Hiking in the Valley of the Sun

The Valley of the Sun

Originally uploaded by dr.coop

Many people who don’t live in Phoenix don’t realize that Phoenix is a valley surrounded by mountains. There are major mountain peaks in downtown Phoenix and numerous trails. I just happen to live less than 4 miles from one of those mountains and one of the most popular hiking trails in Phoenix: Squaw Peak, just recently changed to Piestewa Peak. I’ve blogged about this mountain which lies in the Dreamy Draw Preserve area in the past.

The Dreamy Draw Area Park and Preserve lies beneath the shadow of Piestewa Peak’s 2,600-foot summit. Of the seven self-guided trails in the park, three are rated moderate to difficult climbs. The remaining four are easy to moderate hikes. All trails are multi-use meaning there are available for hiking, biking and horseback riding with the exception of the Summit Trail. Hikers on Summit Trail will climb more than 1,200 feet in elevation and reach the summit of Piestewa Peak.

Well, I hit the mountain again today after a long time of not hiking at all. It was so great to be back on the mountain. It is a great hike, and the views, as witnessed by the shot I took today, are breathtaking. I can’t wait to do more hiking now that the weather is nice and warm.

Home Gyms Make Working Out More Convenient

Barbell Rows

Originally uploaded by dr.coop

Two months ago when we bought the house we now live in, the biggest selling point was a room in the house that was converted from a garage. It is huge and has a walk in closet, laundry room and a guest bathroom. The room itself is the size of a living room. We were sold immediately because were looking for a room for both our office space and home gym. Of course we had to give up the garage to get it, but it was worth it.

Right now we have a bench with a leg extension attachment on it and a place on the back to do dips. The bench came with about 300lbs of weights. That is plenty for us. There’s basically 2 of everything: 45, 35, 25, 10, 5, 1/2. Well, I guess that doesn’t add up to 300lbs. Anyway, along with that set, we have a 45lb barbell, 25lb curl bar and several dumbell sets: 20, 15, 10, 5 lbs. We may need to get a few more of these.

In addition to that we have an adjustable sit-up bench and the infamous Total Gym. I never use that, but Cam swears by it. We don’t have any cardio machines, but I’m a little against doing cardio inside when you can just as easily go outside and jog, ride a bike, or hike a mountain. All three options are available to us. Plus I really like spinning in a studio, so I do that for cardio as well.

With the equipment we have, I can work just about every muscle group. One of the reasons why I like my new weight training plan is because all the lifts can be done at home in my home gym. That’s me in the photo struggling with my barbell rows in my home gym/office. Once I add a contraption to do pull ups and chin ups, we’ll be all set. Just in time to tell Pure Fitness to go take hike at renewal time.

Finished Week 1 of Weight Training

Okay, so I can honestly say I feel stronger already. But… There’s always a but. I know for a fact I will not be able to increase my weight on some of the exercises next week, like the barbell rows and the overhead press. I’ll have to go back to the website to figure out what to do if I can’t. The bench press and the squats started so light that I’ll be able to increase that for a few weeks.
My weights on the photos are highlighted in blue and say ME off to the left. For obvious reasons I couldn’t match the recommended weights.

The best part about this workout plan is I don’t have to go to a gym to do it. I did Workout A at home in my own gym. I have bench, with a barbell and about 300lbs of weights. The bench even has dip bars on the back of it. Workout B I had to go to the gym because I don’t have anywhere to do chinups or pullups at home yet. Funny thing is the chin-up/pull-up area at the gym was so high up I couldn’t reach it, so I had to use something else that wasn’t as good. It was kind of in between a chin-up and and pull-up. Weird.

Anyway, I’m happy I made it through week 1. Week 2 starts on Sunday.

Settling in to a Routine

Breakfast

Originally uploaded by dr.coop

If you want to be consistent with your workout and diet, you have to establish a routine and stick to it. Flying by the seat of your pants will never work, so this week (Week 1) I’m establishing my routine.

I’m still spinning two days a week, so that works best for me on Monday/Wednesday mornings at 5:45am. If I miss one of those days, I can still go on Friday mornings at 9:15am. If I don’t miss, I can hike a mountain or ride my bike on Friday mornings. I have about 6 mountains close by to choose from. Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday are my weight training days, and I can always trade Saturday for Sunday if something is going on on Saturday. Sat or Sun will be my day of rest. Rest is important.

I’m establishing my diet routine as well. Pictured above is one my breakfast menus: 2 pieces of toast, 2 eggs (1 whole/1 egg white), piece of fruit and yogurt. I usually split this up and eat it if I’m working out in the morning. For instance, I’ll eat the yogurt and fruit before spin class and then the rest after. For the rest of the day, I’m sure to prepare the food the night before and pack it all up for easy transport. Earlier in the week I made a huge salad and grilled chicken and tuna steaks, and I’ve been eating the salad all week with the protein mixed in.

