Good afternoon!

Here is the report for today’s month-end fitness testing for November. The end of the year is coming up fast!

Good news and bad news. The good news is that I have been able to get back on track in the push ups department!!! Yep - this morning, it was a struggle but I was able to eek out 110 consecutive push ups.

The bad news is that I think this extra strain set me up for failure in the assisted pull ups. In my second set of 10, during the 7th rep I pulled a muscle in the area of the left side of my neck. I’d guess the left trapezius, but then again I’m not trained or well versed in anatomy or musculature. At any rate, I was able to finish that rep, but no more. 10 + 7, so close to 10 + 10, and I think I would have been able to do it. Argh!!!

My waistband has been getting a little long lately, too. It’s something I have recently started taking more seriously over the past few days. I’ve been letting my healthy eating fall by the wayside, and it’s showing. Time to buckle down, though. With Christmas on the way, there will be plenty of opportunities for over-indulging, so I need to work extra hard on cranking the healthy dial all the way to eleven! Besides, this will pay extra dividends in the pull up department, so it’s a double win.

Here are the results, by the numbers.

November 30, 2009
Pullups goal: 21 (actual: 0)
Assisted pull ups goal: 2 x 10 @ 55 lbs (actual: 60 lbs)
Pushups goal: 110 (actual: 110)
Waist around navel: 33.5” (actual: 37)

As always, the Goal Tracker page has this plus the historical data. I’m starting to think about next year’s goals, too. I don’t want to do 240 consecutive push ups, that’s just silly. I’ve got some ideas that I’m working through and will share with you towards the end of December.

THE FLU

Here's my concern:

3 years ago, Chinese calendar year of the cow
. . . Mad Cow disease.

2 years ago, Chinese calendar year of the bird
. . . Avian flu.

This year, Chinese calendar year of the pig
. . . Swine flu.

Next year is the year of the cock. Anybody else worried?

Hi!

For all the people who ask me "What do you want for ____?" (Christmas being the next one in line, but birthdays also apply), I've made a wishlist page.

Thank you very much!

This is a couple of weeks late, but here you go anyway. Dog-o-lanterns!

Today is Sean and Andrea's birthday!

It's cool but challenging at the same time because of the conflicting birthday parties that must be worked around. They are very good at accomodating each other, though, so that certainly makes it easier on Shannon and me.

I'm feeling in good voice today, so here we go:

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Sean & Andreaaaaaaaaaaaa
Happy Birthday to you!
And Many Moooooooooore!

Have a great day and a great year guys! Next year it's the big Three-Oh!

Today is Remembrance Day, the day when we stop to reflect upon the freedoms we have, and the sacrifices made by those men and women who made it all possible. Many people have today off from work. Enjoy it! But please make sure to remember why you have today off.

I haven't read "In Flanders Fields" for quite a while, so I though it would be appropriate to do so today and share it with you.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Good evening,

I've been noticing that the ropes used for my homebrew lat pull down jig are starting to fray. Not a big deal, rope is cheap and I bought lots because I suspected this would happen and would need to be replaced. Those of you following along know that I'm up to 130lbs, which is currently 65lbs per side. The rope is rated for 110lbs, but I'm not sure how much I want to go past the halfway mark; I'd like to leave a large safety margin. This coupled with the fact that I'm now able to lift over half my bodyweight got me thinking about a better way to go forward. You know, I've never thought of it as over half my bodyweight before; that's a big milestone!

At any rate, since I'm past the halfway mark, I need to replace the ropes anyway, and I'd have to buy yet another 25lb plate, I thought I'd take this opportunity to change it up a bit. Instead of sitting stationary and pulling the weight up, I rigged up a harness of sorts and use the weights to counterbalance my own weight. This officially transforms the exercise from a lat pull down to an assisted pull up. It's also nice because instead of 130lbs (2 x 65lbs) on the ropes, I'm only using 70lbs (2 x 35lbs), and that number will decrease instead of increase over time.

As I mentioned above, I've had to gradually buy more weights since building the pull down station. At over a buck a pound and three 25lb plates later, I've made a significant investment in this so far. It was a great investment for sure, still cheaper than a gym membership, and as I progress I'll use the weights on my barbell or even dumbbells, but if I can avoid buying another plate right now then why not?

