Four Games in Four Days

When I first moved down to Florida I was able to feed my love for baseball in the month of March with all the Spring Training baseball I could fit in 30 Days. I was single and I worked nights so all I really had to do was wake-up in time to make it to my destination for this to happen. I shared photos and stories of how great it was with my northern friends and all of them said how great it sounded and would need to plan a trip some day. Well this weekend (23 years later) one of them finally decided it was time to make the trip. My closest and oldest friend Joe finally decided it was time.  Here is a little journal of our trip.  

Day One was a trip to Tampa to see the Yanks and Tigers on Monday night. It was cold and got down to 49 degrees which would not have been too bad had I paid attention to the tickets and saw it was a night game. So when we got to Tampa at 11:15 am and none of the parking lots were open we kind of wondered what was up. We needed to figure out something fast and we figured a double header would be a great way to start the weekend. We decided to drive over to Dunedin since we had a few hours to burn. The scalpers wanted $50 for a $14 general admission ticket, too rich for our taste so we headed back to Tampa and made the best of it.

A little batting practice on one of the side fields and then into the big park to see the “stars” Watching Miguel Cabrera is just a wonderful experience these days. I watched him hit when he was younger and with the Marlins and it was impressive but now it’s just unreal. He makes it look so easy and effortless. My buddy Joe is a Yankee fan so he got to see Jeter dink a few hits and it made his day.

Iron and the Soul – By Henry Rollins

Iron and the Soul – By Henry Rollins
December 04th, 2009

Iron and the Soul – By Henry Rollins

I believe that the definition of definition is reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself.

Completely.

When I was young I had no sense of myself. All I was, was a product of all the fear and humiliation I suffered. Fear of my parents. The humiliation of teachers calling me “garbage can” and telling me I’d be mowing lawns for a living. And the very real terror of my fellow students. I was threatened and beaten up for the color of my skin and my size. I was skinny and clumsy, and when others would tease me I didn’t run home crying, wondering why. I knew all too well. I was there to be antagonized. In sports I was laughed at. A spaz. I was pretty good at boxing but only because the rage that filled my every waking moment made me wild and unpredictable. I fought with some strange fury. The other boys thought I was crazy.

The Challenge

The Challenge is just that..a challenge. Today was my second attempt at it and although I did improve on my performance I have work to do. I have never been a pullup guy; being big first off it is discouraging to only lift yourself two to five times per set, the reward is there if you put in the effort.

When I did my rounds of P90X I was using a 100 pound test band to get the same resistance as if I were doing a pullup. I never committed to a full round with just pull-ups so with P90X3 I decide to commit to all pull-ups all the time. The result so far is an increase in my repetitions after just one week.

Now pushups are a different story, I can pump them out all day since I have what has been referred to as a “barrel chest” and thick arms I love the way the sets are laid out and now look forward to this workout.

The goal from the start is to pick two numbers, your first number is the total number of pull-ups you will do for each set throughout the workout and your second number is the same thing for your pushup sets. Last week I started out with 4-20 and to tell you the truth four was a bit of a reach. I felt great at the end of the workout and although I did not complete my repetitions consecutively on all sets I did meet my numbers for the entire workout.   

Today I not only completed my repetitions consecutively I completed additional repetitions as well. This showed me the improvement I have made so next week we bump the number up and I will work at meeting the goal of 6-25.

Everything in fitness is about setting goals and then smashing that goal so I will set one here and now, by the end of this program I want to complete this workout with a set number of 10-40 if and when I am able to do this I will know I have pushed myself as hard as I could have pushed.

Kathy Update; she is doing great, and working hard. After today’s workout she actually made the statement that the Challenge is her favorite workout so far.  

Be Honest With Yourself

It could be a workout program, a change in your nutrition or even a new sleep schedule the bottom line is if you want something to work you have to commit and focus for the 30, 60 or 90 days that you plan on give toward your goal.

Keep yourself accountable or find a friend or a group that will help and support you in reaching your goals and then be honest with yourself. Ask yourself daily, weekly and monthly if you CONSISTENTLY are following the plan EXACTLY the way it was designed and all the way through.  Often upon some self-reflection people find that fault lies with the operator and not the system.  That’s why using a tracking system or a journal is so effective, you can accurately gauge your consistency and it will correlate with your level of success.

