Pro-Protein

Just a quick update, I'm still building muscle, still losing some inches around the waist, and still losing fat. I'm starting to see results faster just because I have less fat to hide the muscle. I still have quite a little cushion of fat though, so I'm slowly burning through it.

I still weigh 204lbs. I have been doing a fantastic job of replacing my fat with muscle at a good rate. I have been cutting back a little one how much I eat to try and burn through some of that reserve fat for summer.

Which brings me to my topic today. Protein. And why not? Of course you probably know protein is the building blocks of muscle. You probably also know that your body doesn't store protein, which means you won't fat from eating a lot of it. What your body doesn't use, you just filter out.

I want to lose some fat now, and still have food for my muscles, so I've really switched to protein rich foods and less carbs and fats. I did say less, I'm still eating some fats. And I'm still eating some carbs. Just less:)

It does make a difference, but I've found myself getting hungry more often. I just replace a meal or snack with a protein shake or protein food as the snack, and I'm good. It's working so far, and I'm seeing my body change, showing more of the muscle I have.

Some Encouragement: Someone I hadn't seen in about 6 months came by my work. He came up to me and told me he couldn't believe how much weight I'd lost. He seemed a bit confused when I told him I actually hadn't lost a lot of weight, just transferred it to more useful muscle.

I can't wait until I find someone who hasn't seen me for an entire year...

All work and no play... again

It's been a little over a month since I've posted something, so I figured I might as well put an update out there.
I'm still 200lbs. I haven't lost any weight. I have, however, lost another pants size, and now my abs are just starting to show. I'm burning through fat pretty quickly. I'm gaining a lot of muscle and it's been a lot of fun. I'm getting some muscle built up so when I do my cut, I'll be able to burn through more fat quicker with more muscle.

For the last month I had fallen into some sort of routine. Not exactly a bad thing but I could tell I needed to shake it up. So I set aside a couple of days every other week to just go in and do a full body workout. This means pull-ups, sit ups, push ups, squats, dead lifts, cleaves, pretty much everything. I wanted to focus on a workout that engaged as many muscles at once as I could get. A push up, followed by a jump up to the bar with a pull up, leg lift, kind of like playing on a jungle gym. The point is, it was fun, and it was a workout!

What I found really fun is finding out just how many more pull ups I could do, or push ups. Using all the muscles in my body helped tie them together I think. I thought of some of the strong man competitions, and how many muscles they use all at once. Burning a lot of energy in a very short amount of time. Like a top fuel dragster. It makes me want to go home and build a course like that. After doing 20 minutes of full body workout moves, I was tired. I'd used up some energy for sure. And after that I did 30 minutes of bike. Man, talk about  burning through fat.

I just had this thought of people reading these going "well duh!" But hey you can't get away from that. I don't know everything, and I always like to learn what works for me. And this really is working for me.

My advise for this blog, set yourself a play date. Do something that isn't part of your normal routine. Pull your car by a strap! Flip over a tractor tire. Lift a big chunk of concrete. Use the muscles and have fun doing it.

Health: Riding the Wave

First, let me update you on how I'm doing. I've been working out since I first started this blog. I'm 200lbs, I can run 3 miles non-stop in under half an hour, I can finally bench my weight, and I'm looking a lot better. My pants are fitting much better if not a little loose. My shirts are fitting more tight in the shoulders and arms, but not in the waist. I'm still going for being fit for cardio, but to loose fat faster I've been building muscle a little more than I originally planned.

Now that I have built up some muscle, I will cut back on weights. I will still do them, but not as heavy. And I'll be doing much more cardio, endurance, and fat burning. This has a little to do with my workout partner pulling a muscle in his chest because he was doing something a little wrong.

So, at this point, I'm riding the wave. Let me explain what this means to me. Waves can be created by a sudden movement. I would call the first week of working out as a sudden change or movement. If you do it right, a wave of fitness starts. You start to feel better, you start to eat right, you start to change your life toward feeling better and eating right, and before you know it, you are riding the wave.

Waves don't last forever, and they die down into ripples. That's when you create a new wave. Mix it up and try something totally different that you could never had done before you started working out. This puts you to the next level of starting another wave.

