I'm Back!
I haven't done a fitness accountability for quite awhile, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working hard! I've been hitting the gym 5-7 times a week, and even raising the intensity of my workouts.
I will mention that I've been concentrating a lot of energy on strength training, thus I've been gaining muscle – which will certainly show in the weigh in this morning. I suspect most of the weight (but not all) I've put on is indeed muscle, because my clothes fit almost exactly the same as they did a few months ago, with the exception of my shirts being a bit tighter because my upper body has gained bulk. Going forward, I must put an increased focus on cardio (which I have started this week)
The reason is, on Thursday I registered for the Twin Cities Marathon. The race will be held on Sunday, October 7th, and I've set a goal for myself to finish in 3 hours and 30 minutes. This will improve upon my personal best by 34 minutes, and if I want to have any chance of accomplishing this goal, I need to get lean.
My wife, Vonnie, has also hit a critical point with her fitness level where she is ready to get back on the fitness horse. Her and I will be tracking Weight Watchers points together, using the material that we had from a few years ago when we were enrolled in their program. Additionally, Brad (@enemyofdebt) and I have started exchanging daily food journals to keep each other on track. Between these two things, I'm confident I can keep my eating right where i want it!
Weight Check:
Weight: 196.2
Weight goal: 178
Workout Summary:
My motivational song of the week is “Blackout” by Breathe Carolina. My spinning instructor used this as the “lead off” song for class a couple times, and even though I'm mainly a hard rock guy, it really inspired me. It's actually about drinking too much, but the great thing about music is you can take the lyrics of a song and apply them to your own personal situation.
I haven't done a fitness accountability for quite awhile, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working hard! I've been hitting the gym 5-7 times a week, and even raising the intensity of my workouts.
I will mention that I've been concentrating a lot of energy on strength training, thus I've been gaining muscle – which will certainly show in the weigh in this morning. I suspect most of the weight (but not all) I've put on is indeed muscle, because my clothes fit almost exactly the same as they did a few months ago, with the exception of my shirts being a bit tighter because my upper body has gained bulk. Going forward, I must put an increased focus on cardio (which I have started this week)
The reason is, on Thursday I registered for the Twin Cities Marathon. The race will be held on Sunday, October 7th, and I've set a goal for myself to finish in 3 hours and 30 minutes. This will improve upon my personal best by 34 minutes, and if I want to have any chance of accomplishing this goal, I need to get lean.
My wife, Vonnie, has also hit a critical point with her fitness level where she is ready to get back on the fitness horse. Her and I will be tracking Weight Watchers points together, using the material that we had from a few years ago when we were enrolled in their program. Additionally, Brad (@enemyofdebt) and I have started exchanging daily food journals to keep each other on track. Between these two things, I'm confident I can keep my eating right where i want it!
Weight Check:
Weight: 196.2
Weight goal: 178
Workout Summary:
- Sunday: 5 Mile run
- Monday: 3 mile run / chest, bicep, tricep, core strength training
- Tuesday: Spinning / legs, back, shoulder strength training
- Wednesday: Intermediate run: 8 miles
- Thursday: Spinning / chest, bicep, tricep strength training
- Friday: 5 mile run / legs, back, shoulders, core strength training
- Bonus workout: 15 Miles on stationary bike
- Saturday: Long Run: 10 mile run
My motivational song of the week is “Blackout” by Breathe Carolina. My spinning instructor used this as the “lead off” song for class a couple times, and even though I'm mainly a hard rock guy, it really inspired me. It's actually about drinking too much, but the great thing about music is you can take the lyrics of a song and apply them to your own personal situation.
I'm only getting started:
Pretty much sums up how I feel right now. I've been rockin' the gym hard since January 2011. This is the longest I've been on continuous fitness kick in my life. I feel great and I'm in the best shape of my life. But I'm just getting warmed up – with a marathon to run in October of this year, I've got a lot of work to do.
Let's go a little harder, I'm on fire:
If I want to reach my goal time when I run the marathon, I need to raise the intensity of my cardio. But I still want to work on my strength training too. I'm going to have push hard to do both. I may be in the best shape of my life, but I want more!
This won't stop, 'till I say so:
I'm addicted to the effects that working out have on my body and mind. I make each workout count, and make exercise a priority each and every day. Nobody is going to tell me otherwise.
Goals for next week:
- Push long run to 11 miles
- Finally start tracking food intake
- Update my "Quest to Make the Wii Fit Stop Calling me Fat" to be an overall fitness tracking page that includes weight tracking, current workout routines, and a weekly running log.
