stopped at a Tim Hortons for breakfast.

Breakfast: Egg and tomato on a bagel. Coffee to drink

Lunch Tim Horton's bowl of chilli, coffee to drink. Water after

Dinner Pizza. Meh, I know I this is not a great diet. I know that I am failing myself when I eat this crap.

After dinner walk to a bar and meet up with a work/rugby buddy for a pint. I did.

Thursday Nov 3

This morning had to be a dad - my wife respected me enough to get her Dentist to open at 8am, so that I wouldn't be late for work. I missed my morning workout, but that's ok for a Thursday. I'm off for a run after school, I think.

ate this:

Breakfast: Salmon and eggs. Coffee and water to drink

Snack: coffee on the way in.

Lunch: Tuna Sandwich, lots of water

Dinner: Chicken breast and salad. Glass of red wine with it ... I know, shouldn't have done that, but I did.

Wed Nov 2

Ah, yes ... Wednesday. It's the toughest day in my house, as I have my regular job and a night shift as well. My wife has a class and my father comes over to look after my kids. They get excited to see him and freak out .... and no one is really happy about any of that. Tonight, to top it all off, my oldest will be at the local church taking a class, too.

Makes for a day I'd rather skip, to be frank.

Anyways, I got this rather easy workout done today:

40 KB snatches
stretching
wrestling technique/drills

did that four rounds. Lots of stretching, man. Still tight and sore from rugby. Plus that, a little burnt out, if you must know.

Ate this:

Breakfast: steak and eggs. Coffee to drink

Lunch Tuna sandwich, water to drink.

Dinner Pasta and a bit of left over lasagna. Meh, not the best meal, but it was edible. That, and full of carbs.

Post night shift:nada

Need to work, start including some gymnastics in my workouts, man. Might be the ticket to getting past the niggling injuries and stiffness I'm feeling...

Tuesday Nov 1

OK, man ... November is usually the worst month of the year for people with my job. In the last few years, I've tried growing a moustache for Movember, writing a fifty thousand word novel for Nanowrimo and all kinds of fundraising stuff.

This year, I'm just going to keep moving forward.

I've got a lot on my plate this year, and the people around me are depending on me. I need to tuck in, use the tools I already have and take advantage of every opportunity given to me to just move the yardsticks a smidgen forward. Every bleeping day.

Right, I felt like crap this morning, but I knew that i had to get a workout in before work. I got my ass into the gym and got this done for four rounds:

20 Kb snatches
stretching - mostly yoga poses and holds
20 BW squats
20 sitting knee tucks
20 push ups

by the end, I felt a crap load better than I did before the workout. I can't say I felt awesome, but I felt better.

I ate this:

Breakfast: sausage, egg and tomato on a bagel. Water then coffee to drink.

Snack: coffee at work.

Lunch: Tuna sandwich, veggies and water.

Dinner: lasagna and salad, water to drink.

Kids had a lot of candy from Halloween. We're giving a lot of it away.

Monday Oct 31

Yeah, Hallowe'en. Whatever.

I got this done for four rounds today:

7-10 tire squats (Still with lots of extra weight inside)
10 TRX body rows
20 feet up push ups
20 sitting knee tucks
15 dB flies (40 lbs used)
20 Kb snatches
30 second wall assisted hand stands

I got something done, if only to say that I got something done. Still sore from rugby on Saturday.

I ate this:

Breakfast: salmon and eggs, coffee and protein fruit smoothie to drink.

Lunch: tuna on salad, water to drink

Snack: water water an water

Dinner: chicken quesadilla with salad and water to drink.

After night school - a beer and then bed. I'm friggin' tired.

Random pic:

Thursday, Friday and Saturday and Sunday Oct 27 to 30

Well, sorry about that. Life just keeps getting in the way.

Ah well, here we go:

Thursday was an off day; off, as in I didn't train in the morning as I knew I was going to rugby training at night. The evening training session was the last one for the year and it went quite well. A lot ... I mean A LOT of stretching afterwards. I've been selected to start in the finals on Saturday.

Friday was a stretching and prep day. I did get into the gym today - but did nothing but stretch, with a focus on rolling my legs and neck.

