Category: Contributors
Ok people. It is ordered, and ready to go. Insanity: The Asylum is a 30 day elite training program and I will be posting my results and thoughts over the next 30 days or so. I am using this program to prepare for my SAMBO conditioning camp in June. What is that? True insanity. I am going to an olympic training center in Alushta, Ukaraine (for the 2nd time) and will spend 10 days with Igor Kurinnoy. Igor is a 3 time world SAMBO Champion, and 4 time SAMBO World Cup Winner, needless to say, he is very good. (And last time I lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks, and I was in pretty good shape)
This year I am going as prepared as I can be. (How best I can really prepare for 8hr training days while working a real job…)
Monday I will take my “before” the program pic, in 30 days the “After The Asylum” pic will hit, and then after the trip, one final pic. If I don’t get hurt, I should be in the best shape of my life by June 19th.
For the record, I will be using Shakeology every day, I will be using P90X recovery drink, AND I will be maintaining a proper diet. Interested in joining me? (Well, doing “The Alyum”)
If you want to order the Asylum or just check it out, follow this link: http://beachbodycoach.com/fitlifesfrob
-Rob
Ah, the post that sunk a thousand ships over on the Yahoo! blog! I’m restricted in how soon I can re-post content over here, so I’m able to post it in its entirety now, but if you want to follow the drama, you can read the the comment thread on Yahoo! here, and my response to the comments here.
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I think the free classes included in most gym memberships, used correctly, can whip most people into shape just as well as one-on-one training sessions. And, certainly, there’s nothing like a little peer pressure to make you push harder than you’d ever push training on your own. Knowing how to navigate your gym’s class schedule puts you in control and means that you can still get expert guidance and accountability, even during periods of tight budgets, unpredictable schedules or flagging motivation.
If you’ve spent much time perusing fitness websites or even just standing in line at the grocery store lately, you’ve no doubt seen plenty of advertisements for diets promising to help melt away belly bulge. Nearly every women’s fitness publication, from Self to Women’s Health to Prevention has some offering marketed as a “bellyfat”- or “flat belly”-specific eating plan.
So, if bellyfat is your biggest concern, do you need to be on a plan specifically identified as a bellyfat diet? Or, if you are already on an eating plan that has you dropping pounds, will you see more loss from your midsection if you switch to one?
Here's me all hooked up for the VO2max testing.
I’ve always loved any kind of medical testing.
When I worked in the back office of a pediatrician and had unfettered access to the hemoglobin machine, blood pressure cuffs, and urinalysis strips, let’s just say I was the most well-ironed, diastolic-aware, clean-peeing medical assistant that ever lived.
Which, I think is part of the reason I love running… I can hook myself up to a heartrate monitor and look at graphs and numbers and track fueling and hydration and all sorts of other data that gives a window into the thoroughly awesome stuff that happens inside the body.
So, needless to say, when my running buddy let me know that a grad student at SFSU was looking for guinea pigs who ran 30 miles a week, and that those guinea pigs would get VO2max tested, hydrostatic bodyfat tested and metabolism tested (twice!) for free, I threw my furry little rodent paw up! (Click the red “learn more” button for the rest of the story– we still need to fix that design flaw.)
Ok, just a quick comment from about 2 of my new favorite things. First, I LOVE MY DYSON DC25. This thing kicks major butt. And why should I write about this amazing vacuum on a fitness blog? Well, because it really does clean the carpet where I work out very well! I am dumbfounded by the amount of stuff this thing sucks up every time I use it. Just WOW! Makes crashing on my face when my arms fail doing push-ups, just that much nicer.
Now, for my 2nd latest favorite thing. I want to give props to our new super squishable Cthulhu plush. He is one awesome elder god/root of all evil. So much fun to have around the house, and one heck of a workout motivator. Work out hard or face Cthulhu’s wrath!
-Rob
Stand around any marathon finishline between 3:15 and about 3:50 after the starting gun and you’re sure to hear many finishers and spectators yell those words every runner wants to hear… “You’re going to Boston!” For many recreational runners, qualifying for the prestigious Boston Marathon is a years-long goal in the making.
Two years ago, I half-jokingly set myself the pie in the sky goal of qualifying for Boston my first time out in San Francisco, one of the more difficult courses in the country– and surprised myself by nearly accomplishing it. My qualifying time is 3:45:59 and I ran a 3:48:58. So, this year, my goal was to hear those words– YOU’RE GOING TO BOSTON!
