Let's Get It Started!

I’ve started this blog to document my journey to fitness. As you guessed from the title, I’m a 40 year old man that is overweight and out of shape. Also, my right arm is a radial club . None of that matters to you, but it sure as hell makes a funny blog title!

My history is a see-saw regarding weight and fitness. My body prefers to be heavy and will gravitate that way without overt intervention from me. I was fat through high school, hovering around 275, but in college I became a fitness buff. Interestingly, it was a Spring Break trip and rejection by a cute Lacrosse player that inspired my first weight loss. I attacked it with voracity. I educated myself, learned about diet, exercise, heart rates, weight lifting, etc. I undertook everything, weights, running, soccer, tennis, basketball, karate, kayaking, hiking, spelunking, etc. I dropped from 275 to 195 over the course of a couple of years. Yep, 80 lbs. At times, I looked almost too thin. But the girls loved me, I felt great, and was living the great college career.

Fast forward a few years… as I settled into a typical life or work, marriage, kids, and age, my weight was a good compromise weight of about 215 - 230 depending on how much lifting I was doing. I ate mostly like crap, but since my main fitness activity was weights and basketball, I didn’t gain weight. I stayed there for many years until about 6 years ago, when I tore my calf muscle scrambling for a loose rebound. With basketball gone, I put on 50 - 60 lbs in 2 years and became the awesome specimen I am today! :D After 20 years, workouts were boring and tedious, so it never came off.

Well, I started a program called Crossfit. It is intense. A cross between gymnastics, powerlifting, and calisthenics, the workouts are tough but short. No workout lasts for more than 40 mins. Most take 15 - 25 mins. But after each one, you feel like curling up with a heating pad and ibuprofen.

The competitiveness and impossibility of the workouts is what appealed to me. I am very competitive with myself, and the mere thought of not finishing a workout makes me work twice as hard. Most people get NERVOUS when they see the workout, but when it’s finished, the smiles are broad.

When I started, I weighed 300lbs. I carry it well at 6’3”, but I’m still fat. I will use this blog to chronicle my progress, the program I use and my diet changes. It’s for me. But if anyone stops by to read it, that’s cool too.