My Workouts Are Like Mumbai Monsoons This Year! 9th Sept. 2015

I've been trying since the end of August to get into some kind of routine with my workout but I've not really been able to stick to the routine I'd envisaged for myself. As admitted earlier, I am lazy and getting up at 6:30- 6:40 AM really stretches my will power to the breaking point.

To carry on, after the run on the 4th of September, I did not go for a run for the next two days. I did manage to put in 20 push ups and 40 squats on the 5th. On the 7th, I went for a walk. For a change, I ran on a promenade and i really managed to run one kilometer without stopping. That was my first one km without pausing to catch my breath since June or July 2014. In effect, I ran one km after almost 13-14 months. On the 7th, I managed 6.40 k.m @ 9.45 minutes per kilometer. My fastest kilometer was in 7.38 minutes. Not a record beating pace by any stretch of imagination but I am glad I managed even that.

I also managed 21 push ups and 42 squats post my run.

Today, I again went. I did not go yesterday as I was very sore and also, I had a very long day ahead of me. Today, it started drizzling while I was running. I was tired so I managed just 4.55 km @ 9.23 minutes per km. Yes, today was faster than the day before but I could not manage to run one km without a pause. Had I run/ walked 6.5 odd kilometers that I'd clocked day before, my average time would probably have been much higher. Yesternight, I had a few drinks and today it affected my run. As mentioned, I could not finish a one km run. I pulled up panting at 700 meters. I've observed this on many occasions. I drink, and the next day I can't run as hard or as much. Another point against devil booze!

Today, I again managed 21 push ups and 42 squats.


This brings the total of September up to 23.6 km @9.44 min/ km; 82 push ups and 164 squats. On a daily basis, 20 odd push ups and 40 odd squats don't seem much but they are starting to add up!! Yipee!!

September 4th 2015; It doesn't Matter How Many Times You Fall; What Matters Is How Many Times You Get Up After Falling

August ended on a rather inauspicious note. I finished the month at 50.6 kms at 10 minutes, 10 seconds per kilometer. I was determined that September be a better month.

On the 1st of September, I managed to walk/ part jog 6.2 km @ 10.01/km. I also managed to put in twenty push ups and forty squats (body weight=77 Kg). Trust me, when you are in my shape, 40 squats demands a lot, as do 20  push ups.

On the 2nd and the 3rd, due to work commitments and other things, I could not go for a walk. In a way, it was good for me because I was very sore after the 1st of September. My over enthusiasm had gotten me there.

Today is 4th of September and I managed to get out and walk/jog. I think I jogged around 1.5 to 2 km and walked around 4.5 to 5 km. Came home and did my 20 push ups and 40 body weight squats. Boy, I was out of breath after doing just 20 squats. The next set was broken down into 10 squats-pause-5 squats- pause- 5 squats.

Come Sunday, I will again not be able to go out for a walk. I hope I get out tomorrow and clock a few kms.

Total Statistics for September so far:

Walk: 12.7 km @ 9.51 minutes/ km
Push ups: 40
Squats: 80 

Day Nine- Wednesday 26th August 2015

There is some problem with my last post. I wrote it on Friday but the timeline shows it as written on Thursday. Anyway, Friday night- the night of the post titled "Day four.....", my wife and I came home tired after spending all day out. I just could not stop myself from having a beer. One became two but didn't go beyond that. We baked some fish at home. The fish had been sitting in the fridge (not the freezer) for more than 24 hours post marination. I didn't say anything to my wife but even as I ate it, I was worried it was going to make us both sick.

I woke at a little past two and rushed to the loo to puke. In the next hour or so, I puked my guts out. Strangely, nothing happened to my wife. Maybe it was because I'd psyched myself even before eating the fish. Just when we were contemplating going to hospital, my stomach settled down.

The fallout of this incident was that I did not go for a walk on Saturday; I was too drained. Sundays, I have to reach work early; so, again no workout. Monday and Tuesday went by in that lack of momentum. Four days- zero workout.

