I’ve been trying to put on some weight. Five pounds to be exact. I’m 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 it’s going to be hard to both gain and maintain healthy weight in the next decade.

So, a few months back I decided that I’d shoot for another 5 pounds of muscle by the end of this year. And for these past few months I’ve 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. I’ve seen incremental changes through that journey. I dropped over 27 pounds of unwanted weight and have then added 12 good pounds. I’ve 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 I’m at least as strong as I was in my 20’s and stronger (and more flexible) in most areas.

And no, I have not really seen any gains in the last few months, but that’s ok. I feel them coming. I know I’m 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 teacher’s college back in ‘97-‘98, and I’ve 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, I’m sure I’ll hit, and maybe even surpass, my goal by the end of the year.