Day 0: The hardest part is starting.... So, let's talk about starting

    When I was a kid, I started having a weight problem around 3rd grade. I found out that fudgesicles were delicious and I had a mom that worked 3rd shift and slept during the day and a dad that worked 1st shift. So, I was largely left to figure it out on my own which led me to realize that I could eat whatever I wanted and it wouldn't matter. During that time, my parent's tried to have me do things to get my ballooning weight under control. They gave me diet pills, they took me a gym. I rode several miles a day on an exercise bike. Nothing ever really stuck. I was a heavy kid, then a heavy teen, and now a heavy adult. So some 28 years later, it is time to try to get this whole thing under control or else I'll just be a heavy corpse. I have tried several times and have lost significant amounts of weight in the past, but it always comes roaring back.

    When I started dating my wife, I was the most in shape I had ever been. I was around 230, and exercised regularly. I was lifting weights. I was running, I was doing pretty well. I had also just separated from my ex-wife about a year prior, so I was trying to get in shape and not be a depressed mess... One of those was working. My wife ands I got together and we were incredibly happy. We ate, and drank, and got up to various activities that those in a relationship do. Everything was wonderful. Especially the amount that we bonded over good food. Not just garbage. We like to find good food to share with each other. It was wonderful, and is still wonderful, but that reality is that that is an unsustainable dynamic. 

    My wife has recently had some health problems, and has become determined to get in shape (although she looks great in my opinion) that doesn't change the fact that we could eat better and be more active. Point taken. So, I am going to try again. I am going to embark on the journey of trying to not be a anthropomorphic pile of mashed potatoes. I joined a gym nearby my home, and I am going to get back to working out. 

    The point of this blog, is basically to try and keep myself accountable. Plus, if I can inspire anyone to try to get in shape, I'll call that a win as well, however I don't really think many people will see this, but it's here in case they do. Everyday, I am going to post my expected workout then my actual workout with notes about what worked and what I need to change. I will hopefully also be talking about what I am doing with my diet and food choices. However, getting into a good workout routine is always the first step for me. So, I will be starting there. 

    I am planning to update this blog daily. That might not always be true, but overall that is what I am shooting for. This workout schedule is pretty chock full, but it's what I have to do to get the routine in place. If I have rest days, I start moving them around and then eventually I just stop going to the gym. I know me, and I know that is the case. So I am only giving myself one full rest day a week. My weekly schedule for the first 8 weeks will be as follows:

Monday: C25K and Strong Lifts 5x5

Tuesday: Yoga and 0-100 pushups

Wednesday: C25K and Strong Lifts 5x5

Thursday: Yoga and 0-100 pushups

Friday: C25K and Strong Lifts 5x5

Saturday: Yoga and 0-100 pushups

Sunday: Rest day/Weigh-in/reflection on week

As far as the rest of this week goes (which is really just Fri and Sat) I am going to the gym for an initial workout and running through the Yoga session to see where I am at. I am building back to a starting place so the first week might be full of failures but there is a reason I chose the programs I chose.

C25K: This program helped me lose 70-80lbs at one time. At my heaviest, I weighed 310lbs. After getting into a routine of running 3x a week, I was seeing some great results. The key is to not be afraid to repeat a week if the next weeks layout is beyond your ability. There is a balancing act between not becoming too complacent and pushing yourself too hard. If the first run of the week is too hard, do the best you can and repeat the previous week for your 2nd and 3rd runs of the week. The next week will be there when you're ready for it. When I used C25K initially, I think I repeated each week twice. At least for the first few weeks. I was really starting at ground zero though.

Strong Lifts 5x5: Strength training. While I do want to lose weight and be in better shape, I am wanting to build some strength as well. I used SL5x5 for a while, and made some decent gains with it. There is a point when doing this with C25K that you hit a plateau. Your muscles aren't going to get the rest they really need to keep progressing if you are also running... Or at least that was my experience. At the time, I was more concerned about cardio than strength, so the cardio workout always took the lead.

Yoga: I am not very flexible, and I have a history of back problems. It is a biproduct of being morbidly obese for most of your adult life, I suppose. This one is new for me. I have never done yoga for a sustained time period. I don't know how it will go, but I am just starting out with short (10-20 min) beginner routines that are focusing on flexibility and some core strengthening.

Pushups: Core training. That is what this is all about. This is a similar program to C25K. Start with a few intervals of 3-4 pushups and eventually you are doing 100 pushups a day. It takes about 10 minutes, and has really worked well for me in the past, so we are going to try and work that in. 

Ok, so now that I have totally over-planned this, it's time to get cracking. I am going to try and hit the gym today after I leave work, and maybe try to do some Yoga tomorrow ( I know it's backward from my schedule up top, but this is prestart week. There's nothing to do, but get going so let's get going.