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amy and i have ever so slowly made progress this year toward our health & fitness goals. while we’re not quite at our low of 2006 we’ve been able to stay stable and for the most part consistent. i’ve updated my fitness timeline … it’s starting to look like a warzone. with all of the ups and downs youe’d think i was modeling my bank account.

our new puppies, which i just realized i haven’t posted pictures or information on yet (but will soon), have helped us a lot. they’re our evening fitness barometer. if we’ve walked the puppies they’re quiet, cuddly, and generally great companions. if we’ve been bad pet owners and haven’t walked them then they’re fighting, running around like crazy, and generally somewhat painful. well … as painful as two cute boston terriers can be. anyhow … we took them both for 2 very long walks this weekend which was great for them and us.

next weekend i’m looking to get our bikes on the road and we’re planning on doing some golfing as well. yes, i did say “we” … i was finally able to brainwash amy into picking up her first set of clubs. we even visited the driving range this afternoon to enjoy this amazing illinois weather. it was my first time hitting the range this year … though i was able to get out and golf once. i hit the ball pretty well today with my wedge game clearly outshining the other shots in my bag. amy really hit the ball well … once she gets consistent with her addressing the ball, alignment, and some small swaying she’s going to be giving me a run for my money. she hits the ball straight on just about every shot and she’s driving the ball 170 - 180 consistently.

anyhow … we’re hoping on getting outdoors more this summer … i think doing that combined with our 4-5 days per week at the gym and eating healthy and this will be the year we attain our goals. wish us luck!!!

well, we’ve been working out regularly for a little over 6 months now. we’ve had our ups and downs but in all we’ve seen great success in our lifestyle changes. on average we make it to the gym about 5 days per week and manage to eat healthy about 5.5 days per week. those fridays before our freeday can be killer. your tired after a killer week and don’t feel like making dinner sometimes. we usually get to the gym in the morning about half of the time and the rest is after work. sometimes getting out of bed in the morning can be downright impossible … especially when your up until to midnight … lol.

one great thing that we didn’t think about when we started was the amount of money we’d save doing this. we’ve managed to save a lot of money by not eating out all the time. i know a lot of cities have different rates but in chicago lunch usually runs $5 - $8 and dinner $8 - $12. if you do a simple calculation 6 months * ~4 weeks per month * 7 days per week * $20 per day * 2 people you get ~$6,720. a typical week (5 meals per day * 6 days for 2 people) of food usually runs us around $120 which comes to ~$2,880 for 6 months. that’s a $3,800 savings in 6 months … even if you factor in gym dues ~$720 your still saving $3,000. this is one of the huge advantages people don’t always think about when they start eating healthy. it’s cheaper to eat healthy than it is to eat bad.

the past few weeks have we’ve both been hitting plateaus in terms of our progress. i know we’ve been gaining muscle along the way and bodies react differently over time but sometimes you want to see the scale move. we’re teetering on some goals that we both want to get past but are struggling to get over that hump. one of the important things we’ve been guilty of not doing is changing up our routine regularly. i find that we can do the same exercises for a few months before we realize we’re in a rut. you have to try to regularly review not only your weights but also the cardio exercises your performing. make it interesting, throw some variety in there. continuously stimulating your body to get that adaptation response that changes your body isn’t easy and requires attention to details like variety.

i’m planning on starting out completely different this upcoming week. we’re throwing in all different workouts for weights and cardio. out with the old, in with the new … since we’re halfway through the year there’s no better time than the present to clean house. are you stuck in a rut? try challenging yourself in different ways to hit new highs.

after taking it easy in the gym the past 2 weeks my back feels better. i’ve held back a bit in my weights (wanted to raise them some) but i haven’t stopped working out. in order to reduce the stress on my back i did a few things differently:

