End of Recovery Week

Woke up this morning at 5 and did Core Synergistcs. I did better than I did on Friday. I felt much stronger and was able to do more. I finished about 6:20 and made an enourmous breakfast of toast, porridge, and some yogurt, as well as a protein shake. Today at work it was my turn for chorei, so I told everyone to be careful not to get sunburnt this Summer. The guy next to me, who had to make a comment, said that hats are a popular way to shade oneself from the sun. Just another riveting Monday morning.
Yesterday I took Will to a park, where we had a great time. I did get a little sunburnt, which is what prompted the whole subject. He ran and played for a couple of hours, and then fell asleep five minutes into the trip home. A really good day. We had lunch at a Kaitenzushi place, which is one of those sushi on a conveyor belt deals. Also you can order stuff on a touchpad, and a few minutes later a little bullet train will come around and stop at your table with the sushi you ordered loaded on it. Needless to say, Will thought this was the greatest thing he'd ever seen. His favourite sushi is Ikura, which is fish eggs on rice. I'm not too adventurous with the ol' sushi. Salmon mainly, a prawn or two, and maybe some tuna. Fried squid is nice, too. But the slimy white shit that I have no idea what it is, no thanks. That reminds me! I saw some whale meat for sale, but it was on TV shopping. Thin strips of Minx whale, vacuum sealed. It was pretty expensive, but I forget how much. So there you go. Once they have finished experimenting on it, then you can eat it.
Can Richmond's season get any worse? What if Cousins goes back on the blow? Couldn't blame him, really. What I think will happen is that Wallace will go, Wayne Campbell will step in, and Richmond will win 9 of the last 12 games or whatever and finish 9^th. I really hope so. If they don't finish last, that is. That would be the optimal result. But if they do finish 9th, then Tiger supporters will have another Summer of absolutely believing to their core that Richmond are improving, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Just like the last twenty years. It's fun to watch.
I feel a bit for the Bulldogs. Why couldn't Brad Johnson play on? Why did the umpire blow time off only a couple of seconds after he took the mark? But why did he try to kick a banana? The angle was tight, but kicking a banana doesn't really make it easier, does it? Just a nice, straight drop punt would have done it. I haven't downloaded the Swans game yet, so I don't know who won. Tonight hopefully. We've gone L W L W L W L W so far. I see a pattern forming.
Oh man, I've hit the wall. It's 2 o'clock and I have completely run out of energy. I made sure I had plenty to eat today, too. I brought in a sandwich, an apple, some yogurt, and a Soyjoy bar, and they are all gone, but I feel very lethargic. I'll probably have a can of coffee soon. That should pep me up. Lunch today was a couple of bits of chicken, salad, rice, and soup. Not bad, as far as work lunches go.
I haven't played golf for more than a year! It was tough, especially the first few weeks, but somehow I did it. Now, I don't even think about playing golf anymore. In fact, if you were to offer me a round of golf right now, I wouldn't dream of saying yes.
Wait, hang on. I want to play golf. Golf is good. It's smoking I've quit. It has been more than a year since I last played golf. Absolutely ridiculous. It's a big negative of living here. I can't play golf every weekend. Breaks my heart. If I made a plus/negative list of living in Japan, it would be mightily unbalanced. I need to work on this.
So the last time I played golf was April last year. And here is a pictorial representation of the eagle I made on the 6^th at The Tradition Golf Club, Okazaki (I thought it was 14, but it is the 6th. I must have played the back nine first that day). I remember I had a three footer for par on the last for a 79. You don't want to make an eagle and not break 80. That would be shithouse. I hit the put so hard that when it hit the back of the cup it popped up and made Junko's mother gasp, but it was never going to miss and it dropped in for a par and gave me a 79. Yes baby.

Core Synergistics - Day 23

Holy heck. This "Recovery" week had been pretty cruisy up until today. Some stretching, some yoga. But today it was Core Synergistics. This kicked my ass, and then stomped on my ass, and handed my ass back to me in a soggy brown paper bag and said 'Here's your ass back.' I sweated more than I did doing Plyo a few weeks ago, and that was the most I have ever sweated. Great stuff. What am I going to do when I finish P90X? Climb a fucking mountain or something? Anything less and it will be a waste. I've got it again in a couple of days, so I hope I can do better.
I won't post everything I eat every day. It's too much work. I am keeping my own records, so I'll keep track of how I'm doing every week or so. There are improvements though.
Here's a picture of Joey Jo Jo.

