GymSamurai: One Year Birthday Fitness Challenge Begins

My birthday is a few weeks away and I am not in the physical shape I'd like to be in. Illness, injury, and a desk job have worked their magic on my condition over the last six months. With a major milestone birthday approaching faster than I'd like (next year!), the time has come for me to refocus my fitness efforts on getting into the best shape of my life over the next year. Will you join me on my fitness journey?

A little background: I've been lifting weights for about three decades, been a competitive cyclist, a recreational rock climber, a high-school football player, and have studied physiology, kinesiology, biology, and nutrition both in college and on my own. I'm a firm believer that the body is an amazing machine, and I want to sculpt mine into a work of art that I'm proud of.

Now that I'm relatively settled into my new job, I really have no excuse to get back into condition and, if all goes well, achieve the best fitness of my life.

For me, I really need a regular routine, with some activity scheduled every day, to keep myself on track. I've done quite a few different fitness and lifting programs over the years, and have always kept records of my diet and training performance. Referring back to those now, I have arrived at my initial 8 week/40 session training program that I am beginning today.

My training split will be as follows:

Day 1: Back/Deadlift

Wide grip pull downs
Bent-over barbell row
Close grip low cable row
Press downs - rope or bar
Deadlifts

Day 2: Chest/Shoulders

Decline bench
DB incline bench
DB flye
DB pullover
DB military press
Upright row
Superset DB lateral raise - side/rear
Shrugs

Day 3: Legs

Chin ups
Squat
Leg press
Leg extension
Leg curl
Standing calf raise
Seated calf raise

Day 4: Arms/Abs

Barbell curl
Incline DB curl
High cable curl
Hammer curl
Close grip bench
Rope press down
Overhead extension
Hanging leg raise
Hip thrust
Rope crunch

Day 5: Rest/Active Rest

At least a short walk, depending on how the bod feels

I will start with three sets per exercise, after a warm-up set when needed. Since I am coming in from basically an untrained state, I don't want to overdo it out of the gate. Key priority is to avoid injury, which sidelined me for effectively six months, killing much of my previous years' progress. Should injury occur again, I will train around it while doing PT for the injured area, possibly doing light exercise. (My main concern is my right shoulder, which has mild inflammation still.)

The goal is to start every morning with a fasted 30-minute walk, and to lift in the evenings after work or afternoons on weekends. Historically, I've eschewed working out on the weekends, but I've come to accept that if I truly want to achieve a top notch physique, I need to up my training frequency. That said, I listen to my body and, if I'm feeling run down, will not hesitate to take an extra rest day.

This program is the first in a year-long series of programs and its chief goal is to get my body used to working hard again. Subsequent programs will focus on adding size and strength, with the last three months or so focused on cutting.

I encourage you to join me, follow along, ask questions, or just be supportive as I post my progress. Let's do this!