Long time no see :)

[ChrisL 2]

Howdy folks,

Its been a while. I havent made a jump in about 3 1/2 years.

I never made any conscious choice to quit. Life just sort of got in the way for a while. Lost some family members, started a side-business in addition to my day job, and quite frankly I allowed myself to get fat.

Not too fat for my gear, just pushed up into a wing loading that given my experience and frequency of jumping was way too high to be able to jump with the level of safety that I like to maintain. Of course I could have upsized, but my own neurosis prevents such a thing. Buying bigger gear means I have accepted my new increased size and weight, and I wasnt prepared to do that.

Anyway, long story short, several years went by before I realized it. I miss it though. I'm developing a real bad jones to get my knees back in the breeze so I put myself on a dedicated, consistent program and its already yielding good results.

If I was 20 years old I'd probably try to lose it a lot faster, but I'm 51 years old and dont wish to damage myself by trying to crash diet 50 lbs off in a couple months, so I'm focused on reaching my target weight by the fall and get myself back in the sky.

I dont really like summer anyway. Heat and humidity such and I always hated slogging back across the dz in a jumpsuit with my crap hanging over my shoulder and sweating my ass off ;)

Anyway, some of you might remember me. It hasnt been that long.
Glad to be back, and looking forward to getting my ass back in the air this fall

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My mighty steed

[muff528 3]

I drifted away for pretty much the same reasons (except the getting fat part), but for a bit longer. Really no excuses since I'm surrounded by world-class DZs. ....maybe one day before I get old ..........

[JohnMitchell 14]

Good to have you back. I hope you achieve all your fitness goals. You'll feel great and be so happy to be back in the air. Glad to see you doing it right.

I often joke that if it wasn't for skydiving, I'd weigh 300 pounds, 'cause I love to eat. Our little sport can be a surprisingly good influence for some people, like me.

[ChrisL 2]

JohnMitchell

Good to have you back. I hope you achieve all your fitness goals. You'll feel great and be so happy to be back in the air. Glad to see you doing it right.

I often joke that if it wasn't for skydiving, I'd weigh 300 pounds, 'cause I love to eat. Our little sport can be a surprisingly good influence for some people, like me.

Yep. Now my wife can stop worrying about me having a heart attack and go back to worrying about me pounding it in at the dz ;)

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My mighty steed

[BillyVance 34]

I haven't jumped in a little over 3 years for some of the same reasons. Life got in the way. Raising two little girls. Trying to finish home improvement projects. Got two rooms done recently (laundry room and guest bathroom).

In a little over a year I'll be 50. Fuuuuuuuck... other than that, I'm fortunate that my weight is about the same as when I stopped, and the machine shop I work in keeps me busy physically.

Best of luck getting down into shape.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[JohnMitchell 14]

I had a few years in my late 20's where I got down to maybe 30 jumps a year, after years of doing 200+ a year. But I never had to shut it down all the way. My longest break has been 8 months off recovering from shoulder surgery (non-skydiving injury). I hope to keep going forever, even if it gets back down to 30 jumps a year.

[ChrisL 2]

BillyVance

I haven't jumped in a little over 3 years for some of the same reasons. Life got in the way. Raising two little girls. Trying to finish home improvement projects. Got two rooms done recently (laundry room and guest bathroom).

In a little over a year I'll be 50. Fuuuuuuuck... other than that, I'm fortunate that my weight is about the same as when I stopped, and the machine shop I work in keeps me busy physically.

Best of luck getting down into shape.

Same here. I built a recording studio in my basement and a custom guitar building business in my garage. Took all my time, money, and focus for a long time.

Fortunately, luck wont be a factor in my getting my weight where I want it to be. It tends to go up when I'm not paying attention to it, but I've always had the ability to dial that right back in once my attention is focused on the problem, and its now fully focused :)

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My mighty steed

[ChrisL 2]

JohnMitchell

I had a few years in my late 20's where I got down to maybe 30 jumps a year, after years of doing 200+ a year. But I never had to shut it down all the way. My longest break has been 8 months off recovering from shoulder surgery (non-skydiving injury). I hope to keep going forever, even if it gets back down to 30 jumps a year.

Id say I probably average 50 - 60 jumps per year when I'm doing it.

I'd allow for a higher wing loading if I was jumping 200 times per year, but I prefer to err on the side of safety :)

I hope I never stop completely forever, but I'll never be the 200 jumps a year guy. I just dont have the money or the time with everything else I'm always doin...

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My mighty steed

[muff528 3]

ChrisL

***I haven't jumped in a little over 3 years for some of the same reasons. Life got in the way. Raising two little girls. Trying to finish home improvement projects. Got two rooms done recently (laundry room and guest bathroom).

In a little over a year I'll be 50. Fuuuuuuuck... other than that, I'm fortunate that my weight is about the same as when I stopped, and the machine shop I work in keeps me busy physically.

Best of luck getting down into shape.

Same here. I built a recording studio in my basement and a custom guitar building business in my garage. Took all my time, money, and focus for a long time.

Fortunately, luck wont be a factor in my getting my weight where I want it to be. It tends to go up when I'm not paying attention to it, but I've always had the ability to dial that right back in once my attention is focused on the problem, and its now fully focused :)

Spent a few minutes browsing your website. I know you said “Other peoples opinions are merely hurdles constructed out of inanity”, ...but beautiful work!!

[ChrisL 2]

muff528

Spent a few minutes browsing your website. I know you said “Other peoples opinions are merely hurdles constructed out of inanity”, ...but beautiful work!!

LOL. Youve confused me. Thats my e-mail sig, but I dont recall having put it on my website.

Do I know you IRL?

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My mighty steed

[ChrisL 2]

ChrisL

***

Spent a few minutes browsing your website. I know you said “Other peoples opinions are merely hurdles constructed out of inanity”, ...but beautiful work!!

LOL. Youve confused me. Thats my e-mail sig, but I dont recall having put it on my website.

Do I know you IRL?

NM. I just realized I post to the blog on the website sometimes from my e-mail :)

Thanks for the compliment, BTW :)

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My mighty steed

[muff528 3]

I don't think so. Not unless you spent a lot of time at Zhills or Lk Wales throughout the 90s and 00s. You've listed your website in your DZdot com profile.

[ChrisL 2]

muff528

I don't think so. Not unless you spent a lot of time at Zhills or Lk Wales throughout the 90s and 00s. You've listed your website in your DZdot com profile.

Not a lot of time, although I did make a bunch of jumps at Z-Hills in Feb 2005 :)

I just bought an RV and plan to jump there again this coming Feb. Seems to me that February is the BEST month to come to Z-Hills since the weather is usually pure crap up here in PA that time of year :)

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My mighty steed