Jaguar in the Gym

This morning, I awoke a little after 6 a.m. and took my butt to the gym.

I was the only one there for about 10 minutes and happily ellipticized away while watching the local news. (A tropical storm may be a-brewin’ off the east coast. Watch out!)

Eventually a big guy hopped on the elliptical next to me and flipped on ESPN on another television. When I was done with my cardio after completing 20 minutes on the elliptical, I headed over to the weights and the guy struck up a conversation. He asked me whether or not I was an athlete in school (does being a sub-par diver and water polo player in high school count?) and I told him he looked like a football player. Turns out he was a football player. Professionally.

Apparently he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and we ended up talking for quite a while about fitness and nutrition when he found out that I had a genuine interest in both. (My workout was basically poo poo after this since I got out of the zone after chatting for so long.) He was clearly very passionate about nutrition and said that after playing in the NFL for years and fueling his body with artificial things to encourage his physical performance, he’s now much more cognizant of the effect certain enhancers have on the body and adheres to a holistic approach to living.

He also recommended that I check out The Four Hour Body, a book written by a friend of his that basically addresses how to get the biggest and best results for all things physical by making the tiniest changes.

After reading up on the book on the internet before working on this blog post, it sounds very extreme, but seems like an intriguing read. I’m going to look for it at my local library and will report back. Anyone out there ever read it? Thoughts?

Before leaving the gym, I completed the shoulder and abs workout from the LiveFit program, but rushed my way through it since I got caught talking for far too long.

Breakfast

The place where we’re staying in Jacksonville doesn’t have internet, so this morning I grabbed my laptop and headed to Starbucks to take advantage of their free wifi and get something to eat.

Non-fat cappuccino with sugar-free vanilla syrup to start!

I also ordered a cup of their fresh fruit (almost gone when I snapped the picture) and a protein box.

The grapes were kind of sad. I only like really crisp grapes and these were a little pathetic. At least the peanut butter was a winner!

Questions of the Afternoon

• Have you ever met a professional athlete?
• If you could meet one professional athlete who would you want to meet?

When I lived in Chicago, my mom and I were driving and Scottie Pippen pulled up next to us. As a big-time Chicago Bulls fan, I freaked out and he gave me a thumb’s up! I don’t remember ever actually talking to a professional athlete other than Mia Hamm briefly a couple weeks ago when she attended the Fitness Magazine Meet & Tweet event in New York City.