Heavyweight #1

July 2024

In sports like rowing, weight lifting, and especially combat sports, weight classes are divisions used to match competitors against each other based on size. For example, Concept 2’s website says a heavyweight man is anyone north of 165 lbs. In professional boxing, the cutoff is 200 lbs, and in the UFC, the range for a heavyweight goes from 206 to 265 lbs.

I weighed myself on July 8th and didn’t like the number I saw. I weighed 326.2 lbs, 120 lbs more than the lower threshold of the heavyweight class for the UFC. But most importantly, it is not a good place to be; my knees hurt, I don’t feel comfortable in my clothes, I’m tired all the time, and I’m done feeling like this.

I recently wrote about changing the timeline and shifting to thinking about health as an ongoing goal, preparing for this event called life, as corny as it sounds. I’m okay being a heavyweight, but I want to aim to get to the lower threshold (around 200 lbs).

How long will this take? I don’t know. Will I lose motivation along the way? Maybe. Am I using this newsletter to induce positive peer pressure on myself because I know some of you are going to be expecting an update at the beginning of each month? Yes, you got me.

The Goal

The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity. I chose to row for 30 minutes three times per week. I use Google Fit to track my activity, and the app uses “Heart Points,” which track the time and intensity of your activity. I also used a Polar heart rate monitor for a more accurate measurement while working out. I averaged 204 heart points weekly, so it's not too shabby.

I also added three BJJ classes this month, which was challenging, especially when trying to do anything from guard. My hip flexors were tired from all the rowing, so it was interesting. I’m still glad I went, though.

The Results

I went from 326.2 to 324.8 lbs, a 1.4-pound loss. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but considering that I lowered my body fat percentage by 0.4% and gained 0.4 lbs of muscle mass, I think I’m heading in the right direction.

I feel stronger, mentally and physically. My clothes fit better, my knees don’t hurt as much, and I have more energy. I haven’t injured myself! I have diligently done a ten-minute warm-up, the workout, and then stretching afterward. Warm-up and cool-down are musts when you’re over 40.

I haven’t felt too sore; I’m in this sweet spot where I’m doing enough to challenge myself and have enough rest in between. I want to avoid injury at all costs, and even though rowing is very gentle on my joints, it’s a very repetitive movement that can take a toll on the shoulders, forearms, and wrists, so I’m keeping an eye on that.

As for areas of improvement, I could always do better nutrition-wise. I think I fell into the trap of justifying eating ice cream and sweets as a reward for getting a workout in. And maybe a treat every once in a while would be nice, but I might have indulged a bit too much in the celebratory treats.

Next Steps

I’m keeping things the same: three 30-minute rowing sessions weekly. I might throw in a kettlebell workout per week just for fun. Sweet-tooth-wise, I think I’m going to force myself to eat fruit when I want something sweet; see how that goes.

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Before you go

1. Cardio, do you love it? Hate it? Meh?

2. What’s your favorite piece of gym equipment?

3. What’s your take on smoothie bowls?