Today marks one year since I started exercising regularly. My “first” workout in November 2005 was 1.5 miles/15 minutes on a stationary bike. I’ve come a long way since then… lost >30 lbs, got my resting heart rate down around 50 bpm, cycled two centuries (>100 miles each), and now I’m starting to cross train with some running. Thanks to all those who inspired me to get active — I feel great!

My goals for the coming year include:

- Keep the weight off
- Get my blood pressure down
- Cycle at least three centuries
- Run the NYC marathon
- Compete in a duathlon (run/bike/run)
- Raise a lot of money for cancer research

Wish me luck!

I can’t believe I went an entire month without a post on this blog! I update a lot of the sub-pages frequently, but nothing on the main page. Let’s see if I fare any better in November.

Not a great month for exercise. October started off strong, but the weather changes, work, and the end of daylight savings time didn’t help. Although I plan to cycle throughout the fall and winter, I think I’m going to explore some exercise alternatives. Hiking, running, and getting to the gym is on my list.

Road Cycling - 325.33 miles
Walking - 60.3 miles, 163,757 steps

Road Cycling - 598.31 miles
Walking - 45.6 miles, 123,699 steps

What a great month for exercise… a personal best for cycling mileage, which included two centuries. I’m pretty much at my target weight now, so it’s time to get some new clothes.

I’m sad to see summer quickly fading away, but I’m looking forward to autumn riding. I went for a 32 mile ride the other day and it was ~40 degrees (not including wind chill). Brrrrr. I’m also gearing up to ride outside this coming winter. Should be interesting.
BTW, the above pic is the path I rode during my Bear Mountain Century on September 17th (click on the thumbnail to view full size). The color coding indicates altitude. I created this with Google Earth and GPS Visualizer. Stats and path were tracked via a Garmin Edge 305 GPS and MotionBased.

I can’t believe August is done. Another month with over 500 miles on the bike! I’ve lost over 25 pounds since I started exercising and only have a few more to get to my target weight/BMI.
Road Cycling - 501.64 miles
Walking - 60.70 miles, 165,312 steps

I’ve decided to discontinue manually logging my daily activities on my exercise page. Instead, I’ll continue using SportBrain (for walking) and MotionBased (for cycling) to report everything. I’ll also start logging my rides at BikeJournal.com. Check out my exercise page for all the links.

During my high school and college years I smoked cigarettes. Eventually I quit using “the patch” (thanks Chet!) and experienced a welcomed improvement to my health. However, all those years of smoking definitely impacted my lung capacity, which was very noticeable when exercising…

I recently started using POWERbreathe to help improve my breathing. After only two weeks I’ve noticed an improvement. My VO2 (as measured by my Suunto t6) has increased from ~35 ml/kg/min to ~47 ml/kg/min — over a 30% improvement! I’m a believer.

Not as high as I’d like, but I’m getting there:

Road Cycling - 156.27 miles
Stationary Bikes - 27.31 miles
Walking - 69.30 miles

I’ve lost ~20 lbs since I started exercising. Once again my kryptonite (fast food) is slowing me down. However, I am starting to reduce my portions at most meals. Business travel is tough with that — lots of calories at those customer dinners and corporate events.

Speaking of work, most of my work clothes don’t fit me anymore! I’m going to wait until I get closer to my target weight before I get things altered (or buy new stuff). I guess it’s a good problem to have.

May 17th is Livestrong Day — a day to help raise awareness about the health policy issues facing cancer survivors. Lots of events happening around the country to help the cause.

Some interesting cancer facts from the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) home page:

* There are more than 10 million individuals in the United States today who are living with cancer.
* Nearly 40 percent of people living with cancer are under the age of 65.
* 64 percent of adults diagnosed with cancer today will be living 5 years from now.
* In 1960, 4 percent of children with cancer survived more than 5 years.
* Nearly 80 percent of children (age 0 through 14) diagnosed with cancer today will be living five years from now.
* The five year survivorship rates for young adults (age 20 through 40) with cancer has remained unchanged for the past 30 years.
* Three out of every four American families will have at least one family member diagnosed with cancer.
* 24 percent of adults with cancer are parents who have a child 18 years or younger.
* One of every four deaths in the United States is from cancer.
* In 2005, 570,280 Americans will die of cancer - more than 1,500 people a day.
* The annual cost of cancer in the United States is $189,800,000,000 in direct and indirect costs.