Finding something you like doing that requires this level of body fitness keeps you going. Once you've gone there, you can hold onto that level, and choose when you want to step it up. Most people I know who start getting fit then join a soccer league or something like that, continue with fitness because they enjoy where they are so much. If you just work out and continue to do the same things you always did, in my experience, you tend to fall back into old habits.

So, get fit, start eating right and get healthy, then find something to do that keeps you going at that fitness level.

Happy Mother's day, and I'll write something else soon.

Diets, an Excuse to Fail

I had a birthday party to go to Monday, so I wasn't able to work out. Of course it was a youngsters birthday party, so lots of junk food and snacks. It's pretty easy to eat wrong.

So, everyone says "You can cheat once in a while, and it's a good thing." I say... cheating is never good. But why give yourself that option. And I'm not talking about not going to a birthday party or being around that food. I'm taking about even thinking of it as cheating. Cheating eludes to doing something wrong. You are a big boy/girl, you can eat what you want.

I understand sticking to a (dreaded word) Diet.... DUH DUH DUUUUUUUH!!! or how ever you spell that sound usually heard in a horror flick. First though, I'll tell you what I think a diet is. It's what you eat. If you eat, that's your diet. If you eat a type of food, you are choosing a life style. Just how I like to look at it.

And here's why I like to look at it this way. If you "Cheat" on a "Diet" you feel "Guilty". If you feel "... ok enough quotes... If you feel guilty, you tend to just say "F" this it's too hard.

Hey if guilt works for you, fine. But it doesn't work for me. And honestly I don't think it works as well for others like they think it does. Eating right is all about feeling better. Yes, if you're healthy you feel better usually right? So why put up this rule that could make you feel bad, when you don't have to?

I don't like diets as people think of the word. Giving yourself a chance to fail is not a great start to being more healthy. They also are temporary by nature. So when you go off your diet, you go back to what... eating unhealthy? Eating too much?

I pick my meals, I keep my health in mind, and it seems to work great... without the guilt!

And the Muscle said, "I'm confused!"

One thing a busy gym will do is make you think creatively when trying to work a muscle group. But even if the gym is not busy, I rarely ever work a muscle the same way more than a couple times in a row. Some people call it muscle confusion, but I call it not being bored.

Muscles are cool. They allow you to lift things, and if they can't help you lift something as many times as you want them to, they get torn down, and they repair bigger. Duh, right? Well if you don't tear down a muscle it will not get bigger. Not only that but you won't burn as many calories at rest because your muscles aren't repairing.

I'm just keeping it simple... anyway, plateauing a muscle means it's used to what you are doing. It's used to how you do it. It's really good at that exact movement, speed and angle. Change the speed, movement or angle, and BAM! Muscle confusion. Change where you have the most resistance in the movement and you will also feel the difference. Change the angle of grip, pause as you reach the top, hold the movement in the middle, only do half the movement, then do the other half later...

Ok so as you can see, there are a lot of ways to change your workout. Do it so you don't get bored. Do it so you can continue to grow stronger. Do it so you have fun, look better, what ever. Just have fun with it.

That's all for now, so have fun. Be safe. Ask a trainer.

All the Right Moves

At the gym last night I remembered something I was taught while training with a guy. A lift done right once is better than an entire set of lifts done wrong. The first thing I ever learned in a lifting class was form. Our teacher made us lift 5 lbs until we got it right. You could see the faces of some of the students. "Really? 5lbs? I could do that all day." Well it turns out they couldn't.

I still laugh when I remember being sore the next day from lifting 5 lbs. Later on in life a guy I lifted with just wasn't impressed with my curls. I was lifting a lot of weight, but I was throwing them up. Bad habit I picked up. I just wanted to do a lot of weight. He made me take 20lbs off, and do it right. And I couldn't even get a set of 8 knocked out.

Flash forward to my fat rear getting back into the gym. Old memories come back. Old moves are remembered. Old lessons renewed. Best feeling ever. Forget how much I used to lift. That was then, this is now. That's a whole other blog though. As I'm lifting, and trying to get my work out partner to back off the weight and lift correctly, I see the guy at the weight stack. He's got 60lbs in each hand and he's doing curls, sort of. It was a whole body movement, swinging, dipping, rotation of the waist and hips... he was getting a workout, but he wasn't isolating his biceps by any means.

