Fat at forty to fit at fifty - 2 weeks without picking up a single weight

My plan is to get in the best shape I can for my fiftieth birthday in August 2014.

Never lifted weights before until this year, joined a council gym in January and lasted 3 months, pissed about with cardio, machines etc etc with no real plan, instructors we're interested and appeared clueless. Stopped going initially as I wrecked my back (semi regular thing) and then got ill with Crohns (long standing illness).

So while I recovered I joined this forum and began to read.....and read....and read....and learn and ask questions and learn some more.

Got myself a Power rack and a set of olympic weights so I can train in my garage as when I like without any of the hassles of a gym, quite happy with my own company. Also got a Concept 2 rower and Elite spin bike for cardio.

Started again 6 weeks ago with a push/pull/legs routine and that has been really enjoyable and I have been noticing some real benefits from it.
Push day - Bench/OHP/Flyes/Tricep rope pushdowns
Pull day - Deadlifts/Barbell rows/Clos lat pulldowns/Barbell curls
Legs day - Squats/Leg extensions/Leg curls/Standing calf raises

I've not been in great shape for most of my forties due to desk job, 2 1/2 hours in the car every day, recurring bad back and Crohns.....plus I'd kind of lost the motivation to keep fit.

My lifting so far has been very light Bench 50Kg, Squat 70Kg, Deadlift 90Kg, OHP 32.5Kg, Row 47.5Kg all 3x8. I am 6 feet tall and currently weigh 88Kg and body fat is 26.5% according some very expensive but probably not accurate fancy scales my wife brought. Although they are very repeatable so are useful as a guide.

I have been trying hard to learn and practice form, regularly video myself and review, I wanted to get form right as I'm a fussy twat who believes in doing things properly.

This is my first ever blog/journal or whatever on any subject anywhere so I'm not sure what I should/shouldn't be doing, my future entries probably won't be as long and boring as this but I'm laying down some facts....as much for my own benefit/reference as anything.

I am happy for anyone to post anything at all on here, feel free to comment, criticise, take the piss if you like, all comments and opinions are welcome. All I ask is that whatever is posted is the truth, as every word I type will be.

I'm not doing this to inspire anyone, I'm not on a "journey"....I'm simply fed up of being out of shape and I'm making a commitment here and now to get myself looking good for my 50th birthday.....for me.
 

Good for you! and it wasn't boring. I'm not on a journey either...whoop for all peeps not on a journey, just wanting to lose weight and get into shape..
 
Good luck with your goals.

Good Luck, i'm pretty new to this site as well and like yourself have messed about over the years with training, it's good to have a fresh start, you can't beat the feeling a workout gives you.

Good on you for starting a journal.  That and wanting to do it for yourself is probably the best motivation you can have - I look forward to popping in and reading up on your progress.  Happy training and good luck!

Thanks for the replies, all adds to the motivation.
 
As I've been reading and learning I've come to the conclusion that I would have done things differently if I could have gone back and started again, so that's what I decided to do. I believe that a good solid strength based routine would be the best way to start with weights, so after a lot of research I have decided to ditch what I was doing and start again with Stronglifts 5x5.
 
Did my first session last night and whilst it felt very easy going as the program starts you off on very light weights I did get to really concentrate on my form without worrying about not being able to make the lift.
I've been reading up and watching videos of lifting technique as well as recording myself and I'm very keen to get my form correct as I believe a good foundation will help keep injuries down and allow me to lift more in the long run, so it's a sacrifice worth making in my view. Last night's session was as follows:
 
Squats
Warm up  - 2x5 with empty bar (7 foot oly @20Kg), 1x5 @ 27.5Kg
Working sets - 5x5 @ 40Kg
 
Bench Press
Warm up  - 3x5 with empty bar
Working sets - 5x5 @ 30Kg
 
Barbell Rows
Warm up  - 3x5 with empty bar
Working sets - 5x5 @ 30Kg
 
Temptation was to put more on the bar or rush through the sets but I managed to keep my focus on form and did each rep as though it was all I could lift. It was a very nice to be able to "feel" my way through each lift and to be aware of different muscle groups engaging throughout each rep, really helped with my understanding of technique so I'm happy to continue as the program suggests, even though it will be 4-5 weeks before I am lifting the weights I was at on my old routine. I am hoping that the time and effort spent building up form will allow me to carry on straight through my previous maximum lifts with ease. To be honest I was already building up quite slowly with my old routine and I felt there was a bit more in the tank on most lifts anyway but I was getting close to my limit on bench and OHP.
 
