Hitting the Gym

Hey there.  I started working out again.  As evidence by my belt, I've put on a few pounds since I've gotten with my wife.  I used to be a stick figure thin 118 lbs and I wasn't too happy about it.  Now, I'm sitting at 178 lbs which isn't so bad, considering that I'm 5'8.  But you know what... like I told my brother yesterday, I noticed my "guns" getting smaller and my gut getting bigger.  lol  I kid you not, friends.  There have been a few times where I'm sitting on the couch or whatever and the button on my pants snaps and flies across the room.  Yeah, you read that right... "a few" as in, more than once.  =o)  Now, I don't mind being bigger.  In fact, I like it.  I don't look sickly and the fact that I struggled to gain weight sucked.  I love all kinds of foods and I've always been one to eat until you're full.  This is mainly why I love buffets.  You need to put a lot of food in me to feel full. 

Well, a few weeks ago, when my wife and I started talking about renewing our gym membership, it got me thinking...  I'm a lot slower than I once was.  A LOT SLOWER.  I realized that my cardio fitness is nowhere near where a young man at 27 years should be.  There are times where I can't walk long distances, stairs suck to climb, and if I push myself a little too hard, I get shortness of breath.  I needed to get my endurance and stamina back.

So last night it happened.  I finally went to the gym on a mission to get fit.  I'm hoping that I won't lose weight, but that I'll be able to increase my physical fitness, focusing on endurance and strength.  I ran for a little over 2 miles yesterday on a "hill setting" on a treadmill and since I haven't done any kind of running since forever, I felt like I was ready to fall over dead.  So much for easing into it, huh.  I like the hill setting since it fluctuates the incline level.  Running at a constant 4 mph may not seem too tough but once you start hitting the inclines, it raises the difficulty.  I made it victorious.  I wasn't carried away in a stretcher and no one called for a wheelchair so I would call that a pretty successful run. 

I then did some butterflies, bench pressed, and curls to work on my arms and chest, but trust me, there wasn't much weight on those.  I was still feeling pretty tired from that run.  Before long, I headed home.  So my question now is what kind of "program" should I set for myself?  30 min cardio followed by 45 of strength training?  15 min cardio, 45 min strength, 15 min cardio?  As of today, I plan on going daily (except Sundays), is that considered too much?  I mean, it's only been one day, but I do want to be able to stick to a schedule to make sure that I build up those key stats. 

So now, I'm feeling a little sore in the legs.  I can't run the way I used to when I was in track and field (back in JR high!!!!) so I'm feeling the pain right now.  I guess as long as I don't topple over, I'll be alright.  Until then, later!