So I have been talking about this for the last week but my voice is wrecked, and I finally went to Walgreens to buy some throat lozenges. As I get up to the counter to pay the cashier gives he gives me the normal greeting and I say, “What’s up”, in my just finished a carton of cigarettes voice. He then asks me if I want some candy that they are selling. I of course tell them thank you kind sir but I will have to respectfully decline your offer for the candy. He then says, “Come on man you know you like candy” and then just stares at my stomach! I wanted to jump over the counter and show him what my new training would allow me to do, but I just said, “No man I am cool”. Things like this really upset me, because I am pretty sure I am not the only big person that has to deal with things like this on a somewhat daily basis. I understand he is just trying to sell a product, but he does not have to stare at my stomach suggesting I would want it since I am a big guy. Anyways, my lesson today is just don’t expect every big person to agree to candy, some of us don’t want it!
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.
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.
Last week I went to see some friends in San Antonio on Monday and when I got in there I started to feel my throat hurt a little, and ever since then I have had this slight sickness that I have not been able to knock. I am trying everything, and I thought on Friday I was starting to turn the corner, I even jogged and did my full workout (Which I have only got in 2 good workouts since Tuesday). But the past two days its gotten worse it feels and I am not too happy with that. I am hoping my workout today will help clear some of this out, and then taking some meds and drinking water will cure this all. I still have a lot to do before this week! Oh well, here to wishful thinking!
There are a few things I would like to address before putting the numbers down. I have been getting a lot of responses from people who are checking this out, and I want to say thank you so much for being vocal about it. I love hearing that my work is inspiring others and it makes it that much easier for me to push that extra mile in the gym. People have also been asking me what they can do for me, and this is what I tell them every time… Tell people about my experience! I want to help as many people as possible. Either by gaining inspiration from my stories, or realizing that if I can do this they can too! I am just a regular guy that fell into an amazing opportunity. I couldn’t be happier than I am today and I love sharing it with all of you!
Okay…now to the numbers that you all been waiting for…lets first look back at what I did the last time I did my measurements:
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: 17.25 INCHES!
So this time around we did it one week earlier than last time, but I feel got just as good about the results:
Weight: 16 lbs
Neck: .25 inches
Arm: .25 inches
Chest: 4 inches
Waist: 6.5 inches
Hip: 2.25 inches
Thigh: 2.25 inches
Calf: .25 inches
Total: 15.75 INCHES
When we total that up since my birthday on July 23rd I have lost:
Weight: 35 lbs
Neck: .5 inches
Arm: 1.25 inches
Chest: 9.5 inches
Waist: 12.5 inches
Hip: 5.25 inches
Thigh: 3.25 inches
Calf: .75 inches
Total: 33 inches
After looking at these numbers it’s hard for me to not just sit here and wonder how lucky I am to have met all my wonderful trainers at Workshop Fitness. If it weren’t for them I would not be in this situation. THANK YOU GUYS!
I have also included some pictures of myself in the jacket I wrote about earlier this week, jeans that I haven’t fit into in years, and a t-shirt I have not been able to wear since I moved to San Marcos over six years ago. The other picture is my goal picture, which I will be taking a picture with once a week so that you can see the gradual change of my body, and once that one goes I will find another shirt to do this in. I hope you guys enjoyed the post, and I look forward to bringing more positive results to the table!
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.
Oh man I wish this was a good story but it still really hurts thinking about it. It was the summer between 7th and 8th grade and I was going to Schlitterbahn with my dad and a friend. My dad had been taking me there pretty much every summer since I was a little kid and I had always enjoyed how much fun you could have there as a kid. There had been a new addition to the park called the Master Blaster and my friend and I really wanted to ride as soon as we got to the park so we showed up early to next to the door as soon as it opened. We get to the gate and there is a ton of kids with the same idea as us so we get the game face on. As the park opens up its like a sprawl of children running crazy in all directions. We start our descent up the massive amount of stairs to get all the way up to the ride. We get in line and there are about 20-30 kids ahead of us and the line just keeps growing behind us as kids continue to run up the stairs. We finally get to the top to get on the ride and the lifeguard looks at me and is sort of perplexed. I was a little thrown off but I just walked into the water to get into the inner tube. The lifeguard stops me in my tracks and says “dude you are too big to ride this I can’t let you on”. I was a little shocked but I asked him to just let me ride, and he said he would get in trouble if he let me down so I would have to walk back down…and that is exactly what I did while my buddy got to ride the sweet ride that is Master Blaster. I felt embarrassed that I had to walk back down in front of all those kids waiting in line and it was one of the worst feelings in the world. The looks I got from kids that laughed and snickered as I walked down will stay with me forever. Even though this may seem sad its something that I look at and feel that this story gives me inspiration to never be like that again. I don’t want to have to sit out of life that’s not fair to who I want to be.
I can’t wait to go back to Schlitterbahn and slay some of those water rides. When the time comes I am going to get on every ride I have never been on and enjoy every minute because damnit I DESERVE IT!
