The New Home Gym

Welcome to my new home gym.  I know it doesn't look super fancy, but let me tell youi about it......

When my fight gym closed, I was kind of bummed.  First we had gone from a cool converted warehouse to sharing space with a Karate school.  Finally, the fight gym closed.  I checked out a couple of  places around town, but nothing was clicking.  One of my training partners from the fight gym lives around the block from me.

One day, while walking the dog, I ran into him.  It turns out that his Uncle actually was the owner of the Karate school our fight gym had been sharing space with.  He said we should start hitting mits at the Karate school, a couple of times per week.  We started working out on Tuesdays and Thursdays, before Karate class.

That worked fine for a couple of months, but pretty soon, the Uncle decided we needed to start paying tuition to his school if we wanted to hit mits there.  Well, I couldn't see spending $60 per month to work out twice a week without any instruction. That's when my wife Kelly had a great idea.  She suggested I clean up the garage and we could train there for free.

Now I had never believed garages were made for cars.  Motorcycles, tools and fun guy stuff, yes, but never cars.  I pushed the bikes to the side (both bicycles and motorcycles), I moved some tools, I moved some boxes and pretty soon I had enough room that we could hit some mits.  Phase 1 was completed.

Phase 2 began almost immediately.  I need to start coming up with some other exercise stations.  I already had a heavy bag and I already had a personal boxing timer.  I also had a jump-rope, a carpet, a piece of memory foam, and some perfect push-up tools, and an old  milk crate.  From all this stuff, here is what I made.

Exercise station 1 - Jump Rope

Exercise station 2 - Push-ups using the perfect push-ups and the carpet

Exercise station 3 - Sit-ups on the memory foam (also leg lifts and toe touchers.)

Exercise station 4 - Box Jumps using the milk crate

Exercise station 5 - The heavy bag

Using these 5 stations, you can set the timer and rotate through these stations and get a great workout, at a great price.

Next Up - Phase 3.  Phase 3 will add some weights.  I keep checking Craigs List for either free or cheap weights.  I would like to add stations for Up-Right Rows, Dead Lifts and Military Press.  The way this is going, I may even give up my membership to Golds!

Now the invitation.  I'm looking for someone to train with me, a couple of days per week (not Tuesday or Thrusday) who would be willing to help me workout a good program.  If you want to give it a try, shoot me an e-mail or facebook me.  :-)

Happy New Year & The "Fight Gone Bad" Workout

Happy New Year! 

I'm sitting here on Sunday, January 2nd, contemplating  about going back to work tomorrow.  You see I've been off work since December 24th with a combination of Holiday and Furlough time.   As I stretch, I notice that the back of my thighs are still a little tight from a workout I did on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, I went to visit Aaron.  Aaron was my Personal Trainer when I first had weight loss surgery.  He was also one of my Son's best friends, and actually like another one of my kids.  The guys is like a Son to me.  Earlier this year, Aaron and his wife opened up their own gym.  It'sa 4,500 square foot facility called Amity CrossFit and is located up in Palo Alto.

When  I got there I was just in time for their lunchtime class.  Today the workout was going to be the "Fight Gone Bad" workout.  Aaron tells the story about how the CEO of CrossFit was asked by  BJ Penn,  former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion, to create a custom workout that would simulate a 3 round cage  fight.  Upon completion of this workout, the CEO asked  BJ how he felt.  The answer was it felt like " A Fight Gone Bad."

The workout consists of 3, 5 minute rounds.  Each round has 5 workstations.  1 minute rest between rounds.

Here is the workout:

Station 1 - 60 Seconds on the rowing machine
Station 2 - 2 Medicine Balls.  One placed on  the ground.  Start squatting above the ball, holding the other ball.  Stand up and shoot the medicine ball like a basketball against the wall.  Catch the ball.  Squat until you touch the ball on the ground.  Stand up and shoot the other ball.  Repeat for the 60 seconds.
Station 3 - Dead Lift up to an upright row.  With an Olympic bar and weights resting on the ground, do a dead lift.  Once the bar is at your waist, pull it up to your chin, keeping it close to your body.  Put the weight on the ground and repeat for the 60 seconds.
Station 4 - Jump Ups/Step Ups.  Standing in front of a 24" tall box.  Either Step up, one leg at a time then step down, or jump up onto the box and jump down.  Repeat for the full 60 seconds
Station 5 - Military Hybrid.  Using an Olympic bar resting on the ground, pick it up and do a military press.  Once you complete the first one continue cranking them out for the final 60 seconds.  Keep the bar close and use your legs to push the bar overhead.

Believe me, the workout is much harder than  it sounds.