End of Week 3

I kicked ass last night. Will went to bed at 7:30 because he was so tired, and so I went into the garage to finish what I couldn't do last night. So I did the last twenty minutes of Legs & Back, and then I did Ab Ripper X. Then it was time for Jo Jo's bath (that's what we call him, though sometimes it's Joey Jo Jo, which I think is from the Simpsons) so I got him in with Junko, got him out when he was done, dressed him, and then back down to the garage to do Kenpo. The knee was feeling good, though I backed off a little with anything that involved squats. An hour later I was done, and I was done. Shower, Shake, a bit of Footy Classified, and bed.

Joey Jo Jo

Just did some research. "Joey Jo Jo" comes from the following exchange, when Homer is seeking advice about what to do about his infatuation with Mindy Simmons.
Homer: Moe, I need your advice.
Moe: Yeah?
Homer: See, I got this friend named... Joey Jo Jo... Junior... Shabadoo.
Moe: That's the worst name I ever heard.
Joey runs out of the bar sobbing.
Barney: Hey! Joey Jo Jo!
Now I remember. I'll probably start calling him Shabadoo now. Though it is funny when Will says "Hey Joey Jo Jo!" Picture the scene. Will is a grown man. Sitting in a hotel room somewhere, Australia, America, flicking through the channels. Comes across a Simpsons episode. Of course, he
knows nothing about the Simpsons. Then bang! He hears Barney cry "Joey Jo Jo!" and he is unexpectedly thrust back in time to when he was three, playing with his new-born brother. I hope that happens one day.
I'm reading a really interesting book called The Idle Parent. By doing as little as possible, you put the onus on the children to occupy themselves and learn how to do stuff. I definitely will adopt some of this stuff when the kids are older. The chapter I'm reading now is about toys. I really need to get a big plastic bag and throw out all the plastic crap that Will has collected over the years. My god there is an enourmous amount. The thing is, he won't miss any of it. It's more Junko and I thinking, well, maybe Jo Jo will play with it, or altogether it cost so much money it would be a shame to throw it away etc. The only stuff I'll keep is the stuff I have seen him play with regularly over the last year or so. About a supermarket bag full. I reckon I could fill three garbage bags with the rest of the stuff.
I get my bonus soon. Bonus. A big wad of cash twice a year. This time it will only be twice my monthly salary because of the "Tough Times" we are in, when last year it edged close to three times. Most of it will go into an account for Joseph, where it will earn about 0.04% interest, but some of it I will spend on camping gear, I think. I probably won't be using it soon, but I'll buy good quality stuff every few months so when we do go it'll be ready. I might also buy a travel bag for my motorbike.

Knee Pain & Food

My knee doesn't feel too bad this morning, though I don't want to test it out too much. I thought I would wake up this morning and it would be blown up like a balloon, but it's not. It feels a little tight, but I can walk and climb stairs no problem. I'll do Kenpo tonight and the abs exercise, and then if I feel ok I'll do what I can to complete the exercises I didn't do last night. No deep squats though. I think it's probably down to overdoing it a little, and not really having the correct form when doing squats. I'm going to have to concentrate on getting the weight back onto the heels and off the toes and knee joints. I'm also going to have to remember to ice it after each workout. It probably came at the right time, with a week off the really tough workouts. The schedule for the next week is

Wednesday: Stretch
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: Core Synergistics (a new one, lots of abs and core work apparently)
Saturday: Kenpo
Sunday: X Stretch
Monday: Core Synergistics again
Tuesday: Yoga
Wednesday: Stretch

