Workout
It’s the beginning of week 2! Back to the aerobic workout. I decided to do the warmup and cooldown from the P90X Plyometrics DVD, instead of the one in the book. The stretches are similar, but I keep a better pace and form when I follow along with Tony and the gang. I do get tired of the dialogue, but that’s why all the P90X graduates know it so well.
The workout took me 35 minutes. I got a good calorie burn for that amount of time, but I need to have a longer session for better results. Hopefully on Wednesday I will have time for the treadmill, too.
Nutrition
Today was another mixed bag as far as good vs. bad choices. I had leftover Chinese food from the other day, without the soup, so it was more reasonable. Overall, my calories were a little high (150 surplus), and my protein percentage a little low, but not terrible.
I did try a couple of new things today. I have been trying to find coconut oil at the store because of all the health benefits. It’s apparently well-hidden or unavailable at most supermarkets, because I couldn’t find it until I went to a local vitamin store. I guess it’s at the health food stores, too.
Recently I heard a podcast from Ben Greenfield Fitness, in which the guests were talking about some convincing evidence linking body temperature and fat burning. One of the techniques they mentioned, which I am sure has been part of some fad diets, is drinking ice water to burn more calories. It’s not a large amount of calories, maybe 100 or so per day if all the water you drink is ice cold. They did make the point that if you overeat by that amount of calories per day, you can gain a few pounds per year, and so on. I figure it’s worth a try, so I am sitting here with a big insulated jug full of ice water.
Health and well-being
In the podcast I just mentioned, the guests talked about other experiments they have tried, such as ice-water baths (which are a prety common recovery step for athletes) and even walking outside in the cold with as little clothing as possible. I think they called it a “shiver walk” or something like that. Once upon a time, I did some early morning runs in the cold, and they compared it to that, but for now I am trying to keep my coat open when I go outside, or maybe wear a layer less than I normally would. Again, it can’t hurt to try. No ice baths for me just yet.
Hmmm maybe I will have to start drinking ice cold water.
I have a ridiculous-looking Coke-branded insulated jug at my desk. The kind you get at a highway rest stop. It holds two quarts, I think. Let’s just say I drank that a little too fast yesterday morning. I am pacing myself now. You have to carefully balance the “drink plenty of water” thing.
I am also trying walking in the cold as much as possible. Ray Cronise says he is careful to wear something on his extremities, and I suppose no one is suggesting hypothermia or frostbite as a weight-loss technique. Just get your body to counteract the cold for 30 minutes or so at a time.