If you are in the Palo Alto area and want a great workout, checkout Amity Crossfit,  Aaron will take good care of you, and be sure and tell him Uncle Rick sent  you!

New Science or Snake Oil?

There was a time if someone told you that they could put an electronic device over your finger and have it tell you the oxygen saturation of your body, nobody would have believed you.  They would ha e called it ridiculous, junk science or even snake oil.  Now whenever I go to the Doctor for just about anything, they take my blood pressure, my pulse, and then they put a device on  my finger to measure my oxygen saturation.  It has become that common  now.

The other day, I  got a call  from the Blood Doc, John Fitgerald (http://www.drjohnfitzgerald.com).  The Blood Doc is a guy I met while attending  a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training camp at Xtreme Couture. The Blood Doc specializes in analyzing the blood of professional fighters, and other elite athletes.  After analyzing the blood work, he identifies what supplements you should take to be at peak performance.  He also works with Xtreme Couture Athletic Pharmaceuticals (XCAP) in developing the most serious supplements in the world.

When I met John at Fight Camp, I didn't know who he was, or anything about XCAP.  He was at camp to talk to the attendees about how important nutrition is to athletic performance.  He also passed out some samples of an XCAP product called O2 Plus+.

O2 Plus+ is a vegetable based product that is used to increase endurance.  I was impressed with the product, so I talked to John.  I explained that I have had Gastric Bypass Surgery and wanted to make sure that it was safe to use.  He assured me that all the XCAP products, unlike most supplements,  are produced in a licensed  FDA lab, and the products would be safe for to use.  He also was interested in my surgery and offered to review my blood work.

When I got home from camp, I did some research.  I learned that the Blood Doc was pretty famous for his work with many professional fighters.  I decided to take him up on his offer and I sent him my blood work.  He reviewed my blood work and then spent about 90 minutes with me on the phone going over the results and made some recommendations.  My own doctor never spent that much time with me on my blood work, and never explained what the numbers really meant.  Anyways, to make a long story short, I purchased the XCAP products John suggested.  I loved them.  I never felt better.  I even went on to become an XCAP distributor and opened my own nutrition website, GetSeriousNutrition.com.

The stuff is that good, and John knows his stuff like nobody else, so when he calls, I listen and learn.  John called to tell me about some of the new things he was working on.  One of them, kind of blew my mind.  He has been working with some people to develop a new way of analyzing what vitamins and minerals your body is lacking.  The system is a hand scanner.  The patient places his hand on the scanner and the scanner sends data back to the Blood Doc for analysis.  Another version is fully self contained, printing out a list of recommended supplements right there.  Both of these devices are currently being tested and should be out before the end of the year.

My first thought was ahhhh snake oil.  Then I remembered the oxygen saturation sensor.  Hmmmm.  Kind of makes you think.  Knowing John, I think that this new device is going to be good stuff.  If you are a Nutritionist, own a gym, or a health food store, this might be a good tool for your business.  Give me a call if you are interested in this new product.  As an XCAP distributor, I'm hoping to have these available by the end of the year.

Before & After Pictures

Hi Everyone - I know it's been awhile. I apologize. I get caught up in other stuff and forget about my blog, but today I'm back, and I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to post pictures from before and after my weight loss surgery.

The first picture was taken June 18th, 2005, walking my daughter down the aisle. At this point I was 45 years old, had a 56" waist and weighed over 400 pounds.

The second picture was taken about 4 months ago, at Aaron's wedding. I am now 50 (ouch!) with a 34" waist, and I now weigh 245 pounds. I've lost and kept off about 160 pounds.

I really don't like to look at "before" pictures. It represents a tough time in life, but every now and then I guess it is a good thing to take a look. It kind of forces me to say "Never Again!"

Digging Up A Dead Guy - Part 2 of 2

Here goes part 2....

We got out of our trucks, and my client introduced me to the Coroner. In Monterey County, the Sheriff and the Coroner are the same person. It is a high level elected position so I doubt the guy we met was the official Coroner. He was dressed more like a Deputy, and was carrying a gun. We also met a guy driving an unmarked station wagon. The wagon was set up on the inside like a hearse, but with dark tinted windows. The guy driving that was just a driver. He stayed back and didn't want any part of this mess. He was probably the smartest one at this event.

Next, the family members get out of their trucks and walk up to meet us. I was taken back upon seeing these guys. The family members were two brothers. Each of the two brothers was covered in tattoos. I don't have a problem with tattoos, but this was a shock. These guys were wearing those white tank tops. You know, the ones that used to be call "Wife Beaters" back in a less politically correct time. These shirts showed off their collection of white supremacy tats. One of the brothers even had a swastika tattooed right on his forehead. That must have made him really employable. Not to mention the smell. These guys stunk. They had the sickly sweet smell pouring out of them. The smell of meth heads, mixed with extreme body odor.

