My HDL levels are borderline high. Seeing that I'm only 34, now seems the right time to address this issue rather than brushing it aside. After a quick online search into what causes high cholesterol, my plan is to get back on track to lose my gut. Losing weight (which will involve more exercise and better eating habits) will bring my HDL down a few points, hopefully. Maybe this not great news will get the scale going down again.
While I'm commenting on my losing the gut resolution, I'll give an update on another neglected resolution, reading a Dickens book. I have been focusing my reading time on Nicholas Nickleby. I'm almost half finished. I want to get it wrapped up by the time my online classes start at Marist (assuming they accept me of course). I have no idea how much time I will have to read once my classes start so I figured I should take care of that resolution now rather than trying to squeeze a fat Dickens book into the last couple weeks of December. I'm reading 25-30 pages a night before I workout (or pass out like I did last night, that's one way to go to bed earlier).
I've been thinking about which two foundations classes to take this semester. Should I tackle one of the subjects that I do not find particularly appealing (like accounting or finance) or should I pick something interesting (like economics)? I guess I'll have an advisor that is supposed to help me make this decision, but I'm sure I'll get a stock answer. I have to take them all eventually so it probably doesn't matter in which order I take them, and it's not like I have to pick a time that works for me. I'm currently leaning towards economics (or analytical tools, I may be able to use some of that in my job) and management. We'll see what my adviser says, assuming I get accepted of course. (Yes, I will count school books in my books read for the year.)
Showing posts with label 1. Get waist measurement to half of my height. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1. Get waist measurement to half of my height. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Concept 2
I've used the Concept 2 at the gym a few more times. Every time I use it, I get a little bit faster. Seeing that I can only get to the gym on the weekends, I started thinking about ways to improve my stamina and power using other types of workouts to get faster even though I'm not actually on the machine. It didn't take me long to realize that the Spartacus workout is a good place to start. If I do it as prescribed, I will get plenty of work on improving my explosivity while improving my cardiovascular fitness. Based on the workout I did today, I'm right around the 25th percentile of the online rankings for my age and weight for just about every distance up to 5000 meters. With a little bit of focus and effort, I think I can get to the average time for each distance in a few weeks.
I've always been intrigued by the Concept 2 because there are detailed rankings online. I have no idea how far I could get up the rankings, but having a scale to measure my performance against is a solid motivator. Anything that gets to my competitive nature will help me get out in the garage to workout. Running never did it for me because I am such a pathetic distance runner. I knew that I would never be that competitive as a runner. This rowing thing seems much more up my alley.
Besides the desire to drop some inches from my waist, I read an article in Men's Health that has got me thinking about my resting heart rate. Currently, my resting heart rate is a little below 60 beats per minute. That's alright, but I would like to get it down a few more beats per minute. That will require getting out in the garage and actually working on more than one or two nights a week. We'll see if this desire to get faster on the Concept 2 gets me back in the garage.
I've always been intrigued by the Concept 2 because there are detailed rankings online. I have no idea how far I could get up the rankings, but having a scale to measure my performance against is a solid motivator. Anything that gets to my competitive nature will help me get out in the garage to workout. Running never did it for me because I am such a pathetic distance runner. I knew that I would never be that competitive as a runner. This rowing thing seems much more up my alley.
Besides the desire to drop some inches from my waist, I read an article in Men's Health that has got me thinking about my resting heart rate. Currently, my resting heart rate is a little below 60 beats per minute. That's alright, but I would like to get it down a few more beats per minute. That will require getting out in the garage and actually working on more than one or two nights a week. We'll see if this desire to get faster on the Concept 2 gets me back in the garage.
Monday, May 31, 2010
30 day experiment conclusion
My experiment to write two posts a week has been a mild success. While I did not write two posts a week, I did post at an average rate of about 2 per week. This is a posting frequency that works well with my other activities. I think I'll try to stick to it.
Seeing as today is May 31, it seems fitting to pick a new 30 day challenge. My wife is giving up tortillas chips for the month. I am going to give up eating after dinner. No little snacks, no desserts, nothing. I measured my waist today. The gut has shrunk a little (the number depends on how tight I make the measuring tape, which is a difficult variable to control). Maybe this mini-resolution will help me make a little more progress.
