2017 was an awful year for me. I had multiple health issues that prevented me from focusing on fitness and diet. And these are things that are typically high on my list of personal priorities. Now that I have resolved (most) of the health issues, I find myself on the road to reclaiming my fitness. It’s a humbling road. I am not strong like I’m used to, I tire out sooner than I’m used to and I just do not like it! It’s a long, tiresome, achy road. But I am nothing if not determined and I will get back to my former self. It’s just humbling to start so far back.
The woo at my studio limited to saying ‘Namaste’ at the end of some classes, and reminders to be mindful and present, which is generally a good idea if standing on one leg with arms outstretched and doing squats.
I have one teacher who gets mildly upset if we don’t trade quips or at least ask questions during class (“You’re not making kissy noises when doing a moving plank” “SMOOCH”)
There’s also the whole hot yoga/regular temp yoga thing. I don’t work out in a sauna.
If you’re going to start, start with no weight at all until you get the hang of the movement. It’s convoluted and you can injure yourself by doing it incorrectly while holding weights.
I think I’m not at that level right now, but I’m going to add them to my mental list for the future.
Boot Camp starts up again for me after Labor Day. It’s stressful getting up that early, but it’s also stressful trying to make sure I get out of work on time to get to my afternoon classes. As it turns out I’m going to have to miss one next week because of a late meeting.
I’m tracking my food more consistently again on Sparkpeople.com. I was getting a bit lax and I want to get it under control again. My clothes still fit, but I want to make sure they stay that way.
I am trying to put on some size. I’m having a hell of a time cracking 170lb, although I think I may have finally done it.
I get little sympathy from people when I tell them of my trouble gaining weight…
Here is a progress photo (safe for work). I just celebrated my 58th birthday.
Good thread My fitness has been declining since I turned 45, and this year I decided to get serious about it.
For cardio (and fun) I go dancing on Mon and Thurs, I do yoga on Tuesday and Friday and strength training the other days. I had a personal trainer for a while, but I’ve got a kid on college…
I’ve seem some improvement in strength, but flexibility is still an issue. There seems to be a tradeoff ?
My favorite new strength exercise is the reverse lunge
A good variant is to lift the opposite arm with a small weight as the leg goes back.
It’s Leg Day for me. The routine:
Warmup:
10 bodyweight squats
2x5 walking lunges
10 leg swings
2x5 Good Mornings/bent-over rows
Workout:
3x10 weighted sumo squats
4x6 speed skaters
3x8 Romanian deadlifts
100 calf raises, in as few sets as possible
2x10 walking lunges
I’m a fat sack of crap, so that pretty much does it for me.
Oh, the wonderful world of fitness…
Back when I was a teenager, I was FIT. My metabolism was legendary, I could run marathons. Oh, those were the days. Then college and my 20s and 30s happened. My 5’6" frame went from 120 to 140 at the end of college. I’m 32 now and currently 160.
From size 2 in high school to size 10 (on a good day) now. Ugh… Can’t seem to lose a pound.
These days, I’ll stick to the stationary bike. It keeps my weight in check, at least. Since I started college, I went from being skinny to “skinny fat”, with a bit of a belly and thighs that are a bit thicker than I would like. I also did some strength training, but gave it up a bit after some muscle soreness.
13.4 miles on my bike today on gravel trails @ leisurely 11 mph. I’ll consider that progress since I just got a bike a month ago
I exercise at lunchtime at work, Monday through Friday. I have two workout routines, and I alternate days. The routines are as follows:
A. Running 4.5 miles outside.
B. Lifting weights at the gym. Exercises include bench pressing w/ dumbbells, squats, curls, and sit-ups.
This week it is ABABA. Next week it will be BABAB. etc.
I’m 50, if that matters.
Today was getting back into the pool. It’s always tough because the chlorine smell and locker rooms are a big trigger for me.
Still, most of my 25m laps were in the 13-17sec range, so if I can keep that up and get my turn fast, I could maybe do something there. 
I walk, every day. At work, I go out for a 15-minute walk about every two hours; I figure if people can do that just to smoke, I can do it to improve myself. I put in my headphones and just walk around the building. Each walk is about 3/4 of a mile.
On weekends, I try to get my 10,000 steps in early, so I go to the gym in the morning and walk for an hour on the treadmill (yes, walking outside is free, but it’s too damn hot right now).
Four days a week, I do resistance stuff. I do it Sun-Mon, take Tuesday off, then Wed-Thur, and that leaves my Friday and Saturday nights free. The workouts go like this:
Sunday: Chest
Monday: Shoulders
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Arms
I need to start sneaking abs/core stuff in here somewhere; I’ll probably start adding that on Saturday morning before the long walking session.
And since Crafter mentioned his age, I’m 45. Still a fat sack of crap, but improvements are being made.
I do bodyweight exercises (pullups and tricep dips) 3 times a week, and I walk about an hour a day. And I’m on a flag football team, with a game or practice once a week in Fall and Spring. I’m the oldest guy on the team, and probably the least athletic, but for my age (late 30s) I think I’m in pretty good shape, particularly from a strength perspective.
I have been told that if your muscles are a little sore the day after lifting, you did it right.
Pain in the joints, on the other hand, is not a good sign.
When I was young, I was quite muscular. I swam, danced, did gymnastics. Then life happened. Then kidney disease happened. I was ill last year and lost 40lbs; however, a lot of it was muscle. I went from having gorgeous legs to having pencils. I was so weak, just walking 20 yards exhausted me. I also spent too much time on the couch, feeling miserable.
Now that my daughter has moved out, I’ve been dragging my sister to the gym almost every night. She really enjoys exercising in the pool, so we’ll do that for an hour. While she relaxes in the hot tub afterwards, I’ll swim laps. Other nights I’ll do Zumba, Oula Yoga, or a class horribly called “Active Together”. It’s a combo cardio/weights/stretching that I really enjoy. In the past two months, I’ve only lost 10lbs, BUT I am getting my legs back.
I’ve tried the treadmill and I get too bored. It’s been too hot to go hiking outdoors. Because of my health issues, anything with impact is out and running is a no go.
You might find the Darebee workouts useful: https://darebee.com/ There are so many that you can find something for any body part and not get bored. (I mean, you may not like the style of workout, but there’s a lot of variety if you do.)
Thank you!
Here’s a progress pic from 10/11.
I’m trying to lean out, and working on getting more definition.
I leveled up!
You know, when you’ve been working for a while and all of a sudden you can achieve noticably more than before? I call it leveling up.
Two weeks ago I set out on a trail run, not sure how long I would go. I ended up doing 9 miles, which is my longest trail run in a couple years since I hurt myself.
Then the next day, I was feeling good so I decided to ride my bike 20 miles, which was my farthest bike ride by about 5 miles.
The NEXT day…well, I was worthless because by that time I was whipped.
4 mile stroller run today and then I’ll try another 20 on the bike tomorrow.
It is my understanding that in cycling it doesn’t get easier, you just get faster.