Naked times

Thought for the moment: Apparently the body part that people are most comfortable with is their face. It makes sense: we see our face in mirrors all the time. Thus we (hopefully) stop whacking ourselves with criticisms about it. Or even if we do, unless we never check our own teeth for spinach in our teeth, we have to deal with our own self-critique.

So, in order to get comfortable with the rest of your body – speckles, scars, scrawniness and/or flabbiness, et al – I propose that everyone spend as much time naked as possible. Preferably in front of a mirror. Company is optional.

Really, your body is great. Just the way it is. It’ll be with you forever – literally through thick and thin. Embrace it. Enjoy it for how it looks and what it can do. Use activity and a healthy attitude toward food to show respect to it and yourself, maybe help all of your person get and stay a bit healthier.

But still, your body rocks! Get nekkid!

Runs & Guns

Alright, it’s early early Monday morning when I'm writing this. I just finished a 10K run – set a new personal best with 55 minutes & change. Whoo-hoo! Came back and did Ab Ripper X and Shoulders and Arms.

I’ve got some tailbone issues with ARX. Bleh. I’m having trouble with the first 3 exercises that have me sitting up on my butt. Ouch! I keep having to sit at weird angles.

Shoulders and Arms went well. I’m baking some French fries in celebration of being done. And I just had 3 blondie brownies so I’m sure I’ve overcome any calorie burn I might have achieved just now ;) But the workouts went well, other than the tail issue. Although during the last side-tri-rise I kept staring at the massive dustbunnies under my couch. Ah, the joys of having a really furry dog.

Plyo X baby!

I meant to do this the other night, but the former roommate came over and treated me to ice cream ;)

So, I got up early to do this: 4:30 AM – aarrgh! Plyo and Yoga are 2 of my biggest dread factor workouts. With Yoga it’s probably the running time. 1.5 hours is a looong time for me to stay focused. But now with my re-start date being a Thursday I’ve got Yoga X on Sundays which is a bit less rushed for me. Plyo just hurts – in a good way. If you can’t tell from this picture, I’m soaked with sweat after today’s Plyo workout.

(The pic is coming. I had some technical issues. But trust me, I was sweaty. It was not glamourous at all.)

But it’s done. I was able to keep up with Pam. Whoo-hoo! Go me! Starting the day with a workout victory!

Also, every time I do this workout, I remember how much I respect the way Beachbody puts folks in their videos. There’s a mix of races and ages and abilities and body types. In P90X they have some women doing pull-ups and some men using the bands. In the original Turbo Jams there is George, who is a bit more mature doing some of the high impact stuff. And in Plyo X I’m getting shown up by a guy with one leg. ;) So, yeah, for workout and workouters diversity!

Inspiration

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

Day 1 Done!

Whoo-hoo!

I always forget how much I like working out when I stop doing it for too long. Sweat is good for the soul.

Did Chest & Back around 10 PM last night. Oh, my upper body is so puny. I'm probably stronger than many females, but not nearly as strong as I could be. And I pushed myself like crazy on all the push-ups and pull-ups.

I just keep reminding myself: I'm one day closer to doing an unassisted, non-chair pull-up. Which makes me one day closer to 35 pull-ups by the time I turn 35. Ideally, I'll do 31 when I turn 31, too!

Day 0 Pictures

P6040007
Originally uploaded by crazyfaith

Ah, there I am, in a lot of my glory.

The rest of the cheesecake shots are at my Flickr.

I'm really hoping that belly issue will be gone by Christmas or soon after. Or at least not winking so much ;)

Downside, Upside

On the downside, I realized that I'd be in a world of pain if I tried to make up 3 or 4 P90X workouts to keep on my Tuesday, Sept. 22 start.

On the upside, I decided Thursday, Sept 24 would be my start and I did Ab Ripper X this morning.

On another upside - I was able to keep up with all the exercises. I did 25-26 of all of them, some pretty modified, but I did them. And I did all 50 Mason Twists at the end! Whoo-hoo! I am getting stronger!

Chest & Back will be tonight.

100 days left? Whatchu gonna do?

Thanks to a link someone emailed me, I realized that as of today, September 23, 2009 there are 100 days left in 2009.

It's Fall and it's back to school time. I love to use this time of year to reevaluate my yearly goals. Usually by now my New Year's Resolutions are either a distant memory, or I'm recommitting to them, or I'm committing myself to brand new goals.

So - 100 days left before 2010. You can do a lot between now and then. Whether you completely change your world or do abso-frickin'-nothing 100 days are gonna pass.

Here's your chance to take 2009 by the neck and make of it what you will.

Background & Numerical Proof!

Here’s my fit test results from around July 27, 2009

Prior to Day 01

1. Physical Condition

Pull-Ups 0.125 Reps

Vertical Leap 9 Inches

Push-Ups 21 Reps

Toe Touch 4.5 Inch

Wall Squat 295 Seconds

Bicep Curls 23 Reps with 12.5 lbs Weight

In & Outs 53 reps

2. Cardiac Condition

Resting Heart Rate 76 Bpm

Heart Rate Maximizer: (Do jumping jacks for 2 minutes at a quick & steady pace. During final 30 seconds go as fast as possible to maximize heart rate. Then measure heart rate over next 4 minutes.)

Immediately 160 Bpm

After 1 minute 124 Bpm

After 2 minutes 124 Bpm

After 3 minutes 108 Bpm

After 4 minutes 88 Bpm

And measurements from September 21, 2009

All in inches, taken on the right side of my body, at the widest point

Neck - 12.75

• 13 in July

Shoulder - 40.5

Chest - 35

Waist (2' above navel) - 28.5

Abdomen (narrowest point – at navel) - 28.5

• 31.5 in July

Hips - 37.25

• 40 in July

Thigh (90 degrees) – 22

• 23 in July

• Oh my thighs. I love you, but we could get rid of those inverse saddlebags, I’d be a happier woman. Instead of saddlebags on the outside of my thighs, I carry them on the inside. So weird!

Knee - 13.75

Calf - 13

Ankle - 8.5

Bicep (90 degrees) - 11.25

• 12 in July (I’ll assume this is mostly lost fat and not only lost muscle mass)

Forearm - 10

Wrist - 6.5

Waist-Hip Ratio - 0.7651

Just for reference, most of the visible flab that I can only laugh at in the mirror runs from about 2 inches above my navel to about 1/2 of the way down my thigh. Ah well. Let’s see what dedicating myself to P90X can do about that.

