The Wall...

no, not Pink Floyd..there are no lasers here and I'm clearly not stoned. But this is what it looks like...the wall....I'm up against it...flat...no energy, no juice, nothing motivating me to go on...I think my stomach looks the same as when I began two weeks ago...I'm not able to finish the easiest of the DVD's..the stretching (I left 15 minutes for tomorrow)...I'm at the point where, with some really solid, hard working days I could end up 3 days ahead of schedule by this Wednesday...and all I want to do is give up, order a pizza, drink Coke, and say FUCK IT! This is hard..this is very hard to motivate myself every day. Nobody else on the face of the earth right now is pushing for me...3, more likely 2...and honestly only 1 other human being alive is even noticing my posts...and 0 are commenting....this is life...alone...nobody is there for me and nobody has been for 6 years...everything that has come, has been done by my own internal grit...


That might be motivation enough...

Time to quit bitching and dig deep


BRING IT!

And yoga for the trifecta!

Wrapped up my week with a threesome this morning...of the last 15 minutes of Legs and Back, the 16 minute Ab Ripper X, and the first 45 minutes from the Yoga X DVD. Finished them all, but my right elbow is feeling like it needs a brace. Might just be some slight exhaustion and wear and tear from overuse. However, I will try to take care of the Stretch X DVD tonight, then get rocking this weekend with doubles. If I can get two DVD's done each day on Saturday and Sunday, I might be able to get a week ahead next week during my three-day mini-break from the public school job. ( I will still be doing all of my privates, which is about equal to the public school job, if not more...I'd have to stop and add them all up sometime) So...it'd be nice to have a few days in the bank for after the light week as I'm expecting my private load to pick up a bit and steal some of my usual morning and evening workout hours. Looks like I'll be working out late nights again...ugh...


Bri..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (ng it.)

Legs and Back

My arch-nemesis DVD this morning...but surprise, after reaching my usual cut-off point, I felt like I could keep going. Decided to bag it and save the final 10-15 minutes for tonight or tomorrow morning though. No use over-doing it again this week. I could be up two or even three days if I get working hard through this weekend. Which leads me into next week which will see me having three days off of the public school job. Meaning I could potentially have two or three days during which I could experiment with a fruit juice fast. I'm reading up on it...I really should have been on the ball and pulled the trigger on ordering the 2-day fast product from Beachbody to include in the box you just sent. Would be perfect to not work hard for a couple days, stay home and rest and conserve energy, and fast at the same time in order to cleanse more of my stomach, colon, and other internal organs. Really trying to zap everything in there and maintain my weight, a delicate balance. And hard to 'see' the results of course.

Feel free to share suggestions. Don't be bashful...anything is something...nothing is just that...

Took a night off...

wasn't planned..but I got myself two days ahead and took a breather...

Was back at it this morning with Abs and Kenpo X (martial arts). Stomach is looking tighter..hard to tell and harder to stay so disciplined and spartan with my diet. Really..battling with the mental demons that tell me it won't work, isn't improving, can't be changed...but..my better angels will chase them away. Just you watch...

Spending spree...

Shelled out almost $500 bucks this weekend on new foods, booze, and these. New running shoes. I went to the nearby stores, but my feet are literally bigger than anything they have. Stop offering at size 270cm. I ended up a few subway stations south and some stores that run up to 290cm. I wanted Adidas, but the running shoes lengthwise were fine, but felt like someone was trying to cinch my foot into a corset. Ended up picking up a pair of Nike running shoes. I have to admit, they make a great running shoe. Funny though...these days with all the new-fangled designs, getting hard to find a basic pair of quality running shoes. What with all the yellow and strange colors, felt like I was shopping for running shoes in April's old bedroom (wink,wink). And some of the new sole technology, I wasn't sure what the point was...hard to explain or accurately describe some of these new 'moon shoes'. Oh well..got mine for 119,000, can you tell which ones are new and why exactly I HAD to get some...

Here's the other part...

and probably what cost almost half...

