New Photos/Exercise tip of the day.

I just took a few more new photos today.  Check them out if you get a chance.

Exercise tip of today is stop treating exercise as a chore.  What I am saying is I see people all the time in the gym with their little note pads in the gym.  The only time something like that is useful is when you are preparing for a weight lifting contest or preparing for running a marathon.  But for everyday workouts, it useless and counter productive.  One thing I notice about the people who bring their little note pads... I don't need to worry about them a few weeks later.  They are usually back to the couch.  Why I feel this way is because working out should be a normal part of your life.  Do you write down in a note pad everytime you bath or brush your teeth?  No you don't.  So why do it for working out?  You will be doing that your entire life I hope.  And please don't workout to lose a certain amount of weight.  Workout for your health and if you lose weight, even better.  And you will lose fat and gain muscle. 

I don't want this post to be too long so I will stop there.  That my tips of the day.

Nothing personal, but I gotta disagree with ya on this, Garion.  Just like I journal my daily eating, I log my daily exercise and workouts, denote if I had any physical problems or ailments that day, etc.

Keeping a journal of your daily workouts helps to plan our workouts in advance (what muscle group or groups you will work, what specific exercises to do that day), to see how much progress you are making, what your overall workload is for each workout, the number of sets, reps performed and poundage used for each, what exercises work for you the best, and several other things that can be helpful.  Most people NEED a plan for their workouts, and that is part of what a journal does - helps them plan their workouts. I don't see how that is counter productive.  In fact, to me, it makes one more productive and more focused.

Here is an exerpt from an article about why training logs are a valuable tool:
 Every athlete should keep a daily training log - it is one of the best and least expensive training tools an athlete can utilize. You can learn a lot about yourself as an athlete and better plan your future training programs by tracking and recording your nutritional intake, your workouts and other specifics. Crosstrainer includes a newly developed, industry-leading training log for all athletes to use.

Spending 5-10 minutes each day consciously thinking about and recording what you’ve accomplished will allow you to identify finer details of your training program that would otherwise not be spotted. Knowing these details, good and bad, may be your extra advantage in competition and in attaining your fitness goals.

For example, as you continue to log your efforts over a series of consecutive days, the results are then visually in front of you, illustrating trends that may show progress (or lack of it) in your training. This is one of the best ways to spot difficulties early on so that you can adjust training with minimum ill effect. As well, simply thinking about and recording firmly your training can often prompt you to come up with new training ideas for fine-tuning and polishing your program for optimal progress. Good athletes not only spend time training and recovering, they spend time studying how to get better. One of the best ways to do that is to consistently log and scrutinize your workouts and overall training plan.


Before I had my heart attacks six years ago, I was the owner of a gym and a double certified ISSA personal prainer and certified women's trainer.  One of the things I saw was that people have  tendency to be impatient and want everything to happen NOW.  Weight training is a process, and it takes time, consistency and continued increase of workload to be effective.  I always had my clients keep a personal training log.  Then, whenever they became discouraged, we would review their log and see how much they had progressed from when they first started. They would be usually amazed at the progress they had actually made when they saw it in written down.  That usually provided them with motivation to continue.  

However, I do agree that exercise should be looked at as a lifelong committment, just as WLS must be.  If you don't feel it is necessary to keep an exercise log for yourself then that if fine. But some folks find it is a very useful tool and helps them ahcieve their goals.

Oh, by the way, you're looking great in the new pics!
 

 

 

Awareness on the exercise front is what it's all about for me, Garion. If I don't track my progress on the bike, how do I know I'm improving? During the winter, I always track my daily heart rate vs. my cycling output on the spinner cycle. I track the workout results on the Polar website which is free.

It's pretty cool to watch the output graph lines go up (avg speed, Watts, mph, etc.) while my avg. heart rate goes down. Translation? Doing more with less or I'm getting in better shape. I also track my personal bests on my bike during my outside riding but I have less info available from my cyclometer on my road bike plus my Polar heart rate monitor tends to me less accurate riding outdoors.

I agree with your point that exercise shouldn't be viewed as a chore which, after all, is the only way a person will continue it over the long haul. On the other hand, when I see people tracking their results, I see a PASSION for improvement and accountability. That's the point of the IGOMBT thread here in the locker room.

Just my thoughts.

Boner

Great pics Garion.  You're doing an awesome job man.  Congrats!

I don't lift nearly as much as I did a year ago because I am transitioning from "short burst" strength to long term endurance strength due to triathlon training but like Bob and Boner I too log pretty much everything I do regarding exercise.   I have my exact workout pre-planned for swimming, biking, running and lifting.   I log what, when, how much, etc of each exercise.   The benefit I get from it?   I am able to tell how much I am progressing from week to week and month to month. 

Keep on keeping on!

Chad