Final Assessment

I just had my final assessment and the numbers were great! Here are my starting and final numbers:

Starting overall fitness level-35 (below average)
Final fitness level-72 (above average)

Starting weight-208
Final weight-263
My starting lean weight was 204 lbs and my fat weight was 103 lbs. My final lean weight was 211 pounds and my final fat weight was 52 lbs, so I actually gained 7 lbs of muscle and lost 51 lbs of fat!

Starting body fat%-3.5%
Final Body fat%-19.9%
This was my biggest goal, to get under 20% body fat and I just made it!

3 minute step test/recovery heart rate starting-130 BPM (12th percentile)
Ending heart rate-69 BPM (99th percentile!!!)
When I did my first step test, I was very out of breath. My last step test just barely got me breathing.

Starting resting heart rate-68 BPM (55th percentile...average)
Final resting heart rate-53 BPM (95th percentile...well above average)

Starting bench press max-249
Ending bench press max-277

Starting flexibility-12.75 inches (18th percentile)
Final flexibility-16.25 inches (50th percentile)

Staring blood pressure-130/84
Final blood pressure-112/70

I won't share all my body measurements, but I lost 7" on my waist, 1.5" on my neck and 5" off my chest. 21" in total.

Overall, I achieved almost every goal I set for myself at the start. I'm wearing new clothes (and more importantly, new sizes), I can run over 5 miles and am targeting a 15K in a few months. I'm less than 20 lbs from my goal weight, which shouldn't take me too long.

I'm back at the gym on my own now (I was there at 6:30 this morning after a 5:30 am run with Chad at Fitness Together) and am looking forward to continuing my progress. Thanks again to everyone that has been reading my blog over the last 5 months!

-Jason

My final blog

Final Workouts-Part II

The Final Workouts-Part I

Week 19/20-Update

Jason Week 18 Update

Video Update: Week 17

Week 17-Update

Well, it's week 17 and time for a new program and another assessment. For the next 2 weeks, I'll be in what the trainers at Fitness Together call a "transition" program to get my body ready for the next 4 week program that is to follow. This week's video takes you through one set of each exercise that I'll be doing on Day 1 (upper body); I'll post Day 2's workout once I've gone through it tomorrow.

I did have my re-assessment on Monday and will get the results shortly. I have continued to lose weight (down 35 pounds now) and inches and am happy to say that I am now wearing size 38 waist pants/shorts for the first time in probably 10 years.

I am having a difficult time trying to remember that I am actually in a contest after 17 weeks. At this point, my daily routine of fitness and nutrition simply feels like my normal life now, which was the whole point of this entire program. That being said, I would really love to win a trip for myself and my wife! So I continue to work hard and hope for the best. Thanks to everyone who continues to vote for me!

Week 15-Cardio Day II

Nutrition Notes: 6/18/2009

The focus for the week of 6/15 is to watch the carb intake. It is way too easy to have more complex carbohydrates than you need. Out goal for the week it to have the ratio between complex carbs, fibrous carbs and protein to be very even. That type of ratio is right in alignment with our Basic Balance philosophy. Just a little extra focus can really pay off.

Week 15-Cardio Day

Trainer Notes 6/15/2009

Last week Jason had another solid week! Part way through the week we ended up having to make some adjustments to his workout in order to still keep the intensity at the level needed to see results. Jason injured his heel when running to first base during his softball game. With the bruised heel Jason was no longer able to run like he had in the past and we had to adjust some of the resistance training exercises as well to take pressure off of the heel. I'm pleased to say that Jason was able to still make progress toward his goal even with the injury. My last trainer notes mentioned that Jason was able to get down to 282 but as of Saturday he is now down to 276! He is pumped and even more motivated to keep working harder and harder. Great job Jason, keep it up!

