Chronicles: Alan B. Rowley II - Success Warrior - ECoach - P90X

Grim Tales - Turning the Tide

My ex is the queen of spin.  She should have found a way to take a job as a political advisor.  She has an ability that is almost magical (black arts but still) in her ability to get people to believe her and for the remainder of the Grim Tales posts, I'll refer to her as Darth because she has a Sith Lord's ability to manipulate people.

When we decided to get divorced, she started a propaganda campaign that was so intense and so all-encompassing that only a handful of people weren't caught in the net.  People who a week before were sympathetic to me because even though I was married, I was raising my daughters essentially as a single parent and doing a dang good job at it, now felt it necessary to rush in and rescue my daughters from my evil grasp. 

When we were married, Darth used to complain that my daughters liked me better.  They were both daddy's girls.  You want to know the secret to that.  Spend lots of loving time with your kids.  I had to step in several times to back her off of her verbal rampages against these girls who were (and still are) both incredibly smart, beautiful, and well-behaved.  Quality time will naturally occur during quantity time.

She made a blitzkrieg attempt over a weekend and continued for years to make sure that the propaganda never wore off.  She was so effective that even members of my family believed her.  In all subsequent court battles, Tia and I found ourselves all alone in trying to save the girls.  It was frustrating in that we were so truthful and Darth was so deceiving and yet people believed her.  There have been costs involved, not just to my daughters but to others as well.

Anyone Seen Success Warrior?

Where to begin.

Let's start with Saturday. 

Saturday started off very well and then during karate training (it's not really Karate but for simplicity sake I call it that), I was injured.  I didn't think much of it but something in my throat was damaged and still hurts today.  I don't know if that has anything to do with the next couple of days but it was something very noteable that happened where there was a very distinct before and after feeling.

In fact, I ended up coming home from work a couple hours early that night because I just didn't feel well.

Sunday started off with the same feeling and I didn't get much done but by Sunday night, I felt much better.  I thought I was on the mend but looking back now, feeling how I feel today physically, it was probably the Excedrin (generic brand, of course).

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X - Journal (Days 67 - 70)

Disclaimer: This P90X review is just one guy's journey through 90 days to see what happens.  Your results will probably be different based on any number of things (diet, intensity, other activities) and you should be healthy enough for hard workouts before you start this program.

I weighed myself to start off Day 67.  188 pounds.  I'm averaging a 1 pound loss per week.  I just might make it down to 185 by the end of the 90 days.  It doesn't really matter but it would just be nice.

I'm already looking ahead and planning what I'm going to do after this first 90 days.  I'd like to see if I can get down to 175 pounds in the first half of next year.  I should aim for a bodyfat percentage because weight isn't that important.  It's just a hard habit to get out of.

I did Yoga X and did a little better on Crane.  It's probably going to be some time before I can do some of the one leg poses with my left foot but I think trying is making my ankle stronger.  There is one pose that I can't find the name on and I don't think that I can explain it either.  I'll check around a bit to see if I can find a pic somewhere.  Anyway, it's a pose that I didn't think I would ever be able to do.  I didn't even set it as a goal somewhere down the road to be able to do it.  I was able to do it on one side today which was amazing.  I suppose that as long as I keep doing it, I'll end up being able to do it on the other side as well.

Robert Jordan, author of my favorite series

Robert Jordan died on Sunday.  Robert Jordan, whose real name is James Oliver Rigney Jr, wrote my all-time favorite series of books.

The Wheel of Time is a huge series that sadly he'll never finish.  He was working on the last book of the series when he died.  Supposedly he passed on how it all ends so I suppose someone will finish it but it just won't be the same.

He had plans for a new series as well which I know I would have picked up immediately and read.

Such a loss.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X - Journal (Days 63 - 66)

Disclaimer: This P90X review is just one guy's journey through 90 days to see what happens.  Your results will probably be different based on any number of things (diet, intensity, other activities) and you should be healthy enough for hard workouts before you start this program.

Day 63 started with Kenpo.  Not Kenpo X but just plain old Kenpo.  We have incorporated some cardio and strength training into the class and I love it.  I have a ways to go before I'm in as good of shape as I was when I did this workout every week.  That was quite a few years ago. 

One thing I did today was triangle push-ups (or diamond push-ups in P90X lingo) with Trey on my back.  For those not familiar with this exercise, you place your hands directly below your chest so that your fingers and thumbs are touching in the shape of a triangle or diamond.  You do push-ups, touching your chest into the triangle each time you go down.  This puts most of the emphasis on your triceps instead of your chest.  Try 'em and see.