I told dad, I'm trying to keep up with the Jones's..err...Kim's, Park's, and Lee's over here. Well-to-do households have a cabinet display, much like your wine cabinet display, of fine liquors from around the globe. I've begun building mine.

Also went to a fantastic lounge bar near here last weekend, Mojito's. A very decadent place with ritzy drinks. I had a lime mojito (Hemingway's drink of choice if I remember correctly). Too much mint! They use 12 leaves...wasn't that good...but, inspired me once again to stock my bar and learn how to make some quality drinks. I also tried some Chambord, a French liquer that has strong blackberry flavors. That shit is incredible...I nearly emptied a bottle from the shelf, so he 'serviced' us a free one which he mixed with cranberry juice...very tasty! I'll be hunting for a bottle now... They were having a special offer, 120,000 won for a bottle and two champagnes...but, prices at bars in Korea are about 3-4 times what we'd pay back home for stuff. I'll bide my time and find a better source. How's it look so far?

Those are some Japanese and Chinese liquors on the top shelf. (all empty...)

290,000 won worth...

Here's part of what 290,000 won will buy you at Costco when you are restocking your kitchen for a new lifestyle.

Breakfast of Champions

So here is my new morning meal, or at least one of them. Nature's Path High Fiber Organic Pumpkin FlaxPlus Granola, an excellent source of Omega-3-USDA ORGANIC. Whew...a workout just typing it. Try saying it 5 times fast. Hoping this regulates, adds energy, and overall just abets my dietary vision. How's it look?

Truth be told, it tastes alright...kind of like a healthy cross between Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Survival Skills

Taught a class last night and forsook posting that I did indeed keep my shoulder intact and in-socket. I skipped the Chair Dips as I mentioned, but completed everything else at all-time highs and personal bests. Not bad for a 'chilly' right shoulder.

Wile E. Coyote

I know how he must have felt under the acme anvil...I just finished a set of Deep Swimmer's Presses and I'm seeing stars all around my field of vision...actually, I might be overdoing it...my right shoulder feels like someone is pouring cold water down it...that cannot be good. So..I didn't do the Chair Dips...but I am going to continue until either I can't lift it anymore..or until something pops, rips, tears, or it just falls off. Hopefully I'll be able to type a summation post...

:)

What a day...

2 full workouts, an ab workout, and I went jogging...to say I'm exhausted is an understatement. But, ahead of a potentially very busy week, to have a day in the bag...could be worth it. And I bought some new running shoes. Pic's to come soon...

Time to pass out...

Great to talk with you guys!!

Just finished up Chest and Back before we chatted. Off to jog/walk with Jihye and Puppy. Will post more photos of the new foods later.

Love you!

Polishing it off...

Finished up the workout. Noticed I'm losing some weight. To be expected...I was hungry last night, but didn't want to eat after 11pm..so, I haven't eaten much the past 36 hours. I'll blend a protein shake tonight and am heading to Costco in the early a.m. tomorrow before all the CRAZY koreans come walking through pushing carts the same as they drive. Looking forward to stocking up on healthy foods...bran, fiber, oats, grains, protein-rich, etc...

Any ideas? Healthy easy-to-make snacks? What are some of the foods you are eating to supplement your diets?

Glitz and Glory...

this is not. Just wanted to assure you this isn't all glam and a stroll in the park. Today is my most dreaded DVD, Legs and Back. Basically a thousand leg moves and 143 pullups (at least that's what I was up to last time).

Well..I'm halfway through and I was just gagging and retching in the toilet..didn't puke, but close. Awesome! Actually..I had some phlegm in my throat and I tried to cough it out and nearly threw up.

Just thought you should know...these results (as with anything in life) do NOT!!! come easily.

Bri...hurlbrecksdkfjlaskfj...ing it! (wipes mouth)

Ray Lewis-Hard Work

amen

12:54 a.m.

Doing abs...this is dedication...

Bruce Lee

Finished Kenpo X...the martial arts DVD. Have to run to work...more later...

Just a word or two...

Yoga...done...

A family member has joined my fitness lifestyle...

And before you wonder which of you converted to the 'light' side...it is Puppy!

