Benefits keep rolling in

     I took my blood pressure at home during lunch yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. The machine said 125/70 with a resting heart rate of 75 bpm. The last one I took was before the challenge and it said 134/90 with a resting heart rate of 93 bpm (and that was after doing some breathing exercises).

Week 6 weigh-in

     Yesterday I weighed in and was happily back to where I was the previous week.  I say happily, because everyone knows that it is difficult to maintain, much less lose weight during a holiday weekend.  I was back down 1.5 pounds and hit the workout equipment with renewed vigor.

     Also as an added bonus, my wife dug some old t-shirts out of the closet and had me try them on.  Before the competition, I was routinely wearing XXL t-shirts and they were a bit snug.  The t-shirt I am wearing at the moment is an XL and it has some room in it (it fits correctly without being snug).  

     On the fitness side, when I started the competition, I got on the bike and could handle a resistance level of 4 and pedal 70-80 rpms for 15 minutes and my heart rate was in the 150s after just a few minutes.  This morning I did 30 minutes at a resistance level of a 9, 70-80 rpms and my heart rate was staying steady in the mid 140s.  When I finished the bike, I got on the treadmill for 30 more minutes at a 3.0 with 4.0 incline.  

     Another thing I notice is that my heart rate is coming down much faster now when I end my workout.

Visit to a sponsor 5.0 - Core Pilates

     In a remote office above all the hustle and bustle that is Carrboro on a Saturday morning, I got a very unexpected great workout.  I thought Pilates was all about mats and exercise balls.  Boy was I wrong!  This may be insulting to anyone who has done Pilates, but it is not meant that way at all.  The best way I could describe it to someone who has never seen it before is this:  A full body workout on an apparatus that uses spring resistance and your own body weight that is highly adjustable for various exercises and positions.  (Sort of like the total gym - endorsed by Chuck Norris - but much more sturdy, solid and versatile).  See picture below.
     Once I found the place... Carolina Core Pilates ....up above Panzanella on the far end of the Harris Teeter parking lot - I was late, I found a teammate already in her workout.  They have 4 machines available for group sessions if you want to work out with friends, but you need to schedule your sessions.  Our instructor, Rebecca, was very knowledgeable and friendly and gave us a great workout.
     I thought it was going to be an instructional session where I was introduced to the various Pilates equipment.  This was much more hands on so to speak.  We got a full body workout, but it wasn't very stressful on the body.  Very low impact (virtually none) and easy on the joints.  If you like a more intimate setting than a big gym, lots of personal attention, and a workout you can do no matter what your skill or fitness level, this is the place for you.  The machines can be adjusted to make the exercise more or less difficult.

Visit to a sponsor 4.0 - Yoga

     Last Tuesday night I went with a few of my teammates (Thanks for showing up!) to Franklin Street Yoga.  As you can imagine, to say that I was out of my element would be an understatement.  Thankfully, one of our teammates sent us a "what to expect" document from their website.  First of all, it was hot.  If all I had done was sat in the room for an hour, I would have sweat.  That is not even close to all we did.

     The studio is located on the back side of the University Square complex.  Thankfully I had been to the complex before and I knew that there were more shops around back.  I arrived as a prior class was leaving, so there wasn't any spots available in front of the studio.  The reception area was very small compared to the studio.  There was a small area of cubby holes to leave your personal belongings (and shoes as I found out when I tried to enter the studio wearing my tennis shoes).   The instructor stopped me and asked me to take off my shoes and directed me to the mats, blocks and straps that were available to people who didn't bring their own.  I had brought water and a towel (thanks to Joyce's email).

     After a few minutes, the instructor came in and turned on some music while people were filtering in.  Everyone who came in began by lining up their mats with the taped spots on the floor, sitting down and stretching or meditating.  Not knowing exactly what I should be doing, I just sat on my mat.  My teammates showed up after class started, so I didn't even see them until at one point the instructor told us to turn to one side and I noticed that one of them had placed a mat beside mine and another person was toward the back of the room.  It really helps to have a familiar presence when you are in uncomfortable surroundings.  Not to say that the studio was threatening in any way, but it was not the sort of place you'd usually find me.

     This class was a Vinyasa Foundation class - if you are familiar with yoga.  Here is the description from the website: 

     "These classes are taught at slower pace and focus on building awareness. A steady and informative class that combines movement, breath, and meditation to foster flexibility, relaxation, and self-awareness. Special attention and modifications are offered to each student while emphasizing alignment and attention to breath."

    The instructor told us if we couldn't do something or felt pain then we should go back to "child's pose".  I did that a lot since many of the poses were either difficult, extremely tiring or actually caused me a bit of pain.  At one point, the instructor came over and put some blocks under my hip to support me while I did one particular pose.  I had no idea that yoga would be so hard.  Some of the transitions (for example from "Downward Dog" to "Warrior") and back multiple times were very tiring because you go from laying to standing and back very slowly and controlled.

   The next day I was very sore.  I think I had overstretched some muscles.  This didn't feel like a workout sore, this felt more serious.  It was a few days before I was back to normal.  I noticed this was a level 1 class and that there was a beginner class that actually teaches you the poses.  I think this is where I should have started.

