Its been a while since my last post, but I have a few exciting things to report on in the last few weeks. After 3 weeks of Les Mills Pump, I have lost 8 lbs and am now below 270 lbs for the first time in the last 5 years. The workouts are getting more intense, which is fantastic for me. In the beginning, I was getting a little discouraged becasue I felt like I should have been doing more than the 20 minutes of workout each day, but now I know you can get a fantastic workout in just a short amount of time. Now the workouts are up to 30 minutes, and in the next week they jump to 45 minutes. Since the program includes so many reps for each muscle group, I have needed the time to build up my endurance before I progress to the next level. I also feel my core getting stronger from the "Hardcore Abs" DVD and the extra ab work at the end of "Pump and Burn".
Along with feeling great, my body is changing for the better. I am obviously losing weight, but in a little different way than P90X was helping me lose weight. While doing P90X, I gained a lot of muscle in my arms and chest. That is great for most guys, but I'm still trying to lose the size I have built up over years of heavy lifting. I don't really need the extra muscle, not yet anyways. So PUMP has helped me slim down without adding the big amounts of muscle. I feel strong, really strong in fact, and my shirts are fitting a little more loose. I anticipate that by the end of February I should be wearing XL t-shirts, after being stuck in 2X and 3X for many years.
Last night while getting ready for a date with my hot wife Brittani, I pulled out some old jeans just to see how far I was from fitting into them. Put in one leg no problem, then the other..no problem. Pulled them on and much to my surprise, they buttoned without me even having to suck in my belly! That is a size 38 people...down from a 44 back in May. Big moment for me, I mean really big! I used to be so limited in where I could shop for clothes because nobody really carries size 44 jeans or shorts, except for the Big and Tall section at JC Penney. Now, I can comfortably shop anywhere, and plan on taking full advantage of this fact when spring rolls around and I'm ready to get a whole new wardrobe. Eyes are set on a 34 inch waist, Large t-shirts, and under 250 lbs my May!
2012 is bringing a lot of really good things for me so far! It promises to be a great year after the start I have gotten off to. If you are ready to get started in re-shaping your body and changing your life, take a look at this short video from Beachbody and consider joining my Beachbody Challenge Group.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Day 4: Go with the FLOW
Now the ball is really getting rolling on this new program. I was excited to try a new workout today, after completing the same "Challenge" workout on days 1 and 3. Challenge is the first workout, and its really geared towards teaching the moves that you are going to using throughout Les Mills PUMP. Its a nice mix of tempo squats (can anyone say "ouch"), some chest, shoulder, and arm work, and all finished off with some lunges. The workout is short, but still gets my heart pumping and my muscles burning. A great intro to what is to come.
After doing some treadmill interval training this morning, I was happy to see FLOW on the schedule for tonight. It was a 20 minute recovery workout, that combined yoga and stretching to relax your muscles. It felt really good to stretch out, as my legs were still barking at be from earlier in the week.
Nutrition left some room for improvement today. Still a little too much snacking going on, but not all that bad. Still came in under calorie goal for the day and still miles away from my old eating habits. If there's one thing I have learned about food in the last 6 months, it is that I don't need all that bad stuff I was eating before. I don't know when the last time I stopped somewhere and snuck a cheeseburger (or 3). I drive past those very same places that helped make me 304 lbs without even a second thought. These days, I have much more control when it comes to my diet. Feels good to be in control!
After doing some treadmill interval training this morning, I was happy to see FLOW on the schedule for tonight. It was a 20 minute recovery workout, that combined yoga and stretching to relax your muscles. It felt really good to stretch out, as my legs were still barking at be from earlier in the week.
Nutrition left some room for improvement today. Still a little too much snacking going on, but not all that bad. Still came in under calorie goal for the day and still miles away from my old eating habits. If there's one thing I have learned about food in the last 6 months, it is that I don't need all that bad stuff I was eating before. I don't know when the last time I stopped somewhere and snuck a cheeseburger (or 3). I drive past those very same places that helped make me 304 lbs without even a second thought. These days, I have much more control when it comes to my diet. Feels good to be in control!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Getting PUMPED in 2012
Happy New Year everyone! I'm really excited about what 2012 has in store. I'm looking forward to continuing my weight loss, with the hopes of surpassing my 2011 numbers by June. Here's a quick re-cap on how I ended 2011 and what I have planned for 2012.
