By the third week, my body is definitely feeling more comfortable doing all the exercises that are part of my new program designed by my trainer. This is where the exercises get easier and in about a week I get a new program.
I did the same exercises that I was doing in weeks 1 and 2. Again, I had to change up the order of the exercises and combine some aspects of the routine in order to fit all the training in.
It was in week 3 that I had a lady come up to me at the gym and ask how to use the smith machine. I went to go show her the smith machine and she was like “Wow, you have a great body. You must work out a lot.” All I managed to say was “Thank you” knowing full well that I still have quite a ways to go before becoming stage ready. We talked a little bit more and I showed her some exercises. I felt like she was genuinely interested in getting fit so therefore I didn’t mind answering her questions about fitness.
I’m not running as much as I normally do because I am not eating enough calories from carbohydrates at this time. At times, I find it extremely challenging to not eat bread. Bread has always been a big part of my diet because I’m always super busy and toast is the easiest thing to make. In addition, I’m an endurance runner, which generally allows me to eat all the carbs I want without gaining any weight.
In a half marathon, on average, I burn around 1200 calories. That’s more calories than some people’s basal metabolic rate. Therefore, for me to maintain muscle mass, I need to replace those calories. Right now though, I’m eating a higher protein and lower carb diet, so those 20km runs are few and far between.
This is an experiment. I will have some numbers for you soon!