Delays!

To employ an oft used sports colloquial metaphor, sometimes life throws you a curve ball. Work will give you odd hours, family will come into town, or any number of odd circumstances that arise that can throw your schedule for a loop. Personally, I like to exercise on a set regimen. Or at least I try to. My morning routines consist of Tai Chi followed with an intense bodyweight workout. Every other day I like to go for a run. Unfortunately, that's not always an option. So I do what any good animal would do when confronted with a changing environment. I adapt!

This is a very important principle to take to heart. The second most dangerous time for someone's commitment to fitness after the first few days is after the first two weeks. After two weeks of solid effort, people are apt to relax, feel like they've earned a day off or two. This mentality is exceptionally dangerous when one of the aforementioned curve balls come your way. If work needs you to work some extra hours, then you figure that skipping a couple of days of exercise won't hurt. That kind of thinking is wrong!

Well, not wrong per se. Here's what I will say on the matter though. The best way to keep going is by building momentum. When I'm running, I try my hardest never to stop. Slow down, certainly. Slowing down to a jog can help me recover, catch my breath, and let me keep going on much longer. If I slow to a walk or stop altogether, than getting back up to a run is awfully difficult. And when I do finally get back up to speed, the first leg is the most difficult. But once I get past my initial windedness and aches, then the running starts to get a little easier.

This holds true for workouts. After skipping workouts for more than two days leaves me in an obviously more fatigued state. My workouts are harder than they previously were, I can't run as fast or as far, and I'm winded so much faster. This can easily be discouraging. And I have been discouraged before. I have started and stopped more fitness programs than I can count. And often after the first 2 weeks. I've even slowed down my commitment to this blog! But what I have to remember is that starting and stopping are all part of the journey. Every time we stop, no matter how long or short, hopefully we're that much farther down the path. Starting is hard, but it's much better than standing still.

So here's my advice. Wake up a little earlier of you can. Get your workout out of the WY in the morning before any of your obligations kick in. If that's not an option, on days when you can't get in a run or a full on workout, do something. Ten pushups are better than no pushups. If you have 2 minutes of free time while the coffee is brewing, see how many pushups you can do in two minutes straight. The answer might surprise you. I certainly was. Two minutes of straight pushups is a lot harder than I thought. But if you do that every day it becomes easier. Something, no matter how small it may seem, is better than nothing.

Know Thyself!

I've had a body a long time. A long, long time. It seems like I've had it my whole life. But despite my extensive interaction with my body, I'm not sure if I can say that I know my body. Hell, I'm not even sure that we like each other. It groans when I ask it to do something and it hurts me when it's craving such pedestrian things like food and water. And even though I don't have the most solid of relationships with my body, that's not to say that it's not been sending me signals all along. I just wasn't open to receiving them. Gastric distress vis-a-vis my worrisome consumption of mountain and dew and pizza was my body's way of telling me that the stuff wasn't very good for me. They do call it "junk" food for a reason.

Well, fitness has a funny way of inadvertently building bridges when you least expect it. My sister and I (yes, I have a sister) have had the same problem for the longest time. For us, running is as running was. There was one speed, and that speed was fast. Needless to say, that would lead to exhaustion pretty fast. Exhaustion early on in an attempt to better the physical self is a recipe for an early towel throwing. Over-exertion is the reason why so many people fall into the periodic start and stop routine with fitness, myself including. Heck, my current efforts could just be more of that same. I sure hope not though. I hope I maintain the same level of commitment that I've shown in the last few weeks for the rest of my life.

Anyways, I digress. After some time of pushing beyond those initial exhaustion points for a little bit of time now, I'm starting to understand my body a little bit more. One important aspect that I find vital is this" pacing. It may seem a simple matter, slowing down and speeding up, but you'd be surprised how years of bodily neglect will lead instinct and muscular dexterity to degrade. It wasn't until I developed some strength in running that I started sensing cues from my body and was able to hold something akin to a dialogue. Sometimes it would tell me to ease up, that if I kept holding my pace steady that I was going to get hurt. Other times, I told my body to keep going and push through the pain, that it was going to be worth it in the end. 