If you're still reading (why are you still reading?)

Basic info: I’m Lisa P, born in South Carolina on May 28, 1979 – yeah for turning 30! I’ve lived in Chicago since 2001.

I’m 5’8” tall, somewhat medium framed. Learning to like running. Or actually, I like listening to my iPod, so I run while doing it. I like lifting weights – more than cardio usually. So I’m a bit mystified by my new love of running and resistance to my resistance workouts. I tend to build muscle somewhat quickly and lose fat somewhat slowly. I want to do 35 pull-ups for my 35th birthday. I can almost do a quarter of one now. (Oh me.)

I love to cook and bake, so I brown bag the bulk of my meals. My eating philosophy tends to be: I eat a lot of meatless meals, but I like my steaks medium rare. Ideally, if when I eat junk food, it’s not just a burger from a chain restaurant because I’m busy. But if the mood strikes, I’ll eat a spectacular gut-buster burger from a locally-owned place when I’m really in a mood for one of their specific burgers.

I have a pretty wide ranging palate. Other than fried organ meats (bleh) and lima or butter beans (double bleh) there’s not much I won’t eat. I’m a big fan of most fruits and veggies.

I can make an awesome deep-fried Twinkie, or deep-fried Oreo (hey, I’m a Southerner) but I couldn’t get the batter to stick to the deep-fried Snickers bar. I’ll get it someday. Deep down, I kinda like something I read in a public health article “Eat anything you want, as long as you make it yourself.” Seems pretty reasonable to me for basic health.

So let’s do this! Whoo-hoo!

For inspiration

“The only thing I have to release to get what I want, is my story about why I can’t have it.” – Anonymous

Been a long time, shouldn’ta left you…”

…without a dope beat to step to.” – Timbaland in the intro Aaliyah’s music video “Try Again.”

Anyway, I’m baaaack! I’ve (yet again) decided to reboot my P90X journey. Someday, somehow I’ll get through 90 days of P90X. I’ve rebooted at least 10 times never made it past day 35. This time in 3 months I got through 3 weeks worth of workouts. But every time I start, it means the previous sputter-out wasn’t a complete stop; it was just a pause.

So, today, Tuesday, September 22, 2009 is my new Day 1. I’ve got new pictures to prove it! They’ll go up as soon as I figure out the best way to do that. According to my nifty Excel spreadsheet (thank you Beachbody!) my planned completion date will be Monday, December 21, 2009. Just in time for the end of the year.

When I started 2009, I’d hoped to do 3 rounds of P90X. More true to my form, I’m praying I can get through one round by January 1, 2010. As long as I keep failing forward, I’m happy.

I’m keeping my old Fit Test results from the end of July, even though I’ve lost some upper body strength. Urgh. But I’ve got the pictures this time. Haven’t done those with a reboot in a while. I’ve also got new measurements. I’ll make a separate post with all that jazz.

Why am I doing this? To get fit. To paraphrase comic & commentator Elon James White “I hate running. What’s chasing me? Oh yeah, that family history of Type II Diabetes and Heart Disease.”

Why am I doing this online? To keep me honest. I want as many people watching this blog as possible. I know that it will pain me to my soul to publically admit to the masses that, “Yeah I had time and ability to do that workout, I just punked out.”

Plus, I’m hoping to (learn to swim!) then race in a short triathlon within the next two years. Since I honestly do have to learn to swim (not a big learned skill for Black girls from the South) I’m giving myself 2 years to hit that goal. At some point, I also want to take my half-marathon into a full 26.2 – yikes! Doing those without literally killing myself will take some discipline. And yeah, discipline comes from within, but I can look without for some encouragement.

Also, I’m unemployed at the moment and actively looking for work.

(Anyone need a financial analyst, also getting certified in project management?)

Working out helps me stay focused on the job search. Even if a day of applying and interviewing feels like a bust, at least I broke out a good sweat. Discipline in my workout program generally translates to more discipline in my life in general. More discipline is generally a good thing.

For now, I’ll focus on chronicling my workouts. Eventually I’ll add my food intake. (Oh gracious. That’ll be interesting.)

Thursday Morning Inspiration

"Some people create with words, or with music, or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, "I've never seen anyone run like that before." It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative." - Bill Rodgers

(Sorry the updates are so scattershot. My internet access is shaky at the moment. I'll get back on schedule ASAP!)

Thursday Morning Inspiration

“The only thing I have to release to get what I want, is my story about why I can’t have it.” – Anonymous

I'm a two-time half marathoner!

As of this morning I am a two-time half marathoner! Whoo-hoo!

13.1 miles in 2 hr, 18 min, 49 sec. I’m pretty damn proud of myself.

There was a light drizzle at the beginning that stopped for most of the middle, then became a heavy drizzle for the last 3 miles or so. But the weather was cool and I’m proud of my time. Much better than the last half marathon I did in 2007. That one took about 4 hours.

Now I’m off for some stretching, a shower, some Aleve, and the rest of my day!

Wednesday Inspiration

“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.” – AC Green, retired NBA player

Nasty Habit to Break

I’ve read various places that your brain can only deal with so much self-control at one time. So it’s unwise to start a really rigorous eating plan at the same time as you’re committing to practice the guitar 30 minutes a day. It’s like you have a set amount of self-control at one time and trying to spread it out over too many new ventures at once will deplete your stores.

When I’ve been good at exercising, often I go to work thinking, “Well at least I exercised this morning. That’s a victory!” Which is good. But then I lose interest in racking up work victories. So I need to get over that habit. I know I’ve got enough self-control to have an exercise victory then carry that feeling over into a work victory.

So, I’m off to tackle my work to-do-list! Wish me luck!

Caught Up!

After a Herculean effort this morning, I did ARX, Legs & Back, Chest & Back, and Plyo! Holy crap! I feel alright now, but I’m pretty sure Aleve will be my best friend by lunchtime. Even though I’m 2 weeks behind, I’m caught up on Week 2, Day 2!

I’m also noticing my body is a little unbalanced. I already knew my left leg was weaker than my right. I had hip surgery in junior high after a growth spurt left me with a mildly dislocated hip. It’s never given me trouble, thankfully. But I can tell – especially with Legs & Back - this morning that my left leg ain’t up to my right leg’s par.

