Stairway to Breathlessness

[eggwards]

Thankfully I seem to be a little smaller than Comic Book Guy.

Over the last month or so I've been walking up the stairs at work. This is a big change for the usually elevator taking guy. I work on the third floor, but our floors are all overly tall, with ducts and wires in a raised flooring, then ceilings that allow our indirect lighting system to bounce off of them.

I'm also using the stairs in the parking garage. I usually have to park on the fourth floor, and that seems to be about the same amount of steps as the office building. It's around 50 steps.

Needless to say, when I get up to the top, I'm winded, and usually sweaty. It's getting better, now I'm not panting all the way to my desk (about a football field down the way, it's a large building), but at least to the coffee and water bar.

With the greater emphasis on exercise I've put in for the last year and a half, I would have thought I'd have a little more stamina. I can do 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer with ease, and I've gone from 60 pounds to doing flys and rows with 120 pounds. Still, stairs kill me.

I need to get some variety into my workout. I use the same couple of machines everyday, working on my back and my chest. Lord knows I'd love to have a huge, powerlifter type chest, but I think I'm going to need to figure out some other exercises to actually get some results on that.

I've stalled out on losing weight for some time. I would like to hope it would kick in again, but I don't really know. The gym's scale isn't very accurate, and seems to be wildly different from one weigh-in to the next - like 40 pounds different.

I'm sort of obsessed about working out, since my normal days are monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I didn't drive out to the gym yesterday, I went today after work. I may go on saturday, just to get my three days in. I'm proud of myself for making the commitment for as long as I have. In most things I would have given up months ago.

Now if I was closer to looking like a linebacker than Comic Book Guy, that would be really great...one step at a time.

Comments

[lukebacca.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I think Comic Book Guy is way hotter than any football player I've ever seen. But that's just me.

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

We all have our types, and hey, the heavy boys can look good. I guess I've always had something for the muscle boys and I've always harbored a wish to be like them. It's just harder than I'd like it to be.

[soonercubntx.livejournal.com]

It is amazing what stairs will do for you! Before I moved into my new place here in the city I was living in a 5th floor walkup... Damn that did wonders for my ass! I need to the workout room here in the building and start using the stair master! Give yourself a couple of months and you won't be out of breath by the time you reach the top of the stairs!!!

PS: Miss you guys so much!!!

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think it's already getting somewhat easier. I'm just hoping to gain stamina this way.

Hooray for wonder ass!

Miss you too. Come back soon!

Keep it up!

[bearindfw.livejournal.com]

You would be amazed how much small changes can make.
Eating 100 calories more than your basal metabolic rate can cause you to gain 10 pounds a year. 100 calories is a cup of apple juice, less than half a snickers bar, etc.

So keep it up. Small changes add up.

Re: Keep it up!

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

The food part is a totally different issue, and something I'm very, very stubborn about. It's much easier to make a difference with exercize than to eat differently.

Re: Keep it up!

[owenthomas.livejournal.com]

I hear you. I was stubborn about food for years. And then ... I just got a little more stubborn about losing weight. (Here's a tantalizing tip from my own experience: As your gut gets smaller, your chest automatically starts looking bigger.)

You just have to get there your own way. In the meantime, it's great that you're sticking to your exercise routine. I'm proud of you!

Re: Keep it up!

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

Well, the food thing is difficult for me. It's hard to explain, but I don't eat much from the furits and veggies part of the food pyramid. My parents never forced it on me, so I never developed a tase for them, and actually experince revulsion in many instances.

Well, my belly has been getting smaller, but it's drifted down to more pronounced love handles - I need to know how to better that.

Since my diet is not the greatest, I am eating smaller portions for most meals, and I'm exersizing more to try to balance it out. I'm still wanting to be bearish, just a bear that fits into off the rack clothing and isn't out of breat climbing stairs.