I've decided to start a journal to record my thoughts and such as I go through this process. I won't be calorie counting and that type of thing in this log, it'll more just be to talk about my progress, sans numbers.
First things first. I think I'm addicted.
Actually, scratch that, I know I am. I've never felt this way about being active before and it has been great. I actually love the feeling of being exhausted after a workout or training on the eliptical and just persevering even though I have felt like stopping for twenty minutes. I know it's going to get even better as my fitness changes.
A little history of myself is in order, I guess. I was born in 1984, in Ontario, Canada. When I was young, between 5-10, I was a pretty normal kid. I played T-Ball in a league and absolutely loved that. I lived in a 14 floor apartment building that had a decent amount of grounds (as well as a highschool with a track and such beside it) and there were lots of kids around my age in the building. It was great because after coming home from school, we'd all play outside together, playing anything from baseball to hide and seek to "British Bulldog". Lots of fun.
I moved when I was 11 and didn't continue playing baseball. I would still be active at recess, and made a friend across the street with whom I played driveway basketball with. As time went on, I became overall less active. My parents both played video games all my life and I did too. I still do. Anyway, once highschool came and Phys Ed was no longer a requirement, it was dropped from my schedule. No school sports, no nothing. The only activity I did was rollerblade everywhere, to get where I needed to go. I skateboarded a bit too. In highschool, I was never fat but I was always slightly overweight (or at least, carried extra fat on my frame.) Usually was around 165 at 5'8 or 5'9.
I moved across the country to be with a girl I met just before I was done highschool (Grade 13) and was just 4 courses shy of graduating. We got an apartment together in a small town of about 10 000 people. Both got minimum wage jobs on the opposite side of town from where we lived. With no vehicle, we'd walk a lot. Work was about 5km away. On days when she'd work, I'd walk her to work, walk home, walk to meet her at lunch and then walk home and finally walk to meet her after work and walk home with her. That in addition too being poor and eating less than I would usually eat meant I lost weight. I was also hit with Mono that summer and ended up at a really scrawny 145. Then Winter came. We got a car, I worked fast food (combined with being poor, this is a recipe for disaster), it got really cold and I simply stopped walking. In around 9 months, I gained 80 lbs. Yikes.
Flash foward a few years to now. I've flirted with getting in shape but never really committed because my only goal was 'get in shape' and that's just not a good motivator for me. I was building a lot of strength when I worked for the Railway but when I got laid off last December, I didn't do a whole lot of physical activity. However, with my daughter in the picture, I've got one powerful motivator. I've always realized that I think I'd like a career in the Canadian Forces. And the final one is that I want to run and bike and enjoy my body. I want to run a 5k. Then a Half Marathon, then a full Marathon. Eventually, (I'm planning for 4 years), I'd like to complete an Ironman. I don't care about a phenomenal time, I just want to complete it. I've got short legs so I doubt I'll ever be setting any records.
My stats right now are...
Age: 25
Height: 5'8 or 5'9.
Weight: 243 lbs. (Down 10 lbs in the three-ish weeks since I started going to the gym)
I'll be adding measurements as soon as I get around to it.
Okay, now with history out of the way...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009.
Had a great day. I took the daughter in her stroller for a walk (with a little jogging) in a nice ravine park just a couple minutes from our aparment. Walked approximately 5-6km at a leisurely paced. Enjoyed the unseasonably nice, warm weather and soaked in nature.
Also went to the gym with Sister-In-Law and her boyfriend. Went on the Eliptical for 35 minutes (30 normal, 5 cool-down) at a resistance setting of 6 (Out of 20, I believe, but I'll double check next time.).
For that workout, I averaged 5.6 MPH, "traveled a distance" of just a tiny bit under 5k (however reliable that is) and with an average HR of 168 BPM. A few times, when my music was particularily intense, I found myself going way too fast and hanging out at about 195 BPM. When I hit cool-down, which is five minutes, I went from a HR of about 175 to one of 140ish. Not great but I'm sure that'll improve.
