Posts under ‘Fitness’

Ten years ago, if you told me to get up at 6am to go for a run, I would have laughed in your face.
Ten years ago, if I had told my friends or family I was going to get up at 6am to go for a run, they would have laughed in my face.
Yesterday, I [...]

A follow-up to some old studies on belly size has shown there’s a possible link between obesity and dementia. This seems to coincide with a new study demonstrating a relationship between insulin and Alzheimer’s; if you’re at risk for diabetes, you may be at risk for Alzheimer’s.
That’s all I needed to hear to get out [...]

Spring Break is officially over. I work in education so I got the week off, but it went by so fast it felt like just another weekend. It was one of those weeks I was constantly on the move, out running around for one reason or another or working on things at home. Today we [...]

Started the running program tonight.
Did not die.
Actually, it felt pretty good. The alternating run/walk routine was easy to follow without completely wiping me out, and a quick blood pressure check afterward showed a small spike in my systolic digits but the diastolic was fine. I’ve got a slight tightness in my shins, otherwise no pain. [...]

Tomorrow, Troy and I officially start the Cool Running Couch-to-5k Running Program. The late cold weather delayed us several times this month, but now it looks like weather for both of us will be more cooperative this week and we’re going to get started. Anyone else feel like joining us?
I spent some time the last [...]

Karate Moleskine
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of my Shuri-ryu karate training at the Academy of Okinawan Karate.
It amazes me how far I’ve come in just one year. In addition to losing a lot of weight, my stances have become longer and lower, my kicks have gotten higher, and my techniques have [...]

The man who invented the athletic cup is my hero.
I did get my second green stripe last night, but then I spent a good ten minutes as an attacker while one of our purple belts demonstrated his self defenses. Several of these involve snap kicks, hammer fists, or rear thrust kicks to the groin.
If I [...]

I hit a definite plateau in my weight loss recently, holding the same weight from late December through the middle of February. I thought I was going to have to start the running program before I saw any change, but then I got sick. That fever and infection knocked seven pounds off me in a [...]

Is anyone else sick of “No pain, no gain!”
I thought that died in the early nineties, but occasionally I’ll hear it pop up again. In most cases it’s at a gym or similar workout setting, and it always makes me think of some steroided-out musclehead getting in someone’s face, thinking it’s going to pump them [...]

What a difference a year makes.
Despite falling behind on my 52 Weeks Flickr group contributions, I now have an entire year’s worth of self portraits in my 52 Weeks set. Sure, I’ve got 8 more to post, but time-wise there’s a year in there and it’s neat looking back and seeing if things have changed [...]