After martial arts and bit to eat, I did the X Stretch DVD.  I really enjoy this DVD.  It's nice to just stretch everything out and relax.

I tried to have a nap because weekends start to run a little long without some sleep and because sleep is very important to health and weight loss.  I recently read an article that stated that people that sleep 6 hours a night or less tend to weigh more than people getting 7 hours of sleep.  They didn't have any answers on why that is.  Lifestyle?  More stress chemicals in the blood?  They didn't know but it is known that sleep is vital for health, building muscle, and apparently for burning fat.

I didn't get much sleep though for some reason though.  Slept very lightly and woke up often.  It was enough to carry me through the night.

Me-Me Monday on a Tuesday again: Whereabouts

From Tina's Tuesdays:

On a Tuesday morning, you can be found where?

At home.  Some cardio in the morning and then working on the computer.

On Friday evening, where are you and what are you doing?

At the casino dealing with drunks or maybe at the Concert Hall watching drunks watch singers.

What is your Sunday like from the moment you get up to the time you go to bed?

I get up and spend about an hour at the casino making sure my day shift knows who I am and what they are doing.  I come home and check my email, catch up on a couple of blogs (reading), and then write my blogs.  Trey and I usually play for a bit.  In the early afternoon is P90X, followed by a shower, and some food.  Next is a coaching session and then it's off to the casino again making sure that all the paperwork is ready for Monday when the HR people come in.  I come home, hit a few sets of weights and call it a night.  This was kind of a shortened down version because I do other things (like pee) on Sundays but some of it changes around and some is tmi.

God Grants Prayers

For the last couple of weeks, Trey has wanted a football.  I'm not quite sure what happened to his old football.  Maybe the same guerilla squirrels that interrupted my internet stole it.  Maybe the scorpians have it just outside the fence and are trying to entice Trey to come outside where they exact revenge for their comrade in arms that went on log flume ride known as the toilet.

Or maybe it's just tucked away somewhere "safe" and we'll find it when we move.

In any case, he has started wanting a new one.  Maybe because it's football season.  We haven't watched any games yet but he might just have the natural instinct to know that it's football season.  He really likes sports and might just have a gut feeling about it.

Last week, my wife called her mom for a visit and Trey talked to grandma.  He told her that he wanted a football.  It's really been on his mind and being the smart kid that he is, he knows to ask grandma.  In most cases, that a more sure bet than asking god.  In this case, maybe god was getting a bit jealous or something.

There was a company picnic on Thursday.  I was doing security for the event and Tia and Trey came down.  I went early and had dinner with them.  After dinner, I went over to one of the gates and chatted with other managers.  All managers had to work the event.  Tia and Trey went to check out the activities.  They had big blow up slides and stuff.

I was standing there visiting when I heard a ball thump on the ground.  I turned and looked and this black, orange, and white football was bouncing over a bunch of people who were all unable to catch it.  It bounced again and came down toward my feet.  I did a little soccer/hackey sack kick and bounced it up into my hand. 

I looked around to see who had lost their ball.  No one was coming for it and no one seemed concerned that I had it.  Finally someone told me that it was a prize that had been thrown from the stage and who ever caught it got to keep it.  Well, how cool.

When Trey came back to see me, I gave him the football.

"Where'd you get that?" Tia asked.

"It quite literally fell from the sky."

Trey loves it.  Loves it.  He has been taking it everywhere.  He has been playing catch with anyone that will play catch with him.  He's got a pretty good arm too.  We take the football in the car and to the store.  He even takes it to bed with him.

So, if there's anything that you need, let me know and I'll pass it on to Trey.  Maybe he'll put in a good word for you the next time he talks to god.

Ask a Cop: August 6th, 1993 - Part 6

On August 6th, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.  It was an act of violence that changed the world and the way people thought from that point on.  48 years later to the day, I was involved in an act of violence on a much smaller scale that nevertheless changed me and the way I thought from that point on.

I sat in my car.

The department was so small that I just had to sit there.  No one could be spared to babysit me somewhere else.  I can't tell you what went on.  I don't remember much of it.  I didn't really watch anything and if I did, I didn't really see anything.  Cops were walking all over the place, I'm sure.  There were probably rubberneckers.  I don't know.  I just sat there.

This was the first time that this kind of thing had ever happened in Tinytown and there were lots of things done in a manner that would be considered wrong by today's standards.  They all did the best they could with the knowledge they had.  I went on from this incident to study up on what should have been done, both from the admin side and from my side.  I point this out for all the cops reading this because you will no doubt be shaking your head at some of the things that happened.  Everything went well because this was clearly a justified use of force.  Thinking this, I just played along with everything that happened.  If it happened again today, things would be different.  Live and learn.

