A personal training & food journal. Read about our weight loss progress at Train With Ron in Chicago, our nutritional habits and the life changes we're making to get in shape and stay healthy!
March 2ndI’ll start by saying that the last few times we’ve gone to workout in the evenings, I’ve taken a short cat nap just prior to leaving for the gym. About 20 or 30 minutes. I’ve found that it helps me a great deal. I stare at a computer screen for most of the day and even though I may not be exerted physically, mentally, I am. Some days more than others …
Our workouts during the week are in the evenings at 7pm and when we go Saturday mornings I’ve found that I have more energy. Of course, nothing ground breaking there, a person is much more refreshed after a full night’s sleep. Anyhow, since my cat naps, I’ve had a lot more energy during the workouts. If you workout in the evenings and time permits it, I suggest giving it a shot, especially if you’ve stopped drinking coffee or other caffeinated drinks as I have tried to. Dan and I talk about the foods we eat on here a lot and that certainly does make a huge impact too.
All of this is to be able to work out as hard as I can when I’m at the gym for the hour or so. It has been paying off a great deal. I’ve felt being able to push myself harder and longer, taking less time to recover, less breaks and definitely a lot less than just a couple of months ago.
Each workout is unique and challenging. I think everyone has certain moves that make them cringe just a little bit. Well, for me they are running up and down stairs and ‘push up walks’.
For those not familiar, ‘Push up walks’ consist of doing a regular push up and then walking one step left or right without getting up. You’re just walking side to side with your arms and legs while keeping the pushup position, then doing another push up and so on. Either you count how many you do or by distance.
Now, back in October, when we started, I could barely do a regular push up so I did knee pushups everytime we had to do pushups instead. Back then I was barely able to step over 2 times before falling to the ground. Those things are tough! You try it! That was October 2009. Yesterday, one of my exercises was to do push up walks for about 30 yards, and each time that I had to stop because I could not continue I had to run up and down 4 flights of stairs. Of course when my trainer DB described this task to me I immediately made a joke because that is what I do. (If not always out loud, at least in my head.) Then I started to mentally prepare myself for the task. I knew it was going to be tough but I also knew that I wanted to get through it and not let it beat me. I started out by telling myself that “I can do this“. “My goal is to do as many push up walks as I can so that I’ll have to do less stairs. And I am going to do ALL full pushups and no knee pushups.” I started out strong and continued to talk positively to myself in my head. If I had the thought of quitting I immediately started thinking about pushing through it and motivating myself. I had to stop a few time in between and run the stairs but I never quit thinking that I could and will do it. On top of that, DB was encouraging and pushing me. When I finished I felt like the toughest workout to date that I’ve gotten through.
On top of that and a few other exercises I was also proud of myself for cranking out 50 sit ups while holding a 15lbs medicine ball without stopping. Man, it felt so great! Especially because I didn’t really feel that I was struggling with it. I was done and thrilled to have accomplished it. On to the next one!
Our trainers offer so much vital information, support, motivation and experience that it is invaluable. Our personal trainers at TWR don’t just go through the motions; they bring a new level to working out that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
You have to work hard, sure, but hey, that’s what you go for. I’ve so far lost 25lbs and March is going to be a strong month for me. I can feel it.
Till next time … Monika
February 6th2/6/10
Just got back from my Saturday morning workout and it was a pretty tough one… but it felt awesome to get through it. I am now working out for a full hour (including warm-up… more on that later) with very few breaks, at a high intensity level. Monika and I are pushing ourselves past our previous actual limits… and WAY WAY WAY past our previously “imagined” limits.
I’ll tell you what I mean by imagined limits: the first time I went to TrainWithRon, I walked in the door and saw Kate (another member) doing Push-Up Walks. This is basically getting into the push up position, taking a lateral step with a hand/foot, doing a push up, another lateral step, rinse/repeat about 20 times. It’s pretty brutal. At the time, I couldn’t do FIVE knee push ups in a row. When I saw Kate doing these I thought, “wow, there’s no way I’m going to be able to do that, it’s going to take me a year to be able to do ONE of those.” Well, today I did 15 in a row of them. Not the “easy mode” knee push ups either – real ones – and, I did a total of about 50 of them during my workout – and a lot more.
