Don't Be Such a Halloweenie

With only 2 months remaining in this experiment, it's becoming harder and harder to keep up the routine. Whether it be my busy schedule, getting sick, or just being downright lazy, it's been a struggle to continue keeping my workouts as consistent as I've gone along. And with all of the gluttonous holidays looming on the calendar, as well as the monotonous Burpee repetitions, I feel as though I have Count von Count acting as my personal trainer.

"One Burpee, Ah Ah Ah, Two Burpees, Ah, Ah, Ah"

All that to say, my body still feels great, and if I wasn't spending 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week, doing Burpees, it would be a struggle to find the time to do anything else. And I'll take that over poor health any day.

So, the next time you're breathlessly running for your life from a knife wielding maniac, remember you could have used that 15 minutes of watching TV the other day to stay in shape, instead of officially becoming the slowest member of your herd.

"Did someone say Burpees?"

But, as you can see by my results below, the closer I got to Halloween and that insatiable lure of never-ending chocolate, my workouts tailed off much earlier in the week than I would have liked them to. Now I just have to hope Michael Meyers doesn't pay me a visit soon:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time (Morning)	Total Time (Night)	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
10/23/2012	REST
10/24/2012	Ladder	15	15 min 02 sec	14 min 51 sec	40 sec	240
10/25/2012	Ladder	15	15 min 08 sec	14 min 57 sec	40 sec	240
10/26/2012	REST
10/27/2012	Ladder	15	15 min 17 sec	15 min 09 sec	40 sec	120
10/28/2012	Ladder
10/29/2012	REST

In the spirit of All Hallows' Eve, I'll leave you this week with a quote from TV pastry chef and author, Emily Luchetti:

"After eating chocolate, you feel godlike, as though you can conquer your enemies, lead armies, and entice lovers."

L&R,

Drew

Always Remember to Wear Protection

No, not that kind of protection...But I did get your attention, didn't I?

This week I actually wanted to bring up the importance of protecting both your hands and wrists from the high impact they're likely to sustain while performing Burpees over an extended period of time. Throughout the past year, this experiment has helped teach me about understanding my body's own limits and when I can and can't push them.

One thing I learned fairly early on was that my wrists and hands were taking a bit of a pounding, and I needed to do something about it in order to continue on without hurting myself. With that being said, I ended up purchasing gloves that act as both wrist and hand protection. Now, obviously you don't have to purchase these exact gloves, but I'd highly recommend them as a way to stabilize your wrists and add extra padding to your palms when doing your workouts. You can find the gloves at the below website:

http://www.wristassuredgloves.com/

As far as my workouts went for this week, there was nothing out of the ordinary to report. My results are listed below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time  Per Set	Total  Burpees
10/15/2012	Broad Jumps	6	6 min 25 sec	30 sec	60
10/16/2012	Ladder	15	13 min 07 sec	30 sec	120
10/17/2012	Pull-up	6	7 min 14 sec	30 sec	60
10/18/2012	REST
10/19/2012	Box Jumps	4	4 min 38 sec	60 sec	40
10/20/2012	Mix	7	9 min 04 sec	40 sec	70
10/21/2012	REST

And this week, I'll leave you with a quote from American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn:

"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live."

L&R,

Drew

The Windblown Look

As we begin the slow transition from Summer to Fall and then from Fall to Winter, the one thing we can all generally count on is beautiful weather. So with that being said, this past week I thought it'd be a nice little change of pace to exercise outside. And with the wind fiercely blowing and the leaves falling all around me, I have to say, it made me feel a little like Fabio on the cover of one of those cheesy romance novels.

"How I thought I looked"

"How I really looked..."

Not only did I have the windblown look going for me, but exercising outside also allowed me to experience the sounds of nature as I huffed and puffed through my Burpee routine. It's a wonderful feeling having complete silence other than the birds chirping around you and the wind blowing through the trees. Here I go getting all sappy on you all...

"Pun most definitely intended"

...but I just wanted to get my point across that it's important for us to not get caught up only doing the gym thing. Instead, the next time you work out, even if it's with weights, bring them outside. You'll thank me for it. Unless it's snowing.

