Still a Smoker

This one may take a bit of explanation. I met my wife at a PT group. She took my class and naturally fell for the instructor. It happens. I'm freaking dreamy and charming, especially when I workout. Don't blame her for falling for me. She's only human.

Regardless, despite the fact that we met out doing workouts, we NEVER workout together. We used to run some together, we have done a couple of races, but that was when we were dating. For the most part, especially now that we're older, we keep to our own workouts. 

P-90X Redux

So I had some folks ask questions about my workouts lately. You'll recall that I have at several times talked about my workouts (see here). I like to try and include them in my writing and in my novels, so why not discuss them here in my blog on writing.

My last couple of workout challenges (see here and here) were doozeys. My last was around my new running group (see here), Fort Bend Fit and our running to get ready for a marathon. Now, I'm not running a marathon. I've done enough of them to realize I don't like them. But I'm still running with them just to have a group, and to take some longer than normal runs. 

Lately, however I've gone beyond just running with the running group. I've created my own group for workouts and it's a doozey. It's composed of some Facebook friends, a couple of ladies from the running group (see the pic), a lady from my old SEAL PT group (see here), even a guy from my old Ranger Batt days, and an old friend. Together we've created an ersatz support group for workouts to help keep us going.

What's the workout? What's the challenge?

Well, ten years or so ago I completed P-90X (see here) and I really enjoyed it. It's tough, but it's a great workout. I believe I completed it three times before I decided to move on. I think I tested P-90X 2 when it came out, but I was not impressed. I'm not 6 weeks into my first 90 day workout. As a group we are going to finish this round. 

I add on a (minimum) 2 mile run with each workout, time depending. Usually I have time. I think I've missed a run twice in the last 6 weeks. Not a bad. 

I don't know about the rest of the crew, but I plan on taking a week or two off (just running) then doing P-90X 2. I don't care how much I hate it, I'm going to complete it. Then another week or so of relaxing running, and I'm going to move on to P-90X 3! After that, I should just about be done with a year, then I may try Insanity, or Beast Workout, or any of the other dozens and dozens of workouts that the group now has posted online. 

Last time it was DVD's this time it's all online, and with the little support group I've got going, I think I can do it! I'm about 25% done as it stands!

Adaptive Learning and Workouts

 This may be harder than I thought. Last week I wrote about my newest little exercise challenge. My last one was running (see here) this next one is more centered on weightlifting (see here). I also wrote last week how much these things influence my past writing and novels (here) and my writing now. I have to say, that if I was looking for a challenge that was tough, extended and had the potential to only get tougher the longer it goes, this would be one. 

I worked out today and it was a killer! 

The worst part about it (well maybe not the worst) is that my new Apple Watch app can't track multiple workouts. For example, my workout today (not the one shown in the pic above) included a weight workout, a jog, and a bike ride. All that the app shows is one total workout. That's it. It would be nice to be able to switch mid-workout, between the different aspects of the workout and get data from it. 

I'm a data junkie, and a good thing too. Right now a big part of adult learning is based on a technique called "Adaptive Learning." This is the idea that learning can be tailored to the exact needs of the learner. Instead of having someone waste time with training, they might already have, the learning experience is adjusted to the learner's needs and depth. 

We have a database of all of our learners at work. Some are new to the industry, many have been there and in our database for years. If we could take that information and only provide training that is relevant to the learner then we won't waste the learner's time and energy on things they already know. 

The Apple workout app has a feature called "trends" that I'm really looking forward to utilizing. It's basically reactive adaptive learning. Taking data from 180 workouts and distilling and displaying trends that are present and could be worthwhile for the user to know. 

What's this doing on this blog? 

This is a facet of Adaptive Learning that I have not concentrated on as much. Since I was a Director of Recruiting I've always been a fan of allowing our learners own their own records. What about using the Adaptive Learning concept we could help show trends to the learner and to the administrators who send them for training. 

What trends?

I don't know yet. Already we have a project to use adaptive learning techniques to give harder more sophisticated training to learners with years of experience, and more simple quizzes and tests to learners who are newer to the industry. But what trends could we provide?