I can tell he's not much into accepting tips. And at this point I'm in no physical shape to be trying to tell someone how to lift. You kind of need to be able to prove you know what you're talking about. It's like a fat guy trying to tell you how to lose weight... you get the idea.

It is tough, seeing someone you see as smaller than you lifting more weight. I've found that it's fun being a little older and wiser, while still having the youth to repair fast and go hard. So, I guess the lesson I'd like to make available is this; You are only cheating yourself by not lifting right.

Slow, controlled and precise movements are better for me I've learned. I'd be willing to wager that it's a good thing for others to pick up on as well. So what if you aren't lifting as much weight. If you just want to see how much iron you can move around, then by all means, go for it. I go to the gym to look better and feel better. 


Not to mention lifting weights wrong can really hurt you!


My advise? Why thank you for asking! Most gyms will give you a couple of free session with a trainer. I always take them. Even though I went to college, I can still learn something new.


That's it for now.

Fat loss, and weight loss.

Ok, I got a bit busy, and I haven't blogged in a little while. Sorry about that. Once again I'd like to assure ... myself, and whoever might be reading these horribly boring blogs, that I am still working out, almost every day. My pants are fitting way loose, and I've found another latch in my belt I've never reached before.

But, my weight hasn't gone down a lot. This could frustrate some people, and if I didn't know better, it would tick the heck out of me. So, I figured I'd blog about it.

This is my take on it, my opinion. When someone tells me something about diet or exercise, the first thing I ask is in what context they feel this fits. Just think about it, if you are lifting and trying to build muscle, not every diet will work, right? Or someone tells you what to eat, but you aren't lifting at all you are trying to "loose weight". I'm all about keeping things really simple, and later working out the details and getting complicated. Lets do some goals people have, and I'll give my take on what is needed.

"I want to loose weight." Ok cool. Get naked. You'll loose 2, maybe 3 lbs. Or, stand on the scale slightly more toward the top or bottom. If having the numbers on the scale go down will make you happy, cool. Here is my humble plan for you. Eat less. Move more. Want more details? Eat less carbs, get your heart rate up more. Use more calories than you eat in a day and you will loose fat, and fat is the weight you want to loose. Other than this, different strokes work for different folks.

"I want to have more energy." Now we are getting somewhere. You get more energy by using more energy and eating right. Eating right for me is eating less, eating veggies and fruits, whole grains, taking good vitamins and supplements. Also doing cardio and doing intervals, reaching your peak and expanding your wind is a great way I get more energy. Now instead of looking at your weight, you are just doing it to feel good. Guess what, you'll probably loose FAT and inches.

"I want to look good again." Now this is getting deep. This is more what I want. Build muscle, loose fat, but don't look at the scale unless you are using it to make sure you are eating enough. I'm loosing fat and building muscle at the same time, so I'm not loosing a bunch of weight. I will probably in a while, but that's not my goal. I want to loose FAT. If I weigh 200lbs, but it's all muscle, I'll look awesome! Oh, remember, the more muscle you have, the more potential calories you can burn.

"I want to be healthy."  So this to me, is the most important statement. And it can really mean a lot of different things, but it's the most important. Even getting all big and muscle bound can actually be unhealthy. I want to be healthy, and honestly, that's the way to be. You'll feel better, you will look better, and you'll feel more confident. You might even loose weight...

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm tired of everyone saying they want to loose weight, when they really mean they want to loose fat. I'm really tired of people thinking they will be happy once they "loose weight". Ok this blog is way too long now, so I'll talk later. I'm going to the gym now.

People Watching Workout

So a blog once a day is a bit hard to keep up with. Before you think anything otherwise, I have gone to the gym every day, even if I don't blog about it.

My workout partner couldn't make it tonight, and I forgot my music, so I found myself keeping myself occupied on the machines by observation. Fancy way of saying, I was people watching. The awesome interaction that unfolds, or lack of interaction is hard to explain, but very entertaining. I give you the 5 types of people at the gym as I see it....

