The Last Two Months

Yeah...
I haven't been too good about updating my fitness blog since I stopped doing the daily digests...

It was a strange and crazy summer that's for sure! Trying to get ready to move and then having the whole thing fall through is really a pain!!

Some of the sites I am using to track workouts and progress though (and I've meant to write this post for a while - FINALLY getting around to it!) are the following:

• Bodybuilding.com - While I'm not fully into the full-blown body-building look. The art of building muscle is interesting to me. So I created a profile where I can track my weight and progress in a few different ways. If I ever get around to it I can join the community too!
• Runkeeper - I've used Runkeeper for quite some time and overall I like it a lot. My only problem with it now is my phone is starting to have issues, so I can't get the GPS to track my run properly. Frustrating, but still amazing that it even exists right? Plus I can always enter it manually and plot my run on the map. Awesome service.
• Nike + - for those times when Runkeeper doesn't work, I've tried Nike +... it does well when I can get it to work, but it too does all sorts of crazy things and due to my phone it too has issues with the right GPS tracking. I do like the way it handles music better than Runkeeper. Still the login screens take forever so when you are starting a race, it's hard to get it started.

Other than that - I have been doing Yoga VERY consistently (and I feel it in my shoulders when I miss - it really keeps me nice and loose) Running in prep for races, and pull ups, with occasionally other random workouts thrown in. Not horrible, but not a great way to achieve what I want. ALSO in the bad category, I have had WAY too much Sugar and Soda, and I can tell.

Saturday I ran in the Utah Marathon Relay with a team from work. We had 2 teams, the FUN team and the NOT FUN (i.e. FAST) team. Somehow they put me on the fast team! And we did amazing, got 2nd place overall and 1st place overall for the Mixed division. While I WAS the slowest on the fast team (stupid allergies, they've really given me some breathing issues lately) I was still faster than everybody on the 'Fun' team, even if it was only by a minute! Still it was great to run on a winning team. Here's my run. And here's a picture of the whole group!

This weekend I will be running in the Dirty Dash:



That looks like a TON of fun! Again this is with a team from work - I am filling in for a coworker who broke his foot. OUCH! While it will be fun, it is also a bit scary but not because it's a 10k and it will be very dirty, but because my team has a COSTUME. Short Jean Shorts, Bow Tie, Suspenders, Crazy socks if ya got 'em, and that's it!

I guess it's good Halloween preparation! And I always have fun getting into costume!

Finally - today I decided I needed (again) to get into a more intense workout schedule - so I did an Insanity Fit Test, hoping to continue the Insanity program for the 2nd (full) time. I probably won't update daily, but we'll see how it goes!

Here are the fit test results, along with the results of the one I did back in May:

• Exercise - 5/4/11 -  9/12/11
• Switch Kicks - 150 -140
• Power Jacks - 70 -69
• Power Knees - 102 -107
• Power Jumps - 82 -81 (Massive Asthma after this one yikes!)
• Globe Jumps - 14 -18
• Suicide Jumps - 28 - 26
• Push-up Jacks - 40 -42
• Low Plank Obliques - 85 - 114

Not bad, especially since I haven't been doing any of these moves since then!

Done with the Daily Digest, and More Thoughts

As you can tell, the Daily Digest is no longer being recorded.

I've still been working out a lot, just not as tracked as those I put on the daily digest.
It had served its purpose; so I won't be doing them.

As an update on today (ha, since the Daily Digest isn't happening, right?) I finally made it back to Yoga!

MAN it's amazing how much balance a fairly common yoga practice can bring into your life!

AFTER yoga I jumped up on the pull up bar and did 10 wicked wipers, dropped down and was told by a coworker who was hitting the heavy bag "Do you have any idea how insane what you just did is?!" It's nice to be able to do hard things! I did seven more in my jeans to show off how awesome I am to my beautiful wife!

A few days ago I read a great post that fits in line with my exercise philosophies over at Zen to Fitness:

"Activity is Key - Not Exercise"

The article made me think about what my purpose was in recording those daily digests. Mostly it was to make myself exercise daily and for that, it did great! I feel like I've improved to the point that at least for the moment, I don't need them right now.

