Fear the Crab

On the heels of my visit to the doctor for my suspected sleep apnea, I had to attend a mandatory “sleep class” at the hospital. My attendance had to be documented in order to proceed to the actual study, so that I assume the hospital can aver with reasonable confidence that I know what I’m getting into.

For a class, there wasn’t much to learn, nothing that I didn’t already know from my own internet research. I already knew how sleep apnea was caused, that any number of people can be affected by it regardless of their overall health and physique, and that a number of its symptoms can lead to very serious health risks. The class was scheduled for an hour and half, but the actual presentation only took 30 minutes; the rest of the time was for general questions or one-on-one conversations with the physician who gave the lecture.

In a way it was good that the class was so short. With a two-hour window between the end of my work day and the start of that class, I thought I could go home to freshen up and eat dinner. It turned out that traffic that day was Horrendous, so bad that I was forced to detour off my commute so that I could be at the hospital on time.

Since I qualified for a sleep study, I scheduled my appointment for the evening of June 1, which is a day after my little vacation (though I technically do attend work that day). I plan to take the next day off from work, just so I don’t have to rush around in order to be in on time.

When I think back on it, though, there are a couple of things I learned at that class. I discovered what the study will monitor as far as my vitals, such as brain waves, oxygen intake, blood pressure, and anything else they deem important enough to hook up electrodes and other gizmos to my body. I also learned that this granularity of data will be evaluated in 30-second increments, in order to give me the results with some level of accuracy. And if I do stop breathing during the study, the tech is going to wake me up and strap a CPAP machine to my head; likely to see what happens to me with it on.

The bathroom fixtures were finally installed. One more step closer to completion!

We went with Grohe because of reports of durability, and many positive reviews. And yeah, those pluses mean higher costs. The faucets are from the Talia line, with matching Volo handles. We didn’t install any type of aerator, so the water comes out quite strong. We’ll have to make sure we don’t waste any.

The sink

Inside the tub, we have a Grohe Tempesta handshower system, with Talia valve trim and tub filler. We found out that normally people have a fixed shower head, with a diverter to a handheld, but my bathroom never really had that feature to begin with. I don’t think I’ll be missing out.

The shower and tub

The toilet is a 1.6 gallon flusher, from Toto. Previously we had a 40-year-old behemoth that probably used upwards of 5 gallons per flush, 10 if you laid a real stinker. The new toilet seems much more powerful, at a fraction of the resources.

The toilet

I only wish that fraction extended itself to my wallet. I haven’t calculated how many flushes it would take to balance out the high price for the toilet, but I intend to sit on that throne until I am a dessicated shell of a man, held together only by sheer force of will.

And maybe constipation.

I’ve decided to create a new page to keep track of my workouts. It’s called Fear the BIG MAN! It is titled so because The Kosomot relayed some workout advice by a good trainer: When asked during his own workouts how he managed to get so strong, the trainer answered, “Pick up something heavy, and yell, ‘BIG MAN!'”

Of course, this advice was meant to get people to stop bothering the trainer when he wasn’t training somebody, but ever since then, Kos and I just keep yelling “BIG MAN!” every chance we get.

Even though it’s never whilst working out.

I didn’t lift today because I visited the doctor to see about a sleep study.  I believe I do suffer from some of the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. Among the typical signs of loud snoring and not breathing, I’ve experienced bouts of waking up in a sweat, headaches in the morning, problems with memory and concentration, and drowsiness during the daytime, particularly whilst driving.

I never really considered the latter as possible results of sleep apnea. I’ve always figured it was just because of a long day’s work, or the monotony of rush-hour traffic. In fact, I used to attribute my lapses of memory to just getting old or having too many details to memorize.

Perhaps it isn’t related at all, but it’s still good to check out. I don’t know when the clinic will call me to schedule a sleep date, but hopefully it will be on a weekend so I don’t have to miss work. And since I’m not very good at sleeping right away in strange and unfamiliar environments, the doctor prescribed a sleeping pill that I should take shortly before my appointment.

That single piece of sleeping agent cost me over $9.00. Even the pharmacist was a bit surprised that I was paying that much for one dang pill.

Ab Crunches
Cardio

It’s been one year since the big festivities that ushered in the new aspect of my life. Suffice to say, a lot has changed. I’ve used that time to work out a reasonable budget for day-to-day living, and I think we’re doing okay despite the weak economy. We’re not able to set aside as much money as we’d like, but we do what we can. I’ve also established a routine for going to work, handling the chores, and taking care of the general house. Not to say that I’m doing the domestic thing solo, but I try to do my part when I can.

The one thing that I’ve made less progress in is my exercise. I first started serious training back in January 2008, but after bowing out in late June due to prohibitive costs, I’ve tried to make do at home. I bought a small set of dumbbells ranging from pairs of 5 to 30 pounds, and used an inflatable exercise ball as a bench. With those I could do most exercises targeting specific areas, so I was happy. I also started working my way through a 100-pushup program, but really, I wasn’t making much progress.

This past February, I purchased a weight bench and barbell set. I’ve been hitting those weights pretty hard since then, three days a week, with rest in-between. I focus on specific areas on those different days; upper body one day, legs the next, back and abs the day after. Combining the dumbbells with the heavier weight plates really broadens my regimen, and I use the different exercises listed on Exrx.net for ideas and instruction. I don’t actually do all the exercises listed, but focus on the so-called “standard” series of core routines: bench press, squats, deadlifts, etc. I also like Stumptuous.com for further form instruction and inspiration.

Since late March, I’ve expanded my workouts to include a 5-day/week program of weighted ab crunches and 10-lb. sledgehammer swings with my Shovelglove. The crunches are meant to strengthen my core, of course, which is something that has been sorely lacking in my life. The sledgehammer is a mix of cardio and light strength-training, since it’s more about mimicking the activities of… well, shoveling, and chopping wood, and pounding fence posts, and cutting down trees. I figure, when the apocalypse rears its four ugly heads, I’ll be quite prepared in shoring up my home defenses.

Also since March, I’ve been taking the dog for a walk every weekday. I try to up the pace to a light jog, and towards that end I bought a new pair of Saucony running shoes. I started with a warm-up walk, jogged on the flats, and walked up and down the hills in my neighborhood, with the intent of building up to a full jog. Today, I was able to jog most of the way. I’m fairly certain the dog doesn’t mind the speed. Eventually I hope to go farther, on a continual run.

In the interest of maintaining this workout regimen of weights thrice a week, I’ve decided to post my progress here. This is by no means an indication of a new direction with this blog, but rather a new direction in my life of trying to be healthier and, ultimately, stronger. I’m tired of being a weak no-can-do-nothing, and hopefully there can be some accountability if I know that other people might be monitoring my progress.

Bench Press: 140@12, 145@10, 150@5
Dumbbell Fly: 30@10, 30@8, 30@8
Barbell Shrugs: 140@12, 150@10, 140@12
Sledgehammer Swings
Weighted Ab Crunches
Cardio

Yeah, the weight may not seem like much when compared to most men my age, but I basically started from nothing over a year ago. I couldn’t even do one pushup. Now I think the most I am able to do in one sitting is 50. That’s saying something for a year’s worth of on-and-off workouts.