Chest & Back went well. I still feel like my back is stronger than my biceps and triceps. Hopefully once I get my arms built up, I’ll be closer to doing an unassisted pull-up. Through sheer grit, I was able to muscle up a few more pull-ups in C&B than I did 3 weeks ago. I can also feel a little weakness in my left shoulder/upper back area.

Plyo still scares the snot out of me, but even after 2 hard workouts right before, I wasn’t left gasping for breathe like I have been in the past.

You know what this means? I’M GETTING FITTER!

Ain't Skurred!

I just did Yoga X! It’s so crazy! I’m off by 2 weeks on my schedule, mostly because I didn’t want to do Yoga X. But even crazier – it’s not that daunting once I start. Plyo still holds that crown. It’s the commitment to 90 minutes of discomfort. And really, there’s at most 20 minutes where I’m really pouring sweat and wondering what the heck I’ve gotten myself into.

It’s all a mental game.

Decide-Commit-Succeed. I have to do those 3 steps and I’ll get fit. I’m also applying Decide-Commit-Succeed to the rest of my life. Breaking things down into a plan then work the plan come rain or come shine. Adjust the plan as needed, but always be working from at least an outline of a plan.

It’s still somewhat disheartening to see my cottage cheese thighs a-jiggling whenever I do a downward dog. The last few vinyashas in the first section still cause agony – right angle pose, half moon, standing splits, etc. My balance is wretched. Ugh! But I know it’ll get better. I’m still amazed that I probably sweat more in a warm-up for P90X than I did in some entire days when I was younger.

Exercise plan for rest of day:

I’m still 3 workouts behind for finishing Week 1. This evening will be Ab Ripper X, Legs & Back, and either Kenpo or a longer Turbo Jam, depending on mood. This will be a great day!

Monday inspiration

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult" - Seneca

Another run this morning

Got back into the 10K swing this morning. Once I decided to do it I almost said, "Heck! Let's make this Half Marathon Day!"

I was feeling pretty good all the way through, so I might have been able to. But I'm gonna do it tomorrow so I can mentally prepare. It's supposed to rain :( But hopefully it'll be clear in the morning.

Also, bathroom pitstops are an issue. Worst part of long runs I think.

Still behind the 8-ball

I'm unemployed with no dependents other than a dog.

It's not like I don't have a lot of time on my hands.

So, why am I still 2+ workouts behind? Urgh! Obviously it's not time, it's desire. And just getting off my keister. I can do it. I will do it.

This morning I ran 10K - a new personal best! Whoo-hoo! 59:01 with a 5:51 min/km pace! I also did Ab Ripper, then Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 in lieu of Kenpo X.

So, I still have Yoga X and Legs & Back, then I'll be back on track. I'd also like to do X Stretch, but I'll sacrifice that if I truly run out of time.

Also, job interview tomorrow! Whoo-hoo! Wish me luck!

Monday inspiration

"The force of the waves is in their perseverance." - Gila Guri

"Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch"

Here's an interesting article by Michael Pollan from the Sunday New York Times Magazine.

It talks about how cooking in the US has slowly become a spectator sport. He traces the development over time of TV cooking shows from Julia Child (encouraging participation and bravery in the kitchen) to Iron Chef America (mostly spectacle, but encouraging bravery in consuming). Because it's Michael Pollan, he ties it up with some observations about how people's overall eating habits could be impacted for the better in the midst of all this.

And some Lisa P. family background:

Dad is a better cook than Mom, but mostly refuses to cook except for special occasions. Mom had a hot family dinner on the table every evening, but beyond a few go-to dishes, anything beyond food from a box or can is beyond Mom's abilities or desire. Pretty typical of dual-income suburban households, I think.

As my sisters and I got sick of the same repeated schlock, we learned to cook. We were the first generation to embrace written recipes. Previous folks in our family had all cooked and baked by "feel." But we picked up our skills mostly as we were on our way out of the house. So now, if there's a big family Thanksgiving or Christmas or Reunion dinner, the sisters and I are usually in charge. If we're not there, Dad takes over. As empty nesters with dual income, the vast majorities of their meals are convenience foods or meals eaten out. It's not worth the effort to heat up the oven for 2 people any more.

But it is true - cooking is mostly a spectator sport for folks. Lots of times when we cook, we're adding water and eggs to a cake mix or browning ground beef for Hamburger Helper. And that's all good, but honestly, it doesn't take that much longer to make a cake from scratch or to make beefy cheesy macaroni with the basic ingredients.

But it does take more preplanning, it does take a stocked pantry, and it takes knowledge. And getting all that stuff together does take more time. There's got to be a way to help balance things out for folks that doesn't suck up all their time and energy and resources.

Any ideas?

Chest & Back / ARX

Did the first reboot Ab Ripper X (ARX) and Chest & Back. I really hate ab/core work so I always do it first. I was shocked at how many reps I could do of some of those moves. I'm getting better at the Oblique V-ups. I can definitely feel it getting deep into my obliques.

Also, the Mason Twists at the end? From the devil. Straight from hell. No lie.

Chest & Back. This workout always intimidates me, but it's one of my faves once I get going. I like the idea of being a woman who can eek out some push-ups on her toes & will someday do pull-ups without a chair.

Also, the Divebomber Push-Ups at the end? Also from the devil. Straight from hell. No lie.

Thirdly, I'll be so dang happy when I'm doing a downward dog and not seeing the cellulite jiggle on my thighs. (Yes I could just wear longer shorts, but I'm working out in the summer in a well-insulated Chicago apartment and avoiding turning on my A/C as long as I can!)

Fourthly, (almost done, I swear) I'm looking at getting the Recovery Drink into my nutrition routine at some point. Besides cost, I'm concerned that I'm not pushing myself enough to get much out of it. Generally, I've only felt well and truly wiped out after Plyo. I could easily take a 2 hour nap after that. I think my upper body is so weak in various places that I can't push my weight lifting as much as I'd like, i.e. - I couldn't do as many push-ups today because my biceps and triceps gave up the ghost. So now, I don't feel as torched as I do with Plyo. But I also know I would struggle to do another push-up.

So, I guess I feel like I'd get more out of using the Recovery Drink when I can push my body further in all the workouts, not just one really killer workout. Although, it'd be nice to have the Drink for that one.

