Snarf99’s BodyBlog

Why is my motivation flagging?

1. I am anxious about things at work and that makes me feel a little nauseous, and it’s hard to work out when I feel nauseous.

2. My shins are TIGHT and it’s not as much fun to run when I feel pain.

3. No matter how good my intentions, I never seem to get 8 hours of sleep.  It makes 5am much less enjoyable. I’ve got to get more sleep!

4. For the first three months I was making progress so fast. Now I am stuck at a max of 125 on the bench press. Progress has become very slow.  I thought I would be benching 135 by now. How do I fire up and get over this plateau?

I am not going to quit, but if anyone has any good ideas about how to get stronger when you feel like you’re just treading water, drop me a line.

Several new things to report.  

1. I got an ipod shuffle  AND I finally got internet at my house!  Now I can update again.
2. I got new running shoes last weekend

3. We had a fitness challenge at work on Saturday, and my team won every event. I won the two mile fun jog!  First time I ever won a race in my life!

4. My workout partner plateau-ed on her weight loss, so she had a talk with her trainer. He told us that we are not ready to be running hard. We have to slow down and keep our heart rates in the fat loss zone.  We are on Week 9 (out of 10) of running, but instead of pushing to the finish, we are slowing down and walking three hills.  They are steep hills and it is still a good workout. My whole body was sore yesterday, so we’re definitely keeping our bodies guessing.

5. There is a kid at the gym that really inspires me.  He is 17 and he works out twice a day. I am inspired by his dedication (or is that obsession?).

6. Still trying to break 130 on the bench press.

7. I worked my shoulders hard today.  

Last night, I really took care of myself.  After work, I got a full body massage, then I sat on the porch and smelled the rain. It smelled so nice. Then I took a hot bath with epsom salts.  Now the whole house smells like lavender.  I probably didn’t need to pour all 22 oz of epsom salt into the tub. But I wanted to make sure I got cleansed.  Now I’m trying to drink a lot of water.

8. My two big goals right now are to drink closer to a gallon of water a day and to sleep 8 hours a night.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I am up to 125 lbs on the bench press now.  I remember when I started I could barely do three reps of 95 lbs.  Now I do three sets of 10 on 95 and barely break a sweat.  My goal is still 135 lbs.  But as soon as I get there, I’m setting it at 150.

Well, I completed the 12 weeks of working out a week ago, and started a new round of 12 weeks this week.  My exercise buddy and I are doing great!  We run every morning for about 45 minutes and lift about 3 - 4 times a week. My diet is good, too.  I have dropped more weight.   I am now at about 152 lbs and 28% body fat.  That’s down from 160 lbs and 30%.  My clothes are loose, my body feels leaner, my muscles feel more toned, and I feel awesome.  I am excited about the next 11 weeks of lifting.  In our 10 week running program, we are already at week 7.  We are running a hilly road, 3 miles long, with one stretch/rest break at the 1.5 mile mark.  At week 10, we are to run the whole thing non-stop.