Several years ago I was 215lbs, couldn't run to the neighbors house and back without dying and was a flabby mess.
I remember posting about "if you can't run to the mailbox and back what good will you be in a SHTF event". Yet, sadly, I was one that couldn't.
The low point was getting invited to shoot with some real-deal, legit, 100% verified high speed guys. I shot fine. Physically, I was smoked after 5 minutes of bounding movements. It was so humiliating.
It was the motivation I needed to get my ass, for the first time in my life, in some form of middle-aged shape.
I am happy to report I weighed 170lbs this morning, am doing my first 100mile bike ride this weekend and have obtained some level of physical fitness above "slug".
Lessons learned:
Start small: Don't start out with a crazy program you can't sustain. I literally started out doing a 20 air-squats as a "work out" for the entire day. My first bike ride was literally to the neighbors driveway. I just kept adding little bits here and there. Now I'm working out in some fashion 6 out of 7 days for a reasonable and sustainable amount of time.
Diet is key: Again, start small. I eat out a lot due to my employment. First, I stopped ordering desert. Then appetizers. Then I tried to get more fish and veggie side dishes. Then I cut out all the bread. Then I got off the diet-soda. This process took a long while but the results started being noticeable, especially, when my physical activity increased.
Repetition: 5 sets of 10 pushups is better than 50 straight pushups for building up strength. Same with cardio. Better to go on 3x bike rides during the week than 1 monster one every other week.
Change up what you do: The body responds to different stimuli. So just doing 1 exercise over and over means your body will likely plateau. Plus it gets boring. So change up what exercises you do to stimulate your body to more improvements.
Rest: Be sure you get plenty of rest. That's when your body recovers and grows. You can't run on fumes all the time.
Get advice: I felt like a retard asking really fit people basic n00b questions but man was it helpful. So much good advice and little tips along the way. Plus it increased the size of my network.
Listen to your body: While my goal going forward is overall strength improvements, I'll likely never be a massively strong person. I'm more of a cardio endurance person. Example: went hiking with a 40lbs pack a ways back. The group I was with walked at a faster pace than I do. Instead of trying to keep up and get blown out I walked at my own pace for about the first mile. Once I got warmed up I gradually increased the pace until I passed the main group and hung with the fast walking leader for the next 5+ miles.
I'm the same on bike rides. I need to start slow and gradually increase.
Listen to what your body is telling you.
Not trying to pretend to be an expert on the subject, nor am I saying I'm a ripped god of the gym now. I'm just happy that I can haul a pack 5 miles and not be dead, have a decent tone and have slimmed down (and kept it off). I did an all day shooting class earlier this year and wore plates and full kit the entire day. I looked like a dork, and yes I was tired, but I was effective at the end of the class.
Plus, I feel great.
I believe this is one of the best preps I've made thus far.
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