Day 70/70: On Target?

Yesterday was the final day of my 10-week “You Are Your Own Gym” fitness program. When I started out back in early November, 2011, I set down my goals. Today it’s time to see how I did.

1. Weight: I hit my ‘near’ goal of being below 183.5, as my scale registered 182 this morning. The thing that finally moved me below 185 seemed to be reducing my bread intake. I’m going to experiment for the next two weeks by removing as many grain products as I can and see if I can get to my end goal of 178 pounds.
2. Strength & Endurance: I wanted to complete the 10-week program, and I have done that! I don’t think I missed more than two days in a row at any point in the 10-week program. I missed my target of being able to complete 50 good-form push-ups; however I did accomplish 100 push-ups during a single workout recently, so I’m not too displeased. I’ve restarted the “Hundred Push Ups” program and I’m progressing slowly toward that goal. I didn’t include any leg strength goals, but I have gone from only being able to do a few body-weight squats to doing my first pistol-style squats (two per side) a couple of weeks ago. Still a long way to go here.
3. Speed: I wanted to run a 5 kilometer course in less than 39 minutes. I achieved that a few weeks ago and duplicated the speed several times, so… hooray for me!
4. Flexibility: I’ve made real (albeit slow) progress here. I can touch my toes now, and my leg flexibility is increasing. I can now sit on the floor with the soles of my feet touching, heels tucked in, and not be in pain. I’d guess that I’ve doubled my leg suppleness, and I’m going to keep working on this. My leg stiffness was getting bad enough to limit my movement rather much.

In all, I’m pleased with my progress. Now I have to figure out my next fitness goals. I know they will include a 10-minute plank, improved 1-leg squats, and better run times. More later on this after I’ve thought it through.

Author: Jorah Lavin

I grew up in New England, moved to the Carolinas in '98 to start working at what was then a large regional bank and is now a really big nationwide bank. I work doing intranet content management and intranet site management. After work, I practice Aikido, knit, ride my motorcycle, read, watch movies & eat. I've been studying Aikido since 2014, and I ride a Yamaha V-Star 1300. I am pretty sure that I want to hike the Appalachian Trail someday. View all posts by Jorah Lavin