No solutions, only tradeoffs… getting back in shape, again

If there has been one silver lining that came from crashing out of the beer industry, no longer traveling and going back to the 9-5 insurance grind, it’s been being able to fall into a routine and get back in the gym for the first time years. 

Memorial Day Murph, 2025. I’ve made a ton of progress even since then

I’ve been back at the gym pretty regularly for over a year now. I’ve definitely gotten stronger and better conditioned. Pounds and inches have been a bit harder to drop. The past couple of months I’ve made an effort to be even more consistent with my workouts, trying to get 7,000 steps in a day, intermittent fasting, drinking at least 80 ounces of water per day, and yes, drinking less beer.

Ten years ago was the first time I had to confront the liquid calories involved in homebrewing and being a beer lover. At that time I did go back to the gym for a while until I tore my rotator cuff. I didn’t injure it at the gym. I slipped while chasing a train after Andy and I went to a Red Sox game and closed BeerWorks. I ended up going to physical therapy for four months.

By the time I was done with PT, I was on the road with Muntons. I was visiting breweries, eating alone at bars and at highway rest stops. Guess how that went. 

It wasn’t until 2021 that I became suitably disgusted that I made some changes. Needing a flexible workout I could do at home and on the road when I started traveling again after the pandemic, I jumped headfirst into the DDPY program. In addition to completing healing my shoulder, DDPY combined with calorie counting and intermittent fasting made a big difference. At least until I hurt my back sleeping on the couch and couldn’t move my head for a month or two. 

Craft Brewers Confrence, September 2021

After finding a good chiropractor, my neck and back were fine, but I never got back on track. By the time I was laid off from Muntons at the end of 2022, I was in the worst shape of my life. 

Things didn’t start to turn back around again until my unemployment ran out in later in 2023. I was self-employed but needed to supplement my income so I took a job as an Amazon delivery driver. After my first week, the owner asked me, “How are you coping with the physical demands of the job?” How diplomatic of him. 

Amazon describes their drivers as athletes. It’s a ten hour shift, you have 15 minutes to load your van, a typical shift is 15,000-17,000 steps, to say nothing of the hundreds of times a driver has to climb in and out of the van. Doing that for five months was certainly a start. 

When I started my current job I hoped walking to the train would be enough to keep up that momentum. After a couple of months I knew my walking commute alone wasn’t enough. I was also starting to feel my age. I felt like I was starting to walk like an old man. At a certain point if you don’t use your strength and explosiveness, you lose it. 

Going back to CrossFit has been great. I can workout at my own pace and measure my performance against myself. The past couple of months I’ve finally started to get the ball rolling. 

I crave the taste of beer the same way I crave ice cream or steak; I don’t want to give up any of those. I don’t want to give up drinks with friends, pool or beach beers, or the experience of chatting up a stranger sitting next to me if I’m in the mood. I still thinking drinking responsibly and in moderation for most people is a good thing. 

These days moderation is key. I made a list of eight goals ranging from short to long term. Until I start ticking some of them off the list, moderation is even more important.