The gym dater. The people who are just at the gym to find a date. Nothing wrong with it, but it helps to actually talk to the people you are interested in, instead of hoping your sweaty body and close proximity will just make them follow you home.

The gym Regular. Probably used to be a gym dater, now just works out constantly. You always see them there, you always see them doing the same thing.

The gym Pro. You know who I'm taking about. The person who makes us just hate ourselves. This person does it all, and does every move perfect. They don't pay attention to anyone else. They are there to work out, and so help you if you pick up their weight, or sit on their bench.

The gym Noob. You almost feel sorry for them. Probably because we were all there once. Overweight, looking lost, or trying to figure out how a machine works. They always make you feel better about yourself though. At least you aren't THAT bad... anymore.

The gym Buddies. Some times loud, some times show-offs, it could be two, three or more, but you always know they are there. Stating a little too loudly what they just lifted while their buddies flex in the mirror. One spotting the other who obviously has too much weight. Taking up one piece of equipment for an eternity.

There are of course more, and I might just include them in up-coming blogs. There's the Flash Bangs, right after new year. There's the Leathers, guys or gals much too old to be wearing so little. But I should be getting to... me.

I've lost another 2 lbs in one week, per the gym scale. I've been eating very well, and I of course feel great. I've been (trying to) keep my same goal of just losing fat. Not lifting a lot, doing a lot of cardio. I find myself wanting to go to fail so bad. Rack up another 5 or 10 lbs. Do only 8 max reps on the last set. But, for now, I'm doing well. 3 super sets of 15 to 20. Keeping the heart rate up and working more on endurance rather than maxing out.

My cardio is doing very well. I really have to push harder to get the same heart rate, and sweat. I'm alternating bike, treadmill, elliptical, stair steppers, and those funny things that are sort of ellip, sort of stair stepper.

One thing to focus on is muscle confusion. Don't do the same work out all the time. Go Different.

Looks like I have a bit of catching up to do. No I didn't stop going to the gym, quite the opposite. I've only skipped a couple of days, just because of life. I don't see that as a bad thing, in fact I see it as a good thing. Letting myself repair a little. I've been doing great at eating the right things, and eating the right amount. And I have been losing inches off my waist.

Status update would have to include how good I'm feeling after eating the right things and going to the gym for a couple of weeks. Being hungry feels great. I'm hungry from actually needing the nutrition, not from being bored.

Even though I've added a little muscle I still lost about 1.0 lbs in one week. The big motivator today was when I put my motorcycle jacket on, and it fit a little loose instead of being a bit tight. I also have noticed pants fitting much better. People may say that's not a big deal, and they would be right, but it's what keeps people like me going.

I went to the gym this morning, ran for a bit, then hit the sauna, and I'm going back in a bit to do some weights.

My goal is still to lose fat, and be able to run for a lot longer a time without getting winded. I'm still not going to do a lot of heavy weights, although doing weights is a great way to burn fat. I'm doing less weight and more reps.

Food still includes more protein and less carbs. It's working well, and I'm feeling less bloated, or heavy. I have a feeling some of the large amounts of wheat I was eating wasn't doing my skin much good. I'm also staying away from tomato juice. I've heard it might not be good for my skin either.

I'm doing back and shoulders today, mixing it up from back and biceps.

Here's to health!

All workout and no play...

I took the night off last night, which is why I didn't make a blog. Had dinner with some good friends, and relaxed. No one should feel guilty for letting yourself rest for a day here and there. In fact, I should have rested more when I first started. Anyway, this morning I'm all dressed, ready for the gym.

It's been really nasty weather here, and I forgot how nice it is to have a gym membership when it's like this. Usually, I'd get all bummed and start playing video games. Now I can actually go work out, and I guess it must helps my mood when the weather is so horrible.

I have pretty bad seasonal depression, so anything like this helps a lot. Getting in the sauna after a good workout seems to really help. I'm sure if I had the money, tanning would help even more.

Meals: I did good again yesterday. Not as good, but really, some times you have to take it easy on food. Get too tight, and you'll end up going off the deep end. So I had Cheerios for breakfast, dry. For lunch I had Chinese food, chicken and rice. For dinner, I had a spicy chicken wrap. Usually when going out to dinner I'd have a beer, but I haven't had a beer in a couple of weeks now. That's tough because I really like beer.

