A Beginning is a Beautiful Thing

[Daved Lodfa]

You guys have a great system worked out here! I'm excited to get involved.

I'm a 23 year old, 5'10", 190lb recent college grad. I used to play sports when I was in elementary school, soccer and baseball, but changed over to reading and studies from middle school onward. I gained a lot of weight during that time, and have been struggling to get it off ever since. I recently got diagnosed with heart palpitations, and physically feel pretty dang crappy right now. I also struggle with depressive tendencies, and would love to use exercise to help kick the pants off that problem.

I've been a gamer since middle school as well. I love strengthening my characters in RPGs (D&D, Fable, Mass Effect, KotOR, you know the stuff), but have started to wish I could use the time and effort I put into improving those characters into improving myself. You guys at this website seem to have a pretty solid base down, and I love the addition of D&D stats as a visible way to improve your "characters": yourselves.

My goals include increasing my overall stamina, dexterity, and eating habits (I'd like to keep my heart around as long as possible). I'd throw some weight training in there, but mostly just to speed the process of my other main goals. I did a year and a half of martial arts while in high school, and would love to work up to some combination of that and Parkour, so if anyone knows a good training system for that level of fitness, lay it on me.

I was starting to do some general weight machine use before I graduated college, and have mostly just been walking and hiking since then. I'm going to start back up with our local Ultimate Frisbee league. I mostly enjoy group sports, which makes doing things on my own tedious. Still, got to learn to work that way. I've been working to cut caffeine and sugar from my diet, because neither help my body, and both make my heart palpitations worse.

I'm working through my character stats at the moment, hope to get them uploaded today sometime. Let me know your secrets for success!

[Space_Elf]

Wow, sounds like you'll fit in perfectly around here. I'd share secrets for success, but I'm new myself.

I'm afraid I'm kind of the opposite of you since I usually prefer to do my workouts alone (I'm very self-conscious). I am starting to find that having a support group is immensely useful. I never realized how much I depended on my friends to keep me exercising until they all moved away.

I like most forms of martial arts, but I'm especially fond of tai chi. I'm not much for the spiritual element, but it is a form of exercise that is doesn't feel like a chore and I can do it even if I've injured myself or i'm sick (in other words, it's harder for me to make excuses not to do it unlike other exercises which I have to make a firm commitment to do).

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the rebellion. If I were you I'd check out the Assassins, they are all over parkour, and Steve's blog has several posts on starting workouts for people into parkour. One other word of advice, weight machines tend not to be as beneficial as free weights because they don't let you use stablizer muscles and give a false impression of strength. Steve also has some articles on weight machines that are worth looking into.

[obax]

Welcome! I'm new here to and still getting the lay of the land, but it seems like a great place around here. I've already got some good support from people, and I've only been here since yesterday!

I, too, am interested in parkour and related things but have pretty well no experience. Here's a like to a blog post about how to get started in parkour: linkey. Many of the same exercises are included in Steve's Beginner's Bodyweight Workout, which I'm attempting a modified version of (there's an advanced version too if that's too easy for you).

And I can relate to the only wanting to do team sports thing, I've never been very good at exercising just for the sake of exercising (I'd play hockey all day long, but put a dumbbell in my hand and I'd be bored and whiney in 1.73 seconds). For me, having a definitive goal that requires me to workout to achieve is what got me to the gym and out on the streets with running shoes (I guess because I'm not exercising for the sake of exercise, I'm doing it to meet my goal).

So good luck with your goals, I feel like this is a great place to help you get there!!

[Lydieboo]

My goals include increasing my overall stamina, dexterity, and eating habits (I'd like to keep my heart around as long as possible).

I've been working to cut caffeine and sugar from my diet, because neither help my body, and both make my heart palpitations worse.

Hi Daved, the character points theme is a big part of what drew me to NF, too! It's fun to see your progress in a tangible way, instead of just looking in the mirror and saying, "I think I look thinner..."

My big advice to you is going to be that the most important thing you can do is get your diet under control. Whether you choose to go Primal, Paleo, or just question everything you have ever been taught about nutrition, the best way to make your path easier is by having the right tools. That means keeping them clean, sharp, and ready for battle. Since your most important tool is your body, clean eating, keeping your weight in check, and strength training are the ways to take care of it.

The fact that you may have a preexisting heart condition means that you should definitely be checking with your cardiologist/GP before making huge changes to your diet and exercise. However, if you're looking for a good way to lose weight and get fit, I would say it starts with what you're putting in your mouth every day.

I hope this wasn't too analogy-heavy for you, but there are loads of us here ready to cheer you on and encourage you where we can.

Good luck!

[Laureleye]

If you haven't already done so, hit the Forum rules and FAQ, including the code of honor. As for myself: I have committed to doing today's best - Not yesterday's best, not tomorrow's best, but whatever I can deliver today. It keeps down the frustration of bad knees, late days at the office, and all the rest. It also helps me get past a bad day, because that was yesterday's workout. Welcome and good luck. (oh, and don't go cold turkey off caffeine...ow, ow, ow).

[Daved Lodfa]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! The strong community focus is one aspect of this website that really drew me in.

Space_Elf - It's interesting how the different martial arts all have different levels of physicallity/spirituality. I've never tried Kung Fu, but I've tried out American Freestyle Karate (mostly physical), Aikido (a balance of physical and spiritual), and Qigong (yoga-ish katas with a heavy spiritual side). I'd love to get back to martial arts training.

tanktimus - I'm going back and forth between putting myself straight into Assassins or starting as an Adventurer and working up to that point. I guess the idealogy would be the same for me either way. Thanks for the point about free weights. I took a fitness and conditioning course in college, but never could bring myself to start with the free weights. I have a few basic weights right now, but at least short term I'm focusing on body weight exercises, both for the convenience and cost benefits.

obax - I definitely hear you about the weights. I'm hoping the idea of "statting out" myself will give me an incentive to push myself to the place I've wanted to be. Hoping playing Ultimate Frisbee will work out for me, it's a great team sport, as well as a stamina/dexterity/weight loss booster.

Lydieboo - I've heard the saying when getting in shape; "In one month you'll feel better, in two months you'll see changes, in three months others will see changes." That's fine to say, but it's hard for an ADD person like me to use that alone as an incentive. I'm trying to decide which version of diet to try first. I'll probably cut out certain foods over time in my challenges, since going cold turkey on most things wouldn't go so hot.

Laureleye - Staying in the moment and not dwelling on past failures is very important. Something I need to work on, but definitely important. Looking forward to cutting caffeine out completely.

[Space_Elf]

I did traditional shotokan karate for a few years, but I was never very satisfied with the level of training that was offered. I tried out Bujinkan for a month and I really enjoyed it and I thought it had a much more practical approach than karate, but I didn't have the funds to pursue it.