Natalie N., a mother of four achieved these awesome Chalean Extreme results while going from self-loathing and unhealthy to ripped and happy.  Having not exercised in years, Natalie started with Turbo Jam but soon decided to crank it up a notch with Chalean Extreme to finish her dramatic transformation.

Shakeology was also a vital part of Natalie’s Chalean Extreme results.  Not only did it fuel her body and prevent junk food cravings, but it eliminated her IBS symptoms.  This is another testament to the power of Shakeology and fueling your body with what it actually needs!

Like many that have achieved great Chalean Extreme results, Natalie was a member of a Challenge Group!  These online accountability groups are extremely effective in helping you stay on track and provide the extra support that often makes the difference between success and failure.  I am constantly forming new Challenge Groups.  If you are interested in learning more about my exclusive challenge groups, please contact me at rob@homeplatefitness.com

Thanksgiving Mayhem!

Thanksgiving Day can get more decadent than you expected. Let’s face it: Everyone blows his or her calorie budget every now and then. Do you need to worry? Is that old dieter’s saying, “a moment on the lips, forever on the hips” really true? And what should you do next.

The good news is, one meal is not going to ruin you if you eat sensibly and exercise regularly the rest of the time and get back to your routine. You need to eat 3,500 calories to gain one pound of body fat, so it’s unlikely that a single overindulgence will show up on the scale.

No one is perfect in their eating habits. What we have to learn is that we are giving ourselves permission to do this, and as soon as it’s over, we should go back to the eating plan we normally follow. This does not give us permission to continue to overeat and binge.

Let Go Of “Can’t”

Telling ourselves that we “can’t” accomplish something is 99% of the time a big fat lie.

If you physically cannot do something, that’s fine. Embrace what you can do and work your way up to being able to do what you couldn't today.

Refuse to settle for “Can’t” becoming your automatic response to discomfort. Instead, take on an “I sure can try,” attitude. Here’s what I mean…

·   When starting a new fitness program and you’re sweating and huffing and burning and you have another set, well, unless you’re on the verge of passing out, you can pause regain your composure and push on.

·   Getting tired of salads and oatmeal and it looks like it’s going to be difficult to stick to your new nutrition plan, is it physically impossible for you to stick to it? Nope. Think of what your “Why” is and push on.

·   Think you “can’t” give up that nasty habit that’s keeping you from getting healthy? Think again! You can do this and I am here to help.

When you tell yourself you can’t do something, it bleeds into other areas of your life, permeating your outlook on all things. Start saying “can’t” with your fitness goals, and you’ll start finding excuses for why you can’t achieve a higher position at work, a better relationship with your spouse, and so on.

While you dance like no one is watching, what song is being played?

Some of my favorites, you may be surprised, 

It's U2 what did you expect? This was the song that started it all. 

Always made my feet tap, Thank you Danny C

Slow and Steady Wins the Race!

Exercise is great, so the more you do the better you feel? Wrong. If you are trying to out exercise a bad diet you will never reach whatever large or small goals you set for yourself but I am not talking about your nutrition this time. The amount of exercise needed to "cancel" out a bad meal is enormous. In addition, it usually leads to injury. It certainly is possible to do hours of intense exercise a day, but it's something that has to be worked up to. For most people that want to be fit and healthy and look good doing it, a few intense workouts a week combined with staying active is plenty to get the job done.

I am not saying stop your current workout program. I am saying I try to get in some form of physical activity 7 days a week. However, 4 of those days are leisure activity like walking, biking, or hiking. I can get by taking it easy on those 4 days of the week because the other 3 are very intense workouts. They include a combination of strength training and HIIT cardio. My exercise program has everything I need to build and maintain muscle, and improve my cardiovascular system. Most importantly though, it gives me ample time to rest and recover.

  

When I first started to pursue my fitness goals I had developed a bad habit of over training, doing multiple workouts each day and following that schedule for a few weeks at a time, usually until my body gave out. Let your body rest and try not to overdo it!

