March Workout Calendar and April Weigh-In

Physically speaking, March was a very successful month for me. It started with a very challenging stair race in Las Vegas, and ended with another stair race, equally challenging, in San Diego. All in all, I exercised 25 out of 31 days in March, and I know this because I log all my workouts on my calendar.

(It could be 26 out of 31 days, but I’m not counting March 30th, day of the San Diego race, as having a full workout because my exercise, while incredibly intense, only lasted literally 5 minutes and 32 seconds.)

Each dot on my calendar denotes a workout. Dots with a circle around it are classes I took at Slimmons (there are four of them, all for classes I took with Anne, as Richard has been out lately). Dots with a triangle around them are non-Slimmons classes – in this case, Powerwave Battle Ropes classes at my gym – an intense, full-body strength and conditioning class (I went three times in March). Some dots (10 of them, in fact) have a “W” next to or above them – those are weightlifting workouts.

Also of note – but not shown in that picture – is that my total cardio mileage for March was 91.1 miles. (I recently calculated that my total cardio mileage since last July is equivalent to the distance between Los Angeles and Grand Junction, Colorado!)

Just looking at these statistics is exhausting, and I’m starting to feel it in my body. This week’s focus is staying active, ready and prepared for Saturday’s Aon Center stair race. After that, I’m gonna kick it down a notch for a week or so. I’ll still get my workouts in, but not as intense. A little recovery period will be appreciated after three stair races in five weeks.

2014 Year-To-Date Workout Stats!

Can you believe the year is already 1/4 over? Me neither. Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:

• January: 26 workouts in 31 days.
• February: 24 workouts in 28 days.
• March: 25 workouts in 31 days.

TOTAL: 75 workouts in 90 days! That’s a 83% workout rate. I’ve also devoted 28 workouts to weightlifting, taken 11 classes at Slimmons and 9 Powerwave Battle Ropes classes.

As a point of comparison, after the first three months of 2013, I had worked out 52 times. (This info comes from my 2013 Year-End Progress Report.) This year I’m 44% ahead of where I was a year ago!

Compiling all this info makes me feel really good. It’s satisfying. All this exercise has yielded a lot of great benefits, from an awesome race time in San Diego (5:32 – beating my goal by 1:40), to an increase in stamina and strength that’s particularly noticeable during the classes I take.

It makes me not really care so much that I actually gained a pound in the past month, as my April 1st Weigh-In showed:

The optimist in me says that it’s solely due to an increase in muscle mass, as muscle weighs more than fat. And I’m sure there’s some muscle mass increase. I’ve noticed my body changing, so my weight is being redistributed somewhat (and I’ve gotten compliments that suggest the same thing). But I also know my eating wasn’t great. I know there were days where I tucked into a big bag of Doritos and polished them off, or couldn’t resist the Easter candy aisle at the store (damn you, Cadbury Creme Eggs, especially when you’re on sale!). I’m all for treats and indulgences, but I’m also into planning and moderation, and the days that I’m referencing completely lacked both.

But it’s not worth fretting over. I’m doing the best I can, and my workout calendar is evidence that I’m working hard.

Plus, a weight of 244 reflects a total weight loss of 158 pounds. Nothing to sneeze at! Here’s my entire Weight Loss Chart:

KEEP IT UP, DAVID!