Groups of People

 In About A Boy, the narrator talks about how he organizes his life in half hour chunks. I organize my life by groups of people. 

I have the group of people I see at work. Julie, Melissa, Russell, Cami, et al. 

Then I have the group of people I run with at Fort Bend Fit, Alicia, Ruby, Maria, et al. These are my fun run friends. 

Then I have my writing friends, those who I chat to and work with on writing, Kristi, Shannon, Claire C and even Beth. 

I used to have a group that I would train for PT. This was my SEAL PT group. For almost 20 years I worked as a fitness instructor for Jack Walston at his SEAL PT bootcamp. We would yell and harry the poor silly people who wanted the military style workout experience without the 4 years of military enrollment that is usually required. 

As an instructor I kept to myself. I had a few relationships with the clients, but nothing meaningful. There are still those I keep up with, but most of the folks I was close to then have moved off as well. 

It was a fun job and I enjoyed it, not only because I was paid up to 30 dollars an hour just to yell at folks and get a good workout in. Sadly, when my job moved me away from the center of Houston out to Pasadena it just didn't fit into my schedule. The other thing that happened was that every time I tried to help the group expand, the leaders of the group took the opposite approach and the group contracted. It was frustrating to watch the group slowly dying off. Eventually, I guess I died off too. 

Regardless, I have a new group to supplant the old SEAL PT group. I started Nerd Fitness a while back to help jump start my workouts. Those of you who read this blog know that I have tried all sorts of different gimmicks, triathlons, running challenges, and on and on (see here, here, and here). Well, Nerd Fitness is just the next. 

I will say that Nerd Fitness has definitely helped my weight training. The weights I'm hefting now, although not heavier, they are killer workouts now. They leave me smoked. My running has down-shifted some, but that was what I wanted. Instead of running everyday, Drew, my personal Nerd Fitness consultant, has me running every other day. But boy have my weights been killer for the past three months. 

So, I'm trying that. I've signed up to be a Nerd Fitness consultant like Drew. I have to contact my charges at least once per day, design specific workouts and diets for them (the classes I took in nutrition a few years ago, plus my workout experience should help with that), and help keep them motivated through videos, chats, etc etc. It should be fun. I've already started with three clients, Christine, Kerry, and Morgan, and I'm hoping to find two more. Should be fun. 

If you're looking to upgrade your workouts, I would definitely recommend Nerd Fitness.

Workouts 2022 Edition

So I finished P-90X2. My review: it's not bad. It's not as engaging as the first P-90X, but the work on core muscles is actually pretty fun. 

Those of you who follow this blog will remember that I had a goal of doing P90X (see HERE) then P-90X2 (see HERE) then P-90X3 as my newest workout goal. I'm two-thirds through.

This all started with reading a tweet from a former NFL lineman who rode his bike everyday for 100 days. I tried it too. Sadly, a trip to Alaska ruined that streak. I think I was twenty-something days in. 

Then I tried to run everyday for 100 days (see HERE). That one I completed. The next was to lift weights for 100 days. That one failed. Shoulder surgery side-lined me. But this P-90X one is going well so far.  

As much as I hated the core work, which was extensive . . . I do feel as though my core strength is substantially stronger. 

Additionally, I'll say that the upper body workout and lower body workouts were some of the best there were when you take out the stretches in the middle and you throw in some extra strength training. The other thing I didn't care for about this workout? Was that you had to buy so much equipment to support the moves. Also, there were very few "old guy" modifidiations. They were doing some tough moves and they were just,  . . . keep up. No moves for the old. Of course I also added in jogs just about everyday, but all in all I recommend it highly. 

So, why not go straight into P-90X3? Well, because I think I jacked up my shoulder. I was able to knock out 10-12 pullups at a shot in the first series. Now in the second, I'm barely getting three at a time. So, I'm giving the shoulder a break. 

Self Care

I’m not a fan of self care. I think it’s a silly term and whenever I hear someone use the term I roll my eyes just a bit. Not enough so that anyone might notice, but it happens. Well, the other week I had a bit of an episode, an eye opener, that made me realize I need to invest in a bit of self care. 

