019 – Treasure Chest

 Food, Life in General  1 Response »
Jan 192013
 

This might be the most boring pic I post all year. Sorry for that. What is a picture of a small chest freezer doing on a health/fitness/racing blog? Am I deadlifting freezers now? Well, yes. But only to put it in place.

When it comes to physical performance of any kind, nutrition is at least half of the equation. And since our old freezer died, I haven’t been able to get local, healthy meats because I didn’t have much room to store them. Well, no more! Thanks to Home Depot, I’m now the proud owner of this lovely (and economical!) GE 5 cu. ft. chest freezer! With it, I’ll have a ready supply of grass fed, drug free beef, free range chicken and other healthy proteins from places like Innisfree Farm. So while this might be the most boring picture you’ll see from me all year, to me, it’s one of the most exciting!

018 – Thunder thighs

 Weightlifting  No Responses »
Jan 182013
 

I’d like to redefine the term. Not that I am, but I’d like to. My squat workout today left me feeling pretty jacked. My quads have always been pretty decent, courtesy of pedaling a bicycle for most of my life. But after I do squats and lunges, like today, they feel so pumped it’s like they’re trying to pop out of my leg.

016 – Oh, you’re one of those…

 Running  No Responses »
Jan 162013
 

Yup, I’m a smarmy distance runner. I got this last fall after finishing my second half marathon. I hear people joke sometimes about people with these kinds of stickers. I think they think we’re just bragging, waving our accomplishments in everybody’s face because we think we’re superior.

For me, at least, that’s not at all the case. I know how hard I worked to get to that point last year. It’s been a really long road for me, coming back from being fat, to blowing out my knee, through rehab all the way to the finish line at the Air Force Half Marathon. I’m proud of that journey, and this sticker reminds me of what I can do when I work hard.

So my question for you is, what have you done that you are proud of enough to put a sticker on your car about it?

015 – I can’t wait…

 Weightlifting  No Responses »
Jan 152013
 

…until “resolution season” is over.

I don’t begrudge people for genuinely trying to make a change in their lifestyle and health. And the ones making an honest go of it are usually pretty easy to spot; they’re the ones working. But the other 75% of the bozos taking up space and socializing… I wish they’d go waste somebody else’s time.

014 – How my wife sees me

 Katie, Weightlifting  No Responses »
Jan 142013
 

When I look at this picture, I see problems. I see weight that’s too light, the reps I didn’t quite get, underdeveloped forearms and biceps.

But Katie took this picture. This is from her perspective, and she sees me as impossibly strong. Strong, handsome, and almost heroic, to hear how she describes this view to me. Sometimes it’s nice to have that in the gym with you.

013 – Sunday Squatday

 Weightlifting  No Responses »
Jan 132013
 

Missing a couple days last week to scheduling snafus means a make-up day on Sunday. It also means I had to work out at the creepy old gym by the O Club, which is never much fun. Note the condition of the floor…

This picture is a little interesting to me, because I never realized how much my calves are activated during a squat. Wonder if that means I’m doing something wrong…

012 – 60°F in January

 Cycling, Mountain Biking  No Responses »
Jan 122013
 

Means it was a great day to get these out again! I had to give mine (on the right) its yearly bath anyway, and we took the opportunity to get a few road miles in (with the dogs).

Pretty hardcore tease for spring, though. Can’t wait for the weather to break for good!

010 – Working hands

 Weightlifting  No Responses »
Jan 102013
 

My most important piece of workout equipment. It’s a little crazy to me that I got those callouses when I was about 14 from mowing lawns, and they’ve never really gone away.

(Side note: My favorite part of going to the gym in January is watching some of the “resolutioners.” The poor suckers have their heart in the right place, but it’s like they didn’t even bother googling anything before they came. I’ve seen “exercises” over the last week that are clearly the result of just making shit up.)

008 – Times Twelve

 Weightlifting  No Responses »
Jan 082013
 

It’s always good to exceed expectations. It’s better when they’re your own. It’s even better when you more than double them.

The end of my deadlift routine today called for 5×215, and to continue reps to exhaustion. I figured I should be able to hack that. Then I did 12 reps before running out of gas. That’s a hard feeling to beat!

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