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Three Weeks Of Working Out; Progress?

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As y’all know, two weeks ago I wrote about joining a health club. It’s actually been 3 weeks of working out, and I thought I’d share some things with y’all to this point.

Frankly, I feel a lot like this cat most of the time. I keep having people tell me “it’s only been 3 weeks” or something goofy like that, but man, I’m about as tired all the time as I was before I started working out, only the reason I’m tired is different. And I’m sore all the time as well; okay, that’s not quite accurate. I’m either sore or tight, feeling like I need to constantly stretch, and when I do stretch nothing happens. This is where my dream of being rich comes back into play because I’d have a full time massage therapist (someone told me I should stop saying ‘masseuse’ because Americans supposedly don’t like being called that) to take care of these types of things.

Not counting today, I’ve been a participant with this health club for 21 days. Out of those 21 days I’ve gone 17. Some people have said that’s too many days, but I’m looking for results. Now, out of these same 21 days I’ve worked out twice at the club on the same day twice, and another time after spending 90 minutes at the club I then went on a 90 minute walk at the lake. So, out of 21 days I’ve had 20 hard work out sessions; whew! Saturday was the first day when I really did absolutely nothing except feel some pain; okay, I’m supposed to say ‘sore’.

What am I doing? My routine always starts the same; walking around the track. My knees hate me from all those years of bowling, so I try to get them warmed up for what’s coming next. Sometimes it’s only 3 to 5 times around the track; sometimes it’s 15 to 20 minutes. Doesn’t matter to me; I walk until my knees say they’re ready for the next stage.

Here’s where deviation comes in, and this is one of those points that all my “expert” friends keep throwing at me. They say you have to shake things up because your body gets used to the same routine over and over. I think it’s kind of early for my body to be used to anything, but so be it. There are different things I could do and different things I actually do. There are two different sets of workout machines, some of which I mentioned in the first post. I know how to use one set completely; the other set, my wife and I are learning a piece here and there. I finally figured out how to use the one piece of equipment that’s supposed to help tighten my abs, and I’m up to 100 sit ups on that one, though my stomach screams at me each time I’m finished. I mix up the weights; sometimes I do very low weights but lots of reps, 30 or more, other times I do heavier weights, usually 10 reps.

Do I know what I’m doing? Heck no! Am I showing any progress? Well, it depends on what you want to look at. My wife and I didn’t take any measurements when we first started, so I have no idea if I’m smaller now compared to 3 weeks ago. However, we did have measurements from last June, and I’m smaller in some areas and not smaller in other areas. My stomach hasn’t shrunk one bit. My thighs have fallen drastically, which isn’t bad, but my shoulders have gotten larger; not quite what I want, but it’s not so problematic. My weight hasn’t gone down a single pound, and my glucose is still pretty high, although on the days where I worked out twice I’ve had a low number after the second one. And all my other measurements are pretty much the same as last year; oh well, at least I still have something to work towards, right?

I was asked if I’ve changed my eating habits. I keep saying I thought if I worked out that it was supposed to overcome my eating habits. I guess not; seems to indicate that if I changed my eating habits it would work much better than just working out. Frankly, this might be a lot of ado about nothing, but who really knows? I can’t say I feel better, but I can say that I’ve felt better than I do with the soreness. However, I’m still giving it the full 60 days to see if there are any real benefits, so don’t fuss as me for not giving it a real shot. And I expect within a couple of weeks to modify my eating habits in some fashion; hey, I’ve already given up my 1:30AM meal (y’all know I stay up late).

Oh yeah, the hot tub; that’s a tale for later in the week. So stay tuned.


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21 thoughts on “Three Weeks Of Working Out; Progress?”

  1. Three quick thoughts. First, I’ve always heard, read, or been told that muscle is denser and weighs more than most other types of body tissue, so you may not see a dramatic drop in weight. Second, isn’t there a fitness instructor at the health club who can make sure you’re doing everything correctly? Even one session with somebody who knows what they’re doing can make a big difference in the results you get. Third, make sure you give your body a chance to rest and recover between workouts — if you’re going to go on consecutive days, don’t work the same muscles. That’s all I know. Stay with it!

