Writing is my artistic expression. My keyboard is my brush. Words are my medium. My blog is my canvas. And committing to writing daily makes me feel like an artist.
A few days ago I did something Iāve never been able to do. I stood up, bent over at the waist, and was able to not just touch my toes, but touch the floor. I just stopped writing this to try again just now and I wasnāt even close. The difference is that I did a good 10 minute stretch before the time I actually achieved this.
Iāll try again today after Iām warmed up. I have been stretching my hamstrings more than usual for quite a few months to get to this point. But I am probably years away from being able to touch my toes ācoldā, without any warm up. Yet I am still appreciative of the gains I have made.
In every aspect of life, itās good to stretch yourself!
Iāve been fortunate to have the opportunity to work out with my buddy at his gym, at least once a week for the past few months. My home routine is usually just cardio, stretching, then working one muscle group to fatigueā¦ sometimes with just 3 sets of one exercise, and sometimes 3 each of two exercises, but again using the same muscle group.
With my buddy, at his gym, we do a bit more than that. The last couple workouts have focused on shoulders with some biceps and triceps thrown in. Both of these last two workouts Iāve pushed hard enough that my shoulder muscles were jacked up. I could feel the pump long after the workout was done.
While Iām not used to this feeling, and itās a bit uncomfortable, I have to say that I really enjoy it! Itās a feeling that says, āIāve pushed myselfā, and while it isnāt necessarily a pleasant feeling, it comes with a good sense of accomplishment. The pump is not something you feel unless youāve really made your muscles work.
Now I need to figure out how to add more to my home program so that I get this feeling a bit more often. Itās hard when Iām on a time crunch, but I know I can do this more often, and I want to get to that āpumped upā feeling on a regular basis.
As an aside, Iām blown away by how much creatine helps with reducing soreness. A workout like todayās would normally lead me to total soreness in a couple days that would make lifting my arms above my head feel like work. But since adding creatine to my daily health regimen, Iāve hardly ever had that level of soreness, even after hitting personal bests or working to a pump like I did today. And that makes the pump so much more enjoyable when Iām not going to feel like Iām physically paying for it two days from now.
It has been 6 years in the making, but Iāve seen some pretty amazing gains in my fitness and strength, especially in the past 2 years. The 4 years before that included gains too, but they were very small. Well, initially I did see a good drop in unnecessary weight, but after the first year my gains were small and hard to recognize. Now Iām seeing the results of my hard work.
The easiest place to notice this is my calves and arms. And why do I notice these two areas more than anywhere else? Because of the way my clothes fit. I have pants that used to fit loosely that now ride up my legs every time I sit down because my calves donāt allow my pants to drop back down. And my favourite T-shirts that used to fit loosely are now tight and make me look like Iām trying to show off.
What changed in the last couple years? Why have I seen these gains, when I hadnāt before despite working out as hard?
Iāve been taking creatine for a few years now and the required recovery time of my muscles after a workout has decreased. (So has the 2-day later soreness that I barely get anymore other than leg days, which have always been hard for me.)
Iāve increased my protein. Iām probably still not at the recommended 1gram of protein per pound that I weigh, but Iām now over 3/4 there rather than averaging less than half of that daily.
Really pushing to max (hypertrophy). I push myself more working out with a friend, or at school. Not only can I lift heavier when Iām using machines I donāt have in my home gym, I can also lift heavier when I have a spotter (and motivator).
Consistency. Iāve said it over and over againā¦ the most important day in the gym is the day you donāt feel like going and you go anyway. These days my workouts are such a big part of my day (even though most are for less than an hour), that I struggle to convince myself to take a day off. Volume matters when looking to increase muscle mass.
I think Iām at my ideal weight now, but I have a goal to gain 5-7 pounds more by the end of this year. The way I see it, I wonāt be at this ideal weight 15 years from now if I just try to maintain this current weight. But if Iām 7 pounds more now, I could again be at this ideal weight in 15 years, despite muscle loss that can come with aging.
So, Iāve got more gains to make, and I think Iām on the right path to gain the weight I want. The only challenge is that I might need to buy some better fitting clothing.
