Core Fitness Assessment Results

Six weeks ago today, on the third day of the Core Fitness course I just completed at West Valley College, we did an assessment to see how strong I was. Here are my scores:

Plank: 1 minute, on my knees.
Squat: 90 seconds
Push-ups: 7 regular, 11 modified.

Today we did the same things, and here's what I did:

Plank: 90 seconds, all on my toes.
Squat: 1 minute, 55 seconds, in a much deeper squat
Push-ups: 21 regular.

I'm pretty proud of myself. I haven't lost any weight, but the muscle I've built is now better able to manage the rest of my fat ass. It's weird it works, because I really feel better physically than I have at any time since I've been an adult. At least since I first started really gaining weight when I was 21. So that's 14 years of fatness, give or take a year or two at the beginning of this decade when I got down to 218. But I didn't have the skills or knowledge that I have now, after taking this class. For example, my posture has improved tremendously because my core is so much stronger. I don't slouch anymore, and consequently, I don't have have any more lower back pain. In fact, I can tell when I start to slouch because it almost immediately starts to ache, so I know have to get up straight in a neutral spine.

It's amazing. I'm adding some cardio to the mix next, so the weight should come off. I'm not even worried about it. Yes, my competition this round, Mr. Robert Burke, is losing weight at a much more rapid pace than I am (seeing as how I haven't lost any in the past 6 weeks). But his pace is not sustainable. He's on a strict diet of Slim Fast and laxatives, with a little Dexedrine thrown in because he's from Antioch and the speedy feeling reminds him of home. Take it from me, a man can only shit so much liquid before he gives and goes to the doctor.