She's my jogging partner so far..we did the length and a half together this morning. As you might know..she is chronically underweight. Almost anorexically skinny. Enough that I have been embarrassed to walk her at times. Just the other day a woman was petting and complimenting her on how beautiful she was..but also gasping at how skinny she was and how her rib cage showed through her pelt and one could wash clothes on her if they chose to. (or play xylophonic tunes...)

Anyhow..today, she polished off what little was left in her food bowl...I filled it while my students were filing in and beginning our class. I figured it would take her a day or two...hopefully not more to eat the overflowing bowl. But NO...she hoovered it within 10 minutes!!! Incredible...she has NEVER done that before. I felt her belly and she almost felt like a :::GASP::: dog. The little girl even asked, 'Is Puppy pregnant?'

Nope...but I hope she keeps this up..would be nice to see her a little thicker. Probably was all due to my not being active enough with her. Sorry Puppy...I aim to make amends for that.

Puppy is Bringing it!

Out with the old...

Just a quick post about clearing out my 'insurance drawer' at school. I mentioned previously that I'd bought some healthy snacks for during my work shifts. Well..I have this bottom drawer of a cabinet that I tended to keep filled with little snacks: post-party extras, sweets from kids, asst. goodies. Today, I made an excuse and used a review activity to empty it all on a class of kids. They thought it was manna from the heavens...I just see more determination and dedication to cleaning up my diet. Filling in the gaping hole went banana chips, raisins, almonds, and CPF balanced bars...I WILL BE FIT. I WILL BE HEALTHY. I WILL NOT STOP, EVER.

Yoga Yogi

I'm typing mid-yoga while those knuckleheads are doing moves, positions, and postures that my stout self cannot quite do yet. Ooh...hold on...

OK...had to polish off a prayer twist and side-arm balance combo...whew. All done. Feeling impressed with and proud of myself for keeping schedule here. Looks like I will get through these first four days on pace. Possibly posting online so often is keeping me accountable.

I'll whip together some lunch and a couple whole wheat PB sandwiches to take to work. I'll set some chicken breasts in the fridge to thaw and hopefully have enough time after work and before private classes tonight to make something simple with that. I need to boil some eggs to have as quick snacks and stock my apartment with dried fruits and grainy, bran, flax, oatmeal snacks...stuff I can eat quick with no guilt. Any ideas are welcome...maybe share some healthy snack recipes??

Bri...ugh...yoga...ng it!

Post-run-post

Just sat down after the light jog...felt better...did a length and a half today, could have finished the full two. But in a tip-of-the-hat to the philosophy of incrementalism (intuited from my father, the great Greek Senator (yes, I know senators are Roman, but cut me some historical revisionist slack, would ya', and intellectualized from Senator Edward Kennedy) I stopped at 1 1/2 and will do 2 the next time out.

Still feeling tight in my calves..but I've only had two protien shakes, which means I should find another source of potassium I like and research more about how to avoid and treat cramping. Thoughts?

It also dawned on me that whereas I had been jogging with a lithe 160 pound frame before, I'm now carrying around 200 pounds of denser muscle tissue. Probably going to need to give the body a bit of a ramp-up period to adjust to that. It really is quite different.

Ok...time for Yoga...what a week so far...

Bring it! OK!

Ab-do-licious!

(yes..I dusted off an old John Ab-do reference for mom!!)

I just woke up and tossed in the ab DVD from yesterday...ugh...but wow! Really can't wait to see what they look like after a month of healthy eating and jogging 3-4 times in addition to the P90X program. Hard to tell now..but I think I might have already shaved off a body fat percent or two...the calipers are hard to get an EXACT reading with and my scale is the most infuriating POS I have ever owned. It might turn on 1/100 tries. @(*#&%(*&!!!

So..a quick oatmeal breakfast before taking Puppy down to the stream for a jog...and then the first half of the yoga DVD, all before heading to my first of 7 classes today...that's the plan at least...

