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Well, I’ve been working out on my own for just over a month now, and I’ve decided to formalize this thing and join up with the 100 Days of Exercise Challenge. I’ll be popping in to keep this thread updated, but you can also follow along via my blog at http://wastethewaist.blogspot.com/ to see how I’ve been doing up to this point.
Today, as is every Friday, was leg day. After 20 minutes on the elliptical, I hit the hack squat rack. Pounded that out, then followed it up with the leg curl machine. I felt by the third set that I’d really hit my max, as grinding out the 10th rep was strenuous. My workout partner pulled both his hamstrings earlier in the spring playing softball (old man!), so he took it easy here as he was a bit nervous. Fair enough. Next we did the some damnable doom machine. It’s a step-up deal, and you grab a handle with either hand, which is connected via a pulley to some weights. Then you step up onto a small platform, then step down. Repeat, then switch which leg leads, and do it again. That’s a set. Not too bad, but last time I did these, they crushed me. I was kinda going after it, and in my second set a wave of nausea came over me. I held it in, but dang… so I really wanted to revisit the exercise and make sure I was doing better. Turns out I’m fine. Yay. But I did really have to focus to not lose my equilibrium and trip up or stumble. I like the extra focus this machine makes me put into my efforts, and I was soaking wet as a result.
I’m 322.4 today, bringing me to a total of 6.2 pounds lost this week. Yay. I’m sure that number will diminish in the weeks and months ahead, but I’m absolutely thrilled with my progress this week. This is what I was hoping for.
I was just tired of it Bree. I’m 32 and couldn’t even weigh in anymore as I’d gotten so fat that my scale displayed “Err” when I stepped on it. I smoked everyday. I’d become antisocial. I’d taken to calling pizza my girlfriend - lol. I was/am in bad shape, but about two months ago I just got fed up. I was tired of thinking about changing and doing nothing. Tired of hearing other people around me help to keep themselves fat by keeping me fat. Tired of just not living. So that day I took control. Not just of my weight, but of my whole life. I crumpled up what cigarettes were left in the pack and tossed them away. I visited a financial planner and stopped wasting my retirement on fast food (when I did my budget I’d found that the previous month I had purchased no groceries and $600+ in fast food - and I was living check-to-check for no good reason). I set my alarm for 6:15 and am at the gym everyday by 7(ish). That’s been consistent for 1.5 months now. My apartment is clean and I have friends visiting again. It is an ongoing project, but honestly it all comes from my attitude and my state of mind.
Currently I’m hitting the gym before work. I do 20 minutes of elliptical to work up a sweat, then lift for a different body part (shoulders, back, chest, arms, legs). So I’m in there 5 days a week.
Wow - Awesome start and Great Determination.!! Getting fitter bit by bit evey day will make those early morning session sooo worth the effort. I’ll definetly go and check out your blog next!!
Just read through your entire blog - you have a rather gruff sense of humor - you had me LOLing several times. That sence of humor will get you through the mentally tough workouts!! You put into words (using different words than I might choose) so may of my experiences since I started my weight loss journey at the beginning of the year.
And yes sometimes I find the number on the scale holds while my body still seems to shrink a bit more. Eventually the scale catches up… but that seems to be a female related phenomenon for me.
I had lots of thoughts about your posts as I read. I have done a lot of “research” this summer and have some better ideas of good nutrition and the right calorie intake levels. I don’t have it down to a science by any means myself, but I am thinking that you will benefit more from making sure your calories are not too low. Yes you want to create a deficit - but not at the expense of wasting your new found and hard fought muscle!!! Muscle is what increases your metabolism all day long even when your not in the gym!
One nutritional recommendation is to try to decrease the calorie containing drinks - there really isn’t any nutritional value in them. (This is a separate thought form my previous one - they seem to contradict one another - but really they don’t)
ok - I gotta go and get my butt to the gym for today’s workout. Check my thread later to see if I made it!
I’m up a pound this morning after the 3 day layoff, which isn’t too bad. Obviously not as good as the surprise loss last Monday, but we’ll take it and keep moving forward.
My wrist-wraps arrived this weekend, so today when doing shoulder shrugs I was able to focus on the weight and my form and not on the 95lb dumbbells falling out of my grip. Very cool. Last week I’d borrowed Dan’s (my workout partner) as the week prior to that I did one set without the wraps and the diamond grip-cuts in the handles of the dumbbells felt like they were digging into my hands, so I’d switched exercises.
Also, we rotated the shoulder presses out this week and rotated in upright rows. And now I’m reading that upright rows are a potential pitfall. Crap.
Anyway, I’m off to work. I’ll be looking into more shoulder information today.
This morning I cranked up the elliptical to lvl 5 after a week at 4. Then I did weights for my back - lat pulldown, seated rows and t-bar rows. The t-bar was a new one for me, and a really interesting new exercise.
