The Last Post

I have just finished the last workout of my 30's. This six months or so has changed my life. It isn't just the physical changes my body has gone through. It has been a great time of emotional, spiritual and mental growth as well. But I am stoked to have lost a shirt size, and I'm super stoked that I've moved the latch of my belt backward three holes. Here is the final picture:

1 month to go!

40 is just around the corner. Here is a pic to show the progress. When I started, these pants were tight around the waist. Stoked!

Photo Update

So, I stopped posting an update pic because I honestly didn't think many changes were happening in the old body for a while. But, I decided to post one on here because I was wrong. The obliques are starting to show pretty well. Less than 2 months to go! I think the cardio kickboxing is going to be a big help.

Not as fit as I thought

I'm sitting here now, drenched in sweat, with less than two months to my 40th birthday. I've continued eating a no sugar diet and I'm down to a very small amount of body fat around my navel which is probably sticking around (no pun intended) because I tend to pizza it up with the kiddo.

However, for the last two months to my goal I'm cutting out that last little bit of crap, and I'm stepping up my game.

As far as workouts go, I've continued to lift weights. I actually look forward to lifting these days. A lot. I've increased my dumbbells to 50 pounds each, and I do all of my weight lifting with those. I've also added a resistance band to my push ups, and I've installed a pull up bar in my house to get some much needed pull ups in.

However, my cardio has ONLY been my skateboarding for the last month. Now, I've skated a lot over the last month, but it just doesn't feel like enough.

If you look at my last post, I bought a resistance band/glove thing with DVD to workout with. In truth, I hadn't used it. I put it on and tried the DVD, but the DVD was all messed up and wouldn't play. Tonight, I took the initiative to find a video online and used the bands to workout. This is why I'm drenched in sweat. It was a great workout. The only problem I had was that the gloves have a velcro enclosure that kept digging into my back so I took it off for the last round of the workout.

I've decided to add 2 cardio routines into my week, and I've decided to go back to yoga one day each week. I learned today (doing the kicks) that I am not limber at all these days. I'm glad I workout at home and nobody had to see that.

You'll notice I've not been posting any month end pics. Well, I have decided to wait until the birthday and post a final pic then. 2 more months of hard work and good eating and we'll see where that takes us.

Oh, and I have given in. Despite my tirades on protein shakes, I'm simply not adding much muscle these days and I'm giving protein a try as well as an L-Glutamine supplement. I'll write more about that particular amino later.

Punching Out the Boredom

I've been skating a lot lately, and I've been hitting the weights, but I got so bored with running. And jumping rope? Dull, dull, dull.

So, I bought a little something today:

Now, they're kinda lame in that you are shadowboxing with gloves on as if you were really an MMA fighter, but they were only 9 bucks and came with a (pretty weak) fitness DVD.  I have always loved using heavy bags, shadow boxing etc... so now I can get some good resistance and cardio at the same time.

Massage/.com

I got a full, one hour massage yesterday.  It was amazing.

Something that I've neglected while on this fitness path is relaxation. I'm not good at relaxing. I have a hard time sitting through an entire movie because I feel the need to work on something. I have this overwhelming desire to create whether it is a blog post, an article, my skateboard magazine (Luchaskate), music (I have a band called Lucha and the Flatspots), or to create skateboarding.  I believe the act of skateboarding is like dance, you create something that lives, in an original state, only in that moment. You can video the action, but it is never the same as the moment it is created.

So, laying down for a massage was a very new, eye opening experience. It was amazing. I learned that I NEED to slow down sometimes. I've not been doing my yoga/stretching. I've been so busy, and this is THE BEST time of the year to be a skateboarder. While it is hot, it doesn't rain much and if it does rain, it dries very quickly. I've been skating four or five times a week and continuing to work out.

In my desire to create, I've been thinking of creating a static website based on the blog. Rather than detailing my day to day experiences, I'm thinking of writing articles based on what I'm seeing and learning.  I'll let you know more as I get the website planned and started.

S.F. Self Image

Soul Fitness: Self Image Part 1

First off, I apologize about the language in the image, but this image inspired this post.  I was about to begin writing a series of posts about male body image, and how we, like women, can struggle with body image. However, I saw this on facebook today, and despite playing it off as a joke, it got me thinking.

What has happened?

Well, first, what is the meme trying to say? Is it because the kid on the right seems somewhat effeminate? Is it because he isn't debonair? Is it railing against who is in our current pop culture spotlight?

I'm not exactly sure, but I do think it is the latter (although this person disagrees).

I can't speak for all men, nor would I want to. I can only speak for myself, and what I get out of the meme. When I see the image on the left, I don't see an actor that I just watched in a movie last night (Sword of the Valiant. It is awful and I loved it). No, in the meme I see my grandfather. I see the man who kept his fingernails perfectly manicured, wore a suit to work everyday, kept his hair perfectly combed...in all honesty, I see my first childhood hero.

On the right? Well, I have no idea who that actually is, but I guess that he is some kind of pop star or other. Who is he? He is the current generation, one step removed from me. Honestly, he is of little consequence to my thoughts. I am focused on the grandfatherly image on the left.  What has happened?

As I type this, I looked down to see my fingernails. They are well maintained. My hair is kept shorter than my grandfather kept his, but it is also well kept. I don't get (or have to) wear a suit to work every day. I wear a white jacket instead. I'm lucky. I get to put on a crisp new jacket every morning.

Still, part of me will always wonder if I stack up against these male role models I grew up with. They were always so hard working. They gave of themselves and asked for little in return, and that is where it hits me hardest. These idealized images I hold in my mind are very hard to live up to.  But that isn't a bad thing! I sit back and compare myself against these men of the past, and it gives me a firm ground to work from.  Because I had such good men as mentors, it gives me a great place to start from as a parent.

Comparing ourselves with others, especially those we look up to, can be difficult. We idealize them while we see our own faults. I still hold on to a lot of the punk rock aesthetic. In fact, today I wore shorts with argyle socks. Debonair, I wasn't. But, while I can't beat myself up thinking about how I 'measure up' it is a good thing to sit back and analyze sometimes. We have this wonderful ability to be able to mold and re-create ourselves to a larger extent than we sometimes believe. I know I've done a lot of self analysis and re-molding over the last five years (since becoming the parent of an amazing son). This blog is just one of the tools of my own metamorphosis. I was out of shape and wanted to hold myself accountable, publicly, through a physical metamorphosis. It has become more than that as the physical ties into the spiritual, mental etc...

While rebellion against being my father/grandfather/parents happened, it also ended. It did a full circle. As children we (those of us with good male role models) idolize our fathers. Later we rebel against them.

Finally, we become them.

And I'm very proud of that.  Love to you dad, and both of my grandfathers. Thank you for all you did for me.