LEGS!

Good God my legs were worked hard on Thursday. I was sore for four days. If not for Muscle Recovery, I may have been in a wheel chair. We bade Michael adieu for now and vowed that when he returns in August (assuming I can still afford the sessions) we'd be ready to really start kicking some ass in the gym.

It was quite awesome no doubt, to see that I was lifting twice the amount of weight in Leg Extensions that day. Where I normally plateau and stay with the same routine and gradually increase in weight "when I feel like it," Mike has always piled on more weight, asking me "how does that feel?" in a cocky, don't you dare say you want less weight sort of way. It was a huge surprise when he pointed out that I was lifting double. I felt like I was lifting what I always did - 70-75lbs and not 140.

Bad ass.

I think the other highlight was when he notified me that the half hour session was over, I knew what was coming up. "You want to do another exercise?" My legs screaming but on overdrive for more, I said "let's do it." He gave us an extra 15 minutes of his time. In a way, this meant something to him too.

We finished strong but were sapped of energy in the leg region. We probably could have gone on to work on upper body. Going home, it was sad to see Mike go, but the drive to impress him (no homo) upon his return is about as robust as an 80 mile per hour, on cruise control in the fast lane on the highway 18 wheeler semi hauling relief supplies to the needy. In other words, in ain't stopping anytime soon.

With the Catalyst, I've been having to use the restroom a lot. Its too soon to expect or anticipate and notice a difference, but again, if its anything like Spark and Muscle Recovery in regards to effectiveness in what its supposed to do, (which is fuel the muscles so the body burns fat and not muscle as well as help tone the muscle) I imagine I'll be seeing results fairly soon.

I took an assessment yesterday with a potential new trainer and although my last assessment was in August, there were noticeable differences. Most good, some bad:

THEN NOW

Body Fat % 15% 18.6%
Weight 164 171
Upper Body Test (120 lbs incline chest press) 12 reps 13 reps
Vertical Squat (225 lbs) 10 reps 30 reps
Flexibility -6 -7
Muscular Endurance (pull ups) 8 reps 7.5 reps

Measurements:

Neck 14" 14 1/2"
Chest 37 3/4" 39"
Shoulders 44 1/2" 46"
Waist 32 1/2" 35"
Hips 39" 38"
Bicep (R) 11" 13 3/4"
Bicep (L) 11" 13 1/2"
Thigh (R) 18" 20 1/2"
Thigh (L) 18 3/4" 21"
Calf (R) 13 1/2" 14"
Calf (L) 13 1/2" 14"

So I can see where and what lots of beer and complacency has done. Last year for Memorial Day weekend I had three keggers back to back to back. This year, I had one Vodka cranberry, (strong) and two beers within two days. Going about two weeks strong without having much alcohol. Nothing to prove really, just didn't feel the need for it. In fact the two IPA's I had last Monday was it. Doing good.

Woke up this morning on four hours of sleep. Carlos got me to run Randolph Park today. Run time was 27:19. Went the whole time non stop, probably could have hit harder and I know I could have kept going after the three mile mark. Thank you Spark. Thank you Michael Cooley. Thank you L.A. Fitness. Thank you haters. Thank you Carlos and more importantly, thank you self, for not wanting to be a fat punk ass bitch. (And thank you too TSgt Randosevich.)

I feel amazing.