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  1. I've been looking forward to today for the last several days. Today I went back into the gym with the knowledge that I would be trying some new exercises to target areas I either hadn't been working on yet or had not been worked in this particular manner. The cardio is going to stay pretty much the same. It's the strength training that's about to switch up a little.

    I ultimately didn't get in the full workout I usually do. Most of today's session was spent discussing some newer options with L.L. Bean fitness room staffer Eric. I can't really say that I did whole sets of these new exercises as I was just getting acquainted with the movements but will bang it out starting on Wednesday with full sets of the following.

    Row/Delts will remain a part of this routine.
    Chest Press has been phased out and replaced with push-ups utilizing a work out ball.
    Lat pull downs will continue as well.
    Bicep curls/shoulder press are still in also but will be done on the ball.
    Lunges (my arch nemesis)
    Crunches with a fitness ball are great. I think I'm gonna like this one.
    I'll be doing squats with a trunk twist referred to here as Axechops.
    Strength training ends with Supermans for the lower back and glutes.

    I'll be going through this whole list more thoroughly on Wednesday. For today I did simply 10 reps of each of these to get to know the movements. Just before the strength training I did 20 minutes of nordic walking, and following the strength training hit the elliptical for 30 minutes on weight loss level 7. Total cals burned throughout were 922 with 55% of those from fat. Average heart rate was 133 bpm. Maximum heart rate was not recorded due to a minor glitch with the recording data but I'm quite sure it was in the neighborhood of the mid 160s.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:22 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  2. Week 5

    Jun 29, 2008


    3 more pounds down! This is starting to feel really gratifying. I'm getting a good pace going for my fat loss. I'm awaiting the plateau point though. I think I have a pretty level head for what to do when that plateau comes however. I will not get discouraged but rather make changes in order to keep myself motivated and keep my body from getting complacent with the workout schedule.

    The physiological changes are very encouraging too. I recently purchased clothing that was 1 or even 2 sizes lower than what I've been wearing for the last several years. Large men's clothing is pretty limiting. I'm looking forward to being able to wear regular clothes and even somewhat form fitting stuff without getting overly self-conscious about it.

    So there it is. The ever improving truth. I'm doing a solid job! I will soon take another body fat reading in order to compare to the starting point of 34.3%. I'm quite sure my blood pressure is lower as well. I used to get frequent headaches which I would attribute to both higher blood pressure and improper hydration, both of which I have remedied through hard work. I have felt an increase in stamina and just overall well being. I must persist. I feel too good now to go back.

    Here are my results so far :
    Week 1 - 315 lbs.
    Week 2 - 307 lbs.
    Week 3 - 302 lbs.
    Week 4 - 300 lbs.
    Week 5 - 297 lbs.

    Posted by Unknown at 8:10 AM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  3. I finally feel like one of the elite. Well maybe it's a little early to be saying that, but I can say that I got my lazy bum outta bed this morning at 4:30 a.m. in order to go *gasp* JOGGING. Like so many others I've seen out on early, misty mornings I was looking for a quick morning burn today.

    I got up, got dressed, did some stretches, plugged some Lyrics Born into my ear buds, and got started @ 4:54 a.m. It really is very peaceful this time of day. Old Orchard Beach is pretty maddening midday on a summer weekend, but I rarely ever see anyone out and about down here before 7:30, and those are the early ones. I suppose everyone must be hung over from the booze that seems to float on the air down here, and Pier fries.

    I charted a fairly modest route to get started. I understand now why those who are seriously into running need to get in at least five miles as less than that really doesn't feel like much. A drop in the bucket. For them, not me. I can't say as I jogged the whole way, but most certainly more than my previous attempt.

    I plotted this route through RUNNINGMAP.com, a service that I discovered last night. I'm really quite impressed with their page. You can load your own route for public viewing and see routes that others may have plotted in your area for you to take advantage of. It calculates distances and elevations through maps from Yahoo and also allows you to input points of interest along the route and pictures. Find the route I created and executed this morning here.

