The Start

My name is Mark Alford. I'm 23 years old and I'm in terrible shape, in my own regards. I understand that puts me in the same boat with probably 90% of America, but I'd like to be a part of the few that do something about it.
     In high school I stayed very active. I played baseball, football, basketball. I worked out twice a day and had a job that kept me running around. I was in fantastic shape and thought nothing about it. As time went by, I graduated and different things started taking precedent in my life. No longer was sports, working out, staying in shape at the top of my list. I wasn't even on the top of my own list. Time went by and my weight went up. 5 years later, I'm the heaviest I've ever been and feel terrible physically. I've tried to get back in the gym, but there always seemed to be something better to do. When I did get to the gym, I had no motivation. I lifted with the same couple guys all through high school and loved it. We drove each other and pushed each other to be better. My current gym has an 87 year old man on a treadmill that waves to me. I don't know how I feel about it, but the only motivation it gives me is to get the heck out of there.
     While sitting at work today, instead of staring at a screen like I normally do, I was talking with my friend about competition lifting. I began thinking about how happy I was when I did it, how I always had goals that I worked towards. My life is busier than ever right now, even with some voids, but I decided to start taking back up something I had a strong passion for. I decided to blog about it for several reasons. A major one being accountability for me. If I'm not lifting, then what will I have to write about? I haven't decided whether I will post weekly or nightly, but I will definitely keep everyone reading updated of progress.I'll post weekly workouts, weekly updates on my gains and weight, and depending how things go maybe some pictures, but I doubt it.
    I'm  hoping someone reads this and gets something out of it, whether its health related or not. I've been absent of goals the last couple years and its led me down a path I don't particularly enjoy. There's still time though. Time for me and time for everyone. You have to find what you want in life and go after it. It's never too late. Ever.
That'll wrap things up for tonight. A bit long winded. I'm sure no other night will be like. Any comments will be appreciated as I'm sure I'll need the motivation. Any questions will also be answered.
Thanks guys
Mark Aford


Side note: My starting maxes right now are Bench-315 Squat-500 Deadlift-400
I'm concentrating mainly on those because those are the competition lifts. I'm giving myself until Christmas to increase each lift by 10%