Day 52: Rained Out, Sorta

Hey all,

I remember one of my students telling me her husband bought a telescope because he wanted to see the eclipse today. Well, I think he's out of luck because there sure are alot of clouds in the way, not to mention a bunch of rain.

I got up this morning and headed right outside into the pouring rain to get my work out done. There's a small gazeebo/bench in my park, so it gave me some cover during my J-rope and tension band exercises. However, my pull-ups were almost a washout. I had to settle for sets of inclined pull-ups on the side of the drinking fountain at the end of my workout. The area where I usually do my pull-ups was flooded with ankle deep water, so I was kind of out of luck. Currently, I have no where to do my Kung-fu pull-ups, so I've been doing extra sets of push-ups and inclined pull-ups in their place. I've talked with my family regarding a portable pull-up bar, but they fear the house doorways wouldn't be able to take it. So, I do what I can outside. In short, inclined pull-ups.

Here's a good question. A while back, Patrick sent us an e-mail which told us what exercises we could do in place of the J-ropes if necessary. What about the pull ups? Is there an exercise that can take their place? Anyone know? Everone's life is different, we can't always accomodate everything. If my family was more pro-fitness, perhaps they would take more chances and reap the rewards of things like pull-up bars, but, for now, I'll just have to make do with the ol' incline pull-ups.

Okay, now on to Patrick's third e-mail question.

Why don't you eat more spaghetti at dinner? Why so many veggies?

The callories from veggies are easier to burn than the callories from pasta. Also, the energy you get from vegetables is released slowly in small bursts over the course of your day, whereas pasta energy is released in larger amounts more quickly. If you need energy for a full day, which includes a regular workout, eat alot of veggies. They will keep you going. If you need alot of energy to do something intense but short like running a race or fighting a saber-tooth tiger, eat alot of pasta before hand. Oh, and veggies help clean out your system too, Pass the corn, would you?

More tomorrow,

Sean