These two guys really thought they were something. They came out with an attitude. I'm a big guy. I'm 6'5" and at the time I was pretty heavy. I wasn't yet 400 pounds, but I was on the way and probably around 300 pounds. I was a little bit intimidating myself, and I may have even had a little bit of an attitude. I really don't like white supremacists. Now the brothers kind of came up on me and got up in my face. I think they thought they could intimidate me and expected me to quiver. I didn't back up. Like I said, I may have had a little bit of an attitude as well. Here is how it went down.

Brother # 1 - You doing the digging?
Me - Yep.
Borhter # 2 - Couldn't you find a ********
Me - This is my job for today.
Brother # 1 - You going to dig fast? We got a long ways to drive.
Me - Yep, I'm planning on getting done quick and taking my kids surfing.
Brother # 2 - Just make sure you show my Mother respect.
Me - Shouldn't be a problem.

The guy with the gun was smirking. My clients didn't know what to think. There was testosterone overload in the air. The brothers just stood there and tried to stare me down. Finally, my clients said "Let's do this."

I grabbed my pick and shovel, and we all started looking for the right grave site. The numbers to the grave sites were on little rock markers, and in some cases, these little rocks had been moved. When we found the right number, it was pretty obvious that the marker had been moved. It looked like I was going to have to estimate where to dig.

I picked a spot and started to dig. Wow. The ground was a lot dryer and harder than I expected. I started calculating in my head..... 6 feet down, 3 feet wide, 6 feet long. Hmmm. This was not going to be a one hour job. This was a lot bigger job than I had expected. I began to sweat almost immediately. My tattooed buddies were starting to get impatient, and it was starting to get hot outside. Just as I was about to have to take a break, I hit something.

Back in the day, High Schools used to teach things like Wood Shop. At the time of this lady's death, kids in Wood Shop at Salinas High School build coffins. They built all the coffins used in the burial of people in the Paupers Cemetery. They did not always have the best workmanship and they never used the best materials. The coffins were actually built out of very cheap plywood. The thought being "who would complain?"

Once I hit something, I could tell it was the coffin. Now I had to find the edge of the box. That kept me going for awhile. At this point, my shirt was completely soaked, I was starting to smell as bad as the family members, and I was really, really tired. It was to the point where I was going to have get down in the hole to finish the job, but first I need to rest. One of my clients jumped down in the hole to keep things moving while I caught my breath.

As soon as I caught my breath, I got down in the hole. I brushed away some dirt, then heard a little sound. It sounded like a crack. The next thing I knew, the top of the coffin collapsed and I had fallen into the coffin! Just as I fell in, the smell got me. I freaked. I jumped out of the hole and became violently ill. I was heaving my guts like never before. The Coroner actually started laughing out loud. My Clients were chuckling to themselves, but the family members didn't find the humor in it. They started yelling at me to get back in there and to "show their Mother some respect!"

After a few more moments of getting sick, I climbed down into the hole. Just as I got in the hole, I hear a clunk. I look to the left and see a green bag, all folded up. The Coroner had thrown it in the hole with me. It was a body bag. The Coroner told me to "transfer the body to the bag and let's get the hell out of here."

I moved as far back in the hole as I could, and began to pry the top of the coffin off, throwing the pieces out of the hole. The body itself was tiny. The woman was probably no more than 5 foot tall. She had been burried in a cotton/polyester blend dress, with nylon stalkings. How did I know what she was buried in? Well even after 40 years, the nylon and polyester didn't break down or disintegrate. The leg bones were perfect inside the nylon stalkings, with absolutely no flesh.

I started the transfer by grabbing the nylon stalkings and moving the lower half as a single unit. As I started to transfer the body to the bag, I had to climb out of the hole one more time. A combination of the noises of the bones and the smells and the whole thing just got me. This time nobody thought it was funny.

I got back in the hole and finished transferring the body. The entire time I'm loading the bag, the family is yelling at me to show some respect. I load the bag and hand it up to the Coroner. I then climb out of the hole. I'm dripping wet and completely exhausted. I thought I was done. Then they ask me to help carry the bag to the station wagon. Almost done!

Just about then, the guy with the swastika tattooed on his forehead looks around and says "Lots of ********** in this neighborhood and I hate to waste a perfectly good hole." At this point even the Coroner has had enough of these guys. He tells them not to push their luck. He had them sign some papers and I shut the back of the station wagon.

After all that I was done, both physically and emotionally. I went home and took a long shower and a long nap. I never did make it to take the kids surfing that day, but man I had one heck of a story to tell.