Kelly Catch-Up

Hi All - A lot of people have been asking how my wife, Kelly, has been doing, so here goes.....

Kelly had Gastric Bypass surgery (RNY) on July 6, 2009. She has adapted well to the new dietary requirements and admits to having cheated only once. The good news is she has learned the limits of her new and improved tummy pouch, and still hasn't vomited.

It has now been about 3 and a half months, since the surgery. She walks every day, and continues to get stronger. She is even planning on starting some yoga workouts in the near future. She also talked one of our neighbors into walking with her when the neighbor gets back from vacation. What is funny, is it is the neighbor with the pet pigs. (see blog entry for July 20, 2009 "Looking for a Pig - Part 2") She wants to walk the pig on the leash along with Kelly and Rex. I'm hoping to get a picture of this!

Kelly has already lost about 68 pounds and dropped 4 jean sizes. We have been to the mall (yes I even went with her) and bought some new clothes. She feels good and she looks great! She wishes she had more energy, but that will come.

I am extremely proud of her!!!!!!

Birthday Blues

Well it happened. I had the birthday I didn't want. I turned 50 a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what it was, but man, it hit me hard. It was almost like a switch was flipped. I started moving slower. I felt sore. I started reducing my workouts. I just seemed a little off. I fell in a hole. I guess I had the Birthday Blues!

The other day, my buddy Roy gave me a call. Roy and I have been friends since Kindergarten or First Grade. We have been through a lot together, including ending up, upside down at the bottom of a ravine in his Mom's Mercedes and running his Dad's Porsche into the back side of a Chevelle. Ahh the dumb stuff you do when you're 16.

Roy, his Wife and Daughter all live on the East Coast, but once a year they come to the left coast to visit Roy's folks and extended family. During this yearly trip, we get together, hang out, watch some UFC and do some kind of a workout. This year we went hiking at the Elkhorn Slough (http://www.elkhornslough.org/). When we got back, I introduced him to my heavy-bag routine. My heavy-bag routine is a vigorous strength and cardio workout. It consist of 10, 3 minute rounds, with a 1 minute rest period between rounds. Not only did he survive it, he actually liked it, and is incorporating it into his workout as well. Here it is.....

Round 1 - Jab Pyramid
Begin with a left jab, followed by a straight right. This is the basic 1-2.
Now do 2 jabs, followed by a right.
Now do 3 jabs, followed by a right,
Continue up to 10 jabs, followed by a right.
Now work your way back down the pyramid.
9 jabs, followed by a right.
8 jabs, followed by a right
Continue all the way back down to 1 jab, followed by a right.
For the rest of this round, do 1 and 1, reset and repeat, until time expires

Round 2 - Straight Right Pyramid
Begin with 1 right, followed by 1 jab.
Now do 2 rights, followed by a jab.
Now do 3 rights, followed by a jab.
Continue up to 10 rights, followed by a jab.
Now work your way back down the pyramid.
9 rights, followed by a jab.
8 rights, followed by a jab.
Continue all the way back down to 1 right, followed by a jab.
For the rest of this round, do 1 and 1, reset and repeat, until time expires

Round 3 - Hook Work
For the first 1 minute of this round, alternate left hook and right hook.
Deliver as many blows as possible.
For the remaining 2 minutes:
50 left hooks - no resting or stopping.
50 right hooks - no resting or stopping.
20 left hooks - no resting or stopping.
20 right hooks - no resting or stopping.
For the rest of the round, alternate left and right hooks - no resting or stopping.

Round 4 - 4 Strike Combo
Engage the bag.
Strike left jab, right straight, left hook, right hook.
Disengage, reset and repeat.
All strikes should be quick, and as hard as possible.

Round 5 - 4 Strike Combo Pyramid
Engage the bag.
Strike left jab, right straight, left hook, right hook.
Count each strike. 1-2-3-4.
Disengage and reset.
Repeat the 4 strikes, but add an additional left hook and a right hook.
This would count out as 1-2-3-4-5-6.
Disengage and reset.
Repeat the previous set, but add an additional left and right hook.
This would count out as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8.
Repeat this process until you count out at 20.
Work your way down the pyramid until you get back to your original 4 strike combo.
For the rest of this round, repeat the 4 strike combo.

Round 6 - Speed/Cardio Round
This one takes a little getting used to....
Stand a little closer to the bag than normal.
You want to strike it 6 times in quick sequence, alternating left and right, almost like a speed bag. Make sure and turn your fists over as you strike. The bag will be moving away as you strike. After the 6th punch, the bag should be swinging back for you to restart. This is a timing exercise, combining speed and coordination, and do not worry how hard you hit the bag. It takes a little getting used to, and is harder with boxing gloves, but easier with MMA gloves.

Round 7-10 are all about Power Strikes.

