It’s fascinating how the body responds to the proper nutrition, exercise and rest. What it gives you in return is phenomenal; increased energy, stamina and the confidence mentally to do almost anything. For so many years my body and I were strangers. I fed it what I wanted; cheeseburgers, fries, pizza, fried chicken or anything really sweet. I drank very little water, instead I subsisted on pop (preferably Mountain Dew) or energy drinks (Red Bull or something cheaper). I was a night owl and I slept with the television on all night  which meant I would toss and turn and watch a movie or anything else I would find from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.  I don’t think I got a restful night sleep for 20 years. And I always wondered why I felt tired and rundown all the time.

My body was young enough to withstand this kind of lifestyle into my late 30’s. During that time I was still semi-active; I played tennis, some pickup basketball and occasional exercise. For a long time I could function in the work place and in everyday life without any major physical breakdowns. But I treated my body with such disrespect. If I was exhausted, instead of getting sleep at night, I would just pump more caffeine into my system. I was so out of touch with what I needed nutritionally, that I ate with my eyes, my taste buds and of course my nose. And along with feeding my body bad stuff I also put hundreds more calories into my stomach than I could burn off, and simple mathematics let’s you know this is how I became overweight and unhealthy.

In the last six months my body and I have gotten to know each other again. I know after a good night’s rest that my body can endure a good hard workout or a long day at the office. And if I put some extra effort into the workout, I am really energized for most of the day. I know if I drink lots of water (64-96 ounces a day if possible) and  consume 5-6 small healthy meals throughout the day that my body doesn’t crave junk food and I have more energy at the end of a long day.  I know my body responds better to good nutrition during exercise as opposed to the greasy/sweet stuff I used to consume and I actually sleep better at night.

Old habits are hard to break, but a sleep timer on the TV has helped and I am usually sound asleep five minutes after I hit the pillow. I can go a couple of days without proper rest if necessary, but I know now my body will break down and I risk injury if I am tired and I try to keep up my same effort level during my workouts so rest is very very important.

More than anything I am beginning to like my body again(not in some perverted, psycho or selfish kind of way)but I just appreciate all it has done and can do for me. I have grown more confident in so many ways because my mind and body are working in unison to help me fulfill my potential as a human being.

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Every morning I get up for my workout I have the same routine. I punch the snooze button a couple of times and I finally stagger out of bed around 4:45 a.m. for my 5:30 a.m. OXF workout.  I take the same route every morning to the gym and very early in my trip I am reminded of how blessed I am to see another day. It’s at this point on highway 58 south that I pass a homemade cross on the right hand side of the road marking the spot of the tragic accident that took the life of Grant Wheeler on an autumn evening in 2002.

I met Grant Wheeler about nine years ago through a mutual friend Jeff Mickey. I liked him instantly. Grant had an infectious and engaging personality.  He was just genuinely, down to earth good people. Grant, Jeff and I would join a few other guys for a Friday lunch involving Christian men. A huge Green Bay Packer fan, Grant could get into passionate debates about football, politics, religion or life. During this time I was struggling with some issues in my personal life (sound familiar), and I was afraid to share my problems with a group of guys I didn’t know very well. But Grant always set the tone because he had no fear in exposing his heart to anyone. Whatever happened in his past was past, Grant had found God and I admired him because he was completely at peace and unselfishly sharing his joy and passion for life with all of us. Grant was like an old soul who had come back to teach us all.

I remember once back in 2001 I was encountering some financial problems. At the time, I was making a lot more money than Grant, but he still tried to help me get some part time work to supplement my income. Grant Wheeler had the physical frame of a college linebacker with thick legs, but he became a distance runner graduating to participating in marathons. A great family man ( Grant loved his wife Chris and his two young sons Luke and Mac), Grant’s third passion in life behind his faith and his family was running. He’d gotten really fit  losing 40 pounds and he was all set to run in the Twin Cities Marathon on the weekend of September 27th, 2002 when I got a call I’ll never forget.

