I just can't wait to be king!

[Simba]

Hey everyone, as a longtime reader it is a pleasure to finally join the boards.

I've always been in decent shape; a soccer player and devoted track nerd throughout high school, and now in my junior year of college I am an ultimate frisbee player (intense) and still run as much as I can. But... I've always lacked the motivation to take my fitness to the next level, and bring my diet along with it. Food and I go way back... I just love eating, and even if I eat "good" foods, I still eat way to much.

So... starting now I'd like to:

-Drastically improve my diet. I've been considering Paleo but I am having issues committing to no grain/dairy. Making small changes though, just subbed almond butter for peanut butter and am loving it.

-Decrease my body fat. Sorry I don't have an uber specific goal for this yet, but I'm working on it. I think I am a pretty healthy weight right now for my build (6'2" 180lbs) but I could afford to trade some fat for muscle, right?

-Get stronger, especially in the upper body region. I've always had solid base fitness for my legs as a runner/soccer player, but I've never focused one my arms/shoulders/back and would like to change that. I recently bought a kettlebell (love to hear some kettlebell tips or success stories) and so far I'm loving it. Soon I will be back in the gym hitting some free weights, hopefully in some sort of structured way...

Alright, this post is getting to be a bit too lengthy for my liking. Let me just conclude in saying that my goal this summer is to run the Warrior Dash (5k with obstacles if you are unfamiliar with it) in August with a few friends and I'd like to- Keep my running base strong, successfully complete all the obstacles (my scrawny arms are afraid of some of them), and look totally great shirtless.

-Simba

[thescrawnycaveman]

Welcome to the boards simba! You and me have similar issues, former runners, good leg strength, and what could be described as lamentable upper body strength. I've been doing some bodyweight exercises the past couple of weeks and I am really seeing some improvements, both in appearance and performance. One of the best things to start doing, pullups. Do pull ups, whenever you can, do a set. This has made me noticeably stronger.

As for diet/body fat, If the paleo diet does anything for the already skinny guys, it gets rid of tons of fat. I don't have anything to use to measure my own body fat, but everyone seems to agree, it will help you get that ripped look.