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!

I’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!  :)