Seeing as today is May 31, it seems fitting to pick a new 30 day challenge. My wife is giving up tortillas chips for the month. I am going to give up eating after dinner. No little snacks, no desserts, nothing. I measured my waist today. The gut has shrunk a little (the number depends on how tight I make the measuring tape, which is a difficult variable to control). Maybe this mini-resolution will help me make a little more progress.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sticking with it
Where would my physical fitness be if I had stuck with the Spartacus workout? What if I had stuck with my regular workouts rather than focusing my energy on the LSAT last February? Would I need this resolution to get my waist to half my height? What would happen if I consistently worked out for 6 months? I'm going to try to find out. Getting a good view of my gut while I was trying on my new shirt last week reminded me that I have not made much progress on this resolution. I have lost a few pounds since the New Year, but I'm still a couple of inches from my goal. There is still time to make a difference.
I'm going to be realistic in my workout goals. I want to workout four to five times a week. I am not a big fan of working out on the weekends (Friday and Saturday) and I would like a day or two each week to skip a workout if I'm really into whatever book I'm reading or to do a little preparation for the GMAT (with law school out of the picture, I need to do something else to get a credential that will give me non-research career options).
A bigger challenge than working out is controlling what I eat. If I have a decent DVD to watch, getting out on the treadmill for 30 minutes or so isn't a big deal (I watched the first part of The Transporter tonight). Controlling my diet over the weekends is a much bigger challenge. Big breakfasts, too much snacking, and a few beers add up over the weekend. If I can get those habits under control, I should start making some progress. We're pretty active on the weekends during the summer, but that activity will go much farther if I'm not stuffing my face all day.
I'm going to be realistic in my workout goals. I want to workout four to five times a week. I am not a big fan of working out on the weekends (Friday and Saturday) and I would like a day or two each week to skip a workout if I'm really into whatever book I'm reading or to do a little preparation for the GMAT (with law school out of the picture, I need to do something else to get a credential that will give me non-research career options).
A bigger challenge than working out is controlling what I eat. If I have a decent DVD to watch, getting out on the treadmill for 30 minutes or so isn't a big deal (I watched the first part of The Transporter tonight). Controlling my diet over the weekends is a much bigger challenge. Big breakfasts, too much snacking, and a few beers add up over the weekend. If I can get those habits under control, I should start making some progress. We're pretty active on the weekends during the summer, but that activity will go much farther if I'm not stuffing my face all day.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
12Jan - Shrinking the mid-section
I read in a magazine that the ideal waist size is half of your height. I'm 6'2" so my waist should be 37 inches. My waist (as measured at my belly button) is a little over 40 inches. I have no idea what my weight will be if I manage to get rid of my spare tire, so I thought it would be better to focus on what I want to achieve rather than picking some arbitrary number to lose (like 20 pounds) or reach a magic weight (190? I have no idea). I'm about 220 (at least on our new digital scale, I was a little over 210 on our old analog one) now. We'll see how my weight changes as I lose fat.
I've been using the Spartacus workout published in Men's Health as my weight lose exercise. That workout lead to my resolution to send in my "after" picture for the Spartacus challenge. I signed up for the motivational aspect of the challenge. I submitted a before picture. I didn't want to not submit an after picture or have an after picture that could pass for a before photo. The first time I tried the workout I could barely make it through one cycle. I've been doing it for a few weeks and I managed to do two cycles last night with a little more rest than recommended in the instructions. Cardio has never been my thing so I like the approach of using intense weight training as a fat burning workout.
After I finish the workout, I walk on our treadmill for 15 minutes or so to take advantage of my heightened metabolic activity. I usually watch a DVD, but I'm between Netflix deliveries (The Hangover will be delivered tomorrow). I read while I was walking. It was a decent arrangement. If I get behind on my quest to read 16 books, I'll start using that treadmill time to get a few more pages read in whatever book is the easiest for me to read while walking.
I've been using the Spartacus workout published in Men's Health as my weight lose exercise. That workout lead to my resolution to send in my "after" picture for the Spartacus challenge. I signed up for the motivational aspect of the challenge. I submitted a before picture. I didn't want to not submit an after picture or have an after picture that could pass for a before photo. The first time I tried the workout I could barely make it through one cycle. I've been doing it for a few weeks and I managed to do two cycles last night with a little more rest than recommended in the instructions. Cardio has never been my thing so I like the approach of using intense weight training as a fat burning workout.
After I finish the workout, I walk on our treadmill for 15 minutes or so to take advantage of my heightened metabolic activity. I usually watch a DVD, but I'm between Netflix deliveries (The Hangover will be delivered tomorrow). I read while I was walking. It was a decent arrangement. If I get behind on my quest to read 16 books, I'll start using that treadmill time to get a few more pages read in whatever book is the easiest for me to read while walking.
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