Slight wrench in the plans.
Today, the Boston Athletic Association announced changes to the qualifying process. Now, I’ll admit the changes are necessary since last year’s field filled up, as the locals would say, “wicked-fast. “ The changes in a nutshell: Runners who qualify for the 2012 race will be allowed to register in waves, starting with those who beat their qualifying time by at least 20 minutes, followed two days later by those who beat it by 10 minutes, followed by those who beat it by 5, followed by the riff-raff who only just hit it by four or less. In addition to these changes, for the 2013 race, qualifying times for all age groups will drop by five minutes.
Personally, I’d almost rather they drop the times another 5 minutes to make it an even 10 across the board and do away with the waved registration… I want that moment of knowing I qualified for Boston, even if it takes another year or so, rather than having to say I “qualified with an asterisk.”
Like being “a little bit pregnant,” now it’s not so much “You’re going to Boston!” as it is “There is a mathematically not totally insignificant possibility that there could still be spots left when you are allowed to register for Boston!!” And that’s a lot to write on a sign or yell out after running 26.2 miles.
It does, however, make a nice eCard:
It might still be 22 weeks away (who’s counting?!) But I am definitely feeling that old familiar tickling in the bottom of my feets that can mean only one thing… San Francisco Marathon fever is about to set in!
I ran last year’s as my debut marathon and came within two minutes of qualifying for Boston. This year? Boston, baby! Well, Boston or another stress fracture, but I’m hoping for Boston.
Also, feeding the fever? Aron over at Runners Rambles is giving away a free entry! And, you know I love me some free. Even if you aren’t planning on giving SFM a whirl, check out her blog for your own running inspiration– she’s a fellow Bay Area woman runner who started the blog to chronicle her first go at SFM, and who has since qualified for Boston and forged an awesomely fit life with running at its core.
My mantra for SF Marathon 2010: "If you can, you must. If you cannot, you must try." Bikram Choudhury
Hey Gang,
Again I say, as I do every few months, that I am going to get serious about getting more real-time content up on Facebook. If you are over there, won’t you please Like us?
FitLifeSF.com
Promote Your Page Too
Also, we’re looking at some options for getting more discussion-based stuff going– right now the Facebook page seems to be the best place for us to house it, but if anyone knows of any great options for moving discussions out of the comment threads here and into a more searchable “discussion board” in the WordPress environment, please do let us know! We feel like there is great content in the comment threads that’s getting lost for most folks
It’s no secret– Rob and I love a good five-course tasting menu with wine pairing and facemeat. At least I love the facemeat part. We live in San Francisco, where such offerings are served up from the backside of taco trucks and popping up in nearly every underutilized storefront in the City, so how could we not? It’s figuring out how to do that and stick to health and fitness goals that proves a challenge.
Food and Wine Magazine provides a peek at the strategy of folks who make a living at it– top chefs (only one of the actual Top Chef variety) who have lost weight and kept it off while working in such tempting environs (and, it bears mentioning, working hours that would have even most dedicated dieter crying Uncle.) If these guys can do it while surrounded by food that people wait months to taste, certainly you can find a few tips to conquer the breakroom snack machine, happy hour buffet and occasional Whole Hog tasting menu.
Healthy Chefs: How Chefs Lose Weight and Keep it Off
Also, check out the companion photo essay of on America’s Fittest Chefs.
My recent post on Yahoo! seems to have ruffled some feathers. In it, I comment that, approached properly, the free classes offered by many gyms can be a great a great option for folks whose lifestyle doesn’t support a relationship with a personal trainer. The bulk and focus of the article is about how a person can make the most of those classes, but it seems people are taking it as a discussion on the value of personal training. I wanted to take a moment to respond over here, since I don’t see much value in comment wars.
First, I want to be clear that the article wasn’t intended to be a statement on the value of personal training. In fact, it was originally titled “Navigating Your Gym’s Class Schedule to Build an Effective Program” but was changed by Yahoo! to “Free Classes Can be as Effective as a Personal Trainer” to increase traffic (guess that worked!) If a relationship with a personal trainer is feasible and works for you, that is wonderful, and that is a situation you should absolutely continue. However, the article was written for folks looking for another option, and was intended to help them stretch their gym membership dollars by getting the most out of free classes.
There were, however, a couple of things in the comments on the article that I feel compelled to respond to because they help highlight the FitLifeSF/Fitness for Real Life philosophy beyond just this one article: (cont.)