I’m fat.  I don’t just mean a little chubby.  Last I checked, I was bellying up to the 450# bar. Is it any wonder that I can’t do pull-ups?  According to MyFitnessPal.com, I burn more than 3,700 calories (kilocalories) per day, just doing my normal routine.  They recommended that I eat about 2,780 calories a day, and exercise thrice weekly for about 20 minutes.

I don’t have a lot of free room in my house, so my wife Kara’s Total Gym is folded up in the corner right now.  It’s a decent device, a bit small for me, but I like the customizability.  That said, it’s in the corner and until I clear off the folding time I’ve got covered with computer parts, I can’t fold it down and use it.

In the past, I’ve gone walking at a reservoir that is a short drive from where Kara works.  I can usually walk from the entrance to a landmark (about 0.9 miles) in around 20 minutes, and back about as quickly.  It’s relatively flat, so I don’t strain too much, it’s pretty purely cardiopulmonary work.   If the weather is good, the reservoir is a pretty walk.  If the weather stinks, I could always walk around the enormous mall that’s not too far away.

On the other hand, given my size, force-marching a couple of miles three times a week is potentially damaging to my ankles, knees, and back.  My ankles are also prone to pronating (ha ha), which means that they like to roll outward over the top of my foot.  This is painful and leads to strains and sprains, so I wear boots all the time for the support.  I have since I was a teenager.

From a low-impact cardio standpoint, swimming is best; but, I don’t have a swimming pool available.  A friend of mine checked into the pool at the Y locally and the information he got suggests that it wouldn’t be a good fit for me, either.  They’re too structured and stuff.

Another piece of the walking puzzle revolves around my schedule.  Generally speaking, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I have about an hour to kill before I need to pick up my wife.  I often do grocery shopping, oil changes, visits to the chiropractor, etc. during that window.  I need to work out a better schedule for doing those things that also permits me to walk a couple miles three times a week.

I think I’ve been procrastinating on this because it’s too much of a hassle to schedule.  Enough is enough!

I’m going to “do the best I can with what I have and resolve to do better”.  I’m checking the weather on Wunderground-  Friday is set to be about 43° and clear.  I’m going walking on Friday.  After work Wednesday, I’m going shopping for dinner for the next few days.  Then I’m going to clear out that stupid table and fold down the Total Gym…

… And do twenty minutes of workout.

Update:

Okay, it was more like 10.  Then again, the cleaning counts for something too, right?

Here’s the before and after pics: