New Personal Undertaking

Kendrik

Kendrik

Moderator
Staff member
Hey folks.

As of late, two things have become more and more apparent to me: I am overweight and I love mixed martial arts.

I'm roughly 6'0" and 240lbs. Not the biggest dude on the planet (and I don't usually look my weight), but definitely got a lot of room to get fit. In the last school year, I lost and regained 20 pounds. Because of this, I know that I can lose weight reasonably well, but it takes work and dedication. Still, I've decided that enough is enough, and I wanna get into shape.

Which ties in very conveniently to my second re-realization: I love MMA. I took a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (groundfighting and grappling if you don't know what style of martial art that is) course over the summer two years ago. Prior to that, I had no martial arts experience, and I thought UFC/MMA in general to be brutish. However, after taking that class, I saw a totally different side of competitive martial arts: I saw respect, dedication, effort, battles of will, and so on. I immediately fell in love with BJJ and MMA in general. However, I didn't have the money to enroll with an MMA gym, so I didn't end up going anywhere with it.

Still, not a week has passed since then where I haven't longed to get back into it.

Since fitness and MMA seem to go hand in hand very well, I decided to let my desire for one to fuel the other (though it seems to go both ways: get fit to fight, fight to get fit). In order to give me a way to track my progress, as well as a way of keeping myself accountable to my goals, I've started a progress blog.

I call it From Fat Kid to Fighter. I'm going to be doing weekly weigh-ins and progress updates. I'll be sharing tips and experiences regarding diet, exercise, and training as I come across them.

I'm just starting out, so there's not a lot to look at just yet. Still, I wanted to share this with you all in case if you found the idea interesting. So please, feel free to check it out, stick around, comment, whatever.


On a side note, I don't know the general feelings toward MMA on this forum, so I apologize if I accidentally stir up controversy. That's not my intent at all.
 
I think this is an awesome idea.

I love UFC/MMA, and i love working out.

This is pretty much my life. I'm glad to see you are interested =D
 
The pastor of the church plant we are part of used to fight in UFC/MMA. He has got me into it now and I can't wait each month for the next PPV event at the local bar. 116 was off the hook! I can't believe Lesnar withstood that beating!

Anyways, best of luck/providence to you and I look forward to hearing how it goes.
 
Very cool...saw from the blog you're doing some stuff @ home with free weights/etc. If you're looking for a workout routine...I would highly recommend P90X. I got very good and fast results with that, and it would definitely work well to supplement something like this.

High protein/low carb diet sounds perfect for what you're trying to do. Best of luck!
 
this sounds like something I would need a motivation and ambition to do. Something I don't have with such a tough task.
 
redflameent said:
this sounds like something I would need a motivation and ambition to do. Something I don't have with such a tough task.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm not exactly sure about your personal situation, but what I've found in most cases is this: losing weight is hard. That said, NOT losing weight is much more difficult. Sure, it's easy today, and tomorrow, but that short-term ease pales in comparison to the myriad of difficulties faced over the years (both physically and otherwise). People who are out of shape usually feel much, much better even after just starting a program - more energy, confidence, etc.

After that there is a lot of positive motivation. Plus if you still need extra motivation, there are lots of places to get it...online forums, friends, family, weight watchers meetings, etc.

So I guess I'd say...the task is hard, but I would say that the most difficult things with weight loss are getting started, and persevering when you hit a snag.
 
I personally find UFC to be unnecessarily brutal. I get no pleasure from watching two men pummel each other in real life (movies are different). Of course, I don't particularly care for boxing either.

That being said, I have the utmost respect for the martial arts. I practiced Karate when I was much younger, and then studied Tae Kwon Do/Aikido for a time in college under a South Korean Grand Master here in San Diego. I loved sparring, but it was never with intent to hurt like UFC. I knew when I would have been on the ground out cold if the guy sparring with me hadn't pulled his punch or kick.

The idea (as I understood it) was to develop the ability to hurt or kill, but only to use it when necessary. UFC does not hold to that, and so I have no respect for the "sport".
 
RyanB said:
Plus if you still need extra motivation, there are lots of places to get it...online forums, friends, family, weight watchers meetings, etc.

So I guess I'd say...the task is hard, but I would say that the most difficult things with weight loss are getting started, and persevering when you hit a snag.
Click to expand...
This is the biggest reason I started the blog. For me, I know that I have a "refuse to fail" mentality, and in making my efforts public I'll be driven to succeed. That's the selfish reason. The other reason is because there are other people like me who are outta shape and have a hard time changing despite a desire to do so. By saying "here, I am doing it" I am also saying "you can do it, too."

