Fit First for July 2018

Fitness First is my monthly fitness update published on the first of each month (although this month, it actually coming to you on the second…). July 2018 has been a great month, and although the posts have been pretty thin this month, the progress has gone well.

 

By the Numbers

Here is my summary of where I ended the past month in several key fitness-related measurements compared with where I ended the previous month.

This is the first month where I have a full set of comparative data – and I’m happy that I do because I’m pleased with the progress.

July 1st May June Change
Weight 294.4 289.0 -5.4
Waist 46 45 -1
Kilt Waist 52 52
Chest  52 52
Neck 17.5 17 -0.5
Biceps 15 14.5 -0.5
Thigh 25 24 -1
Calf 18 18 +12.7
Max Ride 32.46 45.16 16.21
Month Ride 350.09 527.84 +177.75

 

Fortunately, the measurements have all held steady or continued to shrink. The weight was a little disappointing at first since I dropped down to 288 in the first half of the month and then rebounded back up to 294. Only in the past couple of days has the weight dropped back down again, almost to the lowest I recorded mid-month. I know the waist is shrinking because my shorts are looser, and I need to get some in a smaller size. The only one I’m not sure about it the thigh measurement, because neither my wife nor I remember where on the thigh we actually measured last month. I’ll cover the cycling below.

 

Fitness Programs

The focus in June continued to be cycling with my attention turned to what I initially thought were a couple of a couple lofty goals (see accomplishments below). I cycled 28 out of 30 days in June (only skipping 2 days while I waited for a replacement wheel) and repeatedly increased both average, daily, and maximum distance. Unfortunately, the weight lifting was minimal and sporadic this past month and I also stopped eating as well as I had been. This change is mainly because my mother is visiting and that means that cookies, snacks, and desserts are a regular fixture in the house now. Unfortunately, I’m snacking now because they are here, and had stopped before by simply not buying them.

 

Major Accomplishments

Last month I had set four lofty goals for June. I’m happy to say that I nailed 2 of them and I feel that I at least fulfilled the essence of the other 2.

Goal #1 – I will ride all 30 days in June. I rode 28 of the 30 days in June. The only 2 days I didn’t ride were after I had broken 2 spokes on my rear wheel. Given that once a spoke goes more often follow (these were the 3rd and 4th on this wheel in the past month) and that the cost of repairing any more spokes would soon outweigh the cost of a whole new wheel, I opted to go for the new wheel which took 2 days to ship.

Goal #2 – I will ride at least 12 miles each day in June. Well, if I missed 2 days riding I obviously didn’t ride 12 miles on the days I missed. However, every day since I got the new wheel installed, I have ridden at least 15 miles, and I have done over 17 every day since the 26th.

Goal #3 – I will have at least one ride exceeding 40 miles. Done! On June 10th I rode 38 miles in the morning and then went back out for an additional 3 miles in the evening with the family – technically that’s over 40 miles, but I wasn’t happy that it was over 2 separate rides. On the 17th, I made it to 40.16 miles, and felt like I could have gone farther but quit at 40 because I had broken 2 spokes the last 3 miles of that ride. Finally, just to make it all official, I rode 45.16 miles on the 24th, well exceeding my goal for maximum distance by the end of the month.

Goal #4 – I will ride a total of 450 miles in June. Done! I figured this would be a good stretch number because my May total had been 350 miles, but didn’t realize that it would end up coming so easily. In fact, after logging 3 days over 40 miles and pushing my daily rides over the 15-mile mark, I ended up at 527 total miles! That’s a 50% increase in distance over the previous month!

Unwritten Goal – Keep Losing Weight! Done! Whether written or not, this is essentially always one of my goals, and the whole reason for doing all of this. Because of all of the cycling accomplishments, the weight has continued to come off despite the diet slipping a little. Although not my lowest recorded ever (288.4) my weight on the morning of July 1st was 289.0 pounds, marking a 5.4 pound loss since June 1st and over 6 weeks under 300 pounds. (I’m keeping track of time under 300 because I was previously denied supplemental life insurance due to my weight and their policy is to not offer it again until I have been under 300 pounds for over 6 months).

 

More updates coming soon! And be sure to let me know if there is anything else specific you want to know about in these posts.