It was a Friday night, actually Saturday morning around 1a.m. when my friend Jeff Mickey called me. I had been so caught up in producing my high school football show that I didn’t watch our own newscast that night showing video of the crash scene where a 33 year-old Cedar Falls man had been killed.  Jeff told me the guy that died was Grant and I can remember both of us breaking down and crying uncontrollably on the phone— Two young men had been drag racing at about 100-plus miles an hour when they lost control of their vehicles–one crossed the median and slammed into Grant’s car which was coming from the opposite direction, our friend was killed instantly. Grant was just going to get his brakes checked for the trip to Minneapolis when he was killed. Ironically if the kid hadn’t smashed into Grant’s car he would have run head on into a tree. Grant Wheeler saved that kid’s life. And I know if Grant had lived, he would have been the first person to forgive those guys.

Grant left a legacy of love and goodwill behind. There is a Grant Wheeler Memorial 5k run every fall, with some of the proceeds going to fund a scholarship for deserving students. I haven’t run in a distance race since I was a junior in high school, but now that I’m halfway fit I plan on participating in this year’s Memorial run. And I haven’t been to the Friday luncheon with the guys since Grant was killed. This week one of the guys from the group, Troy Love made a special trip to the newsroom to invite me to the one this week.  Well, I’m going to stay on Grant’s route and meet up with the fellas on Friday at 12:15 at the OP on University.

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There is a concept in the world of fitness called “muscle confusion”.  It’s when a certain routine of exercise is mixed up or changed as to confuse the muscles further stimulating growth. Today our morning class had something very similar happen when Kristi O’Connell replaced Russ as our exercise leader. Talk about major confusion for the majority of my classmates. Kristi and Russ are both high energy instructors with a little different strategy on developing fitness.  “Russell the Muscle” is all about building strength through rigorous cardiovascular and resistance/weight training. Kristi (who some call the Queen of Cardio), on the other hand  is also focused on building strength and boosting cardio levels by pushing her subjects to the brink of exhaustion(we had 2 water breaks in the first half hour of class).  The endorphines definitely kicked in for me( I felt a true endorphine rush–I’m still buzzing!!) because I left class this morning on an extreme high!

At this point I am so locked in. My mind and body just craves a great workout. As much as I love Russ and our workouts (Kristi jokes that her husband and I have some kind of “Bromance” going on we’re so tight) the change of pace this morning with Kristi was just what the doctor ordered. She has a remarkable energy where it seems likes she’s everywhere in the room—and her eyes are on you  making sure you are doing every exercise correctly. Kristi teaches Chris Carter’s class at night and I am sure she is just wearing his tailbone out.

I am excited to know that someone else in the class has the same goal as I. Greg Stockdale is a former Aplington-Parkersburg Falcon who played under legendary football coach Ed Thomas. Both of his brothers, Justin and Matt were UNI Panther mascots ”TC the Cat” (Matt even got me into costume once). Greg shared with me the other day that he is interested in getting stronger while also shredding down to the six pack abdominal.  Greg has a lot of muscle on his frame now and just knowing we are working toward the same thing helps to push me even more. It’s days like this when something unexpected but good happens that we feel even closer to reaching our goals. “O’Connell Confusion”, Russ and Kristi, what a phenomenal combination.

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I am beginning my 27th week of O’Connell Extreme Fitness which means I have been committed to this exercise program for half of a year. I can’t tell you how life changing this has been for me not only physically, but also mentally and even spiritually.  Since August, I have been dealing with some very stressful, traumatic and painful issues in my personal life. I believe my commitment to exercise and fitness has helped me to better deal with these crises.  Exercise has given me something positive to focus on when I feel depression creeping in.  As difficult as the workouts can be at times, I am usually energized both mentally and physically afterwards.  And I have the confidence that somehow I will find the strength to cope with any problem I encounter during the day with skill and patience.

