One down...

So today marks the end of my first 12 weeks back in the gym.  That was the first goal I had set for myself: make it through 12 weeks.  Mission accomplished.  I've missed 1 day of lifting out of a potential 60 and that was due to sickness., so I'm happy with the dedication level there.  I've settled in more or less on a supplement program as well.  Its not crazy by any means but it seems to be pretty effective so I'm going to stick with it. 

I'm starting to pack on some positive mass now (ie muscle) so I'm feeling pretty good about that.  In the last 12 weeks I've lost almost 35 pounds as well, that brings the YTD total (since December 30, 2010) to 85 pounds lost.  For shits and giggles I picked up an 85 pound dumbbell at the gym this morning just to get a sense of how much weight I had shed so far, and that sucker was heavy.  :)

Starting tomorrow I'm going to begin my weekend cardio sessions to kick off the second 12 week period.  I won't lift on the weekends, I need my 2 days recovery, but the extra cardio won't affect that.  I'm also going to attempt to reduce the amount of cheat meals I've been taking.  The rule has been one meal per week, but there have been times where I've done 2 or 3 in a week.  I also need to reduce the severity of my cheat meals; in other words, gotta try to cut out or cut back on the trips to the Chinese buffet.  Thats my kryptonite though, but its something I can overcome.  In short the results I've seen this first 12 weeks have been good but they could have been better.  They will be better.

So the main thing I'm going to try and accomplish between now and the end of the year is to maintain the positives I've had so far by continuing to increase lean body mass and, most importantly, shed more body fat.  As you shed the fat you can get loose skin.  Since my weight loss isn't abrupt (averaging about 2.5 pounds per week) I don't have the shitzu look, but I get a little saggy in areas where I'm burning fat.  Thats the kind of thing that has to happen on its own though, but I think increasing my cardio should help that as well as tightening up the diet.  Then at the end of this 12 weeks I'll take a week off from lifting entirely.  Thats probably going to be easier said than done but its a good idea to take a break roughly every 6 months to let your body rest and heal a little, and since I'm in my mid-40s I think its going to be extra important.  Plus you don't make any gains while you're lifting, its when you're resting and sleeping that the body goes into repair mode.  Thats where your gains are made.

Anyway...I feel like some Maiden.  Anyone else?  Good.  How about a classic performed live:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvnfh1RHNfw[/youtube]