"Way to go, Daddio!"

The other day I came up the stairs from the basement gym. At the top of the stairs was my teenage daughter, Kelsey.

She said, "I think it's pretty cool how you workout every morning. Way to go, Daddio! Keep it up."

Now if that wasn't one of the best pick-me-up compliments, I don't know what might top it.

================================

Have been fighting a head cold over the past few days. My cardio-aerobic work has suffered a little due to this cold. But I haven't missed any workouts and I've been following the eating-for-life program pretty well.

Then it dawned on me that the Semper Fit 5K race is but two weekends away. I haven't been in a race of any kind since I last ran in the Blackhorse Half-Marathon in Fulda, Germany, over 20 years ago.

Well, my friend Ken Young has said that the BFL 20-minute aerobic solution is perfect for getting ready for a 5K run. I guess on May 14th, we'll see.

C10D26

... On Acknowledging Others

"There comes that mysterious meeting in life
when someone acknowledges who we are
and what we can be,
igniting the circuits of our highest potential."

-- Rusty Berkus
Contemporary Author

Today I initiated a BFL guestbook discussion inspired by the quote above. So often we go thru our day-to-day life caught up in the whirlwind of events that occupy us all.

Taking pause to acknowledge others -- those who've ignited the circuits of our highest potential -- is a worthwhile exercise. As the saying goes, "No man is an island." So here are a few folks I'd like to publicly acknowledge for helping me along my BFL-journey:

To Greg Kogut ... a classmate from West Point and a genuine 'old army buddy' ... He's the fellow who first told me about Bill Phillips' book, Body for Life.

To Bill Phillips ... Who I met at a book signing in Maryland a few years back ... He suggested that the best way for me to help him was to "keep doing what I'm doing." So I comment routinely on the BFL guestbook encouraging others and I try my damnest to 'eat clean' and 'exercise regularly' while tending to the Universal Law of Reciprocation.

To Debbie Lesko ... my wife, best friend, and soul mate ... I don't have enough time nor space to list why she 'lights my fire.'

To our children (Jonathan and Kelsey) ... Two teenagers who are coming of age and who surprise me everyday with their wit, good humor, and uncommon sense. I thank God every day that they take after their mother.

To Julie Whitt, Mike Harris, Larry Frascarelli, Michelle Lee, Mary Wade, Yan Tougas, Laurie Sullivan, Tracy Jeffries, Stephen Cater, and Ken Young ... These folks are true champions -- official and unofficial -- who've touched my life and helped me re-discover the best possible me.

There are others on the BFL Guestbook and in the larger BFL community. Porter Freeman is the 'wise gray haired gentleman' I oft quote. Rena Reese, Gary 'Go Tigers' Jacobs, various members of the BFL Test Pilots, BFL Top Guns, and the list goes on and on.

A simple thank you just isn't enough. But at least now you're influence has been officially recorded on this BLOG. And I read somewhere that all that's posted on the Internet / World Wide Web is being archived.

I think I'm going to make a special effort to say thanks to these and others between now and my next birthday.

John Lesko
C10D23

On true friends

... I've been reading some of the BLOG-comments by BFL champions and I've seen a few guestbook posts too that have commented on how much the EAS team rolled out a red carpet for the Champions over the past weekend. Wow!

... If such news doesn't motivate you, I can't think of anything else that might. I'm particularly moved by comments that reported on how Porter Freeman welcomed the 2004 Champions into the BFL family.

... And then I came across this quote by Eustache Deschamps:

Friends are relatives you make for yourself.

... So what's the point?

... Well I don't know about you, but I've met so, so many good people since discovering the BFL-lifestyle. Some of these folks are official champions. Some are unofficial or true champions. After all, there is just so much physical space in the official winners' circle.

... But always remember that the unofficial winners' circle is quite large. In fact, it's expansive. It includes each and everyone who meets their goals. It includes each and everyone who today is just a little healthier or stronger or leaner than they were just yesterday.

... For in the end, we only compete against ourselves.

Today was a special day!

You're braver than you believe,
and stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think.
-- Christopher Robin to Pooh
(By the author, A.A. Milne)

... I met a very wise fellow today at the gym. We had an opportunity to chat about a number of things.

... Now if the truth be known, I would have liked to had more time talking with this fellow. You see he was a gray-haired gentleman. He stood a little taller than me. And you could see that he'd been in a gym or two or three before. He wasn't an exceptionally large or muscle-bound fellow. But there was a twinkle in his eye and he was careful when he spoke. So this was a clue to me to listen.

