Day 19 Weigh-In: 285.6

I'm down 0.8 pounds from yesterday, but only 0.4 pounds down from the day before; not quite the results I was hoping for.

Lap Swimming: 36 Lengths in 30 Minutes

The last two times I swam laps this week, I would swim two 25-yard lengths in a minute, and then I'd need to rest for a minute, for a total of 30 lengths in 30 minutes. Today I swam a little bit more slowly, and by pacing myself was able to swim six lengths in 3:40 before resting for 1:20, for a total of 36 lengths in 30 minutes. Must have burned somewhere between 375 and 425 calories.

Day 18 Weigh-In: 286.4

Slightly heavier than yesterday morning, 0.4 pounds heavier to be precise. Again, I expect minor fluctuations, and I ate a bit much last night, so I'm not bothered. Tomorrow morning should be better.

Day Two, Week One: Squats

Day two of my new workout has me doing 5 sets of 5 squats at about 70% of my one rep max weight, which I've treated as being 5% heavier than last workout, followed by two supplemental exercises:

Squat Day
Exercise	3/18 2011	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Squat	365x5
	365x5
	365x5
	365x5
	365x5
Straight Leg Deadlift	290x13
	290x10
	290x10
Incline Twisting Situps	0x12*
	0x12**
	0x10**
* Steepest incline ** Second steepest incline

St. Patty's Day Weigh-In: 286.0

After a day of weightlifting, stair climbing, brisk walking and lap swimming, this morning I weighed in at 286.0 lbs., 1.6 pounds lighter than yesterday. Boy I'm dreading the day that this weight loss slows down to a crawl...

3.1 Mile Walk in 0:48:24

Walked 3.1 miles today in 48 minutes and 24 seconds, for an average of 3.8 mph and around 500 calories burned.

Day 16 Weigh-In: 287.6

A weight gain of 0.6 pounds this morning, but I ate a big dinner last night and I know I ought to expect the occasional fluctuation, so I'm not worried.

Day One, Week One: Military Press

Started a new workout today, same idea as last time but using a 5% greater one-rep max and with new supplemental exercises. Day one has me doing 5 sets of 5 military presses at 70% of my one-rep max.

Also, when I got to work I climbed the 31+ flights of stairs in my building, but as I've done a time or two in the past, I did more than that: after every two flights of stairs I went down one. The end result was 62+ flights of stairs actually climbed.

Military Press Day
Exercise	3/16 2011	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Military Press	145x5
	145x5
	145x5
	145x5
	145x5
Dumbbell Triceps Extension	45x13*
	45x10*
	45x8*
Wide Overhand Pulldown	170x15 (P)
	180x12 (P)
	190x8 (P)
* Weight per arm (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

1.91 mile walk in 0:30:10

Well I had intended to walk longer and farther than this, but about 15 minutes in it started raining pretty heavily, so I turned back early. Still, I managed a 1.91 mile walk in about 30 minutes, which translates to an average of 3.8mph and about 300 calories burned.

Weight Loss Progress: Week Two

Whereas week one started out great but then frustrated me with virtually no weight loss for 5 days in a row, week two has been consistently encouraging throughout. I lost 6.2 pounds in that first week, going from 300.2 to 294. This week I went from 294 to 287, a loss of 7 pounds, for a two-week total of 13.2 pounds lost.

This puts me well ahead of where I'd hoped I would be, as the chart below shows. If I lost about 0.5 pounds each day, beginning two weeks ago, I'd hit exactly 242 on June 25th, the day of competition (green line). But I've been losing on average almost twice that (red line), and today I'm 6.2 pounds ahead; I could lose no weight at all for nearly 2 weeks and still be on track. Of course, I don't want that to happen, but it definitely takes some of the pressure off.

I can't wait to see how week three goes!

Day Four, Week Four: Deadlifts

The last workout of recovery week #4, day four has me doing 5 sets of 8 deadlifts at 60% of my one-rep max (by the way, even at only 60% of my one-rep max, 5 sets of 8 deadlifts is excruciatingly exhausting), followed by two supplemental exercises. And I still HATE lunges! Fortunately I begin a new workout tomorrow which doesn't include them.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	2/22 2011	3/1 2011	3/8 2011	3/15 2011
Deadlift	135x10	135x10	135x10	135x10
	225x8	225x8	225x8	225x8
	380x5	435x5	380x5	325x8
	380x5	435x5	435x5	325x8
	380x5	435x5	460x6**	325x8
	380x5			325x8
	380x5			325x8
Dumbbell Walking Lunge	35x10*	45x10*	55x10*	55x10*
	35x10*	45x10*	55x10*	55x10*
	35x10*	55x10*	55x10*	55x10*
Kneeling Hamstring Curl	35x15†	45x15†	55x15†	55x15†
	45x15†	55x15†	65x15†	65x15†
	55x15†	65x15†	75x15†	75x15†
* Weight per arm, and steps per leg † Weight per leg ** Reps until near failure

Lap Swimming: 30 Lengths in 30 Minutes

I haven't been swimming in a long time, so I decided today to get back into it in an attempt to burn a few more calories during the day without getting bored with doing the same ol' same ol'. For 30 minutes I swam laps crawl stroke, 50 yards in a minute followed by a minute of rest, and repeating, for a total of 30 lengths, or 1,500 yards. All told I gather I burned between 350 and 400 calories.

3.4 mile walk in 0:54:43

I took a brisk walk today, 3.4 miles in 54 minutes and 43 seconds. Without factoring out stops at crosswalks, this is an average of about 3.73 mph, burning about 485 calories. Combined with the weightlifting and 31+ flights of stairs climbed this morning, another great day of exercise.

Day Three, Week Four: Bench Press

Week four is a recovery week, and day three has me doing 5 sets of 8 bench presses at 60% of my one-rep max, followed by two supplemental exercises.

Bench Press Day
Exercise	2/21 2011	2/28 2011	3/7 2011	3/14 2011
Bench Press	245x5	280x5	245x5	210x8
	245x5	280x5	280x5	210x8
	245x5	280x5	295x7†	210x8
	245x5			210x8
	245x5			210x8
Dumbbell Press	90x15*	90x15*	90x15*	95x15*
	100x9*	100x12*	100x13*	105x12*
	100x7*	100x7*	100x7*	105x8*
Seated Row	165x15 (P)	175x15 (P)	175x15 (P)	175x15 (P)
	180x15 (P)	185x15 (P)	185x15 (P)	185x15 (P)
	195x9 (P)	195x9 (P)	195x10 (P)	195x10 (P)
* Weight per arm (P) Machine used at the PRO Club † Number of reps until near failure

Day 14 Weigh-In: 288.6

One more day 'til I've been at this for two weeks, and having lost 1.8 pounds since yesterday, at 288.6 I'm now 11.6 pounds lighter than when I began. I'm really encouraged by the feeling that I've actually got a good chance of making 242 by June 25th, the YMCA Seattle Summer Classic, whereas two weeks ago it was a feat I wasn't confident I could accomplish.

Day 13 Weigh-In: 290.4

I might be upset by a 0.2 pound weight gain were it not for how much I lost yesterday. As it is, I ate a bit more than I should have and expected worse, so I'm happy with basically remaining where I was yesterday.