Working out (or maintaining your husky weight)

I have been trying to get back on track and working out the past few weeks, and trying very hard to get back to eating healthy. As some may be shocked about this, but working in sports you don’t always have the chance to eat healthy. Between a steady diet of pizza and hotdogs for pre-game meals for the people working from the beginning of fall until the end of the spring, I got off my working out and eating right kick. Trust me I was doing great too, losing up to 20 pounds before I got back to working five nights a week during baseball season. So now I am back trying to get back up on the wagon to start working out and eating healthy. Basically, I haven’t gained weight, but I like to think of it as maintaining my “husky” build the past few months. It’s hard work to keep this athletic physique that I picked up working in Minor League Baseball. The late night B.S. sessions I had with the coaching staff had its perks; it just didn’t help me from not gaining weight.

One of my main dilemmas I have when I go work out is what to listen too. Mostly everyone that works out has a playlist they have to listen too. Well I will put this out there right now (Kristen can probably agree to this), I am a little anal to have a playlist to work out too. I mean what do you put on there? Something like Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Mastodon, and At The Drive-In? Maybe you like to mix up the hard stuff with a little hip-hop. Seeing I have 2,757 songs in the iPod (I feel I should give my iPod a name), I find it hard to make a playlist to work out with.

Well, last night while working out, I got side tracked often to change songs or find songs I wanted to listen to. Thus extending my work out, all the while making me think I was really putting in the hours at the gym. On a side note, I did get a good workout in, and I did get to listen to some good music while doing so. So to me it was a win/win situation at the gym. The one thing I kept thinking about is why I couldn’t just settle with one band or why I just couldn’t let the shuffle do its work and pick songs for me to listen too. (Yes, Kristen does have to listen to my often weird questions and conversations at home.)

I am not really a “gotta get pumped up” person when I work out. I also don’t need the laid back “cool down” music after a work out either. I do have my favorites to listen too, Jay-Z, Girl Talk, Pearl Jam, Rage, The Ramones, Iggy Pop, Radiohead (when I ride the bike). I guess I am looking for something new to listen too at the gym. Does anyone have any ideas for me? Also I am open for ideas to name my iPod, preferably a female name.

New Music for the week:

I am actually at a loss this week; nothing out there has me wanting to buy it. I do have a running list of albums I want to buy. Iron and Wine, Metric, and Coconut Records are on the top of the list. For a friend I am going to check out the band Dr. Dog as well. I am not much of a singles guy, but here are some songs I think everyone should check out. (side note, if you have not got the Phoenix record, do so now. They are going to blow up, and I knew about it before Rolling Stone)

In This City- Iglu and Hartly

Ain’t no rest for the wicked- Cage the Elephant

You Know I’m No Good- Amy Winehouse (yes she is a crack head, but you should buy Fade to Black)

10 A.M. Automatic- The Black Keys

Beyond here lies nothin’- Bob Dylan (makes you feel like you are some seedy road side bar)

I’ve been loving you too long (to stop now) - Cat Power (this is a song to put the kids to bed, and lock the door)