Roadblocks to Success

As I weighed myself this morning, I realized that I am now lighter than I have been in 10 years (277 pounds). I thought about why things were different this time vs. all the other times I had started and stopped exercise programs, diets, etc. I think these are the top three roadblocks to my success in the past:

1. Humility

There's that old adage that sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before you can pull yourself back up. It has been humbling over the years to look at myself and the physical shape I had gotten myself into. It's much easier to look away than it is to call yourself out and do what is necessary to get back on the right track. Pride can keep you from looking at yourself honestly and making the tough choices that need to be made.

This time around, I assessed myself honestly and refused to accept any excuses.

2. Patience

Not a big strength of mine. At 310 pounds, the results didn't come as quickly or as easily as they did when I was 235 pounds. And when I'd hit my first plateau, I'd simply shut down and basically give up. I don't think I was ever realistic about the kind of effort it was going to take to lose the weight I needed to lose. Or maybe I did understand what it was going to take and just refused to push myself. Regardless, I never was patient enough in my approach to exercise and nutrition.

I knew once I was chosen for this competition that I wouldn't quit. There was never a doubt in my mind. While I've let myself down in the past, there was no way I was going to disrespect the trainers at Fitness Together that had blessed me with an amazing gift.

3. Fear

When you are on a diet or starting an exercise program, everyone knows it. Your friends, your family, your co-workers. They notice that you pass on that cookie at lunch or skip that next beer. If you fall off the wagon , they're also going to be the first to notice. It's embarrassing. Why start a program if you know that you're likely to fail? They say the definition of insane is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. That was me.

So when I started my current program, I had to admit to myself that what I had been doing didn't work. I was literally a blank slate when I walked in that first day, willing to unlearn all my bad habits and ready to accept new ones. That's tough to do for someone who thinks they know everything.

I know that staying in shape won't be easy; anything you have to work for never is. But I think that continuing to be self aware as my program continues will allow me to identify any new obstacles that come my way and I'll be better prepared to overcome them.

And again, thank you everyone for your continued support.

-Jason

Nutrition Notes: June 10 2009

The meal plan for the next week is not very complicated.

The goals are to :
-keep his meal frequency to 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day
- make sure each meal has our Basic Balance complexity
- keep his sugar content as low as possible
- continue to take his after workout recovery shake
It looks like Jason and his wife are doing a great job of planning and preparing for success because these types of practices are happening more and more often.

Trainer Notes: June 8

Jason had another solid week and it started off great with his 3 month assessment! After seeing the data and the before and after pictures, Jason was pumped and it motivated him to keep giving 100%. He was able to see that his hard work was paying off! Some of the great results are as follows:

3/10/09 6/2/09
Overall Fitness Score 35% 59%
Weight 307.8 lbs 282.8 lbs
Resting Heart rate 68 beats per min 54 beats per min Resting blood pressure 130/84 112/72
Inches 17.5 total inches lost!

These are just some of the great numbers that Jason was able to see. Can you see why he is still able to give it 100% after working hard for just less than 3 months? This is one of the major reasons why we consistently reassess our clients so they can see the progress and stay motivated. It is also a tool that we use to know how to adjust there workout routine to maximize there result potential. This week Jason started a new program. Based on the results we have received over the last few months, I was able to evaluate how his body responds to certain rep ranges, tempos, rest periods and intensities so he can execute a program that will keep him going in the right direction without hitting plateaus. Great job Jason keep up those awesome results!

My First 5K

Jason Video Blog: 6/3/2009

Nutrition Notes: 6/1/2009

The plan for the week of the 6/1 is to stay on track. I will be checking Jason's accountability journal to make sure he did well over the wedding weekend and we all know how hard it can be to eat well over a long weekend like that.

By checking the journal it helps me to keep a pulse on his portions and on the quality of the food he is eating. Both are very important if he wants to continue to see results. With monitoring his results and by writing his food down daily we are able to know exactly when it is time the "raise the bar".

It is important for our clients to understand that just because something is working now does not mean that it will continue to work. These bodies we are given are smart and will plateau in results if we don't continue to raise the bar when we take our selves to new levels. I see it all the time when people think that what they are eating and the amount they are eating should be good enough to see results because they did before by eating the same way. This is another reason why our goal is to help our clients get so in tune with their natural instinct of knowing when to eat and when to stop that they will be ingesting the "ideal" amount of nutrients their body needs to see the results!