If you look at the graph to the right you will see what I am talking about. I often teetered between the success on the right and the failure on the left. Over-training will leave you feeling sick, with flu like symptoms, dehydrated, fatigued and sometime in pain. 

There will be times when you can push the intensity and workloads harder for periods of time, and there are very sport-specific training programs which require that. However, for the majority of people that just want to be healthy, fit, and leaner than the average person, the key is finding consistency in your workout program, and that means finding something you can handle long term, being patient, and letting the fat come off over time. The longer you can stick to your current exercise program, the more successful you will be. Over exercising is not going to get you to your goals any faster.

Happy Birthday Roberto!

Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in all of sports. There have been great hitters, great fielders, guys with blazing speed. You can hit for average or hit for power and you can be a "Five Tool Player" but you can't be one of those five tool players unless you have the ability to throw a baseball. 

To me throwing a baseball from your position to the destination you have chosen is the most beautiful form of art in sports. I was a catcher and I will say that throwing a runner out that was attempting to steal on me, my pitcher or our team was more rewarding than hitting the ball out of the park. A third-basemen that can flick his wrist and send the ball to first from foul territory from an off balance position still today gets my vote for play of the day. To this day John Elway is one of my favorite quarterbacks not because of a single pass he made on the football field but because of a throw I saw him make while playing for a Yankees farm team in Oneonta, New York from the right field corner nailing a player going from first to third on a sure double. 

Watching Roberto Clemente throw the baseball from deep in the corner of rightfield to third base was one of those things of beauty. I have only seen it on film but, I can certainly imagine that ball traveling on a rope to where ever Roberto decided it needed to be. I have seen some of the greats, Dwight Evans and the recently retired Vladmir Guerrero or Dave Parker make some unbelievable throws but from what I have seen and as legend tells us Roberto was the best. 

It's an honor to be remembered for anything in professional sports but when you are remembered for being great and then remembered for being a better person than you were a ballplayer that is special. 

Happy Birthday Roberto, you were taken too early and many of today's players could have used your guidance. 

Bryce Harper Plays Too Hard?

Now that Bryce Harper is in his second season and new exciting rookies have appeared on the scene, the wunderkind is expected to mature and round out his potential. One aspect of Harper’s play, one of Harper’s defining aspects, that has been under discussion this season is whether he plays too reckless and aggressive. Most people say Harper’s forceful style of play is an injury risk that would lead them to take Mike Trout as a franchise player over him.

Watching the Braves vs. Nationals game last night I watched as Harper flat out teed off on a fastball sending it deep to centerfield without any kind of showboating he watched the ball fly out as he put his head down and ran the bases like a professional. On his next at bat he was promptly hit in the thigh by rookie pitcher, Julio Teheran, this would have angered me to no end but Harper said his piece and headed to first base. The benches cleared and additional words were shared before the game resumed.

Harper’s aggressiveness has been compared many times to that of Pete Rose. Rose himself weighed in on this topic in an interview I read. “There’s a difference between playing hard and playing recklessly. And Bryce plays recklessly.” This is coming from the guy who dislocated Ray Fosse’s shoulder in an exhibition game. Rose bruised his knee on that play and missed three games as a result. Nobody ever talks about that.

This year we have been treated to the overly aggressive and reckless styling’s of Yasiel Puig the Dodgers Cuban Rookie. I also caught the interview with Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly on PTI where Mattingly critiques Puig’s game saying he is exciting and that the weakest and most reckless part of his game is his base running and that he feels that Puig will sometimes seem to run until he is tagged. 

The misadventure that sticks out most in people’s minds is when Harper crashed into the Dodger Stadium wall. But there’s nothing wrong with Harper’s “mindset” or “style” that will have him colliding full steam with unpadded walls his whole career. He got a bit lost in the outfield which in that same interview, Rose pointed out, is still a fairly new position for him. Less than two weeks later, the mortal Harper may even have cost himself an important catch because the Dodger Stadium episode was still in his head.

If you remember Puig ran into the same wall and although he injured himself and missed a few games he did not miss a month like Harper did.