Looking forward to the next session which includes my favourite - Deadlifts

good luck with your training dude

hey good luck man.    think you are on the right track with concentrating on form.  so many blokes just seem obsessed with the weightage and even me with my limited knowledge can see they are just chucking the weights up anyhow and not really feelin the muscle squeeze.  
 
keep goin!
(I like poached eggs too...)

Very interested to watch your progress. I think you have gone with a good balance of not too much starting weight but not zero weight either. The temptation will be to up the weight quickly but slow and steady wins the race as the old story says.
As this is a mass and strength building routine, what is your plan for diet. Are you looking to put muscle weight on whilst reducing body fat or are you looking to exercise and lose overall weight?

jjdlennon, Mergal, billy2shots thanks for looking in and for the encouragement.
 
I know this is a poor answer but I haven't put too much effort into diet yet, I do try to eat a healthy balanced diet most of the time so I've just been eating more, especially fruit. Also necking 2 pints of full fat milk a day and upped my consumption of eggs to about 18 per week. I still have the odd Indian but I've pretty much cut out crap like chocolate and crisps etc. Doing fairly well on the booze front too, have no more than 4-6 pints most weeks. So not perfect but I've never really struggled to lose weight when I put my mind to it and I've only put it on because I've been lazy and eat plenty of rubbish and drank too much Guinness.
 
I accept that at some point I will need to put a lot more effort into my diet but I also know that too many changes at once is a sure fire way to failure so for now I'll be concentrating on my training and just try to be good on the food side without getting too anal about it.
I'll be monitoring weight and body fat every 2 weeks and if I start larding up too much I'll address it but I'm hoping as the weight goes up the fat will come down.
 
I've got until August 2014 until I'm 50, that's my goal and I think I will get there OK by concentrating on working hard in the gym and not being foolish in the kitchen. I'm already beginning to pick up a bunch of grapes for an evening snack rather than a choccy bar so I feel a gradual change coming over me. I did a couple of tricks about 5 years ago when I got very lardy and dieted it away which worked very well for me.
 
Trick 1, Whatever I got on my plate I scraped a quarter of it in the bin and cleared my plate, this included binning half of one Twix biscuit etc etc. I even extended this to dipping out of every 4th round in the pub and had a pint of water instead.
 
Trick 2, I put "post its" on all food cupboards, the fridge, fruit bowl, in fact all sources of food saying stuff like "have an apple instead you fat pig"' "Eat fruit lardy boy" "Think before you choose" "The fruit bowl is better than the biscuit tin" "Look in the mirror then choose"
 
Hmmmmmm, I sense I am going on a bit now so I'll put up tonight session and go do something useful.
 
Squats 
Warm up  - 2x5 with empty bar, 1x5 @ 30Kg 
Working sets - 5x5 @ 42.5Kg 
  
Overhead Press 
Warm up  - 3x5 with empty bar 
Working sets - 5x5 @ with empty bar 
  
Deadlifts 
Warm up  - 1x5 @ 25Kg, 1x5 @37.5Kg 
Working set - 1x5 @ 50Kg 

All very easy but again concentrated on form and kept the rest between sets very short.

Deadlifts felt weird with such light weights, I was doing 3x8 @90 Kg on my old routine and know I could have gone heavier, didn't feel like I got a lot out of them to be honest and I'll be happier when I get some more on the bar for these.

OHP was good as I'd spent my lunch break reading up on technique, found that getting my elbows forward at the start position made the whole lift flow much better and I feel I'll cruise through my old maximum on these when it's come around in about 5 weeks.

Squats were OK, again I will be happy to get a little more weight on the bar for these but I worked on my grip a lot tonight after watching a Rippetoes video on it yesterday (link below if anyone is interested). Found the grip he recommended hard to do but I'm going to stick with it, maybe that's because I'm a little round shouldered and inflexible.

http://startingstrength.c...the_squat_bar_position

All in all a good session that left me wanting more, steak and ale pie as a PWO meal maybe wasn't fully justified but it didn't half taste good.