Trainer Notes: 5/27/2009

This week was great! Jason has made all of his appointments this week even with having a family wedding going on this weekend. In order to still get the amount of workouts in needed to maintain his progress Jason has done a couple of "two a days!" On those days he did his workout in the morning and did his cardio sessions with us later in the day. This was his last week on this program and I would say he executed it very well. Every day wether he felt energized or not he put forth the effort the program demands. He has made many comments about how he is amazed how far he has come and how good it feels to get to the end of the workout and look back to see what he had accomplished. Early next week we get to do another assessment. I'm really excited to see how this last months adjustments have payed off. We did not take an end of the week weight this week because we knew that the assessment was coming soon. I will let you all know the results next week.

Nutrition Notes:5/27/2009

Jason's weekly meal plan is to keep up the good work! Jason has really come a long way. He is planning and preparing for success on a daily and weekly basis. Through going through our EAT! Nutritional Program, Jason has developed new habits that will continue to help him transform his body.

Jason has worked hard at becoming more aware of his nutritional need through using our hunger scale to monitor his portions. He has trained his body to better understand when to eat and when to stop. His portion sizes are right on target for what it needed to see the great results that he has been seeing and will continue to see. The best part about is that we have not counted one calorie in the process! Jason is not relying on a calorie count or a point system or prepackaged meals to know how much to eat (he has tried all of that on his own and the results do not last!) he has reestablished the natural understanding of when to eat and how much to eat that we all had when we entered into this world as babies.

It is just too bad that the habits of our culture and the business of life has taken a good amount of our world out of that natural instinct and understanding into destructive habits and a disconnected relationship with food. Great job Jason!

Jason Video Blog: Week 11

Week 11 Update

One of the things that keeps my workouts interesting is variety. As you can see from my latest video, I am doing everything from boxing, to pushups to various exercises with a medicine ball. My workouts are definitely never boring. The variety also keeps my body from adjusting to the stresses that are placed on it so I don't run into a plateau. I know from personal experience that boredom can keep you from maintaining a regular routine. Thanks to the trainers at Fitness Together, that is never an issue.

I am happy to say that I am continuing to lose weight (now down more than 25 pounds) and feel like all the goals that I had when this competition started are attainable. Believing it was possible had been a mental hurdle I needed to get over.

Trainer Notes:5/16/2009

First, I want to start of by apologizing to all of Jason's loyal followers for not having any trainer notes for you to read for the last couple months. From here on out you will have an update every monday. During this gap you have still been able to follow Jason through his blogs and videos. Through those devices I'm sure you can tell how hard he has been working and I hope you have enjoyed seeing how he is able to fight through the physical and mental challenges that come with transforming a very out of shape body into a health, stronger, faster and better looking body!

As you can hear from Jason's blog on 16th he has been working very hard. He has been able to overcome frustration and a few weeks of slow scale movement to break through barriers to accomplish some pretty awesome goals. This is one reason why we find we are successful at seeing results at Fitness Together. We don't give up and we don't allow our clients to give up. If losing weight and improving your fitness level were easy, everyone would be fit. By having the means to measure progress often through our fitness assessments, we are able to adjust programs accordingly to elicit the physical response we are looking for and establish the game plan needed to get there.

By analyzing the latest assessment results I was able to see that Jason's body was responding a little differently than we thought it would in the last program. With a few adjustments in his newest program that I wrote on 5/6/09 things seem to going in the right direction. This goes to show that everyone's body respond diffently to different programs and shows the importance of going through an in depth and accurate fitness assessment. As you can see after the adjustment to his program and some nutritional tweaks he has gone from 294.75 lbs on 5/9 to 288 lbs on 5/16 and has even gone further to see a great improvement to 284 lbs a the end of the week on 5/22. I'm Really proud of Jason. he is doing everything I ask of him and is reaping the benefits of it!!