When people ask me about my weight loss, I want to share with them more than just the physical impact exercise has had on me.  I believe true commitment to fitness, diet and rest will yield unbelievable results in your every day life.  On a personal level it would have been very easy for me to turn to alcohol, drugs or overeating to deal with the problems I have going on right now (some of you reading this know what I’m facing), instead I was incredibly lucky to find Russ O’Connell and all of the positive energy generated by my participation in OXF.  Through the pain I am experiencing from my personal life, I know there is an opportunity for growth. In dealing with this major obstacle, I know I am becoming stronger mentally and physically by challenging myself on a daily basis. In my exercise class, I am surrounded by some really good people all striving to become better, and I appreciate all of you. Six months down and a lifetime to go.

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Taking care of your body is the most important thing you can do. Let me repeat that. Taking care of your body IS the most IMPORTANT thing you can do. Without your health you have nothing. You won’t be able to work or properly take care of the people you love and, in time, they will probably have to take care of you.  That is if you are still alive.  I almost learned this lesson the hard way. I was in denial for a long time, but I was slowly but surely killing myself with my weight gain and lack of activity. Just six months ago, I was on high blood pressure medication, a blood thinner for my heart and my physician wanted to prescribe me more medication for Type 2 Diabetes and high cholesterol. After six months of working with Russ O’Connell and the extreme fitness program and at this moment I am in excellent health. And I am NOT taking any medication.  My doctor is amazed at my physical transformation, and he told me if I hadn’t started this lifestyle change it was only a matter of time before I would have been at major RISK for a heart attack or stroke.

Most of you reading this right now probably already know this about me. But what you may not know is that I am not (or was not) in the supportive kind of relationship that would have allowed me to become physically healthy (maybe a discussion for another blog).  Those of you that do have supportive spouses or partners, please DON’T take this for granted. I admire the married couples I see in our OXF classes who are making a healthy lifestyle a family affair.  My girl, Heather Reisinger and her husband Chris along with their three children spend most of their life in the gym. Chris told me one time, “ Man, I spend half of my paycheck in this place!!” But he will also tell you its worth it.  I spent some time this morning talking with Brian Gilbert–whose wife Lynnette has done five OXF classes!!  Just like Chris and Heather, the Gilberts have their kids in TaeKwonDo.  Brian said he could never understand why his wife would never miss an OXF class, but now that he is doing his second session with Russ he now knows what has Lynnette addicted.  Brian says he’s lost some weight and his energy level is through the roof. He says this is vital in his line of work where he spends lots of time on the road.  

There are other great examples of supportive partners–my new mitts partner Larry is going through his second OXF session and this time his wife Dawn is joining him at 5:30 every morning (keep getting her up Larry). During our last session with Russ, Blaine lost nearly 30 pounds while his wife Sherry discovered through the workouts that she might have a risky medical condition. Something that might not have been revealed if she hadn’t done the OXF class. To have a spouse or partner join you in this fitness journey is of course the best of all worlds, but just to have your significant other understand and support your efforts is even more critical. Believe me, I know.

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Our society is obsessed with looks. We put the runway model, with negative body fat, and, the male fitness model with the six pack abs on a pedestal. It’s the look we either want or obsess about. And those obsessions support a multi-Billion dollar business of cosmetics and weight loss products.  When I lost a lot of weight people who hadn’t seen me in awhile told me “You LOOK great!” They NEVER asked, “How do you feel?”  I know the people marketing “Instant Weight Loss Formulas” know the biggest selling point for these products is how they will IMPROVE your look. But will  these products on their own improve your life or make you feel better?  

When I was overweight I wanted to start a fitness program that was “Lifestyle Changing”.  My excess weight was slowing me down; my energy level was low, I was developing health issues and I physically did not FEEL very good. I wasn’t interested in a quick fix that would just make me look good on the outside, I needed to adopt a lifestyle that would help me lose weight, improve my strength, conditioning and energy level.  I didn’t want to take a pill or medication to help me with this process, I am old school so I wanted to do it the old fashioned way–just plain hard work.

