Back on the Horse!

[CormacMacG]

Hi all,

My name is Cormac, and I am new to NF, so I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself. The initial mail from Steve asked what I'm struggling with right now and I left him a response but thought I could repost it here and get a few replies. My story is pretty average but I'm looking to make a change for the better and I know this is a good place to start, so here goes!

If I had to say what I'm struggling with right now, I'd answer lethargy. About four years ago, I was an engineering major in college (here in Dublin, Ireland where I was born and raised), which wasn't right for me. I never went in, I rarely did my study and barely picked up a book. What that was great for was my fitness level! I ran half marathons, worked out regularly, made friends in the gym and finished P90x to get to the best looking shape of my life. I did all this when I was feeling most depressed and least motivated in terms of my professional life, and career prospects.

Since then, I've been on a gradual upwards curve in terms of my general happiness: I have a long term girlfriend of over 3 years, I have moved college course into something I am much happier in, and I have a part time job that lets me rent a house with my GF. I managed to keep up with running up to early 2013, even finishing my first marathon in London back in April, but Plantar Fasciitis kept me out of training all summer and I packed on some serious flabiness in the mean time. Even before that though, I was unhappy with my general fitness and look. Where once I had heavy muscle in my upper body, a narrow 31" waist and strong looking legs, I had slimmed down, skinny arms, thin legs and a bit of a gut if I'm honest. 

I'm generally a happy guy but I have struggled to get back to the level of fitness I would be satisfied with. I am unfit in most respects and want to pick myself up, dust myself off and get back into shape. I'm hoping that NF is the way to go, and am willing to start from the bottom up, but lethargy has become something of a lifestyle choice for me. Eating healthily is the first step I know, so I've thrown out all the junk food in the house and made a pact with my girlfriend that we are going to try the paleo diet and avoid takeaways for the next 6 weeks. We think that eating crap occasionally should be part of life, so after that we'll probably find a way to introduce cheat meals to our meal plan, but a clean break is the best start, and the better we eat now, the faster we'll see the results we want. 

With regards to exercise, my foot issues have meant that the small muscles in my left leg are greatly deteriorated so I'm thinking the bodyweight route is best for me for now, so I'm going to try the beginner bodyweight workout for 4 weeks to get back into the swing of things, then move on to maybe the angry birds or advanced bodyweight. I have dumbbells and a barbell with a bench and a gym membership so I'm open to suggestion and have the necessaries if you think an alternative program would suit me better.

Basically I just wanted to let someone know what I'm planning: accountability is the first step towards success and having someone else to let you know you're on the right path is a big help. Hopefully you'll get this mail (although I know you're probably swamped with people like me) and be able to offer some words of encouragement and advice. My story will probably not be dramatic or noteworthy by the time I hit any target I set, as I don't have a dramatic amount of weight to lose, I'm a pretty average build. Speaking of targets, that's something else I'm struggling with. I know I want to get under 15% body fat percentage, at the moment I'm close to 20%. Apart from that, I'd like to look like I used to, and maybe pack on some extra strength on top of that. Flexibility has always been an issue for me too, so I'd love some advice on how to improve that - maybe yoga? I used to do a lot of yoga when I was younger and hadn't stiffened up so much! Any reccomendations? All responses and feedback greatly appreciated.


Cormac

Ireland

[Haikoo]

Hi Cormac!

 

It sounds like you are on the right track already. The food is a big deal and tackling that is the perfect first step. The only word of caution I would give is be careful with the "cheat" mentality. If you call it a cheat, it's basically saying it is wrong and you should feel guilty. You're going to relax, indulge, treat yourself once in a while. Just be careful the once in a while doesn't become a lot more often than you intended, as it can be difficult to find your way back once those cravings start! (Says someone who is still recovering from crashed holiday eating habits )  

 

Bodyweight exercises are great! When you stick with them, you will gain great strength and see results! I also love Yoga. I'm not flexible by nature, but just a couple years of Yoga once a week has really changed my flexibility. There are also great things to be said for mobility exercises, such as some of the things you'll find on http://www.mobilitywod.com/    "K Starr" also has a book called "Becoming a Supple Leopard" ( http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-Preventing-Performance/dp/1936608588). Many around here really love and recommend this book for getting the body moving.

 

Anyway, welcome and hope to see you around the forum or in chat!

[Basement Cat]

Welcome to the rebellion, Cormac!

 

You seem to know what you're doing, so I'll jsut wish you good luck!

 

And keep us posted!

[CormacMacG]

Thanks for the tips! I'm going to stick with my program for now, and when I'm comfortable in it I'll look at introducing some flexibility stuff, those sites and books look good, I'll check them out! And thanks for the welcome SilverRapier