Real change only happens when the pain of doing something new is less than the pain of avoiding the new thing. I was talking to my buddy, Dave, after our 178th Coquitlam Crunch today and we spoke about the discipline and work that weāve put into fitness, good eating habits, and our social-emotional wellbeing. It comes down to the fact that habits are easier to maintain than motivation, and showing up matters more than any other factor.
It sounds so cliche, but the most important workout is the one you donāt want to doā¦ but still do. Itās a scheduled workout day and you have zero motivationā¦ do a workout anyway. Your gas tank is empty and you canāt imagine doing your workout routineā¦ go to the gym anyway and do a 20 minute walk in the treadmill.
Probably more than 50% of the times that you drag your ass to the gym, not wanting to go, youāll end up doing more than you expected you would do. But guess what? The other times when you donāt do more, when you just barely do the minimumā¦ these are the workouts that really matter. You showed up! You kept the habit going. You made the next attempt to go to the gym easier. āIf I can get to the gym feeling the way I did yesterday, I can definitely get to the gym today!ā
āMy advice,ā Dave said, āwould be just show up for the first 100 days. Donāt expect to see changes, donāt even look in the mirror. The first 100 days are about making workouts something you never miss, or monitoring calories and developing good eating habits.ā
Essentially, the first 100 days are really hard, and they matter the most. I said that, āReal change only happens when the pain of doing something new is less than the pain of avoiding the new thing.ā Whatever your new habit is, reduce the pain of doing it by making the desired goal mandatory.
You want to go to the gym 5 days a week? For the first 100 days there are no excuses, nothing is allowed to make you miss. You went away for the weekend and didnāt work out? You go to the gym every day from Monday to Friday. Exhausted and donāt want to go to the gym on Thursday? Too bad, you already missed the weekend, and attendance is non-negotiable.
Will that Thursday workout be a good one? Probably not. But it will likely be more than you thought you had in you, and it was the most important workout of the week. You got there. You kept the streak going. You arenāt someone who skips out, you donāt make excuses, you maintain your habits. You are a regular who would rather feel the pain of a workout than the pain of letting yourself down.
Just show up for the first 100 days. After the habit is established, then you can look at losses and gains. Then you can reduce fat, add muscle, increase flexibility or enduranceā¦ or just feel good about yourself because you have developed a great habit that you find easier and easier to maintain.
Iāve been trying to put on some weight. Five pounds to be exact. Iām actually at my long term goal weight, but I want to be this weight 10 years from now… and at age 57 I recognize that itās going to be hard to both gain and maintain healthy weight in the next decade.
So, a few months back I decided that Iād shoot for another 5 pounds of muscle by the end of this year. And for these past few months Iāve moved from floating just between 5-6 pounds from my goal weight to floating between 4-5 pounds from my goal weight. Not a significant change.
However, I need to remember my journey here. I have spent almost 6 and a half years working on my current fitness journey. Iāve seen incremental changes through that journey. I dropped over 27 pounds of unwanted weight and have then added 12 good pounds. Iāve had less back pain (other than a herniated disk in my neck, unrelated to my training or my usual lower back pain). My back still aches daily, but my days of actual pain have diminished considerably. And Iām at least as strong as I was in my 20ās and stronger (and more flexible) in most areas.
And no, I have not really seen any gains in the last few months, but thatās ok. I feel them coming. I know Iām on the verge of another small jump. The only problem is the gains now are too small to see. But they are here. I just bench pressed my personal best since I was in teacherās college back in ā97-ā98, and Iāve been pushing my leg workouts more than I ever have in the past.
Small gains are being made. More gains are around the corner. And if I stay focused on doing my best instead of worrying about my current progress, Iām sure Iāll hit, and maybe even surpass, my goal by the end of the year.
A couple days ago I tweaked my back. I was walking on the treadmill with a weighted vest and afterwards when taking the vest off I felt a twinge in my upper back. I did a light leg workout and was done for the day. That night and yesterday morning my back felt felt sore.
That morning after (yesterday) I did a really slow walk (without my weight vest) and then had a long stretch. Rather than continue with my plan to work out my upper body, I just did a bit more legs, and spent time stretching my back and massaging it on the corner of a doorway. The whole day my back felt tight. It didnāt hurt but it felt like I was trying to show off my lats even when my back was as relaxed as I could get it.
Today Iām almost back to normal.
