Workout Anniversary

Yesterday marked my one-month anniversary of working out. Thirty days ago I brought my exercise bike and my metal free weights out into the garage, which we cleaned out back in April. My workouts consist of a half-dozen anaerobic exercises targeting my biceps, chest, quads, hams, calves. I do two sets at about 75 percent max. I do these workouts three times a week.

Before the weight workouts I warm up with five to ten minutes on the exercise bike. On non-weight days I do ten to twenty minutes on the bike, or, of late, a couple blocks of walk/running. My goal by the end of the month is to get to one mile without walking.

Usually one, maybe two days a week I rest.

My diet has not really changed, except for increasing fruit and veggies by approximately ten percent and decreasing sugary stuff by the same amount. Oh, and my beer consumption has plummeted. I probably drank a tenth of what I normally do in a month.

After a weight workout I consume of scoop of whey protein in water, chased by a 1 gram Omega-3 fish oil capsule and a Centrum multivitamin aimed for men of my age. At night after dinner I take another fish oil capsule.

That’s it.

What benefits have I noticed?

- I wake up every morning without an alarm clock between 5:50 and 6:10 regardless of the day.

- My confidence has definitely increased, especially at work.

- My belly has noticeably shrunk and hardened, though it can bulk up (as it did last night after three slices of pizza, two beers, and a pint of ice cream – but we were celebrating Patch’s graduation!)

- My chest and arms have definitely bulked up, at least that I can notice. Legs, not so much.

- I get to bed almost immediately at night when I hit the sheets.

- Because I start feeling fatigued around 8 pm.

- Hard to tell if my aerobic capacity is improving or not. If it is, it’s without a doubt lagging behind my muscular / mental improvement.

Any non-benefits? Any down-side?

Well, the only thing I can think of is that I’m slightly depressed about losing my stress relief. Yes, I realize that a tall, cool, frosty, delicious glass of bubbly beer on a hot summer day on the deck with the long, hard, nagging day finally behind you is not the most ideal way to wipe away stress, but, dammit, when are those exercise endorphins going to kick in?!?!

I’ll try to remember to post another update next month, provided, of course, that I continue the exercise routine.