Day 87 - Crazy weekend...

Spent some time at the gym yesterday - went to the pool, did a great 40min weight circuit, hitting my arms and chest pretty hard. Kept the cardio going pretty intense for the whole workout, so I could keep that endorphin high running.
Started out with a 1.5mile run, doing interval cardio, and then did weights, pushing the upper limits for being able to do 8 - 10 reps. Weight increases have slowed down a lot - my upright row has been at 90 pounds for a while now, and while legs are increasing a little bit, up to 280 or so. I don't do a straight bench press, but the machine press is up to about 70 pounds an arm.
Still no abs, with only three days left. That's ok. I'm very happy with my body right now, and possibly happier with my life. It's tough to say that, really, because I don't have a way to track my happiness levels. My life is very different than it was three months ago - I sit taller, stand straighter, and am prouder of my body. The yoga has helped me with my breathing and posture, although I feel like I need to stretch more often throughout my day to maintain that.

Day 81 - Sunday, still going!

Almost there! My blog posts are slowing down, but I'll keep you posted. I did a fat-burning cardio workout on Saturday, an hour and a half of intense yoga (cardio) Sunday with a little hot tub time, and ate good most of the weekend. Not perfect, but damn good for a weekend I'd say.
Still no abs, 81 days into it. While I've only missed probably 6 days in total since I've started, I haven't been doing ab workouts 2x daily like I wanted to. I don't think I've put on any mass at all, but I bet my body fat is below 10% now. I'll try to get it measured here in the next couple of days at the gym.
Weekends I've definitely been less good about eating. Had half a bottle of red wine today, and lots of carbs, and a delicious breakfast burrito. I've gotten into the habit of being conscious about what I eat, which is great.
I did some more interval workout on Saturday, running on concrete, and gave myself a case of shin splints, which sucked. All better now, but throughout the day my shins were killing me. A great reason to warm up & stretch before going all out running.

Day 77 - Interval Cardio & Yoga

I did some research yesterday about interval cardio, and there's a lot of stuff out there about how it's much better for burning fat than standard cardio. So I decided to try it - 30min, after yoga, alternating between 9mph and 4mph. After 12 minutes my side started hurting, which has only happened a couple of times, and by the end I was dripping wet and felt like a million bucks. Definitely it's going to be the way I go with cardio from now on. Did 3 miles, too, in under 30minutes.
Yoga was decidedly unsatisfying, for some reason. There was some soft music playing, which threw me off, and I think work stress made relaxation more difficult. I can't really put my finger on it, but I didn't get in the mode until the last ten minutes. Kind of a waste of time. My first bad session, though, so I'm not putting much stock in one bad session.
Then I hung out in the hot tub. And it was amazing - had some very good thinking time, and relaxed perfectly. Love that hot tub.
Food was good today - oatmeal & protein for breakfast and a grapefruit, protein bar at 10:30, turkey & provalone on wheat for lunch, fruit at 2:30, protein bar at 5pm, and then a spinach/chicken salad with oil & balsamic for dinner. Good stuff.

Day 75 - two days off, but got it right today!

Not a great weekend for working out. Drank a ton of IPA on Saturday (IPA challenge for microbrewers in ABQ), and did a lot of yardwork, but no gym time. Sunday I got up late, had a fabulous late brunch, and slacked all day. Didn't eat much, either. I'm not taking weekends off on purpose, but they do tend to be less organized.
Today I was back in the groove - ate right, breakfast, protein bar, healthy lunch (mostly), fruit, protein bar, and steak, potatoes, and spinach with oil & vinager. My workout was intense and right on - I did more weight than I usually do, 250 on the leg press and 90lb upright row. 35lbs barbells on the swiss ball for fly and bench presses. I could've done more for the ball press, but I didn't want to go get more weights. The key is really keeping that adrenaline up - starting with some hard cardio, doing some hard cardio in the middle of the routine, and never slacking between sets.
I'm not posting any pics because I'm too lazy to mess with photoshop. sorry...