This morning, I've only had an egg.

Workout: Or the lack of.... well I let myself rest. And today I feel great! I'm rested and ready for a good workout. If I can keep eating well all this week, I can't wait to see what the scale says on Wednesday.

Another thing that is really helping me out is that at work some of the gals went in together and got a scale. There is a group of people who weigh in once a week, and share that data with the rest of the group. You'd be surprised at just how well that setup works to keep me in line. I'd encourage this type of "contest" at any work-place that allows it. Accountability is a great motivator.

After the gym I felt great, but tired. I'd only eaten one egg, so when I got home I had a couple more eggs.

I did see a result of this working out. I put on a pair of pants I hadn't worn in a while because they were too tight. Now they are just a little snug. That's good motivation.

Buddy or No buddy

Finally got to work out with my bro tonight. We did 30 minutes of the elliptical, 15 minutes of abs, and about 15 minutes of sauna. It's a good thing I did the elliptical, I don't think my legs would have held up for running on the treadmill. The machine said I burned about 350 calories. Even if I did that much, I'd be happy. I felt good today, and I had lots of energy.

As we were working out, my bro told me about another job he's getting. It sounds to me like it's a lot of hours, and of course, he probably will fall out soon. He does this, burns out quickly. He looks much better though, and maybe this will stick. But I won't expect him to keep it up. I will go with or without him, and if it takes finding someone else to go with for me to go, I'll do that.

So, as I started, I will continue.

Food today: So I didn't do bad at all. I had just dry oatmeal squares for breakfast. I had an avocado and turkey sandwich today for lunch. I had 2 hard boiled eggs before I went to the gym, and I just finished up a small bowl of Cheerios.

Workout: So I did half an hour of cardio, 15 minutes of abs, and sat in the sauna for about 15 minutes. No weights, I did those yesterday and I wanted to give myself a little break. I'll do weights tomorrow night if I get a chance.

Staying true to my goal, I still want to cut weight first. I want to loose fat, get skinny, then build muscle. I'm still just going to do weights for the fat loss. Now that I'm on the right track I might try a week of really cutting down the food and doing a lot of cardio, then possibly giving it a rest for a week. I'm curious to see how my body handles it. It might work, or I might find my body just goes into starve mode and puts the weight back on the next week.

Staying with the healthy way, if I reach a goal of loosing 2 lbs a week, that will be perfect. If I loose more than that, bonus. Well, lots of protein, and way less carbs.

Back into the Swing of it

I felt great all day today. My legs were very sore because the basics of my workout have been running, waking and getting my legs ready for major cardio. I got some positive news from the scale this morning. Since I've started I've lost 3 lbs. It could be water weight.

I'm going to break up my posts into a couple of different areas, depending on what I did that day (or didn't do) to help alone the life style change I'm trying to achieve.

Eating: I ate good again today. I only had dry cereal for breakfast, along with more of my Sparks energy drink. For lunch I had rice and chicken. Guy up the street from work makes an awesome rice and chicken dish on the BBQ. I'm going to go to the gym again tonight, so I ate some hard boiled eggs.

Working out: I'm going to go to the gym again tonight. (Of course because I'm going in to town to go to the gym, I've been tasked with picking up the milk, eggs, and dog food... unintended side effect of working out at the gym) Today I probably won't do as much running, letting my legs rest and recoup a little.

I'll probably do some arms, and shoulders. I did chest and back last night, and some legs. At this point, I'm not using a lot of weight at all, and I'm not going until fail. I'm not looking for building muscle, just burning the calories and some slight toning.

I have my iPod loaded up. It's much easier than carrying around my phone. I think I'm ready to go for another round. I'll keep this up, and see how much weight I've lost next week.

The Day After

Last night at the gym went well, and I didn't do as bad as I thought I would.

On a side note, I have no idea if I'm doing this blog thing correctly. Am I supposed to just keep making new ones or adding to the ones I already have? Oh well.

Maybe I'll go by weeks.

Eating less went well today. Since I do want to loose weight first, I am cutting down my calorie intake. After I loose some fat, I will see what I feel up to later. The best thing I can do is stay on track for just feeling better about myself, and not being winded after simple things like running down the driveway or running up steps.

