Saturday weigh in, the tale of the tape.

 No lyrics today. I thought I’d break with the routine just once to post a photo of myself. I managed to squeeze in a haircut yesterday and am having a good day, so thought why not? 10 points for the eagle eyed of you, if you can name who is hanging on our kitchen wall!

Today was the 16th day in a row I’ve either exercised or cycled or both. After a very creaky session with TEC on Thursday when I had all the poise and elasticity of a dried up dead frog, this morning I felt fresh and reasonably flexible.

I warmed up ahead of the hour long weights session by doing some curl ups, side planks, bird dogs and dead bugs. I do feel better for doing them and I am aware my balance and coordination has (hopefully) improved. 

So on to the session with TEC. He keeps throwing in new lifts and strength and balance exercises, to keep the sessions fresh, but also to teach me a large armoury of lifts and exercises to use once the 12 week case study comes to an end. 

We’re now doing three sessions a week on weights and I’m cycling on Zwift everyday. Today’s lifts were barbell rows, dumbbell bench presses and some strength and balance pulls using a resistance band. It was first time using dumbbells and I took to them pretty well. I still find bench and overhead lifts the easiest to get the technique right. 

The hour flew past and I managed to complete all the sets of reps for each exercise. So it was then straight on to the bike to join one of the many excellent group rides on Zwift. I’ve set myself a goal of cycling at least three hours a week, so today’s one hour recovery ride was ideal, it took in 30km of easy paced pedalling, but finished with a fun seven minute sprint, and I was pleased to be able to hold a decent pace for all of it.

It was then time for the weekly weight and waist circumference checks. This programme isn’t primarily about my weight, it’s all about my mental health. However I did state I wanted it to combat any unhealthy weight gain I might experience from being prescribed Mirtazapine and Venlafaxine. I’d actually put on over 8kg since starting on the meds, prior to commencing this programme 16 days ago.

The tale of the tape and scales was pleasing. I’ve lost over 3kg and 8 centimetres off my waist circumference. I’ve not altered my eating, other than to add in porridge on a morning, with a good helping of golden syrup!

I feel stronger both physically and mentally today. I can see the gains in my physical fitness, the reduction in weight, the reduction in my waist and a significant increase in my capacity to cycle at a far greater effort for sustained periods of time. I’m avoiding doing another FTP test, though it is tempting, until I’m due to undertake one at the end of the twelve weeks.

I’ve had some crap bits of news to deal with this week. I’m not sure how I would have reacted without the improvements I’ve experienced since starting the programme with TEC’s coaching. Whilst they still had a massive negative impact on my mood level, it didn’t at least lead me to have suicidal thoughts. Which is a massive step forward for me. 

Thoughts now start to turn to Xmas. If you think of know that a mate is struggling, send them a message. Don’t push them for an answer, but don’t be afraid to contact them. Believe me, if there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s stay in touch with those you value and those that value you. You might not get an answer, or you may get one eventually. It’s highly likely though that it will be read and appreciated.

One way of signing off is this.

“Please don’t feel any obligation to reply to this. I know how difficult it can be to deal with things when your mind isn’t right and I wouldn’t want you to feel any pressure.

Love and Tier 2 hugs

Blot 🎅