Day 678- Open up the gate now close the gate

Yes, the curtain is coming down on another year. In year's past I always kept track of what percentage of days I worked out. Sometimes it was 80 % other years it was 75%. This year I batted a freakin 100%.In fact, I had a few days added to the normal 365 days ! I worked out 370 times this year. Yep, did 370 60 minute or more cardio workouts- Can I get an AMEN?

Okay, today is a good challenge the snow is flying not only that it is sticking. So here I go looking to wrap up the year with more workout. Auld Lang Syne !

Although the back was a little testy I blasted through with a good workout to end the year. I sure wish I was able to do more but I am somewhat content with the results. I have established another streak and am curious to see how long I can hold it. I the last 30 minute intervals of riding I have averaged at least a burn of 450 calories. This goes back to Day 675 a total 8 intervals of 30 minute time slots where at least 450 calories were burned. That is awesome!

Today I got off to a great start and burned 161 in first 10 minutes then another 161 in next 10 and by the time 30 minutes had passed I burned 470 calories. In 40 minutes I burned 620 calories. In the final 20 minutes I burned 301 calories. All total to a solid 921 calories burned in 60 minutes.

I usually get some blinding guiding insight while riding especially when the flood of endorphins come in. But today was just a steadfast focus on hitting each level to keep the pace of 15 to 16 calories burned per minute.

Although, I did have a strong desire to do a load of crunches but that vanished once I got a little twinge in my back. My belief is that I have some sort of body ache that has settled in one dopey part of my back and it just needs to pass through- AMEN!

Tomorrow we shoot for 679. Day 1 of year 2010-Also, go for the 9Th 30 minute interval of burning 450 calories or MORE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Day 677- So, what is your point for writing this blog?

My point of writing this blog is allow people to understand my mind set of working out everyday. My hope is that if people follow my thoughts on a daily basis perhaps they will follow my actions that will lead them to being more healthy.

What I have discovered during this journey of working out everyday is that the body is much more resilient than I ever imagined. I realize all are different, all have certain roadblocks that prevent them from exercising everyday but maybe through reading this blog people will at least try to workout instead of just giving up hope of working out.

Maybe other people are wondering about the possibilities of working out more and what it might do for their body.As for them, I am here for a point of inspiration to work out as much as they can.

My discoveries have been endless and everyday is indeed a challenge which I love.
Stay focused and say in your heart I love to workout!

We all work hard at something. Why not workout hard during a workout.
Every second is for you and it is all FREE!

I flew today, burned in ten minute intervals 160,167,160,153,146,159 which equalled a 945 calorie burn in 60 minutes. Man, it felt sensational. It is strange though I out here pedaling like my life depends on it and people around are just riding their cardio equipment like a cool breeze is going to come along and relax them. What a contrast! Here is one person huffing and puffing while others move like they are ready to fall asleep.

Awe I love it!

Day 676- The spirit of 76

As a nice decisive chill hits the area, I am reminded of other 76 and where I was physically.
Day 76- May 8Th 2008 burned 826 calories in 60 minutes
Day 176-August 16TH 2008 burned 911 calories in 60 minutes ( 7Th straight day of burning 900 or more calories)
Day 276-November 24Th 2008 burned 979 calories in 60 minutes
Day 376-March 4TH 2009 burned 804 calories in 60 minutes( was starting to feel stronger from illness)
Day 476TH-June 12TH 2009 burned 860 calories in 60 minutes(did an extra140 calorie burn in 10 minutes)
Day 576-September 20Th 2009 burned 960 calories in 60 minutes
Day 676-December 29Th 2009 burned 930 calories in 60 minutes-
It great to burn that many(930) calories in an hour again. Last time I did burn that many calories in an hour was December 23RD when I burned 937 calories in 60 minutes then burned 767 in the next hour of riding.All on Day 670!

Today, was the first day since December 22ND 2009 when I did 1400 plus crunches and did a plank of 15 minutes or more.

Day 675- Up at the crack of dawn; not really it was still dark out

It felt great to be riding that early and feeling loose- Praise GOD! I had a very consistent pace. My 1st 10 minutes saw me burn 150 calories, my 2ND I burned 149 calories,The 3rd I burned 154 calories, 4Th 152- In effort to secure my strong pace I increased my resistance level to a 25 which is the highest on the life cycle. My plan worked because I was able to maintain the pace and finished the ride by burning 298 calories in the final 20 minutes of the 60 minute ride. All total I burned 903 calories- by 6:30 in am is stellar in my book.

Day 674- Out the door to do one more!

Sometimes we just have to gut it up one more time. Then, who knows that my be the time that determines our greatness. We never know what is around the corner. All we all have is an opportunity to find out. See, we have something in common after all!

Seek, and ye shall find!

Did only a 851 in 60 minutes however, finished with a most enjoyable and satisfying KICK!
In the last 10 minutes of the 60 minute ride I burned 151 calories. Highly unusual, normally to increase the pace is not doe at the end of the 60 minutes of riding. Within my 1st 50 minutes of the ride I was burn 14 calories per minute. In the last 10 minutes I burned 15.1 calories per minute. I felt great!

