My road back to fitness...the reasons why

If there is one thing you become aware of in life, it is that that some things get harder as you get older. Yes you have more experience and knowledge to lean on but the trade off is you loose a certain amount of natural energy and resilience that a youthful physique just seems to have. Couple that with working for most of my life at a desk in front of a computer and you have a recipe for disaster, and worst of all it's a creeping, insidious kind of disaster that gets a hold of you before you know it. The image that accompanies this aticle is not me, but is sadly what most of my wardrobe full of shirts had come to look like, not a pretty sight, and I do have some lovely shirts too.

For most of my adult life I have been an active sports person playing football, cricket, squash, running, gym work and all manner of other activities. There had been a few small periods in my life where career had reduced these activities a little but nothing like when I hit my mid to late 40's. Before I new it I was 50 still stuck in front of a computer and now not exercising at all. I'd got used to levering myself out of chairs to get up, never rushed anywhere and I guess subconsciously adapted myself to my now overweight body, to the point where my brain added perception filters to my reflection in any mirror, reassuring me that I was still 'looking good my man'.

This was brought tumbling down when I was out one day in a bar and went to the rest room and caught sight of a very large bloke walking towards me, I moved over to get past and so did he, at this point I realized I was walking towards a mirror. It was a shock and a wake up moment. 

Some weeks later I went for a health check and weighed in at 15st 7lbs, 30BMI and generally unfit. It's the heaviest I'd ever been, for years I had been 12 stone or just under. How had I let this happen.  I realized I had shuffled most of my shirst to the back of the closet and only wore my baggy shirts, which now had miraculously become tight fit shirts! 

To be honest it's easily done, it happens to a lot of us, we work in sedentary jobs, we eat too much of the things that are bad for us, but are easy an convenient and, of course, there is always that bottle of wine or the pints of beer that we feel we deserve after a hard day at work, to make us feel ok with the world. 

But wait, when I look back at my life, the times I felt happiest, more able to juggle the demands of my job with family life was when I was fit and healthy. I can remember that tangible feeling of being light on my feet, having energy and being alert and able to easily switch between tasks. I wanted to feel like that again. And so started my journey back to fitness which is an ever ongoing project I won't deny. It's been hard but it's also been a great laugh. I have kept a journal over the last 6 months and I will be posting up the journal in sections for members of IT Games Club to read. In posting this up I hope to help inspire, support and motivate you to achieve your goals. If you have any questions or you want to share your own experiences, at any time, feel free to email me at mark[at]itgames.club.

IT Games Club is supported by a growing number of global IT companies, and aims to bring sport and fitness to the forefront of the IT industry. Challenging and motivating the industry to get fitter and healthier. If you are a senior IT professional who would like motivation and free entry into events around the world, then join up today, membership is free (and always will be). As we grow, we will be opening up membership to a wider audience in the industry and across more sports and pastimes. www.itgames.club