    Some Stats : Distance traveled 2.3 miles, total time 40 mins 16 sec, average heart rate 139, maximum heart rate 173, calories burned 369, 50% from fat

    Posted by Unknown at 5:39 AM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  4. Today was just so brutally muggy that I had to go and get some new shorts for my gym time. I found it freeing in that my range of motion was no longer hindered by bulky, baggy clothes. I could actually move faster (go figure) and push myself harder and it seems ultimately burn more calories. I should listen to my trainer Eric more often. I said "I like to sweat. I know I'm working hard if I'm soaking my sweatshirt." Trust me, I still sweat today.

    Today was also the end of this particular set of exercises. I mentioned in my last post that I had been feeling a little stale with the stuff that I have been doing in the gym, and lack of variation could lead to lack of interest and ultimate defeat. I won't let that happen. So next week I will be working in some new strength training aspects and continuing to push to higher levels with the cardio. The new plan includes more emphasis on interval training, focus on core strength, and utilization of a workout ball. I'm excited to embark on this new part of the mission.

    Stats today were little screwed. It's turning out that the lovely watch I got isn't quite the perfect unit I once thought it was. I love the unit and it's features, but perhaps I got a single bunk watch. We'll see. Maybe I'll trade it in. Average heart rate as dictated by crummy watch was 141 bpm and maximum was 168 bpm. Here's the glitchy part. During my ARC Trainer session I recorded 900 kcals burned on the machine itself while my personal heart rate monitor gave me 864 cals burned for the ENTIRE workout of ARC, strength training, and bike. The personal HRM would tend to be more accurate than the generalized info from the elliptical if working correctly. Which do I trust? Think it's time to get a new one?

    40 mins. ARC Trainer/Elliptical, weight loss program level 7, 120 strides per min.
    15 reps/75 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/50 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/100 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/12 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    15 reps/75 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/50 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/100 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/12 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    28 mins. Cycle, weight loss program level 6, 60 strides per min.

    Posted by Unknown at 3:56 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  5. Today felt like a good day to get back out into the field so I decided to attempt to log a previous DNF. Turns out the coordinates of the original post were far off, by about 80 feet. That'll teach me to check out other users' logs before I head out for the find.

    Even if I had found this cache the first time I was intending to come back out here anyway. What a beautiful place. It's at the site of an historic farm in Freeport. From the Freeport Historical Society :

    "Pettengill Farm, a nineteenth century salt-water farm on the estuary of the Harraseeket River, is owned by Freeport Historical Society. It includes a saltbox house (ca. 1810) on 140 acres of fields, woods, antique apple orchards and salt marsh."

    The distance to the cache from parking says .75 miles, but that's as the crow flies, so I ended up actually putting down 3 miles exactly going to the cache and back with no other deviations from the trail. This took me approximately 1 hour averaging 2.9 mph while moving. I'm enjoying having my fitness watch at my disposal in the field as well as the gym. Average heart rate was
    128 bpm with a max of 152. Kcals burned were 608 with 55% cals burned from fat. I'm realizing that I have to set up two different target zones for recording heart rate data. One for cardio in the gym and another for caching in the field. I will do that for my next cache outing.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:01 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  6. Back at it

    Jun 25, 2008

    Ugh. I haven't been feeling like hitting the gym. I wouldn't go so far as to say dreading it, but maybe a little pensive. I've been assessing my plan in the last few days and trying to develop a new plan of attack as I've been feeling a little stale as of late. I had to force myself into the fitness room today, and I was glad I did. I felt fantastic afterward. I've even made a few further strides with the cardio stuff a little at a time. This has actually gotten me to a point I didn't think I would be just a month ago. I upped the resistance level on the bike and added 10 minutes to my cross trainer session!

    Average heart rate was 138 bpm and my highest heart rate was 160. 71% of the suggested maximum. 50% of the total calorie count of 773 was burned in fat calories.