Day 673- Caught a few z's; must have needed them

With a day of rest behind me. I embark on another workout. That sounds weird. My last workout was Thursday at 6:45, which was 48 hours ago. As it is right now 6:10am.
My Thursday was full of other things that were pressing so I have not had a big-time workout in a few days.However on Wednesday I was able to ride 2 60 minute rides to compensate for my ride I did not do yesterday. The gym was closed and my life cycle in my house needs to be fixed, so I did not do a 60 minute workout yesterday.

But as they say that is ancient history now my body feels refreshed and ready to go.
I have time this morning the gym is expected to open at 7 am and I am not do in to work until 10 am. (As they say in crime solving) He did or does have a window of opportunity to commit the act.Hallelujah I got a shot at it!

Vince Lombardi once said "the will to win and the the will to excel they concur that far exceeds any event that occasions them."Which means, it is more important to have the desire to succeed than one single victory. Desire fuels the fire!

It is now time to workout!
My fire is fueled by my desire and I am ready to get after the window of opportunity.

The machine I normally ride was broke-
Rode another one in 60 burned 862 - felt great!

Day 672- Merry Christmas: here is my body of work as of this day

I have done 677 workouts in the last 672 days. That is an average of 1.0074 a day and that is the streak. Though I may not get a 60 minute cardio workout in today, where I actually burn calories for a 60 minute period of time while engaged in a cardio workout I have this body of work that equals this streak to live on!


1-July 9th 2008 did 2-day 138
day 138- fat boy! 885 total 913 in @ 174 Lbs I 'm going back 2 day!

I am so pissed ate 2 much pizza weighed in @ 181 b4 the ride! I am doing 2 a days 2 day ! whatda heck training camps in football are about 2 open. I am going back @ 1 ish and doing another 800 at least b4 I eat or drink.- 181 174 bullshoot...
Key 2 it all is I will not injure myself.Second ride burned 863 in 60 minutes.
2 b positive I did 885 all on R 22 thats pretty good!


2-Sep 17th 2008- day 208
felt a little wiped then felt great! my last 2 day was back on 7/9 when I came in after pizza @ 174 did 2 got down 2 168. Did 885 then 863= 1748 today I beat that with a 938 then 823= 1761 All in all though did about 1800 in all counting cool down cals - did plank 1:30 + 1 min + :30 I felt good I did not push to hard with that exercise. It was day 138 when i did my last 2 a day- exactly 70 days ago-

3-March 25, 2009- day 397
felt great despite having to wait for bike for 10 minutes. I had the pace!- then I went back @ 10:15 blasted out a 940 where I had a 640 @ 40 got a little sluggish and threw in a 300 for last 20 min. Still 2 a day last time I accomplished that was back in september 17 did a 938 & 823 no weights or abs 2 day did 965 & 940

4-July 27Th 2009 – day 521-
day 521- did 2 rides 834 713 175 4500 crunches 11 straight 50x20 1 express
4th time since I started the streak I did 2 rides in one day

5-December 22nd 2009- day 670
-did 2 today 937 490 in 1st 30 minutes then 767 174 no arms &abs

I think my record is in tact- I really feel if my life cycle at home was in working condition I would definitely have rode for at least an hour- It is just in my psyche to workout. I am wired that way!

Day 671- Death of a loved one during the holidays are tough

Especially this close to Christmas. May the lord commend thy soul to heaven. The streak still lives. A somber ride. As I did my third 60 minute ride in the last 16 hours I did it all with a heavy heart.

God bless the last father I had on earth. First my father, and now my father in law. We all have a timeline we know not what it is, only that at sometime it will end.

So, I conclude today as the advent of Christmas draws near- God Bless All-

Day 670- Today was a tough day

I was unable to do my workout until 3:30 pm. I was able to pedal very hard for a good amount of time I burned 640 calories in 40 minutes which is 16 calories per minute. I finished by burning a total of 937 calories in 60 minutes. That was a great effort.

When I finished with that hour of pedaling I decided I was not done for the day. As I said yesterday that I will do two rides on the day before Christmas to compensate for not riding on Christmas. However, My schedule may not dictate that sort of time tomorrow. So, I decided to do two rides of 60 minutes today.

Man, the last time I did a two a day was September 29Th day 585.

Day 669- As the snow just sits there freezing and all is white...

To all the people that were dreaming of a white Christmas your dream is only a few freezing days away. And who knows we might even get more snow.

Time for a little reflection last year on this date here is where I was in my workout process.

December 22, 2008 -8:15 am-9:15 am day 304- freezing cold! 968 good -
Rode strong on that day. Weather was still cold. I am ready to go and attack let us see if this machine is ready to go on the fritz or was that just an odd happening.

Life serves up another dish time to take a bite-

I took a good bite today! Need to go check the big number board( that is always fun!)

