Hey Hey Hey

Hey hey hey, Fat Albert says go to the gym and do your cardio. And I'm going to sing a song for youuuoouou. And Bill's going to tell you a thing or twoooowowowo.

Ok, I'm a little bit happy today. I've been working like a dog the last three days, and not a lazy dog either. More like a dog on speed. Running around for no apparent reason, fetching things for other people, barking at trees. Well not really barking but you get the idea.

Anyway... today was a long day again - 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM BUT I did get a couple of hours in the middle to go the gym.

run 5 km in 28:15 max HR 156 (better than before), avg HR 152
bike 29 km in 60 min max HR 140 avg HR 134
hot today, drank lots of water all day and one bottle during PT

I feel great. Lots of energy and burned off some tension. The days are sunny now so it is actually fun to be outside. The really hot weather hasn't come yet so it's still comfortable. Best of all there's only two and a half months left until I come home.

Lonely

I miss the gym but long work days have prevented me from going. I'm not sure what tomorrow brings but am hoping to get back to my workouts.

On the good side it is warm here now.

Active recovery

Had a lot of sore muscles today because I changed my routine yesterday. Glutes, hamstrings and shoulders were telling me that I was not their favorite person today. To make it up to them I went for a mild bike ride of 60 minutes exactly with 29.6 km distance. Max heart rate 140 bpm and average hr 135 bpm. Well within a safe zone. Drank a bottle of water during workout.

I liked yesterday's workout, though, and I'll do it again on Wednesday. Tomorrow I will be out of the camp from noon until 9PM or so and won't get my workout done. I'll use it as my rest day this week.

New weight routine

On the way back from my trip I bought the Men's Health 2008 guide for inspiration. It serves my purpose better than the women's guide because it focuses on building strength and endurance vs. toning. Tonight I pulled some exercises out of the magazine and tried them out. It was time to shake up the old routine that I was doing and bring some life back into my workout.

Here's the routine. 3 sets of each ex:

squat push press 7.5 kg db X 12
leg lifts 15

romanian deadlift 7.5 kg db X 12
single leg squat X 10 per leg

J complex (from the website) 4 kg db X 6 of each exercise
crunch X 25

glute bridge march X 12/side
dumbbell calf raise 4 kg X 15

rotator cuff 3 kg db X 15/side
crunch side 15

dead bugs (abs) 25
stretch - total body

Right now my shoulders and legs are sore. I can also feel the workout in my back which is good since usually I don't feel like it was exercised. I'm curious to see how I feel tomorrow. Drank lots of water today and ate three well balanced meals. Energy is good and spirits are good.

Morning PT

Went to the gym at 10:30 AM and had a good workout. Did a run of 5 km in 28:38. Max HR 170 bpm, still too fast. Felt good after the workout though. Had lunch at noon and skipped dessert so I'll give myself a pat on the back for that. This afternoon I am going to concentrate on drinking lots of water while I work to keep my fluid levels high.

Flood fixed

Well the custodians fixed the flood in the gym and all of us gym rats were allowed back inside. Unfortunately it became flooded with Brits who hogged all the good equipment so I modified my workout and had a good burn. 3 sets

Vsit with med ball twist X 25
squat push press w/ med ball X 25

crunch X 25
forward lunge w/ 5 kg db X 12/leg

bench dips X 15
1 arm db row 7.5 kg X 15

Vsit on bench 15

bench press O bar + 5 kg/side X 15, 11, 8

upright row 7.5 kg db X 12

military press 5 kg db X 12

Cardio - stair master for 20 min

Had a good burn by the time I was finished. Drank a full bottle of water during the workout. My legs are tired but I have lots of energy.

We went to a Thai restaurant tonight as a going away party for the guys I work with. They'll all be heading home in the next couple of weeks and the new crew will show up. They're pretty happy and the Thai food was good. I'm full of rice right now and have a happy carb glow.

Flooding

The gym is closed today because there is a flood. Hopefully it opens soon. A lot of people will be disappointed if they can't get their workout, including me.

Weight today 152 lbs. It has been stable which is a good sign that I am balancing my exercise and nutrition properly. I've had a few cheat foods lately but have managed to work them off in the gym.

We Endure

I joined a website that helps you track your mileage and lets you know how you are progressing towards your goal. Up to now I have been posting my workouts but haven't kept track of the mileage in any way. The website is called www.weendure.com. I set up a profile and am going to keep track of my running and biking. I'll also still post here since it keeps me honest and I need to focus on weights too.

Today's workout was cardio. I ran on the treadmill for 5 km in 29:10 with a max heart rate of 170 bpm. Unfortunately the 170 was my HR for over two thirds of the run. Not good!

Then I did stationary bike for a while. Cycled 24 km but wasn't sure of the time since the display was broken. The HR was 135 bpm which is healthy and sustainable. Drank a full bottle of water during the ride.

I feel pretty good now. Supper wasn't much to write about but I'm having a cup of hot tea right now and am sitting here waiting for a phone call about one of my work orders. It is 8 PM so hopefully the call comes soon and I can call it a night. Yes I know that I'm lazy and slothful but I'm ok with that part of my character. lol

BBQ tonight - no PT

Tonight we are going for a BBQ at one of the sites we support. It is snowing out so I think that everyone will hang out inside the building all jammed together in a small space. It should be a good time. Because of the short time between finishing work and going out there will not be any PT today. I'll make up for it tomorrow, though.

