Hoping that all the years of fun might be reversible
by Dino Corvino on August 26th, 2008 • No Comments »
So, its been a good summer. I have never felt this physically active, and I sort of feel like I am turning the corner. I still have problems eating every four hours, but that is something that will be a daily activity, and a struggle each day. So I thought I would look back a bit, at where I have been and what has meant some stuff to me.
Looking Back.
-Cheryl and Chris. I met Cheryl through this website, and I met Chris because she is married to the guy. They are really a cool couple, and a pretty serious inspiration. I know I have written about the whole competitive thing on walks, but it is something more than that. They were telling me, at Chalkfest, about how they have each lost like 40 pounds, and have a commitment to simple foods and raising their kids in this conscious way. It sort of went over my head at the time, but man what a cool thing. It is a simple idea, and that somehow makes it the best.
-The Hill. This started as a thing I was going to do with Sullivan, but we all know he is not one for commitments that he has to drive to. Even if THEY ARE HIS IDEA. But the hill has sort of been the crucible for the summer. I have been there like three times a week or more. And me and the dog have hiked that bastard of a hill like crazy. In the beginning, I would drag myself, and really just not want to do it. Now, the joy comes in the punishment, and the fact that it takes longer for me to get destroyed. I can survive longer than I thought. The Hill is the key if you want to do this.
-Prison. Just last week I saw the movie FELON, with Val Kilmer. And it was about prison, and I got to thinking about prison workouts. We all see the muscled up dudes in the movie coming out of the joint. I did some research, and found some links. More than that though, I just decided to lift heavy weights again. To break down my muscle fibers in a new way. They had grown used to the other workout, and it was barely a workout. So I needed to change. And I did, and I feel amazing. I am sore, and I can see the change in the muscle, it is awesome. No more listening to David Allen on the treadmill. I listen to hip hop now.
The Future.
Keith Uhlig at the paper and I have been bouncing around ideas for riding the 24 Hours of Nine Mile. And I got the doctor to clear me. So now I have to deal with that reality. Which is pretty exciting.
But more specifically I am thinking of two things.
-Swimming. I spent my 20s in the water. I swam in high school and college, I coached swimming, taught swim lessons, Sue Lewitzke defined my life. I went and swam this morning. 1000 brutal yards of free style at what had to be a snails pace. But it was electric. I am so excited about swimming.
-Snowshoeing. I am friend with Jim Carlson, local bon vivant, and he has won gold medals in this snow shoe thing. So, I live in Wisconsin, and have no desire to ski. But walking in the woods seems cool. So that is what I am going to do.
thanks to Lisa for being so cool, and she is working her program too.
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on August 24th, 2008 • No Comments »
This video is sort of a good example of changing it up, as inspired by Cheryl and Chris Mathis. Making ones body do new things, exciting things. These things, the new things, inherently change the shape of your body. To new things.
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on August 17th, 2008 • One Comment »
So, I am not sure what happened. I do not go to the gym for a while, 2 days, and somehow the endorphins leave and I am stuck thinking about stuff. And we all know that is crap. So anyway, here was my realization this weekend…I saw something from my past incorrectly. I had made something into something that it was not. I realized the my love of the story had me as a leading charecter in said story, but the reality is I had nothing to do with it as a narrative at all. The thing that hurts, is if we look at our own narratives individually this was a large, and significant chapter. A sort of defining thing. And as I explored it from the other side, I was barely a part of the narrative for the other person that mattered so much to me. So that absolutely sucks.
You combine that with blues fest, and I am pounded. I am ground like today. So I am taking a week off from the sort of extraneous sharing of my life, save for CW, and my direct friends. I am not retiring to the cabin the woods. I am not doing that. I am just setting a boundary that will allow me to focus on that which is tangible and real. Real friends, not created ones. Organic growth of my life.
But today, my feet hurt. I pace. At blues fest I pace. If I arrived at 1 pm, I did not stop moving, until 2 am. I pace to make sure that something is right. Like doing a checklist in my head. I pace. My good friend Tom Jordan knows my pacing, and actually supports it.
So today my feet hurt, I am humbled by a life lesson, and I am going to eat a frozen pizza and have a diet mountain dew. Tomorrow the gym will loom large.
