The fight continues

An update of sorts.... I got my circumfrance measurements and there were some interesting finds. Some of my body parts are larger than the same parts on the other side.

Girth Measurements

Bicep Right=13 1/2 inches Left=12 7/8 inches

Umbilical 37

Hips 42

Thigh Right=22 1/2 Left=23 1/2

Chest 40

Calves Right=15 7/8 Left=16 1/8

Shoulders 47 3/4

I am currently 187 lbs and still need to get rid of 2 lbs to meet my goal of 185. This weekend I was tired from work, saw a movie (with popcorn of course) and then Sunday there was a Chinese New Year/ surprise birthday party for a friend at my house. Now the fight continues and I'll get back on track.

measurements upcoming

A exercise website I go to called bodyblog has a way to measure improvements in various ways including strength gains and body circumfrance measurements. What are circumfrance measurements? According to the University of Iowa Health Care

"Skinfold thickness and circumference of trunk and limbs are indicators of musculature and fatness that can be objectively tracked over time."

Another reason is to track muscularity. For example if when I begin working out I have 15 inch wide arms and then three months later I measure my arms again and they are now 20 inches wide that is an indication that the increase is probably due to increased muscle mass.

This upcoming week I have an appointment with a personal trainer at my gym to get my measurements. I want to get that done because it will be another way to track improvements in changes in my body structure. I'm looking forward to my meeting with the personal trainer on Thursday.

Bodyweight goals

Picture of me today


So the last time I posted how people sometimes find it hard to keep up with working out and eating right in order to achieve thier goals. I'd like to talk about how I fell off the train and got back on again.

Back in 2004 I went to police academy and they make you run and do obsticle courses and hoist large objects over your shoulders while running. I had PT instructors that pushed us and because of that when I came out of the academy I was in the best shape of my life. After academy I was not working out as much and my diet wasn't as good as it should have been so I gained some weight back.

Last year I decided to get back into shape so I got a homegym in the garage. The gym consisted of an adjustuble bench, some dumbells and an EZ curl bar. I worked out for a while but then eventually lost motivation. So back in August, after I got a raise from work, I joined a gym that was 24 hrs and had two locations and some other perks. I started out at 197 lbs with 19.7% bodyfat. On Dec. 31st I weighed 189 lbs with 13.9% bodyfat. My personal goal is to get down to where I was when I was in the best shape during academy. This means weighing between 180-185, continue to lose bodyfat and then increase lean muscle mass to get stronger.

The Importance of Setting Goals

When a person begins to workout there may be a number of reasons why the person eventually quits.

It could be due to not making enough time to workout.

It could be that the person needs an exercise partner to help him or her keep up with the consistantcy needed to eventually make something a habit.


Here's a video from someone that is dealing with motivation and consistancy.

For me I stay motivated by visiting exercise blogs and keeping track of my progress with an excel spreadsheet. The bigger guys at the gym also motivate me to keep up with my workouts and to workout harder.

One of the hardest parts to working out for me is to vary my workout to keep losing fat. For a while I was running at a constant speed on the treadmill but could not get past the 192-193 lbs area. I went to Vitamin World and they suggested doing interval training and to vary speeds when I run as well as doing sprinting. Let's hope I can continue to lose weight and body fat.

The Beginning

I officially started began to get back into shape at the beginning of September 2008. I wasn't in bad shape but for a 5' 10" 32 year old male 197 lbs was a little heavy for me. I joined Gainesville Health and Fitness and began my quest to lose weight and bodyfat.




This picture was taken when I began working out in September.


When I was in police academy in 2004 I was in the best shape. I feel that I should be between 180-185 lbs. When I started working out in September I had a bodyfat percentage of 19.7%. Eventually I would like to get that into the single digits. At the end of last year on 12/31 I got my bodyfat percentage measured again and I had gotten it down to 13.9%.