HELLO AGAIN FRIENDS

I haven’t written in a bit, and there is definitely a reason behind it.
I have become obsessed with getting under 300 pounds. About two weeks agom I hit 303 and I couldn’t stop thinking about getting under 300, which has been one of the bigger goals for me in this journey. I became completely absorbed with regulating my diet, exercising more and watching what I drink. Nothing happened.
The result? No weight change the first week, and this week it was going slow. It was just so frustrating to not see the numbers fly like that had before.

The frustration was leading to me becoming short tempered, I began to show signs of sass with friends and family, especially with my close friends that were asking me if I had gone under 300. At KLBJ, I was lacking focus when working the podcasts, and I forgot to send a song to a friend- more importantly to Bob, who needed it for his internet show. I just haven’t been the same person since getting so close to the goal, and I was wearing thin. I figured that maybe it was just never meant to be.

My trainers could tell all week that I looked strained. Their words of advice were to not worry about the scale, or to even forget the scale for a week or two. The main concern was that I wasn’t eating enough, or getting hydrated enough for my body to burn the fat because I had told them I was trying to clean up my dieting to get this last bit off for my first real goal weight.

The bottom line of the whole situation is that I stopped doing what was working and ending up slowing the process down due to my own desire to see faster results. If I had followed the guidelines that the trainers had given me, I would have hit my number faster. But...
I hit 299 today!

When I finally saw the number I couldn’t help but get completely overwhelmed with a variety of emotions.
I felt pride that I had lost 71 pounds.
I felt guilt that I still have so much weight to lose and I should have never gotten this big to begin with.
I felt love from all the people that have been pushing me through this whole experience from my trainers, to my family and my friends.
And I felt the fire in my belly that tells me I have a long way to go, and to not forget the big picture in this whole journey.

As I sat in the bathroom with tears in my eyes I wrote my trainers a mass text saying the following: “I just hit 299! Thank you so much! I love all of you for changing my life…you have no idea what it means to me. :)”

The responses in no particular order: “F*ck Yeah.” “Badass, man – that just made my day!” “I can’t imagine how you must feel. Congrats! You’ve worked so hard for it!” “Woohoo! We are so glad to be a part of it and truly enjoy helping you. And Kicking your butt!!”

I can’t wait to reach my next big goal of 250! That is how much I weighed when I was going into 8th grade. I know that's crazy to think of, but my next goal is to weigh what I did over 10 years ago. My goal for that weight is March 13th.
I sincerely thank you all for the love and support. Stick with me and I'll prove to you what one man can accomplish when he puts his mind to it.

MONTH 4 RESULTS

Today is the 4 month mark and that means more results for you to feast your eyes upon. The first two months with Workshop saw incredible numbers in the inches department, and then October came around with results that were pretty good-- but not as spectacular as the first two months.

 

The success was still there for me, though.  It’s hard to get upset when you lose 9.5 inches off your body in a month (amount lost in October). November has been a different story with inches and weight loss. I think I have some explaining to do.

 

Neck: No Change

Chest : Down .25 inches

Arms: Down 1 inch

Waist: Down 1.75 inches

Belly Button: Down 2 inches

Hip: Down 1.5 inches

Thigh: Down .25 inches

Calf: No change

Weight Loss: 13 pounds

 

Total Inches Lost: 48.5 inches

Total Pounds Lost: 67

 

OK.

 

Breathe, Ricky, just breathe a little…I understand I still lost weight and inches, but for the numbers to keep shrinking is really hard to see. I can’t blame the trainers; I can only blame myself.

 

In the past couple of weeks I have been enjoying a little too much.  For both my trip to Fort Worth and my Westwood reunion weekend in Austin, I drank way more than the allotment given to me by Thomas and my other trainers. I have also had 1 to 2 more cheat meals more than I normally do (I usually have about one a week). With the workouts getting more intense, I decided to slow down the cardio I do outside of the gym, which could have also slowed my progress down. A lot of factors went into results that I personally feel are lackluster.