    28 mins. Cycle, weight loss program level 6, 60 strides per min.
    15 reps/75 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/50 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/100 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/12 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    15 reps/75 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/50 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/100 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/12 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    40 mins. ACR/Elliptical, weight loss program level 6, 115 strides per min.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:16 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  7. Week 4

    Jun 22, 2008


    This week brought some surprise and confusion. The scale registered no loss for me this week. I always take my reading as soon as I wake up on Sunday mornings. Today I did it in a different room than I usually do as I had to get up early and didn't want to wake anyone. A little consternating really until I look at the pictures taken at the same time this morning. The physical results are encouraging. I appear to be losing fat but not weight. I have also been strength training all this time. Maybe I'm starting to see some of the results of that. Developing muscle mass will of course weigh more than the fat I'm losing so I'm hoping that's the case. I think so. Anyway, so I took another weight measurement when I got home from caching today in the same location I would normally have done it before and it seems that I did in fact lose 2 more lbs so I'm gonna run with that. I think it's fair to say I'm getting results. I will take another body fat measurement soon too just to confirm.

    Here are my results so far :
    Week 1 - 315 lbs.
    Week 2 - 307 lbs.
    Week 3 - 302 lbs.
    Week 4 - 300 lbs.

    Posted by Unknown at 6:19 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  8. GCRCC8 - Canoe Club House and Falls at Stroudwater River
    GC17542 - Historic Stroudwater
    GC16MTE - Winding Way Peninsula
    GC16MRN - Fore River Trail High Ground
    GCKPKH - Marsh Mellow
    GC1CNKP - A Marginal Meander
    GC23D2 - Ferry Beach Cache
    GC14DOD - 88 Piano Keys G#1 (Song of the Sea)

    Heck of a day today! The kids were off with mom to a baby shower so I got to cache the whole day. Met up with Squirrelcache for some early morning finds in South Portland. We did a few park and grabs but the real focus was the caches in Portland Trails' Fore River Sanctuary. This was a pleasant walk with slight grade changes for the beginner and wonderful marshes. I'm sorry I didn't record any information from the GPS or my heart rate monitor here. That would come later when Squirrelcache and I parted ways and I headed out solo.
    I did four more caches outside of the ones he and I did together. For all of those I recorded my heart rate information cumulatively. I burned 955 kcals, 60% cals from fat. My average heart rate was 122 bpm with a maximum of 146. I really wasn't pushing it too hard today and feel like I could have done more, but I was really into focusing on doing several low key, enjoyable walks today rather than one killer one.

    This objective led me to several great places today that I was truly glad I visited. Marsh Mellow had some very nice trails and informational placards with information on the indiginous vegetation. The real treat of the day however was Ferry Beach. I've been meaning to get to this place since I started caching a little over a month ago. A wonderful diversion from the craziness of downtown Old Orchard, the Ferry Beach trails are excellently maintained. There are several different options to plot a course (see trail map below). I would highly recommend this park.

    Or maybe you're looking for one of the quaint, high-brow Maine tourist communities. Marginal Way in Ogunquit was a pleasant stroll that takes you just outside of downtown and out to the rockier side of the beach. I always preferred rocky beaches over sand beaches anyway. I like caches with multiple stages and after having attempted this one and flubbing it due to sloppy note taking, I decided I had to try it again. Success this time, and a pleasant walk along the coast.

    So I guess to sum up, sometimes it's not so much about the destination as it is the journey. It was a wonderful day to get out and go caching. While the focus here is on weight loss, half of that is simply getting up and getting active. Seize the day. Smell the roses a little. Get outside and go cache.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:39 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  9. La Fin Du Semaine

    Jun 20, 2008

    Not really too much to mention today. It's been a pretty tiresome week. I'm finding that there is not much more gratifying than ending a mediocre week with a good day in the gym. I felt that way when I came out of the gym today. Gratified.

    I pushed a few things a little harder today. A few more pounds on the chest press, and I upped the resistance levels on my ACR program. Unfortunately my watch bugged out on me a little so I'm not sure the information recorded is 100% accurate. Average heart rate was 148 bpm and my highest heart rate was 167. That's about 77% of the suggested maximum for a man my weight and age. Previously I was only pushing about 70% so I felt pretty good about that today. Operating at that higher level supposedly impacts that amount of fat calories burned which was only 40% of the total calorie count of 641 (although I'm pretty sure I burned more total calories than that since my watch cut out).

