Beginnings

Thanksgiving, 2008, Manchester Road Race, I ran a better time than last year, was beat by my mother-in-law by less than 2 minutes, and had failed to lose any weight over the past year. The new plan was hatched. The day before Thanksgiving, an email went around work; the beginning of another round of "The Biggest Loser." I'd think that I was a big loser, but had failed to win in the previous 3 games I had entered. Now that I was a huge fat ass, I thought I might have a chance. With the initial weigh-in the following Wednesday, I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner, my 10 year high school reunion, and a few other meals. The hope was to gain some weight, and drop that quickly (everyone does it for the game).

Dec. 3, 2008-Initial weigh-in: 238 pounds...My thoughts were that I may have over done it.

Dec. 12, 2008-2nd weigh-in: 228 pounds...Ten pounds in ten days, put me right back to where I was prior to Thanksgiving. It was then that I decided it was time to join a gym. If this goal of running a marathon was going to become a reality, I needed to make the investment to help myself. With the holidays fast approaching, we joined the most expensive gym in town...mostly because it's about a mile from the house. The membership included free body analysis and 2 workouts with the trainer. The initial workouts at the gym were rough, because I hadn't done much after Thanksgiving. I really thought it was important to see the trainer, made my appointment, but snow made it impossible to get there. Therefore, I put it off until the new year.

Dec. 30, 2008-Body Pumped...Took a class with the wife. Tougher than I thought. Vowed to stop giving my mother-in-law a hard time about Body Pump with Deb.

Jan. 3, 2009-The Pixie:
When choosing which trainer to work with, my thought process was simple. I went with the only female trainer. I felt less intimidated by her than the other trainers. Why wouldn't I? She was about 9 inches shorter than me, and a hundred pounds lighter. Hell, she even signed her name with a smiley face at the end at the end. There was little to be intimidated by, which made the prospect of the workouts less off putting. Plus, she was a ball of energy...well, she definitely liked to talk almost as much as I did.

The evaluation wasn't pretty: As of the new year, I weighed 229, and was at 25% body fat. She was kind, telling me that it wasn't so bad. People had come in much worse off, according to her, and had gone off the charts the gym used. I wasn't there. I wasn't in a good spot, but it could have been worse. So, the Pixie had me describe my weight loss and fitness goals, and had me complete some evaluative exercises. After an hour, we made an appointment to meet the following week for my first workout.

Jan. 9, 2009-228 lbs...again.
Gut busting:
Tori's (the Pixie) evaluation determined that the key to me losing weight and meeting my fitness goals was to strengthen my core. The evaluation showed (not suprisingly) that it was my greatest area of need. I wasn't prepared for the workout she put me through. For the next 45 minutes, she had me perform all manner of core exercises. Some with the physio ball, some pilates based, some on the sit-up bench. It was excruciatingly tough, but I got through it. To end the day, she had me do lunges, several exercises for chest and shoulders on the ball, and finally wall squats with the physio ball.

D.O.M.S. (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) usually takes two days to really affect you. Yet, that night, I must've woken up 8 or 9 times, because my abs and obliques were so sore. Saturday and Sunday were worse, and my next appointment was the following Monday.

Jan. 12, 2009-Circuit training:
Tori had me complete one circuit using various machines. She evaluated which weight to use on each to best complete 12-15 reps. The machines focused on all muscle groups from shoulders down to quads and thighs. It was tough, and provided variety to my workout. When we were done, I then ran 2.5 miles.

Jan. 15, 2009-Redid the core work from the previous Friday. I was only sore for 2 days following that.

Jan. 17, 2009-Weight: 228 pounds...one more time. Ran 2.5 miles, completed a modified version of the Wildcat Track Workout. I was happy to get through my bench and squat reps. Still, my ego hurts a little everytime I use weights that are the same as when I first started doing these exercises as a freshman in high school. This time, the weight isn't the object, it's the reps. Still, it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks.

After one month at the gym, I had developed a routine. Mondays would be the circuit training days. Wednesday would be for the core work, and I would work that in on other days, as well. The dumbell work on the physio ball helps continue the attempt to build lean muscle. Lean muscle leads to weight loss. Fridays, I do the bench/squat (plus auxiliary lifts). All those days I incorporate some time on the treadmill for cardio. We'll see how things go. It's a long process, and I just need to stay focused.