I'm in pretty pathetic shape and looking to change it.

[mman85]

Hey everyone!

I'm writing my question here because I want to ask real people who possibly know what the hell they're talking about. As opposed to some of the more phonie and corporate censored websites out there.

I have a background in combat arms. But I got out of the military in 2007. Since then, other than a year or so here and there with lame attempts at getting back into physical training, I let my body go to absolute shit. I'm 37 now, and am looking at over 15 years of eating nothing but garbage, being dehydrated nonstop, heavily smoking for the last ten of those years (just quit permanently), not even really exercising, and doing very little physical labor. I'm pretty sure, according to everything I've read and how I feel/physically function right now, that my T levels suck ass too. But I won't know until I get them tested. Which I do plan on organizing in the near future.

The end result is feeling my body starting to die. Thankfully I don't look as haggard as I actually am. But that doesn't help me with health related issues, or even self-defense really. My muscles are soft. I'm about 15 pounds overweight. My organs are shit. I have very little energy. I feel sick all the time. My joints get wrecked easily. And I feel like my bone density has taken a hit. But I could be wrong about that. I'm not just unhealthy, but rather, the fiber of my very tissues feel strained every day. Like, really strained. Muscular atrophy within the foreseeable future, kind of strained. I feel like I'm twice my real age.

Fortunately, knowing my body, I'm pretty certain this can all still mostly be fixed with proper diet and exercise. But I had a good hard look at myself and realized I am out of time to procrastinate any longer. And I'm at a point in my life where the need to improve my physical self is a burning desire and among my top five aspirations. Priority number one right now, if I'm being honest. If I go any longer without fixing this, I'm going to not be able to. Especially if I become injured because of it.

There will come a time when I'll start to bulk. But that time is not now. I suppose my question is just about you all's opinion. With everything you read here, in your opinion, what is a realistic time-frame I might be looking at to merely get back to physical baseline, if I start a reasonable workout/diet/vitamin routine? As well as stay away from the smoking, and properly hydrate? By baseline I mean, the normal shape someone should be in before they start a more rigorous routine to pack on muscle and above average endurance. And by reasonable I mean, push myself as hard as I can without as many risks as I could afford to take if I were already at baseline.

I hope this all makes sense. I just want to get back to not feeling undead, and not like I need to rest after two flights of stairs. Or like if an average person strikes me, my bones will instantly shatter beneath my muscle. Or like I'm going to be sick every day solely because my body just IS sick. I'm not asking anyone to get the science completely accurate. I just wonder if anyone can estimate a reasonable ballpark. I appreciate any and all input on thus. Even if it is mostly just guesswork.

Many thanks!

 

[69nites]

If you say you're 15 lbs overweight, I'm going to assume you're actually 30 lbs away from seeing an ab. That means you're probably 12-15 weeks of bulk weight loss away from where you're looking to be assuming you know what you're doing and are going to adhere to a program.

 

[mman85]

If you say you're 15 lbs overweight, I'm going to assume you're actually 30 lbs away from seeing an ab. That means you're probably 12-15 weeks of bulk weight loss away from where you're looking to be assuming you know what you're doing and are going to adhere to a program.

Sounds reasonable. My overall initial goal is to get my muscles, organs, and BMI to acceptable performance levels to start at ground zero for actually building up. Basically, I need to repair my foundation first. Thank you for the feedback.

 

[iGone]

It's hard to give you any real feedback based on your post.
You've taken the first step and acknowledged the problem at hand, now it's time to plan, execute and evaluate.


In terms of timeline and everything you're looking for there really needs to be more information, stats, weight, what time you have available for training, what your actual goals will be etc etc.

 

[mman85]

Good point. I was so focused on painting the horrible picture of my current health that I overlooked the need for some of the important details. Thank you for being thorough and thoughtful in your attempt to help out.

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 185 lbs
BMI: 26.5
Available Training Time: 4-6 hours/day. Up to 5 days/week.

Goals After Baseline: To bulk up and shred down to moderate muscle density. And to also get into self-defense classes again. As well as run 3-6 miles easily without feeling over-exerted at the end of it.

Let me know if any additional information might help. And thank you for the input.

