High School Track Flashback

On Thursday I had a chance to stop by the COSSA High School Track and Field meet held in Belleville at the Bruce Faulds Track to check out some of the action.

As a former track & field star (mostly in my own mind) I still like to revisit the atmosphere and excitement on the track and transport myself back to a time many moons ago when I was the one feeling nervous before stepping into the shot put or discus circle.

I stuck mainly to field events as a larger lad but truth be told, I was actually pretty quick for my advanced size. In fact, one year I took part in a relay carnival and was part of a relay team comprised solely of field athletes and we took a lot of teams by surprise with our speed and how well we ran. I was always good over short distances.

Kinda like a drag car but without the nitrous.

The rain held off and it was actually quite a nice day for the meet. I think I might have even burnt the top of my bald head a bit.

It's funny watching the kids though and realizing that even though the times have changed, what happens at a meet is still pretty much the same as when I was taking part in the 80's. The camaraderie and support among the athletes is still there.

There were a few subtle differences I noticed, mainly in the attire worn. For one thing, the use of spandex in both leggings and shorts is much more prominent. This obviously provides less wind resistance as you fly around the track. And judging by some of the conversations I overheard by some of the male participants, the girls are catching their eyes as well. Oh sure, they caught our eye back in my day as well but there was certainly a bit more left to the imagination. 

Another thing I noticed was the organization and technology being used. Obviously things are way more advanced some 30 years later and it shows. Three or four people as starters, more volunteers as marshals, people raking pits and measuring. I mean, we had some of that stuff back then but it wasn't to this extent. It was impressive to watch.

And they actually had a camera at the finish line to help determine winners in a close race.

There was no actual tape to break through as you crossed the line like we used to use. I don't know how often the camera was actually needed but it's kinda cool to have that at the officials disposal.

As usual I brought along my camera to try and capture some of the action. I enjoy shooting sports and rarely have any time to do it anymore it seems. So it was nice to put my rusty skills to the test again and I managed to come away with a few good shots and a sunburn so it was a good visit to the track I'd say.

New Expensive Toy for Me

2013 Chrysler 200 Limited

I love buying new things but I hate spending money. Not exactly a winning combination. But sometimes you have to purchase things out of necessity and even though such things will put you on a first name basis with your local bank manager, it has to be done.

Such is the case with my latest expenditure.

My old car which has been easily the best and most reliable vehicle I'd ever owned was getting old and the rust was taking its toll on the underside of my chariot.

Interior with leather seats and steering wheel.

My 2004 Chevy Impala was a great car with minimal headaches and just an amazing engine. I truly hate to see her go to the scrap yard.

But the old gal was starting to get cranky and demanding more monetary attention so it made sense to have her put down and start looking for a new lady to bring into my life.

I wasn't planning to move so quickly but when I saw her it was love at first sight. I'm not one who needs to have a sporty vehicle but I do enjoy comfort to go along with a quality build. Plus even though I despise Ford and will never own another of their products, I wanted to stay away from foreign made vehicles and continue to support North American made products.

The car I became smitten with was the 2013 Chrysler 200 Limited Edition.

Bringing my new car home.

It's a used car but in great shape and only 26-thousand kilometres on it. That's the lowest number of kilometres I've ever had on a new car for me. I've always bought used and see no reason to change that this time.

I won't bore you with the specs of the engine or fuel economy. However when I went in search of my new car, I had a checklist of items that it needed to be equipped with. Among those were remote car starter (because I live in Canada and the winter's are freaking cold), heated seats (for the same reason), Bluetooth audio system (for my phone to connect hands free) and windshield wipers that can be lifted off the windshield during snow and ice storms.

My new car has all of those things. Plus I'm happy to have leather seats again, USB connections, steering wheel controls for voice recognition and using the stereo.

Chrysler 2013 Limited Interior

The V6 engine has plenty of pep as well and the 18 inch wheels are nice although they will be costly to replace. I also like how the chrome handles, side mirrors and grill add to the finished product.

One thing I'm not thrilled about is how my car insurance with State Farm went up significantly. I feel like I'm being completely taken advantage of. So I after being a State Farm customer my entire adult driving life, I will be shopping around for a better deal.

So I'm happy to have a new vehicle to get me around and reliable enough that I can take longer trips again with little worry of breaking down. I didn't just buy a new mode of transportation, I bought renewed peace of mind. Time to go waste more gas!

