2021 Overview

I have been going to the gym since May of this year which is about seven or eight months now. This has been the most consistent I have been and even though it has been extremely slow, I have made a lot of progress.  Actually, this blog is to remind myself how much progress I have made and keep me motivated in the New Year 2022!

14 Sept 2021 VS 22 Oct 2021

I took these pictures a month apart, honestly I don't see much difference but according to the tape measure, I lost about an inch on my legs and two inches around my waist. I didn't take any progress pictures since October but from next year I'll take them more regularly.

I only started tracking how much I run about two months ago, luckily my personal trainer has been tracking my weight training stats and I used his notes to detail my progress since May. In the coming year, I would like to be able to lift 60kg with lower body compound moves and lift 40kg with upper body moves. I will be checking my progress each month and would like to achieve this goal by June.

Weight Training Progress Graph

Disclaimer: This graph is a little misleading, it shows that I started at 20kg and progressed to 55kg which is what I did. HOWEVER, I had weightlifted before and could lift between 35 - 45kg, so the progress is not as much as it looks. I made it this way to really accentuate my progress, the agenda of this graph was to illustrate that I have indeed gotten strong in a clear way. For this reason, I estimate that I can increase in strength around 10kg in 6 months, maybe more but I'm going to have 10kg as my target for the time being.

In regards to running, my plan is to run at least 20k a week. Mostly I use running as a fast way to burn calories but I also enjoy trying to beat my time. At the moment, I have ran 3K in 16 minutes and 30 seconds approx, 5k in 28 minutes and 10k within an hour. Eventually I would like to be able to run 5k in 25 minutes and 10k in 55 minutes but that will take a lot of practice. My current goals are running consistently at 11km/h for 5k and my target 5k time is 27 minutes. I would like to do 10k within 58 minutes, and possibly be able to run 20k or a half marathon.

Finally, I would like to have a bigger focus on stretching, especially my side splits. I am not sure how long it will take, so I need to just try to  practice consistently and track my progress. In this way, I can build a more concrete plan. Once I've got my side splits, I'll move onto middle splits or stretching my back.

I noticed that one of my side splits is nearly touching the floor. I am so close, I will include a year end pictures of my splits so I can track the progress of those as well. Actually I didn't take much pictures or videos of myself in the gym because I still don't think I look like an athlete. However, I want to change that in the New Year. Maybe there are fitter or slimmer people than me, in the gym or out the gym but I'm quite fit and that's what counts.

Side Splits

In conclusion, I have been working out for about eight months, my progress was a lot slower than I imagined. However, I improved in many inquantifiable areas. For example, I've built a fitness routine, I go to the gym out of habit now. Recently, I have been feeling down about my lack of progress but I have been still going to the gym because it became a habit. Sometimes I don't even think about it and I'm on my way to the gym. There are so many fitness and weightloss stories out there where people made progress so much quickly than I have but I know that the progress I have made, I won't easily lose and if I just continue the way I have been going, then I will make it to my goal, eventually. I believe I'll make it there.