Fitness

FITNESS

I never was in great shape. Sure, I was active when I was younger (soccer, basketball, tennis, golf, downhill skiing, etc.) but I never really worked out.

My Mom is a health nut. Growing up, while all my friends enjoyed Cocoa Puffs and Chips Ahoy, I enjoyed NutriGrain and Fig Newtons. There was never, EVER any junk food in the house. I think my Mom was trying to instill healthy eating habits in her children, but it had the complete opposite effect on me.

Once I was out of the house and in college, my eating choices were all about what tasted good, and I over-indulged frequently. Within a few short years, I developed the habit of eating one HUGE, unhealthy meal per day, and right before bed. I've continued this lifestyle up until pretty much last week, which is well over 10 years of poor eating.

The most I ever weighed was 240 in college, around 1999 I believe. Overall, though, I've maintained about 225-230 for the past 10 years. Since I'm 6'2", I carry it pretty well, but I'm very embarrassed to take my shirt off in public, and avoid it at all costs. I'm sick of feeling that way about myself.

In 2004, I tried the Atkins Diet. As a result, I was still able to overeat and drop down to 185 by my wedding in October of that year. You would think that 185 on a 6'2" male would be pretty good, but I still didn't like the way I looked. I still had a spare tire, and was "skinny fat", as they say. The only working out I did during this time was bodyweight calf-raises on a daily basis and stair push-ups and crunches once in awhile. Shortly thereafter, I went back to eating too much of whatever I wanted and have gotten back up to around 225.

The main reason I haven't worked out in the past is because I have Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is basically arthritis of the spine. It came on when I was in my early twenties and sucks really bad. My back hurts all the time, and it's exhausting. I can't even stand for more than 10 minutes at a time without the pain becoming severe.

The onset of Anylosing Spondylitis (AS) prohibited me from doing a lot of things I enjoyed in the past. I used to go skiing in Vail every year with friends... No longer. I haven't skied since I was 22, which is really depressing. Golf has become much more difficult, and last summer the neck pain became so bad that I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to enjoy the game again. AS sucks... Period.

Anyway, I'm no longer going to use AS as an excuse for not being in shape. I've been eating better for about a week now, and I've been working out to the best of my ability. The pain of AS really limits my weightlifting options at the moment, but I'm hoping to get stronger to the point where my strength offsets the pain of working out and I can develop a more normal routine (if that makes any sense); however, I'm not going to adopt any extreme weight training programs (if it's even possible, given my condition) until I'm in decent physical shape. I'm also not going to attempt any radical diets like Velocity. I've tried all that stuff and I fail every time. I'm honestly surprised that I was able to stay on Atkins.

So, without further ado, here's my plan:

DIET

1. Eat relatively healthy, but don't limit myself to the point where I can't enjoy my food
   
2. Eat in moderation, 5-8 meals per day

WORK OUTS

1. Work out when I have the time, but on a consistent basis (do at least something daily)
2. Start with what is manageable given my current level of fitness, and work my way up when appropriate

I'm not going to be counting calories, just eating what I think is the appropriate amount of a given food. A lot of you fitness buffs will likely scoff at this, but this is what I'm comfortable with for the time being. If I don't get the results I want in a reasonable amount of time (6 months or so), I'll reevaluate.

I'm seriously limited to what I can do weight-wise. Most of you won't understand, but I'm in bad shape and deal with chronic back pain. I simply have to start small.

My tools:

Adjustable-weight dumbells


Sand Bag w/ Adjustable 8lb Increment Bags


I'm also using stairs for push-ups until I develop the strength to do a normal push-up. I can do a normal push-up but not very many. I am currently on step 2.

Push-up Diagram via Superior MS Paint Abilities


So that's what I'm working with. I'm going to be doing squats, dead-lifts, push-ups, military press, dumbell curls (isolation I know blah blah blah), with calf raises mixed in whenever/wherever because they're easy. I hope to eventually add in pull-ups once/if I ever have the strength to do so.

I'm not going to be setting aside hours a day to work out. I'm going to be doing it on my time, when I have the time. Maybe a little here and a little there, 2 or 3 times a day. Again, if I don't get the results I'm looking for, I'll reevaluate.

Next post, Day One of Accountability.

Until next time, good luck at the tables and in life...

Frank