Changes June 26, 2008
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I’ve been doing 20 minutes a day on the elliptical and/or riding the bike and/or walking a mile or more a day since late April. I’ve only technically lost two pounds, but things fit better, and I look better. People have started asking me if I’m losing weight and saying that I look good. After five years of trying with no results, this feels really good! And it has provided incentive to keep going. My daughter and I walked about 3 miles today, and I’m riding the bike to work tomorrow. Summer is nice.
Routines and Activities June 15, 2008
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I wish I could answer Mike’s question about how to keep a routine. I’m not terribly good at it. But I have managed to keep jogging on the elliptical machine several times a week and riding my bike to work. The problem I have is saying, “Well, I rode my bike to work today so I don’t have to get on the machine.” My motivation is the results I’m seeing. I haven’t lost a lot of weight (2 pounds, according to the doctor), but my clothes fit better. And I *feel* better. I like that. I live by an ice cream shop that does a “Doozie’s Run” every couple of weeks during the summer. They’re fun runs, not competitive, and you can choose 1 mile, 3 mile, or 5 mile paths. I jogged and walked with my daughter and did 3 miles in 41 minutes. That’s pretty good considering the state of my knees – which has improved with using the machine – and the fact that when I jog on the machine I do about a mile and a half in 25 minutes. I plan to keep doing the runs as motivation. There’s nothing like seeing skinny little teenagers or, worse, older people who can run 5 miles in the time it takes you to do 3 to get you motivated. All the same, I’m in much better shape than I was a year ago and I’m betting the rest of you are, too.
I Shall Call Him Mini Me June 12, 2008
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Nike+ has added a new feature to their website, the Nike Mini, which is a customized, animated avatar that reflects your energy level. You can check out my Mini here.
Cute little devil, ain’t he? He’s a better dancer than I am, too. I’ve just made him the screen saver on my iMac, so if he starts slowing down or running of out energy, I’ll know I need to get my ass back on the track. The program’s still in beta, but I’m hoping in the future I’ll be able to add him to my sidebar as a small Flash applet or something; it’ll be more interesting than the current Nike+ goal window.
Speaking of, those of you who visit my website directly (as opposed to reading in RSS or on MySpace) may have noticed the return of the Nike+ goal window. I’ve set another goal for 10 runs in 4 weeks. I may bump that up next time, but for now with Wizard World coming up at the end of the month and a probable short trip next month, 10 runs in 4 weeks is a reasonable goal.
Sometimes We Surprise Ourselves May 14, 2008
Posted by Mike Oliveri in Activities, Workouts.Tags: karate, push-ups, kata, surprises, swiss ball, perfect pushup, kajukembo, nekobudo
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Our third class on Tuesday nights in karate has become as much about the workout as learning. We run kata for stamina and cardio, do a lot of horse stances and stretching to improve our flexibility, do several kicks for cardio (and warming up), various and sundry push-ups, and at least one tension kata which improves breathing and overall conditioning. Doing that week after week, it’s tough to see any real improvements, physically. I’m still at a weight plateau, but I’m seeing minor changes in my build and my flexibility and strength.
Tonight, however, I had a definite “wow!” moment.
We’ve got review again next week, and I’m up for my first purple stripe, which means I have to perform a lot of the material I already know all over again. It will be my longest review to date as well, as I’ve got a lot of material to cover. Tonight I decided to do a dry run through the whole thing, including a few repeats of things I felt were a little rough. Forty minutes of self defenses, wazas, and kata later, I also tossed in the other new kata I learned, a Kajukembo kata called nekobudo #1. I was dripping sweat and exhausted, but realized I hadn’t worked any calisthenics.
I dropped down for push-ups, figuring I’d be lucky to hit 10.
Instead I rocked out 20 good ones.
I could always hit 20 fresh, but I expected post-workout would be quite different. It’s the first example of how far the push-ups in that Tuesday night class have taken me. We sometimes do push-ups on a Swiss ball, for example, or use dumbbells or Perfect Pushup stands, which changes the intensity and focus of the standard push-up. We’ve joked about how easy they’ve made standard push-ups during the other classes, but again, I never imagined it would extend to an end-of-workout set.
Way cool.
New Equipment for New Workout April 27, 2008
Posted by regimit in Activities, Workouts.1 comment so far
So, I’ve talked about how I want to run but I have bad knees, the weather sucks, etc. The solution has been discovered. Yesterday I went to the mall and had some time to walk around by myself. I wound up in the sporting good store where an elliptical machine was on sale for well under what I’ve ever seen them go for. It’s not a top of the line machine, it’s the store brand, but they said they hadn’t received any complaints about it. And I don’t need (and can’t afford) a thousand dollar beast, anyway. The sale ended yesterday, so after a call to the husband, I bought it. Then he, being the wonderful guy that he is, drove over an hour to come pick it up for me because it didn’t fit in my little car. He put it together for me this morning, and I just finished my first workout. I love it. There are 6 built-in workouts, or I can manually control the resistance. I did 20 minutes of the weight loss workout, which was pretty intense. The levels went from 1 (least) to 5 (pretty tough). It shifted resistances up and down every minute or two, which was nice. I wound up keeping a quicker pace than I do when I walk or jog outside, and I feel great. The machine keeps track of the pulse rate, too, so I can make sure to keep that in range. I got a pretty good workout at the bottom of my range (95). I plan to do another 20 minutes tonight and hope to work up to doing the complete 30 minute workout by the end of the week. My legs couldn’t take it today because of the resistance. Oh, and I’ve lost four pounds just doing my regular walking routine and taking the magical weight loss vitamins. I know the only reason those are helping is the extra caffeine – I’m not too tired to do what I need to do! My goal with this new machine is to work out 4+ times a week until I get to my target weight and then keep it up at least three times a week.