   One of the things about the studio I didn't mention was that there is a lotus flower painted on one wall and frosted glass windows on the opposite wall.  There is a column in the middle of the room with various quotations written on it.  Most of them are of a spiritual nature.  The talk about things regarding peace and "the now".  One in particular caught my attention and forgive me if I don't get it perfectly right.  "Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured." ~B.K.S. Iyengar.  I don't know if I agree, but it was a good parting sentiment.

Weigh-in week 5

     No fanfare this week.  I was amazed at the effect that this week's weigh in had on me psychologically.  I was struggling all week with water weight.  I had huge swings in weight all week.  One day up 3 pounds, the next day down 1.  When I weighed in, I was on the up swing.  I was up 1.5 pounds.   It made me question why I was dragging myself out of bed at 4:30am every morning.  My team encouraged me to not let it get me down and my wife encouraged me by pointing out all the benefits I've gained thus far.
     Last week someone at work asked me if I had been losing weight!  I had the biggest grin on my face when I answered.  Yesterday I was spending time with my daughter.  She was in a jump toy that suspends from a door frame.  She grabbed a laundry basket that was propped up on its side tall wise and dumped it over.   I shifted my weight to one leg and picked my opposite foot up to "catch" it.  (Think soccer drills).  I did this to keep the laundry basket from slamming loudly onto the wooden floor.  Well my daughter thought that me slowly lowering it to the floor was hilarious.  She giggled, so I lifted it back up.  We did this a few more times and then I switched legs.  I used to play soccer, so this was a common ball trapping drill.  I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO IT FOR YEARS!  My balance is improving - though last night when I went to yoga, that was seriously in doubt (but that is a story for another post).
     The point is that I'm seeing benefits in a lot of other areas besides just weight loss.  So my plan is to watch the sodium, increase the water intake and make sure I'm eating the right number of calories.  I know from weight watchers that too many or too few calories will cause weight gain.  Obviously we all know that too many will cause gains, but the crazy thing about too few - and this is the same with water - if your body thinks you are depriving it, it will go into starvation mode and store water/fat.

 

Visit to a sponsor 3.0

     There is a lot to catch up on since I last blogged, so I'll break it into multiple posts.  Friday, May 18, I went to Massage Envy - (I chose the Southpoint location) and got a "sports" massage.  From what I understand, it is between a relaxing massage and a deep tissue.  My therapist was named John.  He was very professional.  At first I felt a little weird having a dude rub my feet with oil (he started there - I asked him to work on my lower body since that is where I've been having all my issues).  That feeling went away when he started really working on me.  He found some really sore parts that weren't so bad after the session. 
     Of course, one session isn't going to fix all that is ailing me.  My wife and I are talking about a regular massage routine.  I didn't really notice a difference when I got off the table (hard to explain how I felt ... the muscles were a little sore, but very loose), but when I went for a walk on Saturday, I could tell that I had loosened up a bit.
      That lasted all of 3 days and now I'm just as tight as I was before.  John gave me some stretching tips.  He said that my soleus was very tight as well as the muscle on my shin.  He said if I flexed my foot, did circles and wrote the alphabet with it, it should loosen them up.  He also told me to drink water after our session to flush the toxins that were released from my muscles.  My wife reinforced this and said that any time she had been to a massage therapist and didn't drink water afterwards, she felt cruddy.

Boot Camp 2.0

     Yesterday Paula scheduled another boot camp for us.  This one was more one on one since only two people showed up.  Joyce and I got a great workout and a stretching session at the end.  There was one exercise that really got me.  We used these slider/glider disks with our hands on the floor in a modified pushup stance (knees on a yoga mat) and slid our hands out wide and then back together.  I had just done a chest/back weight workout the day before, so this was killer.  Then as if that wasn't enough, we did a modification where one hand stayed stationary while the other slid diagonal up in front of your head and then alternate with the other hand.  Of course we also did pushups and situps.  Needless to say, I won't be doing any more chest exercises until next week.
     This pattern of doing something different on Tuesdays is interesting to me.  (Jazzercise last week, boot camp this week).  I may see if I can get my team to go over to Franklin Street Yoga next Tuesday - if they have anything going on that day.  I have been doing Chest/Back on Mondays, Something different on Tuesdays, Legs on Wednesdays, Arms/Shoulders on Thursdays and then extended Cardio on Fridays.  (Cardio every day along with stretching).
     Speaking of stretching, there is an alternate method of loosening up your muscle that I hadn't heard of before this program - rolling.  You can use a foam roller (Walmart, Target, Dick's, etc).  A tennis ball (to get oddly shaped areas) or my favorite, a kitchen rolling pin.  I use it to do my calf muscles, my quads and my hamstrings.  It is great because you can do it while watching television and you can apply as much pressure as you can stand.  I don't really understand all the science behind it yet, but I guess it works by relaxing the facia ?? Maybe someone with more technical knowledge can comment on this.  All I know is that yesterday my legs felt like they were filled with lead and then I rolled them and I felt great!