Here it is;

1-Day 324 Sunday January 11Th 2009=1003= special note in 2ND half did a 508! (508/495)
2-Day 399 Friday March 27 Th 2009= 1006 (508/498)
3-Day 408 Sunday April 5Th 2009 did 520 on the 1st 30 WOW! - then 1,013 (520/493)
4-Day 478 Sunday June 14Th 2009 did a 507 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 927. (507/420)
5-Day 563 Monday September 7, 2009 did a 501 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 958 (501/457)
6-Day 574 Friday September 18, 2009 did 502 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 963 (502/461)
7-Day 667 Sunday December 20, 2009 did 511 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 1008. (511/497)
8-Day 669 Tuesday December 22, 2009 did 507 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 960.(507/453)
Excuse me, do we have any room for another 500+ calorie burn in 30 minutes? There it is the 8Th workout to reach 500 or more calories burned in 30 minutes !

The 1st 30 minutes were amazing today- I love to write down.
In the 1st 10 minutes I burned 172 calories that is an amazing blitz of burning 17.2 calories a minute. In the second 10 minutes I burned 174 calories that is faster than the 1st 10 minutes and is a burn of 17.4 calories per minute. Stop right there so, after 20 minutes I had burned 346 calories. DA, 20x 3 = 60; 346x 3 =1,038 calories burned in 60 minutes. Yes boys and girls I was on pace to burn 1,038 calories in 60 minutes which would be an awesome feat. In fact my star was rising I burned more calories in the 2ND 10 minutes than I did in the 1st 10 minutes. I was stoked I felt awesome. If I could just increase my previous 10 minute calorie burn by 1 I would have the record for 30 minutes. the record now for most calories burn in 30 minutes is now at 520.

I was not aware of the numbers needed as I started on my next 10 minutes of riding. I was also not even aware that I had burned more in the second ten minutes than in the first. Looking back now it is obvious that had I been able to burn 14 more calories in the entire half hour I would have burned 521 calories. It is funny that while you are busting it so hard while you ride you lose perception of the moment. It felt so amazing riding that hard and it was great to burn that many calories while doing it. Needles to say the second half of the ride was not as eventful as the first but I had to give it all I could in the second half hour to burn a great total of 960 calories foe the hour.

I was indeed pumped so after I rode I planked and then crunched. 1500 + crunches and an awesome 25 straight on the plank position exercise.

I think the best thing to do for not being able to ride on Christmas is to do two 60 minute rides the day before Christmas that way the streak will still be intact and it will get me ready for the day after when I ride early Saturday morning. When I complete 2 workouts on Thursday which is the day before Christmas that will be my 677TH work out in 672 days.

My chance at day 670 is less than 14 hours away-
CIGA-------------CAN I GET AN AMEN!

Day 668- Well, the bar is definitely set

When practicing CANI(constant and never ending improvement) we must focus on getting better in all things we do.As we zero in on today's workout burning 1009 calories or more in an hour is the goal. WOW, that would be a awesome ride. A typical Monday start time is set.

I wonder if the gym will be open today?

Yes, the gym was open but no I did not practice cani when it came to riding the life cycle.While I was riding the life cycle it shut off for no reason. Since I was 17 minutes mark and had burned 262 calories I was on pace to burn well over 900 calories in 60 minutes. After the machine shut down I was unable to get back to that pace. I only burned 604 calories in the next 43 minutes.I believe I could have done better had the life cycle not shut off but hey that is all part of the game it is up to me to overcome these challenges.

My workout was complete after a good 18 straight minutes in the plank position followed by 1470 crunches. Today I felt good and strong. Tomorrow we close in 670.

Day 669 is at the door step.

Day 667- "Tell them I said something do not let it end this way"

Yes, in answer to your question that is Pancho Villa the famous Mexican Revolutionary general. Lore has it that as he was dying these were his last words. That said after digging myself out I am anxious to get to the gym and get the work out done prior to work.

However, slight challenge I called the gym and there was no answer. I am on my way now to the gym-

As fate would have it, it took a few more steps to get to a place to workout. Upon my arrival at the gym I am a member of I found out it was closed. However, I was extremely determined to keep the streak arrive. So I started to think of other places I could go to workout.

The first place that popped in my mind was the local YMCA. For some reason I had a flashback to a time when there was considerable snow on the ground and a lot of businesses had not opened yet, but the YMCA in my town was open and clear of snow.

Praise the LORD! Such was the case on this day. I drove up to their parking lot saw that snow was cleared off from the parking area as well as the walk leading to their door. I said to myself so far so good and proceeded to attempt to open the door and found it unlocked. I did notice one discouraging thing in the parking lot there was only one car. I decided to keep going to the second door. It too was unlocked. As I kept walking I recalled how it once felt to be a member here and how excited I used to get just upon my facing the desk to check in.

To my happiness I found two people at the desk that were able to understand my quest and my story to not lose the streak. I found out that I was the first to arrive although they had been open since 8 am it was now 10:50 am.

I entered the gym as a guest and went to the workout area where I saw a life cycle that I had rode many years before. Then I saw the most up to date model of life cycle and got on that. I was the only person there and it was quiet and cool. I hopped on the life cycle and started pedaling at the manual level where it was set to burn 1038 calories per hour. I was able to continue at that pace. I started to get a little fatigued but continued.

