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Excitement, Workout Motivation, and… What do You Bench?

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If you have worked out for any length of time you have asked, and been asked, the most common question in lifting… “So… How much do you bench?” You almost expect to hear it in the gym. Maybe even on the street like this funny video where Men’s Fitness asked guys what they could bench and then suprised them with a bench to prove it.

Everybody loves the most common exercise in the gym – flat bench with a barbell. THE bench press. Nobody walks into the gym the first time and looks for a decline bench or pec deck.

Why? Probably because it is so common almost everyone including non-lifters have heard of it and seen it. There are entire contests devoted to it. Even the NFL combine uses it as a measure for all positions.

Simple, fun little test… Walk up to the biggest guy in the gym and say [Read more…]

Calves… Tour de France or World Cup?

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So we all have body parts that we struggle to control, grow, or define. Right? No, just me? Ok, stop reading here.

For those of you who do, I can relate. I have two body parts I really struggle improving – abs and calves.

Abs I’ve discussed before… So, what brought the calves up?

Cristiano Ronaldo legs, calves, absI watched some of the World Cup and some of the Tour de France recently and my oldest daughter walked in during both with roughly the same comment. Those guys are lean and they have great legs! Dad, you need to run / cycle!

Lance Armstrong CalvesOUCH! On two accounts. One, freaking me out a bit with her commenting on the guy’s legs. Two, I know what she meant.

I naturally have smaller calves. I know it and I work on them pretty hard. Not hard enough evidently.

Would I swap my chest and arms for their legs? Uh, [Read more…]

Eating well on the road

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I am going on another 4 day weekend trip – now before you get all Jeally (that’s cool Dad speak for Jealous using the kid’s lingo) it is just to Knoxville, TN for my youngest daughter’s Southeastern swimming championships at the University of Tennessee’s aquatics center.

Southeastern Swimming4 days of sitting for a few minutes of swimming…

And, TOTALLY worth it! Seriously, I love watching my daughters grow into fit, strong, competitive young women.

The countless hours of practice, early mornings, late nights and tired bodies are easy to justify when you see them get up on the starting blocks for an explosive swimming start or make an approach to attack a volleyball.

Wait, that still sounds like fun other than having to see all that Tennessee Volunteer orange. And it is.
Tennessee Swimming and Diving
However, I am starting a new program for nutrition and [Read more…]

Image is Everything!

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I don’t know why this has been a recurring theme today, but the “Image is everything” is everywhere I look… If you don’t know that phrase you probably aren’t 40-ish.

Background just in case, and for some nostalgia, of a fun time for athletes of the day… In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Andre Agassi and Cannon Cameras teamed up on a very successful advertising campaign featuring Andre with some wicked hair and a new Canon EOS Rebel.

Do a quick image search for Andre and you’ll know that the camera line lasted a lot longer than his hair. Irrelevant, but funny.

Workouts, shoes, and Workout Partners

It started bright and early this morning at the pre-dawn workout… My workout training partner and I were doing some pulldowns and a very large human who works out at [Read more…]

Work the Plan to Win – Vandy CWS victory!

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Hard work pays off for Vandy @VUCommodores @VandyBaseball

In case you missed it in the whirlwind of all the pro baseball and that little thing called the World Cup, Vandy finally won a men’s championship.

I find it hard to believe Vandy has never won a Men’s sport– figured they would have won one in [Read more…]

Sound The Alarm!

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For the second time in the past few months, I’ve shared a row on a commercial flight with a person so overweight that they had to “ring the bell” to ask the flight attendant for a seat belt extender.

For most, that would be motivation enough to make some life changes. To quote a a 30-ish female I overheard on the next aisle seat… “the alarm would be ringing!” and I would agree that it is time to be alarmed about 40-ish fitness and especially weight loss and maintenance.

Aging and Obesity

Based on this study, over 1/3 of U.S. adults are obese! 1 out of 3! And worse than that for us 40-ish guys and girls the number is a staggering 4 out [Read more…]

Dr. Feelgood and the Motley Crue

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Dr. Feelgood

When you’re 40-ish and are old enough that you grew up listening to Motley Crue, there is a pretty good chance you are now listening to a different Dr. Feelgood.

That song came out in 1989 if you can believe that. Here it is for your nostalgia or education – I’m sure you’ve at least heard it before…

Dr. Feelgood at 40ish

Usually when I go to the Dr., I hate it – not for reasons you might think…

I just hate sitting in an office where I know most people are [Read more…]

Toxic Relationships

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Which came first… the chicken or the egg?

Which came first… being obese or having negative relationships in your life?

I recently read an article in Mens Health, which was also picked up by Fox News discussing how poor social connections are related to obesity. It made me wonder…

How many obese people are truly happy?Are Fat People Really Happy Sure we always see pictures of Jolly Old St. Nick and seem to think that fat people are happy.

The Big, Fat Lie

Far from the truth.

I would venture to speculate that there are very few obese people in this world that are happy with their current body fat percentage and [Read more…]

Divergent

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What does the first in a series of books about virtues in a dystopian society have to do with being 40ish and working out?  A lot more than I expected.

I haven’t read The Divergent Book Series yet, but my daughters loved them and wanted to see the movie. 

As with most of their public appearances now, I am not invited. Plus I didn’t want to see some teenage girl movie so I dropped them off and I went to Wings to watch some basketball and make other bad choices :)

When I picked them up, they kept raving about how good the books were, how good the movie was, how the movie was different from the book, and how much I would like the movie.  Hmmm.  They know me pretty well so I guess I’ll have to go see it.

After checking out some of the reviews, Veronica’s blog, and some YouTube previews… I am in.  

But after finding out more about the story, all I am thinking about is how this relates to real life… especially the lives of people who exercise in some form or fashion.

Virtues of an “Exerciser”

There are five basic virtues [Read more…]

March Madness

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College hoops are finally here with March Madness officially kicking off!

What’s the Score?

You’ll hear that a lot over the next few weeks. From the tipoff of the play-in game to the final four and ultimately the championship game.

I ask that same question to myself… I am typically “That Guy” who relishes glancing over at the scoreboard of life.

Never even close.  No Cinderella’s.   I always have a considerable lead for the home team…..me!  Life is my B!

Scoreboard:

That Guy – 175  vs Life – 0

Every so often I let the work-life balance tip in favor of work.  Today is that day, or should I say… this week is that week.

When work starts gaining ground and [Read more…]