Rockin the dad bod

Goals? I'd like to win American Ninja Warrior. I like those kinds of fitness challenges much better than just lifting.

My current state? I'm 70 pounds heavier than when I graduated highschool but I carry it well. At that time, 17 years ago, I was ripped. Now, I'm still broad and muscular down deep but soft on the surface. When I do physical activities or work amongst younger people who appear to be in great shape, I do very well against them. I'm a smoker so I have the limitations that come with that habit.

 

My goal is to get down to about 180 lbs. I'm hovering right around 195 right now and the steak in Argentina isn't helping at all.

My biggest thing is not that I eat shitty food. I eat generally healthy. I just eat too much. So portion control is my biggest downfall. I'm down from 210 though so I've come a long way.

I'm 5'10" and I don't think stocky is a good look for me.

While not the best tasting, nutrisystem has been working really well for me. It's good for people who don't have good grocery store discipline or portion control. But it does make you really appreciate going out to eat more.

My Achilles heal is ice cream. If it's there, I eat it. So I don't keep it around.

 

I'm the opposite of most on here, as I'm pretty consistently looking to put on weight. At 5'10, I pretty much settle at 158-160 and would like to be around 170. I'm a gym rat and struggle to keep weight on. I'm pretty neurotic about eating well most of the time, so its not like I'm eating a ton of empty or bad calories, so I'll make some progress then have a week or two where I'm not aggressively eating and I slide back a bit. And being a thin, decently cut dude, its easy to notice if I start putting on excess weight, so "bulking" isn't something I'm super into. Also not being genetically predisposed to being muscular doesn't help. I can't think of anyone on either side of my family who was jacked or overly athletic in their youth. Pretty much the epitome of normal to skinny-fat.

Been experimenting with high protein diets with some decent results. Athlean-X is an AWESOME YouTube channel. Dude knows his shit.

For those of you trying to drop some weight, try cutting out 90% of your carbs for a week. Its pretty incredible.

 

Focus: What are you fitness goals?
My goals are to run a sub 1:45 half marathon, eliminate any hint of man boobs, and get a hint of abs.

Alt Focus: Whats the current state of your fitness level?
Best I've done is 1:49, and I'd rather not take my shirt off.

Anti-Focus: Fuck fitness, what's your Achilles Heel that works against you?
Gummy bears, peanut butter M&Ms and guacamole.

I'm 47 and ran a 1:52 last Saturday, which is pretty good, but not awesome. I'm 6-0 and 170 lbs, which is not bad, but I have no strength or definition. I have other priorities in my life that keep me from focusing on the time and effort it takes to get in better shape. And, I like snacking late night, while watching TV.

 

I had some health issues where I dropped down to 165 (at 6'2"). My face still hasn't recovered: less fat, deep wrinkles.That is not flattering on my build, I looked like a skeleton with skin stretched over it. My goal isn't necessarily to be jacked, but to maintain weight and tone (ok, jacked and 200). Looking good naked is a priority. I hit the gym 4-5 times a week, eat 4 times a day, maintain a pretty clean diet. Up to 190 pounds now.

Weaknesses: too much pasta and beer. With my two best friends, in the right mood, we can be dangerous. Last weekend we were out all night Saturday, then spent Sunday drinking 8 buckets of beer without eating for 24 hours. I lost 3 pounds that day despite sucking down 2500 calories in beer. I try to balance drinking, French pastries, and healthy living. It's not like abstinence works.

Certain things are an issue. Ice cream from the local joint? I could sit there and eat the liter. Bag of cheetos? Gone. Two bowls of spaghetti and sausage sounds delightful.

 

Focus:
I'm currently trying to build up my squat to 1.5 times my body weight. I'm currently sitting at around 190lbs and my squat is 140lbs so I'm about half way there. Eating enough every day is a problem. I didn't think I was eating enough so I've started a food journal to track my intake, and I'm short just about every day.

Alt-focus:
I think I'm in pretty good shape overall. I play hockey a minimum of twice a week year round, softball twice a week in the summer. I hike in the mountains a fair bit as well. My wife's a dietician so I eat healthy, we cook 95% of our own meals, and don't eat out too much. I generally describe myself as skinny-fat.

Anti-focus:
Fast Food Hamburgers. I freaking love them: McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, etc. We did a health challenge at work last August where I gave them up, and I am currently trying to go a year without having one. I almost broke down a couple of weeks ago at a birthday party where somebody's gift was 30 McDonalds Cheeseburgers. I was eye-balling the shit out of that bag for quite a while.

 

Focus: I need to drop 40 pounds, and I'd like to run some 5ks with my daughter. Or at least start by running/walking and graduating up to running.

Alt Focus: Hard drinking, eating at will, flying a desk for a living, shitty genetics and being 49 have all collided into a fucking wreck. 6'1'" and 245 doesn't sound awful if you're fit. I'm not. I should probably get down to 190, but I'll settle for the aforementioned 40 pounds.

Anti-Focus: Booze. And booze. And more booze. And I get the munchies and eat when I drink.

 

Focus: What are you fitness goals?

