Let’s get to the weight first, since that is the most interesting.
This morning, the scale said I was 250.6 which is a total loss of 32.2lbs. I was hoping to get under 250 by the New Year and I think I will but it wasn’t until I got to putting the numbers into my documentation that I realized something quite amazing. I am currently at my lightest weight since my back surgery in December of 2002. Not only that, I have no record of me being under 250lbs at all. I know I was back in 2001 when I went to Australia but I also know I was in the gym for about 3 hours a day back then just so I could get my weight down which really makes it artificially low. In fact, I have not been this weight without the help of a crazy workout schedule since I was at Western and weighed around 200lbs. I have long been a victim of the notion that in order for me (me, personally that is) to get my weight lower than let’s say 260lbs I had to work out like the Tasmanian Devil and eat nothing but oatmeal and salad. I was convinced that my weight was tied to my workout schedule with no room for error. How foolish I was! I remember times when I was spending 2 hours a day EVERY DAY in the gym. Times when I would do 4 day splits of 3 hours with cardio on top. It was nuts! At least now with the baby and our new life, my new schedule makes sense and is working. So congratulations to me, job well done, so far!
Day 70 was more kettlebell work. I decided I should try to perfect the swing technique and without really knowing what was a lot of reps I set out to do around 30 minutes. I have to say, the smallest difference in the height of that swing makes a world of difference in the effort department. I ended up doing 10 sets of 5 single arms each side and 5 doubles for a total of 150 reps. I still don’t really know if this is enough but the timing was about right and the effort level seemed OK and ultimately I am just learning so I was concentrating more on the hip snap and the proper form to worry about total work. I have to admit, this kettlebell thing is pretty addictive. It is a decent whole body workout and it really the epitome of functional fitness. Now to work it into the schedule properly… It is now the 29th, I need to get through this week and once everything settles down after the New Year it will be time to move onto Round 5. The big question is, what to do? Something I will have to address while I am battling through the last few days of this phase.