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First So, this is the first blog I've ever done. Hooray. In this blog I shall endeavor to record my experiences, concerning my physical and mental fitness. I may not write every day, but I will post at least three time a week. Sometimes, I may just record what I ate or what exercises I did, perhaps I may write some of my more motivational thoughts down here. Other times, I may simply complain, vent or otherwise whine; this is OK. The reason this is ok, is because I will not allow my lesser impulses ( i.e laziness) to determine my fate, physical or otherwise. Although I have tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle before (and failed), I believe that by sharing the victories and the hardships with people (i.e You) will provide the motivation to continue until the healthy lifestyle practices become just another part of my life. Right now, I'm doing pretty good. This is to be celebrated for the time being, but the true tests lie ahead, and frankly, I'm excited to begin. I've started this blog immediately after joining with the current six week challenge, as a member of the Assassin guild, and I will also be writing in that blog, concerning the challenge. The Thread is titled ,"The Bishop Begins", and will be available on audio book as soon as I figure out how to use iTunes Garage Band (just kidding). Alright, introductions are over, so let me tell you about today by first telling you about yesterday, which has its roots in last Friday. The day before today, I, being of sound mind, decided to begin the six week challenge offered here at NerdFitness. Why you ask? Because this past Friday I was utterly humiliated at my friends' gym. Granted, we went there at 8pm and there was almost nobody there (thank the good Lord God Almighty), save two tired souls at the treadmill area, but the embarrassment I suffered was not from the ridicule of strangers or that of my friends; no my fellow rebels, it was worse. You see, I've never been much of a weight lifter. No, martial arts and gymnastics have always been more my speed, but lately I've been feeling a desire to expand my horizons. This led me to go with my friends Rick and Bob (whose names have been changed to protect the innocent, and such...)to workout with them at Ricks' gym. To make a short story short, I found my upper body strength totally inadequate. I could barely bench 120lbs, only curled 25lbs and couldn't do a single push-up; not one push-up. Do not misunderstand me, I'm not saying that those in and of itself are shameful numbers; if you are a beginner or injured and recovering, then great. What progress you make is worth celebrating. But I've been in shape before; I've been at a place where 35-40 push-ups was in my warm up; where I'd bench half my body weight plus half. Yet due to neglect and poor diet, I have been reduced to this. It was then I decided to change. Since September I have been cleaning up my diet, cutting out grains and sugars, but I made the decision to not workout because...well.. I needed to see a low number on the scale. I needed to know I could make progress, and that number made me feel like I was making it. I went from 228lbs to 214lbs from then until now, but I sacrificed my strength to do it. By not working out, I grew weaker and further away from my true goal (which is a strong and fit Bishop) for the sake of seeing a number. But after Friday, I made another change. I decided that the number wasn't that important. I decided that maybe I wanted to be better and not just feel better. I want Strength, not some number some people said I should have. I want to be Powerful, not thin. And really, I want to be the Best Bishop I can be Right now. So, this past Sunday, I worked out using a Modified version of the Basic Body Weight circuit found on NerdFitness. The only change I made was to add a deadlift. After I warmed up for ten minutes with martial arts, I hit the workout. I only had the stamina to complete two circuits, and with many short breaks, but I did it. I used about 75lbs for my deadlifts, but my ankles are too tight to give me proper range of motion, so I think I'll stick with body weight exercises for now, while I stretch them out to where I can do proper lifting form. I also only performed five good push-ups, which is better then Friday, but I have much room to grow. Today, I am very sore, but I've been here before; I can't wait to go where I haven't. More to come soon.