I'm really finding that a lot of cliche wisdom is seeming to apply to me. They say that the first two weeks of working out are the hardest. I would attest to that saying's validity. I still strive to make every workout one of the toughest workouts that I've experienced, but my body recovers faster, and it even craves physical exertion rather than revolts against it. A lot of the modern day spiritualist and homeopathic type nonsense movements express the idea to be attuned to your body. Well, despite everything else they might spout, that idea definitely holds true. I was vegetarian for a while, and it was then that I truly understood food cravings. My body wasn't getting enough protein, so my brains said "Hey buddy, you should eat a whole jar of peanut butter." Again, just more cues from my body. 

When you start to have this kind of dialogue with your body, it becomes easier and easier to test and exceed your limits. My step-dad, a bodybuilder, has always told me that if you take care of your body, then your body will take care of you. So if you're first started out, or even if you haven't started exercising, take time out of your day and critically take stock of what your body is telling you. Its messages might surprise you.

Food!

A huge part of fitness and health is diet. I'm not perfect at leading a nutritious lifestyle, but I know a thing or two. And, as a former professional cook, I k of how to make healthy food taste good. I've cooked for all sorts of people, from celebrities to schmoes, but I've never cooked for the internet. I'm still trying to get my process down, but I promise that recipes with pictures are forthcoming.  Hold on to your hat.

36th Chamber

It should come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of kung fu movies. I love everything from Drunken Master and its overstated spin offs to artistic treatments like Hero and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I think I may have even met the director of House of Flying Daggers  (long story). The one film I've yet to see though is a doozy. It's considered one of the most influential movies of the genre. It has inspired many great films after it. It even inspired a whole album from one of my favorite rap groups. I'm talking of course about the "36th Chamber of Shaolin." I haven't seen it, but a great burning desire was stoked within me ever since I saw that the sequel was on netflix. Also, it's a Shaw Brothers Production, and as far as kung fu films go, they were the top dog studio back in the day.  You can find a really cool podcast regarding the history of Sir Run Run Shaw of Shaw Brothers' fame here by Lazlo Montgomery. I'm quite the fan of his China History Podcast and would love to host my own podcast in a similar vein one day. You should check out some of his other episodes. If you love kung fu or wuxia  (that essentially means martial arts tales) then you'll love hearing about the great Guan Yu of the Three Kingdoms period. He and his guan dao, named "the Green Dragon Crescent Blade," would defend the innocent against hordes of enemies, often times taking on scores of men at once. Well anyways, I'll leave you with the trailer for the 36th Chamber below. Hopefully it will whet your appetite enough to go to your local used music and video store to buy. I'll probably post a review later on. By the way, if you're looking for the best selection of new kung fu films as well as trashy old ones, that's the place to go. Mine is called Rasputin's. How's that for cool?

Since I'm still working out some technical kinks, I'll link you to the trailer rather than embed it. Sorry.

The Armory

One of my favorite parts of role playing games is the actual character creation. There are some many options. What class do I choose? What race? Should my character be stronger than normal, or smarter? Short or tall? But once you get a lot of the basics figured out. then comes one of the most fun parts: choosing the gear. A Paladin can't go into battle naked after all! Iron Man can't fight Captain America without his suit! Gear is an important choice. Generally, as stated in my alluded to in a prior post, my characters were generally of the leather or cloth armor (t-shirt) clad type. But then the crucial decisions between short sword and long sword had to be made, between one or two daggers, or maybe even a crossbow. Well, fitness is no different. And walking into an armory (fitness supply store) can as intimidating as staring down Tiamat himself, though I can never say I have ever had the pleasure. So I'll give you a breakdown of what my equipment choices look like.

