BEFORE & AFTER

Friday, August 27, 2010

BEFORE & AFTER

This is my crossfit story. After spending most of my 30's working on my career. I found myself at 40, overweight and with extreme high blood pressure. According to my doc, I was a walking heart attack. After I finished with my grad degree (Dec 2008) I was weighing in at 225-230 lbs....I felt like a FAT SLOB (well, I was). I had stayed productive, but had let my self go physically. I had spread myself thin and neglected my health. That didn't stop me from keeping busy, I just didn't have the energy to do as much as I wanted. Creeping up to my 40's had finally caught up with me. I tried several times to get back in to shape. I started running, then my knees would swell up and hurt.  I fell into a deep depression. I really never had problems with my weight until my mid 30's. I gained about 10 lbs when my wife was pregnant with my daughter Thea. Then it crept up from there and before I knew it I was wearing 36-38" pants. I struggled mentally and physically but I knew I still had it in me to get in shape. I never took my my shirt off when I went to the pool or the beach because I had a huge spare tire around my waist. My younger brother would kid around with me and tell me I sported my weight pretty good, BUT I didn't feel good at all. I felt like CRAP, lethargic and weak. The smallest tasks would cause me to have labored breathing (like bending over to tie my shoes). One day, I ran into a high school buddy that I had played ball with. As we talked he sensed I was down and asked me what happened? He reminded me I used to be fit. I didn't have an excuse. Facing the quandary of my Doc's suggestion (high blood pressure medication) and considering some of the side effects (including insomnia, cold feet & hands, lethargy, depression, asthma, impotence, skin rashes, loss of taste, chronic cough, kidney damage, palpitations, swollen ankles, constipation, headaches and/or dizziness) I opted for my high school buddies recommendation (crossfit). That was Jan 31, 2009 a week after my 40th birthday.


First crossfit wod :
The Chief
Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
135 pound Power cleans, 3 reps
6 Push-ups
9 Squats
Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles.

3-2-2-1-1

I met pukie 3 times that morning. I was hooked......... Don't get me wrong... I still puke, but now I'm putting up numbers like 6-6-5-5-5 (Oct 2011), oh yah, and now I weigh 180 lbs and have a 32" waist.