First Post - Hello World

It was my 36th birthday today.  I have a loving wife, a 1 year old daughter, another child on the way, a satisfying job, and a roof over my head.  I'm by no means rich or poor.  I'm an average joe, and that's exactly the reason behind this blog.

I AM an average joe.  

A huge driving factor in my life is my daughter.  Your priorities shift dramatically when you have a kid.  Everything you do is for them.  Things that were important slide.  You get soft and doughy, your belly is a bit bigger than you remember, and you get weaker.

I want to be a superhero dad.

I have done my fair share of learning about fitness and weight training, but put little to practice.  My efforts have been spotty at best, with my best success being a good 8 month stint where I made little compromise and I saw appreciable gains in strength and positive changes in my body.  Then I got injured (tendinitis - both tennis and golfer's elbow) - holding the baby too much in one arm and took a hiatus.  I got back on a schedule for another two months and got injured again (rotator cuff impingement) - again, holding the baby too much in the other arm, again taking a break.  I'm still dealing with my shoulder injury.

I've drunk the kool-aid of 5x5, linear progression, Rippetoe, Starr, Draper, etc. and am a believer.  It's a great way to build a solid base of strength of which to work with.  I love these programs.  They're easy to understand, you know where you're going (or supposed) to be in a month's time, three month's time, a half year.  They're simple - focussing on big compound movements - making the workouts short but intense.  My favourite of all the movements is the deadlift.  Lifting heavy weights off the floor gets my endorphins going and destroys my body (in a good way).

This blog is for me, but my hope is that other people in my position can get inspired or share stories.

Time to get started!