Loving Yourself and Body Consciousness

Is my body a reflection of who I am? Or is this simply a meat-robot that carts me about from here to there?

I see a paradox forming; on the one hand, we are spiritual beings that merely inhabit this plane of existence for a brief moment...

And yet, we are animals inextricably intertwined with the DNA of our reptilian ancestors. We share the same Fight-Flight-Freeze instincts that all animals have.

Or is there a third way? Another alternative that encompasses both paths?

Can you be a spiritual animal... or an animalistic spirit?

More to the point, what does this have to do with losing weight and getting healthy?

Well, it seems to me that everything in life can be a spiritual journey. I certainly believe that about business! Why not diet and exercise... after all - what is Yoga or Tai Chi? Every religion in the world has some sort of dietary dogma, why not me?

I worked out Friday morning. I started out with a warm up of stretching and limbering, went to the treadmill and did 10 minutes of inerval training. Easy for a few minutes, then faster and steeper, then easy, and again for two more cycles. By the end, I felt warm and my breath was threatening to start huffing.

On to the weights. I've been reading Elsworth Darden's High Intensity Training. He makes a lot of sense.

The Cliff's Notes:

Work large muscle groups first, starting with the legs.

Use multiple joint exercises first, and then move to more isolationist exercises. Use short range of motion to protect the joints, one single set to complete failure and heavy enough weight that you can't possibly get past 10 reps. If you feel you've got more in you, do 6 reps, drop the weight, keep going. Burn yourself out completely until you are consumed by white heat and death would be a relief.

Lower Body

• Squat Machine
• Leg Extensions
• Leg Curls
• Calf Raises

Cry, whimper, sniffle and beg for mercy... then keep going

Upper Body

• Bench Press
• Back Row
• Lat Pulldown
• Chest Fly
• Military Press
• Shoulder Raises
• Bicep Curls
• Tricep Extensions
• Ab Machine

That's it. Drink lots of water during the workout. Drink a Creatine shake immediately afterwards. Take a sauna, shower and walk tremblingly toward you car. Promise yourself that this is worth it.

The entire trick is to recruit as many muscle fibers as humanly possible. That means you must have ultimate intensity.

My challenge is that I must gradually ramp up the intensity because of my blood pressure. I don't want it to go too high. So we are starting out with less intensity than I would prefer, but I trust that time will be my ally.

On my off days, I will be continuing my aerobics by biking, walking the dogs, and later in the summer, swimming in the local pool.

My goal is to be at 235 lbs. by August 12th 2008.

Getting Started

Today was my second real workout on this road to health. This time, I'm determined to do this right. Ease into it a step at a time, not overdoing it, not sluffing it.

I got to the gym at 7:00am. Started stretching myself on "The Octopus's Nightmare". That's just my name for this contraption that turns you into a pretzel over and over again. In 10 minutes, you will find that you can stretch yourself in more ways than you ever thought possible. Any thoughts of dignity go right out the door. Pretty girls walk past with an expression of horror and fascination, grown men turn pale and shudder.

Then, once we're all loosey-goosey, it's time for the treadmill or recumbent bicycle. I think the recumbent bike ought to have a disclaimer on it... You'd think that because you're sitting down, it would be easier. It's not. The only advantage that I can find is that it doesn't put your balls to sleep after 1/2 hour in the saddle.

10 minutes of progressive interval training and on to the weights.

At this point, I'm just trying to get my body used to the idea of exercise again, so I'm not too concerned about what weights I'm handling; just focused on form

For most of my exerciese, I use a limited range of motion to keep strain off my joints. I have no interest in competitive weight lifting, so I simply don't care about full-range lifts. I care about keeping my shoulders, elbows and knees intact. I don't worry about lack of flexibility, not with all the stretching I do every day.

What most people don't think of, is that weight lifting, done correctly, is good for your cardiovascular system. So 10 minutes of aerobic may not sound like much, but that just gets the joints lubricated and warmed up.

I'm only using one set of each exercise with a weight that is heavy for me after 12 reps or so. This is a moderate workout, and I'll ramp up the intensity bit-by-bit each week.

In about 6-8 weeks, I'll be using really heavy weights for about 4 reps max. This is where the limited range of motion (2-4) inches really pays off. Well over 80% of all weightlifting accidents happen at the point of extreme stress on a joint. My solution is to never have the weight in this range in the first place.

I've been reading High Intensity Training by Ellsworth Darden and Static Contraction Training by Pete Cisco. Both stress the importance of short-duration, high intensity workouts designed to recruit the maximum number of muscle fibers possible as quickly as possible. This is what fires up the metabolism and burns fat.

I'll be posting pictures and stats soon.

First Steps

The journey of a thousand miles begins right here. And here is an overweight, out-of-shape, middle-aged guy.

So, we lead with our strengths. One of the things I am good at is research. Another is that I'm willing to be my own best Guinea Pig.

I also know that conventional wisdom is almost always wrong. Add to this that the 80/20 principle tells us that we can achieve 80% of the results we seek for 20% of the effort (in this case time).

I have no desire, nor the ability, to be a full-time gym rat. In fact, I need to be able to get in, work out and get done within an hour... maybe a little more if I indulge in a Sauna (I love sauna's).

Luckily enough, I have a gym near me (less than 10 minutes away). Inside can be found every type of self-torture device ever created by the sick and twisted minds of men.

How to Begin?

Well, at the beginning, I suppose. I am a somewhat typical American male. Somewhat active in school, I was on the swim team and took Karate lessons. I could eat anything with impunity and did.

But then I went to college and started drinking beer and eating almost nothing but cheap carbs. I started smoking, stopped working out and began to bloat.

I was severely depressive, in a terrible relationship (for both of us... I gave as good as I got) and had no tools, no skills and no effective support net. So I entered a pretty self-destructive cycle. In a gift from the Gods, I somehow decided to chuck it all, sell all my stuff and bicycle out to the West Coast. Originally, I'd planned on ending up in Los Angeles, but ran out of money in Seattle.

I'd been living on the saddle of a bike for months and whittled my weight down to 190 pounds. I was ripped. My thighs were so large in comparison to my waist, I couldn't wear normal trousers.

Unfortunately, Mr. Destructo caught up with me, and I spiraled back into a series of self-destructive patterns. Drinking, smoking and eating terrible food (and waaay too much of it) jumpstarted the cycle.

I fell in love, got married, bought a house in the suburbs... and nearly died. I was so lonesome and miserable I had no idea who or what I was. But I was pretty clear that this wasn't it.

And then...

A Journey Towards Health

February 17th, 2008

The purpose of this blog is to document my experiences in overcoming some chronic health issues that have plagued me for years.

In this, I will strive for complete transparency, complete disclosure and as much self-honesty as I'm capable of.

Here are the salient facts:

I am 42 years old, 5'10" and 296 pounds.