Alright - have a great day!

P90 X Fit Test

Here we go - Reboot # whatever.

Pull-ups

0.125 (1/8 of a pull-up - pathetic, but it'll change!)

Vertical Leap

9 inches

Push-ups (on toes)

21

Toe Touch - flexibility check

4.5 inches past toes

In & Outs - ab exercise

53

Seated Wall Squats

4 min, 55 inches

Arm Curls to Failure

23 curls w/ 12.5 lb weights

Heart Rate Maximizer

HR immediately after 2 min jumping jacks: 160 bpm

HR after 1 min: 124 bpm

HR after 2 min: 124 bpm

HR after 3 min: 108 bpm

HR after 4 min: 88 bpm

I'll need to do the morning resting heart rate tomorrow. Whoo-hoo!

Some more inspiration

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

18 Tricks to Make New Habits Stick

I'm notorious about STARTING STRONG...and whimpering to nothing. Not even whimpering to a finish, just embarrassingly fading away.

I know if I keep starting P90X, someday I'll actually make it a full 90 days.

So to help inspire me in my new habit - and y'all in yours - a link to a helpful article.

My P90X goal - work out every day, including the X Stretch on my rest day, for 30 days straight. Come rain or shine, hell or highwater, no sleep for this wicked until the workout is completed. That's what it took for me to get onto any kind of running schedule. P90X asks more of my than my running goals so I'll have to give myself more structure and force it with all I've got through Phase 1. Wish me luck!

10 K down

One of my goals on the Nike+iPod site is to run 24 times in 8 weeks. As long as I run 3 times a week I'm fine.

Got a bit behind last week, so I'll need to make it up. I also ended up cutting my Saturday run short b/c my earbuds quit around 6.43 K in. Dang it! I can't run without music to distract me and an encouraging voice saying "2 kilometers completed!"

But got my 3rd? 4th? pair of replacement earbuds last night and I'm back on the road!

Tonight at 5:30 PM will be my P90X reboot fit test. I even went in scheduled in my workouts for the next 90 days. Whoo! It's in print now. No turning back!

Reboot!

It's more than a cartoon series!

(caution You Tube video)

A friend from high school emailed me over the weekend asking about P90X. She and her husband were looking for a new workout regime and asked if I could recommend it.

I sent a tl;dr email with more detail than she surely wanted, they took the plunge and ordered.

So they're new venture inspired me to reboot myself. I got about 2.5 weeks off my schedule, so it made sense. Plus, hopefully this (almost) trans-continental accountability will help all of us.

So, I'm doing the Fit Test, measurements, and photos tonight. Tuesday will be my new Day 1.

Thursday Morning Inspiration

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one."

- Mark Twain

Thursday Morning Inspiration

"Winning has nothing to do with racing. Most days don't have races anyway. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up. "

- Amby Burfoot, The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life

Crap this is hard!

Just back from a run. 10 K in a bit over an hour. That seems to be my comfortable pace these days. I need to work in some more interval workouts to see if I can bring it down. Also need to vary my life a wee bit from 2 10 K runs, then a long run over the weekend.

Also, I'm about 4 workouts behind for P90X. Not surprising. I knew it'd be hard to integrate the two together. But it took about 4-6 weeks of trying to run 3 times a week to get on board with that, too.

So plan is to get my butt caught up with at least the weightlifting workouts + Yoga X. Kenpo & X Stretch are less vital. Or actually, just Kenpo (or a TJ substitute) is less vital with the running.

Just need to get over the mental hump of doing 1.5 hours of Yoga. I love it once I start and it's not that much longer than the lifting workouts + ARX. It's just the idea of 90 minutes = Aarrgh!

Holy crap - Insanity is here!

Insanity - the 60-day training program from Shaun T. & Beachbody is now available.

Holy crap! The preview video scares the snot outta me! And every other bodily substance, too!

I'm excited, but I promised myself I'd finish P90X, and ChaLEAN Extreme before jumping in. That much Plyo scares me! Gotta work up to it. I already feel close to death after the Plyo X workout!

Tuesday Morning Inspiration

"Remember that if you don't go to the starting line, you will never view the whole course with all its possibilities. And you will certainly never see the glories of the finish line."

- Amby Burfoot, The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life

Catching up on workouts

Monday - ran 10 K in 1:03:15. Really felt like crap for the last 2 KM. Drank 32 oz of Gatorade afterwards and felt much better. I think I was a bit dehydrated and maybe didn't fuel up properly before hand.

Holy crap? Was that my first bonk? Did I actually push my body really hard and run out of resources to fuel it? Badge of honor, over here! I usually way underperform. Granted I need to avoid bonking, but cripes - I pushed myself to a limit!

Tuesday's plan - I'm behind on P90X. Need to do Yoga X, Legs & Back, ARX, and Kenpo to get caught up totally. The first two will happen. But I might save Kenpo (or a Turbo Jam substitute) for a double-up tomorrow with X Stretch. I'll have to see how I feel after Legs & Back.

"Why are Southerners So Fat?"

Time magazine asks the question, as do doctors and public health officials south of the Mason-Dixon.

As a native South Carolinian, transplanted to Chicago, the answers are what I expected:

So there you have it. Southerners have little access to healthy food and limited means with which to purchase it. It's hard for them to exercise outdoors, and even when they do have the opportunity, it's so hot, they don't want to.

Surprise, surprise, surprise [/Gomer Pyle]

Eating cheaply ideas from Zonya

Zonya Foco, is a Registered Dietician with some great ideas about living a healthier lifestyle.

Here's a link to some of her ideas about "Eating Right When the Budget is Tight."

Healthy Food Hierarchy

Pursing a healthy lifestyle ain't easy. One of the hardest things for me is eating healthily. It's especially difficult to eat healthily on a budget.

I'm a big advocate of eating as healthily as you can within the constraints you're given. Something's got to change about my lifestyle and about yours if we're going to eat better. Usually the biggest challenges are time, taste, and money.

