This is the final workout pledge I’ll do before I reach my goal weight.

The last workout pledge was several months ago and many of the early readers of 344 Pounds have been asking for a new one for quite sometime.

So, what exactly is a workout pledge?

Workout pledges allow you to tell me how long to workout at the gym.  Tonight, I will stay on the treadmill at an incline of at least 5.0 and a speed of at least 3.6 for however long you tell me.  I picked today to hold the last workout pledge because I want it to really count.  I’m looking to post a drop of at least a few pounds at tomorrow’s weigh-in.

I want you to have a part in it.  Here’s how:

Post a comment: +15 seconds. Add a comment to this post (click its title) and you’ll add 15 seconds to my workout tonight.  It doesn’t matter what kind of comment you leave, just a simple “Good luck!” is fine!

Add me on Facebook or twitter:  +30 seconds. For every person that becomes my friend on Facebook or twitter between now and the time the pledge is over I’ll add 30 seconds to my workout tonight.

Subscribe to my e-mail feed: +30 seconds. See the box on the right hand side of every page with the orange SUBMIT button?  Put your e-mail address there (or the address of your soon to be upset family/friends!) and you’ll receive  my blog posts through e-mail.  This would be handy if you traveled a lot and had a phone with e-mail access, for example.

Link to 344Pounds.com: +1 minute. Ah, links, the currency of the internet.  Links are just one way to show that you care about what other people have to say by recommending them to your readers.  If you have a website or blog I’d be flattered to be linked by you in your blogroll/feed — it’s worth one minute on the treadmill tonight.

If you do add my link to your website/blogroll, please be sure to let me know in the comments below as I’m compiling my own list.

You can do any of the above and add time to my workout until 7 PM Eastern tonight.  I’ll tally up the total after that and head to the gym shortly afterword — posting pictures of the event when I get back.  It will probably be a long workout, so don’t expect me back until late tonight.

I’m really, really grateful you’re all apart of the blog.  I hope you will all take part in this final workout pledge and consider including any friends and family that you think would like to participate as well.

Soon, very soon, I’ll be posting some incredible news.  You’re all apart of it.

It’s going to change everything.

I can once again say I haven’t weighed this much in years.

October 21 weight: 222.4
October 14 weight: 223.4
October 07 weight: 222.6
September 30 weight: 223.6
September 23 weight: 224.6

I’ve lost 1 pound in the last 7 days and 121.8 pounds in 39 weeks. Want stats from past weeks? Check out my entire 39 week weight loss progress.

As I said before, I’m having to work for every pound I lose lately.

I want to weigh under 220 pounds.  Next Wednesday marks 40 weeks into my weight loss journey.  With the scale at 219.x pounds next week, I will have lost 125 pounds and have 25 pounds left to go with about 8 weeks left in 2009.

More importantly, I’ll be 19 pounds away from weighing 199 pounds.  199 pounds. Weighing 344 pounds to 199 pounds in less than 12 months.

Unfathomable.

Don’t worry though, I’m prepared to work for it:

Treadmill Workout Pledge

It has been several months since the last workout pledge — they’ve all been wildly successful in burning calories.  Remember how they work?

With workout pledges, you tell me how long I should workout at the gym.  In this workout pledge, on the treadmill.  Following the 2:30/2:30 system on the treadmill, I’ll run for X minutes — however many “tell” me to.

There are a few things you can do to tell me:

Post a comment | +20 seconds

Leave me a message on this post an add 20 seconds to the treadmill, whether you leave a copy of The Great Gatsby (I seriously enjoyed the movie with Robert Redford) or just  quick “Good luck!”

Follow me on Facebook/twitter | +25 seconds

If you’re not following me on Facebook or twitter, start following me and add 20 seconds (each!).  Sometimes I post things on Facebook and twitter that I don’t share on the blog — quick, personal notes and the like.

Subscribe to RSS feed | +30 seconds

You don’t have to come to my blog to read what I write.  In fact, some might suggest not reading what I write at all, but I’ve told my mom to quit telling people that.  “RSS” allows you to be notified of new posts either through your e-mail address or RSS reader.  Click here to receive new posts via e-mail or through RSS and add 30 seconds to my treadmill workout!

Link to 344 Pounds | +1 minute

If you have a blog, Live Journal, Facebook page, Yahoo! Personals profile, etc and link to me from it I will workout for an additional minute.  One whole minute.  Not part of one.  I hope a lot of you aren’t on Yahoo! Personals.

If you do link to me, make sure to let me know so I can check your site out!

The Workout

You can add time to my workout up until tomorrow morning at 6 Eastern.  I’ll go through with the actual workout tomorrow night, Thursday, at 8 Eastern and post live updates (and pictures) via twitter.

In closing, I just want to say I’m really grateful for all the people that choose to participate in these workout pledges.  They may seem like a cheap gimmick, and well, maybe they are, but since the first one 6 months ago they’ve also had a role in saving my life.  At the very least, they have an indisputable part in burning an enormous amount of calories and increasing my stamina.

And for that I can’t thank you guys enough.

Let’s go to 219.

UPDATE: Amazing workout pledge, I’ll be on the treadmill for 57 minutes and 20 seconds tonight at 8 PM Eastern. And remember, I’ll be on twitter posting updates and pictures during the run!

I went through with the most recent workout pledge on Friday night.

Due to recent media attention this was the biggest workout pledge by far.  I was forced to stay on both the treadmill and elliptical for 93 minutes (plus two for cool down) — putting me in the gym for 3 hours and 10 minutes Friday night.

