I'm fat. Starting a martial arts class in a month.

Cliffs:
I'm 5'10, 190, all fat.
I'm an overworked desk jockey
I have a shitty immune system
Taking a new MA class for the first time in years in a month
Completely out of shape
Need tips on what to do the next month so I don't die
wah emo


History:
I used to be in great shape, took Judo and TKD did well in tourneys, played football up until college (I sucked). I was in a car wreck that fucked my back up, lost every ounce of muscle I had. It's been about 5 years since I REALLY worked out, I would get little bursts of energy and would start back for a week or two or a month, but never sustained.

Today:
I have a high stress job and I work 12 hour days Monday through Friday and Saturdays sometimes. I sit in front of a computer all day everyday or I sit in a chair and talk to people all day. At the end of the day I usually go right to bed or just do more work until I fall asleep. I can cut an hour or two out of my schedule as I have a new assistant who can cover for me now and we're hiring another full time guy to do one of the jobs I'm doing now. I know I'm overworked, but most days I have no energy at all at the end of the day. Sundays I usually am so tired I play with the kids for a few hours and then take a couple of naps and go to bed early. I seem to be sick at least one week a month, I've been sick for the last 6 weeks now. Doctor says I have the flu, and I had the flu a month ago. Before that I had a sinus infection. I'm sure this is because of my fatigue.

My Plan:

I'm taking these classes 2-4 days a week and for the most part plan on going 3 days a week. The gym is 35 minutes from my house so I'm thinking I'll leave my phone at home and look at is as a 3 hour break a few times a week. I hope that these classes will get me back into "shape" and will give me more energy, help with fatigue, and clarity of thought. I've REALLY cleaned up my diet, I eat little sugar, no pop, high fiber and protein. I don't count calories too much, but my wife is pretty good about it and lets me know what's healthy and what isn't. I got a little burst of energy at first from dieting, but now it doesn't seem to do anything except leave me a little hungry. I've lost about 20 pounds in 2 months.

My Concerns:
I'm worried that I won't have any energy to do anything physical in these classes and that I'll just be the fat guy dying in the back.
I have NO cardio.
I'm worried that I'll be tired at work. That is not an option and if I have to choose I'll pick work and sacrifice my health for another year or so.
I'm worried that alot of physical exertion will weaken my immune system further.
I also travel 1 week a month, will jogging and pushups etc keep my health level up?

I can alter my schedule immediately starting this next week (which is my catalyst) so I'll still work alot, but I should be able to stop at about 7pm every night.
What foods should I start eating?
What kind of exercise should I start? I have a treadmill, bowflex, bench and free weights.
Any other tips or tools you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

ur gonna die, literally

I have this guy on pignore. But I saw it come up on the latest posts indicator. It's amazing how many pignored people star threads in this forum!

what this thread about and who started it?

I have this guy on pignore. But I saw it come up on the latest posts indicator. It's amazing how many pignored people star threads in this forum!

what this thread about and who started it?

Haha, why the fuck would anyone have me on ignore?

I have this guy on pignore. But I saw it come up on the latest posts indicator. It's amazing how many pignored people star threads in this forum!

what this thread about and who started it?
Why don't you shut up?

if you stick with it for 6 months you will find you are starting to not be fat anymore. it may even motivate you to start doing additional workouts outside of class to get yourself in better shape. the key is surviving those first 6 months.

I would just start lifting really light and progress very gradually. I would also STRETCH a lot to help prevent injuries going into this.

Just do light full body workouts and stretch a lot, that will get you ready for MA. Also the first few weeks of class, especially if they are really hard, don't be afraid to eat a little extra to help recover. You can gain some "healthy weight" (aka muscle) this way.

diet and lots of cardio. Add pushups, situps, mountain climbers, 8 count body builders, pullups and lunges.

Leaving the cellphone home = good call.
Make sure with your diet that you get your vitamins, iron etc. the poor immune system can be a result of poor dieting.

And generally speaking workout never lowers your immune system. Saying that it's easier to catch a flu from someone else in a MA class where you're skin to skin with someone, who has the flu. And sleep is a big factor also, if you don't sleep enough after working out you'll be much more exhausted than you're right now. Which in turn will decrease motivation and you won't last a month. So sleep well and much!

mountain climbers, 8 count body builders,

What are these?

And sleep is a big factor also, if you don't sleep enough after working out you'll be much more exhausted than you're right now. Which in turn will decrease motivation and you won't last a month. So sleep well and much!

I'll get home about 9:30, so I can shower and be asleep by 10, but I'm up @6:30. That should be plenty right?

yea +8 hours is fine. I was fearin you'd sleep like 5-6 hours.

first off the 20 lbs you think you lost is a combination of fat, muscle, and water weight.

i'd say the most fat you could have lost in that timeframe is like 8-10lbs. Just being realistic. i mean it's still weight.. but don't get false expectations about that water weight. it'll be back as long as you drink enough. if you're not eating as often as before some of that weight is muscle, too.

one of my friends is starving himself right now and it's sad because if he just lowered the calories and ate as often as he did before he'd be way better off.

but, anyway when ive been in your situation 10 mins of HIIT exercise before work will increase your metabolism while you're at your desk job. just run around your neighborhood or apartment complex before work really quick. run 2 mins 80% intensity, walk 2 mins, repeat until you're done. I'd do it before you eat unless you're really tired. that way you don't have to wait for your food to settle and food will seem like your reward for doing this every morning. it actually goes by really quick and your energy levels will skyrocket during the day compared to what they were.

other things i've done is to join the office's basketball club and play basketball at lunch. just need a park with a hoop and good weather. if your office doesn't have one send out an email and start one.

as far as the class goes you might want to take a martial arts class youre interested in but not one youre really excited about first.

that way if you do stupid shit you can quit that class (just tell them you've moved, gets you out of the contract every time) then take the class you REALLY want to take. You'll have a better idea of what to expect and not give everyone the impression you're clueless. I mean i'm not saying this is required but it might make things easier. its like hooking up with a girl to get back into the game, then dumping her for one you want more once you're confident. :lol: again just a suggestion because it's been so long since you were in a MA class or did a lot of exercise.

btw i'm jealous you took judo. i've been meaning to find a free judo class near me.

also never sacrifice your health for a job

your job is a rubber ball that will always bounce back, your health is a glass ball and if you drop it too many times it breaks.

