DaveGetsFit

First a quick word about my posting frequency. Now that I am a confirmed Twitterholic, I find that I can use it to post quick thoughts on the go. It’s easier than finding the time to get to the computer to knock out a post. Heck, I’m writing this one on my phone in a store parking lot waiting for it to open. But there are some things that just can’t be covered in 140 characters, so my blogging days aren’t over.

I have a standing post over in the right column under Stuff where I describe Boogie Golf. I called it that because the purpose of the game is to keep moving and get some exercise. But if you read further into the article, you will find that the inspiration for it was my attempt to find an activity that fell in line with Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint. Thus I now call it Primal Golf.

I teed of a 6:30 this morning in very low light conditions because of clouds. My first tee shot sounded and felt good but I had no idea where it went. I dropped a ball at the 150 marker and pressed on. On #2 I hit a ball in the right rough which is very sandy—lost ball number two. But I managed to keep the ball in sight after that and didn’t lose another. Aftere that it was a mixture of awful shots mixed in with a healthy dose of Shots That Didn’t Suck (STDS). Thanks in particular to a nice string of shots with my 26 degree utility club on 12 thru 15, my STDS total was 17. Not bad.

One thing that really separates Primal Golf from “real” golf is my mental attitude. When I was playing with the goal of shooting a good score and lowering my handicap, my reaction to bad shots was one of anger and frustration. But with Primal Golf, it’s just a quick “oh well” before moving on to the next shot. It’s a healthier way to play.

Well, I was going to say more but my thumbs are getting tired!

I was supposed to play someone for the first time Thursday but he had to back out. So I ended up on the court with Ron again. Although I lost three games, I actually played fairly well. I fell behind 11-1 in the first game but I fought back to get it to 11-8 but that’s as far as got. I also scored eight points in the second game and nine points in the third. Ron was using a drive serve more often then usual so I was real happy with my effort. And it should go without saying, but I will, it was a hell of a workout!

I took it easy on Friday but I did get in some pullups on the Gravitron machine. I did three sets of ten with the weight set at 110lbs. The first two sets were clean but the last couple of reps on the thrid set were sloppy. But I feel like I’m making progress.

Long day at the pool tomorrow. Hopefully they will provide something decent to eat.

Morning Weight: 206lbs

I went to the gym at lunch today for a quick workout.

Pushups (four rounds)

• 10
• 10
• 7
• 6

Pullups (Gavitron at 120)

• 10
• 10
• 10

I was going to do dips but I decided against it.  The position of the hands on the bar puts a lot of pressure on the same point that caused my nerve injury from cycling.  I need to get some gel gloves or figure out some way to do them without putting pressure on that nerve.  I’m glad that I can do pushups again without pain—I don’t need to reinjure my hands.

Morning weight: 206lbs

After a bit of a layoff due to the foot problems, I got back on the court with Neal today for a really good match.  All the games were close and hard fought but I won 12-15, 15-13, 15-13.  It was a little touch and go on the last game because Neal broke out a ball that he keeps in one of those pressure containers.  It took awhile to get used to it—I was fooled several times by balls coming off the back wall.

I felt a little twinge in my foot right at the start but it went away and no problems the rest of the match.  I got a form in the mail today for my referral to a podiatrist.  It’s good for a year so I’ll just tuck it away for now.  Glad to be back in action!

Morning weight: 206lbs

I mentioned in an comment on Marc’s blog that I couldn’t do a pull up.  He suggested a program on the Gravitron (a device that gives you weight assist to do pull ups and dips) where I start at a point where I can do three sets of 10.  I put the pin in the 120 lb slot thinking that if that was too much, I would adjust on the fly.  But by the time I got to the third set, it struggled to do the last two.  So this looks like a good starting point for me.  I dropped it to 100lbs to do thee sets of dips.  It’s another testament to the weekness of my upper body but I’ll keep working at it.

Neal couldn’t play racquetball today but we’re scheduled for tomorrow.  The foot feels good now–hope that’s true this time tomorrow.

Morning weight: 206lbs

I did a quick workout in the front yard after the bike ride today:

• 10 pushups
• 30 Kettlebell Swings (15 per arm)
• 10 Kettlebell Clean & Press (5 per arm)
• 15 crunches

Three rounds with no rest between exercises.  All done on some thick St. Augustine grass in the shade of a mesquite tree.  Short and sweet!

