Have you seen the Sprint Ahead campain "moving lights" commercial? Pretty cool.
Making of:
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Getting Physical
20070718
Worked out at the gym for the first time in a number of weeks. Switched to an evening session with my trainer, as mornings just weren't working. I asked to focus on our basic balance-ball routine:
15lb tricep extension
25lb chest press
20lb bicep curl
15lb shoulder press
(and repeat)
Then some core/abdominal work:
Prone iso ab
Side iso ab
(you need to search down a bit for the pictures of these exercises)
Crunches (left, middle, right) 15 reps (that is, left-middle-right counts as a single rep; 45 crunches total)
Ran home to get water, then, inspired by the Tour de France, returned for spin class with Liz. She's a great spin instructor: always on time, always ready with a pre-set play list, and ready with goals for each song. And she remembers my name and the fact that I had last taken her class with a co-worker. So awesome! She doesn't program any off-time into her class, so I have to purposefully do some higher-cadence, lower resistance recovery in the short time she leaves between songs. It's not hard to remember to do as my legs are burning with lactic acid at the end of each song. She's in amazing shape, doing high cadence "runs" out of the saddle during songs while shouting encouragement to the rest of us. My ego is usually a help to me in spin classes, as I want to walk out feeling like there wasn't really anyone there who was putting out more than I except the instructor. This class, I'm working so hard that I barely have time to check out how hard my bike-neighbors are doing.
Liz has an iPod, which I remember I was telling her she should get.
"Honey, this was a Christmas present! Has it really been that long since you were here?!" Oops. Probably. I think it's been morning classes exclusively since the new year. Perhaps I should be doing more evening classes on non-dancing days. Hmmmm....
I'm completely wrung out at the end of class. My shirt is soaked. My shorts are soaked. I've only taken in a liter of fluids during the hour, instead of the 1.5+L that I average, but get in another liter over the next 20 minutes.
Here's a graph of my effort (heartrate):
Wow, that's really interesting to see. You can clearly see a 10 minute warm-up period, after which I really don't really dip below 135 bpm until the warm-down. There are spikes where I tickle 170 bpm, and times where it's clear that I'm spending extended periods of time trying to maintain maximum effort (well, minutes at a time as opposed to 15 second peaks).
Contrasted with a leisurely 45 minute ride I did with Moms and Sis on the 16th:
I barely break 140 bpm during the entire ride. Not surprising, really. It was more about getting out on the bike with the family than doing any kind of strong ride.
Instead of heading straight home, I run by Sears to pick up the mini version of the George Forman grill ($20), then head by the grocery store for pre-marinated chicken thighs ($2.50/lb). Bachelor dinner on the small scale is a bit easier with this appliance. I'm going to try some veg from the Fullerton Farmers Market tomorrow. Grilled tomatoes! Zucchini, perhaps? Oh, and I'll try to remember to get more Heed fluid replacement from Banning's Bikes; Pure water just isn't cutting it during spin).
I'm still literally soaked through with sweat while running these errands. I'm lucky not to be dripping.
I sleep well and feel that nice touch of soreness the next morning. Enough to remind myself I worked, but nothing debilitating. I spend an embarrassing amount of time flexing in the mirror. I'm finally losing enough abdominal fat to see the beginnings of a hint of the abdominal six-pack. Pictures to follow. No, not really.
Worked out at the gym for the first time in a number of weeks. Switched to an evening session with my trainer, as mornings just weren't working. I asked to focus on our basic balance-ball routine:
15lb tricep extension
25lb chest press
20lb bicep curl
15lb shoulder press
(and repeat)
Then some core/abdominal work:
Prone iso ab
Side iso ab
(you need to search down a bit for the pictures of these exercises)
Crunches (left, middle, right) 15 reps (that is, left-middle-right counts as a single rep; 45 crunches total)
Ran home to get water, then, inspired by the Tour de France, returned for spin class with Liz. She's a great spin instructor: always on time, always ready with a pre-set play list, and ready with goals for each song. And she remembers my name and the fact that I had last taken her class with a co-worker. So awesome! She doesn't program any off-time into her class, so I have to purposefully do some higher-cadence, lower resistance recovery in the short time she leaves between songs. It's not hard to remember to do as my legs are burning with lactic acid at the end of each song. She's in amazing shape, doing high cadence "runs" out of the saddle during songs while shouting encouragement to the rest of us. My ego is usually a help to me in spin classes, as I want to walk out feeling like there wasn't really anyone there who was putting out more than I except the instructor. This class, I'm working so hard that I barely have time to check out how hard my bike-neighbors are doing.
