1 year, 6’2” 37y/o, 215lb weak to 205lb not-weak

crteague

New member
So, last year I checked one red flag too many. Turns out, “use it or lose it” will catch up to you as the years roll on. So I picked a path (much love to /r/bodyweightfitness/ Recommended Routine) and started climbing the mountain.

This is not (just) a progress check, nor is it meant to replace any body of knowledge already out there. This is just things I learned, in my filthy casual workout progression, that either surprised me, or proved crucial.

DISCLAIMER PRIMO: I am a filthy casual. I have no targets other than progression. I do not track my diet in any way (though I did notice some things). I will completely abort an exercise if I have any concern for an injury. I will not hesitate to scale back a day’s sets for cause. And I’m still progressing.

Set Your Target, Keep Your Focus: I got into this to get stronger, full stop. I like my shape more, and I’ve lost 10lb, but that’s bonus. I have to remind myself sometimes that’s my focus, because who wouldn’t want that to be even better? But if I changed my target, I’d have to change my plan, and I’m not done with this one yet. It’s frustrating sometimes, but it’s also been paying off, so I’m sticking with it.

Commit to the Life Choice: I put off working out for a long time, because I didn’t want to half-ass it and fall off three months in. When I finally decided, I made the decision for life. Maybe I’ll plateau and be on maintenance forever. Maybe I’ll just keep climbing until I’m Super Stronk. Doesn’t matter, I’ll figure it out as I go. But setting my mind that this is a permanent change made a big difference in the early days.

...And Let Go of Guilt: The bright side of making a life choice is there are no deadlines, period. Still sore from last workout? Do one set, or two. Got shitty sleep and feel godawful? Shoot for two. Run out of gas partway through? Don’t sweat it, fam, you’ll get it next time. If something’s chronic, then take the time to address it. Otherwise, it isn’t a race.

No Skip Days: BIG FAT DISCLAIMER: If you’re resting an injury, or you’re taking a rest because you’re legit sick, you’ve made a responsible choice. THERE IS NO SETBACK LIKE AN INJURY. Once you’re on track, doing one set isn’t a big deal. It may be the last thing you want to do, or just sound godawful. But here’s the trick - you’ve made the commitment. Any time I skipped out because I had a case of the Mondays, I was frustrated afterwards, because I could have done more, because I’d shorted myself. Anything is better than nothing, and maintaining the pattern is critical.

Keep a Journal: Jeezy creezy, this was key. When I’m ¾ through my workout, I’m not gonna be able to suss out what my sets should be. And when I feel like I’ve plateaued, I can look back at the many months and see whether or not that’s true (usually not). But I’d never be able to prove it if I didn’t keep a journal. I keep a Google Sheet, but whatever works.

Progression Doesn’t Have To Be A Struggle: Here’s my Filthy Casual method: If I’m thinking about adding a rep, I do it on the last set of my last workout of the week. If I can do that with good form, that (one!) rep gets added to next week’s schedule. Sometimes, when I’m copying my sets forward to the next week, I’ll say “yeah, I could do one more” and mark it up. That’s all. No “TWO MORE SECONDS!!!”, no primal yell, crying, etc etc. One hour after working out, zero pain, barely any soreness.

I’m Eating Better and Sleeping Better: I had a few run-ins with insomnia before I picked up working out. No more! I eat a lot less sweets than I used to, because my body doesn’t crave them - it craves protein, fats, salt. As long as I take a second to think about what sounds delicious (instead of 100% autopilot eating), I’ve been making better choices with nearly zero willpower expended. Legit.

Lots of Tiny Problems Are Gone: I need to set a timer now, ‘cause my back doesn’t remind me when I’ve been at my desk too long. Flop on the couch and watch some Netflix, it’s not painful from bad posture because my back is stronger. Spend 10min on my hands and knees with the vacuum, getting all those PITA corners? Ain’t no thing. I couldn’t believe how many tiny aches and pains I used to just accept that are gone now. I ain’t going back.

Embrace the Suck: Even with my Filthy Casual method, the first three months took willpower. I don’t especially enjoy working out, so carving space for it out of my life wasn’t easy. Making myself do it, without falling into the unhealthy reward cycle, was tough. I had to remind myself that I’d made my commitment, to myself, for myself. And I hated it sometimes. But it got easier. And while I still don’t especially enjoy working out, I love the results. There’s many paths up the mountain, but you gotta climb.

Status & Progression (tl;dr the goods):

Pull-ups: 5-5-5 Scapular Pulls to 8s x 5 Arch Hangs

Squats: 7-7-7 Assisted to 7-7-7 Beginner Shrimp

Push-ups: 5-5-5 Full to 8-8-7 Diamond

Rows: 3-3-3 Horizontal to 7-7-6 Horizontal

Hinges: 8-8-8 Romanian deadlift to 10-10-10 One-Leg Deadlift

Dips: 15s x 3 Support Hold to 8-8-7 Full Dips (assisted, my legs rest instead of hang)

Core: 25s (old RR) to 6-6-6 kneeling ab wheels, 20s x 3 Copenhagen planks, 11-11-10 reverses (split legs, bent legs)

Always open to thoughts, questions, critiques. Much love to the hard-working mods and content creators here - your work is much appreciated!

edit: linked the RR properly, like a housebroken internet dweller.
 