 

All the best mate.
I started out a bit like you, got to 40 and was in terrible shape, 17 st at 5' 7", about 30% BF.
I've just turned 45, been competing in Powerlifting comps for the last 3 years and barring the odd injury, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in.
Keep at it, it doesn't happen quickly but it happens.
 

40 plus


All the best mate.
I started out a bit like you, got to 40 and was in terrible shape, 17 st at 5' 7", about 30% BF.
I've just turned 45, been competing in Powerlifting comps for the last 3 years and barring the odd injury, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in.
Keep at it, it doesn't happen quickly but it happens.

 Cheers 40 plus, glad to hear you've done so well in such a short space of time.

 
Almost forgot to mention my first training injury tonight.
 
Whilst unloading the bar from my squats I forgot about the farty little 1.25Kg plate, soon remembered when I slid it off along with a 10Kg plate and it dropped on my foot from the best part of 5 feet. Landed right on the top of my foot, hurt like hell for a few minutes and then went off.
I'd forgotten about it until I got up to answer the door a few minutes ago, turned out to be a Jevovah Witness
 
Which reminds me I've got an advent calendar especially for Jevovah Witness, every time you open a door it tells you to sod off.

Bored out my head today, off work and just couldn't be bothered to do anything, now I'm feeling fed up with myself for wasting the day.
 
It's been raining pretty much all day so I didn't fancy doing any work in the garden but I've no excuse for just lazing around doing nothing. The only thing useful I've done all day is order some Do-Win shoes as a Christmas pressie for me from the wife.
 
I noticed last night my garage floor is quite uneven where I have sited my power rack (left hand side about 1/2" higher) so I should have been out there re-organising my garage and moving it somewhere flat.
 
Oh well, tomorrow's another day. Must make the effort to sort out the power rack before my 3rd session on stronglifts tomorrow night, sooner orlater than uneven floor is going to do me some harm.
 
Best mate just texted me to see if I fancy a beer tonight so that will cheer me up, must go steady on the Guinness, must go steady on the Guinness......oh, who am I trying to kid?

Yoy might be doing this already....if you are using smaller diameter plates than 20kg when deadlifting off the floor you should put some wood or spare plates underneath each end, this is to raise the bar height so it is the same as if you had a 20kg plate on each end. Do this even for the warm up sets so your technique will stay consistant.

dempsey


Yoy might be doing this already....if you are using smaller diameter plates than 20kg when deadlifting off the floor you should put some wood or spare plates underneath each end, this is to raise the bar height so it is the same as if you had a 20kg plate on each end. Do this even for the warm up sets so your technique will stay consistant.

dempsey,
Thanks for that, I have been doing exactly as you say, read it somewhere and thought it made perfect sense. I also do it for Barbell Rows too.
 
Managed to keep to less than a gallon of Guinness last night, at least I won't be iron deficient today, more pleased with giving a takeaway a miss on the way home so hopefully not too much damage done.
 
Session3 tonight as follows;
Squats  
Warm up  - 2x5 with empty bar, 1x5 @ 30Kg  
Working sets - 5x5 @ 45Kg  
   
Bench Press  
Warm up  - 2x5 with empty bar, 1x5 @ 22.5Kg  
Working sets - 5x5 @ 32.5Kg  
   
Barbell Rows  
Warm up  - 2x5 with empty bar, 1x5 @ 22.5Kg  
Working sets - 5x5 @ 32.5Kg 


 
I think I'm getting something wrong with my squat technique, possibly looking up a bit as my neck felt a little sore for a while afterwards. I think I need to record my next session to check grip and bar position as I am trying to copy the style on Rippetoe's video article (link on post 8 if interested). Got the squats very deep indeed tonight, well past parallel, not quite A2G but at my age I guess some flexibility has gone.
 
Bench Press was very easy, getting the shoulders back and chest right up makes the whole lift feel solid, looking forward to getting some weight on the bar. Benching has always been a weak lift for me, along with OHP.
 
Barbell Rows went OK, I have to bend my knees a little too much for my liking but I've always had very tight hamstrings, need to work on the technique on the rows before the weight goes up too much. They are next on the list for serious attention after the squat (one at a time).
 