And today I weighed in at 319.5, which brings me out of the 320s and into the teens. That’s another completed goal for me. Now I look ahead to getting out of the teens and into the… oughts? Sure. We’ll go with it. I’m officially on the clock - three weeks or less to be at 309!
Another good day. My upper back is extremely sore in that good sort of way that lets me know I put a lot of effort into yesterday’s workout. Today I wasn’t feeling as energetic, but I still hit the chest hard. Bench, decline bench and cable crossovers, along with the 20 minutes of elliptical. I did hit failure after 7 reps of the third set on the bench which set a bit of a downer tone, but I just dialed down the weight slightly for the other exercises and really focused on my form and execution. And you know, after the cable crossovers, my chest had the best pump yet! I could really feel the burn in a wide line across my pecs. Very cool.
And I dropped one more pound. Back at it tomorrow.
It’s Saturday, but because of the holiday on Monday, everything slid a day back, so this morning I hit the gym to and worked my legs.
Different vibe today.
I didn’t post the past couple days, so I should report that I hit a low of 317.1, but today I’m at 317.8. I think that’s okay. After last week’s big loss I was expecting a bit of a trail-off, and I was right. This week I’m down 4.6 pounds (or 5.3 if we use the 317.1). Still a great number.
I’m starting to notice small things. My shirts hang a bit lower as my stomach doesn’t pooch out quite as far. Today when doing seated leg curls I could bring the bar that sits over my thighs down to a locked position (when I started my legs were too big and so I couldn’t lock the bar - it just lazily sat over my legs and I lamented in silence).
Sometimes I think that I micromanage my weight/scale, but I think that for me it works. It’s a daily reminder of where I am and where I’m going. When I have a bad day of eating (sausage and biscuits for lunch on Thursday Roder? Really? That’s your choice?), then the next day the scale lets me know what’s up. And it forces me to be ever vigilant going forward. So yeah… I’m a bit of a slave to the scale, but based on my progress so far, I’m fine with that.
You’re doing great, Roder! I also micromanage the scale, it just works better. And knowing I have to face the scale in the morning really helps keep me from overdoing it. Its all about the accountability.
What did you learn about the upright rows? Good, bad, or both?
Well… turns out the upright row is just an inferior exercise with the potential to harm (like most weight-lifting exercises) if done incorrectly. I got this from HardGainer.com “The upright row is usually done primarily to train the lateral head of the deltoid, and the traps. A much better way to train those muscles is to do an overhead press, a lateral raise, and a shrug. Of course, these three exercises can cause irritation or injury if they are done with incorrect technique. But if done correctly, they are safe and productive exercises.”
Hey Roder ....I just woke up and fist thing I check is MTM and there is your thread at the top with more good news. That wee portion of a pound you are thinking twice about could be a big glass of water you drank, or the retained water from eating the salty sausage type foods, so hang in there kiddo you are doing great.
.......Denise closes her eyes and wham ...a vision appears. Looks like Roder just slid into the 200’s and it’s only a very short ways down the road. Keep it up you are definitely heading in the right direction. It does feel good doesn’t it, all the little things, like the shirt that feels a bit looser, and being able to physically do more. It’s only going to get better and more exciting as you fulfill your true potential. I’m excited for you Roder. Keep up the great work.
I was looking back at the smiley face on that post I sent you a few back. He doesn’t look like a smiley face you can trust with those ominous teeth and sunglasses covering his eyes so I’m sending you a better photo.
I just read back to March on your blog and love your wit, yes, you even had me laughing with your wry humor. So I had to leave you another updated message. I found myself nodding along when reading about your fresh pants....heheh. Who hasn’t been there? I see heads shaking, yup!
I took a workshop a few years ago and was told that men have more fat burning enzymes than women because we have to store it for 9 months and that whole thing....keep the species going and all. Well since you are one of those lucky beings of the male persuasion just know that for all the work you put into it you get twice as much out of it...yes you can drop weight like a stone if you really eat your veggies, fruit, and protein everyday, oh and of course it goes without saying keep training and moving. Now go forth and prosper you lucky man with two times the fat burning enzymes as me. Did you hear me growl with dismay at my lack?
Today I did elliptical and shoulders. I switched the elliptical from the fat-burning setting to the… uh… jeez, I’ve lost it. The one where it switches intensity up and down every couple of minutes. lol. It seemed okay, but didn’t really get me soaked. The front/lateral raises are so tough! I switched from 10 to 15 pounds for the first set, and went back to 10 for the second and third sets. Then laughed as I could barely reach my lips with my water bottle - my shoulders were fried!
I’m still stuck at 319 now. Hopefully that changes tomorrow. Good exercise, good diet, great day - see you again tomorrow!
and wham 
...a vision appears. Looks like Roder just slid into the 200’s and it’s only a very short ways down the road. Keep it up you are definitely heading in the right direction. It does feel good doesn’t it, all the little things, like the shirt that feels a bit looser, and being able to physically do more. It’s only going to get better and more exciting as you fulfill your true potential. I’m excited for you Roder. Keep up the great work.