I have not seen Bryce Harper play recklessly this year. In fact, Harper has matured in much the same way people expected he would. Last year, he was prone to high-intensity, low-percentage throws when there were smarter plays available. Watching Adam LaRoche gave him a talking-to in the dugout after one error on an overthrow led to a run against Colorado last year. This year, he’s been throwing back to the infield more often instead of trying for every play at home. I believe that Harper has proved that concerns about his emotional maturity from the minor leagues were overblown. People will hopefully soon realize that he’s not a danger to himself physically, either.

I believe that luck has a lot to do with the fortunes of baseball and baseball players. The ball bounces in odd ways for a round object. Injuries are a part of all sports but playing hard should never be an option. Going all out day in and day out is the only way you can become a legend. Look at Sandy Koufax and his short career, pitching with an elbow that was really non-functional and he was unhittable. Or look at Eric Davis and his injury plagued career, the man was 6 foot 2 and 165 pounds during his playing days and played like he was 6’6” 240 pounds. Watching him try to run through walls to catch a ball or in the 1990 World Series where he actually ruptured his spleen? Who does that? The great ones do that’s who! 

It's A Lifestyle Not A Diet

I read this article and not only saw a lot of myself in it but it also contains a lot of what I have written about on this blog so if anything it reinforces to me what I have been doing and what I have been writing about. Enjoy.

(Article written for NFit Magazine, January/February, issue)

Learning how to adjust your life one meal at a time

Atkins Diet. The Zone Diet. Paleo Diet. Slim Fast Diet. Nutri-System Diet. South Beach Diet.  Weight Watchers Diet. Jenny Craig Diet. They all have one common word in mind…DIET.

According to Dictionary.com, a diet can describe as a “food and drink considered in term of its qualities, composition and its effects on health.” An example of this definition is “Milk is a wholesome item of a diet.”  Or another way to describe a diet, according to dictionary.com, is “a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight.’ An example of this is “No pumpkin cheesecake for me, I am on a diet.” If you did a survey of 100 people, ask them what is the definition of a “diet”, how many people would say the first definition and how many would say the second definition? My guess is that most of the people would say that the definition of “diet” is a limitation of a certain food to reduce weight.

The CBS News website stated that about 45 million Americans diet each year. People in the USA will spend $1 billion to $2 billion per year on weight-loss programs. When people think of “diets”, they tend to think about diets above. Weight Watchers teaches you how to eat properly, weigh out your food, goto weekly meetings and weigh yourself…keep yourself accountable. Paleo Diet is “diet” that concentrates on people eating meats, veggies and fruit and good fats (avocados, nuts, olives, etc.), what the Cave Man had back in the Paleolithic Days. Slim Fast Diet is drinking a shake for breakfast, lunch and then having a sensible dinner.

Every January, people are looking for their New Year’s Resolutions. They want to go on a diet and lose 10 lbs. by March. They want to get stronger. They want to run a 5k or a half marathon. They want to lose 50 lbs. with “Fill in the Blank Diet” by August for their class reunion. There are thousands of New Year’s Resolutions every year…some of those resolutions work…some of them do not.

So, here is a question as a health coach and a fitness coach that I ponder every day…why do Americans go on a diet? Why do people start their diets in January or on a Monday?  Why do Americans keep going on a diet…lose the weight for their class reunion, only to put it back on again within in 3 months?

Here is the answer that you all have been waiting for…there is no need to go on a diet, every January or Monday or to get ready for a class reunion; it is a very simple thought:

Let’s make YOUR LIFE BETTER through YOUR LIFE STYLE.

As a health coach and a fitness coach, I feel that when people go on a “diet”, then tend to limit themselves on all types of food. No breads,  pastas, chocolate, chips,  alcohol, sugar, cookies, etc. but what happens is that when people pull back ALL the food that they like, people will tend to overeat the things that they were not able to eat on their “diet.” If you look at your “life style”, then why can’t you occasionally have a piece of chocolate after dinner or a piece of pizza?

People who are looking to lose weight, to start an exercise program, to stay off of meds, or to sleep better need to look at improving their life style.  Research shows that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. This can be 21 days of exercising, 21 days to eat healthy, 21 days to take a multi-vitamin and fish oil, etc. When you start your new life style, you need to have a good attitude and tell yourself that you need to try this for 21 days. Remember this isn’t a diet that will get you to lose 10 pounds before your class reunion; this is a life style change that will get you to lose 10 pounds and keep it off after the class reunion.