So as you can see, No Plyo or Legs & Back, so if I take it easy and ice it after each workout, the knee should be right for Phase 2. I hope so. Once again, just like the back injury I got a couple of months ago, it makes me realize just how debilitating an injury is, and that at my age, one of these things can set me back for a long time, and maybe never be right again. It's a scary thought. Not that I'm that old, but at 35, things don't heal as well or as quickly as they did when I was 25. No matter how fit I am, a bad knee or a bad back will prevent me from doing most things.
As I wrote in my last post, I want to pay more attention to the food I'm eating. I think I'll write down and post what I eat every day, so I'm more conscious of what I'm doing. The rule is if I eat or drink it, I write it down. This way, when I'm walking past the shop on the way home and I think "I'll just grab a bag of chips" then my next thought will be "Don't forget to write it down and post it on your blog." That will enough to stop me most days. This is what I ate today.

Some good news – I found some bloody oatmeal nearby! Now I don't have to travel to Nagoya to get it. There's a supermarket called "Amika" which sells bulk items and stuff you won't find in normal Japanese supermarkets, and two boxes were hidden in the corner so I bought them both. Oatmeal for all!
On the work front, the boss has decided that he wants to improve "communication." *sigh* Do you remember the morning speeches we do every day? Chorei, it's called. Well now, after someone does a chorei, the next person has to make a comment on the chorei. Brilliant. So today F-san talked about the concept of understanding, and how people understand things. He read a book about it recently and now it's his favourite topic.
Swine flu has hit Japan, they think brought over by a high school volleyball team that toured America, and media panic has ensued. People are rushing out to get masks etc. So far it's only hit Osaka, but it's bound to come here. Like I said in a previous post, Japanese people will not take the day off work if they are sick. So it will be rampant. I think it is better to get swine flu now when it is weak and can only kill poor Mexicans. Better to get it now and get the antibodies before it passes through China and rebounds. China will toughen the virus up, that's for sure. Got some tough pigs in China.

Some Thoughts

I'm having issues with the food I eat. I've talked about this before, but the improvements have been slow, and I need to do something about it. The other day, I had just finished my workout and was fixing a shake when Junko came home from shopping. It was about 2 and I was starving. I was thinking about going to Cannery Row, an Italian restaurant (with the salad bar) and pigging out on broccoli, olives, and real pizza. But when she came home, I could smell something very familiar. MacDonalds. Damn. I tossed the coke and had my shake instead. I ate the chips, which are nice, but I could only manage half of the Bacon lettuce burger. What a piece of shit that is. "I think this is the last time I ever have MacDonald's," I told Junko. I don't really have anything against Maccas food in particular. It's shit, but then there's shit food everywhere. But now that I'm fit, my body is anti-craving. I'm taking sugar out of my milos and coffees without really thinking about it. Less margarine on my toast, less honey. Shall I get a canned coffee with lunch? Nah, I think I'll just have water. That kind of thing. It's not like "I must not have this because it's not good for me, but damn I want it." It's like smoking. My body seems to be subtly saying, hey, you don't want that. You want this instead. I need to encourage this.
Most meals at home and work, I just think, bleh! So I'm going to have to take total responsibility over what I eat, and that means a lot of cooking. So starting tomorrow I'm going to ditch the work lunches. They are giving me the shits. Except fish dishes. I need to think about and plan what I'm going to eat from tomorrow.
I wish they had Subway here. They used to, and there are still the odd stores in the capital cities, but basically it's gone. They lost millions here. When all the Subways lost money and had to close, they did research into why. Turns out that when Japanese people buy fast food, they want genuine shitty, fatty, salty fast food. They think they eat healthy enough at home. For them, going to Subway was like going to a brothel and having the girl dress in tracksuit pants and a T-shirt and watch TV with them. Probably not really, but...
By the way, I was spot on with my Swans – Eagles prediction, wasn't I? 5 points. I thought Shaw had lost us the game a couple of times, but Jack's goal was a beauty. Go Swannies!
Japanese elections are coming up soon. Did you know that since WW2, except for a couple of years in the 90's, one political party has ruled Japan? That's fewer ruling parties than China. Cuba. Russia. North Korea! Is this place a democracy? But apparently, this time, Japanese people have had enough! "Yes, We Might!" We'll see.