Saturday is a rugby day:

They were a bitter team - there was a lot of niggling stuff around the rucks and mauls - lots of bitter crap from both sides. The final play had one of our players (not me) run from about 15 feet away and punch on of their players just below the eye. In the after game handshake, there was a nice big mouse showing up. Lots of that crap the whole game. I can honestly say I thought I did my regular job - set piece - and got around the pitch rather well. I felt pretty sure that I beat my man. The confirmation of that was when I got moved to hooker, the guy coming in told me that the guy I'd just finished pummelling was "toast". That is to say, I left nothing for my teammate to do but finish wiping the floor with my man.

After the game, however, I managed to leave my cleats, my nice shirt and a Canada hoodie in the change room. Yeah, I was in a rush to get home for my wife's birthday.

Sunday ... well Sunday I kept my head low and got things done. In the end I did do a 4 kilometer run. It was nice and slow, just to try and get the kinks out and to say that Wrestling season has started. On to 210!

Wed Oct 26

Felt a lot better after getting a full night sleep and then some.

Did this for four rounds this morning:

20 BW squats
10 pec flies with 40 lb dbs
5 chin ups
20 sitting knee tucks
20 KB snatches (40 lb bell used)
wall assisted hand stands - 30 sec holds

Ate this:

Breakfast: meat on a bun, coffee to drink

Snack: coffee

Lunch: tuna on salad, prunes and walnuts. Water to drink.

Dinner pasta and a small slab of meat from yesterday. Water to drink.

Then I went to night school. What an adventure that was... on with Thursday!

Tuesday Oct 25

OK, was up with my child three times last night. Felt like a zombie for the rest of the day...so, just some stretching and gentle yoga this morning for workout.

For the rest of the day, though, I was just walking around like I was after brains...

I ate this:

Breakfast - tuna on crackers, OJ to drink. Coffee on the way in.

Lunch - tuna on salad, prunes and walnuts. Water to drink

Snack coffee

Dinner: BBQed meat with veggies, salad. Water to drink.

All in all, not a bad day for a diet, but just exhausted.

Monday Oct 25

Still sore from Saturday's game. rather an odd feeling, too. Unpleasant at the best of times. I did some further set up of my garage this morning and did this for three rounds before having to get myself ready for work:

10 BW squats
8-10 bicep curls
10 triceps extensions (40 lb barbell used)
20 seated knee tucks

I ate this:

Breakfast was poached eggs and roast beef with coffee to drink

Snack: water

Lunch: tuna on salad, walnuts and prunes. Water to drink

Dinner - well, I had more eggs and roast beef. Meh, w/e. OJ to drink this time.

After my evening class, I am used to getting home and cracking open a beer. I didn't do that this time. I didn't HAVE an beer in the house to drink. So, I got on the internet and did some reading about creating a digital learning environment. Kinda cool, actually.

Still waiting to hear if I get into a class/learning experience with my employer. Might be a cool way to challenge myself this winter. Oh, and Nanowrimo is coming up, too.

Sat and Sunday

Saturday is ... a rugby day. Started at loose head prop and stayed there all game. Scrummaging was weird on that side...

a pic of a team mate, the lousy pitch and the weather. Seriously, that was a crappy pitch to play on... lots of seagulls overhead, so literally crappy. And people on my team kept peeing on the pitch, which I found rather odd.

Played the full game and got a few touches of the ball and stole it in open play, too. Made a few nice tackles around the rucks and a really nice play in which I supported my player, who batted the ball back while in the air into my hands ... took a few steps forward, drew a defender towards me and then made a nice pass out to a centre ... bing, bing, bing ... we score on the side. W00t!

Anyways, after the game, I was moving rather slowly. Lots of scrummages against two of the fattest, less fit props I've had to hit this season. Seriously, we were about equal in the set pieces except after a while I was getting the better of the first as I wasn't tired ... then the second larger prop came on and really didn't know what he was doing. Not really. But he was fresh and so we were about equal. But in open play, man, I was outdistancing them by a long shot. Fitness makes for better players ... and a better time on the field.

Sunday was really really slow. I wasn't hungover, I was really sore. Lots of stretching and cleaning. I saw that I needed to clean up the garage Monday. I started with this:

and .... finished with this:

and I watched the highlights of the World Cup Final Sunday morning ... I'm happy that New Zealand beat France. I'll download the game and watch it later.

