OVER 40 MUSCLE

Last August I started on this journey to change my lifestyle and make myself into the best person I can possibly be. When I began I was an unhealthy 260 pounds. Well, I celebrated the achievement of reaching another goal this week. I stepped on the scale Friday morning for my normal weekly weigh-in and saw something I had not seen in quire sometime. The digital readout on the scale proclaimed that I weighed 200.2 pounds. Darn it… only .2 pounds away from my goal of 200. I stepped off the scale and thought very seriously about taking that and going on my way. But I would not be denied. After a couple of minutes I stepped on the scale again and this time she read out a perfect 200. I shouted, “SOLD!” and stepped back off the scale. There it was. The coveted 200 I had not seen in almost 20 years.

The celebration was short lived, however. I still had a workout and a 12-hour shift at the office to put up with today. But knowing I had reached this goal made those hours pass a little quicker. I walked into the gym with a little more cheerfulness in my step and more intensity in my effort. Setting a goal – and then working your tail off to achieve it – and then seeing that goal attained is a great feeling. If you doubt what I say is true I dare you to do just that. Prove me wrong (if you can).

I probably did not stay at 200 for long because I had also decided a while back that when I did achieve this goal I was going to reward myself with one of my favorite cheat meals. There is a little Greek family restaurant a couple of blocks from my office and I just crave their steak sandwiches. I had not had one in about 10 weeks so I knew this was going to be good. When “Mama” saw me come in she knew what I wanted and made this one a little special. Instead of one piece of sirloin steak she gave me two. She piled on the onions and pickles (thank you God) and put a little extra toasting and love on the Texas Toast. I topped the celebration off with my first diet coke in two months.  Hey, when I fall off the wagon I do it right.

I hope this little blog inspires you to set some goals. Write them down, set a date that you want to have those goals accomplished. Then you need to work as hard as you can (and as smart as you can) to see those goals reached. You’ll be glad you did. Now I have to go set some more goals. This is fun.

I just had to share this. One of my goals was to be in a size 34" dress pant by the first of this month. Well, I missed it by nine days.

Today I went to the mall to find a pair of pants and when I tried on the 36" it was WAY too big. So I grabbed a 34" (after putting my other pants back on - hey I’m not a total freak!) and they fit. In about a week or so they should be just right.

And to top it off - they were on sale.

DOUBLE CHA-CHING!!

I really screwed things up this past weekend. I had to travel out of town again and failed to prepare for this trip like I have my other ones this month. Because of that I ate all the wrong things, my times were all over the map and I came home feeling like I had gained a ton. I missed two days of workouts and, although I had full intentions of making then up while on the road, I did not do anything that would remotely be confused with a workout. When I step on the scale Friday morning I hope just to break even. Even though I regret what happened this weekend I did learn a very valuable lesson. Intentions do not accomplish much.

One part of the Ripped Rulez Challenge is that I have to keep a nutrition journal and send it in once a week. Last weeks journal was not my best and my journal this week is going to be horrible. While on the road I received an encouraging email from Michael. There was one word that stuck out more than any of the others – CONSISTANCY!

None of us have a problem with consistency. We are either consistently good or bad. We do things on a daily basis that impact our overall performance. Our problem (I am including me in this one as well) is that we need to get into the habit of doing the RIGHT things, consistently. For many years I did the WRONG things and did them over and over again. Last year I decided that I was going to make a change. I am still in the changing process.

From here on out my commitment to the RRC will be all out! I do not know who else is in this competition but they better look out. I’m in it for the long haul.

I normally don’t write posts like this because I do not like to sound like I am bragging. And I am not meaning for this post to be a brag session either. But this week has been rather unusual – in a great way. Let me explain.

I have been on this transformation journey now for about 8 months. In that time I have been able to drastically change my appearance. As of yesterday I have dieted, sweated, pushed, pulled, ran and cried off almost 56 pounds. Along the way many of you have given me words of encouragement and support. For that I am grateful. However, when I get those same words of encouragement from people I live with work with and see everyday it means just as much or even more.