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on August 14th, 2008 • One Comment »
I am 37, and in my life workout out had been a part of my up until about 7 years ago or so. During that time, that would have been thirty years, I went through 3 workout partners. 1 was my semi famous boss out west, and that was just a great workout time for me, but it was also like another person. I have no idea who I was then, and how it all worked.
In college Jackie was my workout partner. In a way. Once school at Marquette started we were left making our workouts sort of couples activities. Since I was not a student there, I had to get a pass for the athletic buildings and such. Since it was downtown, there was less green space. So we were left to improvise and return to UWM or the beach or the eastside in general. As our relationship fell apart, I found myself far more interested in rock climbing and boxing on the north west side. She and I had nothing to do with each other then. We also had exercise equipment in the house, and that fed a bad addiction. This is when I came out of the pool also, I stopped lifeguarding and teaching swimming and coaching swimming. These were all life mistakes.
Jackie and I talked not too long ago. The Olympics are happening, and an old college acquaintence is the seetter for the mens indoor volleyball team. So that is fun. I do not have anyone, no one, in my life in town that I feel okay talking to about volleyball. I mean I have a framed Karch Kiraly poster on my wall in my bedroom, and I believe that Ricci Luytes was over rated, and Kent Steffes might have been the best on the beach ever. But Jackie and I need to talk about that, and that is fine. It is once every four years.
I was thinking about this when we were talking, and she brought up Gina Carano. A muy thai fighter. I was shocked to hear about this from her, but not all that surprised. It was in the same convesation where she told me that she wished I had taught her to swim. I wished that as well. I never thought that I had ever met someone with such physical gifts as her, and there are too many stories to tell to confirm it.
Now, in the mornings SunspotWendy wakes me up to go to the gym. Honestly ten minutes after I answer the phone I have no idea what she said to me, or I her. But I get in the car and go to the gym. So in that regard I call Sunspot Wendy a workout partner. And an amazingly positive one.
Next week I am going to the doctor. I got a semi serious challenge from Keith Uhlig to do the 24 Hour of Nine Mile race. I am going to get all the medical testing I need, and get cleared to take it on. Then I have a whole year to get ready. I miss riding my bike. And that means I can shop for a mountain bike.
Night. See you in the morning Wendy.
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on August 12th, 2008 • No Comments »
I could truly get used to this waking up with a rock drummer girl. But I digress.
Today, I did the eliptical thing. I gotta say, that sucked. But, the fact is there are few folks at the Y when I go, so I am less likely to be ashamed as I am when say the high school volleyball teams are working out. Then I am just a fat old guy. In the morning, it is a group of old guys like me, so I do not feel so bad about it.
I did the treadmill workout, then I got on the elyptical thing, and tried that out. I sucked at it, and knew I would, so I was just trying to get the movement down. Then I did legs in the gym.
I need to stretch more. A lot more. I need to get a stretching program.
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on August 11th, 2008 • One Comment »
So this morning the first thing I heard when I woke up was Sunspot Wendy. There is something magical about waking up to the encouraging words of a beautiful woman. Laying in bed talking, deciding to go to the gym, become a morning workout person. These are all amazing things. Let me be clear, I spoke to Sunspot Wendy while laying in bed. Sure, it was on the phone, but I was still in bed talking to one of the most pretty women I know. So that has to count for something, in my man world view of life. Even the dog jumped when the phone rang at 515 am.
So, aside from the fact that I talked to Sunspot Wendy, while in bed, I thought about gratitude today while on the treadmill. This process of getting my life back in some sort of shape has not been a solo effort. It has not been an act of will on my own. So I wanted to say thank you.
1. Lisa at the City Pages. She might not understand, but she was the earliest supporter who did not share my last name. Everytime I called in for work, she encouraged me. She read this blog, commented from time to time, and basically was an awesome supporter. So thank you Lisa.
2. My buddy Sullie. I think that the fact that he had like a heart attack at an early age made me think about this for a while. I think that suffering was in my head a while ago, and it was great to correct my bad thinking with that image.
3. Peckham. Pat is a sort of touchstone in my life. I have tremendous intimacy issues, and I am not sure what they come from, but Pat simply is a calming supportive mentor. I am lucky to have him in my life. I often feel that I get a constant barrage of demands and picking, and Pat never does that. Ever. He has an amazing cool about him.
