Getting Stronger Everyday

Recumbent Stationary Bike

Thanks to my wonderful grandfather, I will have an exercise bike tonight like the one shown above.  He is letting me borrow it for as long as I need it.  This will be great to have on days when for one reason or another I can't go out on my real bike.  My plan is, as funny as this sounds, to put the bike in the living room so that I can ride while playing video games.  This will make it convenient, so that I can't make excuses to not exercise but still play video games.  It will also be nice once Tobias is here, on days when I need to stay in the house and keep an eye on him.

I did a session of weight lifting last night and I pushed myself a little harder this time.  I was completely wore out after I was done, but started to feel better after a little cool down and rest. My routine last night was:

• 40 jumping jacks
• 10 push ups (regular)
• 25 crunches
• Stretching

• Bench Press (shoulder width) - 12, 10, 10 repetitions - 60 lbs plus bar
• Lat Pulldown (wide grip) - 12, 12, 12 repetitions - 60 lbs total
• Barbel Curl (shoulder width) - 8, 8, 8 repetitions - 50 lbs plus bar

•   40 jumping jacks
• 10 push ups (regular)
• 25 crunches

If you notice, I did raise my bench press and Lat Pulldown by 10 pounds each.  My Lat Pulldowns were still fairly easy, but my shoulders started to go into failure on the bench press.  My barbel curls are getting better, but are still tough to do.  The push ups before and afterwards were easier than last time and I didn't have to put my knees down.  My crunches felt like they weren't doing anything, but my jumping jacks tore up my calves.  I did skip deadlifts this time because I had done some lifting at work and my back needed the rest.

I feel stronger than I ever have before, which is odd because I have done much heavier lifting in previous weight loss attempts.  To me it isn't how much I can bench press, but real life situations that I use to gauge my strength.  I lifted a ladder today that I have lifted a handful of times before, but today I didn't struggle to carry it like I have before.  To me my biceps and triceps feel bigger and stronger and my weak shoulders are starting to carry their own weight.

The greatest part is that people have started noticing the changes in my body and I am more than happy to accept the compliment.  What I love is when people ask how much I lost and I saw just a little under 11 pounds, they stare and can't believe that is all I lost.  It really feels good to surprise people!  With the countdown to Ashley's due date just under a month now, the Daddy Weight Loss journey is still going full speed ahead!