Shaky Arms

Ok...that's day 3 done and over with. Shoulders and arms...and how. I like this feeling though...I'm setting all-time highs on every move on only my third day and only my second anaerobic workout (i.e. I'm maxing on every move on only my second day of lifting weights...the program alternates between one day of lifting, next day is jumping around or yoga.)

Oh..and my scale is fixed...incredibly, after only 2 1/2 days of watching what I eat and not loading up on food late at night...I am back up to 89.5kg. Not far south of my all-time high...and I suspect after a single Sunday meal of 600g. of samgyeopsal, kimchi stew, rice, and bamboo wine (my weekly dessert) I could top where I was. We will see by this weekend...

Bring(ing) it like a mo-fo!

And I don't work in the morning...so I'll try to wake up early, go jogging, and get half the yoga video out of the way before I leave for work at 12:30. Place your bets...

Breakfast WIN!

I've been reading and hearing and viewing that 70-80% of abs are made in the kitchen. I've already got some monstrous abdominal beasts waiting to rear their heads...now I've just got to clear out the shrubbery blocking them in. Hence...nothing unhealthy goes into me anymore.

For breakfast this morning is a packet of original Quaker oatmeal. Just a small dose, but all in the right direction. I'll make a couple PB/honey sandwiches to take to work..and in my classroom await raisins, banana chips, and those balanced bars. Tonight I can make some Tuna and brown rice. I've also started taking the multi-vitamins daily and alternating between vitamin C and Omega-3 pills/capsules. I'm really hoping a strict, spartan month of this will bear great results.

Now if I could only bring myself to steam the frozen veggies I bought 6 months ago...

See, always room for improvement.

Jogging FAIL!

Well..couldn't drag myself out of bed this morning. My excuses are as follows: 1. For whatever reason, I was up until almost 3am last night and I have a 1030am class today... 2. My body is not just a little sore, but tender and aching all over. 3. Umm...

C'mon Matthew...

Plyometrics

...is in the books. That's 2 days down, 88 (actually 89) to go. Piece of cake!

Was good...no major soreness. Felt my right calf a little tight on the hot foot move, and my left, well..both knees feeling pretty tested on the jump switch pick-ups or whatever they are called towards the end. But...I will wake up early and go jogging with Puppy before my morning class. I'm going to KILL this body fat. It is WAR!

Time for a late dinner..just light because I want to digest earlier now, which means finishing all main meals before 8pm if possible. I'll just make a single PB sandwich with some honey sweetener and have a protein shake. It has been over a month since I've had one, I'm really looking forward to it. (I might toss in some psylium and see if that's a covert way to ingest that crap)

Bring(ing) it HARD!!!

Ambition

I woke up a bit woozy from the night before...plenty of soju and beer and cigarettes...not the greatest way to kick-off a round of P90X. But, my mid-day I was feeling better...bought some new snacks for work to keep my metabolism up and keep me full. I bought banana chips, healthy CFP balanced bars (carb/fat/protein balanced, in the optimal amounts of each), raisins, and almonds. Better to fill and aid my body with those throughout the day.

I came home and weighed in at 88.5kg without eating much today...some kimchi stew and steamed meat dumplings. I jumped right on the yoga mat and made up the ab workout from yesterday...felt great.

It's really just a blitzkrieg on my body fat now. And discovering how to cleanse my colon and internal self. Not spiritually..I literally mean getting the shit out. So..time for class and then plyometrics (jump-training) tonight.

Bring(ing) it!

Hmm..not sure what to call this...

Last night ended with me surrounded by six dramatic actresses all vying for my time, attention, and conversation. Two of whom I'd seen perform a 2 hour show in the nude!! Incredible night. I was even introduced at the closing ceremony and feast the drama group held at a nearby mudfish soup restaraunt. (Yes, it tastes good.) I stood..took a simple bow (my famous Buddhist monk prayer for everyone) and was sitting down when the genius director said, 'Hey..you have to at least say one sentence'. He meant in English. I floored the restaraunt by tossing out a fluent Korean zinger and had all the people wondering just what the hell I was doing there in stiches...(I proceeded to spend the rest of the night as a figure of fascination for some high-level Koreans, from directors to lighting directors, a famous painter, an international director, Indian artists, and some guy who I think is a famous radio personality.
The night ended with me getting and exchanging phone numbers with beautiful actresses from 19 years old to 40...getting a new private student...and becoming the new marketing editor for the Seoul Theater Group (they're an international performing drama team). I'll be proofreading and handling some translation work for them.

