So I've been away from Bodybuilding.com and BodySpace. Here's a little background of where I've been and what I've been doing.

During the period of January 2011 to August 2011, I was in the US Marines and was currently deployed to Afghanistan. Like any war story, pretty much all I did was go to the gym. At that point I was already active in the gym, but because of the lack of entertainment, I grew accustomed to practically living in the gym. And when I mean "practically", I mean my living area was a few steps from our gym. Our gym was a homemade one, but it was actually decent for a backyard gym. Also, "our" gym only had a hand full of maybe 15-20 gym members; the Staff and Officers, the Sniper Platoon, the Mobile Section, and Headquarters Section.

The great thing about deployment is that many people are on a time schedule. That being said, I never had to wait for a weight that was being used.

My training regimen was intense! Let me explain. First off, my body was really conditioned at the time and I was at my prime! I was able to hit to weights and then continue on with cardio... 6 times a week! That's right. I worked out 6 times a week. I included isolated movements, compound movements, low weight/high rep, high weight/low rep, negative rep, weighted flexing, weighted stretching, calisthenics, eating like a maniac (now I throw up when I see an MRE), HIIT cardio, circuit courses and running around the base (which was really tiny).

Damn, did I feel good!

August 25th, 2011.  Deployment is finally over and I'm back in Camp Lejeune, NC. Like any service member that just came home, you unconsciously stuff seven months of drinking and partying into two single weeks... I drank good beer, I ate good food and I met pretty women. Although I still looked physically fit, I wasn't. It was damn worth it, though! Ha ha.

October 5th, 2011. I finish my time in service and I am honorably discharged from the US Marines. I go on an amazing, two-week motorcycle ride by myself from North Carolina to California. It was definitely fun, but this would be a whole other blog entry. The thing is, I was constantly on the move. Meal time wasn't too different for me since I came back from deployment. Restaurant burgers just became fast food burgers. I guess I actually ate healthier if you actually think about it. Nonetheless, this still contributed to my downfall.

Fast forward a couple months and now we are at present day, January 10, 2011. I'm now living with my mother and sister in California. I've been trying to find a job, but it's ridiculously hard! What ever happened to the whole "anyone will hire you! You're prior military"? I don't start school til the 18th.

In a nutshell, I haven't been doing much. If nothing was something, I was doing that. I sat on my gluteus maximus and watched television. Also, I ate whatever my mom cooked, which isn't the healthiest of foods. That being said, almost five months have gone by as I wasted my youthfulness.

As always, after a shower, I started to check myself out in the mirror. It was clear as day. I was getting fat. What the hell happened to me? I had to do something about it.

So, I now have a gym membership at California Family Fitness and I've been going recently. Like the Title of this entry says, "The worst part of getting in shape is the beginning".  It's damn true! Not only can't I lift heavy weights as I used to, I can barely complete four workouts of 8-10 reps using light weights! Running is a NO so I have to opt for the bicycle. Even this limits me to 20 minutes on an "8" level! The last part is soreness. Oh, my body aches. Right now, I can't even scrub my back when I shower.

It's going to a long time until I get back to what I was in Afghanistan. Then, it was workout and work. Now, it's school, work, social life and workout (in no particular order, of course). It'll take some hard work and dedication, but hopefully I'll get there. If you're reading this now, please PM me afterwards; It'll definitely serve as motivation. Thanks!