Bodyfat progress, finally
Took it easy on the buffalo wings yesterday, and on food consumption, generally, and, capping off the yesterday with a good leg workout and some modest cardio, I finally got some good results for my weigh in this morning. 173.6 pounds; 20.5% bodyfat. That’s the first time in a while my bodyfat number has been BELOW my starting point of Nov. 13, and it’s combined with a total weight gain of 1.6 pounds. That translates to a gain of 2 pounds muscle and loss of one pound of fat. As bulking phases go, it’s kind of ridiculous, but I’ll take it, especially now that it’s time to stop trying to bulk and time to get leaner and faster for the triathlon. Even allowing for some probable error in the scale, the numbers mean I was able to put on a little muscle and strength while losing a little fat.
The goal from this point on is to focus on improvements in endurance and speed in biking and swimming, and, later, running; gradual weight and fat loss; and maintaining or modestly improving performance in basic weight lifting exercises like squat, bench press, biceps curl, barbell row. I do want to considerably improve performance at pushups, getting up to 60 (I’m at something over 40), and pullups, getting over 12 (I’m at 9).
Swim workout Monday night at 8:15 p.m.: 2500 yards in 44:30, first time I’ve swum that total distance workout in under 45 minutes. First 1.5K (66 lengths) in 28:30, slower than I wanted, but included some stops between sets. I concentrated on form, but I’m still sloppy, not fully rotating as much as I should, not always maintaining proper head position, etc. I also don’t consistently do flip turns, and I think I lift my head too much when I breathe on my left side, which I try to do every third turn. I felt strong at the end of the swim, though, and I think my fastest pace was over the last ten (out of a total 100) lengths, so that was good.
February 6, 2008 at 6:28 pm
It seems as if things are lining up for a successful birthday triathlon. You have ~17 weeks until the race. Good luck with those endurance goals.