I haven't done my usual sets on the new jig yet, but I did a few reps while adjusting the ropes to the right length. I must admit that even though it's assisted, it sure felt great lifting myself up and moving my entire body through space instead of sitting stationary!

Note that I've edited the Goal Tracker page accordingly. Looking at the goal tracker, I see that at the current rate of 5lbs per week, by my birthday (February 9) I'll be down to 5 lbs of assistance. Although I can still feel a big difference between just 5 lbs (say going from 125lbs to 130lbs on the pull down), that will be great motivation to hurry it up by a week. Yes, I can feel it now - by the time I'm 32, I'll be able to do real unassisted pull ups!

What a great birthday gift to myself that will be!

Hi!

I've never really thought of pistachios as healthy nuts before, but it turns out they're pretty good for you! Here is another newsletter from Mike Geary. Enjoy!

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Today's Fitness Quickie from http://www.TruthAboutAbs.com
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A lot of people have false beliefs about eating "fatty" foods, but we should all know by now that eating fat does not make you fat, if it's the right fats.  

Here's a new article on my site about another example of a high-fat superfood that's also delicious:

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/pistachio-nutrition-benefits.html


I'll be back soon with the next Lean-Body Secrets Ezine.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - Truth About Abs .com & http://BusyManFitness.com

http://AvalancheSkiTraining.com


PS - if you liked todays article, feel free to fwd this email on to any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy it.


Irollie Marketing LLC, 1802 North Carson St, Suite 108, Carson City, Nevada 89701, United States

Good evening,

Thanks go to Ryan for pointing out to me that I hadn't posted my workout update for October yet. Oops! I did my workout test on October 31st as scheduled, but because I went out of town for the weekend later that day I ran out of time to update it before I left and forgot to update it when I got back.

Good news! It's not all red this month!

My pushups are coming along very nicely. Since getting back to basics and focusing on these goals, I've been increasing my pushups at a rate of about 20 per month (36 to 55 to 75). If I can keep this up in November and eek out 25 in December, then I'll have made it! Also, I think it's worthwhile to note that for the first time since falling so far behind on my pushups I can meet and exceed the goal number over two sets. In fact, my highest two set total in October was 110 (70 + 40)!

Also, for kicks I actually tried doing a pullup (I haven't been bothering since I know that mathematically I still can't). Whereas my previous best was about one centimetre of movement, I can now actually make it about 1/3 of the way up. This is more improvement in this exercise than I've ever seen in my entire life! If only I had built my lat pull down contraption back in January, I would be doing pullups by now. Oh well - it doesn't really matter when I get there as long as I do. Health and fitness is not some target that must be reached by a date on the calendar; it is a lifelong process with both no target date and a target date every single day all at the same time.

October 31, 2009
Pullups goal: 19 (actual: 0)
Lat pull down goal: 2 x 10 @ 130 lbs (actual: 130)
Pushups goal: 100 (actual: 75)
Waist around navel: 34” (actual: 36.25" )

As always, the full results for the year are on the Goal Tracker page.

Don't let the media fool you folks - there are still good people left in the world! Case in point - the disappearance and return of my wallet.

This weekend, we went to a friend's cabin for Halloween with a stop to go horseback riding at Birds Hill Park on the way out. I know I had it to pay for a snack at Timmy's on the way out, and that evening at the cabin I noticed I didn't have my wallet anymore. This was Saturday. I didn't know if I left it at Tim's or lost it on the trail.

Just under two hours ago, I got a call from my chiropractor's office. I was there for my regular appointment this morning and told them about my lost wallet and how I'd need a new RFID badge (how we sign in to bring up our patient information). They were having computer problems in the morning, so they couldn't create a new card for me that day but would at my next appointment next week. I thought they were calling about this. Nope - they had my wallet.

You see, a man was walking along the trails in Birds Hill Park on the weekend and found a wallet on the ground. He saw my RFID badge with the chiropractor's office address printed on it. The same chiropractor that he goes to! He brought it in with him to his regular appointment today with the wallet and all the contents (including all the cash) intact.

I didn't get to meet him, and I don't know who he is, but THANK YOU VERY MUCH!