So here's my work-in-progress hierarchy of eating better

1. Eat food from home as often as possible - brown bagging is your friend!
2. Eat at home as often as possible - less temptation, especially if you keep a "clean kitchen" with little or no junk food
3. Eat food you made yourself - the more control you have over your food, the less your food will be infiltrated by mysterious fat, sugar, preservatives, and other nasty junk
4. Eat food you made yourself from scratch - get away from stuff that came from a box
5. Eat with others as often as possible - not every meal needs to be a social event, but eating with others helps us stay connected to family, friends, and neighbors
6. Eat a wide variety of food, especially fruits and veggies
7. Eat more meatless meals - I personally eat a lot of meatless meals, but I like my steaks rare. I'm not going full vegetarian or vegan anytime soon. But maybe try limiting yourself and say, "I'll eat vegetarian/vegan until dinner" or "I'll eat meat 3-4 days a week instead of every day." You'll save money and diversify your diet.
8. Eat organic produce if you can, but really focus on eating any produce - be it fresh, frozen, dried, or canned with as little salt and preservatives as possible.
9. Try a new food multiple times before you give up on it. - It often takes 10 times before our brain gets over the novelty of a new experience before it can process enough to see if it really likes it. If something turns your stomach, don't force yourself. But if you're just not thrilled about it, try it 10 times and/or try it 10 different ways. As a kid I couldn't stand cooked tomatoes but I loved them raw on sandwiches or in salads.

Any other ideas to add?

Weekend Workouts

I ran my first 10 miler Saturday! Whoo-hoo! The first 3.5 miles or so were in a steady rain, with a drizzle that came and went until mile 6. My pace was 11:38 min/mile and I came in with slightly under 2 hours, so I'm satisfied with that.

I made up my ARX and Shoulders & Arms workout this morning. Yoga X will be this afternoon.

One downfall of losing weight, my butt is losing padding. Overall, good thing since my lower half is getting smaller, but doing abs work is a pain b/c I'm not accustomed to my sitz bones sticking out. Yeouch!

Friday Morning Inspiration

"Love yourself, for who and what you are; protect your dream and develop your talent to the fullest extent." - Joan Benoit Samuelson

These pants are getting looser

Added to the recent 158 lb discovery - I'm also fitting into some old size 8 pants.

Kick ass! (Literally, I guess!)

Thursday & Friday catch-up

Thursday I ran 10K in approximately 1 hr, 4 minutes. Whoo-hoo! Closer to my goal pace! Also did P90X Ab Ripper X and Chest & Back. Dang, I've lost a lot of upper body strength, but I'm sure I can get it back. I must be consistent!

Friday (today) was Plyo X. I love what this workout does for my lungs, heart, jump ability, and body fat percentage. But, crap, I haaaate squat jacks. Maybe it's just by time I get there my heart's fixin' to explode out my chest and I'm covered in sweat and can barely hold my arms up. I can't wait until my conditioning is to the point that it doesn't take me an extra 20 minutes to finish the workout because I have to keep pausing and rewinding!

Bringing good food to the city

The New York Times had a profile of Will Allen, a farmer in Milwaukee. Allen is working to help bring "good food" to the people of Milwaukee's northwest side.

He's encouraging people to get the best food they can, ideally stuff that's locally farmed in a sustainable way.

Good quote: "So no, Growing Power [Allen's venture] isn’t self-sufficient. But neither is industrial agriculture, which relies on price supports and government subsidies. Moreover, industrial farming incurs costs that are paid by society as a whole: the health costs of eating highly processed foods, for example, or water pollution. Nor can Growing Power be compared to other small farms, because it provides so many intangible social benefits to those it reaches."

Friday Morning Inspiration

"An excuse becomes an obstacle in your journey to success when it is made in place of your best effort or when it is used as the object of the blame. "

- Bo Bennett

Monday morning motivation

"An athlete who tells you the training is always easy and always fun simply hasn't been there. Goals can be elusive which makes the difficult journey all the more rewarding."

- Alberto Salazar

'Scuse me while I gloat & ponder

I don't own a scale at the moment. My roommate owned the previous one and took it with her when she moved out. I'll buy one at some point, but I'm conserving $$$ at the moment. So, while at Target yesterday I weighed myself on one of the tester scales.

158 lbs baby! Kick ass!

So I figure I'm at 27% body fat (using calipers and a website) with about 115 lbs of lean body mass (skin, bone, muscle, etc.)

My healthy goal is to get to 18% body fat, which will put me losing 18 lbs of fat and weighing around 140 lbs.

It amazes me to think that's a healthy and attainable weight and body fat percentage. While, I'm tall for a woman in my family - 5 foot 8- I'm actually medium framed. I always thought I was large framed! And really, I always see myself as the pudgy junior high/early high schooler. Same height, but hovering around 175 -180. I've gone up and down slowly since then, once getting to 155 for a red hot minute when I hit goal at Weight Watchers.

So what's different this time? I'm going slower. I'm adding pieces to the picture one at a time. First running, then weights, then focusing more on food. I'm balancing my weight/body fat goals with physical fitness goals, i.e. Getting to 140 lbs and also training for a half marathon.

While getting to a healthy weight and body fat percentage is important, I know that I suck at keeping weight off once I get to a goal. So, as little intrinsic passion as I have for running, I use it as part of my physical fitness goals. Once I learn to swim, I'd love to train for a sprint triathlon. I'd also like to do the Hustle Up the Hancock stair climb some day. I may even get up to a marathon someday if I can get my pace time down.

So hopefully the combo of "be a hot ass in a swimsuit" + "get my tail out and use my damn body for some physical show of strength" goals will work to keep me invested in training and staying at a healthy weight.

Defying Gravity

I'm adding P90X back into my workout plan since I'm feeling pretty good about the running consistency, I want to add pumping iron back into the rotation, and I really miss trying to do pull-ups.

When I do the X I use an assist from a chair or stool to get up over the pull-up bar. Even with the assist I can tell that my back gets stronger doing pull-ups than any other exercise. But I do want to work up to unassisted pull-ups.

So, anyone with or without the X who's interested in defying gravity, here's a 12-week plan from Women's Health to build up to 3 pull-ups.

Hot and Sweaty

Just back from a 10K run. It took 1:04:10 with a 6:24 min/km (or 10:04 min/mile )pace. Yeah for this crazy cool weather in the mornings!

So, I'm my ideal 9 min/mile is in theory possible. But I'm not fighting for it. It'll just be nice if it happens. Maybe if I add in some more sprint workouts?