Here are some things that I remember from my little sit in the car which today feels like I was there for hours.  Maybe I was.  I don't know.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X - Journal (Days 60 - 62)

Disclaimer: This P90X review is just one guy's journey through 90 days to see what happens.  Your results will probably be different based on any number of things (diet, intensity, other activities) and you should be healthy enough for hard workouts before you start this program.

Day 60!

I've been at it for 60 days minus the week that I was sicker than a dog.  I'm still just counting ahead because I'm going to end up going past 90 days anyway so the days don't really matter a whole lot but I am going to take pictures every 30 days until I get where I want to be.

Here's what the day brought.  I put half an inch back on my chest, took another half inch off my hips, and took three inches off my gut (measured at my belly button).  How cool is that?  I'm finally starting to burn off the fat storage.  Schwing!  3" in 30 days.  It makes me want to try even harder.  This might just be the motivation to get me to be more consistant on the morning cardio. 

My wife used calipers to check my body fat.  Turns out that Trey hadn't hid them after all.  Guess I'll have to check Fred's body fat myself.

Anyway, it's about 18%.  18.6% to be exact on a very inexact method of measuring body fat.  I did some checking around with my body fat and body measurements.

A Sign of the Times: Bullet Proof Backpacks

I wish I were kidding.

"Our children already live with these thoughts every day. School systems across the nation are staging drills for "lock downs" and "shelter in place." Act now to give your children a personal, defensive safety tool that will help them feel more confident and able to focus on learning. Isn't that what school should really be about?"

And they're selling like bullet proof hot cakes. 

The part of the backpack that rests on your back has a level II ballistic panel in it.  That's the same level that many cops wear.  I wore a IIIA when I was a cop which is little more bullet resistant because I'm allergic to bullets.  Throw a biology textbook in there and you probably increase the protection right up to IV.

The backpack protects the vitals in the torso when worn normally or can be taken off and used as a shield to protect the head and torso.

"Weighing just 20oz (the weight of a small water bottle), our ballistic panel is light enough for a young child to carry as part of their pack."

I don't have anything I can add to this.  I think the fact that we are putting bullet proof vests on our elementary kids speaks for itself.

5 Sword Points for Erik for making me aware of this product.

Luck Favors the Prepared Person

My 10 year old computer was starting to get a bit sluggish so we decided to buy a new computer.  I had a friend build it and I just bought parts.  I bought a couple pieces each week until the computer was built.  All that was left were the things that go outside the tower.  The old computer was getting so slow that we took money out of savings and ordered everything.

I spent Monday and Tuesday putting everything together.  My computer actually looks up to date - for today. 

The only thing that I didn't change was my trac ball.  I really like it.  It's like your favorite pair of shoes.  It fits my hand nicely.  I gave the old computer to Trey to use for his Hooked on Phonics and whatever else we decide to get him and he got a Superman mouse for it.  He loved the computer and was very possessive (past tense and the reason for this post).

I asked my computer geek friend about the easiest way to move the data from the old hard drive to the new one.  He said it was easy enough to connect the two and retrieve all the data.  I just needed the cable and I would be in business.

Yesterday morning, the old computer died.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X - Journal (Days 57 - 59)

Disclaimer: This P90X review is just one guy's journey through 90 days to see what happens.  Your results will probably be different based on any number of things (diet, intensity, other activities) and you should be healthy enough for hard workouts before you start this program.

Day 57 found me right back on track.  It was Chest and Back day and I did my best.  I'm going to be sore but it's going to be that good kind of sore that let's you know you've challenged your muscles and they need to respond by growing stronger.

I also did the Ab Ripper X.  I am probably doing a couple of extra reps in there somewhere but nothing noticeable.  I didn't think that I would like this DVD because I don't really enjoy working my abs.  I have been surprised at how quickly the time passes and how much I enjoy it even though I'm a long way from being able to do it all.

I was disappointed that I was sick for a week but working out today reminded me what this 90 day challenge was all about for me.

Fast Food Makes Adults Stoopid Too

I don't know if you caught this story so let me give you the short version before we discuss the mentally degenerative affects of Big Macs.

A McDonald's employee spilled some salt on a bunch of hamburgers.  Her and a couple of ohter employees tried to "thump" the salt off and then cooked them and served them.  One was served to a cop and he got sick.  He returned to the McDonalds, found the employee that spilled the salt and arrested her.  She was taken to jail where she bailed out for $1,000.