My hope is to get people reading my blog, yeah, but I'm hoping to get people responding to it, too. I'd love nothing more than to know that my efforts to get fit and train inspire and encourage others to do the same. I would love to see people sharing their experiences and tips, too.

Oh, and I've heard a lot of good things about P90X, so I'll be looking into it. Thanks for bringing it up, Ryan.
 
Just looked into this and this looks really intense. The only thing that I have a gripe over is that I don't have the bands, dumbbells, mat or yoga blocks. You have to invest alot of money for those. Then they reccomend thier supplements. So to start it may cost like 700 bucks that I don't have.
 
redflameent said:
Just looked into this and this looks really intense. The only thing that I have a gripe over is that I don't have the bands, dumbbells, mat or yoga blocks. You have to invest alot of money for those. Then they reccomend thier supplements. So to start it may cost like 700 bucks that I don't have.
Click to expand...
Check into Insanity, too. I'm torn between the two programs as I have friends that've done both. Both will kick your butt and help you tone. If I'm not mistaken, Insanity is equipment-free, though; it's about using your body as resistance. I'm not certain of this being the case, but a whole group of people were doing it at one of the schools I went to... where I highly doubt the majority of the people there had any equipment to use.

If this is the case, then I think I lean more toward wanting to pick up Insanity. You may find it appealing, too.

I don't buy into supplement/drink hype, though. I rock basic supplements from Wal-Mart and, more importantly, try to get everything I need through good diet practices. Getting nutrients from their natural sources causes them to be far more effective than when they've been separated from the whole package and crammed into a little pill.

Oh, and regarding weights... I hate to be a Wal-Mart guy, but adjustable weight sets (dumbbells and barbells) are the way to go on a budget. Takes a moment more to adjust the weights, but they take up less room, and they're cheaper than buying full sets.
 
I was at a pretty similar point last year around 6" and 250 pounds. I tried P90X but wasn't quite in the shape to pull it off and stopped after a month. I think there is a less intensive version available but a fair warning I would try the test before attempting the full 90 days as it may not be the right way to start out.

Instead of a program I just did a lot of biking and changed my diet and I'm sitting around 190 now and thinking about giving P90X another go now that I'm more confident. Good luck the best advice I can give you is to set a schedule and not to deviate from it even if your tired or having a bad day and don't just reach your goal and stop you need lifestyle changes to actually keep it off.
 
redflameent said:
I found a workout schedule online that mixes both that I may use. It looks like it could work.
Click to expand...
Care to link me? :)

Good point, Exo. Stopping my exercise when I moved back from Florida (it's so cold outside in the winter... >.>) caused me to regain in haste the 20 pounds I lost over the course of a semester.

There are a few different P90 workouts. P90 is the more entry-level option. P90X (extreme) is the more hardcore option. Then there are others, but I don't remember their names.

I have some stuff nailed down for a schedule, but it needs to be further developed. I'll see what I can do with that. Thanks for that suggestion, too.
 
Kendrik said:
Care to link me? :)

Good point, Exo. Stopping my exercise when I moved back from Florida (it's so cold outside in the winter... >.>) caused me to regain in haste the 20 pounds I lost over the course of a semester.

There are a few different P90 workouts. P90 is the more entry-level option. P90X (extreme) is the more hardcore option. Then there are others, but I don't remember their names.

I have some stuff nailed down for a schedule, but it needs to be further developed. I'll see what I can do with that. Thanks for that suggestion, too.
Click to expand...

Insanity/ P90X Hybrid

This is what nI found and I am thinking of trying this.
 
redflameent said:
Insanity/ P90X Hybrid

This is what nI found and I am thinking of trying this.
Click to expand...
Cool. Thanks for the link.

Also, this working out thing is hard work. Worth it? For sure, but I felt like throwing up after today's session. Despite doing some running over the last year... I don't think I've pushed myself this hard since I took BJJ two years ago. Pretty lame.
 
Insanity is ideed weight free. The other major difference is that insanity workouts tend to run ~30-40 minutes, p90 runs around 60-90 depending on the day. I think both are set up to be that you can't do them at first, but that gives something to work up to. You do whatyou can. I couldn't do much more than 10 pushups when I started, now I can do them all day.

Here's what I will say comparing workout routines: they're pretty much all good. They all build muscle/burn calories/etc. The main differentiator is: how will something work for you and your schedule? P90 was great for me because I just got up a little earlier, went out to my living room, and started working out. I am not a morning person, but I only needed enough motivation to get up and get out there to work out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top