Being out of shape can be a significant factor if you always feel fatigued/out of energy. Any type of exercise is a start in the right direction, I wouldn't recommend doing it later in the evening though, as it can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule. Load up on vitamins.

Hardest part will be sticking to your workout plan (that's the hardest part for pretty much everyone). Don't try to do too much to make up for lost time or to try and get quick results, you'll just burn out that much faster. Work your way into it, and learn to enjoy it first before you really try to take it up a few notches. You have to really want to do this to be successful, and learning to enjoy it makes it that much easier to do.

Also, (seriously) take pics and measurements. Not for us (unless you want to), do it to track your progress. You'll be your own worst critic and looking in the mirror every day can make it difficult to notice any changes. Measurements/pics won't lie.

first off the 20 lbs you think you lost is a combination of fat, muscle, and water weight.

i'd say the most fat you could have lost in that timeframe is like 8-10lbs. Just being realistic. i mean it's still weight.. but don't get false expectations about that water weight. it'll be back as long as you drink enough. if you're not eating as often as before some of that weight is muscle, too.

one of my friends is starving himself right now and it's sad because if he just lowered the calories and ate as often as he did before he'd be way better off.

but, anyway when ive been in your situation 10 mins of HIIT exercise before work will increase your metabolism while you're at your desk job. just run around your neighborhood or apartment complex before work really quick. run 2 mins 80% intensity, walk 2 mins, repeat until you're done. I'd do it before you eat unless you're really tired. that way you don't have to wait for your food to settle and food will seem like your reward for doing this every morning. it actually goes by really quick and your energy levels will skyrocket during the day compared to what they were.

other things i've done is to join the office's basketball club and play basketball at lunch. just need a park with a hoop and good weather. if your office doesn't have one send out an email and start one.

as far as the class goes you might want to take a martial arts class youre interested in but not one youre really excited about first.

that way if you do stupid shit you can quit that class (just tell them you've moved, gets you out of the contract every time) then take the class you REALLY want to take. You'll have a better idea of what to expect and not give everyone the impression you're clueless. I mean i'm not saying this is required but it might make things easier. its like hooking up with a girl to get back into the game, then dumping her for one you want more once you're confident. :lol: again just a suggestion because it's been so long since you were in a MA class or did a lot of exercise.

btw i'm jealous you took judo. i've been meaning to find a free judo class near me.

I drink about 6 bottles of water a day, 2 cups of coffee, 2 glasses of tea, maybe a redbull too. I may have lost water weight, but I've always drank a shitload of water. I eat breakfast then graze through the day and eat dinner. Is it better to constantly snack (healthy foods) or to eat 5 mini meals?

I'll do that running thing before breakfast. 10 minutes is enough to do something?

also never sacrifice your health for a job

your job is a rubber ball that will always bounce back, your health is a glass ball and if you drop it too many times it breaks.

It's my company, it's a new business and it's almost a year old. All the work is starting to pay off and I'm hiring more and more staff and should be moving up the ladder a bit so that I can start inching my hours back.

Being out of shape can be a significant factor if you always feel fatigued/out of energy. Any type of exercise is a start in the right direction, I wouldn't recommend doing it later in the evening though, as it can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule. Load up on vitamins.

Hardest part will be sticking to your workout plan (that's the hardest part for pretty much everyone). Don't try to do too much to make up for lost time or to try and get quick results, you'll just burn out that much faster. Work your way into it, and learn to enjoy it first before you really try to take it up a few notches. You have to really want to do this to be successful, and learning to enjoy it makes it that much easier to do.

Also, (seriously) take pics and measurements. Not for us (unless you want to), do it to track your progress. You'll be your own worst critic and looking in the mirror every day can make it difficult to notice any changes. Measurements/pics won't lie.


I've done that 'supernova' thing a few times before, I would get in there like I was in college and completely over do it and be sore and busted up for a week and I couldn't do anything, and of course, stopped going to the gym.

I did 30 minutes of walking at 5mph, I did a couple of sprints, but made myself walk the whole time. Tomorrow I may do it again, and maybe monday I'll try the sprints thing in the morning and walk in the evening.

Thanks for all the help guys!

couch potato to 5k running plan

yeah 10 minutes will definitely help, break it down:

10 minutes x 5 days a week = 50 minutes, at least half of that you're running 80%. 25 mins of sprinting is nothing to scoff at starting out. you'll hurt.

this is just one of those things that ends up working well for people in office jobs because they're usually really really out of shape. the key is to do it before work and to really push yourself in that 10 mins, like the last sprint should be 100%.

as you add to your routine keep in mind you want to approach this like, "my office job makes me have a fat ass". i mean it varies depending on the job, but people who work all day on their feet have a huge advantage over you because it's like a slow 8 hour walk every work day which really hits the sweet spot for keeping fat off but still leaves them with enough energy to do resistance exercises.

since most of your time is spent at work in a chair and you don't have much time left in the day it's essential you make the most of your time off. i think the martial arts class was a really good idea but eventually you're going to need some supplemental cardio and/or weights to unlock your potential. which means even less free time >.<