PJ & Marcus commit to getting in shape for 2009/2010

Pandita, Phil, Other easterners . . .

Let's get serious about hiking on this thread:

http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/83753/pa-md-other-easterners-meet-for-a-hike

Stage 1 of my goal met. I broke 190 lb. Now, to get to 180. In the past month, I have had one scotch (a Rusty Nail in Big Sky). It has been tough, I have two bottles sitting on the counter at home, staring at me every day . The second 10 will be tougher than the first one. I am trying to do something every day, be it the Wii, bike or golf (walking). 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philpug 

Stage 1 of my goal met. I broke 190 lb. Now, to get to 180. In the past month, I have had one scotch (a Rusty Nail in Big Sky). It has been tough, I have two bottles sitting on the counter at home, staring at me every day . The second 10 will be tougher than the first one. I am trying to do something every day, be it the Wii, bike or golf (walking). 

Nice job Phil....plus you've got a great week of skiing coming up real soon....

on the other hand that beer and beef deck party could be trouble

Nice job Phil!  Looking forward to seeing the new svelte Phil in a couple of weeks.

I had a great weekend of workouts as well.  Did a full sprint distance triathlon practice during which I had a personal best run both distance and pace wise.  Cut my pace by nearly 2 min per mile!  So far no knee pain during or after runs.  Just having to be careful with the plantar fascitis but I've got that pretty well under control with stretching, icing and massage. 

Good job Phil keep up the good work.  I have also hit my first stage,  and am now 149.    Next stage is to hit 139. 

Thought I would try something more interesting than stationary bike/StairMaster (boring).  Our local health club, which is 2 blocks from my home, started offering an early morning 6:00am boot camp. 8-10 pathetic souls join up every Mon.,Wens, Fri. to pay penance for our sins.  Stretching first (good), lunges and squats (not too bad),  then outside for some joggin'.  There happens to be a four story parking garage next door.  Jog up all floors and back down; 5 times!!!  (this really sucks!!!)  Then to top this all off we hit the stairs of said building.  Up/down 4 times!  (torture of epic proportions) Oh The Horror!!!!!   The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that there is an 83yr old man who has ran my  butt in the ground for 3  days.  I'm ashamed and humiliated! (not for long, I'm gettin' mo better!)  Down 4lbs in 2 weeks....still drink a few BL on weekends, eatting better foods though! 

Been riding 130-150 miles a week.  Saturday was the ugliest day I've ever been on a bike.  It was a light drizzle, and misty.  I also picked it for my first time up Lefthand Canyon, which is a 4000 foot climb over 16 miles.  I didn't do too badly on the ascent, although I couldn't fetch the last mile into Ward, where the grade rolls up to a sustained 10%+.  The descent, however, was the worst part of it -- it was upper 30's in temperature, so foggy I couldn't see 10 feet in front of me, and I was soaked.  I was utterly terrified I was going to be run over by a vehicle who likely would not be able to see me from behind due to the fog, and traveling downhill even at a reduced speed of 30 mph made it the coldest I've ever been on the bike.  I stood in the shower for 30 minutes to get warm when I finally made it home.

I need to lose a bunch more weight if I'm going to be comfortable on the BTC tour coming up in mid-June -- 510 miles over 6 days in the mountains.  That being said, I've dropped 20+ pounds, and am much stronger as well.  My first century is coming up in 2 weeks, and I'll see how I'm doing then.

Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rossi Smash 

 

Nice job Phil....plus you've got a great week of skiing coming up real soon....

on the other hand that beer and beef deck party could be trouble

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. 

I have been real good with the drinking, went with a bunch of my old drinking buddies over the weekend...had one beer, these are guys I would usually drink like a fish with. 3-4 beers and a steak won't kill me. Moderation has been key. 

Ragin, whats this I hear you're skipping your trip to Abasin with GW?  You didn't let  that 83 year old man kick your butt, did you? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ragin' cajun' 

Thought I would try something more interesting than stationary bike/StairMaster (boring).  Our local health club, which is 2 blocks from my home, started offering an early morning 6:00am boot camp. 8-10 pathetic souls join up every Mon.,Wens, Fri. to pay penance for our sins.  Stretching first (good), lunges and squats (not too bad),  then outside for some joggin'.  There happens to be a four story parking garage next door.  Jog up all floors and back down; 5 times!!!  (this really sucks!!!)  Then to top this all off we hit the stairs of said building.  Up/down 4 times!  (torture of epic proportions) Oh The Horror!!!!!   The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that there is an 83yr old man who has ran my  butt in the ground for 3  days.  I'm ashamed and humiliated! (not for long, I'm gettin' mo better!)  Down 4lbs in 2 weeks....still drink a few BL on weekends, eatting better foods though! 

