Top Bar

I finally joined the gym

This week, I finally sucked it up and joined the local gym. After reading so much great manosphere articles on the topic, I have become inspired. I have also decided to post this step publicly, so I may held accountable for my actions. I know what some of you are thinking…

You don’t lift Zolo!? Why are you only starting now? 

Well, I’m not fat, I eat well, and I get laid regularly. When you’re bedding new chicks regularly, you think, what’s the point? My charm is enough, so why work towards a nicer body? I had other reasons, too. “I travel too much.” “It’s expensive.” “I don’t have the time.” Blah, blah, blah…

So…why bother then?

There are many reasons.

  • I want to be sexier.  I’ve a decent mug, I’m smart, I’ve good game, and I’m a true man of the world, but I feel I’ve plateaued. I want to improve my sex rank and date higher quality women. I want to date more top-tier women, so I need to be top tier, too. My body is the one thing about me that’s not matching up to the rest of the man I’ve become.
  • I’m not 100% happy with my body. I’m average… and I refuse to be any longer. I want to finally get rid of that excess fat. I drink too much (and will continue to, I’m Irish after all), so I need to counteract that with a physical routine. I want to feel so good about my naked body I can walk naked through the streets and be proud, like a Spartan.
  • I want  to be stronger. After you’ve been being robbed and threatened in hell-zones, you need to able to protect yourself. I’ve never been beaten up, but there have been a few situations where I would have loved to kick some ass to prevent getting robbed or imprisoned. I also want to have to greater strength to throw chicas around the bedroom better. I want to have more stamina in certain positions and lift girls over my head when I give head. (I do this anyway, but I can only handle girls 50kgs or less.)
  • I want to to feel better. I want to enhance my mood, my confidence, my testosterone levels, my energy levels, and my libido. Lifting is the answer.
  • I need a challenge. In the last year, I’ve published a book, finished my masters, and taken down my 50th flag. While I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, it’s time for new goals and challenges. It gives my day meaning and makes me happy. It’s time to push my limits further. A man needs a project.

So what’s the game plan?

I’ve decided to go with the 5×5 stronglifts program. I’m a busy guy and this seems like the best fit… three days a week, less than an hour per session, with full-body compound exercises.  It gets results. I’m not looking to become a bodybuilder. I just want to fulfill the goals above. After much research, I think I have it sussed. If any of you have a superior workout programs, please comment below and leave some suggestions.

12 weeks from now I will post my results. Wish me luck!

——————————————————-

For those of you interested in starting your own journey to improving your strength, check out these other manosphere blogs.

Bold and Determined

Nexxt Level Up

(If I’ve forgotten any, let me know so I can add them to the list.)

17 Responses to I finally joined the gym

  1. Bronan The Barbarian! March 15, 2013 at 8:00 pm #

    Awesome dude. Glad to hear you’re joining the Swole Army. Stronglifts is a great place to start.

  2. YouSoWould March 15, 2013 at 8:57 pm #

    Good work pal. You’re in a great position now to do it right, straight from the offset. Get your big 3 down – squat, deadlift, bench press – and you’ll be more on track than 90% of the other gym rats who waste their time fucking around ineffectually. Chuck in some overhead press, and bodyweight exercises like chins, pull ups and dips and you’re laughing.

  3. Zero March 15, 2013 at 9:51 pm #

    Hey Mark, Glad to hear you’re getting into some training! I have a different recommendation though that might better meet your goals. Instead of lifting weights, go for a combat martial art like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, MMA, etc. You mentioned that you wanted to be able to protect yourself, but just getting stronger doesn’t really accomplish that goal. Bars all over the USA are full of big guys who think their size means they can fight, until they instigate with the wrong guy and learn their lesson. I lifted weights for 18 years before I finally took some friends’ recommendations and started training BJJ. Sparring with other guys is an unreal workout, it burns over 1000 calories an hour and has gotten me in insane shape, drastically improving my cardio while creating balanced functional strength at the same time. It’s also improved my presence, strategic acuity (sparring with someone at your skill level is an athletic chess match), taught me how to fight relaxed to conserve energy, and built great friendships. But the best benefit has been the dominance of knowing exactly what to do in a fight, which has changed how I carry myself even thought I don’t see it. It’s amazing, since starting BJJ guys never start shit with me, I think they just pick up on it somehow, and girls of course too. Last year following your city guides I motorcycled through 32 countries in Europe by myself and no one screwed with me, even in some sketchy spots like a Hungarian football derby with crazy fans fighting and a fight in a subway car. And back in the USA two weeks ago I defend a friend by rear-naked choking his assailant (who weighted 20 kg more than me), and then fending off 4 guys who to jump me, all without anyone landing a punch. Whatever you do, stick with it and thanks for all the city guides!

