Motivation And Tracking Exercise

Current Weight: 217 lbs
Body Fat: 34.5%
Motivation And Tracking Exercise

Try as I might, I just can't get myself motivated enough to get out of bed early enough to work out. I want to do it, it is really the only time I have free to work out, but I wake up still so tired from the previous night I can't make myself get out of bed.

In order to force myself to work out, I'm going to start tracking what I did each day previous.

Exercise
Jump Rope: 100 reps
Tae Kwan Do: 1 hour

Exercise Myths...Busted

Current Weight: 218 lbs
Body Fat: 31.0%
Exercise Myths...Busted

Myth 1: You can spot reduce fat. There is no such thing as spot reduction. There is no ab machine in existence that will define your abs without first making you loose total bodyweight and reduce total fat. For some people, fat stores predominately in specific areas, and reduces faster in others, but only through overall fat loss can you define your muscular structure.

Myth 2: Heavy weights cause weight gain and light weight causes muscle tone. There really is no such thing as toning with light weights. Weight lifters often repeat this myth but the reality is any physical exercise burns calories, reducing fat and defining muscle structure. The more calories you burn, the more fat you lose.

Myth 3: To get big, lift big. Heavier weights may help you achieve muscle fatigue faster than lighter weights, however, you can rip your muscle fibers either way, causing them to rebuild stronger and larger. Heavier weights also increase the risk of injury, especially over long term use. Charles Atlas and Alexander Zass built their physiques primarily through isometric exercises. In addition to exercise, proper diet and rest are essential to increasing muscle mass.

Don't Drink Diet Soda Either

Current Weight: 217 lbs
Body Fat: 30.1%
Stop Drinking Soda

As I mentioned previously, soda is not a healthy drink, and by eliminating it from your diet you can significantly reduce the amount of calories you intake every day. Some people feel that diet soda is okay, however, because it has no sugar. The problem with diet soda is that when you consume it, your body reacts as if you had drank a sweetened drink, increasing insulin levels, despite the lack of sugar. The increased insulin creates a sugar craving, and offsets your body's natural hormone levels.

In addition, both diet and regular soda typically contain phosphoric acid, which will destroy your skeletal tissues, muscles, bones, and connective tissues over time. They also commonly contain sodium benzoate as a preservative. Sodium benzoate (C₆H₅COONa) can damage and inactivate vital parts of DNA in a cell's mitochondria. Professor Peter Piper of the University of Sheffield states "The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number of diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of aging."

The Miracle Seven

Current Weight: 217 lbs
Body Fat: 30.1%
The Miracle Seven

I just purchased "The Miracle Seven" by John E. Peterson and Wendie Pett. It's coverage of isometrics, and other exercises, called "Transformetrics," intrigued me so I thought I'd give it a try. So far I've only read the first six chapters, and they have all been build-up, with slight coverage of what the seven miracle exercises are: John McSweeney's Tiger Moves.

The claims of increased strength, size, and health, through these tiger moves are pretty strong. Wendy claims that after a snowmobile accident she had pain and limited use of her shoulder due to a broken clavicle. Within 3 months of diet and exercise using "Transformetrics" she was able to compete in a dance competition despite her doctor's instructions to forget about it.

Most of the reviews of the book on Amazon refer to the "isometric" exercises, however, none of the "tiger moves" are isometric, but are more in line with what John calls "Dynamic Visualized Resistance" Exercises, or DVR. I'm hoping to see the isometrics later in the book.

Exercise Anywhere From The Comfort Of Your Chair

Current Weight: 217 lbs.
Body Fat: 30.4%
Exercise Tip 9: Isometrics

Isometrics, or isometric exercises, are a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction. The joint and muscle are either worked against an immovable force (overcoming isometric) or are held in a static position while opposed by resistance (yielding isometric). Isometrics are done in static positions, rather than being dynamic through a range of motion.

While isometrics can be performed almost anywhere at anytime, isometric training will only increase strength at the specific joint angles of the exercises performed. They also will not work your agility, coordination, flexibility, or anything else. Due to these limitations, it is good to perform other exercises in addition to isometrics. Isometrics can be performed with free weights or resistance bands, but the use of added equipment limits where you can exercise, as well as creates an added cost.