That was my day, and it was a good one.
First things first. I think I'm addicted.
Actually, scratch that, I know I am. I've never felt this way about being active before and it has been great. I actually love the feeling of being exhausted after a workout or training on the eliptical and just persevering even though I have felt like stopping for twenty minutes. I know it's going to get even better as my fitness changes.
A little history of myself is in order, I guess. I was born in 1984, in Ontario, Canada. When I was young, between 5-10, I was a pretty normal kid. I played T-Ball in a league and absolutely loved that. I lived in a 14 floor apartment building that had a decent amount of grounds (as well as a highschool with a track and such beside it) and there were lots of kids around my age in the building. It was great because after coming home from school, we'd all play outside together, playing anything from baseball to hide and seek to "British Bulldog". Lots of fun.
I moved when I was 11 and didn't continue playing baseball. I would still be active at recess, and made a friend across the street with whom I played driveway basketball with. As time went on, I became overall less active. My parents both played video games all my life and I did too. I still do. Anyway, once highschool came and Phys Ed was no longer a requirement, it was dropped from my schedule. No school sports, no nothing. The only activity I did was rollerblade everywhere, to get where I needed to go. I skateboarded a bit too. In highschool, I was never fat but I was always slightly overweight (or at least, carried extra fat on my frame.) Usually was around 165 at 5'8 or 5'9.
I moved across the country to be with a girl I met just before I was done highschool (Grade 13) and was just 4 courses shy of graduating. We got an apartment together in a small town of about 10 000 people. Both got minimum wage jobs on the opposite side of town from where we lived. With no vehicle, we'd walk a lot. Work was about 5km away. On days when she'd work, I'd walk her to work, walk home, walk to meet her at lunch and then walk home and finally walk to meet her after work and walk home with her. That in addition too being poor and eating less than I would usually eat meant I lost weight. I was also hit with Mono that summer and ended up at a really scrawny 145. Then Winter came. We got a car, I worked fast food (combined with being poor, this is a recipe for disaster), it got really cold and I simply stopped walking. In around 9 months, I gained 80 lbs. Yikes.
Flash foward a few years to now. I've flirted with getting in shape but never really committed because my only goal was 'get in shape' and that's just not a good motivator for me. I was building a lot of strength when I worked for the Railway but when I got laid off last December, I didn't do a whole lot of physical activity. However, with my daughter in the picture, I've got one powerful motivator. I've always realized that I think I'd like a career in the Canadian Forces. And the final one is that I want to run and bike and enjoy my body. I want to run a 5k. Then a Half Marathon, then a full Marathon. Eventually, (I'm planning for 4 years), I'd like to complete an Ironman. I don't care about a phenomenal time, I just want to complete it. I've got short legs so I doubt I'll ever be setting any records.
My stats right now are...
Age: 25
Height: 5'8 or 5'9.
Weight: 243 lbs. (Down 10 lbs in the three-ish weeks since I started going to the gym)
I'll be adding measurements as soon as I get around to it.
Okay, now with history out of the way...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009.
Had a great day. I took the daughter in her stroller for a walk (with a little jogging) in a nice ravine park just a couple minutes from our aparment. Walked approximately 5-6km at a leisurely paced. Enjoyed the unseasonably nice, warm weather and soaked in nature.
Also went to the gym with Sister-In-Law and her boyfriend. Went on the Eliptical for 35 minutes (30 normal, 5 cool-down) at a resistance setting of 6 (Out of 20, I believe, but I'll double check next time.).
For that workout, I averaged 5.6 MPH, "traveled a distance" of just a tiny bit under 5k (however reliable that is) and with an average HR of 168 BPM. A few times, when my music was particularily intense, I found myself going way too fast and hanging out at about 195 BPM. When I hit cool-down, which is five minutes, I went from a HR of about 175 to one of 140ish. Not great but I'm sure that'll improve.
That was my day, and it was a good one.