I stuck with things I brought for lunch, and I didn't even eat all of that. I just ate oatmeal, and the small container of egg salad. Then had an apple and a banana. I just got home and had some more of the egg salad. I'm planning on going to the gym again today, but I haven't figured out a routine yet.

I'm following my goal of just feeling better about myself and loosing some weight. At first I probably won't loose much. My muscles will build up a little and that will offset the fat I loose right off the bat. Since I used to weight lift, my muscles will build quicker, so I'll probably actually gain weight at first. Then as my muscles start to become calorie burning machines, I'll start loosing fat, being careful not to starve myself or I'll go into starvation mode.

I also have to figure out some sort of a way to keep track so I can easily look back and see how far I've come. One motivator is to see where you were. Pictures are good, but I just never got into them. Plus... I mean come on, how bad does it look taking pictures of yourself in a mirror... ok I'm sorry to all those I see doing that at the gym. But you look dumb.

What I've Learned about starting out at this type of workout.
So since I've started working out many times, there's things I've learned.

1. Consult a nutritional professional. It depends on what you are looking to do, but it always helps to have some good advice about what to eat, how often to eat it, and when. For me, cut down the carbs, but not completely cut them out. More protein is good, and I take a vitamin supplement, with some joint support and rebuilding supplies.

2. Go easy. Go really easy. Do you know how easy it is for me to over-do it on the first day back? I instantly get back into an old routine mind set. I want to push myself like I remember doing before, and that's not good! I go slow, and I focus on form. I do less than half the weight I remember doing before. It might seem too light, but spend 8 seconds on one rep, and you'll feel it.

3. You will be sore the day after the next day. So, 2 days after you work out for the first time, you are going to feel it! There are some things I've found that really helps. Work out again! This helps flush out the lactic acid. I drink a lot of water. And I keep moving. Nothing helps a really sore muscle like lifting a little bit of weight with it a couple of times.

4. You can't see results right away... and this is frustrating, or it can be. If you really want results, don't eat a whole lot and do some abs and back extensions. Your pants will feel loose within a week.

Fighting the Beginning

Traffic was horrible, so I got home way later than usual. It's always something when I'm trying to start a good workout routine. I shouldn't go home first, I should be hitting the gym as soon as I get off work. It's way easier to go to the gym when it's your first stop.

Now that I'm home, I'm afraid of what I'm going to look like on the treadmill! What is up with that... like I know I don't look horrible, and the whole reason for going to the gym is to get into shape. So, that means you won't be in great shape just starting out.

Lesson, Try and pack a gym back tonight. And don't worry, there are going to be people there that look worse than me, and to think, they had this same thing going through their minds.

I ate really well today. Oatmeal for breakfast, a cheese and ham sandwich for lunch, and deviled eggs before my workout. I hope I can keep from eating too much, if at all, after the gym.

Now... I'm going to the gym...

Day One: Building a good Foundation

Day one is important. I have to come up with a good foundation for getting into shape, but it's more than that. It's a life style change. That's the only way I can achieve a long lasting result. Time to build a new foundation for life.

Food
Probably the single most important part of a good lifestyle foundation. Without good food, it matters much less what you do. We don't eat out a lot, and we don't microwave dinners. That's a plus. I need more veggies, I need less carbs, I need more protein, and less fat.

I'll sit down with the wife today and work out a list of foods we want to buy, and a list of foods that are off limits.

Don't try and move a mountain all at once.

I went and got myself a 6 month gym membership. I have to fight getting home and not wanting to go back out. I also have to go even though I think it will be too busy.

New Healthy Lifestyle

Ok, here we go again. Today I'm going to try and start getting back in shape. Now, I've tried this before, many times. I go through this crazy phase of pushing myself too far, and either getting bored, loosing a workout partner, or just wanting to do something else.

So this time, I'm going to blog about it, and see if that helps me keep this up.

I'll start with the reasons why I want to work out. I'm 32, and I'm not in the worst shape of my life, but I'm not in the best shape. I'm 208 lbs. I know that weight is not what I'm looking at. It's how I feel and how I look. And how I look can directly effect how I feel. Just so I don't ramble on, I'll start with wants, needs and goals.