W00t!

Friday Oct 21

Im doing this post under duress ... Im on my iPad, after updating it to iOS 5, and i installed the Blogger app, too. So far, so good.

Today was aweird one... no morning training, early to work and waaaaay too much free coffee

Ah well, tomorrow is rugby

Last thing: couldn't do the Trek or Treat run, no way of paying for it. Kinda sad, really.

Thurs

Thursday is a training day - rugby training that is...

I got up in time to finish off a pain in the butt project for work, and I got it done. I didn't work out in the morning, as I knew that I had rugby in the evening. Meh, whatever.

I ate this:

Breakfast: belt and coffee on the way in to work

Lunch: tuna sandwich and a slice of pizza - not the greatest, I know.

Snack: water, water and water

Dinner: steak wrap - tomato, steak, salad and hot peppers in a wrap. Awsome.

After training snack: chili wrap, with hot sauce. Yummy, but I'll pay for it tomorrow. With beer.

Rugby training was inside a dome on turf. Man, every time I touched the ball, something bad happened. Just brutal. Seems I'll be starting on Saturday, though. Dunno, they haven't done the selections yet.

Wednesday Oct 19

Ok, got to get this down before it pops out of my head

I did four rounds of this before my left knee started to crunch. Probably a good idea to shut it down for the day:

6-8 dead lifts of the tire, with extra weight inside it.
10 TRX Body rows
20 feet up push ups
20 KB two handed swings (53 lb KB used)
20 knee tucks on the bench press
10 bicep curls
10 triceps extensions (40 lbs used for both)
20 lunges with 25 lbs overhead
wall assisted hand stand holds for 30 seconds

Just after the last set of lunges, my left knee told me to stop. So, I finished the round -no weight bearing exercises after that - and called it a day.

I ate this:

Breakfast: eggs and bacon, coffee

Snack: water

Lunch: tuna sandwich, water

Dinner: pasta and water to drink.

Then went off to night school.

Tuesday Oct 18

OK, so today is a day that is just a hard one to keep up with - really an up and down day. It starts with an alarm clock that didn't go off, as I forgot to set it - really ... who does that?

I get my kids up, and the one that usually gives me the most grief about getting out of bed, rushes downstairs and gets breakfast ready, dresses and waits for me by the door. My youngest slept in ... my wife got up and decides to spend her time opening mail .... in which she finds a 600 check for me. So ... I guess my mortgage won't bounce this week... which is a very good thing, man.

I tried to do the online registration for the Trek or Treat night running race, but the credit cards are all maxed out and they're pissed at me. So ... money gets in my way, again...

I ate this today:

Breakfast at Tim Horton's, as I waited for the bank to open

Lunch: tuna sandwich

Dinner chicken with veggies and rice. Beer to drink. Kinda nice to be able to eat with the family.

Picture is not related

Monday Oct 17

While on my run last night and again this morning, I just know that I have to get somewhere to roll this winter. And fast.

And so, I go though my links and find the BreakingPoint MMA link and contact them for a quick tour tonight before I pick up my girls, then head off for night school. Could be interesting...

In any case, I did a light workout this morning, as I am still feeling Saturday's game and Sunday's run:

light KB warm up - like 5 minutes, easily then four rounds of:

20 two handed KB swings
20 seated knees to chest
10 KB snatches
10 Superman planks (20 second holds)

at the end, I was sweaty, which is what I wanted. My hip extensors muscles are still hurting, and I just wanted them working. I had to be off my feet for most of the day, for which I was eternally grateful...

Breakfast: tomato and bacon sandwich, coffee to drink

Snack coffee and water to drink

Lunch tuna sandwich and more water

Dinner: Ham with rice and water to drink. Three small M&M cookies for dessert.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Well, again ... hmm ... not making the time to write my posts. How frustrating is THAT/ I'm getting the work done, though.

Friday I was stretching and rolling in the basement, trying to get my legs working. After I got the kids to bed, I went for a short run.

Saturday, of course, is a rugby day. I played the full game - started at hooker, then went to tight head, then to loose head. Yup, I can play all three front row positions. The awesome thing was that they really didn't have a front row. They had guys who knew to do the basics... and no push behind them. It was a long day, though. Cold, and rainy and generally crappy conditions. Won the game and a pint, though.