Where to start with this is the hard part so we'll just in chronological order.

How much do hamburgers cost McDonalds?  With several gazillion sold each year, there has got to be a pretty good bulk rate discount.  Knowing this, if I spilled salt on McDonalds burgers, I'd just chuck them in the garbage.  McDonalds can afford to lose a box of burgers rather than risk more bad publicity or pissing off Chief Wiggums and having an employee hauled off to jail.

Fair enough.  Let's move on.

If you're burger is so damn salty that it's going to make you sick, wouldn't you notice that?  Wouldn't you take one bite and go, "Holy crap!  What did they do, spill all the french fry salt on this thing?"?  Then wouldn't you go back and get a replacement burger?  Does one bite of salty hamburger really make people sick or does it just piss them off?

Do McDonalds burgers taste so bad that you can't tell that there is an extra box of salt on them?  But he must have noticed or how would he have known to go back and ask who put all the salt on his burger?

He couldn't arrest her for putting salt on his burger because he can't prove intent so they are charging her with serving the burger knowing that salt was spilled on it.  A supervisor was called over the spilled salt and must have made the command decision to go ahead and try sneaking them past the customers.  Wouldn't it be the supervisor that would be arrested for serving the burger?

We don't know the whole story of course but doesn't this just look like an abuse of power to arrest a 20 year old girl for spilling some salt?

The idiocy doesn't end there though.

Chief Wiggums hamburger has been sent to the state crime lab for testing.

"Yo Bob, can you put a hold on the blood sample from the homicide?  I need you to check the salt content of this burger."

"Ummm, why?"

"Apparently someone got sick from eating this hamburger.  I need you to see if there's anything wrong with it."

"Sure thing.  Let me have a look.  Oh yeah, here I see the problem.  This is in a McDonalds wrapper.  I'm not surprised that who ever ate this got sick."

The girl made a mistake.  The cop's actions are completely lame.   

Full Article

On a somewhat related subject, today's Success Warrior post is Should Obese People Pay More For Health Insurance?

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X - Journal (Days 53 - 56)

Disclaimer: This P90X review is just one guy's journey through 90 days to see what happens.  Your results will probably be different based on any number of things (diet, intensity, other activities) and you should be healthy enough for hard workouts before you start this program.

I only have more of a lackluster attempt to report for which seems so sad as strong as I started this.

I still wasn't feeling well on Day 53 but I was planning on giving it a half hearted attempt anyway.  My wife came home for lunch and told me about how terrible her day was going at work.  She was having company that night and was not in the mood.  After she to go back to work, I spent my exercise time trying to get the house ready for company so that she wouldn't have to. 

She ended up having a good night with her friends.

At work, I had someone comment that it looked like I was losing weight.  It's always nice when someone notices.

Fast Food Makes You Fat and Stoopid

You may recall that I said something similar when referring to people who sue fast food restaurants because, shockingly, it turns out that a double quarter pounder with cheese, super-sized with fries and a Coke, is a tad less than ideal nutrition.

Well, a funny thing happened a couple days ago.

I have a lot of magazines laying around.  I read them when I have time but I spend so much time entertaining all of you that some of magazines sit around for a long time and gather dust.  Because of my illness over the last week, I spent a great deal of time in my personal library and I was reading the October 2006 (I told you they lay around for a while) Men's Health (ironic reading material, don't you think, while I'm sicker than a dog).

Get this, fast food really does make people fat and stupid.

How freaky is that?

"People" in this study were children of various ages.  Kids that were physically fit had a better memory and were able to process information better.  This translates into better test scores for fit kids.

My Conversion to Personal Responsibility - Part 2

I've heard it said that you're a different person every 10 years.  Looking back, I have to say that this is true for me.  Maybe it's because enough major events happen in 10 years that you have to adapt too.  Each has its own paradigm shift, some bigger than others.  My list would probably look something like this:

Marriage, birth of a daughter, miraculous birth of another daughter, becoming a cop, the shooting, divorce, getting married again, birth of a son, leaving the police world, and finding what I want to do with my life.

It's hardly surprising at all looking at all that the person at the beginning of the list is not the same person at the end of the list.

I'm going to be discussing the results of the shooting in detail in my August 6th story but I need to point out here that I really dove deeper into studying what helped people succeed.  At times I was leading two lives and at other times I was leading a life of wild ups and downs but through it all I studied success.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X - Journal (Days 51 - 52)

Disclaimer: This P90X review is just one guy's journey through 90 days to see what happens.  Your results will probably be different based on any number of things (diet, intensity, other activities) and you should be healthy enough for hard workouts before you start this program.