When I was a kiddo I had back pain every so often. It was debilitating for short times. When it hit, I was down for the day. Never figured out what it was, but when I joined the Army it seemed to get a lot better. Was it all the front leaning rest building the core? All of those flutter kicks? All the workouts? The rucking? Could be, probably was. 

Not Just Knowledgeable but Compelling to Read as Well

 I waded into Rex Bonds Shredded Secrets: 7 Cutting Edge Nutrition Secrets You Need Even If You Are Over 50 with some degree of trepidation, but I was happy to see that not only was it well written, deep, and well organized, but is in line with what I've read so many times over the years.

I have a deep history of diets both with and without success. As child I was over weight. I have been working out in gyms since 4th grade. my first fun run was in 5th grade. In high school I was able to lose 80 lbs in one year by diet alone. When I got too skinny, protein and supplements helped me get into shape enough to be an athlete in college. Years in the Army as a SpecOps warrior also helped me learn how to workout, lift weights, and diet. For years after my time in the military I worked out with a Navy Seal PT bootcamp and helped others workout and counseled them on how to stay in shape. I've bulked up, slimmed down, run, jogged, lifted, and cross fitted all through the years. Now that I'm approaching 50, I was drawn to this book due to the tag line " . . . even over 50."

Unlike many fad diet books I've read over the years, Shredded Secrets is down to earth, solid, firm, and terrific advice. It's not easy, it's not fast, it's not even guaranteed for everyone, . . . getting shredded. But as someone who may never achieve it but always tries, I can say that if I followed all the advice in this book, as diligently as Rex Bonds advocates, I would be successful. 

A great book for anyone taking dieting seriously. 

Another 100 Days

 Last month I finished my 100 Day of Running Challenge (see more here) and today my friend asked me if I had given up running for a while. 

Just the opposite really. 

It was nice to include what I learned on my 100 day running challenge into my novel this year for NaNo. It helped make the character deeper, more resilient, and helped her find the impetus and reason for change. 

I’ve started a new homemade challenge. This one follows the same 100 days that I had with my running challenge but instead of running it’s more about lifting. 

The rules I’ve made up for myself are:

• Gotta be one of my workouts that has focus and full body (ie. 24 exercises, 16 that focus on a primary muscle group, 8 that are variable)
• Every third day legs 
• Can’t run more than 50% of the workout time
• Run can’t be a solo (needs to be mixed into the lift, otherwise I’ll just run run run)
• If I do want a longish run .... sometimes you just have to have a good long run .... gotta lift first. Can’t tell ya how many times I’ve run with the intention of lifting after the run and failed to follow through. 
• If I get hurt or sore .... lift less weight and more reps ... no excuses to stop. 
• Finally, once a week minimum, take 15 to 30 minutes after to yoga stretch the muscles. 

See! Should be easy peasy lemon squeezy!

So far so good. My kiddos are joining me when they can. 16 days in and going strong! 84 more to go!

What's this have to do with writing? 

More than most might realize. I was surprised how much my last 100 days challenge played a part in developing the main character in my last novel. Though that 100 days challenge, through her, she showed vulnerability, consistency, stick-to-it-tiveness, passion and compassion. It was a far bigger part of the story than I thought. 

All of my previous novels (see here) have had exercise playing a pivotal role in the novel's story. That's because exercise and fitness has played a big part in my life. It's a big part of so many people's lives these days. This next 100 days I can tell is going to be a tough one. Let's hope it provides fodder for a great novel or two!

Now I Remember Why I Hate Ruck Marching

As another update in my workout series (see HERE) . . . Well, it's May 1st, which means I have started the USAA Ruck Marching Challenge to help stop soldier suicide! 

I remember now how much I hated ruck marching. Slow, long boring, . . . ugh! But, it was different and fun to a degree. Wow, does a fella ever have some time to think on a ruck march? 

DISC in High School

One seminal transformative learning moment in my life was the experience I had immediately following a large merger between two companies. We got the chance not only to perform a DISC personality profile on ourselves, but also see the results and discuss the results from the entire leadership team. I've written about this servarl times on this blog (see HERE). 

What did I find out? Why was this such a transformative moment? 