 

Even though I feel like the numbers are not what I want to see right now, I know what I need to do to see them get better. I need to shore up on the diet, not drink as much when I go out and pick up the workouts from home.  This is a great month to test out how bad I really want this change with all the temptation around me…Can I fight the urge to find the easy way out? I know it won’t be easy but nothing so far has been easy.

 

When I talk to people about my weight loss, a topic that comes up a lot is hitting a “plateau”.  This comes with the usual words of encouragement of "fight through it," and "it'll be OK." 

 

My usual response is that I will be able to handle it. Now that the hour draws near, I am feeling more and more desire to escape the clutches of this so called “plateau,” but it just seems inevitable. I will have to come to grips with the idea that, at some point, I won’t lose as much weight or inches off my body.  Thanks, guys, for checking out the update, and be sure to listen to Dudley and Bob tomorrow as we discuss the results on the show.

Christine's Unique Workouts

This opportunity at Workshop Fitness has been one of the benchmarks in my life. For all the trainers to be a such a part of it amazes me; their heart and dedication to my health makes this experience all the more worthwhile. I think it's time for me to write a little bit about each of them so that you can have a better picture of what they do for me.
In previous posts I have talked about Christine being the trainer that is most like a doctor. What I mean by this is she asks a lot of questions about how my body is feeling and then designs a workout for me that will help relieve stress on those areas. My biggest problem area is my lower back and Christine always has great ways to fix it. She likes for me to do stretches that focus on the back and then she gets a foam roller so that we can “push out the bad” in my back. The workout with the foam roller feels like someone is running you over with a tiny truck, but it’s so effective! Christine is also very good at working out my abs. (She is so good she put out a DVD workout for abs that you can check out here. Christine will get those fun bouncy balls that you see at the gym, make me sit on it, and then I will bounce on it for about five minutes while sucking in my abs and moving left to right, left to right, left to right... you get the picture.)
The most refreshing aspect of her workouts are that they are very low impact. For me this is so crucial because a lot of my workouts involve lifting giant tires, or dragging a 100 pound water hose, so bouncing on a ball is a nice change that doesn’t wear my body down and at the same time gives me an effective workout. The thought of a low-impact workout to me always seemed like a waste of time until I met Christine. She utilizes long stretches, body positioning, bouncy ball workouts and low-resistance cardio to make the most out of the hour we share every week. If you guys have any more questions on Christine Tusa,please check her web site here.

LEEDA'S AWESOME STORY

Writing on this blog and talking on the radio have been made my life feel almost complete for the past couple of months, but I wasn’t sure how effective my progress was to other people. Of course, I love hearing how people think I am doing a great job, and how I look better now-- but I wanted to hear more from people who were changing their life because of what I was doing. Well it finally came in the form of my friend Leeda, whom I grew up one street away from her back in our elementary days.

Her brother and I were in the same grade and I would go over to their house to watch scary movies and enjoy their hilarious parents (I love Michael and Leeda’s parents, they are the best!). As soon as I started my blog, Leeda was giving me words of encouragement and was always asking me questions about Workshop Fitness. When I posted my results from three months in she finally said enough was enough and that she wanted to go checkout Workshop Fitness out, too! I got her to contact Mariesa, and now Leeda will be working out at the gym with Mariesa and Diana. The real kicker of this story is that Leeda is receiving this as a gift for graduating from the University of Texas. She originally was thinking of going to Europe, but she decided she would rather train with my friends at Workshop. To me that shows a lot of heart and dedication to her body and her health. I am so pumped for Leeda because I think she is going to really have some crazy results from the trainers. Updates will be coming soon so stay tuned!

