This week I have really been in the swing of things. The new “series” began Sunday, and I have been “in the thick of it” for four days straight now. Rest days are coming up for the weight training.

Today I was lifting after work, and it gets fairly frustrating when I go to the larger gym. At the small gym near my house, the plan isn’t very big, so it is easy to find things if people move them around. However, there is only one of each thing, so its hard to get a good workout during peak time. During the training at the larger gym at peak time, it gets pretty messy.

Dumbbells and barbells could be anywhere in the gym. I have found weight plates and dumbbells sitting next to the exercise “machines”. I am as guilty as anyone of bringing weights out of the free-weight area, and I don’t see any issues with this if you are using it, and if you return it when you are done. The problem is that last part, in that the equipment never seems to make its way back.

Tomorrow will either me a cardio day, or a cardio day plus the last weight day in the series; if I just do cardio tomorrow, it means Friday is a weights day, Saturday rest, and Sunday back in the saddle for another round.

I feel like I am making progress these days. I really do feel like I am losing weight, and my body definitely feels more in-shape than it has in recent years. While my weight is not dropping heavily at this point, my ‘body fat’ level is continuing to drop.

Working with the trainer on Monday, we were discussing this; he said “well your weight may not drop much”, to which my response was “well it will have to drop at some point, I seriously doubt I will weight 280 pounds when I get down to 18-20% bodyfat.” Unless someone is slipping me some hardcore ‘roids.

I really do feel like things are beginning to come together for my workouts and health efforts.

Today was supposed to be my day back into the gym after a two day rest. However, I did not make it into the gym today. The reasons are varied, but there is one overwhelming reason why it happened… and it is that I just wasn’t committed enough to the cause today.

Commitment is everything when trying to establish a healthy lifestyle. Now, some argue that being the “gym rat” by going in all the time is not healthy, but I contend that my need to lose weight, gain muscle, and be healthier requires a certain level of sacrifice. Generally speaking, hardcore gym work is to make up for years of neglect to my body.

Tomorrow I must return to my commitments, which include getting back into the gym. The plan is to go in the morning, after a Sunday sleep-in and breakfast.

I must commit myself to this effort, and I know that if I am not totally committed, I will not succeed. You must commit yourself, you must dedicate yourself to the cause.

Today was a decent day at the gym. It wasn’t a fantastic day, mind you, but it was a good day. I pushed out six different body parts, but only three sets in my supersets instead of the normal five. In reality, this was what I expected of myself given that I am working with the trainer tomorrow.

I also did some abs work as well, something I have definitely been neglecting in my workouts. The reality is that you can’t succeed holistically unless you have a very strong core. So often we ignore our abs when we are overweight because we aren’t people trying to achieve six-packs. In fact, strong abdominal muscles are important for everyone, and not just for appearance sakes.

A strong core is critical for your workouts, as it will greatly improve your posture. Good abdominals will also help with digestion and overall health, as well.

Also cranked out 20 minutes on the elliptical machine in light mode.

For the past two weeks, I have been completely and utterly feeling miserable. It is that time of year when tree pollen, my arch nemesis, rears its ugly head. This year it brought with it a sinus infection the pollen has been so bad. As a result of this illness, I certainly feel like I have fallen behind in my workouts.

This is not to say I haven’t been working out; they just haven’t been as consistent as they should be, and they certainly haven’t been as hardcore as they should have been. However, it is always better to let your body rest when you are sick. If you push yourself too hard, you’ll make your situation worse.

After a couple of days of consistent rain, I am certainly starting to feel much better. The tree pollen has died down, and I am getting back into it. I am still, however, a little short of breath here and there.

Today was my first “hard” day back in the gym since Monday. This meant I really felt the need to “bring it”, as they say. I did a series of supersets today, completing six different exercises, five sets each. By the time I was done, I was pouring sweat off of me, and my body felt invigorated yet near collapse. In summary, a successful day at the gym!

Tomorrow I will be doing another superset day, however probably not as hardcore as the one I did today. I have my appointment with my personal trainer on Monday, so I don’t want to be so worn out that my hard-core day can’t be pushed to the limits.