News Flash! Had to abandon today's workout after 40 minutes after sharp pain in right knee. Icing it now (10:50 pm) and we'll see how it feels tomorrow and decide what to do after consulting with J at work.

Third Week of P90X

This is the last week of Phase 1, then I have a week they call 'Recovery' but is still a major ass-kicker, then I'm on to Phase 2, which contains a few different workouts. I have to say, I love P90X. I do it every day, and every day I look forward to it. There are some days I like better than others, and I thought I'd rate them using the Likage scale, which is a measure of how much I like, fear, respect, dread, and look forward to each workout. It's complicated, because even if a workout rates poorly on the Likage scale, it doesn't mean I don't like it. I might just be scared of it. And I find that the workouts that don't leave me a drenched twitching mess rate higher.
Chest and Back - A solid workout. Nothing much to it, just push ups and pull ups. The pull ups are hard, but I've seen some improvement each week. As long as I can do 1 or even 2 more than I did the week before I'm happy, and that's been the case so far. I don't do this workout again until week 9, so it'll be interesting to the see the progress. Likage? 7/10
Plyometrics - The one I feared before I started, but I shouldn't have. I enjoy it. It's really tough, and my legs feel kind of restless the next day, but it's not as hard as P90 Master Plyo. The jump squats are tough. I really feel 35 years old when I do these, because I think the last time I did them (they are just jumping and bringing your knees to your chest) was at footy training when I was twelve, and that was sooooo long ago. Likage - 6/10
Shoulders and Arms - The glamour workout. Half way through doing this yesterday I thought my arms where going to pop. The pump! They deflated again soon after, but still. I bought some 15 kg dumbbells and I want to try and use these as much as possible to lessen the reps and up the burn. I really like this one. Likage - 8/10
Yoga - I do the shorter yoga workout that Tony made for One on One With Tony. I don't know if I will ever get around to doing the 90 minute long P90X workout. It's not so much the time, but an hour and a half of Yoga? I'm sure I would feel great afterwards, but I feel great after 45 minutes of it. I did it today and sweated like a mad man, and felt pretty good in some of the more awkward poses. I'll get around to it. maybe during the Recovery weeks. Maybe I don't want to do it because I know it will destroy me. I should front up to that fear at least once before I finish P90X . Likage - 8/10
Legs and Back - This is the one I dread. I thought after the first time I did Plyo that I had done all the hard work in Master and P90X was going to be an easy ride for my legs. Then I did this. This has all the tough exercises from Master Plyo, plus more. Wall squats - they just hurt! This is the one that makes me walk like an old man the next day at work. It was funny, because last Tuesday J and I went to get a coffee at work, and he's doing P90X too, following the same schedule, and we both shuffled along, struggling to get up the one flight of stairs to the drinks machines. Pain. Likage - 4/10
Kenpo X - Punching and kicking. This loosens those sore legs up in a hurry. I like it. It's a good way to end the week. It takes me back to when I did karate at Baysie. The warm up is really hard though. Tony does these strange warm ups that really hurt. Likage - 5/10
Ab Ripper X - "I hate it! But I love it." That's about right. It comes at the end of Chest and Back, Shoulders and Arms, and Legs and Back, and it's probably the last thing you want to do at those times. But you do it. About 350 situps. The last time I did it, yesterday, I did all of the reps except five Pfiffer scissors, which is just agony. So I will have to start concentrating on form and get them all done properly from now on. It's a great feeling when you get them done, though, and it's finsihed. Likage - 7/10
X-Stretch - This is optional. You can have a rest day or do X-stretch. Since I'm doing the short Yoga, I will do X-stretch every week and not take the day off. I really look forward to it anyway, especially after Legs and Back. It's one hour of stretching. How often do we sit down and do one hour of stretching? Likage - 9/10
So all in all, loving it. I haven't been sleeping enough. 7 hours a night probably won't do it. But it would be much harder if I were working a full 5 day week. Man, I would be buggered. I don't have any injuries, I'm feeling great, and very motivated. So, I'll take the recovery week, and then back into it full bore.
What else is news? Nothing much. Joseph smiled today, or we think he did. It's rained all weekend, so that's a bit of a bummer. Swans vs West Coast has almost finished downloading, so tonight I'll sit back with a shake and a small bag of chips and watch us beat them by a small margin like we always do (except in the 06 granny, but they were all on drugs so they cheated).
So until my next post, you're welcome.

Second Week of P90X

Had a good night Friday night. I arranged to meet up with an old mate of mine, Johnny, at an old haunt of ours, Tinga's, in Toyokawa. We worked together around 2001-2, and he and I are the only ones to have stayed on. We should meet up more often seeing as though we only live about 30 kilometers from each other, but once every year or so seems to be as much as we can manage. Maybe he's just not that into me?
Tinga's is a dive. Stevie, do you remember going there? It's owned by Toshi, a dropout who loves reggae and getting baked. He's a nice guy. When I lived in Toyokawa we used to go there a lot, maybe once or twice a week, and he very occasionally offered us a joint. But Friday we had only been there for about half an hour when he came up and gave us one. Toshi's stuff has put both of us on our asses more than once, so we respect it enormously. I remember one night I couldn't climb the two steps to the door. I made it eventually, but I had forgotten to pay the bill, and I only made it as far as the gutter, where I sat for an hour and breathed. So we shared the joint with Toshi and caught up, and he said he had bought a big new house, and he seemed really happy. Then he left us to tend to the bar and the place started to fill up with Brazilians. There are a lot of Brazilians around that area, and Tinga's seems to have become one of their favourite bars. They were in and out all night, and Toshi is obviously dealing, which he wasn't doing before. Before, his only customers were us English teachers and a few Japanese deadbeats, but now it's all Brazilians. We never asked him if we could buy some for fear of him getting angry and never offering us any ever again. We were sitting there Friday night and the Brazilians were popping in and out and I was thinking Damn Toshi, I hope you don't get raided by the cops. If they don't know what's going on, then all they have to do is pick up a Brazilian, find some dope on him and then they'll work it out. Toshi seems happy enough though. I'm sure he's making a shitload of money, not just from the dope, but the Brazilians like a drink too. Anyway, a great night. Johnny and I chatted till midnight.
Had a little insight on the way home that is so true, though nothing earth-shattering. I have to stop trying to control everything. I want Will to be a certain way, and when he isn't, I get upset. I want Junko to be a certain way, or act a certain way, and when she doesn't, I get upset. I want Japanese people and things to be different, and they aren't. So basically I realized I have to behave like a Tellytubby. I was watching it the other day (Will went a little retro) and when the Tubby custard machine broke, they laughed! It's such a different reaction to the one I would have had. I would be kicking the fucking thing and screaming. My Tellytubby is black, and it's name is Scunt or something. Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Lala, Po, and Scunt. Another way I can think about myself is as like nerf-ball, and there are always things exerting their pressure on me, like work, or Will, or Junko, or the rain, or the guy near me who keeps sniffing. I must absorb the pressure. Does a nerf ball get upset every time it is put under pressure? If it did it would always be upset. But it can bend and move and take different shapes, so the pressure is not really dangerous to the material. Nerf cannot feel anything. So if I imagine myself expanding and changing shape to accommodate these stresses, which change but are always there, then I can get my behaviors into some kind of perspective and change them. And then if I imagine a silly thing like a nerf ball thinking "oh poor me, it's not fair" or swearing, then I can see that I am behaving silly and I can stop it.
I think it's a very Japanese concept too. Anytime you try to control anything, the universe will show you up for the fool you are. Example. A while ago I was waiting for a train. A train came, but it was not the one I wanted to catch, so I didn't get on. But just as the doors were about to close, I watched a woman running up the steps. She bolted to the train, but the doors closed just in time to stop her getting on. This has happened to me a few times, and each and every time I have yelled "Fuck!" But this woman laughed. They always laugh when this kind of thing happens to them. When they see me scream "Fuck!" do they think of me like I think of a child who is throwing a tantrum at a toy store? Probably. But how do you change that instant reaction of "Fuck!" to "Ha! Aren't I the idiot!" I don't know. But I have to get rid of this stupid pride or ego or whatever it is that is making me react to pressure in the wrong way.
P90X is awesome. I'm into my second week, and it just messes me up every day. Plyometrics on Friday. Holy hell, as Shaun on Biggest Loser would say. I have never sweated so much in my life. The protein shake after that was like heaven. I nearly did all of the Ab Ripper X on Saturday. The whole time I was thinking, I'll just keep going until I have to stop, and I was getting further and further into it until the time came. I still did about 95% percent of it. A good day, and if I get close to that again today I'll be very happy. I'm going to have to do the workouts in the evening because they are just too long and strenuous to do in the mornings, but only for the three days a week I am working.
I watched the Swans Geelong match yesterday. They are just too good. It's frustrating. But I was surprised to see the Barry Hall hating that's going on in the papers today. It's like they choose a different target every week. First it was Richmond, but now they are ok. Then it was Josh Fraser. Then Fev. This week it's Barry Hall. The Bulldogs would take Barry Hall in a heartbeat. So would Geelong, for that matter. This is probably his last year anyway. It's weird how full-forwards are always seemingly forced out of the game. It's like people can't wait to see them leave. Matthew Richardson is a good example. People have been calling for his retirement for years, and it's only the Richmond people who have been saying, hang on, he's actually still very good. And he is! Matthew Lloyd same. God, I remember last time I was down in Oz and people were demanding Ross Lyon's head and saying St. Kilda were a disgrace. They were 5 and 5 at the time, went on to finish 4th! Now they are up there with Geelong as the best in the comp. People don't know what they are talking about half the time.
So to wrap it up, I've got Legs & Back, and then Ab Ripper X tonight. I think this is the most difficult workout of the bunch for me. Lots of squats and lots of pull-ups, followed by lots of sit-ups. I am going to be a mess tomorrow. I'm already looking forward to X Stretch on Wednesday. I might get up early and do that one in the morning.
One of the Chinese guys here went home for Golden Week, and brought back some beef jerky for the office staff. I wouldn't eat it in a nuclear winter, and that's even with this assurance on the packaging.

First Week of P90X

I've nearly finished my first week of P90X, and I tell you what, I'm glad I took six months to get ready for it. I don't know how anyone could get straight off the couch and into this. Of course, that's how it's sold in America – infomercial to couch potatoes. I've done P90 and P90 Master, and after 5 days of P90X, I'm struggling to move. The first one, Chest & Back, is awesome. Pushups and pullups. I'm sorry to say that in the whole of round two, I could only manage about 5 pullups. I was just buggered. But when it was over, I had to do Ab Ripper X! Holy shit. 350 situps – 11 exercises, 25 reps each. Some of them my form is so crap I struggled to do ten. The second one was Plyo, which I feared, but was actually quite enjoyable. Easier than the P90 Master Plyo, which was a surprise, because on all of the P90X blogs I read, this is the one everyone hates. Then was Shoulders & Arms, which was awesome. I felt like my arms were going to pop afterwards. Ab Ripper X afterwards was a little improved, but not much. Yesterday was Yoga. original P90X yoga DVD went for 90 minutes, but there were so many complaints that it was so long that Tony made a srhorter version that goes for only 50 minutes. That's the one I did, but I will do the P90X Yoga DVD one week when I have the time, and when I'm better at yoga. It's pretty bloody hard. Tony talks about the benefits of yoga, and how Americans in particular would benefit the most from Yoga. The thing that caught my ear was when he said that it was all about learning to stay calm in difficult positions. That's what I need to do.I've been finding it hard to control my temper recently. I had the month off when Joseph was born, then I worked for a week (three day weeks still) then now I've got another wee and a half off because of Golden Week, which is a bunch of public holidays (kind of like Easter without the religion), so I think I've spent too much time at home and I'm feeling really restless. Sometimes Joseph's crying and Will telling me what he wants to watch on TV, what he wants to eat, drink, where he wants to go, where he doesn't want to go, what he doesn't what to eat etc. gets a little too much for me and I have to bail for few moments. I'm not punching walls or anything like that, but I am finding it harder to calm down and brush it all off. Hopefully yoga will help.