Replace Sugar with Honey?

I was reading just recently in a magazine article about eating clean, and the article suggested I put honey in my protein shake. I wasn’t sure why I would want to do that, since my shake was already sweet enough. There had to be a reason for adding the sweetness. Plus I started thinking if honey has a good side to it, maybe I could add it to my oatmeal and tea since I’m not adding sugar any longer. Well, after a little research, it turns out that honey is good for you.

HONEY, a most assimilable carbohydrate compound, is a singularly acceptable, practical and most effective aliment to generate heat, create and replace energy, and furthermore, to form certain tissues. Honey, besides, supplies the organism with substances for the formation of enzymes and other biological ferments to promote oxidation. It has distinct germicidal properties and in this respect greatly differs from milk which is an exceptionally good breeding-ground for bacteria. Honey is a most valuable food, which today is not sufficiently appreciated. Its frequent if not daily use is vitally important (Healthy Benefits of Honey)

They have a whole website devoted to the healthy benefits of honey. Wow! I feel like I hit the jackpot honey pot as I sit here sipping on my caffeine free green tea with a teaspoon of honey. “Honey added to a cup of coffee or tea imparts an exquisite aroma, besides sweetening and laxative effects.” I’m all for that. More honey please.

Here are a few more websites touting the good effects of honey:

• Health Benefits of Honey
• Organic Facts - Health Benefits of Honey
• Health benefits of honey - Home Remedies

Day 1- New Weight Training Program

So I got started on Sunday with my Week 1 Routine A on the StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Strength Training Program. I’m a little sore today, but mostly because I made a mistake. Yep, on the first day. I forgot I was suppose to start with just the 45lb bar on my squats, and I did lunges which aren’t even part of the plan. My trouble started when I left the house without a plan. If you’re going to be successful with a weight lifting program, you have to have a plan and you have to follow it or else you’ll end up wandering around the gym trying to figure out what you should be doing.

Routine A calls for 5×5 Squats to begin with. That’s 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight after you have warmed up properly. 5×5 45lbs means 5 reps with 45lbs on all 5 sets. I did 3×10 65lbs, hence I can barely walk today. I’ll be following the plan from here on out. I didn’t use the Smith Machine, which I normally use. Apparently all my lifts should be free weights so my body can get stronger from not just the lifting, but from balancing the weight as well.

Next I did 5×5 Bench Press with the bar only (45lbs). This was very easy, but at least I’m not too sore today. I didn’t do any warm up on the weights first though, so I’ll need to add that. I did do 20 minutes of cardio (walking/jogging on the treadmill) before I started. I’m a little sore in my arms and shoulders, but I’m almost certain that is from the 3xF Dips. The F stands for failure, so I was suppose to do 3 sets of dips, completing as many as I could (until failure). In my case, it wasn’t many - 2. Yep, 2 reps in each set for a total of 6 dips. There’s definitely room for improvement here.

Lastly I did 5×5 Barbell Row with 65lbs. I’ve done these before, but apparently not correctly. The first thing I noticed about this plan is that the Barbell Rows start out heavy. I’ve never done them with 65lbs before, and I wasn’t doing them by starting and ending each rep on the ground. This was a challenge as 10lb weights don’t give you much height off the ground, so I had to use 45lb and 35lb weights to build up a platform so the bar was at mid shin. This worked but it wasn’t very stable on the landing. I was able to complete 5×5, but I can’t imagine I’ll get too far into this before I can’t increase my weight each day.

That brings me to one of the most interesting facts about this plan. Each day you must increase the weight on the lifts, or in the case of dips/pullups/chin ups, you’re looking to increase the reps. The weight increase is about 5lbs each day, so the next time I do squats and bench press I’ll go up to 50lbs for each. And by Thursday, I’ll be squating 55lbs since I do squats 3 times a week. I’m going to have some serious quads when this is all said and done.

Photo Credit: Uploaded on December 9, 2007 by anhmimi2003

New Beginnings & Salmon Salad for lunch

Salmon Salad for lunch

Originally uploaded by dr.coop

I just had to share this picture of my lunch with you. It was so good. 6oz grilled salmon on a bed of lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, avocado, red peppers, onions, pine nuts, broccoli, carrots, Craisens and apples - topped with a vinegarette of olive oil, raspberry vinegar and Good Seasonings dressing mix. Yum!

This post is about new beginnings, and it’s never too late to start anew. My blog has been on hiatus for a few months, but I’m back. I’m trying a new diet and a new weight training plan this time. I talked a little about the plan on my Weights page. I’m following the StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Strength Training Program, and I’m really excited about that. This is completely different from what I’ve tried in the past, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to stick with it. I believe lack of weight training is what held me back in my last challenge. So stay tuned for some posts about my new weight lifting routine.

