Eat Fresh

Part of avoiding the initial 30 pounds that Ecuadorians say students usually gain in the initial semester is being aware of the foods you eat. I must say that there are an important variety of foods at Trinity University, but are they helping my workout program or are they harming my improvement. Without knowing what the university is serving I shall say that I haven’t seen an important effect on my working out sessions due to the food I’ve had here. My training has not differed from how I used to train back at home. Also, since I began to work out here at TU I have improved physically. There are all kinds of diets in the Internet and different methods to avoid gaining useless fat, but with the amount of exercise I’ve been doing there is no need to apply those diets. I need to accept that there is some need to watch for what I am eating here. I mean I should not eat pizza every single day. Instead, I could eat some cereal or a sandwich as dinner. Nevertheless, it has been proven that the amount or quality of food that I have been receiving here does not negatively affect my workout.


Food by Agustin Paez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

To Study or to Workout, That’s the Question

Photo by: Agustin Paez

This is the third week I’ve being going to the gymnasium. I feel there is some improvement but still there is no visual change. I feel that I am getting healthier and healthier every day but still I need to keep on working. On the last blog I talked about how intimidating it is to have the football players on the gym at the same time. It is still intimidating but I am starting to learn from them. I focus on how they train, the muscles they use and weights. Little by little I am starting to form a routine. The past to weeks I’ve been going alone to the gym but this last week I was able to persuade two friends to join me. So, I am going with my friends as well now. Some that said they were going to join me at a start decided to join me finally. I must say that the past week, it was very difficult to keep on going to the gym. I had to finish my homework and study for midterms as fast as I could in order to go to workout. I didn’t actually thought about how exams and homework would interact with my working out program. I was able to go for 3 out of the 7 days in the week and I felt bad about it. Nevertheless, the idea of being able to workout made me work faster and in a more efficient manner, so it worked as and incentive to me. Next blog I will talk about the interaction between working out and eating healthier at campus.

My Weight by Agustin Paez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Week One

Photo by: Agustin Paez

The past week was the first week that I went to the gym every single day. I went both to the second one and the first floor one. It is funny because I have to go to the first floor one in order to do upper body weight lifting and to the one in the second floor in order to do lower body weight lifting and cardio. So yes, every day I run around the Bell Center and yes, there is always someone looking at this. Besides of randomly going from one gym to another, it has been a good week. I am not very used to weight lifting exercises so I do what some basketball players and football player do. I have to accept that it is intimidating to be around a football player in the gym, especially when I am considered big amongst Ecuadorians. Nevertheless, I feel that I am doing some progress. The muscles that should be hurting are actually doing so and I feel healthy. After this first week, I really believe that what I am doing is correct. Every morning I take out my running shoes, a t-shirt, and my shorts. That’s all I need to live a healthier life. Working out this week has taught me to always measure your true strength, but also to avoid limits. It is very important to keep on aiming for more. It has been a successful first week and I am sure that the next week will be even better.

Running by Agustin Paez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

A Briliant Plan!

Photo by: Agustin Paez

After establishing and understanding the fitness goal mentioned in the previous blog, I decided to create a workout plan. This plan was based on the fact that I need both strength and endurance in order for me to enter the soccer team next year. I would get strength by lifting weights and I would get endurance from running. Both activities will evolve throughout the year and, therefore, by August of 2011 I would be at my fitness climax. My strategy is to lift weights for an hour and a half and then run for an hour. At a start, I will lift an average of 65 pounds with my upper body and 105 with my lower body. As days go by, I hope to see a slow but persistent increase of these weights. On the other hand, the starting distance that I will run is 5 miles in less than an hour. Once again, I hope to see an improvement in both distance and time every week. Besides the athletic components on which I am basing my workout plan, I also need to control the food I will be consuming at Trinity. The effectiveness of my exercise depends on the quantity and quality of the food that I consume. I need important amounts of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins. Therefore, I have to eat at least three times each day and base my diet on fresh salads, important amounts of fruit, pasta and meats. I believe I’ve created a brilliant workout plan. I do not expect results to come for a few weeks but I’m sure that by October the 6th there will be a change.

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The Thirty Pound Rule

Taken by Agustin Paez

Ecuadorians have a commonly known rule for students going to the United States. This rule is called the Thirty Pound Rule and it is based on the fact that most students gain thirty pounds during the first 5 months in college. This idea kept on wandering around my mind as I saw San Antonio’s sky through the plane’s window.  I didn’t have to worry much about the mentioned rule because if I entered into the soccer team then I would have trained everyday and maintain my weight. Nevertheless, I was not able to make the squad and suddenly the Thirty Pound Rule became a reality. After analyzing my possibilities while laying on my bed for about an hour, I created my personal workout plan. This plan consists of both jogging and weightlifting every morning. It also takes into account the amount of food consumed everyday and my body’s necessities after the training. It is expected to see an increase in the amount of miles I could run everyday and the pounds I could lift as well. Besides maintaining my average weight, this workout plan would help me aim for the next year’s soccer team. I understand that this goal requires a tough training and an important sacrifice but all the effort will payoff once I am fit enough for the 2011 team. It seems I will be visiting the William Bell Fitness Center quite often. This is a difficult challenge but I trust my devotion and perseverance.

Weight by Agustin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.