…just lazy. Well, a little lazy. Yes, I have not done a full workout since my last blog post (well, I did one tonight, but more on that later…) I was excited and anxious to start Week 6. But I was also a little nervous. My arms and upper-body have been sore recently and it was getting tougher to actually do a decent push-up. I did my progress test for Week 5 and hit 46 on the nose (the minimum to start Week 6). So on Monday night last week I went to start Week 6 – and I could barely get through the first set. Just felt tired and weak. I got through 2 sets and decided it wasn’t worth pushing it. My shoulders hurt, my arms hurt, and I didn’t want to force myself and end up doing more damage than good. I tried again on Thursday, with the same result.

So I thought about it – and I realized that maybe I am not quite as ready for the final week of the program as I thought (despite my exuberant post last week). Now that doesn’t mean all is lost. What I did tonight instead was start the Two-hundred Situps program! This is the one I was looking more forward to…and it was a worthwhile workout tonight. The setups is basically the same as the pushups program, so its starts you off slow enough and works you up. I also decided that I WILL go back and finish the pushups program eventually, I just don’t want to force it now. While I do the situps program, I will mix in some free weights to work on my arm strength. I had been working with 5-pound weights when I first started the program, so I decided to bump up to 15-pounders. Quite a difference, but I feel if I work with those for a few weeks, I will be back on track and able to continue the pushup program. I will probably go back and redo Week 4 or 5, just to not kill myself right away with the last week. I will finish it – I know I will. I am determined to do so.

The other thing that I am ramping up to start is the Couch-to-5K program. I got out and got myself some nice new running shoes. I want to look into getting a decent pair of arches before I start (because I have duck feet and my feet/ankles/knees would be very upset with me if I didn’t), but I hope to do that within the next couple of weeks. The weather has been pretty awesome so I want to get out an enjoy it.

So despite the fact that it was a down (read: lazy) week, I feel good things on the horizon and I will not quit. Gotta keep on going!

Oh yeah, and my situps sets tonight…

9, 9, 6, 6, 20 (max set, minimum of

-I placed in the second column for Week 1 (11 – 20 situps). I did 16 for my initial test. I am looking forward to getting those nice abs

FIVE. WEEKS. FUCKING. DONE.

Oh yeah, you read it right (and I am so amped that the F word is the only word to fit my emotion, haha). I felt great going into tonight, and actually my arms felt great (up until I hit #50 in my max set, heh – more on that later though). I turned on the music so Gracie could “D” (that is what she calls dancing – and she loves to dance). And actually, the music helped amp me up a little more. I stuck as close to the 45 second rests as I could, and actually did a great job of it.

13, 13, 15, 15, 12, 12, 10, 60! (max set, minimum of 30)

Now about my max set. I said Tuesday that I was going to do my damnedest to hit 60, and if I didn’t I would do Week 5 over again. I started going in the set, and it felt good – but I kept thinking “no way will I hit 60.” I kept going, and with each new pushup, I thought, “Maybe I CAN hit 60.” I got into the 40’s and my arms start to shake, and I thought about just giving up there (the min. was 30, and the site says you should shoot for 46 – since that is the min. for Week 6). But I kept going. Each pushup, more shaking. I hit 50 (my previous high) and though “HOLY CRAP! 10 MORE!” 51…slowing down. 52…my arms would barely go up. 53…must…push…harder. 54…I stop, and sit at the top of my pushup for a few seconds. I go down to my knees, barely able to move my arms. But damn it – I don’t need arms to get to 60! I am GOING to get to 60! So I got back down, and did the slowest 6 pushups ever. But I got them through. I jumped to my knees and to my feet after 60, and did the weakest fist pump ever (mainly because I could barely lift my arms). Thankfully, typing doesn’t require the arms to be up

So despite TECHNICALLY doing 54 in a row, I am counting it as 60. And I am moving on to Week 6 (as long as I can pass the progress test, which I know I will). The final week. All or nothing here. I will not be surprised if I have to do Week 6 more than once, but hey. I have made it this far – gotta see it through now, right? Booyah.

