Beijing and Shanghai; Transformation End

The recent trips to China show that I can retain the same discipline in exercising as long as I plan ahead of time and pick the right hotel. Turns out the Somerset in Beijing was the best hotel as it was part hotel, part apartment complex. It had a full set of equipment in its gym and a pool to boot.

One note about what happened in Shanghai. I was Shanghai'd on the dumbbells as they had a very different center of gravity from the typical flat-plate dumbbell. It wasn't due to lifting weights at night, as further exercise sessions proved out. I tried looking for them on Google but could not find the precise model that they had. It was shorter like a hex dumbbell and made out of rubber-like material. The shape was more like a coned cylinder, if you can picture that.

Typically, a full body transformation is supposed to last 3 months and happens once a year. I now have a record of 12+ weeks in doing the exercises that are close to the Strength for Life workout routines. Throughout the last few months I have had several comments about my weight loss including a few "Wows" from my wife. Just looking it from this perspective, I was very successful. Though, there are many ways that I can improve in the next round.

Some thoughts on what I can do to improve:

• Even though kind of cheesy, but take a before and after picture. Just to compare and contrast.
• Set some clear, numeric goals on targets that I'd like to achieve. I'll need to get an appropriate tape measure to keep track of any body measurements.
• I really need to get my own weights to use from home instead of wasting so much time commuting to the gym.
• I need to change my sleep habits so that I can work out earlier in the morning.
• Learn additional ways to work out to introduce variety.

Over the next three months, I would like to focus on improving my diet to maintain weight, basic muscle maintenance, basic running endurance, strong core, and flexibility. While my previous three months were focused on overall strength, the next segment of time will be focused on the core and overall flexibility. My next post will focus on the details of this.