Fred Firestine

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cliff Ravenscraft @GSPN on February 23, 2011 at 7:43am

Fred,  I'm glad to hear that you've been inspired to consider reintroducing your quiet time with God.  I pray that your head cold has passed by now.  

Permalink Reply by Fred Firestine on February 25, 2011 at 1:37pm

I have been blogging about my progress with Tony Horton's book "Bring It!" It's been almost a month already. The blog hasn't gotten a lot of traffic, but really the benefit for me was to record my experiences with the workouts and suggested nutrition plan. Also, I've wanted to be a blogger for a while, and now I am! Let's just say the workouts are going well, but the nutrition has been inconsistent. My birthday was in the middle of the month, so that was expected, but there have been other days with a larger calorie surplus. The good news is that I am consistently losing weight (and more importantly, waist size) since the beginning of the month, despite my eating mistakes. Even if I never have a week (or a day) of "clean" eating, I like the idea of whole foods and Tony's recommended portions. I can continue working on that.

My quiet time with God has not become consistent yet, but I did have some motivation in the form of our weekly small group Bible study. As the day approaches, I need to spend a few days before (maybe 30 minutes each time) reading our current book and answering the study questions. The goal is to be doing this most days of the week, rather than the bare minimum, but one step at a time.

In another area of accountability, I feel like I need to approach a touchy subject: My productivity and career goals. I have been in the "soul-sucking job" mode for a long time. I remember back in the My Crazy Life days when Cliff got to a point where he had to get back into the insurance game full force, or get out, and that's how I feel. I am too easily distracted from my work, and it's not the job's fault. It's a symptom of my need to get serious about my work and vocation.

Last weekend I finally got started on the "48 Days" Interactive Study Guide I bought several years ago. I actually read the book 48 Days to the Work You Love over the course of a couple of years. Years! How embarrassing. Then I went back and slowly took outline notes, and answered the questions from the first couple of chapters. Slowly, slowly. Anyway, my goal is to spend a couple of hours per weekend over the next few weeks, working through the study guide, getting my resume together, and brainstorming some ideas. Whether I apply myself wholeheartedly to this job and find supplemental income, or transfer within the company, or venture out elsewhere, the current situation cannot exist anymore. I need to focus on my work, and figure out what's next.

 

OK, speaking of work, I should really go do some now.  :-)

Permalink Reply by Cliff Ravenscraft @GSPN on February 25, 2011 at 2:31pm

Praying that you find some discernment in the area of your work and vocation Fred!

Permalink Reply by Crissy Maier on February 25, 2011 at 3:24pm

Fred,

 

Glad to hear you're hitting a point in your career where you're realizing it's time to do something.  I've been at my job for 11 and a haf years and have jumped around a lot - sometimes I've been very happy, other times it's been soul sucking.  I'm hitting a point where it's time for a change again.  I think I need to start reading 48 Days myself. Maybe Cliff needs to start a section in the community called "I have a soul-sucking job and am ready to take action."

 

Permalink Reply by Fred Firestine on February 25, 2011 at 3:41pm

I think anyone can start that discussion. You just have to pick the group where it would fit best. :-) Maybe PABL?

 

Maybe part of my problem is that I have talked about switching jobs for over 10 years, but here I am...

 

Oops, I am on the Internet again... Work, work, work!

Permalink Reply by Fred Firestine on March 14, 2011 at 5:10pm

Wow, it's been a while already since my last update! I have been posting regular updates to my P90X blog as I continue with  the workouts from Tony Horton's book, "Bring It!" The "cleanse" diet he recommends did not work out for me, but I picked up some new recommendations and recipes from it. My weight has dropped a couple of pounds, and my waist is shrinking slowly. Maybe I will make a more concerted effort in a month that doesn't contain my birthday.

The workout schedule has been easier to maintain, even on days when I am tired or pressed for time. One hour is better than close to 90 minutes for P90X, but I want to get back to that sooner or later.

I have made a little more progress in the "48 Days" Interactive Guide, and I signed up as a member of 48Days.net. These are baby steps, but I need to press harder on this front.

My time management is still a mess. Maybe Cliff can lend me some margin.  :-)

Permalink Reply by Fred Firestine on April 12, 2011 at 10:07am

OK, I guess it's time for my... monthly update? Honestly, I started an update a couple of weeks ago, didn't complete it, and then my laptop shut down on me. I have replaced the laptop since then! So here we go!

