At 42, it took a pandemic to get me going...but I’m about 8 weeks in and loving it

bellec

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So here I was, 42, and the Corona Virus gets real. The last 20ish years have been a bit abysmal in terms of fitness and really taking care of my health.

After some self reflection I decided I’m going to come out of this thing a better person than I went into it.

Gyms closed, no problem, I’m not really a big fan. Have always been more into sports than pushing weight. Even during the last decades I’ve always been quasi doing something, hockey, golf, baseball, squash, something. Just never consistently since I was around 20.

So I dusted off the elliptical that had been doubling as a clothing rack since a month after I purchased it a little over 8 years ago.

30 mins a day about 5 days a week on interval training setting. After a couple weeks I had slowly increased the difficulty and was happy I was just doing something.

I got cocky and followed my wife in a 5 exercise downward ladder. Starting at 10 each then 9 and down to 1. Pushups, lunges, crunches, planks and squats. I got down to 5 and I thought I was going to die. Did the pushups on my knees, and there was no going past the 5th set. The next 3 days were torture. But I kept on the elliptical and worked through the seemingly unrelenting soreness.

The next week I started following a push up program another friend of mine was doing. 7 weeks to 100 pushups by Steve Speirs. 3 times a week, 15 mins a day, 1 min rest between sets. No way I can do this.

The thought of doing 1 pushup at that point was almost as daunting as 100. At about 275lbs I just couldn’t imagine it.

Day 1 saw me do a total of 7 pushups over 5 sets, and push up 2 on set 5 was like getting to the top of Everest. And from that day on it’s been akin to a bit of an addiction.

Fast forward 5 weeks and 2 days of failed attempts then repeating those days to completion and I just finished my first 7 set day 6 6 10 10 6 6 20

About 2 weeks in I started adding...now day 1 3 and 5 is pushups, body squats and bicycle crunches. All at the same rep and set counts.

Day 2 4 and 6 is not off days anymore and I’m into reverse planks, lunges (these have been a real bitch) and bicycle crunches again. Starting at lower numbers on the lunges and doing 5 x 30 second reverse planks.

Along with this I do a stretching routine after the daily workout, which is a hodgepodge of yoga stretches and some other stuff I’ve found for my lower back. I also can’t help myself and usually push out an extra few sets of 10 pushups every day.

The elliptical is just not keeping my attention but I’ve been doing a ton of walking. Looking to buy a bike to get the cardio going more.

The next big step is diet, I haven’t really touched it at all as I was focused on the activity routine first. I’m down around 8 lbs currently. But a lot of weight shifting so the number doesn’t concern me as much.

Looking forward to following the posts and seeing how far this can take me.

To all of my chubby, old brethren out there, it’s tough, but you can likely do more than you think....just start doing it!!
 
@bellec I did the same thing!! 32YO here. I don’t own any equipment but I have a computer so I ordered some of those foam workout tiles and made a 10x10 workout area in my basement.

Started body weight HIIT exercise 5 days a week. I could BARELY do 15 minute beginner workouts at the start. Now I’m doing 35-40 minute HIIT and Boxing routines.

Diet is going to be the hard part but we can do it!!
 
@drlp Mostly Popsugar. Geared toward women but the workouts are no joke and they do a good job of showing low impact or easier alternatives and more advanced alternatives. Videos are well organized. Fitness blender has a TON as well. I just prefer the popsugar style.
 
@carlcockatoo Second to Heather Robertson. She has a free 12 week at home workout program thats on Youtube. 5x a week for 30 mins a day. Very effective and overall great. I've been going to the gym for 5 years and powerlifting for 3 years, and every single workout of hers makes me break a sweat. I highly recommend HR!!
 
@drlp There’s a gym I use here in London called Third_space. They’ve put up a ton of workouts on IG TV. They’re very professional with lots of coaching points in the workouts which i find helps a lot when you’re at home. Recommend the workouts on there by Luke and his partner, and also by Lucy
 
@appalonia The trick is to approach diet the same way you approached exercise: small, incremental changes. Cut out sugary drinks, increase your water intake. Stop snacking after 9 PM. Change out chips etc for something lower calorie -- celery is like 90% water by volume so basically calorie free and satisfyingly crunchy. Whatever you do, make small changes, one at a time, and they'll add up to a big difference over the long haul.
 
@appalonia There's some great foods I've found that have really helped. Roasting cauliflower in the oven and the eating of with Buffalo sauce or just hot sauce. You can get so full off of cauliflower.

If you have a food processor, cauliflower can also be turned into a mashed potato substitute

I love making my own pico de gallo, and I've gotten Wasa crackers which are pretty big rectangles and only thirty calories each

I also like to use pico de gallo in a salad instead of using a salad dressing

Black beans have been a miracle for me as well

I've been eating black bean burgers for breakfast (without the bun) and putting a fried egg or two on top. If you can find Gardein black bean burgers they're super delicious. There's some that are larger and like 250 calories and others that are smaller and like 170 calories

Black bean hummus/dip is super delicious and filling as well as black bean soup

Portabella mushrooms are also super delicious and I've topped those with eggs or pico

Stuffed Bell peppers with black beans and tofu is super delicious!
 
@nbffan I've since changed my workout exactly because of what you mention.

Monday: 30 Boxing Cardio
Tuesday: 35 Minute Lower Body Strengthening
Wednesday: 30 Minute HIIT
Thursday: 35 Minute Upper Body/Core Strengthening
Friday: 35 Minute HIIT
Saturday: 20 Minutes Stretching/Very Light Cardio
Sunday: Rest
 
@appalonia Yes! I did the same thing, turned the tiles are in our condo living room into a workout area with those pads, it’s been great.

Awesome job man! Boxing is also something I’m looking into for the future. Winters are real here in Canada so I’m going to need something squash is my other option....but my earlier football and hockey days have taken a toll on my knees
 
@bellec Awesome to hear, I'm kind of in the same boat. Turned 41 this year, but last summer, I was told I was "pre-diabetic" after one of those health assessment blood tests. I'm 5'11" and weighed 205lbs at that point. Right after that phone call, I decided I wasn't going to let it develop into diabetes at 40b years old and started working out again with some free body weight only routines from some apps and monitored my carb intake to a target of 50-100g daily - and quit drinking alcohol altogether - I lost 30 lbs by Christmas, and I'm now hovering around 172 lbs.

I was in the military from 18 - 26, so I'm no stranger to working out, but I always dreaded PT days, and only went to the gym when I had to. For the first time in my life, I'm actually starting to look forward to my workouts, and I'm starting to get a drive to actually build size.

I really wish I had taken this seriously when I was in my 20's because I'm loving what I'm seeing and I want more.

Doesn't matter the age, finding motivation and sticking to a plan will get results!
 
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