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Update – Changed Gyms, Then Quit Gyms

It’s been a month since my last post, and I apologize for that!

So what’s been happening?

Well, let me start by saying that I have not regressed, and have noticed a marked improvement in my overall health, as judged by the simple question I ask myself multiple times per day now – “How do I feel?”

The answer? I have been feeling GREAT! I have been for well over a year now. But I assure you it’s not just because I dropped ~65 pounds and have effortlessly maintained it for the past 6 or 7 months. It’s because I’m constantly tinkering and improving my lifestyle choices around:

  • Diet/nutrition
  • Fitness activities
  • Daily activities
  • Sleep
  • Stress levels

A month ago, I was focused 100% on really hitting the weight room hard. I cancelled the membership to a nice but pricey local squash club (I was playing squash for a while but my partner, once I got good enough to start winning more than half the time, punked out on me and decided he didn’t want to play anymore). I switched to another local gym that was half the price and offering a 30 day trial. The weightlifting area of this new gym was far superior, and I was very enthusiastic to start doing the Stronglifts routine. Problem was…I learned that I just can’t do a barbell squat. I know the proper form, but physically my body is not flexible enough to do it correctly, or even close. It is downright painful. So I switched to doing body squats, under the guidance of Mark Sisson’s site/fitness recommendations. While I don’t get as low in the body squat as I’d like, it’s getting better. And what I found was that, particularly with the mostly great weather here now, I just don’t need a gym. With constant baseball/softball games (3 days a week) that I have to bring my kids to at a local park with an awesome track, fields, etc., there’s just no reason to pay money to a gym.

So I canceled the membership trial (had to jump through some hoops – boo to you, SWEAT Fitness). I’ve been more active the last month just keeping busy with the usual stuff. So much so, that I try to avoid just ‘sitting at a computer’ much. Hence, no blogging. And my day job has been so hectic, so busy, that I can’t even sneak in a post during the day.

Enough with the Whining…What Have You Done This Month?

Sleep – I’ve been making sure to get to bed by 10pm. Usually I can’t sleep until closer to 11, but that’s okay. I’m getting 8+ hours per night. I’ve noticed a definite better overall feeling when doing this.

Introduced “Safe Starches” and Greek Yogurt – when I was still weightlifting, I introduced a routine of eating a big ass sweet potato within an hour of finishing a heavy lifting routine. That infusion of quality starch/carbs did wonders and my body tolerated it just fine (gas aside). Since I’m not doing the heavy barbell work anymore, I don’t need to eat them and haven’t, but have added more quality carb sources like greek yogurt (the Fage brand, with some honey squeezed into it, is incredibly good). It’s hard to find the full fat greek yogurt (or any full fat yogurt for that matter), but it’s worth the hassle. It is great tasting stuff – with the honey it is basically a desert and tastes like ice cream. Love it.

My weight is at 193. I’m guessing I’m in the 16% bodyfat range, but have no way to test that. I haven’t weighed myself very often – maybe once every 10 days. I am so active, and so in tune with my body, that I just don’t worry about it. At all.

So that’s the latest.

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