Armor:

Armor is everything. If your armor isn't suited for the task at hand, then your life is going to be a whole lot more difficult. Pictured here is my running shirt and shorts of both the compression and running type. The idea behind the running shirt is very simple: no nipple chaffing. Honestly, this is worth the investment. It prevents your nipples from feeling like fire ants are having a picnic on them. Also, they tend to be cut in a flattering matter. The compression shorts also have a very straightforward function: they keep your junk on lock. That's an idiom that I've managed to pick up from today's youth. Now that only applies if your a guy. Its more gender friendly benefits are that it also prevents chaffing and rashes as well as promoting circulation. Promoting circulation will in turn help prevent stiffness and muscles soreness which can help increase performance and help in recovery. The running shorts are just made of a light material that helps conceal my form fitting compression under-roos. 3

Tools:

No adventurer is complete without having some tools of the trade. Thieves have lock picks, clerics have religious symbols, and wizards have freaky imp familiars. Pictured above are my tools. Most prominently you'll see the kettlebell. Now, I primarily rely on body-weight exercises. Calisthenics are great for muscle growth, weight loss, body awareness, and just overall looking impressive. Most of all, they're free. You can do them anytime and just about anywhere, although I don't recommend doing burpees on an elevator. But a kettlebell is a great addition to your repertoire. Supplementing body-weight exercises with weighted ones is a great way to isolate particular muscles and overload them, thereby stimulating growth. And a lot of kettlebell exercises are compound movements that require a lot of body awareness that can only be obtained through body-weight exercises. For the best example of this, I recommend checking out the "Turkish get-up." You can pick up  a kettlebell on the cheap these days. The one in the picture is 20 lbs and cost about $19.95 on Amazon. You can find cooler, albeit pricier, ones at Onnit. And the internet is replete with workouts with a single or double kettlebells. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. A water-bottle is a must have. Running shoes, also a must have (see previous post). Now, if you're perceptive. You'll see my Fitbit Flex. Honestly, that is really not a necessity. But any kind of pedometer (I hear that the Nintendo DS has one) is a great way to just keep track of fitness goals. My phone and ear buds are for fitness apps and listening to sweet tunes during runs and workouts. 

Weapons:

Now, I don't actually own any weapons. But weapons can be great things to train with. Bokken, Bo staves, clubs, maces, etc. can have a transformative effect on your workouts. I've worked out with bokken before, and they are a lot of fun. They work pretty much the entire body. Any one of the pictured weapons will carry with it a different weight distribution that will force your body to adapt. So get out there, find a weapon that suits you/ Have fun with it. Just be careful. Don't put anyone's eye out. 

In summation, gear is very important. When I put on my Avengers running shirt and compression shorts, it transforms me. I'm bigger than myself, capable of achieving far more than I ever could in my regular life. With each explosive kettlebell swing, I am knocking hordes of monsters away. I am a super hero in my uniform, and adventurer properly equipped to take on any foe. I am so much more. 

Numbers

I love numbers. Mind you, I'm rubbish at math. But I love numbers all the same. Being able to quantify the world allows it to fit into wonderful parameters that allow for minor tweeks here and there just to see what would happen. I love being constantly aware what speed I'm traveling at and being able to work out in my head how long it will take me to get where I'm going. Or better yet, figure out the optimal speed to travel in order to arrive in a set number of minutes. Granted, that makes me apt to break certain traffic laws, but it's still fun none the less. And I love numbers when it comes to fitness. I love breaking my fitness into easily digestible and easily manageable numbers. My diet should consist of so many calories, broken up into this much protein, this many carbohydrates, etc. I love watching the number of calories that I've burned slowly creep up during my workouts. I also love weighing foods against workouts. If I burn 600 calories, that earns me a burger. Or something like that. But, as I mentioned before, my mathing skills are utter garbage. So who do I turn to in my hour of need? Science of course! Well, the internet really. But last I checked, science invented the internet. In conjunction with Al Gore, of course. So here are some great apps I use to help me numerize (that's word, mostly because I say so) my fitness:

My Fitness Pal: Honestly, this is my go to app for everything. For food, it tracks food and nutrition based off of a massive database of entries. It allows to you to adjust the serving sizes of your food and how much of your food there is. If you eat one particular meal a lot (like my smoothies for example) you can create your own recipes that streamlines the input process. Also, it will help you in reaching your goals. You input your current weight and your goal weight, and it will calculate the amount of calories you should be consuming every day. And as your weight changes, the app will adjust with it. It also syncs with a ton (I do mean a metric ton) of apps, which leads me to my second favorite app.

