This is for anyone who waited to long to get back into shape. I told my self that I would get back into shape when the big 4-0 came.
I had always been in decent shape in my younger years. I worked out in my 20’s and was active in softball. I am a tradesman and was constantly moving out in the field doing physical activity. As I got older and moved into more of a management role, you could see that a couple of pounds creeped on me. Turning 30 I was about 10 lbs over what I had always been. 35 hit and another 5 lbs came. Just after turning 35 is when I took a desk job at an engineering firm helping out in the design of construction projects. This was my ultimate downfall for staying with the dad bod. Desk work which was new to me has different level of stress on the body. While being used to the physical nature of construction, the mental anguish that the desk provided left me just as tired at the end of the day but 9/10th of the calories were burned. I just went to work and home etc. This put on an instant 10 lbs. I have since switched jobs and have a PM role at a construction company. The desk is still the common denominator between these positions. I have now started to push my weight over the 25 lbs gained since my early 20’s. Time for action!
I have a history of heart conditions on my fathers side of the family. My grandfather had double bypass surgery a few years back. He was a lifelong truck driver. While never a smoker, just enjoyed the brandy cocktails and eating processed foods. Grandma was a huge fan of the microwave and the ease of making foods with it. My dad has had 2 angioplasty procedures. His lifestyle I would describe as a good time in the earlier years. A product of the 70’s growing up. Smoked and drank all of his life and continues to do so today.
I do yearly physical check up and my blood pressure and cholesterol levels have been rising steady along with my weight. My PA suggested that if something is not done I would need to be on blood pressure medication and a statin for the cholesterol. My next check up is in February 2019 and this will decide if diet and exercise is enough to reduce my rising blood pressure and cholesterol. The last thing needed at 40 is to have a heart condition.
Lets go back in time here to 2017. This is when I made the decision to get more active. My Dr visit came late winter and we had the talk from above. I did not get back to working out again until the fall. While having health issues was on my mind it wasn’t the only reason. I decided that I wanted to compete in an activity when turning 40. People are always doing a 5K, 1/2 marathon, training for a triathlon, or doing a tuff mudder. None of my network of friends does any of these. I like to ski, and the Badger State Games was approaching. Why not compete in downhill skiing? I grew up skiing at Devils Head Resort in middle Wisconsin. While not the best skier out there, I could hold my line when it came to racing down the slopes. So in October I registered for both downhill and slalom. This is when I started working out again. I hit the weights and did cardio to get my legs conditioned enough to handle some serious skiing. Once the snow fell, twice a week we were out there. One day teaching my kids to ski and another day for me to get out and practice. I have to admit it was a lot of fun getting back out on the slopes and kicking ass. It didn’t take long and I was blowing by the recreational skiers. I did notice that the ones skiing circles around me were the old men. They have had a lifetime skiing and they learned on old school straight skis.
So Ski season came, I competed and the working out stopped, summer came and here I am. Now I have four months to get into shape. This should be easy right? Being married with two children (8-5), full time job and all of the extra curricular activities that the family is signed up for does not leave much time. Now enough time has lapsed throughout the year. While looking at motivation to help me through my inner goal of getting in shape I asked my self why not blog about it? That is exactly what I am going to do, log my journey of how well I do in the time that is left of 2018. This blog will not only follow my work outs but the journey getting to the finish line. While I do not see a blog everyday, but enough to show how well I am tracking my goals no matter how small a win or set back is.
Thanks for reading,
Jimmy
“Sweat is FAT Crying”. — Unkown
Fit at 40 