Lack of Credentials

I have found that the key to a good diet lies in a balanced approach and by tricking yourself by calling it meal planning. The pitfall I encounter while dieting, is allowing myself to get hungry by not eating often enough. Starving myself usually does not work and I usually find myself buying eight piece chicken meals (I prefer Popeye's or Randalls). The following is the diet I try to follow six days a week, with the seventh being my cheat day, but please I am not a nutritionist or physician, nor am I Dr. Phil or Dr. Ianni, so proceed with caution:

Meal 1: 6 egg whites and 1/2 cup of oatmeal

Meal 2: protein powder and piece of fruit

Meal 3: same as 2 or can of tuna & fruit

Meal 4: same as 2 (usually burrito bowl)

Meal 5: piece of lean meat/fish and vegetables

Meal 6: same as 2

Poll Results

After 29 whole votes the results to "Who is the coolest Corey/Cory," are in. Corey Feldman & Corey Haim (THE Coreys) tied for first place each gathering 31% of the votes. Cory Everson and Cory Morrow tied for second. Poor Corey Patterson brought up the rear with three votes. Sorry about leaving out Corey Hart, who can forget "Sunglasses At Night." Later today I will get back to writing about my training progress.

The Ballpark at Arlington

I don't know if everyone is aware of this fact, but there is no longer a Ballpark at Arlington, Ameriquest has evidently purchased the naming rights. Nothing against the name Ameriquest, but it just does not have the same ring as "The Ballpark." I know nothing about the finances of owning a baseball team or a stadium, but I hope they do not continue to change the names of stadiums to the point I get confused as to which team plays where (Tampa). As far as training goes, I pretty much took the weekend off (unless lifting deviled eggs and fried chicken to my mouth count), which is a good thing my shins were beginning to ache. The "Who is the coolest Corey/Cory?" poll is going to be closed tomorrow, so cast your vote - Corey Patterson is not doing so well, show him some love.

Rusty Kuntz

Rusty Kuntz was a former professional baseball player (Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers) and now coaches first base for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rusty Kuntz is also the name of the softball team I play with on Thursdays. The Rusty Kuntz's have had a hard time of it this season. We are 0 and 3 and just got mercy ruled last night. However, as bad as we have been (I have been awful) the one bright spot has been our ability to put things in prospective and continue to have fun. This cannot be said for all teams that play at Kreig Fields. According to reliable sources, this past Wednesday night tempers flared and a game had to be halted. Players from one team verbally abused an umpire to the point that the umpire felt threatened and was forced to call the game and exit the field. C'mon this is an adult slow pitch softball league, I am pretty sure the entire purpose of the league is to allow a bunch of out of shape, slightly competitive people get together weekly to have fun and drink the occasional beer. As for my training, it has gone pretty well this week. I have been able to get my lazy bones out of bed in the mornings to run and lift in the mornings, but have only gotten to the boxing gym twice in the evening (I'm headed to town lake and the boxing gym right after I finish this). My diet has been going well, but lately I have been trading in too many protein shakes for Chipotles, I love those burrito bowls (I wish Joe had never recommended the place).

How Much Do You Bench?

This morning, at around 6:15, I arrived at Gold's to lift weights with my fiance, Claire. I was half-asleep and Claire was getting really annoyed with me because I was really slow. We warmed up - I did the bike on a really challenging setting - 3 - and then we did this chest workout I found in one of the muscle magazines I read (I know they're stupid, but I love them). For the chest workout, you do 10 sets of 5 alternating between a weight that is 50 percent and 75 percent of your max. I gave up trying to impress Claire a long time ago and did weights that were pretty easy for me. After we finished, I met up with a friend, Paul, to finish up with 15 sets of deadlifts. Like most guys, the competetive juices really start flowing when I'm lifting weights with another dude. So, when Paul showed up, I puffed out my chest and allowed the gamemenship to commence. The only problem is Paul is much, much stronger than I am and I barely made it out of the gym with my back intact. This situation was similar to my workout the previous night at Bruce's KO. I got to the gym at 5:00 already worn down, jumped rope for fifteen minutes and tried to push myself too hard during the 5:30 class. Luckily, my partner for the day, Michael, showed pity on me and allowed me a breather while we were slugging each other in the stomach while holding a medicine ball - good times. I know you've got to pace yourself, and know when to stop, but because I'm so competitive, I have a hard time doing that. It is necessary to push yourself to break plateaus and progress, but this must be done wisely. Way too many times in the past, I've pushed myself beyond the limits only to injure myself and severely hamper my progress. Lesson I really need to learn: Sometimes it is necessary to swallow your pride and back off to avoid over-training and injury. You've got to learn to listen to your body and know when to suck it up and forge ahead and when to give your body a break.

Restaurant Review

Instead of a training journal, I may turn this into a series of restaurant/bar reviews. On Monday it was Naus, yesterday it was Cuba Libre and Tres Amigos. I woke up in the morning lifted weights and had grand plans of having a good workout at the boxing gym after work, but it was one of my co-worker's birthday and her friends hosted a celebratory happy hour at Cuba Libre. Cuba Libre is an interesting place with great automatic curtains that open and close as one enters or leaves the bar. I believe it is known for it's manicure/pedicure happy hour on Thursday's an event that I have yet to take full advantage of. After, I headed to Tres Amigos on 360, one of the best kept secrets in Austin. Although it was an enjoyable evening, I missed my workout and did not put in the adequate studying time necessary for the BAR. I also did not wake up in time to go running before work, but I'll blame that one on the Pistons - great game, great series.

Chocolate Malts

On Monday, I had every intention of sticking to my diet. I woke up had egg whites and oatmeal and had a nutritious snack. However, an invitation by two friends to Naus Drug Store/Soda Fountain for lunch blew any chance of eating healthy - at least my diet lasted for over four hours. As I entered Naus I thought I may be able to continue my healthy eating by ordering a grilled chicken sandwich, but had to rethink when one of my friends was cursing another patron for ordering a salad. I caved in and ordered a bacon cheese burger. It was quite good and I easily could have polished another. However, the highlight of the meal was definitely the chocolate malt - the best I have ever had. I grew up on a steady diet of not only malts, but malt balls, so I consider myself quite the malt aficionado. The one drawback, besides fear of instant heart failure, was food coma. I resisted the temptation to close my eyes and made it to the boxing gym for a decent workout - 30 minutes on the bike, six rounds of shadow boxing and six rounds on the heavy bag. Actually, it was not a very good workout, it felt like I was moving with a piano on my back or more likely in my stomach, but Naus was well worth it.