Map My Run: Map my run is a lot of fun. It uses GPS to track your running progress real time. It will give you a breakdown of where you traveled (including distance), how long it took you to get there, and the speed at which you traveled during each leg of the journey. For me this is great because I can see how long each mile (or kilometer) took me to run. It also can be formated to track bike rides. If you so choose (I know I do), you can have it give you audible updates on your progress. For me that's very motivating to speed up or keep the pace. 

Fitbit: If you have  some extra money to burn (I have the $99 base model) then this is a great app to get. By setting a goal and having instantaneous updates on your progress, this little baby can be very motivating. If I'm having a particularly lazy day and I tap my Flex to see that I've hit maybe two thousand steps, then I decide to put on my shoes and hit the pavement. Anything to get some extra steps in. And if you have friends who also have a fitbit, then you can challenge each other to step offs (I'm assuming that's what kids are calling them these days). Whoever has the most steps at the end of the day, week, weekend, what-have-you, is the winner. If you really want to make it interesting, I'd put money on it. It also has a nifty feature that particularly appeals to me. I'm an absolute achievement junkie. Gotta catch 'em all. The app has tons of badges based on your level of activity. There are badges for sleeping (seriously!), badges for steps in a day, and badges for lifetime distances. I'm sure there are others, and I can't wait to find them. This also syncs with My Fitness Pal to update your calorie burn progress. 

Google Fit: So, I don't have a lot to say about Google Fit, except that it primarily is an app that I have downloaded. And it syncs with Map My Run. Honestly, I'm not one hundred percent sure how to use it. What I can say is that it looks good. It's very aesthetically pleasing. It gives you some kind of... data presented in a very beautiful... chart. Yes. In all seriousness, I think that if I were just going for a bike ride for the sake of a bike ride, or hiking, but no real objective (like trying to shave minutes off of my 5k time) then this seems like a pretty good choice. It basically just tracks you via GPS (without a map, I think) and tells you how many minutes you have been active. I think I accidentally tricked it once by turning it on right before getting into the car. So for you graphic design nerds (more power to you) that just want a simple yet pretty app, then this is the one for you.

So, hopefully this is helpful to anyone reading. I know it's not a huge list, but it is a list. Maybe I should title it something like "4 apps that will change your life!" I'm sure I'll get tons of hits based on that. And ultimately, isn't that what the internet is really about?

Favorite Class

Through my life of playing Dungeons and Dragons, Neverwinter Nights, Diablo, Pathfinder,  Assassin's Creed etc., there has been one characteristic that has remained a constant. I love playing a very specific type of character. He's a loner, not necessarily bad looking but probably covered in lots of scars, has a lithe and sinewy build, but primarily he's equipped with a very specific set of skills.  He can run, jump, climb, flip, or sneak his way in or out of any situation.  Not one for words,  if he's backed into a corner, he let's his hands do the talking.  

Basicallly, the characters I love playing when given the opportunity to build a person from scratch are.... the complete opposite of myself. When gaze is cast upon me, the words lithe and sinewy are as far from lips as would be emaciated and anorexic. While not abounding in elephantine stature, I definitely have a few extra pounds to shed. Sneaking is definitely out of the question. Along with the aforementioned issue of stature, grace is one of those qualities I have yet to adequately develop. Climbing I have some experience with, primarily with trees, but since I can yet do a pull up, some of the more impressive stuff is out of the question. And hand to hand combat? Unlike my fantasy counter-parts, I am a man of many words and revel in their use. I love violence as much as I love getting punched in the face. I can't speak for you, but getting punched in the face is on day "to don't" list. Does this make me enjoy playing those characters any less? Absolutely not. It's great to get out of your own mind for a while and live a life completely foreign to your own. So I figure, why not apply that same philosophy to fitness? When I'm running, why not pretend that I'm running along a castle wall? Or running amidst a horde of orcs, dodging and twirling around arrows, swords, and enemies all heading towards you? One of my favorite scenarios is actually to put myself in the mind of a shaolin like monk. My running is part of my kung fu training and each run brings me closer to being a kung fu master so I can go out into the world and fight evil, avenge me father, or protect my village. I'd love to take credit for this idea of applying fantasy role playing to the realm of fitness. I take a lot of my cues in this regard from Darebee and they're wealth of resources. They are dedicated to providing free fitness resources for geeks like me and, presumably, you. For example, they just posted a wonderful article entitled "RPG Fitness." 

