Week 9

Week 9: August 9,2010
I’m continuing to lose weight! The cool thing is friends, family, and co-workers are starting to notice and make positive comments. Here’s a summary of this weeks activities:

Monday:
Legs- legs press machine- 5 sets (warm-up,1 plate,2 plate,3 plate,4 plate)
Quad Curls- 6 sets (8 reps per set; hold for 2 seconds on final set)
Gym Sprints-6 basketballs on the 3-point line plus a free throw. 5 pushups
For each missed shot.

Thursday:
I had the opportunity to have an active and resting metabolic test this morning. This was conducted by Sara Johnson, a personal trainer and the HAC assistant manager. She was very knowledgeable and made me feel comfortable throughout the whole testing process.

I didn’t really know what this test was going to do but here were the basic questions that the testing answered:
How many calories can I eat without gaining weight?
How hard should I be exercising?

I would highly recommend that anyone interested in losing weight or improving their performance and training should take this test. It was a really cool experience. You get to wear a heart monitor and a mask hooked up to a computer as you run. For the resting portion of the test you get to sit in a room quietly for a short period of time while the machine and computer evaluate you.

Walking out of the session I had a couple specific tools that I could put in place:

1- The resting test showed how well I was burning fat. Sara then walked
me through setting a weight loss goal and then interpreted the test results to show me how many calories I could consume on a daily basis in order to reach my goal.
2-The active test evaluated my heart rate as I was running. The end result was that I walked out with a specific 12 week running plan. One goal I have is to run a 10km road race at the end of October. The plan is structured so I have different workouts each day and they are based on my heart rate. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the run.

I was also able to leave with a new heart monitor. Harbor has a great selection and the prices are cheaper than other stores in the area. Sara gave me great advice and which one to purchase.

I would highly recommend doing these tests!!!

Saturday:

As the school year approaches and my schedules becomes more hectic I shifted my workout days to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This will also allow me the opportunity to start attending some of the group exercise classes that Harbor offers on the days I’m not working out with Jesse. The workout out for today was an all out conditioning blitz. A friend of mine made the mistake of walking with me for my warm up on the treadmill prior to my session. Jesse noticed this and asked my friend if he would be willing to stay and work out with us. Jesse then structured the session to consist of different competitions between the two of us. The catch was the loser of each activity had to do 20 push ups. Well, I’ll tell you right now my friend is in much better shape than I. This resulted in 80 push ups completed by yours truly!!

Here’s a break down of what we did:

-Competition 1: planking- whoever came out of the plank first lost.
I lasted nearly 2 and ½ minutes before I stopped. 20 push-ups for me.

-Competition 2: Bosu Ball Knock Offs- Jesse had the two of us start
about 10 feet apart, both standing on Bosu ball. We had to throw the
ball back and forth at one another in an attempt to knock each other off.
Jesse kept score and whoever got to 5 points first lost. We started with
The six pound ball but them moved up to ten and then 16. I lost again
but at least I was able to knock my buddy off again. 20 more push ups for
me.

-Competition 3: Medicine Ball Free Throws- Jesse had us alternate squatting and then lifting a medicine ball in order to make a free throw basket. The first to make ten won. I lost again. These push ups were really starting to get me! 20 more!

-Competition 4: Push Ups!! Jesse directed when to go down and up, sometimes holding at the top and then the bottom. I had a pathetic showing and this in turn led to 20 more push ups.

Overall, it was a killer workout on my chest and arms. It was also fun to do with a friend.