Wants: I want to look better, feel better, and I want more energy. I want to want to take my shirt off at a pool or a hot tub. I want to fit cloths I can't fit into anymore. I want to look good in shirts that are a little too tight. I want to be more active, such as going snowboarding without the fear of being out of breath. I want to go on bike rides without passing out! (that hasn't happened, but hey, it could at this point.)

Don't Want...s" I don't want to be a gym rat. There's nothing wrong with being a gym rat, but I have a life and I don't want to spend that much time keeping up big muscle. I don't want to miss a week and be pissed because I lost my forward momentum. I don't want to get huge and then loose it again. (Yes that happened to me)

Reasons it hasn't worked before: I first started working out when I was 17. I had nothing else to do, and I was tired of being the skinny runt. By 18, I was ripped, and girls were falling all over me for the first time. At 19 I was considering becoming a professional body builder. I took college classes for being a fitness trainer. It stopped working because I didn't make it my life.

Second time was when I started working in another town. Good solid job, desk job, and I got fat. Lost all my muscle... well not all of it, but you know. I got soft. I started working out, got into it, and loved it as always. It felt great to get back into it and I just soaked it up. I got muscle again, and went big. After about a year I started skipping work outs, and got frustrated. I defeated myself by saying I just didn't make it and it wasn't worth going back because I'd lost so much.

***Total side note. While typing this blog, my wife just asked me what I wanted to eat. I at first thought the left over burritos sounded great, then I'm like... wait I'm writing a blog about getting back into shape, lets start now. I asked for two eggs, no toast. Lets cut down on the carbs.***

Third time I started working out with my brother. I liked having a work-out partner, it kept me going. He flaked out, or rather went too hard and hurt himself. He's worse than me about going too far too fast, and he totally burned himself out within the first 4 months. I kept going for a year, then had my first son, and man it all went away. Working out was totally not even on my mind. I had work, then I wanted to be home with my wife and son. Not a bad reason to quit, but I could have kept going.

Lessons Learned: First lesson, so what if I don't go to the gym for 2 weeks. Not going back at all is stupid. How to stop this cycle is to not get caught up in the numbers of it. I lost 5lbs of bench. Well don't keep track. Lift what I can lift. Go for looks and feel, not for numbers.

Second lesson learned, don't start a workout that will be hurt by a couple of weeks off. My life is pretty full, so I need to find a workout that doesn't rely on going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week. So, I need to start a workout that doesn't rely on a gym. Yeah I can go, or I can just run at home. Or I can use what little weights I have now.

Third lesson learned: Don't rely on a workout partner. They are nice, but they have the same problems I have. Sure hook up with one when possible to keep motivated and give a little friendly competition, but don't set yourself up to fail when they fail.

Forth Lesson Learned: Eat right. When everything fits together, eating right can mean the difference between feeling like going to the gym, and feeling sleepy and bloated.

Fifth Lesson: Start each weak new. So what if you had a crappy week last week, non of that matters. It's done and over with. This is the new week and you just have to do the best you can with it. Doesn't matter what day you choose to make the new week start.

Ok enough with the lessons.... Time to get to the motivations.

Look in the freaking mirror. Do I like what I see? Not right now! Big motivator. Run outside with my son, do I get winded? Yep! Good motivator.

From here on out! Starting Now!
So how am I going to do this today? My brother is, once again, getting into shape. How long will this last? Who knows, but I've been running off and on, I did a 5K Shamrock run in Portland, and I'm not in terrible shape. I will not rely on my brother like I did last time, but I will use that as a kick start.

I've started a blog, this is to help me keep track of how I'm feeling and I hope it will keep me on track. All of my past mistakes are here, and I will work at not repeating them.

I'll take control of the shopping list more. Time to start only guying foods that work with my new life style. Work with the wife to eat more healthy, not that we aren't now, but I want foods that fit getting into shape. I'll help with the cooking. This will help me, and my wife.

My brother is buying me a gym membership in trade for something I did for him. I'm excited but apprehensive. I'll feel better after I get past the 2 weeks of pains and soreness.