4. Kari and Leah at Wausau Area Events. This is going to seem insane. But let me just say when they said, “You look ten years younger.” to me the other day my heart leapt. Let us break this down…1. I respect their work immensely. They are MVPs of this town, and I think it is important what they do. 2. They are very pretty women….so you add up the fact that I love what they do, and think they are pretty, like any man I am going to want to look good in their eyes. Its silly, but that one statement got me back on the treadmill with a vengeance. Knowing I can do better.
5. And my friend Andy Laub. Andy is a guy I have a sort of awesome amount of crying in public love for. Andy has built this sort of amazing life for himself, and I am totally jealous of it. In a good way. This weekend we talked about the shelves in his garage. He has an amazing garage, clean like a restaraunt. Order. Andy has order in his life. And I love it. He talks to me about mountain bikes in a good way, a subtle sort of reminder that I need to ride more. He is not reminding me, I do not think, but it is a good conversation for me.
So, this is a long transition. Made even harder by my intimacy issues which manifest from time to time. I want to thank these folks, and the many more who helped me. Thank you.
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on July 28th, 2008 • 2 Comments »
So I gotta admit, I AM SORE. I upped my workouts like 100 fold this past week, all because of Cheryl and Chris. I had sort of plateaued for years, years I tell you. I think I was doing the same exercises, and same level of exertion that I was doing in college, and clearly I was not getting anywhere. My pants are definately NOT the same size.
So I was talking to Cheryl online, about her and her husband going for a walk, and toward the end of it they were practically sprinting. SPRINTING. It turns out they are competitive with each other, and she used the word VIGOROUS. I have to admit, that running to run seemed beyond me. I mean I ride my bike to ride, but other than that, who knows. It is treadmill, weights, yoga. Snore.
So on friday I started just tearing it up. Lifting heavy weights, running on the treadmill…and my big ass is more rumbling than running. Just pressing the body. IT WAS AWESOME.
The feeling of new sweat, running down from everywhere. Shirts soaked through, all of it. Good healthy sweat. Amazing.
I lost 5 pounds since last friday. It feels so good.
I think it reminds us, that moving our bodies, well heck that is just simply fun. It is what we are meant to do.
And the other thing, the heart attack to a downtown icon, reminds me that fat guys die young. Or hard.
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on July 16th, 2008 • No Comments »
I wanted to be in bed hours ago, but my head is pretty far from centered right now. I wish I could tell you what it was, but I can tell you how it is manifesting. I am wasting time, not meeting my responsibilities, and generally hiding from everything. I do not know what to make of this, and in all honesty I am pretty sure it is going to pass, but for now, I am anxious.
All of this is manifesting in weird ways. I crave tuna fish sandwiches. Not for years have I even THOUGHT about tuna. Now, I feel like a day is not a day without tuna. I wish I knew what that was about.
Exercise wise, I feel pretty okay. The hill is cool, though I do it alone. I wish Sullie would come along, but he doesn’t because of the myriad of stuff going on his life right now. We roped Cheryl’s husband in to it, I think. His name is Chris, and honestly another guy friend is not going to hurt anything.
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on July 9th, 2008 • No Comments »
I found this old thing in the clearing of archives. It was something Jackie and I did for a while at UWM. I think it was the summer of 1991. It was brutal. But I had just taken up rock climbing, and we were looking for a crew team for her. What the hell?!?
The Workout From Hell
By John Long
The “Workout from Hell” (WFH), is not my invention (though the name is), nor was it designed for climbers; but having struggled through it, I’m confident the training will work like magic for any climber. Be forewarned: it is time-consuming and arduous. Some months ago when I began competitive flatwater kayaking, a professional trainer -sort of an iron guru- was assigned to me, with direct orders to whip me into race shape. As I’ve done my time in the gym, the notion of a special weight geek shadowing me seemed absurd. Just type up the routine and I’ll do it myself! WRONG. My “trainer” was no geek, and whatever he was doing worked, because pound for pound, he was the strongest fellow I’d ever seen. More that just an “iron rat”, he had recently run a 2:37 marathon. I never would have made it through the workout’s first phase had he not been on my case. On occasion, I wanted to kill that man. Now I’d buy him the moon if I could afford it.
I was the first guinea pig my trainer put through the WFH, a cruel experiment combining various strategies and philosophies, proven and otherwise.