Later tonight will be P90X Ab Ripper X (ARX) and Chest & Back. I also might do Slim & Limber before bed if my joints are still creaky. Dang period! Always makes my hips & knees want to make themselves heard. Bleh.

Monday inspiration

"Nothing happens unless first we dream." - Carl Sandburg

Monday workouts - Run + Pump Iron?

Ran 10K this morning in 1:02:14. Whoo-hoo! Thank goodness for nice cool mornings.

As I wrote before I still want to add in some pumping iron. Specifically, I want to keep working on my pull-ups. So it's either P90X or P90 Masters with some additional pull-up work. I'm leaning toward the former. My only concern with P90X is that the Yoga X workout takes 90 minutes. The lifting workouts take around an hour + 15 minutes for ARX. So every other day will be 1:15 - 1:30 long. Arrgh! In addition to running for an hour 3 mornings a week.

I know I can do it, I just need to be disciplined. Of course the discipline is always my problem.

But I'm working on that!

Adding back the iron

I really like lifting weights. My body makes noticeable improvements faster with resistance training than with cardio. Or maybe it's just that I like the measurable changes of "I can do more push-ups!" or "I can go deeper with my squats!" as opposed to "I don't feel as winded after that sprint!"

Either way, I'm going to a rotation of P90 Masters Series. I'm not quite up to P90X again since I've lost some serious upper body strength. Sigh. It's all my own fault for not exercising at all for so long. But P90M will allow me to get stronger so I can hit P90X with all I've got.

Also, my running is going well. I went out Tuesday to run a 5K (according to my Nike+iPod). Felt good and turned it into a 10K! Whoo-hoo! And did another 10K on Wednesday! Whoo-hoo! I can run 6 miles in about an hour and not feel like I'm dying. That's pretty damn cool!

Friday Inspiration

"Many people shy away from hills. They make it easy on themselves, but that limits their improvement. The more you repeat something, the stronger you get." - Joe Catalano, running coach

Way behind on the sweating

Unemployment sucks.  I need to structure my days better.  Since I'm in the job hunt - and not with an actual job and on summer break from classes - it's far too easy for me to fritter away my days.

Thus, I need to make up

• a 5.5 mile training run
• TJ Cardio Party 3
• Ab Jam
• Cardio Party Remix
• Booty Sculpt with Abs
• Punch, Kick, & Jam and Ab Jam

Cripes!  I think it's feasible for me to do the run, CP3, Ab Jam.  Maybe CPR since it's just 30 minutes, and Booty Sculpt is short too.  Maybe just leave off the 2nd Abs so I don't overwork them.   Basically if I do Monday & Tuesday workouts today, then double up tomorrow with Wednesday + Thursday workouts I'll be back on track.

Discipline is key for me.  I don't have to workout well every day, but I need to work out every day.  This no workout - no workout - no workout - make up 3+ days of workouts is a sure way to knock myself on my butt with injury.

Believe it or not, I have a great plan outlined.  I always do.  But I never stick to it.  So either I'm being overambitious with my plan or I need to focus more.  I think my issue is the latter.

A little extra inspiration

"Sweat cleanses from the inside.  It comes from places a shower will never reach." - George Sheehan

Monday Inspiration

Be courageous.  It's one of the only places left uncrowded. - Anita Roddick

Tony Awards!

A little pop culture diversion:

I use to watch the Tonys every year for a while in high school, maybe into college.  But past few years I've just read a award rundown.  I forgot how much I like seeing performances from musicals (and a bit of the plays), even if I may never see them.  But I live in Chicago, so tours and stagings are always a distinct possibility.  But it's expensive, so I rarely go.  Shame on me.  I need to get more serious about rush tickets or something.

NPH was a great host.  His closing song was spectacular.  (See how I avoided a Barney joke there?)  The sound suuuuuucked!  If I can hear it wonking out, it was bad.  At one point, the revival cast of Guys and Dolls was singing "Sit Down."  Or actually, they were just starting, Nicely's pin mike (I guess that's what the forehead zit mike is called) went kaput, then you heard a tech saying "Should I take it out?!  Should I take it out?!" and techie ran on stage with a wireless mic.

There was a lotta dislike of Billy Elliot (BE) in the BroadwaySpace.com chat room I was in last night.  I think folks felt it was overhyped and the 500-lb gorilla that (almost) swept the awards.  Haven't seen it or anything else on B'way in a while, but I can see why they felt that way.  I know a lot of people are carrying resentment about good shows/performers that got left out of categories all together and/or got overlooked by bigger shows.  Apparently this year on B'way wasn't quite a full-out feast, but much less famine than in some years. 

I've never even seen the movie, so this is a lot of speculation.  But I've seen talk on some West End boards that there was concern about moving the show from London to New York.  Like Full Monty, there's a lot of cultural framing that needs to occur.  But some of the surrounding events for BE are specifically related to labor issues in the UK that US folks would know little about.  I assume there were some tweaks done to make sure it all makes sense.

The speech by the 3 Billys as they won Best Actor in a Musical was cute.  I hope they all have long, enjoyable careers.  They're all 14/15 and I can't imagine having a show resting on your shoulders like that.

The opening number was huge and great.  Instead of the host singing and dancing, actually had the musical casts doing their thing.  There was some nice interplay between some casts.   Opening number ended with probably most of the audience on stage singing "Let the Sun Shine In" from the Hair revival.

Now I've never seen a production of Hair that I like, but I can fully believe that this revival earned it's awards.  I probably should try to see it someday to see if it can make me care at all.  But it was funny watching various folks in the audience get teabagged by the male leads during their part in the intro and as they sang later on.

All in all, a good night.  I think the chatting really helped me watch it and not feel all bleh-y.  It's hard slogging through awards shows without some social interaction.  Maybe I'll try to throw a Tony party next year.  But I'm not sure I could tolerate that many drama queens in my living space.

Sunday's workouts

Spent the 2 hours before the Tonys getting caught up with TJ workouts.  Knocked out Ab Jam, Fat Blaster, Booty Sculpt + Abs, and Cardio Party Remix (CPR). 

I really like Fat Blaster - yeah for intense 30 minute workouts!  I always forget CPR is 30 minutes also.  Plus, I really like the 2 consecutive Turbos (short, higher intensity sections).

Blog formatting

Urgh!  Trying to get my desired blog format from iWeb on my Mac to Blogger.   It's not working!  All the instructions at Mac.com are for iWeb '09 - which I do not have and cannot afford right now.  Blergh!

