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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2020-11-19, 15:21

So, about the end of March I decided to make a change in my life regarding physical activity. I'm 51, 5'9", and [was] 200 pounds, couldn't touch my toes, had too much belly fat, flabby arms and pecks, and was in poor overall physical condition.

I decided to get myself going with a morning workout.

And I hate it!

But!

I've been faithful to it (mostly) for the last 6 months and have dropped 20 pounds on my way to 170 (that last ten pounds is a real bugger to kill off). My pecks are hard (for the first time since I was 20-ish), my arms are gaining definition, and I can almost see a six pack where the case used to be … almost!

Anyway, I thought I would share this and my routine for anyone who is interested in slimming/trimming/bulking/whatevering. It has not been easy, is not getting any easier, and I suspect it never will. Between a massive dietary change, calisthenics, and (finally) weight training, the morning pain is wearing me down, but I am persevering (I think).

I'd like to say that "I love working out! It's the best! Gimme more!", but my Arnold Schwarzenegger impression isn't very good.

When I first started out, I couldn't do a single pushup in the classical sense, i.e. knees off the floor boy-style. Not a one! Five sit-ups was hard work, and the other odd things I tried were crushing, painful, and as un-fun as the dentist!

Just to get myself into a rhythm and get some conditioning for my muscles, I started with 3 sets of 10 sissy pushups, 10 sit-ups, 10 squats, and 10 lunges. I did this for about a month before I sat myself in front of Youtube and started asking questions, especially dietary ones. I learned about calories, how the body burns fat, and what exercises were best, as well as what foods I should be concentrating on. Rather than all that pizza and fried this-and-that, I shifted to veggies, salads, lean meats, and healthy snacks, and the sugary-sweet temptations were pushed aside.

Prior to this change, almost every meal included something deep fried, something bread, something sweet, and at least 2 beers. Now, my weekdays look like this:

Pre-workout: 1 Optimum Nutrition chocolate protein shake, 2 slices whole wheat toast, 4oz glass OJ, multi-vitamins.

M/W/F: 15min stretching; then 5 rotating sets of 10 pushups over pushup-bars, 10 leg lifts, 25 core-fusion crunches, 20 squats with 50lbs (Bowflex SelectTech barbells @ 25lbs each), 20 lunges with same, (repeat); then weight training for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.

T/Th: 15min stretching; then 5 rotating sets of 10 pushups over pushup-bars, 10 leg lifts, 25 core-fusion crunches, 40 free squats, 40 free lunges, 10 squat-jumps, (repeat); then as many sets as I can in 20 minutes, in order, of 20 wide pushups, 40 crunches, 10 core-windmills, and 20 what I call camel stretches.

Post-workout Breakfast: .2 pounds lean ground beef sautéed with two eggs and some peppers

When I get to work I use the counters to do 5 sets of 25 sissy dips (feet well behind me touching the ground, using my arms and shoulders to lift my upper body).

Lunch: Salmon or tuna, banana, apple, piece of cheese

Dinner: Grilled chicken salad of some sort

Dessert: None!

Tuesday night is date night and I get what my belly craves. Friday night-Saturday breakfast is cheat day. I am down to drinking beer really only on Friday evening, and maybe 1 or 2 throughout the week. This is my biggest weakness, followed by anything that even remotely looks like a doughnut!

None of it has been easy at all. In fact, I think it sucks beans! But nothing worth doing is truly easy. It takes a lot of work and patience. So far, I'm making progress and can see/feel the difference in some cases. But my body hurts all the time (although it's a different kind of hurt). I feel stronger, more confident, and less wheezy. I'm hungry pretty much all the time and never feel like I get enough to eat, although I am watching lots of dietary videos and am always on the lookout for more filling foods.

I don't do vegetarian or vegan, nor do I follow trendy foods or diets. I won't go near Keto, South Beach, Weight Watchers, or tofu. I eat real food and build my diet around it (other than the protein powder, which I take because getting 100+ grams of protein/day is way harder than it sounds).

Anyway, thought I'd share.


For reference, this thread is for us to share workout advice, diet advice, and general old-guys-getting-in-shape advice. And, yes, it's very march harder to do at 50 than 20.

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Last edited by kscherer : 2020-11-19 at 16:24.
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