Making Some Gains

This week was pretty uneventful, except for the weather.  The photos on the left show last Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday.  I took advantage of the nice weather Sunday and went for a walk in the Metro Park, hitting some of the walking trails and climbing down to the creek bed.  I ended the week with some more time at the beach (Yes, it warmed up again by the weekend!).

At the gym, I got in my usual workouts, plus I went back to the cardio kickboxing class.  I think I’m going to make it a part of my regular routine for a while.  I didn't have any issues with my diet last week, though I did eat more for breakfast than I did last week.  I think that the extra food made a noticeable difference in my energy levels.  I continued with my usual snacks, eating a small lunch and observing portion control for dinner.  This all resulted in a one pound weight loss.

I continue to notice signs of progress.  My shirts are fitting a little differently in the upper back and chest.  I've started doing bent over dumbbell rows again.  In the past, this exercise has been great for developing my upper back muscles.  Depending on how I feel, I work with 60 – 75 lb. dumbbells, performing three sets of ten reps with each arm.  I've also added incline presses to my chest work.  I’m doing 90 – 100 lb. shoulder presses and 90 lb. shoulder shrugs.  My shirt sleeves are starting to fill out, too.  I’m up to 90 lb. reps on the preacher curl bench and 50 lb. dumbbell curls.  Tricep exercises are in the 45 – 60 lb. range.

I feel like I’m on track to hit some of my body shaping goals by July 23, which will be the eighteen month point of my fitness restart.  It’s possible that I may not hit the weight loss goals, but I consider that less important than reaching my overall fitness targets.

Inspiration

This time, my inspiration has nothing to do with me.  I have a cousin who is a little older than me, who has had some fitness issues in the past.  He managed to turn them completely around.  He’s become a runner, averaging 5-6 mile runs.  He eats very clean and has become a smoothie guy, making his own fruit and vegetable smoothies.  He works out regularly in his home gym.  He’s probably now in his best shape since his time in the military.  His success helps to motivate me to keep working towards my own.

Weight loss to date:  45 lbs

A Little Self Evaluation

I managed to resist a number of temptations over the week.  For the most part, I ate lean for breakfast and lunch.  For dinner, I practiced portion control.  The workouts went well and I even tried cardio kick boxing, which is no joke!  We went hard for the entire hour, with no breaks.  I managed to get in an hour of resistance training afterwards, but I was tired when I finished.  Even so, the scale showed a two pound increase for the week.

I decided to try “the pants test,” to get a second opinion.  I tried on some of my smaller pants and found them to be a little snug.  So, this lets me know that I did get a bit larger.  It’s hard for me to determine if my waist has gotten bigger or if I’m gaining size in my hip and thigh muscles.  I've really been hitting legs.  Using a weight belt has taken some of the strain off of my lower back, which enables me to increase the amount of weight and number of sets when I squat.  This is just something that I'll need to keep aware of.

I cropped this picture of myself from a larger image.  I liked the image because it was taken from a completely candid shot.  No posing or standing completely erect or tightening the gut. It provided a nice opportunity for me to evaluate myself in a relaxed state.

The Evaluation

I've been focusing (obsessing?) on my gut, which I really want to flatten.  As I've mentioned before, I sometimes see it as being larger than it actually is.  The photo shows it as still pudgy, but certainly not as big as it was a year ago.

I can see growth and development in my biceps and forearms.  My chest area looks tighter and more developed, too.

I think that I’m in a good place, right now, progress wise.  As if to emphasize this, I ran into an acquaintance, at the gym, who I hadn't seen for a couple of months.  He was impressed with the progress that I’d made since our last meeting.

It also appears that my “dimples of Venus” have become deeper and more noticeable.  After doing some research, I found that this is probably partly a benefit of my increased core and lower back work.

We took the grandsons to the beach, the same day as the photo was taken.  To get down to the beach, you have to use a long flight of stairs.  On the way back from the beach, the three year old was tired, so I scooped him up and headed up the stairs.  I passed some people on the way up.  It wasn't until the rest of my group had reached the top that I realized I wasn't winded at all.

Finally, I thought I’d share a funny moment from the gym.  I was on the elliptical machine, flipping through television channels, when I happened upon one of my favorite comedies, “Blazing Saddles.”  People must have thought that I was crazy, as I was laughing all the way through my set!

Weight loss to date: 44 lbs.

Returning to Form

I feel like I’m finally getting back to normal.  I made it to the gym four times last week.  I began adding weight to my exercises and only felt an occasional twinge in my back.  My cold is gone and my wind has mostly come back.  I walked on three afternoons and got in two Zumba classes.  I also started the “little experiment” that I mentioned a while back.  I've been tweaking my diet, trying to find the “sweet spot.”  If I drop too many calories, I struggle with having enough energy to do a proper workout.

I weighed in for the first time since March 18th.  I gained .8 lbs, which wasn't too bad.  I assume that I probably gained a little weight during my inactivity, so I don't see this as a bad number at all.

I got to burn some additional calories when I went salsa dancing this weekend.  I was looking forward to dancing to the music of one of my favorite Latin bands, Son Gitano.  I’d also added a few more patterns to my repertoire and was eager to try them out.  They all went well, except for one, which we will never speak about again (My wife's description of the pattern was:  “Now, that was just crazy!” LOL)!

This happened to be an annual, semi-formal, event.  I wore the same suit that I’d worn last year and it was huge on me!  I ditched the jacket as soon as I got into the club and spent the rest of the evening tightening my suspenders between dances.  So, it’s official:  All of my suits are now too big for me and need to be replaced.  This is kind of a problem, since I plan on shedding more fat, I really don’t want to buy any nice suits right now.  I may have to invest in a couple of inexpensive suit separates for the interim.

I got some motivation from an unexpected source.  I’d been going through old photos to post on Facebook for “Throwback Thursdays.”  I came across some of my pre-flab pictures.  While I don’t want to get that small again (I actually like having some size), the pictures reminded me of what I’d done before.  Being as fit as I was, when I was younger, is harder to get back to now, decades later.  But, I believe that it’s possible to regain much of it.  In fact, I’m determined to make that happen.

Weight loss to date: 46 lbs.