Family... oh, well.

Last three weeks have been spent visiting and sharing with family, following their social patterns which is all food centered. Now, I have three more weeks here and today I have to shift back to my patterns: exercise centered. Ideally, avoiding their food and eating patterns will not be too insulting, but it is necessary either way. I've added in some much harder goals for later in the year and the road to be ready for that event has to start today. I hope to increase my personal best long hiking day by 50%: 40 miles and 18,000' of climbing. Timed for next November.

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON MARCH 05, 11:59AM    

2009 beginning, finally!

completed my first challenge event of the year, then been over in Texas visiting family, and resting... now, it is time to gear up and move on to my next event goal. I've also added some new goals for the year. It looks to be a fun and challenging time!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON MARCH 01, 9:12AM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... Hey Mike, welcome back! What's on your schedule for the next big event? I don't have anyting but a half marathon in May, so I'm looking for a 10K (just a jog in the park to you!)

Switching around...

I headed over to Texas to spend the next two months with family (some aging aunties, and a variety of cousins...) On the way over I did stop off and vest a very lucky day into my challenge goal. I got lucky and successfully completed the day: 12,000' of climbing over a 34 mile course. So, the first challenge event of the year is behind me and now I'm trying to adjust to the demands of switching from trail hiking over to distance running. I'm down in the flatlands, away from my nice, steep trails. It is different. Time will tell if I can adjust. I do not see making my March goal of the 50 mile run... I think I'll need an additional 60-90 days to adapt. I will complete a 50 mile run this year!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON FEBRUARY 11, 5:10PM    

	3 COMMENTS:
	Squarky said... How's the running going? I like it nice and flat. I think I could do 50 miles as a triathlon, but not all running. I need your help. Drusy asked me to join Runner's First, but I can't work it out?
	Drusy said... Good luck eating right as a guest! I think if I just eat a bite of non-PFA foods, compliment the cook and then and lie and say I'm not hungry, I can get away with it for a week... but I don't know if I could keep it up for a long time.
	RLJ said... You are an inspiration. I still have a long way to go to do a small portion of what you do, and due to car accident injuries, I may never. But it is the same spirit of enthusiasm and determination that you have that allows all of us to be the best that we can be. Someone famous (don't remember who at the moment,) said the longest journey begins with the first step, and we've taken it. Keep going. Looking forward to reading your blogs and following your progress. Have a great day. Roberta

A nice PR

... the not so good week at least ended with me setting a PR time over on one of my challenge hikes, improving my climbing time by over five minutes... so, some progress continues!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON FEBRUARY 03, 9:53AM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... Congrats Mike!

Final Week....

This week ends my initial goal set started last July. I will go out this weekend and see if I can meet the challenge hike standard I set for myself back then. Of course, that event was really just a motivational target to help me stay focused on the true goal: returning to a healhty lifestyle with lots of great food and exercise. It has done that, so whatever happens relative to the hike is just an added benefit. I've gone from 237 pounds down to 185... and added 12 pounds of muscle in the process. I've gone from being able to do only 20 pushups to doing over 110. I've greatly increased all aspects of functional strength and endurance, and the process is ongoing. Now, I'll move on to a variety of new goals, the next being the completion of a 50 mile running event in March (...is there enough time starting now to become a runner by the third week of March?!). So, the training will shift dramatically. And so it goes... ideally headed now for a new body weight around 170!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 27, 11:21AM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... Hey Mike, just checking up on your success from Mexico - wow! Keep it up!

Oh, so tired...!

I'm over in Texas working out on Guadalupe Peak... first day was just doing a single up/down loop, and I hit it way too hard! It did me in. Second day, I used my heart rate monitor to control my pulse range and kept it in the 120's for the entire loop (yesterday I took it into the 150's during the first mile!)... and, it was not all that great. But, I went out again this afternoon and did a third loop (second for today) and used the 130's as the range... and that cleared my muscles out nicely. The hike goes up 3,000 feet over 4.2 miles, so each loop is 8.4 miles with lots of up then lots of down. Seeing an old guy doing a second loop up there sort of threw most of the other hikers a bit... seeing me running probably made them think I might be a bit off. They may have a point, but I plan to try for another double loop day tomorrow!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 25, 5:55PM    

New Personal Challenge...

