Six Months of Results
So, did you all see it? Me in my bikini glory? Tuesday was my birthday and I finally rocked a bikini for the occasion– the first bikini I’ve ever worn. Exciting? Yes. Stressful? Yes. I might have had a minor panic attack in the wee hours of Tuesday morning that nearly involved getting out of bed to delete my whole blog as if it never existed. But I didn’t. Accountability. I’m willing to let myself down, but random people who I don’t know from all around the world? Well, I wouldn’t want to let them down now would I? That would be a terrible thing.
So, yes, I followed through. And, I intend to post more bikini pictures after partying at the beach this weekend with my friends and family (lucky you!). Until then I have a whole different set of pictures that I want to share with you. The muscle shots.You know, the stereotypical bathroom mirror pictures that only douche-bags take? Yup, I took ‘em (and you’ll have to scroll all the way down to see ‘em). Feel free to judge me right now. Don’t worry though, I kept to myself the one of me kissing my bicep. I might have framed it for my cubicle.
The Numbers
So, you all know that I broke up with my scale, and I’m really happy with how well I’ve been doing about not obsessing over my weight. But, at heart, I’m a numbers kind of girl, so I stepped back on the scale to see how they stacked up:
January 27, 2010:
Waist: 81 cm
Hips: 103 cm
Waist to Hip Ratio: 0.79
BMI: 25.3 (overweight)
Weight: 153.6lb
Body Fat %: 33%
Muscle Mass %: 33%
April 29, 2010:
Waist: 78 cm
BMI: 24.5
Weight: 149.4lb
Body Fat %: 31.3%
Muscle Mass %: 33.8%
July 27, 2010:
Waist: 77 cm
Hips: 102 cm
Waist to Hip Ratio: 0.75
BMI: 24.2 (healthy!)
Weight: 147.4lb
Body Fat %: 29.9%
Muscle Mass %: 34.5%
Body Fat 29.9%, Hydration 48.1%, Weight 147.4lb
Muscle Mass 34.5%, Bone 10.9%, Suggested Calories 1995
So, my goal was to get down to 24% body fat. Big time fail, according to the scale. BUT recall that this is a bioimpedence scale that you step on so the current runs through your lower body and belly where most of the fat is. That’s unlike the hand-to-foot bioimpedence analysis that I had done at the Naturopath in March when I learned that I was actually more fit than my home scale described. I had a body fat percentage of 25% (normal), and muscle mass of 40% (high). So, if I consider my progress since March, I can probably assume that my numbers are slightly below these.
The Strength Gains
Over the past 6 months I have made some pretty impressive improvements in my weight lifting abilities. My strategy was to strength training before cardio, splitting my schedule into 2 upper body and 2 lower body days each week, and lifting very heavy weights for 4 to 6 reps. Check out some of my weight lifting programmes here.
I used this nifty calculator to determine my one rep maximums for just a few of my favourite exercises. I’m most impressed with my new ability to do pull-ups and chin-ups, which I was never able to do before (check this post for tips on how to learn to do a pull-up). Also, with my gains in my squats (no wonder my bum looks so good! see pictures below)
Upper Body
| Exercise | Start: 1 Rep Max | End:1 Rep Max | Improvement |
| Bench Press | 113 lb | 128 lb | 13% |
| T-Bar Row | 100 lb | 129 lb | 29% |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 39 lb | 41 lb | 5% |
| Pull-ups (unassisted) | 0 | 159 lb | |
| Chin-ups (unassisted) | 0 | 169 lb | |
| Dips | 141 lb | 196 lb | 39% |
Lower Body
| Exercise | Start: 1 Rep Max | End:1 Rep Max | Improvement |
| Barbell Squat | 120 lb | 230 lb | 92% |
| Deadlift | 120 lb | 162 lb | 35% |
| Lying Leg Curls | 60 lb | 90 lb | 50% |
| Dumbbell Lunges | 32 lb | 58 lb | 81% |
| Leg Extensions | 133 lb | 162 lb | 22% |
The Visuals
And now what you’ve all been waiting for, here are the dreaded before and after pictures. I only took 2 “before” pics and no muscle shots in January because I really, really didn’t want to take pictures of myself. Here’s what changes I’ve noticed:
- slightly smaller abdomen
- less chi-cha (aka muffin top)
- way nicer bum! holy hell, how much better does my bum look, eh?
- bigger arms
Before
After
Feel free to comment whether you agree or disagree with what I see in these pictures, or, of course anything else you might be thinking.
18 Comments
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Congratulations! If nothing else, to have that much new found confidence is a major achievement
You look great!
Dang yo! I’m new to your blog but already I love it. I love your attitude and perseverance! And your after pic is bangin! Hope you enjoy your bikini and all the confidence you deserve…you rock!
Girl, you are totally rocking that bikini. And I absolutely LOVE your confidence and your thoughts on body image in the last post that you linked to. You are so inspirational. Keep it up!
Such awesome results! I love how you still got results while living your normal life, enjoying your bread baking, and not freaking out about it! Great job girl =)
Will you be giving a review of your final cleanse?
Congratulations lady!
Holy definition all over is what I would say. Nice bum, where you from? Hehe.
wow good work girl!! Keep it up!!
WOWZERS GIRL.
you are one brave soul. I just can’t bring myself to take the before shots! haha
you should be so stinking proud of yourself! KEEP IT UP!
check out your biceps!!!
Holy awesome girl, you look great! Your tummy definitely looks more taut in the recent pics…and I love that pic of your back – muscles, woman!
You should feel so proud of yourself, for achieving so much, but also for being accountable to yourself! It’s been so fun following you!
xox
Congratulations! You look fantastic. Happy Belated Birthday! Enjoy your weekend at the beach! Make sure to flaunt it!
Nice guns! You should totally post the picture of you kissing your bicep. I do it all the time when I workout with my Fiance. He finds it amusing . . I think it’s motivating!
You look wonderful! Own that bikini girl. Your hard work is definitely paying off.
You look great!! I can definitely see the improvements. Your guns are awesome, and I agree with you that you’ve got a great bum too. Make sure you continue to keep feeling great and accentuate that beautiful body!
Woot woot!! You look amazing! I’m impressed by your hard work.
Awesome job – you should be so proud of yourself. I am so glad to hear that you’re not afraid of lifting weights by the way. High 5′s to you!
Rock it out! You look stunning
you look fantastic and those are some really great numbers even if it wasn’t what you originally aimed for. Congrats on the good work!
You’re awesome! and I adore your biceps, I’m a big fan of mine as well but yours rock mine!
Congrats on being so successfull on your mission!
Ow ow! Check it out
You totally rock those cute workout outfits by the way. You make me want to look cute at the gym too! And isn’t awesome to feel and be stronger? It’s definitely empowering. Keep it up, chicka!
XOXO
p.s. I think the term chi-cha is way cuter than muffin-top lol!