My show idea

Get me and a male host.  Every week we get a new challenge of some sort that's beyond our regular abilities, i.e.

• juggling flaming clubs
  
• racing cars on a track
  
• learning to use a trapeze
  
• surviving Hell Week at the Citadel
  
• working a weekend as a line cook
  
• learning a "Dancing with the Stars" style routine
• doing the Men's Health Urbanathlon

For things that are just a sporting event with a clear winner, that host wins.  If it's something based on style points the audience can call in afterwards to vote.  Which ever host wins gets a chunk of money put in the bucket for the money they'll donate to a charity at the end of the season.  Also, the audience can also add money to whichever host's bucket they choose.

At the end of the season, both charities will receive money from the hosts, but the winner of the season is the host who gave more money.  I think some nice physical challenge based battle of the sexes could make for good ratings.

TV producers - give me a call!

Vented baking sheet

I have a weakness for tater tots.  So, to make them crisp without frying them I put them in a hot 450 F oven on a vented baking sheet.

I couldn't find a picture of the one I've got, but it's similar to the linked picture of the vented pizza crisper.  It's a baking sheet with ridges and holes on the bottom to let the hot air circulate around my fries.

I use it constantly.  Which means I should probably lay off the tater tots; they're frozen, thus filled with extra oil.  But at least I'm not adding any more oil.

Happy Belated National Running Day!

Apparently it was June 3, but it's never too late to celebrate getting healthy and reducing stress.

I guess this was the inaugural event.  We can put it on our calendars for next year.

Back in the saddle

This morning I ran 5 miles and did Turbo Jam Cardio Party 2.  The music in CP2 starts off kinda techno which I'm a bit meh on, but it ends with Baby Got Back which is one of my favorite wedding reception songs ever!

I still hate running.  But I'm consistently doing a (barely) sub-10 minute/mile pace.  I'm stunned!  The reason I've never tried to do a marathon - besides the pain and agony and all that - is because I don't want to be stuck running for 8 hours.  I know I'd get bored by then.

I still remember running the Indy 500 Mini Marathon in 2007.  13.1 miles in 3:16:41, around a 15-minute/mile pace.  We couldn't use iPods, but they had musical acts spaced out. 

At 10 minute/mile, I could finish in 2:11.  So that increase in speed could decrease my agony by over an hour!   If I can keep that pace up, I could run the Chicago marathon in 4:22!  Less than 4 and a half hours!  That rocks!  Now I'm all inspired.

Monday morning motivation

"A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools." - Spanish proverb

I made Stir Fried Cabbage with Cumin Seeds for dinner tonight with some leftover purple cabbage.  Turned out much better than I feared.

I was able to way down on the oil by using a non-stick cast iron skillet and an oil sprayer.  Usually I use non-stick cooking spray, but occasionally it doesn't work as well as just a bit of oil.  I was able to use maybe 2 tablespoons of oil instead of the recommended 6.

We can change!

I recently read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  I highly recommend any books by him.  I don't have the book in front of me, so I'm making this point from memory.  Please forgive me for the inevitable mistakes in details.

Anyway, about 3/4 of the way through the book Gladwell talks about how for a period of time in the 80's or early 90's when Korean airlines had an amazingly high crash rate.  The pilots and crew were all well trained, the planes were all well maintained, and there was no apparent reason as to why so many Korean planes ended up in emergency situations.

So, some researchers went and listened to cockpit recordings and recordings between pilots and the air traffic controllers of planes that had gone down.  They discovered that there were huge communication issues within Korean airline crews and then more communication issues between the crews and the tower.

Korea has a very reverential culture.  You do not overstep the bounds of your position.  You also never insult the intelligence or capabilities of a superior by suggesting that they aren't fully aware of a situation.  So, if a flight attendant sees fuel leaking out of a wing, it would be supremely rude for the flight attendant to mention it to a pilot.  If the first mate sees something askew with a meter, they must never directly point it out to the captain.  That would be insulting the captain's position.   The captain would never confront a New York City air traffic controller by saying, "We're running low on fuel.  I need to land now!  Put me at the front of the line!"  That's just shockingly rude and inappropriate!  Akin to spitting on someone's grandmother.

See the problem?  There are all these societal cues that one has to learn to navigate Korean society successfully.  They're crucial rules if you want to be part of life in Korea.  But those rules don't work when a Korean pilot is faced with a plane in distress and an air traffic controller from Laguardia.

As some say (or threaten) in the South, "Y'all don't get above yur raisin'."  Or, "Don't step out of the bounds of what you've been taught.  Don't try to be different than the people you come from."

But, Gladwell goes on to say that the Korean flight crews did learn how to deal with this specific situation of being on a plane.  They needed to protect their passengers and themselves and learn a completely new way of communication that they could use in that context.  So the researchers started putting Korean flight crews through a communication boot camp.

The flight crews accomplished one of the hardest things for a person to do: go against ingrained patterns from family, friends, society at large, and personal experience to cultivate new patterns of behavior.

And it was hard as hell.  But they were motivated and over time they were able to do it.  Korean flight crews learned to be pushy as appropriate and the number of crashes went down. 

I hate it when people think they can't change.  I hate it more when "experts" imply that people can't change.  Yes, people can.  But it takes strong motivation and discipline and support.  To be fit and healthy we've got to fight against all sorts of ingrained patterns: from family, from friends, from personal history.  And it's not easy.  But we're the pilots of our planes.  There are people that depend on us to show up and stay healthy.  When I go home to visit my parents in SC and they give me grief about getting up early to exercise.  I've got to push back.  When I go to family events and try my hardest to avoid deep fried goodies and massive servings of dessert, I've got to be motivated to change that pattern of piling my plate high.  It's hard, but it's not impossible.

We've got to find what it is that motivates us, build support networks, and realize that we can change!

The glories of milk

I'm African American and I'm not lactose intolerant yet.   Later onset intolerance happened to my uncle and I think it's happening to my Dad.  But, I'm not a big milk drinker.  Ice cream and cheese-yes, yogurt-yes, but not so much the liquid milk.

Growing up I'd have a bowl of cereal every morning and wonder if I could put anything other than cow's milk in the bowl.  I actually love eating oatmeal in the morning because I can get my bowl of cereal and not worry about soaking something in milk.  These days, when I go on a cold cereal jag, I'll often use soy milk.