• during upper body weights instead of doing back exercises i did some of the stretches that i learned in the spin class. yes, the same one that threw my back out. that which hurts you can also make you stronger.
• on running days instead of doing intervals of walking a lap and running a lap, i instead modified it to run every 2nd lap instead. during the running laps i focused on steady strides and less of a bouncy motion that might put stress on my back. during the walking laps i walk very fast to keep my heart rate as high as possible.
• when doing all other exercises i focused more on keeping more core stable and my back well positioned. i know i should do this all the time, and i do often, but this time i really tried to stay aware of my form throughout all of the reps and sets. form over reps at all cost.

i’m hoping to see some good losses this week and if all goes well i’m planning on hitting the range this weekend. i’ve been dying to get out there and play some golf. rather than push it though i decided to give my back a rest. besides, it gives me time to review dave pelz’s short game bible and the plane truth for golfers. i’m planning on starting the season with a new one plane swing and continuing to refine short game under 100 yards.

back … yea, that’s what i’m feeling right now. i pulled a muscle in my lower back on friday after a “core spin” class at the gym. actually that’s not entirely correct, i made it to the next afternoon at which time my back gave out while raking leaves. the spin class went well but we did a ton of core exercises i hadn’t ever attempted before. i didn’t think at the time that i was pushing anything but the next day my body told me otherwise. i’m feeling a bit better though and hope to be back in service later in the week.

things are going really well in the land of lincoln. amy and i are working out regularly (about 5 days per week) and have been doing so since the jan 1. i’m now down 40 pounds and she’s down 20 pounds. we’re as focused and determined as ever to make this an ongoing lifestyle change and not temporary. we’re following the body for life program that’s worked so well for us in the past. 6 days or workouts and eating 6 small well balanced meals with a free day on the 7th day. typical to bfl we feel like crap after the freeday but it’s nice to enjoy the things you’ve craved all week. our meals have been fantastic and we actually find that by cooking and making all of our meals each week we’re saving a lot more money, funny how that works out. eating right == saving money … crazy talk i tell ya.

we’ve had some ongoing motivation as a result of our lifestyle as well … in the second week of january our gym sponsored a attendance contest that gave members who consistently worked out entries into a drawing. the more you went the more you were entered and the larger the prizes you could win. since we were going 5 days a week we were able to enter for the top prize of 5 months free dues. after a perfect 3 months not only were we down 60 pounds total but i won the drawing for the free dues and to top it off the newsletter at the gym wants to interview us … and … the fitness person asked us if we’d be interested in talking to the newspaper. pretty cool ahe? another motivational thing was that amy was able to lower her total cholesterol, lowered her ldl cholesterol, and raised her hdl cholesterol during our 3+ months of working out.

if i can offer a small piece of advice for anyone who’s starting or thinking about starting a lifestyle change … do it!!! you won’t regret it, i guarantee it. whether your just trying to change your eating habits, lose weight, obtain more energy, take control of cholesterol, or anything … you can and will do it. it takes time, nothing happens overnight. you didn’t convert your body into what it is today overnight, nor will you make your changes overnight. we’ve hit plateaus along the way every 2-3 weeks where we just stop changing. but as we persist, we continue to see progress. you too will make the changes you desire if you really put your mind to it. no excuse is big enough as there’s a solution to every problem. whether it’s time for workouts or eating the right food you can find a creative solution to your situation. the workouts you can do with a dumbbell, exercise ball, and some elastic bands are amazing. yea, a gym would be nice but not everyone has that luxury. the short time you have in the morning or the time you spend vegetating on the couch at night can be used to transform your body. if you really want to watch that tv show, you can do it at the same time.

i know some people are going to look at me and say:

“sean you made excuses for years, give me a break. i have a busy life and don’t have time”

<blunt remark> bullshit!!! remove all the crap you just said and just insert “lame ass excuse” in it’s place.</blunt remark> you could do one or many things to improve your life at any point in time. you are the only person who controls your time and effort. sure, not every single day is going to be exactly as you planned, we’re only human and none of us are superheros (or are you). even if you do it 50% of the time that’s 50% less lazy than you were before, 50% more active than you were before, 50% closer to being a healthier person. even if you only start eating right today, that’s a change … a huge positive change toward a healthier body and fitter life. those excuses to changing are self created obstacles that are preventing you from being the person you can and should be. a healthier, fitter, and happier you!!! so what’s your excuse?

i can predict your next thought, call me sean the psychic.

