On fitness #2

Coming out of school about 5 years ago, I had put on approximately 60 lbs. of beer, chicken wings and general laziness. I was wearing size 38 jeans, XL shirts and could basically not do anything. I played in a beer-league hockey tournament and the physical shock of exercise made me ill. I got incredibly sick and could barely walk for a week. Talk about a wake-up call.

I waited 3 months to do anything about my general unhealthiness (not sure if that's a word, but whatever). I joined the YMCA and promptly went there and stood around looking at all the machines and weights and wondering what I should do to get into better shape. As you'll notice with most things, I tend to find solutions by reading books, lots and lots of books. I think the book that influenced me the most was Arnold Schwartznegar's Body building bible. I would recommend this to anyone getting started in weight lifting or general fitness, not the programs themselves, but the exercises where form is emphasized, reps are explained, and a groundwork is set out.

It took me a solid year of working out probably 4-5 days a week and basically watching everything i ate (more on that in another post) before I broke the 200 lb mark (down 30 lbs). Everything seems to get easier when you get in a routine, and contrary to what I have read some people say the last 20 lbs were much easier to lose then the first 40 - I was able to build muscle more easily, knew what I should be eating more or less of and generally felt more comfortable with the decisions I was making on a daily basis.