One of the first things that we did, once we were sorted into DISC groups, was to find similarities. For some reason, Curt, who was sorted into the S group with me, asked the group . . . "What do you guys do for lunch?"

Joe's answer was "I like to shut more door and read the paper."

Curt said, "I like to go for walks and get away from work."

Will said, "I usually go to the park and eat my lunch in quiet."

I said, "I like to go workout."

The similarity? We all like to get away and be alone. It was fun to see that every other "S" was similar in their lunchtime activities. We went on to find several similarities in our work lives. 

What's funny about this is that for all my life this has been my modus operandi. When I was in high school, when I wasn't in the gym lifting weights, I was in the library reading. What was I reading? Usually Alfred Hitchcock compilations. 

For some reason, I ran into this compilation of Alfred Hitchcock short stories that the high school library owned.  I tore through those quickly. I think they had five or seven books. After that?  I went to the local public library and read as many of those as I could. After that? I went online to find and buy them. Now, I own probably over 100 compilations of Alfred Hitchcock short story books. 

Lately, I've started to read them at night. They take about 15 to 20 minutes each to read. Most are very well written, and they're super fun. I just finished Murders on the Halfshell and I'm moving on to the next! 

I've been an S all my life and continue to be an S.

3 More to Go

I’m just three pounds away from hitting my goal weight and stopping this infernal diet. Two years ago I was a bulky, weighty, (seemingly) muscular, 248 pounds. Some days a bit more. I blame too much eating, the creative I tried, and other sundry things. Now, I’m at 208 and I’m hoping to hit 205 by next week. Slimmer, trimmer, and hopefully just as strong and fit as before. 

I want to go on record . . . Because I’ve heard from others about a new diet pill that stops cravings . . . That that is NOT how I was able to manage my weight loss. 

I’ve lost this much and more weight before. I was 270, . . . Almost 280 as a junior and high school. I lost almost 90 pounds over a year by being a vegan. I tried that again, and boy this time, at this point in my life, it didn’t work.

My brother called and told me that he had looked into the craving diet pill, I guess it’s called Lumen. Apparently my sister in law has been using it to great effect. My brother was turned down by his doctor for it’s use due to our shared history of thyroid cancer in our family. But, again, I am not using it. 

I’ve never taken the pill(s) to improve who I am. There were guys in the Rangers who took steroids. I never did. And you know what, they might have looked stronger, but when we went out on missions, they were the ones falling out, and I was plodding on. Hell, Corporal Rowe who worked for me was taking steroids, ripped fuel, creatin, just about every chemical to try and keep up with me on runs! (He never could). I see it as a crutch. A quick win that yields results without the hard work needed to retain the results. 

So if not Lumen, and not veganism, how did I lost 40 pounds? 

Mostly calorie deficit. I tried fasting for a while, that didn’t work, but then I hooked up with Margaret who is a diet coach and she helped a ton. I ate 6 times a day, just 100 calories each time, enough to never feel too terribly hungry. Then one meal that was about 800 calories, and I had to weigh and measure that sucker so my stomach could shrink. Plus it was all mostly protein, the 6 meals all day and the one meal at night, all mostly protein. 

That’s it. I didn’t have to workout more. In fact when I really wanted to lose weight and get over the hump, I wouldn’t work out. It screws up the calculus of how lay 1500 calories a day. 

Oh and for that initial 25-30 pounds I talked to Margaret all the time. The first three weeks she called every day to check on me. Then twice a week. Then once a week. She was a great accountability partner. 

So the point? 

I almost feel too skinny now. But I’m about to hit 50 years old and I’d rather be too skinny than bulky when I hit 50. Plus, I’m doing much better on my fun run races. Even came in first in one! Worth the effort.  

Resolved

I know that there are plenty of articles out there that talk about resolutions and how they don’t work. Go look at neighborhood gyms after New Years and then again a few months later and they are a testimony to how poorly New Years resolutions work for people. 

I think they work for me though. 

Constancy Vs Consistency

I heard from and saw my old friend again this week. Couple morning's ago and there she is. She reminded me of the importance of consistency. Not constancy, but consistency.