After-thought: I did 150 pushups tonight. Holy. Crap.

Today was a bit of a rough day. My shoulders have been a little on the sore side, and the fact I did 3 extra sets today didn’t help much. I also noticed something interesting about today’s sets…I was curious why the totals were so low, and then I noticed (after my 3rd set, heh) that the resting time was at 45 seconds (the lowest before this was 60 seconds). Of course it says to take more time between sets if you need to, but I try to stay close to that number – so that definitely does a little more bit more for the arms and the heart rate – and my sore shoulders. I think I just need to do a bit of better stretching before hand, work out my soreness a little bit more. Regardless, I got through 8 sets today, although I am a little disappointed in my max set again (granted, I did do it about 10 minutes after my 7th set, due to some distractions, heh)

10, 10, 13, 13, 10, 10, 9, 32 (max set, minimum of 25)

One more day remaining in week 5, then the home stretch. The minimum to start week 6 is 46 – I think if I don’t hit 60, I am going to redo week 5. As much as I am hoping to get this done in the initial 6 weeks, I understand it isn’t easy and I won’t let my ego get in the way of completing it – meaning I would be okay with having to redo a week if it helps me reach my goal

Speaking of goals…I lost another small bit of weight this week!

February 1, 2010: 203.8 lbs.
February 8, 2010: 206.4 lbs.
February 15, 2010: 209.4 lbs.
February 22, 2010: 207.1 lbs.
March 1, 2010: 203.7 lbs.

Current weight: 203.4 lbs.

Difference from last week: -0.3 lbs.
Overall difference: -0.4 lbs.

.3 of a pound is .3 of a pound. Still feels good. And knowing that I am going be adding running soon, as well as situps once I get that elusive 100 pushups, it feels good to know I am going strong.

PS – Doing pushups in front of Gracie is never a good idea. As soon as she saw me doing them, she came running over, got right next to me, on her hands, and wanted to do them with me. I was laughing so hard (which got her laughing, which makes me laugh more) I could barely continue my set. That kid is just too cute.

Quick update tonight…progress test last night (well, more like 12:30AM this morning) – didn’t push myself as hard as I could have, got a 35 – which was RIGHT at the end of column one. I have been in column two the first four weeks, so I was a little mad at myself…but I made up for it with a nutso 5th set.

17, 19, 15, 15, 50 (max set, min of 20)

Get to do 3 more sets starting Tuesday. The fun is just beginning!

Week 4 = IN THE BOOKS! Two thirds of the way done, and the toughest weeks of all upcoming. Feels great to have made it this far, but I know it won’t be easy to finish. As I keep saying, just have to keep my head up and power through. Tonight was a little rough, I seemed to tire out a bit faster. I almost thought I wasn’t going to make it through the max set, but I toughed it out and had my highest set yet, so that is a positive.

23, 28, 23, 23, 41 (max set, minimum of 33)

As my goal of 100 pushups looms closer, I start to think about what I want to focus on next. When I workout, I feel good. I really do – I have only been really doing this for a little over a month, but when I see little things like a pound or two tick off the scale, or the fact that I can do 40 pushups now and not hurt like I lifted 1000 pounds the next day, it makes me feel really good about what I am doing. I have already said I really want to do the Two-Hundred Situps program, and potentially the Two-Hundred Squats program too. But I want to ramp up the working out a little bit, meaning I want to start doing a little bit more. And I think I found what I want to mix in: Couch-to-5k. Pretty simple concept, a lot like the pushups and situps and squats (oh my!) programs. It’s a running program. You start off slow, and within 9 weeks, you are running a 5k. Literally. Just over 3 F’N miles. Just thinking of running that long makes me sweat. But I want to do it…hell, I need it. I decided on a whim to run to my parent’s house yesterday after work (which just so happens to be exactly one mile away). I have never been a huge runner, but I know it is a great exercise for your whole body, so I figured what the hell. I had been talking about mixing it in, so I did. And wow…I will admit I only ran half of it, but hey, running half a mile for me is pretty big accomplishment in and of itself. Granted, my lungs were on fire by the time I got there and I was about ready to die (and on top of it, my knees have been killing me all day today), it felt good.

