August 30, 2010 Back to School

Well summertime is over and back to school. This was the first time that I would have to go to work after morning boot camp. How appropriate that we did the playground workout today.

It was a humid morning. Very humid and, once again, buggy. Sharon and I arrived fairly early and brought over our weights and mats. Since we were so early we placed them for all to use during our different stations. No Stanley today so Dustin did our warmup. It was the standard warmup except that at one point we made a circle around Dustin. He would tell us what to do and we would work our way in towards him and then back out. It had to be a pretty scary sight to see all these people heading in toward you at 5:30 in the morning.

I really tried to push myself during the stations. One of the first stations for us (we were in groups of 3) was jumping over these little upside down U like shapes. One was higher than the other two and I got that one. I laughed because there was no way these short legs was going to make it over those very easily. I tried but it was extremely difficult to keep both legs together and jump over. It turned out Sharon couldn't do this one because of her back so I got to move to a lower one. I could handle this one pretty well so now I have to work my way back up to the higher stake.

At the pull up station I could still only do one so I worked really hard at holding myself up and lowering myself back down as slowly as I could. It was tough. Boy do I have a long way to go!
The first rotation wasn't so bad overall.

For cardio we went to the tennis courts. Using our birth dates as a guide one group did a wall sit while the other groups sprinted across the tennis court twice. I went all out on the sprint and made a pretty good showing for myself. Uh-oh. We had to do it again. Not so great on the sprint on the second try. Gotta work on that endurance. But I did go all out again, just didn't have that much left to give! But, on the plus side, no hill today!

This really showed in the next rotation around the playground. It was much harder this time. My legs were tired which made balancing on one foot difficult. My upper body was also tired. However, I kept telling myself to keep going. If I let myself rest for a second I told myself to get going again. Sharon said that was good. It showed my determination. I don't know about that but I want to keep improving.

After our workout we went to the Princeton Club to shower before school. I was glad to see that I worked so hard that my arms were still shaking while I was showering. Sharon said hers were too. So, we either worked out really hard or we're just old.

I did manage to stay awake all through school. Our in-service wasn't too bad and the afternoon was very entertaining and enlightening. Luckily I still had energy when I got home because Elijah (my 13 year old) wanted me to play the basketball game HORSE with him. Then we played a couple games where we each of us took 10 free throws to see who could hit the most, next we played 5 games of UNO, then I ushered him into the shower, and finally we watched the second half of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I also went on a drive with Brenna, my newly licensed daughter, to make sure she knew which route to take when she drove to school. We also drove to Stoughton (about 1/2 hour away) so that Kristan, my niece, could make me look not so old. Finally I came home and watched Dance Your Ass Off (yay, LaToya won!).

I have found that boot camp has increased my energy and I guess that's showing today. We'll see how things go once the students are actually here.

Have a good one!

Roger

Friday, August 27, 2010 The Stanley Workout

For the last 5:30 am workout before starting back to work (rats!) we had a beautiful morning. It was nice and cool, with just a little breeze. It was so perfect I decided to forgo my OFF for the morning and just take my chances with the pesky mosquitoes. Oh, yeah, that was a smart move. NOT!

Stanley was our coach today. It was the first time he was our instructor for the entire session and not just for our warm up. He is another really positive guy, always giving encouragement while continuing to push us so I figured it would be a pretty good workout.

After our warm-up Stanley had us take our weights, mats, and water bottles over to the tennis court. That was nice because that would keep us off the grass for a while longer. However I did get a mosquito bite on the way. We were to pair up with another person that we didn't really know or hadn't worked with before. I was going to do that but Sharon insisted I stay with her. I figured since she had missed a little boot camp recently and had only started using the weights again today, it was kind of like working with a stranger so I agreed. Besides, since we've been going to boot camp we've met more of the people and there are very few we don't kind of know, even if we can't remember their names.

