Now… and then!

Exercise	When I started (Oct ’11)	Now (March ’12)	End 6 Week Challenge #3 (6 June 2012)
Squat	I had been going to Pump Classes for 8 months before, so I was a bit cocky in thinking I could squat… We laugh about it now because my squatting technique was absolutely shocking! My knees were going all over the joint, my back was risking injury and my depth was pathetic. Brad just describes it as the “ugliest squat he’s ever seen!”	I’ve learnt to love the squat! Be it high reps – light weights or low reps – big weights – they all hurt but still make me happy. Brad reckons I have perfect squatting technique now… We did a little test today and my bum was so close to the ground it was friggin’ great.
Shoulder Press	Aaah, the shoulder press. My arch nemesis when I started! I remember day #1 – Brad got me on the machine and I was friggin’ dying through the first set of 8! Took a look and there wasn’t even any weights on the machine… I was flat-out shoulder pressing the weight of the machine alone!!!	Oh, how far I have come… Wait for it… I can now do a set of 8 reps on the shoulder press machine with 60KG!!! This is my claim to fame and so proud of it! For the first time in my life I actually have shoulders… weapons of mass destruction?! Maybe not yet – but I’m stoked with them!
Push-ups	There’s a bit of an argument here… Brad reckons he counted 3 push-ups but I know HOW he makes me do them now and I can guarantee he wouldn’t let those 3 count now… but for the purpose of this exercise we’ll say that I could do 3!	There are some funny stories with this… I may or may not have challenged a smart-ass guy to push-ups and I may or may not have won! Hahaha – That’s a story for another day. Brad got me to do push-ups a few sessions ago and I was as surprised as him when I did 19 in a row followed up with another 2 sets of 8. They were proper – on my toes, nose to the ground MAN push-ups!
Beep Test	We didn’t do a beep test until I had finished my first 6 Week Challenge and first up I got 4.5.. the week later I went up to a 5.7. I was happy with that as I know that if I had done it on day #1, I would have been lucky to pull a 2.6!	This test is proving to be pretty difficult for me! So far my best has been 7 but I have bad runs every so often and absolutely tank! I mean REALLY TANK! I’m talking 3.4’s or 4’s. Brad is working with me on this because I need 7.5! So, I have to do 2 things; 1) I have to focus and clear my head when I run these tests. (I can’t go in there stressing about work, life, etc… the negative self-talk just wrecks my attempts.) 2) I obviously have to increase my VO2max…. which means hills!