I am back on the P90X workout schedule for the first time this year. After falling apart during the last couple months of 2010, I have set some ground rules for this "round" (as we like to call the three-month workout cycle). First of all, my workout time is 60 minutes. This is in contrast to the 90 minutes it used to take because of setting up my weights, mat, etc., putting it away at the end, and the pauses I would take during workouts (as Tony suggests), which make the workouts longer than the 60-minute countdown on the DVDs. Actually, the yoga workout is 90 minutes, so I am skipping sections of that one for now. Now that I know the DVDs very well, I go at my own pace, ignoring the intro to each exercise, and syncing up for the water breaks. As an example, that shaved 10 minutes off a resistance workout that used to take me at least 10 minutes overtime (so 20 minutes total saved).

Another rule for this round: Don't ignore my ab workout completely, but don't worry about doing the whole thing. There is a 15-minute ab workout called Ab Ripper X, which is added on to the resistance workouts (making them longer than 60 minutes, BTW), and also on its own DVD for convenience. With the time I am saving, I can fit in at least some of the exercises. For example, today I did my Chest and Back workout, plus maybe 10 out of the 15 minutes of Ab Ripper, and it took me 63 minutes. There are exercises in there involving the hip flexors, which you feel when you are seated and bring your knees towards your chest, for example. Those are the ones that are uncomfortable for me to the point where I am really OK with skipping them for the sake of time. Maybe I can work on them at a later stage. Last year, though, my time delays were so bad that I would just walk away at the end of a workout without doing my abs at all. Some people suggest coming back later, but that never happens for me.

I am still working on rule number 3, which is "Get more sleep." I was burned out in December, at least in part because of a rigorous exercise routine combined with a lack of sleep. My sleep habits are not a lot better yet, but I am being more proactive about getting to bed as soon as possible, rather than trying to stay awake.

My weight is staying in the maintenance range. I am joining Stephanie in her Year of Toning, as I try to take off the inch or so that has returned to my belly since I reached my goal weight.

I have switched to a "weekly update" format on my P90X blog, which is running a few days behind, but it's still a good summary of how I am doing.

I am encouraged by all your updates in this group, on Twitter, and Facebook. Keep up the great work!

Permalink Reply by Cliff Ravenscraft @GSPN on April 12, 2011 at 11:07am

Fred, I'm glad to hear that your maintaining a healthy weight and you're still pursuing regular physical fitness.  You are an encouragement to us all!

Permalink Reply by Fred Firestine on April 14, 2011 at 5:45am

Oh, don't say that until you've walked in my moccasins, or run a mile in my New Balance shoes.  ;-) I'm glad to be able to share what I am learning, even if I am not one of those super-amazing transformations. Maybe I should look at some old pictures for encouragement.

Permalink Reply by Fred Firestine on July 3, 2012 at 4:49pm

Hi everyone!

Obviously, I've been away from here for a while, but I'm still active with my workouts and doing my best to maintain my weight. My blogging continues, now rebranded as Home Fitness Geek, to expand a little from the P90X theme. Actually, I'm calling it the "Summer of Jillian Michaels," because my wife bought Jillian's Body Revolution workout program, and I've been playing along. I'm currently doing the first half of the Phase 3 workouts, which are in the final month. They are definitely tough! Jillian is the master of the killer 30 minute workout.

I'm going to look around to see what else is happening here. Please feel free to message me or reply.  :-)

Permalink Reply by Cliff Ravenscraft @GSPN on July 6, 2012 at 8:12pm

Hey Fred.   Love the new brand name... Home Fitness Geek!

Permalink Reply by Fred Firestine on July 7, 2012 at 9:54pm

Thanks, Cliff! Or should I say, Podcast Answer Man! :-) At some point, I realized my blog needed a name, and I really like talking about home fitness, so it seemed to be the right choice that also didn't appear elsewhere online. I've found a niche talking about the folks who appear in the P90X and P90X2 workout videos, because sometimes it's hard to find them online. I also have been reviewing and comparing those workouts with the Jillian Michaels ones that I've done. I need to work on writing shorter posts, I think, but so far I've been concentrating on publishing several times a week.

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