Wednesday, May 26, 2010

She beat MS with P90X you can get in shape, too!
Workout Plan
P90X Round 7? 8?

June, July, August 2010
Join me and get healthy!

The crazy, 20+ week hybrid workout routine (details) has me tired, shot, and generally lacking for enthusiasm. I think it's very true (for me anyway) that a 90 day window -- 12 weeks -- is a proper span of time to populate with any given program. Hitting 21 weeks combining them all was a little much.

(Geeky side note -- I have about 90 posts left before hitting 1,000 on my blog. Perfect, no?)

So, with Memorial Day behind me, I'll break into June with renewed energy and hit round 7? 8? of P90X. Full Classic mode, all workouts, all breaks, and back on the eating plan reaching 2,500 calories, and tracking my calories once again.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, see you on the flip side. And thank you to all the service men and women who wrote a blank check to our government, serving in our armed forces. I remember you. Thank you.

Ready to try P90X? Get healthy? Join me...

This is the week you and I will start working together to get you into shape. (Even people who think disease or obesity has them beaten (not!) can turn things around with my workouts!) I can be your BeackBody (P90X, Power 90, etc.) coach, help you via email/online, and get you started on the right foot. First, sign up here to get me as your free coach. Next, click SHOP here to get your copy of Power 90 (beginners) or P90X (intermediate) or Insanity (advanced interval training). (NBA stars, singers like Cheryl Crow and Pink, and folks like you and I are doing it! Here's Tony Horton talking about P90X.) Bolster your food plan by tracking your calories with fitday.com (guys, 2,500 cals a day, gals 1,800), and consider drinking a Shakeology shake in place of lunch -- it's like going to the salad bar with five plates. If you're already a P90X user, take the next step and be a coach with my help. Keep pushing play, bring it, A+ P90X review!


Neal Stephenson Video Chopsticks Ads OLED Wrap Around Pencil Sony
What's the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything?



42.

And don't forget your towel when you hitchhike across the Galaxy.

Week 21 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
200 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


June is nerly here -- and this 30 week program is leaving me a little cold. Thinking of rebooting post-Memorial Day weekend with a fresh P90X program, hardcore, with 4 X per week bike rides and upping calories to 2,500 tracking with food scale.

I can already feel it!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010


Week 21 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
200 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Getting anxious for a long Memorial Day Weekend, then two crazy shows to attend in June -- SLA and ALA. My calendar is looking stacked for June; love it.

Monday, May 24, 2010


Week 21 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
P90X Chest, Shoulders, Triceps + 100 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Huge weekend -- camping training on Saturday, then our annual Summer Kelly West HOA (website | @KellyWestHOA Twitter) picnic (complete with lunch and massive water slide for the kids.)

Record attendance to both events, 30 folks getting their BALOO training, and about 50-60 folks heading down to our picnic from 1-4.

Memorial Day long weekend coming up, lots to do @ProQuest before enjoying the break, rock your week P90X/Beachbody people! Don't workout with their tools? You should! Start here (workouts) and here (nutrition.)




It Is a Challenge to Succeed by Jim Rohn



It is a challenge to succeed. If it were not, I’m sure more people would be successful, but for every person who is enjoying the fruit from the tree of success, many more are examining the roots. They are trying to figure it all out. They are mystified and perplexed by what seems to be some strange, complex and elusive secret that must be found if ever success is to be enjoyed. While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily engaged in designing and enjoying a fortune. Everything just seems to work out for them, while the much larger group sits in awe at how life can be so unfair, complicated and unjust.

“I am a nice person,” the man says to himself. “How come this other guy is happy and prosperous and I’m always struggling?” He asks himself, “I am a good husband, a good father and a good worker. How come nothing seems to work out for me? Life just isn’t fair. I’m even smarter and willing to work harder than some of these other people who just seem to have everything going their way,” he says as he slumps into the sofa to watch another evening of television. But you see you’ve got to be more than a good person and a good worker. You’ve got to become a good planner, and a good dreamer. You’ve got to see the future finished in advance.