The routine is strictly a weight program designed to significantly increase both strength and endurance, with no increase in body weight (providing you watch your diet). High strength to weight ratio is the ideal for flatwater kayaking, as well as climbing. No doubt someone, somewhere, has gone through a similar “progressive” program, but was considerate enough to keep it a relative secret!
This routine assumes certain physiological laws and techniques which are often ignored by climbers, though they are followed religiously by serious lifters. And the “WFH” is dead serious.
First Law: You train the WHOLE physique, not just the muscles associated with climbing or kayaking movements. If you neglect training the antagonistic muscles, an imbalanced, injury-prone machine results. It’s fine to center on sport specific muscles, but not to the exclusion of the rest of your body!
Second Law: Pick a muscle group, do exercises which best isolate those muscles, then trash them.
Third Law: Allow the muscles at least 48 hours to recover before blasting them again.
Ignore any of these precepts and you’ll get something less than the maximum results. No one of flesh and blood can avoid it.
Phase I
2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off. That means 4 days a week in the gym. Day 1 you work back and chest; Day 2, shoulders and arms. Then take a day off. Repeat the process before enjoying 2 days off. DAY ONE: (Back and Chest) Crank 3 sets of 4 back exercises, equaling a total of 12 sets. Of the many back exercises, concentrate on the primary ones: Pull-downs, cable rows, T-bar rows, and maybe 1 final set on a machine (or wide-grip chins). 3 sets of 4 exercises applies to the chest as well. Again, go with free-weight exercises, which tend to be more effective than machines. I usually did flys, flat-back and incline dumbbell presses and finished on the pec-deck. You can consider the last exercises a bonus and change it weekly to add variety.
DAY TWO: (Shoulders and Arms) 3 sets of 4 exercises for shoulders, (12 total). 3 sets of 3 exercises for both biceps and triceps, (9 sets for both). Again, concentrate on the grueling, primary exercises: Seated military presses, standing cable rows, and lateral dumbbell raises for the shoulders (plus you bonus machine exercise); preacher E-Z bar curls, seated dumbbell curls, etc… for the guns; close-grip presses, standing (with bar or rope) and flat back extensions for the triceps.
A Note: “Primary” simply refers to the motions which bomb the muscles most effectively - the basic, fundamental movements. The refining exercises (like concentration curls and cable cross-overs) are not part of this routine. Fact is, no one short of the bionic man would have enough gas to bother with anything beyond the recommended sets.
“The crux”: You must do 30 reps per set! Yes.. you read that correctly. It’s an insane amount of reps and will absolutely trash you for the first few weeks. You’ll definitely need a training partner. Otherwise, once you get to around 20 reps, you’ll quit. It’s also important to load the weights so you can do 30 reps but no more. Expect to fail miserably and have to stop for short breathers at first. After a few weeks you should manage to pump off 30 reps, if just barely. After that, increase the poundage ASAP.
More important that weight is form, which must be correct. This is very hard after 20 reps. Your training partner should watch closely and correct you form when it gets loose.
A couple important things: The initial weeks of this first phase are devastating. I slogged through this routine after paddling for 1.5 hours in the morning and spent much of the first 2 weeks taking naps and bluffing my way through work. You must get adequate rest and eat ample amounts of complex carbs -spuds and brown rice in particular- to fuel the effort. Also eat enough protein. You certainly don’t need the 150 grams body builders consume to create those freaky builds; but you’ll probably need somewhere around 40 grams to avoid lassitude and zero drive. About 3 weeks into the first phase I got dead lazy and couldn’t figure out why. A blood test determined I had mild sports anemia, easily rectified by eating a can of tuna or several pieces of chicken daily. I’m not sure what a vegetarian would have to do -soybeans, frijoles, whatever. Skip the protein, you’ll go down HARD.
Don’t get discouraged by the fact that initially you’ll probably have to use baby weights to accomplish 30 reps. (You know, those funky little chrome dumbbells with 15 lbs. stamped on the end. If you’re in an honest to god iron gym, you might have to blow the dust off of em’) the difference between 20 and 30 reps is the difference between 5.8 and 5.12 (providing you maintain perfect form). If you are in reasonable overall shape, getting adequate rest and nutrition, you will adjust in a matter of weeks.