I would like to get back down to a 36 waist. I'm 6'4'' and 215 lbs and currently wear a 38 waist. I'm not as concerned about my weight, though I have put it back on in the 6 years that I have been out of undergrad. I weighed 170 lbs when I got my bachelors (I didn't exercise at the time, but ate light because I was a poor college student), and it's probably been a little over 5 years since I could fit into a size 36 waist.

Alt Focus: Whats the current state of your fitness level?

I lift weights about 3 days a week and do kickboxing about 3 days a week.

Anti-Focus: Fuck fitness, what's your Achilles Heel that works against you?

Food, which is the reason why I can't get my waist size down. I eat more fast food than I should and I like sweets A LOT. It kind of sucks that I have a Coldstone within walking distance of me.

 

So, today I've learned JWags is apparently my twin as this is exactly my situation, height and weight even.

Focus: I too would like to add some weight so I'm not constantly referred to as the 'skinny guy'. I've accepted the fact that I'll never be the huge jock type most of my friends were growing up, but it would still be nice to be looking on the normal end of the spectrum.

Alt Focus: My fitness is pretty much in maintenance mode these days. I lift 3-4 days a week and try to do some cardio type of workout on off days, mainly running or rowing. I just recently downloaded an app called Zombies, Run! which is kind of an audio adventure/immersive game where you have 'missions' you have to complete by running different lengths of time or distances. You also pick up supplies along the way to help build/expand your base. I also try to do a couple of obstacle course races per year, but after I partially tore my bicep doing one last spring, I haven't been able to force myself back out just yet.

Anti-Focus: Beer. Thanks to someone introducing me to Untappd, I now seem to have to drink all the beers ever produced. Other than that, I tend to keep my diet mostly clean and I have a natural aversion to all things sweet, so stuff like candy, pastries, soda, etc. has never been much of an issue for me.

 

Focus: What are you fitness goals?
I mostly just want to stay healthy and look decent naked. I follow 12-week long programs and pick somewhat-random events to look forward to (like my birthday, vacations, holidays). My goals are to stick to the program, feel good in my clothes, and feel good during those events. When I'm less active I start to feel really soft, and my neck bothers me more often. A few years ago I messed up my ankle and had a pretty sedentary lifestyle for about 5 months. During that time I gained about 10 lbs and could barely fit in my jeans. I felt winded walking up two flights of stairs. It was really uncomfortable being that deconditioned and BIG. Remembering how that felt and how my clothes felt helps keep me motivated. I don't ever want to feel like that again.

Alt Focus: What's the current state of your fitness level?
It's ok. Could be better, but it could be worse. I got off track last week because of family in town, but it's not the end of the world. I do a mix of HIIT, power yoga, Pilates and walking 4-6x/wk.

Anti-Focus: Fuck fitness, what's your Achilles Heel that works against you?
Alcohol and TexMex. I like to have a drink at night. And, I LOVE going out for Mexican food. I could eat chips, salsa and guac every day for a few weeks before getting tired of it. Add a good margarita or two and it's heaven. I refuse to cut this out of my life, but I try to limit it to once every 1-2 weeks.

 

I hate my skinny-fat body and finally decided to do something about it this winter. I run 4-5 miles on the treadmill (1 mile intervals) every morning on days I'm not hiking/scrambling and do body weight exercises a couple times a week (push ups, squats, planks, etc.). I've lost about 15 lbs. but would like to lose 15-20 more, whatever it takes to get rid of the gut and spare tire.

Dieting fucking sucks, but its the only way to reach your goals. An apple before running, yogurt and granola for breakfast, banana snack, quinoa salad lunch, and a variety of hearty salads for dinner that contain nuts and tofu/baked chicken. I realize that I could do better but I've tried more stringent diets in the past and couldn't stick to them.

While this last bit of weight will not come off easy, i've noticed some ancillary benefits to being in better shape. The biggest one is that I can scramble up and down mountains in about half the time it used to take me. It's actually quite remarkable how few breaks I need to take when tackling elevations.

Edit: I really try to avoid snacking after dinner, but if I absolutely need one it's usually Mary's organic crackers and almond butter.

 

Focus: I just want to be healthy and not balloon up. I was a distance runner in high school; at 18 & 5'9 I was 155lbs with 3% body fat, but no six pack...my polish genes at work. I used to mostly run to stay in shape & did enough other various workouts so I'd do well on a PT test, but otherwise, most of my exercise was hiking, etc. I did lift daily during a year long deployment and made some real gains in strength & picked up some body definition I'd never had previously; weighed 195lbs, maxed my bench press at 225lbs & leg press at 1000lbs.

I enjoyed that year of lifting, but overall I prefer endurance workouts. Running a marathon's a life goal, but every time I've tried to train for one, I ended up broken in some way. After a hip stress fracture in 2013 I took up cycling (zero impact until I crash) and now that's my primary workout.
Alt Focus: I commute a little over 100 miles a week by bike to work & have a goal of riding 6000 miles this year as well as complete a double century ride. I'm signed up for one here in the DC area in June. It has a time limit and to finish before the cutoff, I'll need to maintain an average pace no slower than 16mph. My typical average is around 14.5-15mph. Some of that has to do more with the fact that I rarely ever ride against a clock. Still, I'm not 100% that I can maintain a 16+mph pace over 200 miles.