You’ve got to put in the long hours and put up with the setbacks and the disappointments. You’ve got to learn to enjoy the process of disciplines and of putting yourself through the paces of doing the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable. You’ve got to be prepared and willing to attack the challenges if you want the success because challenges are part of success. Now that may sound like a full menu of activities, but let me assure you that the process of going from average to fortune isn’t really all that difficult. Thinking about it is the difficult part. Anticipating all the effort and the changes and the disciplines is far worse in the mind than in reality. I can promise you that the challenges you’ll meet on the road to success are far less difficult to deal with than the struggles and the disappointments that come from being average. Confronting and overcoming challenges is an exhilarating experience. It does something to feed the soul and the mind. It makes you more than you were before. It strengthens the mental muscles and enables you to become better prepared for the next challenge.

I’ve often said that to have more, we must first become more, and to become more, we must begin the process of working harder on ourselves than we do on anything else. But in addition to gathering new knowledge, new skills and new experiences, it is also important to discover new emotions. It is how we feel about what we know that makes the biggest difference in how our lives turn out. How we feel about the chances we have and the choices we have determines the intensity of our effort. Whether we try or don’t try. Join or don’t join. Believe or don’t believe.

I’d like for you to discover some strong feelings about your life and about what you want to do with that life. You probably have much of the knowledge and a lot of the experience and perhaps most of the skills that it takes to become successful. What you may be lacking are the strong feelings about what you want and what you want to do. You may be one of those who have become so involved in the process of earning a living that you’ve forgotten about the choices and the chances you have for designing your own life.

Let these strong feelings help you take a second look at your life and where you’re headed. After all, you’ve only got one life, at least on this planet. So why not make it an adventure in achievement? Why not discover what you can do and what you can have? Why not discover how many others you can help, and in the process, how that can help you?

Why not now take the Challenge to Succeed!

Security Suppliers Directory


Sunday, May 23, 2010

BALOO (Basic Outdoor Camping) Training
Hammerstone Scout Museum
Lillington, NC










Spent Saturday with one of the biggest groups (30!) of BALOO trainees in the history of this Occoneechee Council course at Hammerstone Scout Museum, about an hour south of here in Lillington, NC.

Pack 218, watch out -- next year your Cubmaster (Jim) and I (your committee chair) will be much more on the ball with planning and executing out outdoor adventures. Thanks to everyone from Council who put this day of training together!

Plus, this location itself, with a pair of fishing ponds and lots of flat areas/cabins to camp, is available for overnights. Will definitely see if the rest of our committee wants to come here for an upcoming event. Too close/well organized and designed to pass up!


QR (quick response) smartphone code on today's BB flyer, bottom-left corner; we're (ProQuest) using these at trade shows (SLA and ALA) in June to get our tech savvy customers more engaged with our solutions live.

More on the iPhone and Android (Droid) apps I'll be using can be found here. Marketing and trade show folks, get with the 21st Century; click now and let me know if I can answer any questions.

Friday, May 21, 2010


Week 21 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
200 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Lots to do between now and Sunday night -- full-day of Scout BALOO training to be all I can be on outdoor camping events, then Sunday is our annual Kelly West water slide/outdoor lunch picnic. All good!

Still feeling a bit "off" in the physical department, slept in to counter some late nights I've been having lately. Will sprinkle in some solid stretching and 200 push-ups today to counter my morning ZZZzzz's for sure.



Geek Alert:
Happy 30th Birthday Empire Strikes Back

Thursday, May 20, 2010


Week 21 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
P90X Yoga + 100 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Arms/chest feeling pretty darn sore, worked out some of the kinks thanks to Tony's Yoga routine. So good, especially once you get back the first 30 minutes or so.

Lots of good things going on at ProQuest -- new videos, fresh content to help teachers, librarians, and schools serve students better. Check it out!

9 Habits that will shrink your middle

Sick of crunches? So are we. Luckily, abdominal exercises alone do not a flat belly make. In fact, there are loads of little things—from what you drink to the way you handle stress—that can make or break your middle. Here are 9 easy ways to start shrinking without crunching.

