Hughesw2’s BodyBlog

So this whole cardio thing to lose weight is confusing the hell out of me. Its been a couple weeks since I added it to my workout and its been an interesting start. That first week I lifted in the am and ran 3 miles every other day at night. BORING. This 2nd week I’ve been mixing it up a bit at the gym. After reading countless blogs, articles, workout routines, and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, I decided I needed to change my routine a bit. Give my muscles a little more push and a little more time off. I found a 5 day workout that I really like with abs and cardio everyday.
Monday: Chest

Tuesday: Back and Calfs
Wednesday: Bis and Tris

Thursday: Shoulders and Legs

Saturday: A little bit of everything

As mentioned before, I absolutely hate cardio. Even with some suggestions and comments, I still hate it. Some days I would rather run my wiener through a meet grinder. But I’ve been doing it. I found that mixing it up keeps me the most focused. One day I will do the recumbant bike, another I will run, the next I will climb the stair treadmill thing (not the one at the mall, but its very similar, and smaller), you get the idea. The strangest thing is I actually gained weight since I started. 175 - 180. I’m not really sure what the deal with that is, my diet didn’t change and all my measurements have stayed about the same, although I have lost 1/2" off my waist in the past 2 weeks. Why the hell am I gaining weight? It can’t be all muscle. 5 lbs in 2 weeks is impossible. It wasnt water weight because I weighed myself first thing that morning. More reason to hate cardio I guess. Ah well, the waist is going down, so I guess that should mean something. I’ll keep working at it and upload some progress pics by the end of the week.

Effin cardio.

I’ve been slowly and steadily transforming my body through weight training and eating clean for about 4 months now. No more fast food for this guy! WOOP! I am loving the work. Loving the results. Loving how I feel about myself physically and mentally. Loving the compliments I get. Loving everything about it, except one thing. I hate cardio work. I hate everything that about it. I hate treadmills, ellipticalls, stationary bikes, indoor tracks, everything. Therefore, I haven’t really done much of it, outside of casually riding my bike around town, and walking home drunk from the bars. I don’t think that counts. This being the dead of winter in blistery MN, I sold myself on an excuse to avoid it for a while. Meanwhile, busting out set after set of heavy weights and gut wrenching ab workouts, I sit and wonder why my stubborn body fat is so slow to melt away. I’ve lost some, but its nowhere near the success stories I’ve seen. I’ve read many articles, blogs, workout routines, I’ve even tried fat loss pills in the past. I’ve come to one, and only one conclusion. I need to quit with the excuses, get off my ass, and incorporate some cardio into my daily activities. I’m realistic and optimistic, always looking to the future, so I know that I won’t get the results I so desire without kicking myself into 5th gear for about 30 minutes a day. Not only for that reason, but I also have this terrible smoking habit. I’ve cut back a ton since I began weight training, and hopefully, as the clock continues to tick, and I continue to improve my health and well-being, I will kick that habbit as well.

That brings me to today. Its Monday. Its a new day. Woke up at 5 am and did a little over an hour of mostly a lower body workout. The temperature got up to 39 at one point with drizzle pretty much all day. About noon I decided it was time. I put on some sweats and went for a run. My first day running in quite some time I was pretty impressed with myself. I mapped it out and it came out to 3.1 miles in about 35 minutes. I had to slow it down to a walking pace 3 times during the run for a little less than a block each. With the conditions that challenged me - being completely out of shape, really nasty weather, and having to maneuver around all the snow and ice, I would say I did pretty well for my first day to a new me. With the exception of a giant icy puddle I accidently ran through, I felt great. I still feel great. Even with consuming no caffeine today, I don’t even feel lethargic. I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow. Cheers.

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