By Scott W. Bell

When I was 35, I started a workout regimen, and I was doing well. I was no Ah-nuld, but I was losing weight and making steady progress toward my goal.

Then I hurt my back. I mean, really hurt it. Can't-stand-up-straight-or-feel-my-toes kind of hurt. At work, fortunately. Between therapy, surgery, and more therapy, I was unable to work for nearly two years. For the longest time, I couldn't lift anything over 5 pounds.

Needless to say, my physique went to pot. Literally, in the case of my belly. In the 4 years after my surgery, I gained 30 pounds, all of which was bodyfat.

That brought me to this point . (WARNING! It's not pretty.)

I had finally had enough of being

● tired

● weak

● overweight

● in pain from my back.

Or, so I thought.

I started, fitfully, occasionally making it a whole week, then quitting for months. I even started a fitness blog, thinking that would embarrass me into sticking with it.

My problem was multifold: lack of motivation, lack of direction, lack of focus; you name it, I lacked it. Then motivation came from a totally unexpected direction.

A Kick in the Pants

I had ben a supporter of our military action in Iraq from the beginning, going so far as to inquire with the local Air Force recruiter about re-joining. When he told me I was too old (40 at the time), I put that behind me.

In November of 2004, I found out that, because of my prior service, I was still eligible to re-join the Air Force Reserve. The only stumbling block was that I had to be able to run a mile and a half in 15 minutes, do 40 push-ups and 50 crunches (within 1 minute for each), and weigh less than 192 pounds. Given that I was setting at 214 lbs., and started seeing spots after a single flight of stairs, I had two choices: give up, or get it in gear. As it turned out, this was just the kick in the pants I needed to get it in gear.

A Purpose Presents Personal Appeal

After going back and forth with a less-than-cooperative recruiter for several months, I finally had my physical in May of 2005. I passed everything fine, until they got to my medical history. In the past, I had high blood pressure, had dislocated my left shoulder, had back surgery, an a couple of other minor issues. Never mind that when I had changed jobs, my BP went back to normal, I had more range of motion with my left shoulder than my right, and had shown no signs of back problems since surgery; the answer was still "NO!"

I had been certain that this was where the Lord had wanted me to go, but I've been wrong before. The good thing to come out of this is that I was in better shape than I ever had been; I still had far too go, but that fact was set in stone. As of this writing, I am at 189 pounds and about 13% body fat, down to a size 32 waist from 36, and am running almost 6 miles a week. I'm 8 weeks through my first Body-for-Life 12-week challenge, and intend to jump straight into my second round when this one is finished. My self-discipline still isn't too shiny, but I'm working on that. Turns out that the blog does come in handy, after all!

The Purpose of This Site

As I said, the Blog4Life does serve a purpose , in that it gives me motivation by seeing where I'm at and how I got here.

It is my hope that I can share some of the research and motivation that I've found on the web, and thus help others to achieve the same goals.

Being fit is wonderful. I feel better, I sleep better; my entire life is sunnier and happier. If I can help even one person achieve the same with this site, then I have accomplished my goal. So, grab a pair of running shoes, get a copy of Body-for-Life, and join me in the Land of Fitness™!

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