fireduck350
Registered
Just wanted to introduce myself. I've been actively weight training for a year now with some very good results despite a very hectic schedule. I've been getting ready to head over to Iraq, and knew I needed to get myself into another shape then the round one that I found myself in. I had been a very active person most of my life but due to earlier injuries from active duty service and sports injuries, I have developed arthritis in both my knees, my left shoulder, both hands, and lower back fairly early compared to most of the population. Due to the pain and swelling in my knees, and the pain and swelling in my shoulder and hands, and pain in my back, I had pretty much given up on staying in shape. I used to run a few miles every morning, do pushups until muscle failure every morning, and do sit ups every morning (well at least five days a week). I stayed in pretty decent physical condition. When the arthritis really started to rear its head, my routine was severly interrupted, and I cut back from 5 days a week to three, to two, to nothing. I stopped my routine all together and quickly ballonned up to 255 lbs and a 42inch waist line, at a height of 73 inches. With my unit getting ready for deployment I knew I had to do something, and that was when I finally went to a gym that was close by to my civilian job to see what they could suggest. I found an elliptical machine for my cardio that was easy on my knees and other equipment that I could use to get back in shape. The pain started to come back after a few months and was getting fairly severe again and that's when I discovered supplements. Starting in January of this year I started a steady diet of supplements to help with the joint pain and strength training.
I'm happy to say that within the year that I've been working out and trying to be in a gym as consistantly as my schedule permits (typically anywhere from 4 to 5 times a week), I've dropped from 255 to 214 lbs, put on some pretty good muscle mass, and I have no clue what my waist size is now, but nothing fits, it is all too loose. I've even had to go down in uniform sizes. I'll put it like this, I'd say I've shrunk my waist over 6", and I'm getting to the point of actually being able to see my abs again, which I hadn't seen since college.
Even when I was playing Drill Sergeant at Ft. Jackson I wasn't in this kind of conditioning, however I could at least still run more then two days in a row and still be able to walk afterwards. Now, I leave in just a couple of days to go play in a big sandbox, and I'm still weight training, and hope to continue hitting the gym while I'm over there. Basically, I like reading other's experiences on different supplements and reading what others have done that has worked for them, and try to incorporate some of that into my own routine to try it for myself and see first if I like it, and if I can do it. So, that is why I've joined here, to learn from others as I'm still new to weight training, and very new to the supplement world but have found a love for both as the combination is allowing me to continue my career in the military and to stay as healthy as possible.
I'm happy to say that within the year that I've been working out and trying to be in a gym as consistantly as my schedule permits (typically anywhere from 4 to 5 times a week), I've dropped from 255 to 214 lbs, put on some pretty good muscle mass, and I have no clue what my waist size is now, but nothing fits, it is all too loose. I've even had to go down in uniform sizes. I'll put it like this, I'd say I've shrunk my waist over 6", and I'm getting to the point of actually being able to see my abs again, which I hadn't seen since college.
Even when I was playing Drill Sergeant at Ft. Jackson I wasn't in this kind of conditioning, however I could at least still run more then two days in a row and still be able to walk afterwards. Now, I leave in just a couple of days to go play in a big sandbox, and I'm still weight training, and hope to continue hitting the gym while I'm over there. Basically, I like reading other's experiences on different supplements and reading what others have done that has worked for them, and try to incorporate some of that into my own routine to try it for myself and see first if I like it, and if I can do it. So, that is why I've joined here, to learn from others as I'm still new to weight training, and very new to the supplement world but have found a love for both as the combination is allowing me to continue my career in the military and to stay as healthy as possible.
