Another Mark Hit!
Hey gang. It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to complete one of these things. Generally when I’ve been on I prefer to just update my tracker, respond to messages send a few new ones out and get on with my evening but I think today I’m gonna take a bit more time and provide an overall update on where I’m at.
Been at my self-improvement program now for about 7 months and I can’t thank you all enough for all the kind words, the encouragement and the compliments as I’ve been slowly getting my old bod back into shape. I was sick at the beginning of February and it laid me out pretty good for a couple of weeks. Barely went to the gym at all and right after I changed up my routine and added a heap of new exercises and started to look a little more into free weight and cable work instead of strictly keeping my resistance to the Smith-type plate and pully machines.
My diet’s had its up and downs. I’ve almost totally elimated excess sugar from my diet (coffee’s pretty much the only source now), I’ve become a huge salad addict and I’m constantly finding new ways to prepare fish and chicken. Sure, I still like my beef and small cheats like the odd bag of ranch flavored Doritos but for the most part I’m keeping my diet pretty consistent. I have granola / yogurt bars (2-3 ) through the day while I work, a quick protein shake before I hit the gym and a protein heavy dinner shortly after I get home with another snack (peanut butter on toast, or a salad with low-cal dressing) just before bed.
When I started I was about 210 lbs and as of my last weigh-in day before yesterday I’m down to just over 185. My body fat % was at about 22 and now I’m down to 12 and change and where my workouts were about 8 exercises plus cardio for about an hour 5 days a week, I’ve upped that to about 18 exercises each trip, cardio and an average workout time of 2.5 hours 3-4 days per week. Key multi-joint exercises such as my bench press and row I’d started at around 140 lbs per rep and now I’m doing 200+ on average which is more than my current body weight. Other smaller group exercises such as my preacher curl and lat raise I’d started around the 80 lb weight and now on these i’m doing about 130 (aprox 2/3 my body weight).
Granted, between the strain on my joints and the added exercises I’ve had to drop some weight from a few exercises to avoid overstrain but I think what I’m lacking in sheer weight, I’m making up for some in terms of technique and variety.
I’m very happy with my progress so far. The progress shots I’ve taken of myself the last couple of months are really starting to show up the definition and shape I’m starting to get in my chest, shoulders and arms. I still have a bit of work to do as far as my abs, legs and glutes but these are the toughest areas to define and drop excess off of. The veins down my biceps have become clearer but what I’m most happy about right now is my waist size. When I started in August I was a 42 waist. This week I’m at exactly 36 inches. I have not been a 36 inch waist since I was about 25.
I just got a new job at the call center I work for as a trainer and my wardrobe is going to be very important to me. I went out today and spent a heap of money I can’t really afford on new slacks, jeans and shirts so that I can meet the image requirements of my new responsibilities. I can’t begin to express how good it feels to have hit this mark for myself. 
So. Time to set some new goals. I’m almost fully back on track since my flu and with this newest motivator I’m feeling really pumped. My birthday is April 21st. About 2 months from now and just as I’m about to start my 9th month. So between now and then, these are my newest goals I want to acheive:
- Get my weight up slightly (muscle mass) to about the 195 mark.
- Get my waist down one more pant size (to a 34).
- Be pushing at least 220 lbs consistently on the bench and curling 150 on the preacher curl
- Get my chest size up to a 44", my arms to a 19" and my legs down to a 20"
I’m almost 37 and already in better shape than I’ve been in a very long time. I’m really hoping by the time I hit my 1-year anniversary I’ll be in better shape that I’ve ever been and with all your encouragement and inspiration I have no doubt I’ll hit every mark I set for myself over the next 5 months or so leading up to that point.
Cheers all and again….thank you *hugs*
