New Theory

I’ve been really stumped by this ongoing plateau. What’s worse: Sharon’s been stumped too.

So stumped that she actually went to her supervisor (the perkiest woman on the planet) to have a consultation about me.

New theory: I’m working out TOO HARD.

I still don’t understand this completely. I always thought that if your Calories Burned was greater than your Calories Ingested, you’d lose weight. Apparently not.

The theory is that I have been spending too much time exercising in Zones 4 & 5 and not enough time in Zone 3. I’ve been working out like an athlete (What?! Hahaha!) – training my body to build cardio endurance rather than to lose weight. Instead of taking energy from my stored fat, my body is taking it from somewhere else (but I’m not sure where…?)

This theory was precipitated by the fact that my father bought me an early birthday present: a heart-rate monitor. I wear it when I’m working out and it tells me exactly what my heart-rate is the whole time, not just when I grab those annoying sensors.

Sharon was sooooo excited when I showed it to her.

Sharon: This is great! Now we can tailor your workouts, set your zones, and really see what you’re doing. AND we can do a sub-max test!
Me: Sub-max test? That doesn’t sound fun.
Sharon: It isn’t.

Oh dear… I knew it would be bad if Sharon admitted it wasn’t fun. This is the woman who will routinely show me a piece of equipment like the Gauntlet and say, “You’re going to like this!”

As it turned out, the sub-max test wasn’t as bad as I thought and I can run faster than I thought I could – for a short burst, anyway.

Anyway, this week Sharon asked me to cut back on my workouts – not the frequency or the duration, but the intensity. And I’m surprised to say that I’m getting a little BORED. And I kind of miss that kind of hollow, heavy-breathing feeling you get when you really get your heart-rate up.

Me??? Bored because I’m not exercising hard enough????

WTFuck???