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...