Since I am so goal oriented, and respond well to both challenges and short term, reinforcing accomplishments I have now layered a few new "games" to help me maintain my focus. I log all of my cardio workouts on a Hiking site where they keep track of everyone's mileage (I am currently in first place for 2009... it is interesting to stay ahead of all those younger guys)...and starting yesterday I am now in a "race" with myself to see how fast I can clock a 35,000 then 70,000 net caloric deficit (calories burned over calories consumed). Those should correspond to 10 then 20 pound weight loss. This little daily goal helps me really keep my food intake in total focus, along with my cardio output. I still have to maintain my minimum intake above 2000 daily with 130 grams of protein, so it makes for an interesting focus. I also have the weight lifting progressive goals as intermittent reinforcement to the process. I am increasing performances there from 14% to 30% per session. Those levels will not last, but it is nice to have the charts affirm what the scale may not be. So, higher cardio mileages, bigger weight lifting gains, agressive caloric deficit charting. It keeps me going. mj

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 20, 9:12AM    

Up hill... Down hill...

Today was the first day this month where I began to feel as if some of my normal endurance conditioning might be returning to me. I did 3.5 hours of very difficult hiking and running on steep trail, with varied weight packs for emphasis. None of it felt too hard and at the end my body was still asking for more. I've adjusted my Monday schedule to include an additional 10 mile sand run over in White Sands National Monument (originally a day just scheduled to include a weight workout). It would be nice to think that I might be back on track to accomplish that challenge hiking goal at the end of this month (34 miles with 12,000 feet elevation gain) Time will tell!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 17, 5:10PM    

Sugars...

Since the program will not allow me to adjust the total amount of sugars within my daily caloric allotment, I will always score poorly there. My energy throughout the day, plus my digestive process just loves fruit! My overly high commitment to aerobic activity requires that readily available source... and even on lower activity days fruit remains one of the better and more satisfying compliments to my meals. I wish I could alter my custom profile to include this aspect, but I guess I'll just continue to score lower because of it... but, I will continue to enjoy those meals!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 16, 4:54PM    

Whole Foods...

One aspect of my approach that makes eating at a caloric deficit day after day is that my diet is all whole foods (except for the protein/supplements). That makes for a very bulky and filling selection of foods. Sometimes I get tired of all that chewing! Dinner last night included 1.5 cups of Yogurt, a banana, an apple, .5 cup bluberries, .5 cup cranberries, .3 cup of mango, cup of uncle Sam cereal, cinnamon.... then later 3 ounces of turkey, olives with carrots and celery to munch on and a couple of rice cakes. There is no sense of having to "diet"... I add in huge bowls of spinach or lettuce if I desire more bulk/chewing... It seems to work for me. Weigh in this morning registered another loss... third day in a row. mj

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 16, 8:25AM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Lora Sue said... That would have been my whole sugar allotment for the day. I do eat a lot of raw veggies and high fiber food, then I feel full without going overboard on the calories.

Two a Days...

My current program is simple: I burn more calories each day than I eat. My basal metabolic burn is around 2800 calories. My base daily food intake is 2000, 800 below what my body will naturally use up. My exercise averages two hours daily at around a 600 per hour burn rate, and I allow myself an additional 300 calories of food intake for each hour I work out... if I feel like I need more food that day. The net result is at least 14 hours x 300 calories net extra burn (4200 calories per week). So, the daily 800 x 7= 5600+ 4200= 9800 calories net burn, or around 2.5 to 3 pounds of fat lost per week. The resistance training and the demand cardio insures no loss of muscle mass. (Losing over 50 pounds of fat since last July I added over 8 pounds of muscle mass during the same time period). I am also supporting a hotter burning metabolism with two workouts daily on three or four of the weekly days. It feels good. mj

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 15, 6:30PM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... You're an inspiration Mike!

My Old Pattern Back...

Just using the PFA to monitor and analyse my daily food intake is a much more relaxed process for me, and my eating pattern has returned to what I used for the last six months to cut from 237 down to 19o's... and, this morning the scale is suggesting that the losses are beginning once again. I basically cut using simple caloric deficits created through cardio and resistance training... altering my food intakes daily to balance my workouts... I like it.

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 15, 7:33AM    

Weight Training EDT

...some sore muscles today from yesterday's EDT workout. So, that feels like better results in much less time without the high risk of injury. www.staleytraining.com is the website for getting basic information about that program. They want to sell a videotape, but the book looks like the much better deal... less than $10 on Amazon, but there is a nice e-book for free about his training programs in general... worth checking out.

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 14, 4:36PM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... I'll check out their podcasts on the train today. Thanks for the info, Mike.

Weight Training...

