Well I've started what some people think is long overdue... I'm getting back into working out.

Yes, as you can tell from my picture, I obviously carry "a little" more weight than I should, and unfortunately part of the reason is because I haven't been able to work out like I needed to. 

A few years ago I really screwed up my left knee and ankle.  I got up one morning and suddenly I had no strength whatsoever on my right leg so I started going down.  My left leg wasn't ready, so it twisted and I sprained both my knee and my ankle going down.  It was very painful and uncomfortable for a few weeks and I had to get along on crutches and a cane for a while.  This has since made any kind of strenuous walking difficult for me.

Another problem I had was the lack of facilities and time.  When I was commuting 100 miles a day to and from work, I didn't have the time to work out.  I needed that time to drive.  Then when I had the time, I didn't have the means.  I have a bad experience with gyms.  The last gym membership I had didn't last, because I ended up moving to a place where I couldn't use the gym without having to drive long distances to get there.  And I'm finding it hard to come across a gym that DOESN'T want you to sign a long-term multi-year contract with them.

Fortunately my apartment complex HAS a gym, and it's just a flight of stairs and a quick sidewalk trip away whenever I want to work out.  There's no extra costs associated with this gym because I'm already paying for it through my monthly rent.  I figured out when would be the ideal time for me to work out on a regular basis, I got some new workout clothes and now I'm into the second week of my workout training schedule and it feels good!

Sure I'm physically sore right now, but that's good.  I've been down this road before a couple of times, and it's just a matter of me doing two things:

1. Be careful with the running.  Running is limited.  Twisting my knee and ankle wasn't the first time that I hobbled myself.  I also sprained my right ankle back in high school.  That also killed a lot of my running.  So I have to be careful with any kind of legwork.  The treadmill has been very helpful for me here.  I know some folks say I just need to work outside, but working out outside has never really helped me.  The treadmill has.  I have to go with what works.  I'm still trying to find some way to vary the legwork, but I can't do that at the expense of having my knee go out.

2. Variety.  I can't be doing the same exercises in the same pattern and the same emphasis every day.  I need to put some emphasis on one part, then less on another day.  For instance, Sunday was a heavy treadmill day.  Yesterday was mostly free weights.  Today was a lot of work on the cable machines.  Tomorrow is a rest day, and then on Thursday I'll switch things up again.  Give the muscles a chance to build and also a chance to heal.

I'm not planning on looking like a bodybuilder.  Right now I'm just trying to get active again and keep things going.  We'll see how it all plays out in time.