    28 mins. Cycle, weight loss program level 5, 60 strides per min.
    15 reps/75 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/50 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/100 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/12 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    15 reps/75 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/50 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/100 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/12 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    30 mins. ACR/Elliptical, weight loss program level 6, 115 strides per min.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:27 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  10. Thanks to all the great folks in the Maine caching community for making a noob feel welcome. This was my first event cache / meet 'n' greet and I really feel a few good connections were made. It's kind of hard going into an established group of associated people and being so new you just feel like an outsider. Longtime Maine cachers like kayakerinme, squirrelcache, and Kacky put me at ease and made me feel truly welcome. I was pretty wallflower-ish so I didn't get around as much as I would have liked. If I missed you, I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you better in the future. All good folks.

    Posted by Unknown at 9:03 PM | Labels: , | 0 comments |

  11. I thought it was important to have some basic information here. Today I got my blood pressure checked so I could have a bit of a reference starting point. When checked today I registered 134/89. This is somewhat lower than it has been in the past but still not where I want it to be. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

    I'll also be tracking my body fat and body mass as I feel these numbers are more indicative of change than simply watching the scale. I am after all trying to develop muscle mass while losing fat at the same time. This reading was taken on 6/12/08. My body mass index starting calculation is 40.8 and my percentage of body fat is 34.3. I will check up on these numbers periodically as well and post my results here.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:54 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  12. Kind of an interesting day today. It was Bean's Health & Wellness Fair in the returns department where employees have 3 hours paid time midday to walk around various vendor displays on health related topics. I got some ideas on how to further diversify my workouts so the routines don't get stale. I got a hands on demonstration from Jeff Witkavitch, an instructor at Quest Center in Portland about To Shin Do. I also got helpful backpacking tips from Bean staff and got to talk to a representative of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club about an upcoming caching event in Eustis. I'm thinking about pursuing cross country skiing come winter as well. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn about other healthful avenues I could take. I commend L. L. Bean for putting on such an event for their employees.

    After that it was into the fitness room where I was the only person in there for an hour and a half as everyone was at the fair. Today I burned 693 cals , burning 50% of those calories in fats. Averaged 136 bpm and maxed 159. I spent 7 mins 30 sec below, 1 hour 10 mins in the zone, and 6 mins above the zone. I made it a point today to add more weight to the strength training as well since I was getting pretty comfortable with the previous settings.

    28 mins. Cycle, weight loss program level 5, 60 strides per min.
    15 reps/75 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/45 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/100 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/12 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    15 reps/75 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/45 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/100 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/12 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    30 mins. ACR/Elliptical, weight loss program level 5, 115 strides per min.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:22 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  13. GC10F17 - Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt - Great Pond Overlook
    GC10F0Q - Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt - Great Pond Launch
    GC10F1N - Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt - Great Pond Bonus DNF

    Despite not really being the greatest day for caching, I really enjoyed this trail. While the terrain was not especially challenging I still got in a pretty healthful walk today. The new watch is coming in handy as I recorded an average heart rate of 122 bpm and a maximum of 152 bpm. I somehow managed to burn 763 calories without thinking about it and 60% of those were fat cals.

    This walk takes you around the perimeter of Great Pond in Cape Elizabeth which is in the neighborhood of South Portland and Scarborough. Be careful of missteps as a stretch of the path is plank boardwalks through a marsh. These planks are showing their age! Some rot evident so pick your course.

    While these are three individual caches, they essentially make up a sort of multi. Two of the caches contain fragments of the coordinates to the third. I found the first two with very little trouble and assembled the coords to the third. By this point the fog was rolling over the pond and distant thunder and ominous clouds dictated that I would have to get moving. Thus, I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked looking for GC10F1N - Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt - Great Pond Bonus. Once I got home to log my finds for today I found that the most recent visitors to the cache didn't get the find either. Which makes me wonder if it was just me overlooking it or if something is amiss. It's not far from home and I did so enjoy the walk that I will be out there again anyway. Next time I'll do the whole trail.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:28 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  14. I wanted to make this post yesterday but was having many connection issues. Yesterday was Monday so of course it was back on the horse in the fitness room. I felt a little bad having skipped Friday but Sunday's weigh in kinda made up for that. I was pretty anxious to get back in there. I had to try out my new toy!

    My wife saw fit to give me a treat because of all my hard work at home and on the trail, also as a father, so for Father's Day I got to pick myself out a fitness watch. I am very pleased to now have a New Balance N5Max watch to monitor my heart rate in the gym or out caching. It has way too many features to mention here but having used it for a few days now I can absolutely say that I love it.

    So now when I post information from cache outings or the gym I can give a little bit more detailed information on how my workout went, including calories burned in that session, average and maximum heart rates, percentage of calories burned from fats, and amount of time spent above, below, or within a preset heart rate zone.

    Monday for example I burned 1000 kcals even, burning 50% of those calories in fats. Averaged 136 bpm and maxed 162. I started with a pretty wide target zone in order to try to learn the unit. I will soon have to narrow it down but for now it's 95-155 bpm. Within those parameters I spent 5 mins 10 sec below, 1 hour 30 mins in the zone, and 21 mins 32 sec above the zone.

    20 mins. Nordic Walking
    28 mins. Cycle, weight loss program level 5, 60 strides per min.
    15 reps/65 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/40 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/95 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    15 reps/65 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/40 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/95 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    30 mins. ACR/Elliptical, weight loss program level 5, 115 strides per min.

    Posted by Unknown at 3:50 PM | Labels: | 1 comments |

  15. Thanks go out to the caching community in general for their tremendous support as I start my journey. More specifically however I would like to thank the podcasters. It was because of a podcast that I originally became inspired to launch this total lifestyle overhaul. It was mentioned previously here.

    That was episode 60 of Geocaching Podcast. I emailed XpunkX of the show to mention what I was doing and how his show was a big part of that. Shortly thereafter I was listening to Episode 63 on waypoint managers and he and his crew gave a mention to SlimCache. Thanks guys for supporting the project and ultimately my better health.

    Also along the same lines, I contacted Cache-A-Maniacs to see if this would be an interesting story for them. Not knowing just how small a community this was, Darryl of CAM had already heard about the blog and was down to give a mention on his show as well. That can be found on the most recently published episode #80.

    Katadin Goddess and Kacky of The Maine Podcache have been very supportive as well. Kacky mentioned that they would give a mention on the episode being recorded today and we can also look forward to an interview around the end of the summer. That's yet another reason to keep striving. I don't want to disappoint anyone, namely myself, so I've got to have an impressive number at the end of the season. Thanks again to all for their support and please check out the shows listed here that have helped me in my efforts. Live, Breathe, Cache.











    Posted by Unknown at 9:37 AM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  16. I was again a little nervous this week. I felt like I stepped up the workout, but missing out on a scheduled workout Friday had me worried. Couple that with the fact that being absolutely rigid about diet will eventually make you crack. I splurged very little, and feel like maybe this week's number might have been a little bigger if I hadn't indulged that little bit. Can't beat myself up over it though. No one's perfect. Just try your hardest. That's what got me a 5 pound weight loss this week!

    Here are my results so far :
    Week 1 - 315 lbs.
    Week 2 - 307 lbs.
    Week 3 - 302 lbs.



    Posted by Unknown at 9:12 AM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  17. Into the Gym (Sort Of)

    Jun 14, 2008

    I was feeling a little down today about not having done a work out in the last couple days. I'm also trying to keep in mind that the essential thing is to get in a half hour a day. So after putting the kids to bed I set myself to finding something on cable on demand programming that will get in those important 30 minutes. I found Bob Harper.

    You might be familiar with Bob from The Biggest Loser. My wife and I watched a few seasons of the show and it's hard not to be inspired by some of the stories. Of course there are highly successful product lines spawned from the show as well. This on demand program was taken from one of those programs entitled Cardio Max. It's pretty good for someone at the entry level workout like me. The entire focus is to keep moving. Your level of ability is secondary. Work within your boundaries and don't push too hard. Just keep moving.

    It definitely got me sweating. While I would prefer to be out in the field or in the gym, my own living room proved to be a good substitute. And if you can't get out that doesn't mean you can't get some work in. I would recommend this to anyone who is stuck in the house but still wants to get a sweat in.

