The Road to Fitness

Today is a great day, not only because I'm going to be embarking on my fitness goal, but we're also just two months away from the NFL Draft. In all seriousness though this is something that has been on my to-do list for months. To get back into the shape I was while I was playing high school football and then go above and beyond that.

It's not because I want to look good and attract loads of women and it's definitely not because I want to relive the days of high school football. I know what you're thinking, that's a complete lie, but I come to you with nothing reserved. Although I am in moderately good shape, I just don't feel like I'm maximizing my potential. 

When I talk about potential I don't mean how buff I could possibly look or how much weight I could bench three months from now. I mean potential to feel healthy. For the past two years I've been all over the place in weight. My peaks have been in the 200 pound range and my valleys have fallen to 165. I've been bulky and muscular, and I've been skinny and scrawny, but more often I've been just average. 

Sure, I've worked on building muscle and increasing my endurance in those past years, but the thing that I lacked during those times was consistency. Consistency in my diet, workouts and life. I'm not here to blame anyone or make excuses, I'm here to make a change and today is day one.

Posture

Something that I have never focused on has been posture. Mostly because no ever tells you that your posture is bad, it's like walking up to someone and slapping them in the face and expecting them to thank you. Sometimes you just need a slap in the face though. 

Fixing your posture will not only let you lift more weight and fix your imbalances,  but also improves your confidence. Just think of it this way, if your hunched over and closed in then your emotional state is going to match your physical state. It's the same thing as changing your mood by doing something as simple smiling. Amy Cuddy, a professor at Harvard gave a great talk on how you carry yourself changes who you are on Ted.com seen here.

Personally I have problems with my shoulders, back and my feet. All three are fixable with corrective stretching that I've picked up from gurus in the fitness world from around the Interwebs and books. This is going to be my major focus.   

Workout Routine

This is were I'm going to blow your mind. I'm not going to be doing a single bench press. For those of you who are still reading, first off thank you, and second yes there is a reason for this. I'm not saying that I will not train my chest area, because that would just be ridiculous. I won't be doing Bench press because I'm not a body builder. Don't get me wrong I like the Bench press, but it's not what I'll be focusing on.  

In my past years I've been really top heavy. Or in other words I've never consistently(there's that word again) trained my lower body. Because of this my core, balance and knees are weak. It doesn't make it impossible for me to walk or even run, but I've found it harder then what it used to be when I played football. 

In my new routines there's a focus on lower body and stability. Stability is something that I've never thought about, but through the years it's something that has hurt me in the long run. For instance my right leg is stronger than my left. Also my lower back has been handling most of the work that should be spread out through your entire abdominal region. This has happened because my body has developed wrong recruitment patterns. For those of you who are interested in what this is click here.

This is my new routine for this Month:

Day 1-

• Hang Clean and Jerk: 4 sets of 6 reps
• Dumbbell Step-ups: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Rotational Push ups: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Chops: 3 sets of 12 reps

Day 2-

• Dead Lift: 4 sets of 6 reps
• Dumbbell Swings: 3 sets of 12 
• Swiss-ball pullover: 3 sets of 12
• One Arm rows: 3 sets of 10

Along with these lifts I'll start with a one mile every single day, and as time goes on I'll add on to the distance.  

Diet

I've been blessed with a great metabolism. What that means is I can eat a lot of food. Combine that with the exercise and the fact that I'm only 21 and I think I'll be just fine. However, I will work hard to change my what I eat and the amount. That's easier said than done. Like I said I'm 21 years old and to add to that I'm a student and a journalist. Time is hard to come by between work, school and let's not forget a session of Call of Duty or Halo 4 every so often. 

I'm thinking that I'll need somewhere between 2,600 and 3,000 calories to achieve my goals. The specifics including carbs, protein and all other marcos are a little over my head, so I'll stick to the simple formula for getting muscle gains. I'll try to get at least 1 gram of protein per pound that I have on my body. Today I stand at 6 foot 1 and 175 pounds, and I don't really have a weight goal. Like I said at the beginning I'm not a body builder, I don't want to get huge, I simply trying to fix my posture and feel healthier is that just o much to ask?

So those are my plans and this is my formula. Will I follow through? Who knows, but a great man once said with great power comes great responsibility. I don't know how that applies to this, but it has a nice ring to it.