Challenge 2, Day 3

Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!

Two consecutive days without a workout! Ok, yesterday I had meeting on the other side of the state and I didn't wake up early enough to get my workout done before I left town. After the meeting I had a 2 hour lunch/gripe session with a friend from college who now works at the same agency that I do. It turns out that he is bored with civil engineering as a profession as well so we were comparing notes on other career ideas. He gave me a great idea about getting a BSN degree through a 1 year accelerated program since we already have BS degrees.

I had considered nursing previously but thought it would take me 3 years to get my BSN and if I did it, I would want a masters degree to become an anesthesia nurse. Well now it looks like in the time it would take me get a law degree going at night (which I have been seriously considering), I could get my BSN, get my critical care experience (needed for admission to MSN program), then get my MSN degree and be practicing in about the same time it would take me going to law school part time at night. I need to seriously look into this.

Anywho, long story short, I got back into town about 3 hours after I had intended so I never got my workout in.

Today I missed my workout just because of total weakness. I stopped by a co-worker's office that I hadn't seen in about a month and he asked me to go to lunch with him and I said ok (instead of going to the gym). My plan was then to sneak out of work early to hit the gym on the way home and that didn't happen and now its 11 pm. Oh well, this challenge is off to a slow start but I'm not going to let it get me down, I will get up and do some cardio in the morning. I have a meeting in a town about 45 minutes from here that shouldn't last too long so at worst I will just swing by the gym when I get back into town on my way back to the office...

Challenge #2, Day 1

I started off my second Body for Life Challenge today with a run. I ran 1.85 miles in my neighorhood this morning in 24:24. That is a 13:11 pace which is pretty decent considering it was already in the upper 70's with fairly high humidity at 6:25 am.

I hope to make it to the gym during lunch for my upper body workout as well.


UPDATE: Ok, I did make it to the gym during lunch today. My plan was to do an upper-body workout. I got chest, back, shoulders and biceps done. I had to cut short my workout and wound up skipping triceps but at least I got 80% of the workout done. I'm off to a good start on this challenge...

Starting Challenge #2

I am starting my second Body for Life Challenge today. Over the past week and a half I have been mulling over some goals I would like to set for myself for the next 12 weeks. I am finally down these goals:

• Lose more than 5% body fat (currently around 22% based on the calipers at the gym and 28% using the BF% formula the military uses) which should equate to a goal of less than 17% or 22% body fat depending on measurement method
• Be able to fit comfortibly into size 36 jeans/kahkis
• Be able to run 5 miles in one session and starting running that distance at least once a week
• Lose body fat at a faster pace than I am gaining muscle so my overall weight drops, not just my body fat%
• Continue to improve in other areas of my life such as dealing with my depression, finding some better career prospects, and passing the Professional Engineer exam in October (finally!)

In order to better acceleate my fat loss, I plan on adding a cardio session on my weight days (M, W, F). This will entail one of the following: running (outside not on treadmill), skiing on a Nordic Track, speed rope workout or riding my bike. I think I should vary up my cardio as well for cross training and so I won't get bored. I also need to make a better effort to get my cardio sessions in on Saturdays as well.

Although I didn't meet all of the goals I had set for myself during Challenge #1, I can't be disappointed with my progress to date. Looking at my photos from the beginning, at week 6 and after week 12, you can see some decent progress. I started with a lot of body fat and still have quite a ways to go but I'm not going to get discouraged. This has been one thing that has really helped me to deal with my depression and the fact that 2005 has been a crappy year fot the most part. As soon as I can get my desktop computer to cooperate, I'll post some of my photos...

Hot and Humid Friday

I wasn't in the right frame of mind today so I just did a 20 minute cardio session the treadmill at lunch today. It is so hot outside right now, probably in the upper 90's with head index near 105. I just wasn't in the mood to lift weight today and since I am between challenges, I thought I would give myself a break. However I did feel pretty good after my run though...

I will start Challenge #2 on Monday. I am trying to decide how to keep track of it. I have started to make a home-made BFL Success Journal but its going to be tedious to put it together so I am thinking about buying some software for my pocket pc which costs only $20....

I want to think about my goals for the next challenge and review what I have written so far. I have come along way in 3 months but I want to make even more progress the next 3 months. I am starting to think about doing the Nordic Track on M, W & F mornings on my weight days to supplement treadmill running on T & Th and whatever I decide to do on Saturdays...

Weird Thursday

Had a weird day at work today. I wound up having to skip lunch to get some stuff done for the boss but got to leave work early so i went to the gym to do my cardio. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill with my usual interval workout covering 1.87 miles in the 20 minutes.

I didn't make it to the gym yesterday but that's ok since I am between challenges. Starting Challenge #2 on Monday...