    Posted by Unknown at 10:09 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  18. 'Round Portland

    Jun 12, 2008

    Today was a little warm and so in order to avoid putting on heavy pants and going into the woods I decided to do a little city caching. Plus it's a chance to get some sun on my pale white legs. I decided to do a run of three caches in downtown Portland. In the process I managed to put down the completely coincidental numbers of 3.6 miles averaging 3.6 mph.

    Today's Caches :
    GC16MPA - PICTURE THIS #7 "Observatory" DNF
    GC1CDN9 - Hey, something fishy is going on here!
    GC1BA3Z - Eastern Promenade

    This was a really nice walk. I wish I had taken more time to appreciate Munjoy Hill before today. It has this unfortunate stigma which is easy to buy into until you spend some time there. I thoroughly enjoyed myself here despite not having found my first cache at the Portland Observatory. Interesting concept to the cache as well. I'm looking forward to going back to log this as it was a clever and challenging cache that I want to have on the books.

    From here I headed down to the waterfront in the Old Port. Since the final coordinates of the cache are revealed by deciphering a puzzle I won't reveal too much about the area. I can say that this took me a little way down Commercial Street before turning around to head back for the next cache.

    This was probably the longest leg of this walk and a gorgeous trail I might not have discovered if it hadn't been for caching. The Eastern Promenade Trail in Portland takes you past marinas, a Civil War era fort in the harbor, and The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad. I got the chance to get up the speed here a little and the blood flowing. After cutting up to the Prom from the trail, the cache wasn't an especially challenging hide but was a great way to round out a good walk.

    I decided to check again at the Observatory. Nope, still not finding it. But despite the DNF I ended my outing feeling great that a decent walk/cache run doesn't have to be in the woods to be rewarding.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:49 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  19. Drenched!

    Jun 11, 2008

    I had someone ask me today why I wear sweatshirts while I work out. Not too long ago I looked at the men and women on television shows like The Biggest Loser and thought they were crazy too when I saw them covered in heavy garb and sweating like mad. My opinion has completely changed. I find it the most rewarding thing and truly a sign that I've worked my ass off.

    Today there were only a few changes to my regular routine. I've been feeling less challenged by the weight loss settings of the ACR and Cycle so I upped the resistance on those going to weight loss program level 5 on both. That did the trick. I don't know how accurate the calorie counters on these machines tend to be but the ACR was telling me I killed 588 calories in a half hour. What a great feeling!

    28 mins. Cycle, weight loss program level 5, 60 strides per min.
    15 reps/65 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/40 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/95 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    15 reps/65 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/40 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/95 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    30 mins. ACR/Elliptical, weight loss program level 5, 115 strides per min.

    Posted by Unknown at 3:43 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  20. There are 6 geocaches within the boundaries of Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, Maine. Today I found all of them, and got a nice hike in while doing so. Total distance 3.11 miles doing 2.9 mph.

    Today's caches are as follows, in the order found.
    GCN3DQ - MidKnight
    GC18M5J - Bradbury gas saver
    GCKPDJ - Bradbury East
    GC191NX - Bradbury Walk
    GC6917 - Bradbury
    GCMKE1 - Bradbury Steps

    Approaching the sites in this order took me around Boundary Trail, which as you can imagine, runs along the perimeter of the park. The terrain is appropriate for an intermediate hiker and got my heart rate going at a good clip. This is also a beautiful park, and taking that outer loop allowed me to appreciate it in peace and quiet as I was the only one on Boundary Trail at the time.

    I finished the trek by heading up to the summit. Albeit a small mountain, I can say that I climbed it. It's quite the sense of accomplishment and just what I needed right about now. Being able to do so says to me that I've actually started conditioning my body, and that I'm on the right path (no pun intended). I'm not sure I would have been able to do this a month ago. It's a good feeling. Feels like headway.

    Update 6/11 : Shucks! Just found out another cache was published for the Bradbury area today.
    Not that I needed an excuse but a great reason to go back for more.

    Posted by Unknown at 6:04 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  21. I tried a stimulating activity today that I definitely look forward to doing more in the future. Honestly I always thought the nordic walkers I saw around the L.L. Bean campus looked kind of silly and wondered from time to time just what type of fitness benefit could come from what looked like simply walking with ski poles. It's more than that though. Granted I was working with poles slightly too short for me but could see the benefits.

