Getting fit at 40 years old

I've decided to start this blog and share my experience of getting physically fit at the age of forty. So I guess I'll start by sharing a bit about my background and past.

I've always enjoyed being physically active and spending time outdoors, ever since I was a child. I stayed active until my late teens, at which time a few circumstances in my life led my being less active, less fit, and less healthy.

I started smoking at the age of 17, and within a couple years I was smoking between 1 to 2 packs of cigarettes a day. I always enjoyed good food and lots of beer, and as I went through computer school, my lifestyle was extremely sedentary. These combined factors led to rapid weight gain. By the age of 21, I weighed nearly 200 lbs, morbidly obese for someone that measures just 5'6. 

After having lost the weight with a crash diet in my late twenties, I quit smoking and took up exercise. Though I put on a fair bit of muscle, I wasn't really watching my calorie intake, so I eventually put on some weight over the next decade. In my late thirties, I ran into a repetitive stress wrist injury that put an end to my ability to lift weights for a couple years, and again, my weight ballooned to nearly 200 lbs, and my waist being 38 inches around. Not a pretty sight to say the least.

 

At the age of 40, upon advice from my doctor, I decided to finally stop sitting around and making excuses for myself. Sitting on a chair in front of a screen all day isn't conducive to weight loss, but I'm blessed enough to have a very flexible schedule. As such, I committed myself to getting my weight back where it should be, in a healthy manner. 

After doing some research as to what sort of exercise routine I would incorporate into my lifestyle, I decided on home based circuit training. This would give me the leisure of being able to workout at home or at my office, without having to pay expensive gym fees, stand in line to share sweaty machines with hundreds of other people, and be tied down to going there in general.

After doing some comparison shopping, I decided to try the George St. Pierre's Rushfit program. Aside from being well priced at under $100 for 6 DVD's, I am an avid MMA fans. With George being the UFC champion, and local hometown favorite, I was sold on his brand for my planned weight management and fitness training.

Though I rarely use those DVD's any more, they were the key that put me on proper nutrition, safe and healthy training, and general mind frame of being committed enough to stick with my new lifestyle. 

My goal isn't to become a shredded bodybuilder or gym rat. The training and nutrition plan I follow was designed by myself, to help me feel fit, strong, and comfortable with my body.