 

[buck]

The vast majority of people that try to change there whole lifestyle, diet start training. usually always fail. If you are a rare one that can do that then great. I suggest picking an area then do that till it is a habit them move to the next. Being fit is a marathon not a sprint.

 

[mman85]

The vast majority of people that try to change there whole lifestyle, diet start training. usually always fail. If you are a rare one that can do that then great. I suggest picking an area then do that till it is a habit them move to the next. Being fit is a marathon not a sprint.

That's honestly how I even got to this state of being ready to start. Started drinking more water daily (which believe it or not actually does take a fare bit of dedication), then pushed towards no longer smoking, etc. Thank you though. You're definitely correct on this.

 

[j2048b]

Grab a few books like 75 hard, and give it a read also grab a few of jocko’s books and give them a read then read the mental health prescription

Those 3 items will assist u in finding ur way back to exercise and help instill good habits

 

[mman85]

Grab a few books like 75 hard, and give it a read also grab a few of jocko’s books and give them a read then read the mental health prescription

Those 3 items will assist u in finding ur way back to exercise and help instill good habits

Hell yeah! Thank you!

 

[j2048b]

Hell yeah! Thank you!

NO prob, the books will help u with mental health and get u on the right track to u starting to reapply the habits u learned in the service and speak to u about how ur mental health exercises and group therapy will help u get back to the person u know u can and should be…

 

[j2048b]

Look at some easy to stick to diets, and figure a 90/10 , 90% adherence with a 10% slip of diet is usually pretty doable , dont think everything is wasted or the day is shot if u slip up on the diet or lifting, start slow, in both diet and lifting that way u dont jump back into the ego too quickly or u will fail. Start with bodyweight exercises to get the momentum going and slowly transition to the weights

If u cant do basic bodyweight exercises there is no way u should be under a bar with weights as it can cause a lot of issues…

My opinions anyways

 

[AASPharmacy]

Thanks for sharing--hope to hear a success story soon!

 

[j2048b]

Hell yeah! Thank you!

Excerpt from 5/3/1 FOREVER: Bodyweight Assistance Work

The following is an excerpt from the new book, 5/3/1 Forever. This book outlines how to program all areas of your training including assistance work. Yes, that's right; no more questions about assistance work. Everything is tied up, nice and tight AND allows for a lot of personal choices. Each...

www.jimwendler.com

 

[mman85]

Look at some easy to stick to diets, and figure a 90/10 , 90% adherence with a 10% slip of diet is usually pretty doable , dont think everything is wasted or the day is shot if u slip up on the diet or lifting, start slow, in both diet and lifting that way u dont jump back into the ego too quickly or u will fail. Start with bodyweight exercises to get the momentum going and slowly transition to the weights

If u cant do basic bodyweight exercises there is no way u should be under a bar with weights as it can cause a lot of issues…

My opinions anyways

All of this is great info! Thank you.

 

[mman85]

Thanks for sharing--hope to hear a success story soon!

I figure the only way to get better is to not be self-conscious about my overall condition. Thank you. I'll share regularly.

 

[BRICKS]

You know what the problem is, you also know how to fix it. You've said you quit smoking, string work, that's no easy. Probably the most difficult part of what you're embarking on. Now, focus in two things and just do them. 1) eating a healthy diet. 2) get your ass in the gym consistently, without fail. Don't worry about a timeline. You didn't fall out of shape overnight. Start with a good beginning strength program and do cardio 30 min, 3x/week. That can be as simple as walking on a slight incline in the treadmill. Do these two things, the diet and the exercise, and in a few months you will notice a world of difference. That's a starting point. But I have a feeling you know this.

I'm reminded of an analogy, actually real experience I had. I knew for a long time I had an alcohol problem, but until I actually acted upon that knowledge and DID something (quit drinking), my life didn't improve. Go figure. Amazing how it was when I finally acted. Go figure again, huh.

Just do it brother. Consistency and patience.

 

[mman85]

You know what the problem is, you also know how to fix it. You've said you quit smoking, string work, that's no easy. Probably the most difficult part of what you're embarking on. Now, focus in two things and just do them. 1) eating a healthy diet. 2) get your ass in the gym consistently, without fail. Don't worry about a timeline. You didn't fall out of shape overnight. Start with a good beginning strength program and do cardio 30 min, 3x/week. That can be as simple as walking on a slight incline in the treadmill. Do these two things, the diet and the exercise, and in a few months you will notice a world of difference. That's a starting point. But I have a feeling you know this.