Today I switched over to EDT program for resistance training...Charles Staleys Escalating Density Training. It appears to have less potential for injury, and it is very time efficient. It relies on the total net weight lifted instead of lifting to failure... I was surprised to see that in half the time of my normal weight workout I lifted a total of 60% more weight... safety, faster, maybe better... sounds hard to beat. I'm sold!!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 13, 5:19PM    

	2 COMMENTS:
	Lora Sue said... Do you have a web site that explains what it is?
	Drusy said... I'm going to have to research lifting strategies when I get back from Mexico. There isn't much cross-over from the endurance training stuff I normally read... seem to fall into very different camps. So far, I figure, if I'm sore - its working! But after some point I hope I'll get past that phase.

Another Time...

Signed on today and got the popup message about Cardio training and goals. It made me realize that my higher goal is my cardio training, and that to keep it in conflict with the Transformation program does not serve me or the intent of the program. So, I am switching back over to manual mode, using my standards, at least until my Cardio endurance goals are completed.. then, I'll let the Program have another shot at me. My program targets 2100 calories (plus 300 per hour of exercise) and ratios of 25/60/15. I will still get the full benefit of the software monitoring my daily progress and diet. time will tell how this plays out.

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 12, 9:18AM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... That makes a lot of sense to me Mike. You just can't really build cardio after the conditioning phase when you're working out for 6 hrs a day!

Food Shovel...

...they should offer a PhysiqueTransformation specialty food shovel to help us get this much volume of food down each day!! Perhaps it is more for me? I do not eat white flour products, refined sugar products, white potatoes, white rice, fatty red meat or dairy products with fat, so perhaps that leaves me eating more bulky foods...? I'm getting a nice higher calorie burn carrying around the heavier food plates and lifting all that bulk up to my mouth! mj

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 11, 6:41PM    

	1 COMMENT:
	DebbyF said... Hi, But I found that raw oatmeal with protien powder works great for me. I eat 1 full cup for breakfast! Also, rice & beans really pack a bunch of carbs. Pasta as well. I also don't eat bread, so I eat raw oatbran mix mid-day, for fiber. I imagine you will get other suggestions. Happy eating!

It Hurts Good...

Wow... that was an interesting day's outing... I awoke to snow and more snow falling... so, the planned hike at Sunspot was not going to work. I thought about the new trail I hiked a few days ago down in Alamo and figured that lower elevation would get me out of the snow and possibly into nice sunlight. I took off midday for the city. The weather was clear down in the valley, so it seemed like a good plan. The Sunspot loop is about 6 miles long with 1900' of climbing and descending, with the descending all coming first, allowing for a nice warmup downhill of about an hour. This new trail, "A" mountain, goes up 2700' over about 3.5 miles, making a loop of 7 miles total with an additional 800' of up/down. The climbing starts right from the car, and there is no warm up aspect... ... I packed up a 60# pack load. The idea of these hikes is to add lean, conditioned muscle mass to my lower body. Sunspot loop has been some of the hardest days of training I've put myself through, with pack loads up to over 80#s... but 60# is a typical weight. From the getgo I was hurting. My injured leg was aching. My entire body was protesting the effort. The first ten minutes felt like half an hour. At twenty minutes it felt as if I'd been climbing for over an hour. I stopped for a food break (late start... time for lunch). Getting to the end of the first hour was an exercise in constant rationalization... convincing myself I could walk another 20 feet... or simply take a few more steps. The body hurt worse and worse.... but, I had already registered my effort on the HikeArizona website before I took off: 4 hours/ 7 miles/ 2700' of climbing.... I was not looking forward to revising that entry. My body was not adapted to this cold start, immediate demand effort. I've been carrying heavy packs but every route usually begins with the downhill stretch first, allowing the body some warmup and adjustment. This had none of that. At points in time I could not believe how much effort it was taking and how much pain and discomfort I was willing to absorb... but, the thought continued to come to me: if it were easy, everybody would do it. The harder and more painful, the less likely anyone would emulate the effort. Somewhere around an hour and a half the body cleared out... the pace increased... the pain moved aside and it turned into a hike. The plan was to hike 2 hours up and 1.5 hours back down. At 2 hours i had not reached the top, and I was feeling okay. I pushed on the 2.5 hours to make the elevation. I was pretty tired, but a brief rest stop for some more food got me going again.... on to a renewed aspect of pain and discomfort. The hike down brought on completely renewed pain in the injured leg and in both thighs and hips... at points in time I caught myself crying out from the pain, sort of an odd moment wherein I was outside myself looking in, surprised that it could hurt so much, yet not reacting to it personally... just observing and reflecting again on the small likelihood of anyone else putting their body through this process of adaptation. I focused on relaxing and lengthening my stride... flowing where possible. After 45 minutes the body relaxed into a good space... the pain all passed away and I could not even sense the inherent injuries to the right leg. It was as if the body finally decided to quit trying to tell me this all was a very bad idea, and instead accepted this as the new norm. Hike finished nicely at four hours... as planned. The descent was faster than projected. So, I clocked in a great training day....and, planning and preparing all the scheduled food in advance worked out great. Energy stayed high. I'm now back up in the snow, fire roaring, legs with a warm, dull ache. I'll let them rest... and, I'll think about the process and the sanity (?) of my training approach. Will I continue to get lucky with all of this? Is this what age 60 is supposed to be about? It stays interesting.... smile mj -- Michal J Mail: PO box 1946 Cloudcroft, NM 88317-1946 Skype: Chipmunk203

