I lost four kilograms in June, and I’m hoping to better or at least repeat that this month. My current weight (as at July 2) is 90.8 kg, and I really can’t wait to weigh less than 90 kilograms as it’s been a long, long time since the scales declared a number below 90. A decade perhaps? Who knows?
I’m finally in control of my diet, and all this recent healthy eating has increased my motivation to workout. I’m just annoyed my motivation to eat better arrived more than two years after my motivation to exercise regularly. But there’s no time like the present, so here’s to a crazy month of healthy, not-so-delicious food, and lots of exercise. Let’s go…
Friday, July 1: I began the month with a 30-minute spin bike session followed by a legs and lower back workout:
Saturday, July 2: I spent 85 minutes in the gym early in the morning which was my longest workout in a good while. I began with a weights session in which I worked my back, traps, lats, biceps, sides, abs, and forearms. That was followed by 4 kilometres on a treadmill, and I finished the day’s exercise with my first skipping session (two sets of 120 and 100 jumps) since the day before my first half marathon 434 days ago. And all that left me absolutely exhausted:
Sunday, July 3: I swam 1.3 kilometres while listening to the music of Jerry Goldsmith:
Monday, July 4: I celebrated American Independence Day with a late night 15-minute chest, shoulders, and triceps workout.
Tuesday, July 5: Three kilometres on the treadmill around 8 a.m. Summer’s arrived as evidenced by the extra sweat.
Wednesday, July 6: Twenty-five minutes on a spin bike and weights for my forearms, legs, sides, and lower abs:
Thursday, July 7: A much longer treadmill session to work off the beer I drank at last night’s Teacher Training farewell party. I must have sweated out lots of fluids because despite those beers and a larger than normal dinner at Arden Hills’ buffet, my weight after my workout was 89.95 kg. Yay, I finally broke that 90 kg barrier!
Saturday, July 9: After a much needed 55-hour break, I returned to the gym in the pouring rain for an intensive workout mixing weights with cardio. The weights part of the session consisted of exercises for my lats, traps, biceps, traps, biceps, and lower back, and for my cardio workout I spun the spin bike for 30 minutes and did two jump rope sets of 120 and 100 jumps:
Sunday, July 10: My now regular Sunday swim was as enjoyable as ever thanks to my trusty SwimP3. Today’s music was the same as last week’s: a collection of my favourite Jerry Goldsmith pieces. Jerry’s music made the 1,700 meters feel like 17:
Monday. July 11: I woke up early (again) and arrived at the gym just before 8 a.m. for an all-weights workout: thighs, hamstrings, inner thighs, calves, chest, shoulders, triceps, sides, and abs. And all that left me feeling quit ill. I think it was the heat.
Tuesday, July 12: I awoke early again and arrived at the gym just after 7 A.M. for a one-hour (7 km) treadmill session:
Wednesday, July 13: A rare home ab workout was today’s only exercise.
Thursday, July 14: A short, but intense weights session in the gym before dinner time: back, traps, lats, sides, biceps, and calves.
Friday, July 15: Back into the cardio today after eating far too much in the last English House class after lunch. Twenty-five minutes on a spin bike followed by a chest, shoulders, and triceps workout:
Saturday, July 16: A hot and sweaty 4.5 kilometres on the treadmill today in the late afternoon left me with no energy for anymore exercise:
Sunday, July 17: A legs and abs workout at the gym followed by a 1,000 meter swim:
Tuesday, July 19: After an unintentional rest day yesterday – I was called into work in the evening just when I was about to go to the gym – I returned to the gym for a weights session in which I exercised my back, lats, traps, biceps, forearms, sides,and lower back.
Thursday, July 21: I needed to sweat, and tonight’s 3.5 kilometres at a very steep incline was just what I needed:
Saturday, July 23: Just weights today, but I have to say it was one of the hardest weights sessions in recent memory. I completed multiple sets of exercises targeting my chest, shoulders, triceps, sides, abs, lower back, thighs, hamstrings, calves, and forearms. No wonder I felt like throwing up.
Sunday, July 24: A quickish swim in the morning (about a kilometre) to test out my new GoPro sports camera:
Monday, July 25: I arrived at the gym bright and early at 7:30 only to learn it was closed for the week. Nobody told me TT. Luckily I have a back-up gym – the free gym on campus – and that was where I went in the afternoon for a back, traps, lats, lower back, and biceps workout.
Tuesday, July 26: Back in the free gym today for a treadmill session. I had hoped to stay on it longer, but was forced to retire at the 27-minute mark due to a toe blister.
Wednesday, July 27: A nice 1.25 kilometre swim again listening to the music of Jerry Goldsmith on my SwimP3:
Thursday, July 28: A short sharp chest, shoulders, and triceps weights session in the free gym on campus. It felt good to use some different equipment which I think my muscles appreciated.
Friday, July 29: I returned to my regular gym as they had reopened after being closed since Monday for renovations, but what exactly those renovations were remains a mystery as I everything looked exactly the same to me. Anyway, I was completely and utterly satisfied with my workout which consisted of a 3.5-kilometre treadmill session and some legs exercises:
Saturday, July 30: Weights session at the gym after lunchtime but before lunch: back, biceps, lats, traps, lower back, sides, and abs. Nice work.
Sunday, July 31: I ended July well with a 2.6 km swim, my longest swim in perhaps a decade!
July’s Stats: Cardio sessions: 18. Days exercised: 27. Weight loss: Not much, but at least I didn’t gain any.
