Getting fit at 40 & a free printable fitness progress chart!

I am just going to come out and say it, I am getting pretty serious about this workout lark. I have finally found something that works for me. My physical fitness workout takes between 10-20 minutes each day. Whenever I can get myself into the right mindset to smash it and it has taken me so long to find something that works for me and believe me when I say, I have tried it all. I wrote a post very recently about my new fitness love and it is with the Ring Fit Adventure Game for the Nintendo Switch.

Now, to be clear. I am not doing this to get slim. You can be big and healthy – you get that, right? Because up until recently, my mind wouldn’t allow me to process that. But, it’s true. You can be big & healthy. So, I am doing this for two things. My mind, to clear up the fog because we’ve been in a pandemic for the year! And to get strong. If I manage to lose a little ‘fluffiness’ along the way, then that’s grand. But losing weight is not my priority.

One thing I do need to do is, is to take my body measurements. It is something I have been advised too as it will spur me on being able to track my progress. If and when there is any! It is something I have been meaning to do but in a typical parenting fashion, I just never got around to doing it. I am one week into this workout from the home regime and my body is already changing. So getting to the party late is better than not arriving at all! So here I am, about to share with you my body measurements and I have even whipped up a Weight loss and fitness progress chart as a free printable too.

My Body Measurements

I mentioned in one of my previous posts about my running journey that I am not in this for weight loss. Although, that would be nice! But overall? It’s not my goal. Remember when I said I had tried everything! I have! Running, cycling, weight watchers, slimming world, and even exploring weight loss supplement for women options, but at the end of the day, they weren’t right for me, overall. Coming to terms with those revelations was OK and I have also come accustomed to being ‘fluffy’ and if I lose something through this, then wonderful. But my overall aim is to get fit and healthy and to be able to run about with my children without wishing for my untimely death!

So due to that, I won’t be taking my body weight. Scales never tell the whole story and they weigh everything! Skin, bones, muscle, body fat, organs, what you ate last, etc. So weighing yourself, in my opinion, isn’t the best answer. Besides, anytime I have done a slimming world program, the scales have driven me mad!

If they didn’t read what I wanted them to, it had an adverse effect on my motivation. I don’t want that negativity in my headspace. I need to remain positive, focused, and determined throughout. So, instead, I’ll be taking measurements of my key areas each week. That way, I’ll hopefully visually see some results, rather than numbers on a scale.

These are my End of Week One measurements. Because I am a numpty and didn’t take them before starting Week one! 

Bust: 46″
Chest: 39″
Waist: 41 ​¹⁄_2″
Hips: 53″
Thighs: Right – 29″ Left – 28″
Calves: Right – 18 ​¹⁄₂ Left – 18″
Forearm: 11″
Upper arm: 14″

Those are my body measurements, as they stand at the end of Week 1. As I mentioned, my body has already changed since last week, which is insane. It’s not a big difference, but my waist feels smaller for a start. Which is amazing! So now that I’ll be able to visually track my progression through this program, excites me!

What changes am I hoping to see through fitness?

I’m not going to lie, I’m so excited about how life-changing this plan is going to be for me. Not only for my health but how it will shape and tone my body. So in saying that I would love to gain slimmer, stronger thighs. As a teenager, I was always that girl with big, strong, rugby-style thighs. I was a runner, cyclist, and RAF cadet. So my legs were good and strong. I was OK with them being bulkier because I knew how powerful they were. So I would like to slim them down, less fat, more muscle would be lovely.

I would like to have a smaller bust, if this is even possible through running, then sign me up! I am so over having huge breasts, I hate them, and aside from looking like two bags of soup? They just get in the way. All of those girls out there wishing they had a larger bust? Believe when I say, you don’t. Your back will not thank you for it! The only thing mine has been useful for is when it came to breastfeeding all five of my babies. However, a good lot of the exercises I have to do during my Ring Fit Adventure sessions target that pectoral and chest area, so hopefully I’ll see a little change in that area.

The last two parts of me that I would like to see a change in are my back and my belly. My back sports an extra ‘boobage’ area, which is not attractive. The back fat is very real in that area of my body. So I’d like that to get toned and the fat to be replaced by muscle. And as for my stomach area? Well, who knows what changes I will see there – if any! It’s been home to five beautiful babies, who I have kept safe and secure. A place where I have been kicked, prodded, stretched beyond belief, cut open {three times} and so on.

My stomach area, over the years, has been through a lot and has gorgeous tiger stripes to prove it. Those tiger stripes are a part of me that I hope does not change. They are a sign of strength to me. A sign that I am a Mother and a damn strong one at that. So I wear them proudly. Just, to tighten up the area they are displayed on would be nice!

Obviously, my key fitness goals are to develop my stamina, endurance, and fitness levels and I am just excited to see some results. Rome wasn’t built in a day and this body change will not happen overnight either. It will take willpower, determination, and a good mindset.

Your free Fitness & Weight loss free printable download

I have created a simple Fitness and Weight loss progress chart free printable for you to enjoy. I know I am going to be using it week after week. So I hope if you are doing any sort of program, like me, that you will find it useful.

I have made this fitness and weight loss progress chart purely for the female body, if any males out there would like me to put together a male version, then do let me know. I know measurements for men’s fitness and weight loss can be quite different from us girls. Which would include biceps and triceps etc! But, do let me know if that is something you would like to have added to this post.

If you are on any kind of fitness or lifestyle change journey, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

You can check out my Ring Fit Adventure Review for the Nintendo Switch on the blog.

PIN IT FOR LATER!