Taking Shape

The schedule, that is. In my first full week of exercise I ran three times, skated every damn chance I could (including a great session yesterday afternoon), did weights/bodyweight work three times, and did yoga once. Not too bad for a first week, I think. I would like to try and start getting up earlier and getting my workouts in before work, but I've never been a morning person. Who knows, we'll see. It didn't happen today. I'm looking at the rain fall down right now, and thinking about running.

This morning I had a great chat with an old friend, Kevin, about this project. I told him some of the goals, and we talked about other options. We discussed trying a month of Crossfit, but, as I said in my last post, I don't want to join anything. I want to come up with the workout/exercise plan that works for me. The best exercise is the exercise we enjoy. I can't tell you what YOU should do for exercise. I can share what might work for me. I know most people won't start skateboarding for fitness. Maybe they'll bike instead. Exercise is a personal thing. More personal than it gets credit for being.

Some of my week:

Tuesday made me feel a little more positive about running. I didn't walk much, and ran over 2 miles. I even started to feel like my old self again for a minute. That is LITERALLY one minute. Not to seem too positive, I learned that my additional weight has brought something new to my running adventures. It is a thing called chafing, and it sucks. My legs never rubbed together when I weighed 150 pounds and could run for an hour. 25 pounds changes the game a bit.

I worried about Wednesday. I have my son for the night on Wednesday, and I have called it "pizza night" forever. Well, he went for something other than pizza pretty easily and all was good.  I also never get any exercise on pizza night, er, "something healthier than pizza night," but this time I threw in a DVD after the kiddo went to bed and Rodney Yee and I got our yoga stretches on.  I just can't do any of the neck twists. If I try to twist my neck, I won't be able to turn my head sideways for a week.

Thursday was the real 1 week but Friday works better so Fridays will be my week's end posts.

So, one week down and 30-ish to go. Oh, I decided that at the end of each month (meaning 4 weeks, not calendar month) I'll post a progress picture of the damn near 40 year old body and we'll see if there is any progress.  Starting next week I'll begin posting some food/recipes/nutrition items. I'll also begin to discuss another item of fitness, namely mental fitness. After all, what good is having a fit body without a fit mind?

Guidelines

As I went for my afternoon run early Monday evening, I thought about building some guidelines for the next 8 months. Not rules, but some guidelines to let those of you that might read this blog from time to time know why I'm doing certain things and not others. For instance, I am not going to join a gym for the next 8 months. Why? Because I know I won't go. I've joined gyms before. I'd go for a month or two and then the extra time it takes to go to the gym would become a big hassle and I wouldn't go.

Okay, the guidelines:

1. No gym (see reason stated above).

2. Keep it compact and cheap: I have no desire to have a full home gym, or spend a ton of money on equipment. My plan is to use dumbells, yoga, running, bodyweight resistance, skateboarding and diet to assist me in reaching my goals.

3.  Don't become "one of those people": I don't want this project to take over my life, and become a 'fitness nut' who does nothing but workout and talk about working out. I don't want to wear work out clothes to the store.

4.  The food must TASTE GOOD: I'm not interested in fad diets. I'm not interested in low carb to lose weight. I'm not interested in disgusting supplements that you have to choke down while holding your nose to drink. I AM interested in vegetarian food so you'll probably see plenty of recipes and photos of veggie food. Oh, by the way, I'm a chef.

5.  Skateboarding is one of my favorite activities. It requires balance, hard work, athleticism and dedication. I have no plans on giving up skate sessions for other sporting activities. I'm not going to miss a session with my friends to do pushups at home.

Okay, all of those things said, I am very excited about reaching my peak fitness level. Hmmm...fitness/health level. At the end of the day, health (not how my abs look) is the real goal. But I'll take the abs too.

If you have advice, ideas, and suggestions, please feel free to leave comments on this blog. I'd love to try some new things.

Thanks!

Welcome

Welcome to the fit at 40 blog.

For me, 40 is just around the corner. In less than a year I'll make that big step out of my thirties and into the big 4-0. Turning 40 really doesn't bother me so much, but it seems as good a time as any to get myself into shape. So, I've set a goal for my 40th birthday. I'm going to get in the best shape of my life. That gives me 8 months (until October) to make this happen.

Now, I'm not in "bad" shape. I have worked out regularly for years. I've gone through phases of running where it was nothing to leave the house and run for an hour. I went through a couple bodybuilding phases. At one point I gained 60 pounds of muscle onto my, usually slim, frame.  I've done Brazilian Jujitsu. I've even taken some pro wrestling classes (seriously!) And, I skateboard. At 39 years old I can be found a couple times a week ollieing and grinding at the local park. Unfortunately, I've never put all the great fitness things I've done together at the same time, and I've never maintained it.

And my diet is so/so. I put on a few extra pounds around my waist because of stops at fast food establishments. My problem is that I'll get hungry while out skating or at work and I'll end up stopping to get fast food on the way home. When I'm not sacrificing health for a quick food fix, I eat a decent diet consisting primarily of vegetarian food at home. BUT, I've been stopping for fast food more and more...oh, and there is the candy addiction. I love candy. It is easy for me to sit down and consume two boxes of "theater sized" candy packages in one sitting (plus a candy bar). And this happens at least twice each week. 

All of that stops now. I am using this blog to record what happens as I reach for this new goal. I will be at my fittest at 40 years old.

In truth, I started last week (Thursday  March 21st). I went for the first run. Well, walk/run.  I lasted about 30 minutes of walk then run then walk then run...and my calves have killed me ever since.

Diet-wise, I haven't had a single piece of candy since Thursday, and no fast food at all. Instead, I've been eating fresh fruit with plain yogurt for snacks. Tons of blueberries. For dinner, I went to Aldi and got two giant bags of stir fry vegetables. A little sesame oil, some sambal, five spice and vegetables. I love it.

After four days my calves have (for the most part) stopped hurting. I am loving the new, cheat-free diet. And I feel like I already see a slight change in my belly. I'm feeling a bit too shy to put up a shirtless "before" pic yet, but I'm trying to muster up the nerve. Awe, what the hell...

You could click this image and make it bigger, but I'm not sure why you'd want to. LOL

See, it was a picture of me skating without a shirt on that started all this. I saw it and thought, "Oh, man. I am OUT OF SHAPE!"