Some freely available books online:

• Isometric Power Exercises
• Isometrics

Some exercises:

• Isometric Exercises & Static Strength Training
• How To Do Isometric Exercises
  
• Resistance Band Workouts

Weekly Progress

Current Weight: 217 lbs.
Body Fat: 28.4%
Weekly Progress


Gained a pound this week, but changes are coming.

Week 1: 6 lbs
Week 2: 6 lbs
Week 3: 0 lbs
Week 4: 1 lb
Week 5: 1 lb
Week 6: 1 lb
Week 7: 2 lbs
Week 8: 0 lbs
Week 9: 1 lb
Week 10: 0 lbs
Week 11: 1 lb
Week 12: 0 lbs
Week 13: -1 lb

Start Your Day With A Workout

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.0%
Change 26: Workout First Thing

There's no gauge in your gut, but at this point in the morning, it's pretty much a given that you aren't operating at full fat-burning capacity. How do we know? Simple: Your thyroid gland is still snoozing. As the master regulator of all things metabolic, this gland pumps out hormones that control how quickly your body burns nutrients and fat stores in response to energy demands. Those demands are low when you're asleep -- and they'll remain low when you're awake, unless you shake up your slow-mo routine.

Squeeze in an a.m. run. In a recent Taiwanese study of 27 men, scientists found that the men's production of thyroid hormones shot up after the men ran on a treadmill. And once thyroid hormones are released, they'll remain in your bloodstream for hours, keeping your metabolism revved well after your workout. Here's another reason to hit the treadmill before you hop into the shower: An early cardio workout will boost your mood for the workday ahead, says Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise. Aerobic exercise increases your brain's output of serotonin (a hormone associated with happiness) and dopamine (the hormone most closely linked to motivation).

Information from Men's Health Magazine.

Increase Muscular Power

Current Weight: 217 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.5%
Exercise Tip 9: Plyometrics

While increasing muscle power does not directly relate to weight loss, if you are working out in any method in order to gain muscle mass, you will lose weight over time. Plyometrics are designed to increase power, which is strength over time, instead of simply overall strength. What this means is how fast you can contract the muscles. It has been shown that a muscle will contract the fastest when it has been loaded. This is why you should be able to jump higher if you crouch down then immediately jump up than if you started in the crouch.

The best way to increase contraction time is to practice the movement. This is why martial artists perform the same punch thousands of times, to increase the speed of that punch. The same is true of most any sport, the more you practice the movement, the faster the contraction of the muscles can become.

Caution: Consult a physician before engaging in plyometric exercises. The explosive movements involved in plyometric exercises are intense and should only be performed by well-conditioned individuals. Additionally, children who are still growing should not participate in plyometric exercises as explosive, repetitive movements can be damaging to growth plates.

Exercises
Clapping Pushup - Similar to the regular pushup, but push upward so fast as to raise the upper body and hands off the ground, clapping the hands together before returning them to the ground.

Two Foot Ankle Hop - Keeping your feet together and remaining in one place, hop up and down using only your ankles and calves. Concentrate on getting as high as you can and exploding off the ground as soon as you land. Perform on one foot, alternating after each set, for increased difficulty and to also work your balance. Perform with a jump rope for increased difficulty and also to work on your timing and rhythm.

Step Jumps - Using stairs, or sturdy boxes, crates, or even stepping exercise steps, step down from one step then immediate jump back up. Increase the height of the step/box for added difficulty.

High Jumps - Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground, then explode upward, reaching with alternating hands. Repeat immediately upon landing.

Sprints - Sprinting is a plyometric exercise, the weight of your body coming down on each step is loading your hamstring.

Medicine Ball Throw - Hold the medicine ball to your chest, then using only your arms, push the ball forward as fast as you can. If you have a partner, pass it back and forth. For added difficulty, start with your backs to one another and twist your body, alternating right and left.

Jumping Jacks

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.2%
Exercise Tip 8: Jumping Jacks

Jumping Jacks, aka Side-Straddle Hops or Star Jumps, were popularized in the mid 1950's by fitness expert Jack LaLanne. Used commonly to warm up before exercises, jumping jacks are an exercise all to themselves, incorporating many different muscles of the body.

Start standing with your feet together and hands touching at your sides, then jump to a position with the feet spread wide and hands touching overhead. Jump and return to the initial position.

