Monday, November 17, 2008

A 5 Gallon Bucket Of A Post--

Instead of doing any exercise today, I bumbled around sore and decided to get a nagging chore done. Our gate is electric, and the guy who originally welded the motor-mounting-arm was a crappy welder. I'm not a great welder, but I'm not a crappy welder, so when I finished, our gate worked again and I happily put away all of my tools.



Picking up the welder and putting it back into the garage, I realized just how tight I was and decided what I needed was my own special yoga session (invented by me a long time ago to suit me).



All the exercise I've been doing is making me stiff and sore. "A day off and a good stretch... Yeah... that's the ticket..."



Releasing tension is good for releasing thoughts. You bend over and pull on a foot and out comes a thought--



"I used to be able to touch my toes with the palm of my hands..."



"I wonder if those vertebrae are tight or have they fused?"



"What's that popping and crackling noise?"



"If I sucked out every ounce of body fat, could I fill a five gallon bucket?"



"A five gallon bucket of water weighs a little more than forty pounds (app. 8 pounds per gallon for water)... I am about 40 pounds heavier than I should be. Does fat weigh more than water?"



"No wonder my legs are getting really big really fast. I am running around and riding a bike carrying a 5 gallon bucket full of water. When I am at work, and carry around a 5 gallon bucket of water, I hurt my back. No wonder my back hurts when I try and jog! I could never jog carrying around a 5 gallon bucket of water. I mean, how could I?"



I haven't had a beer since the first week in July. I still weigh the same- no, I put on two pounds since I started. Does getting old mean it is impossible to lose weight the way I once did? Does it mean I'll never get to have another beer (if I keep my solemn promise to myself-- no beer until I reverse 250)? How can I not lose weight if I gave up beer? "



"I'm not the biggest loser."



Something I learned from my sporty days-- it is better to start a regimen slow and then ease into shape, than to jump in and try to shape up all at once. Once in shape, it is ok to do the "no pain no gain" thing, but within reason. The mind is good at finding excuses, and "I hurt all over" is a good excuse to lie around and not exercise.



So taking my own advice, I started out walking. Calf muscle first. Then I began riding the bike. Outer quads. Then I started doing hikes in the hills up switchbacks between bike days. Buttocks and full quads, plus some hamstrings on the way down. Then I started doing hill climbs on the bike. Legs and cardio. Heart exploding cardio. Ten weeks later, I'm still a chubby muffin but my legs are rock solid. I figured it was time to move into other areas of the body.



I hung a pulley from a rafter and draped a cable through it. On one end of the cable, I attached a plywood seat. On the other end, I attached a pull up bar I welded together (actually a lat pull down bar). I can sit in the plywood chair and do pull ups till I am blue in the face. Biceps, lats and back...



I made a sit up bench with a T for my toes, so I can do sit-ups on an incline, or just lie upside down to stretch my spine.



"Oh yeah. That's why I'm so sore..."

2 comments:

Jeannie said...

I don't think our bodies respond nearly the same after 45. We become very fuel efficient. Basically, you have to cut back on everything - not just beer, to lose weight. And to maintain is a harder balance - you might have to go without a slice of bread if you want to enjoy a beer. That sort of thing.

kario said...

Remind me to never ask you to design an exercise regime for me. I couldn't do pull-ups if my life depended on it.

Some food for thought - muscle weighs a lot more than fat, so while you're building those rock solid legs, you're adding weight. Losing inches on your waist might require some pilates. Worked for me.