Yesterday I hit a major milestone, I did my 50th consecutive workout! I was incredibly proud that I was able to go 7 weeks and a day without missing a session. I feel great and super proud that I pushed through the mental and physical fatigue I faced along the way. One of the toughest days was day 49.
I came home from a long day of Massage Therapy class and was mentally and physically drained. I didn't think that I had it in me to do a workout. When I got home I sat in my workout room and just closed my eyes and thought about all of the workouts I had done and how good they made me feel, how much energy they gave me and how proud I was of where I had came. When I opened my eyes, all of the thoughts of not being able to get through a workout were gone and I was ready to get a good session in. I managed to get through it and all of my muscle soreness from massaging all weekend was gone.
After finishing workout 50 which was mainly focused on kickboxing, I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. It's been an amazing journey so far. All of the weight I pushed, the cardio, battle rope, kettlebells and now finding a sport to apply my training to made for an incredible 50 days.
I took the time to figure out exactly how much weight I moved and cardio I did over the past 50 days. I calculated the weight as follows; sets x reps x weight = total. I also added up all of my cardio which included the battle ropes, kettlebells and bag work. Over all of my workouts the combined weight I moved came out to 753 994 lbs!!! I was blown away by this number!!! My cardio total came out to 1335 minutes which breaks down to 22.25 hours :)
I'm very pleased with the results I've seen so far in terms of definition and weight loss. My cardio level has drastically improved. I can go for an hour straight now on the bike. I've always had a high energy level but now I feel like it's through the roof.
I tried to sleep in today and was thinking of taking a day off but I found myself awake this morning at 7:45 so I hit the gym to do some kickboxing work. With my new focus leaning towards kickboxing, I will have to start taking some days off in between sessions to let my body heal from the abuse it will surely face. I'm already wearing my new bruises with a sense of pride.
Hope you all are training hard and if you ever need any guidance please contact me without hesitation.
Stay Strong!!!
Mike
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
A Day of New Beginnings
What a beautiful day. Today the sun is shining and it's relatively warm outside. What a perfect day to embark on my new journey. For the next nine months I will be studying the human body like I never have before. I am going back to school to study massage therapy. It's going to be a great course and the school and teachers are awesome.
Over the span of the course I will have to bring in "guinea pigs" to practice on at school, so please let me know if you're interested. I'm really looking forward to the program and being able to not only train people but also help them with their pain or just allow them to relax their muscles.
I also started kickboxing again today. It had been quite a while since I was in the ring but it was an incredible workout. I started off by doing a 20 minute warmup on the bike and then it was time to get down to business. It took me a bit to get my body adusted to the proper kicking technique. There were some painful moments but it's all part of the learning process. We ran through a couple drills and then we stepped into the ring.
I spent most of my time focusing on building a solid foundation in terms of stance and technique. He pointed out gaps in my defense and I made the proper adjustments. There was a lot to take in but in the end I felt good about just getting started again. I have a few exercises to work on until the next time we train together and I'm already excited about hitting the gym tomorrow morning and going through them.
Nothing like fresh starts to keep life interesting.
Mike
Over the span of the course I will have to bring in "guinea pigs" to practice on at school, so please let me know if you're interested. I'm really looking forward to the program and being able to not only train people but also help them with their pain or just allow them to relax their muscles.
I also started kickboxing again today. It had been quite a while since I was in the ring but it was an incredible workout. I started off by doing a 20 minute warmup on the bike and then it was time to get down to business. It took me a bit to get my body adusted to the proper kicking technique. There were some painful moments but it's all part of the learning process. We ran through a couple drills and then we stepped into the ring.
I spent most of my time focusing on building a solid foundation in terms of stance and technique. He pointed out gaps in my defense and I made the proper adjustments. There was a lot to take in but in the end I felt good about just getting started again. I have a few exercises to work on until the next time we train together and I'm already excited about hitting the gym tomorrow morning and going through them.
Nothing like fresh starts to keep life interesting.
Mike
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Team Triathlon
After a week of active rest, I've gone back to my regular training. I really enjoyed a week that focused mainly on cardio. It also made me think about how I can fine tune my training. I love training in and of itself but it's great when you have something to train for. Whether it be a sport or for an event like a marathon, it helps add focus to your workouts.
