First Workout - Not Too Bad

Today was Day 1 of my road back to being the shape and weight that I have been for the majority of my life.  I will be 50 years old in 11 days and I am determined that I will get back into the body I have had for 40+ years.  

I weighed myself the night that we had our fitness evaluation last week and I was just shy of 205 pounds. Almost a week later, just by watching what I eat, I am down to 200.8 pounds.  I am not cutting out carbs, I am not cutting out my daily coffee with cream and sugar and I will not be cutting them out either.  It just isn't healthy - for me - or the way that I want to live my life foodwise.

So I weighed myself before I went to my first work out and I also took a 'before/fat/out of shape' picture so I can use it as a visual reference as I progress through the weeks.  I have committed and paid for a year in advance so I am going to be be scheduled to work out twice a week with a personal trainer and to do some cardio and flexibility exercises on my own during the week.  Here is my 'before/fat/out of shape' picture:

No need to see the whole scary sight yet - at least not until I have another photo showing my progress to put next to it!!  I am, as you can see 200.8 lbs and I have about 22.5% of body fat.  My goal is to get to 185 pounds but Stephen at BodyBlast felt that I should try for 170 pounds.  We'll see...

The BodyBlast program is really pretty medically sound and it uses workouts of 2 days per week with a trainer as well as cardio on your own and a diet plan.  The diet plan is designed to maximize fat burning (my main goal) and to kickstart your metabolism and to stoke and fan the metabolic fires with high caloric and low caloric intake days.

My high caloric intake day is set at about 1,806 calories and my low caloric intake day is set at about 1580 calories.  I will work out my meals for the week in a day or two and post them to this blog.

Today workout was with Jason and it wasn't too bad.  By the end of it, I was feeling it but not destroyed.  I warmed up with about 10 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and then I did three sets of:

1.  Incline Ab Press on the medicine ball >Squat Runner's Lunges > Chest Pull Down 

2.  Tricep Pull Down > Stationary Leaning Rest (on a bench) and leg extensions > Squats

3.  Two burnout exercises: One involved more squatting and then the last burnout exercise was waving these huge heavy ropes.

That was it for my first workout and it wasn't bad.  I felt worked out, not overly sore, tired or feeling nauseous nor was I having any vasovagal type of response.  So it was a very good session.

My next session is this Thursday with Joe who did our initial flexibility/fitness analysis.

Stay tuned!!!

Fitness Assessment = Out of Shape!!

In preparation for getting into a workout program, there usually is (and should be) and assessment of one's current physical condition.  BodyBlast is no different, and they have a two step process.

Step 1: You meet with a personal trainer who takes you through a couple of forms (release form, mini health history and diet form) and then takes you through a short fitness assessment and workout. 

Step 2:  You meet with a personal trainer who has taken the data from Step 1 and then works it into a personalized training plan based on your desired goals.

Storm Hercules (as named by the Weather Channel) was just beginning as we drove to the BodyBlast Fitness Studio for our scheduled 8:00 PM appointment.  We met the personal trainer, filled out the forms and went right into the fitness assessment and workout.

The first part of the assessment wasn't so bad, some flexibility, form and balance tests as well as some pushups and bench squats.  It all went pretty well - my left shoulder was not as flexible as my left due to a likely minor rotator cuff tear that didn't heal just right but nothing that I wasn't aware of was discovered.

The last part of the fitness evaluation was to do a three rep cycle of 30 kettlebell swings, as many runner's lunges as possible in 15 seconds and then as many jumping jacks as possible in 15 seconds.  There was to be a 1 minute rest in between each set but by the time I made it through the previous exercises and the first set of the three rep cycle; I was feeling pretty nauseous.

Within seconds, I was going into a horrible vasovagal response to the exertion.

It probably didn't help that I had eaten two large bowls of split pea soup and rice for dinner soon before the appointment, but I somehow forgot or didn't hear that the first meeting would involve any physical exertion.

That said, it was very clear that my past fitness level as a soldier and police officer were quite obviously well behind me.

I think the personal trainer took pity on me (and wanted to get home before the storm got too bad) excused me from doing the last two cycles of the kettlebell swings, lunges and jumping jacks.

The blast of cold air and snow made me feel a bit better but I literally had to lie still in the car for about 10 minutes before driving home.

Once home, I crawled up to bed, still nauseous, and slept until 10:00 am the following day.  Luckily, I was off from work due to Storm Hercules and so I spent the day recuperating.  Step 2 is scheduled for this Tuesday.

Stay Tuned!!

New Year, New Goals - No Resolutions

 明けましておめでとうございます！

今年もよろしくお願いします!!

Happy New Year!  It is January 1st, 2014.  I am not someone who makes New Year resolutions but in reflecting on past New Years', I realize that I generally do tend to set a few goals as I go through the year; and luckily, most of my goals have been attained.  Some goals haven't, and are still in the queue while others have been discarded.

I created this blog to journal the coming year ahead and also to see how I do in successfully accomplishing my goals for this year.

Now, a goal and a resolution are perhaps just two different words to express the same thing and perhaps such quibbling over semantics may seem like petty stuff; but I do think that for me - and perhaps for many others - the distinction in one's mind and attitude are important.

Resolutions are, from my perspective, a goal that people make at the start of a new year that they might have every intention of keeping but usually with no plan of action behind it to make it a success.

I have friends who create an impossibly long list of resolutions for the new year that they inevitably fail to keep and then recycle for the next year's list of resolutions.  The list of resolutions is brought out to usher in the beginning of the new year and is quickly forgotten and fades back into the background as the year moves forward.  So for me, there will be no resolutions for 2014, only goals.

The most important thing to remember about setting goals is to set SMART goals.

I also am not someone who can set all their goals in one fell swoop - goals, like my life, come and go as the year ebbs and flows around me.  I tend to set one or two goals and then once they are accomplished - or discarded - I move on to the next goal or two and thus, I make my way through the year.

My first goal for the year is simply to get in better shape.  A common goal, a common resolution for many at this time of the year but it's a good one and an important one.  I will be 50 this January 23rd and I want to go into my 50s looking as good as I can and feeling as good as I can.

I am currently weight about 204 pounds which is about 20 pounds heavier than I want to be at this point.

So - to be specific - my goals are to be in better shape and to lose 20 pounds of weight.  Being specific will allow me to measure whether I successfully reach my goal and then once accomplished; I can set another goal and move forward on that.

To help me succeed in my goal, I have joined a fitness studio near me called Body Blast.  Body Blast is not a traditional gym - I have signed up and paid for many, many gym memberships in my life and have never stepped into the gym other than to sign up for a membership.  So clearly, joining a traditional gym and being left to my own devices to get fit will not help me achieve my goals.

Body Blast is a training studio dedicated to helping you achieve your goals while educating you with cutting-edge nutrition and workout programs. They focus on getting results using a scientific approach for nutrition, cardiovascular efficiency, as well as muscle growth and definition.

I think Body Blast will be one of the tools that will help me to reach my fitness and weight loss goal.  I will be chronicling my progress here, so stay tuned!