Hot and Humid Tuesday

I got the Nordic Track out of storage last night and needed to do some maintenance on it because the flywheel had some rust on it. After looking at the instructions, I found that I needed sandpaper so I had to wait until my sister in law got home to stay with my son while I ran to Wal-Mart. I may have screwed up because the flywheel had some rust on it when I put it in storage and I put some 3-in-1 oil on it to hopefully show the progression of the rust. I hope that does not screw up the tension strap on the flywheel.

Long story short, I was up until 1:30 am working on getting the flywheel cleaned off and cleaning up the rest of the NT. I had planned on waking up at 6 to do 30 minutes on it but I felt as though I could not move when the alarm went off because I was so tired. I'll get it this evening.

I took some photos of myself for the end of challenge #1 and I can definitely see progress (yipiee). While its not where I want to be you can see some definite changes in my chest and gut, I am thrilled and really motivated to keep working. I wonder how things will look by the end of the next challenge?

The photos are not in focusso I will re-take them this evening after my Nordic Track session. I may get them posted here and on the tracker site as well depending on how late it is getting.

Made it to the gym

I did make it to the gym during lunch for an upper body workout. It was good be working out again. Given the way I felt after working out, I am wondering if a lack of workouts last week contributed to me feeling "bad." I did't really start feeling better until maybe Saturday night.

After work, I picked up some shorts mainly for my after challenge photos and I got the Nordic Track out of storage. I need to do some maintenance on it tonight but I expect to use it for my cardio session in the morning....

Between Challenges

Back from my weekend at the lake to help my best friend celebrate his birthday. We had a good time, drank plenty of beer and had a few cheesesteaks so a good time was had by all.

I got back on track this morning by running 1.85 miles on my usual route in 22:33. This equates to a 12:11 pace which is faster than what I ran this route 2 weeks ago. I am amazed, I only took 1 walk break for 1 minute this time.

I am going to try to get in an upper body workout during lunch today so we'll see what happens with that. I wonder if my not feeling good last week was because I missed to many workouts? I only made 1 workout last week...

Most likely I will start another challenge next Monday July 25th. I want to lose weight on this challenge (not just body fat) so I am going up my cardio sessions to 5 per week doubling up on my weight days. I will probably keep the weight sessions during my lunch hour but I need to do more of the cardio sessions first thing in the morning to maximize the fat burn.

Hopefully I can get my photos done tonight for the end of challenge #1. I will post them here and on the tracker website after I edit them down for size....

Challenge 1, Day 83

Ok....week 12 has been a complete bust. I have only worked out once this week.

Our AC went out at the house so I was on "call' with the repair guy on Tuesday and Wednesday and my cell phone doesn't work in my gym so that was a complete wash. The last 2 days I've had meetings out of town so I was not able to get to the gym during lunch. Combine that with my allergies flaring up giving me a really bad case of fatigue and its just a downward spiral.

On a good note, at least its week 12 instead of week 1. For the last 11 weeks, I have missed no more than 1 workout a week and since week 6 if I did miss one, I made up for it the next day.

This weekend I'm heading to the lake for a friends birthday so no workouts this weekend but I'll jump back in the saddle on Monday. My plan is to take a week off and then start challenge 2. I will still try to get in my workouts next week though....

Challenge 1, Day 79

Damn! I didn't make it for my cardio today. I stopped by the house during lunch on my way to the gym only to discover that our air conditioner is not working (crap!). I call the service company and they say maybe they can get somebody out today.

Ok, no problem, I can still get my HIIT in. I go to the gym and as I am changing, the company calls and says the service tech is on his way to the house so I have to rush home to meet him. Long story short, the AC is half way repaired with the rest being fixed tomorrow and I never got a chance to get in my HIIT.

Well this is the first weekday HIIT session that I have missed in several weeks. My sister in law is sleeping in tomorrow so I can do some cardio (run) in the morning if I get up in time... yipiee!

BFL Tracker is back up

The Body for Life Tracker site (http://www.bodyforlife-tracker.com) is back up and running after being down for 2 weeks. I don't know what the deal was.

I plan to keep the blog going though and I have learned to keep my measurements off site as well because I never recorded them except on the tracker site. Lesson learned....

End of Challenge Notes

As I come to the close of my first challenge, I am trying to take stock of what I have done so far and try to make some notes for the next challenge.

