24 year-old-couch potato looking for advice

white · 10-09-2006, 06:35 PM

Okay, so I'm a 24-year-old (6'3 215 lbs) comic book writer/couch potato. I smoke almost as much as I drink - and I smoke a lot of f'n cigarettes. I don't really look like I'm out-of-shape (still have the six pack and all that), but I used to be a sprinter, and I know what it feels like to be in shape - and I'm not definately not in shape. I've got a lot of bad habits, (drinking, smoking, not eating right, etc.) and I've decided to try to change while I'm still young. Stopped drinking as much, and I'm gradually cutting down on my nicotine intake. It's a process, I guess.

Anyway, being that I'm an avid mma fan/long-time sherdog lurker (recent poster), I figure an 'mma-like' workout routine might be just the thing to keep me motivated/interested enough to keep at it.

A friend of mine does bjj, and has offered to let me roll with him, and I think it'd be a fun way to get in better shape. Still, I'd like to do more than just that. After reading over the posts in this forum, I figure it's as good a place as any to get a bit of advice. Aside from doing road work/jogging on a more regular basis, where do you guys think I should start, if I want to get myself in better physical condition?

Short term goals:
-Be able to run three miles again without feeling like I'm going to cough up a lung in the process.
-Don't care about looking like a bodybuilder, but I would like a bit more muscle definition.
-Increase my functional strength.

My workout schedule is relatively open, because I make ends meat doing freelance design, and dj'in at the odd bar when I'm not writing.

Any constructive feedback at all to this post will be welcome. I'm sure I'm not the only one that could use the help. Thanks in advance for you guy's time.

(Saw threads simillar this one in the forum, but I didn't want to hijack anyone else's post. Hopefully this thread won't have to be merged, moved, or deleted, but if it does, I won't spaz out or anything.

)

Edit: The only real excercise equipment I have is a recumbent bike, and a rusty run-of-the-mill barbell with about 150 lbs worth of weights to put on it.

czar2 · 10-09-2006, 11:07 PM

1. Quit smoking and drinkin (+ eating chips, tacos and other junk food)

2. Run every day as long as you can, even if you can do only 5 minutes.

3. Join a martial arts gym (preferably with wrestling, BJJ and muay thai)

Maleldil · 10-10-2006, 12:42 PM

If you join an intense martial arts gym (especially one that specializes in real Muay Thai training) then the other stuff will come, because if you stick it out for more than a few days you will realize that you literally can't smoke and train. You just hit a wall and that's it, you can't push yourself farther. So you quit smoking to train more. Get fit to train, don't train to get fit. Trust me, if you only focus on your weight or the way your body looks, you might lose weight and whatnot, but you won't keep it off and you'll slip back into old habits. It must become a lifestyle change, period. If you aren't willing to change forever, you're going to fail.

Hudsn · 10-11-2006, 12:19 AM

Take small lifestyle steps so you can stick with them. switch from soda to water or non-cal beverages, you feel like chips and you know you cant avoid 'em have baked lays or veggie chips

ziggity · 10-11-2006, 01:00 AM

yep i've been changing my diet for over a year. at the beginning i had my caloric intake and carb/protein/fat balance all mapped out (for weightlifting), but i was still drinking soda here and there, blah blah blah.. all this time i've been reading and doing research and seeing what works for me, and my diet has improved tremendously. every day before i go to sleep i can think back and say to myself, every single thing i've put in my body today was something it needed and will use.

just take small steps.. but don't stop taking them, and eventually you'll have gotten yourself to a better place.

Hudsn · 10-11-2006, 02:41 AM

exactly if you deprive yourelf or radically change things overnight it may be harder to stick with, start by making better choices and clening up your diet

musclemax · 10-14-2006, 06:52 PM

can someone please expand on the "run as much as you can everyday" thing?
I mean, does this mean jogging slow or running hard/almost sprinting?

I assume as long as you can Without rest right? cuz I can run very little, but If I can get periods of rest and just walk I can keep running for a good while.

Thanks guys, you rock!

Nice thread White.

Revok · 10-14-2006, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musclemax

can someone please expand on the "run as much as you can everyday" thing?
I mean, does this mean jogging slow or running hard/almost sprinting?

I assume as long as you can Without rest right? cuz I can run very little, but If I can get periods of rest and just walk I can keep running for a good while.

If you need breaks then you should work on your aerobic base (google and read). In my experience there is no point in doing other, more intense forms of cardio until you have this.

musclemax · 10-15-2006, 06:43 AM

thanks for your reply revok. Will do.

johnmxg12 · 10-15-2006, 06:19 PM

one thing that helped me come back from being overweight and out of shape is having a workout buddy. it was more motivation than running by myself. it was pretty good. so if you can start a program with a friend it would be extremely beneficial. good luck, its a tough road.