It was a really great day for a ride.  We had a slight wind out of the north–not very common for this time of year.  This was the first time on the bike for me in three weeks since suffering the Agony of De Feet. After sitting out at the end of the 350 yard pier for a while, we rode to the base bowling lanes where my grandson proceeded to kick my butt in a game of 8-ball!

I figure my words on the web will out live me because Google will archive them somewhere. But what will really cause me to live on beyond the grave will be my grandson telling his kids about his Sunday bike rides with his grandpa.

I had my G1 phone’s mapping program on during the ride. For some reason it quit tracking when we got to the end of the pier. You can check out the track here. If you click on the end point (in red) it will display some statistics about the ride. Very cool!

Last year sometime I started following a program on the web that was supposed to result in being able to do one hundred pushups. I had no illusions that I would get to that stage but I followed it as best I could because a pushup is a GREAT body weight exercise, especially for someone who has as week an upper body as I do. While I was doing it religiously, there were visible results in my physique—my bathroom mirror told me so. I backed off on the program at one point, and then couldn’t restart because of the nerve injury in my hands. But now I’m able to do again so I’m restarting. I’ve retained a little of the strength so I can start at a higher level than I did originally, but I did have to take a big step back from the level I had attained. A classic case of “use it or lose it.” So today:

Pushups

• 10
• 10
• 6
• 6

Notes:  Took roughly 90 sec rest between each; quit when form was going downhill.

Morning weight: 204

I’ve already made it clear that my main influence in my life style change that will hopefully end up in a much more fit me, has been reading Mark Sisson’s blog.  Another site that was influential in the beginning was Art Devany’s blog.  I don’t read it now because he made it subscription based, but there was a lot of good info there when I was reading it.  One of the things Art suggests is doing what he calls “hierarchal sets” which call for doing reps of approximately 15, 8, and 4 reps with an increasing load.  The other details are that the only rest in the set comes while adding plates or grabbing bigger dumbbells, and that you should do all lifts with good form and avoid going to failure.  This most likely is not the way to go if you want to maximize strength gain or muscle size, but after reading Devany’s take, I believe it’s a good, SAFE way to build some practical strength.  And that’s what I want out of my program—knowing that as I age I will be able to keep doing things I want to do rather than waste away.

A couple things to consider.  Sunday I did not do what I wrote above.  I attempted to do lifts AFTER my form had deteriorated—that’s a good way to get injured so it’s something I’m going to be sure to avoid.  Also, as I have noted in the past, my athletic background is based on running and cycling.  My upper body is extremely weak compared to my legs.  So the weights I’m lifting are puny but it’s where I have to start.   Today’s program:

Barbell Overhead Press

• 15 x 40lbs
• 7 x 45lbs
• 3 x 45lbs

Dumbbell Bench Press (weights per arm)

• 15 x 25lbs
• 8 x 30lbs
• 5 x 35lbs

Seated Machine Rows (weights per arm)

• 15 x 55lbs
• 8 x 80lbs
• 4 x 90lbs

Notes:

• From past experience, I know I can start the overhead press with the olympic bar—lifting that 15 times is just too much.  So today I started with  a smaller barbell for the first set.  I did the last two sets with the 45 pound olympic bar, and I quit when I knew I was go to have to break form (like leaning back) to get the next lift.  I’ll use the same weights next time out.
• The rows were done on the Body Masters CPX machine.  It’s a device where each arm acts separately—much closer to doing free weights than a lot of machines.

Since I did my lifting on Sunday, I got in a quick round of Tabata on the rowing machine today.  Distance and stroke rate per interval:

1. 97    42
2. 99    42
3. 92    42
4. 93    42
5. 93    42
6. 93    45
7. 89    45
8. 88    45

Hmmmm—stroke rate up but distance down towards the end.  I’d say those strokes lacked some quality.  I’m sure part of that is due to not having full use of both legs on the catch.  My foot is feeling a little better today but I went ahead and set up an “urgent” appointment for tomorrow rather than wait another two weeks.  I’ll probably end up having to wait for a podiatrist consult anyway.