Jul 13 2008
Day 22
I managed to wake up at about 8:00 am today when the kids came running in to the bedroom. Keen to find out what progress has been made I got up for measurements. I am pleased that once again I am making progress.
This week my key statistics are:
- Weight: 13 st. 5 lbs. (187 lbs.) – 1.5 lbs loss in last week
- Waist at belt: 39.5″ - 0.5″ loss in the last week
- Most other body statistics similar
While most of my body measurements remain static, especially around the torso, strange things have been happening with my thighs. Body fat pinches have been the same for my chest and waist but I have seen the measurements in my thigh decrease from 42mm on Day 1 to 22mm on Day 22. With that reduction in fat around the thigh comes an increase in circumference of 1/2 an inch. So the muscles in my thighs are definitely growing with all of this exercise.
After the measurements I spent 15 minutes on the Concept 2 rower and covered 3200 metres. A quick shower and then I was out for a ride on my motorcycle with my mate Brian. It seemed like a nice day and the air was so clear it was easy to see across the Irish Sea.
So, in the afternoon the whole family want for a walk up Snaefell – the highest hill/mountain on the Isle of Man. It is a fairly sleep climb and I was amazed that near the top, where my wife was out of breath, my 3 year old daughter was chatting away. I was extremely impressed with both of my kids efforts to climb the hill. It took 30 minutes to get to the top. It was a nice day and from the top we could see Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
I had some work to prepare for a ‘super learning day’ at school this week so was running late. I had it finished just before 9:00 pm so I went to do my resistance training on the Bowflex a little late. I decided to do only one set per exercise to make the workout a short one. To be honest, I feel a lot better with a one set workout. It lets me give maximum effort on the one set. I have found that for the last couple of weeks I never got many reps out of my second sets as I have fully fatigued my muscles on one set. I think I will return to one set training with the occational two set if I think it can help me fatigue my muscles more.
I am starting to feel a lot fitter but the photos show little change at present.
Although I still have a high amount of fat on my torso it is noticeable that the overhang over my shorts is smaller than on Day 1 and the overall swollen look of my abdomen in reduced.
On my back the bulge is still present around my waist (as I feel it may be for a while) but there is a small but noticeable difference at the bottom of the left hand bulge. It tapers in which may contribute to the reduction in my waist size.
I am really looking forward to seeing those creases in my back disappear. Looking at these pictures weekly will remind me why I need to continue daily.