Before And After Pics From My First 21 Days Of Exercise - Post Injury (Gulp...)

To keep me motivated and accountable for my goals, this is a preliminary set of before & after shots.

(Well, I hope it looks like an after shot after only 3 weeks.)

This spans 19 workouts in 21 days. No editing, and I'm not flexing besides generally tensing up.

I don't take any supplements whatsoever outside of a few protein bars. Nothing but natural resources and effort.

^{*I'd like to take this moment to address that I hate my bathroom tiles and lighting. Also, the thought of posting any form of selfie is semi-sacrilegious to my beliefs, but I needed to do this.}

I've taken 2 days off in these 3 weeks. One by accident because I got stuck at a bar watching 2 NFL playoff games with my friends, and the other because my entire body said not a f'in chance because every muscle was burned out.

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I'd like to point out that I'm recovering from a bad biceps tendon/shoulder tear since early Nov, where I didn't exercise since my SteemFest hotel room (minus appeasing my brother to tag along to his gym twice over Xmas to do physical therapy).

Regardless, per the pics, I hadn't been to my gym in 714 days prior to Jan 1.

My focus since the New Year has been on rehabbing my shoulder, which was popping and painful with almost every lateral or front raise movement for the first week at the gym. I can take pain, but it was pretty bad for Nov and Dec, a very annoying "stop moving immediately or else it's going to rip" pain.

Once it felt stable enough for exercise in Jan, the workouts have accelerated the pain reduction and healing. I thought it'd be a 6-month ordeal right up to my baseball season, so I'm relieved (knock on wood).

I've been eating very well and have barely cheated with unhealthy food. I'm eating a lot of protein and virtually no sugar except raw honey. I've never had coffee before, and haven't had soda or energy drinks in 5+ years, so this is my boost. I've mainly been eating chicken, eggs, tuna and vegetables. I also have a few protein bars when on the go. I'm slacking on the fruit. I only use olive oil, sea salt, and organic natural ketchup when I cook. Lastly, I drink water, almond/cashew/pea milk, coconut water and kombucha tea. Can't think of anything else except a few Guinnesses because I'm human.

At one point I was down about 4-5 pounds, but I may have put that back on. I'm usually in the 204-208 LB range. I don't care are long as I keep getting stronger, faster, and more agile. I still have 2-3 months before I can lift normally without worry, but I'm on the right track.

I've been doing lots of speed bag, box jumps, battle ropes, rope pull machine, and core/trunk work to get ready for my baseball season. I always have a power bat, so I want to increase my arm and foot speed to turn back the clock. I don't really do cardio, but will start rowing soon. I've also focused on shoulder-to-hip separation drills to look like the weird guy that cares too much about softball, but they don't know I'm a starting pitcher on my baseball team.

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I think my best gains are in my arms (can't see), lats and core because I've had to go easy on the other upper body areas. Hopefully the next update will be more balanced. My endurance is rising and I'm also sleeping better.

Fun fact 1: I've only lifted in the morning twice in my life (maybe 3). I prefer the 6 PM - 11 PM slot.

Fun fact 2: every set I've done in these 3 weeks has been of either 11, 22, or 33 reps. If I do anything timed, it's for 1:11, 2:22 or 3:33. This has helped me immensely by setting and hitting a small consistent target, no matter the weight or activity. If I didn't do this, I'm 100% sure I'd have done a lot less work because I didn't have anything to strive for per exercise.

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That's all for now. Nothing drastic or crazy, but it's only been 3 weeks and I can feel a huge difference.

I also wanted to throw this up to motivate me to work harder. I have no one to compete with but myself right now, so this post pisses me off to do more. I'll be doing my workout at home now before going outside to find free stuff to sell.

Oh, and here's a shout out to the #fitnesschallenge crew. @rmsbodybuilding, take it easy on me.

Anyone else on a fitness kick for the New Year?

See you in a few weeks.

Thanks,
@steemmatt