Earendil, Silmaril-bearer

[Earendil]

Hi! I'm Earendil. I've been following NerdFitness for a little over two years. There have been various reasons I've not joined the Rebellion until now (ranging from "I don't have internet" to "I forgot"), but I'm here now! Here's some of my story...

 

• I'm a teacher. I spent the past two years teaching high school math, and I'll spend the next year teaching middle school.
• I recently moved! I spent seven years in the city I'm now in before I moved away for work. I spent two years in that city and then moved back here.
• I'm using my move to hack my habits. Referencing Steve's 1/19/15 Matrix post, it's as if huge chunks of my life's source code are suddenly cut. I have the option to paste them back in, but I'm rewriting from scratch instead.
• I'm a smidge under 5'11'' and about 292 lbs.
• I have an above-average knowledge base for someone of my weight. This is mostly from reading (but not practicing) NerdFitness for two years. I know (in general) what stuff I need to eat (lots of protein; tons and tons of veggies; fat isn't bad; processed foods are Glaurung [look it up lol]). I know what exercises are best for building muscle, burning calores, and getting cardio at the same time (deadlifts, squats, lunges, bench press or pushups, overhead press, pull-ups or bent-over rows, planks; machines are bad).
• At the same time, I don't have much first-hand experience of my knowledge. E.g., I know what to eat, but don't have much experience cooking to make it palatable; I know facts about good deadlift form, but I have a difficult time performing it consistently.
• Nerdy stuff (skip if you prefer): I prefer The Silmarillion to Lord of the Rings (cc: earlier Glaurung reference). I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, but I've seen miniscule amounts of pre-Eccleston Who. I love coffee: my tasting and brewing is on the upper tail of the general populace bell curve, but on the lower tail of the craft coffee bell curve. I don't play video games because I get too addicted too quickly. Other TV shows I like are Avatar/Legend of Korra, Arrow, and Flash.

Given those as my starting point, here are some of my short-term and long-term goals:

 

Short-term (3-4 weeks):

• Get up at 6am each morning. (Huge for me, especially during summer break.)
• Eat one homemade, non-breakfast meal at least 5 days a week. (Leftovers and frozen homecooked meals count.)
• Eat at least one serving of veggies at least once a day.
• No soda.
• Track food using MyFitnessPal.
• Expand flexibility so that back squats are doable. (I currently can't get my arms far enough back to rest the bar on my traps rather than my neck. It's getting better, but not there yet. I'm using the Smith machine as a stable, neck-level bar for stretching. I'll use freeweights once I get to actual squats.)
• Master deadlift and bench press form. (Deadlift must be mastered before I add large amounts of weight - I don't want to strain my back. Bench press form is mostly to strengthen stabalizer muscles before adding weight.)
• Find my upper weight limit for bent-over rows. (I currently know that 30lbs is doable.)
• Work out at least four times a week. (Goal: two days deadlift, two days bench + bent-over rows.)

Note: Though this is a lot to do at one time, I've found that due to my move and the fact that I'm in summer vacation, it's actually not unfeasible.

 

Long-term (continual)

• Form new goals each time a goal is reached.
• Research gym options. (I'm currently in my apartment complex's gym, which has enough for my starting point, but not as much as I'll eventually need.
• Get a calendar to track goals.
• Create a reward system for goals.
• Reach 270lbs by November 1 and stay at or below that weight over the holidays. (I think I can probably get below that... I have before. The big part for me is sustaining the loss.)

 

So that's it for me. Introduce yourself, and let me know what you think!

[Yraen]

Hey Earendil, Welcome to the Rebellion. Seems like you've got things pretty figured out. I wish you luck. Also don't be afraid to ask if you ever need help.

[shaar]

Welcome to the Rebellion!!

 

I love that you've got your goals measured out into different terms.  So many people try to jump into everything headfirst and fail from burnout.  You're making a smart move!!

 

Reading your short term goals, I'm reminded that my shoulder mobility has been suffering lately on my back squats.  There's always something to work on, ne?

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the rebellion. You certainly know what your goals are, it's apparent you've been reading the blog for a while. Glad you finally came to the forums.

[SevenofSeven]

Welcome to the forum, thought I would drop by since I watched your DL form check vid. Good luck with your fitness journey, this is definately the place to be.

[Kinger138]

Hello and welcome!