This past week I have received more inquiries and complements regarding my transformation than any week I can remember. As an example, there are two “professional” guys who come to the gym every morning. These guys literally worship the cardio room. They do anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour every day of cardio then go to the weight room and lift for a few minutes. One thing I had noticed about them is that they look the same they did 6 months ago, belly and all. One of them approached me between sets and asked how much weight I had lost. When I told him he was floored. It was like you could see the wheels in his head turning. Maybe he got the message that it is not all about cardio. It’s about the entire package (cardio, eating clean and resistance training). After the obligatory congratulations, I moved on with my workout.

The next day another strange thing happened. There is this older lady at the gym that I have seen every morning for these past 8 months. We talk, exchange pleasantries and have small talk but we have never really had a conversation. She approached me (after hearing the above exchange the day before) and began asking questions about my program. Questions from how much weight I had lost (and if I was planning on loosing anymore), how I handle carbs to what my daily schedule included dominated the conversation. Now this is a 52-year-old woman who is in the gym every time the doors are open and looks great. And she is asking ME questions? At the end she said, “Well, what ever it is you are doing, it is working and you look great!”

Move ahead to Friday. After leaving the gym I went by the payroll office to pick up paychecks for the office. I go to this office twice a month and see the same people every time. This time was different. The girl who hands out payroll said, “Have you lost some weight?” I gave her the nutshell story and she commented that she wanted to loose some weight too. As I was leaving, she said, “Keep it up, you look great!”  

Please do not think I am blowing my own horn here. I started not to write this at all. But then I decided that if nobody got anything out of it that was fine. At least I would have something I could go back and read later when I hit a wall or get discouraged because of a bad weigh-in or workout.

I had my body fat checked again today. At the last check, March 6th, I was at 20.7%. Today, I got the wonderful news that I was under 20%, actually 18.6%. I know to some of the folks on this site, those numbers are not too impressive. Considering I was probably near 35-40% this time last year I think they are AWESOME! By getting under 20% I have reached another goal. The good thing is I have been able to keep the weight off. No yo-yoing for me.

Comparing the numbers between the two tests here is what I have learned. My biggest area of fat loss was in my arms. My tricep measurement was down 6mm. the trainer even made the comment, “man, you really don’t have a lot of fat back here. I am not sure I can get enough to pinch.” But she did. My thighs dropped 1mm, abs .5mm and the mid axillary’s measurement was down 1mm.  

After the pinching was completed I hit the gym for some lifting (sporting a newfound confidence that what I had been doing was not so bad for a rookie). The weights were down just a little but the intensity was high and I felt pretty good when I walked out.

BICEPS
Standing Barbell Curls – 3 sets of 10 @ 50, 9 @ 60 and 6 @ 70 (plus bar weight)
DB Preacher Curls – 3 sets of 10 @ 35, 9 @ 40 and 8 @ 40

TRICEPS
Close-grip bench press – 3 sets of 10 @ 90, 9 @ 90 and 8 @ 100
DB Overhead extensions – 3 sets of 10 @ 20, 9 @ 25 and 8 @ 30

SUPERSET TO FINISH
DB Hammer Curls – 3 sets of 10 @ 25, 9 @ 30 and 8 @ 35
Bench Dips – total of 65 (added 5 more reps this week)

CARDIO
Fat burning intervals on elliptical for 25 minutes.

Watch for the big news tomorrow!

I got this in an email from Skip La Cour last week. It really hit home. I have decided to make myself as uncomfortable as possible for the next 8 weeks. Here is the text from his email.

Isn’t it interesting how things that you once found challenging became so much easier once you finally just jumped in and attacked them? Don’t spend too much time avoiding those things you fear. Reflect back to those many references you undoubtedly had when you stepped up and performed well despite your fear. The only time you are growing is when you are uncomfortable.