O Hai Der

[Tanstripe]

Greetings fellow Rebels,

 

My name is Mark, but I go by Tanstripe on here because it's my warrior name (per my favorite children's book series Warriors by Erin Hunter =P).

 

Fun facts about me:

- Like the internet, I love cats, and I have two fluffy kittehs of my own (Spooky, a tuxedo one, and Midnight, a black one)

- I'm a Whovian who wears purple bow ties

- ...Aaand you can trust me, because I'm going to be a doctor!

- I enjoy geeking out about just about any subject of study -- from biology and medicine to religion and philosophy.  Currently, I'm on an emergent church kick, and I hope to study addiction interventions and Anabaptists next =P

 

I found this site in my search for some sort of strength plan.  I'm an ectomorph in my early twenties who has never been "in-shape."  I've never been a big fan of sports (playing or watching), and really, the most activity I've had has been infrequent walks, dancing in musicals in my teens, and some swing dance during college.  I'm not naturally strong (I've never done a pull-up), and while I'm not "unhealthy" per se, I do want become active and healthier for the sake of my future patients, and (primarily) to honor God with my body (I'm religious academically and personally, and enjoy conversing *civilly* about it).  Thus, here's my stats and what I'm looking to accomplish:

 

Stats:

- 5' 9"

- Early 20s

- 135 lbs

- ~14% body fat*

* this is really hard to judge based off pics because I have little fat or muscle... I did do an electrode reading the other day that indicated ~7.5% body fat, but my body is nowhere close to the pics

 

Goals:

- Do 1 pull-up before med school starts (early August)

- 9-10% body fat (i.e., SEE my muscles... so I could use them as a study guide next year?)

- Generally, live healthier

 

Plan:

- Beginner's Body Weight Workout 3x/week with increasing reps of each

- Interval Training at least 1x/week

- Move toward either a paleo or a whole foods vegan diet (still researching)

 

Hindrances:

- Following paleo and/or vegan diet: I'm living with my folks before moving to the city I'll be staying at for school.  It's really hard to deny them begging me to eat X, Y, Z, etc. that they make.  Plus I'm essentially the family "garbage disposal" because I can eat anything and not gain weight.  Tips welcome for how to stave off processed food and dairy until I have more control of my diet would be welcome.

- Schedule: I nearly killed myself in college with overcommitment (think at least one all-nighter weekly), but I want to make my health a priority.  Thus, I'm taking this summer off to reflect on what matters, and to begin patterning myself to workout in whatever time I have (or don't have) in med school.

 

Sorry this was so long; for the tl;dr folks:

I'M MARK!

I WANT TO GET STRONGER!

AND I'M READY TO COMMIT TO SOMETHING!

RAWR!

 

Peace,

Tanstripe

[Hero]

HI MARK! I'M HERO!

 

WELCOME!

 

SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE GOT A GAME PLAN! ALL THAT'S LEFT IS TO GET OUT THERE AND DO IT!!!

 

ORAAAAA!!!!!

 

So uh, yeah...welcome and stuff. I'm an anime buff aiming to be a ranger and also paleo-izing my diet.I'm still new here so as far as advice and tips go I'm not much use but I like shouting enthusiastically about stuff. If you ever need a hype man, I guess? haha anyways nice to meet you and welcome again!

 

NOW GET OUT THERE AND DO STUFF! OR GET SOME SLEEP OR SOMETHING IF IT'S LATE AT NIGHT!!

 

Or don't, I'm a guy on the internet, not a cop.