So yeah…I haven’t planned out what is going to happen after the pushups, but I have a good idea. And I am happy with it. My diet is turning around very well and I feel really good. And I also appreciate all the support and motivation from everyone too…it really helps

It was a tough workout today. Not entirely sure why, my arms just felt weak. I was able to complete everything no problem, just didn’t get quite as high on my max as I was shooting for. But I am still happy with completing, and another great thing: I lost weight! My sets today…

20, 25, 20, 20, 32 (max set, minimum of 28)

Over 100 pushups tonight, and the last day of week 4 on Thursday. Then I actually start adding sets next week. Yikes. I think I might need to start mixing in some more free weights just to keep my arms loose. But hey – this is the whole reason I am doing this, right? To get into shape!

As for my weight, I was down to 203.7 pounds! Actually under where I started on February 1st, so that is pretty awesome. Of course I don’t want to get ahead of myself (just like I don’t get down when I gain weight) but it is nice to see things starting to pay off a little bit!

February 1, 2010: 203.8 lbs.
February 8, 2010: 206.4 lbs.
February 15, 2010: 209.4 lbs.
February 22, 2010: 207.1 lbs.

Current weight: 203.7 lbs.

Difference from last week: -3.4 lbs.
Overall difference: -0.1 lbs.

So I am more or less officially one month into my program and I am feeling really good. I know I just have to keep on the horse and keep on pushing through. My diet is slowly but surely getting a little better, Kirsten and I are both doing our best to motivate each other, especially when it comes to the little things like soda and fast food. And seeing how motivated I am and how well I am doing with things has motivated her to get back into the Wii Fit as well. So that is a very positive thing as well

The second half begins! It was a little rough picking back up after a few days off, especially after last night (my ass is getting old…), but it was great to get back on it. My buddy Casey planned an impromptu 80’s skating night last night. Impromptu in the fact that it wasn’t something the rink was doing – it was just something a group of crazy old folks would be doing. I haven’t been skating in YEARS and it was crazy going back. The same middle-school drama – I used to go quite often and be just like those kids! Now I was there, dressed up in 80’s gear, skating like I was 40. I never fell (came close a couple times…) but I felt sore as hell afterward – especially my right knee. Probably should have stretched before hand

Regardless, it was a damn fun time, and I still was able to do my pushups today. Now that I am back at it, I will not quit until I hit 100! Today’s sets…

18, 22, 16, 16, 36 (max set, minimum of 25)

I actually did some pushups on Thursday when I didn’t have to. Thought I needed a progress test after week 3, so I did one (got 35) and then looked to see I didn’t actually need one. Never hurts to get in an extra workout, right? Especially since I was waiting until today to start back up anyway. Things continue to ramp up pretty good this week, so I just gotta stick with it.

Check out more pictures from the 80’s night here (need to login to Facebook to check them out – I gotta start getting some pictures up on Picasa so I can share them…)

Hello faithful followers! I know you all are mighty worried that I might have fallen off the train, but never fear! While I might have stumbled a bit, I wasn’t close to falling. I just have to make a pact with myself: gotta stick to the Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday schedule, otherwise I get myself all screwed up. My schedule ended up falling on a Friday last week, and Friday’s are just far too busy, so I didn’t do my pushups then. I could have done them Saturday, but Saturday’s are usually just really lazy, so I didn’t do them then. So I did Day 2 of Week 3 on Sunday, and I was going to try and do a few days in a row to try and get back on track, but we had my brother’s birthday dinner last night (happy birthday once again, little bro!), so I wasn’t able to then. But I did finish up Week 3 tonight very strongly. I think just to make things even again, I am going to do my progress test either tomorrow or Thursday, then wait until Sunday to start up Week 4. I will lift a little in between there just to keep active. But I want to make sure I stick to my schedule and this is the easiest way to do it. Here are my stats for Days 2 and 3 of Week 3.