So, you may ask…where do I even begin? When I put on Nutrition Seminars and talk about eating and changing your Life Style versus being on a diet, I tell people these basic things:

Don’t feel overwhelmed…this isn’t a diet, it is a life style change.

Make time for YOU…your family and friends need you around! It is time to take CHARGE of   YOUR LIFE and LIFE STYLE!

The basics:

1.      Make a grocery store list. Don’t go in when you are hungry. Stick with your list. Stay around the perimeter of the grocery stores.

2.      Reading and understanding labels.

3.      Every time you sit down to eat, ask yourself: where are my Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat?

4.      5 meals a day (Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner)

5.      Look at your daily duties and find a time to workout!!!

• 5 x 30-45 mins a day!
• 5 x (2 x 25 mins a day) Break it up if you have too!

As a health and fitness coach, I care about people and their life styles. I want people to be around for their kids and their grandkids. I lost my Dad way to young (61 years old) and he only held his granddaughter one time. I couldn’t save or take care of my Dad but maybe my words of advice can help YOU!!!

(Article written for NFit Magazine, January/February, issue)

Do You Dream?

Dreams...we all have them. We had dreams when we were little of being a baseball or football player. Maybe to become an astronaut or to start a company. Maybe you have had recent dreams...check off the bucket list...

• Train for a Triathlon
• Complete a Fitness Program
• Complete a 5K
• Lose 10 lbs
• Get a promotion
• Buy a new home

My point is...it is NEVER too late to start those dreams and make them a reality.

Do you need help with your dreams? Talk to friends, parents, siblings and build an encouraging group of people to get you ready for your dreams to become a reality!

If you need a coach to help you with your fitness, nutrition, accountability or motivation contact me at rob@homeplatefitness.com

Let's make this happen...

What Is Your Attitude When it Comes To Your Workouts?

I took my dog Cooper for our first trail run this week. We only went 30 minutes but the look on his face was PRICELESS!  He knew that we were going running, he was panting, and making noises but, when we got to the trail and headed into the woods I could feel the excitement build in him, he started off and then came back and it looked like he was saying, "Come on Dad...come on. I have trees to pee on, I get to run in the woods, I get to meet other animals, I get to run really fast...Come on...hurry up."

Wouldn't it be great if we always looked at our WORKOUTS that way..."Come on Coach...what do we get to do? Can we run? Can we lift heavy? Can we do 20 Burpees”? Can we do some Switch kicks? Come on Coach...can we? can we?"

How do you look at your workouts??  Something to think about. 

Pick Your Friends Wisely..

We develop friendships throughout our whole lives. Some are solid friends until the end, some are in passing and some are acquaintances.  It is a part of life. 

There are friends that give us positive vibes, support us, love us, take care of us, validate us, want to see us succeed and give us that unconditional love. 

These are the successful relationships we have built with people...

There are friends that look down on us, negative vibes, judge us, want us to fail, don't really care at all about you and their friendship. They want to look better by putting you down.

These are the unsuccessful relationships we have built with people...

You decided who you want in your life. Surround yourself with those that wish the best for you and want to be a part of your journey

Where Do We Go From Here?

I had a conversation with a friend of mine about the steroid issue in baseball and his comment to me was that anyone that did not fail a test has the right to be in the Hall of Fame based on the stats they put up and no proof of cheating. My first thought was that Barry Bonds’s head size growing 1 ¼ inches while he was in his 30’s was proof enough for me or that Roger Clemens winning 3 Cy Young’s and throwing as hard in his 40’s as he did in his 20’s is also proof enough for me.

So what to do with the issue of today’s cheaters? My feeling is this, I was a very big Pete Rose fan growing up and followed Rose and the Reds each day and looked forward to seeing him one day inducted into the Hall of Fame. The sad truth is he broke the cardinal rule you don’t bet on the game. So over the years the conversation has come up that if all these steroid users get in the Hall of Fame then Rose should be put in also. So I have to ask how do two wrongs make a right?

