Getting old and gaining/losing weight

 "Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Lotsa walkin'

 "A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions." - Marcus Aurelius

Depressing Statistics

Every once in a while I check the statistics to see which of my Blog posts people are reading.  If a post is getting a lot of views, I go back to look for typos and for ways to improve or clarify it.

Music to help move a workout along...

Looking for suggestions for uptempo music.  Most classic rock doesn't cut it with the tempo, along with country.

Some of the stuff I currently listen to for cardio and weight training (in no particular order):

Muscle Pain

I took vacation a couple of weeks ago, and had a lot of fun on it.  That was pretty cool, and I will probably soon make a post about that, and show some cool nearby places.

Barbell Squats

I've been hitting the weights lately, and watching a few Youtube videos for tips, techniques and motivation.

...about that diet...

In this post I mentioned how I go about diet and exercise.  At one point I mentioned that it's difficult to be on a ketogenic diet and perform strenuous exercise, particularly anaerobic exercises like lifting weights.

Exercise and fitness

I'm now a ways on the wrong side of 50 years old.   I've been weight training and doing light cardio for a few months now.  Progress is... not bad!  But it's also a bit slower than what I've experienced in the past.

Still exercising!

Yep, I am still exercising.

And still brewing beer.

I've decided there isn't a lot of synergy with these two hobbies.  That is to say, one doesn't really add to the strength of the other. 

My other hobby is riding motorcycles, and there isn't much synergy there either.  I do fit into my leather jacket a lot better this year however :)

Speaking of which, I rode the bike for the first time this season today.  Commuted to work on it - boring!!! (no twisties to wind through).   It didn't want to crank either.  Guess that cool lithium ion battery wasn't quite the bomb I thought it was.  It is light though.  Just feels like an empty plastic battery case.

Anyhoo...  I needed to get a post up!  Here's a gratuitous bike pic :)

Getting fitter

The blog description used to have "weight lifting" in it.  I took it out because I never really blogged about that.  Maybe I will put it back in now that I am exercising again. 

For the past six months I was on a low-carb, ultra low calorie diet.  I lost 40 lbs, but at about 195 lbs, found it very difficult to make any further progress.  I was bouncing between 190 and 195 and miserable from 6 months of semi-starvation. 

Rather than continue to do what was not working (only harder), I decided to take a different approach. 

At the beginning of this month, I started exercising (something you shouldn't be doing when you are calorie-starved), and moved to a high protein, moderate carb, moderate fat diet.  So far I like the results.  More muscle definition and bulk, even if some fat is still on top of it.  I definitely won't be seeing my abs for a while!!!

I figure that I will put on some solid muscle and develop a very active metabolism.  Then later I will go slightly calorie deficient, with light exercise and high protien.   This combination should really help shed the remaining fat while sparing the new calorie-burning muscle.

That's the plan, anyway.  But right now I am sore like I was dragged behind a car for 30 miles :)

Weight lifting

The blog description says that I'm interested in weight-lifting. That's true. I've also been on a hiatus from exercising since before I started this blog. Part of the reason is work related, and part of it is personal. Now however, I'm trying to get back on track by eating correctly and exercising consistently. So for the past three days I've been hitting it - and have the sore muscles to prove it!

Anyhow here's my routine, for those with interest:

Day 1
Back, Chest, Abs, Cardio

Day 2
Legs and Butt

Day 3
Delts, Abs, Cardio

Day 4
Arms

Day 5 Rest

Repeat ad infinitum.

The eventual goal is to get big and ripped - although it's unlikely as I have the physique of a Kenyan marathon runner (with none of the stamina). So I'll probably have to settle for muscular and fit. Anyway, I'm eating high quality carbs again and very high protein. Time to go do some stair-climbing!