Meet the Shuggernaut.

juggernaut (n): 1. A huge, powerful, and overwhelming force or institution.  2. A Marvel comic book character who, once in motion, is unstoppable.

shugger (n):  A practitioner of the exercise method known as shovelgloving, whereby functional, once-common movements such as shoveling, wood chopping, and fencepost pounding are performed with a padded sledgehammer.

Who is the Shuggernaut, you ask?  Well, I'll tell ya.  He's an almost-39-year-old husband of one, father of four, Registered Nurse, licensed tattooist, painter, sculptor, martial artist, and 2004 University of Wisconsin graduate, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Promotion and Wellness, as well as multiple certifications as a personal trainer.

Now the humbling bit...

Standing at just a shade under 6 feet in height, at the time of this writing, he's also about 40-or-so pounds overfat, currently tipping the scales at a decently-muscled-but-big-gut-bearing weight of around 240 pounds.

Seems a bit ironic, doesn't it?  Here's a guy who knows just about everything there is to know regarding how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and a fit, functional body, and he's struggling to lose a bunch of fat just like everyone else.  Here's the crazy thing about "experts" that a lot of them don't want you to know, though:  We're human, too.

A solid decade has passed since transitioning from single college dude to working professional and family man, along with the stress of several job changes, geographic moves, financial struggles, births of children, deaths of friends, and other types of adventures Life likes to take us on.  Throw in a heaping dose of chronic pain from years of intermittent, sporadic, and alternating overtraining and undertraining (including plantar fasciitis, knee and low back pain, whispers of rotator cuff injuries, and, most recently, the start of sciatica and some hellaciously tight psoas muscles), and what are you left with?

Well, for many people, you're left with the beginning of the end of the story.  A lot of folks my age who experience similar challenges and setbacks just chalk it up to "getting older," and passively submit to the resultantly inevitable, swirling decent down the drain of mortality's toilet.

Not this guy.  Yes, I am a fat guy in his late thirties who's still strong enough to do some stuff (until his back goes out or he runs out of breath), but who is held back from fully enjoying a life spent in a truly fit, capable body.  That said, if I do have a superpower, it's the ability to keep going, one way or another, no matter how bad it hurts.  It's true that this very proclivity--used unwisely over the years (e.g., sporadic overtraining)--is the very thing that caused many of the aches and pains which now beset me.  However, properly harnessed and used for good, this tenacious optimism--the undying faith in myself and the unshakeable belief that I will not only regain but even exceed the vitality I enjoyed in my youth--cannot fail to carry me forward.  My knowledge, now tempered with the wisdom and prudence that comes with age and experience, is about to usher in a new era of vibrant strength, power, and athleticism in my life.

Patience is the key.

One.
Step.
At.
A.
Time.

A 16-pound sledgehammer--combined with the habit of sensible eating--is the tool.

One.
Day.
At.
A.
Time.

Or, more specifically, one 14-minute workout at a time, five days a week.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Fourteen minutes a day.

Several years ago, I stumbled across the online writings of a nice fella by the name of Reinhard Engels.  He's a computer guy who decided to share what he'd learned about eating right and exercising sensibly with the world, free of charge.  The core of his philosophy is the development of reasonable habits which can be maintained for a lifetime.  No crash diets.  No extreme exercise programs.  No puritanical rules forbidding you from ever enjoying life's simple pleasures.  Just the integration of simple, sustainable, and even enjoyable habits into one's daily life.  I encourage you to click on his name, above, for more information about his "Everyday Systems." 

Going forward from here, I will be regularly updating this blog with progress photos, notes, and training tips, along with plenty of rambling thoughts, commentary, and miscellaneous brain droppings about health, fitness, food, life in general, and how to get the most out of our time on Spaceship Earth.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to comment below.  I look forward to sharing this journey with others, and hope it might help a few folks who happen to find themselves walking along a similar path.