As most of you know I grew up rooting against the Yankees and everything they stood for (buying championships) and I especially disliked one of their biggest free agent signings Reggie Jackson.

Reggie hit over 500 homeruns in his career and even though he swung from his heals and could not hit for average he accomplished something not many people before him had done, he hit 500 homeruns in a big league uniform. Can you imagine how he has felt the last few years as people are flying by him on the all time list?

Sammy Sosa without steroids may hit 300 before he is out of baseball for striking out too much, he ends up with 600, Barry Bonds was on pace to hit 400 before 1998 and he ends up the all time leader with 700. Mark McGuire could not stay healthy enough to play 120 games a year and he hits 583 in sixteen seasons and in 1993 and 1994 he hit nine in each season. And last if Manny gets back on the field he only needs nine homeruns to pass Reggie! I would be pretty mad if I were Reggie!

So this brings me to the latest scandal, A-rod, Ryan Braun and the rest of the 20-25 people linked to the Biogenesis Clinic. My honest feeling is throw them all out of the game. These 50 & 100 game suspensions are just not stopping these players when they can cash in on $100 million dollar contracts. So what is Ryan Braun going to lose 3.5 million, so what! That is chump change when you are talking 100 million.

Major League Baseball needs to clean up this mess once and for all, if you are caught in any way linked or suspected you are out needs to be the rule, sorry but no more three strikes and you’re out. Rose broke the rules and he has been paying for it since 1989 and this was said to preserve the integrity of the game. Some feel (including his teammates) that Reggie did not have much integrity in his day, it’s kind of ironic that his 563 is falling lower and lower on the all time list because of players of his ilk. At least he did it clean. 

The Mom Stays in the Picture

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I thought it said a lot about how we all think today. It is written from a woman’s prospective but I think it can apply to any of us male or female. I have always avoided a camera even when I was a college athlete and as I got older and heavier I became almost angry at the sight of a camera. Our kids see us as perfect in every way and we need to learn to love ourselves the way they do and leave proof of our existence. Getting healthy will help make that easier to do.


by Allison Tate Freelance writer, mom of four

Last weekend, my family traveled to attend my oldest niece's Sweet Sixteen party. My brother and sister-in-law planned this party for many months and intended it to be a big surprise, and it included a photo booth for the guests.

I showed up to the party a bit late and, as usual, slightly askew from trying to dress myself and all my little people for such a special night out. I'm still carrying a fair amount of baby weight and wearing a nursing bra, and I don't fit into my cute clothes. I felt awkward and tired and rumpled.

I was leaning my aching back against the bar, my now 5-month-old baby sleeping in a carrier on my chest (despite the pounding bass and dulcet tones of LMFAO blasting through the room) when my 5-year-old son ran up to me. "Come take pictures with me, Mommy," he yelled over the music, "in the photo booth!" I hesitated. I avoid photographic evidence of my existence these days. To be honest, I avoid even mirrors. When I see myself in pictures, it makes me wince. I know I am far from alone; I know that many of my friends also avoid the camera.

It seems logical. We're sporting mama bodies and we're not as young as we used to be. We don't always have time to blow dry our hair, apply make-up, perhaps even bathe (ducking). The kids are so much cuter than we are; better to just take their pictures, we think.

But we really need to make an effort to get in the picture. Our sons need to see how young and beautiful and human their mamas were. Our daughters need to see us vulnerable and open and just being ourselves -- women, mamas, people living lives. Avoiding the camera because we don't like to see our own pictures? How can that be okay?

Too much of a mama's life goes undocumented and unseen. People, including my children, don't see the way I make sure my kids' favorite stuffed animals are on their beds at night. They don't know how I walk the grocery store aisles looking for treats that will thrill them for a special day. They don't know that I saved their side-snap, paper-thin baby shirts from the hospital where they were born or their little hospital bracelets in keepsake boxes high on the top shelves of their closets. They don't see me tossing and turning in bed wondering if I am doing an okay job as a mother, if they are okay in their schools, where we should take them for a vacation, what we should do for their birthdays. I'm up long past the news on Christmas Eve wrapping presents and eating cookies and milk, and I spend hours hunting the Internet and the local Targets for specially-requested Halloween costumes and birthday presents. They don't see any of that.

