Days 10-13, surprising results and sad news

Posted by Kangai on May 13, 2010 · 5 Comments 

The past three and a half weeks have been great, to say the least. So far, I’ve completed 13 total workouts (ok- that doesn’t seem like allot) averaging 4 hours each week. That has been more than enough to give me some surprising results. The last four workouts have really challenged my strength and also stretched what I thought my limits were. I’ve maintained the weights for benching and squatting, although I pulled a tiny muscle in my groin area and lunges are quite painful (hey- we’re all about keeping it real right?). I’m still flat benching 20-30Kgs, squatting 20Kgs, curling 10Kgs, and doing random back presses and pull-overs all with 10 or more Kgs. I’ve also been eating VERY well with most of my diet comprising of vegetables and fruits, although I cheated and ate a chicken leg… once… or three times (I had a HUGE HUGE craving, and that’s all I’m gonna say). All in all, I’ve had a great time the past four days.

The first time I took on weight lifting (almost two years ago) I was told that women my size (I’m 5’2) cannot bench more than 10 Kgs (22 lbs), or squat more than 20 Kgs (44lbs). So, naturally, I gave up. (Doink! I’m such an idiot!) Without doing any research, I simply believed them and quit. Since I didn’t see many women working with free weights in my gym, with most doing aerobics classes, I believed the nay-sayers and joined the aerobics class. Isn’t it amazing how we lower our own expectations of ourselves just to fit in? Because that’s what I did. I joined the class and I didn’t like it. In fact, I really despised it. It was only filled with women who strutted around in tights and small tees loudly asserting that their success was due to their dedication to the class. “Stay here for a year and you’ll see results” they said. Aaaand it was monotonous. Very monotonous. Now I’m the type of person who looks at a year-long project and sees DEATH!! Anguish! Stress, in fact. Lengthy tasks are booooooorrrring, and I have to shorten them or cut them into smaller chunks to handle them. On the other hand, tasks that are too short are entirely overwhelming. So I have to choose a target somewhere in the middle. For example, for college I’ve tried three (yes- three) different ways of schooling, if I can call it that- 16-week semesters, 10-week quarters and 13-week trimesters. For the love of me I’ve never really understood why, in the whole wide world, would one undergo torture in school for 16 weeks? How? It’s like a shorter version of the Kenyan school system that, after four years of secondary school students have to undergo thorough testing that includes most, if not all you’ve learned in those 4 years. Thank GOD that I had the chance to complete my high school career in the States which made (and still makes) common sense to me- you’re tested on what you’ve learned… that semester (unless you’re doing AP classes, where the AP exams cover the entire year).

Anyway, I’ve digressed. I’m a 13-week trimester girl. I understand that two or three weeks in the gym won’t change much, but I also can’t envision what I’ll look like in a year. So I decided to try weight-lifting once again, but with wisdom. That’s where Mike Geary’s workouts come in. He’s a 13-week sort of dude, which I like. Plus- his workouts? I. LOVE. THEM!!! Why you ask? Well, I’ve seen results in 3.5 weeks, and I mean HUGE results. That’s even COOLER since it’s condensing all my expectations into a shorter period of time, which is exciting. And COOL!
I’ll post up  more specific results on or around the 15th when this first challenge ends. But here are some of the surprising ones.

• I’ve lost ten pounds (yes- you read that right) which is equivalent to 4.53592 Kgs
• I’ve lost TWO INCHES around my waist
• I’ve lost ONE INCH on each arm (which is the part I actually wanted to change the most)
• I’ve lost a FULL CUP SIZE around my bust (ok- I’m not doing cartwheels and back flips over this one)
• my face is less round… (that may sound funny, but when people looked at me and said “Kangai- have you added weight? Your face is more… round…” it wasn’t funny. Now they don’t have anything to say!)

So how’s that for SURPRISES??? I’m just as awed, if not more awed than my mother when I told her (she’s TINY compared to me)- she started yelling… don’t know why- maybe the excitement overtook her. I don’t know. But I’m as surprised as she is!

But, sadly, I won’t complete 20 workouts as I’d scheduled. I’ll complete 16 which was in my range of 4-5 workouts per week. Why, you ask? I got a COOL 4-day contract that had me literally playing with makeup for around 8-9 hours each day. That meant that I was standing for most of that time, and I had absolutely zero energy to work out. None. It was gone. So I have to settle for 16 total workouts, after which I’ll post up the final results. Hope you’ll come by and see how I did.

I really hope that you are doing something wild, crazy and impossible with your one, precious life.

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Filed under 30-Day Challenge, Physical Training