I started going to the gym last June 22, 2016, because I knew I needed to gain muscle strength to be fit. I also read that more muscle means more calories burned even when rested. I do have a few problems with this idea: I am too cheap to pay for expensive gym membership and I don’t want to be in the gym for 2 hours, 5 or more days a week.

So I decided to go back to doing Stronglifts 5×5. “Go back” because I started doing the workout 3 years ago but stopped after a few weeks because the gym I went to was too far from our house. I think I did make progress then. I just didn’t stick to the plan long enough to see significant results. I remember I was able to squat 135lbs before I stopped.

Then a new gym popped up very close to our place, and only charges P30 per session. It’s meant to be.

Why Stronglifts? I thought it was very simple and easy for me to follow. It even has a free app that makes it even easier. I can be in and out of the gym in about an hour (as long as the equipment I need are available), and just go 3 times a week. 3 times a week! I can do my easy runs during workout days, rest and/or interval training in between, then LSDs on Sundays (although I haven’t done an LSD yet as of previous post).

As of this writing, after 4 weeks of doing Stronglifts, my weight is down to 157.5lbs, and my lifts are:

Squats: 105lbs

Bench press: 75lbs

Barbell rows: 95lbs

Overhead press: 65lbs

Deadlifts: 145lbs

I’m confident that I can continue with this plan this time. Right now, I’m giving it a year for me to see real results. I’ll post a before and after 1 month picture soon.

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Has it really been 3 years since my last post?! Wow. I already forgot that I had this blog. I was lucky Chrome saved my username and password. So why am I resurrecting this blog?

I thought the direction of this blog needs to to shift a little bit. Aside from just being about my running experiences, I thought I’ll tell you guys about my journey towards weight loss and generally just being more fit. And happy. I’m into that now. But the blog will still be mostly about running. I love running. And I do think it was running that was the most instrumental in making me lose a lot of weight before.

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So what has happened the past 3 years in terms of my running? 6 half marathons under the belt, thank you very much. With a 2:18 PR. And all done barefoot, too! Not bad but a sub 2:00 would be nice. I also did a few 10Ks.

But the past half year, my running took a back seat to daily life responsibilities (which translates to “I got very lazy”). I was only able to run maybe once a week, at best. I began eating a lot (more than usual, which was already a lot). Now my weight’s up and believe me, the added weight is not because of bigger muscle.

I’m back on track now and running almost every day again. The new cardio room installed in our office, which has a couple of treadmills, helps. Not ideal because I still prefer the open road, but definitely better than nothing since it’s been raining a lot lately. I’m still unable to do long runs during the weekends. My alarms are set (yep, all four of them to make sure that I actually wake up) for this Sunday.

Here’s a fairly recent picture of me at 163 lbs. The goal is to get back to being below 150 lbs, and this time stay there. As a 35-year old that loves to eat, my work is cut out for me. Wish me luck.

 

This is my sort of 8 week 21k training plan for the first leg of Run United. I think it’s a great plan, with weekly difficulty progressing as I get closer to race day. Got this from here. I think I’ve been reasonably faithful in following the schedule. I just had to move the rest days around because of work and family related things, but I was able to do all the required runs within the required weeks.

I just have problems with the pace requirements. I feel like doing a 7:40 pace for a long run (even a 7:33) is too short. I know I’m supposed to “follow the plan” to help raise my endurance. But it’s just too slow my form suffers a bit, making my ankles hurt.

During two of my rest days, I do a kettlebell routine that I found in YouTube for cross training. The routine’s not really specific for runners, just for beginners for overall body toning.

I bought a 20lb kettlebell even though the internet says most beginner men would begin with a 35 – 40lb kettlebell. Tried it but found that I can’t lift it effectively with one hand, which some exercises in the video shows I need to do.  So I got a lighter kettlebell. That was a humbling experience. It seemed I had a lot less body strength than the average male beginner. But that’s ok. Everyone had to start somewhere, right?

By the way, I also plan on learning (yes, learning!) to swim starting tomorrow. I’ve been looking for useful information on the internet since I can’t afford to pay for a real trainer. Piece of cake.

So this is it. My training plan for the next 5 weeks. I’m feeling good about this. 🙂