I needed to burn some “use it or lose it” vacation days, so I took the week off. I didn't have any real plans for the time, so I decided to make it a “gym-cation.” I was able to get to the gym in the morning hours and try some of the daytime classes. Over the course of the week, I think I worked out with every Cardio Kickboxing and Zumba instructor in the gym. On some days, I pulled some double sessions, even attending my usual classes. Hitting the weights in the mornings was awesome. The gym was fairly empty, so I didn't have to wait to use the machines, racks, benches or weights. I had some great workouts. My most challenging day consisted of an hour of Zumba, ninety minutes of weight training, and an hour of Cardio Kickboxing. By Friday evening, I couldn't pick up another weight. Luckily, that was an upper body weight day, since we were heading out to a Salsa costume dance that evening.
Saturday and Sunday, I stuck to the cardio classes, no weights. By the end of my gym-cation, I was tired, but satisfied. I’d pushed my body hard, tried new exercise routines, increased some weight poundage, and had come out okay. I wouldn't want to do this every week, but I wouldn't mind doing it again at some point.
I wanted to weigh myself, but my scale wasn't working. I bought another digital scale, set it up, and hopped on. I was dismayed to find that I’d gained more than five pounds! I rechecked the setup instructions and found that I’d skipped the initialization steps. After I initialized the scale, I weighed myself again and found that I’d lost 2.5 lbs. (Much better!). That brings my total weight loss to 50.1 lbs.
Like I promised in my last post, these are the photos of my Halloween costume. I went as Robin Hood. We had a fantastic time at the dance. There were some great costumes being worn at the club. I also enjoyed my impromptu Sherwood Forest (otherwise known as "the backyard.") photo shoot.
I felt that my body looked pretty good in the costume. I credit the body shaping done with the weights. Diet, sleep, and aerobics are also very important, but, in my opinion, nothing shapes you like resistance training. Fifty pounds is not an insignificant amount of weight to lose, but I think my current state makes it appear that I've lost more than that.
Motivation
I was told that my body slimming was very noticeable.
I was asked if I was an athlete and if I was in training for an event or sport.
I was complimented on my hard work and dedication.
As I was packing my summer clothing away, I came across my fatigue pants from my service in the Air Force. I decided to see if I could get into them. While holding my breath and sucking in my gut, I was able to zip and fasten them. Though I was hard pressed to breathe normally, I was wearing size thirty four pants that I’d last worn nearly thirty years ago! I was stunned! When I started this process at size forty two plus, getting into a size thirty four seemed like a fantasy.
Reps and steps!
