Hi all!

I am a 22yo senior studying finance, set to graduate in the spring. I basically have minimal classes and lots of free time so now is a perfect time to get in shape. It’s time I started a log on here to track my progress. In the OP I will include my past, present, and future habits/behaviors so you can know more about me and my goals. Keep in mind, I am very open to critique and welcome all opinions good or bad. Cliffs at bottom:

About Me
5’9”
~170 lb

Past
I have never been in good/great shape. Didn’t do sports in high school. Played poker a lot. Basically I have always been in mildly okay shape from cardio activity from out of school activities/sports. Never have regularly lifted. Until my senior year in high school, I never really smoked and drank but that all changed when I met a new group of friends. After meeting these people, I started smoking and drinking which continued throughout college (until most recently, more on that later).

In terms of diet, it was never great but never terrible. Fast food a few times a week, excessive snacking, etc. One thing that I literally never did was eat breakfast in the morning. I just never made the time when I woke up. On the plus side, I have never been a dessert/candy/ice cream/whatever guy. Mostly I just overate.

Recent Past
Three months ago, I moved into my first apartment ever for my senior year of school. I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to change my lifestyle habits around for the better, and hopefully by the time I graduate and get a job I will be in much better shape than I was before this school year. 11 weeks ago I quit smoking; I think this easily was my biggest obstacle. Just the mentality of being a smoker makes you want to lie around and do nothing to improve yourself, aside from the obvious physical affects smoking has on your body.

In terms of eating better, I have done a good job thus far. A typical day for me now would be:
Breakfast: toast w/ pb, 4 eggs (scrambled), fruit, skim milk
Lunch: turkey/chicken sandwich
-McD’s coffee
Snack: greek yogurt
Dinner: chicken breast
snack: something small if anything

The only time I really go out to eat is to chipotle maybe once or twice a week.

Exercise: pretty much all cardio (lol) with the exception of pushups/situps/pullups at night. The main reason for not starting resistance training yet is because basically I don’t want to go in there not knowing how to do anything (wrt form). I assume you guys are gonna tell me to start with SS so I will look into it more this week along with exercise form.

Goals
The main, long term goal is just to be as healthy as I can in all forms of my life from this point on.

Shorter term goals:
-Start SS and log the data in this thread, which includes formcheck videos that I will post once I start going to the gym. Definitely want to keep cardio involved but I know it will be of way less importance once SS is started
-Record what I eat: I am very open to new types of food and am fortunate enough to have parents who are paying for food expenses, so ideas/critiques involving my diet is encouraged!
-Six-pack! Obviously this is a little longer term but the point is I want a killer body

ITT I really will be posting anything and everything. Questions, stories, ideas, concerns; you name it. H&F has been the holy grail of info for me in the past couple months so I want to give back and hopefully one day share a success story.

Cliffs
-Quit smoking 3 months ago
-Want to be healthy in all aspects
-Flame away!

Initial Questions/Comments
-Should I get MFP?? I don’t feel like it’s necessary to be keeping track of all my calories consumed, but maybe I should?
-Something happened to my hamstring (I believe) ~10 days ago mid-run. Ever since then, I have been limping and can’t run whatsoever. Someone suggested a heating pad on it, didn’t work. Does anyone have suggestions? I don’t even think I could start SS bc I feel like it would severely impact squats, but I don’t know.
-I will not be able to get to the gym in the next couple days due to procrastination over turkey break and trying to catch up, but hopfully by Thursday I can post form videos on here.

tracking calories for at least a couple of weeks is a useful tool for everyone. without the data it is hard to identify leaks, but if you find you're meeting your goals it doesn't have to be long term. your new diet looks fine, so good job, except drink better coffee!

rest your hamstring until it feels right. have you looked into a foam roller?

congrats on quitting smoking, keep it that way

agreed. I honestly have no idea how many calories I'm currently consuming so should be interesting. My guess is ~2000, will post a MFP pic tomorrow and see how wrong I am. and yes, no more mcd's coffee for this guy

will check the foam roller out. For the most part I have been resting but last Wednesday I had to help move furniture which re aggravated it. ****.

Thanks! Honestly never again...

Do accessories once you get past the super beginner stages of SS. Pullups, lat pulldowns, dumbbell presses, rows, etc.

They'll affect your recovery on the bigger lifts and you will likely have slower progress, but if you want a "killer body" I think you will get there faster by doing that in the beginning as long as you are giving it your all for the big lifts and ending the workout with assistance.

Pretty much SS for 2-3 months for quick strength gains into a 5/3/1 like program rather than staying on SS for as long as possible.

id even suggest greyskull linear progression ahead of SS for aesthetic goals. hits all the big lifts with some vanity work. plus you stay on linear progression longer, which is good for overall strength gains.

This, if your primary goal is bods and not athleticism, GSLP > SS. Also you can probably buy an Iron Gym and GTG chins and pushups at home if you're eating at a good surplus.

Do you warmup before running? Cool down afterwards? Ice is better than heat. Pitchers in baseball ice their arms.

Leg is feeling somewhat better, probably 80%, went on a walk today but I was still limping a bit/aching.

will check it out thanks.

I have Iron Gym! Up until this apartment I'm currently in the pull-up bar wouldn't fit anywhere I lived prior, but now I have it set up.

Maybe a stretch or two but I always at least walk for a half mile or so. Need ice, don't know why i didn't think of that earlier duh.

Want my leg to get better before getting back to exercising, but maybe I'll do a small strength test to show you guys how weak I am! And I will get a body shot up here soon







Using MFP for 1st time; initial thoughts:
-didn't realize how much sugar was in the yogurt
-not sure why protein is set for a low goal (not that I'm paying attention to the "goal" intakes) but I'm assuming I should be maintaining 150-200g/day?
-missed a couple of minor loggings such as coffee and bbq sauce, need to be more accurate
-need a food scale!!!
-is carbs/fat intake adequate?