Hello friends

[Gbeth]

Hello. My name is Gbeth, I am 22 years old and live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I joined this site because I have an interest of sorts with Martial Arts, like many others. I have goals, which seem unattainable right now but I'll be damned if I'm not going to at least try and reach them. People I admire include Alexander Karelin, Brock Lesnar, and Zydrunas Savickas. I'm a pretty heavy guy, I won't lie about it. Well, to list them all, my goals include

• Stop Smoking: I've smoked for three years now, and I hate my addiction because I know it's going to kill me one day if I keep doing it, and it costs a butt load o' money. I've seriously tried to stop smoking twice; one interval was three days and two nights without a cigarette. The other was ten days. They say it takes 21 days or so to break a habit. I think it might take longer than just breaking the habit because its not just a habit, but an addiction. This one is crucial because it pertains to my own physical health, which is definitely needed for my other goals.
• Start Weight Lifting and make it a habit: I used to do weight lifting a lot, but stopped for a short time. During that short time I started smoking and everything, so it kind of all went down into the sewer. I know this might sound weird, but I miss actually craving the strain and exertion of lifting weight. It gave me an outlet for my constant anger and made me feel better about myself. I have a weight bench at my house and dumbbells, just the only problem is making the lifting an actual habit that I can stick to. I am currently at 90 lbs. Bench pressing and 30 lbs. dumbbell curling.

I honestly would like to stick to those two goals, start out small. If anyone has any advice they can give me about stopping the smoking or making the weights a habit, it would be very much appreciated. Thank you all in advance, I hope I am able to stick to this site. If you guys want to know about goals including Martial Arts, here it is (just because this is a Martial Arts forum after all)

• Start Wrestling. I don't know which style I was doing, but it was the one where two competitors faced each other on the mat, both on their knees, hands in a clinch, and the objective was to dominate your opponent onto their back. I used to do it with my friend. But before I even attempt Wrestling I would really like to stop smoking and get into weight lifting first.

 

[MJS]

Welcome to Martial Talk!

It sounds like you're off to a good start already, by listing the goals that you want to reach for. Keep working hard, and most importantly, don't rush things or get frustrated if things are going slow, ie: progress. Things take time, but with hard work and serious dedication, any goal can be reached.

 

[Instructor]

Welcome to Martial Talk. Great goals, you CAN do it!

 

[sfs982000]

Welcome to the forums!

 

[arnisador]

Great goals! Good luck!

 

[Takai]

Welcome to MT.

 

[Mauthos]

Welcome and good luck attaining your goals

 

[aaradia]

I think you should start wrestling now. Not wait until you reach your other goals. Reason being that doing MA will be the motivation to quite smoking.

When you are doing MA and you get easily winded from your smoking, it willl possibly be the motivation you need to really quit.

It's like several people who have told me they want to get in shape, then do a MA. I tell them you do a MA to get in shape.

If you want to do a MA, do it. Don't look for reasons to not do it. :asian:

 

[seasoned]

Goals you get are goals you set. One day at a time, slow and steady progress will be a lasting endeavor. Start by loging your progress here on MT. Good Luck!

 

[oftheherd1]

Smoking is not usually easy to quit, because as you said, it is both habituating and addicting. But of course it can be done. It only took me about 6 or 7 (mayby 10) tries to get it done. I haven't smoked in over 35 years. Before that I guess the longest I ever stopped smoking might have been a year. I was never able to stop cold turkey. My hats off to those that can.

For me, I resorted to smoking cigars every time I wanted a cigarette; even if I had just put a cigar out. The reason that worked for me is that I cannot inhale a cigar, even by french smoking. That helped with the addictive part. Getting over the addicting part helped with the 'what do I do with my hands' part. YMMV.

There are of course patches, acupuncture, and other medicines to help stop smoking. I never used them so I don't know how well they work in general. My understanding is that they help most people, but no guarantees. Agan, YMMV.

Anyway, good luck. Keep us informed of your progress. That may help to keep you honest with yourself. Also, I think the advice to get into some MA now is sound for the reasons given above.

 

[Gbeth]

Thank you all for the nice welcome and I'm going to start wrestling with my friend again. I don't know if there are any other places I can wrestle in my area, but I'll do my best to find some. Again, thank you all for the welcome and the advice!