She may not be a constant friend, in fact the most I see her is once every few months, but it's consistent like that. I can count on seeing or hearing from her once every six to eight weeks. I can count on seeing her whenever I workout with my group. She's very consistent like that. She is steadfast and I know what to expect and she delivers without fail.

This is what great friends produce, consistency. You come to expect the same thing from them and they deliver. We had a guy named Baldwin in our unit who you could never count on. The entire time in the Army as a private you are constantly proving yourself. Why? Because you want to establish trust between yourself and your leaders and your squad. It's that trust that develops over time and you can build on.

Baldwin not only failed to develop that trust fully, but he undermined the trust completely. So we cut him away. In airborne operations there is one thing you never want to be, a dragged jumper. Exiting the door is one of the more dangerous moments of the jump. It's at the door that anything can happy. A piece of your uniform can get snagged, a loop of your static line could get caught, anything. When that happens you become a dragged jumper. The only thing you can do as the jump master is cut that person away. That's what we did to Baldwin. Once he undermined his squad's and his platoon's trust to a point where he could no longer be trusted, we had to cut him away. It was his lack of consistency that lead to his being cut away.

What's this have to do with writing? Well, you'll remember I'm in the midst of some character development. It's fun to take qualities that are irksome in real life, or even admirable and take them to the next level (more on that in a future post).

Calvin Coolidge wrote about persistence (see my post on it HERE). Consistency is just as important in my view. I've been writing consistently for over a week now and it's great to see progress on so many fronts. It's that consistency that helps us achieve, not constancy. Constancy can give out and fail. Consistency is the value that we should strive for. Roller coasters are fun, but not if they go on indefinitely.

It's obvious that in my life, as proven by seeing this old friend, that I value that consistency more than constancy. In writing too that seems to be the best to achieve results.

There is an Argument

There is an argument to be made that a post about my surgery is a bit far afield for this blog on writing, writing novels, and other writing aspects. 

Already because of my PhD program, I've branched out into Adult Education (see here). But I think that's tangential in that I am doing a TON of writing for that program. I writing papers monthly, read dozens of articles weekly, and am in the midst of writing a book/dissertation so I think I can make the argument that that is writing. 

That being said, that last post (see here) on injuries and workouts actually does have a lot to do with writing. Anyone reading this blog will know I've been struggling to write my fourth novel, tentatively titled Sunset Perfect. There was a draft I wrote where the main character had a shoulder injury. This little shoulder surgery is helping me relate to and write that draft so it's more believable and realistic. My writing about my workout challenges (see here) is an aspect of the character that I can help make him more fleshed out. 

Everything I add here is either to remember and use for writing or a direct reflection of my writing. 

Always Eat Alone

I cringed when I read about Never Eat Alone. Eating alone is one of my favorite things to do. That being said, I also recognize how it stifles the creation of, and the fostering of networks.

Years ago I took a DiSC analysis workshop and I was paired up with all the other "S's" in the class. Our challenge was to communicate to the rest of the teams what it means to be an S (S = Supportive). The first thing we all identified about ourselves was that we all ate alone. Curt when for long walks. Joe liked to shut his door and recharge. Will liked to go shopping, usually at a bookstore. I would go to the gym for a workout. I've always thought it was funny that this was the defining characteristic of our S group. 

That being said, the rationale behind the book Never Eat Alone has merit. Since then, since having identified that I need to network more since I don't eat out with others, I force myself outside my comfort zone to either eat with prospective clients or to find ways to network more. 

I look back on my career and it's true. . . . none of my career opportunities (well except the very first) came about due to my degree. All of them came from networking and work that I performed. Networking was key in many of the more high profile career moves. I recognize that this is the case and recognize too that my lack of willingness to never eat alone hurts those opportunities so I find other ways. A sequel to Never Eat Alone should be "Learn how to Golf" (another skill I lack).

DISC in High School

One seminal transformative learning moment in my life was the experience I had immediately following a large merger between two companies. We got the chance not only to perform a DISC personality profile on ourselves, but also see the results and discuss the results from the entire leadership team. I've written about this servarl times on this blog (see HERE). 

What did I find out? Why was this such a transformative moment? 

