#### I've had such a good and productive week which makes me very happy and hopeful: I passed the driver's permit test and signed up for the gym. I'm gonna soon write a post in Polish summarizing how to get an American driver's license, which is part of my 8-week betterment plan, but now let's focus on the physical and mental fitness aspect of the plan. 

![crossfit-exercise-fitness-28080.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfNJsiuknmeJzfYp7XjyAoZCsoSc7hKLHGp95dZbhjnuR/crossfit-exercise-fitness-28080.jpg)

I signed up for an initial session of personal training and I'm going to follow it and do check-ins on a two-week basis. For now I've been doing 20 minutes of cardio + 25 minutes of all-body workout to activate the muscles, strongly focusing on my core. I'm intending to continue it for 8 weeks, 3-4 times per week. I will need to make sure I eat regularly and potentially more than I eat now, to keep the metabolism flowing. 

#### Expected results in 8 weeks
Improved strength, muscle definition and loss of up to 12 pounds, improved discipline, mental performance and general satisfaction. The benefits of a well designed exercise plan for me are countless, including a boost in self-esteem and exposure to a new environment. 
Every two weeks after a check-in with the trainer I'm going to write a post summarizing my progress. The beginning of week 1 is going to be the first personal training I receive, hopefully the upcoming week, as per chart below: 

**Week 0:  6/16 - 6/24**
Starting BMI: 23.7 
Starting body fat %: I wanna estimate 26-27%, although it sucks that I can't find a Tanita machine in any gym here. This value is based on my measurements. Would be great if I could get down to 22-23% for muscle to start showing. I used to have really sweet abs at 21% due to my built so I guess around 23% is gonna be great for now. 

6/21: 20-minute fast walk on treadmill with 2 deg. incline, barbell Romanian deadlifts, bent-over barbell deadlift, narrow and wide barbell back squats, barbell upright row, military press, ab exercises on mat, plank, foam-rolling 

6/23: 20 minute walk/bike to the gym, 10-minute run on treadmill, ab exercises on mat, plank, foam rolling my legs, close-grip pull-down, barbell lunges, leg curls (yeah I really wanna kill those hammies for the first time in my life), standing oblique crunch w/dumbbells, 10-minute walk/run on treadmill, 30 minute walk back. 

|Week no| Date| Notes|
| --- | --- | --- |
| Week 1 |6/25 - 7/1| | 
| Week 2 |7/2 - 7/8| | 
| Week 3 |7/9 - 7/15 | |
| Week 4 |7/16 - 7/22| |
| Week 5 |7/23 - 7/29| |
| Week 6 |7/30 - 8/5| |
| Week 7 |8/6 - 8/12| |
| Week 8 |8/13 - 8/19| |

I also want to work on my self-esteem and sleeping/resting more, with preferably more chilling on fresh air. 

Photo used: CC0, https://www.pexels.com/photo/rope-jumping-ropes-human-training-28080/