Someday, I want them to see me, documented, sitting right there beside them: me, the woman who gave birth to them, whom they can thank for their ample thighs and their pretty hair; me, the woman who nursed them all for the first years of their lives, enduring porn star-sized boobs and leaking through her shirts for months on end; me, who ran around gathering snacks to be the week's parent reader or planning the class Valentine's Day party; me, who cried when I dropped them off at preschool, breathed in the smell of their post-bath hair when I read them bedtime stories, and defied speeding laws when I had to rush them to the pediatric ER in the middle of the night for fill-in-the-blank (ear infections, croup, rotavirus).

I'm everywhere in their young lives, and yet I have very few pictures of me with them. Someday I won't be here -- and I don't know if that someday is tomorrow or thirty or forty or fifty years from now -- but I want them to have pictures of me. I want them to see the way I looked at them, see how much I loved them. I am not perfect to look at and I am not perfect to love, but I am perfectly their mother.
When I look at pictures of my own mother, I don't look at cellulite or hair debacles. I just see her -- her kind eyes, her open-mouthed, joyful smile, her familiar clothes. That's the mother I remember. My mother's body is the vessel that carries all the memories of my childhood. I always loved that her stomach was soft, her skin freckled, her fingers long. I didn't care that she didn't look like a model. She was my mama.

So when all is said and done, if I can't do it for myself, I want to do it for my kids. I want to be in the picture, to give them that visual memory of me. I want them to see how much I am here, how my body looks wrapped around them in a hug, how loved they are.

I will save the little printed page with four squares of pictures on it and the words "Morgan's Sweet Sixteen" scrawled across the top with the date. There I am, hair not quite coiffed, make-up minimal, face fuller than I would like -- one hand holding a sleeping baby's head, and the other wrapped around my sweet littlest guy, who could not care less what I look like.

I'm Yours

I hear this song and I instantly think of my wife. Yes she likes the song but it is not just that, it's light and happy and so is she. I was pretty much always a serious person until I met this women and she has showed me the other side and I am thankful for her and for her teaching me that.

When we were planning our wedding we struggled to find the appropriate song and settled on something we both liked that had a meaning to us. I would not change that choice but certain tunes make you think of certain people and this is her song for me.

Enjoy,

When did this get here? The Beer Belly

Abdominal obesity, or weight carried around the stomach and waist, is a common problem as people age. It is especially common for men, 30 percent of whom will have a “beer belly” by their 40s or 50s, and 40 percent of whom will grow one by the time they reach their 60s. Men may bemoan their beer belly or laugh at it, but few realize the real and serious risks that are present when a person carries around excess belly fat.

This is a common visual we are forced to deal with as generations of men take pride in their girth and do nothing to prevent the growth of their waistline, pants sizes grow and with each inch your health deteriorates. I am a former fit guy that fell into this trap and now I am trying to reverse the damage done. I have lost the belly and now I am trying to decide if I want to put in the work and build that six pack all the kids rave about. Soon to be 50 years old I can say it's not a priority but I will say I enjoy being out of the danger zone after making some lifestyle changes.

Not all fat is created equal. Studies have shown that the fat stored in certain locations on the body carries much greater health risks than fat stored in other parts of the body. Unfortunately, abdominal fat is one of the most dangerous kinds of fat, carrying increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and high cholesterol.

This means that a beer belly can pose more risk to a person’s health than significantly greater amounts of fat stored elsewhere. An obese person with fat stored primarily around the hips and legs will have a smaller risk of heart disease and better health overall than a man who carries a beer belly on an otherwise trim frame.

While “beer belly” has become the common term for abdominal fat in a man, it can lead to the misconception than only excessive beer consumption can lead to beer belly formation. In fact, any kind of high fat, high sugar diet combined with insufficient exercise can cause a beer belly to grow. Many men do consume much of their excess sugar in beer form, and combine their drinking with high fat and high sodium snacks in order to replenish their electrolytes, so the nickname is understandable. But men should not make the mistake of thinking that they are beer belly immune of they do not imbibe.

