While 2024 was horrible for the world in many ways, for my own selfish self it was a decent year in the pursuit of fitness.
| (data in freedom units) | 2024-01-01 | 2025-01-05 | 2025 Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 172.6 | 171.4 | 168 |
| Body Fat % (est.) | 39% | 36% | 32% |
| Workouts per week | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Average workouts per week | - | 4.28 | 5.5 |
| Miles walked per week | 9 | 31 | 30 |
| Biceps | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Chest | 39 | 40 | 40 |
| Waist | 38 | 37 | 36 |
| Thighs | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Calves | 16 | 16 | 15 |
| Pullups | 0 | 0 | 1 |
While I would like the top-line weight number to have moved more, I did "recomp" to a fair degree. The body fat percentage numbers are guesses, but I can feel and see substantial differences in several muscles, including side deltoids, trapezius, and pectorals. At the same time, the amount of excess flesh around my torso decreased visibly. I hope to see substantial muscle gains in my thighs and upper arms this year.
In addition, the amount of exercise I am able to do each week increased substantially, with the number of workouts doubling and the typical walking mileage tripling. While the actual statistics are not terribly impressive compared to fit people, I have had several health issues in the past six years, including: frozen shoulder in 2019, what may have been COVID in March 2020, possible long COVID in late 2020, another frozen shoulder in 2021, and probable Lyme disease in 2022. The frozen shoulders led to considerable loss of muscle mass in my upper body, while the long COVID and the Lyme disease led to general exhaustion for several months. It is only in the past six months that my exercise capacity has reached an acceptable level. Also, I'm well over 50 now. That doesn't make getting fitter any easier.
Anyway, the general plan for this year is below. Like any battle plan, it will change when new conditions arise.
| Day/Activity | Workout | Walking |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Upper, 50 minutes | 6-7 miles |
| Tuesday | Lower, 50 minutes | 4-5 miles |
| Wednesday | Upper, 50 minutes | 4-5 miles |
| Thursday | Cycling intervals, 40 minutes | 4-5 miles |
| Friday | Upper, 50 minutes | 4-5 miles |
| Saturday | Lower, 50 minutes | 4-5 miles |
| Sunday | optional |
