Get Fit Big Guy

So, the other day, I’m sitting at my desk and I get an IM from one Mr. Daniel Box who proposed a challenge for the 30 days of June. We’ve agreed to be “virtual running buddies.” Now, as much as I like the idea of “virtual running,” that’s not quite what he meant. Every day, we’ll check up on each other to make sure the other is running (or biking is a healthy substitute) at least half a mile per day. While half a mile isn’t much for someone in as good a shape as Daniel, it’s a challenge for me. Since I missed day one, I have to make that up at the end of the month, but I jogged it out last night and I will make the time to do it tonight as well. Wish me luck.

On another note…

As much as I hate to admit it, there’s really no truly healthy way of losing weight outside of what we all know to be true: eat right and exercise. If you exercise, but you’re not eating the right things or the too much, or if you eat well, but don’t exercise, you only reap minimal benefits. But if it’s all clicking together, then it’s going to work. I’ve struggled through focusing on diet, but resisting the exercise. My time is really tight, and that’s more than just an excuse, yet I’ve found enough time to play World of Warcraft and get my character up to a level 16 in one week. I’ve managed to watch a few tv shows in that time. And I’m tired…man, am I tired. I don’t sleep well as it is, and with 3 kids and a wife with a growing business, I have good reason for that fatigue. However, I’m pretty sure if I can make some adjustments and make exercise something important, then I should be able to overcome.

My mother just gifted my family with a one-year membership to our local rec center, and from what I hear, it’s quite nice! I’m excited and will be trying it out tonight! Now, I’m off to order supplies for my CPAP machine…hopefully for the last time!

Been slammed lately. Will post soon. Haven’t forgotten about you, blog.

The kids are finally out of school for the summer. I don’t have to be up at 6 to fix them breakfast and lunch. I now have time to get up and work out and focus on me.

As for the past three days, the focus has been on me…well, me sleeping in. I haven’t been to bed before at least midnight in the past month, and most nights, it’s usually around 1am before I get to bed. I still have to be up before 7 to get ready and out of the house to my 8:30am job due to traffic, so I’m averaging around 5-6 hours of sleep, and that’s killing me. So tired all day long til I get that bizarre second wind around 7 or 8, then keep on going til late again. Gotta find a way past that. It’d be one thing if I could just shut it down, but many nights, I’m up working on freelance work or my wife’s business.

OK, if you’re reading this and you work with me, you may want to avoid the rest of this post…I’m up 2 lbs. since last week, so that sucks, but whatever, it ebbs & flows.

And I think the lack of sleep is getting to me…or something is. I’m not too sure which one, but my mind is really unsettled lately.

A little history:

In 2001, we moved into a rental house that had a few different toxic strains of mold. We didn’t know what was wrong, but after less than a year there, I began to get sick. Extremely fatigued, sneezing and coughing all the time, struggling to breath. It finally dawned on me one day to have it tested, and sure enough, we were toxic. We moved out, but my health has been really sketchy ever since.

Combine that with the fact that I’ve had some stomach troubles ever since having my gall bladder removed in 1999, and it’s a recipe for uneasiness.

I live with this strange fear that I’m going to die. Now, I now we’ll all die, and while I am usually able to keep it at bay, there are times when I lie down at night and fully expect to not wake up the next day. There’s this constant feeling that I’ve got some awful disease despite many tests and much bloodwork that say otherwise. I hate the fact that I feel this way, and I’m more than willing to cop to the notion that it might just be a chemical imbalance in my brain or something, but it’s a real feeling whether it’s valid or not, and I’m not a fan.

Some of you might tell me to get on some anti-depressant. Well, I’m not real interested in that route as it’s got some nasty side effects. Some would say to trust God with it, and I do. Matter of fact, when I take the time to pray in the mornings on my way to work, it’s kept a lot of my anxiety away, but that pervasive sense of impending doom never truly goes away. And I really wish it would. I’ve got some anxiety about some specific things that I am taking to my doctor in a few weeks, so maybe that will begin to give me some peace of mind.

I know that part – and possibly the biggest part – of my getting fit has to do with healthy thoughts and believing that I can get beyond this current state, but there are days when that seems like it’s damn near impossible. Today is one of those days.

Do me favor if you see me, and just be normal. Pray for me if you feel like it or send good vibes my way or whatever positive things you do, and know that it’s appreciated.

And I don’t think it’s got anything to do with gaining 2 lbs. this week. I wish it was a loss, but I’m still in the 240’s, so I’m not too upset about it.

OK, so not a ton of news to post, although I know I desperately need to take a picture cause I know you all want to see the sexy…or something.

So, I’ve been really enjoying Wii Fit so far. I’ve heard people say things like “you won’t even break a sweat” and stuff like that, but I’m figuring that if you’re not really very into fitness, this is a GREAT introduction to get you moving! Let’s face it: most people who are gamers aren’t known for being all about the workout. So, if you haven’t done much exercise, then hula-hooping on the balance board is a good initiation. And even some of the strength training exercises – when done slowly and focusing on form – can be a really great workout. You can do them more than once if it’s not enough for your first time, or you’ll eventually unlock more advanced workouts.