One of the most frustrating aspects of weight loss can be the fact that exercising the area you want to slim down does not necessarily help to burn fat in that location. Men who want to trim their beer gut might start a heavy-duty routine of sit-ups and crunches, but this is unlikely to help them burn belly fat quickly. Of course, any exercise is better than a totally sedentary lifestyle. But focused muscle exercises are not designed to burn fat. You will probably end up with solid abs that are invisible beneath the belly fat, or even strained muscles as a result of straining one set of muscles too far.

Instead, aerobic exercise and better dietary habits are the way to make abdominal fat disappear. Aerobic exercise will improve overall health and well-being in addition to burning fat, and a healthy diet will have similar positive effects. If you make enough overall healthy adjustments to your diet, you don’t even have to remove beer from your diet in order to get rid of the beer belly and make sure it doesn’t return!

Summer Obsession!

First day of summer for the kids from school today, this is the time of year when believe it or not I have a difficult time working out. I lack the motivation to get up and get things done before I have the fatherly duties of driving my daughter to school. Without that looming over my head I procrastinate and end up missing my window to get done the things I should. The kids are home so I lack the push to head out into the garage and execute.

Last year at this time I had six days until I would be unemployed for the next five months and I started out this time with the confidence that I would find work in no time so I was looking forward to a few weeks off with the family. Two months later I was most likely clinically depressed and did not realize it. What kept me from sinking as low as you can go? Being a Beachbody Coach and whichever workout I would do that day. I also discovered the Primal Blue Print and changed most of my eating habits. This summer I will dive deeper into my Primal experiments and commit more effort to see how I can continue to improve my health. These things kept a bad situation from being a horrible experience.

   

It’s easy to think that working out lasts only as long as a workout. Wrong! Your goals and your method for getting there need to be with you day and night. A rolling list of to do’s: drink your water, watch your posture and be become more aware of your body, eat more food, resist the bad food, stretch that muscle group, research that question, find support for that issue, help others to succeed in their goals, drink your water, it is a continuous process day in and day out.

Some people call the workouts I have been doing an obsession, and my behavior obsessive. If it is, it must rank as a healthy one and it certainly doesn’t hurt anyone. I manage to hold down a challenging career, be a present parent in both of my children’s life, a supportive husband, coach a little baseball, and maintain a pretty active outgoing life with friends and family, all intertwined quite happily with this ‘obsession’.

Because of my obsession I have become a better parent, better husband and a better person. I know this just by the way I wake up each morning and get out of bed with that much more energy than I did before all of this started. I look myself in the mirror each morning and like the changes I am making and the progress I see. Everyone should be this obsessive about their life, you only get one. 

Today is a Good Day!

Things are starting to come together, on a Saturday, Yes a Saturday I woke up at 6:20 am without an alarm while my wife was still asleep to get out on a bike to peddle for 17 miles with no destination but to end up home again. I did not set an appointment with someone so I would have to keep my word and be on time, I just did it? Anyone that knows me knows first off this at one time this was the time of the morning I would return home from the night before and that I enjoy my sleep time so this hours are not a norm for me. I know for sure that I will never be one of those old men that are up at the crack of dawn to tinker around the house and read the paper but the thought of this does scare me a little.

I have had more energy lately, between my fitness program and my nutrition plan I am finding it easier to maintain a level of comfort each day and do not find myself feeling worn out or my mind wondering in the middle of the day. I have increased my training some with the addition of Asylum and backing off slightly, less days, with my running, swimming and biking. I increased the distances and try to stay within a percentage of my heart rate (zone training) and this is working for me.

Eating Primal 80-85% of the time really has helped me achieve this, I do not get hungry almost ever. In fact I have had days where I have experimented with intermittent fasting and it seems to kick start my metabolism. There was a time where my body used to go into starvation mode if I was not constantly feeding it and would store fat. The strange thing is, and I can’t figure out why this is happening, I am continuing to drop inches but not weight. In fact I gain and lose weight like a roller coaster, I can feel that I am stronger but I am not yet seeing the decline in weight I would like to see.

Most importantly I am enjoying everything about what I am doing right now and want to ride this wave in the hope of all things coming together. With that said I am going to reward myself a little today as my wife and a few friends head out to a local Beer Festival. It looks like it's going to a beautiful day so get out and do something.