Nick joined our gym a few years ago. I had known him around the neighborhood for a while. We occasionally talked training and physical therapy at the pool. He like to ask questions about the back pain he was experiencing at the time. I knew what Nick needed to do but I didn’t push, I just answered his questions honestly. I could tell he was getting more and more ready though. Then… one day Nick called me and said it was time.
When Nick started he was:
- in (almost) constant (low back) pain.
- out of shape
- afraid he’d hurt himself more by lifting weights
Still, he had reached the point where he HAD TO DO SOMETHING. So we set up a pretty simple plan for Nick:
- he lifted weights 3-4 x per week
- he walked a lot (5 miles x day)
- he changed how he ate
Nick has been working some close variation of the plan above for about 3 years now and he is a different person. He focuses on:
- eating enough protein to build muscle
- eating enough carb / fats to sustain exercise
- limiting crap foods and alcohol
I wanted to share Nick’s story because it takes some of mystery out of getting started. When you’re ready to start, it’s the right time to start. Don’t worry if it doesn’t feel perfect. You won’t be good at doing all the things, you won’t even need to do all the things. You might feel overwhelmed, it’s ok. You just have to choose to start!
Here is the beginning of Nick’s journey (circa Nov 2020).
- ~ 280 + lbs.
- ~ 30% bodyfat
Recently, we took an In Body with Nick. These were his results:
- 231 lbs.
- 16.4% bodyfat
Nick continues to train every week. He gets his walks in, and pays attention to his nutrition. He accepts that he doesn’t have to have the perfect diet or training program. He balances having a “life” and having goals.
There are 2 very important things I want you to take away from Nick’s story:
Thing 1 – he chose to START, he didn’t wait for the “right time”
Thing 2 – he makes a choice daily to move the needle 1%
When you’re ready, Book a Meeting with one of our coaches and we’ll help you come up with a plan.
Talk soon,
James