  4. sirmarjalot March 15, 2013 at 10:15 pm #

    Beware the Narcissus complex,

  5. fogal March 15, 2013 at 11:14 pm #

    u are a 6.82 when I did your face (from about me section) on anaface.com but youre not suppose to be smiling you coulda got better on the looks rating simulater.
    Didnt know you were pudgy thought you already had a fit body to make up for your height…how much do you weight?
    so are you gonna start rating flags? only top tier flags now…no more mediocre flags i bet.
    give me your wrist and ankle size and I can calculate how big your 5 “7 frame will be
    im starting stronglifts….hopefully i dont slack off

  6. YouSoWould March 15, 2013 at 11:35 pm #

    Good work pal. You’re in a great position now of being able to get this thing right, all the way from the beginning.

    Focus on your big three – squats, deadlifts and bench press – and throw in a smattering of overhead press and bodyweight exercises such as pull ups, chin ups and dips and you won’t go far wrong.

    Get your technique right, and don’t cheat on reps.

    Get your nutrition right – 2.5g of protein per lean kg of body mass every day, with plenty of carbs on training days to replenish muscle stores, and fewer carbs on rest days.

  7. JJ Roberts March 16, 2013 at 2:47 am #

    Might be able to get my fitness coach to give you some tips

  8. Ozzy March 16, 2013 at 8:51 pm #

    Yea man I did strong lifts too! Mehdi is the best! I quit the program though because I needed to focus on a more basketball related routine but I’m still doing squats! really do help your testosterone levels. I can’t wait to see you get more top tier women. Good luck!

  9. TheViking March 16, 2013 at 9:02 pm #

    you should check out maximum overload training as well, it works wonders!

  10. Ruxman March 17, 2013 at 10:25 am #

    Good stuff, can’t believe you’ve come this far without ever going to the gym, a lot of guys do the gym first and then the adventures later.

  11. natural March 18, 2013 at 7:30 pm #

    bench is over rated, squat is real shit for tall long legged men, deadlift is great if you can do it without herniating your discs.

    lift for hypertrophy not strength, there is a difference. focus on the contractions, squeeze them hard, and lift lighter weights for higher reps. full body workouts work for some, i prefer body part workouts- figure out for yourself, everyone is different, the body building advice you will get is contradictory . expriment and forge your own path.

  12. Bryan March 19, 2013 at 4:51 pm #

    This is a great step man. Another thing when it comes to lifting weights is that it boosts your testosterone levels. Higher test=higher sex drive, which leads you to become a crazy sex fiend, always looking to get some.

    Stonglifts is a solid program too. Do not lose sight of your goals. There are too many diets and workout programs out there, just stick to this until your strength plateaus, and then change it up a little.

  13. Andy May 6, 2013 at 6:14 pm #

    Yes – google INTERMITTENT FASTING. If you just go to the gym, you’ll build muscle but you’ll still be fat and you’ll look shit – just another fat guy. You need to lose the fat and intermittent fasting is the way to do it.

    • Naughty Nomad May 6, 2013 at 6:27 pm #

      I’m way ahead of you Andy 😉

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. 12 Week Gym Results | Naughty Nomad - June 6, 2013

    […] weeks ago, I wrote a post about why I decided to join the gym and promised I’d update you on my […]

  2. 6 Month Gym Results (with pics) | Naughty Nomad - October 1, 2013

    […] months ago, I wrote a post about why I decided to join the gym and promised I’d update you on my progress. And twelve weeks ago, I gave my first update. Now […]

  3. The Year in Review 2013 | Naughty Nomad - January 1, 2014

    […] graduate with honors with a Masters in International Relations, finally join the gym, and start a video production company. During this period, I work hard on producing the series […]

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.