Weekly Weigh-in (Week 61)

Sunday yet again and time for my weekly weigh-in.

This week has been pretty normal in terms of my food intake. Where it has been different is my output, I went for two runs this week, up from none the previous week, so that's a big improvement, and I've been "greasing the groove" with sets of squats and pushups every time I go to use the computer.

Speaking of changing things up I've been trying to piece together a new and somewhat more comprehensive workout program to start in on, as I've noticed I seem to do better when I have a clear cut plan to follow. In trying to put together such a plan I'm torn between trying to put together something that's nicely ambitious to sate my desire to do something, see results, and challenge myself, and the desire to put together something that will be easily achievable and thus something I can stick to more easily. I think I'm going to try and find the middle ground for now and then hopefully adjust my training volume upwards from there in the future.

First, I'm going to try for getting in runs 3 days a week, 1 run of 3km with a goal of improving my average pace from week to week, 1 run for distance, and 1 run for target heart rate range. The distance run will start off at 4km and increase by 10% per week for as long as I can keep that up and by some other factor after that which I find manageable. The heart rate run will have to wait until I get a heart rate monitor, which is on my list in the near future, and will be a 25 minute run with the goal of keeping my heart rate for the duration of the run within a given heart rate range, probably between 65-75% Max Heart Rate. This run will be mostly to gauge progress over time. The further my distance in that time, and the better my pace, while keeping within the target heart rate zone the better my progress is going overall.

Second, I'm going to throw in some more dedicated resistance training to my workout plan. In addition to picking one exercise at a time to focus on by performing a set of 5-10 reps each time I perform a certain activity, most likely sitting down at my computer or reaching an hour of cumulative computer time, I'm going to experiment with Occam's Protocol from The Four Hour Body and dedicate the remaining days of the week to beast skills. Beast Skills in this case refers to skills of physical prowess involving balance and mastery of bodyweight like handstands, the human flag, and planche pushups. I'll focus on one of these skills at a time until I feel I have sufficiently mastered it such as to move on to the next one.

So with that explanation of my plans for my running and some strength training I've put together a new and somewhat ambitious plan for where I'd like to go in the future. Running further, faster, and more efficiently, and also lifting more, and with better control over my mass. So, to those who read this and have more experience with these things than I do, what do you think? Too ambitious, not ambitious enough, missing something important? I'm open to suggestions for improvement.

So, what about my weight? I've come a long way since I started on this journey, and even since the start of this calendar year. I've lost a bunch of unneeded weight, and I've also cut a lot of fat, as of this week I'm down to 10% body fat, from around 19% at the start of the year. Now, I'm entering a new stage of the journey. I'm going to be trying to put back on some weight, but making a point to ensure that I'm adding muscle and not fat. So what's the scale telling me today? 202 up a pound from last week. Starting this muscle adding on the right track it seems.

So, I've put together a nice little plan there to extract an improved version of me from what lurks inside of the current me, just one step toward becoming the me I want to be. So until next time, become the you you've always wanted.