I posted awhile back about completing cycle 1, and I thought I'd give an update after completing cycle 3.

I started the program after learning that I needed to include resistance training in my exercise program to help retain lean mass. I got some super news this week about that very goal. I had a DEXA scan done right before I started and came in at 31.3% bf. Yesterday I went back for another scan to check my progress and came in at 26.2% bf. I had lost 10.4 lbs and of that 10.3 was fat! I was astounded. The bodyweight resistance training did exactly what I had hoped. I've been eating at a small deficit and losing slowly, and I've been trying to eat at least 1g of protein per lb of lean mass at a minimum. I have also been doing cardio 3x/week, because it's fun for me.

It took me awhile to get through all three cycles because for part of the time I was only doing them twice a week instead of three times, and using resistance bands once per week. I got part way through cycle 2, fell ill, and some other life things happened, and before I knew it six weeks had gone by with no strength workouts, so I started over on cycle 2.

I had never done a strength training program before and started pretty low on all my exercises. Here is my progress from start to finish:

Pulling
Started at 3 - Let Me Ins
Finished at 12 - Let me ups with knees slightly bent

This is the only exercise I really got stuck on. I spent the last 8 weeks at this level and have never been able to finish all the reps with good form.

Squatting
Started at 3 - Therapy Squats
Finished at 13 - One-legged squats off knee-height surface

I was really happy with my progress on this one because I went from barely being able to squat because of knee pain to working on one legged squats with no knee trouble. I believe I was able to strengthen my leg muscles enough to take a lot of strain off my knee.

Perpendicular Pushing
Started at 7 - Close-grip Push-ups with hands elevated hip eight and 2-second pauses
Finished at 16 - Push-ups with 2 second pauses.

I will never like push-ups but I love seeing progress.

In-Line Pushing
Started at 5 - Military Presses with hands elevated knee height and 1-second pauses
Finished at 13 - Military presses with feet elevated knee height.

Bending
Started at 7 - Hip Extensions
Finished at 25 - One-legged warriors holding object overhead.

25 is as high as this book goes, so I was adding weight to the object, but the real challenge was always just working on balance.

I hope some find this encouraging to keep at it!