I'm reminded of an analogy, actually real experience I had. I knew for a long time I had an alcohol problem, but until I actually acted upon that knowledge and DID something (quit drinking), my life didn't improve. Go figure. Amazing how it was when I finally acted. Go figure again, huh.

Just do it brother. Consistency and patience.

This really hit home. Thank you so much! The world seems to be filled with people who want something REALLY bad, but aren't prepared to do what is necessary to make it happen. Even when it's completely within their control. I don't want to be one of them. The other problem is the world is filled with people who enable this behavior by saying "you're perfect just how you are." But we're not. Too many of us create our own mess and wonder why it isn't just magically cleaned up for us. I realized life could be so much better if I start putting my money where my mouth is. Time to get to it!

 

[Yano]

Welcome to grind central , good to see you got sick and tired of being sick and tired that's no where to be.

Not much I can add to all the great things folks have said really , some great stuff up there to start you off.

What I can say from personal experience is this , it takes years for us to fall apart all that damage and neglect is not undone in a few months this is a marathon not a sprint.

Diet ,, fuck that word ,, fuck it right in the ass with a hand full of sand.

Change your relationship with food if its an issue. Diets are temporary , temporary is bullshit for the weak so they have some misguided hope of returning to what they consider normal but their idea of normal is what got them fat in the first damn place hahaaah. Again personal experience.

Training , be consistent even when you don't want to be. The days that you have to cuss your self out and drive the demon of failure out of your mind over and over matter much more than the happy days in my personal opinion. Those are the work outs that make champions.

Discipline beats the fuck out of motivation. Thank the people you hate and that hate you. Use all the negative shit as the fuel you need to become the different version of yourself that you want to become , the person you see in your minds eye.

Good Luck

 

[mman85]

Welcome to grind central , good to see you got sick and tired of being sick and tired that's no where to be.

Not much I can add to all the great things folks have said really , some great stuff up there to start you off.

What I can say from personal experience is this , it takes years for us to fall apart all that damage and neglect is not undone in a few months this is a marathon not a sprint.

Diet ,, fuck that word ,, fuck it right in the ass with a hand full of sand.

Change your relationship with food if its an issue. Diets are temporary , temporary is bullshit for the weak so they have some misguided hope of returning to what they consider normal but their idea of normal is what got them fat in the first damn place hahaaah. Again personal experience.

Training , be consistent even when you don't want to be. The days that you have to cuss your self out and drive the demon of failure out of your mind over and over matter much more than the happy days in my personal opinion. Those are the work outs that make champions.

Discipline beats the fuck out of motivation. Thank the people you hate and that hate you. Use all the negative shit as the fuel you need to become the different version of yourself that you want to become , the person you see in your minds eye.

Good Luck

Very well said. I appreciate the thought and energy put into such a long reply. Thank you! What would you suggest adopting for food practices, if not a diet?

 

[Yano]

Very well said. I appreciate the thought and energy put into such a long response. Thank you! What would you suggest adopting for food practices, if not a diet?

We are all different for me I had a horrible relationship with food it was more of a comfort drug if you will. I'm sad , ice cream makes me feel good ,, i'm happy hey lets have pie ,, im bored ,, we got any chips ? ... wow my mouths dry ,, water ? oooo we got pepsi score !

I had to accept why I was eating what I was and when and make a conscious effort to change my direction from the kitchen to any where else in the house and an activity of some sort.

Granted thats extreme but its how I was and I think many people are with out realizing it.

First thing I would do is focus on the what and why and begin to learn about macros. Find out what your maintenance calories are and slowly adjust your diet down to that and then into a deficit , maybe 200 or 300 calories at a time.

Once you learn macros - protein , carbs and fats how they are processed utilized and stored in your body you will begin to see changes in your physique. Proteins are for repair and muscle building , carbs are for fuel and energy , fats are for body function and proper health in the correct amount.

It will seem like a giant mountain to learn but its actually simple to get a solid grasp of dont let any of it intimidate you.

I mean , fuck i did it and I only got a GED haahaha I aint no genius.