I'll be hitting the gym in the morning. First time in 3 weeks! Later this morning I'll have an ultra sound of my arteries done. It's the first of 4 tests. Should be fine doc says. She's just trying to rule out possible causes.

Had my doctor visit today. I'm in.exellent health but my doc is concerned
about possible seizure problems. So I've got a battery of exams and tests
in the next 4wks. In fact, the doc wanted me to stop driving til the tests are
done. But that was just a suggestion not an order. But I can work out just
nothing too stressful. Spin class is out for a while! I will be incorporating
some yoga. I'm just so grateful and blessed that my wife was there when
I got I'll! Things like that can go south before you know it. So I'll start back
working out on Monday again. Thanks all for the well wishes! Don't count

Had a health issue Saturday that put me in the ER. Had some uncontrollable muscle spasms all over. Got to get the docs ok before I can weight train again. That'll be some time next week depending on test results. Wish me good results!

What a great vacation and anniversary! Got back about a week ago. Had to catch up on a few things before I get back to the gym. Starting up again on Monday.

Back in the gym after a 4 day lay off. Due to the snow fall I've been working a little overtime. Things have settled down now so I'm back in for a couple of days. Vacation starts Friday! Splitting my workout in half today, coming back this evening before work. I'll post everything afterwards. Going to bed, I'm beat!:-))

When I went to the gym this morning, light flurries were happening. Nothing much, just a dusting. In 90 minutes, it turned into a full fledged snow storm. A wet one too, I hate those! We were due though, we hadn't had much snow in the last month. Job security for me! My job is snow removal in the winter months. Treacherous drive home though. Funny thing here in Anchorage, the speed limit seems to go up 5-10mph when it snows! Who knew!
Diet today: OK:-{ Only got in 4.5 meals. Preoccupied with planning my vacation. Protein@175, carbs@98, fat@58 and calories@1657. Definitely fell short. Water about 3qts.

Slept about 12hrs straight yesterday. Must have needed it! Anyway felt great today, had a morning shake and went to the gym. Did a total ab workout and 45min Spin Class. Good for 1220cals this morning! Up cooking meals for the rest of the week now. That'll keep me on track with my diet.

Only got through half my workout today. Got really tired and then the sniffles happened. Cut my workout short and came home for some down time. Should be back up tomorrow. Colds don't stay with me long. Check in again tomorrow. I'm going to bed, have some tea and crash.:-))

Got a late start today and didn't take enough meals with me to work. My job doesn't afford me the luxury of taking an off site lunch break, so I just nibbled on the food I had all night. The funny thing is I felt more energetic than yesterday. I really ripped it out today! The Sun/Wed food prep thing has really helped out a lot. I missed Sunday and I have nothing prepped. I tried to plan on the run and failed. That's ok, I'll just have to get up a little ealier to make time to plan my meals for tonight. Tonight is a higher carb night so I'll get to eat a little more. By the way, I did not put my re-entry plans off. Sent in entry form and pics before work! We're going to try it again! Wish me success!

Thanks Julia for the email about taking action instead of making excuses. I said I was going to re-enter the Fitness Challenge and I have yet to do so. No excuses, I'm taking the photos and submitting the entry form tomorrow. How easy it is to procrastinate. I guess if I am to become a personal trainer one day I need to "walk the walk". Report for today- Diet- on track with no deviations(those cookies didn't tempt me one bit) 1723cals,63g fat,102g carbs and 222g protein. I think my calorie count could have been a little higher but I got my carb and protein right where I wanted them so I didn't take in anything else. Fed myself right up til bedtime.

Even though my shoulder is healed,I can tell that my left side is weaker than my right. I'm exerting the same amount of intensity but the pump is not the same or it doesn't feel the same. Weaker might not be the right word. I can pull or push the same weight with either side but I'm getting a better pump from my right side. Example: Barbell rows today were done in 1 arm fashion. I really felt the full contraction on my right side when I pulled back the cable. On the left side, even though I pulled with the same strength and intensity, it felt like the contraction was weak and labored. I held it for a second or two also and made no difference. Anything I can do to bring my left side up to "standards"? Chest workout the same problem. Just don't want to look like Popeye on one side and Olive Oil on the other.