One person in the group was going to start with cardio and the other person was to start with strength training. Sharon really wanted to go on cardio first. I was dying to go also but she looked so sad (and almost knocked me down rushing to the starting line) that I agreed to let her have her way again. Man I'm a nice guy! Stanley described the cardio and said he would stay and instruct those of us doing weights.

We began our strength work with push ups combined with a row. I'm happy to say this is nowhere near as difficult as it was at the beginning of the summer. I try to go as quickly as I can but I also try to make sure everything is very controlled so I do not have an injury. I did the exercise until time was up so that was great as well. Then we did some upright rows. I switched from the 20 lb weights to the 10 lb weights because my physical therapist didn't really want me doing upright rows anymore. So I compromised by doing them with a lighter weight. We also did some deltoid presses, going from a squat to a jump (I just went up on my toes) which I did with the 20 lbs and then back to lateral raises and front raises, again using the 10 lb weights. We were ready to switch. But before that we did some line jumping. We did 45 seconds of front jumps over the line and then 45 seconds doing side jumps. You would not believe how long 45 seconds can take (other than at the end of a basketball or football game).

Now it was my turn to do cardio. We started with an all out sprint back and forth across the tennis court. That went pretty well although I'm still slow out of the gate. Maybe I'll just sing that Chariots of Fire song while I'm running so that even though I'm going slow, it'll be like I'm going fast, just in slow motion. The second time across the tennis court we had to run backwards. Now this is not like running up the hill backwards. This I can actually do! So I ran across and back. I kept looking behind me so that I wouldn't fall down or bump into someone when I realized I wasn't so far behind anymore. The next time across and back we did side shuffles. Woo hoo! One of my better events. I really was able to pick up some speed here. But I was also starting to breathe pretty heavy. This was getting harder but I knew it was much better than I did at the beginning of the summer. Next we bunny hopped to the second court line and back. Again, another good event for me. I'm a good hopper! I can change my music here from Vangelis to Bill Conti and the Theme from Rocky. Uh-oh. The last thing was bear crawls. I'm weak here but it was only to the first court line and back. It was nice to discover that this is easier on the court than on the hill. I moved pretty fast but I did have to keep stopping to take a couple extra breaths. Finally I could see the finish line. Blast that Rocky music! I should have jumped and down and pumped my fists in the air but instead I chose to walk, putting my hands down on my knees and taking some really deep breaths while looking for my water bottle. On a more shallow note, I did notice I finished first. It really helped that all our really fast people were in the first group. Oh, well, you take these small victories when you can get them.

Next we did wall/fence runs. Stanley was really giving us an intense cardio workout. We did this 3 times and he kept encouraging us to bring our knees up and move our feet faster. I tried and did manage to run the whole amount of time.

Now, time for the hill. I really would not be disappointed if our coaches decided to leave out the hill once in a while. I really wouldn't mind at all. But, not the case today. We first sprinted up 30 seconds and then came back down. Just once. Michelle, another participant, really rocked the hill today. She really got up there quick. Then we ran up backwards and came back down. Just once. Then we side shuffled up, switched sides, and came back down. Wait! Did I hear that right? We were done with the hill. Awesome! I was even able to sprint back to the tennis court. Good thing because those darn mosquitoes seemed to be chasing me all the way back, catching me and getting my elbow.

We finished with core work. Bicycles, swimmers, planks with opposite leg/arm lift, v-sits with a weighted lift, russian twists, and an exercise where we started with our legs in a six inch lift and then did whatever ab work Stanley told us to do. By this time my abs were saying "Can't you go back to the hill?" Those stupid mosquitoes also liked us in this position. As Emilie said, "I think they all followed us back from the hill!" Finally we were done. It was a great workout and Stanley encouraged us to stay, cool down and stretch. Sharon and I had some nice conversation with some other members. We talked with Michelle and complimented her on her performance on the hill. We also talked about how awesome these workouts that Dustin and company have given us this summer. They've really helped shape our bodies. I've lost about 10 pounds now, but have lost fat and become leaner. I feel really good too! I've got a ways to go but if I just keep working hard I'm sure the results will come.

