Since I'm new to this forum, a bit about me first. I'm 33 as of last Thursday, hence the title of this thread: I aim to achieve my goals before my 35th birthday. I was a semi-serious athlete in high school, basketball being my sport of choice, at which time I was at a very healthy 210-215 lbs.(6-4, big-boned frame). I was never particularly strong, but overall cardio fitness was solid and I loved to play(still do), focused more on the skills aspect however. My senior year, a series of ankle injuries demonstrated that my serious playing days were over.
I turned the 'freshman 15' into 25 my first year in college, and gradually gained about 10 lbs. a year throughout most of my 20s. Poor diet over the years led to a very minimal muscle mass and lack of exercise to basically non-existent cardio-vascular conditioning. Finally, a couple years ago, I got sick enough of my life to make a change(not just in fitness, although that's the focus here obviously). My peak was 333 lbs. in September '07. I eventually lost about 50 lbs. to 282, gaining significant strength and some cardio conditioning as well. I began slacking off the program last summer, and then was forced to take on a second job earlier this spring.
At that point my diet went completely out the window, both for financial and time reasons. An accelerated weight gain over the last few months didn't stop until about a month ago, when I had one of the scarier moments of my life: my first, and I'm determined to make it my only, eating disorder experience. I was so disgusted with myself that I made an emotional and stupid decision, basically starving myself and losing 14 lbs. in 5 days in the process, making myself quite sick. Of course I gained it all back once I started eating normally again anyway. Since then I've eaten mostly healthy, but with enough lapses in self-control to basically break-even.
As of today, there is only a little over 10 lbs. left of the original 50 that I lost. This will be a daily journal of my successes and failures in what is really a crucial part of my life right now: getting myself into healthy shape so that I can have quality of life for the rest of my years on earth. I have goals in three categories to reach in the next two years: weight(230 lb. at most); core strength(200 crunches, 200 squats, 100 pushups); and cardio fitness. For the cardio matter I'm going to(VERY slowly) work into the basketball training routine I developed in high school. Essentially a series of sprints, would probably qualify under interval training.
My goal is 4 cardio workouts a week, core strength exercises(5 sets) 3 days a week, daily stretching(10-min. routine) for flexibility, and of course strict adherence to my diet. Right now that is set at about 3200 cal/day, 38% protein, 37% carbs, 25% fat. With sufficient discipline, I can achieve the above almost any week: depending on my work schedule, I will sometimes be able to work in more cardio.
I appreciate and welcome all comments, suggestions, questions, etc. I'm extremely out-of-shape compared to most if not all who post here, but that's part of the point: I want to be part of a community of people who take care of themselves.
My particulars as of today:
BW: 321.6
Pushups(test): 4(up from zero 3 weeks ago)
Crunches(test): 7(3)
Aided Squats: 6(4)
** By aided I mean that I don't have the proper balance yet with my legs without using my arms on other objects to help balance. I don't use them for the necessary lift **
I turned the 'freshman 15' into 25 my first year in college, and gradually gained about 10 lbs. a year throughout most of my 20s. Poor diet over the years led to a very minimal muscle mass and lack of exercise to basically non-existent cardio-vascular conditioning. Finally, a couple years ago, I got sick enough of my life to make a change(not just in fitness, although that's the focus here obviously). My peak was 333 lbs. in September '07. I eventually lost about 50 lbs. to 282, gaining significant strength and some cardio conditioning as well. I began slacking off the program last summer, and then was forced to take on a second job earlier this spring.
At that point my diet went completely out the window, both for financial and time reasons. An accelerated weight gain over the last few months didn't stop until about a month ago, when I had one of the scarier moments of my life: my first, and I'm determined to make it my only, eating disorder experience. I was so disgusted with myself that I made an emotional and stupid decision, basically starving myself and losing 14 lbs. in 5 days in the process, making myself quite sick. Of course I gained it all back once I started eating normally again anyway. Since then I've eaten mostly healthy, but with enough lapses in self-control to basically break-even.
As of today, there is only a little over 10 lbs. left of the original 50 that I lost. This will be a daily journal of my successes and failures in what is really a crucial part of my life right now: getting myself into healthy shape so that I can have quality of life for the rest of my years on earth. I have goals in three categories to reach in the next two years: weight(230 lb. at most); core strength(200 crunches, 200 squats, 100 pushups); and cardio fitness. For the cardio matter I'm going to(VERY slowly) work into the basketball training routine I developed in high school. Essentially a series of sprints, would probably qualify under interval training.
My goal is 4 cardio workouts a week, core strength exercises(5 sets) 3 days a week, daily stretching(10-min. routine) for flexibility, and of course strict adherence to my diet. Right now that is set at about 3200 cal/day, 38% protein, 37% carbs, 25% fat. With sufficient discipline, I can achieve the above almost any week: depending on my work schedule, I will sometimes be able to work in more cardio.
I appreciate and welcome all comments, suggestions, questions, etc. I'm extremely out-of-shape compared to most if not all who post here, but that's part of the point: I want to be part of a community of people who take care of themselves.
My particulars as of today:
BW: 321.6
Pushups(test): 4(up from zero 3 weeks ago)
Crunches(test): 7(3)
Aided Squats: 6(4)
** By aided I mean that I don't have the proper balance yet with my legs without using my arms on other objects to help balance. I don't use them for the necessary lift **
