Crystal’s Rants

I haven’t been able to work out for the past two days, so when I went ahead and did my end of the month assessment today I didn’t completely know what the outcome would be.  Still I grabbed the tape measure, knowing that my clothes had been fitting better with confidence.

My goal at the beginning of the month was to hit the 170s and possibly break through.  I ended up dropping 4 pounds, but knowing that the number on the scale isn’t as important as the overall results in inches.  I was wowed when I took my waist down 2 inches and shaved an inch off my thighs and hips (each the biggest areas of concern for me).  Nothing had seemed to phase these areas until this month, as progress had been slow, but with these results, hope is renewed.

I will continue with my two a day program and keep going strong with my goal setting as I look for more results.  It is exciting to see progress more and more daily, from being able to lift with more efficiency to being able to add resistance on different machines at the gym. 

Ok so I have been going about my workout program seeing pounds and inches fly off but one thing I have never been the slightest bit interested in finding out was my body fat percentage.  It was a number I never really wanted to know to be honest, I worried it would freak me out and make me depressed, so I avoided it.

But now that I am becoming more confident in my workout I would like to be brave and finally get this assessment so I can track my progress.  The only problem, I have no idea how to get this figure.

I need help as to how to do this please.

After making the big decision to kick off my own personal two-a-days, to which I would be doing 5 days of intense cardio twice daily in addition to my typical workout, then follow up with the weekend of cardio once daily, I was excited to see my progress during workout really rally from something I thought would be pushing the bounds to something that I can’t believe.

When I began I was barely clocking in the hour long bike sessions twice a day.  My muscles were tired but I pushed on and didn’t let up on my goal easily.  If I could get through this week, I knew I could keep with it.  So i pressed on and excelled from what was only 28 to 30 miles per session to today’s workout where I belted out 39 miles in the same time frame.  It was probably one of the best feelings yet to know that I didn’t quit and instead pushed through the difficulty and made it happen with progress.

On top of the increase of mileage, I don’t even get on the bike without it maxed out at the top resistance now.  Early in the week the resistance of 10 was like an uphill battle with myself but the last couple days I burst into the level 15 from start to finish and finished knowing I had accomplished something while there. 

My typical workouts went from burning just at 500 calories per session to well over 650 with the added intensity.  My goal is to maintain this regiment for a month and track my progress. 

At the gym each day amidst my ride on the bike I attempt to read a little from some of the many resources that are out there to gain what knowledge there is to be had that might help me with my personal goals.  The problem however seems to be that no one agrees on anything…

 Let me explain, in probably 10 different health magazines, I have found diets for every kind of person from blood type diets to chocolate diets to the carb watcher diets.  While I personally already have a diet I love, I can see where someone who does not would be confused by not getting results from more than a few of them.   One magazine I read mentioned you should weigh each morning to remind yourself to eat healthy, but everything I have ever been told has said that is a bad thing and that you should weigh periodically and not focus on the number but on how your clothing fits as a sign of results.  Still others give fitness tips on the best of the worst like in the junk food cheat category, showing you how to sabatoge yourself, and how to chose the best 20 minute workout for the week.  Is it just me or is 20 minutes pretty much like doing nothing at all. 

I know at least in what I have seen so far in my own progress and pretty much anyone else I have spoken to that you have to do a lot more than a sub-par barely breaking a sweat once a week in 20 minutes. 

I can appreciate the more traditionally fitness and bodybuilding magazines because they breakdown how protein works and give recipes that are a good way to stick to those diets of eating clean.  They encourage people with positive workouts which have worked for others as well as photos of how to do these things.  Many magazines are lacking in these I have noticed as they focus more on stick thin people doing cardio only.  No offense to those, but most women, including myself, want to tone some trouble areas and cardio alone can’t do what we would like.

I am just happy I have a little common sense and a driving force to stick with a plan rather than be swayed by some of the things that simply sound to good to be true.  I understand however why others are not so fortunate and live in a life of crash dieting with the "newest latest" mentality. 