14, 19, 14, 14, 31 (max set, minimum of 19)

16, 21, 15, 15, 35 (max set, minimum of 21)

Very excited about my max sets these two days, shows I am progressing a little! Week 4 starts ramping up pretty good, and Week 5 even starts adding more sets, so the progress is a good thing. I also did some lifting tonight to make up for the missed days, and I am feeling really good.

And on the weight side: I went down for the first time! Woo! I still need to work on my diet a bit, but Kirsten and I are starting a “eating out fund” next month – meaning we have a set amount we will spend on things like that, and when its gone, its gone. Hopefully that helps curb the constant going out for us

February 1, 2010: 203.8 lbs.
February 8, 2010: 206.4 lbs.
February 15, 2010: 209.4 lbs.

Current weight: 207.1 lbs.

Difference from last week: -2.3 lbs.
Overall difference: +4.3 lbs.

Quick post before I go to bed. I was side-tracked by the Olympics and wanted to get this out quick (PS – Shaun White is a freakin’ monster) Started Week 3 today. Arms were a little sore, but I can definitely feel like things are loosening up, especially my first couple of sets. It’s not as hard to get started as it used to be (that’s what she said) My sets today:

12, 17, 13, 13, 30 (max set – min. of 17)

I am especially proud of that last set. I also go into a max set telling myself to get at least 5 – 7 more than the min. (usually depends on what it is, like today’s was 17, I was telling myself 25) I probably shouldn’t do that – mainly because I hit 25 fairly easily, but then it was like night and day – my arms knew I didn’t need anymore. But I powered through five more, and felt great about it. That is 75 pushups in one night. I can’t tell you the last time I did that many in one night (probably never) And to think – in a little over three weeks, I will be doing 100 IN A ROW! Rock out, kiddies

Week 2 = done! It was a lazy weekend, so I didn’t do this on Friday like I should have. Had I done that, I would have been able to do my week 2 stress test yesterday. But I didn’t do anything all weekend except enjoy some downtime with the wife (yay!), so I did something unprecedented – I worked out in the morning! And honestly, I didn’t even think about it until my alarm went off this morning. I thought, “I don’t want to fall too far behind – let’s do pushups!” So I got up after only one snooze (another unprecedented action) and did my pushups downstairs. A very solid set too:

12, 13, 10, 10, 26 (max set – minimum of 15)

My triceps were pretty sore, otherwise I think I might have been able to hit 30 on my max set. But I felt good and I felt pretty good going into work after working out too – a good way to start the week.

But that’s not all – I still didn’t want to fall too far behind, so I did my Week 2 Stress Test tonight! That way I can take off tomorrow night and get right back at it on Wednesday. Since the stress test is just one max set, I also added in a little bit of light weights as well. I figured I should work on my triceps a little since they were a little a tender, and I also did some bicep curls and side laterals (you can view the whole custom workout if you check out my DailyBurn account – I think you have to be logged in to view the whole thing though) I completed a max pushup set of 24, so I will be in the second column for Week 3 of the program. This is about the point that I fell off the wagon the last time around, so I am excited to power through and get to the halfway point. I feel great every time I work out and Kirsten even said that just seeing me stick with it is getting her motivated to start working out, so that is a very good thing!

The only downside right now: my weight. Now I understand that is totally fluctuates and as I said last week, I am still not entirely convinced by my scale, but it is just odd. Granted I could be gaining tons of muscle, but I doubt I’d be gaining 3 pounds a week But I tell you this – I am not going to let my weight get in the way of keeping this up. I am doing this to get into shape, to feel better about myself, and to tone the weight I do have. I am sure I will eventually start losing it, but I need to work out the stuff I do have! And I just need to continue to eat better as well, which will really help.

February 1, 2010: 203.8 lbs.
February 8, 2010: 206.4 lbs.

Current weight: 209.4 lbs.

Difference from last week: +3.0 lbs.
Overall difference: +5.6 lbs.