Whew, this week has gone by very quickly! I have how gone a full nine weeks of this new lifestyle, and I'm settling into a good rhythm. On Sunday it was kind of strange not to be doing some kind of exercise, since it's my "day off."
This week I completed the registration for the two 5k swims I had my eye on. Now it's official -- I have to do this! The swim training is feeling very good, and I don't have any residual aches after my swims. This week my training program had me swimming sets of 200m without stopping, and next week starts off a set of 400m uninterrupted. To challenge myself, on my Saturday swim I started with a 400m swim, then did the recommended program (200m, 4x100m, 4x50m, 4x25m...) That 400 felt awesome! It was great to get a head-start on next week's challenges. I turned the last four 25m sets into two sets of 50m, and thank goodness next week is the end of the 25m sets -- I'm starting to really enjoy the longer sets! They're just a little trickier to keep track of, since I'm not stopping to stick my hand out of the water and hit my lap counter. In fact, this week I lost count and did an extra lap just in case...
In other news, I've again upped some of my lifting weight! For bicep curls, hammer curls, and dumbell bench presses I've been using the 15lb-ers, up from the 10lb-ers, and its just the right amount of challenge! I hope by next week to have switch more exercises over to the 15lb-ers. Oddly, the hardest exercise on my list right now is the one I do with the lowest weight: lateral raises. I dread them, and have a really hard time doing a full set in one go, and I'm just using 5lb weights! It's the only exercise where I still use those!
Exercise Goals: 30 min weight lifting & 30 min of interval training on a stationary bike 3x/week, swim training 3x per week. Rest 1 day. Hit 12,000 steps every day.
Last week:
Weights & Bike: M, W, F (3/3)
Swim Training: T, Th, Sa (3/3) 4200m total this week
12,000 steps: M, T, Th, F, Sa, Su (6/7) 150 short on Wed!
What I struggled with last week:
The SCALE! This week I ate very well, I excercised diligently, and I walked and walked and walked, and still the scale waffled right around the same number. Argh. Fortunately, I had already met my Transformer goal, and had a successful weigh-in on Saturday morning, after which I permitted myself a cheat meal -- a burger & salad to celebrate my city's "Burger Week." I was up a teeny bit on the scale the next day, and then today, BINGO, the scale popped right down to where I expected it to be last week! Sigh. Onwards! And this isn't the first time that a small indulgence has coincided with moving the scale the right direction. Maybe I should have tried it sooner!
What I'm proud of last week:
I made it to 169lbs! That was my personal goal for March, and I've done it. Whee! Personal goal for end of April: 160lbs. That would get me back to where I was when I started DietBet for the first time, over a year ago. It's frustrating to have lost so much ground, but I'm glad to be making it up again.
I'm feeling incredibly empowered by my swimming regime, and that, in turn, is encouraging me to meet my weight-lifting goals. I'm delighted by the progress I'm making, but even more, I'm delighted to find myself eager to keep challening myself. This isn't typical for me and exercise, as I often shy away from physical goals. I think this is partly because often those goals have been externally imposed (gym class, or any exercise class), and as soon as someone else is telling me what my physical limits should be, I get grumpy. But when I feel like I'm pushing those limits of my own free will, I will PUSH!
What I'm looking forward to this week:
I've got a Transformer weigh-in tomorrow AM, and after that I'm going to give myself a day or two of a slightly more relaxed food intake, then get right back on it to meet my next Transformer goal. I'm anticipating that this week may be harder than the last two, since it's Holy Week and I work two jobs (office and music) at a fairly intense Anglican church. I'm going to be relying on the habits I've been building to get me through without doing some food things I regret!