Personal Fitness

I apologize for my absence.  The past couple of weeks have been busy with other priorities.  As I mentioned I want this blog to be diverse, filled with more than just rants about my progress and stats.  This is one such post.   

Often I reflect on what fitness really means.  As I look around me in my everyday world I am bombarded with ads, promises, myths, hype and most often CONFUSION.  Is fitness really biceps the size of basketballs? What about running the distance of most daily commutes?  Or is fitness being able to get in a cage with another human only to survive intense beatings?  While these are indeed great shows of strength and may also show physical fitness, I can't bring myself to accept that this is indeed the mark of fitness for the average person that I am.  

            So what should I set as my horizon?  Should I subject myself to the promises of losing 10lbs per week not by exercise and healthy eating but rather by digesting a laboratory formulated concoction of  pills and powders?  I simply can not!  I will admit that I have been down that road before and that there is no substitute for hard work and proper eating habits.

So the questions still lingers in my mind as to what fitness means.  To determine the answer for myself and maybe some of you, I reflect on capabilities.  Real functional capabilities.  I want to go for a run, I want to get down and exercise not to bulk up, but to feel good.  I want energy to sustain my body each day.  I want to have the confidence to push my body to it's  limits.  I want to look in the mirror and feel good about who is looking back.  I want my wife to be proud of who she is with.  Most of all I want to feel good, look good, and look forward, with and excited attitude, to exercise.

So now I have an idea of what personal fitness means to me.  How do I achieve this?  I believe that we are all diverse and there is not a single gym or program in the world that can meet the styles and goals of everybody.  When you picture what fitness is to you, then your methods of achieving personal fitness should reflect that.  For example I want to have functional strength, so I try to focus on push ups and chest exercises, biceps and core strength.  I look for opportunities to work harder in my yard.  I use an ax and shovel to remove a stump rather than a stump grinder.  My body might ache afterwards, but it feels good.  I don't find myself in the gym doing endless repetitions or following a DVD of intense intervals.  While I have been down these roads and certain aspects of those methods are appealing and lend themselves to my cause, as a whole they are not for me.  I have a bench and a couple sets of dumbbells in my garage for a few key exercises that fit my style of exercise.  What I am getting at is that your workouts need to reflect you as an individual.  If exercise is not a part of you then you will burn out only to feel like a failure.... I have been there.  Look inside yourself, decide what you want to be, then customize a regimen that fits that mold.  That being said, I will report in an upcoming post what I have set up for myself in this regard.

Week 2 Thoughts

Week 2 has come and gone!  I weighed in last night and was at 207 lbs.  While I wish that number was lower I also recognize that I have not been consistent yet in exercising.  My eating habits are “improving” I watched what I ate and my portion size.  Sadly though there were also a few days this week that I literally did not eat until late at night.  I woke up, worked all day and went to school all without anything more than a few glasses of water.  This was not intentional starvation, but rather a busy schedule mixed with unpreparedness.  I know it’s not healthy to do that, and can be very counter-productive to weight loss.  Hopefully this week I will prepare better for my days.

On another note I am working on a few posts that go beyond the typical stat update.  Topics that I am working on include supplements, recipes for healthy eating, creating a custom workout routine, and posts about motivation and lifestyles.  I am hoping that I can keep this blog interesting by doing more than updating my weekly status.

Week 1 Status and Before Pics

Well, it has been a crazy week.  Looking back I am not sure it was the best week to start this adventure, but none the less I am determined to continue.  I will start with how my week went.  When I started on Monday I was way pumped and ready to go.  I faded slightly during the week and come the weekend I was struggling not really with motivation but with implementation.  Janica's birthday was Saturday and I had long ago planned a date night cooking class for Friday.  We had a blast but it also came with a price.  The menu called for lots of garlic, oil and tasty goodness.  Then Saturday we went to dinner with friends to continue the celebration at Tepanyakis.  But I am happy to report that those were my only really weak points of the week.  I am glad that my wife is 25 and that I can get back on track.  As far a exercise this past week was okay I guess.  I rolled my ankle playing basket ball last Friday so that put a stop to all cardio until further notice. The ankle is still really bothering me today so I don't hold too much hope for this week.  I did do some strength training and that was the highlight.  I will detail in a later post about what my routines are.
Now onto the "good" stuff..... the stats.  When I started this I stepped onto the scale at 207.6 lbs.  This is my official starting "Naked Weight"  I have not taken any measurements, but those too will follow later.  As of today I weighed in at 206.6 lbs "NW" (Naked Weight).  I am glad to see that 1 measly pound given the struggles faced, but not satisfied.  I hope to report better number next week.  I have posted my official before pics below.  WARNING SOME MATERIAL MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN.....don't worry it is safe to look.

Side Relaxed

Front Relaxed

Back Relaxed

Scary I know!

Motivation to Change

Welcome everyone to my blog.  Long ago I decided that I needed to make changes in my life for health reasons.  Here is a little background on how I got to where I am now.  When I got married to Janica, I had just returned from Ft. Irwin, CA and a long month in the desert.  Also I was just a few short months removed from Army Basic Training.  Needless to say I was in probably the best physical condition of my life.  I weighed in at about 180 Lbs.  I wouldn’t say that I was “cut” or even satisfied with my physique, but I was in far better shape and I was motivated to continue improving my body. 

                Shorty after marrying Janica (June 17, 2006) I deployed to Iraq.  During my 15 month deployment I started to slip on working out.  Often times we had so little time in between combat missions that I chose to sleep, eat or call Janica.  Rarely would I gather the energy to exercise.  When I returned home from Iraq in September 2007, I had gained roughly 10 LB’s and was starting to become alarmed at the shape I was in. 

                Since then I have only continued to gain weight and lose muscle.  I weighed in the other day at 207 Lbs and have floated between 207 and 213 for the last few months.  I have had bursts of motivation along the way, but have never been able to sustain the lifestyle change that I want/need. Aside from I have never had to be accountable for the way I eat or treat my body.  Recently I stumbled upon the blog of an old college roommate.  He has started to blog about his journey back to fitness.  You can follow his blog here.  http://lambofsteel.blogspot.com/  This has given me the COURAGE to do the same.   This adventure will be embarrassing to say the least.  I don’t have any pictures yet but they are sure to come. 

                I really don’t want to get long winded in this first post so I will wrap it up with this.  I will post goals, workouts plans, dieting goals, etc in a later post.  I don’t know if anyone will be interested in this journal but regardless I guess I am doing it for my own accountability and motivation.  If I inspire anyone along the way that is great too.  I welcome the comments and advice.