Workout Update

Workout Update #12 | Do I need a workout partner?

by Mike Vifquain on December 22, 2009

748 Calories.  Heart rate under 150 for the entire cardio session.

It feels good to see progress.  Part of getting in shape is maintaining a good heart rate during an intense workout.  Today I pushed myself with the “random” setting on the elliptical keeping my RPMs somewhere around 60-63.  I like to train HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), so I go 5 minutes at 60-63 RPM and drop for 2 minutes to 45-50 RPM.  That allows just long enough for  my heart rate to adjust only to pump it up again.  I’m told this really helps overall cardio and fat burning.  Since I have been back in the gym I noticed my heart rate originally around 168-170 and has steadily dropped.  My target “fat burning” zone is 132-150 according to all the scales I’ve read.  To hit that before I felt like i was walking and just couldn’t do it.  I need to feel like I am working out.  Today, I achieved that number while pushing myself.  It is a small, but significant, milestone on my road to becoming physically fit.

I want to be one of the few who can say he lost weight through the holidays.  To do this, I will need to push myself extra hard.  It’s tough by yourself.  I think I need a training partner.  Any volunteers?

I have just over 2 weeks to lose another 13lbs and meet my first goal, 20lbs loss.  Pulling this off over notorious drinking and eating holidays will be extra tough. I have the will power.

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Workout Update #11

by Mike Vifquain on December 21, 2009

It’s Monday, and I feel great!

Christmas is only a few days away, my kids are seeing the presents pile under the tree and are excited for Santa to arrive.  I’m almost done shopping, I didn’t quite make my goal to finish yesterday.  I have one more trip to Wally World (Wal-Mart) to complete the seasons shopping.  The rest will be left to Santa!

I took a break from my daily cardio yesterday, a much needed rest day.  Though with all the walking through the stores, I think I managed to burn a few calories anyway.

703.

That’s the number of calories I burned this morning in only 40 minutes on the elliptical.  I finished up with a trio of crunches, leg lifts and the plank.  If you don’t know what the plank is, consider it Mike’s personal hell!

Picture this…  Pushup position, drop to your elbows and hold it.  Hold your body steady like a plank for as long as you can.  How long can you hold it?  15 seconds? 30 seconds?  1 minute?  I hit 15-20 seconds and want to shoot myself to get out of the misery!  My goal is 1 minute, I used to do this on a regular basis without a blink of an eye.  Not today.

Some guys want to do 10 pull-ups.  I want to do a 1 minute plank!  Should be simple enough.  I just need to keep working my core and stay focused.

How was your weekend?  Are you giving into the holiday temptations of cookies, candy & pie?  I’ve been pretty fortunate not to, yet.  I will budget my calories to allow for a bite or two every now and then.  If I don’t eat Grandma’s Pie, I would be killed!

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Under 300lbs again! | Weight-loss & Workout Day #10

by Mike Vifquain on December 19, 2009

I am 299.3lbs

Wow. This is still a HUGE number, and twice the weight of the average human.  For me, this number is a sign of progress.  Had I not slipped over the 300 mark again, I might not have started this journey.  I fluctuated at 285-295 for quite some time.

The really big news here is I have proved to myself that I can lose weight while out of town.  Remember, I travel a lot for work — A LOT!  I ate well, drank wine and had a fantastic time.  I was never hungry and didn’t stress about conforming to a “diet.”  I lived my life, and still managed to lose weight.  How?  Well I think my choice of grilled chicken taco salad instead of the grande burrito smothered in chipotle queso sauce was a good start.

Today I really pushed myself at the gym.  I did 50 minutes on the elliptical + 5 minute cool down.  My heart rate is getting better every day.

Total calories burned: 815

Not bad.  I still have to change the batteries in my heart rate monitor, so I don’t know how accurate the one on the elliptical machine is.  When comparing to previous calorie counts on the same machine (and I always use the same machine) it is a good benchmark to follow.

Today will be renamed Success Saturday!

Now it’s your turn.  What has made your day a Success Saturday?

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Weight-loss & Workout Days #8 & 9 | Hotel workouts

by Mike Vifquain on December 19, 2009

Where have my updates gone?  Did you think I disappeared?

NO, I did not call it quits already!  I was in St Augustine, FL exploring the oldest city in America!  I know, I promised updates — I’m sorry.    While there, I learned I do have will-power and it is possible to have fun without binge eating and drinking!  I also learned that the Internet connection in the oldest city in America is still rather crappy!

CRappy HOtel Gym in St Augustine, FL

Crappy Hotel Gym in St Augustine, FL

See, I still managed to grab my workout while on the road.  Good on me!  I know I can do it now.  The gym was pretty lacking.  It had 2 sub-par treadmills and a nice bike — if the bike worked.  The “start” button was broke, so I couldn’t add any tension to the pedals.  I warmed up with 15 minutes on the treadmill and another 5 on the bike (with no tension!).  Then I decided to use what the good lord gave me and hit the push-ups and crunches.  Yes, I still did sissy push-ups by dropping my knees to the ground.  I’m ashamed to say it, but they are sissy push-ups!  I will soon move on to the big-boy ones.

My workout in total was about an hour and 15 minutes.  I did a pyramid circuit of the two that my High School Football Coach Olsen in Crestview, FL used to call the “Big 21.”  You start with 21 push-ups, then 21 sit-ups/crunches.  Next, 19, 17, 15…and so on.  I started with 10, 9, 8, 7, etc.  If you’ve never done something like that, I encourage you to try.  No matter how good of shape you are in, you will realize that you can be in better shape!