Frustration turns into success!

This is my 2nd time writing this blog entry. The first I wrote before my fitness evaluation. I am writing this blog entry after my evaluation. Why? Glad you asked...

From week 5 to week 8, I had only lost 4 pounds. I was really frustrated, given how hard I was working. My trainers floated a few possibilities, incuding the possibility I was insulin resistant (backed up by my blood tests), making it harder to lose weight. We took my measurements and I waited for my results. That was Saturday, May 9th.

On Wednesday, May 13th, I got the results. I lost another 2 inches from my waist (almost 4" total now), 1/2 inch from my neck (1" total) and lost over 4% bodyfat (over 6% total). That helped me to change my outlook; I was losing inches, but not weight. But this next number went a long way to explaining things further...

While I lost 13 pounds of bodyfat, I gained 9 pounds of muscle. That realization will now allow the trainers at Fitness Together to slightly change things up once again to slow my muscle gain and increase my fat loss. I'll admit, though, that it is difficult not to focus solely on the scale.

Feeling good about those numbers, I chose to hop on the scale anyways the very next day and was happy to see I had quickly dropped 7 pounds! So much for my stalled weight loss. Feeling even more motivated, I decided this past Saturday to run to my training appointment at 5:15 a.m., a total of 3.7 miles. As I arrived (just in time), I was greeted by Chad, who was bursting with excitement over my accomplishment. I had a great strength training workout and then did a combination run/walk on my way home. 7.4 miles and it wasn't even 8 a.m. yet!

The lesson I took from all this? Your mind controls your body; keep your mind and your will strong and your body will (eventually) follow.

'Til next time,

Jason

Jason Video Blog: Week 9

Week 8 Video Update-Cardio Day

Jason Video: Week 7

Jason Week 7 Update

I'm now approaching the end of 7 weeks and things couldn't be going much better. Thanks to an increasingly intense combination of strength training and cardiovascular workouts (which you'll see below), I've broken through a weight loss plateau and am once again making great gains.

I took my first day off in 43 days since I started this competition on Tuesday...my body really needed it. As much as I love working out every day now, it's important to listen to your body and dial things down every now and again. Chad and the rest of the staff at Fitness Together have also been great at listening to my minor frustrations and have given me that extra encouragement on those days when I really need it. And they are always ready with a new workout to keep me off balance and challenged.

Planning

I think one of the reasons people fail to maintain a regular exercise program and follow proper nutrition is a failure to plan. I have instituted a number of things into my daily routine that make it easier for me to maintain my progress:

1. Planning my meals for the week.
If you don't have food in the house, it's easy to run out and get something quick, which is usually something unhealthy. I am lucky enough to have a wife that buys what I/we will need for meals for the week, up to 7 days in advance. We don't necessarily know what meal will be eaten on what day, but we have several options every day to keep things interesting.

Also, I watch my work calendar for anything unexpected, like a meeting that might fall at a time that I would normally eat my mid afternoon meal. I'll usually try to tweak my meal schedule to revolve around my day. I want to make sure I am anticipating any disrupting to my 5-meal-a-day routine.

2. Getting ready for my workout.
I don't know about you, but there are many times when I feel pretty tired after a day of work and don't feel like working out. And if I forgot to bring my workout clothes with me that day, the odds that I'll want to go home, put on my workout clothes and leave the house again are 50-50 at best. The couch starts to look inviting, I think about having a snack, there are other distractions (paying bills, tv, etc.) and the workout takes a back seat.

Before I go to bed each night, I pack up my gym bag with my clothes, shoes and my Physique (post-workout drink) and place it by my front door. I can't leave my house without stumbling over my bag.

3. Mental preparation
My trainers at Fitness Together have been great about providing me with a workout schedule an entire month in advance. I know what workout is coming on what day. I never go to the training studio wondering what we'll be doing that day. It gives me a chance to think about the demands of that day's workout in advance, making the workout itself a little less intimidating. I want to make sure that I have the level of energy and focus I'll need the second I walk through the door. Whether you're paying for personal training or are a lucky contestant like myself, your trainers (and you) deserve your very best every single workout.

