Program Progress Report | Operation 健康アップ Week 6

Woooooahhhh... I'm half-way through my personal training fitness program!! My my how time flies!! Going for my 4 workouts a week definitely makes time pass by faster and I actually look forward to each session to see if I can improve and achieve more than the previous one.

Jen took my measurements this week and I'm quite surprised at the results! I've noticed a bit of body change but it hasn't been that obvious and my weight hasn't dipped much so I didn't think I progressed much.. but I did (´⌣`ʃƪ) At least it proved I wasn't being delusional hahahaha.

Gym Workouts
There was the National Day long weekend holiday so I worked out at Genesis Gym on Monday and Thursday, instead of my usual Friday since it was closed. Had to take the train again after work on Thursday and luckily, I didn't get lost this time haha. I think the new gym location is nearer to Paya Lebar MRT station than Eunos though, so next time I'll stop there instead.

For Monday's session, I was under Superman {he cut off his cute curls!!} and Tall Guy {sorry don't know his name either} but on Thursday, I wasn't led mostly by one trainer, but by whoever-was-around-at-that-time. Sometimes it was Justin, Farhan, Jen, Superman, Mark {??} and Tall Guy. Not the best arrangement as I'd prefer one or two trainers to stick with me most of the time during one session so that they can track my progress better, make sure I keep to my proper rest times and really push me when I need it instead of whoever was closest / looking at my direction to come by and train me for a few minutes or so.

Weights have increased for each exercise {as expected} and I'm feeling it during the compound exercises. And yes, those are the times when I really, really need the extra encouragement as my mind is pretty weak so even though I think my body can take it, my mind gives up pretty easily and sometimes I throw in the towel before the minute ends. So bad I know.

This is my latest gym workout plan with weights I'm using:

A1. Kettle-bell Deadlift, 4 sets, 8 reps - 36kg
A2. Flat Dumb-bell Bench Press {Pronating}, 4 sets, 8 reps - 11.5 + 10.5kg
B1. Lying Leg Curl, Toes Up, 4 sets, 8 reps - 35 + 32.5kg
B2. Kettle-bell Swing, 60s - 16kg
C1. Seated Supported Dumb-bell Shoulder Press {Neutral}, 8 reps, 15 pounds {6.8kg}
C2. Dumbell Half Squat Thrusters, 60s - 3kg

Taking coffee / caffeine before training helps to perk me up but I think I need to learn how to focus better and train my mind to be stronger. Must read up on this more.

Home Workouts
I trained at the club on Wednesday evening and Saturday morning and I think this schedule fits us well. We shall probably stick to this week to week as the club gym isn't too crowded during these times, which is best for when I'm doing the Super Sets and need to go from one machine to another in a short amount of time.

I try to keep to the stipulated rest times in my home workouts as much as possible so that I get the most out of my training... even bought a stopwatch from Daiso to help me keep track as I don't like to carry my mobile around when working out and I don't wear a watch. The boy was pretty amused :P I think some of the guys in my club gym were too haha....

Right now Jen planned my rest times to be pretty short so that I can build more muscles and burn more calories. If I rest too much, it just defeats the purpose and my exercises won't be as effective. You can read more about the optimal rest time between sets here.

This is my latest home workout plan with weights I'm using:
A1. Leg Press, 4 sets, 8 reps - 230 pounds {104.3kg}
A2. Walking Lunges, 4 sets, 16 on each leg - Body Weight
B1. Supinated Lat Pulldown, 4 sets, 8 reps - 67.5pounds {30.6kg}
B2. Seated Cable Row, 4 sets, 16 reps - 5kg
C. Declined Crunches, 3 sets, 15 reps

6 Weeks Progress Report
OK this was the main point of the post actually :P So my first personal training session was on 29 Jul 15 and since then, I've lost 5cm off my waist and around 5.5% of body fat in 6 weeks! Woohoo!! ヽ(^Д^*)/

Usually for ladies, Genesis Gym aims for 2% every 4 weeks so this is good progress. Even though my weight has not changed much {lost only 0.1kg}, it's because I've lost fat and gained muscle mass... which is great since this means I'm leaner.

Someone asked if I'd be posting my body transformation pics and I think I will in the end. I'm very motivated by them and like to search for them on Instagram or Pinterest actually.. perhaps my own body transformation story will help to inspire someone to take the first step to getting their health and fitness in shape too. 

Anyway, there's still have a long way to go though and Jen did "warn" me that there might not be as big a jump in my next measurement since these improvements are partly due to beginner's gains, and also because my diet is still not that fantastic. Eeeks. 