    Of course any extra movement will burn extra calories. But you're also applying pressure to the poles to gently push off against the ground in order to work the biceps and triceps in a way that is unobtrusive but has cumulative effects. I loved it. The nordic walking group at my workplace meets every Monday and Thursday so I look forward to continuing this activity as it's beneficial from both the cardio standpoint as well as strength training.

    That served as a good starting point for me today in the fitness room. Supplementing with nordic walking also gave me a chance to change up my cardio routine in the gym so I jumped at that opportunity. Here's today's schedule.

    2o mins Nordic Walking
    30 mins ACR/Elliptical, weight loss program level 3, 125 strides per min.
    15 reps/65 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/40 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/95 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats
    15 reps/65 lbs Row/Delts
    15 reps/40 lbs Chest press
    15 reps/95 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    15 reps Squats

    For more on nordic walking visit nordicwalkingus.com. Animation from nordicwalkingdorset.co.uk.

    Posted by Unknown at 3:37 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  22. I've vowed to share my successes and losses here on SlimCache. This is one of the latter. It falls into the category of did not find (henceforth referred to as a DNF). Poor note taking led me to the wrong coodinates. This was absolutely no fault of the cache owner and all on my shoulders. READ THE KEY! Decipher coords correctly.

    On the upside I did get to take a walk through a nice path in Ogunquit. A couple times even. I ended up walking 2.7 miles (a relatively short jaunt for me) and maintaining 3.2 mph while moving. I will be back.

    Posted by Unknown at 7:48 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |


  23. There is some inherent anxiety in stepping onto a scale to track weight loss. Did I only break even, or worse, gain? There were to be no worries this week. I lost 8 pounds!

    Here are my results so far :
    Week 1 - 315 lbs.
    Week 2 - 307 lbs.

    Posted by Unknown at 2:48 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  24. Finding a Groove

    Jun 6, 2008

    I decided it was time to step things up slightly in the gym today. I didn't feel as though I was properly challenging myself with the weights really so I upped that a little. I'm pretty comfortable with the amount of time I'm doing on the cycle so I've kept that the same. I've also decided to put a few more minutes in on the elliptical and that really helped today. Things are great and I'm finally starting to find a groove.

    28 mins Cycle, Resistance level varied/weight loss program, 60 RPM
    20 reps/50 lbs Row/Delts
    20 reps/40 lbs Chest press
    20 reps/80 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    20 reps/50 lbs Row/Delts
    20 reps/40 lbs Chest press
    20 reps/80 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    30 mins ACR/Elliptical, Resistance level varied/weight loss program, 115 strides per min.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:10 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  25. The geocaching community is one of the best groups of folks I've ever met. When I mentioned this blog and my aspirations to lose weight the cachers in Maine and beyond reached out with the greatest of support.

    I was initially inspired by an episode of Geocaching Podcast in which I heard of another individual who had adopted caching as a weight loss program, dropping him 60 pounds and I'm sure more by now. That cacher is bluedepth and is just one of those positive weight loss stories I've heard, all of which I consider to be inspirational to me in my journey. Dallas of theodellfamily has lost 45 pounds. StClairC's lost 20. Since January, user TotemLake is down 56 pounds. Probably the most impressive is butrflybec who has lost 80 pounds in order to be more fit to cache. Thanks butrfly, your advice has been some of the best yet too. Thank you all, as your personal stories are great motivation and show me that it can be done.

    Extra thanks again to Geocaching Podcast who turned me on to the the idea in the first place. In their most recent show they gave a little plug to SlimCache getting my story out just a little further and providing that much more encouragement. I'm very much looking forward to a talk with The Maine Podcache later this summer too so keep your ears peeled. Thanks again to all.

    Posted by Unknown at 3:03 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  26. Getting Accustomed

    Jun 4, 2008

    Had a good day today in the gym. Very little change to speak of from Monday's routine All the strength training stuff was the same.

