A personal training & food journal. Read about our weight loss progress at Train With Ron in Chicago, our nutritional habits and the life changes we're making to get in shape and stay healthy!
March 28thHere we go, one week, only 4 days actually, and we’re off to Hawaii. My workouts this week will be on consecutive days. I had previously only set up 3 days but after talking to a friend at the gym Saturday, I changed it to 4. She’s been going 5 consecutive days so I figured I can handle 4. And hey, I’ll get plenty of rest in Hawaii. Am I right? 
Last week I had a pretty awesome workout week. I got a chance to workout with DB, Ron and Matt and got four fantastic morning sessions. My personal trainers are really in tune with where I’m at and how much I can handle. The levels of difficulty increase nicely over time and the next thing I know I look down and I’m knocking out 50 sit ups in a row. I’m taking one break in between 25 reps instead of 3. I’m running up 4 flights of stairs 3 times in a row and I’m running all the way through. Do I pant like a puppy on a hot day? Yes, but still … amazing leaps and bounds. Just this week I was doing some squats and realized Hey, my knees don’t hurt! It’s been something that I’ve just learned to workout through hoping my knees would get stronger and the pain would go away. And, now it’s gone. That’s going to open me up to be able to push a little harder now. I always let my trainers know how I’m feeling, if I have some aches and pains, they adjust my workout as necessary. It’s important to take care of aches and pains.
There is a new picture of me from last week rotating in the My March Madness banner on the right I’ll take one more next week before we leave for our trip. Also, as Dan mentioned, we’ll post an entry from Hawaii to share how we’re working in some activities and keeping up with the nutrition. He’s got 3 days of golf booked and I plan to play some tennis and do some swimming. I love swimming! I think this will be a great test to see how we handle ourselves away from the conveniences of home, trapped by succulent surroundings.
My weight loss this week was again minimal at just a little bit over a pound but I have lost size around my hips and waist. I went clothes shopping today and noticed that I dropped another dress size. Such a great feeling!
There is such a supportive group of people at the gym. It’s great to be able to motivate others around me and then get that same level of enthusiasm and positivity returned. I don’t see how anyone would not be able to reach their fitness goals working out with these personal trainers and this group of members. I am so happy and thankful for my progress so far and am already anxious to get started on part two once I return. Not sure if I will continue with the mornings or switch back to afternoons but either way, we’re kickin’ some butt!
March 27thToday I had DB working me out. When I arrived at TWR I was still a little “workout sore” from my Thursday night with Matt, but I urged myself through the warm up and what did DB immediately pop us onto? You guessed it… stairs. 10 walls and 5 stairs. After my first trip down and up, I was feeling it and even mentioned it to DB, but I started to loosen up on the 2nd flight and from there it was ON! I got a great night’s sleep last night thanks to my brand new APAP machine (I have sleep apnea) – the first really great night’s sleep I have had in a while – so I had a lot of energy and it really came out today. We did a lot of cardio and I really slammed through all of it – so much so, that my workout partner from the day (a well conditioned guy named Dave) challenged me to a final two-wall sprint as we finished up our workout together. I said, “lets go!” and it was on – a full sprint down – I had him at the turn… but he caught me and passed me by a nose in the final 15 yards. I wanted to beat him in the footrace so I was a little bummed, but I realized that I was REALLY hauling some ass at the very tail end of my workout, I had energy to do it, and it was AWESOME! Really, we both won – we pushed ourselves all through the day and it was a really great workout. I feel excellent!
March 26thI’ve been working out at TrainWithRon for five and a half months now, and I continue to see and feel some startling physical, mental, and spiritual differences in my body, mind, and soul.
First the physical:
- More energy, all day, every day, I require a bit less sleep and sleep better and deeper (usually)
- Lighter on my feet – I can get my knees up when running, I’m not dragging my feet or lumbering around like I was when we started
- Working out like an athlete – I’m pushing myself to go faster and harder… not just “getting through the hour”
- I look better in my clothes – I’ve lost 47 lbs, 7 inches off my waistline, and about 14% body fat reduction
Then, the mental / spiritual:
- I am more focused – I can concentrate harder at work and am able to work for long stretches on things that require brainpower
- I am calmer and more centered – I don’t get rattled quite as easily by really stressful situations – I have more mental prowess
- I have more confidence – I’ve never been afraid to speak in public but I’m doing it with a lot more authority now
- I have a busier, fuller life – I have workouts, band practices, a vacation planned, and social activities going on – I go out!
