Day 59 - I Love Fridays

I love Fridays, well, minus the work related stuff I got dumped on me today. Something I wasn't planning on starting for another couple weeks has had its deadline pushed up and I need to finish it by next Wednesday. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get it done though, so I'm not really worried about it.

Today started off with a killer workout. I love Fridays because I know that since Saturday is my rest day, I can really push it. I altered my workout a bit today since I had some extra time so that I did a 10 min. warm-up of steady state cardio before I did my weight session. Once I finished my weights, I then went for an all out 30 min. HIIT session and man, did I really empty the tank on that one. It felt great. I was able to keep pushing right up to the end as I told myself in my head, "Push now, don't stop, rest tomorrow".

My usual workout is 30 min. HIIT followed by 35-40 min. of weights, but lately I think that my weights have been suffering since I wipe myself out on the HIIT. It generally is better to do your cardio after your strength training, but my gym is fairly busy and you have to reserve your cardio for 30 min slots, and that's the most you can reserve. I never like to lift weights cold, so I have to get about 10 min. warmup in first. But normally its hard to get a free machine just for 10 min. Today was an exception though, so I was lucky.

But the reason I love Fridays even more is that I know I get to spend the whole weekend with my girlfriend and neither one of us is working.

Some more catch up pics:

Day 12

Day 13

and today's pics:

Day 59

Get your game face on!

Day 58 - More Wii!

Just a quick entry today. Once again, my attempt at hitting the gym up for a short cardio session was pre-empted by pumping my fists and pounding the air on the Wii with my girlfriend. Played for over an hour this time and worked up an appetite for supper. Tomorrow my plan is to hit up the gym first thing in the morning early before my work since tomorrow evening is reserved for Friday socializing with my girlfriend's work friends.

Anyway, here's the catch up pics from Day 10 and 11:

Day 10

Day 11

Day 58

Get your game face on!

Day 57 - Goals, written and actual

Today my girlfriend and I had a little talk after our workout session and it got me to thinking about what my goals really are. As a engineering guy, numbers were initially a big part of my goals, what I had written down when I started. I like numbers. I really saw this whole body transformation process as a really big lab experiment, except that the sample size was one, my own body. So the daily photos, daily weigh ins, calorie counting is just data collection. Throw it into a big pile, examine it and determine what the results are. If they aren't quite what was expected, tweak, adjust, take notes, all the while still collecting the data.

I guess I really got caught up in all the numbers, the calculations, and the plotting of my progess graphs. These are the tangible results, the quantitative goals.

Ultimately, when I started this trek, it really wasn't about the numbers, it was really only about one thing, getting healthy. Well, plus the fact that I was really sucking wind when I played frisbee in the summer... I had a lot of bad habits that needed changing. I've done a pretty good job changing a lot of them. I no longer eat a whole box of crackers at a time. I no longer feel like I have to eat every last bit of food on my plate when I go out to eat. I actually eat meals now instead of just continuously snack on junk food. I'm eating a lot more fruits and vegetables. I have more energy during the day, and I don't crash and burn after the sugar rushes. I'm happier and more productive at work. I enjoy eating healthy now.

I know I wrote down overall health as one of my goals, but for a while I guess I forgot to even think about it. Now I have, and it feels good.

Anyway, back to the data collection portion!

Catch up pics:

Day 8

This is the day I accidentally smacked my camera onto the ground from the counter it was sitting on. It hasn't worked since...Thankfully, I had my girlfriend's on hand and have been using it since (thanks babe!)

Day 9

Day 57

Get your game face on!