Your Best Workout Yet!

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I've already written about how it's ok to be tired, but here's a more positive thought. You never know when you'll have the best workout of your life. We all have had those moments, big and small that have stuck with us for years upon years. Some of us can remember specific workouts or the way you felt on certain days and they are wonderful memories. 

The great thing about giving your all every time you workout is that TODAY could be the best workout of your life. TODAY could be the best you've ever felt after a workout. TODAY is ours and TODAY we will thrive.

Stay Strong, Stay Focused

-Jacob

Beard Shampoo Review

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Disclaimer: These opinions are mine and are not paid for. Also the amazon link is NOT an affiliate link, there is no financial benefit to me writing this review. 

Part of being fit is looking good, right? So lets talk about beard products. As you can see, I've got quite the beard and I have spent many a year looking for the right combination of beard products. 

Billy Jealousy Beard Wash
When I ordered this product I did not know that it had been named the 2014 Esquire "Best Beard Wash" but I quickly discovered why it had been. Being aloe based, and sulfate free, one would expect that it would not lather overly well, but this shampoo does. The aloe also helps keep things smooth and reduce the dreaded bed face. The scent is very mild, which is something I really like because it does not interfere with the scent of my beard balm or oil. 

The only drawback is that the shampoo is very thin, and that makes it hard to figure out how much you actually have in your hand. 

This is a 5/5 shampoo, can not recommend it enough.

Stay Strong, Stay Positive

-Jacob

Kevetching.

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Since being on this diet I've had to change my entire attitude towards food.  This isn't a bad thing, my relationship with food was really unhealthy... I basically used it as a drug.  I'd eat when I was sad, I'd eat when I was happy, I'd eat when I was bored.  Basically the only time I wasn't eating was when I was asleep.  Looking back it's no mystery how I ballooned up to the size I am now.  I have a much healthier attitude towards food now.  However as just about anyone will tell you, keeping track of your food is key to dieting.  This way you can't lie to yourself about how much or what you've eaten.  Luckily we live in a time when we all carry around the internet in our pockets so it's easier than ever to keep track of what you eat and what the nutritional value is.  Despite all this I HATE logging my food.  Since I've adopted this healthier attitude towards my food eating has gone from a weird human function to actively stressful.  

It's not so bad when my food has a barcode, but when you cook or go out to eat it becomes this weird guessing game/science experiment/puzzle.  If you're eating at home you can weigh your portions and get a good idea of how much exactly you're eating, or use a measuring cup.  However if you're eating out it's a whole 'nother game.  How much are you getting?  How much is considered a portion?  Is 1 chicken wing a serving, or is a serving the whole thing?  Generally I get so frustrated with it that I just guess and hope for the best, I generally try to over estimate so I know I'm covered.  But this whole food logging thing just adds another layer of complication to what should just be a meal.

Anyways, the workout last night was cardio abs.  The hardest one we do.  I didn't puke after I finished but it was really close.  After we were finished Jacob had the audacity to say that "he's not sure that workout is hard enough"....  I just know he's going to ratchet up the difficulty on it soon.  Which is good because, ya know, exercise and weight loss.  I'm just not sure I'll be able to survive.

Here's my weight chart:

The weight continues to come off, slowly... Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a patient person.  I'm so tempted to go to extreme measures to try to lose more quickly, but I know doing that isn't maintainable in the long run and unhealthy in the extreme.

Stay motivated people, and kevetch when you need to.  It helps.

Did you miss me? #SDCC

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So life continues to be life.  Last week was a completely lost cause.  Jacob was in LA on a business trip and I sulked around the house while he was gone.  No working out happened, though I did mow the lawn and it took forever so I'm counting that as a successful workout.  Its the little things.  He got back at like 230AM Friday and then I spent Friday night in a sleep lab and left for Texas that weekend to say good bye to my little sis who's shipping out to Norfolk, VA.  Needless to say, last week was a long one.  However, as you've read; Jacob got us tickets to SDCC!! This will be my 6th time going and I'm pretty pumped.  On the other hand, Jacob noticed that from the date we bought the tickets we had 100 days until the show... hence the 100 day project.  We're 3 workouts in and although I know it's a good thing that we're doing and I'll be so glad (and my doctors will be too) that I've done it, I can't help but dread it every day after work.

I spend all day putting my brain through the grinder to get home and do the same with my body.  Its so tiring! Not to mention all the other home things (dishes, laundry, guinea pig maintenance, etc.) that has to get done on a daily basis I just don't know, those fit moms do it.  I swear they must get some kind of super power infusion while they're in the delivery room.  If that's not what happens, don't tell me... that will just further discourage me from not wanting children.

