Monthly Archives: August 2010
New Cover Coming
In The Curse of Troius: A Zombie Fantasy Novel news, a new cover is in the works! I am very pleased to be working with Christopher Stewart (if “working with” means letting his talent do all the work) on the new and vastly more interesting and exciting cover. I can’t wait for it to be done, since the Black and Grey cover is a bit, uh, plain.
The Stranger and Troius battle as the horde looks on.
Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Workout Plan – Final Thoughts
Two weeks ago, my wife and I decided to attempt Bob Harper’s workout plan using his new Inside Out Method DVDs, as laid out on his website www.mytrainerbob.com. (NOTE: the link to the schedule no longer appears to work, so, thanks to a friend, my lovely wife, and a scanner, I have a copy of the Inside Out Method schedule here.) It’s a 4-week program (although you can do week 4’s workout ad infinitum if you like) that starts with working out a few days a week and builds into a full 7-days-a-week exercise regimen. Lady Aravan and I started with Week 3, since we’d already been working out 6 days a week and didn’t want to cut back and start from the beginning, nor did we want to mix in other exercises (except strength workouts) among Bob’s different workouts. All Bob, all the time. So how did it go?
Bob Harper’s Workout Plan, Day 14
This is it, the last day of the 4-week plan. This is the first Monday in quite some time that I had to work out, so I was a bit apprehensive about the morning. The alarm starts up at 4:30, but since today’s workout is only 30 minutes, the Magical Snooze Button makes its first appearance in a month. Thirty extra minutes of interrupted sleep never felt so good.
But, in the blink of an eye, it’s 5, and time to get up. I am nervous, knowing that today is the strength portion of Bob’s Workout, the one where Zach looks as if he is going to die halfway through it. I know it’s a tough exercise program, and I’m not sure I’m ready. Bob, however, doesn’t much care if I am ready or not.
Bob Harper’s Workout Plan, Day 13
Two days left in what has been a difficult, challenging, but tremendously enjoyable workout program. Today is Yoga for the Warrior, while tomorrow holds the dreaded Strength portion of Bob’s Workout. But as Bob says in the yoga video, focus on the now and don’t worry about what’s coming up.
Before we do the yoga, we do some chores, moving boxes into the new shelves in the garage. It’s a nice day, in the 80s, so we have the windows open. We break a sweat doing the various chores, so when we get down to the basement for yoga, we’re already warm. Pretty much from the first minute on, Lady Aravan and I are both sweating so much that it’s going into our eyes, our mouth, sometimes even getting inhaled. When we go into down-dog, it runs back uphill, and having sweat running up your spine is a different sensation. It patters like little raindrops on the mat under my head. Maybe turning on the fan beforehand would have been a good idea.
Bob Harper’s Workout Plan, Day 12
Three days left for the Inside Out Method workout plan. Today is an odd day for us, since normally Saturday is a day where we do longer workouts. All that was scheduled for today, however, was the 20 minute Butt and Balance workout from Bob’s cardio video Pure Burn. 20 minutes? That’s it? I mean, yes, my entire body is sore, but 20 minutes of exercise in a day just seems, I don’t know, decadent or something.
Bob Harper’s Workout Plan, Day 11
Friday, my second favorite day of the week. Today will be another session with Helen, Stephanie, and Francisco, with Bob yelling at us. It’s also weigh-in day. As she discovered yesterday, Lady Aravan is down another pound. Oddly enough, earlier in the week I told her that I felt heavier, and that I was afraid I’d gain this week, for no good reason. I’d lost 3.5 pounds last week, so would I break through the 180s and go into the Unknown Zone of the 170s?
Nope.
Bob’s Workout Plan, Day 10
It’s day 10! Strange that it actually feels like it’s getting close to the end. Today is the last day for the full Cardio routine under Bob’s 4-week plan (since we started on week 3), but I know that I’ll continue with it as a regular part of my routine. I just enjoy it too much. Which is weird, considering how absolutely painful it still can be.
A bit slow again today. Lady Aravan gets on the scale this morning, which isn’t a weigh-in day. I mention something, and she says it’s weigh-in day. It is up to me to provide the cruel, painful news that it isn’t Friday. “Noooooo,” she half-screams, and she looks like she’s about to burst into tears. Nothing worse than waking up and thinking it’s Friday when it ain’t. The news that she is down a pound so far is no consolation for the rug being pulled out from under her.
Bob Harper’s Workout Plan, Day 9
Today was the first day of trying Bob Harper’s workout plan that I was struggling mentally. Well, OK, I was also struggling physically, but I just didn’t feel enthusiasm this morning, like I usually do. I think it’s apprehension about work coloring my mood. My boss was on vacation last week, which made me happy. Not so much this week. To say I dislike my boss is a bit like saying the American colonists had a bit of a tiff with their British overlords: correct, but woefully understated. I came home yesterday hating my job and dreaded going back, went to bed resentful that my time away from work was already done, and woke up depressed at the prospect of going back. I am upset that it was affecting my effort, even a little bit.
Bob Harper’s Workout Plan, Day 8
It’s day 8! That means enough rest, Monday is far behind now. We begin week 4 today. Yesterday I complained about not getting up to exercise. Naturally, this morning is incredibly difficult to face. 4:30 is 9 hours earlier than I remember it being. My quads are sore, which surprises me a bit, but I guess the Turkish Get-Ups from Sunday, plus trying to push a couch up a 6-inch-wide stairwell, have made them a bit overexerted. I get the feeling that Bob won’t care.
Winter in Derenemyn 