It was awesome to pedal that hard that long I managed to burn the second most calories in 60 minutes that I have ever done. I burned 1,008 calories which to put into perspective was only the fourth time I had burned 1,000 or more calories in 60 minutes.( Out of 672 attempts)

Here is a look at my big number days( days in which I burned 500 or more calories in a half hour or 1,000 calories in an hour). I gets me psyched just to look at these numbers - Can I get an Amen?

Day 324 Sunday January 11Th 2009=1003= special note in 2ND half did a 508! (508/495)
Day 399 Friday March 27 Th 2009= 1006 (508/498)
Day 408 Sunday April 5Th 2009 did 520 on the 1st 30 WOW! - then 1,013 (520/493)
DAY 478 Sunday June 14Th 2009 did a 507 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 927. (507/420)
DAY 563 Monday September 7, 2009 did a 501 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 958 (501/457)
Day 574 Friday September 18, 2009 did 502 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 963 (502/461)
Day 667 Sunday December 20, 2009 did 511 in 1st 30 minutes finished with a 1008. (511/497)

So on a day that looked like Pancho Villa's demise was possible turns out to be my second best day of burning calories within a sixty minute span of time. Folks, it is exciting to work out each day. As each day unfolds it is a pleasure to embrace the challenge.

Everybody shout, I love to workout!

Day 666- We all create are own world

The key to life is to get others to fit in it with perfect harmony. As time goes by I realize that the more positive harmony that is created by us to allow are ourselves to be connected with who we are and what we are the more opportunity we all have for growth mentally, physically and most important spiritually. Can I get an AMEN? Today presents a simple challenge - DO IT! Wait a minute do what? Just DO IT! Excuse me, you never said exactly what it is that you what me to do.

I know what I said and you know what you have to do, so just do it!

Gee, thanks for the advice I know what you mean I will do it.

Back to the matter at hand. Here is the situation the temp outside is 19. Praise the lord we beat yesterday. See good things are happening the weather around hear is practicing CANI!

Okay, so its warmer and snow is in the forecast- Now if its an accurate forecast - Question how do I get to the gym tomorrow? If I can not get there what would be a good workout in the house? Ah, God knows these answers it is up to me to figure them out.

Man, that was a fun ride. I started slow got strong in the middle started to get gassed @ the 40 minute mark.However, at the 40 minute mark I put on a strong burst that felt awesome. Today brought to mind the incredible feeling I get when I able to fight back. I was feeling really spent but I noticed my legs had a little something left in them.as it turns out that little something gave me a good burst and put me only 1 calorie off the pace after 50 minutes. My motto has always been in the final ten minutes its a dogfight to do whatever you can to hit the goal. Today I found myself slipping off the pace. When I hit the 55 minutes mark I should have burned 825 calories but I had only burn 817. I was 8 calories off the pace and fading fast. Then my will kicked in and I finished by raising the level of resistance to its highest and going hard to finish with a 893 burn in 60 minutes.- I practiced CANI! I beat yesterday's level of 860.

This morning I got to sleep around 1:15 I got up at 5:30 and started my ride at 7:00. Yesterday I rode at 7:00 so, I did get a full 24 hour break between rides. It makes a difference to me to get 24 hours between rides. When I get that amount of time my legs feel fresher.

Day 666 is in the books! Tomorrow snow seems imminent. I must find a way to get the workout in Day 667 hangs in the balance.

day 665- Now we play a good opponent

Today its up earlier than usual and a nice chill in the air as winter and a great challenge is around the corner. Here it comes! Merry Christmas-

Okay so it was 12 degrees and it was dark out. So what? With the strength of the good lord I did my 60 minute ride to glory and burned 860 calories in the process. I am psyched tomorrow I get up and do it again. I have now a massed 670 workouts in the last 665 days. Can I get an AMEN?

We all follow some sort of light. What it is and where it leads us is up to us to find out.

It may be cold out but there is still a fire in my belly to workout!

Day 664- We always see what want to see before we see what is really there

I suppose the same can be said about understanding. We understand what we want to understand before we truly understand. When we realize, we remove what we initially thought.
Whoa, that's a bit deep. Let's just go and workout.

Man, what a fun workout that was. Blasted extremely hard. I did burn 483 calories in the 1st 30 minutes. Had burned 640 in the first 40 minutes. That is a strong ride. Today was the most I have burned since Dec 1st. Day 648 - The feeling was awesome it was the classic "flow feeling"-
time nearing for a good challenge tomorrow- Up early to get 665 in-

I am anxious for the ride!

Day 663- A sunny cool day - I love this phrase...

Rock and roll band
Everybodys waitin
Gettin crazy
Anticipating love and music
Play, play, play, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah !

That just gets me fired up to do something- I am sure there are sounds we all hear in our ear that gets our juices flowing. The key to motivation is reason and the key to reason is emotion. Its emotion, that causes us to sit or stand to walk or run to jog or sprint. My thoughts leads me to my words, my words lead me to my actions, my actions lead me to my behavior, my behavior begins my habits,my habits start to shape my character. Now, its my character that helps me with my decisions. When its all been decided it was my decisions that determine my DESTINY!

