75 Hard/Movember Updates

     I am halfway through 75 Hard and feeling fantastic. I am down 13 or so pounds so far. Weight hasn't been a real focus since I care more about overall fat loss, which really boils down to how I feel. I'd be lying if I told you it doesn't at least get me excited to see the number on the scale get lower, though. 

    Last week was the most brutal week thus far. Tuesday morning, my back started to feel tight after one of my training sessions. Getting out of bed and walking around the following day was challenging. Wednesday night, not only was my back incredibly tight while playing basketball my left shoulder began to hurt so bad that I could barely make a fist without shooting pain throughout my whole arm. I woke up the following day with some soreness in my shoulder, but all the pain I felt was now in my lower back. 

    With all the pain I was feeling, the thought of quitting never crossed my mind. Instead of going balls to the wall in my workouts, I decided to stick to walking, stretching, and lighter weights. As the week went by, I still saw a decrease in my body weight. 

    I've been watching my calorie intake like a hawk, so even with my decrease in calories spent, I was able to not only see results on the scale I still felt great considering the pain I had in my lower back. This morning (about a week after the tightness started), I finally woke up with little to no pain in my back. 

    Another item worth mentioning in my 75 Hard updates is the beginning of another year of raising awareness for Movember. I wrote an earlier blog (you can read it here) laying out what Movember is. This year I decided to participate in the 75 Hard challenge, with a large portion overlapping with Movember.  

    This year's Movember movement goal is to run 248 miles throughout the month, along with 100 push-ups a day. 

    With the first week of Movember at a close, I could stick to my push-up goal, but I was limited in the miles I accomplished with my back pain. So a big goal this week is to attack those miles and put a  dent in what I have left. To hit the 248 miles, I have to run an average of 8 miles a day. Last week I averaged about 3. 

    My goal by 75 Hard is to be in the mid-teens of body fat % and around 210 pounds. I will verify how I did with a DEXA scan that will give me an accurate assessment. My last scan did not go well.

That is all I have this week, and I will provide another update when the mood to write strikes!

If you'd like to donate to help save a life, HERE is the link to my profile.

Cheers,

JD