Getting Back into Shape

When I first heard of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, it was the ad showing the contestants in roughly 2004 (if my memory serves me correctly) and I truly dismissed the show. Six years later however, I’m finding The Biggest Loser to be a great source of information and inspiration.

Its amazing hearing the stories of the contestants and understanding that they had some point or event in their life which caused a spiral into obesity or stopped them from choosing to pursue a healthier lifestyle.

Since dismissing the show at face value, it seems to be happening to those around me. Gone are the days of 3 – 6 hours of training each day during our school and university days, long lost are the teammates and coaches to push us for excellence and the athletic physique is definitely in the rear-view mirror.

3 – 6 hours of training per day just happened; calories were burned, sweating, pushing to the limit. It was easy as it was broken up through out the day. It was a lifestyle as a high-school and college athlete. Not everyone kept with that schedule, but a good number of us did – we enjoyed it. These Biggest Loser contestants are going through a similar schedule with hopes of getting back into healthy shape.

Having teammates at your side and coaches there to push you is such a great method of life. Whether work or working-out, it really helps. Motivation from coach and accountability to your teammates keeps everyone in check. “There is nothing stronger than a group of people working together for the same goal.” This is the magic of The Biggest Loser, Jillian & Bob are world-class trainers (and nutritionists) and each player is on a team working for the same goal as their team – lost weight; get in shape.

They are parallel – maybe I’m just missing the team environment, whatever the case, I’m out of shape!

Unlike most people who start to gain weight after giving up a very athletic lifestyle, I have slipped to the other side of unhealthy – I’ve lost weight, too much. I’m comfortable between 200-210 lbs (athletic build) and at my lowest, I was down to 175 lbs, low-energy, clothes feeling baggy, low-confidence, un-motivated to get off my butt. Meanwhile, what used to be muscular was now feeling chubby – stomach, sides, etc.

My muscle mass has decreased with my fat percentage increasing. With my eating habits unchanged, I would simply eat what I wanted. All though my life that has been the case.

“What do you want? No matter your choice, you’ll burn it off later.”

Normally, I’m not the type to plug a TV show, but this is the kick in the pants that I needed to get back into the gym, start eating right, and really set goals again. I feel more lively already and I’m excited for a change.

As I learn more about the process (and hopefully see changes) I’m going to be sharing them as I hope to inspire others who may have slipped away from the body and lifestyle they love.

Here’s to our health!

My 30 Day Challenge: Update 2

A little harder over the past couple days, the rain has not let up, we even lost power in our neighbourhood for a couple hours Wednesday night. Still, I have pushed myself to accomplish the set goals – these are the defining moments which will make the difference on day 30.

I’ve also noticed that I’m starting to crave healthier foods. My body is responding to exercise, and lately I’ve wanted Pasta! Its ok, as long as I continue to burn more calories. I found some great tips to keeping on it!

Overall, a little sore, but not as bad as basketball on Sunday. However, back to the court today - Sunday basketball!

Follow on Twitter - http://twitter.com/cmdevelopment

Here’s a recap of the past 3 days:

Daily Jog - Accomplished

100 Push-ups - Accomplished

100 Triceps Dips - Accomplished

100 Sit-ups - Accomplished

100 Lunges - Accomplished

My 30 Day Challenge: Update 1

I’m trying to get started on the right foot for My 30 Day Challenge with Sunday night basketball. It was a wake-up call. The biggest difference I saw was the stamina – I couldn’t keep up half of the time. Forgetting how much of a cardio session basketball was, I came home exhausted and sore.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – all sore muscles, however, getting in to the new routine did help. The morning Jog, and 10 sets of 10 Push-ups, Triceps dips, and lunges through out the day really felt good. The sit-ups were done all in one shot as I learned from one of my trainers. Legs in the air x 10, knees at 90 degrees x 10, feet on the ground x 10, “frog” x 10, knees bent to the left x 10, knees bent to the right x 10. Did that twice – my core is burning, but in a good way.

It looks like we’re off to a good start – need to keep it up for another 27 days.

Here’s a recap of the past 3 days:

Daily Jog - Accomplished

100 Push-ups - Accomplished

100 Triceps Dips - Accomplished

100 Sit-ups - Accomplished

100 Lunges - Accomplished

My 30 Day challenge

Right now I'm a shape - not the shape I'd like to be in. Here's where we begin. Ideally I would like to be back at a comfortable weight, feeling strong and confident. Currently, neither of those accurately describe how I feel or my physique.

The task - to at least have the confidence back, and to be as active as possible while I lead this busy life. The motivational music is loaded in the iPod - lets get started!

Step 1: Exercises around the home as frequently as possible and jogging with our dog daily.

Step 2: Regular gym sessions built into my weekly schedule.

Step 3: Back into team sports on a regular basis

The journey officially begins this weekend, but I've gotten a head start; Push-ups, Sit-ups and Triceps-Dips. I'm going to need to work on getting the number of reps up, and increasing the amount of sets through out the day.

Goal 1:
Have 100 reps of each at-home exercise done daily.
20-30 minute run with our dog each day.

Date to complete: Friday, November 20.