It's a great read an I recommend it to everyone who love fantasy role playing and is interested in getting involved in fitness. They also recently launched an actual fitness role playing game called "Age of Pandora." I give it 5/5 stars, 2 thumbs and two pinkies up in a shaka salute. You take the role of someone who awakes in a completely foreign and hostile world. You don't know who you are and what's going on. So you have to go on quests, collect pieces to puzzle together your identity, and fight to survive. There are decisions that affect the flow of the game and, consequently, the development of your physique. In fight or flight situations, choosing to fight will develop your lats, obliques, and arms while fleeing will develop your legs and give you a very healthy cardiovascular system.

That's actually from another one of their "Choose your Story" workouts called Hero's journey. They also help provide you with wonderful advice on how to achieve your goals. If you want to bulk up, they have workouts designed for strengthening and toning your body. If you're looking to slim down (get lithe and sinewy), they have high burn workouts that are going to be more your speed. They even have specific regimens based off of different role playing tropes. The assassin's week long regimen includes a lot of those high burn, high speed, high intensity work outs (otherwise known as HIIT). Personally, I went with the fighter regimen. That's why today's workout is another Bruce Lee tribute. 

Can you tell I love kung fu movies? So if you're like me, I think you'll really like these workouts. Or even if you don't like them, if you're like me then you already have plenty of experience role playing. And role playing can be applied to many areas of life other than just games. And hopefully, as I get closer and closer to my fitness goals, the gulf of separation between me and my characters will close. At least the physical bits. Well, I have to run (literally). Wish me luck.

Backgrounds

Man, backgrounds are really hard to choose. I want something that encapsulates the entirety of blog at a glance. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I think I've easily written that many. How good they are or not is another matter. What I want my background to convey is my geeky fascinations (comics, kung fu, movies) and my fitness goals. That's why superheroes like Daredevil and Iron Fist appeal to. Sure, Daredevil may have a little extra something under the hood, but at the end of the day he's still just a really well trained fighter. Heck, Iron Fist had to train himself for years to earn his super power. I also grew up loving Kung Fu movies. That's another reason why they appeal to me. Batman, the classic trope, is ultimately just a super ninja. And a billionaire. And the world's greatest detective. But I digress. Spiderman has the reflexes of a spider. Angel has the anthropomorphic anatomy of a bird. But Daredevil, Iron Fist, Batman, Misty Knight, Nightwing, Green Hornet, and so many others had to put in hours of blood, sweat and tears to be at the top of their games. Unfortunately, I don't have the resources or time to dedicate to become a Kung Fu master. But I do have the time and resources to learn a thing or too. Firstly, something I recommend to everyone is the Tai Chi and Qi Gong course offered by the Great Courses Plus. Although to become part of the beta test club you need a pass-code. Right now I know that "Conspiracy" is functional, although I don't know for how long. Another great, free resource that I'm taking advantage is Darebee. On staff they have an international martial arts champion and he helps them design wonderful martial arts themed workouts. In fact, later this month they're doing a Katana themed workout week. I'm really looking forward to that. In fact, most of my workouts come from Darebee. For a long while, they had routines based on superheroes; until Disney and DC forced them to take down anything related to one of their intellectual properties. Although, if you look on the internet, I'm sure you can find the Batman, Daredevil, and Captain America workouts and so forth. Today I did the Bruce Lee abs workout at level 2.

Man. Bruce Lee, what a guy. He was a real life super hero. Bruce Lee once kicked a man so hard that it broke someone else's arm, His one inch punch was described as being hit by an SUV. And while he had great abs, I most remember him for his lats. I swear that guy could take flight, a la flying squirrel, with those things. Makes me wish I could do pull ups. By the way, I can't do pull ups. But I'm working towards that. They're the ultimate back exercise. But I digress. I want to share with you all the things I love, all the things I'm involved with. And picking the perfect background that expresses all of that in one glance is really hard.

New Shoes!

