The Back on Track Report: Week 7

This week’s report will be short. A couple highlights with one having a lot of significance in terms of where I am.

In terms of weight, I came in last Wednesday at 214.9 lbs. It’s safe to say I’ve stabilized under 220. Now it’s just a matter of keeping up with my routine. Eventually I’ll go down to 210, but I’m in no hurry. My wardrobe though…

I’m swimming in some of my clothes. Shopping will need to be done, but I’m gonna try to hold off until I’m down a few more pounds. I sorta think of my swimming in clothes like the in-between stage when someone’s growing their hair out. It isn’t awful, but it just ain’t completely right for a while. I went into a Banana Republic to try on some pants and still couldn’t move a size down due to my waist-to-lower-half issue that still persists. Well, that’s never gonna go away. I also ran into a similar problem with shirts. I move one size down in button ups and they emphatically hug me. So for now, I’ll stay at 38×32 and 16 1/2 34-35.

The biggest highlight of last week was my accomplishment on the squats exercise. I finally made it back up to doing a set with 225 pounds. The last time I squatted that amount was a few years ago. And it wasn’t long after that that I strained a muscle in my lower back and was subjected to back spasms for a solid week. So as you can imagine, when I put that 225 on the bar I was a little nervous. I tightened up my back support belt, took a deep breath and cautiously got through it. So for my next workout, I’ll be squatting 235 on my last set. When I get to 285, there will be a celebration. When I get to 315, there will be an all-white party in the Hamptons.

I also started including power cleans again. 135 is baby weight for the seasoned athlete, but it was great for me to feel the muscle memory return. This was always a more challenging exercise for me, so I expect it’ll take a while before I’m hitting 185. That’s my next big goal on that exercise.

In terms of this week, I’m looking forward to doing a yoga class at my gym (schedule permitting). Flexibility has been another weakness of mine, so I figure doing Yoga once a week will definitely help me get back on track and avoid injury later on. I’ll be sure to update on that in my next report.

That’s all I have for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my progress and that it’s gotten you motivated to do just a little bit more than you’re doing right now. You don’t have to be an athlete to get in the best shape of your life. You just need to want it for you. Now put down that damn french fry!

Slim