Day 70 - hard at work

Today was a winner! Ate mostly right, did a great and very cardio-intensive weight circuit, but did have a little beer tonight. Still, good day.
I did discover boiling water for oatmeal and frozen blueberries are a very bad combination. The oatmeal isn't hot any more but are lukewarm, and the blueberries aren't crisp and frozen anymore, just lukewarm. Pretty much the worst of all world. Definitely a mistake I'll not be making again.
The workout was great. I got everything going, then went running for about 5min in the middle of the workout. It got my heartrate up in the good zone, and I felt great, and blew threw the last half of my workout. Really an exhilarating push, and a good workout. I've been stretching post-workout, too, and I think that, along with the yoga, is really starting to make a difference.

Days 67, 68, 69 - Getting back in the groove?

The last three days have been, well, moderately successful. I haven't eaten much, and did my workout fairly regularly, but haven't done a hard-core cardio session since before the wedding. I did some great yoga, and it was an intense cardio yoga workout on Sunday, and I did a good ab session. Monday was a fairly intense, if slightly short, weight circuit, about 35 minutes. I didn't eat enough on Monday, and ran out of blood sugar & got shaky 35 minutes in. Did good abs, though, on Monday too. Tuesday I had a really long day at work, and never made it in to the gym. It was raining, too, so didn't run outside either. Only a late-night abs workout redeemed that day.
I'm finding it difficult to get my diet back together after that weekend of fabulous food. I'm not eating enough, and not eating good enough food when I do eat. Discipline is having a tough comeback!
I'm starting to feel a bit of the pressure. Time is running out - only three weeks left in this thing, so I've got to pick it up. No way I'm not getting abs after spending all this time at the gym!

Day 66 - back in the saddle

Well, I made it back to the gym in a serious display of will power. Did a good workout, not amazing, but definitely threw some weight around and did a great ab workout.
I'm not back on my food track yet. Grandparents are still here, so still ample supplies of homemade food floating around, which I cannot possibly decline for culinary and etiquette reasons. It just tastes so good!
Side note: Homemade cinnamon rolls are the best thing ever.
After the workout, I felt good. I feel almost as if with a couple days off, my body has had time to heal and rejuvenate. My weights didn't decline really at all, thankfully, although the cardio side seems tougher, at least mentally.
So back on the saddle again! 24 days to make it happen.

Day 64 & 65 - Two days off

Two days off in a row! My sister is getting married today, so I've been totally slacking. Both grandmas and a bunch of aunts in town, so the food is fantastic and it happens all the time! Some of the food habits I've been cultivating transfer smoothly, such as eating a lot of fruit & veggies instead of the main dishes, but I have to say, I consumed an enormous amount of an impossibly unhealthy bean dip!
I'll be back on track tomorrow, with a nice little workout of some kind. My lower back's been hurting, still, from the slip on the leg press, and I've actually been lacking energy for some reason. This week has been full of long, long, days with very little Tim time. Relaxation is going to be great this weekend.
The big thing is that I just can't let this break my rhythm. Gotta get back on it on Saturday.

Day 62 - Running!

Did 4.2 miles today, in 40 minutes. Not amazing, but waaay better than two months ago. So much of running is in the breathing, I discovered today. Much like lifting - monitoring my breathing lets me do a lot more weight and kept my pace going for longer. Also, I'm doing intervals - a couple minutes at a 8:20 mile and a minute at 20min mile, so it averages out to about 10min/mile. I've found 7.2 mph is a great pace for me. Any faster, and it slows down my overall pace.
Didn't eat too much, especially at night. Friend's b-day party, and then went to my dad's place, but they were out of food. So I ate plums and came home and ate a grapefruit.
Two days without yoga and I'm starting to feel it. Might try to sneak off during the weekend, but family is in town and it's going to be tough to get any workout done, especially an hour of yoga. Probably will have to settle for a quick morning jog or something.

Day 61 - Monday & back at it

Couldn't get up to save my life today. I was planning on getting up and running with the dog, but that sure didn't happen.
Not a big deal though - I'll do it tomorrow. Family starts to arrive for my little sister's big wedding this Friday, and that's going to make it tough to keep the routine up. Lots of early mornings, hopefully. I'm finally starting to see some results, so keeping the pressure on is a priority for me. I figure if I can make it all week, being good with family and family cooking, I can do anything.
Did a good routine today, except was doing the high leg presses and it somehow fell back on me, killed my back. It's fine now, I think - did lots of yoga back stretches and it felt better. Did some good ab work. I'm thinking my abs are definitely getting stronger - shooting for 100 abs each morning and night, although I've yet to do that. Hate working my abs, for some reason that I can't explain. And they're the whole reason I'm doing this.