I think I have finally broken through the mental barrier – the imagined barrier – of what I am capable of. I turn off that voice in my head that says “this is too hard”… “I’m too tired for this”… “I hate this particular movement / exercise”… and that has made a HUGE difference in the intensity I work out with. Both Matt and DB have noticed this and said something to me about it in the last two workouts. They’ve noticed me training with increased intensity and have increased the difficulty of the workouts.
That was a very hard won battle. Here’s how it happened: a couple of weeks ago, Moni and I got in the car after a Wednesday nighter and I asked Monika “how did you do?” (She had been in a different group than me that night.) “Do you hurt? I am so sore, that was so hard… I had to do (x y z exercise) and it was soooo hard…”
She replied, “You know, honestly – you need to stop complaining and telling me and yourself how hard it is and how much it hurts. You just keep telling yourself that stuff and you don’t try as hard… it’s hard for me when I’m trying to get through the workout and you’re complaining and saying how hard it is.”
At first my reaction (inside) was negative… but I thought about what she was saying, and she was right. I did not need to focus on the difficulty or the way I felt… I needed to focus that energy on completing the movement. The next time I went to TrainWithRon I was taking a short water break and noticed a sign they have up that I hadn’t seen before: it’s a quote from Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest. He said, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” If anyone on the planet knows – he does. That quote, combined with Monika’s feedback, really hit home. I started to tell myself there is NOTHING these guys can throw at me that I cannot do. It is going to be hard, it is going to hurt, and I am going to DO it.
Ever since I adopted that mental attitude, my workouts have improved – I take less breaks, the breaks I take are shorter, and I press through the difficulty because I have more confidence and I will not let that voice inside my head that tells me “you can’t” win out over the one that wants me to succeed.
I am a little surprised that it took that event to get me into this mindset… when I was younger and played a lot of hockey, this attitude came inherently to me. I was not going to be outraced, out hit, I was going to be the guy out there making things happen, making plays, getting to loose pucks, taking shots, and taking the fight to the other team. Somehow I lost that edge, or did not apply it to my training, but I am really glad to have it back because it’s helping me progress to the next level.
Today I weighed in at 242.5 pounds… that’s about 10 more lbs gone since Jan 1, 2010, for a total loss of 35. NONE of my clothes fit me, in fact, I am going to the storage unit later to dig up some clothes and see what I have that I can still wear. I feel AWESOME. My lower back never, ever hurts (it used to hurt just walking around sometimes and ALWAYS if I did anything strenuous.) and I have tons of energy. I can run 5-10 minutes at 5mph and carry on a conversation while doing it. My muscles are filling out, I look healthy, and I feel so much more confident when I get dressed in the morning because as opposed to bulging out of my pants, they’re falling off me. I now weigh less than I have in the last 5 years (since I moved to Chicago). I haven’t taken a Zantac (heartburn medication) in months – I used to eat them like they were candy.
Things have changed – my eating has changed, my workouts have changed… and my attitude towards them has changed. When we first started I DREADED going to TrainWithRon because I knew I was going to leave in discomfort. Now, I mentally prepare myself for the training session by telling myself I am going to push myself, and that there is nothing they are going to throw at me that I cannot get through.
Tonight I will play on stage with my new band – it’s the first time in ten years that I have been in a band and played a live show. Part of the reason for that is I could not confidently get on stage in front of people in the shape I was in, regardless of my talent level.
This change in life has had far reaching effects that go beyond the physical form. I’ll talk more about that next time. I’m getting a little choked up writing all this… I just want to put in one last word of thanks: to Matt, Ron, and DB – you guys are AWESOME. You have helped me change my life. You are excellent examples – you guys WALK the WALK. You motivate me, push me, and challenge me. You are worth your weight in gold. I also want to thank my wife Monika – she pushes me, she tolerates me, and she handles all the food stuff (makes my healthful lunch every day, and great dinners)… I couldn’t do this without you 4.
February 4thDan and I are starting our 5th month at Train with Ron (TWR) and we could not be happier with our results so far. Our pants are falling off … literally! We have to go clothes shopping and this time for sizes smaller and not larger. Anyone that struggles with weight loss knows just how horrible it feels to have to go out and buy new, larger clothes to fit as the number on the scale rises. Well, this time we’re getting smaller clothes. We are SO excited about that!