I don’t want to give off the impression that I don’t care about LOOKS, because I do. I want the six pack abs, because it is the “Universal Symbol” for being “Supremely” fit. I also know carving out that six pack is very hard for those of us past the age of 40. As close as I believe I am, it will take a very disciplined diet to help me reach my goal. As bad as I want to have that shredded look it is probably more important that I FEEL better now than I have felt in years. My 14 year old son, Darrell put all of this into perspective for me. One day after returning from a tough workout at gym, I looked at my son sweat pouring down my face and I asked, “How do I look?”  Darrell, who spends most of his time around young athletes with zero percent body fat and six pack abs, didn’t hesitate when he glanced at my 47 year-old body, “You look average.” ”Thanks Buddy.”  Like I said looks aren’t everything, at least I feel good.

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Since I began working out seriously back in September, I love to weigh myself. I jump on the scale first thing in the morning. I am on the scale following every workout and I weigh myself after every meal.  Okay this may sound a little obsessive but I even look for the scale after a trip to the restroom. Outside of my cellphone or clock, there isn’t a device I use more throughout the day than my weight scale.

I read somewhere once that using a scale so much is not a good thing, because your weight will naturally fluctuate during the course of a given day or week.  It’s almost like paying too close attention to your 401k plan or your investments. I disagree.  I believe it is important to keep track of how much weight I am gaining or losing on a daily basis. I don’t panic when I see the numbers rise nor do I always get overjoyed when I see the numbers fall.  I am very interested in how much my weight shifts because this allows me to make adjustments in my eating or workout habits. 

There was a time when I rarely stepped on a scale. Without the constant monitoring of my weight it seemed I gained more than 40 pounds overnight. Now I can’t go a day without weighing myself (five or six times). I lost between 35-40 pounds from September to November.  My weight has stabilized over the past three months as I’ve added some muscle to my physique through weight training and a diet high in protein. I know in order to reach my June goal of 7-8% body fat I must decrease my caloric intake and add a little ”cardio” (bike riding) to supplement my OXF workouts.  And my good friend,  the weight scale, will help me monitor my progress.  No matter what your fitness goals a scale can be a useful tool. You might not always like what the scale tells you, but if it’s a good one (an accurate device) it will never lie.

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The first week of anything can be a little scary, particularly something that is potentially life changing. I am proud of the efforts of all of my new exercise classmates. What they are doing is not at all easy, but in the long run will be rewarding.

Before last September, It had been more than 25 years since I had been involved in any type of regular  exercise program. Being in a class is almost like being a part of a team because we are working together and supporting each other as we strive to achieve our individual goals.  In this class I am working over in one corner of the room with an old friend of mine named Bryan Butcher who is in the car business–he’s a General Manager at Jerry Roling in Waverly.  I know Butch was a former wrestler and for many years played competitive tennis, but this is a workout he has never seen before. The toughest part of our class, particularly if you’re a man, is not to be intimidated by the “OXF” girls.  These are the veteran women of the “O’Connell Extreme Fitness” experience who are incredibly fit and athletically strong. They do real push ups (not the ones from the knees) and get really low on their squats. These girls are competitive in the amount of weight they use in resistance training and they even put me to shame during the abdominal exercises (but of course doing crunches don’t hold a candle to letting a live creature grow on your insides for nine months before coming out kicking and screaming—there’s no abdominal pain a man can ever have to compare to that.  Advantage:Women).

I am easily on target for my 7-8% body fat goal, I have already lost 8-9 pounds this week. My challenge is to continue to build strength as I trim the fat. I also don’t want to get obsessive with my goal.  During my life, I have always either been too skinny or a little too fat. And because I am a little vain,  I have always been self conscious about taking off my shirt playing pickup basketball or at the beach. I just want to have the confidence to go shirtless before age and gravity makes everything sag.

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For most of my life (and I know you can probably relate) I have let my eyes, my taste buds and my nose dictate my food choices. If it looks good, tastes good and smells good I want to eat it, regardless of its nutritional value or the effects it might have on my overall health. It was like my mouth was having a party and my body was paying the price.  Most of these food addictions(I call them) were developed in my youth while being raised by parents with southern roots. Fried foods, foods heavy in sodium and sugar were the staples of my diet growing up. I don’t blame my parents one bit for the eating we did when I was a kid, because they were not armed with the same information about nutrition that we have at our disposal today.