Anyway, I was catching up on some podcasts while walking Lika and heard an interview on Fresh Air with food historian Anne Mendelson talking about artisanal milk - nonhomogonized, batch pasteurized and all that.

Very interesting.  And I agree with her on the organic stuff - it's a word that has no official meaning in most states.  It can be helpful with some items, but only if you're using a specific organic standard.

You must

You must do the thing you think you cannot do. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Michael Pollan and Stephen Colbert

I can't embed this video with two guys I dig, so

here's a link.

3T - Totally Tubular Turbo

Just did 3T from the Turbo Jam Advanced+ Rotation.  I'm still 2 days behind on my workouts, but I'm getting slowly caught up.

I always forget how hard this workout is.  By the last couple of upper body reps, my arms are on fire!  Those bands are deceptively hard!

Eat Well = $$$?

Why does crap, processed food cost less than good, from-the-earth food?

Really, it does.  Go into any neighborhood store - especially in a neighborhood in the middle of a food desert - and try to eat decently for $2.  You can find biggie bags of chips and gallons of soda for 70¢ each.  But if there's any fruit, it'll be spotty, sketchy, probably less-than-fresh, and more expensive.

It shouldn't be more expensive to eat in a healthy way.  I don't necessarily mean even organic or fair trade or sustainable.  It seems amazingly crazy from a public health standpoint that it's hard to get healthy food in the hands of people that need it.

People often wonder why poor folks are fat.  But as income goes up, people typically spend a lower percentage of their overall income on food.  Thus, richer folks can shop at Whole Foods without doing the percentage damage to their wallets that poorer folks do just trying to buy at Aldi.  Add in the fact that various factors combine to make processed food cheaper (can you say corn subsidies?) than actual whole foods, and you have the triple wallop of poor + malnourished + obesity.

Yes, there is a lot of personal agency and choice involved in what we put on our plates, but it's not right that the most vulnerable among us - kids living in poverty - have the deck sooo stacked against them from the start.

Year 30 Goals

Since I turn 30 in 14 days, I figure I should write out the goals I want to accomplish for my 30^th Year

• Do 3 pull-ups before I’m 31 (or better – do 30 pull-ups!)
  
•  Run a 10 Mile or 15K Race
  
• Finish 2 rounds of P90X
  
• Do a round of ChaLEAN Extreme and/or Intensity (I can’t wait for that workout – no equipment and all body weight!)

Those are the fitness goals.  Other goals are

• Pay off at least half of my credit card debt – ideally by Dec 2009
  
• Memorize “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” on guitar – also ideally by Dec 2009
  
• Learn to drive a stick shift
  
• Learn to swim
  
• Donate 10% of my income to my church and 10 hours a month to charity/community development

So, I feel like those are doable in a year.  The credit cards and playing guitar ones might be a little harder to do by December ’09, but if I apply myself I think it’ll happen.

I’ve noticed that when I’m putting energy into my fitness goals, I’ve got a heckuva lot more energy and drive to put into my other goals.  So, I’m gonna focus a lot on the first 4 and hopefully that’ll help me get the next 5 into place.

Since we’re 5 months into 2009, it’s likely your New Years Resolutions might have fallen by the wayside.  So, do y’all have any Mid Years Resolutions?

Thursday, May 14 workouts

I’m not a runner – not by a long shot.  But I like the idea of putting myself through some physical challenges.  I read some article about “Things to do before you turn 30” that said you should do something difficult with your body and you should do it outside.  The world should not begin and end with your couch.  I ran the Indianapolis 500 mini-marathon back in Spring 2007.  I ran very slowly, but I did it.

My current goal is to run a 10 K sometime around the weekend of Sunday, June 7.  I’m not signed up for an official race; it’ll just be me and my Nike+iPod. 

Also, I’m doing an Advanced Rotation of Turbo Jam.  I’m doing that to help get me back into the swing of working out every day before I try to attack P90X again.

I’m a bit behind with the Turbo Jam rotation, but I just finished Cardio Party 3, then I did a windsprint+recovery run for 20 minutes.  The run was a free Nike podcast featuring The All American Rejects.  It went pretty well!  I'm shocked. 

This evening I’ll do 3T – Totally Tubular Turbo.

Starting Out - About Me

Hi all!  I’m Lisa P., a native of South Carolina.  Go Gamecocks!  I transplanted to Chicago in 2001, started seminary in 2003 thinking I was going to be a Lutheran pastor.  Then I changed my mind.  Now I’m working on an MBA.  I really like school, apparently.

 

I turn 30 in 14 days – go Geminis!  And it’s time for a change.  Everyone’s warned me that it gets harder to get your fitness groove on once you hit 30.  If you don’t have trouble finding time between work and family and friends, then just body changes make it hard.  I’m single and I don’t have kids.  I need to get fit now while my life is less complicated.

 

I’m continuing the slow journey of being more fit as a 30-year-old than I was in high school.  Granted that wouldn’t be hard.  I’m 5 foot 8 and was around 220 lbs in high school with no stamina.  Clothes shopping was a nightmare!

 

I was a always chubby kid, oldest of 3 girls.  We grew up in a typical Black Southern family where gravy was a food group.  Once my sisters and I moved out, we finally learned that we could drink fat-free milk and not deep fry all our veggies.

 

I love to cook and bake.  I eat a lot of meatless meals, but I like my steaks medium rare.  I veer between making healthy, balanced meals or deep-frying Twinkies.  If I’m gonna eat crap, I try to make it spectacular crap.  No just eating any fast food burger because it’s convenient.  If I really want a burger, I go to some specific burger joints and get a true gut-buster that I’ll loooove.

 

I’ve worked out sporadically since the middle of high school.  Hitting 220 pounds scared the dickens out of me.  Especially considering my family has a history of Type II Diabetes and every heart/vascular system ailment known to humanity.

 

I’ve used The Firm – originally started in my home state – holla! And various individual cardio dvds.  Now I primarily use programs from Beachbody.  I like that Beachbody makes complete programs with eating plans, cardio, and resistance training.  Less thinking for me!  Some of the more advanced programs also include balance and flexibility, which I really appreciate.

 

So, let’s jump in and get a little fitter today than we were yesterday.