The remarkable burn you’ll feel at around 20 reps is nothing more than lactic acid build-up. The best way to limit this is to make sure you continue breathing as you pump out the reps - particularly important after 20. You will never get totally used to it, but you can get to where working through the burn is at least possible. And remember…, stretch between sets.
After you can finish the workout without stopping mid-set to rest, continue the 30 rep routine for 1 month. It may well be the longest month of your life (It was for me), though there’s some insane satisfaction in simply surviving such a grueling program. It’s no fun, but one doesn’t embark on this purely for fun!
Phase II
This involves exactly the same routine, 2 days on 1 off, 2 on, 2 off. Now reduce the reps to 14. You’ll savor going to the gym because you don’t have to crank off 30 reps on every exercise. Adjust you poundage so that when you hit 15 reps on a given exercise, you have nothing left -absolutely nothing! You will not be able to double the poundage, but should be able to increase it considerably, perhaps by 30%. Remarkably, you can continue adding weight and cutting down rests between sets, which signals that you are coming into you own. Once you’ve dialed into it, continue with the 15-rep cycle for 3 weeks.
Phase III
Same routine, but cut reps down to 5-6 and go for the max. weight you can possibly heft on every last set. Don’t worry about how long you rest between, just go after the big-time iron. Do this for 3 weeks, adding more weight every session. This is the least tortuous phase in terms of pain, but requires the most concentrated effort. Always remember to maintain you form… perfect form!
Phase IV
Still pump 3 sets of every exercise but now do 30, 15 and 5 reps for each. This is a tapering or “peaking” phase and after 2 weeks, you cut down to every other day and finally 2 days on and 3 days off. At the end, both your strength and endurance have increased dramatically and you’re ready to third-class the Salathe’!
Summary
Phase 1 is a conditioning cycle which increases you vascularity and endurance, tones, and kicks your ass something terrible. Phase 2 maintains endurance and builds strength commensurate to how much weight you stack on. Phase 3 goes after “raw-power”, which is easily summoned after the tremendous conditioning you have received from the previous 2 cycles. The last phase blends everything together. I supplemented the weight bit with heavy aerobic conditioning during the off days (bicycling and jump rope), though I was getting a wicked aerobic pump from a 6 day/week paddling routine. At the end of the whole cycle, my strength increased about 15%, my endurance about 30%, my body fat decreased 5%, my resting heartrate dropped to 50 bpm and I stayed exactly the same weight. The routine is a polecat to perform, but the results are amazing. During that first phase I wanted to quit many times. I just couldn’t believe how hard it was!
One my “off” days I would usually do some leg presses and extensions, plus a little calf work after jumping rope. At the end of my “on” days I would crank some sit-ups and hyperextensions for 15 min. or so, long enough to cool down a little. If you need greater lower body strength, not obtainable via running or jump-rope work, you wont “enjoy” the off days and will instead spend them doing squats or whatever. If you do choose this route, bear in mind you are tackling a workload greater than that of most professional athletes. But, however you shake it, the important thing is the cycle of 30, 15, and 5 reps, followed by the peaking phase.
I personally don’t go for supplements and amino acids and such, feeling the bulk of them end up in the toilet or shrubs. Good balanced vitals, a basic multi-vitamin, plus a little extra C seems to do the trick. I also tried to drink a couple of light beers an evening for no apparent reason at all!
The “WFH” is ideally suited for a climber as an off-season routine and will insure some big-league artillery once the clouds part and it’s time to jump back on the crags…..Go after It !!!
Uncategorized
by Dino Corvino on July 7th, 2008 • 2 Comments »
So I keep track of my weight, but honestly do not recall where I started. So I am unsure as to exactly how much I have lost. I was not an ideal patient for the Weight Management program, but I learned a lot, and what I learned is in practice.
I am more excited, honestly about crossing weight loss bridges, in the ten pound variety. Today I moved from one ten pound group to the next, and it was awesome. Now I am so excited to get even further, it seems manageable in this sort of way.
I also know that the key to this, is metabolism. I need to start my day strong. I have to. If I start the boiler burning in the morning, it goes all day long, and the weight slides off. I feel so good about this. Now the practice of the Y in the morning, seems more important than ever.
Also, sunglasses fit my head. I have always loved sunglasses, and being a fat guy never really could get what I wanted, now I can. It is pretty exciting.
Uncategorized
