I am starting this, more for me, than anyone else. I am not using myspace for this because I'm not really looking for validation or anything, just a way for me to track my thoughts and progress.
This is to mainly track my progress on my commitment to lose this fat and get fit, trim, and healthy.
My first one on this will be in medias res, just because I only thought of doing this a couple of days ago.
Beware, It's hella long.............
Part One: The apifany
Several years ago, I had started working out at a gym in my home town, and had gone from 240 down to a much ligher 210. At that time, I really didn't know much about what I was doing, and mainly was doing 15-20 minutes of cardio to get my heart rate up, and then doing two laps around a circuit, working all the muscle groups. Yeah, I know now that was better than nothing, but I wasn't getting anywhere near my potential best benefits.
I had been doing this for about 4 months, and I moved to Phoenix for school. With the disruption of school, work, and a severe lack of funding, going to a gym was just not in the equation. I went up and down between 220 and about 235. I had promised myself I was never going to let myself get to 240 ever again. As long as I stayed under that, for some reason, I had convinced myself that was perfectly acceptable. I know, I was a moron. Hind site is 20/20. My excuse for never joining a gym, as the last couple places I have lived have not had a gym, was the money factor. Bad excuse, I know. During the last two years, I have known I need to do something. I had decided at one point to go to a gym and at least get information on the membership. I was in the parking lot, and just about to go in, and then I saw two or three guys walk out. They were perfect in so many was, I just got intimidated....I looked, and I just couldn't go in. I felt so small and weak. I felt like no matter how much I tried, I could never even get close to that level of perfection, so in my mind, it was like "why even try, you will fail". So, I have a habit of sabotaging myself. I did this several times.
You are wondering where the apifany comes in. Here it is. I stepped on a scale a few weeks ago, and it hit dead on 240. Something snapped in my head. I started thinking about what I was doing to myself, and how this weight was keeping me back from a lot of things that I really wanted to do. I want to learn to fly. Guess what. They actually have to charge you more for your intro flight if you weigh over 180. One of the reasons i haven't gone to do that yet. Also, related to flying was a segment I saw on the news one night about airlines actually increasing the size of the seats on the aircraft to accomdate Americas ever expanding asses. Also, the added weight increases the cost of fuel. According to a 2005 USA Today article (just the first one I googled, what can I say?) 62% of American adults are overweight. I don't want to be part of that statistic anymore.
One of the other experiences in my life that I thought about during this BFO (Brilliant Flash of the Obvious...from a former boss), was about 3 years ago, I returned to Utah to go visit my closest and dearest friend. On this visit, we went to Zion National Park, and did something I have never done before, which was climb up to Angels Landing. Now, if you have never been there, and don't know of what I speak, I will just say, if you are out of shape like me at that time, I would seriously reconsider before you attempt. My friend bounded up this trail like he was a frickin mountain goat. A 1/3 of the way up the trail, I thought I was gonna die. Literally. I made it up and back, but it has nagged at me since then that I could not keep up with my friend.
Also, during this BFO,I REALLy started to notice the people around me. I just recently moved to North Scottsdale, and if you have been here, you know that the pretty people flourish out here. I mean, they are everywhere! I see them and I realize how far out of shape I really am.
I started to put all of these things together During my BFO, and when it all came together, I knew I had to do something, and now!
Part Two: Taking Action
Now I knew what I had to do, I actually had to put a plan in action to get where I want to be, which is slimer, trimer, and healthier.
I knew that my company has a corporate deal with a local fitness club, but I could not find the information on it, so I emailed a link on the clubs website to find out more information.
Apparently, the flyer they had sent around a few months back required that you join during a certain window, and that I had missed it. However, if I was willing to join, he would let me join at their current rate that was actually cheaper than the flyer they had sent around. Well, I had a 100 extra bucks from the double time I had gotten for working on Labor Day. As soon as I realized that I could do it, I did. For the corporate bit, you had to sign up on-line. I did it at work on Saturday, September 30th, 2006. I went to the location that I had joined that day after work, as the email I had gotten back after joining said to go there to get all the finer details taken care of. Being anxious to get this started, I didn't think about it being the weekend, and that nobody was probably doing any paperwork related stuff and that I probably should have waited till monday. I was super motivated, waiting was not in my bag of tricks at the moment. Anyway, While I was there, I set up the first of two training sessions that were included with the membership for that next Monday, Oct. 2nd. I also made a firm mental decision that right then, i had to eat right. I know from reading things in the past that its better to graze on healthy foods than to eat 3 square meals a day, and that you need to increase your water intake. I gave myself that last Saturday to do a bit of splurging. I know part of my weakness is soda. Dr. Pepper is my one true friend and love......or was till I dumped him! I had one last Dr. Pepper that saturday. So far, I haven't had a soda since. I had some ice cream that night, after I had a nice hunk of steak and a loaded baked potato at Outback. Sort of a "Last Indulgence" if you will. Since then, I have been pretty damn good. Went directly from 2% mild to fat free, that next day.
