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!
November 4thFor the last 12 weeks, I’ve been working through my second cycle of Pure Steel with Matt and some other friends from TWR. After the first cycle, I bench pressed 195 lbs. This was pretty good, but I fell short of my goal of 200. I made a lot of progress… when we started the first cycle, I was struggling with 155 lbs. – yep, I know… out of shape… but the muscle memory came back pretty fast and I got a respectable gain after my first cycle.
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June 3rdWell, it’s been quite a while since I’ve written, so I’ll try to resist the temptation of overdoing it with an overly long post. Obviously if you read the blog you saw where Monika and I went to Hawaii, which I can honestly say was the best time I’ve ever had in my life… I haven’t felt that grounded, relaxed, and just plain happy in a long time… possibly never as much as I did on that trip. I played golf (shot 105 and a 92 on the Palmer course and a 98 on the Fazio) pretty well, rode a horse, walked on the beach with my shirt off, got a suntan (burn) and just enjoyed life. Since coming back, I’ve been really busy with work but Monika decided to get us the unlimited package. I thought I’d go 4 times a week instead of 3… but I’ve been going 5 times and even 6 when I can squeeze it in for a couple of weeks now. It hurts, but I’m also stronger than I’ve ever been at this point and definitely making some new progress – I’m not really losing weight, but I am still losing inches.
Yep, that's me in the tan shorts getting some air.
I’ve been playing with a band called Thump 808 since early May. Great guys, good music. Thanks to
Ron, Matt, and DB I can actually get some air now! We have a
Facebook page and you don’t have to be a member of Facebook to check it out, so check it out if you like great live music.
Last week I got into what could be considered a pretty serious car accident… I got “T-boned” on the passenger side of the car at about 30 mph, then did about a 120 degree spin-out, and ended up hitting a light pole head-on at about 25-30 mph. My car was totaled… but I walked away without a scratch on me… no blood, no broken bones, no bruises… honestly, not even an ache or pain. I would say “miraculous”, and also lucky… but I attribute this miraculous luck partially to the physical shape I’m in as well. As Ron put it… every play in football is like a car accident and I am built to take the hit at this point – strong and fairly lean.
My latest battle at the gym has been bench pressing in the Pure Steel weight program I’m doing with Matt. I was stunned the day a few weeks ago when I threw up 175 lbs 10 times… that was great for me… but these last two weeks I’ve failed at the heaviest weight (195, 5 reps, and 215, one rep, respectively). I know I’m strong enough to bench the 215… I don’t know if it was form, technique, or just a mental block, but I could not lift the weight. I was aggravated by it, but not discouraged. I’m starting to feel like I can do anything the guys throw at me and I’ve definitely gotten much stronger since starting the weightlifting program with Matt.
I pledge to do a better job of writing more frequently and keep my posts looking like blogs rather than huge essays. I forgot how much I enjoy blogging about this experience. More to come, soon! :)
April 21stThis week I’m back to the gym four mornings and next week I’m adding a fifth day. I’m ready for it. It’ll be tons of hard work but I feel that I will be able to push myself hard 5 times a week. Summer is making it’s way around the bend and I’d like to reach my goal before it’s over. What is my ultimate goal you ask? Or maybe you didn’t but I’ll tell you anyway. I don’t really have a hard number in mind or a certain body % or any of that. I have a range I would like to land in between. Since I was a pre-teen I have never been super skinny and it is not a goal of mine now. I do want to look great in a bikini etc …. but we’ll leave that for a couple of months down the road. Right now the ultimate goal is of course to be healthy so that means low body fat. I still have a ways to go on that, probably just a bit over 10% I should lose there. Weight wise, I want to loose another 30 – 40 pounds. Once I accomplish that I should be at around 135 – 140lbs with a body fat around 22-26%. Now, with the training I’m doing I’m also gaining a lot of muscle and muscle weighs more than fat so that messes with the numbers a bit especially if you’re just watching it to go down (like me). Make sure that if you want an accurate measurement and you do not know how to properly do it, you get a personal trainer that knows how to do it for you. The personal trainers at TWR know how to do this and educate you in this as well. It’s vital info to your workout.
Train With Ron Charity Stair Run - April 25th
A little sore still this week from just getting back into it after vacation. The guys are easing us back into the routine and we’re also going to the TWR Charity Stair Run this week end. It’s to help TWR raise money in the fight against childhood obesity! (All proceeds go to Chicago Run, a local, non-profit organization that facilitates running programs for youth in Chicago.) TWR holds many charity events each year, and Dan and I finally get to be apart of one. We missed the previous one in October so we’re really looking forward to this one. I’m not a big fan of stairs as you may have learned from previous posts but I am a fan of children getting in shape. So I will walk and run stairs for the little ones. I think kids should get more exercise in school and also better nutrition. Exercise should be mandatory and so should team play. It’s so important for being fit but kids can benefit so much from team play and competition.
Stairs – Here I come!
April 17thFeeling pretty sore after my first week back. Just worked out 3 times this week and my muscles are sore! It feels good though because I know I am getting back into the routine. I know that the 2nd part of my weight loss journey has begun and I am on my way to getting back in shape. To reach my goal and enter maintenance phase. So I’ll take the soreness this week and do a lot of stretching and walking with Brady. The weather is really beautiful in Chicago now so more outside time.
It was also great seeing my friends this week and supporting each other through the workouts. It makes all the difference! I love it that they are such a positive group of people that have the same goal in mind, workout hard. We chat and laugh, of course, but our main goal is to workout as hard as we can and help each other achieve that and offer support. Ron, DB and Matt top that off with guidance, motivation and regimen. Boy did I miss them! In my last post I talked about the activities we did in Hawaii and I really didn’t think that we were being too lazy or anything but it just goes to show you, after getting back to TWR, what a real workout is. Nothing compares.
I’m thinking of doing the unlimited workout package for the next 2 months. TWR is running a special and it’s a great deal. I think I could do a lot of good with that and just pound it out hard for the next 2 months. I was thinking about doing just the 4 times a week like I did before we left for vacation but a couple of my friends are doing the unlimited and getting some awesome results. I am all about seeing results. Dan and I talked about doing it but haven’t decided yet, he’ll read this and find out, I have decided. As with my other decisions, somehow they all occur while I’m writing this blog. Maybe because I feel more accountable or I just get in the mood while writing this? I don’t know but it helps me and that’s the most important.
Can’t wait for summer! More updates to come ….
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.
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