buffetEvery day we get up, we go to work. We sit for a good portion of the day. We eat lunch, we go home (sitting in the car the whole way,) we play with the kids. Then we sit and watch TV. All this sitting can tend to make a person quite unhealthy. Now, I’m speaking in generalities, but a lot of people are like that. I was like that for many years. In a rambling sort of way, I’d like to offer some motivations for not becoming an artery clogged fat ass.

I’d like to preface it by saying a couple things about myself. First, I’m not a slender fellow by any means. I’m six foot, 275 pounds. I have some fat I could stand to lose, sure. On the flip side, my bench weight is 215, I jog, can do more than 20 push-ups in a row and play racquetball twice a week. As a side note, this post isn’t a dig on one of my fellow bloggers who made a crack about racquetball not being manly, he just gave me the idea is all.

For a while though, I was a fat ass. Pure and simple. I had worked out in high school, but let myself go after I got married. About two years ago I started working for a fitness company. We have 55 gyms across the US. With it, came a free gym membership. It took me a while, but I started using it. I haven’t looked back. When I started back at the gym my bench weight was 95 pounds, I was nearly tipping 300 on the scales and my doctor was warning of high blood pressure. Now I have great heart health, regular blood pressure and good cholesterol levels. I’d probably lose more weight if I altered my diet. It’s not bad, I don’t drink (beer) or eat unhealthy or fried foods. I just don’t eat my veggies. Except mushrooms.

When I started going back to the gym, going by myself was difficult. I needed the right motivation. I was married, so women weren’t the motivation. Instead it came from a friend. That’s my first tip. If you can find a buddy to exercise with (or make a new friend at the gym or hire a trainer) then it’s much easier to convince yourself to go every day. My friend Kevin, whom I had worked out with in High School, underwent a major change at the gym. He’s a good head shorter than me and was pushing 250. Nothing but fat. Then he got a trainer and lost a ton of weight and bulked up. So he was my motivation.

The second motivation is women. While it’s not mine, if you are single then it sure as hell is yours. Chicks like guys that are in good health. You don’t have to be some maxed out muscle head, but being in good health and able to fuck for more than 3 minutes without taking a breather is a turn on to most women. If you can’t see your dick when you take a piss cause your gut is blocking the view, then what makes you think a single woman (on the hot side of 5) is going to want to look at it? Sure, you can keep banging ugos, but that’s no way to live. Don’t give me that nice personality shit.

Another thing that motivated me was my kids. I want to be around to see them go to college (on their own,) get married and have kids of their own. I don’t want to be known as “you had a grandfather but he died cause he was a fried food eating fat ass.” I wanted to be around for my kids. To do that, I had to get healthier. While I haven’t met all my goals, I’m damn sure on my way.

Before you ask, I know we all have busy lives. Make time. An hour a day of activity and you should at least be able to condition your heart in a good way. A couple things you can do at work to prevent blood clots in your legs for example, instead of calling a co-worker, get up and walk over to their desk. Every hour, stand up and move around. Talk on the phone standing instead of sitting. Get one of those giant stupid ball chairs (that I refuse to sit in) to improve circulation in your legs. Don’t act like you are immune. We’re all getting older. It can’t be helped unless we do something.

The last motivation for me is just being strong and healthy. I can lift heavier things now, which is much more manly. I can jog when playing with my kids outside and don’t get winded. I can throw a baseball further. I can play basketball in the dead middle of a Florida summer without having a heart attack. I can do these things now because I exercise. Not to mention my back never hurts anymore, my knees feel better (old baseball injury) and I no longer take afternoon naps because I’m simply not tired anymore. It’s a great feeling.

All that being said, racquetball is a man’s sport so fuck you. Watch this video if you don’t believe me. Come son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod! Snootchie-bootchies.

Curtis Silver is no where near as good as these guys, but feels he could at least win a serve. Follow on Twitter @cebsilver

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