Today, Wednesday- 26th August- I finally managed to drag myself out of bed and get ready. I jogged a lot more today than I'd done the last four days I'd worked out. I managed 5.23 km at 9.32 minutes per km. I figured If was going to be iffy, might as well start pushing myself. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Day Four: Temptation Wins and I (Almost) Lose Motivation

Before I start about today, I must pen down what happened yesterday. Yesterday night, I had three big drinks. When I reached home, I'd almost beaten temptation and had decided that I'd eat dinner and watch some TV. However, my wife knows I like to have a few drinks on Thursday nights (my weekly off is on Friday) and she had gotten the snacks ready and the beers chilled. I succumbed to temptation. I didn't have beer but ended up having about 200 ml of whiskey. Even while I was drinking, I had this blame game going on inside my head. I hated myself for boozing but still drank. Again, boozing on Thursday is a habit. I dunno how much I wanted to drink and how much I drank out of habit.

I woke up at around 6.30, peeked out of the window and saw that the roads were wet. It was drizzling and I almost went back to bed. It was a huge fight between the wannabe jock and the spud but after a good ten minutes of dillydallying, I finally got ready and hit the road. I was still pissed about having had drinks last night. I hope I don't touch booze for at least a month now. Keeping my fingers crossed

By the time I reached the park, I knew it was not my day. Within two laps, the sides of my calves were on fire. When a pebble got into my shoe, I sat down, got it out and also felt my calves. The sides of my calves were hard as iron. I tried to loosen my calves but had only partial success. I resumed walking at a lower pace and managed to stay on the track while the world passed me by. At the 4 km mark, I called it a day and decided to walk home.

All in all, a very forgettable day out. The only saving grace is that I managed 11 push ups and 22 squats.

Tomorrow is another day. What I learnt today is that it is important to get out even if you would rather sleep. Momentum is hard to get by, and once you have it, just keep it going. Even if I'd come back after one km, I'd have been glad that I'd gone out.
   

Day 2: 19th August 2015. Walk, Walk, Jog, Walk, Walk, Jog, REPEAT

Right now, the motivation level is high. I hope it stays that way.

Today is day two of my 101 plan. I'd kept an alarm for 6:15 AM and managed to get out of bed by 6:25. I am a bit sore. The soreness has become accentuated after a good night's sleep. Brushed my teeth, oiled my hair, pooped, got into walking gear and off I went! It was 6:50 by the time I got out. Walked to the park (about one km) and walked two circuits before jogging one. Two more walking laps and one jogging. Had jogged for a total of three laps by the time I hit five kilometers. My Nike activity tracker told me it is fifty minutes and five k.m. and I started my walk back home. Total distance covered today is 6.29 km; total time taken 1:03; average time 10.01 per km.

Reached home at around 7:50 AM and did two sets of push ups (5 push ups per set) and two sets of squats (10 squats per set). Done for the day.

I've also been suffering from insomnia for about three months now. I am very keen to know if my working out will help relieve that. What has been happening for the last two days is that I've been pooping twice. Once before going for a walk and once soon after coming back. OK! I gotta go again!!

P.S.: If my poop frequency keeps increasing every day, I will have to give up the experiment. I cannot go a hundred times a day :-)  

Day Three: Soreness Finally Kicks In

Like many, if not most, humans, I am a creature of habit. Till three days ago I'd struggled to wake up at 8 AM (partly because I've been suffering from insomnia for the last three months). Now, within three days of starting going for a walk, my body clock is getting accustomed to getting up early. I just need to keep this momentum going. The point that I am trying to make is that momentum is a huge, huge thing. Till three days ago, I was caught in the web of static inertia and my best laid plans were coming to naught. Now, my body clock is getting reset. I just hope that this new found inertia of motion keeps me going.

Yesterday, while at work, I could figure out that my leg muscles were sore. Yesterday morning, I'd jogged (admittedly just one lap for every two laps walking) and my muscles had started aching. Plus, I felt a cold coming on- itching in my throat being the first indication. I kind of overdosed on Vitamin C last night as I wanted to prevent that cold from getting fully developed.

I woke up this morning at 6:25 AM, a few minutes before my alarm was to go off. I was still feeling sore but rolled out of bed and completed my morning ablutions. Finally, got out of home at 7:05 AM.

I walked to the park where I walk and within a couple of laps, the sides of my calves  started to burn. I slowed down and very deliberately maintained a slow pace throughout my walk. Today, I managed 6.02 km @ 11.07 minutes per kilometer. I did not jog for even 50 meters as I wanted to rest my body.

Came home and managed to increase my number of push ups from 10 to 11 and squats from 20 to 22. This is in line with what I had initially planned to do- increase the number of push ups by one, and the number of squats by two every two days. So, phase one accomplished.

