Day 28

I did it!  Today I moved to 3 sets (from 2) of 12 reps of each of the exercises in my routine.

It was hard - particularly on my arms.  My legs and back did fine on their parts, but each of the arm exercises was a struggle.  Interestingly, the curls (which had been nearly impossible just for two sets) were fine for the first two sets and even the third was really no harder than the second was on Tuesday.  Maybe I'm getting stronger.

According to the program I'm following I'll remain at this level for many weeks.  That's fine with me, but I do think that as I acclimate to it I'll try to move to more free weights -- they add a useful element of challenge.

I had less time for the post-lift cardio i'd been doing, so I shaved off 8 minutes from it (doing only 7 minutes of "cool down" walking).  I find this to my liking -- I'd much rather lift weights to pained exhaustion than walk for 8 minutes.

Day 27

Swam 37 laps.  I would have been happy with 36, but i did a lazy, float-on-my-back lap in the middle to catch my breath.

I think I am close to plateauing as far as my technique goes -- i'm not great, but I don't know how much further I'll get without focused instruction.

I have plenty of room to improve just fitness-wise, so continuing to swim without lessons is still very productive.  Strength would be useful in terms of powerful pulls without immediately getting tired, and I bet continued effort will help reduce my stops for breath.  I'll keep at it.

I am not sore, but can feel that i worked out yesterday, and was tired when i woke up this morning.

Day 26

Lifted - the standard routine - two sets of 12 reps each, plus the twist and calf machine.

The curls were still very hard (I had to squirm to get the last couple up on each side), the overhead press was hard, but possible.  Triceps are reasonable now.  Next time I'm supposed to do three sets - yikes!

I find the post-lift cooldown walk unpleasant. 15 minutes of vigorous trudging is pretty tedious, even when watching something as exciting as the news.  But it's good for me and supposedly burned 230 calories, which hopefully will be debited from the fat storage account rather than from vital organs.

I'm starting to notice some visible weight loss -- nothing huge, but the wife also noted i was slimmer in the middle.  I still don't feel significantly different.

Day 25

Swam 36 laps.

I think I'll keep it around that distance.  Instead of improving distance I'll try to increase the quality of my swimming - reducing breaks, improving technique, etc.  Today was a good start - I swam all but two of the laps in pairs (i.e. 4 lengths at a time).

I continued trying to breathe properly, rotate more in the water, and keep my shoulders back.  My kicking and core-use is pretty inconsistent, but I can't focus on them yet -- it takes conscientious thought to move my arms properly.

Over the weekend I did a 3 mile bike ride with Elijah (Clark rode along on the bolt-on seat on my bike).  It was Elijah's first time on the roads (although we stayed on the sidewalk) - he did great.  We went to a nearby gas station and got a cola:

View Biking to 92 in a larger map

Week 5

Week 5 closes on a very high note --

• I adapted to the doubled reps on my lift days (and still have one more session to solidify that comfort before i move to triple reps!)
• all 3 swim days were new records, and the latter two each tripled my best day from 4 weeks ago

I haven't noticed any significant change in appearance or weight, but I have data enough to prove I'm getting more fit.

What's a blog without pictures?

This is my gym:

The pool:

The weight and cardio area is very nice, but I didn't think it'd be polite to take a picture of a bunch of sweaty strangers.

To accommodate exercise I've been getting up early and on Tuesdays and Fridays I have a morning call (with India) requiring I get in even earlier.  Here's the view from my desk this morning:

Day 24

Swam 36 laps - eclipsing 1 mile for the first time!

I continued trying to improve my posture, stroke, rotation in the water, and particularly my breathing technique.  I felt like i had better "rhythm" and inhaled a lot less water than last time, though i hit it inconsistently.

Another win was that I probably swam more double-laps than single laps (between pauses) -- a testament to growing endurance.

Finally I feel good afterward.  It probably helpe that I wasn't very sore from yesterday.  For many reasons today's workout was a triumph.

Day 23

Lifted.  Still in the second phase - two sets of 12 reps of the original weights (currently at right).  I added in the calf exercises and core twist machine as well because both of those areas seemed neglected.

It went well - the most marked improvement was triceps which posed little trouble today after being the biggest problem in the last couple sessions.  The deadlift, which had been easy, seemed harder today.  The overhead lift was tricky (but not impossible) as usual.  I don't know what accounts for the variations, but I'll chalk it up to improved strength and reduced soreness.

My left shoulder, which has been nagging me, nagged less yesterday.  Maybe the YTWLs or the different swimming posture are helping.  I'll keep it up and hope to get back to it.

Followed the lift with my typical 15 minutes of vigorous walking -- i don't enjoy it, but it's probably good for me.

As of today, I have been exercising for one month!