Managing the Loss

Lots of folks use me as their sounding board for military questions. Why? Well, I served in the military. I wasn't an officer, I was a just a door-kicking, bullet-stopper, Airborne Ranger Team Leader. But somehow the very fact that I was in, and the fact I was in Spec Ops seems to lead so much credence to me that people feel free to ask, "What should the US do about Ukraine?

To be honest? Not once in the military did we discuss the geopolitical implications of different decisions. All we did was a workout, train hard, shoot often, jump out of airplanes and helicopters and blow stuff up. Still, I do have some thoughts, but I hardly think they're any better than my neighbors. 

I read with some interest some of the initial reports about the VDV being chewed up and whole planeloads going down. Were these reports true? Who knows? There is a lot of propaganda, but the number of KIA soldiers and the jacked-up strategy seems to suggest that it might be. I can feel for these guys. There was nothing worse than being crammed into a plane waiting to jump or worse landing on a hostile runway. Air-Lando Commando we called it. Everyone wanted out of that plane as quick as possible. 

Regarding the wider conflict, however, I heard a term the other day and it stuck with me. Someone on the radio mentioned they felt President Biden was "Managing the Loss." This rang true. Most of what this administration has done has been toward Ukraine has already lost the war. This was anathema to everyone in our unit. 

I served in the years between Mogadishu and the GWOT. There were a ton of advancements and changes in tactics in our unit throughout the years I served and even more after that. Adaptability was our hallmark. Adapt, adjust, overcome was our motto (that and Sua Sponte of course). But one thing we would never have done is "manage the loss." 

We were even lectured on this as a Battalion Commander. They gave us a class on what went wrong in Mogadishu and they mentioned that the Rangers should have left, regrouped, and rejoined the fight. Maybe it was the way the leadership said it, maybe it was the fact that the fifth stanza of our creed goes directly against this, or maybe it was just that we were a bunch of kids, but several walked out (to be forced to do hundreds of pushups as punishment for walking out) and afterward, the entire enlisted and NCO class (the bulk of the battalion) agreed en masse that what the Battalion Commander just told us would never have a chance of happening. 

I remember quite clearly the secret meetings, the pledges among the enlisted in the team, the pronouncements from the NCO Team Leaders and Squad Leaders that just like the fifth stanza of the Ranger Creed says, we would never be okay with "leaving a fallen comrade behind." 

So, the point? Regarding Ukraine?

Managing the loss is not something I'm comfortable with. What should be done? Well, more should have been done before. I think they've been managing the loss since last fall. They've been preparing for a loss rather than getting ready for defense. Now, whatever is done is much much harder. 

Current Workout

Every now and then sparks my memory to post about workouts (see HERE). The other day I ran into my neighbor who is an avid runner and we talked for a long while about workouts. And of course compared out runs. 

Overall compared to the neighbors, I’m still doing okay. Sure one runs longer, another is more consistent, another is fast as greased lightning, but I’m hanging in there. Barely. 

The latest was a fun run. Best? Nope. But after jacking up my knee a few months back this was decent. It was a super crossed field too…. Fun runs on Thanksgiving always are… so some of this is crowd based. 

But I also came in 6th for old guys. So I’ll take that and I’ll brag to the neighbors about it.  

Friendship and Proximity

I have been thinking a-lot about friendship lately. The older I get the more I'm sure that friendship are only successful if they include proximity and intersectionality. 

When I was working with a contractor for many years, one close friend of mine was Greg. When I left Greg and I texted a few times back and forth, but then eventually we wander off our own ways. Here was someone who I chatted with daily for over ten years, yet as soon as the job was over and we were no longer in neighboring offices, the friendship was kaput. 

I'm a Streaker

I've determined, over the past 50 or so years, that I really enjoy streaks. What's that mean? It means I'm a person of habit. That I enjoy having a system, or a set habit every day. But, sad to say, a long running streak I was keeping up quite well, has fallen at 122 days. 

I was using Duolingo to not only get into interactive learning environments and microlearning but also to try and prep for my eventual . . . and hopeful (HERE) . . . live in Costa Rica . . . Four years away and counting . . . (down).