Days 3 and 4--The Lover and The Fighter

Day 3. The Lover

I thought long and hard on whether or not I should display almost naked photos of myself in the before stage of this project. I held off for a few days but then I decided to go for it all. Mind you the Dolce and Gabbana briefs seem a little tight, but they are a very comfortable fit. So this is what I looked like on Monday. 

On Wednesday I was really motivated. I was even looking forward to  my workout routine: chest, triceps and shoulders. I decided to integrate weights into my workout four days a week. Day one being legs, day two: chest, shoulders, and triceps, all pushing movements. Day three: biceps and back, all pulling movements, and day four: legs again. Legs excercizes have always been my achilles heal. Although my legs are pretty strong, they are genetically inclined to be long and thin. I Thank my mothers side of the family for that. My upper body can get pretty big, very quickly, and I don't mean muscle-wise. I could easily be one of those guys with a big gut and skinny legs working a carny rat during the Fourth of July. 

My routine always starts with the bench press. For me it is a good indicator of exactly where I stand, strength wise. I started off with a warm-up set at 135 pounds and then I usually go heavy to light on my sets, increasing the repititions as I get lighter with the weight. So I started out at 180 pounds and I finished at 135 pounds, then I did 90 pounds until I burned out with the repititions. I finished my chest routine with some flyes, upper and lower, three sets each, and then I did three sets of incline bench to round out my chest workout. 

I actually felt stronger than I thought, until I started doing some shoulder excercizes. I dont know if I had just burned my arms out on the chest excercises, but I could barely push 90 pounds on the military press. I bumped it down to 70 and all I could manage was only 8 repititions. I bumped it down again to sixty pounds, where I felt I found my weight. A measly 60 pounds. Looks like shoulders will be my new strength indicator.

I finished my shoulder excercises and moved on to my triceps. I like working tri's. Fat or thin my triceps never let me down. I can pump out ten reps with 110-120 pounds with ease. Six sets of triceps and I was done with the weights. I finished my workout on the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes on level 5 and I was done for the day. Total time at the gym--exactly 90 minutes.

Day 4--The Fighter

I have always been fascinated by boxing. I used to watch the big fights on HBO as a kid with my father. Even today if by chance I come across an old Ali-Frazier fight on ESPN Classic, I'll watch it until the end. In my opinion though, I think of modern day boxing as a sham. These promoters have really sucked the life out of the sport, and treated these boxers like they were greyhound dogs, once used up and no longer able to run, they would be abandoned and metaphorically euthanized. Not everybody can sell grills I guess. These once proud champions become broken figments of our collective imaginations, resorting to signing pictures at rummage sales to feed their families.

I started boxing when I was in the Army. Someone I knew was a very good boxer and he showed me a thing or two, including beating the shit out of me on occasion. Believe it or not with every good beating in boxing you learn something; you learn how to quickly correct mistakes, otherwise you will find yourself laying on your back, with a real stupid expression on your face blinking really fast. I bought a heavy bag and some gloves a few years ago with the hopes of getting back into the excercize aspect of boxing. let me tell you this: Punching a heavy bag non-stop for two minutes will make a person gasp for breath--It is difficult. Your lungs burn and your legs give out very quickly unless you are in great shape. With the help of my brother Jesse we dusted off the heavy bag and hung it up on a solid piece of two by eight that crosses the patio area outside. 

I put on the gloves and started to warm up. A few jabs, a few soft punches. Then I let loose. A manic barrage of throws, speeding up my pace as I started to feel myself get tired and weak. This is the point where you must push yourself and I did. After a about two minutes of this, I was absolutely exhausted. My knees were shaking and my legs were barely able to support my weight. I rested for a minute and then back at it. A relentess succession of one-two's at the low and dense part of the heavy bag, where the bag feels like it is filled with sand. Another break and then back at it, four more times until my body could take it no more. Getting my gloves off of my hand was extremeley difficult. I wanted to collapse on the ground and face the sky, but Got the gloves off, got my shoes off and jumped into the swimming pool, sank to the bottom and held my breath for a few seconds before I emerged refreshed, with a sense of accomplishment. My daughter grace followed me a few seconds later, and we began swimming together in the pool.