Okay, the headline might be a little bombastic, but I’m thinking about what to do with Hero Go Home now that I haven’t written much of anything fiction-wise in a year or more. So it occurred to me that there’s a big wave of interest in superheroes in the general culture right now, and given that this is my bread and butter, I thought I might explore some more aspects of it.
First up: a 12-week undertaking! The Superhero Workout 2.0, by John Romaniello, promises to give you the physique of a superhero in 12 weeks by exploiting the miracle of body recomposition (i.e. losing fat and building muscle simultaneously). I have been working out for 5 months now, but while I am feeling better and fitting my clothes better, progress has been slower than I’d hoped. So I thought I’d try a more structured program, and with a name like “Superhero Workout,” you know I’m all over that.
The workout was pretty rough, although I’m sure it will get better as I get more used to lifting heavy again. And dang, but it seems like all I did was cook and eat today. The first phase of the plan has me eating about 3/4 of the calories I have been eating on non-workout days, then eating half again as many on workout days (that means tomorrow–technically later today–I’ll be eating about half of what I did today). I need to sleep pretty soon and hope I can walk tomorrow.
A little background: I have been letting myself get out of shape for several years now. The last time I was in pretty good shape was something like 7 or 8 years ago. I have tried several times to get back into the swing of exercising in the last few years, but for some reason, it just wouldn’t take. I just couldn’t keep myself motivated.
Then in December of last year, I had an experience that opened my eyes to just how far I had fallen. I determined to really do something about it this time, but my determination had to be put on hold for a few months as I transitioned to full-time at work and received new training. Finally in April, I took the plunge. Switched to a low-carb diet, took up strength training with light weights and later switched to an all-bodyweight program, and started running again thanks to the fitness app, Zombies, Run!
Five months later, I’ve gone from this…
to this…
Which is not where I want to be, but is a nice improvement (actually, the difference is greater, because that first set of pics was actually taken at the end of May, when I had already been going for two months).
So if I can keep myself on track for the next 12 weeks, I’m hoping to see an even more dramatic shift in the pictures. In fact, I’m hoping to be in better shape than I’ve ever been before. In times past, when I have gone on a fitness cycle, I have never gotten all the pieces of the puzzle–exercise, rest, motivation, diet–all working together at the same time. This time I am determined to do it right. So keep your fingers crossed.