My diet isn’t new, just a more focused attempt this time. I gave you a sample of what you can expect from my new dieting posts. I want to share what I’m eating, but why I’m eating it. So in future posts you can learn why I added pine nuts and Craisens to my salad.

So it’s a new beginning for an old body. We’ll see what I can do with it in this 12 week “personal” body challenge.

Eating Clean

I’ve been reading up on dieting, not fad dieting, but eating healthy, and it seems that the new terminology being used is eating clean. So I thought I would give it a try. I already have a pretty good diet, with the exception of the last three months, so I’m thinking this shouldn’t be too difficult. My weaknesses are butter, sugar, and alcohol. I love a little pat of butter in my oatmeal and on my toast in the morning, and I must have a teaspoon or two of sugar in my tea, which I have 2-3 times a day. And alcohol is just a social thing, so depending how social I’m being in a given week, I could have several beers.

So I’m giving it up for a month. No butter, added sugar, or alcohol. Yep. I’m doing it. I say added sugar because there are a few things that I will eat that already have sugar added, and I’d rather take my chances with natural sugar than any of the substitutes. But I will definitely cut back on eating foods with sugar added.

Here’s a good example from my Breakfast of Champions:

• 2 slices of Oroweat Whole Grain & Flax Bread
• 2 Premium Quality Private Selection Eggs (1 whole, 1 egg white)
• 1 Dannon ActiviaVanilla
• 2 cups of Celestial Seasonings Antioxidant Green Tea w/ caffeine

This is a good breakfast, except the bread has 3g sugar in it per slice. This is not the sugar I’m worried about. It’s the added sugar that I would have put in my tea. That I cut out. So with my toast I got 200 calories, 3g fat, but 0 saturated fat, and no cholesterol and very little sodium: 320mg. 34g of total carbs, 6g of fiber and 8g of protein. This bread is definitely a winner.

There is also sugar in my yogurt, 17g in the one 4oz container, but I really like the bifidus regularis that helps naturally to regulate my digestive system. I know I won’t eat the sugar free version because of the aspartame, so I’ll allow myself this one indulgence a day. I’ll make up for it by cutting out the sugar elsewhere in my diet. Activia has 110 calories, 2g of fat, 1.5g of saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 19g of carbs and 5g of protein. No fiber.

The eggs I buy are super eggs that contain 18 times more of essential fatty acids than regular eggs. They have 660mg of Omega 3 fatty acids per egg. I was worried that the eggs my be genetically modified, but actually they are not. What they do is feed the chickens a special diet of 20 vegetables, grain and minerals with no hormones. With the superior content of Omega-3 in these eggs, they contain a nearly ideal 1:1 ratio of Omega-6 (660mg) to Omega-3(660mg) . A regular egg only contains 37mg of essential fatty acids. In two eggs I got 140 calories, 9g of fat, 3g of saturated fat. I cut back on the cholesterol by only eating the yoke of one egg: 200mg. Carbs 2g, and Protein 12g.

And lastly is my antioxidant green tea, which contains vitamin C, A, and E. Did you know that green tea was made from the plant Camellia sinensis, and it is known to lift spirits? And some studies suggest that there is a possible correlation between antioxidants found in green tea and overall good health. Some green tea has a third to half of the caffeine of coffee. I’m not a caffeine drinker, so I’ll be looking for a caffeine free green tea to replace this one. There aren’t any calories in tea.

Weights & Stretching

Yoga Uploaded on 13 January 2006 By Len’s Lens See more photos, or visit his profile.

I stretched twice today. I can even touch my toes now. I know, for many that is no big feat, but for me, it’s huge. I’ve never been able to touch my toes while stretching. The strangest thing though is I keep getting a cramp in my abdoman. It’s so painful.I bought a yoga book today too. I hear yoga is supposed to be for flexibility. That is probably why I’ve never done it. I think I would have trouble because I’m not very flexible to begin with. So I’ll give this book a try, and if I think I can manage, I’ll try a class. I’ll need to start looking for a gym down my new house soon.

I did a weight workout today. Trying to mix it up again, so I didn’t do any formal routine. I did some lower body workout: straight leg dead lifts, leg curls, bicep curls, and shoulder presses. I think that was it. To warm up I walked. I hate walking. It’s so slow and boring. I can’t imagine that would be the only type of workout I could do. I walked about 1 and 1/2 on the treadmill. That doesn’t burn many calories, but it was something, and my only cardio for today.

I Did Absolutely Nothing Today

It was great. Well, I did eat, and I did stretch before bed, but other than that, I just chilled. I love this photo of some girl just chillin’ on a deck. That’s exactly how I felt. The rest was much needed.

Photo by:

Uploaded on June 15, 2006
by unfocused mike