Dust Collected

Wow, I can't believe that it's been a year (truthfully a year was a bit over a month ago) already. Apologies for failing to get a post up closer to my actual year anniversary but better late then never I suppose.

So, back in February I set a few goals:

• Continue working towards hitting the 180 pound mark
• Continue working towards hitting 20% body fat
• Continue making it to the gym 2-3 times a week

So, how did I do with my new goals? Let's see.

Continue working towards hitting the 180 pound mark

Truth be told, this goal is no longer a priority. Sure, I'd love to get to 180 but it is not what is driving me anymore. The real goal I want to complete is the one about getting to 20% body fat. We'll discuss that shortly, for now lets discuss how things are from a weight perspective.

As of today (my 58th weekly check-in), I was at 190.7 pounds. This is an improvement from my check-in back in February so I have that going for me. I've been maintaining this weight for months now and typically fluctuate between 187 and 192 on any given day. I've plateaued here and while I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm just a little bit disappointed, I'm not as concerned anymore about this number but will keep plugging away.

I'm confident that if I can hit my next goal, I'll hit this one as a matter of course.

Continue working towards hitting 20% body fat

So, as I said above, this is my number one goal. Obsessing over body weight is useless if you have a ton of body fat. I want to get to 20% body fat (well actually I want to be in the mid-teens but one thing at a time).

Today's check-in I was at 25.3% body fat. Back in February however I was in better shape, sitting at 23.9% body fat. I'm really not sure what happened here. I managed to hover around 24% till June, then one week it jumped back up into the high 25's and I can't seem to get it back into the 24's.

I'm hopeful that now that I'm hiting the gym hard and have started working hard to cut back on my caloric intake (on non-gym days).

Continue making it to the gym 2-3 times a week

This one can be summarized in one word: FAIL. Well, kind of. In early April I tweaked my back and as a result, avoided the gym for a couple weeks to try and get it back in shape, then life happened and I had one excuse after the other, missing gym day after gym day for damn near two months (April and May).

That has been fixed though, since early June I've been back in the gym, hitting it hard. I've managed two days a week since getting back in the gym, and even managing to pull out a third day on multiple weeks (in fact, last week marked the second week in a row with three trips to the gym).

Because I was out for so long, I basically started over from a Stronglifts workout perspective. This saw me back to an empty bar on most exercises. It was a necessary evil, I didn't want to hurt myself but at the same time was a bit disappointed to see all my previous progress reset.

I'm now currently back to where I was when I fell off the wagon, actually I'm past where I was for most exercises. Each day now is basically a new personal best. This week should see me squatting 140 and then 145 pounds, bench pressing 90 pounds, rowing 100 pounds, overhead pressing 80 pounds and deadlifting 185 pounds.

Talk is cheap, lets see some proof

There really is no better way to see proof then to compare photos. I encourage anyone starting a journey like this to photo document it along the way. I try to update my photos monthly. Here is my most recent (about a week or two old now) compared to my very first progress photo:

See, things are better, I'm kind of smiling!

Plans for the future

My plans are simple: keep moving forward. If I can maintain hitting the gym 2-3 times a week and continue to progress on the Stronglifts program things are bound to keep being positive. With that said, I'm not done setting goals, so, here is my to do list for at least the near term:

• Continue working towards hitting the 180 pound mark
• Continue working towards hitting 20% body fat
• Continue making it to the gym 2-3 times a week
• Continue working towards squats of 225 pounds (2 45 pound plates per side)
• Continue working towards deadlifts of 315 pounds (3 45 pound plates per side)

The Stronglifts program has been great. It's all about building strength, not so much about getting all jacked up. As you add weight every workout you progressively get stronger. As a result of this slow progression you are sore the next day but not so sore you can't function. I've reached a weight now that by the time I'm done my workout, my legs are already sore and I'm loving every minute of it.