I think the best word of advice I have read is find someone who looks the way you would like to and ask them for help or find out who their trainer is.  I would think that would be common sense, but to see it in print is probably one of the smartest things I have seen in countless hours of reading.  Maybe someone who has almost given up because of all the magazines that promote "newest latest" will find that and be renewed in faith.

I am a sports writer and journalist, so as summer winds down I always look forward to the beginning of two-a-days locally.  It is the start of one of my favorite seasons of the year, football.

But this year while looking at what I was planning to do during the upcoming season I put some consideration into the concept itself.  I had entertained making my own two-a-day type workout within my own routine.  As soon as I considered it I passed it off but it kept circling in my mind.

Today I decided when I woke early, why not!  I can do this!  So I went to the gym before going to work and took it on, an hour long ride with the goal of a 500 calorie burn.  But unlike my typical cardio sessions, I covered the monitor on the machine and just began pedaling.  Before long I had put in an hour and when checking on my stats post workout I had well exceeded my original goal.  Within an hour I rode just over 30 miles burning near 150 calories more than my goal by using a varying resistance on the bike.

Tonight when I go back, I will again do an hour of cardio in addition to my Monday workout which is legs.

I look at it this way, athletes of the gridiron use the twice daily practice to gain intensity, fight off those summer pounds, refocus on their goal and train to be in the best possible condition they can be, why can’t I?  Surly as football approaches this year I will be on the sidelines within better shape than last, nearing now 70 pounds lighter and feeling great!

Since making the decision to join the gym I really have started noticing some rapid progress.  I know it hasnt been long but the cardio i was lacking in my routine was just the ticket to the success I have been looking for.  I began with just 20 minutes on the bike on the first day, since stopping the walking program for the move I had fallen behind and so the 20 minutes with 7 resistance was just the ticket to finding my legs again.  Now I am doing between 1 and 2 hours of cardio a day on top of working in weights and never did I think I would be able to do that. 

All my life I have NEVER considered myself a runner, so hopping on the treadmill and getting with it was not something I thought I would want to do.  Starting out with the bike, however, was less threatening and now I have been able to do both while adding in the eliptical to change things up.  Typically I am biking between 30 minutes and an hour setting a goal each session of a time or distance to change it up.

Day before yesterday I accomplished 30 miles and it was awesome!!  Great feeling to get the energy levels back up even when working twice as hard in the gym.

Yesterday was a day I am hoping will change my progress and speed me up a little, we joined a gym.  A local gym celebrating their 5th year of operation was doing a promo to local businesses giving away a trail 2 week membership to whoever picked up the phone on those selected businesses called. Lucky for me I was the one to pick up the phone.  My husband and I went for the official tour as a result last night, and boy was it a far cry from our home gym.

Walking into many gyms it is very intimidating as the masses are the beautiful people of the world just toning their bronzed selves.  While Jason is one of those I am still not there…but walking into this facility it wasnt that bad.  The facility was set up in a very well organized and spacious layout and with that it made moving from one machine to the next an easy transition with no lines.

The music that played was great pump up music and the cardio area was well thought out for burning out those long trips on the treadmill.

It didn’t take long before we decided to join after the tour and immediately took on our first workout in our new location.  I for one was excited at the accessibility of the gym in comparison to the few things I have been able to do at the house.

Now I can do cardio in a safe location instead of putting foot to the gravel near our home and all during the heat of day without suffering from heat exhaustion.

I think this will make a very positive impact on my goals so I am going to begin charting my goals and progress more closely.

I had slipped up a little despite progress within my plan.  After a move it took a while to get settled and work toward getting back into my routine in the new location, however this past week I kicked off my workouts again and already I am feeling the burn.  Despite not working out much over the past couple months I have managed through improved diet to shave almost 10 pounds on myh grand scheme plan of overall shaving down to my ideal weight.  Still I sit between 3 and 40 pounds off from where I can see myself and 45 to 50 from where I would looooove to be.

Many who haven’t seen me since before I began the current plan I am on have recently seen me and barely recognized me after the already 60 pounds have come off from my heaviest.  That is encouraging but I have set new goals small and large for getting geared up really needing to kick into high gear again.

Wish me luck!