Me 'n Fitness

I began aerobic walking when, at 04:15 on the morning of 29 July 1996, I was awakened by my 20somethingish neighbors across the way who decided to serenade us with The Cranberries' "Zombie" at full-volume. I tried waiting, but they liked the song so much that they played it again. And again. And again.

I got up, got into shorts, T-shirt, and sneakers, and walked in a determined fashion for about 20 minutes. I felt good. I did it again the next evening. And the next evening. I kept on doing it, and by the end of August I was up to 40 minutes of aerobic walking 5-6 times each week.

By this time I'd begun walking with my next-door neighbor, but she didn't want to walk faster (or longer). One evening, as we were out walking, she was going v-e-r-y slowly, so I began to jog... and I kept jogging for the remainder of our route. I couldn't believe it! Me? Jogging?! Well, it was "goodbye, neighbor". I continued jogging on my own 4-5 nights each week.

A few months later, my "coach" told me to try jogging in the morning, rather than in the evening. He said that since jogging raises my metabolism and gets my body burning fat for its energy requirements, I would reap the greatest benefit during the daytime; whereas at night, who needs much energy? I took his advice, and got out jogging at 4:15AM, four days-a-week (M/Tu/W/Th), doing 5K at a little more than 9 minutes per/kilometer.

Take a look at my 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008 Daily Workout Logs.

Well, 2000 wasn't such a good year for jogging, and 2001 was even worse. So, I faced reality -- fat, unfit, and turning 50 in two weeks -- and also realized that I'm not going to start getting-up and out the door at 0400 to jog 5K, six days/week. So, I did my homework -- online, as well as speaking with real people -- and ordered a Concept2® indoor rower. It arrived today (14.1.02), and this evening I did a couple of 5-minute introductory workouts. Beginning tomorrow, I'm going to begin, slowly, working-out and working-up to 30-to-50-minute workouts, six days/week.

02 May 2002 -- One Million Meters rowed! 11 September 2002 -- Two Million Meters rowed! 24 December 2002 -- 2002 Holiday Challenge! (153,588 meters rowed) 16 September 2003 -- Three Million Meters rowed! 16 October 2006 -- Four Million Meters rowed! 08 December 2006 -- Five Million Meters rowed! 24 December 2006 -- 2006 Holiday Challenge! click here and (see line #22!) 24 December 2007 -- 2007 Holiday Challenge! (307,555 meters rowed) 24 December 2007 -- Six Million Meters rowed!

Exercise works! Since I began rowing, my blood pressure has dropped from 145/108 to 120/80, and my resting heart rate from 95 to 63. Diet helps; but diet, alone, is insufficient.

Update: After 25 years I left Israel and moved back to the US at the end of June 2004... donated my Concept2 indoor rower to Marshall Rapaport (see below). I began jogging as soon as I returned, then slipped in the shower one morning in early August and managed to multiply fracture the big toe on my left foot... big plastic cast from foot to knee and no workouts for two months... despair, pizza, sloth, and an additional 15lbs. Now I'm back working out at the Adolph & Rose Levis JCC in Boca Raton, FL six days/week (Saturday is for Shabbos and recovery) -- twice-weekly weightlifting, and all six days on one of their Precor EFX/546 elliptical trainers and/or Quinton SR60 treadmills.

3/2006: Well, shit... I stopped those morning workouts at the JCC when I finally got a job (51 weeks unemployed sucked), and really started getting fat. I've got a 46-inch waist and am not a "happy camper". So, I'd let my membership at the JCC lapse, and now I've renewed it. Back to 0500 wakeups, 0600 workouts on that Precor EFX/546 elliptical trainer. Watch my Daily Workout Log for details.

9/2006: I returned to the Concept2 indoor rower; primarily, because it gives me a wonderful full-body workout, but also because it builds both my muscular and cardio-vascular endurance. From my experience, "rowing to 'nowhere'" beats "treading water" on an elliptical trainer.

12/2006: I rowed my first full-marathon (42,105-meters), and finished 5-million meters rowed (this last million-meters consisted of one full-marathon, and the rest were daily half-marathon workouts). "LSD" (Long, Slow Distance) rows, at a firmly aerobic pace, are the key to developing and increasing both aerobic capacity and muscular endurance.

12/2007: Finished 6-million meters rowed.

I'd like to thank Covert Bailey, author of the books "The Ultimate `Fit or Fat'" and "Smart Exercise".

Special thanks go to Marshall Rapaport -- my buddy and all-around fitness guru, head of the Unix Server Group at Tel-Aviv University -- for sharing his Experience, Strength, and Hope to guide and motivate me.

Here are some fitness-oriented links that interest me: Concept2® Indoor Rowers, Precor EFX/546 Elliptical Trainer, Krista Scott-Dixon's women's weight-training pages, Clarence Bass: Bodybuilding and Fitness, and Stevens Creek Software.