Liz has an iPod, which I remember I was telling her she should get.
"Honey, this was a Christmas present! Has it really been that long since you were here?!" Oops. Probably. I think it's been morning classes exclusively since the new year. Perhaps I should be doing more evening classes on non-dancing days. Hmmmm....
I'm completely wrung out at the end of class. My shirt is soaked. My shorts are soaked. I've only taken in a liter of fluids during the hour, instead of the 1.5+L that I average, but get in another liter over the next 20 minutes.
Here's a graph of my effort (heartrate):
Wow, that's really interesting to see. You can clearly see a 10 minute warm-up period, after which I really don't really dip below 135 bpm until the warm-down. There are spikes where I tickle 170 bpm, and times where it's clear that I'm spending extended periods of time trying to maintain maximum effort (well, minutes at a time as opposed to 15 second peaks).Contrasted with a leisurely 45 minute ride I did with Moms and Sis on the 16th:
I barely break 140 bpm during the entire ride. Not surprising, really. It was more about getting out on the bike with the family than doing any kind of strong ride.Instead of heading straight home, I run by Sears to pick up the mini version of the George Forman grill ($20), then head by the grocery store for pre-marinated chicken thighs ($2.50/lb). Bachelor dinner on the small scale is a bit easier with this appliance. I'm going to try some veg from the Fullerton Farmers Market tomorrow. Grilled tomatoes! Zucchini, perhaps? Oh, and I'll try to remember to get more Heed fluid replacement from Banning's Bikes; Pure water just isn't cutting it during spin).
I'm still literally soaked through with sweat while running these errands. I'm lucky not to be dripping.
I sleep well and feel that nice touch of soreness the next morning. Enough to remind myself I worked, but nothing debilitating. I spend an embarrassing amount of time flexing in the mirror. I'm finally losing enough abdominal fat to see the beginnings of a hint of the abdominal six-pack. Pictures to follow. No, not really.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Richard Simmons
As promised! Krysia gets me the picture of Richard Simmons and I when the Atomic Ballroom Swing Teams visited Slimmons in Beverley Hills.
Helloooo Christmas card!
We had an awesome time visiting Slimmons. It was everything you'd expect, so over-the-top. But fun!
Helloooo Christmas card!
We had an awesome time visiting Slimmons. It was everything you'd expect, so over-the-top. But fun!
Friday, July 6, 2007
June Dance Wrapup
20070622
I guess I neglected to mention earlier that Katie and Jerry (but mostly Katie) had their daughter on Monday night, 20060618. I was holding out for Jayden Jordan, but I doubt that's going to happen.
Upside: Aubri is here and teaching! In Bal/Shag, Jenny's doing the choreography and Aubri's giving us technique tips. The big one is the come-around with a open pose on 7-8: I have to really get the follow around and behind me as I open her up.
Floorcraft is interpreted by Aubri as a tweak of regular moves to move us around on the dance floor. Very cool.
Pirouette's are spins. Finally learn that flashy lead spin: it's at the tail end of a circle, with the prep on 7. I think. I should have written this earlier.
20070623
No team practice
20070624
Technique and the Atomic Routine taught by Jenny. Technique is always awesome, but we're still slow on the Atomic Routine for the new team members who joined the class. I'll never learn that darn tap section!
20070626
Aubri again teaches all the upper level classes. Awesome! But it's all a blur.
20070629
Bal/Shag is slowed by new people again. Oh well.
Aubri morphs Savoy Styling class into mini-choreography incorporating the Savoy Kick during Charleston. The class has lots of new moves, which I feel I can use that same night! Especially the Swing Out with Free Spin which doesn't use the left hand at all.
Bombdiggity class: I take it all back. This was all new moves (a barrel roll?!) that weren't socially useful at all! :-)
Aubri is clearly the best swing instructor I've had. She's incredibly prepared, with written choreography for each class and relevant notes. My one critique: she's constantly praising me. That makes me nervous and doesn't feel genuine. I actually work harder for Jenny, who withholds love. I mean love. Praise! Withholds praise!
