Not to long ago, I decided to make a change in my life and try to do Yoga everyday. I heard so many good things about the benefits of Yoga, that I wanted to really give it a ty. I “planned” on doing yoga every day for a week. Well, I only got through a couple days before I stopped. I don’t know why I stopped, there is no good excuse aside from the fact that I was sore as hell, but I stopped. I have done a few yoga workouts here and there over the last couple months, but nothing consistent. Then one day last week, my fiance was on our Wii Fit. That was when I realized that the Wii Fit has yoga and I wouldn’t have to do the long workout where I keep going to the ground after every move. I could go at my own pace. So I decided to try it out and just work on the moves. I figured that if I can get the moves down, then a complete workout will be easier for me. So the last week or so I have been doing yoga on the Wii almost every day. I seem to say this all the time, but that damn Wii Fit really kicks my ass. It’s slow and I have to keep going to the menu to select workouts and I get tired of the dumb ass advice from the “trainers,” but no matter what, I am always beet down after using the Wii. So for those of you looking to start yoga, but maybe are intimidated by the workouts or just a little lazy like me, try the Wii Fit. It’s not easy, but you can go at your own pace and work your way up to full Yoga workouts.

Yoga Challenge – Day 1

So tonight was my first yoga workout in my 7 day challenge. First thing I have to say, yoga is harder than I expected. I completed a 20 minute workout and I am wiped out. Yes, I am what some might call a tid bit out of shape, but nevertheless, that workout kicked my ass. The exercises are different, but the slow movement and breathing made my body work harder than an exercise bike for example. Now, do I feel more in tune with my mind and body? Not yet, but hopefully I will get there. Most important part is that this was a great workout. It’s not the first time I tried yoga, but maybe the first time I truely appreciated it. But this is just day 1, we’ll see how I feel come day 7.

The other day I received an email from a friend of mine and he was talking about yoga and how it has changed his life. I have read several other places how yoga doesn’t just benefit your body, but your mind as well. Now I am a big guy and i have tried yoga a few times. I will say that when I did it, it did clear my had and make me feel better. But I get a similar feeling after any good workout. But what he talked about was body movement and conscious breathing. That is what made him feel like a better person and it created a wonderful change in his life. I have read several other stories with people saying the same thing.

The Challenge

So I am going to challenge myself and see what the results are. I am going to do yoga every day for the next 7 days. Personally, I am at a crossroad in my life and if something like yoga can help me make a change, I will be extremely grateful. So, today will be day 1. I am going to do my yoga workout in a few hours and I will report back on it to you. Wish me luck.

A Tip from John Wooden to help with fitness

Recently, the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden passed away at the tender age of 99. Since then, I have read so many articles and watched several tributes to the great coach. What impressed me was how so many of his former players loved and respected him, and how they kept in touch with him over 30 years. Today, I was reading about some of John Woodens best quotes. One of his great quotes was: “never mistake activity for achievement.” That quote made me think. It made me think about so many things in life, but it most importantly it made me think about how it relates to fitness and weight loss. “Never mistake activity for achievement.”

Here are a couple of ways where you can mistake activity for achievement:

The Cardio Kings or Queens: Those of you who only do basic cardio and don’t do any strength or interval training. Do you ever wonder why you don’t really see any results?

The bad salad lovers: It’s great to eat salads and vegitables, but if you drench your salad in rach or ceasar dressing, what benefit are you really getting. I hat to tell you that eating a bed of lettuce that is just covered in an oli based dressing and chhese is not healthy, you are beetr off just going to mcdoanalds for a burger.

Bench press until death: I will admit, I love to bench press. I wish I could just bench press everyday and not have to worry about aythig else. But those of you (or should I say us) that love to bench pres and don’t do anything else, you aren’t doing yourself any good.

The important thing to remember is that any exercise is good exercise. But you have to change it up every now and then. Make the most of your time at the gym and maximize your workouts. And please, don’t waste all your hard work by eating bad. Check out some of our easy, healthy recipes.

Summer is here, the sun is out and I don’t have air conditioning in my house so I am looking for things to do on weekends. This past Saturday I was getting dressed to get dragged around some outdoor mall with my wife. When I got ready to go, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed something a little strange. I had man breast. Or should I say that I had full on hooters. Like Frank Costanza on Seinfeld. All I needed was Kramer to bring me a Bro and I would have been a star. The shocking part was I didn’t know where they came from. Now, I won’t say that I have been a twig all these years, because I’ll be the first to say that I’m over weight, but where did this come from. I’ve had them for a while, but it was never something to worry about. Now look like a teenage girl who went to camp for the summer and came back with  a surprise for all the boys  who looked past me at school. Once again I asked myself, how did it get this bad. I asked my wife and she said I had been rocking the D-cups for months now. So at what point do you realize that your out of control and how do I get past it?

