I have tried several times to lose weight and get into shape. I have been marginally successful a couple of times but I always end up falling out of the program due to time or injury. I think there are 2 primary problems I have had. First and most obviously is all of the extra weight I have been carrying around for so long. It is very hard to exercise when you are overweight because it just plain hurts. On top of that you are tired and hungry from exercising so you want to eat more, which makes it harder to lose weight.

The second reason is not so obvious. When you are out of shape, and even sometimes when you are in shape, all of those little muscles that support your body and movement are severely atrophied. The general weakness of this "core" muscles causes your larger muscles and your joints to compensate to support your movement. This compensation can cause undue stress and fatigue which leads to injury.

Every time I have embarked on a diet and exercise program I have tried to do it cold turkey. Trying to follow a new diet 100% of the time and jumping right into a 6 day a week multi hour workout. For most people this is impossible and generally leads to failure. So this time around I am going to follow a much more reserved program put forth in Core Performance Essentials by Mark Verstegen.

So in my new beginning I am going to work through his program for the next 12 weeks. During this time I will review the various sections of the book based on what I am working on at the moment and keep detailed logs of my nutrition and workouts in my training log. Additionally I will post a weekly photograph so you can see how I am, or am not, progressing. At the end of this program I hope to be in a place to begin training for a ½ Ironman triathlon next spring.