I know I know – the last (and first) Arnold Project post was an introduction and now we’re already done Phase One?!

8 weeks ago (approximately – we are actually already into Phase 2!) I started this health and fitness journey with the help of Tyler Johnston, the APE Coach, and I haven’t looked back. I didn’t get around to posting a true personal introduction and what I am trying to accomplish here so I wanted to do that now before we get into some results.

Personal Stats – Beginning

For comparison, here is the BMI assessment table

So to start with we are working with Obesity. Scary word and honestly not something I ever envisioned being associated with. This was the first thing I wanted to change. Weight has always been somewhat of an issue for me but it really isn’t something I ever really worked on. I play sports year round and generally eat what I want and overtime I saw the weight start creeping up. Slowly but surely it got up there and things had finally gotten to a point where I was generally unhappy.

What I hope to accomplish

At the start of this Tyler and I talked about what I wanted to accomplish, the end game. Over the past few years in my failed attempts in getting healthy I always had a reason for wanting to change – my wedding, my buddies wedding, another buddies wedding etc. In each of these years one thing stood out that I now believe attributed to the failed attempts – the reason. Each year I wanted to get healthy and look good for a particular event – one day out of 365 that I wanted to be my best for and that was it. However when I made these goals I didn’t think about what happens after the event – I didn’t think about the end game. So as I started each year working out and eating better slowly that one day event didn’t hold my attention like I thought it would and I fell back into the same old routines. It wasn’t until this year that I decided there can be no event – if I am truly going to succeed at this it need to be a change, a lifestyle change. That was the end game – changing the habits I had so easily fallen back into in the past and working towards a healthier happier lifestyle no matter how long that took.

So we decided to start small. Ideally reaching a 1lb weight loss per week while steadily increasing muscle and firing up the metabolism. I didn’t want to just lose weight I also wanted to increase my strength and build lean muscle. It will never be my goal to participate in any weightlifting or body competitions I just want to be and feel healthier for both myself and my family.

Phase One Complete Stats

My first workout for Phase 2 was March 25, 2105.

For each of my Phase Complete! entries I will be including a section called 5 things. Here I will be writing about 5 specific (sometimes random) things about myself and what happened during the Phase. So here are my 5 things from Phase One!

1  In total over the 8 weeks I dropped 5.4lbs so just under the original plan of 1lb per week. The weight was coming off quicker at the beginning but started tapering off so we changed things up a bit which seemed to help. The more important stat I want to look at after this phase is over however is my BF%. Already in the first 8 weeks it is apparent that my body composition is changing and the actual ‘weight loss’ amount doesn’t tell the whole story.

2  Although it started out very limited I have been enjoying the increased cardio routine Tyler has added to my program. I haven’t quite figured out yet when I enjoy doing this more – either before or after a workout. Before my workout it gets my blood flowing and loosens me up however the only downside is being sweaty when doing a weight routine. After a workout makes more sense but depending on what I am working that day doing cardio for 15-20 mins might be a challenge (especially on leg day).

3  When first starting I was completely confused and probably looked like an idiot when walking around the gym looking for the machine I needed. One thing that I really relied on for not only what exercise I needed to do but also how to correctly do the exercise was youtube videos. There is a TON of info out there so don’t be afraid to use it.

4  One of the biggest things people say to me when I tell them about APE Fitness and what I am doing is “I could never do that – I need motivation.” Personally, over the last 8 weeks that is actually something I haven’t been lacking in and that is all attributed to Tyler. He checks in weekly and goes over all of your weeks info – weights, macros, workouts etc and gives a great analysis of how the week went and how it can improve in the week to come. Each update has been a great source of motivation because unlike a personal trainer who generally thinks of you as a client, Tyler provides the motivation as a friend.

5  Not sure if anyone heard of this story but I found it recently on Reddit – give it a read and see what Arnold Schwarzenegger had to say

http://np.reddit.com/r/gainit/comments/2zfjmf/bad_day_at_the_gym_completely_demoralized/

That’s it for now! Hope everyone enjoyed this update and I look forward to providing more soon!

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