Getting started

[glennheatley]

Good evening Jocko,
I am looking at getting into shape. I am a 43 year old father of three kids, that wants to get back into shape to enjoy my life again. I weigh about 240 pounds and am around 6 foot with bad knees and back from a life of playing Australian Rules Football.
My issue is my will power. The ability to say no to foods I know I shouldn’t eat, and exercising when I know I should.
What would be the best advice you could give me, or other dads looking to improve their lives.
I appreciate any advice you can.
Great fan of your podcast,
Glenn Heatley
Melbourne, Victoria. Australia
P.S. ever thought about a Etchelon conference in Australia?

[mynewunit]

Back in shape is a vague term. Lets say get leaner.  
2 best ways to get leaner. Hypertrophy (build muscle) and moderate cardio (120-140 beats per minute heart rate).
Bad knees are common. The general prescription is NO RUNNING. I will add any workout at home video, because they are all lunges. 
Bad back is another thing that is almost meaningless. Every guy who owns power tools and has a few kids thinks they have a bad back. 
With backs, do the cure before the injury. Get a little back regiment, Knees to the chest, up-dog, down dog, pigeon pose, yoga squat.

Now, how do you get something that you will do?  I see everything I need in the Australian Rules Football.  You need something that involves other people, and probably competition. You need to find one of those things that you can incorporate into workouts.  I would say swimming works for the knee and back, but water polo would be a way to swim with a team and be motivated by competition. Or Jiu-Jitsu, Cross-fit, boxing, or Rucking.

While you are figuring that out. Try to get 100 push-up in every day.  It might take a set of 5 every half hour at the beginning. After a month, you will be able to do it in 2 sets a few minutes apart.

Brian "A Dad"

P.S. Jocko knows about his fans in Australia and NZ.  A full fledged muster is unlikely, but a visit could be in the works. Watch the Facebook and twitter page. Send Jocko information about the best surfing in that hemisphere.  

[daniel]

Totally agree on the 100 push-ups. What you need is action. Instead of thinking of the perfect plan, you need to get going. Commit to something everyday, 100 push-ups is good. Sure if you think about it, that's not a complete workout, but who cares ? 100 push-ups is better than doing nothing. Once you have enough momentum you can think about having a more complete workout.

Apply the same mentality for your diet.

One thing to remember, it's ok if you have days where you don't achieve your goals. Keep going, don't try to be perfect, try to move forward.

"Oss !"