A challenge was laid down yesterday do you remember it?

"I set the challenge; I will burn more than 862 calories in an hour tomorrow!" That is what I said yesterday.
Well today I remembered that challenge 28 minutes into my ride. When I remembered it I got going. I had started to stagger and lose my power when that challenge hit me and I knew I was going to meet the challenge.

I finished with 890 calories burned in 60 minutes! My will was strong and despite a little drop in pace I finished with a good kick. I finished by burning 19 calories in the final minute! Can I get an AMEN? My spirits were high so I charged ahead and crunched 1,620 times and did a good 24 straight minutes in the plank position- I feel and felt awesome!

Day 662-The daylight is getting less and less each day

This is where we must be as fired up as ever because the dark is working for the sun while the sun takes a break. The sun as we all know gives us a great feeling. Between now and the 21st of December it is on a shorter work schedule. However, do not despair for one can still have excellent days ahead. A quick look back at last year's Dec15Th -Dec 21ST 's run tells me that I was very strong, my average calorie burn was well above 900 an hour. At this time last year we were hit with a good snow storm. Notice I said," good snow storm."

Remember, ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

We make challenges to ourselves everyday some of us make bigger challenges than others. The workout today shouted that concept in my ear today. I realized about 30 minutes into the workout that I should have gave myself a bigger challenge. My ability to shift to the 2ND gear just was not there. I suppose a good analogy to the feeling of not having a second gear during the ride is my yourself something to eat then realizing you left out one ingredient. Today's ingredient was my challenge to myself should been greater! I should have known better that we usually get want we ask for. I have set the bar for tomorrow. My total calories burned in the hour was 862( kind of ironic since it matches the last two numbers of the number of consecutive days I have worked out). I finished my day by crunching 1400 times and planking for 21 minutes.

I set the challenge; I will burn more than 862 calories in an hour tomorrow!

Day 661- Need to get loose and get going

After a good rest almost 7 + hours I am dressed fed and ready to play. I need to be back by around 1 o'clock ish to get where I need to go today. A stronger commitment to getting out earlier would have put me in better position to reach my goal of being done with the workout earlier.

So be it - More on being in position later-

A great football coach was always fond of telling his team. "Gentleman, focus and finish."
Well, between the hour of 11:45 and 12:45 I did just that! I started my ride with a focus and I finished it. My numbers were a stark difference from yesterday. I had good power and a strong push. Day 661 is done. Put me down for a 908 calories burned in 60 minutes and a great feeling of satisfaction to go along with that.

I can not help but to be constantly amazed at the feeling I get when I hit my goal for the ride. I started by burning 312 in 1st 20 minutes and 467 in the 1st 30 minutes. I dropped down a little by having burned 610 at the 40 minute mark. I did feel great and fresh by the time I finished I had burned 908 calories. I went on to do the plank exercise for 18 minutes which again is a exercise where I hold myself up for 18 straight minutes by my elbows and balls of my feet.

About the plank and abdominal exercises in general. When I do these exercises I do them on a mat on the floor in a corner of the gym. Most of the time people get next to me and do some sort of abdominal workout. I am not crowing but, usually they do their exercise for a few minutes and go away. Very rarely do they out last me while I am holding myself in the plank position. I find that interesting that they do a few ab exercises and pack it in, while I am still in the position I was in when they arrived next to me. Hmm.

I wish all who read this get to experience that delicious rewarding feeling that I get to have everyday I workout.

Day 660- OK, so it is a little warmer!

Not really, but today's forecast is warmer than yesterday's. I have my Sunday challenge today, drive for 1 hour and 30 minutes prior to working out. This has been done for about three weeks now. He are my numbers:

December 6Th 791
November 29Th 911
November 22ND 805

Alright, we have had some good numbers however, the November 29Th was after I did not do back to back work shifts. My goal today is to stay focused and keep charging!

God bless all! Belief and focus I am working on both!

Add 832 to Sunday totals. Right from the beginning I knew what I had. I had sore legs that needed to get warmed up and I needed to stay focused. I did all that started to feel great around the 15 minute mark and was able to feel awesome throughout the ride.

So I have tied the big number, 660 Willie Mays. Man that is a load of home runs that he hit. After Mays comes Ruth 714 then Aaron 755. I suppose all these guys never thought about their numbers they just kept on hitting home runs. I go through that thought process I never really think of the numbers but I know they are there. A good analogy would be the speedometer on your car's dash board you never focus on the numbers but you are aware of your speed.

The next day will be the day Willie Mays will be passed -with the good lord willing-

Day 659- Today shapes up to be a great one!

Up early 5:25 will ride today for the 664Th time in the last 659 days. Anxious to see if I can get that early morning push. It is exciting to see when the rubber meets the road what I have for that day. I have learned that my body is somewhat unpredictable day to day. I love that aspect about the workout. Its the unpredictability that adds to the fun!