Days 59 & 60!

Two-thirds of the way done!!
My double-chin is pretty much totally gone, which is amazing, because I've never been chunky and I've had that since I was 12. I'm definitely more comfortable with my body, but still impatiently waiting for the first signs of my abs. Legs are definitely stronger, and pecs have started to develop a little. Flexibility is way up too, which is great.
Incredibly relaxing day - got up, went to yoga, hit the pool, then the hot tub, then the sauna, before a cool shower and a fantastic burrito. Seriously probably one of the best Sundays in a while.
I ate mostly healthy, but didn't eat very much and only 3 meals. Yogurt, burritos, and snacks. Not enough to keep the metabolism going, but I did drink a fair amount of water.
So two-thirds in, and here's my thoughts: Massive time investment, at least 60min/day, but usually at least 90min/day after changing, showering, driving, etc. Definitely feel slightly better - not really emotionally, but more comfortable with the way I look & more confident. Love the extra flexibility, endurance, & strength.
Next plan - train to run a half marathon in September!

Day 57 & 58 - Still sore from the wakeboard

Thursday and Friday - after getting fried on Saturday, my sunburn is starting to face and has finally stopped hurting, but I'm sore nearly every day for some reason. Wrists & hamstrings from the lake, I think, and just blew up my upper body on Thursday again, so sore on Friday from that.
I've been looking forward to yoga all week, and when I did it today (Friday), it felt absolutely fantastic. Tough - my teacher made us do some really intense core workout stuff, abs and hamstrings, but it was very relaxing when it was over. My stretching has improved immensely - I can bend down about 4 inches further than I could when I started, and can actually briefly touch my toes. This comes from a loosening of my hamstrings & calves. Both incredibly sore and tight two months ago, and still, both are tight, but it's getting better.
At the end of the class, the relaxation part, it was pretty intense. I quieted my head, and then all of a sudden all the thoughts from work came rushing in, and kind of startled me. I guess I didn't realize how stressed I've been at work lately. Like AA, the first step to fix the problem is recognize it, right?

Day 56 - Morning run

Got up early to do a little run, but I think my workout last night took my hamstrings for a ride. Couldn't run for shit, so went for about half and hour dragging the semi-reluctant puppy and called it a run. Now gotta rest my legs so I can get a crazy workout tomorrow.
Good day for food - ate mostly healthy, with the exception of a little Kathy's Carryout Tacos, which are practically impossible not to eat occasionally. Especially if you work in the South Valley, like I do. But there's nothing, and I mean nothing, healthy to eat in New Mexican food down there. Mom & pop shops don't understand healthy in the South Valley. Which is why it's so damn good.

Day 55 - hard, hard, weights

Good day. Got up plenty early - I was planning on doing the early workout thing, but that didn't happen, so instead I went to work and started crunching numbers. Number crunching all day, which isn't particularly fun, but does have a beautiful satisfying feeling when I get a good-looking report thrown together.
Got out at five, dropped by my sister's place for a quick bowl of chili and a gander at my little nephew, who's doing just peachy. Then had a very successful meeting for an hour, and a great and intense workout. I told myself I was going to give myself a workout that would make me want to ralph, and yes, about 30 minutes in, I was ready to call it. But pulled it through, and went out for a great abs workout after.
Then went to my friend's place for some great pasta, found out I won a $5k grant for my work, and yeah, a good day altogether.

Day 54 - 4minutes from deep-fried

Back at work today, after a great weekend in the sun, and yes, I'm paying for it. Putting aloe on fairly regularly, because I hate peeling. Back trying to the diet today. I'm cutting carbs out entirely after 5pm, just fruit, protein & fat, & veggies. Still got the tummy fat I gotta get rid of somehow - that just isn't going away very well. If it doesn't go away in a week, I'm gonna try carb-free for an entire week.
I heard about this - by day 5 you're not thinking too clearly, dropping stuff, but on day 8 you eat regularly and it all shoots right to your muscle. We'll see - I gotta break this plateau somehow.
My exercise was good, but, well, lackluster. I'll do more tomorrow morning. I did 3.5miles in 50min, for an average of about 4.2 mph, which sucks, but I was dragging a 26 pound puppy. That was a lot of work, especially for sunburned me. Had to stop a couple of times. This was also my first free-run, and I learned it sucks to run on asphalt.

