Posts under ‘Fitness’

We’re just about halfway through the year, so I thought I’d revisit some of the goals I’d set for myself for this year.
Goal 1: Cut 20 more pounds by October 1st.
So far not so good, but I’ve still got all summer to run. The knee is feeling better, so I may give it a shot [...]

That’s the sound my left knee makes. I’m assuming that’s not a good thing.
I worry it’s the result of a sparring match in karate class last week. I went in for a kick to my opponent’s ribs, and he raised his knee to block. The top of my shin, about an inch or so below [...]

What keeps me running?
As stupid as it sounds, it’s this guy:

I keep this Nike+ avatar on my screen saver and on my Facebook page. When I run, he’s happy. When I don’t, he gets bored and makes smartass comments while he plays paddle ball or video games. They’re subtle jabs, but man, I hate seeing [...]

…And boy did it suck.
I probably shouldn’t be so hard on myself as it was on par with how I started out last season, but I started cramping up about a quarter of the way through and it threw off the whole session.
At first I feared my leg conditioning took a step back to before [...]

I’m coming up on two years studying Shuri-ryu with the Academy of Okinawan Karate, and I’m still surprised at how far I’ve progressed. My weight loss may have stalled out over the last year, but I’ve made huge strides in strength and flexibility.
A big part of that is my sensei has turned our advanced class [...]

According to my Snickers wrapper, “substantialiscious” is the weight of something when you weigh it with your tongue.
Uh, sure.
I didn’t want a king-size Snickers, but that’s all I could find at the local Casey’s when I picked up one of their shitty pork tenderloin sandwiches for lunch. (It’s a long story, but I was stuck.) [...]

I found something that might interest the many, many people who made weight-loss resolutions for New Year.
Too many people focus on numbers on the bathroom scale to measure their success. We hear alleged ideal numbers thrown around all the time, but people rarely take into account their height and age. In fact, studies are showing [...]

Was there any doubt that writing would be a huge focus this year? Didn’t think so.
I solidified a relationship with a new publisher in ‘08, and our goal is to do a mix of comics and prose work. It’s still too early to announce specific projects, but I’ve written most of the script for the [...]

One wouldn’t think CPR would be part of a karate class, but this weekend the Academy of Okinawan Karate certified its SWAT team members in CPR. One of our black belts, Mrs. Denise Miller (everyone say hi, as she’s out there reading), works as a nurse for a living, and she led the class.
It’s been [...]

Mike’s Break — Tetsui
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.
I’ve been looking forward to Break Day all year.
The Academy of Okinawan Karate only does break day once a year, so I made sure my travel plans weren’t going to throw it off. Even the Midget has been calling it his “favorite season” and asked me if it was [...]