@crteague The best shape I think I've been in as an adult was right around when I was your age. I was having back and hip pain, transitional movements were excruciating. Went to surgeon on referral, ended up in physical therapy, decided I needed to take charge myself and just change my life.

What you described here is how I went about it. Make changes I could live with, a little at a time. Be consistent. I pretty much worked out in my bedroom in only for a year, never more than 30-45 minutes , using an elliptical for cardio (had to have low impact because of the spine issues), bodyweight exercises, and a pair of light dumbbells.

I slowly ate better and better and focused on making better choices day by day in my habits.

What I found was that I got stronger, leaner, healthier, felt great, and no longer hurt daily.

I was 37 when I started.

I kept it going for a year until an injury and surgery set me out for several months and I slipped out of routine and into bad habits. Sadly, I've not made it back there yet, but I'm working on my habits once again by just starting small. I try to do at least 15 minutes of exercise after I wake up every day. That isn't enough to get me to my end goals, but it is what it is enough to get me to the next goal. Do 20 minutes. Then 30. Then focus on eating habits. Etc... Eventually, my lifestyle should reflect my goals.
 
@crice Sorry to hear about your setback. Sounds like you're on the right track, incremental lifetime changes add up.

One of my friends just started, going the PT route. She's on 10m of yoga poses and a 2 mile walk, but she's progressing well and working with a PT to develop further.

Glad to hear you're back on track! You got this!
 
@crteague Ha, it’s gotta be something about 40 creeping up. I started almost two months ago. Similar plan, I watched my diet until I got where I wanted weight wise and now I work out to maintain and get stronger. Something I have learned so far I stole from Jocko Willink is when I want to take an off day or I’m just not feeling it, I do it anyway going through the motions. I don’t love working out and doubt I ever will but I do it, if the next day I still feel, bad or yuck I rest. If I have an injury I work around it. I have a foot issue right now, so I do less involving moving that foot. Discipline equals freedom. Good Job, keep that shit up.
 
@pollyton Right on! Keep it up!

It was liberating when I accepted that it was okay to do short sets, because I was committed to the process. Now I have a hard time not up-selling to myself. Like...

3 hours before workout: I feel awful, one set today.

At workout: I could do two...

re: injuries, I hear ya. I screwed up a row once, messed up my wrist for months. Just strain, no clicks/pops/stabbing pain, but it set me back bad. It's part of why I'm so committed to avoiding injury. I'm not in love with the process, but I'm hooked on the results!

edit: also, high five for setting your priorities and keeping them!
 
@crteague I don’t ever decide until I’m out there (in the garage). Sometimes I get out there and do a set and do another just because. I have to admit some of my better workouts when I’m angry about something in my day. It’s funny because I used to say “I’m too tired to workout” and now even if I’m tired I go and amazingly I’m not tired during the workout. My goal is just strength and not being fat again, ever.
 
@pollyton Haha, you're farther along than I am! I'm talking myself into the workout, not talking myself down.

It really blew me away when I realized that an hour after my workout, I always felt better - not sore, not worn out, generally alert and together.
 
@crteague That’s really awesome, man. I’ve been procrastinating starting the RR for like three weeks. Bought some equipment and everything. I think this post is the motivation I needed to just start doing it. Filthy casuals unite!
 
@boondocks777 Go for it! Just stick with it - I can't overstate the value of setting the habit and keeping it, even if you're not doing a full three sets. I've ended up full-on Pavlov's Dog on it - my alarm goes off, I get up and get to it. It's a blessing, really. I'd say working out itself hasn't gotten easier with time, but getting myself to do it has gotten a lot easier. Train yourself!
 
@hansmatthee I've found that every time I try to go "beast mode" or non-casual, I start to push hard enough to risk injury, and I'm never doing that (again). This is better. Again, not a race, right? As long as I'm progressing and feeling better, purpose served.

And right on for getting out there! Keep it up!
 
@crteague I would like to work with weights more, but I wouldn’t even know where to get started. I’m definitely not risking injury. My toddlers already run this asylum, I can only imagine the crazy if I weren’t as mobile.
 
@hansmatthee Haha, right! One of my biggest motivators is being able to keep up with my nephews.

I'm not familiar with lifting iron, but I'm sure you can find a community for it. As someone who's been learning all of this solo, be ready to scale way back when you're starting, and learn how to safely abort an exercise, and you should be okay.

Good luck!
 
@crteague Way to stick with it! I've been working out (mostly weightlifting and yoga is my jam) as a hobby more years than I care to count, but it's something I thoroughly enjoy....I have so much respect and admiration for ppl who don't really like exercising, but do it anyway for health reasons. Even for me it's difficult sometimes, that's the whole point at any rate, is it's supposed to be fucking challenging, and if it wasnt something I enjoyed so much I'm not sure I'd have the discipline to follow through on a long-term commitment.
 
@hopeandgrace Right on for being on it! I can't get away from it now - I'm so happy with how much healthier I am, I want to see how far I can go!

I'm waiting for the day I get a good rowing machine, because that's something I could do all darn day...
 
@crteague That's the move! I swear 75% of the struggle is just finding something you like. Sadly things like rowing machines and squat racks don't grow on trees, but if you can find someone trying to get rid of equipment who doesn't want to move it themselves, you can get a really good deal. Good luck with your hunt!
 
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