4. Involving your family and friends
I have a very supportive wife that was onboard from the get go, but it was still important to explain to her what the demands of the program were to be. By sharing my schedule with her, she can also plan accordingly.

One of my passions is Milwaukee Brewers baseball (I have partial season tickets). My normal routine in prior years was to meet up with two of my friends 2 hours before the game, have some drinks and dinner and then head off to the game. I made sure that they knew that my workout schedule would require me to show up a little later than normal and that my drinking would be greatly subdued. It's much easier to stick to your goals if you have other people around you that understand what you're going through. And it's not a bad idea to have other people to keep your feet to the fire.

When I started this program, Chad at Fitness Together told me that one of my obligations in this program was to pass on the knowledge that I had learned. That sounded crazy at the time…what was I going to teach anyone in my condition? But as my fitness level and nutritional habits are improving and likewise improving my life, I feel like I do owe it to others to share the knowledge I have picked up and hope to inspire others to do as I have done.

Thanks for listening and don't wait to start your own "fitness transformation"!

Meal Plan

This week we did not go through an EAT session. After his cardio session we talked nutrition to make sure he is staying on track. He will continue to work on the hunger scale daily. It has helped him keep the portion sizes to the right amount. He said that he is noticing that he is really hungry 2-3 hours later and feels that he might need another meal during the day. I’m perfectly fine with him eating 6 times a day if it means that he is keeping the portion sizes right on. The more often he eats with those smaller portions the more regular he will be able to keep his blood sugar levels with will help him to continue to lose more weight.

Jason Video Blog Week 5 Update

Meal Plan

This week we went through sessions number 3 of our EAT nutritional series. Before we got into the information of the lesson we reevaluated Jason’s progress over the last week. He has been doing well with planning and preparing better for his day. I’m seeing at least 5 meals a day which is a goal he has been working on maintaining. He has also been doing pretty well with keeping the meals balanced like our basic balance philosophy. One of the goals that we are setting for him to work on for this next week is to use our hunger scale throughout the day and especially around his meal times. By doing this he will become more in tune to his natural ability of knowing when to eat and when to stop! Far too often the craziness of life and peoples lack of planning and preparation keeps them from being able to be successful at eating the right amount of nutrients the body needs.

Trainer Notes

Any time a client starts a new program there is a learning curve not only for the mind but also the body! Jason forgot what it felt like to his previous program for the first time and was reminded when he experienced this one. This program really puts a lot of demand on his improved cardiovascular endurance. There is no way Jason could have done as good of a job with this type of program when he first came here as he did this week. It looked like the perfect next step to keep raising the bar for him. This will keep him from hitting a plateau in his progress and speaking of progress after doing a few tests the following information was found. Jason lost 10 lbs of fat between March 10th and April 8th! He also has improved his resting heart rate from 68 bpm to 59. He improved by and inch in his hamstring flexibility and he lost a total of 7.35 inches already. His favorite measurement improvement was the inch and three quarters that he lost in his waist J

A few updates-week 4

I've attched a little video snippet that includes a few of the exercises that I'm doing regularly in my program. Right now, my program consists of:

1. An upper body day;
2. A lower body day;
3. A cardio only day.

On the upper and lower body days, we do 6 exercises each day, 3 sets of 20 reps each. At the conclusion of each day, we do 3 different abdonimal exercises in rapid fire succession, pretty much bringing me to exhaustion. In fact, I pretty much reach exhaustion after almost every exercise that I do.

On my cardio-only day, I've been running for up to 30 minutes at a time, varying the speed and incline at which I run to get my heart between 65-85% of its maximum range in order to maximize the cardiovascular benefits.

I'm also doing 30-35 minutes of cardio every day, usually on an elliptical machine., 7 days a week. The gains I have made in my cardiovascualr fitness in the past 3-4 weeks have been fantastic.

I'm looking forward to a new routine next week designed by my great trainers over at Fitness Together. I can't wait to see what they have in store for me!

