BiG 10's journey into getting fit

Yeesh I haven't written a post in a while. I've been going to the gym pretty consistently in December. I took an almost two month hiatus from the gym and while I didn't gain a lot of weight, I did lose a LOT of my strength I gained from working out previously. I'm still not back to the level I was, but I am making progress and the pants are starting to fit better (my true indication of progress).

I've incorporated some cardio into my routine and what I do is hop on the treadmill, increase the elevation to nearly the highest point, and set the speed to 3.0-3.2mph. Once there, I try to get my heart rate to ~175bpm and keep it there for 20 minutes. It's a low impact/high intensity exercise that is supposed to help burn off fat. I've forced myself to go three times a week in the morning since working out after 9 hours at the office just doesn't cut it anymore. While my weight is no indication of my progress, I vary between 195-197lbs during the week.