In late November, I took the first step in really trying to help other people get healthy and became a Team Beachbody coach. What this means is that I now have the tools to share my story with a larger number of people all across the world. The number one thing that Beachbody asks of its coaches is "be a product of the product", which I have been striving to be since May 2011. Through the end of the year, I was able to try out some of the other beachbody programs and supplements, which I hope to be able to educate people about in the future. If you want to learn more about Beachbody and any of their products, shoot me an email or check out my coach page at
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/coachg57
As far as weight loss goes, I made some really great progress before the holidays came around. I was able to lose the weight that I had gained back since Owen was born in July, and surpassed that number by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. Despite the setbacks and challenges that came along the way, I was able to lose 32 lbs in 2011 (really started in May 2011). I just hit that 32 lbs mark this monday when I got on the scale after the holidays. It was a great way to being 2012 for me, and I hope it helps create a snowball effect for the rest of the year.
On January 2nd, I started a brand new workout program. After using P90X for the last half of the year, I was ready for something new. I loved the P90X workouts, but 6 months of any training program will lead to a little bit of boredom...no matter how good the training or how much you like the trainer. Beachbody recently added a new program to their arsenal of life-changing programs "Les Mills PUMP". PUMP is based on the group exercise class "body pump", that is taught in gyms all around the world. Its a barbell based training program that really puts emphasis on high reps, with multiple tempos to get a great total body burn. Day 1 was monday, and despite working with relatively light weight, my legs and shoulders really got a great workout. The slow tempo squats and lunges were really tough for me. I'm used to working in just one speed, but PUMP forces you to do several slow reps (4 seconds down, 4 seconds up). These reps had my legs screaming at me after just 2 of them. Since PUMP is only 3 days a week, I will be adding in some extra cardio sessions for 3 other days, keeping me on a 6 day workout schedule.
I'm excited to say that I have started out 2012 with great momentum and I look to really improve not just my weight, but my overall fitness. Maybe a 5 or 10k in my future? Maybe some type of mud run or dare i say...a triathalon? Who knows...all I can say is watch out 2012...I'm coming to getcha!!
In late November, I took the first step in really trying to help other people get healthy and became a Team Beachbody coach. What this means is that I now have the tools to share my story with a larger number of people all across the world. The number one thing that Beachbody asks of its coaches is "be a product of the product", which I have been striving to be since May 2011. Through the end of the year, I was able to try out some of the other beachbody programs and supplements, which I hope to be able to educate people about in the future. If you want to learn more about Beachbody and any of their products, shoot me an email or check out my coach page at
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/coachg57
As far as weight loss goes, I made some really great progress before the holidays came around. I was able to lose the weight that I had gained back since Owen was born in July, and surpassed that number by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. Despite the setbacks and challenges that came along the way, I was able to lose 32 lbs in 2011 (really started in May 2011). I just hit that 32 lbs mark this monday when I got on the scale after the holidays. It was a great way to being 2012 for me, and I hope it helps create a snowball effect for the rest of the year.
On January 2nd, I started a brand new workout program. After using P90X for the last half of the year, I was ready for something new. I loved the P90X workouts, but 6 months of any training program will lead to a little bit of boredom...no matter how good the training or how much you like the trainer. Beachbody recently added a new program to their arsenal of life-changing programs "Les Mills PUMP". PUMP is based on the group exercise class "body pump", that is taught in gyms all around the world. Its a barbell based training program that really puts emphasis on high reps, with multiple tempos to get a great total body burn. Day 1 was monday, and despite working with relatively light weight, my legs and shoulders really got a great workout. The slow tempo squats and lunges were really tough for me. I'm used to working in just one speed, but PUMP forces you to do several slow reps (4 seconds down, 4 seconds up). These reps had my legs screaming at me after just 2 of them. Since PUMP is only 3 days a week, I will be adding in some extra cardio sessions for 3 other days, keeping me on a 6 day workout schedule.
I'm excited to say that I have started out 2012 with great momentum and I look to really improve not just my weight, but my overall fitness. Maybe a 5 or 10k in my future? Maybe some type of mud run or dare i say...a triathalon? Who knows...all I can say is watch out 2012...I'm coming to getcha!!
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