I have to be the laziest mofo ever! (Tower Climb Results)

Hey.

You'd think after posting and fretting about that United Way Toronto CN Tower stair climb back in August, that I'd be super excited to come back to say how I did!  But noooo, I had to be a lazy-ass and come back six months later!  I honestly don't know why I don't come to this blog more often, because I do enjoy updating it!  I figured instead of leaving it hanging out of shame over how long it has been, that instead I'd cop about about my procrastination, and then carry on!

Anyhow, I'm sure you're just clamouring to know my result from the climb.  My time was twenty-two minutes, seventeen seconds (00:22:17)!!  I hoped to be closer to twenty minutes even, but I was still happy about my time.  My cousin went the day after I did, and made it in forty-six minutes, but she had less preparation than I did.

I woke up at 4:00 in the morning (almost ready to scrap the whole thing!) so I could get there early, but by the time I got through the check-in line at the convention center and the line where they make you wait because they only let so many people in at a time, it was close to 7:30.  The climb itself was relatively easy on me.  My legs and back didn't hurt at all, even though I heard from people that those were their main complaints.  The only thing was that I was winded, which isn't surprising.  I still managed to have enough energy to run up a few flights here and there near the end, and to run on my way back from the tower to the convention center to check my time!  Once I got to the top, they were handing out Gatorade and water, and they let you stay at the top as long as you liked, so I got some water and took a walk around the observation deck to see the nicest sunrise.  It really was beautiful to be practically on top of the world, but it was also a little cold, and still being winded I found it hard to catch my breath.

I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything, and it's probably what I'm most proud of, even on top of losing my weight and toning up.  I'm definitely going to do it again this October! 

Little Bit Of A Downer

Today Trainer told me that he's thinking of quitting the gym.  Okay, switching gyms.  He doesn't get many hours right now, and he's not getting a lot of new clients.  As someone who I know really likes what he does, I'm sure that's getting him down, and I don't begrudge him wanting to do what's best for himself.  I have heard that my gym isn't doing so well in general anyway, so it's bound to happen.

I'm just feeling sorry for myself since I've been training so long with him and am comfortable with his style.  I suppose I'd just have to carry on with a new trainer if it came down to that, but I kind of see it like losing a friend too.

The worst part is I went ahead and renewed my training sessions as well, so if I made some crazy decision to follow him to another gym (which I totally could because the gym he's looking into is the one my company has a corporate discount with), I'd be forking out a lot of dough to this gym first.  At least I got 6 months free membership out of this latest deal.  Trainer did say he'd stick around as long as I'd want to train with him, but the thing is he can't go train at another gym if he's working here.  As much as I want to keep him, I wouldn't want to hold him back.

In the end, it's his decision to make anyway, and I'll just have to get used to the idea that there may be some changes, and take it from there.  I know I can't train with him for the rest of my life, I just don't accept change very well.  We'll see how it goes.

Cosi Dei Pazzi (or Please Sponsor Me!)

I know it has been a while.  Everything is good, status-quo, same-old same old.

Except for the fact that I SIGNED UP TO CLIMB THE CN TOWER!  That is 1,1776 steps, people!

A couple of times a year they open the stairwells up for people to collect pledges and climb the stairs for charity.  I am sure I've mentioned that Trainer has suggested that I do this in posts past, but this time I decided to go for it.  Trainer seems to think that I can do it in 20 minutes.  I seem to think he's crazy.  I will just be glad if I can make it to the top without dying.  For sure he's going to put me on a stair-master-centered cardio program now, and that's fine with me.

Anywaysssss, if you would like to support me, please click the link below.  All the money goes to The United Way of Toronto, which is a great charity that the company I work for supports every year, and I always donate during our fundraising campaigns.  You'll also get a tax receipt.

Sponsor Caterina Valente

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support!

So Very True

You can't fix ugly.

Irony

Today I decided to have my tea iced.  That's no big deal usually, but the tea I used was this:

The 300 Workout and A Quest Completed

I had Thursday and Friday off this past week, and due to having plans in the evening, I rescheduled my Thursday night session with Trainer to Friday afternoon.  I guess the change bug bit him too, because we tried out a new workout, which he likes to do from time to time, to keep things interesting.  Only I sort of had some previous idea about how tough the workout would be because he casually told me about it before.

It's called the "300 Workout", and it was the workout used by the cast of the film "300" to get into shape.

I've seen some variations to the workout while looking it up, but I believe that the standard goes something like this:

25 pull-ups
50 standard deadlifts at 135 lbs
50 floor-wipers
50 pushups
50 clean and press at 36 lbs
50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
25 pull-ups

It's also a timed workout, so obviously the faster you go, the better it is, and you mark your progress with how much time you can shave off from your last go at it.

Of course, the standard workout probably would have been a little too much for my first time, so Trainer made it a little easier for me.  I did negative pull-ups for the first set, and used something called a "gravitron" for the last set.  I know what you're thinking; I don't mean this:

but this:



 I did the deadlifts at 70 lbs, the clean and press at 20 lbs, and the box jumps on one of those aerobic steppers with 5 steps.  I also failed at doing proper push-ups about 15 reps in, and had to do the rest on my knees instead.  All in all it was not as bad as I thought; what gave me the most trouble was clearly the push-ups, followed by the deadlifts.  I made it through in 32 minutes, give or take, which is a great time.  Trainer thought I'd get through in 45 minutes, so I sure showed him! 

It's not a workout you do all the time, so we'll probably repeat it in a month or so and see how it improves.  I don't anticipate him going as easy on me next time though, so I should keep that in mind!



On to another victory of sorts.  There is a little health-food store in the town where I live, and I hadn't gone in there yet, but after the "300" session I was out doing some errands anyway, so I thought I'd finally stop in.  Lo and behold, sitting on a shelf near the back, were a couple of bags of this:

I have been looking for them for some time to no avail, so imagine my joy!  I had some this morning with almond milk, flax seed, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and an egg for protein.  They're a little bland, but they do have a nice flavour too them, and the sweetness of the berries was sweetness enough so I don't have to add stevia.

Success! Well, it is, sort of.

Last night Trainer weighed me in, and for the very first time, my body fat percentage was under 20%!!!  This is a big milestone for me, because I've been working so hard for so long to see this!

Okay, it is technically just a psychological victory, because it was 19.9%, but still.