Now comes the really hard part. Can I go back to work and get up for these 5:30 am workouts. Time will tell I guess.

Have a good one.

Roger

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 Boot Camp Baseball

This morning was perfect for a workout. Actually, it was perfect for sleeping in as well. Weighing the two, and really weighing myself, working out was the better option, darn it.

It was a cool, crisp, dark morning. Roads were pretty clear and the construction near our house was pushed aside so that made things easier. It seemed like an easy drive but I can't be sure since Sharon drove and my eyes were closed most of the way. Sharon and I chatted about our dreams so I totally missed the Sean Hannity minute. Thank goodness because I can't stand that jerk. He's way too negative. I laughed telling Sharon about mine because it was about indoor boot camp! It's funny how dreams seem to start about one thing and then move into another. Mine went from boot camp to being mad at Sharon and my daughter not cleaning up at the club, leaving me to do it, to some kind of Greek Odyssey through what used to the area behind my garage when I was growing up. Who knows where that came from?

Boy it was plenty dark at the park shelter. I sprayed myself down with OFF (just in case) and wore my hoodie through the warm up. I like to stay in back during the warm up. I figure it is just a warm up and I don't want to use all my energy trying to keep up in front. I just want to get the blood flowing and muscles warmed up. But as it is staying darker, longer in the morning I might have to move up a bit. I can't see what the leader is doing and I'm so far in back I sometimes can't hear him either!

We did boot camp baseball today. It was pretty basic. We started at home base in a plank position moving to the push-up position. Then we bunny hopped to first base and did front lifts using 2 weights. Next we did a side shuffle to second base where we did burpees with a push-up (dang this was hard) and finally, we side shuffled to third base where we did deltoid raises and lateral raises. Then we sprinted back to home base. We did 15 at each station and just took off to the next station when we finished. When time was up, water break.

After this first circuit we faced my old nemesis, the hill. This shouldn't be so bad though, I thought. We just had to sprint over to the hill, run up to the fence, jog or walk quickly back down, and then back to the tennis court to begin our next circuit. I actually did okay getting up the hill. I, of course, was breathing heavily but was able to rest a little at the top while we cheered for the others who weren't there yet. I still have problems coming back down though. Just a little more cautious than I need to be but it takes me a while to get back. I also was talking to another member and finding out more about her goals and things on my way back. I took a little to long though and had to quick sprint at the end because the directions were being given before I got there.

The second rotation was V-sit ups, squats with a deltoid press, one legged hip lifts, and deltoid lifts and lateral raises again. We ran between stations. Again we did as many sets as we could in the alloted time. Then back to the hill again. Not so easy this time. I was wondering if people could hear me talking to myself as we ran up. I kept saying stuff like "a few more steps, a few more steps" and "it's almost flat, it's almost flat", finally it was "there's the fence, there's the fence...no walking, no walking" and I made it! I ran all the way up two times. Woo hoo! Good for me. But then, more work on the hill. This time we ran backwards (another psychological block for some reason I guess I just don't want to fall), and turned around and sprinted to the fence. I made it to the fence. I sure couldn't call it a sprint but at least it wasn't a walk (almost though). Then we went back down a little bit and bear crawled back to the fence. This was my weakest event by far. First of all I looked around and saw I was doing it totally wrong. After I corrected myself I did better but my back was somewhat uncomfortable. Lack of flexibility and weak core were the likely culprits. But at least we were done. We gathered around and shared something we were proud of. There were some real accomplishments here. Mine was running the hill twice without walking. I walked down the hill after chatting with Sharon. We did get to see Dustin run up the hill some and down some today and that was a first for us. Man I wish I had long legs like that!

Have a good one.