One event that caught my attention is a team triathlon. I have a friend who is training to do a half marathon so it would be great for her to take the running portion. I'd take the biking portion. Just have to find a swimmer to lead us into the race. Here is a link for the race. http://www.esprittriathlon.com/ If any of you want to take a stab at it let me know. It could be a lot of fun.
Another way that I'm gonna up the intensity and add some focus to my training is to start kickboxing again. I've got an early training session in the morning so I better wrap this up and get some quality sleep.
Mike
One event that caught my attention is a team triathlon. I have a friend who is training to do a half marathon so it would be great for her to take the running portion. I'd take the biking portion. Just have to find a swimmer to lead us into the race. Here is a link for the race. http://www.esprittriathlon.com/ If any of you want to take a stab at it let me know. It could be a lot of fun.
Another way that I'm gonna up the intensity and add some focus to my training is to start kickboxing again. I've got an early training session in the morning so I better wrap this up and get some quality sleep.
Mike
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Results Are In
After a month of hard training and healthy eating it was time to jump on the scale. I think this was the first time I have ever stepped on a scale and felt some stress waiting for the results to flash on the screen. What if even after all of the hours I put into this, the results stayed the same or even worse went in the wrong direction?
After writing down the results I sat down and compared them to the numbers from a month ago. I must say that I am very happy with my progress. One of my goals is to lose 20 pounds. In the past month I've dropped 4.6 pounds. That's a pound a week. I can live with that. I'm in no hurry to shed it. I'd rather do it properly and keep it off. Considering that I didn't heavily restrict my diet in terms of carbs or calories, I'm very pleased with that number. If your goal is weight loss, you should aim to lose between 1-2 pounds per week.
My body fat percentage also dropped. I lost 2 percent over the last month. That means that I'll hit my goal hopefully within the next four months. Again, I can live with that. Hopefully I can maintain a 2 percent loss each month.
The next two numbers I wasn't very concerned with because they are usually very consistent. My hydration level is great and so is my bone density. No alarms went off in those departments.
The next number is what really put a smile on my face. My metabolic age dropped by 5 years! I went from having a metabolic age of 26 down to 21! So in my mind everythng is being done properly. My metabolism is firing on all cylinders and I'm losing weight in a controlled and balanced way, by eating well and training hard.
Now I have a baseline of what I should expect each month. There is a lot of work ahead but I am thoroughly enjoying it and am being rewarded by feeling great both physically and mentally. My energy levels are great and I have an overall sense of happiness.
On a side note, I've decided to use this week to give my body an active rest. After doing doubles everyday for two weeks, it started to send me signals to slow it down a bit. I'm going to resume P90X and my kettlebell/battle ropes routine again next week. This week I'm doing between 30-60 minutes of cardio and one body part each day. The streak is still alive :)
Mike
After writing down the results I sat down and compared them to the numbers from a month ago. I must say that I am very happy with my progress. One of my goals is to lose 20 pounds. In the past month I've dropped 4.6 pounds. That's a pound a week. I can live with that. I'm in no hurry to shed it. I'd rather do it properly and keep it off. Considering that I didn't heavily restrict my diet in terms of carbs or calories, I'm very pleased with that number. If your goal is weight loss, you should aim to lose between 1-2 pounds per week.
My body fat percentage also dropped. I lost 2 percent over the last month. That means that I'll hit my goal hopefully within the next four months. Again, I can live with that. Hopefully I can maintain a 2 percent loss each month.
The next two numbers I wasn't very concerned with because they are usually very consistent. My hydration level is great and so is my bone density. No alarms went off in those departments.
The next number is what really put a smile on my face. My metabolic age dropped by 5 years! I went from having a metabolic age of 26 down to 21! So in my mind everythng is being done properly. My metabolism is firing on all cylinders and I'm losing weight in a controlled and balanced way, by eating well and training hard.
Now I have a baseline of what I should expect each month. There is a lot of work ahead but I am thoroughly enjoying it and am being rewarded by feeling great both physically and mentally. My energy levels are great and I have an overall sense of happiness.
On a side note, I've decided to use this week to give my body an active rest. After doing doubles everyday for two weeks, it started to send me signals to slow it down a bit. I'm going to resume P90X and my kettlebell/battle ropes routine again next week. This week I'm doing between 30-60 minutes of cardio and one body part each day. The streak is still alive :)
Mike
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Scale Time
After a weekend of throwing my diet out the window and indulging in some great food and delicious drinks, I'm gearing up for my first weigh-in since I've started my new routine. I already feel a major difference from a short month ago. I've seen great strength gains but they won't mean much when the scale comes into play. The numbers that I'll be tracking through my scale are as follows; weight, body fat percentage, bone density, hydration level and metabolic age.