    20 reps/40 lbs Row/Delts
    20 reps/25 lbs Chest press
    20 reps/70 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    20 reps/40 lbs Row/Delts
    20 reps/25 lbs Chest press
    20 reps/70 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press

    This was sandwiched (mmmm sandwich) on either end by cardio. I'm more focused now on keeping my BPMs sustained at the proper level for longer. I'm finding I have more of those resources available in the gym than in the field. In addition to BPM count I will also soon have a proper readout on my body fat provided by my trainer, a number I'm not really excited to find out but will disclose here soon in the interest of progress. Here's today's cardio routine.

    28 mins Cycle, Resistance level varied/weight loss program, 60 RPM
    *weight training*
    20 mins ACR/Elliptical, Resistance level varied/weight loss program, 115 strides per min.

    I'm pretty pleased to be falling into a routine that's good for me. Now to get proficient at the levels that I'm at so I can eventually start progressing and challenge myself. Really I figure if I ended up drenched it was a good day, and man, did I.

    Posted by Unknown at 5:32 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  27. GC9DB8 - Norge Troll

    Jun 3, 2008

    This turned into a pretty serious walk for me today. I ended up putting down 5.8 miles and averaged 3.2 mph while moving. I am intending to get a heart rate monitor but I'm pretty sure I kept my bpms up as this was no stroll. I walked from downtown Old Orchard Beach to Atlantic Trail in the Rachel Carlson Wildlife Preserve. No big deal. I had done this walk before when hitting the Goosefare Brook cache in the same area. Today held something different.

    The cache is a multi designed to take you to the farthest reach of the park before given the next set of coordinates. From there you double back a few times, branch off onto other trails, and just explore in general. Pretty stimulating. Thanks to cache owner Doug26 for a well designed multi step geocache.

    My day didn't end there. I still had to get back to my home base in downtown. I love the irony of launching this 'weight loss through caching' blog when a place called Fat Bellies Deli is my home. Anyway, I decided to deviate from my path home and hit the beach. There is probably no better workout than jogging in soft sand. It got me pretty heated. I couldn't keep it up very long but I tried and maybe I can hold out longer next time. It was a good first step regardless. Needless to say I'm a little worn out this evening but feel ultimately very, very satisfied. Good caching!

    Posted by Unknown at 6:24 PM | Labels: | 1 comments |

  28. Into the gym!

    Jun 2, 2008

    I've spent most of my life avoiding gyms/fitness rooms. That aversion has taken it's toll and today I finally addressed it. I'm pretty sure I've never been in a gym because I've been intimidated by the machines. That and sheer laziness. I found out today they're not so bad once you get to know them.

    I think my first workout day went pretty positively. Here's the rundown.

    15 mins ACR/Elliptical, Resistance level 15, Range 88-115 strides per min.
    20 reps/40 lbs Row/Delts
    20 reps/25 lbs Chest press
    20 reps/70 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    20 reps/40 lbs Row/Delts
    20 reps/25 lbs Chest press
    20 reps/70 lbs Lat Pull Down
    15 reps/10 lbs Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press
    6 mins Cycle on hill program (just to get to know the machine)

    A fairly tame program just to get myself started. Don't know if I'll feel this tomorrow but it feels good just to have gotten started. Tomorrow I will also try to hit a few caches and will also record my nutritional intake to report. See you then.

    Posted by Unknown at 3:37 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  29. Only hit one cache today but made it worth it. This is about a 3.5 mile loop around Portland's Back Cove. I was accompanied by my wife and two toddlers in a double stroller. The kids both slept the whole way and the stroller brought something to the workout as well.

    I'm learning some of the features of my GPSr and am finding the trip counter helpful for fitness purposes. Actual distance traveled on our walk as recorded by my unit was 3.82 miles averaging 3.4 mph while moving.

    This was a multi-stage cache with 10 different waypoints involved so the biggest challenge was not pausing too long when looking for the next clue. Thankfully the cache owner gave thorough clues and straightforward coordinates to the next stage at every point. Great cache for families or if you're looking for a stimulating stroll on your own.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:34 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |


  30. So there it is. The ugly truth. Today I weighed in at 315 pounds. Never seen a picture of myself semi-nude. Kinda eye opening actually. I see it as a catalyst for change. Today is the starting point. Planning on getting out for a walk today with my wife and kids. Tomorrow will start training with Eric at work. Maybe nordic walking.

    Posted by Unknown at 8:55 AM | Labels: | 0 comments |