MilesJ’s BodyBlog

I started a new meal plan this past Monday and so far I’ve been able to maintain it. I found the plan in this month’s Maximum Fitness magazine. It’s a three week plan to lose 15lbs of fat. I was able to pass up the weekly offering of office doughnuts on Fridays, and the pot luck lunch earlier in the week, so that’s a good sign. I’ve hit the gym 5 days this week and I already do feel better than I’ve had in a while. I dont know what I’ve lost so far, but at the moment the numbers dont really concern me. it’s more of how I feel and what I see in the mirror. This plan has allowed me to eat somethings that I wouldn’t normally eat, like asparagus and summer squash which is really not that bad. It’s also kept me more focused and determined on making sure I eat every 2-3 hours and that no outside temptations (office food, and the haters) would creep in and mess things up. Plus it’s kept me from visiting Burger King across the street and saving me money. Part of the reason for my determination is that overthe last few months I’ve gained about 10-15 lbs and eventhough I was in the gym, it wasnt often enough and my meal plan wasnt working. Then I got sick a couple of months ago and wasnt able to train and my eating really went south. So now I’m feeling much better and I am more focused on my training goals. Bring on Week 2 of this meal plan, which for me starts on Monday!

I’ve been sick during the past 4 weeks with what started out as strep, and turned into something more serious. This morning I felt as if I was able to get back into the gym and see how much I could push my body. So the plan was to do fewer sets, with fewer reps and lesser weights to get the body back used to the routine and to not be out of breath after a few minutes. So not looking to do a whole lot, I ended up pushing myself into doing more than I probably should’ve. Maybe it was to make up for everything bad that I put into my body as far as food, which was just about everything imaginable. I felt good again today after my workout, better than I had in the past 4 weeks. So today was me starting over once again on my quest to a better body and lifestyle. After going through all that I had in being sick, I feel more determined to get to where I want to be. No excuses, taking nothing for granted anymore, and I want to see this thing through to the end. Wish me luck. 

I was able to make it to the gym early Saturday morning for the first time in 2 weeks, but my workouts have been very inconsistent, at least in the number of days I am able to make it to the gym. Mostly because I work 2 jobs at the moment. So I’ve decided to really challenge myself, by registering for a 5K race that takes place in 4 weeks. So that means I will have to step up the cardio to better my endurance and as well increase my focus and inteisty on the weightlifting side. It will be my 2nd race ever and my first 5K in 3 years, but right now I feel like I have a target to shoot for in my overall training. Gotta crawl before you can walk. Any suggestions that you guys have on consistency, how to maintain it, etc would be greatly appreciated.

I was happy to be able to get in a workout Sunday morning before having to be at my second job at 9am. The hardest thing for me right now is going between jobs where I may put in a total of 14-15 hours in a day which leaves me little time for working out. The only good thing is when the team is on the road, that I dont have to work my second job until they return home. This allows me to keep up my workout schedule better. So somewhere during the weeks when the team is home, I have to sacrifice and either get up earlier than I currently do and squeeze in a workout or try to do something after I get home late at night. Sounds like a copout I know, but I just havent decided which is going to work better for me.

After Tuesday of this week, my time in the gym will be better and should be until Friday of next week. No one ever said progress was easy. Taking it one day at a time.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the gym today or not. Mostly due to lack of motivation. But I found it in me to get there. After a bad week or so of being on vacation and eating lots of homecooking. I was glad to get back in the gym and hit the weights. This morning I didnt do a whole lot of lifting, since I hadnt been in the gym in about 10 days, so I kept it lighter than usual, so my body to get used to it again. I was able to get some cardio in 3 times earlier in the week and I warmed up this morning with 15 minutes on the treadmill, before hitting the weights. I feel better now that my workout is done. Tomorrow I can go back in and really get in a full workout.

So I just got back from a few days of being away in NC my birthstate to celebrate my grandmother’s 90th birthday. Needless to say there was alot of really good home cooked meals. The unfortuante part is I had my share of such good food, eventhough none of it was really any good for me. It’s a choice I made and now that I’m back from that vacation, I can refocus on my goals again and work extra hard to get there.

It’s really funny to see how much alot of my relatives had grown over the years and I dont necessarily mean in height. Again it’s all about the choices we make. I took alot of pictures while I was away and little do some of them know how they’re helping to motivate me even further. It’s always great to go home to see family and friends but it’s certainly a good thing I dont go to NC often.

Now it’s back to early morning workouts and proper eating. 

Until the next time, stay focused.

MJ

Last night’s workout was a really good one. I felt stronger throughout my time in the gym and was able to get alot of work in. Maybe it was the extra day of rest in between, seeing as I was supposed to go Tuesday instead.

I am going back tonight to touch on the areas that I didnt hit last night, abs, shoulders, lats, etc and to get myself back on my routine.

My intent was to go to the gym last night, but that didnt happen, so I made up for it this morning. I like to get to the gym on the weekends right when the doors open at 6, but I was in just after 7 and started at 7:15. I had a banana and a scoop of protein before I headed out to the gym. I felt like I had a really good rhythm on the treadmill doing my warmup. And felt more energetic as the workout went on. I am trying to get back into my 4 day a week routine, which is Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sun. So I will be back in the gym tomorrow morning. What I listed on todays workout tracker is not complete, as there were some things I did today that I was not able to find using the tracker. I downed a protein shake right after of 390 calories and 40 grams of protein. After getting home I drank 16 ounces of cold water to further help the body burn more calories as the body regulates temperature. Time for another meal now and I will update this later on today.

Last night I made my way back into the gym, but this time only after a 3 week layoff. I’ve been having trouble lately, due to classes and work of being able to maintain the 3-4 day routine I want to get back to. So yesterday morning I made my mind up that I was going to do two things, go to the driving range during lunch and then to the gym after work. And I accomplished both.

 I did just a light total body workout yesterday, though most of it was upper body. I wanted to get enough in to not be too sore today.  I usually do light cardio first to warm up, a mile is enough for me, and that is usually done in intervals of 2-3 minutes of walking and 1-2 minutes of sprinting at a time. I then hit the weights. I know everyone says to do cardio after and on occasions I do, but the reason I do the little cardio that I do in the beginning is, I get headaches, if I just come in and tackle the weights right away. If anybody has any suggestions, that’d be great. I hit the biceps, triceps, calves, chest and lats yesterday, so today there was that burning soreness feeling that I love. I didnt overdo it as I wanted to be able to get out of bed this morning.

I always feel good after a workout when I am a little sore. There’s a personal feeling of satisfaction. Now I just need to find time in my daily life to put it all together. Wish me luck!

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