THE WORKOUTS ARE INTENSIFYING

Ladies and gentlemen, I have made it through 15 weeks of intense workouts with Workshop Fitness. For the first 10 weeks I was feeling the pain, but there was a feeling that maybe I could do a little more than what was required of me. The trainers must have had the same feeling, because over the past month the workouts have gotten much harder. Thomas has been pushing me with higher weights on my bench and shoulder presses, Paul has been pulling out the sled more and putting on three 45 pound plates on it for me to push, Diana now is doing interval jogging workouts with me, Mariesa is still the same (HAHA J) and Jason really enjoys making me run and pick up telephone polls. This is a huge leap from the “Walk-n-talk” sessions I used to do, where I could literally do little more than walk and talk at the same time. I think with time they have built trust with me and now, have a better idea of where my limit is and they know how hard to push me. In turn, I have also have gained more trust in them, so when they ask me to do something that on the first day of training I would have never been able to do, I feel confident in myself. First instance, just this past week Paul set up a workout where I would flip this giant tire ten times and then hit the tire with the sledgehammer twenty times. I did five sets of this workout and after it was over I was just beat but I felt so accomplished in doing so much work! That was one of the workouts I will remember being a benchmark for my progress. Another benchmark for me was about two weeks ago when Jason made me run 8 miles per hour on the treadmill for 30 seconds…the previous high for me was 7 miles per hour so I was really scared to do it, but Jason trusted I could do it and I did! I was huffing and puffing but it really made me proud that I had gone from being exhausting from a light jog to now full-on running for 30 seconds. Now to think what will happen 15 weeks from now is a little scary but its going to be fun living it out!

DUDLEY AND BOB SPOT

This morning Diana and Thomas of Workshop Fitness came on the show to talk about my results over the past month. Here is a clip from it.

MEAUSREMENTS MONTH 3

I really cannot believe that it has been 3 months! I really have to hand it to Workshop Fitness for letting me stick around and be part of their family. Thank you guys so much! I really do love Thomas, Paul, Christine, Diana, Mariesa and Jason for all the work they have put me through and all the encouragement they have given me. I hope you realize how much I love you guys; you are the reason I am so happy and feel so alive today.

This past month has been the most challenging so far. I got really sick at the beginning of it and had to miss 4 workouts. I also didn’t lose any weight the first week of the month because of my sickness. It was a total bummer that first week and a half but I really tried to push myself through the sickness. After I started feeling better I really tried to propel myself harder than I normally do and my back just started to give out. It was just one thing after another! I really started to worry that I wasn’t going to lose any inches and I got myself very upset over the prospect of not fulfilling my expectations. Thankfully, after getting my results, it looks like my worries were overblown! I didn’t get quite the same numbers as I have been getting in the past, but I did lose more this month than I had in either or those first two. Here we go:


Neck: Down .25 inches
Chest: Down 1.75 inches
Waist: Down 3 inches
Hips: Down 3.75 inches
Thigh: Down .25 inches
Calf: Down .25 inches
Arm: Increase .25 inches

Total inches lost: 9.25 inches
Weight lost: 19 pounds

So, Grand Totals over 3 months:


Inches: 42.25!
Pounds: 54!
Percentage of weight loss: 14.5946%

Thanks Monty for taking the cool pictures, and also making a sweet logo for me! I’m still figuring the t-shirts out because I am going to find a different t-shirt to put the print on. If you want one, just e-mail me about it and I will put you down for a shirt when I put the order in. I am not sure how much the t-shirts will cost yet but right now I’m thinking around $15 depending on how cheap I can get them. Alright guys thank you very much for checking out the update, and there is definitely more to come!

3 MONTHS DOWN

On Friday it will be 3 months since the first day I met my trainers. It seems like yesterday I went up to Workshop Fitness for the first time scared, anxious, and excited to get this process started. The one thing I was really afraid of when I arrived was that the trainers would see me and think “LAZY!” But I think I have showed them that I will work hard for the goals we have laid out

It is also one week before I get my measurements done with Diana. Just like last time I am really worried that I will not get close to last months numbers (16 inches lost). I know that I can’t hit that number every time but it’s something that I would like to get close to. And since it’s the last week before the measurements I will be sure to push myself just a little harder than normal to produce the numbers I want to see.