The temperature outside this morning is a balmy 26 degrees. I feel great my last five Saturday workouts have looked like this:

November 14Th- 787 calories burned
November 21st- 840 calories burned
November 28Th- 889- calories burned(no work up later)
December 5Th- 836-calories burned

So, there I go I have a good track to run on let's see where I go!

Put me down for 889! I did have a push. I started by burning 311 calories in the 1st 20 minutes. I maintained that pace all the way to a total of 462 calories burned after 30 minutes.

Now I never focus on it but for some lousy reason I sensed the wall was coming. All runners walkers workout people that I have ever read heard or seen hate the wall. What exactly is the freakin wall? Simple, its that point in time in any endeavour when your production gets lower.

Quite frankly its there but I hate to discuss it. I managed to keep a great pace by focusing very hard on maintaining the pace of 11 calories ahead of 15 calories burned per minute.

I got to 40 minute mark with 604 calories burned and then finished by burning 285 calories in the last 20 minutes- I know the WALL!

Needed to get off to work so I stretched and left.

Tomorrow we go for WILLIE MAYS-660 - Aw right- CAN I GET AN AMEN?

Day 658- This is my 180th straight day of inputting into this blog

Do you have a blog? As I think of it its more like a published journal. I believe everyone should have a workout blog. If not a blog a workout journal. There are some days that are a lot easier to add the daily activity. However, no matter what happens you have been involved in some kind of workout.

Everyone works out every day to some degree. The word or expression workout, is defined as ...
"the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit". Well, that explains it. If you eliminate the word exerting and put in using then you have a definition of " "the activity of using your muscles in various ways.To "keep fit" is the key phrase, but if you eliminate "keep fit". You have the above definition.

Now keeping fit is totally subjective because who is to say a person is fit. I always ask, fit for what? The workout is nothing more than an evaluation of your time spent doing any physical activity. To some it my be that you walked to the refrigerator.

In my view a workout blog does several things it gives one a picture of their everyday activity, allows a reference point of what they have done in terms of muscle movement, it reports to everyone where one is at, it determines an individuals mindset on working out.

An analogy of a workout blog would be a savings plan. Everyone has one and everyone has a workout blog it is just not always published.

Today we battle the temperature right now outside these walls it is 24 degrees. Do I wear shorts? Do I go with 2 or 3 layers? Yesterday, I went with three.Yesterday my calorie burn was a lot lower than the previous days. It is interesting how when I finish my workout at the gym the ride from home to the gym always feels warm. That is regardless of the outside temperature. My legs are the key I want them to be loose and flow easy. I am psyched to see what I got today.

I have heard that Mickey Mantle used to say "I love to hit a baseball, if a day goes by and I don't get a chance to hit a baseball I feel sick inside."

Since I have started this journey I am not sure what he means about missing a day. But I know what he means about loving a certain activity.

You know, when it really comes down to it, all we can really control in this world, is our attitude and our activity.


When you want to win, you WANT to win. I felt lousy about yesterday performance.I used yesterday's performance as motivation for today. I decided that that lack of energy I had yesterday would be replaced by the amount of energy I have today. I chose to look at yesterday as a day of rest. The rest needed to inspire me to be stronger today. It worked - I came charging out of the gate and burned 324 calories in the 1st 20 minutes and 479 calories in the 1st 30 minutes. By the 40 minute mark I had burned 632 calories. i finished by burning 923 calories in 60 minutes! Yesterday I burned only 775 calories. I had burned 775 calories 48 minutes into today's ride. Can I get an AMEN?

I felt so strong after the ride that I went to do more crunches than yesterday's 1700 and more continual plank minutes than yesterday's 27 minutes.

day 657- Some days you can blast through the workout some days...

The start of the workout was sluggish but I pushed on and felt stronger. Did a measly burn of ONLY 775 calories in 60 minutes. Here is a look at my lowest calorie burns per 60 minute runs.
Notice that I have been doing this now for 22 months without a break on any day.

It is interesting how the body reacts to this continuous effort. Lowest totals by month:

Feb 08- 650
Mar 08-610
Apr 08-750
May 08 -750
Jun 08 - 793
Jul 08- 853
Aug 08- 844
Sep 08- 810
Oct 08- 865
Nov 08- 862
Dec 08- 875
Jan 09- 849
Feb 09- 450
Mar 09-590
Apr 09- 870
May 09-825
Jun 09- 750
Jul 09- 779
Aug 09- 800
Sep 09 - 750
Oct 09- 728
Nov 09- 735
Dec 09- 775

These numbers are very interesting. It seems that every month has a hiccup. It is refreshing to think that I normally bounce back from any little set back. I love to workout. I love that invigorated feeling.When the legs get loose and the heart is pounding and I just know I will hit my goal man, there is no better feeling in the WORLD - Can get an AMEN?

Day 656 -Now we play with more of a focus: 1st Snowfall

The first snow rolled into my area around 1 am this morning. With the snow brings the challenge of the workout. Ah, a new strategy. Yes, I must change my gear a little to get ready for the workout.

