Hi folks, it's almost 2013, and you know what that means: resolution time.
For the last several years, maybe the last decade, I have vaguely resolved at this time of year to lose weight. Unfortunately, I didn't have a plan to follow, so I didn't get anywhere until the middle of 2012, when things came together for me. I suppose you can wait for lightning to strike or you can try to set some modest goals now and work to achieve them.
My scale at home purports to measure body fat. It sends a weak current through your body when you step on it and along with an inputted height, estimates your body fat. This morning, my body fat was at 54.2 pounds. My goal for 2013 is to lower that number to 40 pounds. If I weighed 200 pounds, which I don't, that would be a 20% body fat. Truth be told, I think I can do better than that, but I am setting a modest goal. The other goal, of course is to finish off my earlier goal of getting to 200 pounds. I had hoped to be at 200 pounds by New Year's Day, but that was not a modest goal, that was an audacious goal. I didn't get there, but I have done all right, for sure.
With the exception of Christmas Day, I have been working out every day since I got home. One day, I do the Studio Cycle class and the next, Simply Strength. Gone now is the extreme soreness after the classes. I have really progressed in each class, especially in the biking class. Last night, I had absolutely no problem riding intervals for an hour. We ride in the saddle, varying the tension and occasionally stand up and pedal. At first, the standing was difficult. I felt unsure of myself, unsure of my balance. But, I have gotten used to that now and look forward to getting up when it is time to do so.
Tonight is Simply Strength. I am pretty excited about seeing where I am there. I have noticed that I am better able to do the abdominal exercises that were almost impossible at first. This has been extremely gratifying to me, but it has also whetted my appetite for more.
So, do you have any resolutions for 2013? Perhaps you'd like to lose 20 pounds? Or ten? If you are so inclined, write them down.
95% of the time when I weigh myself my weight starts with a "1" instead of a "2" -- I'm not that concerned with my weight, but I do need to exercise
more.Heh.
I have seen a "2" at the start a couple of times over the last 30 years.
This was the year in which I started to realize my own mortality. My presbyopia has become more noticeable (I may even need to see an eye doctor for the first time in a dozen years), my shoulder has decided it wants to be prettied up, and my overall flexibility has gotten gradually worse. Ugh.
I'm not big on resolutions per se, but I definitely need to commit to more regular attention to the little things I can do to maintain and improve my body. I have started to do a wee bit of stretching before my shower each morning, which has done wonders for my general comfort level (in particular, I have problems with the adductor magnus and gracilis muscles). I'm pretty committed to expanding on those stretching activities.
the other end of the stick is getting enough sleep. Recent research has strongly implied that adequate sleep is a factor in pain tolerance. Pain tolerance is a significant factor in my life. I'm going to have to discipline myself to go to be earlier.
200 pounds and doing well at the bobsled combine is my goal for the year. I'm going to weigh myself at the gym today. Hopefully I'm around 165.
I would like to get under 200 pounds for the first time in a decade. I lost ten pounds this year, then put five of them back on with the bar exam and they haven't come off since. Let's see if I can do it.
I'm aiming for 185. It's an ambitious goal that'd amount to dropping about 15% of my weight. It's been a decade since I started putting on weight. Law school killed me. I maintained pretty well in D.C., but then moving back to MN put another 10 pounds on me, and I've maintained again the last couple years. But I've noticed myself in worse and worse shape lately, despite the weight staying constant. Time to fix that.
I don't always make this resolution, so I'm hopeful that actually making it, and being more specific about it, will help.
I'm also thinking about contributing to the WGOM fitness thread a bit more.
maybe we need a Survivor Fitness game on CdL
You know I'd be willing. However, given the obsessiveness over there, people might kill themselves to win.
Yeah, Novak's not allowed to play that game.
I'm not a huge resolution guy, but I have started running in addition to my weight lifting, so mostly I'd just like to continue doing that. I'm already seeing improvements in what speed I can sustain and how long I can sustain it, as well as improvements in my curling game from the added leg in-shapeness.
Other than that, I resolve to make the best beer I've ever made.
I resolve to sample some of that "best beer [cheaptoy] ever made".