Day 147

End of Week Twenty One – 15 December
1.3kg (2.9 lbs) weight loss

Total weight loss, to date
27.4kg (60.4 lbs / 4st 4.4lbs)

That’s 24.9% of my starting body weight
Muscle Mass and Fat Mass are stable at 75.7% and 20.3% respectively

For the first time in over 25 years, I am now below 13 stone.

Last Friday was the fourth week of my new routine. A 7am start in the gym for the JD Burn class, once again led by Matty the PT. But not just the one class! I stayed for the JD Abs class that followed on from Burn.

Burn consisted of: SkiERG, Weighted Step-ups, Flutter Kicks, Dumbbell Row, Weighted Lunges, Weighted Squats, Ball Slam

Abs consited of: Leg Raise, Crunch, Plank, Situps, Mountain Climbers

A stint on the treadmill followed on from the Burn and Abs classes. Treadmill had been going well over the previous couple of days so this was the final check to see how things were with my calf ahead of the Saturday ParkRun. Unfortunately, after about 15 minutes it became clear the calf needed more time. Coupled with the forecast being around freezing for the ParkRun start time, it was an easy decision to give the run a miss for a second week, a decision fully endorsed by Matty and Coach Ken.

So, with a quiet weekend I decided to get stuck into the second book Ken sent through to me – “The Art of Resilience” by Ross Edgley. The story of how Ross survived and succeeded on his attempt to become the first person to swim all around Great Britain. And I really did get stuck in reading half the book before heading off to the gym for my regular Sunday evening treadmill session. Again, another test for my calf. Not wishing to push things too far I did a short 20 minute stint on the treadmill followed by 20 minutes on the bike.

Another week of daily high protein bars from the Grenade Advent Calendar – Jaffa Quake, Fudged Up, White Chocolate Cookie, Birthday Cake, Fudged Up, Cookie Dough and Lemon Cheesecake.

Monday – PUSH DAY
Flat bench press 40kg x10, incline dumbbell bench 8kg x10 superset with press up x5, shoulder press superset with chest press x10, tricep dip x seated dumbbell press, skull crushers, stretches

Tuesday – LEG DAY
Barbell Squat, dumbbell lunges, leg press, hyperextension, leg curl, practice rdl, stair climber and core (leg raise and flutter kicks)

Still squatting 40kg but working on form, particularly on the depth of squat. An improvement on the previous video two weeks ago.

Following my Sunday evening treadmill I received more sage advice from Coach Ken “Get a gait analysis. You might be causing the issue (with the calf) to reoccur by being in the wrong shoe”. Up to this point my thought process regarding gait analysis was to do it as soon as the calf was back to normal. Not one to ignore the Word of Ken, I took steps to arrange for the analysis to be done. It meant driving to Run Preston, and on Wednesday morning that is exactly what I did.

A quick run on the treadmill identified the issue, new trainers purchased and the difference was staggering!

With the gait analysis leading to the new Brooks trainers I headed over to the gym in the evening and knocked out a great 55 minute session at my pre-calf issue pace. Back to the gym on Thursday morning and I was able to hit an 8% increase in pace. There is one more test on Friday morning to confirm that it’s time to return to Stanley Park on Saturday, after a two week absence, for ParkRun #7. The signs are looking very very promising.

Thursday – PULL DAY
Has been moved to Friday, this week, and will follow on from JD Burn and JD Abs classes and treadmill.

Thursday also had my bi-weekly “torture” session at the hands of Andy Tamaddon of Muscleworks Therapy where my legs, arms, shoulders and back were rejuvenated with some intense deep tissue massage. My final session of 2023.

Every Monday I post a new “Motivational Quote” for the week.

Gym Activity

• 7 Treadmill sessions
• 2 Matty the PT sessions (third session moved to Friday, this week)
• 2 Gym Classes
• 9 Saunas
• 19 Cold showers

The Road to Newcastle continues…

I’ve Got This!

Previously…

End of Week Twenty – 8 December
1.4kg (3.1 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Nineteen – 1 December
1.1kg (2.4 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Eighteen – 24 November
0.4kg (0.9 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Seventeen – 17 November
2kg (4.4 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Sixteen – 10 November
2kg (4.4 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Fifteen – 3 November
0.5kg (1 lb) weight loss

End of Week Fourteen – 27th October
0.9kg (2 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Thirteen – 20th October
1.8kg (4 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Twelve – 13th October
0.9kg (2 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Eleven – 6th October
1.3kg (3 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Ten – 29th September
1.9kg (4 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Nine – 22nd September
1.7kg (4 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Eight – 15th September
+0.1kg (+0.2 lbs) weight gain

End of Week Seven – 8th September
1.8kg (4 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Six – 1st September
0.9kg (2 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Five – 25th August
2.6kg (6 lb) weight loss

End of Week Four – 18th August
0.5kg (1 lb) weight loss

End of Week Three (11th August)
1.4kg (3 lbs) weight loss

End of Week Two (4th August 2023)…
1.3 kg (3 lbs) weight loss

End of Week One (28th July 2023)…
1.9 kg (4 lbs) weight loss