October is upon us! October is byfar my favorite month, mostly because it contains Halloween. The weather is getting a bit chilly, which is a the negative part of October, but still manageable.
Over the last month, my fitness journey has taken a few turns (for the better). I went to a myriad of different fitness classes, and for the most part, enjoyed them all (my favorite being CrossFit). All of them are targeting different workouts that I know I need, primarily strength. Although I worked hard during the month of September, I plan to ROCK October. Halloween is at the end of the month, and I always wear kind of funny / nerdy costumes, but this year i’m going for something that will show off some of the work i’ve done in the last year.
Anyways, the plan is to make October count. You may recall that ever repeating day of the month 8/8, 9/9, etc. I do my measurements, weight, photo progress, etc. The goal is for 11/11 to be the most dramatic and worthwhile change I have seen yet. I can see my body changing (I can see mini abs forming!!), and I know, given my new routines, that I can bust it out and work harder this month.
I started doing the more strength-type exercising because, as I lose more fat (although seemingly and increasingly more difficult than ever before), the loose skin is becoming an issue. I’ve been reading online about what to do, and it seems like the best things are : time, hydration, and muscle building. Although, I know there is still fat to burn, the skin is getting a little out of hand. It’s funny because the general sense of people online is frowning on skin removal surgery, saying : “wear your skin proudly”, and I understand this, in the recognition that the goal to health, but when you look down at yourself, and there is a considerable amount of skin from almost 100 lbs. of healthy weight loss, it is a constantly reminder of the way I used to live. Some use that as a motivator, which I do, but at the same time, I have worked hard, and despite what anyone says, looking better is part of losing weight, and loose skin does not look great. With that said, I have considered skin removal surgery, but last month I decided I am going to hold off for at least a year, and see what time, hydration, and muscle can give me. I am gaining muscle for sure, but, at this point, the skin seems to be hanging around. So, I am going to bust my ass even more, sweat more than I ever have, and push until I drop to the floor.
I wish I had a better way to measure body fat, even measurements, at this point (as fat turns over to muscle), it is hard to gauge how much body fat I have. Seemingly, progress photos will be the best indicator. I would love it if there was a BodPod station nearby (which measures body fat), but I am going to keep on my routine, work out hard, and hopefully see the results I am seeking.
So, that brings me to my goals. The goal is to gain more muscle (which I can only really measure visually) than ever before. I would like to keep up with my running, something I haven’t been doing much of, and try to do 2 races this month. I feel like I am doing a good job taking advantage of the fitness classes on campus, and have already justified the economic decision to buy the unlimited pass. Mostly, I just want to push myself beyond what I thought was possible in the last month.
I have about 3 and a half months until my 2 year healthiversary. By that time, I am hoping to reach several more of my “leveling up” goals, but also keep up the pace and push beyond what my goals for October are. CrossFit will help me benchmark a lot of my progress, so I am looking forward to repeat workouts where I can see myself getting stronger and faster! On top of that, it will be 2 years from the day that I stepped on the scale and decided I needed to change my life for the better, and even at this point, I can say that I succeeded in primary goal.
I started strong with a pretty tough (despite being called “gentle” during the class) CrossFit class this morning. Later is some more strength and conditioning with Cardio Barbell Blast, then TRX tonight. I know the limit to my body, and I know that I can push myself more than I have in my entire life, which is exciting. There is a piece of me, in the back of my mind, the residual parts of my old ways of thinking that says “you are doing great, keep JUST doing what you are doing now”, but when something becomes easier, we should be pushing ourselves harder – at least that is the kind of person I want to be. So, screw you old ways of thinking, OCTOBER Is ROCKTOBER.
What are your goals for October?
