Sadat - Last Week and Final Thoughts

Well this was the final week of Fall Shape Up.

Monday, we had a little cardio relay action where we each did three pieces of cardio equipment for 10 minutes each, i chose the rower, bike, and elliptical. We then met up in Sparkys Yard to do some dynamic strength training. Felt good to shake off the turkey coma.

Tuesday, Warlord Michelle put us through what i thought was the hardest workout ive done. So nice of her to wait til the last week to do it. It was a tag team work out. While one of us were doing "jumps" on a stationary (LEVEL 20), the other was doing 15 reps of leg presses, extensions and curls. The person on the bike couldnt stop until they were tagged. We did this for two cycles. I was quickly out of breathe, my legs were shaking, and i was feeling my turkey day leftovers creeping back up. We then moved onto the next station, treadmills at some ridiculous speed and incline, while the other did pull ups, dips and push ups. Twice. Next, one partner stayed in a plank position while the other went up and down the back stairs 5 times. We then lunged back and forth in the loft area, wall to wall, while the other did bicycle crunches. Lastly, we did back extensions and 40 stinking jump squats. I think i pulled a muscle in my right butt cheek.

Wed, Ran 2 miles followed by a 6mile bike ride and a 250m swim. I did not do the swim since i am a terrible swimmer.

Thursday, FINAL ASSESSMENTS. We completed our last round of measurements. Crazy that only 2 of us showed up for this after we had started with 12 back in september. Let me give you a little recap. My initial Mile time in september was 9:47. In a minute, i was able to do 46 push ups and 25 situps. I weighed 220. After this whole program ended, i was able to complete a mile in 7:20. 60 push ups in a minutes and 40 situps. Tell me thats not an Improvement!


Sadat's FINAL THOUGHTS

This program did wonders for me. First and foremost i want to thank the staff that put this program together. I am very appreciative to Michelle Jung for not only offering this program to the ASU Community but for also giving me the opportunity to participate in this life changing program. She still remains my nemesis and i will plot against her at work from here on out. But thank you. I also very much appreciated the hard work that our trainers put into this program. Sarah is amazing. If any of you are looking for someone not only to be able to train you, but motivate you and will just talk to you about whatever while on a run or bike ride, this is the person you should sign up for a personal training session with. Shes gonna push you, but shes gonna do it with a smile. Blake, or as i am going to call him from now on Stiffler, was also great. He has a wide range of knowledge for both athletic lifting and nutrition. I dont know if he lies to me when he brings up random statistics and facts, but i trust him.

Listen, when i started this program back in September I was in terrible shape. I let over eating over run me. I was very inactive. I couldnt breathe after i would walk up the stairs to my office. I wasnt happy with the clothes i fit into and the way i looked in them. Anything physically challenging, i strayed away from, because "i couldnt do it". I didnt think myself as a 26 year old, could get back into the shape i was back in college. I felt old, i felt old at 26!

Now, i have a lot more confidence. I am able to take challenges head on. I never once gave up. I took breathers and breaks sure, but i didnt stop. I impressed myself. I was there every day i could be there for. I changed my diet. I changed my body. I fit into Larges (i havent been able to since 2003). I moved down two notches on my belt. I went from a tight 38 to a loose 36. I didnt lose any crazy amount of weight, i lost 20 pounds, but what a difference it makes on your body and overall daily routine to have that off. Ive been complimented everyday at work for the last 3-4 weeks about my improvements and changes, and although i sound like it doesnt effect me, its definitely great to hear. I reached so many goals i didnt even have.

Theres something special about this program. We started off with 12 people. that slimmed down to 10 after the 2nd week. But the group we had there was pretty tight for several weeks. We learned each others name, we came up with nicknames when we couldn't remember those names, we complained together, we ran together, swam together, lunged together, ran up A mountain together, completed 5 and 10ks together, we sweat together and joked together. The thing is, after a while, you get to know these people and you dont want to let them down. You want to complete everyday because theyre also doing it next to you, and their likely going to need a lifting partner. You want to show up everyday because you know their going to be there too. You want to show them what you got. And maybe if theyre slacking or about to quit, then they see you still trucking along and say, hey if he can do it, so can I. You ended up being each others support system. And thats why it was successful. You cant fail when you have 8 or 9 other people with similar goals, working with you and showing up at the same time for weeks.

Overall, this program is great. It works. It can work for you too. If you take it seriously. If you listen to what the trainers are telling you. If you do what they ask. If you understand why theyre telling you to do it. If your willing to change your diet. If you put a 100 percent of yourself into this for an hour, its just an hour, a day; You will be successful in this program. I know of a few people who showed up everyday but never lost a pound, but they enjoyed it so much and it put them back in a routine and just made them feel better. You may not lose 20lbs like i did, hey you might even lose more, but at the end of the day, you feel better. Your glad you did it. And you cant wait to get back out there tomorrow.

Ill See any of you newcomers in the spring for SPRING SHAPE UP, ill be the guy whose lost 10 more pounds since this post!

Thanks for Reading!