Sunday was a long day, too. Up early to watch the New Zealand QF game. I thought it was a pretty damn good game, though. Lots of Kiwis on facebook couldn't stand the fact that I kept pointing out to them that an Australian based team won the Super 15 this year. Meh, whatever. Lots of tight muscles, man. I hurt all over... lots of stretching and I took a nice warm bath.

Went for a 4k run after the kids were in bed, too. I think that was overdoing it, but I did it anyways.

Thurs oct 13

OK, I'm still getting back at it. I dropped by the Tapout Burlington place on my way home ... deciding to take some action... and there was no one in the office ready to take my money. I did get a quick tour of the place.... which hasn't changed much since I did the tour in August. The gentleman I was speaking with told me he was hoping for a mid-December opening...

Mid December. Yup. I'm not sure what they are doing there, but the announced this places' opening in March or February. Seriously, there isn't much building going on. I'm going to call after noon today to actually try and speak to someone. If not, I'm going to move on. I need to roll in October and November. Just no sure when that might fit into a schedule.

I ate this:

Breakfast: roast beef ans scrambled eggs. Water to drink, coffee on the way in.

Lunch: tuna sandwich. Water to drink

Dinner: a beef wellington of sorts. Pastry with two types of meat, and cheese baked in the over. It was pretty good. Veggies and salad. Water to drink.

I was going to work out int he morning, but was caught by my son, so I played instead of working out. After dinner, I took my daughter to her choir practice and then went to my own rugby training. I did this for three rounds after the training session:

10 BW squats
10 regular push ups
30 second planks

We're still playing, which is awesome. Next game is on Saturday and I will be subbing, much to my chagrin.

Ah well, on with Friday.

Wed Oct 12

Back at it today. I woke up a little late and got a 4km run completed in just over 20 minutes. I got home, did some KB snatch sets to get ready for Novembers Snatch competition. That, and I was just looking to get back into the gym.

I ate this:

Breakfast: roast beef and eggs, apple cider to drink. Coffee on the way in.

Lunch Tuna sandwich, veggies. Water to drink.

Dinner: left over turkey, stuffing and rice. Water

After work I had two glasses of red wine before going to bed. I also downloaded a bunch of material that I am now just getting to. Lots of Turbulance Training for fat loss and other stuff. Looks good.

Thursday Oct 6 to Tuesday Oct 11

What a waste of time. I'm just going to point out two salient facts:

!) I injured myself by not warming up. I'm still in some pain, but, life goes on.

2) Thanksgiving is a useless holiday, and unlike most other useless holidays, this one felt like crap.

That is all.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

OK, so I'm catching up, finally with this blog.

Friday I got a phone call from home, just before lunch. Seems my youngest hit my wife in the eye with something and it split something inside. Not a good way to start off the weekend. I spoke to the boss, who let me leave to care for my family. I got the two of them into the van, to the hospital and then home for a rest. After that it was my time to take care of, well, almost everything.

Saturday, normally a rugby day, was spent caring for my family. They needed me waaaaay more than my rugby team did. Meh, whatever. I did some light body weight stuff in my garage during the day.

Sunday I got a more of the same, except that I took the day off of training, getting some long walks in with my two smaller children. We also looked at Hallowe'en costumes.

Monday I was back at it, sort of. Did this five rounds:

30 swings
20 push ups
15 sitting knees to chest
5 chin ups
20 BW squats

Tuesday was a recovery and cleaning day - my relatives are coming over this coming Monday and I was needed to move furniture and clean. Ugh.

Wednesday... ah, finally we are caught up.

This morning did this five rounds:

30 KB swings
20 push ups
15 sitting knees to chest
20 BW squats
10 lying side arches with a KB on my chest

I really wasn't feeling it this morning, but I got something down, as I needed to get something done. I'm getting a little tired of a lot of stuff - and it's only October...

Thursday Sept 29

Oh, things are changing slightly these days ... gone are the days of going for a relaxing walk with the family after a nice dinner in shorts and a t-shirt. Man, the fact of the matter is, we're friggin' busy.

Unreal.