I'm with you all. I'm thinking hard about getting in shape and intending all kinds of things.

I got off to a strong start in April with 505 miles on the bike. I only wish the weather would cooperate, we are having the rainiest YTD in 80 years.

4 weeks of 4 lifting sessions a week and 4-5 cardio sessions a week completed.

5-6 high protein and good carbohydrate meals a day and tons of water.

1" off my waist so far.  3.5" more to go by September!  (I'm not going by weight loss, although I have lost 5 lbs. - but I'm building muscle so weight loss is not the main factor.  It's fat loss, which is only proved by the trusted belto-meter.)

Great thread.  I'm moving soon, so I figured I need to finally complete the trails I've wanted to do but haven't gotten around to in the Sandias.  40 miles last week, shooting for 50 this week.  17 miles yesterday left my feet too messed up to do more today though, so I'm going to take the bike for a ride later if I coax someone else into it.

Beginning week 3 which increases my sets from 2 to 3.  Added some additional arm-strengthening exercises and whaling on my lower abs now too.  Embarrassed to admit I did a lot of hobbling week 1 but the knee and ankle have stopped griping for the most part.

Great news everyone and congratulations!  I dropped from 230 to 227, so still a long way to go.

PJ - You one funny sumbeech, Bubba!  I'll be thinking about you on those stairs while I'm out hiking in the rain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekchick 

Ragin, whats this I hear you're skipping your trip to Abasin with GW?  You didn't let  that 83 year old man kick your butt, did you? 

 

Nah, Trekie!  Just an attic fold-up ladder!  I have a tool to raise it back up....I was just too damn lazy to go get it!   Just a quick push up and I'll have it up....which did work, but cost me my right shoulder. My Chiropractor didn't help much, now I'm seein' an orthopedic surgeon....Can someone tell me what the hell is a torn-up rotator cuff ?????  My orthopede seems to be smiling way too much when I visited last week..... The Dr. won't even let me go fishin'!  Stuck here at home doing girlie things with Ms Cajun (goin to the movies, cookin', shopin' sayin "yes" to everything she asks).  Boot camp has been placed on hold for a few weeks until I can sort this shoulder stuff out.  Been walkin in the morns to make up for torture camp.  Bike hurts like hell..... BTW, This getting older thing really, really sucks....... 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ragin' cajun' 

 

...Can someone tell me what the hell is a torn-up rotator cuff ????? 

 

Ow Ow Ow. Can you get a shirt on?

Quote: 

My orthopede seems to be smiling way too much when I visited last week..... The Dr. won't even let me go fishin'!  Stuck here at home doing girlie things with Ms Cajun (goin to the movies, cookin', shopin' sayin "yes" to everything she asks).  Boot camp has been placed on hold for a few weeks until I can sort this shoulder stuff out.  Been walkin in the morns to make up for torture camp.  Bike hurts like hell..... BTW, This getting older thing really, really sucks....... 

Yeah... .   What did the ortho say?    You sleeping OK?  

Status:  218 +/- 6 depending on hydration levels.  1 waist size down.   Pulling more than body weight; averaging 286W to 370W for about 12 hours per week.   Interval work not so good, my all-crushing peak wattages of 4-5 years ago are down 60-70%, mostly 'coz I go into oxygen debt above that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by comprex 

 

Yeah... .   What did the ortho say?    You sleeping OK?  

 

 

Status:  218 +/- 6 depending on hydration levels.  1 waist size down.   Pulling more than body weight; averaging 286W to 370W for about 12 hours per week.   Interval work not so good, my all-crushing peak wattages of 4-5 years ago are down 60-70%, mostly 'coz I go into oxygen debt above that.

Comprex, I'm getting around 4 hours max at a time.  Pain wakes me up, no comfortable position.  I can get a shirt on one arm at a time carefully!  Just taking over the counter stuff...doesn't last very long.. letting the swelling go down a bit to see whats next...see him this Tues. morn for MRI and such.  Have a better idea of what to do by then.  Second time I screw this shoulder up in 3 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ragin' cajun' 

 
 

Comprex, I'm getting around 4 hours max at a time.  Pain wakes me up, no comfortable position.

What helped me most was a body pillow, and a nest of other pillows around it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by comprex 

 

 

What helped me most was a body pillow, and a nest of other pillows around it.

Thanks for that info!!!!!!!   I have used a battery of pillows which does help take the preassure off that elbow and shoulder, however, mrs Cajun hates me usin' those designer pillows to sleep on! 

