Getting Healthy: Fitness Starts Above the Neck!

Getting skinny, losing weight, trimming down, dieting: it's all just a lot of buzzwords. A lot of us started thinking about 'getting in shape' as a New Year's Resolution, but how many of us have actually done it? Between work, school, kids, time commitments, it's hard to find the time to look as great as the celebrities we see every day. And a lot of people think that if they can't get that 'amazing body in six weeks,' then they should give up.

The first step to a healthy mentality is realizing a healthy, slimmer you isn't the goal. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but it's true! Being skinny is one of the really awesome perks of being healthy- but healthy living should be your main priority. Don't focus on your waist size, but focus on how much easier you breathe during a walk. Don't think about how your pants fit, but consider how your heart feels when you walk up and down the stairs.

When I first started working out, I had the 'wrong' goal. I wanted to get very cut and muscular. The problem was that I had no idea what I was really doing when I started exercising, and I did so with about as much effect as trying to push a big rock across a frozen lake. Even if you start making progress, sooner or later you're going to fall in and quit!

So before I completely gave up, I set a few personal goals for myself at the gym. Rather than going 'I want to lose weight', I said 'I want to go from a 46" waist to a 36".' When I said I wanted to train with weights, I told myself that by the end of the year, I should to be able to bench press my body weight (205 lbs) and press 130lbs over my head. When I said I need to work on cardio, I said to myself 'Run a 3k in 14 minutes.' And I started working towards those goals, and was shocked at the results I saw along the way!

Losing weight or bulking up shouldn't be your overall goal at the gym. Your goal should be to get fit, and then watch in amazement as you shed the fat and layer on the muscles. You'll be blown away the day you get back from your morning run around the block and see abs you haven't seen since high school, or realize that you've got the shoulders to pull off that strapless dress you wore to your senior Prom. And let's be honest: you're going to feel so much better knowing you can do a two-mile nature hike with the kids and leave them winded than you would telling yourself that tomorrow, you're going to spend a few more minutes on the elliptical machine.

This is the first part of what will be a series of what I call my 'fitness management' system. I'm not a dietician, I'm not a personal trainer, and I'm by no means a star athlete. I had asthma in high school and I've broken joints in both legs. I'm just a guy who saw he had more of a keg than a six pack, and I realized that the only way to do something about it would be to DO something about it!

My name's Erik. I'm 6'0", 25 years old, and a former fat kid. If I can do it, I tell you ANYONE can.