I'm not overly concerned with my weight in particular. It will fluctuate especially since I have more than likely put on a few pounds of muscle mass. Over the next few months my goal was to drop roughly 20 pounds. More importantly, I'm looking to bring down my body fat percentage. This was the biggest goal I set for myself because I want to get it below 10 percent. My hydration level is usually very good along with my bone density. My metabolic age at one point was down to that of a 12 year old and I'm hoping that I can get back there.
As I always tell my clients, don't let the scale be the be all end all when it comes to measuring your progress. Regardless of the numbers I am proud of the fact that my streak is still alive and that I have been consistent with my diet.
I invite you to swing by my place anytime to step on the scale and check out your numbers. I'll let you know how the weigh-in goes tomorrow :)
Mike
I'm not overly concerned with my weight in particular. It will fluctuate especially since I have more than likely put on a few pounds of muscle mass. Over the next few months my goal was to drop roughly 20 pounds. More importantly, I'm looking to bring down my body fat percentage. This was the biggest goal I set for myself because I want to get it below 10 percent. My hydration level is usually very good along with my bone density. My metabolic age at one point was down to that of a 12 year old and I'm hoping that I can get back there.
As I always tell my clients, don't let the scale be the be all end all when it comes to measuring your progress. Regardless of the numbers I am proud of the fact that my streak is still alive and that I have been consistent with my diet.
I invite you to swing by my place anytime to step on the scale and check out your numbers. I'll let you know how the weigh-in goes tomorrow :)
Mike
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Can't Stop, Won't Stop
As the days pass by, I find myself looking for ways to challenge myself. This current workout streak has really pushed me physically and mentally. My body has adapted well and my energy levels are through the stratosphere. It's been great trying new workouts like the kettlebells and battleropes. P90X has really tested my limits but I'm enjoying the training thoroughly.
The one feeling that I truly missed has come back. There was a long period where I felt like training was a drag and I really had to push myself to even get one workout in. Days off were amazing and very little thought was going into my next training sessions. I was just getting by and maintaining. Talk about boring.
Now the very thought of missing a day brings me down. I sit down and map out my sessions and am constantly searching the web for ways to bring my training up a notch. It also helps that I'm surrounded by some great trainers at the gym who give me advice on my routines. Having an outside source to guide you really helps to look at your training objectively. It's easy to focus on training the body parts you like most or doing the same exercises because you're used to them.
The first big test of this streak is only days away. This weekend is gonna be loaded with Superbowl festivities as well as the annual Jaegerball. Let's just say that there will be no shortage of food and the beverages will be flowing.
To add to all of this, my first weigh-in since I started this new training regiment is coming up next week. I don't usually stress out about weigh-ins. I feel great as it is and the numbers won't change that. However, I have set some very lofty goals and a few of them have everything to do with those numbers. I'm really excited to see where I am in relation to those goals and see what changes if any need to be made.
Hopefully the streak goes past this weekend. If it doesn't, it's not the end of the world. I think I've earned a day off and some nachos and wings :)
The one feeling that I truly missed has come back. There was a long period where I felt like training was a drag and I really had to push myself to even get one workout in. Days off were amazing and very little thought was going into my next training sessions. I was just getting by and maintaining. Talk about boring.
Now the very thought of missing a day brings me down. I sit down and map out my sessions and am constantly searching the web for ways to bring my training up a notch. It also helps that I'm surrounded by some great trainers at the gym who give me advice on my routines. Having an outside source to guide you really helps to look at your training objectively. It's easy to focus on training the body parts you like most or doing the same exercises because you're used to them.
The first big test of this streak is only days away. This weekend is gonna be loaded with Superbowl festivities as well as the annual Jaegerball. Let's just say that there will be no shortage of food and the beverages will be flowing.
To add to all of this, my first weigh-in since I started this new training regiment is coming up next week. I don't usually stress out about weigh-ins. I feel great as it is and the numbers won't change that. However, I have set some very lofty goals and a few of them have everything to do with those numbers. I'm really excited to see where I am in relation to those goals and see what changes if any need to be made.
Hopefully the streak goes past this weekend. If it doesn't, it's not the end of the world. I think I've earned a day off and some nachos and wings :)
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