I started out thinking all I had to do was eat better foods in smaller
quantities and do cardio work. I lost weight and felt better
but I was just becoming a smaller version of my old self. I
was losing some fat but I was losing lean muscle mass also and
I was still flabby and getting weaker.
What I learned since being a member of Cincy MMA and
Fitness is that it takes a combination of
proper nutrition, resistance training and cardio work to truly
become fit and healthy. By making small
changes periodically, my goal of becoming fit actually become
a complete change in my lifestyle.
I have gone from being 300 lbs. to someone getting in shape
and running a few races with the goal of just finishing to
actually getting lean muscle mass while losing fat and running
races with putting up some respectable times and occasionally
being pretty competitive in my age group.
In the past year my body weight has stayed relatively the
same at about 205 lbs .but what has changed is that I've lost
22 lbs. of fat and have gained 20 lbs. of muscle. I never
would have thought it possible at 41 yrs. Old.
Also, this year I've been able to get my 5k times down to
under 21 minutes and even close to 20
minutes. Other race time improvements:
1:48:27 half marathon – 21 minutes faster
1:14.04 Mini Heart 15K – 20 minutes faster
44:53 Turkey Day 10K – 4:48 minutes faster
I have been able to do this without doing a lot of running.
Instead I listened to the staff at CMMAAF
about the importance of cross training. I combine bike work
after lifting with Marty's Hybrid
Kickboxing-crossfit-cardio-corebody workout classes. I usually
only run one day a week. By doing
this my workouts are always changing which keeps things fresh
and keeps from putting to much stress on my body.
CMMAF offers a wide range of resistance equipment, cardio
machines and classes. There is something for everyone and if
you are smart you will take advantage of trying out some of
the different classes. But what I feel is even more important
is the positive attitude and motivation of the staff. I have
never been in a gym that has such a positive energy about it.
That great spirit carries over to the membership also. It is
so much easier to stay the course when you are surrounded by
so may positive people motivating through their knowledge of
fitness, their words of encouragement or by their examples of
hard work.
Dan Veite
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