Topic: Scrap it and rebuild it.

[Riddled]

I've been sitting on this idea for a couple of weeks, now, really trying to test it out in my head and see how I feel about it.  I tend to be a cautious person.  Still.  I'm low energy, I'm moody, and generally unhappy.  I've been gradually realizing that the reason I'm not a happy person anymore has a lot to do with my lifestyle and the way I feel about it.  In light of that vaguely... ehh... yucky self realization, I've found a certain desire for the freedom Parkour represents. 

I've scaled soda and almost all sugars down to nearly nothing and I drink water like I'm pretending to be a camel.  It's a start.  Rice, chicken, peanut butter, bread, flour tortillas and various vegetables make up most of my meals, along with a 'just-in-case' multivitamin supplement. 

This first phase of my lifestyle change, I feel, is running fairly smoothly.  Any comments about my diet choices are welcomed and you can be sure that I'm reading the articles and forum posts about these things regularly, because if anyone's going to get this through my head, it's me.

The second part, however, is causing me problems.  I've been a smoker for just under ten years, since I was fifteen.  I'm down from (Gasp!) three packs a day, to just one, and I'm scaling that back towards an eventual goal (within the next two weeks, roughly) of not smoking at all.  The bottom line, however, is that my lungs are useless.  In a family full of distance runners (My dad ran the Boston Marathon, back in the day), I've got the legs for running and I liked running track in Highschool, but I've got no wind and I'm ridiculously out of shape.  I've got very little fitness background, and until I started reading the forums here and doing some thinking on the philosophy of parkour, I haven't ever really been motivated to become fit. 

I ran up the stairs, the other day, and I thought I was going to pass out.  Enough's enough, you know?  I don't believe I'm significantly overweight, at about 178lbs and five foot ten, with a medium frame, though I've got the 'spare tire' about the midsection - but I'm super low energy, and I've got no stamina. 

I also work from about eight AM to ten PM, monday through friday, between two of my three jobs.  I've been slowly adjusting my sleep schedule towards getting up at about five AM so that I can start running on the treadmill and taking care of various other exercises pre-work, as I feel that would give me a better outlook on the rest of the day. 

It's hard not to get overwhelmed with how far I have to go, though.  I'd sort of like to keep a record of where I'm coming from and where I'm going to, here, with my end goals being a body fit enough for parkour and the lungs to keep up with it.


First week plan:

I'm hesitant to take on much more than what I've got here, because I don't know what my limits are.  I think that just throwing myself in without planning will wind me up with an injury and then I'd be S.O.L.  Any feedback, here, would be greatly appreciated.

Exercise:
M/W/F
at least 15-20 minutes of stretching-warm up, 1/2 mile run, as much of WOD as I can accomplish.  Depending on time it takes to complete, some form of balance training and begin learning how to roll.  Also like to add pushups, pullups and situps, when I find my limits, there. 

teu/th
stretching and core training

sa/su
stretching and rest

Lifestyle:
Reduce number of cigarettes smoked by 2/3, goal being at least 2 1/2 hours between cigarettes thru wed., 4 hours Wed-Sun.  No unnecessary sugar.  No fatty foods.  Period.


Comments, suggestions?  I'll take all the help I can get. 

~Rid

[Gearsighted]

Suggestion number one: Quit the cigarettes entirely. If you are planning on quitting anyway, why not avoid the hundreds of cigarettes you will invariably smoke between now and then with your plan? Bite the bullet and go balls-out and just do it. That's how I quit. I think the motivation is there, you just have to get mad! Why in god's name are you spending money to let somebody kill you? It should seriously piss you off, so let it, then kick its ass like some punk trying to take your wallet!

Second tip, read the following article. It's the "7 Habits of A Highly Effective Nutrition Program" by John Berardi. I think it's one of the best starting points as far as diet goes. Try your damnest to implement the 7 habits at least 85-90% of the time, and you'll have an excellent foundation from which to build on:

7-Habits Article

Needless to say, your diet isn't that bad at all, but every bit helps, especially as you have a ways to go, and any bit you can compound will help you get there quicker.

On that note, you might want to cut back a bit on the exercise. Since you are just starting, and you're trying to overcome the deficit that smoking has caused, I would do 3 days a week total body exercise, such as:

• Pushups
  Pullups
  Leg Lifts
  Squats

Substitute as needed, but keep the basic idea. Keep it simple and short at first, and concentrate on getting your form perfect. On the off days, start with walking at a brisk pace, then eventually begin to interdisperse this with light jogs. You want to give your body time to adapt, and you don't want to discurage yourself by kicking your ass into submission on the first week. On these days, some light Parkour techs training might also be good. Take the weekends to rest, going hiking or swimming and working on flexibility. Allow your body to recouperate completely. Each week, strive to add a bit more work, just in incremental steps here and there, which will add up to a lot in a matter of months. Soon you'll be running the entire distance, popping off 50's and 100's of each exercise, and generally feeling great with a dialed-in diet. At this point, start mixing up the exercises a bit, picking and choosing new push and pull movements to keep it interesting. Once you're comfortable with the form, you can start a scaled WOD, working up the intensity as your comfort level allows.

You have already completed the hardest part, which is making the commitment to do something about it. Train smarter rather than harder at first, and you'll have a much better chance of going the distance. Please keep us updated, and don't hesitate to shoot me an email or PM if you ever need any specific advice!

Good luck!

[Bubblemaker]

I can't imagine Gear smoking 
Anyway, great that you're stopping living that lifestyle! There are so many people that should follow your example.

[Andy Animus Tran]

I'm in your boat.  I have the muscles for a lot of things, but my endurance is utter crap.  I can't jog for very long without feeling like I'm going to die.  I can't run my PK circuit for very long, either, so I take ten minute breaks between each run of the circuit.  It's very annoying.  But I figure...  The more I work out my endurance, the more I'll be able to... endure.  Just gotta work those lungs, I guess.

[Argon]

Good to hear that parkour is turning flabby, tobacco-adled, emos into succesful, fit, happy people. It definately seems like you have the right conviction, just stick with it!

One more thing, I didn't see any fruits in your diet, and fruits are a must. I started eating fruits when I got into shape about a year ago and I went from feeling like a sack of crap all day to feeling like a million bucks. I highly, highly reccomend fruits of any kind. You have to get them in season though; they'll be much better and cost less, so do your homework before you go out an buy a five-dollar mango in december. Fortunately, many fruits are grown in both hemispheres, meaning that they are in season two times a year!

[Gearsighted]

Fruits are tasty but vegetables beat them hands-down for nutrient content. Rely on lean meats, veggies, nuts and seeds first, then add fruits in more moderation. This assures a well-balanced nutrient profile to your diet. Needless to say, eating nothing but fruit is 1000 times better than the majority of America's diet, so you would be doing better than most