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 10, 7:9PM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... You're definitely more dedicated than I am Mike. When I'm in pain, I stop! But it seems to work for you...if a bit crazy to the casual observer. Good luck!

Better Planning

Today I'm heading out for 3-4 hours of hard hiking on a very steep trail... and I am packing up food to take along that is part of the already fully planned meals. Ideally this will avoid the problems of trying to adjust later for foods I ate when out and about. If the entire days meals are already prepared it just means remembering to pack it with me! So it goes.

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 10, 9:27AM    

Re-affirming Plan

It takes some work to score in the 90's... and that is just the planning part of the effort! Then, the eating has to match the plan, which has some initial problems. I found myself off and away from home without the right foods, and having to guestimate replacement. Bad idea! Ended up throwing the day way off... could not really correct back to high scores. Also, the easy planned high scores are not exactly the best food choices... including the stuff I really want in my daily diet takes a whole lot more planning. I sat down and did that today, adding a turkey stew recipe that combines with my protein/vitamin breakfast shake to score 95. I can could up that big batch and split it out to three or four meals over the day... and not have to eat so much shredded wheat (my norm for scoring high!). Once there are more preplanned meals like that stew then this becomes a more viable program, although I still have to wonder about lowering my fruit intake so dramatically. The sugar scores simply go way over the prescribed limits, but normally I feel those sugars are okay. My historic pattern included six bananas, cup of bluberries, cup of strawberries, couple bananas, half a mango, some grapes and raisins. Now I get one banana and maybe one apple! Could create an uprising over time

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 09, 8:27PM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... Yeah, I'm struggling find the time to enter recipes and then tinker to find the right mix. I'd really like your Chicken Stew recipe if it makes the right ratios!

Food Focus...

That first day on the Program was a bit more food focus than I would normally care to have, but it is nice to know that the end of day result was a solid, quality intake based on planning rather than mood, reaction, desire, etc. Food as fuel is a good thing... as good fuel, even better!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 07, 8:19AM    

First Day on the Program!

It is odd to be increasing my caloric intake, but I followed the plan and ate 1,000 calories more than I would have done otherwise... time will tell.

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 06, 6:51PM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Drusy said... Hey Imike, I'm a newby too and it does seem crazy to eat more so you can lose weight later, but I guess I'm willing to give it a try. And eating more guilt free is a nice experience!

White Sands...

...rehabbing injured knee with trek off trail over the sand dunes... good workout, and it feels as if it may have helped!

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 04, 5:25PM    

great service!

had some problems with the site and received great, fast attention to get me back going... have to like that. mj

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 02, 4:54PM    

	1 COMMENT:
	Lora Sue said... I hope they told you the download for the free ebook is on the log in page. You can see charts on the fitness leagues page of your fitness profile. Lora

wondering...

5th day and have yet to receive the "free" e-book and there is no button on the enter food page to press to give me any reports... nor any buttons on the analysis page to give me any update on my progress... what is up? 301chipmunk@gmail.com

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 02, 12:40PM    

Knee Holding up...

...walked my usual four mile running route, and knee did okay, even with the icy, slick conditions. Will go for "real" workout tomorrow

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 01, 5:25PM    

back on track...

midday, riding recumbent bike, hitting some weights. Knee feels as if it might allow me to get back to the higher level of training that has been the normal pattern for the last six months. In July I began training at 237 pounds, and now, down into the 180's I have only 20 pounds to go to hit target of 168... but it feels as if this program might not only augment achieving that goal, but provide valuable information regarding food itake, ideally helping me settle into the patterns that I'll use over the coming years...

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON JANUARY 01, 1:19PM    

Thinking about that injured leg...

I'll switch over and do some upper body workouts today, and give the leg a chance to recupperate. It feels like just strained tendons/ligaments around the knee. I'll delay the two long workout days that were scheduled.

POSTED BY MEMBER IMIKE ON DECEMBER 31, 10:9AM