I moved my rack today but my garage floor is uneven almost everywhere so I've got it on the most level part I could find, still about 10mm higher one side but better than before. Quite annoyingly there is a totally flat, level area but it has a beam for the roof running right across that is about 50mm too low for the rack to fit under. My spin bike which I use for a quick warm up has developed a funny clunk on every third revolution of the pedals, suspect the chain is the cause. Another job on the list.
 
Put the Christmas lights up outside today too, not keen on going up ladders at the best of time never mind when it's cold and windy.

Your journal makes interesting reading.
I'm just a year younger than you, I'm in the best shape I've been in my adult life, but there is still room for improvement- work in progress!
 
I know a few people doing SL 5x5 they have all made big progress in strength and physique, I think you'll do well. I've seen the biggest changes since I cleaned up my diet, but like you I made small changes every few weeks, I've had no problems sticking to it.
I really looking forward to following your journal, keep it up , you're doing great...

Yeh good luck with your goals...............I like the routine, did a full body routine myself at the beginning if the year and  pretty quickly saw some good results strength wise............your doing the right thing concentrating on one thing at a time but still improving on your diet gradually, like sustainable changes made every so often and before long you,ll not realise what a big change overall you,ve made, i,ll be popping in to see how you,re getting on , good luck!

Karryann, Hoppy,
 
Thanks for reading my journal and for your comments, it's good to hear others have got on well with 5x5 training.
 
I went for my regular Sunday round of golf today with a load of mates from my golf club, my forearms felt a bit sore/pumped this morning which is unusual for me as I tend to be lucky and not suffer from DOMS so I need to monitor that. Didn't affect my golf swing at all and I finished second by one shot in our £5 in the kitty competition so that more than paid for lunch and coffee afterwards, although the Guinness tempted me I managed to leave it today. This is quite an achievement for me on a Sunday lunch as I tend to have 3-4 pints of the black stuff after my round of golf, at 210 calories a pint it probably doesn't cover what I burn of for 3-4 hours waving sticks about in a big field. Been a slob this afternoon though, playing board games with my kids and watching the footy on Sky.
 
I always enjoy time with the kids but I should have gone and sorted my spin bike rather than watch the footy, got other stuff to do tonight so it will have to wait, it's really not a big problem just a little annoying. I finish work for Christmas on Wednesday until Jan 2nd so I am planning on giving the spin bike and my Concept2 rower a good overhaul during the festive break.
 
Looking forward to week 2 on stronglifts especially as I get 2 lots of deadlifts. Not sure why this program only does 1x5 plus warm up for deadlifts, it does explain it's to do with recovery so as the weights go up I might be grateful for only one working set. I've always enjoy deadlifts, it feels the easiest exercise to get the form right and it always makes me feel like I've got a bit of strength in me, I guess it's because it's such a basic, simple lift that allows you move the most weight. Going to try deadlifting in bare feet (well, socks on) next week to see how it feels whilst there's not much on the bar.
 
It's a little frustrating at low weights on deads at the moment as my old push/pull/legs routine was up to 95Kg for 3x8 so I'm sure 100Kg+ is easily there for me. I will only be at 60Kg by the end of next week and it's VERY tempting to load up a bit more than 5Kg each session on deads. All the other lifts will be around my previous routines weight by the end of week 5, but deads won't be until the end of week 7 so I am thinking going up in 7.5Kg increments on deads until the end of week 5 as this will put me at 95Kg and align all 5 exercises to my previous weight at around the same time which makes a lot of sense to me.
I'd really like opinions on this as it's the only deviation from the program as it's set out I have considered.
 
 
 
 

I wouldn't deviate from the program, it's designed for a reason But you have to decide what's best for you, if you feel you need the extra weight , go for it, it's your training and need to enjoy what you are doing.
 
By the way, I always take my trainers off to deadlift and squat at the gym, and if i train at home I never wear trainers at all, it just feels more natural that way

I recently started doing my deads in socks or bare feet to help with my form, and it has got better and I do feel that the weight goes up a bit easier too. I just did 100kg for the first time a couple of weeks ago...ya know, only the 1! lol...but it's a start. I can't really advise you on the routine cos I just do what my trainer tells me cos I don't know myself...durrrr......I do sometimes deviate and get told off, lol...never did learn the art of obedience..