Category: Benchmarks

Welcome to Phuket Fit’s weight loss and fitness blog. I’m your host, Aaron Rowland. I’m a 28-year-old writer from Los Angeles, California. At my heaviest weight, I weighed 160 KGs (350 LBS).  I’m here at Phuket Fit to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here seventeen months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Barbell thrusters, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

Wha-Wha-Whatttt?

Over the past year writing this blog, I’ve tried to emphasize the importance of not just paying attention to the scale. There are many ways to track health and fitness and your weight is just one small factor. Things like body-fat percentage, body measurements, photos, how your clothing fits and even timed fitness trials are all great ways to track progress on your weight-loss and fitness journey.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to put my money where my mouth is. No weigh-ins for the next fourteen weeks. Instead, I’ll be focusing on training for the Phuket Marathon, a 26.2-mile (42 KM) test of fitness and endurance. When one of my friends signed up, and asked if I’d be keen to join, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Surely you can’t be serious?

I am serious, and don’t call me Sh… you get the joke. Needless to say, this isn’t going to be easy. I’ve never run in any sort of formal race and I would consider myself a very weak runner at present time. Simply put, I don’t like running. I would much rather glide on a cross trainer or sweat out the calories on a rowing machine, than jog for even a few minutes.

But that why I’m going to do it. If you aren’t willing to train in the areas where you’re weakest, you won’t be able to improve to your peak levels of performance.

What’s the plan?

For the next 14 weeks, I’ll be working on a marathon-training plan I found online. Some days I’ll be doing road runs, while other days I’ll be participating in Phuket Fit’s bodyfit and cross-training classes. It’s difficult for me to even run a 5k without stopping now, so that’s the first benchmark I’m aiming to pass. Right now, my jog/walk 5k time is 38:54, and I’m hoping to get that below 35:00 in the next two weeks. I’m realistic about my ultimate expectations, I doubt I’ll be able to jog the entire marathon after only 14 weeks of training, but if I work hard I know I’ll be fast enough to finish well under the 7.5-hour time limit.

 

So, that’s where things stand currently.

The marathon is June 8^th. We’re 14 weeks away.

Have a great week of weight loss! If you set your mind on it, I know you can do it!

Welcome to Phuket Fit’s weight loss and fitness blog. I’m your host, Aaron Rowland. I’m a 27-year-old writer from Los Angeles, California. At my heaviest weight twenty-months ago, I weighed in at 160 KGs.  I’m here at Phuket Fit to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here fourteen months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Barbell thrusters, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

Fueling Your Body

It’s important to remember that the food you consume is the fuel your body uses for energy. If you’re eating things that lack nutritional value, your body won’t have the basic nutrients it needs to function. Ideally, you shouldn’t even need to take vitamins or supplements. Ideally, you should be getting all the goodness your body needs from the healthy foods you eat. Fresh vegetables, lean meats and selected fruits give your body what it needs and will give you the energy to succeed on your weight loss mission. For me, I’ve been eating a very strict diet the last two weeks on my mission to hit 99 KGs by Christmas. It hasn’t been easy. Even in Thailand temptation is everywhere, but two weeks into it… I feel great. You wouldn’t believe the extra energy and vigor you can receive in life by eating the proper things.

Building Your Body

Over the last two weeks I’ve been very focused on my workout routine as well. Every day, I wake up and attend Phuket Fit’s Body Fit class. It’s a high intensity cardio-burn that also implements some strength and conditioning elements. After that I either attend our afternoon Cross Training class or spent some time lifting weights in the gym. In Thailand, even the evenings are a perfect time to workout. It’s cooler and the street isn’t as bustling. Finishing off the day with a night jog or walk is a great way to burn some extra calories and helps you fall asleep more easily.

The End Of Week Twenty-Seven

I step on the scale to discover that I weight 226.0 LBS, for a weight loss of five pounds this week, for a total of 11.6 LBS lost in the last two weeks. I’m not only eight pounds away from my goal of hitting 218 LBS (99 KGS). It hasn’t been easy the last couple weeks, but the effort has clearly been worth it. If you’re willing to eat incredibly clean and also exercise your butt off, I promise you that you will get results. Just look at the Victories we’ve posted on this blog. People come to Phuket Fit to lose weight and they succeed.

What’s Up Next?

Just three weeks left to hit my 99 KG goal by Christmas, and I’m feeling confident. It will take a lot more work, but I know that it’s possible! If I can keep up this pace, then I’ll get there a week early!

Have a great week of weight loss! If you set your mind on it, I know you can do it!

Welcome to Phuket Fit’s weight loss and fitness blog. I’m your host, Aaron Rowland. I’m a 27-year-old writer from Los Angeles, California. At my heaviest weight twenty-months ago, I weighed in at 160 KGs.  I’m here at Phuket Fit to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here thirteen months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Barbell thrusters, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

A Long Burn Workout

Sometimes it can be great to get a quick intense workout in; twenty to thirty minutes of non-stop pulse pounding sweatiness. If you’re looking for a bit of a slower burn, a long walk can also be a great workout. I know what you’re thinking. A walk? Does that really count as a workout? Absolutely! Back when I was at my heaviest, walking was my primary source of exercise and now that I’ve lost some weight I still love to take long walks. From Phuket Fit to the top of Big Buddha is a little under 10KM, which makes it 20KM round trip. Walking at a steady pace the entire way takes about four hours, and trust me, you’ll feel the burn when you’re finished. A 20 KM Buddha walk can be an excellent way to relax and distress during an intense week of fitness, while getting a great workout at the same time!

Setting Goals

In weight loss, it can be hard to look at the bigger picture and not be overwhelmed. You might have 10 LBS, 30 LBS, 50 LBS, 100 LBS or even more weight to lose, and you know it’s going to be a slow process. Sometimes the best thing to do is set small goals for yourself to work towards. Don’t focus on the hundred pounds you need to lose, but instead on the fifteen or twenty you can lose this month. I’ve set a personal goal to reach 99 KGS (218.2 LBS) by Christmas morning. What better present could I give to myself than health and fitness? It won’t be easy, but I’m confident I can achieve it. By training at Phuket Fit, I know I’ve put myself in the perfect environment for success.

The End Of Week Twenty-Five

I step on the scale and see that I weigh 237.6 LBS. That means I have about nineteen pounds to lose over the next month to hit my goal. If I can lose a little over four pounds a week, then I will have succeeded. Just because your weight loss might have slowed or stalled, its always important to keep perspective and not lose hope. Just keep moving in the right direction and you’ll eventually achieve you goals. Don’t let someone else dictate your pace, lose weight the way that works fro you and your life.

What’s Up Next?

Now is the time to buckle down with my training and refocus my eating habits. To accomplish this, I’ve teamed up with a friend of mine also training at Phuket Fit and we’ve developed a buddy system to keep each other accountable. Training and eating with like-minded friends is a great way to help you achieve your goals.

Have a great week of weight loss! If you set your mind on it, I know you can do it!