A great way to get Wednesday (or Thursday, depending on your POV), going...

Up and at 'em this evening with a little strength training, and do I feel great! Feeling the tension in my arms right now, but it's a wonderful feeling because it means I was doing some work. I'm pretty sure I'm starting to adapt to the weights I'm using, but still I don't want to push my luck and up them too soon; it's a downfall my dad has succumbed to in the past, resulting in shoulder injuries, and with my history of back trouble, I'd rather play it safe. Anyway, there's no rush for me to pop out six-pack abs or 20" biceps.

My routine was made a little easier by having had the air conditioner on all day so I could sleep. I still sweat a lot, but I don't feel like I could ignite the couch just by sitting on it, either. Whenever we are in a position to buy a house, I'm definitely going to look for a nice, cool basement for exercise purposes.

Where have you struggled when it comes to exercising? What have you done to overcome those issues? What things have you found to be detrimental to getting a good workout?

Time for a twofer...

Welcome to the new week, everyone! I didn't get a chance to put up a post last night, so I'm taking care of that now.

Yesterday I completed my strength training workout and had to sit for a while before I could get going again, mostly because my stomach felt a little weird. I think I was a little dehydrated, because after getting down some food and water, I was doing just fine. I kept the weights at the level from last Friday, and while it was a challenge, it felt great. I don't think I'll be increasing the weight for anything this week, but might add a bit by next Friday. We'll just see how things go.

Tonight I finished my cardio/ab routine and am feeling fantastic.  The ab portion went very well, with only a few short breaks in the middle of some of the sets. I'm guessing this is due partly to increased abdominal strength and partly to well-rested abs from having missed the workout on both Thursday and Saturday last week.

I've still got a little tweakiness in my left knee, but it primarily bothers me when I'm sleeping and not during my exercises. Stretching is still a priority to see if I can get that worked out.

My wife has been making supper for a while, and I smelled it cooking during most of my workout. With that in mind, I leave you to your own devices as I prepare to consume some calories.

One more down!

Due to a messed up sleep schedule and other things, I didn't get a cardio/ab workout in yesterday. Rather than beat myself up for that, I got busy tonight and did my strength training routine. As I mentioned on Wednesday, I upped the weight for all of the exercises (except Lawnmower, which I had increased on Wednesday). The Bicep 21 exercise was quite difficult, especially the third portion where I had to do 7 full curls. But I made it through and feel great as a result.

I can tell I have a bit of increased flexibility in my hamstrings as I was able to do the bent over stretches with straighter legs and overall better results today. That's amazing to me, and I look forward to continued progress. I did a bit of foam rolling to work on my IT bands, too, and I think that has helped me feel better tonight.

We're grilling out tonight, and as that is my department, I have to get downstairs and get to it. Good luck with your own endeavors today.

For fitness!

One more day...

Hey there, sports fans! It's another great day for working out, and I feel fantastic after completing my session. I added 2.5 pounds to the Lawnmower exercise but kept everything else the same. I've already planned for Friday by adding 2.5 pounds to everything else, shooting for a minimum of 8 reps (I've been doing 10 per set so far) and building up from there.

I also had my wife take measurements for me today. Here's how they came out:

Neck: 16 3/4"
Right bicep: 14"
Left bicep: 14"
Chest: 46 3/4"
Waist: 44 1/2"
Hips: 43 1/2"
Right thigh: 24 1/4"
Left thigh: 24 1/4"
Right calf: 16 1/4"
Left calf: 16"

I also weighed myself today out of curiosity. That came to 226.8 pounds with 34.6% body fat. The body fat percentage probably isn't the most accurate being from one of those digital scales that uses electrical impulses, but that number also isn't far off from my last more accurate measurement using the BodPod in Rochester. Building muscle and cutting body fat are my priorities, not necessarily seeing the number on the scale go down, though I still would like to have a total weight of 190-200 pounds with 14-17% body fat. Definitely have a ways to go for that!

It's been exciting to share my updates thus far, and I look forward to many more. Happy trails!

Oh what a wonderful feeling...

Well, another day of cardio/abs under my belt, another day of feeling pretty good. I was especially excited tonight by my ability to kick a little higher during that portion of the routine. Some of that is due to increasing flexibility, some likely from this being the first cardio workout of the week. In any case, it was a lot of fun and quite encouraging.

The ab routine is getting just a little bit easier with each session. Fitness bloggers, writers, and/or experts seem to be split on the value of doing ab exercises. I know, of course, that no amount of crunches or whatever is going to give me a visible six-pack--the only way for that to happen is to lose enough body fat for the underlying muscle to show through. However, I think there is good reason to do ab exercises in order to strengthen the core muscles, since so many other movements rely on the core to be executed properly. Oh well, I'll leave the debate to the experts and go more on how I feel as a result.

I hope you've managed to find some time for activity today. I'm getting to the point now that skipping workouts makes me feel worse. Whodathunkit?

The weather can't stop you when you exercise indoors...

It's raining at a good clip outside, and there's a fair amount of lightning and thunder. However, I am nice and dry--relatively speaking--here in my apartment. One more strength training workout under my belt, one more day of getting a bit stronger.

It's fun to look back over the last few weeks and see my numbers increasing. On May 1st, I could only do 8 chair dips with a good deal of struggling. Today I did 10 with little trouble. Today, too, I was able to do the narrow push-ups without widening my foot stance. And my squats seemed to get a little deeper with my back a little straighter.

I'm enjoying this evening, especially since I was able to get to sleep almost immediately after getting home this morning and thus could wake at 6:30 PM without feeling too tired. I could almost take a nap now, but that's mostly post-exercise tiredness and it should pass as soon as I get a little something to eat.

Isn't it fun to improve your overall health? Remember, though, not to neglect the most important things in life: God first, family second. No goal, no matter how admirable, is worth jeopardizing the priorities of God and family.

First full week completed...

Finally, with this being my 5th week working through Power 90, I have completed an entire six-day workout schedule. I'm glad I was able to stick with it, although tonight I was definitely thinking of skipping.

It's great to see a little improvement in my endurance and flexibility. I'm making progress, that's for sure, even if it's just a little bit at a time.

I'm especially pleased with how I was able to do the ab routine tonight. Because I can't put my legs up in the air and keep them anywhere close to straight, I've been assisting myself by putting my heels on the wall when doing the Superman Crunch. Tonight I was able to get up a little more and didn't experience the twinging in my leg, which is of great encouragement. I need to keep working on my hamstring flexibility and my ankle strengthening, but I'm glad to see that already changes are being made for the better.

And now, I have to get supper and get ready for work. See you all on Monday!