Let me get some blogkeeping items out of the way first.

My wife is still going to post her experience once a week so there is a woman's perspective on here.  There has been a snag getting her approved as an author though so I'll be sending off an email to support to see if we can get that straightened out.

I updated the List of Posts by Topic page (link in the right sidebar).  It isn't completed yet but I have been working on it.  I know some people come here for P90X, some for the cop stories, and some for the humor.  I'm trying to sort out all the posts to make it easier for people who are looking for something specific.

To that end, I also created a Product Review page.  This page will have all the products that get reviewed in my blogs, a link to the product, and a link the blog where the review can be found.  I've gone back looking a couple of times and what a pain in the butt that is.  Hopefully these two pages will make things much easier for everyone, including me.

I will be working on responding to the comments of the previous days so that I'm caught up by the end of the day.  I really appreciate everyone that participates.

Ask a Cop: August 6th, 1993 - Part 5

On August 6th, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.  It was an act of violence that changed the world and the way people thought from that point on.  48 years later to the day, I was involved in an act of violence on a much smaller scale that nevertheless changed me and the way I thought from that point on.

The trooper arrived and asked what happened.

"The guy came at me with a knife so I shot him," I said.

About 10 years after the incident was the first time this trooper and I talked about the shooting.  For those 10 years, I had pretty much concentrated on how the shooting affected me.  He was in our office one day after I had started to focus outward and I asked him what he thought about the day.  He said that the thing that really stood out for him was how matter of fact I was when he asked what had happened.  It's not something that anyone in that rural county expected to happen so he was caught off guard when I told him.  We only talked about it for a few minutes and never brought it up again.

I finally noticed the guy that had come to help me.

Me-Me Monday: Games of Chance

Here's a meme borrowed from Friday 5:

Given as a percentage, approximately what are the chances that there is a french fry somewhere in your car? If you do not own a car, what are the chances that there is a french fry somewhere in the car you most frequently ride in?

0%.  Surprising, I know.  Now, ask about the odds that there is a Pepperidge Farms Fish cracker.  =)

Given as a percentage, approximately what are the chances that you will eat ice cream sometime in the next four days?

0%.  Another surprise.  I did have ice cream on July 24th though.  A huge ice cream cone in a waffle cone that was apparently big enough to last me the rest of the summer.

Given as a percentage, approximately what are the chances that you’ll get a personal, handwritten greeting in the mail sometime in the next week?

I would have to go with zero again.  People don't seem to use mail much anymore.  That's a topic that I'll be covering down the road a bit.

Given as a percentage, approximately what are the chances that there will be rain in your neighborhood within the next forty-eight hours?

I heard that's it's supposed to rain here on Wednesday but who knows.  I'll go with 75%.

Given as a percentage, approximately what are the chances that in the next twenty-four hours, you will be in the same room as a naked person other than yourself?

100%.  Now we're talkin'!

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X - Journal (Days 46 - 50)

Disclaimer: This P90X review is just one guy's journey through 90 days to see what happens.  Your results will probably be different based on any number of things (diet, intensity, other activities) and you should be healthy enough for hard workouts before you start this program.

Day 46 was a Wednesday and that meant that it was time to weigh myself for the week.  192 pounds.  I lost 2 pounds from the week before.  My wife said she is really starting to see the definition in my shoulders.  How cool is that?

I didn't do the morning cardio but I did Plyometrics X.  My quads get completely burned out in that one.  I get to the point where I just can't get up in the air anymore.  I keep doing the moves though without jumping.  I figure if I keep squatting down and coming up, I'll build up the strength and stamina I need.

I have to tell you a funny thing that happened on Back and Biceps day that I forgot to mention in that post.  Kids copy their parents.  That's no secret and probably one of the contributing factors to why childhood obesity is going crazy.  Anyway, it's amazing just how much they catch.

I had just finished a set of something and moved over to my chair for some seated lat raises.  Trey grabbed some weights and sat in his Elmo chair.  I found that I needed to adjust myself, you know, in the baseball player kinda way.  Nothing drastic, just a quick fix.  Trey was barely a heartbeat behind me in making the change himself.  I had to laugh.  Once we both had our business where it belonged, we did some lat raises.  He's going to be a strong kid if he keeps this up.

Kids don't always know the reasons they do things.  All they know is that dad does it, so it must be how things are supposed to be.  No pressure.  =)