This was the first workout pledge I tweeted while I worked out.  It was a new experience, a positive experience I’d do again;  the support I received kept me going for the last hour when my legs started failing.

A few Twitter followers that provided support Friday night:

30Days2ANewLife
JackedDragon
JeffSarris
lsuaimzgurl
willwalters
theantijared
emilytate512

Recap of Friday night’s workouts

I started out on the treadmill machine a little after 7 PM Friday.  I maintained a speed varying from 3.4 (when I took pictures) to 4.0.  Incline levels varied as well, ranging from 1.1 to 5.1.  It was a brisk walk with some hills thrown in.

The 95 minutes on the treadmill were easy compared to the 95 that were soon to follow on the elliptical.  While I was on the treadmill daydreaming, fighting boredom, I realized I needed to make a bigger workout playlist for pledges.  Other than realizing I need to bring a book for “next time” and needing to urinate for the last 30 minutes, I had a smooth workout.

I burned nearly 1,000 calories and walked over 5.5 miles in 95 minutes on the treadmill.  Other than stiffness in the legs, I finished the workout unscathed.

It wasn’t until I stopped stretching and went to the rest room did the scary reality sink in:  I’m about to start the hard part.  I had only done 95 minutes on the elliptical before once (when I did 99), but that wasn’t following 95 minutes on the treadmill.  I was sore, tired, and wanted to go home.

The only place I was going, though, was on the elliptical.

I started my workout on the elliptical machine after a short break used to go to the restroom and fill up my water bottle.  After typing in level 20 (out of 20) into the machine it turned on and I immediately knew I was in trouble.  I got onto twitter for some support and found Lethal Weapon 2 on television (the one with Joe Pesci), settling in for a long, painful workout.

Looking back, I have no idea how I managed to keep going.

Around the halfway mark on the elliptical, about two and a half hours after my current cardio session started, my legs began to buckle.  I had to lean against the machine’s console so I wouldn’t fall down.  This was the moment I wanted most to quit and say “no thanks” to the remaining 45 minutes, but I didn’t.

I got back on twitter and looked for support — I found it and kept going.

With about 20 minutes left my water ran out and my cell phone battery was dying, which meaned no more twitter updates.  I turned off the music application on my phone (G1) to conserve the battery and simply ignored my water problem — I wasn’t about to quit now. Luckily, the battery in my phone lasted long enough to snap a final picture and I was able to wipe the machine down, stretch, guzzle down 20 ounces of water, and walk out of the gym alive.

It was easy to fall asleep once I got home.  My legs were sore and stiff, but I could walk.  I was a little sore Saturday and only did some light cleaning, but hit the gym Sunday hard and did 30 minutes on both the treadmill and elliptical.

I’ll be back at the gym tonight fully charged.

Hopefully, in a couple of days, I’ll be reminded why I do these workout pledges and why I felt the need to workout for 190 minutes Friday night.

I want the 230s.

Hello, Consumerist. I have a workout pledge for you.

Since most of you are new to the site, here’s how workout pledges go. Basically, I allow my readers (that’s you!) to determine how long I sweat at the gym. It isn’t as simple as you telling me to workout (hey jerk, workout for 3 hours!), you have to complete one (or all) of the small tasks I outline below:

1. Post a comment: +15 seconds. Just comment to this post. It can be a “Good luck!” or it could be your life story. I’d be happy to read both.

2. Follow me on twitter: +30 seconds. I like to tweet.

3. Follow me on Facebook: +30 seconds. Join my new Facebook page and get absolutely nothing of value other than adding 30 seconds to my workout.

4. Subscribe to RSS feed: +45 seconds. I’m not really sure what RSS means.

5. Link to 344Pounds.com = +1 minute. You can link to me from your blog, Facebook, Twitter page, Digg, Plenty of Fish profile, etc. For every link I receive, I’ll workout 45 seconds.

Unlike previous workout pledges, this is not just for one machine — this is for two, the elliptical and the treadmill. If the total time for this pledge comes to 75 minutes for example, I’ll spend that time on both machines. I’ll complete 75 minutes on the treadmill, take a short break, then get on the elliptical!

I’ll upload pictures to twitter as I workout, too. I’ll go through with the pledge Saturday morning in case anybody wants to be online to cheer me on.

Or not. I’d be sleeping, personally.

You have until 7 PM (Eastern) Wednesday to add time to my workout. So, if you want to add me to your blogroll, RSS feed, Facebook, etc and make me earn your friendship, you have about 30 hours to do so.

It’s up to you. How long will I workout Saturday?

This has ended! This Saturday (UPDATED: Friday night at 7 PM) I will be working out for 93.4 minutes on BOTH machines.  Be on twitter Friday night for live updates!

Updated 6/22: Proof, you skeptics.

Check out those sweet kicks, Nike Air Zooms!  Great running shoes.

So, I went through with the pledge this morning.  The total time was 54 minutes and 25 seconds, but I rounded up.  I burned (according to the machine) 650 calories and traveled nearly 3.5 miles on the treadmill.

Great, right?

After finishing my workout, I picked up my iPhone to take a picture of the stats on the treadmill  — but my battery literally died in my hands, meaning I wasn’t able to take a picture of the workout results.

With that being said, I’m a man of my word — I always show you proof of me going through with the workout pledges and this time is no exception.  I don’t have time to spend another hour at the gym today, but I’ll go back tomorrow (with a fully charged iPhone) and do another 55 minutes on the treadmill.

It looks like you guys made me workout both days, afterall.