Now, how did I eat?

I ate pretty well.  For breakfast I stuck with egg-white omelet filled with feta and spinach and 1-slice of whole wheat toast.  Lunch varied, but always had grilled chicken.  Dinner was salad, chicken and veggies.  In-between I had the Blue Diamond almonds I brought with me.  No beer, but I did drink wine and a glass of Sangria one night.  I didn’t feel bad and think overall my trip went well.

Will I gain weight?  I can’t be certain, but I assume I will probably have a pound or two gain.  Why?  Well one can’t enjoy themselves and not suffer, right?  I will find out this morning after I weigh-in at the gym.  My plan is to kill it with cardio.  No weights today.  I may do some walking lunges though.

How did your week finish?  Did you get the most out of your workouts?

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Weight-loss & Workout Day #7 | 5lbs lost!

by Mike Vifquain on December 16, 2009

Today’s update is coming early as I’m heading out of town for a few days.  Don’t worry ladies, I’ll still be working out from the hotel and posting updates accordingly.

I’ve been waking up early this week, as I previously mentioned.  I’m excited, like a kid with a new toy.  This blog, and the comments are really inspiring me to push forward.

The desk-clerk at the gym commented about my “attendance” today.  She asked if I was becoming one of the regulars again.  “Yes!”  Isn’t it great when someone else notices your efforts?  Peer pressure works.  If I ever miss a day, I bet she will comment on that too.

December 16, 2009

December 16, 2009

The weekly pic post is up.  No noticeable change.  Well, evidently I’m bigger than the Christmas tree. ugh!

So, onto the Panty-dropper.  I arrive at the gym and head for the scale.  I am always sure to use the same scale and don’t bother taking my shoes off making a huge ordeal out of this.  I am stunned when I see the results:

301.2lbs - Yeah baby – 5lbs loss!!!!!

Can you believe that?  In less than a week, I managed to drop 5lbs by doing some cardio and eating better.  It was all the proof I needed to move forward in my journey.  I knew I could do it.  By next week I will remove a HUGE monkey from my back – 300lbs.

I am promising you today, I will never see 300lbs again!

Take that to the bank, sure money!

My workout today consisted of another 35 minutes on the elliptical, reporting a whopping 602 calories burned.  I pushed myself harder today.  The weight loss felt good and I was on cloud 9.  I worked back and shoulders for todays lifting.  I positioned myself face first against the incline bench with dumbbells and cycled the following:

3×12 -  15lb hammer lifts (raise arms straight in front from resting position)

3×12 – 15lb back fly’s

3×18 – Extended leg bench crunches

I felt the burn on these, and am trying to ease myself into lifting.  I don’t’ want to hurt myself and prevent future progress.

Greg from Gregs Transformation pointed out, in the comment section, that the machines calorie reading might not be accurate.  I will be wearing my own heart rate monitor in the future to compare against the machine.  Thanks Greg!

Lastly, I love your comments.  They keep me going and I hope my new journey is inspiring some of you.  Thank you!

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Weight-loss & Workout Day #6 | adding weights

by Mike Vifquain on December 16, 2009

Burn baby, burn!

Oh yeah.  It’s finally coming together.  Cardio + weights = one tired, but pumped, Mike!  My workouts have gotten better over the last few days so I decided to add weight training into my routine faster than anticipated.  It was a last minute decision.  It just felt good.

While flexing my man-flab for all the hotties in the gym, I was feeling really good about myself and the progress I have made in a short time.  Yeah, I said progress.  30 minutes into my elliptical session I wasn’t as winded and my heart rate was getting more under control.  I had energy.  I started to think rather than the 50-60 minutes of cardio, I could cut it short to 35 minutes and get in 25-30 minutes of weight training.  I know weight training helps burn fat during muscle recovery, which is my goal. I’m sold.

35 Minutes on Elliptical – 668 calories burned (edit: 568 calories burned, bad typo!)

My favorite lift of all is dumbbell curls. I started with a small circuit plan.

3 x 12-15 dumbbell curls, 20lbs

3 x 12-15 tricep extension (behind the head, both hands on dumbbell), 40lbs

3 x 15 Extended leg bench crunches

I rotated from one to the other, then rested for a minute after each cycle.  I didn’t start with a lot of weight as I wanted to be able to function the next day.  No craziness or over-exertion for my first day of lifts.  It felt good to pump my muscles again.

My diet was spot on as well.  I ate more, a lot more.  At least it felt like a lot.

Meal 1: 3 egg omelet with spinach, feta and green onions.  cottage cheese & fresh pineapple.  Coffee

Meal 2: grilled chicken breast, 1 slice whole wheat toast

Meal 3: Stuffed Green Pepper (leftovers from night before)

Meal 4: Blue Diamond Almonds, smoked.  20 pieces

Meal 5: Stuffed Green Pepper (Hey, they were REALLY good!)

Meal 6: 2 tbsp Naturally More Peanut Butter

Estimated Calories: ~2250 – 2500

I had to force myself to eat.  I drank plenty of water as well.  I think I’m going to start counting my calories in a little more detail.  I need to know the amount of protein, fat and carbs I am consuming.  Does anyone have recommendations for the best online tracking program?

Ladies, let’s not get too excited, but I will be posting another topless progress photo later today.  Please direct your fan mail to the comments section!

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