Anyway, I'm also working my way though Convict Conditioning, a rather interesting tome on working out with just your body weight. Rather cool. I included some of the midsection material in today's workout:

Five rounds of
30 KB swings
20 BW squats
20 second wall assisted hand stands
15 knee tucks
5 chin ups
20 push ups

It was cool, man. Good tunes today, too. Just didn't feel like killing myself today, not really. Body was and is hurting from .. I don't know. .... "stuff"?

Ate this today:

Breakfast: Steak and scrambled eggs, water to drink

Snack: coffee on the way in

Lunch ; Tuna sandwich, veggies. Water

Dinner small bowl of pasta

Post rugby snack: a pint of beer

After training, I did a ladder, of sorts:

10 push ups and 1 BW squat, all the way to 10 BW squats and 1 push up. Between switching, I did a 20 m sprint. I also got a sneak peak at the selection list for Saturday. I was reading it upside down and ... I don't think I was on the list. That's what happens when you don't make it to rugby training. Ok, well...on with Friday.

Wed Sept 28

So ... today was supposed to be a rest day, but since I had a light day yesterday, I figured I could do the same today. I went for a 20 minute run and did two one minute sets of kettlebell snatch for each arm.

I got 25 reps per side for both the 30 and the 40 lb bell. Since I'm no math guy, I figured I'd write it out here; 25 reps per minute, times five minutes is 125 reps for one side. And I have two sides ... so 250 reps. Hmmm. Not sure I'd get that high on November 6th, but it might be interesting to try ... lol. 237 on the scale.

In any case, after that, I ate this:

Breakfast: eggs and chicken breast. Water to drink.

Snack: coffee on the way into work.

Lunch: tuna, veggies and water

Dinner: steak, veggies and water

After night school ; water.

Tues Sept 27

I woke up pretty cranky today, but I'm glad to write that my family were really nice to me. Kids were listening to me and everything (so far) went off without too much of a hitch.

Got to work and it was fairly slow, so I pulled out my copy of Convict Conditioning (on my laptop) and read a few pages from the Abdominal section. I can recall feeling a lot of pain after doing some of these movements. I'm pretty sure I can add some of them back into my training without really hurting myself. Well, I'll at least try, anyways.

I still felt kinda crappy from yesterday's workout, so I kept it short and good:

Four rounds of:
20 KB swings (40 lb kb used)
10 KB snatches each side
20 crunches (yeah, I know, I know)
10 ab side flexes (see pic)
20 BW squats



Did some light stretching to start and finish.

I ate this:

Breakfast: smoothie: frozen berries, milk and chocolate protein powder. Deelish. Coffee on the way in.

Lunch: tuna sandwich, veggies and water to drink.

Snack water, water and more water

Dinner: Roast beef and veggie wraps. Lots of Sarachi sauce, which simply made things awesome.

I'm glad to report that I honestly tried to stay up and watch the Canada v Japan game, which of course ended in a tie. I'm going ot blame myself, of course. If I had been up, Canada would have won .... ;)

Sunday and Monday Sept 26

Sunday was a day of recovery. Lots of foam rolling, stretching. I did work up a bit of a sweat with my kids in my garage, but nothing major. Just too many of them and only one very sore me.

My ankles were are fire, man. I dunno if that's the game I play, or me. I'm icing them a day later.

I any case, on Monday, I was pretty happy with a weight check (238) and did a really good workout. I did this for five rounds:

8-10 tire deadlifts - got up to 190lbs inside the tire, plus the weight of the tire
10 TRX body rows
20 feet up push ups
20 KB swings - 44lb bell used
10 bicep curls (40 lbs used)
10 triceps extensions
20 weight overhead lunges (25lb plate used)
10 knees to chest while hanging off the chin up bar




Man, that was grueling. I'm pretty sure I'll be sore tomorrow.

Ate this:

After training breakfast: protein smoothie: powder, milk and frozen berries in the blender.

Snack: coffee on the way into work

Lunch: tuna sandwich, veggies with hummus and pita. Water to drink.

Dinner: Roast beef, rice and veggies. Water to drink.


Monday wasn't nearly as ugly as I thought it was going to be. On top of that Canada is about to play rugby v Japan. It'll be awesome.

Wed, thurs, fri and sat Sept 24

Oh, man ... I send this link to someone and figure it's all good .. then realize that I've not posted in a few days. Ugh

Wednesday was an off day - everything was sore, man. I ate well, though. Need to be more focused on my food, though.