Isn't there a YouTube clip of Aubri dancing? I think this is her, but am not 100% certain. Well, I'm 100% certain that that's Aubri's dancing styling, body language, and hair.
UPDATE: No, it's not Aubri. Oh well, it's still an awesome clip.
As social dancing winds down on Friday night, I make sure that Trish was going to come out and dance with me. Jenny gave me the "Hey, what about me?!" gesture and vocalizations. I thought she only danced with guys named Chris and Will, and mention that. "You can ask me to dance any time," she replied. That special thrill I got can only be obtained by withholding love. I mean praise.
And later as I leave, "Seriously John, you can ask me to dance any time." Seriously, I'm still totally intimidated, but almost there.
20070630
Aubri is running the team practice today, and is a tough taskmistress. We run Jeep Jockey so many times that I'm soaked through with sweat. And I keep screwing up the solos. Damn you canceled practice last week! Might be the fact that I'm an A instead of a B solo too. Aubri has interesting technique observations, and still manages to praise too much (for my taste). I like the Katie/Jerry/Jenny honesty. I'm not a beginner who needs my ego stroked. :-) Well, I do, but I need to fell like it's genuine praise, and hers comes a bit too freely. What a weird thing to be fixating on. Maybe it's because of my talent crush. So I need to find something wrong and work that for all it's worth.
I said talent crush, not actual crush. Crush on the talent, not on the person. Does no one know what the heck I'm talking about?!
Danie is on teams now! Hooray!
Swing 1 team starts out with traveling swing-out practice, then we watch the team Shim-Sham. Then start to learn Big John Special. Find out that See-Saw is a simplified version of Big John, so we're learning two for one.
Lunch with Liz and Gerald after. Wiped out! Thai Spice is a welcome meal.
I guess I neglected to mention earlier that Katie and Jerry (but mostly Katie) had their daughter on Monday night, 20060618. I was holding out for Jayden Jordan, but I doubt that's going to happen.
Upside: Aubri is here and teaching! In Bal/Shag, Jenny's doing the choreography and Aubri's giving us technique tips. The big one is the come-around with a open pose on 7-8: I have to really get the follow around and behind me as I open her up.
Floorcraft is interpreted by Aubri as a tweak of regular moves to move us around on the dance floor. Very cool.
Pirouette's are spins. Finally learn that flashy lead spin: it's at the tail end of a circle, with the prep on 7. I think. I should have written this earlier.
20070623
No team practice
20070624
Technique and the Atomic Routine taught by Jenny. Technique is always awesome, but we're still slow on the Atomic Routine for the new team members who joined the class. I'll never learn that darn tap section!
20070626
Aubri again teaches all the upper level classes. Awesome! But it's all a blur.
20070629
Bal/Shag is slowed by new people again. Oh well.
Aubri morphs Savoy Styling class into mini-choreography incorporating the Savoy Kick during Charleston. The class has lots of new moves, which I feel I can use that same night! Especially the Swing Out with Free Spin which doesn't use the left hand at all.
Bombdiggity class: I take it all back. This was all new moves (a barrel roll?!) that weren't socially useful at all! :-)
Aubri is clearly the best swing instructor I've had. She's incredibly prepared, with written choreography for each class and relevant notes. My one critique: she's constantly praising me. That makes me nervous and doesn't feel genuine. I actually work harder for Jenny, who withholds love. I mean love. Praise! Withholds praise!
Isn't there a YouTube clip of Aubri dancing? I think this is her, but am not 100% certain. Well, I'm 100% certain that that's Aubri's dancing styling, body language, and hair.
UPDATE: No, it's not Aubri. Oh well, it's still an awesome clip.
As social dancing winds down on Friday night, I make sure that Trish was going to come out and dance with me. Jenny gave me the "Hey, what about me?!" gesture and vocalizations. I thought she only danced with guys named Chris and Will, and mention that. "You can ask me to dance any time," she replied. That special thrill I got can only be obtained by withholding love. I mean praise.
And later as I leave, "Seriously John, you can ask me to dance any time." Seriously, I'm still totally intimidated, but almost there.
