Let me just start off by saying that I'm no stranger to fitness. That doesn't mean that I don't have my down days or even down YEARS. That's certainly been the story for me as the intensity of my doctoral program kept me up late on the caffeine and calorie binges.

Since I graduated in May, I decided to do a kind of total body makeover. Yeah, I'm still at an ideal body mass and I don't look like I need to hit the gym with Richard Simmons vigor. I can certainly do without Richard Simmons spandex. So you might be asking why I'm part of Beachbody. What am I so worried about?

That reminds me of the Head and Shoulders commercial a few years ago. Someone asks the protaganist dressed in black (and I paraphrase) "You don't have dandruff. Why do you need Head and Shoulders for?" The other guy replies. "Exactly. I don't have dandruff BECAUSE I use Head and Shoulders." The same kind of logic applies here. I want to make sure I don't start looking like I need to exercise.

And it's not like there's no room for improvement. Relative to where I was at 25, I am one sad and sorry case. I once had a vertical leap of 42 inches, a max leg press of over 1000 lbs, and a bench press of 285. Now keep in mind that I've never been heavier than 140 lbs, which is quite normal given my genetics and the size and shape of my family members.

Nowadays, I can't climb the stairs without a respirator. I'm definitely starting to see more couch potato traits (or yam or whatever tuber metaphor you like) and I'm much weaker. The way I'm headed now, it could only get worse with that band of wicked bad genes trailing behind me. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, diabetes., you name it my family has it..It's the real deal, but it's not inevitable.

So given, these hard but not unchangeable facts, I've decided to act. Number one, I decided to get on the Beachbody train. Number two, I set a goal and destination. Number three, I'm taking that train all the way and I intend to arrive healthier, happier and...this is a big "and"...more financially fit than I've ever been.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. But this isn't a spectator sport. The time is now, and the thing to do is Beachbody. So get up and get with it!