Trainer Notes

This was the last week of Jason’s Anatomical Adaptation program. Through my evaluation he has progressed very well and has adapted to the basic form and technique that we have been working on with this program. As for his fitness level, it has drastically improved. Even in less than a handful of weeks he was able to work harder and accomplish much more than he could his first week here! Granted, the lunges still burn and the muscles are still being pushed to fatigue, but he is able to endure it better and recover quicker! I can honestly say that he has given me 100% each day that I have worked with him during this program. I’m looking forward to seeing how his body responds to the next program. We will also do a one month assessment on him next week to see the progress he has made so far.

What a difference only three weeks makes!

What a difference only three weeks makes! After my first few workouts, my core muscles were so under-developed that I could just barely stabilize myself on the exercises that required the use of the exercise ball. It was a little embarrassing how light we had the make the weight just to get through each set. Fast forward a couple of weeks and my strength has increased, my stamina has greatly improved and my core muscles are actually coming around.

After losing no weight in the first week (likely due to gaining muscle mass), I am now down over 10 pounds and back under 300 lbs. for the first time in a while. I never plan on going back. My goal this week will be to lose 5 pounds for a total of 15 in the first four weeks. I know it will take an intense effort, but myself and my trainers are definitely up for the challenge!

Jason: Week One

Weekly Meal Plan: Week One

Currently Jason is working on implementing our Basic Balance philosophy into his daily routine. By utilizing a Basic Balance nutrition Jason will be ingesting a healthy ratio of fats, protein, carbs and fiber while decreasing sugar intake at the same time. Jason will also be working on improving his meal frequency. By eating 5-6 Basic Balanced meals throughout the day it will help him spread his caloric intake throughout the day allowing his body to use those calories for energy and absorb the nutrients properly rather than store any as fat. Until Jason gets better and planning and preparing the 5-6 meals a day he will be using Shaklee’s meal replacement bars and shakes. These products will give him the help he needs to get the ideal frequency and portions size that will help him maximize his weight loss potential! Jason is very excited to improve this area of his life. The enthusiasm I'm seeing gives me great hope that he will catch on quickly and do what is needed to lose weight which is eat. It is a common misunderstanding that you need to starve yourself to lose weight. Our nutrition program at Fitness together is called EAT for a reason. Without eating you will not convince your body that you are giving it the consistent and quality nutrients it needs. Until this happens the body will not begin the process of losing fat but instead try to hold on to it!

Trainer Notes: Week One

Jason had a great week. He has shown up earlier than needed every day of the week. He is coming in with a great attitude and has left with giving it his all in very workout. The strategy behind the week was to have him do 4 days of 40 mins of resistance training with 20 mins of prescribed cardiovascular exercise and 2 days of cardio without resistance training. The type of resistance training program that he is going through is what we call an anatomical adaptation program. In other words it is a very basic routine with simple movements. The intent of the program is to work on the basics of proper form and technique while we get his body use to the demands of resistance training. By using ground level progression, we will be keeping him safe from injury and we will keep practicing these movements until they are mastered before we move on to the next level of progression. In order to prevent injury we are having Jason do a 5-10 minute warm up on the cardiovascular machines and doing a 5-10 min stretching routine before we start working out to make sure the muscles are ready to start the workout. To maximize his result potential form the resistance training we are having Jason use a quality after workout shake that is designed by Shaklee. By doing this he will be limiting the potential muscle soreness that is commonly felt after resistance training and will make sure he is maximizing the lean muscle gains that we are trying to accomplish which will improve his metabolism.

Meet Jason Fritz

Congratulations! Jason Fritz
Fitness Together Wauwatosa Contestant

Current Weight: 308 pounds

Goal Weight: 235

Jason Fritz, is a HR recruiter for Froedert Hospital who really takes the time to make people feel comfortable with him so they will be honest and upfront with him. Jason knows that he needs to lose the weight so he can live a long, healthy life with his wife. Continue to watch for updates on Jason's progress including blogs and videos.