1. Calm down. Too much stress can contribute to a potbelly. Stress increases levels of cortisol, a hormone that seems to direct fat to our middle, says Jacob Seidell, PhD, of the National Institute of Public Health in Bilthoven, Netherlands. To keep levels low, try this 5- to 10-minute stress reducer: Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit. Next, take several slow, deep breaths to help clear your mind. Continue breathing deeply and repeat the word one to yourself as you exhale. (If you get distracted, just bring your focus back to the word one.) Practice this for 5 to 10 minutes once or twice a day.

2. Skip the alcohol for a week or so. That glass of wine with dinner may be part of the reason your jeans are too tight. Alcohol also tends to raise cortisol levels, sending fat to your belly, Seidell says.

3. Stop smoking. “It keeps me thin,” proclaim many smokers. But the truth is that smokers tend to have more abdominal fat than nonsmokers, says Seidell. (The stress hormone cortisol seems to be the culprit here too.) "When people stop smoking, the amount of abdominal fat actually decreases," he says.

4. Eat more fiber. Not only is fiber great for overall weight loss (it fills you up so you don't eat as much), but it also prevents constipation, which can cause your tummy to bulge, says Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center in Baltimore. To stay regular, aim for 22 to 25 g of fiber a day by eating more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables


5. Drink up. For premenstrual bloating, drink lots and lots of water. This will actually help flush away bloating, not make it worse

6. Keep bones strong. Osteoporosis can lead to fractured bones in your spine, causing you to slump. That shortens your abdominal cavity, giving your belly no place to go but out, says Willibald Nagler, MD, physiatrist in chief emeritus at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Be sure to get 1,000 mg of calcium every day from the foods you eat and/or from supplements.

7. Get your heart rate up. All the ab exercises in the world won't do a thing unless you get rid of the fat hiding your abdominal muscles. The best way is to do aerobic exercise for 45 to 60 minutes, 5 times a week.

8. Tuck your tummy. Imagine there's a magnet pulling your belly button back toward your spine. Practice the tuck until it becomes comfortable, and soon it will come naturally--like breathing. Do it every chance you get.

9. Get a bonus ab workout. Stand as much as possible when doing weight-lifting exercises. That way your abs work too. “They help to balance and stabilize your body,” says Tammy Strunk, an Emmaus, PA, fitness instructor. Concentrate on keeping your abs tight and maintaining good posture, but don't hold your breath.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010


Rest Day

Got up early, feeling very, very off. Long night's sleep, feeling caught up, but the ol' bod is sending more signals. Lots on my plate, more rain overnight, slowly getting our much-needed H2O. Enjoy your day!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010


Week 21 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
P90X Plyometrics + 100 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Great start to the day, usual 5:30 a.m. wake up, 40 solid minutes of workout, and some extra push ups tossed on the fire for the rest of the day.

Looking forward to our community party this weekend here in Kelly West/Apex, and a very busy June looming just ahead.

Excellent article on lifelong eating habits, etc...

How to Transform Your Lifestyle and Your Life (Part One)

...I'd like to share with you a brief summary of what my colleagues and I have learned so far about what really works to motivate people to make and maintain lasting changes in diet and lifestyle (part one):

1. You have a full spectrum of nutrition and lifestyle choices.

It's not all or nothing. Diets aren't sustainable because they're all about what you can't have and what you must do. If you go on a diet, sooner or later you're likely to go off it.

What matters most is your overall way of eating and living. If you indulge yourself one day, you can eat more healthfully the next. If you're a couch potato one day, exercise a little more the next. If you don't have time to meditate for 20 minutes, do it for one minute -- the consistency is more important than the duration. Studies have shown that those who eat the healthiest overall are the ones who allow themselves some indulgences.

...

5. Joy of living is a much better motivator than fear of dying.

When you make healthy diet and lifestyle changes, most people find that they feel so much better, so quickly, it reframes the reason for changing from fear of dying to joy of living. Joy and love are powerful, sustainable motivators, but fear and deprivation are not.