Round 7 - 4 Strike Combo
Same as Round 4 - Let leather fly for the entire 3 minute round

Round 8 - 2 Strike Combo
Left Jab, followed by a straight right - Again keep repeating for the entire round.

Round 9 - 4 Strike Combo
Same as Rounds 4 and 7

Round 10 - 2 Strike Combo
Same as Round 8.

That is a guaranteed tough workout, especially if you do it after your normal strength training or cardio workout.

So Roy called me the other day. He wanted to talk about the bag routine, check on what's up, but mostly, ride me about turning 50. I guess he could sense I was down because he started telling me to get back to the gym, and to get back to my heavy-bag routine. He kind of ragged on me for a bit. He didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but I guess I just needed to hear it.

I'm happy to say that I took it to heart, and went back to the gym that afternoon. I also increased my intake of my EFA's, Protein, and Greens.

Well after all that, I'm back and feeling better. You know they say that 50 is the new 20!

Quick Catch Up

Hi All - I guess it is time for a quick catch up on everything.

My appointment with the Endocrinologist to review my MRI was rescheduled to the 15th. I met with her yesterday and she explained about the Pituitary Gland. Mine looks pretty good. The elevated hormone count is common among Gastric By-Pass patients but nobody knows why. She then told me she wanted to run another test.

For this next test, she gave me an injection to stimulate the Adrenal Gland, had me wait for an hour, then check my blood again. Afterward, I was extremely tired and took a nap for a couple of hours. Well the results from that test came back this morning, and the results were great.

My doc is convinced that I have sleep apnea, so she ordered a self monitored sleep test. This means that today I get to go to the Sleep Center. I meet with a technician who is going to teach me how to wire myself up to a bunch of equipment, so I can monitor my sleep tonight. I then take the machine back to him on Friday. He will download the data and analyze it. I then have a consult with the Sleep Guy in November. I guess business is good for sleep disorders.

I also tried to talk with her about the cyst that was identified in my sinus, but she said that wasn't her specialty, and referred me out to an ENT guy. I go for a consult with him before I head over to the Sleep Center.

So that pretty much explains why I haven't been updating my blog. I'm hoping to start feeling better get back into it. I've got upcoming updates on my Training Partner from Extreme Couture, the new season of Biggest Loser, and on a new fight gym I visited in Watsonville. Stay Tuned! :-)

MRI = Good!

Well the MRI is back, and the good news is that my pituitary gland looks normal. There is no tumor pushing on it! The Endocrinologist called and had a consultation with a colleague of hers up at Stanford. It turns out that this elevated "Insulin-Like Growth Factor1"is pretty common among gastric by-pass patients. I still have the symptoms from the elevated count, but at least it isn't a tumor. The MRI did show a small cyst in my sinus cavities and I'm meeting with my doc on the 14th to discuss that, and what to do about the elevated counts.

Another bit of good news....... Since I've been taking my new supplements, I've greatly reduced the amount of joint pain I had been experiencing, and I am picking up more energy. The recovery shakes do wonders, and I'm actually learning to like the taste.

The New Stuff

So after the consult with the Blood Doc, I went to see the Endocrinologist. She ordered the tests and reviewed what supplements and vitamins I planned to take. I assured her that the Blood Doc was not encouraging me to take any kind of Human Growth Hormones. She ordered me a new battery of tests, and I was on my way.

All of my tests came back great, except one. The test called "Insulin-Like Growth Factor1" came back with an elevated count. I repeated the test, and again the count came back elevated, and with a higher number than the first time. It turns out this test monitors something put out by the pituitary gland. An elevated score usually indicates that something, (like a tumor) is pushing on the pituitary gland causing it to shoot this stuff into your system. Some of the symptoms are fatigue, sore joints, achy muscles and headaches. I have all those symptoms and have been getting increasingly more headaches.

So I'm now scheduled to get an MRI and to check if I do indeed have a tumor on the pituitary gland. The good thing is that they are almost always benign, and can be treated with radiation. The Endocrinologist says that my other tests were too good to be anything cancerous. I guess it was a good thing the Blood Doc told me to get some extra tests!

While waiting for the MRI, I've now started taking my new vitamins and supplements. I can not explain how well my new recovery shake works. I used to take protein and glutamine after my work-outs. I felt that it helped in my recovery, but it is nothing compared to my new stuff. The new stuff consists of Whey Isolate (protein), Glutamine, and 4 Ever Greens. Wow! The protein even dissolves well and tastes good. The 4 Ever greens smells and tastes like lawn clippings, but it actually dissolves pretty well also. Within 20 minutes of taking the shake, I'm actually feeling better. I'm not quite so sore and my energy level quickly begins to return. I think I'm going to like the new stuff.

The MRI is scheduled for tomorrow, so stay tuned for the results!