I rode my bicycle to work this morning, even though I chose to wear the inexplicable sneaker-khakis combo (see “If the Shoe Fits” below) previously designed for walking. So, that means I’m destined for the dreaded treadmill tonight at the gym. Walking builds bone density, after all, and if I don’t hoof it to work,… Read more »
My goal this morning was to walk into work (I’d left my bike in the office due to yesterday’s thunderstorm) wearing my sneakers and schlepping my workout gear and computer in my backpack. But then I noticed how dorky my sneakers looked with these khakis (you can imagine, no?) and slipped on my regular brown… Read more »
OK, so I promised that I would report on last night’s workout — specifically focusing on my 10 goals for the evening. Overall, my goal-oriented approach took time away from stuff I would normally do (I so missed brutalizing myself on that lat pull-down machine….), but it also cajoled me into other arguably constructive —… Read more »
Everybody in the fitness biz talks about hitting plateaus in your workout regimen, times when you don’t seem to be progressing toward your goals and, thus, need to change your routine. I manage to avoid plateaus not by changing my routine, but by refusing to set any goals. Now, I know this can be a… Read more »
Two interesting questions lodged themselves in my pea brain after last night’s workout: 1.) Do certain foods make you stronger? and 2.) How hard should my heart really be beating when I’m busting my butt at the gym? But, first, a little context. Several weeks ago, a couple of personal trainers walked by as I… Read more »
After my Crapmobile episode on Monday, I was anxious to get back on my regular workout schedule, so last night I hit the gym after work and went through my regular routine — except I built in some time between the elliptical machine and the strength training room to actually do some stretching!!!! It’s a… Read more »
I trekked through the beginnings of a classic March blizzard yesterday morning, workout gear in my backpack, fully intending to hit the gym after work. Really I did. Then, about 3 p.m., my lovely wife called me on my cell to notify me that the Crapmobile (my 17-year-old son’s not-so-affectionate moniker for our ’91 Honda)… Read more »
Jeeze, has it been 11 days since I last posted something here? You’re going to assume, of course, that I’ve also been derelict in my fitness regimen and simply didn’t want to pen one more pathetic post about how hard it’s been to get to the gym. But, no! I’ve been keeping up rather nicely… Read more »
The great thing about Minnesota is that the weather is always pretty reliable. It’ll be mercilessly frigid for three months every winter and then insufferably sweltering (with mosquitoes) for two months every summer. It’s never a surprise — just an inexorable drifting across our meteorological River Styx (above, with apologies to Dante, et al.). But… Read more »
True to form, when I finally got to the gym on Friday I completely overdid things — piled on the poundage and lifted to failure, just as I had promised myself. By Monday, my upper body — especially my arms — felt like I’d gone 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali in his prime. (OK, the… Read more »
Talk about failure (see previous post). Five times this week I have schlepped my workout gear across the icy Mississippi to the office and four times I have schlepped it back home with me, unused. As I’ve previously mentioned, reality intervenes: domestic responsibilities, work deadlines, the list goes on. At least I’ve been able to… Read more »
It was kind of slow going this morning, due to the patches of glare ice hidden beneath a couple of inches of new snow. Lots of slipping and sliding on the sidewalks. At one point I could envision catastrophe — “Geezer breaks hip while foolishly walking to work in snowstorm” — but, instead of panicking,… Read more »
I’m learning more about how the muscles in my body work, which is a good thing, since a lot of them are still sore today from my Wednesday workout. The most surprising news? It’s the period between workouts when your muscles really develop. Indeed, according to Fernando Pages Ruiz in this July/August 2003 story in… Read more »
After about a 10-day hiatus, I’m finally feeling back in the swing of things. Winter is (very, very gradually) turning into spring, so I’ve been able to resume my walking commute, and last night I hit the gym for the first time in what feels this morning like a long, long time (I’m a little sore).
A nasty cold/flu bug has put me off my game this past week, plus it’s been too cold for my normal walking commute, so I’m beginning to feel a little out of sorts, fitness-wise. It’s fascinating to see how easily I can develop inertia, how the gym gradually loses its familiar tug after work. I’m… Read more »
I’ve never been particularly obsessed about my age, partly because I’ve always looked younger than I really am (which was a huge disadvantage when trying to buy liquor as a teenager).
With the mercury shooting up toward the teens this morning and a piddly southern breeze at my back, I could come out of my turtle-like posture of recent days and really enjoy the landscape. A fellow carrying a couple of bags of groceries in his mittened hands shared my euphoria with a smile and brisk… Read more »
It’s a bracing zero degrees this morning as I set off for work, but — mercifully — there’s no wind to speak of, which makes for a splendid amble through the park. I even took a moment to stretch my calves at the foot of the stairs that take me to 46th Street and the Ford Bridge.
I mentioned earlier that I’d never set foot in a health club before about a year ago, so it’s almost goes without saying that the whole strength training routine remains pretty foreign to me (that is not me in the photo).
Of course I didn’t do any stretching to speak of last night at the gym (see previous post). I mean, I did sort of stretch my calves and hamstrings before I revved up the treadmill, but you’re supposed to do that after your muscles warm up a little. Anyway, because I’ve been off my walking… Read more »
In the fall of 1998, I blew out my right knee playing basketball. I remember the occasion because it happened around the same time that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Randall Cunningham sustained a similar injury. Cunningham was back in the lineup six days after his operation; I didn’t get back on the court for six months.… Read more »