Days 51-53: Fourth of July weekend!

I totally took the week off from responsibility and watching my food and booze - almost. I bought a bunch of fruit to take with me, and tried to stick more with the vodka shots than the beer. Didn't really work for the most part, but that's ok. It was a great time.
Got burnt all to hell - parts of my body are bright red, almost orange. And my wrists and triceps are incredibly sore from wakeboarding. It was a good abs workout, anyway. By Sunday me and my buddies were all so sore, we barely made it out again - but we did. That's another thing this whole workout has taught me, especially working with Cera, the trainer - when you think you can't possibly go on any more, you probably can. Funny, too, that last ride, after I thought I was too tired to go on, was the best by far. Damn good weekend.

Day 50 - Going out for the good stuff

Wow, what a workout. Cera took me for my last training session - worked it out really tough. Lots of full-body exercises. I'm thinking I'm in decent shape by now, but 20min in I just wanted to give up all together. Really, really intense. We did everything - including one intense little exercise where I pushed a 25pound weight across the floor at full speed. Killed my legs.
I ate crappy today, except for breakfast. Treated myself to the first nice restaurant meal I've had since I started the program, at Villa de Capo, and Italian Restaurant downtown. They had this gorgeous artichoke dip, buttery and smooth - just a fantastic piece of work. Then had a little salad, and a combo plate with lasagna, fried eggplant, and bona mangiata, which is a rolled, stuffed eggplant. It was all pretty good, including the two glasses of Chablis.
We went home after, and I made milkshakes with fresh blueberries and strawberry Haggen-Daaz ice cream. I didn't eat much, but I had a good little taste. Fabulous. Tough workout, but a great day nonetheless.

Day 49 - 3 miles in 30 minutes!

Well, I know it's not spectacular, but considering I started with the capacity to run for about 10 minutes, I think it's pretty good! This is a measure not so much of my endurance, but of the strengthening of my calves, hamstrings, and lower back. They're sore, but they didn't stop me at least! And a pretty good ab workout on top of it.
I did wake up a little sore from yoga again. I bet it was the crow position - that's the one where she asked us to curl up standing on our hands. It hurt! I did it for maybe 15 seconds, and that was pretty much it. I'm really liking the yoga.

Day 48 - lots of work, yoga

So suprisingly good day today for as little sleep as I got. I had a dentist appointment, got my clean bill of health there, thankfully, and then had meetings for much of today. Work is a little stressful right now - I have some really big deliverables that are being very difficult. After, came home for an hour, made myself a little dinner, then went to a 7pm yoga class with my friend Liz.
It was a good yoga class. Since there were only three of us, we got personal attention which is great for me, since I'm just starting out. Sometimes a very minor adjustment makes all the difference in a yoga pose. I felt like it was a light cardio workout, but a good strength workout.
It was very different from Sunday. Sunday was more cardio, and much more meditative. While today was relaxing, the teacher doesn't flow from one position to the next. It's like you reposition yourself for the next pose.
I did like that she had several series of ten or so poses that we did multiple times. A couple more classes with her and I'll be able to remember those to do on my own time.

Day 47 - Weights, abs, appetizers...

Good day! I didn't manage to get up when my alarm went off, so had to go after work for a nice 45min weight circuit. It was a good workout - upped most of my weights a little bit, and felt a good cardio burn. I'm doing 55-60 pounds with each arm now on the machine press, which feels great, and the cable crosses are come up nicely too.
I had a conversation about pressures on guys to do large weights. I've never felt that, probably because I started with a trainer, and I know if i work out right, at the end of the workout I'm not really able to lift much. Also, I can do more weight and do it crappily, with not much benefit. Like my ex-body builder friend said, if you're going to cheat, why bother going to the gym?
Got my yoga hamstring stretches done morning and night, and also did abs at the gym and abs before I crashed, so that's good. Still getting there! Gotta put on the pressure if I'm going to get where I want to be in 38 days.

Day 46 - YOGA! YOGA! YOGA!