... Now we spoke of weight training and running. We also spoke of nutrition. In fact, he mentioned that the most important piece of fitness equipment was probably a fork and knife. But most of all I heard this fellow speak about how there's a champion in us all.

... You just have to let that inner champion get out somehow. Sort of like Michaelangelo released David from that block of marble.

... Yeap, today I met a fellow who spoke the truth. Just like A.A. Milne spoke the truth by way of his fictional characters, Christopher Robin and Pooh.

BFL Rocks!
John Lesko
C10D8

PS: Today was a special day. I juggled my week to make it an UBWO day. Met up with a good friend, Ken Young, at the nearby Marine Corps base. Take it from me when I say it's a good idea to workout with someone who'll keep you honest and who'll inspire you to workout until you just can't do one more rep. Thank you, my friend for bringing along that gray-haired gentleman. Yes, today was a special day.

My scale must be broken

This morning I weighed in and had to do a double take. After one week of hitting my high points in UBWOs, LBWOs, and cardio sessions; I dropped 5 pounds. Now I know that weight can fluxuate for all sorts of reasons. But how knows, I might have broken thru one of them so-called plateaus. Or, my scale must be broken. Week one of BFL Challenge #10 has been recorded in my fitness log. It's history.

Tomorrow I'll be meeting up with some friends and working out at the Quantico Marine Corps Base main gym. Looking forward to an extra special inTENse workout.

BFL has helped improve my thinking.

If the ladder is not leaning up against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.
-- Stephen Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Yesterday I got all carried away with a long-winded post about my borrowing power tools and building two shelves in our garage to store all our ’stuff’. But I’m still pondering the question, "If you’ve gotta store that stuff in the garage and it takes a ladder to go retrieve it, then just how important can all that stuff be?"

This morning while pondering this very question, I opted to crank up the percent incline on the treadmill to 3-percent. This was my first cardio session on my current challenge (BFL C#10, Day 2). Followed the prescribed 20-MAS and HIIT a "10" on my last sprint cycle. My heart was pounding, the lungs were burning, and my legs had a tough time keeping up with that rubberized, rotating track.

Damn it felt good to quit! But then I realized that for the first time in quite some time, I hadn't.

I was huff'n and puff'n all the way up the stairs as I went to take in my juice, vitamins, CLA, and creatine punch. The heart was still working at an elevated rate as I stepped into the shower.

Now I need to do that at least 35 more times before the end of this challenge. Thirty-five ain't so big a number. Cardio doesn't need to suck. I've got to keep reminding myself that now I'm training for a 5K race. This is my new "ladder" and climbing it won't take long. I've gotta make every workout count. There can be no easy days if I'm to re-discover what I'm truly capable of.

On placing your ladder on the right wall...

"It's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it's leaning against the wrong wall."

-- Stephen Covey, Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Over the weekend I got started on a home-improvement project. It seems that we've accumulated all sorts of stuff and now we're running out of storage space.

Now I don't want to admit that my wife and I are both doing okay and live in a wonderful neighborhood and all. But in the interest of total truthfulness, I must admit that I never thought I'd run out of storage space in our four-year-old home.

We've got a 'ton' of stuff that's seasonal -- Christmas decorations that are under the stairs to the basement, lawn furniture, etc. We've accumulated another 'ton' of stuff that's "too good" to throw/give away and/or sell at the community garage sale.

Shhhhh! Please don't tell my wife that I've donated some of hers and my old suits to the Salvation Army.

So what's the bottom line here? Well my home improvement project is to build two shelves above that empty space above the garage doors. Many of our neighbors have done this and I've gone around to check out their designs, etc.

Bought the lumber, hardward, and borrowed the needed power tools and longer ladder -- see that reference / connection to Covey? ... And then it dawned on me ... We've got too, too much stuff.

It's time to simplify and streamline things in the Lesko household. I'm donating all my 'fat clothes' to those who'll make better use of them. I'm going to try and convince my wife that she no longer needs to keep any of her 'fat clothes' either.

Those two shelves over the garage doors are going to be the last two shelves we'll need. Over one will be the Christmas decorations. Over the other will be our suitcases for our occasional vacations.

It's time to buy a newer, smaller-sized wardrobe. This is one result of my BFL-transformation for which I'm happy to spend some money. Hmmmm?!?! I'm beginning to think I've got my 'ladder' on the correct wall now.

BLF Rocks!
John Lesko
Challenge 10, Day 1

Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want to impress people they don't like.
-- Will Rogers