Getting real with the numbers

I knew this day was coming. After last week's brutal training session, I requested that we have a chance to look at my progress, to give myself some new benchmarks. Maybe give myself a little hope.

For the past week, I've been focusing on the things I knew we would test tonight. During my regular routines, I've thrown in my sit-ups, push-ups, lat pulldowns, all the things that we used as benchmarks last month. This was going to be my first check-up, and I'll be damned if I was going to blow it.

And let me tell you, I was nervous. By the time I left work to head for the gym, I was sick to my stomach with apprehension. Will I be good enough?

In retrospect, it was funny: I was terrified that I wouldn't have made enough progress. As if my trainer was going to tell me that I was a lost cause, or that the lack of change would have caused me to quit altogether. I've been watching my progress constantly, and still, today scared me.

Always looking for evidence of my own mediocrity. That's me.

I'm pleased to report that my nervousness was misplaced. Six weeks after beginning, I weighed in at 230. Eight pounds lost. My BMI is down a full point to 42, my body fat percentage is down three points, also at 42. My measurements are all down approximately 1/2 inch, except my hips, which are down a phenomenal two inches. Okay, they're still 53 inches. But this is progress.

My lat pulldowns, leg presses, and chest presses all improved dramatically. I nearly doubled my lat pulldown reps, doubled my chest press reps, and increased my leg press weight. My muscular endurance tests were even better: I completed 35 push-ups in a minute (from the knees, I'm a cheater like that), up from 28 six weeks ago, and I didn't fatigue in my sit-ups until time was up, ending with 50 in a minute, up from 36.

My biggest nemesis, the twelve-minute run, was easily the hardest part. At the time, I felt like I was falling short of recent runs. I beat myself up about it until I got home and was able to log into RunKeeper to check my progress. I ran .8 miles in 12:00, and sure enough, that's a 15-minute mile. Right on track with what I've been doing. Six weeks ago, I managed only .69 miles in the 12:00 allowed.

Someday, I'll learn not to doubt myself.

And that, I think, is the biggest take-away from this experience. I've said it before and I'll say it a hundred times over before I remember it when it counts the most.

I am capable of great things.

My trainer was thrilled with my results, which was as gratifying as the numbers themselves. He warned me that the next evaluation will be harder, that it's much easier to make big gains at the beginning and I shouldn't be discouraged if my gains are smaller.

Bring it on, J. Bring. It. On.