Quite coincidentally, the second half of the experiment was my first day of yoga class. It was a beginner class, with an excellent teacher. Even though I wasn't able to do some of the more challenging positions - my balance is bad, but my flexibility is terrible - I felt like the teacher understood and explained the positions well. It was a cardio workout, too. I went with Megan, my roommate, and we both are sore right now. I've been assigned homework, a couple simple exercises to do at home to try to loosen up my hamstrings.
I think the yoga will be a good way to diversify my exercises. So now I've got cardio, yoga, and weight training. Do I double up a couple days? I'll have to ask Cera about how to make this work.
The yoga is a great meditation tool, as well. The teacher, Erin, gave a little motivational talk at the beginning of the class, and it was really good. At the conclusion, she asked us to think about what we'd like to get out of yoga. I was really impressed by the grace and balance of the class as a whole, and the way yoga approaches exercise - deliberately, slowly, and powerfully. That's what I'd like to take out of this, over time: A sense of deliberate grace and balance in my daily life.

Day 45 - Halfway there!

So 45 days in! 45 days of working out, eating mostly pretty good, and generally working to be fit, and it's been an interesting half of an experiment!
I definitely think i look better. Not sure if I feel better, but I feel good. I can see some pretense of abs coming out of the fat, too!
The biggest difference is simply the discipline. Going to the gym every day, without exception, and eating right - both are a big commitment, but I've found that I can do it. It's helped me be more disciplined in other areas. The alone time and self-reflection that has quite unexpectedly come with the workout has helped me in my job and my personal life.
On a micro-level, I'm up to 25min of running. I did just over two miles - still not all that impressive, but it's up from less than a mile when I started a month and a half ago. Weighted in at 158 today.
I'll get measurements posted later this week. It was a good 45 days, and while I'm still not exactly 'ripped,' I'm still excited about getting there!

Day 43 & 44

Totally missed Thursday for the gym workout. Worked too late, had meetings too early, and had plans with friends on Thursday night. And was in meetings over lunch, so they catered in a delicious chicken ceaser salad, with this very good corn chowder, and I snuck a little cupcake for dessert. Slate Street - damn good eats, really.
Had myself a bowl of oatmeal after work, and then homemade pizza about 9pm at a friend's place. While not the healthiest day, it wasn't terrible.
Friday got up early and did the workout things. Went to the Downtown gym, which has a pretty limited number of machines and it's definitely harder for me to get a great workout there. I'm still not sure i have a great grasp on the major muscle groups, which exercises to start with, and where to finish. But I can do a pretty intense cardio/weight circuit workout in an hour - I feel good about that. Abs are still tough, mentally, for me. I don't know why.
Food Friday was all good, with the exception of Friday night out, as generally happens. But still, not a terrible couple of days. I'm getting there.

Day 42 - Long day... good workout

Missed my yoga today. Really want to give it a shot, but my friend told me there was a class, and I was ready to go, but apparently it's an Ashanti Yoga class that requires previous experience. I'm so inexperienced I'm not even sure I can bend, much less fit in to an experienced class. I'll wait.
Late workout today. I read today that early workouts, either morning, afternoon, or early evening improve sleeping habits, but not late workouts. So definitely gonna try to workout a little earlier. Unfortunately this starts in 6 hours, 6:30am, so it's gonna be tough today. blah.
Consumed 2400 calories, 200 more than the 2200 calories I'm shooting for. Not bad. I really kind of need to work to make it over 2k calories.

Day 41 - almost half-way there!

Today was just a little bit off. Reminds me of the quote from "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - I never could get the hang of Thursdays. Except today's Tuesday, and generally, I'm quite good at Tuesday. Got up a bit later than I should have, and made it to the gym for a rather lackluster weight circuit. My upper body is sore, but my will to make it a cardio, you know, really push it, was lacking.
On the plus side, had a catered work lunch and the food was healthy and fantastic! That always makes my day better. And I had no real work to do tonight, which was great too, so I cooked dinner and chilled out all evening. Very nice.
I haven't actually done my night set of abs yet, but I figured if I posted about it, I would have no choice. I do about 60-80 ab exercises - 15-20 leg lifts, obliques both sides, and full body, and then I try to do it again. Can't really count it the second time, because it's so sad and I have to rest too much. Getting there, though!

Day 40!