I am happy to say that I have been pretty good the last few weeks. I’m working out more often then not, I’m eating better and i am feeling better in all aspects of my life because of this. Although the other day I was catching my breath after a nice little sprint on one of my runs, and I thought to myself, “what the hell have I been doing the last 13 years?” It has been 13 years since I have played an organized sport. 13 years since I was in the best shape of my life. 13 years since I had a 6 pack. 13 years since I was in peak physical conditioning. I have to ask myself, what the hell happened?

In high school, I wasn’t a great athlete. I was never the best player on any team I was on. I wasn’t the fastest, I wasn’t the strongest. But I was always one of the best. I was talented enough to play just about any poison on the football field or the basketball court. And I could play them all well. I wasn’t the fastest on the team, but I was always one of the fastest. I wasn’t the strongest, but always one of the strongest. Bust most importantly, I could out work anybody, anytime, any day. After double days in the summer and during off season workouts, when everyone else was tired and worn out,  I would either go to the gym later that night or I would go back out to the field to run sprints or hills. No matter what, I would always do more. I could play basketball for hours on end and not get tired. I would be as strong in the fourth quarter as I was in the first quarter. That was who I was, and I was always proud of that.

But as I was gasping for air the other day, I finally asked myself, what the hell happened? How did I go from that person to this person? How did i let myself go? Not just how did I let myself go, but why? Why did I let myself gain close to 100 pounds? Why can’t I play basketball anymore because I am afraid I will pass out on the court? Why is it that I used to be able to dunk a basketball, and now I throw out my back if I jump up to grab the net? Hell, I can’t even tough the rim anymore. Why do I get winded walking up the stairs to my house? Why do I feel sick all the time? Why does my heart feel so weird all the time? So I finally have to ask myself, why am I killing myself?

I remember living right across the street from a Jack in the Box in college. I thought it was more cost effective for me to load up on the dollar menu then go make something healthy. It tasted better too. I also lived across the street from a convenience store. No need to say more. Soda, chips, hostess cakes, etc. When I was in high school, I ate all those same type of foods . Maybe not as much, but I ate it. But I also played three sports and was active every day; and let’s not get into drinking and smoking. Things i never thought I would ever do, I did in my twenties; I knew it was bad for me, but I never cared. I never stopped. I never thought it would catch up with me, but it finally has. It really has. It has gotten so bad, that I have been down on myself at times. And when I get down on myself, I go back and do the same old thing.

So I asked myself as I was gasping for air, why? Why did I do this? I never thought it wouldn’t affect me. I always had confidence in myself, so I never walked around feeling helpless. I never felt fat. I felt out of shape and knew I just had to do a little bit of work and I would be back to normal. But that hasn’t happened and I don’t know what normal is anymore. Even though I have felt sick for years now, I have done nothing about it. So once again, I ask myself why? Why have I been killing myself? And, when will I finally make the change? Hopefully now!

My First Marathon

A few weeks back, I was watching NBC’s Biggest Loser like I do every week. It’s not the best show on TV and some of the stuff is pretty annoying, but I must admit that I like to see those people make such big changes in their lives. But two episodes this past season stood out to me. The first was the “Where are they now” episode and they showed a past contestant compete in the Ironman Triathalon in Hawaii. Now this guy was damn near 400 pounds and now he was competing in one of the most physicaly damanding events in the world. The guy came prety close, but he missed officially qualifying by a few minutes. Nevertheless, it was pretty amazing.

If the Biggest Losers can run a marathon, I can!

The second thing I saw was the finalist from this season running a marathon. At that point, I decided that one of the things I wanted to accomplish in 2010 was running a marathon. I am not a distane runner, nor have I ever been. A marathon is 26 miles and the most I ever ran was maybe 2 miles. Once upon a time I had speed, but never long distance running in my blood.

But I am a cocky bastard. I know if those people on the biggest loser can do this, I can. So I am going to work my ass off and prepare for the San Francisco Marathon on July 25, 2010. I give up on a lot of stuff, but this is one thing I am going to follow up on.

Time to Find Out: Does P90X work?

In my effort to make a healthy lifestyle change, the first step was starting the infamous P90X system. Like so many others, I have been mesmerized by the P90X: Get ripped in 90 days infomercial on TV. After years of watching the infomercial, I finally broke down and purchased the videos. I have tried several different workout programs in my life, but I have decided to make an effort to complete P90X.

What is P90X Like?

So far I have completed the first 2 weeks of P90X. That is only the start, but for me, it is a great accomplishment. And I have to say, the commercial does not lie. Although I have not seen significant changes yet, I know that at the end of these 90 days from hell, it will be worth it. The hardest workouts so far have been Chest & Back, Plyometrics and Yoga. I have completed the enitre video each day, although I needed to hit the pause button a few times the first week. The worst part was P90X made me sick the first 2 days. But like my football coach once said, “if a workout makes you sick, that just means your working hard.”

So from here on out, I will chronicle my workout and let you know how it’s going. But no matter what, I will not give up on this.