20070630
Aubri is running the team practice today, and is a tough taskmistress. We run Jeep Jockey so many times that I'm soaked through with sweat. And I keep screwing up the solos. Damn you canceled practice last week! Might be the fact that I'm an A instead of a B solo too. Aubri has interesting technique observations, and still manages to praise too much (for my taste). I like the Katie/Jerry/Jenny honesty. I'm not a beginner who needs my ego stroked. :-) Well, I do, but I need to fell like it's genuine praise, and hers comes a bit too freely. What a weird thing to be fixating on. Maybe it's because of my talent crush. So I need to find something wrong and work that for all it's worth.
I said talent crush, not actual crush. Crush on the talent, not on the person. Does no one know what the heck I'm talking about?!
Danie is on teams now! Hooray!
Swing 1 team starts out with traveling swing-out practice, then we watch the team Shim-Sham. Then start to learn Big John Special. Find out that See-Saw is a simplified version of Big John, so we're learning two for one.
Lunch with Liz and Gerald after. Wiped out! Thai Spice is a welcome meal.
Live Free And Glom On
20070630
I meet up with Ryan in the late afternoon for a meal at Blue Agave. Too much food. We're too late to get good seat for Knocked Up at the Brea Edwards, so we see Live Free or Die Hard. Enjoyable, but I popped out of my suspension of disbelief at the amount of damage Bruce Willis's character takes. And some stunts were just not believable.
I'm looking for dessert, so we check out The Yardhouse. It has cool decor, cool music (just too loud), and cool drinks. But somehow, the combination makes me hate everything about the place. We get seated, but I run into a gal that I've ridden with (and have a tiny crush on), so we move to her table with her friends. I'm introduced to my crushes girlfriend. Did I see that coming? I actually did. They're a cool group, and I'm shameless about glomming on to a group of people who haven't heard my jokes. Wait, that's why I hate The Yardhouse. I can't make it on good looks, so I rely on my humor. And if the music's too loud to hear my jokes...
Damn you Yardhouse!
I meet up with Ryan in the late afternoon for a meal at Blue Agave. Too much food. We're too late to get good seat for Knocked Up at the Brea Edwards, so we see Live Free or Die Hard. Enjoyable, but I popped out of my suspension of disbelief at the amount of damage Bruce Willis's character takes. And some stunts were just not believable.
I'm looking for dessert, so we check out The Yardhouse. It has cool decor, cool music (just too loud), and cool drinks. But somehow, the combination makes me hate everything about the place. We get seated, but I run into a gal that I've ridden with (and have a tiny crush on), so we move to her table with her friends. I'm introduced to my crushes girlfriend. Did I see that coming? I actually did. They're a cool group, and I'm shameless about glomming on to a group of people who haven't heard my jokes. Wait, that's why I hate The Yardhouse. I can't make it on good looks, so I rely on my humor. And if the music's too loud to hear my jokes...
Damn you Yardhouse!
Cool With The Kids, Rats In The Kitchen
20070701
I'm supposed to shadow Betsy today to learn how to open/close the Meetinghouse, but am about 20 minutes late. Oops. I get the gist, and make some notes on the quirky things. I actually thought I was just learning how to open, but no, closing too. As part of opening, I find out that the A/C isn't working in the main meeting room. Yikes. I make the decision to hang out with the kids, as their room is cool. Spend some quality time chatting with Sonia and Kathy.
Off to meet up with the Remys to see Ratatouille. I really enjoy the movie, as they clearly payed attention to the writing as well as the animation. The only part that lags is the conflict between the rat's advice and the love-interest's advice. A bit contrived. Very much a plot device.
Back to the Remy pad for a Remy meal. John Remy, that is. Then I realize I have to leave to dance at Atomic. Next time!
I'm supposed to shadow Betsy today to learn how to open/close the Meetinghouse, but am about 20 minutes late. Oops. I get the gist, and make some notes on the quirky things. I actually thought I was just learning how to open, but no, closing too. As part of opening, I find out that the A/C isn't working in the main meeting room. Yikes. I make the decision to hang out with the kids, as their room is cool. Spend some quality time chatting with Sonia and Kathy.
Off to meet up with the Remys to see Ratatouille. I really enjoy the movie, as they clearly payed attention to the writing as well as the animation. The only part that lags is the conflict between the rat's advice and the love-interest's advice. A bit contrived. Very much a plot device.
Back to the Remy pad for a Remy meal. John Remy, that is. Then I realize I have to leave to dance at Atomic. Next time!
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