40 days in! Almost half-way there. So far, I know I'm down about 3% body fat, and I know my stomach has gotten smaller, but haven't seen any real definition yet.
The workouts are easier - way easier than when I started. I did 55 minutes of cardio today, because I ran out of time (soaking wet when I finished), and then some abs. I can't seem to do abs in the morning - it's just tough for me! Even at night. They're such a little thing, just can't seem to get in the groove of even 5min of abs before I get going or crash out.
Tomorrow I'm weights, which I'm looking forward to. They're fun - I'm using caloriecount.about.com, and they've got great workouts on there as well. Trying to continue to use the full-body workouts, that combine weight lifting with lunges or steps or something. They're hard, but they make you sweat like nothing else. Great cardio.
I got a referral to a good yoga teacher on Monday & Wednesday nights at my gym, and I think I'm going to try to make one, no matter how embarrasing it might be. Does that supplement my workout, or do I still have to do cardio? I'll see how strenuous it is, and go from there.

Days 37 & 38 - Weekend Edition

I did pretty good on food this weekend, if not that great on booze. Got a neat little martial arts workout late yesterday, then went out and had a couple beers and a couple vodka tonics. This morning, got up a little late, had a great breakfast, went out to the gym and had a great arm/chest workout. Lost track of time, and really got into the zone - pushed weight limits, and then did a little swimming and hung out in the hot tub.
Got home, did some yard work, took a nap, then some friends came over and we did a little BBQ action. Not a bad Sunday, altogether.
Found a new website - Calorie Count from About.com. You give it your goals, and it tells you what you have to eat. Then you enter everything you've eaten, and it grades how healthy it is and the number of calories consumed.
According to the website, I consumed 1,913 calories, about 300 calories short of the 2200 calories it recommended for me to gain a little weights.

Day 36 - back in the saddle

So totally skipped yesterday. My first day in 35 days without a workout. I had to be at work too early, and my friend's birthday, so we went out right after work. Busy, and just didn't have time. Today I was back on, with an intense but short morning workout.
I didn't have dinner, though - absolutely sick of chicken, and couldn't think of anything else good, so just had a yogurt. I'm going to have to make a concentrated effort to eat more.
I think I did find part of an oblique, though! Stoked about that.

Day 35 - Cardio, not much food...

So less than 24 hours after I found out I need to eat more, I totally blew it. Ate barely anything today, all because of work. Too much to do, and forgot to eat dinner.
I did another 60min of cardio! That I was pretty proud of. It was hard, but not too hard. Definitely manageable, even though I'm still a little sore from yesterday's workout. I'm taking the day off tomorrow, I've decided. I know, it's bad, but it's my first one, and I've got a crazy day. No way I'm going to get up before work to lift. Probably won't make it in until Friday night. I'll do a little abs, and pray for forgiveness, and it'll be fine. As long as this is a one-time thing, right?

Day 34 - aw I hurt

Today was session #8 with Cera. I bought nine sessions originally, so maybe one more, or maybe I'll pick some more up. Depends on how well I do the next two weeks working out by myself. I feel like I have a decent knowledge of the routines, but not quite as comfortable as I wish I was. Cera, btw, I'm pretty sure she tried to rip my arms off today. Actually, we did a lot of balance/full body stuff with a focus on upper and lower body. 15 minutes in, and I was huffing, and 45 minutes in I was hurting pretty bad.
Still, good numbers on the weights. Not sure exactly what they were, because my brain wasn't exactly working at all.
I'm going to need to step up my caloric input, I guess. I've never been a huge eater, but to get the kind of increased build, I need to up it a bit. That's actually going to be a little difficult, but I think I can do it. Actually, probably need to start watching the diet a little more. I'm not eating bad, and not drinking much, but my diet - especially lunch - hasn't been spectacular.
Also, gonna try to do abs in the morning and the night. It's only a couple of minutes, and need to get some shape going on!

Day 33 - 630am workout....

Yeah, so I'm realizing, again, that early morning workouts are not perfect for me. I made it to the gym at 6:30, and yes, I can do a serious workout first thing in the morning. But was sooooo exhausted after the gym, came home and crashed out again. Not exactly have the most productive morning.
But a very productive day, for a Monday. Mondays are generally all catchup, but I had very useful meetings, ate good, and it was all pretty decent. I think I'm slipping a little on my water intake - only probably 7 or 8 bottles of water today (refills - I don't believe in using all that plastic). My throat is a little sore, which makes water very un-enjoyable.
The weight circuit took a little time to get going. I did 3min of hard cardio, just to get the blood pumping, and then some very good weights. It wasn't until probably about half way through that I really got the blood going and the cardio workout rolling. It's a little bit of a mixed bag, I think. If I do my reps quickly, I get the blood pumping and a cardio workout. But if I keep it slow, keep the heart rate down, I feel like I can do bigger weights for more reps.
So what's better? A cardio or bigger weights?
Side note: I'm getting very tired of grilled chicken. Gotta figure out another healthy protein. Maybe more steak.