Roger

Monday, August 23, 2010 The Mist

I went to Michigan for 4 days last week. I knew my greatest challenge would be the food. Unfortunately it was. 2 cookouts, a family dinner, my niece's birthday with my favorite pizza in the world. A recipe for disaster in the eating department. On the plus side, a lot of time was spent at the beach or at the pool. I didn't do laps or anything but having 6 kids along, ranging from ages 3 to 13 made for a great workout. Plus, Lake Michigan was nothing but waves the 2 days we spent there. I was chasing the Frisbee against the waves, pulling children, lifting children, trying to toss children into the waves, and it all gets pretty heavy after a while. And the legs got a great workout too. Running in the water against the waves really was a challenge. So I got somewhat of a workout. The pool wasn't as much of a challenge but definitely got a workout. Those 3-4 year olds love to be lifted, spun, pushed, and whatever else they can think of in the water. They are pretty light but the repetition did give a nice upper body workout.

Today we had our workout in the early morning mist. The grass was soaking wet but luckily we were able to put off going into the field until the end. Ryan was our coach today. I like Ryan a great deal. He is always full of enthusiasm and has a smile on his face. He makes everything look easy but I know better.

We started with a warm-up jog through the parking lot. Then we stopped and did a circuit that primarily worked lower body. We did some push ups there too. Then we jogged back to the shelter and did a circuit that focused on both upper body and lower body. We did push ups with tricep dips, deltoid presses, wall sits, lunges with a twist while holding the medicine ball, and some jumps. Then we did a 3 minute deltoid workout. Palm presses up, down, backward, and forward. Stanley did this with us as well and was fun to watch as he groaned with the rest of us. Then we repeated our circuit.

Our final phase was the cardio on the hill. We took our water bottles with us and ran into the mist, immediately getting our feet drenched. Spooky movie time. I wondered if Ryan had ever seen The Mist or The Fog. If he had he would have known that sometimes there are creatures in the mist. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything except us so we had to run the hill. We ran up the hill for about 30 seconds, dropped our water bottles and jogged back down. The next time we tried to beat our distance and then jogged down again. We did it again a third time. When Ryan told us to switch we turned around and ran backwards. I was able to beat my distance each time which was very satisfying. I hate the running backwards though. That is a real weak spot for me. The last run was not good for me. We were supposed to run as far up as we could towards the fence at the top. The first person there came back down and collected the rest of us. I didn't make it all the way up and let myself walk towards the top. The worst part was I did it after the toughest part of the hill. Ugh. Gotta keep working at this. I'll never get under the 4 minute mark if I don't push myself harder!

Sharon came back today and did pretty much everything. She didn't take it as easy as the chiropractor said but I guess she is the one who knows how her body feels.

Have a good one.

Roger

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 Am I Unbalanced?

Another hard time sleeping last night but for a different reason. I didn't want to be unbalanced. Let me explain.

Last week Sharon went to the chiropractor. In helping her, he discovered that her legs were unbalanced. One of the factors could have been the way she slept. It seems that sleeping on your stomach is the worst, but you also have to be careful about your form when you are sleeping on your side. You shouldn't have one leg bent while the other is straight. Sleeping with a pillow between your legs would help this. So, my problem was that I couldn't sleep on my stomach which is my number one position when I can't sleep. When I was on my side I kept moving my legs to make sure they were both bent and not one straight, one bent. Sleeping on my back isn't really an option as that just isn't comfortable. I finally did fall asleep but have no idea at what time and I still had to get up at 4:45.

Unfortunately for Sharon still no boot camp and it is driving her crazy. She is not used to having her exercise cut off. She can start walking for exercise, 15 minutes at a time. Then she can progress to 30. If she is ready she can try boot camp on Monday but only walking up the hill and with little use of weights or resistance. My guess is that there is no way she will not be at camp on Monday.

