Weight Loss Challenge 1

I am exhausted! My initial weigh-in and body fat check was tonight for the challenge at my gym. And we were worked out hard! This challenge is different than what I thought it was going to be. It has evolved a bit, I think, since it was posted on the website. The winner will be the contestant who logs the most miles on cardio equipment at the gym and decreases body fat percentage the most. A trainer will need to initial our log sheet for every workout.

We started off on the treadmill at a 6% incline. It was a 2 minute interval with a goal of walking/running as far as we could. As soon as the two minutes were up, we jumped off the back of the treadmill  for 2 minutes of squats. After a short recovery, it was back up on the treadmill at 8% incline for another 2 minutes. Followed by 2 minutes of full sit ups. Then up to 10% incline, reverse lunges, 12% incline, push ups, 15% incline, and finally squat thrusts, or burpees , as they are also known.  My heart rate was up to 190 bpm for a good majority of the incline work, as I ran as much of it as I could. I did alright at the lower inclines, but it is not easy for me to run up the steep inclines. But I gave it my all and managed to run for at least half the time on the higher 2 inclines.

They told us we were done, so I turned off my heart rate monitor, but not before checking to see the calories I had (maybe) burned- 508 calories in just 40 minutes! Now, I love seeing big numbers like that, but I do know that there can be large discrepancies in the readings. But that just added to my motivation.  And its a good thing it did, because we really weren’t done. We still needed to weigh in and have our body fat recorded, so we can calculate the changes when the challenge comes to an end. My numbers had gone the wrong way since that last time I had all of this done, but I did expect that, since I haven’t been working out as much since I got sick in April. For almost 14 weeks, I was too sick to get a good workout in, between bronchitis and double ear infections. After we had our measurements taken, one of the trainers invited the few of us left to join the second half of his class. So 20 more minutes of strength training! I wonder what my heart rate monitor would have said by then?!

Once our workout was completed, one of the trainers was nice enough to stay after to talk with my friend and I about what we are struggling with and how we can effectively lose the extra weight we are carrying in a healthy manner and keep it off. We talked about resting metabolic rate, or how many calories our body burns each day when it is at rest. Another topic was working out in the right heart rate zones for optimal results…whether one is looking for better performance or weight loss. Nutrition was touched on. So were doctor visits and complete blood work, to determine possible areas of concern.

Overall, I feel like tonight was very beneficial to me. I have my benchmarks now, and I am ready to work hard over the next few months to achieve the best results I can. Stay tuned!