There was a question about our outside temperatures. It has been cold for three months. The last two days it warmed up and was sunny but today it is below zero again and a wet snow is coming down. It isn't terribly cold but since we spend a lot of time outside I find that I need my long johns and coat on almost all day.

To get an idea what it is like, imagine having all the rooms of your house in separate buildings. The kitchen is in one building half way across camp. The bathroom another building down a long boardwalk. Your TV room and lounge is in a fourth room. Your bedroom is across the way from the TV room. Your gym is in the same building as the kitchen - far far away. Your mail room is on the other side of your little camp. You don't have a garage for your cars -they are outside of course. And last but not least your office is in a separate building again. All these places are relatively close together but when it is -10 degrees you really feel the cold when moving from place to place doing your normal activities. This isn't complaining - it is what it is. I'm just trying to give you a picture of life here in the wintertime.

BBQ tonight - no PT

Tonight we are going for a BBQ at one of the sites we support. It is snowing out so I think that everyone will hang out inside the building all jammed together in a small space. It should be a good time. Because of the short time between finishing work and going out there will not be any PT today. I'll make up for it tomorrow, though.

There was a question about our outside temperatures. It has been cold for three months. The last two days it warmed up and was sunny but today it is below zero again and a wet snow is coming down.

Run

My legs hurt today and I felt twinges in my chest and shoulders when I moved quickly. Nevertheless it was a really good day. Spent time driving around to do work at the other camps and it was sunny and warm all day. Had a good time and accomplished a lot of work too.

This evening I did a slow run. 3 miles (5 km) in 30 minutes. My thighs weren't happy with me for the run but my breathing was nice and relaxed and the heart didn't have to work too hard. It was a nice day.

Parsnip fries for dinner

Had an interesting side dish for dinner tonight. The cooks shredded parsnips and baked them up like little french fries. They tasted really good - crunchy and sweet.

In the gym I finally got back into the weight room and had a good workout. My weights were a little lower than before because I haven't done a proper workout for so long but I don't think it will take long to get back at it. 3 sets of each

squats 25
O bar 10 (warmup)
O bar + 10 kg X 12
O bar + 15 kg X 12 X 2 sets

lunge (forward) 12/leg
flat bench dumbbell press 15 kg X 12; 12.5 kg X 12 X 2 sets

lunge (side) 12/leg
1 arm db row 10 kg X 12

leg raises 25
upright row 7 kg db X 12

Vsit with med ball twist 25/side
4 pt shoulder press 5kg db X 12

full situps 30

My legs are a little sore from doing cardio and now lunges and squats. The rest of me is ok though. I was a little winded towards the end of my workout which was ok because I was trying to get my heart rate up. Only three months to go to get back in shape for summer vacation. I think I can do it now that I don't have any distractions.

Bike

Spent one hour on the stationary bike yesterday. Loved it. Three of the treadmills are broken so didn't have a chance to run because the Brits were using them.

Cardio X2

Did a short run of 2 miles in 19 minutes. Then did 30 min on the elliptical machine. I was hungry when I went to work out and it showed when I ran out of energy. It still feels good to be back in the gym,though.

Back at er

Went to the gym tonight at 4:45 pm and boy did it ever feel good to do a workout again. I went on the treadmill for 3 miles (5 km) in 26:45 min. Started really slow because I wasn't sure if the altitude would affect me and didn't want to stress my post-holiday muscles too much. Started feeling really good half way through the workout so I put the speed up and finished much faster than I started. Afterwards I hopped on the stationary bike for 30 min. Just a slow ride to loosen up the muscles a bit.

I'm still jet lagged from the trip but am putting in full work days and then some. My luggage has been located but hasn't arrived yet. Also, winter is taking its toll. The women's toilet room has frozen pipes and I have been sharing the men's. Luckily they have lots of stalls. The showers are working ok. The women's is hotter and cleaner but when I'm not in there some of the guys go use it. Things are working out ok here and we are all in a rhythm that seems to work. The new people will start arriving in the next couple of weeks and I hope they are relaxed when they show up.

That's it for tonight. I'm really tired and I'm going to hit the sack. Talk to you again tomorrow.

Arrived safely

Hi. I arrived safely at my final destination but my luggage decided to stay in Toronto for an extra night. It should arrive sometime, perhaps. I'm quite jet lagged but otherwise ok. Just so you know, my hotmail account isn't working. I'll try to find out why but until then my work email account is still active if you need to contact me.
Cheers
BB

Traveling today

Adios amigos and amigas,
I start traveling today so won't be in touch with you for quite a while. Due to the magic of the international date line I can burn through two calendar days in only 20 hours. Then I have some short haul trips and I'll be back in location. I'll email you when I arrive.
Cheers
BB

Monopoly World Edition

The Monopoly game is creating a World Edition and is asking for our votes to choose which cities will be included on the new game board. So far there are three Canadian cities in the top twenty but they need your votes to stay there. The 3 cities are Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Check the Leaderboard and cast your vote by visiting the website.

To continue the monopoly theme, last November Mike and Rob at the TwoWiseAcres Real Estate blog posted an article called 5 Lessons Monopoly Can Teach Us About Real Estate Investing. This article has been a favorite around the blogosphere and there have been a lot of links to it from other bloggers. I am hugely impressed with the creativity that went into the article and am recommending it to all of you.

Happy reading and don't forget to VOTE.

Thank you

Thank you Rabbits from Rabbit Hill. They're beautiful.

Market commentary

Volatility can be a friend to value investors with cash.