Anywho... here's my weight chart.  You can tell I've not been working out.

100 days to #SDCC2017!

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Alright, all you loyal readers out there, you can tell I've been slacking, and it's true, I haven't been the most dedicated person to my health, but that's about to change. 

Over the weekend I was able to get San Diego Comic-Con tickets for me and my wife, and I have decided to use this lead-up time to double down and focus on getting shredded by the time we go out to Cali. 

Here's the plan:

  1. No more booze
    1. Alcohol is so very very tasty, but it is full of calories and is hard on the body. So for the next 100 days, I will be giving up all forms of alcohol
  2. 4 workouts a week
    1. I will dedicate myself to 4 workouts a week, with an additional stretching session on the weekends
  3. Eat Healthier
    1. My diet really isn't all that bad, but there is room for improvement and I will make the changes needed
  4. Blog Daily
    1. This will probably be the hardest part, but I'm going to update this blog daily to track progress
  5. No excuses
    1. The easiest thing about working out is finding excuses to not actually do it. For the next 100 days, there will be no excuses for me.

So here we go

-Jacob

It's never easy...

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I started physical therapy this week.  I'd forgotten just how much it freaking hurts.

I've had trouble with my shoulders since high school.  I was a competitive swimmer for 9 years, I started when I was 8 and went without a break until I graduated high school.  I loved swimming, I loved competing, and I loved being part of a team.  I was never especially good, but I was good enough to be on the high school's varsity team all 4 years.  When I was a sophomore I started experiencing shoulder pain during workouts, it felt like someone was driving nails through my shoulder joint.  This being the early '00s before we as a society had really dedicated much into studying sports related injuries I just pushed through it (thanks to my coach not letting me taking it easy).  I went to an ortho once to tell them that it hurt, they gave me a cortisone shot and told me to start doing PT.  I did the PT multiple times a week, but all the while I was working out just as hard as I ever was; effectively nulling any progress that the PT made on healing my shoulder.

Fast forward to now, I haven't swam for fitness in well over a decade.  I told myself it was because I didn't have access/time to dedicate myself to it, although I have tried a couple of times and always had to stop after a few weeks due to shoulder pain.  After moving to Pittsburgh I got my very first job where I'm required to sit at a desk all day, and surprise surprise it's started doing a number on my shoulder.

It started as what felt like a muscle knot over my right shoulder blade.  Jacob says that he can see it and it's about the size of a small orange (dayum!). So I saw a chiropractor (read: voodoo doctor) for a while and they tried to use stim therapy to get the knot to release but it did nothing but cost me a co-pay twice a week.  I've had regular massage for about a year now and that hasn't moved it either, so I finally mentioned it to my primary care doctor (who is amazing) and she prescribed PT.

I saw the PT for the first time this past Tuesday and she was immediately able to tell me what was going on.  My right shoulder has "swimmer's shoulder".  Which is where, due to all the swimming I did, as caused the capsule that holds the shoulder joint in place has become incredibly loose allowing my right shoulder to become a "trick" joint.  It flops around and just has not stability at all, I have about 120 degrees of backwards rotation in the joint.  Combine that with my desk job, the shoulder flops forward pulling my posture forward putting a large amount of strain and impingement on my biceps tendon.  This has also caused the large muscle knot in my back, and the neck pain I've been dealing with.

They've set out to train my muscles to compensate for my poor shoulder stability and increase the coordination in those muscles, and also to strengthen/train my posture muscles so I .  It hurts like a real bitch since I've basically not used those muscles in years.  

Moral of the story: If it hurts mention it to your doctor. They get really annoyed when you tell them that you've just been "dealing" with the discomfort.  Also listen to Jacob when he gives advice, because he's right an annoying amount of the time.

Jacob's Gym

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I live in the Northeast and I am lucky enough to have a basement that can be used to workout in. Right now the gym area consists of a Punching bag, gym flooring, kettle bells and resistance bands. There isn't a lot of space, so I have had to become very economical with it and the workout I do. 

I do a mix of Mauy Thai, High Intensity Interval Training and Weights, all of which are confined inside the 5' by 8' space that I have. As you can see with the pictures below, just a little effort can go a long way in transforming a space into a highly usable workout area. If you want to build your gym like mine, below will be some links

I know that not everyone has the ability to have a space like that and that's something I'll talk about next time.

-Jacob 

Gym Link Below: