Easy does it Friday ...

When I decided to dedicate my summer to pole vault conditioning and centered it around Shawn Francis' three-month Team Hoot program, some of my Masters buddies warned me to be careful and not overdo it. The program is challenging, they said, and not exactly designed for the older crowd.

Well, I found out pretty quickly they were right. The first week was definitely challenging, and would have been a challenge under normal circumstances, but I also was dealing with a painful left knee, which made it even more difficult.

I finally decided to see an orthopedist, got my knee injected, and am now in the middle of a self-imposed two-week recuperation period before I start putting pressure on the knee again.

So, for the most part, Shawn's program is on hold while I try and let my knee heal, but I am borrowing parts of it as I continue upper-body strengthening workouts at the gym. No sprints, no weighted sleds, no frog hops, skipping, shuffling, speed skaters, or any of that. Upper body only, and some core exercises. 

Today, as I did some glute bridges, reverse curls, leg lifts, bicycles, planks, and hanging leg raises, I thought, "This core stuff really sucks." 

But it's probably the most important thing I can do right now for my overall fitness, not to mention my vaulting. 

That, and speed training -- which hopefully I can resume next Saturday. I'm going to take it slow, and keep my fingers crossed that the knee responds well. If not, well ... "Hello, yes, I need to make another appointment, please."

As I was talking with one of my buddies about my summertime training efforts, this fine gent who is five years older but in 10 times better shape than I am, found a gentle way to tell me to remember that not only am I 60-plus years old now, but I'm also still too heavy. This was not news to me, as I step on the scales every morning, but I have a brilliant way of denying reality sometimes, and pretending things are the way I want them to be, instead of the way they really are.

I've come a long way in the fitness department since I started this pole vaulting journey, but I still have a ways to go. My buddy's words stung a little bit, but the thing about it is, he was right. And sometimes, the truth hurts, but sometimes the truth is necessary.

And, for me, it was a good wake-up call. I decided, you know what, I'm going to quit procrastinating, and I'm going to lose the rest of the weight I need to lose.

So, along with following Shawn's program -- modifying it to fit my old guy needs -- I established a goal of losing 25 pounds by the end of August, by working out six days a week, and cleaning up my diet. Like my buddy said, there really are no excuses. Losing weight is 80 percent nutrition/diet and 20 percent exercise. I already knew that, too, but, damn, those barbecue bacon cheeseburgers at Whataburger are really good, man. That and a large vanilla malt ... 

But, I decided to let that stuff go for a while, and get back on the healthy eating train. So far, so good, as the scales today showed 210 pounds, down from 215-217. Two years ago, I was checking in somewhere around 240, 245.

Depending on how the weekend goes, I should be down under 210 sometime next week. I haven't weighed less than 200 pounds in at least 10-12 years. 

Check out my books, including "Finally Fit," the story of my learning to pole vault for the first time ever at age 60, right HERE.

All right, that's it for today, y 'all ... 

See you on down the road ...