About two years ago, I wrote Developer Fitness: Getting & Staying in Shape. There’s not a synopsis for that post other than this:
- I didn’t like where I was,
- I wanted to return to a weight at which I was happy,
- I did some work,
- I reached my goal.
In my early-to-mid twenties, I was a runner, and that was my primary form of exercise. I participated in 5Ks, 10Ks, and half-marathons, but as life changes so go our habits. Sometimes, at least. And that was the case for me.
So the motivation for writing the post two-fold:
- After being self-employed, working from home, and learning to adjust having two children around the house, I gained enough weight to be as heavy as I had ever been.
- I found that during the time I went from wanting to lose weight, I discovered a genuine interest in fitness. Granted, this looks different for each person, so perhaps it’s better to say that I have an interest in my level of fitness. Thus, I wanted to document what I’ve been doing and what works for me.
I’ve wanted to write a follow-up post ever since but the time never felt right as I was still figuring out what I wanted to write. But I’ve finally gotten to a point where I’ve learned enough, and I’m comfortable sharing more information.
A Short Disclaimer
But first, a few things:
- Whenever a male writes about losing weight after having children, it’s easy to roll eyes and say “Yeah, but women have…” I’ll state it here: I believe women are the stronger of the two sexes (ask any of my friends how often I claim that), and I don’t mean to compare to imply anything other than that. I’m talking about something that happens to coincide when we had children and how I aimed to adjust my own fitness. Nothing more. 🙂
- Fitness for those who work in our industry – or who have desk jobs – can be hard to come by. We work long hours sitting (or standing) at desks, and when we’re done for the day, the last thing many of us want to do is to get physically exert ourselves after the exhaustion that comes from thinking through problems all day. The thing is, this is not unique to our industry.
- I’m not a health professional. I’m an average guy who has done some reading on some things and have began to understand what works for my body type. I’m not a personal trainer, nor do I claim that what I’ve used worked for me will work for you.
- I do think there are certain things we can all do to help ourselves, more on this later, but whatever I do isn’t necessarily great for everyone else and vice versa.
- Fitness isn’t a “reach your goal and finish.” It’s more something I incorporate into my life has become something I try to do every day (or as much as possible).
And with that said, I’m happy to share what I’ve done, the progress I’ve made, and my goals, but I also want to be clear that I know this won’t work for everyone.