I knew ahead of time the trainer would be a female. When I got there monday, I did have a good session with Vicki (names are changed just cuz). We did several upper body excersizes, and she did suggest a vitamin supplement, and a few dietary changes, which I pretty much had all ready pretty much knows. I have cut overall fat and sugar intake a hell of a lot from what I used to. Staying away from fried foods, staying out of fast food restaurants, drinking craploads of water, and all that jazz.
Due to scheduling problems that Vicki had, I wasn't able to see her until that Friday for the second session. We did a few more things, worked my arms, triceps, biceps, a few squatty type things. All well and good. I was all ready stoked to keep coming back, as I know with out a doubt I have to do something.
My decision during this time is that 3 days a week isn't what I want to do. I am going to go 4 times a week. All in all, I think I am doing pretty damned good. At this point, I have used the 2 free training sessions that come with the membership, and I'm pretty much winging it. Vicki tried very hard to get me to continue with her, but I live on a super tight budget, and what it would cost me a month was just short of my car payment. I wanted to, so very, very badly but I just couldn't afford it. Though I still planned on trying to figure out how to. I mean, I don't know what I'm doing. You don't know what you don't know, you know?
Part Three: My Savior
Last Tuesday, Oct 3rd, I went to the gym after a seriously long seeming day at work. For some reason that day, nothing seemed to click, from the moment I woke up, throughout the entire day. I was just aggravated by it all by the time I got off work. This was the first time I was going to go it alone at the gym. I almost talked myself out of it several times during the day. At the end of the day, I had to tell myself "Just go you stupid idiot, don't sabotage yourself all ready". I have to pretty much go straight from work to the gym, otherwise, I will go home and relax, and then talk myself out of going. So, I drove to the gym. Oh, that was an aggravation all by itself. I am usually off by 3 o'clock and hit the 101 by around 3:20. Guess what has started? Yeah, that would be rush hour in the city with the worst drivers on the planet. Did you know that on a Cadillac Escalade, as well as Aston Martins, turn signals are completly optional accessories? Yeah, me neither. When I get to the gym, I still feel at odds with the universe, so I warm up with about 20 minutes of cardio, and then go of to the machines. I decided to do some leg work since Vicki had worked my arms 2 days ago. I know I had this look to me like I had just wandered off the street randomly and decided to look at the pretty metal things inside this big building with lots of buff people in it. While I was doing a random excercise, because I just wandered aimlessly that day, one of the trainers walked by, and said "Hi". I said hi back, and went on with my pointless workout. I did a couple more excercises and looked for the machine I wanted to use next. There were 3 guys alternating on it, so I knew it would be a while, and my brain just gave out at that point. I thought to myself "Screw it, go do more cardio, at least you will be doing something".
As I am on the elliptical machine, I believe about 5 minutes or so into it, I see this trainer come back by, and walks up to my machine. He asks me a few questions, and we start chit chatting, and somewhere in the middle of it, I say something along the lines of "I wish I could figure out how to afford more training, I am pretty much clueless as to what I am doing"
At that, Jimbo (so, I like that name, am I weird?) said "I'll train you if you want, you got some time?"
This is the beginning of something beautiful. Jimbo takes me over to the area where they do all their tests and weighing, and introduces me to two trainees he is working with. I am cool with this, I mean, I went to massage therapy school. I have been on a table, naked, between two sheets with 50 people watching. Being watched while Jimbo puts me through my paces doesn't faze me a bit.
Ah, yes. Paces. That doesn't do it justice. Jimbo kicked my ass up around my ears and then pulled the excess back down to my nuts. We continued on legs since that is what he saw me doing originally. And he threw some abs in, and then did this step-up, step-down routine. Trust me, by the time I was done, I was soaked from head to toe, and my heart was beating so hard and fast, I was afraid it would just go "Ha, screw you, I quit!"