Things I have done or learned through this challenge:

• I don't have a problem with working out 5 to 6 days a week, actually I kind of enjoy it. I get very cranky if I miss a workout or are not able to get some exercise in. I want to start riding my bike again (alot)...
• I probably need to up my cardio sessions in order to lose more fat. I am going to try first adding cardio sessions on the weight days (hopefully in the morning) so I will be doing 5 to 6 cardio sessions per week. At first I will just do 20 minutes using the BFL HIIT method (if on a treadmill or my Nordic Track) or run 2 miles (if running in the neighborhood). Oh yah, I'm going to get my Nordic Track out of storage and start to use it again for some cardio work.. :)
• None of my khakis/chinos fit anymore. They are all way too big. I can also fit comfortably in my 38 waist jeans right now (I was pushing a size 42 waist before I started).
• I have gotten smaller in some areas as I have lost fat. My gut and man-boobs are smaller and I don't have those small fat rolls on my back anymore (yeah!).
• I don't miss going out for lunch hardly at all. Actually, I would rather go workout than go out for lunch.
• I am still having trouble getting up at 5 am to do cardio work. I know that I need to do more cardio in the mornings before I have eaten to burn off more fat.
• For the first time in a long time, you can see my biceps, triceps and quads. Plus, I've got several veins showing on my forearms. I think its pretty cool.
• I am running a lot faster than I was. Last Fall, my typical pace was around 15 minutes per mile. My typical pace currently is down to between 12 and 12 1/2 minutes per mile.
• I feel alot better about myself as a person. This has really helped me with my self esteem and my mild case of depression. I am starting to believe that I am worthy of the good things in my life in spite of the bad parts.

I am planning on taking a week off and starting challenge #2 on Monday July 25th. I'm not exactly sure on what my specific goals will be. Off the top of my head I think the only goal I will not meet for challenge 1 is my weight loss goal which I think was 25 pounds. I did meet my other goals of fat loss, muscle gain and running faster though. I am hoping to lose more fat (and hopefully weight) this next challenge though but I don't know if they will be part of the goals.

I am considering the following goals for challenge #2:

• Body fat percentage less than 20%
• Fit into size 36 jeans/khakis comfortably
• Be able to ride 50 miles on my bicycle
• Be able to run 5 miles or maybe a 10 k race
• Lose fat at a faster rate than I am gaining muscle

Challenge 1, Day 78

I was bad over the past 3 days. I didn't workout on Friday, I had lunch with my wife, son and sister in law instead. I had every intention of getting a workout in after my son went to bed Friday night but I was tired by the time I got him settled down. As a side note, I did take him for a 30 minute walk so at least I wasn't on the couch doing nothing.

I didn't get my cardio workout done on Saturday either. I had planned on riding my bike hopefully 20 miles but didn't wake up in time to get my ride in. I did get a bunch of yard work done so it was not a complete wash...

I got my lower body workout in this afternoon. I was going to do a cardio session but I didn't have time, maybe this evening after my son is in bed. I didn't feel like I was totally into it today, I wasn't quite hitting my "10's" or at least that is how I felt.

I'm starting week 12. I will admit I am a little frustrated over my lack of "progress" with my weight gain but I have lost some body fat at least. Its just been replaced with muscle for the time being.

Challenge 1, Day 74

I didn't wake up in time this morning to do my cardio.....ok, I didn't turn on my alarm clock when I went to bed last night so I went during lunch today.

I ran 1.83 miles 20 minutes doing the intervals. I wasn't quite hitting my "10's" in my intensity until that 19th minute when I did finally hit it.

Man, running does make me feel alot better. I was still a little mad from Tuesday afternoon at work was not enjoying life in the least bit up here but after my cardio session, things seem to be better or at least tolerable.
I'm going to try to get up and do my cardio in the morning, maybe ride my bike for an hour if I can wake up early enough (around 5 am)...

Challenge 1, Day 73

I had a crappy afternoon at work and then evening (ok the evening wasn't too crappy) but in either case, I didn't sleep for crap so I called in sick to work today. I dropped off my son at Mothers' Day Out and was going to head up to the gym. Well I got all the way to the gym and realized that my gym bag was in the other car (uuuuuuugh!). Finally got the bag and got my lower body work out in with a 20 minute cardio session on the treadmill. I wasted almost half of my morning for at least I got my workout in....

Challenge 1, Day 72

I just took it easy of the 3 day weekend. I wimped out and didn't run a 5k with my Sister-in-Law on Saturday and didn't do anything on Monday.

Got back on the treadmill today and had a decent run. My weight still hasn't changed but I am not going to let that get me down. I read on bodyforlifers.com that I probably need to increase the number of my cardio sessions since I am losing body fat but not weight since the weight is being replaced with muscle. I'm going to try that for the rest of this challenge and then incorporate it into my next challenge.

I have been working on putting together photos from this challenge that I'll post when I finish with this challenge next week. I will probably take 1 week off and then start my second challenge on Monday July 25th.