Over the past 6-7 months, I have made some dramatic changes and if I haven't taken over LMMEFS already, I am definitely getting close. Below are some pictures to illustrate:
The picture on the left was taken July 30, 2010 on a family outing to Lava Hot Springs. The picture on the right was taken February 18, 2011, about 6 1/2 months later. So what happened in between?
In August, September, and October of 2010, I trained for a half-marathon (I didn't actually end up running an official half-marathon, but the training seemed to do the trick). When I finished that, I had gone from ~230 lbs to ~212. After that, I decided that I wanted to train for a marathon, but I wanted to start at the beginning of the year, so for the rest of 2010, I just ran the pre-training schedule for a marathon training plan, which consisted of about 20 miles per week. I also started working out on my lunch hour rather than before or after work. For me, this worked out well because running took away a lot of my hunger and I began eating less, many times I didn't end up eating at lunch at all. (I am not a nutritionist and I know that this flies in the face of most dieting/weight-loss advice (although not all) so I'm not advocating it necessarily, just explaining what worked for me). By the end of the year, I was down to about 205.
With the start of the new year, I decided to add some weight training and formalize my workout plan a little bit. I built a running schedule that includes a marathon training plan and a half-marathon training plan, with parts of a 5k and 10k training plan filling out the year.
As far as weights, I do 10 basic exercises, all on machines (as opposed to free weights). I broke the year into 4 phases of 13 weeks each. The last week of 2010, I maxed out on each of the 10 exercises. Then I do two weeks of 3 sets of 15 at 40% of my one rep maximum, followed by two weeks of 4 sets of 10 at 60% of ORM, and finally two weeks of 5 sets of 5 at 80% of ORM. I then repeat that schedule again (for a total of 12 weeks). During the 13th week, I max out on each of the exercises again to prepare for the next phase. Here are the details of my Phase 1 weight-training. In addition, I do a few sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and curls each evening, M-F.
** UPDATE: Phase 2 weight-training **
** UPDATE: Phase 3 weight-training **
** UPDATE: Phase 4 weight-training **
Here is my entire workout schedule for 2011. So far, I've lost another 10 lbs or so, and set just a little under 195.
I'm not sure what my final target weight should be. I kind of had in mind getting to 175, which is what I weighed my senior year of high school. Jeanell thinks I shouldn't go below 185, which as about what I weighed when we got married. I guess we'll see.
Anyway, I know there are plenty of people that run a lot faster and farther, as well as people who are much more ripped that could give much better help and advice on getting in shape. This is just something I've struggled with for a while and I wanted to share some specifics of what has been working for me.
In August, September, and October of 2010, I trained for a half-marathon (I didn't actually end up running an official half-marathon, but the training seemed to do the trick). When I finished that, I had gone from ~230 lbs to ~212. After that, I decided that I wanted to train for a marathon, but I wanted to start at the beginning of the year, so for the rest of 2010, I just ran the pre-training schedule for a marathon training plan, which consisted of about 20 miles per week. I also started working out on my lunch hour rather than before or after work. For me, this worked out well because running took away a lot of my hunger and I began eating less, many times I didn't end up eating at lunch at all. (I am not a nutritionist and I know that this flies in the face of most dieting/weight-loss advice (although not all) so I'm not advocating it necessarily, just explaining what worked for me). By the end of the year, I was down to about 205.
With the start of the new year, I decided to add some weight training and formalize my workout plan a little bit. I built a running schedule that includes a marathon training plan and a half-marathon training plan, with parts of a 5k and 10k training plan filling out the year.
As far as weights, I do 10 basic exercises, all on machines (as opposed to free weights). I broke the year into 4 phases of 13 weeks each. The last week of 2010, I maxed out on each of the 10 exercises. Then I do two weeks of 3 sets of 15 at 40% of my one rep maximum, followed by two weeks of 4 sets of 10 at 60% of ORM, and finally two weeks of 5 sets of 5 at 80% of ORM. I then repeat that schedule again (for a total of 12 weeks). During the 13th week, I max out on each of the exercises again to prepare for the next phase. Here are the details of my Phase 1 weight-training. In addition, I do a few sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and curls each evening, M-F.
** UPDATE: Phase 2 weight-training **
** UPDATE: Phase 3 weight-training **
** UPDATE: Phase 4 weight-training **
Here is my entire workout schedule for 2011. So far, I've lost another 10 lbs or so, and set just a little under 195.
I'm not sure what my final target weight should be. I kind of had in mind getting to 175, which is what I weighed my senior year of high school. Jeanell thinks I shouldn't go below 185, which as about what I weighed when we got married. I guess we'll see.
Anyway, I know there are plenty of people that run a lot faster and farther, as well as people who are much more ripped that could give much better help and advice on getting in shape. This is just something I've struggled with for a while and I wanted to share some specifics of what has been working for me.