All through this, Jimbo is being extremely good natured and friendly, however, when I am doing the excercises, he is very forceful about what I am doing, and very stern about form and function. He said I was going to hate him by the time I was done. I tell you now, I never for one minute hated him. I know this is something I have to do, and it is something I should have done years ago. He is simply pushing me to my maximum to help me achieve the results I want. He kept saying things when I was close to the end of the thirds sets, when my body wasn't sure it could give more, and just wanted the excercise to be over, things like "See the results in your mind, see what you are working for!" You know, that helped more than anything! I knew he wasn't trying to be a dick, he just wanted to help me get where I need to be to live a healthy, happy life.
After the session, we book our next appointment for the following Thursday, two days from then. I am sweaty, shakey, and really ready to just sit and breath for a few minutes. Its around 6:15 by the time we are done with this, and it's still pretty thick traffic out there. I am stuck at a stop light, and all the sudden, for no apparent reason, I just start laughing. I laugh for like 5 minutes (it took two changes of the light for me to make it through, and Scottsdale lights are LONG). Then it hits me, endorphines. The bodies feel good hormone. I am flush with it. And do I feel GOOD! I realized in that moment that not only had I done the right thing, but Jimbo had literally saved my life. I also realized that I really, truly, loved the feeling of being pushed to my limit. It was a feeling of being alive, really, truly, for the first time in my life, alive. I swear, when I got home, I could see the world with more crystal clear detail than I had ever seen before, it was just simply amazing. It's also a little weird that when the acute pain starts to wear off, and my body doesn't feel any lingering sensation of what I had done, I miss it. The pain of doing something good for myself is a great feeling. Is that just a little weird?
I go back to the gym on our scheduled Thursday. I get changed, and go to the counter and as for Jimbo, as I hadn't seen him when I got there. They told me that he wasn't there. I was a little bummed, I thought he had forgotten me. So, I went and did some upper body and more cardio for a while. I get a call the next day from Jimbo asking where I was. Somehow, the "Six dollar and hour help" as Jimbo pretty much put it, didn't know where he was, but didn't bother to page him either. He was in another room, and didn't realize what time it was and just kept on doing what he was doing. We schedule for my next day off, which is Saturday. Again, pushed to my limit, with me thinking I was gonna break, and all the people in the gym going "God, he's being mean to the fat kid". Actually, the two people he was trainging thought he was being overly hard on me. He told them that you can't be nice to people, you have to be hard on them if you are to really help them achieve their goals. Would you believe, I totally agree with Jimbo 1oo percent? If he had not pushed me, I would have never known that feeling of being alive, and would have probably just walked away from that first day less inspired, and less likely to want to reach my goal, and in the end, fail. I am not sure Jimbo meant to do it, but after our initial two sessions together, I am more inspired and determined than I have ever been at anything in my life! By <\insert your favorite diety here>, I will reach my goal!
I thank Jimbo every time I see him. I really, truly, do appreciate the time he took to help a bewildered fat guy, and help him see that there was a direction to go in, and that he is helping me find the tools I need to be successful in my journey down it. I don't know how he found his way into my life at exactly the time I needed him, but I thank the cosmos for him every day.
Ok, now to the part I plan on updating every time I go to the gym, my progress report.
My starting weight, officially, as measured by Vicki on day 1 was 240 Lbs.
On the first visit with Jimbo, I had dropped 4 lbs, and was at 236. Second weighing, as of 10/7/06 was 234 lbs. Today, my weight was down to 231.5 lbs. I am scheduled with Jimbo this Wednesday, and will make another progress report, and hopefully record my feelings, new insights, and gained knowledge.
To anyone who has managed to stay with me this long, If you are overweight, please, take the time to help yourself. 63% of Americans being overweight is not "genetics". I grant you that some people do have medical issues that keep them from losing weight. Most of us though, are just put plainly, too goddamn lazy to get off our asses and take care of ourselves. Don't become, or stay, part of this countries epidemic, be part of the solution. If I can find it in myself to do this, I am positive as all hell you can to. If you are not overweight, but know somebody who is, take the time to be a positive influence in someones life, please?
Ok, now, off to relax a bit.
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