Days 31 & 32 - Weekend Edition

I'm really enjoying the workout, and it just hasn't been that hard to get in on the weekends. Saturday I did 40 minutes of a nice intense weights circuit, and mostly handled my eating ok. I've been moving my focus to heavier weights, and aiming for failure at 2 sets of 10 reps instead of 15. Time to start building some bulk.
I did pretty good on eating both days, except for a couple of drinks on Saturday night. Another milestone today, with a full hour of cardio! Sure, that's not much for most people, but considering I started at 30 minutes max, I'm pretty happy about it!
And after Saturday night being only a couple hours of sleep, Sunday morning I got up at 9am to eat some yogurt, then went back to crash for two hours, and then off to the gym. I always do considerably better if I give it at least an hour and half to two hours after eating - any less than that, and I run out of steam earlier.
My abs, always the worst part, are getting better. Not great, but better. I work on them every day, and the workouts are getting slightly longer. I'm hoping for a huge breakthrough one day, but we'll see.

Day 30 - Milestone Edition - 1/3 of the way done!

I finished my first 30 days off strong today, with a hard 50minute cardio workout, and topped it off with a nice ab workout, back workout, and a little hot tub action. Not a bad night, altogether. So here's the results of 30 days of workout - really not much different in terms of size, but I've doubled most of my weights and definitely doubled my cardio ability. Over the next 30 days I'd like to hit 10% body fat, and start gaining a little size!














Starting measurements: 5/13
Weight: 155
Body composition: 15.5%
Chest: 36.5
Rt Arm: 12.5
Lft Arm: 12
Waist: 33.5
Abdomen: 35.25
Hip: 39.25
Rt Thigh: 19.75
Lft Thigh: 17.25
Calf: 14.25

Measurements on 6/9
Weight: 157.5
Body Composition: 12.3%
Chest: 37.5
Rt Arm: 12
Lft Arm: 12
Waist: 34.25
Abdomen: 34.25
Hip: 39
Rt Thigh: 20
Lft Thigh: 18.5
Calf: 14

I had a good day - skipped breakfast, but most of the food was good, and the workout was good, long, and very satisfying. Didn't even drink tonight. I'm feeling good about this whole project so far. I was a little worried about hitting it too hard and burning out, but that hasn't been a problem so far. Two months to abs!

Day 29 - Surviving a busy work day

Tough workout today. One of the more difficult in terms of discipline.
I had lots of meetings, and the food was less than optimal, plus I wasn't on that much sleep. I had to skip the oatmeal for lack of time, so a banana and yogurt at 8am, protein bar at 9:30, then meetings straight through until noon. Lunch meeting meant I didn't really get to eat then either, except half a burrito at noon and another half at 1:30pm. Slammed all afternoon, and a quick protein shake at 5:30 when I got home. A couple pieces of pizza and a bunch of baby carrots & cherry tomatoes, and when I went to my workout around 8:30 it was really hard to stay on track and hit my weights.
I did, though - discipline is something I've been able to improve over the last 30 days as well. Failure is success, right?
Still managed to hit all my weights, though, so the show goes on! 10% body fat in two weeks!

Day 28 - Four weeks in

Today I ran intervals for 20 minutes, and almost died. My back and my left foot, instead of my right earlier, were killing me. So I went to the precore machine and did another 20 minutes before they closed the gym. It was an intense, if short, cardio workout.
Ate my standard oatmeal w/ protein, a banana, and was off to work where I had meetings all - and I mean ALL - day. 5:30 board meeting, and they have carrots, cherry tomatos, and broccoli, and that was basically my dinner, except for the 9:30pm protein shake. Dinner Dinner didn't come until 11pm, when I had eggplant lasagna, which is basically lasagna without the pasta. Very good, actually.
Left foot is still killing me. Gotta be careful on that treadmill, but I'm going to get that number up! I'm only at 2 miles now, which is a little sad.