Recently, Matt asked me if I wanted to jump in on the Pure Steel workouts on Tuesday nights. Without hesitation, I said “absolutely”. I knew this was going to be a new type of challenge for my body and I do want to build a bit more upper body mass and get even stronger. Pure Steel is a bench press based upper body workout program created by Matt to increase strength and broadness in the shoulders and chest areas, as well as developing the biceps, triceps, lats, and upper back. I am excited to try it; in high school I could bench my own weight but since then I haven’t really gotten into bench pressing. I’m hoping it helps me to build more muscle mass, which will increase my metabolism and help me to burn even more unwanted pounds. If nothing else, I hope it helps me smash through the 230 pound line… I’ve been hanging between 236 and 232 for about 6 weeks. I’ve also been stuck between 32% and 29% body fat for a really, really long time… since January… so I’m hoping to finally smash through that plateau as well.
We go to Hawaii in a week. I need the break, as I have been working very hard at my job and am a little bit burned out… so I am going to relax, play some golf, get massages, and hang out with my beautiful wife and awesome workout partner in tropical paradise for a week. Monika has really worked hard too, both in her career and on her health, and she truly deserves a reward as well – we are so lucky to be able to do this trip and spend time together in such an amazing place. I plan to get some workouts in while we’re there and we’ll both try to send a Hawaiian update from Oahu. Mahalo! :)
March 24thI have been truly terrified to step on the scale since Sunday, when I last wrote. To state the obvious, I was afraid that my numbers were unchanged, worse yet, be higher. So I avoided it. Up until just about 15 minutes ago. It had to get done. It’s Wednesday already! I have worked out twice this week already and kept up with my diet. But somehow, I just felt that my numbers weren’t going to be where I wanted them to be. Argh, it’s frustrating. OK, so I step on the scale and the numbers start rolling on the digital display. It feels like Vegas and I just put a token in the slot machine and pulled the lever. First, the weight…. Unchanged… Frown.. Then.. the body fat %…. It dropped 3%…. Smile…Happy…. Ecstatic? Maybe a little bit, yeah. I would like to have lost more than a pound but loosing 3% of body fat is huge! That’s something I’ve been wanting to improve. And look, I have!
I’ve got 2 more workouts this week and a little secret is that I am hooked on the Shaun White Snowboarding game for the Wii and have been playing a couple of hours pretty much each night. So I’m looking forward to weighing this weekend. I’ll continue to push hard at the gym, keep up with my diet and stay positive. That last one’s pretty important.
March 21stOK, I’ll come right out with it, I weighed in earlier today but got unchanged numbers from earlier this week. I rubbed my eyes, turned up the light dimmer, leaned over and took a second look and yes, the numbers were the same. Which if I considered my official weigh in would be 1 pound lost this week. Does this make me a little bummed out? Yeah, it does, but I know that during this part of the month (oh that joyful time for women) I experience some weight increase so I’ll wait a couple of days to do another weigh in. I cannot let it get me down because I know my body weight can fluctuate, especially when it comes to measuring just a couple of pounds of difference. I’ll do an official weigh in in a couple of days instead and that should yield a far more fair number.
All in all though, it was a pretty good week. The weather here in Chicago was beautiful during the whole week, in the 60s, so I (and Brady) got more outside time and sun. Oh sun, how we’ve missed you! Saturday, not so great, we got a snow storm so it was a nice day to stay indoors and relax the muscles. Which I needed. My legs felt really heavy during yesterday’s workout. Not sore really, just heavy. Worked hard through it and got it done. I worked out side by side with a friend from TWR and we pushed each other continually. Our Personal Trainer was Matt Saturday and he made the workout really fun. What great motivation! I love it!
I also got in some snowboarding on the Wii this week. I’m kind of hooked actually . My convincing reasoning is that it helps with my balance, which it does, and that it also help the soreness in my legs when I have some. And yes, it is the most fun! So there… Add a few hours of that, yes a few hours, I told you I was hooked. Plus the extra 10-12 miles of walking/running, both back and from the gym and walking Brady everyday. I am fighting for every ounce lost! Hey, I didn’t put all of this weight on in just a couple of months and I won’t take it all off that fast either. I understand that, I’m just anxious.
As a woman, this time during the month is the toughest during this whole process. Not only the water weight and bloating I feel but a lot of emotional stuff comes up too. I start to feel a little down about my progress if it’s not where I imagine it to be. I have to work a little extra to get back the positive. Some old demons are still lurking in the background waiting to pounce on my weakness. It drains my energy and offers a plethora of sorenesses.
I look very much forward to getting a nice day of rest today and getting back into the gym tomorrow morning to get a good workout.
More updates coming in a couple of days.
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