First Workout: A Walk in the Park, Literally!

Day One! THE D-Day. The day that was going to see me finally break the chains of procrastination was finally here; or was it?

Maybe I'd psyched myself, maybe I was eager, or maybe it was just one of those lucky breaks that all of us need every once in a while but somehow, my internal alarm clock woke me up before my alarm (set for 6:40 AM) could go off. I checked the time- 6:24- and rolled over. About five minutes later, I reset the alarm for 6:50 AM. Somehow, I managed to drag myself out of the bed at 6:50. I'd gotten my "walking" clothes the night before. Still, it took me around 20-25 minutes to get out of home. Earphones in place, I walked to a park in the neighbourhood. The park has a nice walking track. I bought an entry ticket for Rs. 2 (around 1/30th of a USD) and kept walking. I walked for around 40 minutes in the park and then headed home. It'd taken me roughly ten minutes to reach the park (from home) and I figured it would take another ten minutes to reach back home. I covered 6.35 km in one hour and three minutes. My average time came to around 10.03 minutes per kilometer. During the course of the walk, I jogged (a very gentle jog) for around half a kilometer. Each jog was around 250 meters. The rest of the time I walked.

After I reached home, I did ten push ups and twenty squats. I plan to increase the number of push ups by one every two days and the number of squats by two every two days. If everything goes according to plan, I will be doing twenty-five push ups and fifty squats by September 18th. Let's see.

I plan to take up a cleansing one day water fast some time this week. I'll share my experience then.

P.S: I am a bit sore but nothing that would hamper my work. Adios!   

Start of The Journey- 18th August 2015

If you are anything like me, then the popular saying- "The Road to Hell is Paved With God Intentions" holds true for you too. The purpose behind this blog is multifold; I want to get fit, track my progress and want to stay motivated while hopefully motivating some other folks like me. I've repeated the term "like me" twice and haven't mentioned anything about myself. Well, here goes.

I am 43, male, married. I work nine odd hours a day (six days a week) and my daily commute is anywhere between 2-2:30 hours. More importantly, I am lazy and I procrastinate. If degrees were awarded for procrastinating, I would surely be a Ph.D. in it. I like to call myself laid back because it does not have the negative connotation that the word "lazy" carries. I can put off till later almost anything except eating and boozing (more on that later). I've made my tiredness from work a convenient wall to hide behind. I want to get fit but am too lazy to make the effort. Every day I take the pledge to start going out for a walk (from tomorrow!); every night I set an alarm; every (next) morning, I turn off the alarm while mentally promising myself to start from tomorrow. No wonder "tomorrow" is the favorite word for procrastinators like me. Another problem is my fondness for food (preferably cooked in desi ghee) and for booze. I am not an alcoholic (I think!) but end up drinking close to 200 ml of hard stuff about three times a week. I love to eat; non vegetarian food is my favorite. My wife and I order in a lot. Outside food is obviously even more unhealthy.

Till about seven years ago, I was 5' 5" and around 58-59 kilos. I am still 5' 5" (sigh!) but now turn the scales at around 76 kilos. I have lost a lot of muscle from all the areas that matter. I was never big but have surely moved from fit to flab. From a waist 28, I have gone to 36. I start panting if I have to climb stairs for two floors. I plan to change that. I want to get back to the shape I was in till about seven years ago. I plan to document the journey here in the hope of staying motivated and motivating others. By putting it all down on my blog, I am hoping to stay the course, even if it is just to avoid shaming myself. The plan is to get from my present weight (around 76 kilos) to around 66 kilos in one hundred and one days. That gives me a target of losing around 100 grams a day. For the sake of simplicity, I am going to weigh myself every ten days and track my progress. I don't precisely know how much i will lose by doing what I have planned. Hopefully, the first ten days will give me a benchmark. If I lose less than intended (around one kilo), I will figure out a way to increase my workout intensity. If I lose more, It's even better.

There are two caveats I have put in place. One, the workout cannot be more than one hour (give or take ten minutes). Two, the workout should be almost zero expense; this effectively rules out joining a gym. I am also going to try not to booze and to cut down on the non-veg food. I will share here if I have a drink. I last had a few drinks on Sunday. Let's see how it goes. Day One details coming up!!