More On Breakfasts

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 31.2%
Another Reason To Have A Good Breakfast

As I mentioned before, having a big breakfast first thing in the morning is a great way to start your day. What you see as a good night's sleep, your body interprets as 8 hours of starvation. In an effort to conserve energy, there's a dramatic drop in your levels of leptin and insulin, two hormones that affect how fast your body turns food into fuel. This process comes on automatically at night, but it's up to you to shut it off in the morning or you'll start the day in zombie mode.

Eat within an hour of getting up and you'll trigger an increase in leptin, which will in turn tell your body that the recent fast isn't a famine. "When leptin goes up, you feel less hungry, and you increase energy expenditure," says Michael A. Cowley, Ph.D., an associate scientist in the division of neuroscience at Oregon National Primate Research Center. But if you want that energy to last until lunch, don't just pop a Pop-Tart into your mouth -- you need a breakfast that will produce a slow and steady increase in insulin, not a swift spike. Try a combination of protein and fiber-rich carbs, such as cottage cheese topped with berries, or two scrambled eggs stuffed into a whole-wheat pita.

Information from Men's Health Magazine.

Eating Too Much

Current Weight: 217 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.2%
Change 25: Learn Why I Eat Too Much

Working on the processing of calories helps with one part of our equation (You remember the equation, right? We covered that the first day. Weight gain = calories consumed - calories burned). And, while it may be easier for most people to work on that part of our equation (there are typically more things we can do that affect it), it is equally, if not more, important to work on the "calories consumed" part too.

For many it comes down to figuring out the "why." Why do we eat as much as we do and why do we eat the foods we do? It can be as simple as convenience: It is far easier to drive through McDonalds than to cook a well balanced meal. It can be as complicated as psychological issues: Food never rejects us, food makes us feel good, etc. Once we know the reason why, we need to work on correcting that so we can control our intake as easily as we control our outgo.

Do you know what your "why" is?

Weekly Progress

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.0%
Weekly Progress



Another week with no loss, no gain.

Week 1: 6 lbs
Week 2: 6 lbs
Week 3: 0 lbs
Week 4: 1 lb
Week 5: 1 lb
Week 6: 1 lb
Week 7: 2 lbs
Week 8: 0 lbs
Week 9: 1 lb
Week 10: 0 lbs
Week 11: 1 lb
Week 12: 0 lbs

Taking a Break

Current Weight: 218 lbs.
Body Fat: 30.1%
Taking a Break

Tomorrow I finally test for my Black Belt in Taekwondo so I'm taking the day off.

I started martial arts in Shorin-Ryu Karate over 20 years ago. Due to my instructor leaving the Marine Corps, I was unable to complete my training, reaching only a green belt. Over four years ago I started my children in Taekwondo, then about a year after them, I started taking classes too. My oldest two children have achieved their Black Belts, and my son is testing tomorrow for his 2nd Dan while I test for my first.

Get As Fit As A Navy Seal

Current Weight: 218 lbs.
Body Fat: 30.1%
Get As Fit As A Navy Seal

While the Soccer workout posted yesterday focuses more on endurance and stretching for flexibility, the Navy Seal workout focuses more on overall "fitness." By increasing strength, stamina, power, coordination, agility, balance, etc. the Navy Seal's CrossFit workout is designed to make the Seals the most healthy men they can be.

http://www.navyseals.com/workout

Workout Like A Soccer (Football) Player

Current Weight: 219 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.2%
Workout Like A Soccer Player

Soccer players are some of the most fit people in the world. They have to be active, running up and down a 100 to 120 yard field almost continuously, for two 45 minute halves.

Professor Gian Nicola Bisciotti, one of the F.C. Internazionale fitness coaches has provided online an interactive training and fitness program with daily lessons suitable for both sedentary people and athletes. It includes both fitness and stretching exercises, and the 30 lessons can be completed each day for 30 days.

http://www.inter.it/aas/informa_con_inter/home?L=en

Making New Habits Stick

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 28.1%
Making New Habits Stick

The key to stopping bad habits is to replace them with new, good habits. The problem typically is making the new habits stick. Here are 18 tricks to make new habits stick.

Colon Cleansing

Current Weight: 217 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.8%
Weight Loss Don't: Colon Cleansing

There are a plethora of diets out there recommending detoxification and colon cleansing, either through fasting, the use of herbal and mineral supplements, or enemas. Proponents believe colon cleansing provides health benefits by removing toxins from their bodies.