Every day at work I jump up on my cubicle while talking to coworkers and do dips and L-sits (which is hard because it is a very wide grip). They think I'm weird sure, but I get good movement in all day! Plus they've always known I'm a bit off!

I think one thing to remember when looking at that article is that while Activity is MOST important, it isn't really saying that exercising on its own is BAD. Because I guarantee, as soon as we get our house totally sold and we are moved to the new place, I am going to start an Insanity/P90X hybrid program ASAP. :) Doing that makes me feel more READY for the daily activity. But if I miss a work out, as long as I have been active enough that day, I won't feel like I'm not doing something I should or something I'm supposed to.

Daily Exercise Digest 48

Today:

• 10 L-sit pull ups
• 5.56 mile run

Need some motivation, some change. Feeling good physically, just need some other situations to resolve themselves!

Daily Exercise Digest 47

The Ragnar Post was also D.E.D. 46 (yeah I'm grouping days a LOT lately! Doin' it again today woot!) so here's 47!

So this is the Post-Ragnar Post!

Monday was a rest day :) Because of this:

Yesterday:

• 10 Chin-ups - SO tired and those weren't tough strength-wise, but my body was not very happy!
• 1 Mile run in 6:58 Barefoot - Decided to give my shoes a break, but ran too fast for my feet to handle right now. It's been a while since I've gone barefoot like that. Whoops! Some blister-type pain in multiple places on my foot. Had I been going slower I probably would have been fine, but I was pushing it so I hurt my feet a bit.

Today:

• 3 Sets of 10 Dumbbell curls each arm, 35 lbs
• 3 L-sit attempts on the foot of my bed for as long as I could go (counted to 7, 20, 15... i.e. WEAK)
• 10 Standing to plank ab roll outs
• 10 regular (kneeling) ab roll outs

I've had to miss yoga for like 2 weeks now... No fun! Hopefully the work project I'm working on gets finished soon so I can get back into it as it was really giving me a balance to work around!

Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back 2011

Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18th, 2011 - Awesome Relay with an awesome team, especially my van - my gorgeous wife, 3 brothers, and my brother's wife. SO amazing.

• 1st Leg (10): 3.9 miles, "Easy" Run



Finishing My First Leg

• 2nd Leg (22): 7.6 mile "HARD" Run
• There was one guy who said he had to jump over a porcupine on this trail! I enjoyed it though - good run! I DID have to jump over a fair sized stream that had decided to cross the trail! It reminded me a lot of the Leg 24 I did back in the Vegas Ragnar. But the trail here was MUCH better!
  

  

  It was COLD! But this is what I wore anyway!

• 3rd Leg (34): THE RAGNAR leg - 4 Miles "VERY HARD" run. And it was VERY hard. I walked a lot more than I wanted due to the area of my achilles tendon/soleus hurting like crazy if I was going any faster than a brisk walk. MEAN.



Just about to finish!

Total Time for our team 32:45:53 (or 'round theres) - Very nice!

Now I can say I conquered the Ragnarrrrr!

Finally done!

Daily Exercise Digest 45

Saturday:

• Scottish Festival! Lots of walking around, carrying kids, pushing strollers, relaxing and listening to bagpipes. Fun day! Tired by the end too!

Today:

• L sits at my desk
• Running around like my head was cut off - had so much to do
• Missed Yoga because of all that craziness
• About a 2 Mile run with my beautiful wife (Running lower distances this week to be ready for RAGNAR this weekend!) Halfway:
• Wall-hop up to the top of a racquetball wall
• Hand to hand hanging Wall-climb across a few feet of the back wall, (Like going sideways along the wall at the end of a cat leap) followed by a
• Very poor landing (I barely bent my legs) from the hang
• 10 pull ups on the playground 
• then finishing the last half of the run

Beautiful Day today! But SO very long!

Daily Exercise Digest 44

Today:

• 10 chin ups
• 10 Wide grip pull ups
• 5 slow curls 80 pound barbell
• 4.85 mil run - Good run - Felt really good other than a little lower back pain near the beginning.