From fat to fit
There was a time that I would practice martial arts at least 3 hours a day, for five days a week. I did grueling physical labor, and was extremely strong, had good endurance, and was flexible. Depression set in, my standards dropped and I started eating way too much and working way too little. I was still really strong, but got a gut and lost my endurance. Fastforward a few years and I fall off a roof I am putting up and shatter my leg, ankle, and foot. I end up with a greatly reduced ankle joint and titanium plates holding me together. It took me over a year to learn to walk in a way that was even half-way normal. Even now I am constantly in pain, even doing my therapy and have greatly reduced functionality. Spending so long not being able to walk, and even now, just being able to walk, I blew up like a balloon. I just found out this Sunday that I weigh in at an extremely healthy 361.6lbs. Impressive, I know.
How do I know this? My new job has a gym and two fitness coordinators who have agreed to help me come up with a plan and to coach me so that I can lose weight and get back into shape. I just got my benchmark done and had a whole lot of bad news, but it is not over yet. A little over a week from now I have a cholesterol screening, and am sure that I will meet with even more depression-inducing knowledge.
My goals are simple:
1. To lose my excess fat.
2. To strengthen my injured leg and regain enough flexibility to walk normally again.
3. To gain the general body strength and flexibility it takes to possibly take up martial arts again someday.
4. To increase my endurance.
5. To have some self-respect again.
The fifth one is psychological issue that is gonna take more that just getting into shape, but the rest are purely physical.
My trainer and I decided to break my program up into stages:
1. Month one: Get a basic cardio base to be able to work from. She has me doing an hour of cardio a day, six days a week. I am cannot run, job, etc., so all of my cardio is on the bike, the elliptical, and the rowing machine.
2. Months two-four: Continue with cardio and flexibility and work in strength training. I am going to cut down to five days a week and increase my work-outs by a half hour of light strength training. Cardio and strength will both be done every day.
3. Months five-ten: Increase the intensity. Cutting down to four days a week and staggering cardio and strength (cardio - upper body - cardio - lower body). The goal is to start getting really serious about strength training now that the cardio is at an acceptable level and my body is used to being worked. Cardio we will also be looking to push to the limits, now that a heart attack will not be as much of a concern.
4. Months eleven-twelve: We are going to start working in things that we off-limit before (light running, jumping jacks, etc.).
After one years she is going to evaluate my progress and make a decision of whether or not she thinks that it would be a good idea for me to try to take up martial arts in some capacity or another.
She wanted a two year timeline, but I insisted on shortening it. I don't think she has a lot of confidence in my ability to apply myself and carry through with it, but I do. I am sick to death of existing how I have the last two years. This is a big journey for me, as I (both literally and figuratively) fell down the proverbial ladder and have to climb my way back up from rock bottom.
Wish me luck.
Weekly weigh-in:
361.6
357.4
357
352.6
352.8
354.4
351.6
352.6
N/A
351.4
350.2
351
350.4
348
N/A
353
Originally Posted by Kadagar_AV
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