Back to the playground workout today. I really do like this one. It is pretty intense and gets me moving and this morning was great for it. Pretty cool temperatures and the light breeze kept the mosquitoes away (although one did get me, the dang bug!). It didn't start promising for me though. My first station was a jump over a U-shaped stake with a 180 degree turn, landing on the other side and repeating. That area around my achilles tendon was still very sore at this point so I couldn't land the jump! Just like the Olympics. Low scores all around but certainly some extra points for artistic interpretation. I tried several different ways to get over that stake and they all must have looked ridiculous. I was even laughing at myself. Finally I realized that the best option was to do a jump with a 180 degree turn without going over the stake. That way the jump wasn't so high and the pain wasn't so great. Of course by the time I figured this out the 45 seconds was over and it was time to switch.

Next we moved to pull ups. I'm glad it was early so I wasn't tired in the upper body yet. Well, you wouldn't have guessed that as I still can't do pull ups. I did manage 1 1/2 which definitely is an improvement. That great technique that one often uses, the one where you kick your feet all over the place as if that would help, didn't work here. Neither did loud grunts. We were too close to the ground. So I spent the time jumping to the up position, holding myself up and slowly lowering myself down. This is getting better. I need to do this more on my own.

We followed this with body rows. Oh no, I thought. I worked on these last night at the health club so I knew I wasn't going to do real well. I did discover that bar we used here is about the same height as what I used at the club. You are supposed to touch your chest to the bar as you lifted and I felt like I was more touching my stomach but I was getting up there. And I did get slower at the end but I did at least keep going.

Other stations were tricep dips, glute raises off the medicine ball, planks off the swing with the legs pulling into the chest to work the lower abs, bunny hops (which I love), a tricep/ab exercise, chest work with tubing, step ups and dead weight lifts while standing on one foot. These last two exercises again tested my balance. I would step up and have to come all the way down on the other foot before repeating as I kept losing my balance and would lean all over the place. I did the same thing on the deadlift but that was extra hard. That sore heel made it hard to stand on just that leg. I kept wobbling just like a Weeble (you know, Weebles wobble but they don't fall down). Interestingly enough, though, after the water break it felt better and I was able to do the hop over the stake with no problem. Still the balance problems though.

Next we had to run the hill but only up. I think something I learned here was sometimes it is easier to go a little faster. I started in the back as usual so I got to the hill a little late. I was being a little fussy and didn't want to get my shoes soaking wet so I decided to try and stay on the path. However some of the people in front of me were a bit slower so I went at their pace so as to stay behind them on the path. I think this almost made it harder. I finally gave up and went around them. My feet did get soaking wet but I made it to the top of the hill without stopping. I was huffing and puffing though. We waited for the others to finish and then went back down to the tennis courts. We ended camp today by running across the tennis court. We went a little ways, dropped and did seven push ups, ran some more, more push ups. We continued to do this across and back. I really thought I was gonna make it but on the last 2 sets I had to go modified for one on one set and 2 on the last. Something more to work toward.

Joe finished with some inspirational words. Things about working through the pain and exhaustion. I added to myself working through the nausea. But I did work through it as best I could and once again felt I gave about all I had to give, with the exception of the first stake jumps.

Well, off from boot camp on Friday and then back on Monday. Hopefully Sharon will be there as well.

Have a good one.

Roger

Monday, August 16, 2010 Boot Camp Monday

No boot camp for poor Sharon today. The doctor said no working out at all until 100% pain free. She has another appointment with the chiropractor tomorrow so maybe all will be well and she can get back to it. She did say she had sympathy pains though and woke up at 5:45.

We went to the casino last night. I won 30 bucks. Not much but it's better than coming home broke! Unfortunately when we subtracted the $20.00 that Sharon lost we only cleared $10.00. We treated my sister Mary Ann and niece Kristan to ice cream on the way home so there went all the profits. To make matters worse, when I got to boot camp this morning I realized I owed Dustin $30.00 for his DVD. Yikes, there went everything! Easy come, easy go I guess.

