Tag Archives: Fitness

Its been quite awhile since I’ve written about my work outs. In part because I hurt my left shoulder in late April / early May and have had to scale back my lifting regimen and in part because I’ve fallen off the work-out wagon (so to speak).

The horror of heading to Ptown in a few weeks has been enough of an impetus to at least get a few runs in this week and the purchasing of a new bathing suit has led to a renewed focus on getting more ab routines as well. Its probably all in vain too because I feel like between my gin soaked olives and the occasional afternoon cookie at best I’m treading water.

Do you work out regularly? How do you try to stay fit? Do you play sports, run, work out a gym? Misery enjoys company so inspire me with your dedication or make me feel better about my slacking by owning up and sharing your own backsliding (so to speak).

A few weeks ago I inquired if people worked out for reasons of health or vanity. Most people (me included) cited a combination as the source / inspiration to get ourselves to the gym. Unfortunately, April and May in Boston have been filled with rain and cloudy skies with too few days of sun and warmth. As a result, I’ve not been as diligent with my gym routine. Interestingly in the month of March (when it was still freezing here) I was coupling my gym routines with my trainer with interim work outs and runs that made me feel great. Back then it was the promise of spring that motivated me. However, when the warm up never materialized, my drive faltered and my focus got fuzzy.

With the exception of last week and most of this week, I have continued to maintain my gym routine with my trainer, Stu, and starting tomorrow, I plan to get my sorry butt to the gym – boy will that be a day of reckoning. I’m using the combination of serious eye-candy in this post coupled with the horror that June is now two weeks away to motivate me; nothing like using both the carrot and the whip to get me back on track. I hope that you will reach out and leave a comment, email or tweet to let me know how you are doing. As I’ve said before – misery certainly does appreciate company.

It has been a few weeks since I last wrote about working out, but I’ve been good about getting myself to the gym. My trainer, Stu, (pictured here) has been good about pushing me with new routines that have more often than not left me gasping and feeling a bit sore the next day… I never would have thought that I would be paying to have someone torture me; let alone enjoy it so much.

In recent weeks my running has tapered off, but I’m still running 4 miles in about 34-35 minutes so if I can just squeeze in 1-2 more runs a week I’ll feel better. I also need to get better about my late night feedings (and no I’m not referring to my penchant for consuming gin soaked olives from martinis) although come to think about it – that probably needs to stop too; crap.

Anyone out there also struggling with their gym or work out routines? Help! In my case, misery truly does appreciate company.

By the end of last year, I was a bit discouraged by how difficult it was for me to run even a couple of miles and I felt as if I was hitting a plateau with some of my work outs. However, in February I started feeling like I was making significant headway again. I was not struggling as much with my running and thanks to Stu’s patience I started lifting heavier weights and felt myself getting stronger.

Although I can’t recall any recent “new highs” with my lifting, I can definitely tell that I’m making progress. Additionally, I am now regularly running and its not nearly the struggle it was just 2-3 months ago. Yesterday, I ran 4 miles in 0:34:35.

Although the weather remains cold in Boston, spring is definitely approaching and I’ll be digging out my shorts in no time. Are you working out? If so, let me know. I enjoy chatting with guys on my blog or offline via email about this and I think its a great way to help keep each other motivated.

Its been a few weeks since I last posted an update, but I have been fairly consistent about getting to the gym at least 2 times a week to get my sessions in with my trainer Stu. Actually, the photo to the left is Stu’s picture. A few people have inquired which trainer at the local gym I use so I figured (with his permission) I’d post this photo which he gave me.

I’m pretty proud of myself for getting 3 runs in while I was in Puerto Rico this past week. Although I don’t recall the details, I managed far better than my agonizing runs when I was last at this hotel in early December. Yesterday (Thursday) I hopped on the treadmill and ran 4 miles in 0:36:05 >> I believe this is my best time for 4 miles to date.

Today, Friday Feb. 18th is my first day back in the gym since Wednesday Feb 9th (the day before I left on vacation). Stu had me focus on chest and triceps. My previous work out last week we did the same and I set a new personal record for dumbbell presses. Today I beat my personal best from a week ago by 10lbs lifting 90lb dumbbells. Since prior to working out with Stu I had no idea what a dumbbell press was, I’ve included a photograph below that I found on the web.

I want to continue to build muscle and tone my upper body. To do this, I’ll need to continue lifting heavier weights, but I think I’m going to have to lift lower weights w/ higher reps when I go to the gym on my own to build in that definition. I’m hoping that my continued running will help me shave off some of my belly before the really nice weather arrives. We’ll see. If you are working out or just trying to get into a routine in time for spring / summer give me a shout. I get inspired by talking to other guys who are also struggling to get fit. What’s the saying? “Misery enjoys company“.

Flat Dumbbell Presses

I started the week working out like a gay single 20-something, hitting the gym consecutive days; Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but a bit of travel ended my streak, and I’ve not returned to the gym since coming home from NYC.

Saturday – January 22nd Still sore from my work out on Friday I went to the gym groaning, but it was time well spent – my trainer, Stu, focused on shoulders, triceps with a bit of abdominal work at my request.

