Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography
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Year End Reflections
December 18th was the last strength training session for my amazing class with our trainer Erin and my fellow senior ladies. It’s been a challenging year with various group members experiencing injuries - mine has been a prolonged elbow strain.
We’ve trained hard and reached all sorts of new PR’s (Personal Records) as we’ve focused on improving core strength, balance, cardio and muscle development. I really appreciate Erin’s approach which is very well rounded with a particular focus on good form and preventing injuries. I wrote about my strength training journey hereas well as my 2025 goals.
I had set a stretch goal of being able to do proper push ups (10 was the target), dead lift 200 lbs and do a pull up.
Changes I’ve Seen Since Starting to Track Macros
I started tracking macros almost a year ago and while I began doing this to try and get a better understanding of how I was eating and distributing calories (Protein, Carbs and Fats), it quickly morphed into something a lot more impactful (blog post on Macros). I started progressive overload strength training early in the New Year which really paired well with the changes I made to my eating habits (i.e., increasing protein intake) and by July I had seen a 3% increase in muscle mass which is a significant increase especially at my age. (strength training blog post).
Now that it’s been almost 12 months since I started, I thought that it might be interesting and useful for me to reflect back on this past
Progress Update on Goals for this Year
I don’t like setting New Year’s resolutions as I think that they have not been very effective for me. In contrast I like to make short and long term goals for habits that I want establish. I make sure that I focus on things that I want to sustain rather than passing trends that I may not continue.
About eight months ago I made a decision to take more intentional action with respect to my health and also to work on changing my body shape or more accurately body composition. Since the beginning of menopause I have been struggling to lose weight that seemed to accumulate overnight.
Strength Training and Photography?
I have always been active, however I wouldn’t describe myself as particularly fit. There hasn’t been a consistency or variety to the type of physical activity I do on a regular basis - I like walking, hiking, skiing, snow shoeing, bicycling, kayaking, and yoga, but I tend to be a casual or intermittent exerciser at best.