Up to Speed
Greetings! Over a month has passed since The Complete Bear asked me to write this blog and share my experiences with you. The last 3 articles were devoted to telling you a bit about me and to allow you to get to know me and my mind sets. Today, I want to jump forward in time to the present and bring you up to speed on this bear's quest for fitness. From this point forward, I am going to keep you current on what I am doing and how I am progressing.
Now let's talk about weightlifting. Currently, I am focusing on compound lifts that work each muscle group as a whole. Squats (legs/butt/whole body)....Barbell Bench Presses (chest)....Biceps Curls (biceps)....Bent-Over Rows (back)....Skull crushers (triceps)....Seated Calf Raises (calves)....and Barbell Shoulder Presses (shoulders). I am not doing any isolation exercises. The exercises I am doing all involve moving the weight up and down in a straight line against gravity. The one exception is the Biceps Curls which follow a slight arcing motion allowed by the natural bending of the arms. In addition to the lifting, I am doing Roman Chair Crunches and some additional ab movements to work the entire abdominal region as a whole.
Moving on to the dreaded subject of cardio.....I don't know about you, but personally, riding a stationary bike or climbing an imaginary staircase is boring to me. So, I've opted not to engage in those exercises as part of my exercise routine. Cardio is important and I have decided to go about it in a very aggressive manner. I have taken up boxing classes. Yes, boxing classes. What a powerhouse workout!!! An hour of rope-jumping, pushups, lunges, jump squats, jumping jacks, shadow-boxing and heavy bag work just to name a few. At the end of my hour, my entire body is drenched in sweat...I can take my tee-shirt off and literally wring the sweat out of it. Hot, no? It feels great, I feel great. It's one of those workouts where you really feel as though you have done something when you are through. It is far and away one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself.So, has any of this done anything for me you are wondering? YES! To date, I have lost....Drum Roll please.........20 pounds (ok, ok, 19 pounds, but it's so close and it feels so good to say 20!). My clothes fit better. I feel better. I look better. Those things in themselves are powerful motivators, but the greatest thing is having someone else just ask me, out of the blue, "are you losing weight?" I proudly reply in the affirmative. And it is only going to get better. I hope you are feeling it too.