Exercise Plan #1

So now that I've said hello, I should probably say how I'm going about getting healthier. Today marks week 2, day 1 of the first plan Chris set up for me (Chris is the brother-in-law-in-every-way-except-married guy), and it's one he's set up to play both into my strengths and my goals.

First up my cardio fitness is fucking shocking, so that's gotta be the primary short-term goal - I figure if I can't breath then I can't exercise. For this goal I'm swimming 3 days a week before work. It's pretty short and sweet, largely because I'm pretty sure I'll drown trying to do more - a 50m warmup (which I swim breaststroke), followed by 5x50m reps at a higher level (freestyle for these), and lastly another 50m to warm down (breaststroke again).

The next short-term goal is to get some muscle strength back to my core, the abs and lower-back. Chris has got me doing a series of stretches, followed by some core exercises. The stretches are for 30-60 seconds in duration, and the exercises are generally reps of 10 for each one. I'm doing these 3 days a week too, on the off days between swims - Sunday is my day off. I shan't be more detailed about what exercises exactly, mostly because I don't want to shit all over Chris' business and spill his secrets. If he's ok with it, then I'm happy to share.

At home, we're not making huge life changes to our food - at least not yet. We're coming into summer anyway so the fruit and vege options are getting cheaper and more prevalent, so we're just trying to have more of those instead of fattier options. With lunch I'm taking at least 2 pieces of fruit - today, for example, I've got a banana, an apple and 2 manderines - and cutting back on buying fatty shit for lunch.

The plan is still super early on, but I'm definitely feeling there's been progress already. After the swim on day 1 I swear I was going to hurl, but today I felt like there was more left in the tank after I finished my warm down.

That's a good sign right?

Introduction #1

An introduction seems like a good place to start, so I'll kick this fucker off.

I'm Adrian, currently a resident of Auckland, New Zealand. I'm a little taller than average (185cm - that's about 6' 1" for those of you still living in the stone age), and a fair slab too heavy for my height (107kg last time I checked).

My main motivation for getting more active has been my weight, which has gone up about 12kg in the last 12-14 months. I know that weight isn't the only measure of health, but this is the main indicator for me. I've also put on a steady growth of chubb around my waistline, which isn't the smartest move for my ethnicity (European).

Not too long ago I joined up with some extended family + friends to do a group triathlon, and having had a competitive swimming history I thought 300m on a beach would be a cakewalk. I don't know how long it took to complete, but I nearly threw up twice before tagging my teammate, and nearly threw up again 3 times more before sitting down. I was proper fucked.

This was a pretty massive shock for me, and I couldn't believe that all those years in the pool had vanished. Back in the day we were swimming 6km a day for training, to fail so miserably at a mere 300m was just crushing. Hell, I had a 6-pack back then, now it's a keg!

And so I've just started the long haul back into being fit. Today marks day 4 in my first week of that haul, and I'll admit it's not easy. The husband of my partner's sister (it would be easier to say brother in law, but we're not married yet) is a personal trainer, so with his help and planning, and the motivational support of my friends and family, I'm going to lose this fat and get back to being me.