So...yes, I drank.

But..wouldn't you?!? :)

Whatthefuck?!?

comments???...da hell???

cool...


(and Dad..don't sweat being a regular or even a part-timer..just check in now and then and let me know what you think...) I won't post this stuff on the main blog because it would just clog it up and force you to scroll through endless vanity posts to find something interesting...you're welcome. ;)

Jogging/Walking

Just took Puppy for a jog down by the renovation work taking place on the stream tributary near our home. I made it one full length of the course I'll use to jog. Not sure how far it is..not much. I found my right calf getting tight...I'll need to start taking protein shakes and get more potassium from the bananas to stop the muscle cramps. She kept up fine besides the moment she stopped and pooped on the path...oops! Just took a political business card laying there and swept into down into the construction pit. Call it Puppy's addition to the work...

Feeling good though..getting a lot done...I will maintain this during the work week too!

Weight Maintainence

Just a word about my current weight, clearly it is something I am very interested in monitoring as I continue along my fitness journey. From my all-time high of 91.6, I have dropped down to a somewhat more docile (and softer) 87.6 kilograms (193.122lbs.). This is after a month of quite lax diet habits, some fried chicken, more makkeoli (traditional rice wine) than I would like to admit (I woke up Saturday morning and found 5!! empty bottles on my kitchen counter alongside a box of chicken bones...erm, how'd that happen?!? (sheepish grin)

SO..I'm going to shave my head, take puppy for a jog/walk, we both need it, and then pick up a lemonade to use with the psilium and continue trying to clear out my stomach and colon. I still feel bloated..maybe I am just paranoid. My body fat seems to have remained constant at about 14%..not bad, not where I want it to be ultimately. I'm hoping it will only take a couple-four weeks to clean out and dramatically improve my physical appearance, primarily my gut.

Please share ideas about how to clear out a stomach...fiber? Psilium? (Dad..please send the orange stuff!!!) Any other ideas?

Day 1-Chest and Back

...is in the books. Whew..started the first 3 of 24 moves all amped up and pumped, nailed more standard push-ups than I was doing in week 11 last time. (Did 44 today...could have done more.) But whoa...by the fourth move, reverse grip chin-ups, I found I was dog-tired and could not move fluidly. Muscles tightened up a lot...and my numbers started to dip south of my all-time highs. Not shocking...but I was really hoping I hadn't lost much. I think what I learned is that while I may not have lost much initial strength and power, I certainly lost muscle endurance. Muscle endurance seems to be something highly underrated. Just because a guy can rip off his shirt and have his pectoral muscles jiggling around and flexing, does NOT mean he will be able to lift his child off the ground after two sets of push-ups or pull-ups.
BUT...by the second half I was doing not only more than the previous all-time highs, I was doing more than I did in the first half of today. So is it possible my muscle endurance was not too far gone and within 30-45 minutes it was already dusting itself off...? Seemed to be.
So..I've got an ab workout to do later tonight (or tomorrow...I will be attending a dramatic play featuring a Korean actress I know and her friend, who happens to be a new student as of next Thursday evening.) But I am already telling myself, no drinking, no grease, low-fat. Time to kick the diet into high gear and keep myself publicly accountable. This shall be my forum...if only there was a 'public' to 'account' to here...oh well...at the end of the day, it is ONLY my mind that will determine my will to success. And I KNOW the strength that it has now...public accountability is just the cherry on top. (And everyone should know that I HATE cherries... ;)

BRING IT!

Time's up...

enough wasting away...enough drinking...enough lax dietary habits. I'm watching the 'How to Bring it DVD' as I type..getting psyched about restarting the program and jump-starting my health and fitness. Wish me luck...and let's BRING IT!!!