A decade ago if something like this had happened I would have spent a week in pain. I would have had to spend days feeling like a knife was stuck in my back. I would have had to completely stop working out, and I might even have had to miss some work.
This is probably the greatest reward for building a regular fitness regime. I recover from an injury so much faster. My muscles still protect my back by tightening up, but not to the point where they seize. I donāt go into a full back crash because I slipped and missed a stair, or because I took off a weight vest in an awkward position.
My back is far from 100%. It will always be a work in progress. But my ability to avoid injury or to reduce the long term effects of an injury are so much better. And I know this is because of the work Iāve put inā¦ and will continue to put in.
Maintaining good fitness habits has paid incredible dividends to my overall wellbeing and my ability ti keep pain at bay.
I started my current health & fitness routines in January, 2019. Six plus years later I can really see and feel the results. But if I go back 2 or 3 years, Iād have said that progress felt slow. It was.
Slow, and steady, and other than when I herniated a disc and was in pain for several months (unrelated to my working out), always in the right direction. In other words for almost the full 6 years Iāve seen steady progress. Now at 57, Iām the strongest Iāve ever been. My cardio was better in my 20ās when I was training in the gruelling sport of water polo, but even now my cardio is quite good.
My point is that too often we look for the fast results and the quick fixes. Seldom do we accept that healthy progress is built on good habits over long periods of time. The quest for instant results is unrealistic, and often results in inconsistent outcomes or fluctuations between improvements and losses of gains.
Good habits, consistency, and a willingness to keep going even when the results arenāt immediately obvious are whet leads to long term progress. In the end the real progress, the real fruits of your labour, are the lifestyle changes that keep you feeling young and healthy. You are on a marathon not a sprint. Work on your habits and routines and the results will come over time.
I havenāt been a coach in a long time, but I still feel like my brain wants to go there.
Our hot water tank died this weekend and itās being replaced tomorrow. But today I decided to go to the local community center for a workout, swim, hot tub, and then shower and shave so I didnāt have to have a freezing shower at home.
My gym workout was probably a total of 45 minutes. There were a couple really fit people in there doing hard workouts. There were also a lot of guys in their late teens or early 20ās working out. They werenāt doing anything wrong or dangerous, but I found myself wanting to coach them.
āYou are swinging your body and cheating, using momentum rather than your muscle, lower the weight and go for better technique.ā
āYour elbows are flaring out, keep them tucked in.ā
āThat weight is too light, youāre doing sets of 12 and it looks like you can do 20. Maybe try a bit heavier weight.ā
This was my first time in this gym, and of course I didnāt say anything. And the reality is that I might have been doing something where someone else could have given me feedback to improveā¦ Iām in no way an expert. But I really felt like helping out. I just didnāt know how it would be taken, and Iām the newbie that just showed up for the first time.
I guess once a coach, always a coach. Sometimes I just feel the urge to help out, and itās hard not to.
Just spent a week at my sisterās house visiting her family and my mom. I managed to get 4 nice hilly walks in, and a casual bike ride, but by far this was the longest Iāve gone without really working out in years. Iāll count the walks as exercise days, but now Iām home and about to hit the treadmill and weights for a nighttime workout session.
Usually I find ways to do way more exercise on holidays. I did do some pushups and leg dips one day, but if Iām honest, I had the time to do that or other body weight workouts on more of the days than I didā¦ I just didnāt do it.
This isnāt me beating myself up for taking most of the week off. Rather itās recognition that it can be easy to let things slide if I donāt pay attention. At home, my routines make things easy. I wake up, I get a workout done. Itās that simple. On holidays I need to either: build in a routine or make a conscious effort to workout. Or if itās a week or less, give myself permission to have an easy week.
That said, Iām back home and my basement gym is calling me.
Iām visiting my sister (and mom is visiting too). Itās great to be together with family, and to be somewhere where a morning walk doesnāt involve rain gear. My wife and I are continuing our tradition of going for morning walks while on holidays. I love that this little vista is just minutes away from my sisterās house.
Holidays can be hard to maintain fitness habits, and I likely wonāt be visiting any gyms while here, so these morning walks are going to be a good balance to offset my sisterās awesome cooking and restaurant meals. They are a great way to start the day with something physical, and with some pretty nice views too!
