Still On Track

I was out of the gym for four days straight this week, doing holiday stuff.  That’s probably the longest stretch that I've gone without working out since I started this year.  I did manage to get my walks in, did my “snow shovel workout” and had a salsa lesson, so I wasn't exactly sedentary.  When I finally got back into the gym, on Thursday, I had some very good workout sessions.  I worked with fairly heavy weights, paying attention to maintaining proper form.  I’m trying to concentrate on “feeling” the particular muscle(s) that I’m working.  For instance, when I’m using the pec deck or doing incline dumbbell flies, I try to pull with the pectorals, not the arms.  When I get to the top of the movement, I contract (squeeze) and hold the muscles for a second, then return to the starting position.  I try to control the negative (return) movement just as much as the positive, so no swinging the weights or letting gravity complete the rep.

I mixed in more of the reverse stepping on the elliptical machine and some crouched stepping.  I can really feel the effects in my quads and glutes.

I feel like I’m doing pretty well in the diet department, even with the holiday temptations, so I’ll continue with the plan.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I weighed myself.  I weighed in 1.8 lbs lighter than last week.  So, less work equaled a loss.  I've quit trying to figure it out.  It just gives me a headache!

I again got lots of positive reinforcement:  My dedication to my workouts was complimented and my wife’s trainer noted the changes in my physique.  The icing on the cake was my wife telling me that she could see the “placeholders” for my abs.  I’d been doing some extra core work, so it was nice to know that it’s beginning to pay dividends!

My mini goal for next week is to sell out during my workouts and close out the year strong.

Weight loss to date: 40.2 lbs.