So, I’m pretty happy with the purchase, and can’t wait to see my Mii in some smaller sizes

Been celebrating this holiday weekend with doing as little as possible, but still been up in the Wii just workin’ on my fitness. I’ll be back with the good tomorrow. Til then.

Part-mountain bike + part-street bike = One wild ride.

So, I hit up a few places for lunch today to scope out some potentials. The best place I ended up was Dick’s Sporting Goods in Cool Springs where I was helped with Brice and (I believe his name was) Chad. Lots of good input from these guys. And thanks to Brice for some really great tips on running!

So, the bike I was recommended felt really good once we got me on one that was more my size. It was a Diamondback Insight 1. Not terribly expensive, but not as cheap as something you’d pick up at Wal-Mart either. But it really did feel comfortable – except for my butt, though I hear I’ll get over that – and I liked the look of it. Now, I know that may not be important to most cyclists, but I’m a designer. I like stuff that looks nice. Sue me.

So, there you go. If you’ve got ANY advice on cycling or bikes or bike-related stuff, you know where you can stick it!

In the comments section will be fine.

And, Jeff, thanks for the heads up on the “holy seat…” some of these fine folks wholeheartedly agreed.

How appropriate is it that – two weeks into GetFitBigGuy’s resurrection – our friends at Nintendo release their latest & greatest title for the Wii, Wii Fit.

So, my thoughts so far:

Setup was a breeze, of course. Getting acclimated to the board is pretty easy as well.

The game starts off with an explanation of the importance of good balance and posture and the many types of exercises that it offers. You also do some balance tests as well as a body test which, in my case, said that I was obese. Big shock there…I was so offended that a game called me a fatty. I’m a guy, so I’m over it…although they really didn’t have to go to the trouble of porking up my Mii. I mean, I’ve got a Mii that looks just like me, and since you can’t really make them look that fat outside the game, I never had to worry about realism too much. Well, thanks for killing that dream for me, Wii Fit. But again, I’m over it. Clearly.

So, the exercise and activities are pretty fun, though none of them harder on the body than the first group on the list…

Yoga

OK, I’m no namaste newbie. I’ve done a few asanas in my life…ok, a literal few, but still, I’m not unfamiliar with what the peaceful stretching and breathing practice known as yoga can and will do to the body.

Well, with yoga on the Wii, it starts off simple enough with some deep-breathing exercises. If they’d also incorporated the corpse pose, the night could’ve ended on a high note. Instead, they jump in with stuff like the tree pose and the half-moon. Good stuff, but not easy for a man with the balance of a drunken sea captain.

Strength Training

I fully realize that people in better shape than I am currently may not make much of their first experience with these exercises, but for someone who hasn’t even thought about a push-up – unless it had a plastic stick in it and was wrapped in cardboard – in years, it’s a nice little challenge.

Lunges, push-ups, twists & other happy fun stuff await in the land of strength training. Now, even though my balance was sketchy, I scored fairly well on the push-up portion. In all fairness, about half of my push-ups were done “girly-style.” What’s a brother gonna do? He may not be Samoan, but he still got a weight problem.

Aerobics

I don’t know that I got my heart rate up much in any of these exercises except for maybe the jogging, which requires you to either place the wii-mote into your pocket or hold it while you run in place while keeping pace with your “friend” running ahead of you. However, the Hula-Hooping game was a blast, and I am apparently better at rotating my hips than my wife who was a professional dancer. I mean, it’s not like she was THAT kind of professional dancer, but still, I expected better

Balance Games

Everything from Downhill Skiing to Soccer to tightrope walking is covered here. Not easy stuff, but definitely causes you to work on your balance.

So far, I’m enjoying it, and I’m interested to see what else they’ll make for the board. I know they’ve already got a skiing game out, but I’m more interested in this Wii Strip game that I keep hearing about.

Now, I’m off to get fit with my wii.

246.8

I broke the 250 mark!!! I’ll definitely take it! With things being a little crazy, I’ve just really been focusing on eating the right things and at the right times. The Couch Potato to 5K reset begins on Saturday…so I have no good excuse for not starting again.

By the way, thanks to those of you who are harassing me about my running. I sincerely appreciate it.

Sorry for no post last night about Wii Fit. I’ll try and get something on that later today. Have a great Thursday!

Picking it up in about 20 minutes. A full report – and an update from the past few days – to follow soon.

Things have sucked at home for a few days now, and the next few days don’t look good for catching up. Will fill you all in asap.

Suffice it to say I won’t truly being the running until after the kids are out of school at the end of this week. Things ease up a tiny bit at that point. Prayers, nice thoughts and good vibes are all welcome.