Ready for final stage

BY ALBERT KRAMBERGER

editor@transcontinental.ca

(Part six of a seven week fitness series)

Heading into the final gruelling stages of my six-week workout sessions at The Power Co. Fitness Centre, the numbers recorded last week are encouraging.

Measurements that were supposed to go down did, and the ones that we wanted to increase went up. My chest dropped two inches while my hips slimmed by one inch. I was also nine pounds lighter than the day I started (and in laymen's terms, I went down a notch on my belt).

As for the fitness tests, there were also significant improvements recorded across the board. In the harder-than-it -looks front plank position, my duration increased to two minutes and 35 seconds from just 45 seconds my first day. My long jump capabilities increased by five inches. I can now do 12 push ups in a row from a couple of shaky ones my first day (did I mention I haven't worked out at all for a few years before I started at Power). My 'quick step' duration jumped to 42 seconds from just 15. I also knocked off about two seconds in the shuttle run.

I figure all those numbers will improve some more after I go through what trainer Steve Frischman advises will be a much tougher final sessions. This included working out with a 25-pound weight jacket, which I did last Friday. While that made my 12-minute treadmill session an exhausting chore, you do feel a hundred times stronger when it comes off later (after also doing some high knees, push ups with it on as well as the front plank). So, stay tuned for my final submission and results next week.

— Albert Kramberger, the editor of The Chronicle, is taking a six-week challenge to become fit as a fiddle with Steve Frischman at The Power Co. Fitness Centre.