If I don't eat properly i.e. don't hit my protein requirement, I will not be able to sustain my progress since I don't have enough protein to maintain/ grow more lean mass, which is the engine that burns calories.

Food Nutrition
After Thursday's session, Jen gave me another talk and emailed me to make sure I remember his points about improving my diet. Gotta love his dedication.

Again, he encouraged me to prepare food over the weekend to help me in ensuring I get enough protein throughout the rest of the week. He recommended cooking around 2kg of any meat I like and dividing that into 6 portions. Then, freeze 3 portions and keep 3 in the fridge. 1 portion should be around 90g of protein, which is the minimum daily protein count I should hit.

If I eat out {which is erm, currently most of the time}, I should aim for at least half to 1 palm sized serving of meat every meal. That will get me about 20 - 40g of protein.

I think he saw from my diet log that I use protein shakes and bars to up my protein count sometimes and said that although it's convenient, it's preferable that I form a habit of eating regular whole food instead so that I can sustain this lifestyle. Which I agree.. but I eat those not just out of convenience, but because most of the time, I really don't have the appetite to swallow so much meat in a day!! It's true I have a big appetite sometimes, but it's usually for desserts and chocolate. (“⌒∇⌒”)　別のバラ～

Jen also reminded me to hit at least 15g of fiber a day since fiber fills you up, enables regular bowel movements, and helps ladies get rid of excess estrogen in the body, which can aid in problematic areas like butts and thighs. 

Oh man.. really have to work harder in this area. If not, all my hard work and sweat at the gym won't be all that effective either. Diet and exercise goes hand-in-hand and need to work together to get the desired result.

Thoughts for the week
Pretty happy with my progress measurements, and it's driving me to want to continue to work hard and get better results. I'm going to use this as a gauge and try to aim for at least another 5% body fat loss in 6 weeks time. I'm actually at the "average" range now but want to go to the "fit" range and be even more toned!

Another thing Jen and I didn't talk about but has been bugging me is actually my lack of sleep. I haven't been sleeping well lately at night for some reason and I know that if you do not regularly get enough sleep, you might limit your motivation, energy levels and your body's ability to recover from exercise. Which, of course, will affect my exercise outcome.

So yeah, lots of things I need to work on to be on track with my healthy lifestyle but I'm glad that I'm looking into it and working on it now, rather than later. I'm learning a lot on exercise, nutrition and overall well-being which I hope to impart to Lil Pumpkin too and help get her on track to stay healthy for the rest of her life as well.

Having the boy by my side on this journey definitely makes it much easier since he is already a convert. I realise that it must have been pretty hard for him to keep up with his exercise and diet when I can be such a "bad influence" on him but luckily, his willpower and mind are very strong so he doesn't get swayed by me eating all the unhealthy food or being too lazy to exercise. If it was me and I had a partner who was so unmotivated, I would probably have given up and start to slack as well （●￫‿ฺ￩●）

Follow my Fitness Diary posts here or on Instagram {#AiFitnessDiary}.  

One-on-On Personal Training Updates:

The Beginning - First 4 Months
Girls Can Pull-Up Too!
Finally, I Have Visible Abs!
Holiday Workout - No Gym No Problem!
Lessons learnt from Being Injured
New 2 Months Challenge   
2 Months Challenge Results - Lowest Body Fat Composition Ever! 

Genesis Gym Personal Training Updates:
The Beginning - Signing Up for Personal Training

Week 1 - Getting the Right Form for Fitness

Week 2 - The Right Trainer Matters

Week 3 - Keeping Fit Needs Brain & Brawns
Week 4 - Reality Check
Week 5 - New Workout Programs, New Challenges
Week 6 - Program Progress Report 
Week 7 - Training with a Weak Back 
Week 8 - Keep Calm & Gym On
Week 9 - Making Sense of Trap Lifts, TRX & Med Ball Slams
Week 10 - Workout Max Out
Week 11 - Rolling in the Deep
Week 12 - Program End Report
Week 13 - Start of Cycle 2
Weeks 14 to 16 - Slow & Steady
Weeks 17 to 20 - Milos Giant Sets
Week 21 to 24 - Cycle 2 Program End Report
Week 25 to 28 - German Volume Training & MetCon Workouts
Weeks 29 to 32 - What Doesn't Kill You
Weeks 33 to 36 -  Cycle 3 Program End Report
Personal Training - Results 1 Year Later 

Wendler's 5/3/1 Program to Reach Strength Targets
15% Body Fat Target Reached!
Good Bye Genesis Gym

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