All About Numbers, Gym Rat, pt III

Well, its been about 7 weeks now, and I'm still a regular fixture at the gym most days after work. (I actually dislike it when something in real life gets in the way of my routine now!) I think back on my first week of trying the elliptical machine, and how just 20 minutes was an effort, on the lowest resistance. Now, I'm up to 35 minutes, and over 2 miles in the that time, on resistance level 6.

The only real measurable progress in this has been all about the numbers. So that's what I track on a spread sheet on a daily basis. I track my minutes on cardio machines, and weights lifted. At the end of 7 weeks, here's what I have: 82.09 miles, 1570 minutes on cardio machines. And a total weight lifted of 141,425 pounds. (I count number of pounds x number of lifts... lifting a 12 lb weight 12 times = 144). When I track and total these numbers by week, I can get a sense of improvements. By giving myself 1 point per pound, and 1 point per minute, I am able to see at a glance just how much I've improved.

• wk 1 - 11642
• wk 2 - 13758
• wk 3 - 21775
• wk 4 - 170
• wk 5 - 29565
• wk 6 - 13295
• wk 7 - 52785

In case you're wondering, that's not a typo at week 4. After 3 weeks, I weighed in 3 lbs heavier, and thought for certain I was building muscle in places I didn't want .... so I stopped lifting weights that week to see if there would be a difference. Week 6 had a slight downturn for the same reason. Its very frustrating to watch these numbers fluctuate, and not see any weight coming off.

While its not always something I look forward, once I get inside the gym and into my workout clothes, I'm ready to keep working at it... cuz it makes me feel better, even if I'm not showing any improvements on the outside. One of the things I did the last time I charged my mp3 player was load a few different songs to shake up the routine. I have about 200 songs loaded up, so no two days are ever the same. (Thanks, Mike! for all the great stuff you passed along <3u! Banana pancakes played while on the treadmill today, I couldn't help but chuckle, and think of you!)

I also track all of this, plus what I've eaten on SparkPeople, the largest online dieting community and its free! It's a wonderful way to meet up with other people who want to lose weight, get healthy, or a combination of both. (If you join up, friend me! AzGal50 )

hardworking HUGS to everyone!