Bets Brought Me Here, But...

[Large and In Charge]

I suppose I should begin with a quick introduction.

 

I'm a 20-year-old college student interested in video games, DC Comics, and superheroes. I generally try to work out at least four times a week, if not five, and I'm at a generally healthy weight for my age and height. I suppose at this point it almost seems that I should not be here, but I'm actually looking forward to how this may turn out.

 

You see, I was very overweight as a kid and over the course of about four years I was able to shed off 60 lbs. This was thanks to inspiration from some of my favorite heroes, some dabbling on my own, and mostly being away from bad influences on my eating habits.

The problem is I have no idea how I actually did it. I've been stagnant for a few years, and though I'm somewhat alright with that I have been frustrated with my lack of actual progress no matter how much effort I put in. I really just eat too much to be able to make any real progress. Even when I restrict my diet I have issues with adjusting my workouts to be able to push my body farther.

 

Recently I began going to the gym with a college friend, and we decided to make a bet over this summer break. Whoever comes back to school in the fall with the most progress wins overall.

It's a pretty silly reason to go to this much effort, but the competitive edge seems to be making me more interested in trying to make life changes. I figure I won't mess with a good thing and will instead do all that I can to make sure I get some real progress in this summer.

 

My real goals are including weights in my routine to gain muscle and to actually restrict my calorie intake. I really hope that coming here and logging progress can help make that reality 

[Basement Cat]

Welcome to the rebellion!

 

The best thing to do is to give yourself a 'finish line'. Find clear objectives that you want to reach, then design a plan to reach those objectives.

 

Example: I want to be able to bench press X amount. I want to lose X amount of pounds. 

 

About your competition with your friend, what do you consider 'progress' for the sake of this contest? Who lost the most weight? Who can lift the most? Something else?

 

The best objectives are the ones you can clearly measure so you can design a clear way to reach them.

 

Good luck and keep us posted!

[sylph]

Welcome to the rebellion!

 

I suppose at this point it almost seems that I should not be here, 

Nerd Fitness is for everyone, regardless of where they are in their "fitness life," so never feel like the fact that you have some fitness habits already ingrained makes you less "worthy" of being here, or something.

[Large and In Charge]

 

The best thing to do is to give yourself a 'finish line'. Find clear objectives that you want to reach, then design a plan to reach those objectives.

 

Example: I want to be able to bench press X amount. I want to lose X amount of pounds. 

 

About your competition with your friend, what do you consider 'progress' for the sake of this contest? Who lost the most weight? Who can lift the most? Something else?

 

 

I think this might be the hardest part. It's between three of us with very different body types, so we're deciding the winner using a 'before' and 'after' picture. That will be difficult in and of itself because everyone's body is different, but so long as I make some progress I wouldn't be insulted by losing.

 

I think my biggest goals overall are to:

A) Cut down my calorie intake to 1500-2000 calories daily.

Be able to lift 50 lbs with the arm machine before school starts.

 

The rest of it has to do with a lot of variables, but cutting down on calories and adding weights to my current routines will move me in the right direction. At least I'm hoping!

[Noname123]

 

I think this might be the hardest part. It's between three of us with very different body types, so we're deciding the winner using a 'before' and 'after' picture. That will be difficult in and of itself because everyone's body is different, but so long as I make some progress I wouldn't be insulted by losing.

 

I think my biggest goals overall are to:

A) Cut down my calorie intake to 1500-2000 calories daily.

Be able to lift 50 lbs with the arm machine before school starts.

 

The rest of it has to do with a lot of variables, but cutting down on calories and adding weights to my current routines will move me in the right direction. At least I'm hoping!

 

If you don't mind me how did you come up with that caloric range? Do you want to lose weight or build muscle? 1500-2000 is a pretty large window too, if you hammer down some specific physical goals you can plug it into a macro calculator to see how much protein/carbs and the like you need for the best results.