A Big One-Oh-Oh

No, not that big one-oh-oh -- as I mentioned last week, I plan to be there in about 28 weeks. The one hundred for this week is 100 hours of exercise officially logged for the year, putting me well over my fourth consecutive day of exercise for the year. It's only June, and I think I can safely say that I have logged more exercise time this year than any previous year of my adult life.

Some would argue that the amount of time spent exercising isn't necessarily the best measure of progress. I tend to agree. Like pounds lost, time spent exercising shows a certain kind of progress in its own right, but it doesn't tell enough of the story. For example, if you're losing pounds of muscle rather than fat, that's bad. Likewise, if you're spending hours working out but making no appreciable gains in performance -- speed, strength, amount of work performed, etc. -- you might still be burning some fat, but that isn't all we're going for, here.

So I'm pleased to announce that I hit another nice round number this week, the big three-oh-oh: on my way to the big five-oh-oh. At the rate I'm going, I should hit 500 moves per exercise right around the time I hit 100 pounds lost. That should be fun. Then I'm going to start focusing on an entirely different number --the weight of the hammer. By the time I hit 500, I think I'll be ready for a heavier hammer. Maybe an 18 pounder? Maybe a 22 pounder?

But where does it all end?

well, let me tell you. There was this female bodybuilder at the store where I buy vitamins yesterday afternoon. I just missed seeing her in person, but my wife and I were admiring her poster as we checked out. This program will be complete when I:

1. Have lost all the weight I want to.

2. Acquire the strength and physical endurance that I'm striving for, and

3. Get arms the size of that female bodybuilder.

Modest goals, perhaps, but they're all I need.