Trying to scare people into changing doesn't work very well. Telling someone that they're likely to have a heart attack if they eat too many unhealthful foods or that they may get lung cancer if they don't quit smoking doesn't work very well, at least not for long. Efforts to motivate people to change based on fear of getting sick or dying prematurely are generally unsuccessful.

Why? It's too scary. We all know we're going to die one day -- the mortality rate is still 100 percent, one per person -- but who wants to think about it? Even someone who has had a heart attack usually changes for only a few weeks before they go back to their old patterns of living and eating.

Once we accept fully that we're going to die one day, then we can start to ask, "How can I live more fully?" As Quincy Jones likes to say, "Live every day like it's your last, and one day you'll be right."

For the same reasons, talking about "prevention" or "risk-factor reduction" is boring to most people. Telling someone they're going to live to be 86 instead of 85 is not very motivating -- even when they're 85 -- for who wants to live longer if you're not enjoying life?

(Full Article)


Monday, May 17, 2010


Week 21 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
30 Min. Walk + 200 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Today's News & Observer showed some seriously awesome news judgment and published my letter re: fitness tips. Seriously!

Getting into the last part of my 33 week hybrid schedule, and feeling the need for some maintenance routines. 30-45 minutes of exercise, taking on 100-200 push ups throughout the day, and following the food intake schedule/advice in my letter 95% of the time. Weekend meals, one per day, are open to "more" -- that is, nothing crazy, but to totally deny yourself something sweet or salty once or twice a week would be defeating the purpose.

Rock your week fitness people!

Today is the day you start getting into shape. Let me help...
Ready to get in shape, with my help? I can be your coach, help you via email/online, and get you started on the right foot. First, sign up here to get me as your free coach. Next, click SHOP here to get your copy of Power 90 (beginners) or P90X (intermediate) or Insanity (advanced interval training). (NBA stars, singers like Cheryl Crow and Pink, and folks like you and I are doing it! Here's Tony Horton talking about P90X.) Bolster your food plan by tracking your calories with fitday.com (guys, 2,500 cals a day, gals 1,800), and consider drinking a Shakeology shake in place of lunch -- it's like going to the salad bar with five plates. If you're already a P90X user, take the next step and be a coach with my help. Keep pushing play, bring it, A+ P90X review!


Friday, May 14, 2010



Gulf Oil Spill: Make it stop...



Click for the latest. Seems like a pretty small pipe doing so much darn damage.



IF YOU POST ONLINE IN CALL CAPS, I WILL COME TO YOUR HOME AND COMPLETE THE ABOVE ID-10-T PROCEDURE ON YOUR CAPS LOCK KEY. THAT IS ALL.

Week 20 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
P90X Legs & Back + 200 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Love the wall squats in this workout -- both the standard and the one-legged variety. Always stare down at my legs and wonder where in the heck they came from. Can see all the muscles, caved in at all the right places, strong as ever. Not bad for a nearly 40 year old. (Getting a little ahead of myself!)

Rocked a full 200 extra push ups yesterday, really does wonders to improve blood flow to the upper body during the day, and feeling tighter across the chest. All good.

Get P90X and Shakeology, then join me!


Glenn Beck has Nazi Tourette's.
No, really... Watch. This boy is certifiably Nazi crazy.

Thursday, May 13, 2010


Week 20 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
P90X Yoga + 200 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Thursday, here we go... Lots on my plate, several meetings, and a good start.

Here's a post from Tony Horton's blog (the man behind Power 90 and P90X) that I thought you might enjoy. (Thanks, Lara!)

The Change

It's befuddling - the fine line between super easy and hard as hell when it comes to understanding what it takes to improve your life. Here's my shot at it.

I'm learning that when you decide to eat right and exercise regularly the person you become has it pretty easy and life no longer seems hard as hell. It's been the strangest phenomenon in my personal life. I used to have so many problems and issues. Everything seemed difficult and daunting. There was so much drama and conflict. I was lazy, tired and overwhelmed. Life was a struggle. Not in a million years would I have equated a poor diet and erratic physical activity as the bane of my existence.