We did the parking lot workout today. The stations were upright rows, medicine ball throws and slam downs, jumping rope, side planks with a twist, swimmers, push ups with bands, back lunges with bicep curls to overhead presses, and a sprint across the parking lot and back. Everything was good and I really pushed myself during the sprint. Unfortunately, this was not the end. There was the hill.

The hill was very hard today. We had to run up for 20 seconds carrying our weights. Then we sprinted up for another 20 seconds. I momentarily thought of switching my weights for Sharon's which would have a difference of 20 lbs but I thought I would remain honest and push myself to become better. Plus, I was sure I'd get busted.

I was pretty slow on that hill today but I did keep moving. Dustin had to keep reminding me to go faster, to move, no walking, etc. but I did keep moving. We did this twice and then we had to do it backwards. I was very happy when we finally got to sprint to the fence. Then we walked back to the parking lot to finish with bicycles and some more work for the deltoids and core.

It was a good workout but I did miss Sharon. She really pushes herself which makes me push myself as well. And she usually drives at least one way! Hopefully she will be able to return on Wednesday.

Have a good one.

Roger

Friday, August 13-Injury at Boot Camp

Well, as expected if you are superstitious, Friday the 13th brought us some good luck, some bad luck, and the sort of bizarre.

The good luck was that the morning wasn't overly hot and humid. There was a nice little breeze that really did help keep the mosquitoes away at boot camp. Sharon and I woke up earlier than usual so we got to Elver Park before anyone except Ryan today. We had time to get our stuff together, douse ourselves in OFF and visit with other participants and Ryan before class started. So every thing was going well. Ryan told us we needed one dumbbell to use during the warm up. We jogged with our weight to an area near the water and did some of our exercises. This is where the bad luck comes in.

Do you remember the part in the Wizard of Oz where the Tim Woodman is talking about how he happened to be rusted there in the forest? He was chopping wood when it started to rain and he was rusted and stuck there. Well that's the kind of thing that happened to Sharon. We were lifting a weight across our body in kind of a chopping motion. Suddenly poor Sharon was moving away in pain. She hurt her back somehow. Ryan our instructor reacted immediately. He came over and helped her and gave her instruction as to what to do. Needless to say poor Sharon was done for the day. She could barely walk back to the shelter. I, being the selfless good Samaritan that I am, offered to take her home immediately and forgo my workout for the day. Dang that Sharon. She was even more selfless and insisted I stay. What a gal! So she sat and waved at me while I did push ups, ran up and down the hill, did high knee lifts, V-sit ups, in and outs, shoulder presses, tricep dips, etc., etc., and generally became a sweaty, smelly mess. In all honesty I know she wanted to be out there with me becoming a sweaty mess but it wasn't to be. Sharon will be out of commission for a little while. The chiropractor said she cannot come back to boot camp until she is totally pain free. Unfortunately, if that was me, it would mean I could not come back until the kids moved out :)

Finally, I found it just a little bizarre that I was driving around today with the heat in the car on. It was pouring out when I went to pick up Elijah from camp. I drove into the parking lot and could see that the kids were in the shelter. I was debating what to do. There isn't a real path up to the shelter to drive on but I could see a parking lot for the Hoyt Building that wasa nearer to the shelter. I also had a poncho that we use for rainy football games in the back that I thought might help. But, before I had a chance to do any of these things I saw Elijah coming down the hill, gym bag in one hand, pillow in the other, and his sleeping bag hanging around his neck. He just walked down calmly like it was the most pleasant day of the week. I got out to help him and he just yells, "Hi Dad!" Since he seemed totally in control I just put up the hatch and waited underneath it until he reached me. We loaded everything into the back and then he got in to go home. On our way, he seemed pretty chilled since he was soaking wet so I turned on the heat for him. Elijah said that it felt really good so we drove home that way. I just thought how weird it was, that after this terribly uncomfortable hot, humid week I was driving around with the heat on.

Oh, well, hope you have a more uneventful Friday the 13th than we did
Have a good one.

Roger