“sean, why is it that people who start working out get all high an mighty about working out and eating right. it’s crap i tell ya, crap.”

the easiest reply to this question is honestly an exercise for you the reader. do this for me, grab your camera and take a picture of yourself in a mirror wearing only your underwear. better yet have your loved one take a picture of you and get it developed or throw it up on your computer. got it? ok, now ask yourself this … what’s wrong with this picture? i challenge you to come up with the answer of nothing. if somehow you do, go grab a photo from high school, maybe your spring break, or honeymoon photos … put them side by side and ask yourself what’s different? yea yea, time has passed and your wiser, and all that crap. but what has really changed physically and maybe even mentally between picture 1 and picture 2. that’s why we can say the things we say … that’s why we seem all high and mighty. you see, we’ve had that aha moment … that epiphany where we realized what has changed and what has to change. it seems so obvious to us that we want to share it with everyone and don’t understand why they don’t see it themselves. it’s not our fault, we just want everyone to see it and sometimes our message comes across wrong when in fact we just want to help everyone see it and change it.

i’m planning on riding 5-6 days per week on either the trainer, the road, or both depending on weather. i’m still planning on doing weights as well, just cutting it down to 2 days per week. i’m trying to shock my system a bit and also trying to see what kind of losses i can get by changing up my program while still eating good. i love biking and think it’ll help motivate me on some of the days i feel lazy.

amy and i are revamping parts of our diets. as long as i’ve been up and down on body for life i’ve always had trouble getting my vegetables in. well we’re changing all of that going forward. at least one serving of veggies per day, less foods with trans fats, and seriously cutting back my coffee intake are my initial changes. that combined with my regiment change should really knock some stuff back in kilter.

after researching it for a while i decided to get a stationary trainer instead of my pedals and shoes. until i lose a bit of weight i think i’ll get the most use this season out of a good trainer for amy and my bike. our recumbent bike is annoying both of us (our arses fall asleep) and we both love to ride. given this and the fact that we can’t ride in the winter the obviously solution is to get a trainer for our bikes.

i looked around at different versions and after much deliberation i decided on the 1up cpr a-2000 bicycle trainer. it has a 100% lifetime parts warranty and if i’m not 100% satisfied with it they’ll replace it with a competitors product. this alone, along with their assurance that it can support my weight would have been enough. they also however have some amazing reviews from owners. i almost got tired of reading all of the rave reviews of their products. the other trainers i looked at varied this one in the quality of the construction and the type of resistance. the 1up trainer is a mechanical resistance trainer whereas a lot of the other trainers are fluid resistance. while fluid sounds cool there are tons of stories about people who had them that reported leakage within a few months and in some cases since it’s oil it destroys whatever it leaked upon. needless to say that isn’t something i felt like dealing with. the fact that the 1up has a resistance unit that i can make more difficult by adding more ball-bearings is key as well.

i placed the order this morning and they said i should have it by tomorrow (they’re only one state away). i’m pretty excited. this is my birthday gift from amy, thanks hun, i love you. now if my rear wheel was only ready. here are some pictures from various angles.

i was motivated to write down what motivates me to work out and bicycle after reading a thread with just the same topic at bike forums. so what motivates me (in no particular order):

• it’s about getting from 450 to 200 pounds (currently @ 360)
• it’s about being able to play with my kids someday without getting out of breath
• it’s about stress and frustration relief
• it’s about me time
• it’s about being there for amy till we’re old and gray
• it’s about beating mother nature and genetics
• it’s about showing people how dedication and perseverance can tackle any problem
• it’s about being happy, healthy, and feeling great
• it’s about pushing my body that extra mile, because i can
• it’s about being called fat my whole life
• it’s about getting stares because i’m large
• it’s about fitting into clothes comfortably
• it’s about getting back to nature
• it’s about inspiring others and leading by example
• it’s about me

what motivates you?