I'm really wired....
So, I have a neat little exercise room downstairs in my dad's old workshop.
His huge shop fan is pushed in front of the open double doors to suck in a torrent of cooling wind when I am doing my 3x or 4x a week exercise routines.
The shop is not air-conditioned and summer temps make it a challenge to head down there.
Lots of sweat as I do about an hour of strenuous routines on the machines.
I am really serious about my diet, my weight and muscle tone.
My doctor was concerned about a slight rise in my blood sugar and sent me to see a dietician, a delightful nurse at East Cooper Hospital.
She explained I could continue to eat most of my favorite foods but less frequently and in smaller portions.
Well, there is more to it than that.
The new emphasis is on fruits and vegetables. "good" fats, protein and less "empty calories."
Fortunately, I had several cans of salmon which are high in what I need and I enjoy making a spinach salad with a boiled egg and chopped tomatoes.
My "gym" is set up so I can stream Netflix and Amazon Prime movies to watch on a tv monitor as I do 30-minutes on the treadmill.
I don't "run" but do a steady walk at 3 mph for a half hour.
I can gradually increase the "incline" of the machine to add more stimulation and actually spend a shorter time walking.
The images on the tv make the time pass faster and I recently signed up again to have Netflix send me several DVDs a month.
These would add some of the newer action films, ideal for exercise time.
BUT, I did not set up a VCR to watch them.
I had a small screen DVD/CD player and tried using it. but "small" was not a great solution.
AHAH! My laptop has a nice size screen but was a low-end machine and lacked a built-in DVD player.
A quick trip to Wal-Mart and I came home with what I thought was an external DVD player.
Hmmm, it seemed to be missing a connecting cable.
Rather than going out again to buy a cable with a USB on each end, I rummaged through an old - but massive - collection of cables and connectors I had stored downstairs.
Wow, there were cables here not needed for over a decade.
All had been bought when required but later assigned to the rubbish bin.
Well, actually in an old piece of soft luggage.
I pulled up a chair and started untangling cords and putting similar ones in small stacks.
Amazing how many different power sources had accumulated.
I found some that were difficult to even recall what they powered!
Well, the search was not fruitful. These all were pre-USB and useless for this project.
I went online and specified I wanted an external DVD/CD player to attach to a laptop. Amazon came through with a unit that included an attached USB cable and cost half of what I had just paid for the unit I am returning to Wal-Mart.
An interesting journey down memory lane when items changed quickly and old methods were replaced with newer versions.
Uh, that is STILL happening!
Labels: Amazon Prime. Netflix and ROKU, bike and treadmill, Butterfly chest exercise, external DVD player for a low-end laptop, HDMI, tv monitor., USB cable
"Hey, weight a minnit..."
Joe Weider, the man behind the famed body-builder
Arnold Schwarzenegger, now has turned his attention to me and my body.
Believe me, I need all the help I can get!
Well, Mr. Weider is not giving me a hand personally.
I just bought a used home weight system with his name on it and I have high hopes.
Yes, it's only early January in 2015 but already such exercise equipment is on sale. Found this on Craigslist.
I noticed it was dusty.
In a few more weeks I suppose the crowds will be smaller at gyms and fitness centers as reality overpowers even the most sincere best intended New Year's resolutions.
This 200-pound machine was purchased at Sears and delivered in a large box on a big truck to its new owner three months ago.
I searched last week for one like this - or similar - and Craigslist popped up with this winner.
I called because the price was lower than at the stores. Did he still have it for sale?
Yes he did and I drove over - using my Smartphone's GPS to navigate - and pulled up in his driveway.
About a month ago, he had removed the
Weider 6900 from the box and carefully assembled it in his garage.
I did not ask why, after only a month, he had decided he didn't need it. Who knows, maybe a month from now, I too might offer it up for sale?
Fortunately, I have plenty of room for exercise equipment.
My dad, a carpenter and cabinetmaker, had built his 50' x 20' workshop after they moved from the peninsula (Ansonborough) to Hanahan in 1962.
I call this my
"Charleston Basement" because of all the space I have downstairs.
And to watch eyebrows raise to envision anyone having a basement in our below-sea-level-Lowcountry.
After my dad had passed away, I found Lowe's would sell "
mistake-mixed" paints very cheaply so I brightened up the spacious but dull workshop with bright colors.
I had toyed with the idea of moving up to a full weight bench with metal plates and barbells.
Did not like the idea of trying to press heavy weights without a "spotter" to insure I did not have a mishap while alone and be in trouble.
(I had a boat for years and did not go out alone. Less boating but more shared good times with others on board.)
Instead, I liked the idea of ten weights (12.5 pounds each) which could be combined and moved with pulleys and cables to provide varied resistance as I worked on different parts of my body.
I quickly learned that you balance the number of rep(ititions)
you do versus the weights involved.
Different results if you lifted heavier loads fewer times or more times with less weights.
This came with a nice chart showing about 36 different ways to tone specific muscles.
And suggested regimens to set and meet specific body building goals.
I am so glad the previous owner had patiently - and correctly - put all of these parts together.
It works smoothly and I am experimenting with using a different number of heavy plates.
After only 3 days of working out ways to work out, I feel this is working out well.
The "basement," over the years, has seen several treadmills come and go. The last two came from
Play It Again, Sports
When one burned out (the mother board started smoking!) the guys helped me choose my current
Horizon model.
They do this a lot and made moving in the new and hauling out the old a simple procedure.
I just walk (fast) instead of jogging or running on my treadmill and that takes 30 minutes of my 5x a week exercising.
I did the annual Bridge Run for 13 years - walking rather than running.
Did my first run, er, walk, the last year the 2-lane John P. Grace was used; many years on the 3-lane Pearman, and did my final walk on the 8-lane Ravenel.
So, until the city builds a new bridge across the Cooper River, I guess that's it for me.
But my walking continues.
The treadmill faces a small tv set, and, using my ROKU, I can stream Netflix movies and series onto the screen and be entertained.
It makes the half-hour walk more interesting.
(Click on the photos for more details.)
As noted earlier, this is my
800th posting on my 8-year old blog.
I started We
b Logging a few years after I retired from The Post and Courier, my 200+ years old local newspaper.
I've written about a diet I started early last summer so this new phase of exercise equipment continues that weight-loss effort.
Yes, I am using weights to lose weight.
Labels: Butterfly chest exercise, dumbbells and barbells. Horizon treadmill., John P. Grace bridge, Pearman Bridge, Play It Again Sports, Ravenel Bridge, Weider 6900 weight system
I am really serious about my diet, my weight and muscle tone.
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