Up One, But.....

I was up 1 pound this morning, but I am not going to complain about it. I did a really good job this whole week, worked out like a fiend & burned about 2800 calories, and even enjoyed pizza and peanut butter cups. This is life, and this week I'm giving the scale a big FU.

After all the talk about numbers in the past on this blog, how is it that I am so calm about this whole +1 thing this week? Especially when I'm so close to breaking into the 100s? Well, my calmness comes from a fitness trainer named Janet and the fitness test I took on Saturday.

When I joined the new gym last week, one of the perks was that I could sign up for a free fitness consultation with the trainer. So Saturday morning I headed out to meet Janet, and she lead me through a variety of different things. She took my pulse and blood pressure, did a fitness test on the treadmill (and "didn't realize" that the incline was at 9% for a while!!), had me lift some weights, do some sit-ups, had me stretch, and then measured my weight and BMI. I wasn't sure what to expect when all was said and done, so I was a little anxious to hear the results.

Obviously, by the calm, the results were so good - a mixed bag, but good. Overall, I scored 23 points out of a possible 33, which put me in the high end of the "average" or middle range. I scored in the 90th percentile in flexibility which was not a shocker. I scored in the 70th percentile in my aerobic capacity, and that shocked the crap out of me!! I figured it would be okay because of the kickboxing and the fact that I've mostly been focusing on cardio, but I wasn't expecting that it would be THAT good. Most shocking was my muscle endurance - this is the test where I had to do as many full sit-ups as possible in one minute. I did 35, which put me in the 80th percentile!!!!! WAHOOOOOOO!! That one I just could NOT believe, and I'm so excited about it.

My two weak areas were my BMI, but considering it used to be in the mid to high 30s, I was not disappointed with a 28, and my muscle strength - barely made it on the scale on that one! But that didn't surprise me either. I have NEVER had upper body strength, and instead of working on it I just looked at it as my weakness and it wouldn't get better no matter what. Well, I am not longer destined to be a wussy. Because this was SO low compared to all my other areas, Janet set me up with a basic workout program to strengthen my upper body. I plan on finally saying good bye to those flapping wings under my arms!!!

I did my first workout at the gym yesterday and could barely move my arms when I was finished. Then today I went to kickboxing and really struggled... surprisingly it wasn't the arms that got me, I think it was the extra cardio I did yesterday. So I need to think about my workouts while kickboxing is still going on, but I'll get it figured out. I still need to keep reminding myself that I'm just getting back into with my leg, so as tempting as it is, I don't want to overdo it. I know I'll get it all figured out, it'll just take a few tries.

So, what I take away from this whole experience is that this journey is most definitely more than these numbers. I have improved my health and fitness TREMENDOUSLY and that is truly what is important.