We all fight a battle with good and bad food choices every day. Any military leader or coach will tell you any battle is won with preparation, a game plan and discipline. For all of my adult life I did a lot of mindless eating. Most of my waking hours are spent at work, where I would munch on vending machine food and drink regular sodas all day. For dinner, I would just visit the nearest fast food joint. There was no preparation, plan or discipline about anything I was doing. Over the years, my body and my health paid the price for my negligence.

Now when it comes to eating I am ready for battle. It begins with preparation; buying food at the grocery store (or health food store) that are rich in nutrients and low in fat. I know that I am going to spend at least ten hours away from home every day so I pack lots of nutritious stuff; carrots, almonds, bananas, apples, protein bars and lots of water(Since I am a former Pop addict, I carry little packets of Crystal Light Red Tea with no sugar–5 calories per serving–to flavor my water).  My game plan is to not eat it all at once, but to snack every 2 to 2 1/2 hours treating my body like a fireplace. I don’t load all of the wood at once, but I space it out to keep the fire burning. My challenge is not to over do it at dinnertime. A six inch sub from Subway or even a McDonald’s Southwest Chicken Salad with low cal dressing would be perfect.  This is where the discipline comes in, because I must remain dedicated and consistent to this plan.  

I would be lying to you if I told you I always stick to this eating plan, because I haven’t. During my first 12 weeks of O’Connell Extreme Fitness from September to November, I lost 35-40 pounds because I followed a pretty strict diet about 90% of the time. In the last three months I have gained 7 pounds(a lot of it muscle). I have been exercising 5-6 days a week, but I have also been eating anything I want. I made the mistake of reading a quote from North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams who loves sweets and baked goods. Williams said, “I work out six days a week including three times with a personal trainer so I can eat whatever the hell I want!”  I’m sure while Roy Williams’ goal is to coach an NCAA Basketball Champion, he isn’t concerned too much about getting down to 7% body fat and flexing his six pack on the beach which is my plan. So from now until June I will be going back to my strict diet.

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Although we have only had one week off from O’Connell Extreme Fitness, I feel like I’m in third grade again and it’s the first day of school.  We’ve got a gang of new classmates mixed in with a lot of veterans returning for what I believe is the best workout you can get anywhere!  Our 5:30 am class and the 6:30 evening class are both completely full..and there are long waiting lists of people wanting to get in.  I am happy to see my KWWL colleague Ron Steele, Tim and Ben Luce, The OXF Girls (Heather R., Marty Muscle, Lisa-Lisa P., Heather Nation and Ande) all return.  Master Russ O’Connell told me the before and after pictures of Ron, Tim and Ben from the last OXF class were simply phenomenal, you gentlemen make me want to give 110 percent everyday. I believe we are all going to be ready for the beach after this session. Word is getting around about the life changing effects of this workout program. Tonight at 6:30 another KWWL colleague, Chris Carter begins his first 12 week OXF training session. May the pain be with you Mr. Carter.

Two weeks after hurting my left calf muscle, my doctor released me to exercise on that leg. The partial tear of my Plantaris muscle will still take anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks to fully heal, but my doctor believes I am on the right track. I am pleased because I have specific fitness goals to reach during this 12 week session.  I am inspired by the accomplishments of others going through the OXF experience. There is a young man named Tim who just finished an evening OXF class with Kristi O’Connell. This guy went from double digit body fat to just 5% in 12 weeks. Kristi says the young man accomplished this with a combination of the fitness program and following the OXF meal plan.  My fitness goal for the next 12 weeks is to get down to 7-8% body fat while still building strength and muscle. I am very determined to make this happen–and now that I’ve written it down I am obligated to do it.

In my last blog I called out an old friend, Phil Akin, for giving me a little motivation last summer during my couch potato days to work on my health and fitness. First of all, Phil, no harm intended and I am happy to see we are both making exercise a priority.  And secondly, Ron Steele used to call me fat all the time, so it’s really no big deal.

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