Other than one missed day this past week due to sickness, I was able to complete my other two adays, and the results are listed below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time (Morning)	Total Time (Night)	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
10/9/2012	REST
10/10/2012	Ladder	15	15 min 15 sec	15 min 04 sec	40 sec	240
10/11/2012	Ladder	15	15 min 27 sec	15 min 28 sec	40 sec	240
10/12/2012	REST
10/13/2012	Ladder	15	15 min 20 sec	15 min 19 sec	40 sec	240
10/14/2012	SICK					0
10/15/2012	REST

This week I'll leave you with a quote regarding a our human need for nature from Native American writer and actor, Luther Standing Bear:

"Man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard; the Lakota knew that lack of respect for growing, living things, soon led to a lack of respect for humans too."

L&R,

Drew

Good Form Ol' Chap

How many of you out there grew up hearing the phrase "keep good form" when exercising or lifting weights? If you had coaches and parents telling you this as a child and teenager, then you were one of the lucky few. Piggybacking on one of my earlier posts, "Safety First", I felt it necessary to drive home the point that when exercising, form is everything. 

Pictured: Proper Form

Per Bodybuilding.com, "Proper form is essential for success when training for anything from general fitness to sports events and/or competitions. It is the quality of training that influences your progress more than quantity. It is important to understand the proper mechanics of training to get the most benefit of your time."

I don't think I could have said it any better myself, and if you have any argument with this philosophy, well you can...

I've now made it through yet another full week of Burpees, and my results are listed below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time  Per Set	Total  Burpees
10/1/2012	Broad Jumps	6	6 min 42 sec	30 sec	60
10/2/2012	Ladder	15	13 min 05 sec	30 sec	120
10/3/2012	Pull-up	6	7 min 34 sec	30 sec	60
10/4/2012	REST
10/5/2012	Box Jumps	4	5 min 33 sec	60 sec	40
10/6/2012	Mix	7	9 min 03 sec	40 sec	70
10/7/2012	REST

Today, I'll leave you with a quote from exercise physiologist and fitness consultant, Elizabeth Quinn:

"No matter what sort of workout routine or exercise you enjoy, using incorrect technique not only reduces the effectiveness of the workout, but puts you at a greater risk for getting injured."

L&R,

Drew

The Cow Goes Moo, The Dietitian Goes Boo

Forgive me for such a ridiculously cheesy title this week, but I wanted to make my point short and sweet. Growing up, I know the majority of us were consistently given milk during almost every meal of the day. Our parents as well as the TV would tell us if we drank it, it would help us "grow up to be big and strong one day". Well, I'm here to help spread the word that what we've been told our entire lives is false.

"Ahhhhh!"

Based on multiple scientific studies over the past few years, researchers have shown that cow's milk can actually be more detrimental to our bodies than helpful to them. Per SaveOurBones.com, "The most surprising link is that not only do we not absorb the calcium in cow's milk (especially if pasteurized), but to make matters worse, it actually increases calcium loss from the bones. What an irony this is!"

The True Origins of the Apocolypse

So this week, if you haven't already tried it, I'd like to introduce you to a great replacement for cow's milk: Almond Milk. The actual benefits for almond milk are off the charts. A glass of almond milk contains 50% of your daily value of Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, as well as other vitamins and minerals such as Vitamins A & D, Calcium, and Magnesium. It also has significantly less calories and fat content than dairy milk. When describing the benefits of almond milk, Livestrong.com says, "Antioxidants repair free radical damage, which keeps your skin healthy, your liver functioning at its best, improves overall brain function."

With all that being said, I think it's time you stop paying attention to celebrities in the "Got Milk?" commercials and start paying attention to your body. As always, my results from this week are listed below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time (Morning)	Total Time (Night)	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
9/25/2012	REST
9/26/2012	Ladder	15	17 min 09 sec	17 min 15 sec	50 sec	240
9/27/2012	Ladder	15	17 min 12 sec	17 min 14 sec	50 sec	240
9/28/2012	REST
9/29/2012	Ladder	15	17 min 24 sec	17 min 30 sec	50 sec	240
9/30/2012	Ladder	15	17 min 30 sec		50 sec	120
10/1/2012	REST

This week I'll leave you with an insightful quote from Irish playwright and founder of the London School of Economics, George Bernard Shaw:

"A mind of the caliber of mine cannot derive its nutriment from cows."

L&R,

Drew