Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Weekly Workout Report (46)

Since the Personal Trainer project is now over and done with and I don't have to report my weekly workouts or what I have eaten to Sanna anymore I still need someone to keep an eye on me. Well, that lucky person is YOU. Congratulations! I'm sure you can't wait to see how many times I have exercised each week and how much calories I have burnt. Every. Single. Week. Oh yes, I can already sense your excitement.

I figured the easiest way to share my weekly totals is to take a screen shot from polarpersonaltrainer.com service since I transfer all the workouts from my Polar RC3 GPS heart rate monitor there. The only thing I have to do is to name the exercises, all other information is there automatically. So, here's my exercise totals from week 46:


I have decided to concentrate first in building muscle mass (well, trying anyway) and teaching my body to burn fat (easier said than done, I've noticed!) before returning to long distance running training. That's why my workouts include mostly gym exercise and Nordic walking instead of running for 10 km or more. Long distance running and the minus calories don't seem to help in the muscle mass department at all but for some reason it is not doing me any favors in fat burning either. I guess I will have to experiment a little to see which combination works the best with my illogical body.

Even if I have decided to put the long distance running at the end of the exercise priority list for a while I would still like to maintain (and improve) my running fitness level too. Dilemmas, dilemmas. I want it all - and I want it now... I'm planning to have at least one high-intensity interval training session in my weekly programs and do a bit more cardio at the gym and hope that will do the trick. Fingers crossed!

Normally I have done my interval training by running but on Sunday afternoon I had other things to do so I didn't manage to go out running before it was dark. So, I decided to give it a go on a home trainer bike instead. Oh yeah, that works! I managed to get my heart rate up to the desired level, it was really exhausting and I was absolutely soaked in sweat afterwards. Good to know that I can actually get that done indoors and at home, too.

Next week I'll travel to Wales and England for work, so that will make exercise a bit more challenging and will most likely concentrate in jogging or walking. Let's see how it goes.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

PROGRESS UPDATE (week 19): Personal Trainer Project Summary

Right, back to blogging again. I didn't even realize I haven't posted anything for such a long time! Want to hear my excuses? No? Didn't think so.

http://steroidjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/bad-personal-trainer.jpg

The 4 month long project with my Personal Trainer Sanna ended a week ago when I did the last fitness level tests and got the results of my latest Body Composition Analysis. The fitness level test results in squats, sit ups / crunches and push ups had improved again and were on a good level. PP Ergo cycle test gave similar results as well as the fitness test I did with my Polar heart rate monitor. Excellent stuff, ongoing improvement!

And then there was the Body Composition Analysis, which I have started to hate lately. This time my weight had gone down as much as it had gone up the previous time, but the most worrying and annoying thing for me is that my body still seems to be eating the gained muscle mass instead of my fat. I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating that feels since I have been working really hard at the gym. I guess I just have to work even harder... Sigh.

Weight: -1,4 kg / -0,5 kg / -2,0 kg / +0,9 kg / -0,9 kg = -3,9 kg in total
Body fat percentage: -1,8 % / -4,2 % / +0,7 % / +0,3 % / +0,6 % = -4,4 % in total
Body fat mass: -2,2 kg / -4 kg / +/-0 kg / +0,5 kg / +0,2 kg = -5,5 kg in total
Muscle mass: +0,8 kg / +3,4 kg / -2,0 kg / +0,3 kg / -0,9 kg = +1,6 kg in total
BMI: -0,4 / -0,2 / -0,6 / +0,3 / -0,3 = -1,2 in total 

In other words the four months results could have been better, especially for someone with very limited patience. But: the most important result was that I have gone from a couch (well, more like computer chair) potato to someone who exercises 5-7 times a week. Exercise has really become a daily routine and it doesn't feel like something I have to do anymore but something I really want to do, every day. I absolutely love going to the gym, pushing myself there and feeling absolutely wiped out afterwards. LOVE. IT.

http://i1.cpcache.com/product/476599434/personal_trainer_shirt.jpg?height=380&width=380


Personal Trainer's support was really important especially in the beginning and during the frustrating sick leaves. Sanna also kept changing things up in our mutual training sessions so I got to learn a lot of new tricks for using new and effective equipment and generally getting the most out of my training sessions. In addition I got good pointers for revamping my diet and planning a well balanced weekly training program for myself. I honestly don't think I would have gotten this far just by myself.

Thank you Sanna for kicking my butt and showing me the way to healthier life!