We have come a long way since we first met with our personal trainers in Chicago at TWR in October ’09. To think that we could do 100 reps of anything was like looking up to Mount Everest back then. But here we are, just a few months later (base camp 2) and we’re doing it. The motivation and enthusiasm that Ron, DB and Matt provide is simply priceless. It is also unmatched by anything I’ve experienced. Forget those in-house trainers at your big-mall gyms who pale by comparison in experience, knowledge and attitude. We have not had a boring or unoriginal workout. The workouts are tailored to what you need individually and each trainer has their own unique twist on things. I love working out with all of the guys and am so thankful to them for helping me through this journey. Right now there is the “Biggest Loser” competition under way and that really gets everyone involved extra motivated. Oh yeah, and you get to win money too …. but what’s that compared to losing some extra pounds right? 
Train With Ron, live on the air at ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago. Tom Waddle, Matt, DB, Ron and Marc Silverman.
So many of our family, friends and colleagues have commented on our progress and encouraged us along the way. We thank you and hope you keep it up, as we keep our end up. It helps so much to have the support, especially on those days when the sugar craving kick in or we’re tired from work and have to go to the gym. Dan and I do our best to motivate each other each and every day because we both know how we think. I’ve said it before, but he is such a great support system for me. I couldn’t ask for a better man.
Tonight, we’re working out and looking forward to it. Dan and I are planning a long over due vacation and we are going to work really hard over the next couple of months (and after too of course) to get ourselves in even better shape.
P.S. Progress photos ARE coming, but since it’s 20 degrees (and below) outside it gets kind of tough. BUT we certainly need to get it done for our fans out there and we will. Thanks for reading and we’ll keep the updates coming.
November 27thMonika and I stepped it up in advance of the holidays, and did 3 workouts in the last 5 days. Monday I worked with Ron, and it was very tough… I had two other guys in my group who were younger, in better shape, and not as heavy as me… that’s a big factor when you’re doing pushups and pullups, which we did quite a few of. We also did relay “sprints” (I put it in quotes because you could hardly call what I do, “sprinting”) as a threesome… those were pretty brutal. Luckily, we beat our time the 2nd time through, and this saved us from 20 “burpees”, or squat thrusts as we called them when I was back in gym class.
We then did “team pushups” – each of us had to do 100 in two sets of 50… the angle was, when it was your turn, you did the pushup and returned to the down position and held it… utterly brutal and I couldn’t really do all of them.
We wrapped this up with some squats and wall sits… progressively longer and progressively harder. My thighs were screaming… and today, there is still an echo. Not to mention, my shoulders are still sore from the pushups… but we went again today and DB got a hold of us.
It was pretty tough… we had to run 40 yards, do 5 squat thrusts, run 20 yards, go down what amounts to about 5 flights of stairs, back up the stairs, 20 yard run, 5 more squat thrusts, and finish that with a 40 yard run. We had to do this… four times.
That was just the first 20 minutes or so. I won’t give the rest of the details but needless to say, Monika and I are both recuperating.
For Thanksgiving, we are going to eat turkey, stuffing (whole wheat, mushrooms, and apples, of course), Moni’s cranberry sauce (made from scratch, and is excellent), garlic mashed potatoes (guilty pleasure), string bean casserole (we had this when I was a kid, I make it, the only bad thing in it is cream of mushroom soup) and she is making her FAMOUS pumpkin cheesecake pie (no thanksgiving would be complete in our house without that… it is HEAVENLY!!!) So we’re going to live it up a bit tomorrow, but I plan to keep the quantities small.
After Thanksgiving we plan to boost our Training With Ron to 3X a week, and I have an opportunity to get into a hockey league again, which I think I’ll be doing… so that will amount to four active days per week… 4X as many as I used to have!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!!!!
October 7thI have been eating raw vegetables, sandwiches on whole wheat bread, grilled chicken with brown rice, and a few other whole foods. Not really craving sugar too badly, but still having eating cravings at night at 10:00pm or so. I’ve eaten at that time, but very small snacks… a glass of soy milk and a slice of whole wheat bread, or a rice cake with organic peanut butter.
My body HURTS. My whole upper body is sore from (sadly) knee pushups. Last night I did a power walk for 20 minutes but tonight I am just too sore and tired so giving the body a rest.
I have to believe I’ve cut my caloric intake in half at least… and I’m doing other smart things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, for example, to get a little extra burn in.
Monika and I go for training session #2 on Saturday morning. I need to do my 20 minute walks tomorrow and Friday without fail.
Did I mention that I am hurting? Wow. My shoulders, pecs, lats, chest, and arms are just tight and aching. If anyone knows of a good way to relieve this I’d love to hear about it.
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