Before and After

FINAL RESULTS

It's Official...Michael has done it! He has now lost 101 lbs. in 5
months!!! The weight has been lifted, both figuratively and literally, and
I know Michael feels great about it, and all of us here at Fitness Together
Delafield are extremely proud of him. It is truly an amazing
accomplishment, regardless of the time frame, and the great part about all
of it, is that Michael is not losing his motivation to continue towards his
ultimate goal.

Well, if any of you out there are dying to see the results from our most
recent assessment as much as I was, here ya go.
Now, again, this was done in 5 months. Our first assessment was on March
11, 2009, and this final assessment for the competition was done on August
5th, 2009. So, without further ado, here are the "numbers."

Starting weight: 393 lbs. Finishing Weight: 292 lbs. (101 lb. decrease)
Starting Body Fat%: 43.3% Finishing Body Fat%: 34% (An almost 10% decrease)
Starting Resting Heart Rate: 97 beats per minute Finishing Resting HR: 58 bpm.
(39 bpm decrease)
Starting 3 min. Step Test HR: 158 bpm (only completed 2 min.) Finishing HR:
96 bpm -all 3 minutes! (62 bpm decrease)
Starting Max Bench: 150 lbs. Finishing Max Bench: 204 lbs. (54 lb.
increase)
Starting Max Leg Press: 583.4 Finishing Max Leg Press: 1,008.4 (425 lb.
increase)
Starting Sit Reach Test: 3.8 inches Finishing Sit Reach Test: 10.5
inches (6.7 inch increase in flexibility)

Starting Resting Blood Pressure: 140/90 Finishing Resting BP: 119/76
Starting Exercise BP: 180/90 Finishing Exercise BP: 150/74
Starting Chest Measurement: 57.5 inches Finishing Chest Measurement: 50
inches
Starting Waist Measurement: 64 inches Finishing Waist Measurement: 47.25
Starting Hip Measurement: 68 inches Finishing Hip Measurement: 51.5
Starting Thigh Measurement: 28 inches Finishing Thigh Measurement: 24
inches
Starting Calf Measurement: 19.5 inches Finishing Calf Measurement: 17.75
inches
Starting Upper Arm Measurement: 18.13 inches Finishing Upper Arm
Measurement: 15.5 inches
Starting Forearm Measurement: 12.5 inches Finishing Forearm Measurement:
11.5 inches
Starting Neck Measurement: 18.5 inches Finishing Neck Measurement: 16.25
inches
Starting Shoulder Measurement: 58.5 inches Finishing Shoulder
Measurement: 52.5 inches

Alright, I already did the math for the measurements, and it comes to a
total of 61.38 inches lost! The other highlights, again, are 101 lbs., 10%
body fat loss, dramatic decreases in heart rates and blood pressure, and
dramatic increases in strength and flexibility. Overall, we couldn't be
happier or more proud of Michael. Thank you to everyone who supported and
followed Michael through this journey. Also, as Michael will be continuing
on his journey to losing even more weight, keep an eye out, as we will try
to post at least 1 more blog with some information on how to continue
following his progress.

Reflections

Trainer Notes

Just a couple days left and we are almost there with our "stretch goal." Final results are due to report on August 5th, so we will be doing our final re-assessment this Wednesday. So, again, not only will we be able to report our final tally of weight loss, but we will be able to report all of our final numbers, including inches lost, body fat percentage, heart rates, blood pressure, etc. The end of month two was the last time we did the complete assessment for all areas, so we are very excited to see the cumulative results and improvements.

As mentioned previously, this week brings a nice, and needed, break in Michael's workouts. We are still maintaining our workout schedule, as it is important to stay in the routine and rhythm of working out, but the volume and intensity will be lower for a couple of weeks. This means less overall sets, as well as selecting exercises and a format that will keep the intensity of the workout quite a bit lighter. These "transition," or "unloading" periods, while sometimes difficult to make ourselves do, are truly an important part of a well rounded fitness program. They give our bodies and minds an opportunity to regenerate and refresh. In fact, it's not uncommon to see noticeable strength and endurance improvements shortly after.