It’s been several months since I started exercising and I’m feeling good. I’ve lost ~15 pounds, my blood pressure is lower, and I’m eating healthier. However, I still want to lose a few more pounds and lower my body fat %.

My primary exercise has been a stationary recumbent bike and walking (street and track), but I’m always looking for alternate activities. I recently noticed at the Park Ridge High School track that they now have their hurdles out of storage. I’ve been tempted to see if I can still 3-step some high hurdles (yeah right!). I’ll have to take that one slowly or else I’ll be blogging from the hospital.

I had an opportunity to go rollerblading last week at The Rink in Montvale and it felt great. Maybe I’ll start blading again, if I can find my old Rollerblades. I’ve also been thinking about buying a bicycle (mountain or hybrid) or getting back into hiking. I’d also love to play more golf this season too (walking not riding). So many ideas, so little time…

Minimally, I’ll be content if I can just maintain a more consistent exercise routine. I started off strong last year, but I’ve been slacking off a little bit lately (primarily due to the baby arriving and work being busier than ever). You know… priorities.
More exercise details at the link above.

So in addition to downing a whole mess of dark chocolate to help lower my blood pressure, now comes some news about a tomato extract that can help too. Yeah, I guess could just eat a whole bunch of tomatoes, but it would take about 4 to equal one of these Lyc-O-Mato capsules.

I think they were trying too hard when it came to naming this product… Lyc-O-Mato? WTF! Not too far off from VitaMeataVegaMin.

Researchers in Israel found that a daily dose of tomato extract helped lower blood pressure among 31 men and women with mild hypertension. On average, their systolic pressure –the top number in a blood-pressure reading –dropped 10 points, while their diastolic pressure, or bottom number, dipped four points, both statistically significant differences.

The supplement, sold as Lyc-O-Mato, contains several plant compounds found in tomatoes. Among them is lycopene, an antioxidant that some studies suggest may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

[via Reuters]

If I’m not mentioning the benefits of coffee on this blog, then it’s usually something good about chocolate. Looks like dark chocolate can possibly help address hypertension. Didn’t Kramer mention something about “flavonoids” on an episode of Seinfeld? I know he mentioned something about “the cocoa bean”.

ISLAMABAD: Dark chocolate can not only soothe you but can also lower blood pressure, researchers said. The study, published by the American Heart Association, joins a growing body of research that shows compounds found in chocolate called flavonoids help blood vessels work more smoothly, which might reduce the risk of heart disease.

[via Daily Times]

Some interesting news on a study that reveals coffee can help lower blood pressure:

TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese medical research team has discovered drinking a cup of coffee or two a day could lower the risk of high blood pressure, a report said.

[via Yahoo News]

BTW, high blood pressure is a silent killer — make sure you get yours checked!

Coffee really IS good for you. Who knew?!

Now comes news for people who still aren’t convinced: Coffee is the number one source of cell-protecting antioxidants in the U.S. diet, according to a study by researchers at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Of a study of 100 foods—including tea, chocolate and cranberries—coffee outranked them all.

[Article at Psychology Today]

Most people I speak to say they never seem to get enough sleep, but what is really “enough”? I’m lucky if I get 5-6 hours sleep per night. I’ve functioned (although not very well) on as little as 2 hours! Believe me, I’d love to get 8 hours a night, but I’d need to make some lifestyle changes for that to happen. In the mean time, I’m going to try this 90 minute thing. Sort of reminds me of the sleep project Kramer tried on Seinfeld.

The author states the the overall quantity of sleep doesn’t matter as long as it is in 90 minute multiples. He functions on 3 hours of sleep at night and one 90 minute nap in the evening and feels completely alert and refreshed.

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