September 20th - That’s when I’ll be certified as a personal trainer. I’m assuming they give me a piece of paper that I can frame and hang on my wall, maybe throw darts at, and then I can keep doing what I’ve been doing, help people get in shape and feel better about themselves!

thank you AAAI!

What I’m (re-playing): The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I got a suddent urge this morning to play Zelda, really bad. I flipped a coin, because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play through Windwaker or TP. Great game, incredible soundtrack, so-so Wii control integration.

I am a picky eater. It sucks.

In my quest to become healthier, I’ve tried analyzing what I need to eat, and what I don’t need to eat in order to increase muscle mass and decrease body fat. I have the metabolism of a cheetah, which means I can pretty much eat whatever I want and never gain weight. This is both a blessing and a curse. Because I’m TRYING to gain weight (good weight, mind you), this genetic “blessing” has doomed me for years. However, I also know that my metabolism is bound to slow down eventually, so I might as well try to set up good habits now so it won’t be a huge problem when I hit middle-age.

I’ve stumbled across a few articles that are pretty eye opening when it comes to things you think might be good for you and are actually quite terrible.

The article on the 20 worst foods in America can be found by clicking here.

My favorite has to be Number 13 - The Worst Salad. Bud Light’s take on this entree is nothing short of spectacular:

Onto the 125 best foods in a Supermarket. When you go shopping at your local Stop & Shop, Kroger, Ralphs, Piggly Wiggly, etc., keep an eye out for this stuff. Small changes here and there can make quite the difference over time. For example: though I grew up eating two peanut butter sandwiches every day on white bread, I’ve recently made the switch to Wheat Bread, and natural Peanut Butter. After about a week, I got over the fact that white bread “tastes better” and now I actually like the taste of wheat bread.

Today’s diet tip of the day: give up soda. Seriously. If you eat out for lunch and dinner, get water. Save yourself the 2 dollars (or whatever it is they charge for soda these days), and save your stomach from unnecessary calories and your teeth from like 40 grams of sugar. If you need the caffine fix, GET OVER IT. Once you start exercising on a daily basis, you’ll have more than enough energy!

Hi, I’m Steve, and I am a nerd.

Maybe not in the typical sense, but I am a nerd nonetheless. I’ve built my own computer. I have a level 57 Templar in Everquest 2. In my apartment we have a 56 inch TV, with a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and old school Nintendo hooked up to it. I’ve read all the Harry Potter books, and I own both versions of all three Lord of the Rings movies (regular and special edition). I’m a nerd.

However, I like to think that I’m a pretty cool nerd. I play sports, and I try to stay in shape. I actually enjoy going to the gym. This all started back two years ago…

When I moved out to San Diego in ‘06, I weighed approximately 160 lbs. I spent 4 years of college trying every workout routine in the book: one muscle group every day for 5 days a week, 3 muscle groups a day twice a week, etc etc etc. I think between Freshman year and Senior year I probably put on 10 lbs. (I didn’t drink through most of College, so the “Freshman Fifteen” that everybody else put on didn’t really apply to me. I woulda LOVED to put on 15 lbs!) I tried it all, and nothing worked.

Things changed when I moved out to the West Coast and signed up at the local gym, I was given 5 free sessions with a personal trainer, and I learned what I had been doing wrong all along: my diet. Even though I had done the right exercises for the four years of college to build muscle mass, I was only eating half the number of calories and grams of protein necessary for muscle development. In the 5 weeks hitting up the gym and meeting with my personal trainer, I was eating over 200 grams of protein a day, scattered throughout 7 meals (eaten every 3 hours), and I went from 160 lbs. to 180 lbs. It was ridiculous.

I figured after 4 years of intense work-out sessions, I was doomed to be skinny for the rest of my life (yeah, poor me. I know, I’m so lucky, blah blah blah. That’s not the point!) All it took was a change in my diet and my approach to the whole thing. Of course, right after crossing the 180 lbs barrier, I immediately got sick and dropped 10 lbs. Since then, it’s been a constant struggle for me to stay motivated and healthy enough to get back up there. Job, vacations, even lack of sleep always jump in right when I get back on track, and I drop back down to 170 lbs.

Well, I think I’ve come up with a solution that will get me back on track, and help others do the same: I’m going to get certified as a personal trainer and try to pick up some clients over at the L.A. Fitness where I work out. I can save some money (by not paying the monthly membership), make some money (by helping people), stay motivated (can’t be an out of shape trainer, can I?), and give me fun things to write about here on the blog.

In-depth analysis of my training techniques and diet will be helpful for not only skinny nerds looking to get big, but just out of shape nerds who want to have more energy and feel better about themselves after spending a marathon day on the couch playing GTA or Mario Kart (like my roommate Evan, who might be one of the best Mario Kart players in the world).

That’s my story, and this is where we begin.

-Steve