Back in the game, and ready to get moving. While you may feel set back whenever you are sick and don’t bring your “A Game” to the gym, it is certainly better than getting sicker from working out too much, and putting yourself even further behind.

Looking forward to a hard week of workouts!

I’ve been pushing myself for several weeks now, as well as working with a new trainer for about the same amount of time. I think it is time to take a step back and look at what’s been done this month.

So far this month, I feel like I have accomplished some things, although perhaps not obvious things. For example, I have increased the amount of weight I am pushing at the gym. I also dropped a little bit of weight, but by no means any extreme amounts. My body fat percentage is slowly dropping, although admittedly probably not as fast as I would prefer.

We know where I have been. I have been working out diligently, and although I show improvements in both my H2O intake as well as my diet, I certainly haven’t been perfect, and have cheated with sugary treats on more occasions than I probably should have. Yes, I love ice cream, and it has been hot out. This has probably hindered my fat loss, while I still have thankfully shown an improvement in endurance as well as muscle strength.

Where do I go from here? Simply put, pushing forward with what I have been doing, and increasing both intensity as well as commitment. What does this mean?

I need to focus on my diet, making sure that I am properly “grazing” with multiple meals per day. I need those meals to be more focused on “real food” and less processed foods.

Working out is also critical, and this is where the next step comes in. I began my day at the gym today by talking to the training manager, and working out to get the number of sessions with my trainer increased from four to eight. While this is certainly going to be painful on the wallet, it will allow a more focused approach to workouts, with either one one-hour session or two half-hour sessions each week. My “push days” will increase with frequency, and will increase the amount of “push” in general.

A new month is a new time for committments. As we roll out of May and into June, it’s time to really push hard towards my goals. I’ve got six months until my 34th birthday, and I want to go into it with some semblance of accomplishment for this year, and prep for my 34th year to be my best one ever.

Today was a simple cardio day at the gym. Tomorrow will be another weights day, and a relaxed workout day since it is the weekend.

When it comes to working out on the elliptical machine, I am definitely a Phoebe.

When I have my headphones on, and get into the music and the push of my cardio workout, I don’t care who is around me, I will lip sync and move my arms around, fist pumping, etc. It keeps me going, makes me enjoy my cardio, and frankly, I don’t care if you think I look like a damn fool.

Today’s workout consisted of a new routine with “J” the trainer… Super Sets.

A superset, simply defined, represents two exercises done in a row without an extended rest period. The idea is to pull off alternating lifts with high sets, high weight; building strength and building a sweat.

In our first superset session, we did three supersets:

• Superset 1
• Pulldown
• Curl (Barbell)
• Superset 2
• Seated Row
• Seated Leg
• Superset 3
• Deadlift
• Preacher Curl

As part of the initial superset routine, we did three sets; normally the trainer does them as 5 sets within each superset. However, given that it is the first day doing them, he wanted to get be acclimated to the process. He also is still in ‘discovery’, as am I, on specific weights for specific actions. For example, this was the first time I had done barbell curls in many years, instead using primarily dumbbells and selectorized machines in recent years of off-and-on workouts.

The result of the first superset workout was pretty clear. The process should help build endurance, push a sweat, drop the fat, and build the muscle. After the workout was over, I was feeling pretty amped up still. I wouldn’t have said I was exhausted, but I was sore enough to know I had just been working out pretty hard. My forearms were rock solid from the various lifts, and while I didn’t work them directly, they consistently got a good indirect workout.

Next session is next week, but I will remain consistent until then with my workouts.

Today was my weekly skip day. This was sort of unexpected, as I typically prefer skip day in the middle of the week. However, I wasn’t feeling 100% today.

When you aren’t feeling ‘well’, the last thing you want to do is to push yourself into extraneous workouts that will deplete your body. Taking it easy, doing some walking, making sure you keep moving… those are critical things, but you want to make sure you aren’t making yourself worse by pushing too hard.

The key is health before wealth, but also health before health; don’t put the need for hardcore workouts before the holistic health of your body. You can always make up a workout, but you can’t make up death from helping out possible infections.