Usually I pack my bag with two towels and an extra shirt. I wear shorts over riding pants with two layers of clothing. Today, I need extra sneakers and probably a coat. Also, more determination to get to the gym as always I am excited for the challenge and the work out.

I was psyched to get to the gym and feel the warmth of the energy from the exercise. I embraced the sensation on breaking into a sweat while vigorously pedaling. The contrast of the coldness outside and the heat from the workout woke me up and gave me strength. A great pace at the beginning of the ride was maintained throughout the ride. The feeling of finishing with a KICK is awesome. When I finish in a totally exhausted state it is probably one of the best feelings one can get from spending an hour of total exertion.

My energy did not dissipate as I went ahead and did 24 minutes of plank exercise. Following this with 1440 crunches made me feel a total sense of accomplishment.

So, the routine was changed some what but thank GOD the energy was there. Tomorrow we hunt down day 657!

Day 655 - And it is great to be alive!

Ready to go down to the gym. Focus is the key as we attempt to beat yesterday's number of 864. Gave myself extra rest in hopes of working out harder. Temperature 41 cool degrees. Layer plan is for 2 layers! I am anxious to get a move on.

I got a good move on. I CANI ED - We all remember CANI don't we? Sure, it stands for constant and never ending improvement. In my case it asks a simple question. Can I do better than I did yesterday? Today my answer was, YES!

Yesterday I burned 864 calories in 60 minutes. Today I burned 877 calories in 60 minutes CANI!
Yesterday I did 1400 crunches. Today I did 1420 crunches- Ding Ding! Yesterday I did 17 minutes on the plank exercise. Today I did 22 minutes- CANI

Fun, isn't? I love to workout. Someone said to me. Boy, do you come to the gym every other day. I replied "nah, everyday. Like I have for the last 655 days." Everyone wants to try to workout its just that they do not always get here I guess I come to the gym every day for them!

Day 654- Felt the ole fire today!

I love that expression. The ole fire! Here are some great motivational quotes with fire.

If you are not fired with enthusiasm you will be fired with enthusiasm
I am sorry if this doesn't fire you up then your pilot light is out.
Fire yourself up so people can come and watch you burn.

I love workouts like today I felt strong and loose at its conclusion yippee!
Numbers 864- 1400 17 minutes- Yes! Felt great!

day 653-Down late up early

Operating on short rest in baseball parlance this is a 3 day rest. Most pitchers get 4 days of rest in between starts-Oh not I, I will survive. The math works this way up 6 am went down at 2:30 am not much rest a total of 3 1/2 hours. However, I will not be working out until 9ish in the am.
DAY 653 - It awaits there is a dopey show I have been watching on TV its called Man vs Food.

How about Man vs workout. I only did a 836 yesterday I need to beat that number today. Man must win:)

So let that be a lesson to ya! You need a little more that 3 1/2 hours of rest to ride 60 minutes at full speed on the life cycle! Geez to say I had little is saying a lot:)- I love the challenge!

So I got beat, I feel great. In fact, I feel better than good and better than most.

Praise the lord- Here is another one, "if you could look up, you can get up!"

Day 652- Up early to meet the challenge

First time been up this early since November 21st. Interesting, it sure feels good to awake when it is nice and quiet. The focus here and now is to get the legs moving. I did a 908 yesterday after a great start. Need to focus on a strong consistent ride today.

Gym opens in a few minutes. Then that delicious feeling of working out returns for a solid 60 minutes. I am dressed
fed
and ready to play.

Three words don't give up. I was definitely challenged today. Today was the first day since Day 638 that I did not start my workout after 8:30am. It is safe to say my body knew it. Ever notice that it is hard to slip one by your body.Your mind maybe the brains of the outfit but body is right there on the front lines. For the last 14 days my body has been given a nice rest prior to each workout. A nice includes a good 6 hours of sleep then an hour or so of wake up time.

As I said the body knows when something has been changed. The nothing wrong with a little alteration of schedule it is just that your body needs to adapt to the change.

Today's ride remind me of a classic case of the over matched versus the ready and finely tuned pro. The reason why I say that is the numbers
First 10 minutes did 144 calorie burn by the end of 20 minutes I had burned 304 calories( not bad that pace actually beats yesterday's 908 in 60) Now, At this point I saw my self standing toe to toe with 900 until the end. I really did! I hit the 30 minute mark at 448(I can live with that)
At the famous 30 minute to 45 minutes mark is where I usually know where I am at. Questions are answered have the legs gotten loose enough? Am I ready to get a big push off to keep the pace strong? I did come to realize that when I reached that 30 minute mark I was sweating like crazy and breathing pretty hard. I suppose it was my legs saying what we doing up so early?

Either way the number did not go the way I had hoped for so i gutted it up just to finish burning up 836 calories in the hour. So, I felt great after I was done and resigned to the fact that was what my body could muster today

Woodja gimme an Amen?

The next day with the GOOD LORD willing will be Day 653- I wait for that challenge

Day 651- Yesterday's number needs to be improved

My determination is steely let's see what I got!