Rotator cuff injuries suck, had one, fortunately not torn.  My doc didn't do an MRI, said they have too many false positives and he cuts people up and they don't have torn rc's.  He did something called an Arthrogram where they inject water into your shoulder and do a realtime xray to see if it seeps from one side to the other, if it does there's a tear.  You could suggest that test and see what the doc says.

Shoulders take a long time to fully heal, mine was a ski injury from a face plant with a tin candy container in my chest pocket.  Also bruised my ribs.  Crushed the can.  Never carry anything in my chest pockets anymore.

I assume you're doing a regiment of anti inflammatories of some kind?

Good luck with it.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkiMangoJazz 

Rotator cuff injuries suck, had one, fortunately not torn.  My doc didn't do an MRI, said they have too many false positives and he cuts people up and they don't have torn rc's.  He did something called an Arthrogram where they inject water into your shoulder and do a realtime xray to see if it seeps from one side to the other, if it does there's a tear.  You could suggest that test and see what the doc says.

 

Shoulders take a long time to fully heal, mine was a ski injury from a face plant with a tin candy container in my chest pocket.  Also bruised my ribs.  Crushed the can.  Never carry anything in my chest pockets anymore.

 

I assume you're doing a regiment of anti inflammatories of some kind?

 

Good luck with it.  

 

Just left Dr.'s office...No torn Rotator cuff!!!!!!   Seems most of the problem lies in my neck.  Discs are starting to  compact causing nerve/muscle inflammation.  Physical therapy w/ anti inflammatories have been prescribed.  Tendinitis has set in on right elbow.  Suggest to stay away from  off shore fishing, running in choppy seas, for a while.
 

 That is close to the diagnosis I had when I tumbled down Devils Drop at Boyne last year.

There is an irritation in my neck causing a muscle issue between my neck and shoulder, along with the onset of Bursitis.

I can, and do, have troubles with it when I shrug my shoulders for prolonged periods of time, like typing at a bad angle.  The best thing I did for my shoulder was go skiing at Big Sky.  That week of working on using my poles nearly eliminated the pain in my shoulder.

It wasn't until I went biking and had the forward hunch that I started to feel it again.

So, my prescription is to GO SKI!!!!

Update on my personal goals...

I realize that the summer is when I am enticed by the dreaded dairy queen and though I mt bike a lot I also tend to treat myself which doesn't help me stay in shape for ski season.

Since BigSky, I have gained a few lbs and am not feeling fit, mostly because the weather has not been ideal to get out and mt bike/golf.

So, I decided to commit two nights a week to golf/walk 9 holes at a course close to my house.  I am also going to ride Mt bike a minimum of two days a week.(hopefully it will be more)

Admittedly, I have a tough time staying on track with work outs, though I know the benefits of things like the agility ladder and jump rope for ski conditioning, so I'm going to try to implement both of those in my weekly regiment.

My goal is to start the ski season with quicker reflexes in the trees and bumps and to not have to take off the usual 10 lbs that I gain in summer.

Just hovering above 190, would like to get back below... the eating habits of hard says of skiing and altitude and beer influences  of the other Philly Bears at A-basin didn't help. 

Sure sure blame it on us philly bears .... maybe if you didnt steal other peoples beers ;) Beers the hardest to give up ... thats the part that I always have trouble with - especially since we eat out so much. Weathers perfect now though and cant wait to get out the bikes!

FWIW - I find that if I make a conscious effort to eat nutritious food and drink plenty of water, the temptation to pound the bad stuff is diminished.  Not eliminated, just diminished.

Some lower back pain from trying to do too much ab work too soon is slowing me down. Went to a massage therapist which helped, but I need to lay off ab & lower-body weight training for awhile. Still walking 4-5 times/week.

Thanks for the posts everyone. It's encouraging to hear from you all . . . both the good and the struggles.

I'm in the middle of a big training block to prepare for the Bicycle Tour of Colorado.  This weekend was pretty intense for me:  200 miles in 3 days, (30 miles on Friday and a personal best time at that distance, my first century of the year on Saturday, and 70 miles yesterday, including 4500 feet of climbing).  Today, I feel tired, and my strength training showed quite a bit of fatigue in the legs.  I'm a bit disappointed I cut my training short on Friday -- it was supposed to be 3-4 hours, and I did an hour forty, but you gotta work!

This next weekend is another big one for me -- should be around 240 miles Friday-Monday, and I should have another 50 from the weekday rides this week.  I'm in the best shape I've been in in 20 years, but do wish the weight would come off a bit quicker.  I've only lost 20 pounds since February.  I guess it didn't go on in a few months, so you can't expect it to come off too fast either.

Mike

Another reminder, Alex & Tommi

www.trainforskivacation.com/

I coached 6 year old little league, trout fished, and planted some tomatoes this week. 

I feel ripped.  Bring on 2010.