This Past Week

            Things from my week.  I have discovered that the "Italian Style Favorite" DiGiorno pizza, Meatball Marinara and Chicken Parmesan are quite delicious.  But then so is a toasted whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, garlic salt, and a slice of tomato.  I started taking French, which when compared to Chinese is a chocolate cake walk.  I have managed to go to the gym 5 times, each day after class and have drastically changed the way I was going about getting fit.

            Really my whole routine has changed in that I have one, French is always the same time for the same period of time, it happens late enough in the morning that I have time to wake up, have breakfast, and do my homework before it begins which puts me in a state of mind to do French.  Afterword I read some, head to the gym, head home, and do more homework and read until bed.  It is relaxing to know what I am doing and to be able to do it without grinding my teeth.  But at the same time I feel busy and I do not think of myself as having a lot of flex time, I am in class effectively 10 hours each week not counting additional homework and studying, that is the equivalent to a full schedule, even if the work is a step down in difficulty and I think I could handle another course that was safely in my wheelhouse, like my terrorism or International trade course from this spring.

            As for working out changes I have decided to start grading myself each week to see if I have any improvement, a few small exercises that I can use to measure progress.  Along with my weight, blood pressure (averaged off of three measurements all taken in the same 5 minutes), and the amount of time I can hold my breath (again averaged off of three measurements all taken in the same 5 minutes).  Mostly the shift is to cardio, and I think that will be a good change of pace to help me lose weight, as I have hit a plateau with my current weight lifting efforts.

Blood Pressure: 137/81

Chin-ups: 4

Leg Extensions (70lbs): 26

Bench (95lbs): 16

Leg Lifts: 20

1.5 miles: 19minutes 29seconds (this needs a lot of work)

Curls (25lbs): 20

Fly Extensions (10lbs): 25

Hold Breath: 51 seconds

Weight: 216.25lbs