Pumping It Up

Some time way back when I first made the decision to transform myself from the Pillsbury Doughboy to something a little less soft and fatty, I probably thought about joining a gym. That was back in the beginning and mostly at the back of my mind because at the start of this journey I was strictly focused on shedding pounds and not lifting them.

Last November after I’d dropped over 150 pounds of disgusting fat and was feeling much more energetic I finally decided to join a gym. At the time I was mostly thinking about being able to use the treadmill inside during the cold winter months with maybe some weight training thrown in for good measure. But that quickly changed as I did some research and got a taste for the rush of building muscle.

Cardio was my main activity for weight loss up until this point. Walking outside had helped to transform and shape the new version of me; sort of a “Mark version 4.0” if you will. I will always tell any obese or over weight person looking to start shedding pounds that walking was the key for me.

Taking a break at the gym.

Sure, cutting back on my calorie intake was a big factor as well but I had to burn calories as well and as a big guy I couldn’t run or jog, so I relied on walking...a lot. Almost every day for an entire year I would get out and do some amount of walking. I’d go anywhere from 3km to sometimes as much as 12km in one outing and I truly believe it saved my life.

After doing all that walking I was ready to branch off. I didn’t want to give up the walks all together and I’ve even added some cardio on the elliptical machine now as well. But the next logical step was to add weight lifting to my routine.

Lifting weights burns fat and in many cases you’ll replace a pound of fat with a pound of muscle. The numbers on the scale won’t change which can be frustrating for someone so focussed on dropping the pounds for so long but a pound of muscle takes up less space than the fat. So while you’re weight might not change, you will see changes to your body shape.

Aside from the weight loss and body shrinking, the other obvious benefit of weight lifting is the building of muscle and improvement in strength. I am in the best shape of my life and a lot of that is thanks to grabbing the dumbbells and pumping iron.

People ask me, “What changes have you noticed the most with your weight loss?”

There are too many to mention here but a few obvious changes include the shrinking body, dropping from size 60 pants to size 42 currently. I can actually feel my ribs now. My biceps, shoulders, back, arms, calves, hamstrings and pretty much every other muscle group I lift weights to strengthen have all grown and become much stronger and more noticeable. My aches and pains associated with being obese have all disappeared. They’ve been replaced by pains associated with muscle growth and hard work.

Now, when I go to the gym I see other guys lifting weights and doing exercises that I don’t currently do. I’ve set a routine for myself that gives me a good overall body workout five days a week. I’m not looking to become the Incredible Hulk. I just want to continue to improve my strength, grow muscle and burn fat.

For those who might be interested, this is my weekly routine. I’ll leave the actual weight amounts out but each exercise is done with 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Monday (Upper Body)

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell), Triceps Extension overhead (Cable), Triceps Push Down (Cable), Side Bends (Dumbbell), Chest Press (Machine), Pull Down (Cable), Arm Front Raise (Dumbbell) and Bent-over Row (Dumbbell)

Tuesday & Thursday (Leg Day)

Leg Press (Machine), Calf Extension (Machine), Leg Curl (Machine), Leg Extension (Machine), Dead Lift (Barbell), Squats (Dumbbell) and Abdominal Crunch (Machine)

Wednesday (Upper Body)

Bicep Curl (Barbell), Lateral Raise (Double Cable), Shoulder Shrug (Dumbbell), Bent-over Row (Barbell), Seated Fly (Machine), Standing Fly (Double Cable) and Rear Delt Pull (Cable)

Friday (Upper Body)

Pull Down Triceps (Cable), Side Bends (Weight Plate), Upright Row (Barbell), Bicep Curl (Dumbbell), Bench Seated Shoulder Press (Dumbbells) and Lateral Raise (Double Cable)

And that’s it. Nothing too fancy or extreme but just enough to work most of the muscle groups I want to improve. I’m sure someone with a lot more experience would look at my routine and probably laugh at it for being so simple or missing something but I’m happy with the results so far. Some exercises I go for maximum reps and others I go for maximum weight to build big muscles. Well, I hope to build a few big muscles.

Now that summer is coming I might have to cut back to 3 days a week so I can golf more and take advantage of the nicer weather while it’s here. But I’ll try and increase my routines to include leg days on those days to make sure I still hit all of the muscle groups I need to each week.

So there you go. That’s what I do at the gym now that I’m moving from simply walking for my exercise to adding strength training. Of course my other favourite activity at the gym is to sneak the odd peek at the pretty ladies but just a peek only. I’m all business don’t you know.

Weight Loss Update: I now weigh 247.3 pounds and have lost a total of 171.5 pounds to date. So I'm still doing something right.