TUSA FITNESS PARTY

 One of my trainers, Christine Tusa, is having a fitness party to celebrate the release of her workout DVD. It will be Saturday November 7^th at Workshop Fitness from 2-5 PM. There will be free workouts from 3:00-4:00, food, drinks and a whole lot more. If you have been wondering where all my training goes down feel free to stop by and check out the party. I am really proud of Christine for finishing her DVD, and I can’t wait to check it out. Hope to see some of you guys there! For more info go here. 

NEW T-SHIRTS

Just got my T-shirts in. Here is a pic of them! I will have a better one up soon, but I bought them small so I would have to lose more weight to fit in them. I know its a weird idea but I thought it would help me get more motivated.

10 Veggie Challenge

While I was working out with Christine today she asked how my diet was going. I told her about how it has gotten really easy for me now that I have been eating more frozen veggies and sticking mostly to peas and green beans. I thought she would be happy with this but she wasn’t exactly thrilled that I wasn’t eating all the vegetables this world has to offer.  So, she has challenged me to eat 10 different veggies this week, and my response is…are there 10 different vegetables out there? (I swear I am terrible about this whole diversifying my vegetable intake) Anyways, I need to know from you guys which veggies I need to try. Apparently there is a “rainbow” of veggie choices and I need to taste it so any suggestions would be appreciated.

WORKSHOP FITNESS DUDLEY AND BOB SPOT

My trainers Diana and Thomas came to the show today to talk about my last numbers among other things. I have to say when Bob tells me that he is impressed with me it really hit me that I was doing something positive. Thanks guys for checking it out!

TRAINING WITH DIANA

Today I worked out with Diana and it was the first time I got to work out with her in 2 weeks because last week she wouldn’t let me work out because of my chest congestion. What I normally do with Diana is a walk/jog on the treadmill and maybe some core stuff, but she hit me up with a whole new routine today. We did squat thrusts with 12-pound dumbbells for 20-second spurts and 10 second rests. Then we did pushups on the bench. Then she moved me onto lunges with a 12-pound dumbbell. I could continue, but basically it was a circuit training that lasted about 25 minutes, and it was EXHAUSTING! And after that we tried some interval running but I started coughing too hard and I just did a nice walking mile. It was a great workout and a step up from previous workouts with her. I can really start to tell how much everything is improving even with my illness right now.

CHALLENGES FROM MY TRAINERS

 There are a lot of things that I love about my trainers at Workshop Fitness, but something that they just recently started with me that I am enjoying is giving me challenges to conquer.

One of the challenges is getting ten sets of ten reps with a certain amount of weight on the bench press. My trainer Thomas presented this challenge to me.  The first attempt was with 95 pounds and I got it up 63 times. Then two weeks later we tried it again and I got 84 reps. Then we tried it again last week and I got all 100 up! He is now moving the weight up 10 pounds and we will start all over. I really like this style of training because it shows you a different kind of progression than your normal max numbers.

TRAINER DIARIES

I am working really hard to get fit and be healthy and I have to say its been working a lot better than I could have ever dreamed. Just this past week I walked over 10 miles in 3 days…something that I could have never done without the training I have received at Workshop Fitness. So I think its time to give the people who check out my blog some insight on my training with each of the trainers I have. So over the next six weeks I will be writing about each one and giving you a typical workout I do with them. But before I do that I want to talk to them a little more in depth about it so they will start next week.

Workshop Fitness

Here is a promo video for Workshop Fitness! Oh yeah and all my trainers are in it, SWEET!

Taking some time to talk about my Trainers

Today ends my fifth week of training, and I couldn't be happier with the results of my work. I am so happy right now, and none of it would be possible without the help of my six trainers! These guys are helping me do something that I really started having doubts would ever happen which is getting back in shape and becoming healthy. I just wanted to take some time to let you guys into the world of each trainer, and give you an idea of what my workouts are like with them.

