LOL. Hardly. You're the weight I want to be

Well, the numbers might sound OK, but I need more upper body strength. I've got good muscle tone in my legs but above the waist I'm pretty spindly.

I can work in the yard, lift 50 pound sandbags, etc with no problem. But I've sometimes wound up pulling things when I try to do repetitive weight training. It hurts like a bugger and makes me not want to continue.

I'm not Quasimoto or anything, I'm sure I'm well within normal range for a male adult of the species. All I really need is a trainer to keep me focused on proper form, but heck if I'm paying for that, especially at this point in life.

So, no more anonymous forum-based workout regimen for me.

Times. I forgot to wear my pedometer on Wednesday when I was baking and thought I'd lost any chance of earning my HealthMiles points at the 7000 step level. I did the sync Friday and saw that I still had 6800 steps at the end of the day. Man.

I'm certain I'm losing weight rather quickly. I'm drinking a couple gallons of water daily and sweating three. I'm at that point where everything's sore every morning but nothing hurts as much as it used to once I get moving. And now, everything is sagging. Its a good feeling.

One thing that doesn't feel better are my feet. I don't know if it's heel spurs or just arthritis. I've never had much flexibility in my ankles, since elementary school, even. But I can't touch my heels to the ground without intense pain when on the toilet. That's bad.

I don't know about numbers, but things are heading the right direction.

last week: 176.0
this week: 177.2
week gain: 1.2
total loss: 7.8
loss to go: 5.2
% progress: 60%

The combination of this challenge and a nagging foot injury have shifted my fitness focus from endurance running to "overall fitness." The results are mixed -- I'm not sure that I've really changed body composition, but I feel stronger and more explosive. I've definitely made improvements relative to my workout peers. I've enjoyed the new emphasis and wonder who I will balance everything when running season comes back around (soon).

I've started using a heart monitor. Interesting data. This AM bootcamp involved TRX straps and rip trainer, then a series of 100 yard sprints some dragging sleds, alternating with body weight squats and lunges. 1 hour workout, avg heart rate 140, max 177. 748 calories burned. It will be interesting to see how this plays into training.

Because I'm getting back on the road after two weeks off from running. Starting slow -- a couple 5ks this week. I think one of the big culprits in my problem -- caffeine. Too much coffee was causing muscle spasms all over, but most intensely in my feet. I'm without coffee for 3 days and completely pain free.

Time to ramp -- marathon training begins officially on 7/3.

And if I was feeling cocky about my progress being a fit dad, there's this guy.

@Daddy Clay -- Ah! See?! Now you've gone and stepped on a nerve. Or at least identified a HUGE debate that frequently rages in the Crossfit community. "Is he truly fit?"

There's no denying that ultramarathoning is a huge accomplishment. I respect the hell out of it.

However, is he truly fit? I'd love to know what he deadlifts, or front squats relative to his own bodyweight.

Crossfit presumes that there are 10 essential physical skills that help comprise fitness. There's a great article here

I'd be willing to wager that his strength and power are "substandard." That being a very relative, subjective measure of course.

I'm not trying to diminish the man's accomplishment, or belittle anyone else's definition of fit. For me though, I want a more well-rounded diverse fitness profile. Working any of the physical skills to the extreme at the expense of the others compromises overall fitness, in my mind.

last week: 177.2
this week: 174.8
week loss: 2.4
total loss: 10.2
loss to go: 2.8
% progress: 78%

Got past my rough patch! Woot!

I ran a 10K race on Fathers Day. Previous race times and weights told me to expect ~54 minutes. I finished in 53:38.

Pounds Minutes
183.6 66.22
177.0 58.48
173.2 54.02
174.6 54.28
173.0 53.93
182.6 56.17
171.8 50.82
181.0 56.77
185.8 56.65
186.8 59.18
182.2 57.40
186.2 62.35
175.0 53.63

As for CrossFit...Well, I'm skeptical. I prefer Mark Sisson's approach to functional fitness, which can be found in his free Primal Blueprint Fitness e-book. It seems a lot safer and saner.

@funky dung

Congratulations on the continued weight loss and the 10k! Well done.

I'm only passingly familiar with Sisson. I subscribe to his e-mail newsletter more for nutrition info. I haven't read his primal blueprint fitness e-book so I can't speak to it.

As for CrossFit, it's helped me achieve fitness levels and weight goals (30lbs and 10" off my midsection in a year) that I never thought I'd see again in my lifetime, so I'm definitely an ambassador.

It can look intimidating and kind of nuts, but every exercise is scalable to the ability of the athlete so that no one is taking undue risks. The goal is always to train hard, but not so hard that you can't continue to train.

My personal take on fitness at this stage is that each individual has to find their passion. They have to find that activity that inspires them to get out day after day and stay in motion.

Every serious physical activity has it's own culture, language, and community that to the outside world looks a bit cultish. I've watched my wife literally take her lumps for 4 years enroute to a black belt in kyokushin karate. The whole time I kept looking at it going, "why is that a good idea? What appeals to you?"

Now that I've found my own particular brand of fitness kool aid, I can't imagine not pursuing it. And I understand why my wife keeps going back to her dojo.

My hope is simply that everyone who wants to find a healthy fit state finds their own brand of kool-aid to achieve it. Have a great week and keep up the great work.

FWIW, I've started another challenge at Nerd Fitness.

last week: 174.8
this week: 173.0
week loss: 1.8
total loss: 12
loss to go: 1
% progress: 92%

Here's a fitness number for you. This week, I did the exact same bench press progression that I did when I was in high school.

We did a 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 pyramid. I started at 145 and ended at 225. Not a massive lift -- there are guys in my group that put up a whole lot more iron, but it was a fun data point. I could definitely make the argument that I'm in the best shape of my life.

My foot feels much better and I'm looking forward to ramping miles and getting back to marathon training.

Also interesting -- I was on the road this week. Stumbled on a really nice trail near my hotel in Detroit. Also needed to get in a strength workout at the hotel gym. This is always a challenge to my creativity. I tend to do body weight exercises like pushup variations. Kettlebells (or kettle balls) seem to be pretty standard these days so I do some of those. Lunges with hand weights. And I usually try to incorporate the machines they have. Because I don't use them at home, they always seem to work the muscles in a new way. I usually set up a circuit of 6-8 moves and go through that 3 times.

The workout must have worked because I am really sore today. What is your standby when on the road?

Today is the end of the challenge, right?

two weeks: 173.0
last week: 175.0
this week: 174.0
today: 175.6
total loss: 9.4

Vacation with my in-laws last week really messed up my progress.

I think this one is about wrapped up. Hard to know if I hit my number because I've been away from home -- mountains and beach for the last week or so and don't have any way to measure body fat.

I would say the experiment was a success, though. Changing my workout routine with more emphasis on strength made a difference. I became stronger -- even equaling my lifts from football playing days of my youth. I definitely added some muscle.

Now that the running season has started again for me, I am going to do my best to hold onto these gains and incorporate as much strength training as I can.

It's back to marathon training for me. In week three of a 16 week cycle and already a bit behind in mileage because of the travel. I did manage to get some high altitude (8000 ft elev.) runs in while in the Sequoia National Forest, but the sea level half-marathon I ran this morning around the island of Chappaquiddick let me know just how much work I have ahead of me to be ready for the Baltimore Running Festival in October.

I'll be posting a blog soon about that effort and will restart a challenge here very soon. Thanks to all who participated.