Building a Better Life

[MakeItSo]

Hey everyone. My name is Jay, and I'm pretty new to this whole fitness thing -- at least as far as strength training is concerned. I'm not terribly out of shape thanks to good genes and 3 kids, but I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be. Current state looks like this:

I live in Portland, Oregon, am 31 years old, 6'7", ~250lbs, former daily herb smoker, and have never done a single pull-up in my life.

I've been eating primal/paleo for just over a month now (down 20+ pounds already!), and have had intermittent bouts with it in the past. Same goes for exercise. Had a 6-month tear in 2009 where I was eating according to the Abs Diet, doing a lot of cardio and a little bit of machine work.

But I always backslide.

I got linked to Nerd Fitness via the Mark's Daily Apple message boards, and while everyone over there is super nice, I think I prefer the somewhat younger/nerdier vibe over here.

You may be wondering what makes me think I won't backslide again? Well, all the previous times I've tried to lock down my health, they were born from a perceived requirement to be someone who eats healthy/exercises a la the food pyramid and jerk-off trainers at 24hr Fitness. Only recently have I made some simple yet radical shifts in my way of thinking:

1. Feeling obligated to get in shape leaves me devoid of a key component to success -- drive. I'm pretty sure I never really wanted to/cared about being fit. Now I've finally attached my fitness goals to tangible things, such as wanting to be pain-free, have more energy, and live to meet my great grandkids. Because of this, I actually want to make myself better and am actively looking forward to it. The best pay off so far is that deeper I go into it, the more I find I like the guy I'm becoming.

2. Being healthy doesn't mean crappy food, neverending workouts, and zero fun. Now I eat great food, forgo the expensive unitasking gym equipment, and get outside and play.

Thanks to Steve for creating such a great site, and I look forward to chatting with everyone involved in the Nerd Fitness community!

[Benching Zombies]

Welcome aboard Jay!

#1 and #2 are crucial thinking shifts. Having drive oppose to doing it "just because", will take you far.

[dcfindlay]

YES! Mate, you're on the right track. You've linked physical fitness to both the key motivators -- in 1. you're avoiding pain (dying before meeting your great grandkids, physical pain, no energy), and in 2. you're going for pleasure (great food, save $$, play outside).

Refuse to do [fitness-related] things that aren't fun. If they involve short-term discomfort (eg, lifting to failure) then find a way to make them fun (by doing them as part of a bigger picture objective -- eg a challenge, competition or epic quest). If there's just no way, then move on to something else.

Let the levelling up begin :-)

[MakeItSo]

Thanks!

I really like the epic quest idea. Short term goals, varied training methods, and lots of fun! I'm going to tool around the forums to check out people's quests, especially ones that have to do with preparing for the zombie apocalypse... I think that'd be a fun one to help me build functional strength and feel like a total badass!