Thomas Faustin - This guy is a beast with a vocabulary. He is in charge of my diet...I need to say that I am not a person that likes diets at all but the one he has me on is working out really great, and he has changed things on it to fit me so that I can be more successful with weight loss. He really listens to what I have to say on the diet, and I really appreciate that he lets me have at least some input on it. Thomas gets the pleasure of destroying my arms every Monday . We have mainly been working towards muscle endurance with bench presses and shoulder presses.


Paul Hedrick - We are college alumni Bro's. He works mainly lower body with me, but will throw in cardio and core. He is always changing up the workouts, but its all the same result...me getting my butt whipped. He said something to me that really hit home one day while working out. "Ricky, you will eventually not look at food for pleasure, but will look at it as fuel". I say that every time I look at a slice of pizza. I workout with him on Tuesdays.


Diana Haggerty - The first trainer to work me out! Diana fit me in on my birthday without any notice. She got me pumped up to meet everyone, and gives me great advice on how to recover, foods I should eat, and overall wellness tips. I work out with her on Wednesday and we mainly work on cardio with walking, but she will throw in some killer core work that makes me cringe thinking about. haha!


Mariesa Osterhaus - If you are looking for sympathy find another trainer because this lady means business. She has worked me out hard every single time I have worked with her, and she changes up all the time. She made me do a spinning bike session, another time she made me do something like 150 bench presses (It was light weight but STILL!). I workout with her on Thursdays and I always look forward to see what she has next for me.


Jason Miller - The king of balance...and making me drag a giant tire with a sledge hammer. Jason is all about getting my heartbeat going, and to that I say mission accomplished. Every week there is something new and harder with him. We do cardio, core, muscle strength, etc. I have him on Fridays.


Christine Tusa - My salsa partner! She is the perfect trainer to end the week with. She makes me hurt without making me run miles. She does a lot of stretching, and ab work with me. Her workout is perfect after a week of hurting and aching, I tell her which parts of my body are dying and she creates the workout from that. And like I said she got me introduced to salsa. We workout on Saturdays.


All of my trainers have been so supportive during my workouts, and I think they are the greatest group of people for helping me out with something I have struggled with all my life. There isn't one workout that goes by that they aren't pumping me up, or telling me I am doing great or pushing me to the limit. I truly am blessed for this opportunity, and with the help of these six trainers my goals will be met!

Dudley and Bob spot with Trainers

Today I got to share my workout results with Dale, Bob, Charlie, and Angela with the help of my trainers Thomas and Diana. We also talk about the training process, and Charlie's thoughts on what happens to a man when he works out a lot. Hope you enjoy!

How did I measure up?

Today is the 35th day I have been working with Workshop Fitness. On the first day I went there they measured my neck, arm, chest, waist, hip, thigh, and calf, and today they did the same. The trainer that does the measuring, Diana, was about to cry she was so happy with the results! Here is how much I lost in each category:

Weight:  19 lbs
Neck: .25 inches
Arm: 1.0 inch
Chest: 5.5 inches
Waist: 6 inches
Hip: 3 inches
Thigh: 1 inch
Calf: .5 inches
Total: 17.5 INCHES!

These numbers are exactly what I have been needing to see because I felt a difference in my body but wasn't seeing the weight go down for the first three weeks. Now to see how many inches I lost, I got a great idea of how hard I have worked, and how appreciative I am of all the trainers working with me. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Salsa Dancing

When I decided to lose my weight and change my life physically, I also wanted to work on other areas of my life. So when my trainer Christine Tusa asked me if I was interested in joining her at a salsa dance class my first thought was YEAH RIGHT! But then I started to think if it was something I would never do before this then maybe I need to give it a shot, and let me tell you I am so happy that I did. Salsa class is a great cardio workout, a great way to meet new people, and hopefully with a little practice I can  show off my dance moves sometime! I go to a salsa class on Mondays at Galaxy Dance Studios. Check them out if you want to learn how to boogie.