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Registration plate reported stolen off of parked vehicle

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Rain expected into the weekend in the Wyoming Valley

<p>We&#8217;ve all taken our shots at keeping a New Year&#8217;s resolution.</p><p>For me, that has generally meant failure &#8212; especially in college. I always vowed to swear less, drink less coffee and stop procrastinating. It seemed like days later, I&#8217;d be chugging coffee while scrambling to get a paper done and cursing like a sailor.</p><p>Some things never change.</p><p>But this year, I can proudly say I&#8217;ve held onto a New Year&#8217;s resolution for almost five months, and it&#8217;s one that&#8217;s probably the most popular.</p><p>The gym &#8212; namely, lifting weights.</p><p>I&#8217;m not exactly a stranger to the weight room, but I can&#8217;t claim to be an expert. I was a big kid in high school, and I could bench and squat a fairly respectable amount. Since then, I&#8217;ve lost a lot of weight and tried several routines, but I never quite got back into the groove of pumping iron regularly.</p><p>In January, I decided to make weightlifting a part of my lifestyle. I&#8217;m not out to become the next Hulk Hogan, but the numbers in my training log have increased since I started. Sometimes, it&#8217;s hard for me to notice any changes with my physique but when I visited my family recently, they were pretty surprised.</p><p>Weightlifting is only part of the lifestyle. Protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats have become cornerstones of my diet. My dessert and sugar consumption is at a minimal, aside from some small indulgences every now and again. I&#8217;ve even gone from from drinking six cups of coffee a day to two or less.</p><p>Anymore, a good indulgence for me is the biggest plate of hot wings I can find, or a good protein shake after an intense workout.</p><p><strong>A protocol</strong></p><p>Weightlifting has instilled in me a sense of discipline I didn&#8217;t know I had. I go to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays &#8212; otherwise, there better be a good excuse for me skipping.</p><p>Even then, I&#8217;d prefer to soldier through that excuse.</p><p>In March, I had a minor procedure done on my arm in a dermatologist&#8217;s office. He recommended I take at least a week off before hitting the weights again so my stitches could heal.</p><p>I&#8217;d be lying if I said I didn&#8217;t consider trying my luck three days after the fact.</p><p>Even more recently, I took a trip home on a Tuesday, but had to squeeze in a leg/shoulder day before I hit the road. Since there is no gym in my hometown &#8212; and since I wanted to be on my way as soon as I clocked out &#8212; I woke up at 4 a.m. and got my workout in before going to work at 7 a.m.</p><p>Most people look at me like I&#8217;m crazy when I tell them that &#8212; for me, missing a lift just wasn&#8217;t acceptable.</p><p><strong>A sanctuary</strong></p><p>Weightlifting and living a healthier lifestyle have had a lot of perks.</p><p>Admittedly, I had to buy bigger jeans and I&#8217;m still in need of larger t-shirts, but I haven&#8217;t felt healthier or more confident in years.</p><p>The stress relief that comes with lifting weights has been the biggest reward.</p><p>What most people don&#8217;t realize is that journalists deal with a lot &#8212; especially police reporters. Responding to a wide variety of scenes in my career, some days can really take their toll and there are a lot of things I wish I could unsee.</p><p>The gym is a sanctuary for me. I put in my headphones, turn my iPhone to airplane, play Metallica and get started. Work, personal issues or whatever else is bothering me goes away, and the only thing that matters for those next 90 minutes is improving myself.</p><p>On an ideal day, my numbers will go up and I&#8217;ll break boundaries set on the previous week. Regardless of how good any given workout is, I always leave with a fresh perspective of things that bugged me earlier in the day and motivated that new boundaries are ready for me to break next week.</p><p>May 4 will mark exactly five months since I started. If I have anything to say about it, this protocol won&#8217;t be going away anytime soon.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Beyond the Byline: A New Year’s resolution turns into a weekly routine