My measurements:
- Upper arm: start 11", today 10.5" each arm
- Total loss: 0.5" each = 1"
- Chest: start 31.8", today 32"
- Total: gained 0.2" (I'm told that the reason for a larger reading for chest and butt is often because as you build muscle in these areas, you are lifting the chest/butt, causing a larger measurement despite having gained muscle. I'll take it!)
- Waist: start 28.5", today 28.5
- no change
- Hips: start 37", today 35"
- Total loss: 2"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Butt: start: 41, today: 41.1
- Total: gained 0.1", same reason as chest measurement :)
- Upper thigh: start 22.8, today 22.2 each leg
- Total loss: 0.6" each, = 1.2" total!
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Weight actually increased somehow, from 145.2 to 146.4. I blame this on the delicious Chinese food that I had for lunch (and maybe the slice of pie I ate last night.....), because other than that, I've been really good about tracking my food for the last month.
However.
Much more important than weight, I also had my body fat % measured (we used calipers). I'm not totally sure that it's accurate, because it seems REALLY FREAKING LOW considering the mush that I still have on my gut :P
Start body fat: 22.6%
Today: 16.3%???????????????????????????????
I'm not sure that I believe 16.3%, but I definitely did reduce my body fat %. The caliper measurements were quite a bit smaller than last time. I also have noticed less jiggle in my arms, and the fact that I actually have a space between my upper thighs for the first time in like, years. Wooo!
FIT TEST RECAP
- Squat jumps: Last time: 34 squat jumps
- This time: FORTY TWO. Holy crap!
- Push ups: Last time: 3 on my toes (man-style), 16 on my knees
- This time: TEN on my toes, and another 14 on my knees
- Burpees: Last time: 5 with push up (all on toes) and 10 walking legs out. A note: burpees come in an in-between variation, in which you just jump your legs out and back in without the push up. I was not able to do this last time. Those 5 burpees with pushups had attempted jumping legs, but largely unsuccessful, and I walked my legs out almost every time.
- This time: ELEVEN burpees. All with pushups, all of those on my toes. Oh, and I jumped my legs out for all of them. Whaaaaaat???
- Plank: Last time: held for 40 seconds on toes and till 2:30 (end of time) on knees. At the time, doing the plank on forearms (more difficult) was definitely not an option, and I did the plank on my hands. My shoulders killed after 40 seconds, which is why I dropped to knees.
- This time: 40 seconds on forearms and toes. Held till the end of time on knees. I totally could have held for another 5 seconds or so, but again, the shoulders were feeling angry.
- Suicides: Last time: 22 rounds. After that, I thought I would die. I couldn't breathe for at least 5 minutes after and my heart rate didn't start to feel like it was going at a normal speed for a long time after that.
- This time: 22 rounds again. However, recovery was WAY faster. I was breathless for like, 30 seconds. By one minute after stopping, I was good to go for the rest of the fit test (we did this first).
I've noticed a huge improvement in my muscle recovery over the last 4 weeks as well. After the 1st camp, I was SO SORE and honestly couldn't move the next day. The last few camps though, I've had just some muscle tiredness post-camp, but usually I'm good by bedtime, and definitely good by the next morning.
Most important to me, my running endurance has improved. I was stuck at a 3-3.2km distance forever, unable to push past that wall. When you're planning a half marathon, that's a REALLY BAD THING. I've increased my average distance by about 1.5km over 4 weeks, about a 40% increase in distance. I'm able to maintain my speed a lot easier, and controlling my breathing better. I also recover easier and faster when I do take walk breaks. I'm planning to run 5k this weekend for the first time since October, and I suspect it won't be as hard now as it was then.
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