I approached my resistance training today with the idea that whatever muscle group I was working on, I was intent on feeling that muscle work. Wasn't as easy as it sounded. I always knew the proper technique but never really applied it. I decided to really concentrate on my muscle today because of my experience yesterday when I was doing Romamnain Deadlifts. RD's are supposed to target hamstrings and lower back. I discovered that if I stayed to forward on my feet and not plant my heels with each lift, it was all lower back. Had to really concentrate on keeping my heels down. So, today I decided to do the same thing in my Chest/Tri workout even if it meant only using super light weight. I was about 80% successful with chest, 100% with tri's. My shoulder being my weak link. When doing chest, once my left shoulder got a little tired, my arms took over on the lift. Concentrating on lifting/sqeezing my pecs during the lift took a lot off my shoulder and really felt the pump more. I'll be employing this technique in all my workouts from now on.

Good workout today. Did legs and bi's instead of back and bi's. Did a heavy/light weight combo and felt pretty strong.
Need to adjust the carbs a little, I ran out of energy. Of course it might be due to the week layoff. Today is a high carb day but I'm only going to increase the carbs slightly and see what or how I feel then.
Workout today:
Squat- 3x10(95,115,125)
Romanian Deadlift-3x20(95,115,125)
Barbell Curl-3x10(40,50,60)
Cbl Curl- 3x20(20)
Leg Prs- 3x10(115,150,150)
Leg Ext- 3x20(70)
Alt DB Curl- 3x10(25,30,30)
21's- x3(15)
Time- 1:02
Cal- 657
No Abs or Cardio today. All exe

The doc cleared me to work out again! I have to get another MRI but as long as I'm able, I can work out. Just have to listen to my body. I really miss it went I can't go to the gym. It's like something is missing. It's always been hard for me to be sedentary anyway. I've never been much for watching sports on tv either. I was an avid(hard core/almost everyday) basketball player but even then it was hard for me to sit and watch a televised game. Movies, that's another story. Love 'em! I'm good though. Instead of popcorn, I'll eat salad. A good Sci-Fi and a tossed salad is great! Diet was good yesterday! Protein and carbs right in line and calories a little low but not by much.

I go see the doc tomorrow for my shoulder again. I took it somewhat easy for my resistance training. Mostly legs and biceps together for a few exercises then majority of time in spin class(45 minutes). It was a little tough getting back into it after a week layoff. That let's me know that I'm in this for life! I'll have to adjust as needed but I can't stop. Shoulder feels very good but I'll let the doc check it out before I resume my program. I did about 25 pushups with no problem. Diet is on track. Carbs were a little higher than I wanted but daily totals were right on. I'll have to adjust accordingly tomorrow.

Didn't make Spin Class yesterday. Stayed up too long after work doing other things. Back on it in the morning. Might have been good for me anyway. Shoulder feels even better than yesterday. Chalk up yesterday as a cheat day diet wise. Didn't do too bad. Brats with saukraut and some potato salad was the cheat meal at lunch. Today back on the carb cycling plan. Yea!!:-(

Had a pretty good cardio workout today. About 30 minutes on the treadmill(HIIT) and 30 minutes body workout. Body workout consisted of squats, arm circles, light weight curl/shoulder press(kind of an Arnold press) and abs. Followed by 15 minutes in the sauna. So far no significant pain. My tendons are still tender so I'm being careful. I'm a firm believer now that exercise aids in the healing process so I know that with a light weight or bodyweight only plan of attack I can bring my shoulder back to strength. Spin Class tomorrow! Day just beginning for me.
Diet so far, salad greens with grill

Well, soreness is pretty much gone. I've been resting,light stretching and icing. Shoulder feels pretty good now. I'm back in the gym tomorrow morning. I'll have to play it by ear though. I think I'll just do some body exercises and cardio. I'll get back on track and hopefully I'll start the Fitness Challenge again next week.

Shoulder is almost pain free today! Crazy! The icing and immobilization did some good. Lightly stretched and moved the arm around all night. Was tempted to do some cardio this morning but I think I'll give it one more day. Light pressure such as turning the steering wheel causes pain. It's mainly the tendon or tendons involved with stabilizing that are affected. Once I lift my arm past the half way point, there is no pain and I can raise my arm over my head with no difficulty or discomfort. I'll ice it some more today and see how it feels tomorrow.

A little bummed out today and yesterday, I haven't done any upper body workouts since Wednesday. Thursday and Friday were lower body workout days. Saturday I woke up and my shoulder felt like and still feels like it wants to fall off. It was just a little sore Friday but all I did was hold a small glass for a few hours. All I can think of is that I rolled on it during my sleep. Can't see the doc til later in the week. I've been icing, heating and popping Aleve all weekend. Really hurts! I have my arm in a sling now. So, I guess I'm out of the gym this week.