You Are A Che Guevara T-Shirt Wearer

You didn’t know that
He wasn’t a singer
Of a political rock band

— The Clap “Che Guevara T-Shirt Wearer

Who would’ve thought ‘wearer’ could be made to rhyme with ‘Guevara’? (Irony: Watching “Grin Without a Cat”!)

According to the ill-measuring scales at my gym I am 103-104kgs, which is definitely the lightest I have been for now more than a decade. Crazy. I wouldn’t believe it however my body shape is definitely changing. I have always had a bit of a gut and I still do, but at the top of my stomach just below my rib cage I can feel (hard) muscles for the first time ever. That is surprising and it means that my body shape is transforming to yet another iteration compared to previous couple of times when I have gone exercise crazy. I am certainly the fittest I have ever been when even now when I am totally fluey (after a big night out with Mel and Clif on Friday night, after seeing Mel at the conference (and Ben), w00t! lol!) I do sub-6:30 2km ergo times.

My tennis elbow has almost mended itself. I had been doing too much exercise without enough rest time, so my body revolted. The tendons in my left arm that are used to do basically any upper-body pushing or pulling movement had had enough. I had been doing some very restrictive weights for a while now and walking to and from the gym to compensate for the loss of energy burning exercise due to the inability to do my normal weight regime. Plus I added an extra 20 minute-plus walk into my daily routine (ie down Glebe Point Road to buy some apples or something). Now they are feeling much better and it may be almost time to start back on some more intensive weights.

Back to work…

7 replies on “You Are A Che Guevara T-Shirt Wearer”

  1. I’m at a similar point in my fitness quest, ie I have abs that are hard at the top but still flabby at the bottom. It’s my mission to have a six pack for once in my life, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished already (having lost at least 10 kilos over the past few years and gained a bit of muscle definition) but I still have quite a way to go.

    I’m allergic to gyms, so my routine is based on going for a 40min walk in the park (great for mind & body) almost every day followed by stretches, sit-ups, push-ups and dumbbell exercises at home. I found some great vids on p2p – the ‘8 minute’ series ie ‘8 minute abs’, ‘8 minute arms’, etc. I’ll usually do one or two of them per day. So, not the most intensive regimen, but a real commitment nevertheless, and it’s paying off.

    The main thing I need to change now is my diet, in particular cutting back on my favourite savoury snacks: nuts, crisps, cheeses, as well as alcohol. If I could do that I reckon I’d reach my goal pretty quickly. I don’t care about being ‘ripped’, I just want to be toned and healthy. In my case it’s also about fighting/preventing depression and anxiety.

    I enjoy reading about your fitness progress, cos it helps to motivate me too!

  2. thanks mum!

    and shannon that is awesome! i totally agree that the key thing is regularity and of producing a rhythm to the exercise. getting fit will happen pretty quick and then I think getting into shape happens gradually (not that I am ‘into shape’, just kind of ‘normal’ looking, rather than obviously a sit-at-a-computer nerd). i was trtying to get my brother to realise this when i was back home.

    something i have also been working on is manipulating my metabolism by eating a balanced diet made up from much low-fat, low-sugar food that is extremely hard and hard to digest. like my rice-flake based glutton-free morning cereal is awesome for forcing my body to expend a lot of energy digesting my food. I try to avoid too many meals made from easily digestible foods. junk food is a classic bad food, not cause of the fat and sugar content, but because it takes bugger all energy to digest and gives the body an instant gratifying feeling of being (briefly) ‘full’.

    however, i have been boozing a bit too much over the last couple of months or several weeks at least. until i got back from perth over xmas break i was super nerd and hardly went out at all. now I enjoy going out and picking up/getting picked up by randoms. lol. cause i live inner-west and go out inner-west, this normally involves quite often hours of walking in a night. I quite enjoy this!

  3. Yep, rhythm is so important! If I skip more than a few days of exercise I find it really hard to get back into.

    As for diet, I cut out soft drinks a while ago and feel much better for it. I also started having breakfast (usually some combination of yoghurt/fruit/muesli) which I never used to do. I should try yr ‘glutton-free’ 😉 cereal! I’ve always loved ice water, and apparently the coldness is also good for burning a few calories, so now I drink it all day, until I switch to alcohol at night. I do wish I could quit alcohol – apart from the health benefits I’d save so much money!

    It’s amazing how pleasurable walking can be, once you get used to it. Sex is great exercise of course, but I’m not getting any atm. Wish I could do the ‘pick up’ thing, but that’s just not me. I’m romantic to a fault.

    Oh I meant to mention before, I have a Che t shirt with a difference:

    (hopefully that HTML worked, otherwise copy-paste.)

  4. link is so not working and i tried different permutations

    the gluten free cereal (not glutton free, i am retarded with telling freudian slips, lol) is purchased from harris farm. it is called “free & lo” (bluish packaging in link below) and i buy 4 packets at a time and fill up a plastic container thing and scoop out a cup and a half for brekky:

    http://www.monster-muesli.com.au/page/products.html

    holy shit you can buy online for like 15c per bag cheaper!! with free p&h within aust. i am buying online from now on!! at coles used to be able to buy it for less than $5 a bag. stopped selling it for some reason.

    it is pretty hardcore (watching friends eat it for the first time is total classic). i have it with yoghurt and dash of milk. it is worth trying. if you buy some and don’t like it I’ll buy the rest off you.

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