A Comic Book Geek's Guide to Health & Fitness

Comic book fans come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you're skinny like Plastic Man, big like The Thing (Ben Grimm), or somewhere in between, we all want to look like our favorite superheroes. Unfortunately, comic book geeks like us aren't known for our great physique.

Luckily for the rest of us, I have created a guide that has worked for me for most of my life. If I had to describe my body type to anyone, I would tell them to think of Spider-Man. I never had to struggle with my weight but these tips have helped me gain and keep my new muscles. These tips are especially good if you want to look your best for cosplay season. I'm talking to you cosplayers! Here are my tips for getting that superhero body.

Step 1: Tip #1:Soda Bad/Water Good

This might be the hardest thing to do but....you have to stop drinking sodas. I'm not saying stop drinking them forever, just stop drinking them at home. Get rid of all your soda at home and start drinking water instead. Your body turns excess sugars into stored body fat so drinking sugar-loaded sodas all the time is not good for you.

Step 2: Tip #2: Drink Water Like You're Aquaman

Water is your best friend. It keeps you feeling good. Make sure to drink water before you sleep and after you wake up in the morning. Your body becomes slightly dehydrated when you sleep due to lack of fluids. Water helps keep your body hyrdated all day. Another good thing about water is that it'll keep you feeling full. If you want to stick to your diet but you're stomach still wants more food, just drink water. Water fills up your stomach and it fools your brain into thinking that you are full.

Step 3: Tip #3: Eat Small But Often

Eat about 6-8 meals a day....but there's a catch. You should only eat small servings. When you eat only three meals a day, you tend to overeat to keep your stomach full until the next meal. By eating small meals every couple of hours, you'll keep your body full while preventing yourself from eating too much. For your meals, stick to small sandwiches, salads, fruit, and other healthy foods.

Step 4: Tip #4: Get Some Odinsleep

Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Your body burns calories while you sleep so try to get as much of it as you can. The night after a workout is the best time to stick to your sleeping plan.
(Your muscles get bigger when the muscle fibers break down after your workout. They reconnect and rebuild themselves into stronger/bigger muscle fibers.)

Step 5: Tip #5: Your Body Is Your Gym

Let's face it: gym memberships are expensive. You don't need to use complex machines to get that perfect body. All you need is YOU. You can use your own bodyweight to exercise with. The best way to do this is by using the PT Pyramid. The military uses this program to train new recruits and to stay in top physical shape. The only exercises that you need to do to start this program are pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups. You should invest in a pull-up bar. It's the only real exercise equipment that you need.

For this example, we'll exchange situps with squats. The way the Pyramid works is you pick three exercises:
-The first exercise will be squats, the second will be push-ups, and the third are sit-ups.
-Each exercise has an original number of reps to do. You will do 1 squat, 2 push-ups, and 3 sit-ups.
-The normal Pyramid has six steps. For each step, you will multiply that number step with each exercise.
-For instance, in step 2, you will do 2 squats, 4 push-ups, and 6 sit-ups. Just multiply each step with the corresponding
number of reps for that exercise.
- Do this for as many steps as you can do. Rest for at least three minutes/five minutes maximum.
- Repeat the steps but go down from the largest to smallest step (6 - 1).
-Do the Pyramid exercises at least three times a week.

Step 6: The End

I hope these tips help you get the body that you always wanted. We all have a hero in all of us. We just need that extra nudge to help us discover our true potential. Be strong my fellow geeks and go out and live life.