Progress Reports

There are several different ways that I track my activity/progress when it comes to exercise.  My heart rate monitor, for instance, gives me the duration of my workout, how many calories I burned, average and maximum heart rate, and how long I was in my target heart rate zone.  I, of course, usually focus on the calories because let's face it, I'm trying lose weight here - calorie burn matters.  But at Clay we truly utilize the heart rate monitor in our workouts. Our heart rate monitors are set specifically to our personal zones, based on an assessment done by our trainers, so that we are maximizing our workout based on our fitness levels.

I also use the Map My Run app when I walk Scout or on the off chance that I decide to run outside.  I like it because it gives me a very accurate idea of how far I've gone (I'm always trying to mix it up with a new route), as well as what my pace is.  While walking Scout usually averages a slow 16 minute mile that truly doesn't get my heart rate up high enough to consider a true workout,  those miles somehow feel more "legit" if I'm tracking them.

Then, of course, there is the scale.  Truthfully I'm not a big fan of the scale.  Maybe it's because I've lost and gained so many pounds over the years, but I don't find it to be a real accurate representation of my daily efforts.  There have been weeks when I've done kick ass workouts every day only to step on the scale to find I've gained a few pounds.  From an intellectual standpoint I know that the numbers don't change how hard I worked, but it can totally deflate me emotionally, so I tend only check the scale periodically.

Even though I have all of these concrete, tangible tracking mechanisms my favorite way to judge my progress is by my laundry.  Yep, laundry.  I don't dry any of my workout clothes so I hang each piece up after I pull it out of the washer.  I can tell what kind of week I've had by the number of items hanging in the doorway at the end of laundry day.  

GOOD WEEK

BAD WEEK

How do you track your progress?

Progress Report Part II

A few weeks I posted a "Progress Report" that gave the low down on where I'm at in my journey from a physical standpoint, so now I thought I'd give a little info on the emotional side of things.

My two main struggles have been eating healthy (if there is such a thing as a sugar addiction, I have it) and making working out a priority when life gets crazy (and beyond crazy, as it has been lately).  While I definitely wasn't "swimsuit ready" by the time we departed for Panama, I'm in such a better place both physically and mentally than I was 9 months ago that I can truly say I feel I've been successful in this journey so far.

I emphasize "so far" because I assume that I will be on this journey for the rest of my life.  Don't worry, I won't blog about it forever - hopefully once I reach that "magic number" or somewhere near it I'll feel I've reached the end of this story and be able to move on to another one.  But that won't be the end of my journey to be (and stay) fit and happy.  Life fluctuates on a daily or weekly (or sometimes hourly!) basis, and I'm not naive enough to believe that being thin will change any of that.  That's why I keep calling this a "journey".  It's not a diet or a phase or a fad - it's my life.  And I see life as a journey in itself.  The changing nature of it is what makes it so fun - and challenging - for all.

Ouch!

I did my first workout/assessment with Hyam on Wednesday and I have to say it was...AWESOME!  Sure, she made me do things I was pretty convinced I couldn't do and I thought I was going to throw up at least three times, but 48 hours later I can still say it was AWESOME - so that has to mean something, right?

I can't recount our workout for so many reasons but I can tell you that the hour flew by and I was certainly never bored.  Lunges, squats, planks - oh my!  It was seriously the most intense - yet most FUN - workout I've done in a really, really long time (especially considering I never picked up a racquet!).

So where does the "ouch" come in?  Consider that I'm writing this over 48 hours later - and the lactic acid has done it's number on me by now.  At dinner tonight I actually had to use both hands to pull my leg over the bench to sit down.  And while I may have been mocked by my children a little bit, I didn't really care because that pain was SO worth it.  To me that pain was a sign that I actually pushed my body beyond what it was used to.  That alone is a step in the right direction (figuratively speaking, of course!).