    1. Charles, I keep hearing that muscle weighs more myself, which is why I’m willing to check measurements as a measure to see if anything positive is occurring. I actually did meet one of the trainers, but he wasn’t a good one, so I altered it for my wife, who got the good trainer. I talked to him today & he said he’d be willing to meet with me; yup, I went again today.

      As for not working the same muscles… how does one go about doing that? I kind of follow a routine, though I slightly change it up, and I do a mixture of everything. So, how would I change things?

    1. I’m with you on that one, Karan. I guess we just have to plow through it until we start feeling better, whenever that comes.

  3. It’s been while since I left my gym. I get to do some amount of swimming and walking once in a while. Being on the lighter side, I think I am fine but probably once I turn 40 I would go back to Gym..

    Good luck with your work out Mitch! It’s going to take sometime but once you loose those unwanted fat you can breath easy and feel lighter on your heart.
    .-= Ajith Edassery´s last blog ..Blog readability test – How readable is your blog? =-.

    1. One of these days I’ll start eating better as well. One thing at a time for me. 🙂

  5. Mitch! So glad to hear that you joined Gold’s and have been putting your membership to use.
    A couple of things I’d suggest: don’t do the same weight training exercises two days in a row. Break your workouts up into muscle groups and muscle actions. Train muscles that assist each other during the same workout, the next day train the other muscles that work in unison, that way your body is getting a break.
    As far as mixing things up, it can take weeks, even months for some people to plateau. That’s when it’s time for a change. Adaptation can be a desired outcome. It happens faster with cardiovascular function for some, faster with strength and muscle building for some.
    It’s not too late to take measurements, your belt can always be used as a good indicator, but don’t rely just on the scale, there’s too many variable that cause weight fluctuation, especially for people that weigh themselves daily.
    Stretch, stretch, stretch. Stretch after warming up at the start of your workout. Stretch the muscles groups being used during the workout. Stretch at the end of the workout.
    And last, sync your nutrition to your training. Your soreness might be due to your diet as much as the exercise. Email me if you have any training questions, I can explain everything in better detail. I’d love to help.
    .-= Aaron´s last blog ..Genetics, Health, and Fitness =-.

    1. Hi Aaron,

      Thanks for the kudos. After I meet with the trainer on Monday, if I have more questions I’ll certainly write you. Based on some of what you said I’m already confused. lol But the stretching part… I’ve never done much with stretching, but I realize I’m going to have to get into it to protect myself, as my wife hurt herself earlier today in a weight’s class.

      1. What happened to your wife?
        .-= Aaron´s last blog ..Genetics, Health, and Fitness =-.

      2. She took a weights class for the first time today, and halfway through the class she pulled some kind of muscle in her back and shoulder.

      3. Is she icing? If not, suggest to her to apply ice for 10 – 20 minutes at a time.
        .-= Aaron´s last blog ..Genetics, Health, and Fitness =-.

      4. No; we never thought of it. What she did was take an ibuprofen, then another 6 hours later, and she says she’s fine.

      5. That’s good. She needs to be careful when she goes back to the gym, and make sure it’s fully healed so she doesn’t aggravate it.
        .-= Aaron´s last blog ..Genetics, Health, and Fitness =-.

      6. We’ll probably go again in the morning before we both have our busy days, at least for cardio.

  6. If you are consuming high amounts of protein be sure to drink at least 6-8 glasses of water per day.

    1. I drink a lot of stuff during my day, Crissy, but probably need to think about drinking more pure water rather than liquids in general.

  7. hye mitch
    i think you should change your diet,take a pure water can saves you from all itchy illness

  9. Hi Mitch. I just happened to found this article of yours, quite old one eh? But you see….. I also been working out these few months, but I don’t see any changes yet, since I still keep my old eating habit! LOL!

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