My friend took some photos of my work out at the gym this past weekend. I wanted to see if there was any progress visible from all the hard work, with five days a week of strength training!
I think my arms are developing nicely. In fact, I'm surprised how the triceps are starting to show. The skin has tightened a lot in my arms and I feel so much stronger.
At the beginning of the month, I decided to do a 30 day plank challenge. The goal is by the end of the month to hold a plank for 5 minutes. For those that aren't familiar with the plank, the basic plank exercise is a way to improve core strength and stability. You begin in a plank position with your forearms and toes on the floor while your torso is straight. The body in a straight line with no sagging. The abs are being held in as if they are waiting for a punch.
It's difficult to hold the position for a long time because you are really engaging your abs. The longest I've gone is three minutes non stop. I want to get to five minutes because I think it will further strengthen my core and tighten my abs. It won't be easy, but my hope is by the end of the challenge, I'll get to five minutes.
Today, I saw my personal trainer for the first time in a month. What a difference from last month’s numbers! My trainer measured my body fat with an instrument called the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, and that number came down two percentage points since last month, and it read 16.5!!!
I have been working incredibly hard but I have a ton of energy. My muscle is definitely increasing and the numbers reflect that. My abs, at least to me, have tightened a great deal since last year. I asked my doctor about how much they will tighten and he's not sure if they will tighten further. If they don't, I am so happy with the results anyway. If they do continue to tighten as I stay within ten percent, even better. I know it's worth it as I feel stronger than ever and have lots of energy.
I love doing cardio! After all, the treadmill helped me lose most of my weight. I've been trying to cut down on cardio but this week has really been different. I did not use the treadmill for a whole week. I don't want to keep losing weight... I'm so active that it seems like by using the treadmill, I would keep losing weight.
I still get my steps in. According to my pedometer, I do get well over 10,000 steps each day. So what do I need to use the treadmill for when I'm already active enough? I'm focusing on my muscle and I think the results are getting more noticeable each day. Also, I did run for 5 minutes yesterday around a track as a warmup.
I'm really getting into strength training. I have decided that I no longer need the treadmill. I still will do my walking and get my steps in, but I don't need to lose more weight.
During the past few months, I was using the treadmill for about 5 to 10 minutes for 5 days a week. It's not too much, but the weight tends to fall off me so easily now. I want my body to build muscle and using the treadmill might confuse my goals... my body might still think it needs to lose weight. A trainer was talking to me about cardio today, that it could actually hurt my efforts. I don't want it to get in the way of my goals!
