Blogging A to Z: E is for Exercise

This is just another part of the whole Blogging A to Z series where I pick a letter and just write.

Exercise. God/Allah/Buddha/Elvis knows most of us could use more of it. A lot more. As we get older – and lazier – the pounds tend to accumulate exponentially and our ability to lose them decreases at the same rate.

I’m no different, but damn it I’m not out of the fight yet. (And if you’re a regular reader of this blog, I probably sound like a broken record about now.)

I work out two to three times a week and have been incredibly anal over the years maintaining a food diary and weight chart (currently I use an app called LoseIt! that works great.) I follow health and exercise companies on social media and I drink more water than I used to (though still less than I should). So in some regards, I do a few things right.

However, I do a lot of things wrong: my portion control sucks, my self-control is worse, I drink too much pop (and no, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and the like are actually worse for you in terms of health and weight loss), and while by no means are they to blame personally, I have a wife who is a hell of a good cook and a mother-in-law who will make a 4-course bedtime snack immediately upon coming home from a buffet.

Plus there have been the typical injuries of a bad back, plantar fasciitis, bum shoulders, pulled muscles, etc.

Excuses? Perhaps, but at least I recognize my problem(s) and technically that’s the first step in defeating them, right?

Since I’ve moved to Arizona, I’ve been eating better – the bachelor life can do that. I’ve been exercising more, going to the gym more often, occasionally going for a bike ride, and grabbing a quick workout during lunch. I’ve also been doing 30 to 50 extra push-ups a night in my apartment and drinking a lot more water (though I still have a lot more Coca-Cola than I should). Admittedly, I feel better. Though if I had to guess, the weight is about the same.

This morning, for example, I hit the gym at 6:30 am where I rode the stationary bike for 15 minutes, knocked out 45 pushups, 50 body squats, a minute and a half of planking, and – stupidly – some time in a ‘Superman’ pose. The Superman pose put some strain on my lower back which, in turn, hurt my outdoor run. Nevertheless, the workout was better than sleeping in.

The solution is rather simple, really. Eat less, exercise more. Less input, more output. Which, I know, is easier said than done.

Besides, I’ve got the Warrior Dash in Nebraska in a little over a month. Last year I embarrassed myself and I refuse to let that happen two years in a row.

Up next: F.