Anti-Focus: I have a horrible diet, while I do pay attention to what I eat, I tend to eat more than I should & eat out a lot. Additionally, I never get enough sleep.

 

Focus: What are you fitness goals?

I've always wanted to be more muscular, but not like those freaks in the weightlifting magazines. Sterling Archer is a good example of where I'd like to be.

Spoiler

I think I'll post a similar picture of me in the Tibber thread to let you know where I'm at.

Alt Focus: What's the current state of your fitness level?

I'm actually not too bad; I'm 6'-0", about 185 pounds, with a 33-34" waist and 45" chest. When I was in prison, I was working out for about an hour a day, 6 days a week (no weights, though. All bodyweight exercises.) When I got out, I had some decent definition on my abs.
Since I've been out, though, I've slacked off considerably. I'm down to about one or two workouts a week (but I've got weights now).

Anti-Focus: Fuck fitness, what's your Achilles Heel that works against you?

Booze. Like you had to ask. Specifically beer and red wine. Aside from that, I eat pretty healthy, and I've all but quit smoking. I don't think I'll ever really quit, because sometimes a cigarette just feels right.

 

Focus: What are you fitness goals?

I want my favorite jeans to fit again. And to look better naked. I've lost about 20 lbs but that's mostly due the fact that medication has destroyed my appetite.

Alt Focus: Whats the current state of your fitness level?

I'm active on a daily basis but it's not a real workout, I desperately need cardio.

Anti-Focus: Fuck fitness, what's your Achilles Heel that works against you?

Wine. Copious amounts of wine.

 

I'm 6'1, 235. I'm in the 1000 lb. club, and would like to chisel a bit of pizza off my middle, but I am happy with my progress.

I'll be doing a bit of Cross fit and some more adventurous exercises over the summer when I am not in school.

Ideally, shaving 10 pounds off my waist and adding some cardio would make for a good August. But alas I love pizza and gummy bears.

 

Focus: What are your fitness goals?
Double body weight squat.
2.5x body weight deadlift.
Body weight press.
Body weight + clean.

Fuck running.

And I want to look good naked again. I need to lose 20-40 lbs for that to happen. The post baby SnapBack is much slower at 36 than at 23. I'll just say that. Throw in recovering from the surgery, the dislocated ribs, and the broken sternum and it's been a slow go.

Alt Focus: Whats the current state of your fitness level?
I'm still stronger than the average female.
I hate running.
I row okay.

Eh. My "cardio" sucks.
And I'm squishy.

Anti-Focus: Fuck fitness, what's your Achilles Heel that works against you?

Beer.
And sweets.

I love both.

Aside from that, I'm extremely limited on time due to family commitments and school. If I don't work out at 0600 it's almost guaranteed I won't. My school day is 8:30-5:15 including commute, my husband leaves for work at 1630, and the baby goes to bed at 1900-1930.
Throw in household issues and the older kids' activities and yeah. The only time I can get it in is early morning.

And, since The Husband gets home around 0200, if BabyGroot wakes up, I have to handle that. So if he wakes up several times, that 0520 wake up call can suck dirty taint.

 

Focus: What are you fitness goals?

I'm 5'3" and between 97-101 pounds, depending on the time of the month. Honestly, all I want is to put a little bit of meat on, and not the "Hey, have you been gorging on carbs, it totally shows" kind of weight. More like "You've been hitting the gym and I have noticed. And I would also like to give you access to my billion dollars, so, here's my ATM card." Given the state of my fitness level, I am more likely to meet some billionaire schmuck than pack on some muscle.

Alt Focus: Whats the current state of your fitness level?

I've been trying to work out at least 3 times a week. About six weeks ago I decided to make the effort. I'm probably doing something wrong because I still have no strength or stamina. I'm still winded after climbing a flight of steps. So, weak as a kitten.

Anti-Focus: Fuck fitness, what's your Achilles Heel that works against you?

My sweet tooth. We have a love/hate relationship. I love how delicious sugary concoctions make my belly happy and my mouth tingle. I hate that 20 minutes later I'm passed out and then feel depressed and lethargic after I emerge from my sugar coma. Yet the awful feeling doesn't ever stop me from seeking out my destructive mistress.

 

Focus/Alt-Focus: I've been talking about getting my shit together, diet and exercise-wise, since the RMMB days. I was underweight until just before I turned 30, when I gained twenty pounds in my gut overnight (literally one month). Now 40, I've entered bizarro world as I stand on the cusp of being overweight: 160 pounds, at 5'9". I need to do some cardio, sit ups until I can do real ones, have fish, chicken, greens and water for all meals save maybe one a week, and oooh lookie here deep fried transfats! Om-nomnom...

Anti-Focus: Anything with sugar and carbs, but mainly sugar. I used to be a Mountain Dew addict. I kicked that habit, but Pepsi became my methadone so it isn't much of an improvement. I just finished my last bottle, need to run out to the store shortly... Focus: I'll pick up some water, and avoid the Pepsi. Anti-Focus: Unless it's like 79 cents a bottle if you buy at least five...