I start every work day the same exact way. I get a large iced coffee, black, light ice, to drink at my desk. I’ve done this everyday for at least 5 years, and as it’s Rock-compliant, I’ve continued the habit throughout this challenge.
There is a Dunkin’ Donuts near my office where I have started going recently. The owner has gotten to know me, and recites the order to his employees before I even make it to the register. Today was no exception.
I arrived at work, took off my coat and got ready to start my day. I took my first sip, and tasted…sugar! I looked at the bottom of the cup, and sure enough, there were undissolved sugar crystals in the bottom. It wasn’t much, maybe one spoonful. And it didn’t greatly affect the taste of the coffee. I had just settled in, and wasn’t eager to go back outside in the 12 degree weather to walk several blocks to get a new one. I also wasn’t excited about skipping coffee altogether, as it’s part of my ritual. Seriously, would one spoonful of sugar be that big a deal?
Yes! Yes it would. Now was not the time to get lazy. I’m putting in all this effort, this seemed like a dumb shortcut to take. So I threw back on my mighty parka, and hoofed it back to DD to get a new coffee. I stormed into the place, yelled “This has sugar! The Rock doesn’t like sugar!” and threw it against the wall as hard as I could.
Oh wait, that’s not what I said. It was something more along the lines of “Excuse me, sir, there seems to have been a mixup.” Still, I proudly walked out with an unsweetened black coffee and the satisfaction of having made the right decision.
High Performance Fitness Gear
For someone who spends a lot of time at the gym, I have a pretty sorry set of workout clothes. I have exactly zero dri-fit shirts to speak of. I’m more of a “what free or old t-shirts do I own” gym-goer. Almost all of these shirts are cotton or blends, so there isn’t any fancy sweat-wicking action going on. Which means during these intense workouts, I need to change shirts in-between the cardio and weights, then put on a third for the walk home so I don’t stink up my coat. That’s a lot of laundry. It might be worth investing in some shirts I could wear throughout the entire workout. (And by investing, I of course mean buying the finest workout shirts that Target has to offer.)
The secret to a successful workout is proper apparel.
For example, I bought this shirt for $1 at an NBA sample sale in 2003.
That Cute Face Will Not Break Me
Yesterday I mentioned The Rock’s resiliency towards the temptation of candy. It reminded me of one of my favorite scenes from the TNT series he did titled”Wake Up Call.” In the show, he helped people struggling with different issues try and turn things around. One episode dealt with a troubled teenager, and at one point he brings her little sister out for ice cream to discuss how she’s being affected. Sitting in front of this huge ice cream sundae, it’s awkward how The Rock never touches it. At one point, the little girl even asks him to take a bite, and he tries to fake her out. Sorry little girl, even your smile can’t break The Rock’s iron willpower.
Daily Stats
After the success with using the Fat Burn workout mode, I checked the elliptical machine to find the hardest preset workout it had. There was one called “Get Fit” that got the heart-rate and calories burned way up, about 15% higher than the day before. Note my heartrate staying around 150 the entire session. A few days ago it was never breaking 135. I’m going to keep trying different presets to see how hard I can make things.