Full post here...


Star Wars Backyard Playset

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Graph: Why people "can't" get into shape...


Week 20 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
P90X Chest, Shoulders & Arms + 100 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Time to blast away at the upper-body today. Loads of push-ups, shoulder/triceps moves, really left with sore arms and some crazy-good endorphins.

Read an article in the paper today (read it here) from a nutritionist, telling people to "skip lunch" as one way to get healthy. I disagree. That, and to eat hard candy when hunger pains set in. Yikes. So no calories/skipping/sugar = something someone who should know about food is telling people?

Here's my response, hoping they print it in the News & Observer ASAP to counter this unhelpful advice:

Re: May 12, "Cut 500 calories a day"

Skip lunch? Only if you want to binge-eat later in the day. (May 12, "Cut 500 calories a day".)

Here's my recipe for personal fitness and eating success: Eat five 300-400 calorie meals a day at roughly 7 a.m, 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. Drink only water, unsweet tea, black coffee, or skim milk. (Consider Shakeology for your 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. snack!)

Eliminate sugar (read: no hard candies, gum, soda.) Eat out only 2-3 times per week, switch to whole grain breads/pasta over white, eat more chicken and fish, down a handful of nuts or an apple for your snacks, and load up on veggies always.

Make time to work your body 30-60 minutes, 5-6 days per week. (Great workouts here!) Walk, bike, lift weights, etc. consistently. Borrow my motto to stay motivated: "If I workout today, I will feel good, be healthier, be more fit, and the quality of my life will improve."

In my experience, staying fit is 80% what you eat, and 20% how consistently you work out. After 90 days, all of this will all become a habit.

Tim McLain
Apex, NC


Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Glenn Beck is an ignorant boob
Week 20 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
Shakeology 30 Full Body Workout + 100 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Decided my upper body needed more of a workout today, and some cardio -- short burst of goodness.

Let me help you get in shape, with excellent nutrition as well.

Monday, May 10, 2010


Week 20 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
P90X Chest & Back + 100 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Solid reboot to a new round, nice mixing-up with the Shakeology Workouts and some diet changes. Will keep pushing play, like usual, and keep the food intake in line. Bring it, people!

Let me help, with nutrition as well.

Friday, May 07, 2010



Week 19 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
30 Min. Shakeology Workout + 100 Push Ups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Another sweaty-good, full-body workout to get the blood pumping and arms worked. Between these workouts and the push up challenge, I've been feeling pretty darn good in the upper body for sure.

Nice weekend ahead, then back on the horse on Monday.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

iPad Clam Case
Week 19 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
200 Pushups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Here's a great way to start your day -- 20 push ups with a second grader on your back, who's also doing push ups.

Arm-burn, anyone?

Taking a bit of a breather today, but adding some long-burn, all-day push ups to focus on those spots.

Rock your Thursday(s)!

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Star Trek XI Spoof



You liked the most recent J.J. Abram's reboot of Star Trek? So did I. Now see what a bunch of Swedes with no budget can do...



Will loves both of these clips, had to share to all the other Geek Dads in training.

Week 19 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
50 Minute Shakeology Workout + 100 Pushups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


Another great full-body workout from Beachbody and Shakeology. Will mow the lawn/trim later, and am into my 100 push-ups as part of the May challenge.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Selling Oil to America




Week 19 | Insanity-P90X-P90X+-One on One-Hybrid Workouts
50 Minute Shakeology Workout + 100 Pushups
My 30-Week Beachbody Hybrid Calendar


No slouch -- the 50 minute Shakeology workout (get your DVD/shake mix here) is an easy move from the 30 to the 50 minute version. Some extra cardio and weight moves thrown in, along with 2-3 additional ab moves. Rocks you from top to bottom, targets your mid-section, and is a must-do if you're serious about Shakeology or any diet change making a big change to your body.

Big sweat by the end, my hips are finally coming back to normal. (I blame the awful chairs at IMAX Marbles Avatar screening on Sunday, so many hours in a terrible almost un-padded seat/bad back support.)