New start... Lots of options...

I'm looking for a challenge which will get me to my 50's goal. 

I like the idea of body weight style training as it can be done anywhere and requires the barest minimum of equipment. I'm currently looking at "Convict Conditioning", sandbag training and some form of calisthenics.

I realise fully that I'm not producing lots and lots of testosterone (like I was at 20) so it's unlikely that I'll develop huge muscles but I still want to be fit, healthy, flexible, strong, slim and have a nice physique so, I reckon that these types of "systems" will give me good results.

Today I weighed in at 86.6kg (180 cm) and I think that my goal weight should be around 75.0kg. At that weight I should be at around 10% or less body fat and if I get all of this right I should look pretty ripped.

In the next few days I'm going to set myself a fitness test (I'll probably use the Michelle Bridges one) and post the results. 

This is a personal journey and the results will be my own responsibility, I'm not competing with anyone and if anyone ever reads my posts they shouldn't compare my results with theirs as we're all different.

FIFTY!

In November I'll be 50... Wow, 50!

During the last round of 12WBT I set a goal for my 50th that I still think will be hard to achieve. It'll certainly be impossible to achieve if I don't "extract my digit" and work towards it.

The goal: On my 50th I want to be able to do the following in 50 minutes...

• 50 sit-ups
• 50 push-ups
• 50 chin-ups
• 5 km run 

Now for all you fit gym bunnies out there this might not sound too difficult but there are a couple of parts that I don't know if I'll be able to do.

1. 50 chin ups - I'm too heavy and don't have the strength to do more than two or three chin-ups at present.
2. 5 km run - I hate running, I'm not good at it, I'm too heavy and my heart tries to leave my chest after about 1 minute... Running for 20-25 minutes (if I can get 5 km done in that time) just sounds like it won't happen.

And that's what this blog is about - getting fit, losing weight and documenting what I did to get to my goal.

I want to be fitter and at 50 than I was at 20. I want to be healthy, strong, flexible and feeling awesome.

How am I going to do this? Based on my previous experience I've realised that, while it requires consistency and a plan, it isn't that hard to lose weight. It amazed me how quickly my fitness improved but can I achieve these goals, especially with the hours I spend at work?

I will be posting my plan, my starting stats, progress photos and my thoughts about the things I find in my research on exercise, nutrition and health.

Where to begin?

I will be fifty later this year and, while my fitness and health have improved significantly over the last 18 months I've let things slip a little recently.

Early last year my wife showed me the Michelle Bridges 12WBT program and told me that a friend was doing it and had great results. To shorten a long story I signed up and began the program. This is a before photo taken on the 17th of January 2013...

At that time I weighed in at 104 kg which was my heaviest. I tried to work out what goals I should set and decided that, even though I have a problem with the concept of BMI I would aim for the "normal" range. Given my height I would need to get down to 82 kg (with the lowest weight in the normal range being 66 kg). The first few weeks were seriously challenging as I hadn't exercised consistently for many years and the diet had me feeling hungry. I persisted, started enjoying the exercise and began to lose weight. At the end of 12 weeks I had lost 20 kg and (almost) made it to my goal weight...

It felt great! What I found out fairly quickly was that my blood pressure was now a "normal" 120/80, my resting heart rate was down to the high sixties, my waist was down to less than 100 cm all of which reduced my risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke...

I immediately signed up again to a round of 12WBT Lean & Strong program which is a strength and toning program rather than weight loss and gained strength, lost another belt size or two and felt awesome. After another 5 weeks I took more photos...

So, at that time, I was feeling excellent, proud of my results and had a completely new wardrobe as none of my old clothes fit me at all.

Late last year I started a new career that requires 12 hour shifts. I live 90 km from work so a day at work costs me 14 hours plus preparation and "wind down" time. My fitness has declined, my strength has declined and my waistline has expanded. 

Time to rethink...