The importance of physical fitness and being healthy cannot be overstated. I know most of us are unvaxxed and all that, and that's of course great. But eating healthy, working out, and staying fit are equally - if not - more important.
Over the last 8 weeks, I started working out 3-4 days a week. All at home stuff with a set of dumbbells and a yoga mat, 30 minutes or so a day. I've been working on full body stuff.
Coupled with regular exercise, I've started eating much cleaner. A cup of black coffee and 2 meals a day. 4-6oz of clean meat (fish, beef, turkey or chicken), and 1-2 cups of green vegetables (brussels sprouts, asparagus, green beans), and some kind of healthy fat (avocado, mixed nuts, peanut butter). I give myself a cheat meal a week, where I'll allow myself to add bread or pasta or something sugary to an otherwise clean meal, but only once a week as a little gift to myself.
My fiance has been my partner on this plan, she's been a motivator, she's been a positive accountability partner, and, if I may say so, is looking reeeealllll good (not that she didn't already). Together we've lost over 30 pounds in 8 weeks and added abs and muscle tone to our bodies. (Side note: this makes appendix carry a lot more comfortable).
In these last 8 weeks, I've found I have more physical and mental energy. I've found my productivity at work and at home have skyrocketed. I've found my research has been more productive. I've found my sleep is deeper and more regenerative, my days are generally more positive, and my overall feeling and well-being is so much greater.
The truth is, they want us unhealthy. They want us obese, on their drugs, and not physically able. The relevancy in this forum is that when the shit ultimately hits the fan, and society collapses or there are riots or whatever, I know that we're going to be physically fit enough to make it through. If we have to run, we can run. If we have to fight, we can fight. If we have to build, we can build - because we're focusing on our physical fitness now.
Can you run, if you need to? Can you fight if you need to? Can you build if you need to?
I encourage all of you to start becoming physically fit, no matter your age or your current fitness level. It's never too late, you're never too old, and you're never too fat or too disabled. Your physical fitness is the number one way to expand your life expectancy and keep your brain functioning well.
Godspeed, anons. Love and prayers to all of you and your families.
Feel free to PM me if you'd like to learn more about our workout and diet program. I promise I'm not selling anything, ever.
Ironic I'm answering this at the gym between sets. I've been doing 5 days a week for years now and am probably the healthiest male in my family and my age group. All mu contemporaries are in bad shape, on walkers oxygen tanks, and are obese.
But "trying to live forever" is HARD DAMNED WORK!
Good for you, brother. Hard damned work is what it's all about.
Right, if you're not sore afterwards you're doing it wrong. 😆
By coincidence, I just bought a pair of 5kg* dumbbells for my 71st birthday. First time ever.
Of course I was shamed when my 4-year-old granddaughter picked them up!
*About 11 lbs for American readers.
Never too late... I won't state my age here, but I'm on in years, and can lift with the younger guys and gals at the gym. Start small, work up gradually to more weight and more reps, be patient, eat right, don't smoke and use very little alcohol (I use ZERO alcohol, but that's another story), try to get a good night's sleep, and just generally live a wholesome life. It takes discipline, dedication, and patients, but one day you'll look at yourself in the mirror and go, "Whoa!! What just happened??!!"
It happened to me about a year after I restarted regular gym attendance several years ago. Got home, took a hot shower, dried off, picked up my brush to brush my hair, and WOW.... biceps and triceps, traps, lats... all just popped out at me. I don't think I'm a vain man, but seeing the results really got my attention.
Best of luck to you.
And eat 4 eggs each day.
No bad consumption habits - one cappuccino a day. Vitamin and mineral supplements are vital, imo.
Don't ever be ashamed of the weight you lift. The skinny 120lb soaking wet guy starts somewhere. The fat guy carrying no muscle but 300lb of fat starts somewhere. You lift what you are able and go to failure. If you get 1 rep, fine. That's your max and start there with body weight. Never be ashamed of where you start.
I had to learn this the hard way after having lost a dangerous amount of weight and having to have major surgery. My recovery started with walking in a circle around my hospital room, with help, and with pain meds on board because it hurt to stand. When I first walked into a gym, I started with the 5 lb weights, and even then some muscle groups (delts) weren't having it. I actually caught a couple of guys laughing at me because I was struggling to bench the empty bar. I'm not going to pretend it didn't suck. I felt terrible, but fortunately I had a friend who kept me focused and we kept at it.
As a competitive person, I had to learn that I wasn't competing against the gym bros. I was competing with myself. My bar to beat was whatever I was capable of giving that day. Some days, I feel good and I rock a great workout. Some days, I felt like total crap, but I gave my best effort. When I first got over COVID, "best effort" was 10 minutes of cardio. Come back the next day and do it again.
So much of this stuff isn't really physical. It's a mental game of disciplining one's mind and persevering. Keep at it, fren!
Tell her to be careful. My 4 year old did that and the next day his neck was all f-ed up. Good thing it was just a pulled muscle.
Also congrats on the new set.