Sunday – January 23rd I went to the gym for a run – after two days in a row of lifting weights I needed a break, and I was pleasantly surprised to have another fairly easy run. I had not run since last Sunday, but I beat my previous time by 90-seconds, running 3.5 miles in 0:32:06 averaging 6.6mph

Monday – January 24th Stu had me focus on arms. I don’t think I’d ever done an entire work out on arms. Despite it killing, I’d like to do this again. It worked out perfectly since we met during my lunch hour and the gym was empty. Nobody could see me struggling mightily to curl the tiny weights.

This week I fared much better than in previous weeks, although I did not get in as much running as I hoped.

Sunday – January 16th I went to the gym for what turned out to be my one and only run of the week. I’m glad I went, because I enjoyed it from start to finish (well as much as one can enjoy running). I ran 3.5 miles in 0:33:35 averaging 6.3 MPH – an athlete this does not make me, but it gets me closer to my long term goal to run 4.5 – 5.0 miles in 40-45 minutes. It also reverses what had been a disappointing trend with recent runs.Wednesday – January 19th & Friday – January 21st I worked out with my trainer, Stu. Wednesday was all about the chest with the last third of the work out focusing on my triceps. Stu had me start with bench presses on the incline, flat and decline benches. The work out progressed from there and on Friday when I went to see him for my second work out of the week, I was still a bit tender (sadly I still did not have a chest that resembles this guy), but progress is being made. On Friday it was the opposite routine focusing on back and biceps. It was another strong work out and my hands / arms are shaking with fatigue as I type this. We’ll see how sore I am tomorrow when I try doing the push ups in this photo – I hope I don’t fall on my face.

I’m starting to sound like a broken record after last week’s entry where I commented on how tough its been to get into the swing of things post-holiday, but there was no helping it this week.

Work had me so busy I actually had to cancel a gym session with my trainer, but it could not be avoided so there was no gym on Wednesday. Between the snowstorm and work I managed to only get to the gym twice, but realistically only one of those visits was a viable work out. My abbreviated run on Sunday was depressing to be perfectly blunt. My running mojo from a couple of weeks ago has apparently run off without me. Since there’s not much to say about my run, I’ll focus on today’s work out with Stu at the gym. I had a good 1 hour session – we focused on shoulders and triceps. Because I worked out during lunch, we had our pick of the gym and there was no waiting nor modifying the work out to compensate for the post-holiday gym crowd. There were no new milestones nor was it a killer work out that will leave me achey tomorrow, but it was a solid session that definitely challenged me and was much needed after a week not getting to the gym.

Its been a tough week to get back into the swing, but I managed to get to the gym a couple times. Did you workout or (for those in colder climates) have you opted to hibernate and sit out this winter?

Friday – January 7th Today was all about back and chest. I was still a bit sore from Wednesday’s gym routine so I could still feel my secondary muscles struggling but it was all good. I was able to fly 55lbs today – 10lbs more than my previous high last Friday. Wednesday – January 5th I braved the gym while scores of new faces clogged the gym and lockers but fortunately, my workout with Stu was not impacted by the crowds. Today we focused on arms and shoulders. It was a great work out that left me struggling to raise my arms when I was done. I think I’d like to do more of these work outs.Sunday – January 2nd Maybe I took too much time off from running because today was ugly and I ended my run prematurely after gasping through 2 miles in a little more than 19minutes. Upon further reflection I probably should have gone and done some abdominals, but I just wanted out.

I skipped my update last Friday so I’m condensing the past two weeks into this post. The purpose of posting this is two-fold: first, it helps me track my progress, and second, knowing I will post this shames me into going to the gym.

Despite hitting my interim cardio goal, I haven’t been working out the way I would like. I’m cutting myself slack because of the holidays, but I intend to continue my running and pushing my trainer Stu to help me build more muscle in 2011.

Friday – December 31st I worked out with my trainer, Stu. We focused on chest and triceps and all told, it was a solid work out. I was able to bench 215lbs and fly 45lbs as part of the routine.Thursday – December 30th Curious to see if my run earlier was a fluke, I stepped onto the treadmill and psyched myself up for the run. I shaved another 25 seconds off my run finishing in 0:28:15 with an average speed of 6.4. My initial goal was always a first step to some more aggressive cardio milestones so I’ll continue to try and trim a bit more time before I increase my distance. I am pleased, but wary of suffering a setback. Tuesday – December 28th In lieu of stretching and doing a modified abdominal workout first, I opted to just focus on the run. Not sure what got into me but I had my best run, finishing the 3 miles in 0:28:40. I’m not sure who was more surprised – me, myself or I. Now that I’ve achieved my short-term goal of running 3 miles in under 30 minutes, I want to see if I can sustain this.

Christmas Week:
There’s no denying I was a slacker this week only getting to the gym twice. I wish I had this Santa helper closer to keep me motivated. Thursday – December 23rd I spent about 15-20minutes doing abs then I hopped on the treadmill for my first run in more than a week. I was making good time but had to stop 20 minutes (2mi.) when nature called; I perceived this as a sign of divine intervention to conclude my workout and head home.

Wednesday – December 22nd I just barely managed to get in for my 11am session with my trainer – I woke up at 10:30 (oops). Once there Stu worked me into a state focusing on my back and chest. It was a solid work out that had me gasping for breath, but I’m not sure I’ll be sore like I was last week – none of the weight was beyond my ability. Today’s workout was all about endurance. Let’s see if I can take that theme and carry it through the rest of the week.