Hey all,
I'm dabbled with fitness over the years, but recently shocked myself in to gear when I realized I turn 40 this year. I have 2 small kids and to keep from being "run over" by them, I decided I had to quit screwing around.
SO...here I am. A little background, I've been exercising since last fall about 3-4 times per week, but have mainly stuck to cardio type workouts (rowing, running, and most recently "boot camp"). I've also thrown in a kayaking class and tennis, but those were more for fun and less for fitness.
I've had a couple back surgeries with the last one being in 2002 resulting in a L5/S1 fusion. It hasn't hampered my ROM much, but I am very aware and careful as I want to avoid any potential reinjury if possible. The back issues have also "encouraged" me to keep my weight in check to a decent degree. Oh yeah, and I quit smoking last New Years eve so that monkey's off my back for good.
My stats are:
39 years old
male
5'11''
188 lbs
bodyfat - unknown
I put on roughly 15 pounds when I quit smoking so I'm looking to either lose that or transfer it from my gut to my arms/shoulders. I obviously don't want to lose any lean muscle and, truth be told, I want to be in the best physical shape I've ever been in by my 40th birthday in September (if that happens to include actually *seeing* my abs, bonus).
I posted my diet over in the nutrition area so please critique it and let me know if/how/what I should be doing to help meet my goal. I'll also be starting a diary, but have to squeeze in some time to get that set up.
Thanks all-- looking forward to learning and making myself a better man, father, and husband.
-doc
I'm dabbled with fitness over the years, but recently shocked myself in to gear when I realized I turn 40 this year. I have 2 small kids and to keep from being "run over" by them, I decided I had to quit screwing around.
SO...here I am. A little background, I've been exercising since last fall about 3-4 times per week, but have mainly stuck to cardio type workouts (rowing, running, and most recently "boot camp"). I've also thrown in a kayaking class and tennis, but those were more for fun and less for fitness.
I've had a couple back surgeries with the last one being in 2002 resulting in a L5/S1 fusion. It hasn't hampered my ROM much, but I am very aware and careful as I want to avoid any potential reinjury if possible. The back issues have also "encouraged" me to keep my weight in check to a decent degree. Oh yeah, and I quit smoking last New Years eve so that monkey's off my back for good.
My stats are:
39 years old
male
5'11''
188 lbs
bodyfat - unknown
I put on roughly 15 pounds when I quit smoking so I'm looking to either lose that or transfer it from my gut to my arms/shoulders. I obviously don't want to lose any lean muscle and, truth be told, I want to be in the best physical shape I've ever been in by my 40th birthday in September (if that happens to include actually *seeing* my abs, bonus).
I posted my diet over in the nutrition area so please critique it and let me know if/how/what I should be doing to help meet my goal. I'll also be starting a diary, but have to squeeze in some time to get that set up.
Thanks all-- looking forward to learning and making myself a better man, father, and husband.
-doc