I had to move some books around in order to help get the spot for the machine set up. I found some old zines I was published in (anyone remember Redsine?), and it was funny to see things like an ad for Black Petals boasting a story by Mike Oliveri. Ah, those were the days…
Loaded Push-Ups April 23, 2008
Posted by Mike Oliveri in Activities, Workouts.Tags: class, karate, kids, push-ups
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A great way to boost your push-up performance and shake up the routine is to do weighted push-ups, or what I like to call loaded push-ups. As you’d expect, you simply add some extra weight to your body for the push-up by placing something on your back. This can be a backpack, a weight plate (you may need a partner), or even a small child.
That’s right, a child. I’ve done push-ups with the Midget or the Squirt on my back, and they weigh (at last measure) 56 and 43 pounds respectively. They get a giggle out of it, and I get a tougher workout in my arms and chest.
I never expected to have to do this in karate class, though.
I was working with our gold (top end of white) belts in class, leading them through ippon kumite kata #1. This is a simple set of moves with a couple of blocks, a kick, and some hand techniques. One of our little guys strayed too close to me, however, and I couldn’t see him with my block up. When I brought down my block, my elbow knocked him on the head.
Long story short, the kid started crying and ended up in the back room, and I felt horrible. A few moments later, our sensei brought him out and hit me with 10 push-ups. Not unexpected, but as I turned my belt to the side and dropped down, he threw me a curveball.
“Celestino, get on Mike’s back!”
The little dude, already giggling, came running up and scrambled aboard. He’s a little heavier than my boys, but I’ll tell ya, nothing makes a man work harder for a push-up than when a class of 30 students, his sensei, and 10-15 spectators are all watching to see how this situation plays out.
They weren’t perfect push-ups, but I busted out all 10, jumped up and high-fived Celestino. We were buddies again and all was right with the world.
And I definitely felt it in my arms. No pain, just that surge of blood that makes you feel like Schwarzenegger.
Loaded push-ups: they do a body good.
Activities April 16, 2008
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Well, I’ve been combining a bit of light jogging with my walks and workouts. For the first time ever, I’m not sore. This is because I finally learned to stretch when I’m done 
It really does make a difference. I also started taking these, which seem to be giving me more energy. I guess there’s caffeine in them, which is fine with me since I cut out sodas and don’t drink coffee. I do drink tea, but usually herbal. No weight loss – I’ve actually gained a couple of pounds, but I don’t really care. I feel good, and that is what’s important at this point.
Feature Request April 6, 2008
Posted by Mike Oliveri in Activities.Tags: ipod, nikeplus, running
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I’m digging the Nike+iPod thing. Being able to share my runs online rocks, and I like getting real-time feedback on time, distance and pace, as it helps me make sure my walking is not drifting off between runs. I also get the benefit of an iPod for music listening, and the PowerSong and spoken feedback are just a nice bonus.
What would be nice, though, is a programmable prompt for workout changes. For example, if I could punch in the timings for my run/walk circuits based on the running plan and have it alert me somehow, I wouldn’t feel compelled to check the time as often as I do. I would also be able to strap the iPod to my arm instead of carry it in my hand.
You listening, Apple? Make it happen.
Please.
I Must Be a Masochist April 5, 2008
Posted by Mike Oliveri in Activities, Workouts.Tags: black belt club, bruises, drive, lack of sleep, masochism, water
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I didn’t make it to bed until 3:30am last night, and I managed to sleep in until 8:30. I missed the basic class this morning, but made it to advanced class for an hour of kata practice and helping some students with the Judo throws required for their next stripe.
Today was also Black Belt Club, in which I attended three more hours of karate. Black Belt Club itself is the first hour, and we ran kata several times. Then came SWAT, in which we talked some, worked some more kata (taikyoku punching exercises, actually), and then did an hour of knife defense drills.
And because that’s just not enough, I went out for a run this evening.
A friend asked if I’m trying to kill myself. I can already see the new bruises starting to form from the knife drills, and tonight my shins hurt after the run. As I type this, I’m drinking a big glass of water to get rehydrated.
Yet I’m loving every minute of it.
Walking Progress April 4, 2008
Posted by regimit in Activities.Tags: walking
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I’m two days into the walking program, and today is my day to rest. My daughter and I did the first workout on Wednesday, and it went pretty well. I was more tired than I thought when we were through, but it felt good. Yesterday I didn’t have to use the treadmill. A group of us went out to dinner at a restaurant a little over a mile away, so one of the other women and I walked at a good pace. The step counter counted over 5,000 steps of aerobic walking (44 minutes), so I’m within the program range. I managed to eat semi-decently, also. For dinner I had crab and linguine. Lots of buttery sauce on both, but my portions were very small.
Today is going to be a long day as activities run from 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. It’s a good thing that today is a day to rest, though I’m sure I’ll log over 10,000 regular steps.