Running is a fairly straight forward process, All you need is your feet and some ground. Or so I thought. It turns out that shoes help a lot too. I found this out when, to my surprise, my big toe starting scraping against blistering hot asphalt through the sole of my running shoes.

Luckily, my toe came through alright. Not too much damage was done. But I felt that it then became paramount that I get new shoes. The problem is thus: not all shoes are created equal. Some shoes are better for dancing, some better climbing, and some better for putting in your enemies... keister. So I turned to my most trusted font of wisdom: the internet. And boy was there a durth of information available to me. To much information! Did I want a minimalist shoe, or something with a sole large enough to absorb the impact of a land mine? What exactly is a crossfit shoe? Or should I have no shoes at all (a la paleo)? The debate seems to rage on with people so dogmatic I swear running was the new religion! So I did what any sensible person would do: I went to target. 

There were a few different styles of shoes. Some were more mesh than anything else, some were clearly targeted towards basketball players, and there was one shoe the design of which I recognized from when my 90 year old grandfather used to wear to the YMCA. Ultimately, I settled on these:

The fit all of my metrics. They were in my size, they felt great on my feet, and primarily they were affordable. Only $35! So I brought them home, unboxed them, and started breaking them in. I haven't taken them running yet, that's tomorrow. But then I started getting a bit of a pain right under then tongue of the shoe. I once again turned to the internet, and apparently I have what's called a "steep instep." 

Using this lovely chart, I laced up my shoes all special-like as according to number 1. 

Then I thought that looked ugly. So I re-laced it up to make it look a little prettier. I know it's a silly thing to worry about. Aesthetics shouldn't matter when functionality that ultimately matters, right? Well, they looked much better after round 2.

Much better. Also, here's my cat trying to help me unbox these babies. She loves helping.

After that, they fit like a dream. I really can't wait to take them running tomorrow. I don't know if they'll shave time off of my runs, making jump higher, or what. After all, they are only $35 shoes. What I do know is that they will keep my feet from being ground into sausage against the pavement. And really, isn't that ultimately what matters?

Natural Born Runner

I don't think anyone would ever call me a runner by nature. And if I ever were to utter such a stupendous fabrication, my physique would belie my claim. But, according to... science, running is a great form of exercise for weight loss and overall fitness. I am particularly attracted to running since I am a recovering smoker. It's been six or seven months now since I last had a cigarette and I am obsessed with undoing the damage that-at one point was-a pack every two days habit had done to my heart and lungs. So I started running. At first, the treadmill seemed like a good place to start. I could choose my own pace and make it as challenging as I wanted. I'm also a huge numbers junkie, and some of the better treadmills will give numbers like average pace, average incline, time, distance, and calories burned. With numbers, I can track my progress fairly easily and make training into a game about beating my previous benchmarks. But running for running's sake really sucks. It feels like I'm just running in circles, moving my legs but not really going anywhere (I try to be funny on occasion). So that's when I decided to sign up for a 5k. One of my favorite webcomic/blog sites is the Oatmeal, and they're hosting the "Beat the Blerch" run.

This way, I figured it would provide me with a goal to reach. Having never ran a race before, I decided that 30 minutes was a completely reasonable time in which to run what is essentially 3.1 miles. After all, if a nice stroll pace is about 20 minutes per mile, twice as fast can't be that hard. Well, as it turns out, while 5 kilometers in half an hour isn't breaking any land speed records, it is a whole lot faster than I was prepared for. So I found a great app in the Google Play store that I highly recommend. It's called "Zombie 5k."

It may cost $1.99, but it's worth every penny. Every week it takes you through different running drills. The first week is 15 seconds of running and 1 minute of walking. The second week it challenges your endurance with 30 seconds of running and 1 minute of walking with 5 heel lifts after each run. All the while, this app narrates for you a world in which you and a band of renegades are trying to survive against hordes of zombies, other people, and who knows what else? It's hinted that my camp is embattled with another camp of survivors. I'm two weeks in to training, and I'm loving it.

The 5k is November 20th, so hopefully I'll be up to the half hour task, Right now, thanks to the app, my 5k time is around 38 minutes or so, Althoughm that's with switching between running and walking. I want to be able to RUN! the whole 5k. Well, wish me luck.