Haven't posted much in a while, but brief, public update.

This was originally drafted as a post for the gymrats community, but I decided it wasn't really relevant for the community because it was just too darned long and not really asking for specific information, just a progress update. I'll keep it on my blog here, instead. I decided to make this one a public entry (comments, if any, screened), in case anybody from the comm is curious.

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Basic Background
Nearly 12 weeks ago, I made a decision to get my apple-shaped (chubby-fat), weak, old female body into better shape this year. Maybe not necessarily in "great" fitness conditioning, or even "great" looking, but just simply "better." For me, I think humbling my goals from previous years (and looking much harder at my underlying goals of fitness and appearance) helped to keep me grounded and pragmatic. The important thing is that I had no intention of setting high goals and quick achievement (which I've done before), just slow and steady.

These intentions were stated just before I was starting college classes as an old(er) freshman who probably looks more like the average middle-aged faculty than a typical young undergraduate. My progress was a jagged start-and-stop process due to time management issues and real life. Since my February post pleading for scheduling tips and motivational tips to stay the course, I've done better week by week though not yet at a perfect schedule and routine. My profound thanks again to everyone who responded there as it has helped me to reassess and prioritize my goals, whether fitness related or otherwise.

Now that it's end of March, just a few things I wanted to share.

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Excess fat (girth) changes.
- Dropped two full inches at the abdomen. (I take three different measurements around my midsection: at the navel and one measure each above and below the navel).
- Dropped more than one inch at the hips.
- Dropped an average of an inch from each of my thighs.
- Only modest decrease in my calves. Since I am essentially "apple-shaped" this makes sense since my excess fat is mostly centered in my abdomen to hips/upper thighs.
- My scale (body weight) indicates I've lost about 11 lbs., but I'm sure that most on this community share my opinion that raw weight changes are not necessarily indicative of improved overall fitness and appearance.
- other: I have taken some arm measurements, but these are difficult to do reliably by myself. Therefore, I won't post these changes, but generally it seems I am making a tangible difference in losing fat in my arms as well as building strength too (the bicep itself, at least).

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General fitness (strength etc.) changes.
I have switched around my routine quite a bit at times, but despite still being very inconsistent, I'm showing significant improvement and progress.

- MOST IMPORTANT: Actually GOING to the gym and doing it, somewhat regularly. Though still problems with staying consistent, I am making it to the gym much more regularly and enthusiastically. I have been feeling incredibly good physically and mentally (the wonders of exercise on stress!). Might be obvious, but fundamental. None of my fitness goals etc. can be achieved without doing it. Thus my major success has really been successfully following through and making it to the gym, at all.

- Greatest specific exercise achievement: I can do full ass-to-grass squats with dumbbells.
Not a big deal for many, but I had knee problems many years ago and I have been afraid of doing any type of squats at all, especially ass-to-grass squats. After reading on this community and doing additional reading, I slowly started to do these and have been amazed that I have no pain or contraindications doing so. In fact, as this community has expressed often, doing these can be a significant performance enhancer or skill aspect.

- Anaerobic (strength) improvements. Not huge or even noticeable from the outside, but I literally FEEL my body is stronger, more resilient, more competent at performing with greater ease, efficiency, and sometimes even enjoyment. This goes for not just activities on the gym floor, but in my real life world and daily activities. The physical weights I'm actually handling (still mostly machines, but frequently free weights when I can) have increased only modestly (depends on the exercise, but from average increase in weight varies from about 10% to 35%). What is key is that my physical form, technique, # of repetitions and sets have increased to what I feel are significant and efficient for my general and long-term goals. I am literally building a *solid* foundation on which I can finally believe I can progress from.

While saying all this, I have also had intermittent aches and pains during or post workouts, but nothing indicative of serious injury. Because of my history of previous injuries, I force myself to take at least 2-3 days off from the body area or exercises, as appropriate until I am confident that it is insignificant, minor, or gone.

- Aerobic (cardiovascular) improvements. As I mention this, I'll state that I understand that most of the diehard gymrats here put aerobic fitness as a distant secondary goal for many valid reasons. Most of the gymrats here are at a very high fitness, athletic and specialized levels in which aerobics as a dominant feature does not usually apply since it can also undercut some aspects of anaerobic targeted training depending on how aerobics are incorporated.

Stating this, I will say that I have always enjoyed aerobic activities (perhaps on par with general anaerobic goals) and since I am still at the novice level of my fitness goals, I intend to maintain a significant aerobic portion. I have learned, though, that trying to do both portions intensely and concurrently can be counter-productive and I have changed my strategy to make aerobics secondary, but a close second.

Therefore, I now only include aerobics by either treadmill (jogging) or stairmaster, as a 5-7 minute initial warm-up before each workout. Either once or twice a week, I will have a relatively longer aerobics day by adding at the END of a regular anaerobic workout: I go to about 20-minutes on cardio, at a moderately intense level. Even doing this, I am feeling and seeing significant improvement in my aerobic endurance.

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General goals for the next two months.
Overall: Continue streamlining my time and schedule. Continuing working on sticking to a regular schedule of 3x/week or more.

Overall: Exercise routine - understanding and implementation. Get a better understanding and implementation of the actual exercises I have been doing, actual body parts and body systems being targeted per exercise, miscellaneous principles of my workout routines. This is critical not just for when I am physically at the gym and often confused or distracted (and need immediate alternatives for the same body region, or whatever), but so that I can adapt specific workouts when there are changes, while staying on track with fitness goals. Also this will minimize my being unbalanced within the same workout, or in general. Generally having a better sense of each exercise (whether done on machines, dumbbells, barbells, other) and it's possible variations (such as different grips, different posture or emphasis, etc.).

Overall: Remain injury free. Continue to avoid injury and minimize possibilities thereof. Clearly I have been injury free thus far; any injury would seriously affect my general goals.

Overall: Improve nutrition. Eating has been extremely erratic and inconsistent, mostly due to my schedule and constant activities and changes. This has always been a problem for me, but I'll continue working on it.

Primarily Anaerobic: Be better balanced. My current (introductory) focus has targeted my lower body more than upper body. Since I am achieving a lot of satisfaction with lower body strength improvements, I am making more effort to work on my upper body plus stronger emphasis on core strength (back and abs).

Primarily Anaerobic: Specific fitness goals (subset of better balance). I have a few specific and more aggressive fitness goals which I will start to pointedly address in these two months. They are not limited to involving exercises like improving my dumbbell deadlifts, squats, and abdominals (all these mostly lower body and core strength), but also making serious progress in pull-ups, dips, bench presses, and push-ups (upper body). I am not rigidly adhering to these, just a general outline of some of the things I am looking forward to.

Aerobic: increase time and/or distance. I would like to work up to about 30 minutes non-stop on the treadmill or about 4-miles non-stop on the treadmill, or 20 minutes non-stop on the Stairmaster.

The previous two months so far, have been a good initial period in which I have been learning about my body by testing and patience. I think I am ready for more serious, but cautious work.

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Separately: visual recording (and silliness)
This week I have finally experimented with taking videos of myself with my personal digital camera. You see, I think I have been able to *finally* see tangible, but subtle appearance issues, meaning seeing a little muscle definition, or shaping. It is admittedly very hard to discern even for myself, but now I swear they are visible. :) It hasn't been so easy to videotape myself and it's been hilarious to see how silly I look even in private, but great. I have tried to take just still photos, but it's hard to see the fledgling muscle definition under my flabbiness in most areas. The motion in the little videos help to demonstrate muscle motion and consequently isolate muscle shape and form directly.