Week 2 of Health Happenings, and you could call this the real first workout. Last week was all about testing: the weigh-in, measurements, a mobility test and some light exercises to see what I'm made of. We found out I'm made of a lot of gold medal burgers. This week Zac wanted to crank the heat up and start burning some burger grease.

Nervous, but optimistic

Driving over from Right Choice HQ I was optimistic but nervous. Zac only has me once a week, so I knew he'd want to make that hour count. The support from everyone since Week 1 has been unreal, and that accountability is exactly what I was hoping for.

The weigh-in

I wasn't sure we'd see a number under 250 in the first week, but we did. Zac made a great point while we were looking at it: "weight loss" is a skewed term. If you cut off your arm you'd lose weight too. What we actually want is to lose fat while building muscle, and some of this early drop is water. Still, seeing the scale move gave me a big shot of motivation.

Feeling muscles I forgot I had

All week I felt my muscles waking up. Not pain exactly, more like a good soreness all through the body. Zac explained that right now we're building the mind-muscle connection: actually thinking about the muscle you're working instead of just moving weight around.

The workout itself included dumbbell shoulder presses with 15 pounders, which sounds light until you do them with proper form and the burn kicks in. We finished on planks where Zac made me actively squeeze my core the whole time. A normal plank I can hold for a while. A plank done properly, with the core engaged, had me shaking within seconds.

The takeaway

Form beats weight. Lighter weights done right will do more for you than heavy weights done sloppy, and that's something anyone starting out can use. Two weeks in and I'm already feeling better.

Joe is not a doctor or a dietitian. This is his personal journey. Talk to your healthcare provider before making big changes to your diet or exercise.