We haven't really visited this topic for a while so I figured I might as well bring it up again!

I've had better intentions than results for some time now, but got a new gym membership at a much improved facility last fall. I fell away, making it only sporadically, again this winter for a variety of valid reasons and bad excuses, but getting outside and moving again is showing a drop in weight just from the increased activity, even though my diet has suffered with the change to these 12 hour overnight shifts I now have to work. I defaulted back to liberal caffeine consumption and microwave meals.

The weight loss has given me a little push though.

I realized (again) that a gym is not the do all, be all, end all of fitness. So I am now removing that as an excuse. All I need for equipment is a swiss ball and a sauna suit to keep my uniform clean at work, and I'll be re-starting a body weight calisthenics circuit there. One I think will be much improved over my previous program.

Two minutes each of:
Jumping rope
Squats
Swiss ball crunches
Swiss ball back extensions
Pushups
Inverted rows from under my desk

No set rest periods in between so I'll have a balanced, total body workout done in less than 15 minutes, 3x per night for now, eventually kicking the intensity up to once per hour and adding weight as required.

I've only got one more month of sleep deprivation to endure, so I'm going to make a serious effort to work past that and make it to the gym Monday and Wednesday mornings. If I can keep from weaving like a drunk on my way home after work I'll forgo a nap on Tuesday nights to exercise then as well.

I've been following Pat McNamara's articles outlining his Combat Strength Training program in Recoil, and I'm going to follow that methodology for my primary routine. I'll post more details once I get what I have together and summarized.

Meal planning is a go at this point now as well, though it will take some major discipline and preparation to accomplish. I'm constantly switching back and forth from a night schedule to a day schedule, so I decided I'd just set meal times every 2.5 - 3 hours over a 24 hour period. It works out great for eating 6-7x a day no matter when I'm awake, and I can put workouts in between them to achieve the best possible results.

It is past time I get this done.