Last month, I went over my goals for this year to remind myself what they were and see how I'm doing. It was an unpleasant surprise; I'd failed to do any of them. Then, earlier this month, I read Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Be Useful" book. His stories about growing up and getting into bodybuilding made my brain start working.
After a few days of reflection, I decided to do a wellness challenge for myself over the course of November. There are two components to this challenge:
- No alcohol
- Gym workouts at least four days a week
The goal with the first is to eliminate a source of empty calories and to give my body a break from the toxic effects.
The goal with the second is threefold - first, to establish a gym habit; second, to lose useless weight; and third, to try out bodybuilding as a hobby.
Giving up alcohol is not new to me. I gave it up for two months last November. I felt pretty great even just a couple weeks into it, so I'm looking forward to this.
For the workouts, I intend to go in the mornings before work. The gym that I go to is empty then, and it might be a good wake-up routine. I've chosen this workout plan from Muscle and Strength. The first couple weeks use this schedule:
- Squats, 2 sets, 12 reps
- Leg curls, 1 set, 12 reps
- Calf raises, 2 sets, 12 reps
- Bench press, 2 sets, 12 reps
- Pulldowns, 2 sets, 12 reps
- Cable rows, 2 sets, 12 reps
- Overhead press, 2 sets, 12 reps
Tomorrow morning I'll need to figure out what weight I should be using for each. I will be logging my workouts so I can figure out how I'm doing over time. I know how to do all of the above exercises except for the overhead press, so I'll need to make sure I get the proper form for that one before I really push it.