Reading back through some of these old blog posts has reminded me of how big a slacker I am!
While I am happy with my posts and the poker side of this blog, I can’t help but feel discouraged by how little fitness related material I’ve put up so far. Now I’m not trying to make excuses but I’ve had a good reason…ok well I guess I am making excuses lol. I have been dealing with a sciatic nerve issue for over a year now and with the hectic travel schedule I’ve had with playing poker, fitness clearly took a backseat. Sadly I didn’t realize just how far back that seat went, until recently! On our recent trip to Austria with Everygame, it became too apparent to miss! A combination of intense pain (after a 19 hour trip), not being able to Ski with TheTrooper79 and getting my ass kicked in the gym by my boss; really opened my eyes to just how bad I had let this issue get! Pretty pathetic for someone who quit a job in Physical Therapy for the Poker life!
I guess it’s not all bad, I was so focused on my poker career that I blocked out my the pain in my butt! I ignored it as best I could and pushed on. I suppose SITTING for 8-12 hours a day didn’t help much either lol Again, neither one of those probably not the best move from a Therapy perspective, but I was on a poker mission! lol The pain and the slacking became too much though and I couldn’t do it any longer. It even began effecting my sleep, unable to get comfortable without a pillow lodged under my left thigh. Oh and didn’t like the feeling of getting whooped in the gym lol, like I said the Austria trip was the wake up call! Then I just about passed out when I weighed in at my first trip back to a real gym in a while. 144 pounds!! What the hell!? Could that be right?!? I had lost almost 25 pounds since going “pro”!?! I haven’t been that lite since high-school! Haha! I was shocked to say the least and even more disappointed in myself for letting it get this out of hand.
Now I know I’ve never been, nor will I ever be a massive guy, but this was ridiculous even for my small frame! I need to get my act together! I have been as heavy as 190 pounds, but that was 10 years ago and required a dedication to eating that I know I could never maintain now. I was eating over 5000 calories a day everyday for almost two years straight lol Insanity! (and lots of protein farts!) I was hovering around 170 pounds when I was living in Dallas at the end of 2015. I had a good training partner and roommate that loved to cook healthy foods then though! Getting back to that with the nomadic lifestyle that poker encourages is going to be quite the challenge! So like the title says, it’s on! Fitness challenge time! Why not throw it out there for everyone to see (aka judge!;)) Hopefully putting myself out there like this will help stay motivate, keep me accountable and maybe even inspire others. I’m just finishing up the first phase of a major physical therapy routine that I received from “No Regrets Personal Training.com“. I can already feel a decrease in pain and weak spots getting stronger. Now it’s time to get the nutrition dialed in and stay consistent!
So there it is, as embarrassing as it it lol! I’m about 145 lbs and about 9% body-fat (from my own caliper test, not the greatest) Pretty depressing, but I know I can get it back quickly. I have swung up and down like this in the past, so It’s just a matter of time. Well time effort and FOOD!! lol I have taken measurements as well and will post them along with my nutrition log soon. The goal is to finally be pain free and get back to 170 lbs at the same body-fat in the next 6 months. I’ll be going through the above program and adding in extras for upper body movements only as I continue to feel better. I know once I’m completely pain/limitation free I will be able to switch up to a program that will allow even faster gains, so we just have to wait and see. I’ll still be playing for Everygame, both live and online so I will be doing my best to incorporate some of the ideas from the Therapist, such as standing more often and posture exercises. So far it’s been going well and I’m excited to use this Blog as a means to stay accountable! LFG!!
Be sure to stop by the twitch channel @www.twitch.tv/2fit2fold.com and follow me on social media @2fit2fold for training, poker and give-aways’!
Time to train!
Tim