Day 27 - Measuring progress

After 27 days of working out, today we went back to my original stats and re-measured everything. Good news and eh news - eh news, I've gained no size whatsoever. Maybe an inch in my calves, maybe a tiny bit in my chest, but mostly, no size gain. Good news is that I've dropped from 15.5% body fat to 12.3%, which puts me on track to hit my 7% in another 53 days with a little room to spare.
Not that I'm slacking up. This week we're shooting for 50min of hard, intervaled cardio, intermixed with intense weight training. And I think I can do it. Except I may be going to the lake on Saturday, which will throw a little wrench in the works, because I don't think I can go to the lake without drinking - a lot. C'mon, what fun would that be?
Tough workout today. I think Cera (my trainer) is done with fun and games and getting me into shape! I've only got a couple more sessions with her, so I've got to maximize her input and get into my routine to finish up strong. No slacking off now!

Day 26 - Monday all over again

Today was a semi-breakthrough. First, I figured out that apparently the machines I've been doing cardio adjust the resistance by weight, so when I was doing a difficulty 20 last Saturday, I think I put my weight as 16 instead of 160.
I did it right today, and did 45 minutes of difficulty 8 intervaled with a difficulty 4. And it was tough. The breakthrough was that even though I really, really wanted to give up, I didn't have to convince myself to keep going. Either the threat of blog-shame, or maybe I'm just getting my crap together, but I knew I was going to do 45 minutes. No excuses.
I mostly ate good, and fairly normal day at work - I think that green chile chicken burrito is the healthiest thing at El Modelo, which isn't saying that much. It was only chicken, green chile, and cheese, so couldn't have been that bad, right?

Day 25 - Fancy shoes plus

Got myself some fancy New Balance shoes today. Apparently, my feet are wider than the standard athletic shoe, or at least that's what New Balance would have me believe. I ended up with 2EEs, but she gave me some freakin' huge shoes to try on too, that reminded me of big ol' panda feet to go padding around in. I ran for 5min on them, and they're way better than my old shoes.
Did the weight circuit today, with a focus on chest and arms, my favorite.Time flew by. I pushed myself, but not as hard as Cera would have pushed me. I'm really aiming for failure on every set, if possible. Plus that circuit makes a great cardio workout.
Afterwards, did the total zen hot tub thing. I swear, that hot tub is worth the gym membership by itself. Absolutely nothing is more relaxing than a good soak after a workout. I think that 15-20 minutes gives me more clarity about life in general than any other time during the week.
I didn't eat much today, and kind of had to force myself to have a late dinner, too. Not quite sure what's up with my appetite. Mostly healthy today, except for a little cheese and some chips, but overall, I'm satisfied.

Day 24 - Cardio & BBQs

Great cardio workout. My weekend workouts are turning out the best, for some reason - my trainer said that noon - 2pm are the most ideal times to workout, and today I did 45min of cardio on a pretty high difficulty setting, and blew through it no problem. Compared to last time, when I had to convince myself not to quit every ten minutes, literally. And then I was on resistance 5, today I did resistance 12 intervaled with 15, and jacked it up to 18 then 20 for my last couple of minutes.
I don't understand the heart-rate monitor. 25 minutes through the workout, it said I had a heartrate of 96. That can't be right. I'll have to ask someone about that.
Eating was basically one long meal - went to a BBQ at one, and nibbled until 5. Didn't really eat much after that, except for some grapes & peanuts, and I got a street dog at 9pm or so. Nothing - and I mean, nothing - is better than a hot dog from the little vendors in DT Albuquerque. I don't understand it, the hotdogs are nothing special, but that melted cheese, & onions, wow, just makes life complete somehow.
I went to a Third Eye Blind concert at about 8:30, and started drinking. Nothing crazy, but steady drinking until 2pm. I figure about about 500 calories of booze. I don't know, though, about the drinking thing - I have some really built friends, and they drink more than anyone I know. One of my friends was at his best, as far as being buff, during his 50 day drinking spree a couple years ago. Guess it just takes lots more workout time.
Oh, and got a new fancy scale that tells body fat & hydration. Took a baseline an hour after working out yesterday, and it gave me a 19.5% body fat with 56% hydration. That's a little depressing - I thought I started with a 14.5% body fat. More workout time.