Thursday I did this five rounds in my gym:

20 BW squats
20 feet up push ups
20 Kb swings (53 KB used)
5 chin ups

It wasn't hectic, but I was pressed for time. I did eat well, but missed Rugby training in the evening. I'm just glad I got this done

Friday was also an off day, as I made arrangements to play rugby Saturday with another club. Meh, w/e. Steak and eggs for breakfast, tuna for lunch. A big salad for dinner. I also watcher Inside Job in the evening. Banks suck.

On Saturday, of course, I played rugby. I felt I played ok - certainly I did almost 100% in the set piece. A few times I completely crapped the bed, man. I was working with a rather weak set of backs, though. It got to the point where if we lost a set piece, the other team scored. I will be playing against the same team for my regular club sometime in the next few weeks, and I'll see some better back play, I'm sure.

I did an awful lot of recovery stretching after today's game - I had the boniest shoulder pressing into me for most of the game today. My left hamstring needs more beer. Everything else was cool Good to run into a few friends from years gone by today and make some new friends, too.

On with Sunday.

Sept 20 ... renew a wish list

So about a year ago, I put together a wish list for myself. I thought it was about time I gave an update and point into the future.

1. Longer barbell/bar and plates - my current 6 foot bars only let me put 150 lbs on, as a combination of length and thickness of the plates I own. I'll get a pic up later to show what I mean.

2. I think I'd like an even bigger tire for lifting, flipping and looking cool.

3. A heater - I thought I'd really need this last February, but as it turned out, it was ok. Not 100% on this one, but I do know that I will move my KB's indoors and may have to invest in some gardening gloves for lifting this winter.

4. Boxing/grappling gloves. Still looking on Kijiji, really though, I have no idea what to look for in a decent glove.

5.Judo gi - 'nuff said.

6. Door seal. Yeah, there are now mice nibbling at the current door seal have made quite a hole for themselves. I swept out some poop this morning. Ugh.

7. Posters - 'cuz I still like looking at muscles and sweat while working my sweaty muscles.

8. Instruction - I think that if my current financial situation improves, I'll be able to afford this. But, I'd like to get on the mats, get some help with the basic lifts and train hard with people around me.

9. Battling ropes. I've had some success with playing with ropes this year, but I think it is time to bite the bullet and pony up for some real ones from extremekettlebell.com

10 rowing machine - just because the Crossfitter in me wants to stay warm and dry inside my garage, rather than going out for runs in the snow.

Things I've gotten done:

1) Wrestling mats - almost 2 inches wall to wall. And they store quite nicely. Pretty happy with this purchase. Good protection and really just "ties the room together".

2)moving stuff out - last year and this fall I moved a lot of stuff either to the basement or to the curb. Loads easier to clean the gym and to move inside.

3)Got a rather cool heavy bag this winter - even got the clips off of it, too. I'd like to start punching it, though.

4)I also got a scale from my Airmiles. It's fairly accurate, although I'd never swear by it. Meh, it's cool.

5)Still struggling with finding time for reading/researching though. Now, with uTorrent, I can find almost any book or movie, the problem is that I cannot find the time to actually study them.

Anyway, on with what happened today:

I did this workout today:

1A) KB farmer Walks 4 x 150'
1B) Chin Ups 4 x 5 reps
2A) Incline DB press 4 x 15reps (30 lbs used)
2B) 1 Arm Rows 4 x 6 - 8 (53 lb KB used)
3A) Standing DB Cleans 3 x 10
3B) Curling Exercise 3 x 5
3C) Triceps Work 3 x 10
4) finishing was a ladder of KB swings and ab roll outs. Started with 10 swings and 1 roll out, finished with 1 swing and 10 ab roll outs.

Whoa, what was pretty intense. I'm pretty sore, man.

Ate this:

After training: smoothie - i scoop of protein powder, frozen fruit, a little 2% milk in a blender. Oh, that was good.

Breakfast: BELT from Tim Hortons with a coffee. Mmmm.... 500 calories never tasted so good.

lunch: tuna, veggies, water.

Dinner: chicken breast served over pasta. Water to drink.

OK, well, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow looks like a nightmare... ;)