become "Swimsuit Fit"

I’d dropped my weight to a new all-time low of 165 back in February/March, though it finally settled at just over 170 as a maintainable weight, but then I had to have surgery for a torn rotator cuff, and that popped me up to a very inactive 180… After a wonderfully decadent vacation of drinking lots of Guinness in Ireland – while keeping up with my physical therapy, I was in need of weight loss, and I was finally regaining use of my arm enough to get semi-active. End of August herbal HCG diet had dropped me to a new adult low of 160, but I’ve definitely got less muscle. I’m finally back to doing a feeeew pushups and such, so I’m in recovery, but I want to push through to two goals before December: Swimsuit Fit and Get Abs! I’m so close! It’s going to take quite a push to make my recovery and be further along than ever before. Weight-loss portion of the diet ends in just under a week – and I need to increase my workouts moderately to make my goals by year end (while under the time crunch of work and my own businesses.) I’m placing this goal ABOVE being debt free by January 1, though, so this is number 1 for me right now.

Since my shoulder surgery (torn rotator cuff and torn ligament) I’ve taken a few steps back on this goal. I’ve lost a lot of my already limited strength in my upper body, my bodyfat has shifted for the worse, and I’ve put on a few pounds.

The shoulder is still not ready to take on a full-out workout, but in a couple of days (when I return from a trip) my wife and I are diving into the strict phase of our dieting again, and I’ll be able to get back to the doctor and into physical therapy once more. I’m still daring to keep this as a 2010 goal – got to kick it by December!

I got my weight down from 195 to a low of 164, but I’ve settled at more like 168. I’ve begun to do purely bodyweight exercises—pull-ups, push-ups, leg lifts, sit-ups. My goal right now with these workouts is to be consistent rather than to be intense. (I’m also training for a 166-mile bike ride over two days a month from now, so I am getting some low-impact cardio.) Holding the weight, however, has been a bit of a struggle… More than I would have hoped…