Dem's are fighting words! It is somewhat comical I came out like a raging bull did a whopping 164 calorie burn in the first ten minutes. After the first fifteen minutes I burned a phenomenal 248 calories- TIMEOUT! That is two calories less than burning 250 calories in 15 minutes. If someone burns 250 calories in 15 minutes then Dah, they would burn 1,000 calories in an hour. I am not sure about you but to me that is mach speed. The amazing thing about my workout today was; While I was burning those calories in the first 15 minutes I was hardly sweating and did not feel as if I was breathing hard. When I hit the 30 minute mark I had slowed down to burning 481 calories. My pace continued to slow as I noticed some fatigued settling in. I pushed as hard as I could and finished by raising the resistance level for maximum effect.

My closing number was 908! My plank was good 22 minutes. Did 1700 crunches, felt strong.

Tomorrow I arise early and go after 652!

Day 650- Where was I on December 3, 2008?

Last December 3RD I was on day 285 I was 4 days from passing Brett Favre's consecutive game streak. On December 7Th I passed him! Now, I believe Favre has played in 302 straight games.

Up next for me at 650, is Willie Mays who is sitting out there with 660 home runs. In accordance to the Calendar the 660Th consecutive day would be December 13Th 2009.

I love the challenge everyday! Today my legs took awhile to get loose. I found myself right on the edge of getting to the desired pace of 15 calories burned per minute, but then I just could not get over the hump!

I wound up burning only 850 calories an hour which is awesome relative to other endeavors one may engage in. I remember about 20 years ago I went to a gym and one of their enticements to get people to join was racquetball. They sign burn 700 calories an hour by playing racquetball. GEEZ a) that was 20 years ago b) that is not a lot of calories to burn in an hour c) you can burn 900 calories an hour on a stationary bike(life cycle).
Now that I think about it heck, I was 20 years younger and I actually thought that was a good workout. I only wish I had been riding the life cycle more when I was at a younger age.

My workout finished with a good 20 minutes of plank then 1150 crunches- I felt great
We had a refreshingly nice balmy 60 degree day- OH WHATA FEELIN!

Day 649- THIS IS WHY WE PLAY THE GAME!

I am excited to get after it!

Let's GO!

I wonder what it is that gets me to try so hard to accomplish my goals I set while riding the life cycle and doing the work out?

This was a superb battle. It was intense. How intense was it? It was so intense that after I hit the 315 calorie burned mark for the rest of the ride I never burned any less than 14 calories a minute and never more than 17 calories a minute. For 39 minutes I stayed on that consistent pace. As I recall, it took a lot of effort to maintain that pedal speed. It took so much effort that when I was 53 minutes into the ride I sensed there would be no way I could maintain and burn 900 or more calories in 60 minutes while pedaling against the (22 level)level of resistance. So I decided to increase the level of resistance to 25 which is the highest level on the life cycle. By doing that I would increase the difficulty of pedaling but, I would increase the number of calories i would burn. As I raced toward the rides conclusion I knew I was going to burn 900 calories in 60 minutes. As I said it before and I will gladly say it again. What an incredibly exhilarating feeling to know you are going to hit the goal you set!

Like so many athletes have a habit of saying, I will say also-

THIS IS WHY WE PLAY THE GAME!

Day 648- When you focus on good things good things will happen

How often does that happen? Try just about every time. The challenge is to do it! What tends to happen is a thought comes into your mind with such power that you are compelled to entertain it. Once you entertain it long enough you focus on it. While you are focusing on it you could lose perspective of where you really want to be, that is focusing I what you truly want to accomplish.

Now, this may sound convoluted but trust me people get distracted and do not do what they really want for this reason. When you mind drifts away from what you want its usually for a few reasons. One distraction, two fatigue and three boredom.

The first reason people lose focus on what they really want to do is distraction. I think distraction is caused by it very definition which is

something that interferes with concentration or takes attention away from something else.

Well, that clarifies my thought, "something that interferes with concentration" one leads to the other . Simply put when you are tired as you usually are when you are fatigued your concentration is effected. Boredom, I feel is usually at its highest when you are not focused due to lack of concentration and distraction.

Now that the culprits that stand in the way of staying on task are revealed how do we deal with it?
Simple, get excited, have a strong sense that good things are going to happen -

BECAUSE WHEN YOU FOCUS ON GOOD THINGS GOOD THINGS WILL HAPPEN!

I played it smart today,my leg was a little sore so I started at a good pace not maniac. then I waited til my leg felt warmed up and strong then I let it rip! Check these numbers out
1st 10 minutes I burned 144 calories- Not bad
1st 20 minutes burned 315
1st 30 471 that is great
1st 40 624
1st 50 772 oh yeah!
In 60 minutes I did 928 -awesome -
All done on the little pedal life cycle
Since they fixed the little pedal machine that is the most I have burned in 60 minutes while riding it!
Oh what an awesome feeling. To set an ambitious goal and hitting it.

I wanted to give it my all on the plank exercise today so I did that exercise immediately after the ride. Did a good gut wrenching 25 minutes on the plank.
Did about 900 crunches then say la vee!