Although doctors may recommend colon cleansing in preparation for a medical examination of the colon, most don't recommend colon cleansing for better health or to prevent disease. Your colon doesn't require enemas or special diets or pills to eliminate waste material and bacteria, it does this naturally. Also, your colon absorbs water and sodium to maintain your body's fluid and electrolyte balance. Some colon-cleansing programs disrupt this balance, causing dehydration and salt depletion.

If you suffer from constipation, a diet high in water and fiber should help.

Weekly Progress

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.2%
Weekly Progress


Another week, and another pound.

Week 1: 6 lbs
Week 2: 6 lbs
Week 3: 0 lbs
Week 4: 1 lb
Week 5: 1 lb
Week 6: 1 lb
Week 7: 2 lbs
Week 8: 0 lbs
Week 9: 1 lb
Week 10: 0 lbs
Week 11: 1 lb

Body Fat Tracking

Current Weight: 217
Body Fat: 29.2%
Body Fat Variation


Since I started measuring Body Fat in addition to weight, it has appeared erratic, so I wanted to graph it and see if it really is as erratic, and maybe inaccurate, as it appears. What the graph above shows to me is that while it may not always be exactly accurate, the red trendline shows a consistent negative trend, with most values around the same range, so while some days may have inaccurate readings, overall the measurements are useful and on track.

Nothing New

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 28.4%
No Change Today

Nothing new to report today, haven't had a chance to create the graph yet, but definitely want to have it done by tomorrow. Body Fat for today seems more in line with what it should be considering a regular decline.

Body Fat

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 31.2%
No Change Today

When I started recording body fat measurements, I understood that the scale's electrical impedance method was not entirely accurate, but there were ways you could make it more accurate, such as no food or water for 8 hours prior to measuring. Well I've been measuring myself every morning, first thing, and while my weight has been fluctuating a little, it is at least consistently going down.

My Body Fat has been fluctuating more than the weight. Not at all the results I was expecting. I'll be mapping it out today or tomorrow to try to see if there is any trend, or if they are just erratic.

Best Abdominal Exercise

Current Weight: 216 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.0%
Exercise Tip 7: Bicycle maneuver

A study at the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University looked at 13 common abdominal exercises in order to determine what really works. The Bicycle maneuver was the best exercise to strengthening the rectus abdominus (stomach muscles). While the captain's chair is better for working the obliques, it requires the equipment and the Bicycle maneuver is a close second best.

To perform the Bicycle maneuver, lie flat on your back, keeping your lower back pressed to the ground. Place your hands beside your head. Bring your knees up to about a 45-degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Breath evenly throughout the exercise.

Weekly Progress

Current Weight: 219 lbs.
Body Fat: 29%
Weekly Progress


An overwhelming weekend made posting impossible. I need to find a way to post regardless, but for now, I'll record my results and go from there.

Saturday: 217 lbs. 29.5% body fat.
Sunday: 217 lbs. 30% body fat.

Take a Day Off

Current Weight: 217 lbs.
Body Fat: 30.2%
No Change Today

Again, to prevent overwhelming myself and burning out, I'm giving myself a day off to simply relax and enjoy the day. No new changes today.

Lunges

Current Weight: 217 lbs.
Body Fat: 29.5%
Exercise Tip 6: Lunges

A good exercise to work your quadriceps (thigh muscles) and gluteous maximus (rear end) is the Lunge. To perform a Lunge, you stand with your free shoulder-width apart. Then you step forward until your back knee is nearly touching the ground. Then return to the standing position and repeat with the other leg. Longer steps work the glutes more, while shorter lunges work the legs.

Eat More Fiber

Current Weight: 217 lbs.
Body Fat: 30.4%
Change 24: Eat More Fiber

As I mentioned previously, it can be easier to increase your metabolism through the Thermogenic Effect of Feeding (TEF) and the Thermogenic Effect of Activity than trying to increase your Resting Metabolic Rate. Eating foods high in fiber will dramatically increase your TEF. Recommended fiber intake for women is 21 to 25 grams a day and for men is 30 to 38 grams a day, but the typical person only averages half that.

Some good foods you can eat that are high in fiber are:

• Peas: 8 grams per 1 cup
• Whole wheat spaghetti: 6 grams per 1 cup
• Pears: 5 grams ea.
• Oatmeal: 4 grams per 1 cup
  
• Apples: 3.3 grams ea.

For a more complete list, see the Mayo Clinic's list of high-fiber foods.